mitch01

Jesus....

Didn't realise Artur Boruc was out of contract. He is a fantastic goalkeeper, although his temperament is questionable.

I agree in principle that Davis is going to cost us at this level, but some of those criticisms are very harsh. Nothing he could do vs Wigan or Man Utd for the goals (although he did give the ball away in shocking positions vs Man U). I love the bloke, he stuck with us in the bad times and has made an enormous contribution since the takeover, but he is not a Premier League keeper. He is not a big guy and this compounds his problems; often he simply doesn't have the reach to get to shots that all other Premiership keepers would. I could see it coming a mile off and it really does surprise me that Adkins didn't really act to replace him this summer. Massive fans of Nigel's but his blind spot where Kelvin is concerned is alarming, especially since he was a keeper himself.

I wrote a piece about Lallana in the wake of his recent call-up. Have a read if you can spare a couple of minutes: http://notplayedonpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/saints-profit-from-lallanas-slow-burn.html

I wrote a match report for the Utd game and my thoughts on what it means for our season on my blog. Fell free to have a read: http://notplayedonpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/southampton-lack-steel-to-go-with-their.html

No chance with the goals but I agree he looks shaky.

Superb today, played with real conviction. Seems to relish the big occasion.

Amazing. I had to tell the bloke behind me to shut his mouth re. Guly today. Ferdinand had the ball on the halfway line and "GET INTO HIM GULY!". - He's playing right wing, mate. He doesn't need to go running around chasing the ball over there, leaving a gap on this side. Get a grip. Some people just see what they want to see. He's not going to be a great premier league player, but it isn't a lack of effort.

Haha, don't talk nonsense. There is obviously merit in having a highly motivated, highly professional, highly experienced character in the dressing room. I think Kelvin's characteristics are the things keeping him as our no. 1 keeper for this season. It may cost us a few points, but I think Adkins is making a decision for the longer term: Kelvin in for a year to contribute experience, replaced as no. 1 next season, slowly phased out thereafter.

Nobody hates Kelvin - I think he's been a massive part of getting us to where we are now - but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mind seeing him replaced. I suspect Nigel knows he isn't quite up to the Premier League, but he is a big character in the changing room, and its about balancing out the benefits of that with footballing issues IMO.

Some of the comments I had to endure through the match today were laughable. Some people...

http://notplayedonpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/southampton-reintroduce-themselves-to.html

Very much still on according to Nixon. I suggest we stop looking for minute to minute updates, cross our fingers and wait for any announcement.

Doing all we can, this is just an enormous step up. Keep plugging away and try to get forward with some conviction if we get the chance.

Get out of here! 300k more like.

Sarmiento, Jordan Robertson, Chele, Kevin Miller, Tomas Hajto.

Cortese often talks about people from the outside still trying to destabilise the club. I think that is what this is.

...is exactly the kind of thing someone watching one particular game of his might say. He is very sharp on the ball, lightning pace and can finish very well. I would love it if we got him. Probably still need an established right sided player ahead of him, but he'd be great in the long term.

Michael Owen on a reasonable salary would be superb. He is a fantastic player, has shown he is clever enough to get by even now his pace has gone. Won't happen, though.

I think top 15 is a realistic ambition, but 17th would probably be seen as a success too.

Genuinely one of the funniest things I have read in ages. If we do fantastically well in the next 5 years we might find ourselves expecting a top ten finish every season. After that, if we do fantastically well again and the club keeps growing, we might find ourselves thinking about a chance of a top 6 finish one year, if we're lucky. Nobody should even mention the Champions League until that happens, and I would be amazed if it did.

Amazing!

No Pompey away?

Oh my word. So many great goals.

Full time away at Leeds was pretty special, even watching on TV.