Alanh

I don't recall the Norwich situation, but that has got to be the exception rather than the rule. In the vast majority of cases transfers take a while and given our situation they are likely to take longer if the selling club is trying to extract more money from us that the market value of a player just because we are considered wealthy. The key point I was making related to whether we should be panicking yet. IMO we shouldn't because there is evidence of intent to get players in from AP's interviews and evidence of action from the three signings so far and from Carter's trial Your questions on the transfer policy / scouting system are speculative at best and I can't add any opinion one way or the other without guessing. No-one is disputing that we need players in. AP has said he wants players in and I believe that we will get them. Based on our track record over the last year we (the fans) won't know much about the background workings of those transfers until they happen - we need to learn to live with that situation. The point about if AOC gets crocked could apply to any important player in any team. It's impossible to buy in ready made replacements to cover every eventuality.

Most of us realise that buying the right player is not like flicking a switch - usually negotiations are protracted and depend on the selling club finding a replacement before selling. We also know that Saints are working away behind the scenes on transfers- Carter's trial is evidence that they are looking for the high quality CM that you have been calling for and that AP himself has been quoted numerous times as wanting. We have a strong 18 for the first matches of the season - Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, Jaiidi, Harding, Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Hammond, Dickson, Lambert, Barnard, Bart (IMO he will sign before Saturday), Seabourne, Martin, Connolly, Wotton, AOC, Mills. IMO that is as strong as the last month of last season - especially in defence. You can start panicking if you want but I think your argument will be disputed by the majority and not just because of your track record on here.

I ran an U13 team last season with a lot of help from a well qualified coach. Best tips are to encourage the kids constantly. Stick to simple instructions. Vary the training as much as you can and keep them all involved all the time. That bit isn't always easy when you want to focus on a particular discipline, but it's much worse to construct a training activity that excludes some of the kids. With U8's you probably won't be doing any tactical stuff, just getting them to pass the ball will be enough of a challenge. Lastly - let them play a match iin every training session - it's pretty much what my lot want to do for the entire session, but I have to try to get in some techniquie training as well.

I'm curious to know what you think would constitute a struggle. How many points from the first six games? Does not winning against Plymouth constitute a poor start on it's own? Is it about performances as well as results? Personally I think 10 points from the first 6 games is the watershed - below that and it's a poor start. Above that and we are approaching league winning form straight away.

Disagree, we are talking about loans here similar to the deals we did for Mellis, Cork, Guthrie and Chaplow.The loan window is open until about November so there is plenty of time.

I was there and the match was a typical pre season affair. Sutton looked up for it from the off and had a couple of players with abit of pace who chased everything. Sainrts looked awkward. AOC and MS shone throughout but the others looked sluggish - a bit like playing at Sutton was beneath them. The defence was fairly tight apart from the goal and one shot in the second half didn't really give Sutton a chance. With the exception of MS our midfield looked unbalanced and did not boss the game. We really suffered not having Puncheon and Lallana in terms of balance and having an outlet. Hammond is not an attacking CM and Dickson was injured too soon to be able to make an impression. Lee Holmes huffed and puffed but to little effect - I would sell him as we can do better. We bossed the second half in terms of possession and territory and their keeper stopped at least three certain goals with decent saves.

Antonio v Puncheon is a pretty pointless argument because there is room for both of them in the squad and arguably in the team. They both offer something different - Antonio is all about pace and aggression and his close control is still developing. Puncheon is all about close control and accuracy. They will both develop and may both be able to play at a higher level - Pucheon failing to make an impact at Plymouth doesn't necessrily mean he can't play at a higher level, he might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I think you are making more of that comment than necessary. To me AP is saying that there is tactical work to be done to fine tune the team based on his comment in the paragraph below the advert and based on the fact that the pre season focus so far has been all about fitness. Also, obviously he knows how to set up the team as he did so successfully for three quarters of last season so the fundamentals are there already.

Our first 6 matches are (my thoughts on the result): Plymouth Home (Win or draw) MK Dons Away (Win or draw) Orient Home (Win) Bristol Rover Away (Win or draw) Rochdale home (Win) Sheff Wed Away (Draw or lose) I reckon 12 points from those games would constitute a good start as it's 2 points per game and over the course of the season would be promotion form. More than 12 would be excellent, less would be poor.

In the past haven't half season tickets always been sold for the second half of the season? I don't recall a situation where you could buy a half season ticket for the first half of the season anyway. Based on this I always thought it was a strange statement for the club to make.

I think you are probably right about the Plymouth game and in fairness they should provide one of our tougher challenges for the year so a draw won't be the end of the world. Over the first six league games I expect us to pick up 3 or 4 wins and lose a maximum of one and that will be a good start.

Not decided whether its a winger or a forward but we need to get a player in with the pace to unsettle defenders. One of Papa of Antonio or someone very similar would work.

