CB Fry

Why are people from Chichester or Wells or Weymouth or Hastings going to support us. South-ness? And I thought we were talking about us being top four hence the Forest example. So you're saying this mega catchment is applicable now? Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2

My geography is better than your grasp on reality. I live in the East Mids so well aware who is near who and it is utterly irrelevent. If it was Forest in the top four their potential base of fans - actual PEOPLE not swathes of forest - would be easily as big as Saints. Regardless of Derby or Notts County, or Notts Cricket Club or Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey team. Won't matter a jot. This super mega sized catchment that Saints have is a complete work of fiction perpetuated by spanners like you. Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2

Well Nottingham is bigger than Southampton and has just as much as a catchment area and fanbase potential as Saints. People from Melton or Mansfield supporting Forest is just as likely as people from Weymouth supporting Saints. If Forest were in the Champions League the existence of Notts County is entirely irrelevent. Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2

Well my learning is higher than yours if you are still spouting guff about "other clubs have more nearby competition". Simple nonsense. You tell me the boundaries of this Saints mega catchment and I will happily tell where and why Forest, Leicester and Derby's are equally as big if not bigger. Laughable.

The point is the Man U catchment area is the entire world. Our "catchment area" is meaningless because we have no geographic hold over any casual fans in Sussex or Devon or wherever. Which clubs of a similar size do we have a bigger catchment area than, and can you specify exactly where you are drawing the line on our area. Your line which you spout like some higher learning "You do realize that" the vast majority of people in our large catchment area don't support Man U, and aren't that committed to any club, don't you? is a line that could be applied to Villa, Leicester, Derby, Forest, both Sheffield Clubs, Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol City, Plymouth, MK Dons and in fact any club in Britain outside of the NorthWest of England.

I'd say recommending building several million pounds worth of new seating to house people "who simply want to watch a game of football" to be possibly the most soul crushing vison for the future I think I have ever heard. Do you seriously think the plans on the table for Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool (currently off the table), Everton and the rest have this kind idea at the heart of it? Or maybe, just maybe, their plans cover actual demand from their own actual fans? I'd far rather have a packed St Mary's of real Saints fans than a 40,000 death-drome full of away fans and random day trippers. It does, I grant you, sound like precisely the kind of idea that would eminate from Dubai.

Thats your vision for the club. Expand the ground for home counties Man U fans to come. Not as converted Saints fans. Oh no. As Man U fans. Some vision. Some vision.

This is, I'm afraid, simply bol loc ks. You do realise that, say, Guildford, is chock full of Man United fans, none of which give two sh i ts about their team being hundreds of miles away. Our catchment area is no better than any other club.

Yep. Fine. Continuous improvement like Everton Fulham or Stoke. None of which have followed the path some on here have in their tiny minds of 16th, 12th, 8th, 6th, 4th in five seasons hitch free no problem. Bumping around in the middle for the next half decade will be fine and will show continuous improvement even if we finish 10th one season and 14th the next.

Is it me or aren't you the one getting most upset by all this?

I am not looking it up, I can't be bothered, but that quote about not only going up but going up as champions was early in the season, not halfway. Pretty sure it was in September, which is not halfway through. But you're still saying that being champions this season was an unrealistic expectation and we were one point off doing it. So that's one portion of "dare to dream" cake followed up by a full consumption of "you people don't know you're born" cake as well. Quite, quite masterful. Either we are going to go for fourth - which involves winning lots and not accepting second best - or we see how we go and we go for a realistic birth in the top flight. I know where I am. On planet earth. I know where you are. Desperately trying to have it all ways, cosying up to the champions league because gosh doesn't it sound all exciting but desperate to get all pompous the minute anyone complains about a defeat, which is the kind of thing we would need to minimise to finish fourth and achieve that dream. Double helpings of cake anyone?

Don't worry. I know your stand point perfectly. Carlos Tevez anyone...?!

I rest my case. We didn't overachieve. Our chairman stated the aim in September for us "not only to get promoted but to go up as champions". Fact. Quote. On those terms we slightly underachieved. And 93% wages to turnover is not some footballing triumph of scrimping and scraping against all odds. So are we "cutting the team a little slack" or are we going balls-out for Champions League qualification? You make my point to utter perfection. The Frank's Cousin way of having it all ways. We simply must must must must aim for Champions League regulars you people have no ambition but oh haven't we done well to finish 17th again, you kids and your unrealistic expectations you people don't know you're born etc.

I'd ask why people are so hell bent on going on about the champion's league. Funny really, if we start the season badly and lose the first five in a row, the same people who are screaming like swivel eyed loons about "go for the champions league go for the champions league" will be the exact same people - the exact same people - wagging their fingers and tut-tuting at anyone daring to criticise the team and the manager, and droning on about how marvellous it will be to finish 17th. And the following season, say we have another shocker, and finish 17th again, the same people here giving it large about the champions league - the same people - will be tutting and wagging their fingers again at anyone that says that is not acceptable. The exact same people. If we finish 17th in the Prem every season for the next twelve consecutive years, Franks Cousin, Wes Tender and the rest of them will be on here berating anyone saying that isn't good enough. Which frankly makes this entire debate utterly futile.

The only way this scenario will play out is if Cortese follows you and your chums idiot plan of build it now now now now we desperately need 40,000 seats we're bigger than Everton and everything and did I mention our catchment area and something about Chelsea in 1984.

Utter garbage. Not one single person said anything of the sort. I remember saying quite the opposite, taking it as proof against the likes of you and your bunch of weirdos who are the first on here giving it the arse aching bore routine about "these kids with unrealistic expectations" at the start of last season.

Pie in the sky. Saints need a 60k stadium in the same way Darlington need a 25k stadium.

This is perfectly possible, and also completely different to challenging for the league title or qualifying for the Champions League.

Did Forest win the league? Or Ipswich? I think someone has won it in the old days. Ipswich under Whisky G finished fifth which must be highest in the nothing happened before 92 Sky sports era.

What, apart from Norwich City going from losing 7-1 in League one on their opening day and sacking their manager and the getting back to back etc etc etc. Or Blackpool, Burnley, Swansea, Reading, Swindon, Watford, Bradford, Barnsley all being Premier League clubs at one time or another. We've done very well, but let's not pretend it is some footballing miracle. It was, to use your word pretty "realistic". Swansea and Blackpool were both L1 not that long ago. And I would never say we can't ever achieve CL qualification. it is possible if we had a miracle season - Newcastle are having a go, Everton did it once. But it is very unlikely, and it still wouldn't make us a "Champions League" club in the way you are thinking - we are not going to be regular CL club or challenging for the title. We're just not. And my god, why would you want us to? Seriously, would much rather we stayed solid Prem and challenged for the occasional cup. Perfectly, perfectly, fine.

Aim for the Champions League and we might end up in administration again.

You're not in the Prem until you've signed a few Carlos Kickaballs. Bring em on.

I think if the plan is to pack in 45,000 people in the Cortesedome for a Tuesday game against Bolton then a parade for the whole city would actually be a good PR exercise for the tens of thousands of potential fans. Since when does a football team getting promoted require a dignified response? Have you ever met any football fans? It ain't Sadlers Wells mush.

I see my old chum Dalek quoted me above. Here's what I wrote at the time. Happy with it. My main worry was his lack of experience of walking into a new club and being "the man", rather than him not being a big name which I was not saying. Thought it was a big, big gamble at the time and I still do. Turns out we rolled a six.