Patrick Bateman

Because that's tangible and a certain income, whether it's Prem money or parachute money. Securing against SMS wouldn't be a wise move - what if it blows up, decreases in value etc etc etc. Next season's income is tangible.

Agreed on both counts.

I would suggest that Cortese knows what he's doing. There must be posters within the corporate finance world here who also know. Debt isn't a bad thing - pretty much every company with a reasonable sized turnover has debt - there are many reasons why - debt over equity means lower tax payments and more security for the owners. I quickly dug out this from the Harvard Business Review which talks at a high-level about it; http://blogs.hbr.org/financial-intelligence/2009/07/when-is-debt-good.html There are many small articles out there; http://kapitall.hubpages.com/hub/Why-Does-a-Company-Use-Debt Stop worrying.

Having not seen the Academy teams for years - what defenders are there in there (apart from Shaw) that look promising?

Toss up between Kompany and Ashely Cole. Given how weak our left side is, I'd go for Cole. Hypothetical I know, but if only we could have him, or both - wow!

That's the thing, you know it'll be for "high" earners over £50k *roll eyes thing*

Agreed - it's a gross abuse of power and he knows full well what he's doing. She's impressionable (as all kids are) and he really can give her the world at the moment. I mean, come on, I was looking at some kids who are going to Uni, they look like children and sound like children and they're 18. (I'm 36) It's not acceptable and it is wrong as it's manipulating a kid.

I think that's fair enough!

It doesn't matter what the attendance was really - but it's obvious football is overpriced. How much was last night? I bet it was at least £20 (I didn't even bother looking) - had it been (say) £12.50 or even £15, I bet FAR more people would have attended after work? Football is too expensive.

*cough* *cough* I know it's not versus Everton, but ...

I very much doubt Boruc will be match fit though? I would say it would be harsh to drop Gazza. KD has a larger role to play at the club - Club Captain, coaching the younger goalies (Gazza and Cropper etc.) and generally being a good influence around the place. He'll be a fine back-up still. I would say Gazza to start, KD on the bench again - Boruc will get an U21 match or 2 under his belt and get some match sharpness first. Just my gut feeling.

Lovely lady. Typical middle-aged potty mouth drama queen. I can't be bothered to reply!

Isn't Corp seating around the 1000 mark, maybe 1200 - seems to ring a bell. I do think that there isn't demand for a bigger stadium in the current economic climate - but Frank's post makes perfect sense as a business model. There is a cut-off point between expanding the stadium by x amount and reducing the prices by y amount where is makes no sense. But I'd argue that selling season tickets for (say) £250 would shift lots more and making the normal matchday price a similar amount (minus, say, £2 per ticket) would work. The ROI over 5 years would (probably) outweigh the expansion cost and leaving a little more income for wages/transfers etc. But no, in the current climate, it would be insane - the fanbase IS there, but the fans who are willing to spend are NOT there. As shown by not selling out our home matches in the Prem, by the poor cup turnout and by the p*ss poor friendly attendances. Is there a stadium that's sold out week-in, week-out? Other than say Man Utd and Chelsea, probably Spurs (their ground IS too small for them!! Are we really saying we need a bigger ground than Spurs? hahaha!!!!)

Ahhh, I'm glad you highlighted that. I had no idea/clue what it was all about either and neither did anyone else around me! Weird.

Great minds!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Grosso or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianluca_Zambrotta Please. I asked for Boruc and he was delivered, now one of them will do nicely for a season - both great players for Shaw to learn from as well.

No, don't be so boring, it's better to not understand that the player wants to make alliances and get the fans on-side at his new club where he wasn't liked.

Southampton used to be pretty terrible for a decent night out - Mcluskey's, New York New York, Dog & Duck, Thursday etc etc etc., remember them all well! Then it became okay, now it seems terrible again - or am I just old?

The thread may not make sense to some, but I understand the sentiments. The last three years have been fantastic - trips to small grounds (some with terracing), winning a lot, being a "bigger fish in a small pond" and being seen as arrogant. The promotions and did I say, winning a LOT? The Premiership was always going to be a come down. Less wins for certain, more sterile - but, we should see some fantastic football and if that's more your bag, then great! We've got more coverage, more money and we're back to where we were for 27 years and (I hope) financially secure now. So yes, the last three years have been great fun, but hopefully in the past now!

I had forgotten I asked for an MP3 ... it's disappeared from that link now, damn it!

I honestly think Adkins will be going nowhere for the next few matches - I think he'll have until mid/end October personally. It's FAR too early to be discussing this considering the teams we've faced - the top 3 teams in the country AND they are three of the top teams in Europe!!!! Had we opened with Norwich, Reading, Villa, Fulham (for example) and we had 0 points from those then yes, it *might* be a different story. But I don't see Reading with their mighty 1 point panicking, or, are they?? Football is weird. Let's enjoy the ride - if we go down, we go down - we'll come up again soon enough. That's football - someone has to go down. Personally I still don't think we will, especially once the new guys have adapted, but I suppose the real test is this weekend. A whole week of the whole team training together, a week of decent tactical analysis, a week of the new guys bedding in, a week for injuries/aches to repair, a week of confidence building. So we'll see.

Scarily, I didn't realise it was only 4 years older than me - I thought it'd been part of the landscape long before I arrived in the Waterside!! Shame about the workforce obviously, but also, the chimney is a bit of an icon. Can see it for miles - I hope they keep it. It's one of those "so ugly but you'd miss it" structures.

Agreed - he'd be my choice for at least a year's contract. KD as back-up and Gazza learning the trade. I don't think his temperament is questionable, I just think he's passionate - from memory, I don't recall him doing anything wrong other than a slight wind-up of rival fans?? Gordon is great, but are the old injuries too much? Am sure we'll be surprised, but would like one of them to come in, Boruc first choice for me.

Prefer Sashimi to Sushi - especially Tuna and Razor Clam, but maybe I'm boring? I can't stand the horrible bland "Sushi" you get from the supermarkets, it's rubbish - you have to smoother it in pickled ginger for it to taste of anything - not how it should be. I could eat loads of it, but then to be full up, I would need to eat loads of it - I really love it. The best I've had in this country is a little place near Westminster - http://www.atami-restaurant.com/ - I haven't been for a while, but it was still great when I last went. Nobu is very good too, but you pay for the name there! Atami's Marble Beef is absolutely stunning too, getting REALLY hungry now!!

There are no words.