Frank's cousin

'Kick my arse' was what I said ;-) If we had lost I would have done a runner and hidden the hat- it was a cunning disguise! LOL Thanks to all who put up with my shouting - and we did win! Cheers to all!

I laughed! ;-) Cant satnd Fergie and his arrogant nobs... 'typical Germans?' fecking double standards more like as the pic above shows... everyone does it... nob...

To be honest its more relevent in the lower leagues as in tehprem these dyas the gate is a far smaller overall percentage of tehir total rvenue anyway so would not be such a leveler - in CCC and downwards it could make a big difference to sides who regularly only get 5000-6000 at home v sides in the 20K + like us ;-)... where the gate is probably as much as 80% of total revenue.

One annoying habit is still too many draws.... usually againts mediochre sides... we have only lost 8 league games out of 39! yet its the number of draws that seperate us from the likes of Norwich and ...swindon...

Spot the fat bloke, that will be me ;-)

Alps, yup you did say that you welcomed Admin - and you were honest to say this was because it would guarrantee that we got rid of the lot them... but forgive me If I dont believe that you had some kind of vision or crystal ball that showed we would not end up with a bunch of chancers without a pot to **** in... which there was more channce of happening than teh odds of landing a Markus..

Very Lucky! Its why so many of us were so worried and also why we are originally suspiciaous of the Wilde - Crouch - Wilde/Lowe merrygoround - because Wilde was considered the saviour at one point, then crouch etc... but classic cases of heart in right place but if you combine the inexperience with no funds you end up as we did and as pompey are currently going..... ...BUt we finally got lucky, and to be honest after what we had been through, maybe we deserved it - afterall whatever we think of Lowe, Wilde or Crouch etc none of these spunked cash away as if they did not care abouty teh consequences a la pompey and Leeds - yet we suffered the same punishment. For me I agreed that we deserved the punishment for the admin, but our 'crimes' were hardly in the same league as Pompey and Leeds.... ... now we have St Markus and St Nic and sometimes you have to pinch yourself that we have been so lucky... I actually like the good cop bad cop partnership that ML and NC have as the balance seems right, an owner who is so obviously enamoured by saints (the camera scene is a classic and makes me smile), but has obviously set high ambitions that he has his perfect foil in NC to deliver. Sure maybe a few learnings, but what a result! Good times for all, so lets make the most of it, enjoy it and support what the owner, the CEO andmanager and players are all determined to achieve COYRs

Not been to Auschwitz, but have been to Dachau... emotionally draining and quite harrowing. The impact it has on you is unforgettable. When I was there there were a party of German school kids about 12-14 yearolds - first time ever i have seen a school trip wher NO ONE was larking about - they were just emotionally drained. The horrors of this part of the German history are taught in schools in detail there. I think its extremely important that these camps remain as reminders to what can happen when racist politicians become allpowerful. I know the Palistinian situation is very complex, but sometimes I ask the question, that surely if there is one population that might want to do anything they could to avoid segreation and displacement of a race or religion it would be the Israelis given what they have suuffered, yet their politicos seem quite hard line and less inclined to find a workable solution than I would expect... difficult issues, but surely its about time this situation was resolved?

Surely its not a question of liking or disliking any party, and even reading all the posts above it should be clear that we ALL respect Pards and acknolwedge the great job he has done to date. Most would agree that continuity and stability will play a big part in any future success, and the issues seems to be quite simple. Pards HAS done a phenomenmal job, given the starting point, no question...but what some are simply asking is whether maybe our tactics and choices are contributary factors to the defeats we have suffered in what were on papaer very winnable games - now the impact of this will only be truely evaluable at season's end and more appropriately at the end of next season. I think we ALL want Pards to succeed because his attitude and approach is spot on, but does he have the creative and tactical nous to lead to the success level that is expected by NC and ML relative to the investment they have provided and will provide? Thats a fair question and is in no way disrespectful to his undoudted ability and commitment. Losing to better sides is one thing, but if we lose games because we get it wrong tactically its another and that is all folk are asking... I for one hope and believe he will demonstrate that tactical nous as the squad is improved technically as we progress... but the great thing is this is a FOOTBALL debate and the very fact that we are talking about FOOTBALL again and not politics is what I find great ... we should not spoil that with tit for tat infighting...we all have valid opinions that should be respected?

