Chez

I thought the council hadn't even got close to making a decision on whether they woud try to buy the stadium.

I presum he has a rolling contract as reserve team boss for the next 12 months, anyone know what sort of contract he has as manager? Wonder if he got a wage rise when he stepped up? I wonder if he was earning more than Jan even as reserve team boss?

if we don't pay his next wage cheque (I'm unclear now the official date we start paying him again) it will be a breach of contract and he is free to walk I'd of thought. At the moment our hand looks weak. Lets see if that changes tomorrow though.

It is no surprise to me that Pearson might be interested in Gillett. Apart from the fact he had a decent season and is good enough at this level, I said at the end of the previous season that Pearson highly rated Gillett and would have played him at the end of the season had it not been for the relegation battle. I saw several times Pearson walking off the pitch with his arm round Gillett (having not brought him off the bench) in an effort to say `you will get your chance son'. Gillett is another player we must aim to keep if we are to do anything next season. He is not perfect by any means but he is busy, combative and extremely fit.

If my boss came to me and said, you can either: take a wage referral for a month to give us time to agree a takeover by a new owner who would then honour your contract or carry on getting paid, but by taking the wage reduced the sales window which means you risk having no job at all in a few weeks time I think I would have to consider the first option - especially if I had earned just short of £500,000 in the 11 months previous. Obviously those out of contract in the summer are less inclined to do this, but if they wanetd a new deal from SFC then they would be in the same boat as those with contracts.

weren't some of the 44 players that were just emerging from the academy? McClaggon for example.

can't see us having an money to spend so perhaps Patterson can lead the line. He looks capable to me.

the clubs costs will be reduced dramatically with Skacel, John, BWP, Euell, Davis and possibly Saga and Rasiak leaving the club. Our income will be probably be reduced with lower ticket prices and lower crowds, but if the new owner has managed to negotiate a reduced motgage rate or even wiped out some of the debts then the club might start to look financially attractive.

twice as long as the distance from centre to the edge

that a good shout. He's had a poor season for Cardiff and I think he fell our of favour in the end. He would be ideal fo us especially if Saeijs doesn't sign (and even if he does). A ball winner offering strength and height. Exactly what we miss when we have Lancashire and Perry in the side.

no wonder he wanted to get control again.

As I have done this the last few windows I'm more than happy to oblige again. check your PM, I look forward to my tickets.

Forrest could not wait to get rid when they had him in League 1. I would suggest that League 2 is his level.

and Wotton was part of that team. I'm not sure if you know this but League 1 also is full of players that can control a ball, look up and pass to a team mate. Most of them can also run faster than my Gran. I seriously doubt Wotton will start to look th epart just because we haev gone down a League. He won't look worse, he will still gie everything, but I seriously doubt he will get us promoted.

they gave us a £6m bed though first.

I've supported BWP because of he pace he offers and I think he should haev got a lot more games up front this season than he did. With him in the side we can play the ball over the top or down the channels and he turns defences. No other striker has offered us that. Where he comes a cropper is his shooting. He scored cutting in against Reading from just inside the box, but that has to be the longest distance he has ever scored from. He must have shot 50 times from `long' (outside the box) range this season and all efforts have been terrible, woeful in fact. The other area he has been a let down is 1 on 1s. He said he learned a lesson at Coventry but he didn't and he still doesn't take the chances offered. Clean through against Burnley on the last day of the seaosn and he ****s it. This alone conerns me about next season as even if we do create will he score enough of those chances - its doubtful to say the least. I think we need pace up front and thats why I'd like to keep him, but apart from that asset he offers little. Off field antics alone mean I won't shed a tear if he leaves. I still worry though that should he leave will we actually bring someone else in better. Again I doubt it.

like or loathe, when the new man comes in will we realistically replace them with better or worse players? If the scouts stay the same then expect more Gasmi/Pulis/Peckard/Robertson/Holmes/Wotton downward sliding tosh.

