Forester

Still silent on inflation, energy costs, falling income from TV. Babbling on about Bazanu and Romeu is utterly off topic. Your comment “the first four are expenditure”! I am drawing the conclusion these topics are a bit nuanced and complicated to confront…

Thanks for the bellend comment. But I notice that I made five specific bulleted comments. You haven’t felt able to engage with any of them. Not one. So suggest you have another go rather than throw childish remarks. By the way, my family and I attended over 50 games last season. Go on, have a go at the five, or alternatively chuck another mindless word out there.

Don’t wish to single you out but this is fairly typical of a lazy victim type response from a section of our fans. In return I would point out: - inflation and tax changes mean it costs the club, like any business, more than last year - we are already making a loss - the energy consumption needs of a stadium and training facilities mean even more price sensitive - have you heard of financial fair play? Where do you think revenue comes from? - were you not entertained last season? Saying “I can’t afford it” is a totally different position which sadly applies to some fans. But an anti club rant without addressing these facts is just lazy I am afraid

You are far too sensible for this place. The meatheads will be after you!

I think Spors hasn’t got the credit he deserves since joining. He has made two mistakes so far, Still and Downs. Set against that, are Peretz, Azaz, Latin, Scienza, Fellows and Jander all clear success plus of course Tonda (on field!). I haven’t given up yet either on Quarshie and Roeslev but they would be in jury out space. Not only has he set us up well on the field with those signings but we have very sellable assets if needed for the future.

No, but I am under the impression that many seem not to have factored in that the investigation could take weeks or months. What I want to avoid is a situation where we have the players back, and then Tonda is banned for months and needs to be fired. That would be chaotic on eve of season starting. Bigger picture for me is that if we move on quickly we are one of only four clubs with parachute payments and four points deduction is negligible over 46 games. So a quick reset is best, as sad as it is to lose Tonda.

For the same reason that the club punishment was different to Leeds, namely that there wasn’t a rule then, there is now. None of this is what I want to happen, it’s just reality

Gonna say this slowly as it doesn’t seem to be sinking in with the “don’t sack Tonda” brigade……. WHAT………..IF……..HE…….IS……BANNED……FOR……MONTHS…….? Still think this will be taken out of our hands. It won’t just be a touch line ban.

This is a powerful argument but I draw the opposite conclusion, precisely because of the point you make in penultimate paragraph. I fear he will have lost the magic in the eyes of the players (to say the least), and cannot imagine anything other than a long ban coming up from FA. And so it becomes a bit of a non-choice.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

As the dust settles, we need quickly to move into next season thinking. Given I am expecting lengthy ban from FA, Eckert isn’t a credible choice. We will need to start well and quickly erase the four point deduction. So a manager capable of quickly turning things around is a must. Parker, Frank, Dyche or Cooper all fit the bill in my view. We do have assets that we can sell without decimating the squad in my opinion. The following would probably raise £75 million Ramsdale, Bazanu, Sugawara, THB, Charles and Brereton-Diaz. That should be enough if we work well on incomings (which to be fair we have generally since Spors has been involved). I believe Stewart has a one year extension we can trigger, both Bree and Edozie are out of contract and would be worth two year deals without paying a transfer fee. I don’t know if the options on Perez and Larin were conditional on being promoted? So we could enter next season with starting lineup something like: Peretz, Bree, Wood, Stephens, Manning, Downes, Jander, Azaz, Scienza, Matsuki, Stewart. Subs new goalkeeper, Welington, Quarshie, Bragg, Edozie, Fellows, Robinson, Larin, Archer I suspect a few more will go, but equally we will bring in some new blood. We will need to sign another centre back and central midfielder for a start. But that should be more than good enough for top eight, and hopefully better than that, but still bringing in good money.

Parker has managed three seasons in championship with three different clubs, and secured promotion on every single occasion.

Thanks for posting this, what is source?

It will be “I didn’t know it was wrong”

Like everyone else, appalled at the motive and incompetence to orchestrate spying against the rules. However I do feel the level of punishment is too harsh, and feel strongly that we are entitled to a fair appeal. From my experience of disciplinary and legal cases, this requires: - Full disclosure by EFL panel of grounds for their decision. This is typically a letter running to several pages (often more than ten) which should not only set out the evidence but also the considerations on punishment, options excluded, mitigation (including the fact that we admitted things and co-operated). - I read in recent days that we will only get a brief summary today, and full letter to follow later in the summer. But that isn’t good enough. If we are to have fair appeal we need to know everything in that letter. - We need time for our legal advisers to prepare the grounds for appeal. How is this credible in 24 hours? - And so the only fair approach is for appeal to be delayed, which means postponing final, and this to flow from the panel’s letter. This may also sound legalistic and focussed on process, but even if we just get the points reduction reduced it is important to see this through. It’s not about denying guilt, but just as burglary and murder don’t carry the same sentence this situation demands proportionate response.

While not bullet proof, and if things go well tonight, surely the most fun defence we could run is: ”well, when we spied on them we couldn’t beat them. Then, when we didn’t, we battered them 4-0 in second leg. So it proves it hasn’t helped us😀

Someone in my family with four just bought one five mins ago. Looks like a lower block largely still available so guess 100 or so

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😀😂

I’ve been going to away games for over 30 years. I remember being 2-0 down at Preston and winning 3-2 but nothing matches tonight. Such a shame so few fans travelled (understandably) but it was pure mayhem in away end. Thank you Saints!

Don’t know why Stoke has a reputation as a poor away trip, I always enjoy going there and we have a good record. Excellent performances from Welington, THB, Stephens and Downes, and a couple of vital saves from Peretz (not that we realised from our view that the shot that hit the post was a save at the time). Stewart makes such a difference in terms of basics of link up play and occupies centre backs. Gives us an outlet when we are under pressure. If we are to make a late run to play offs he is vital in my view, whether or not he is scoring as he makes us a better team. History suggests we will need to win 10 or 11 of our remaining 16 games to make the play offs. Not impossible, but a long shot.

“Pony”? The last three seasons he has played a full year in the championship (this season, two years ago when promoted and then his last year at Blackburn) he has been in the top two or three goal scorers in the entire division. Assuming each club has four strikers, that means he is in the top two per cent. He also scored the only goal in the play off final when it counted. In what other work of life would you get anything other than accolades for being in the top two per cent?

I agree that Tonda is not good enough. But just compare the side Martin had to manage. Bednarek, KWP, Stuart Armstrong, a fit and motivated Aribo and Adams. We totally lack that experience and nous.

I’m just rebouncing this….

I don’t claim he’s one of the best players to grace Saints. But let’s examine the last three matches: Birmingham, Stephens starts, we concede one goal Millwall, Stephens starts, we keep a clean sheet Boro, Stephens is rested/dropped, we concede four How is this consistent with your assertion “take him out of the side and you’ll see an improvement”?

Given the increasingly likely scenario that we will be in championship next season, but with reduced parachute payments, and also that the Downs loan is with an option, not obligation, to buy, I would be surprised if we don’t get a loan deal striker in. Club will want to be confident they are getting money back on Downs before paying a big sum I suspect, unless there are other sales being lined up that can generate good sums (which neither Aribo or Edozie I believe would).