Harry Faz

Excellent again yesterday - the boy is getting better and better - full credit to him and pardew. He is a class above in league 1 - a joy to watch. If we can keep him - and he keeps improving at the current rate then he will be some special player.

agree we wont go up this season - and not unhappy about that - given the state of the club at the start of this season. I want two things from rest of this season /the summer: 1) win at wembley, 2) lay solid foundations so that we win this division/automatic promotion next year. So im expecting a strong finish to the season in the league, but not play-offs - and expect us to come firing out of the traps from the very begining of next season - no excuses at all next year.

Agree entirely, i enjoy the football more than i have for years - including the premiership. Enjoy that my season ticket is at a sensible price. All round a better product at a better price.

We have to go for it on Tuesday , no resting players, or half measures. This is effectively a cup -qtr final. Given what we have been through the last few seasons, if we were to win a trophy at Wembley with 30000 + saints fans ,it would be a tremendous lift for the club, the players, the fans and the city. It would be a great way to celebrate the new era and put the past behind us. And of course lets get promotion as well...... I really dont think we need to prioritise one over the other at this stage.

50 would be amazing - not reasonable !!! Id be verry happy with anything over 30. When was the last time a saints player got more than 30?

We now have good players,playing well and they will attract interest /speculation from clubs above us. We may lose one or two of them as the attraction of a bigger stage could be too much to resist. However, unlike in the past, we now dont need to sell, and we are playing well and moving forward as a club. I dont think we will lose anyone in january (other than those whose loan expires, we dont want ec). If we dont get promoted we may lose some over the summer. So the solution is to get promoted!

Agree, been a problem position for us all season, as you say, neither James or Thomas are specialist at RB- and have different weaknesses. Personally I prefer Thomas over James. We need a proper right back asap in Jan, as it doesnt appear that Murty will play enough games.

damning indeed .....http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

He was brilliant for us in our best season of the decade ( cup-final year) and he gave the skates plenty in the derbies around that period. I never thought he was the same for us after strachan left - think the england call up went to his head , and he seemed to think he was too good for us. However given the way saints were unravelling post strachan, it was to some degree understandable. Anyway as someone else said he is part of the past - not the future.

A big club somewhen soon will disapear as a result of the current madness of the way football clubs are run. It might be Pompey , it could have been us , but it will happen. Perhaps that is what is needed before the game starts to manage itself properly. Football clubs arent big business, they need to ensure they are around for future generations - and not risk all on the current /next season. Whilst I never want pompey to do well - It would be a sad say if they folded - we are richer for the local rivalry.

Have they paid their players yet ?

agree, the more the better for me , I dont begrudge those that cant /dont make it - but it is their loss....this season is even more enjoyable for me, having gone witnessed the last few seasons week in week out.

Agree we cannot afford to lose Lallana. Lambert, Connolly, schneiderlin, Hammond , Waigo- all of which I believe could easily play well in div above ........that is why getting promoted this year could be so important. If we dont , we may well lose many of the above, and have to start again. Lets go for it.......

yes, very, very different - dont see the comparison at all - bottom line - Reading are still in a better position than they were, when Mr Lowe left we were in the worst postion we had been in living memory!

You are probably right, but where is the fun in that ? It adds more interest to the season to have the belief that we might get into the play-offs - im certainly not happy just to expect mid -table at this stage, even though it is the most likley outcome.

papa set up the goal that won us the game !!!

But this isnt about Pardew and what he does, yes sure he needs to avoid complacency and put things right that arent working, that is what he is paid for. This is about supporters enjoying an up-turn in our performance, having watched absolute tosh last year, cant we do that? . Pardew wont be influenced by a few posters on a message board enjoying saints upturn, will he?

Isnt the point of that we should enjoy the relatively good form, playing good attractive football - the last few years have been awful, so I think we should 'enjoy' this up-turn. Yes there are areas in need of improvement, we do ship too many goals - and we do have a real hill to climb to get promoted - but I think the point of the thread is that things are much better than they were, not perfect, but better? And for me thats worth noting.

We all need to start having more faith. Pardew was brought in as part of a long term project, he is getting the support from the owner - and will not leave becasuse of one bad result. Relax...its all going to be alright in the end ( will be some ups and downs along the way).

Pardew stated that Kelvin will always be club captain whilst he is at the club , as in his opinion Kelvin is the best club captain he has worked with. What does the club captain do then?

Has to be our target - in this league every game is winnable.

I think Pardew is here to build something over a longer term, and this isnt about getting promoted to the CCC, this is a journey that takes us to being an established premiership team. He has owners with the funds and the vision to achieve that, and a club with the facilities and fan-base. He has just built the squad he needs to achieve the first objective. This is a rare opportunity in Football. So for me , unless one of the more established premiership teams come knocking, any move will not better where he is now. I hope im right.

Agree, there is a lot to do , but how good is it just to be supporting a team that is playing effective, attractive football ! Ive taken my son to saints games for 3 yrs now, and it is only now that he has been able to experience what it is like to turn up to a match with a positve expectation that we will play well. Early days , but the boy has some heroes, like we did as kids - Ricky lambert, llallana (spelling) , Papa waigo, who can provide that bit of magic which makes footballl so special......and for that alone Marcus and Pardew et al have my grattitude.

maybe true - but he was still the best wasnt he?