What I really like about Pards is his approach and attitude. He has not risen to the bate, but has accepted the criticism and got on with the job in hand. I am sure he is wiley enough to score a few political points with the media to gain support fro his cause, but given the rapid progress he has deserved his chance. Personally, I dont have a problem with NC providing the pressure. Given the investment in Jan especially, its possible this was approved on the proviso that it would provide the necessary quality to challenge for a playoff place. But as Alan was quick to respond 'we all know in football it does not work like that' - true to an extent, in a game in which luck plays an unwelcome part at times, and in which the better side with all the possession and chances can come away with nothing. It can be a very cruel game. But no one expects him to win 46 games or even go undefeated and teh mannner of the defeats we will inevitably suffer will range from bad luck, a dodgy decison here and there and injuries and periods of simply poor form will surface when least expected. Timing is everything as Leeds are now seeing - the momentum lost could cost them that automatic place - had their points accumulation been reversed with a bad start followed by a winning run that had now seen them edge into second spot ahead of Millwall on goal difference, the money would be on them to take that second place, as it is, they look like potentially throwing it away... as i said its cruel game. Pards, probably feels he has been a little hard done by by the comments from NC... and to an extent he is right to do so, afterall given the dark place we were in back in July, the light he has brought (with MLs investment) has been wonderful for us fans to behold. After 5 years of misery and infighting, divisive debate and argument, we have finally been able to debate the goings on on the pitch again, as normal fans, arguing about performances - including the nature of wins! But I suspect that the goal posts changed when we showed that following the investment and Pards work in getting back a fighting and winning mentality, at one point only 9 points from teh playoffs with a game in hand and 15+ odd to go, it gave a genuine feeling that the playoffs were only a few games away. The form book shows our points tally since Christmas to be Championship wining form, and in any other season we woudl be sitting comfortablly at the right end of the table with hope of promotion more than a slim optimistic dream... but this is a season in which the -10, and the demotivated squad we started with, meant minimal points from that opening period as we suffered from the psychological impact of that punishment; the 10 points were not the only negative that we began the season with. That bad start meant that any slip up since Christmas is far more costly, regardless of the reasosn, whether the 'pitch', simple poor form, or bad luck... we could not afford to throw away precious points if we were serious about getting out of this league this year... and for some fans this frustration is clear, for others we were so used to 'falling short' ...'there's always next season'. For that reason the pressure NC is heaping on our talisman Pards is right. Its about clear and unambiguous ambition based on the advantage we have through teh substantial investment provided by our owner - a man far more astute and effective in the business world than his 'cuddly camera' moments allude to. Sure, it was great to see. It shows his REAL joy and enthusiasm for this club and its great to see the infectious nature of supporting a club rubs on so easily to someone who many would most likely never have heard of us before NC put a potential deal in front of him... the creid for that goes to the fans and staff of our club. The culture and committment we create means we are (and I am biassed) a club that is easy to like - and 50,000 fans in a party spirit personify that spirit... something we had not really seen since that wonderful ady in Cardiff when the whole country (with the exception of an area of North London and 19 miles along the south coast) were willing us to win. Markus and Nicola; welcome to Saints. Sunday's crowd will have done more to show them what we are about than anything else we do this season. So what does all this mean for Pards? I dont think there is any doubt taht he will be here next season, and he has shown that he deserves to be. But, I am going to throw in a contriovercial question. NOT intended to start an argument but because as contrivercial as it might be, I think teh nature of debate in football should allow us to debate these things without it decending into farce. The quality we have will probably mean we get promoted next season. And with teh right investment should see us challenge in the CCC. BUt i was talking to a regualr poster on here on Sunday, someone whose opinion is respected - if at times maybe considered negative - his understanding of the game is such that when he posts its always insightful and should not be dismissed. The question his insights pose are aimed at WHY we have lasot certain games and what does this mean for the future? Analysis on purely footballing terms shows that on several occaisions we have simply been outsmarted. Our quality advantage, rendered neutral through being out thought. NOw this is not something I get too worried about in L1, or perhaps even in the CCC as it wont happen too often, but simple things like lack of width as the midfield is sucked in (no width) suggests there is still an element of concern at being swamped in mid field. The reliance on Sunday of the long ball and Lambert's immense performances, hints at a lack of options or plan B. For me, as a purist, I would like to see the ball on the deck a bit more and the poor quality of the pitch (disgraceful for a national stadium) is not really an excuse. For League 1, as many have in the past said, we need to know how to win ugly and adapt to sides who come and defend etc... need the long ball option as its successful ... but I am not so sure. If we are good enough we can beat anyone with football, and will not need to resort to the 'traditional tactic' - especially if we are building a side for the future. I want to see Pards show that belief - show variety and tactical variation. Because if we really want to be in the prem and stay there, we need someone who can out think the best on occasion, and not attempt to out muscle. We could say that Pards job right now is simply to get us promoted.... and I can appreciate that argument. BUt I also want saints to finally hold on to a manager for years and years, building on that stability which is the proven road to success. So the question should be, not whether Pards has done ennough this seaosn to geta shot at the next (which he has undoubtedly has) biut whether he is the man to be at saints for 10 years? I hope that he is. I hope that he will get us out of this league and adapt our style with more variation when the circumstances allow... but the way we have been out thought on those few occasions is the one niggling doubt. Which is a real shame as what he HAS achieved deserves 100% support... but i cant help thinking we still have something missing... is that quality in the squad or tactical direction? I dont know, but I know what I hope it is.

