Fitzhugh Fella

Plenty of managers of ours didn't move their families over here. Ralph and Koeman are just two. If you have young kids in school its impractical. Let's judge him on his recruitment - ( I accept the jury is very much still out).

Dragan attends about 6 home games a season. He has a few issues with his company at the moment which takes up a lot of his time. I've seen a fair bit of criticism towards PP. I was invited to the Pompey game as his guest in the board room. I recently lost my wife so it was a nice gesture. I can categorically say from what I observed PP lives and breaths the club. He couldn't eat before the game, he was so nervous and afterwards he was as upset at out performance as any fan I have seen. I don't know for absolute certain he was at Hull but I recall him telling another director he was thinking of going up on the Friday. Although I don't know enough about the inner financial workings of the club I can certainly guarantee his committment and determination to making us more competitive. He is working on lots of plans, some of which are significant, to boost our revenues. I found him open, honest and a straight talker. I guess you can only speak as you find. I also spent a long time talking to Johannes Spors. Again a very articulate, intelligent and friendly man who appearted dedicated to the cause. He has a young family living in Germany but has moved here to be completely hands on. Obviously his recruitment is very much under the spotlight right now and I sensed he was feeling the pressure. Although Dragan was not there, everybody else was and one thing I came away with was they are all very committed.

I think this sort of hits the nail

I still haven't got over being robbed by a snowstorm in the 1898 FA Cup semi-final v Forest

I believe he is taking legal action on this. Here is another article, but bearing in mind the newspaper that published it is pro Serbian government, and no doubt agenda driven, it needs to be read with a large bag of salt on hand.

I know that increasing the capacity of St Mary's is on the club's radar with Dragan particularly keen. I have seen the artist's impression. As someone has pointed out spiralling building costs may have caused them to put plans on hold for now, but with an average gate not far off 31,000 I can see the benefit of 5,000 more seats. You can't stand still too long in football.

Death in Paradise makes Scooby Doo plots look complicated.

Doyle loan to Reading

Surely it's hard to give a proper rating until a) you've seen the new arrivals play and b) at least half the season has gone? I remember being excited by Sulemana's arrival for instance, but he was a perpetual disappointment. All the new signings on paper look good acqusitions ie right age, not too expensive, speak English etc etc and hopefully Spors is a good judge. My one concern is we haven't signed an experienced, wily leader a la Jimmy Case. I remember when LM brought him in on a free from Brighton most thought WTF, but he was so important to the development of MLT, Shearer, Wallace etc. Pound for pound McMenemy's finest signing and when you remember who he signed that's quite an accolade.

Four of those loans (ABK, Smallbone, Taylor and Bree) are in the last year of their contracts which in effect means they are permanent transfers.

That is a bit of a worry

Confirmed

You never know you might get your wish 😉

I must admit the gallows humour on here is helping me navigate this most stressful and underwhelming (so far) of windows!

Trouble is by that time there's nothing that can be done in the market. Last year we were relegated before the clocks went back.

Really? You were talking a lot of sense until this bit. Stoke deserved the 3 points. They moved the ball forward so much quicker and effectively than us. We were pedestrian, ineffective and full of basic mistakes.

Wow that was a massive wake up call for me. I watched a lot of Stoke last season and they were dire but they deserved the 3 points today and I could n't have picked a worse first game to take my grandson. We were inept in every department starting with the manager who unbelievably started with AA up front by himself. I was happy when Still was appointed, a breath of fresh air and just what we needed, I thought but his downbeat press conferences and his persistence with Arma playing through the middle is a concern. The two new signings (yes I know its early days) haven't exactly hit the ground running. Edwards (QPR's player of the season) has already been dropped and Shea Charles (Sheff Weds Player of the season) has been average at best. In fact everywhere I looked today I saw ineptness - even Fernandes tried to be too clever and left us exposed. There will be players arriving this week but I am not sure I have much faith that they will improve us. If I was a Coventry or Boro player right now I would take a lot of persuading to come to St Mary's.

I'll call it when I've seen him play a dozen times. My point is just because Fabrizio never tweeted about this move beforehand is a bit of an absurd reason to get over enthusiastic. He looks a solid enough signing and as others have pointed out we need a reliable wing back and Sugawara has not been a success. Plus the Brentford fans seem to appreciate him which is positive news. But the cynic in me wonders why Wolfsburg declined to take up their option so I'll curb my enthusiasm for now. I've seen too many Jelle van Dammes in my lifetime to get too carried away.

I am a bit bemused why fans are being enthusiastic about this signing based solely on the fact it came out of nowhere? I'd like to know why Brentford are prepared to let him go and I'd like to know if there was a fee involved and then I'd like to see him play before I call this a "very good signing"..........to quote Forrester.

It does?

This aged well

I think it about time fans stopped fixating on Jack Stephens 3 year extension FFS. Yes a bit OTT but I couldn't care less. He has been a good servant so WTF.We have a lot bigger things to worry about. I also laugh at the desire to get back to the corrupt PL which is geared to the wealthy and the elite. There is no point to promotion any more because, unless we get taken over by a bent billionaire, we can't compete, so would more than likely come straight back down and then go through the same crap. We are deluding ourselves or to put it more honestly football is taking the piss out of genuine fans,

Good work but one small omission (literally) - Juan Larios who has gone on loan to the Spanish Second Division, although I doubt there was a fee involved.

Yep this is going to be there or there abouts I reckon

Good Morning - I hate to rain on your parade but I don't think the information you have been given is correct. Southampton have done everything possible (and more) to hang on to Dibling but he has declined to sign a new contract and so the club have no choice but to sell before he runs it down. I believe his parents are separated and not really singing off the same hymn sheet which means his agent is calling the shots and encouraging him to move. I was given this info about 4 months ago from a impeccable source. Things might have changed but the contract remains unsigned so I don't think so. Personally I like him and would like to keep him because there is a unique talent just waiting to burst out with the right manager but hands are tied unfortunately.