John Boy Saint

If Pellegrino gets the players onside from the off, and we play in a way that the players understand and like,we are more than capable. Rather bizarrely I reckon the players last season were doing to Puel what Leicesters players were doing to Ranieri, last 5 home games without a goal was simply hammering the last nails in.

You really must stop hiding behind the bloke in front of you like he's a sofa when Maya is on the ball.

Jeez I don't know all this Horse poo "Yoshida and Stephens are 3rd and 4th choice" what cobblers the pair of them were 1st choice for half a season, the only flaw in the partnership was Mayas good nature trying to protect Jack as he eased himself in, which sometimes saw them ending up in the same place at the same time. As a defensive partnership they must have been more exposed last season than in any other since Saints first 6 months of life back in the Premier league, especially as we weren't sticking them away at the other end. Thank the Lord proper people run the football club, not folks who base their team selection on the past CV's and exotic name of some Carlos Kickaball who looks bloody dynamite when smashing their 3 year old before bedtime on Playstation. The reported new contract for Young Jack must have some experts on here holding their heads, weeping, and wailing WWhhhyyyy!!

.......... in other news Pigs are fed and ready for take off!!

I think just as Claude came across as one dimensional and uninspiring in his press conferences, Black alongside him (obviously came along with a negative cv) looked like a miserable sour bugger in every single photo of him. By the same token he never came over as an inspiring character in any TV interviews, at the same time I can't recall him ever coming to the line with instruction or direction during games. With the Koemans both Ronald and Erwin always seemed positive with a smile never far away, both coming to the touch line along with Dave Watson (another non smiler) with sensible input, but when an instruction needed extra impetuous they would send out Sammy Lee with his potty mouth and a bit of passion. Pochettino masked everything with his "lack of English" but Toni Jimenez could get the message across as his English was excellent, but most of MoPo's work had been done on the training ground. Nigel Adkins was a ball of likeable positive energy, but his right hand man Andy Crosby always came across as Nigel's enforcer, if he was chipping in then what Adkins just said he meant. Everyone up to Puel had positive energy in his team, Blacks only qualities was that he knew football, but primarily could speak French. I jokingly mentioned Dennis Rofe, he was a bit like Sammy Lee on the touch line, good with the bibs and cones but a positive presence witha bit of passion. Minus 20°C he still sat on the bench in shorts and tee shirt, memorably squared up to Souness in one game (which most folks wouldn't dare do). One thing that I remember from the relegation season when Redknapp was in charge was after the warm up players would be sat on the pitch, then Rofe and Kevin Bond (?) would take turns giving the players a little pep talk, pre the famous Norwich game Rofe was stood there punching his fist into his hand in a positive manner, before the fateful Man U game Bond was on duty, by comparison his pep talk was like a damp rag. Sammy Lee might not have the attributes to be a manager, but he has a positive aura, where Eric Black is concerned I don't think any of us has seen anything of his aura, just his ability to speak French. Which is why folks are calling for the return of Sammy: they want to see some passion not only on the field but on the bench.

What's Dennis Rofe doing these days?

No surprise really at some of those reactions, our Nige had taken us on an adventure, we played some lovely stuff, and as fans we were still riding a big wave. No one with half a brain had expectations of grandeur, we knew the world had moved on in the Premier League since we were last there, and so were realistic: stay up and no one would have been so upset if Adkins left in the summer.

Just shows how much contempt football clubs have for the FA and by the same token how bloody feeble the FA is, if they can apologise leave it 10 days then start all over again from a different angle. That said The FA would be all over little Southampton if positions were reversed. But then the FA showed just how good they are at running football by suggesting recently that there is a salary cap in Women's football!!

Yeah shame on them, bunch of twisters, deduct them maximum points throw them out of the league and replace them with Leyton Orient

Ooo that's a bit good, congratulations Steven. I think this is worthy of being made a sticky

Poor Maya getting typecast in an Anime style cartoon. They will be dragging this out until at least the 1st July to keep in line with previous years launches.

Heard the news last night on Radio 5 when it broke whilst driving home. Whilst no surprise, hearing the words Sacked and Southampton in the same sentance was a bit surreal. Bit of a shame for Claude, no doubt the pay off sweetens the blow. But when you persist with the same approach to games week in week out with the same predictability and a similar outcome week after week and Plan B is just Plan A 0.01 then things ain't going happen moving forwards. Just thinking back to Koeman when we had a stinking mid winter run he changed the formation and stopped the rot. Obviously losing the confidence of the players, if true, doesn't help either and by various reports that happened very early on in the season. With hindsight Sparta away sticks out, we could had got something there Puel was standing on the touch line screaming at the players to pass to Sam McQueen who was in a good position to get us up the pitch, but the ball just kept going right, Claude was going mad everytime it did: looking back was that player power in action. (If it was then that was pretty poor show by the players for the fans who had forked out, at least Leicester when playing their games to oust Ranieri gave the travelling Foxes fans value for money in Europe). As our strap line says - We March On.......... Let's hope we do.