Remember, families, rattles and folk just enjoying it was around for about 70 years in football, before being hijacked by the 'real men' and the need for cages and alcohol bans... I am not a fan of the Mexican Wave, but if folk want to do it and enjoy it good for them... there are soem miserable ***ts around

We won some Silverware We had a great day The papers are saying we crushed them and are on the way up We scored 4 goals We cheered Markus and the TEAM ANd we cheered NC at the end.... There was a very small panomine villian type boo - it was SO obviously done as tongue in cheek so is such a non event

stuck on the coach great day out and nice to get our hands on se silverware there were 75k there so we must have has about 48-50k there

On the coach but will be while till we get out the car pArk Top day out great to lift a trophy again We were not that great but did what matttered well defending and scoring :-) ml looked really chuffed and NC and pards had a nice hug

Hi Duncs... you been upsetting those lovely folks at the Mail again? That last bastian of empirialistic, bigotted, hideousness of a rag? Shame on you Sir! ;-) - Was going to add that its just run by a load of Ar**holes,....but as the old gag goes, Ar**holes are useful. Anyway, hope you are doing good. Bback on the topic, I think for many fans they are facing a bit of a dilemma about NC. On the one hand, under his leadership and MLs money we have aclub that wa srescured from teh brink and given how low we had sunk has seen apretty strong recovery, under a manager who has us playing some nice football, if at times a little frustratiningly inconsistent... So from that perspective most fans are are happy with the overall progress made this year - in a similar way to the Pearson season. We therefore expect that the board would feel the same way with next season being the one where the real pressure on promotion should be expected by all at the club and the fans. But as we know, money by itself does not equal success - money + good management + player selection + LUCK = success. So we will need a good combination even next season where we wont have the psychological millstone of negative points at5 the start opf the season. So why is NC being so publically critical? Does he really not understand football as some have suggested? We wont to be 100% behind him on the basis of his rescue, but have this nagging doubt that he might not have the patience that we would consider to be the 'wise' approach? Its tricky because we only see what is published, and to get the real mark of a man you really need to get to know them first. So what are we to make of it all? Personally, I think we ned to split out two seperate issues first: the financial stability + investment, and secondly what this in turn means with respect to expectations. ML and NC have been on record since they bought the club that a) financial stabilty and well run 'within its means' club is a priority (with the caveat that funding may be made available relative to teh league we are in and to the budget) to achieve a return to the premiership within 5 years. As I understand it (and please someone with more facts here correct any mistakes) - the target is to have the club running operationally within its means with ML providing the odd mil or so for a player or two - That moey as I understand it will be loans to the club which I understand are interest free.... all well and good, BUT it means that MLs expectations for success are also high, not just NC who will be under pressure from ML to succeed. Rememeber, we see ML smiling and enjoying his football as an almost cuddly bear...yet he will not have risen in the ranks at Leibherr and then continued to run a new global business by just being a cuddly bear. I suspect he works with NC because he trusts NC to deliver - but the pressure will be on. So, does NC have enough fottball nous to ensure he does not lose patience and fall into the trap of the manager merry-go-round? Or will he see that success usually comes to those who build? I think under normal circumstances, he would have the patience etc.... but we do not have normal circumstances... We hired a manager with Prem experience (probably on good money) - a decent record who should be able to set us apart in this league - especially with the Chelski like resources, relative to this league, that are available to him. Hense the dilemma - we do not know what discussions took place between the two when Pards was appointed - we heard about the 5 year plan (which Pards alluded too recently) BUT that is likely to have been discussed at the start of the season. The success achieved with substatial investment DID put us after Christmas in a position where we were being touted as play off contenders - BECAUSE of this extra investment and the goal posts may well have chnaged at that time - 'sure you can buy X,Y and Z Alan' but if you want to spend that now, we will need to see accelerated results and a playoff place, can you deliver that?' Speculation naturally, but not unrealistic. So what does all this waffle mean? Well for me, I dont actually care what is said in public (ironically), by either party, its what is said behind closed doors that is important. I do hope that NC does have the patience and understands the need for stabilty andthat hat has been achieved is not that bad - Samual does make a valid point about Norwich and Charlton's squads - but they also had bad starts - and in that time we invested heavily to improve the quality which is whaere NC is coming from.... but If I am pushed, I think given the hurdles we had to overcome, the -10, the decimated and demoralised squad and that we will probably finish the season on around 75-78 points (85-88 in form) that is quite a remarkable job under the circumstances and I hope NC sees that. It means however, that next seaosn there should only be one aim - automatic promotion as champions, the squad, the investment, support and manager are in place - there is nothing missing so there can be no excuses. Herewith endeth the sermon ;-) (well my 6 pounds, four shillings and 8 pence worth anyway)

