CB Fry

88% Labour. 54% Sinn Fein.

Which it was why it was perfectly easy for him to leave the club to go to Liverpool with his head held high and the blessing and goodwill of the fanbase. The fact he managed to co ck that up so spectacularly really is sad. But co ck it up he did.

You are a bit dim, aren't you?

Interesting you see us cementing a place in the top six over the long term but aren't convinced we can do it in this season we are in right now. Personally I see it the other way round.

The first bit has always been the case - the FA Cup provides one Europa League spot, not two, so if a 5th/6th place team win the FA Cup, their EL place actually comes from their cup win not their league place. The runner up gets it only if the FA Cup winner qualifies for the higher competition. And pretty sure you're still confused about this year/next year. The new rules apply to next season's European competitions, which impact the winners/runners up of this season's domestic cups.

The LC runners up never got anything before, no change. I know that one.

I'm out of my depth here. I'm going on a) stuff people on here said a couple of weeks ago. b) Cursory look on Wikipedia. I wouldn't say it is an extra league spot because there is still one place allocated to the FA Cup, but you've got to win it to get it. In practice does mean fewer Hulls and Millwalls and more 6th/7th placed teams.

Pretty sure that is the case - the format changes to the EL take place next season but apply to the FA cup runners up this season who won't qualify.

Yeah, perfectly possible. Perfectly possible we start next season the CL and finish it in 8th, too. On those other clubs, it was difficult to come up with more recent examples which is kind of the point, too. Everton hit the sweet spot of a manager who was a perfect fit and hung around for a nigh on a decade - Koeman is unlikely to stay at SFC as long as Moyes. What won't happen this summer is the club lobbing around 3/4 year CL standard contracts. I think people may need to manage their expectations if we do qualify - we'll be a club in the Champions League, but not a "Champions League Club".

That rule has been binned as of this season, I believe.

Box of frogs.

Which would require huge investment to achieve - more likely more than we would ever make back.

LOL Easy bite.

In a similar situation a couple of weeks ago, you said something slightly different.

Your "everyone's a hypocrite" radar is going like billy-o ain't it? Wait for the kit to come out before going into overdrive, won't you?

...is just about the only one on here that fits the criteria outlined by SC below....

I think we should go for blue shorts. There's a tradition that we used to have them, and it would make us genuinely distinct from Stokunderland. And I think would look rather nice. And white socks.

You're expecting a heck of a lot from one CL campaign. It didn't set Leeds and Newcastle up for life. One season in the CL could be just as much of a flash in the pan as a cup win.

Cacker is up there with Dinlow as genuine high points of the English language.

LOL. Or you could just admit you had and have no idea.

I'd rather be in the EL and finish 12th than not be in it and finish 8th (the highest point that guarantees non EL football). Let's have a bash at it. At the end of the day we are probably only a couple of seasons away from a 12/13/14th place finish anyway (let's not pretend this season is the locked in template for the next two/five/ten, it won't be). Thursday/Sunday is sh ite I give you.

Right you are, then.

It's going to make for a bedging dissertation, and no mistake. I can't wait to kloft the final version. He's gushing the porthole with this one and that's for sure. Straxcellent.

That Katharina? She's lost control.

You do struggle with accurate comparisons don't you Les? Adam Lallana's eight year stint covers coming through the ranks and seeing the club fall to its lowest low and then surge to great heights again. And a little matter of 235 appearances across three divisions of highs and lows. Team captain, one of our own and a massively significant player in the post-Prem-relegation era. Kenwyne Jones played for us for a bit under George Burley. But, sure, every one of those 19 legendary goals he scored will live long in the hearts of every Saints fan. We'd have probably named a lounge or a stand after him if he didn't strop off on strike to go to Sunderland, such was his monumental import.