I'd like to ignore the arguement about Spurs not winning games with Bale in the side, but it is so easy to counter I just cant resist. For starters he was absolutely fantastic at CCC level for us, he tore sides apart. I saw every single one of his games for us and he was head and shoulders above the rest of the team. But, and it is a big but, he actually now plays in hte Premiership and thats just a little tougher opposition every week. You stick Skacel in a Premiership side and see how well he does. He couldn;t get a game for WBA never mind Spurs. And another thing, a sides performance and win ratio is not dictated by one player. If you speak to Spurs fans that go to games you will know that he played fantastically well at left midfield and they thought they had got a gem when he first broke into their side. His form has dropped off (whats that another young player not quite managing to keep his form consistent) and he has struggled a little at left back, but that does nto make him a bad player. As for comparing Bale performances to Skacels in that season, Bale was a left back for starters yet he got up and down the pitch (right to the byeline) all day long doing far more than Skacel. You didn't see him tire after 60 minutes. What you did see was a guy with the ability to beat a man all hands up - has Skacel ever done that??? - deliver top crosses, but also defend stoutly. I do not agree with people who say his defending was poor. I never saw anyone go past him at CCC level. Bale was critical to that side, and wiothout him we created **** all the following season. Skacel was still here I might add but he is such an average player he had no impact. In short Bale is a far far better player than Skacel. Miles better. Returning to Lallana, he was our best outfield player at the start of the season. He was top notch right up to November (this September date you pluck from thjn air is total garbage. If you were at the Reading game on the 22nd November for example you will haev seen him run rings round them). I believe he got a ankle injury in December and quite obviously was carrying it for several weeks whilst still playing. When he returned his fitness levels had dropped and he struggled. We then started playignlong ball hoof ball and he never saw the bloody thing. Yes when we finally got the ball back on the deck about 5 weeks later he still did not perform but I still insist that right midfield is not his best position. He should have played where McGoldrick played. When was the first or last time you saw Hammill chasing back and sliding in for a tackle. Lallana gives you that. Very few ball players offer that side of the game as well. Hammill's had two decent halves. At Scunny and at home to someone I can't remember. You keep saying we need `senior pro's but you need a balance betwen young talent and old heads. Besides you offer no alternatives. I offer you Paul Wotton. Senior and ****e. Lallana is the futue of this club. If we can keep him for ten years and add a few with the same spirit AND half his talent then we might start going up the league. Skacel, pah, apart from argueing with you about his ability (which is fun by the way) I've pretty much put him out of my head. When I look back in ten years time I doubt ther is one thing he did that will stick in my mind. Actually I lie, in my mind he will be remembered for his trick of conning refs that he has been fouled, usually near the corner flag because at that point he has run out of steam and or ideas.

I stand by that. We could have played just about anyone in front of Bale he was that good and we would have been equally dangerous. Bale was the talent in that "partnership". I'm not saying that at all, I'm just trying to point out that just because Skacel "lead the assists" as you have repetitively stated it doesn't mean he had a great season. He crossed a lot of balls and we scored some goals. But he still was not all that IMO. Lallana is decent right now. He is a quality player. The finger of blame for our woeful season can be pointed to these experienced pros that quite frankly showed that experience counts for **** all if you are **** (Wotton, Perry, Holmes, Saga and Skacek). no one on here wants us to slide through the leagues. What a pathetic statement to justify you **** weak arguement. our scouts are amateurs, the Smith, Pekard, Robertson, Wotton, Holmes, Gasmi, Pulis signings proe tha beyond a doubt. I'll stick with Lallana thanks as I think my own judgement of a player is better than our scouts.

You certainly won't find me accusing Skacel of living off past glories. I don't think he was all that in his first season either. Bale was our entire left side in that season. Mind you Skacel did get those wopping 4 goals as you keep on saying (Surman got 7 this season by the way and he has been lambasted from all corners). Oh yes he also put in a few crosses that Jones and Rasiak scored from. Considering he took most free kicks and corners and we had Kenny J turning **** crosses into goals forgive me if I don't read too much into that statistic. Overall Skacel has been a failure in my opinion. We signed him as a creative midfield, but what we got was a slow, unfit, diving, cheating moaner. A professional footballer that is only fit enough to last 60 minutes is a joke. "But in the play off semi he last 120 minutes" yeah with him crying with cramp after about 85 minutes, or was that him cheating again, you never could be sure if he was injured or just getting his breath back. ...you're not writing Lallana off, but you are happy to slate him for failing to find his form after a serious ankle injury - he did coem good in the final few games IMO. You are absolutely right to cover your arse in case the lad improves in only his SECOND full season with the club and just in case in his 22nd year he finds a little more consistency. Lallana is a rare talent, is two footed, has an unbelievable touch, vision and awareness well beyond his years. He gives everything in games and is exactly the sort of player I want to watch at SFC. He is going to be a very good player indeed. Putting wages aside, if there was a choice between the two to play in the hole next season than I'd go for Lallana every time. As for your idea of a mystery senior pro against Lallana I haev to ask what quality senior pro is available on a free on lowish wages that will come here? I'd advice Saints fans to cross their fingers that Lallana and Surman stay because once you start slipping down the league quality players become few and far between.

Surman got 7 this season, he got four last and five the season before.

no one gives the full back a little nudge to allow him to head in at the back post better. To this day no one has ever told me why we brought Stern Lazy John to the club when we had a better player in Rasiak already here. Madness.

fantastic that there are two bids and hopefully the cluib will be saved at what is nearly the 11th hour now, however having read about the disasters at York City, Luton and the near dissaster at Mansfield (name change to Harchester United anyone?) I think I will reserve judgement on these bids and the people placing them. I have a question, is anyone better than no one and whats the worst a new owner can do to the club once he has it?

decent experienced pros like Skacel? I'll stick with Lallana thanks.

£100,000 on John alone. That is a shed load of cash for a club that has zero income until we start selling ST's. Rasiak could cost us another £200,000 in wages before he goes.