Where's all the water? 'Cos I'm pretty good at demonstrating Archimedes principle

Likewise nowt against Claude, but similarly this has to have been the first season in years where I have actually considered starting to head for home when the added time board has gone up (if not before). And I am one of the daft sods who sat through our spiral downwards into league 1 without the merest thought about heading home before the ref blew time. (did wonder how cold the Itchen would be a few times post match crossing Northam bridge though!!).

Like was said at the time in a serious newspaper journal when FFP was switched on, instead of levelling the playing field as it was meant to, FFP kicks the ladder away, preventing anyone planning bridging the gap to mix it with the traditional top 5/6 clubs more or less pushing water up hill. Man City got pinged for breaking the limits a few seasons ago, then they had that Mickey mouse exhibition game in Qatar flying back on the morning of the 3rd round of the FA Cup which they lost to Boro. Alledgedly that exhibition game was put on by a distant cousin of the owner for an extortionate amount, that along with the naming rights of the City of Manchester stadium swelled the INCOME of Man City to the point where they were very unlikely to break the % v income rules. The days of Jack Walker buying the prem with his wealth are long gone, Bill Gates with all his billions could buy Saints but we would still only be able to pay our players what we are doing now, because unless he chicanes money onto the balance sheet by calling us the Google St Mary's stadium for a bonkers amount, why not Microsoft name on the stadium - because that's too transparent as to its source - pays matey at Googles uncles cousins sister who then invests it into Google to "buy" the naming right - bingo job done. Man U have enough traction built up that their overall income was £1b+ that gives them the strength to pay Falcao £340k a week to warm the bench when he was with them. VVD earning £200k per week at Liverpool there is nothing we can do to fight that, if we matched those wages for him we would probably incur an absolutely horrendous fine just to stop any other "little club" thinking they can stick two fingers up at the system. Just do a Leicester last season except for a few seasons on the trot and we might evntually stop the summer sales.

Well another one heads up to the great Film and TV studio in the Sky Peter Sallis the voice of Wallace in probably one of the best animated creations ever Wallace and Grommit, also famous when Last of the Summer Wine was good, playing Cleggy alongside Foggy and Compo............... not forgetting Nora Battys tights. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40165443 RIP Peter - Cheers for making us smile.

Blimey I thought this was about the leak of the Rank Xerox/Air Florida style shirt design for next season.

Think Fabian Delph did this at Villa, he was featured at the centre of all the pre-season build up advertising photos, sat on a fat contract, pledging his allegiance to the club (which VVD hasn't done any of) 10 days later he is on his toes up the M6 to Man City having signed a bench warming contract with them, meanwhile back in Brum fresh billboard posters complete with his beaming mug on, were shouting about Villas imminent season. If nowt has been set firmly in concrete as to where he will be playing, all the new kit PR hullabaloo has to be put in place ready to roll on launch day. So just about everyone would have had a snap taken wearing the new kit.

Sad news indeed that TV legend John Noakes has died. It was probably a blessing at the end as his mate Peter Purves said that the Alzheimer's had taken a severe grip of him. Rest in Peace John and enjoy your walks with Shep up in the sky. must be getting old all these folks from my childhood departing in batches.

Meanwhile in the Turkey shed the farmer changed the calendar to December!!! ffs!

That nasty leg break aside, Les and his crew must be rubbing their hands together at the thought that they dodged a bullet and made some readies along the way where young Luke is concerned.

If you go back to last December - January we were having a bit of a stinker. Koeman stopped the rot by going to a back 3 sliding Bertrand in alongside VVD allowing Targett and (probably) Martina free-er reign to slide up and down the sides. Brother in Law is a Chelsea ST holder, he said that at the beginning of the season they were pants, then Conte switched to a back 3 and hey presto! He also said that the often maligned Moses suddenly was having an effective impact. As I said on another thread, wouldn't mind seeing Stephens, Yoshida, and (if he is still here) VVD as a back 3 next season.

Spot on...... if you walked out of SMS after results like that, you might get a bit piddled off at the result, but you would feel thoroughly entertained so that would smokescreen the issues in the team. The fact that we don't even look like being capable of scoring is what is getting most people's goat.

Cheers Billy for another season of alternative post match reporting.

just had one on Radio 5 - I have Muslim friends as yet I haven't seen an AK- 47 hanging up on their coat rack, nor the screwfix catalogue open at bolts and nails on the coffee table!!! You cant get a big pot of tar and a big brush.......... if you do then the nutters are winning.