Chez

Spot on, good analysis. Hopefully you are good at predicting too.

Excellence performance so far by Saints. We were in complete control for long periods and looked threatening on the break. Classie having another very good game. His first time forward passing has been the only real genuine bit of class on the pitch. Mane just can't get it right at the moment. Everything he tries fails. Hopefully he will get the rub of the green in the second half. He looks the likely man to unlock the defence, but just needs to get the ball under and go. One big negative is our throw ins. I would go as far to say that 80% end up going straight to the opposition. The formation perhaps isn't helping, but giving the ball straight back, especially in your own half is criminal. Especially considering the effort to get it and keep it see her. Got to do better. COYS you can beat this ****.

Probably been offered a new extended contract.

anyone buy a copy? What sort of thing was in it?

Yeah, I was surprised find when I looked that Stephens was signed almost five years ago now. Is Harry Lewis the only one since? Compare this with what Chelsea have spent in recent times on bringing talent into their youth system and its peanuts. It will be interesting to see how many (of those Chelsea players) develop into decent pros, all be it perhaps away from Chelsea. The key is having the right guys scouting and persuading to get them, as well as the right funds of course.

pretty average movie and dare I say it a very average performance from Will Smith. I'd of been tempted to include the movie Dope and its star Shameik Moore. Both were excellent. Straight out of Compton was entertaining, but not sure anyone stood out actor wise in that movie.

Yep. Cartoons, photoshopped pics, ditties, **** takes, strange supporter stories, silly columns and lots of unusual offbeat stuff that looks at Saints and supporters in a completely different angle. Regular interviews with players and former players sounds very dry, although if they were open to it (which I doubt), perhaps there is an unusual angle/story. A fanzine that is really just a Saints magazine offers no interest to me personally.

maybe we should (as has been suggested might happen to supplement the U21 squad) be going out there and buying young players ourselves? Most of the players we are signing are 23/24, which is no bad thing, but maybe we could `gamble' a little more on even young talent from the lower leagues? Very difficult to get right. Arsenal certainly got it spot on with Walcott and Chamberlain, but they didn't come cheap. A more recent signing that caught my eye was that of Matt Grimes (19) to Swansea from Exeter. He was a stand out player, but as yet hasn't made his mark at Swansea. I like that kind of signing, but until he makes the first team on a regular basis the £1.85m looks an expensive gamble. Make the first team and its a brilliant signing. Oliver Burke (18) at Forest is a player that looks very exciting. I doubt £1.85m would prise him from Forest, but we should certainly be looking at him. I see James Maddison (19) from Coventry is linked with us (and a host of other teams) today, so maybe we are looking at this age of player.

I mentioned Lewis Cook earlier on this thread as someone we should be looking at. Looks like Bompey are taking my advice. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3408155/Bournemouth-keen-Leeds-star-Lewis-Cook-remain-hopeful-sealing-deal.html

I started to fill the form in and then saw the content list which read more like a Saints magazine than a fanzine. It's a long time since I bought a Saints fanzine, and my memory might be playing tricks on me, but I thought fanzines were full of ****take and comedic slants on things.

if we can afford them all (wage rises become inevitable) and there isn't unhappy campers (is Pelle going to be a good team players if he has to play second fiddle to Austin?) then obviously yes. I'd have no problem with a player wanting away for first team football though. Fair play to that man if it still exists.

who wants consistent? It's great having someone as unpredictable as him. He's going through a poor patch end result wise, but he really is a fantastic player to watch. We have very few dribblers in the side. Players that can retain the ball, keep possession and take the pressure off a defence. He does that as well as using his unbelievable pace to nip in and win balls and turn bad ones into good ones. Let's not wish him away just yet.

We should have pushed a Dembele/Wanyama swap deal last summer. Maybe if there hadn't been such uproar the previous summer at the numbers going out the board might have considered it, but no way were they going to allow similar numbers going out and face the rathe of the fans. Personally I don't think there is a cat in hells chance of Arsenal signing him. He can't pass the ball,so that counts him out right there. Spurs have moved on. He's not good enough for City or Man U. He's not a Liverpool type player, so he's running out of options.

Will he get a game at Everton unless they sell Colman? West Ham on the other hand will need to buy Jenkinson next summer otherwise Byram might be first choice.

Ever noticed that Crooks speaks with long pauses in the middle of sentences? That's because his brain is so pathetically underpowered., his mouth needs to stop every two seconds to allow the brain to catch up. One of the most useless pundits in football.

Acquiring young talent to bolster our youth team has worked in the past. Lallana, Best, Blackstock, McGoldrick, Jones all bought in. No reason why we need to pick around for scraps. We have something to offer top young players. A reputation for playing them for starters. The higher up the pyramid we are, the less likely we are to get youth team players coming through that are good enough to play at that level. This is why Chelsea have struggled. They want a top 10 player in the world in every position, not just a solid pro. Not easy to spot those. Our target is slightly lower, but still requires a top top player. We have been fortune to land several of the best young players ever when they were very young, but that's not normal. Stealing them for other clubs when they are a few years older, if agreeable to all parties, is a good idea.

Could not agree more. Mane caught the eye with his goals, but if I was a manager of Chelsea, City, United, Liverpool or Arsenal, Bertrand is the one guy at Saints that I'd be signing in the summer. Everyone of those would strengthen their first team or squad with him in it.

For which many slated him on here. Shows the strength of having people at the club that aren't just yes men.

And Close hasn't played a single fourth division game for them this season. Koeman must look on enviously.

How good would our attack look if JRod got back to where he was...

Interesting conundrum. Right now Long and Mane start in the formation we have played the few games, but form and fitness will see that change. And then there's Pelle...real competition means a nose will be out out of joint.

Why would he lie? Why is it so hard to believe? Feels like saints fans only believing the stories they like. He will be on a bloody fortune.

Now that's an interesting point, but I'd point to the fact he is the one providing cover for Bertrand. A much easier job than going one on one with a winger like Zaha... Just shows the importance of playing the right players in the right formation with the right tactics to get the best out of them. I am not sure RK has done that for quite a while, but he has at the moment with the likes of Long and Targett.

All fair points, but tell me, do you see the next Shaw to Bale in as many years as you care to choose? That's what some are suggesting on here and that is a very bold prediction. Those two are one in a generation type players. How we got both is amazing. Fair play to anyone that makes it and is proved right. For me Targett has the first touch to play at a decent level, but the lack of pace worries me and unless he compensates for that by becoming a little stronger and nastier he won't be real top player. Right now I don't want to see him at left back in a four. He is too lightweight. But right now we don't have to, so that's not a problem.

Feels so unSaints like does it? Great though. Hope it works out.