IronCitySaint

So, from the above, you are actually agreeing that Fergie did actually say that it was a good appointment, whatever difference that makes. Regardless, IMO Pearson has an infinitely larger chance of one day managing in the PL than JP does. In fact it could have been with us if those in charge had chosen stability for once and stuck with him.

Not only are those two teams in the same city, but the stadium is not owned by either team so therefore it is a 'neutral' ground. A totally different kettle of fish compared to Saints and Pompey groundsharing unless Hampshire County Council want to build a new stadium for the use of both clubs.

Too right. We should leave that to the chairman

How do you know that course of action would have helped with anything? It would just as likely led us to relegation from this league sooner and the implications of that. On the other hand, spending 7 million properly and having it spent by a decent, motivated manager (i.e. not Burley) had a much better potential of gaining promotion and immediately eliminating any financial pressures. Your assumption is way over-simplified and frankly, as a fan, I would much rather have seen us risk paying a bit on some half decent players to try and get back to the PL than sitting back and comfortably accepting lower mid-table CCC mediocrity even if it did mean having a few more quid today.

Interesting that his first game in charge of us we blew a two goal lead from the 89th minute yet his first proper game in charge at Spurs they came back from two goals down in the 89th minute. It is also strange that one of Middlesbrough's goals was a once a season type 30 yard blast from Downing (I think) whereas Bentley's goal was also a once a season type long-ranger at the death. Seems like old 'Arry has the luck on his side again and just goes to show once again how cursed Saints are!

Sounds like the same sort of policy used to great effect by the Skates to get them out of this awful league. IMO, it would have worked for us as well if it hadn't been for Burley. And in answer to the original question: never (not with the bunch of shareholder egos we have)

I thought Dyer signed his new contract almost exclusively because he was overwhelmed by the 'revolutionary new coaching structure' (according to the OS). He didn't remain impressed for long it would seem. Can't say that we will miss him on matchday, though, on the evidence so far this season. Those that rated him above Theo a few years back must be feeling a little let down now.

The positive side of this being those three clubs you mention generally have given a better account of themselves once they got to the top flight compared to Derby, Watford, etc. Still, us getting there with these players is not very likely.

Whereas the wages and transfers being paid are totally ridiculous, I don't see any of the biggies having to cut back anytime soon. In fact things will proabably get more crazy before getting better. Initially it was only Sky bidding for the rights but now there is competition from Setanta domestically whilst overseas there is competition from Fox and ESPN in North America. The TV rights market in Asia has hardly even started to be tapped. In the massive Chinese market Premier League football is only available on the Internet to a tiny number of subscribers at the moment. The TV income money is certainly going to get bigger over the coming years until people start getting fed up with it. There may be lots of empty seats in some of the Premier League stadiums but others are still packed to the rafters with thousands not able to get in. Anyway, the income from bums on seats is nowhere near as important in the PL as the TV income. If Man Utd suddenly had all their debts called in they wouldn't go bankrupt. Rather some other nutter would jump in and buy it for a billion quid. Football needs a reality check, but it isn't going to happen anytime soon for the top flight clubs, IMO. The gap will continue to widen and in hard times that is even worse for clubs like SFC, not better.

A rather nice executive salary for 2-3 days a week work certainly helps offset what is being lost on share price. That along with his nice payoff from last time and the previous ten years of salary. Not sure what will make him finally push off other than being dragged kicking and screaming. Nobody would be stupid enough to buy out his shares at the moment, IMO.

Some of my best memories as a Saints fan was watching Chris Nichol's teams. They played great attacking football, passing and moving, pace down the flanks, conceding a few but often scoring more. This was done with a nice blend of youth and experience, the youth having come from the fantastic setup that was at this club long before Lowe laid claim to creating the academy system. Plus all this was done in the top league. BUT, Nichol was sacked bacause of RESULTS, even though we were a top half team at that time. You can't just play pretty football, eventually you have to get results. Until we start learning how to defend and put the ball in the back of the net then those results will not come and we will not walk this league of any other. So, no, it is not very enjoyable for me. Bring back Nichol and his team for that was truely fun to watch.

This question comes up about once a month and it will always be the same answer for me - Premier League every time. When we got relegated everyone thought it would be OK to be in this league for a bit to at least see the team win more often than not. Well, that has not been the case really apart from one half decent season. Going from Premier League also-rans to CCC also-rans is not exactly something to be proud of or aspire to. PL is certainly over-hyped, but is the only place to be.

Agreed he was a decent person and did take a lot of time speaking with the fans, even though most were calling for his blood. I had a long chat with him after training on one occasion (actually the day he got the boot) and he was totally sure his way was the right way and despite this conviction it was clear he was totally misguided about his footballing ideals. At the end of our conversation he asked whether it made me feel better and all I could think of saying was 'no, not really.' He looked a bit surprised. Then again, English football was pretty committed to that 'kick it down the channels and see what happens' mentality at the time. Who could ever imagine Graham Taylor would be England manager.

Especially considering how we keep being told how hard up we are.

Do you consider it better then that players like Skacel and Euell are still here with no chance of playing and still costing us full wages? Not quite sure who you are considering to be our 'best players' unless it is the likes of Andrew Davies who you may note is now playing for someone else.

I always liked that Luggy!

I doubt we will be seeing much of Wilde at games this season as each match attended takes a big chunk out of the 90 days he is allowed in the country each year. He doesn't have a valid function at SFC anyway by all accounts so won't really be missed. As for Lowe, well, being generous, maybe he is still on his holiday that prevented him from attending the recent fans forum.

Sounds like a few people on here who think you can only have an opinion if you go to the game