Pardew's track record with us shows he builds a squad not just a team. Papa and Antonio last season are great examples of that. Dickson covering / starting at LB or LM is proof again. Seabourne's signing last year when we already had 4 centre backs is proof again. I can't see any evidence to suggest that we won't have a strong squad before the start of the season. Just because we don't know what negotiations are beingconducted doesn't mean that there are none. I reckon we have pretty much got our first 11 sorted for the opening game but as the OP said we do need cover in CM for when Morgan or Hammond aren't available and I think that more signings are on the way. No need to panic yet (unless Richardson breaks a leg in tomorrow's friendly).

He played for Sunderland against us in the play-offs season. Brilliant game and he was one of the best players on the park. Would be a very good signing if he is still performing at anywhere near that level now.

Of course I meant he had no profile over here. Had the average Saints fan, or football fan even, heard of him before he signed for us last year. Sure there will be football obsessives and FM fans who will have picked up on him but i believe that 99% of saints fans had never heard of him before he signed. Cortese's or Pardews signing - can't be proven one way or the other and not overly relevant IMO.

You are right about us needing pace in the squad and I am convinced that AP knows this and is going to address it. He did last year with the acquisitions of both papa and Antonio, neither of whom had any profile before they arrived. Your argument about the team falls down as neither Papa nor Antonio were regular starters. Our starting 11 on the 7th August should be stronger (injuries permitting) than the starting 11 on the last day of last season. With regard to playing hardball over transfers. I would rather we played as hard as possible.if this ride is going to take us to the Prem we are going to have to buy in loads more players of increasing quality and value. If we get a reputation as push overs we will get taken for a ride by agents and selling clubs time and again. I'd rather NC become a negotiator to be feared.

Agree completely on the need for pace in the squad. Dickson is supposed to be quick so he will add some, but I think we will mees the unpredictability that came from Antonio and Waigo and so will need to replace them. Alexd O-C might be able to step up and offer that at least in part. I don't think we need to add to the centre backs - the four we have can do a good enough job. Unlike you I think Seabourne is good enough and will play his fair share of games. I don't think there is room in the squad for two new centre mids. I think one new one is about right to take the pressure off Hammond and Schneiderlin having to plan in every game and also to give us the option to change our shape and have thre dedicated CMs on the pitch when required, without one being Wotton. Don't agree on the lines of communication being down. Saying that there are exciting arrivals on the way is clearly not NC's style as we have learned over the last year, but that doesn't mean that nothing is happening. As fans we just have to sit tight and enjoy the rest of the sporting summer without expecting Saints to be drip feeding us with amazing news every day. It's like this every year.

I reckon the tactics will be pretty similar to the final 30 games of last season. I think that AP will have got the idea of at least two ways to play through to the squad by the start of the season so we can use 4-4-2 and our variation of 4-5-1 effectively when needed. Looking at the first four league matches I can see two wins and two draws. the opener against Plymouth is difficult to predict but I reckon we have a better than average chance against MK away and orient at home and should grab wins at both. Bristol Rovers away will be a test although we should be mentally string having wiped the floor with them last time we played there. September looks like a trickier month with trips to Swindon and Sheff Wed. If we can come out of Sept in the top three and within striking distance of the leaders then we'll be well set for the first half of the season.

Because you said that you are SHOCKED that there are fans who think it is sensible that we wait until August before signing anyone. I suggest you couldn't find one fan who would advocate waiting until the start of the season. I would suggest that every fan wants signings to happen as early as possible, it's just that most realise that they take time and don't react with a hyperbolic post 10 hours into July.

First sentence - fair point, but there isn;t an awful lot we can do about that as we don't have a crystal ball and no club signs a player simply in case one of their other player is sold. Second sentence - I don't think anyone on this board or in the fan base in general is advocating waiting until early August before we sign anyone. This is just anopther example of you exaggerating for effect and making yourself look like the Hysterical tart that someone described you as earlier.

Last season in the first round of the League Cup against Northampton we only opened two stands so there was no chance for some season ticket holders to have their own seats. At least this year there is at least a chance for everyone.

The defence needs a major overhaul. King and ferdinand have long term fitness problems. I really think JT has lost it - he was massively at fault for the first goal yesterday and had a poor end to the season with Chelsea. Johnson is a weak link- he's so attacking that he cramps the space that the right winger has to play in and he's suspect defensively. I'd go for something like Hart Richards - Dawson - Ferdinand (if fit) - Cole Rodwell - Barry A Johnson - Gerrard - J Cole Rooney With the likes of Wishire, Lampard, Defoe, Croush and Walcott on the bench we have a mix of youth and experience throughout the squad while giving the younger members a chance to stake a claim to the first team spots. The one thing that is certain is that we have to have a clearout of the squad to get rid of the 'untouchable' mentality. i think that was the main factor in England simply thinking that they had to turn up to win without realising that they needed to put in a performance.

You're a piece of work aren't you! The thread is about buying a season ticket and 90% of the responses follow the OP, but you have to . You've made your contribution by telling everyone you've renewed your own seat (well done, sarcastic applause), now sod off and annoy someone else.

Just renewed for me and my son. Looking forward to Plymouth on the 7th August.

Same here, used the blue version as the default and would like to see it available again.