If we win all nine remaining and finish on 80 and DONT get a playoff place..then nowt we can do except agree that a 90 point season (taking into account our -10) would be a pretty good result considering where we started from... Its out of our hands, we shoudl just focus on winningour last 9 games, max points and then see where we are.... to many ifs and buts to worry about.

What I find difficult with the article is that it attempts to weave, rather unsucessfully, IMHO several different issues together that ...well, simply dont quite fit to draw the concusions that samual does in this case. I am not sure what NC has done to upset the man, but I find his conclusions, rather ill reserached and based as others have pointed out on various DIFFERENT sourcs already in the public domain...so nothing new apart form his sudden support for Pards. If we address the points in isolation (as they should be) there are quite rightly some good points: Pards - has done well (IMHO), base don the changes to the squad, the -10 point start, etc we have shown a big improvement. That does need to be balanced against the support provided by NC/ML in the transfer market. As I see it, when NC goes public with higher expectations its in light of this investment - I doubt that NC would be so critical (or positively prevening complacency) had there been no funding.... the critique and expectations are therefore very high, in view of the high spending and investment - which is fair, and to be honest, I am sure teh working relationship between Pards and NC is one of mutual respect - highly demanding can in many folks eyes be seen as having high ambition. Ambition: for years during the Lowe years it was craved, the weekly calls to 'spend some ****ing money' from the terraces... which fell on deaf ears - or were greeted with the response of 'prudence being the wise appraoch'... There are several ironies here that make this quite interesting. If you took NC and Lowe on paper, they probably ahve more in common than we would choose to recognise... living within ones means, a sound financial footing, and pressure on the manager to succeed with teh resources they have. The difference is that NC via ML has provided resources that Lowe did not sanction (please no debate on whether we had tehm or should have borrowed etc...thats history), yet most fans would now agree that this sound financial management IS the best way to go - maybe times have chnaged given the global financial climate that we are all more realistic in our expectations of what and how a club should be run financially and 'living within our means' (operationally at least -as we know ML has dipped into his pocket to support the purchases) carries less of an association with 'no ambition' as it did under Lowe... just a guess... but given the crap state of football finance, I think more clubs and more fans are beginnning to recognise that something went very wrong with the state of football finance... everyone in fact in tyhe media, fans, NC...everyone except Samual, who seems oblivious to the the problems by having a pop at NC over his criticisms of the shocking situation many face... NC, is a tough, no nonsense businessmen who is ambitious and demanding. Whatever his personal ambitions with respect to football, he will only realise them if he delivers success at Saints - because if he fails given the financial backing he has, he will not be welcomed anywhere. His opportunity is our opportunity. His ambition will translate as our ambition. He will stand and fall by his decisions and given that he employed Pards after discussions with senior figures in the game, has backed him with cash, and we have seen a fairly rapid improvement as a result, Samual is talking out of his fat arse. NC may well make wrong decsions, and make mistakes, he may lose patience, or he may leave who knows, but the time to judge will be in 4 years, not when a lazy journo decides to rake up various old stories , and apply the 'making 5 from 2+2 rule of crap journalism', for no obvious reason apart from to appear 'hard hitting' and 'controvercial'

Whatever we blame Lowe for one thing he did VERY right was ensure that HMRC was always paid - we have seen what can happen if you dont with our neighbours. Given that Aviva were supportive, and we were servicing the mortgage, it was really down to Barclays and the pressure they put on us which was effecting cash flow. Isuspect that Aviva were quite happy with 40-50p in teh pound given the state of the financial markets and loan defaults that were everywhere at the time - dont forget that in they had a reasonable interest payment over the length of their loan so would have factored this in when agreeing the CVA. And that is the main issue - we DID get a CVA negotiated by the administrator, which in effect set the price for the club. Cheating the system? NO We followed all the rules, and agreed the CVAs and have been punished with a points deduction... had we not been lucky and found a buyer we may well have been wound up.... but here is the main argument why I feel we can hold some moral high ground. We tookout these loans when we were in the prem NOT on short term fixes for players to try and win something or maintain prem status etc, but on the stadium which was badly needed...unlike pompey who went for glory .... The only time we were perhaps NOT over did it was that championship season where we blew 7mil to try and get promoted - that was exactly the type of thing teh rules are there to discourage so we could say we are guilty there. The thing is it was only ecver reported that saints were 30 mil in debt... and there is a difference at least morally between taking a mortage on a new stadium when in the prem, and going for broke on players to try and win things with money you dont have like Leeds or more recently pompey... and that is what is often not reported.

I susupect Matt will be working with Sky so probably already there. I dont know the ins and outs of what the clubs PR/hospitality policy, but I suspect that Matt will be invited and most likely for free when he is available (which is not that often). Personnally i dont think Matt would have a problem with paying his own way as the policy from the club seems to be standardised for everyone, which is perhaps best as in previous regimes there was always alot of controversy involved with accustaions of freeloaders etc ... I suspect that both Matt and NC are allowing a bit of time for things to settle - afterall Matt was spearheading a rival bid and its often best to let a bit of time pass... I am sure Matt will get what he has earned through his loyalty to the club over time - he will always be a legend whoever owns or runs the club.

Couple of things.. 1. Dont under estimate the negative psychological impact of -10 - its no surprize that we actually got our season off the ground when we finally got past the zero mark. 2. How much a club spends in transfer fees is only ever half the story - wages and sign on fees etc connot be over looked if trying to compare resources between sides to make these sort of comparisons etc... eg, hey may have gotten several players as freebies, but I bet the wages deal has been good. If anything, its more important to look at sustainable wages/resources than transfer fee spend which are one offs. 3. NO one is denying that this team SHOULD (probably) have between 12-15 points more where we have basically underperformed during the season - add those points to the 10 docked and we would be in the top 3 which is probably where the skill and squad level should se us... but underperformance during thoase first 10 or so games has meant the recent hick ups have been costly. Had we had an extra 10 points from those first 12 games we would be there or there abouts now and the Tranmeres etc would be simply blips...

I agree that we need to ensure there is no let up in the league and we carry that performance on into next season and yes that is the most important thing... but winning is winning and the JPT is a game we can and should win - its a confidence boost that that will hopefully keep a winning run going.

There are several problems... FIFA being teh main one.... In their attempt to try and address simulation, yet also be more assertive in ensuring the 'pushing, shoving and shirtpullin, in the box are heavily punished, they have confused refs with ambiguous and changing directives... the refs assessment is possibly not a bad thing... BUT they need to stop this crap of the managers having an input into the report which is why we end up with potentila bias... no one ca tell me that a ref might not be sub conciously effected by the knowledge that 'Sir Alex' will be inputting into an assessment... Question is should players take more responsibilty? There are two schools of thought, 1) that says yes, and another that says no, its down to the ref... It why for me if they dont want to use video replays to support real time decisons, then at least allow retrospective punsihment and bans for post match analysis of 'cheats' - seriously it would stop it in the top leagues which set a new standard and model for lower leagues to kids in the park.... but FIFA are make their rules and decsions based on the lowest level of the game... eg. kick abouts in the park - stating that the rules need to be effective at al levels.... problem is it just means the cheats get away with it, and the refs get the blame as they have no support either from replays or post match...

FFS Crab Lungs I find you attempts at trying to evoke some sympathy for our stressesd neighbours a little distubing... come on man show some balls and tell us how you really feel! ;-)

What are folks opinions on the chances of them having a CVA in place by next season? The taxman wont take less that 100% so thats 12mil + for straters - then really depends on what the others will accept I guess, but either way lets assume for a moment that th advance payments from the PL are to keep them going for this seaosn, and that teh parachut payment will cover some operating cost for next season... can anyone see their creditors accepting less than 30p in the pound which in effect means a new owner is going to have to stump up at least 25 mil to get a CVA in place and avoid more points deductions next season? And thats before they think about actually investing in getting teh club back on a recovery rout? Sure they will generate revenue from player sales come relegation, but that will only increasethe demands of the creditors and will unlikely be useable for operating costs next season... indeed thats an interesting question... this is a mess... creditors will demand sales asap to maxmise their return, but potential bidders will want some assets left surely? Any chance of a sort of financial summary of what an investor would need to bring to the table factoring in PL advances, parachute payment, players slaes and creditor demands - operating costs for this seaosn and next (to sustain a side) thus providing a picture of what is needed?

Nail on head