Mowgli

It's body muscle FFS.... ;~)

Come on if you think you're 'ard enough.... My ticket does actually say "away supporter". This is OUR Cup Final. Expect us to make you look very ordinary. We have our own bus and there may be one or two surprises on board!!

Take each game one at a time and control the controllables. Get everyone on the bus and treat each game a bit like a cup final. Have a plan B. That way we will target the top of the table for sure. Aim for promotion, real chance of getting to play offs. Realistically I would be happy if we were in the mix around Christmas and take it from there...

Sorry forgot Holmes - will probably be on the bench but harsh on anyone else to drop out of the 18

Looks like Oxo back in the squad so IMO Bart Butterfield Fonte Jaidi Dickson Forte Schneiderlin Hammond Lallana Lambert Connolly Subs: Davis, Richardson, Martin, Seaborne, Chamberlain, Gobern, Stephens

NC appreciation thread is fully deserved but I had to smile at the 'top man - joining the players on the pitch'. Can you imagine the reaction if Lowe had done that after we beat Watford to get to our first cup final in over 25 years! Shows what a tough job this is. RL did go through a phase where people thought he was OK and clearly had a vision for the future (not too far from NCs but poorly executred) but he then developed the Maggie Thatcher syndrome and thought he was bigger than the club. I can't see NC making the same mistake but you are only as good as your last season. Sorry for introducing RL to the thread. Just an amusing comparison. Finish as I started - top man Mr C. Thanks for a great season. Here's to many more.

Personally. I think we should be looking at the clubs dropping out of the Premiership and getting one or two around the 30's mark who would be prepared to take a drop in wage in return for a Championship medal. They will add experience to the younger players already at Saints who are our future PL stars.

16/3/77 - I'd ask Jim Steele not to try and to stand on the ball against Anderlecht...

Pot... Kettle....

Wasn't the Drogba decision based on his wife?

Can't believe all the talk about 'forget promotion if Lambert or Fonte get injured'. We have depth. We have other goalscorers. We won at Orient without Lallana, Schneiderlin, Oxo and Stephens (OK admittedly Kelvin kept us in the game) which shows we are a squad to be reckoned with. Martin and Seaborne are good back up CBs and we have 4 strikers (Guly, Lambert, Connolly and Barnard to pick from). Promotion is not a foregone conclusion because there are a lot of teams in the mix and they are there on merit but I am sure we have that little bit extra to take us through to 2nd.

Yes

Aim for 1st - worst can happen is 2nd. Aim for 2nd - worse that can happen is playoffs. So let's aim for 1st. Whilst it is mathematically possible that can be the only target. When it is mathematically impossible we settle for 2nd which I will be quite happy with.

I think it's probably safe to say that this has been thought of. Perhaps the fact that we are outperforming all Div 1 sides, pretty much the whole of the Championship and some Premier League sides suggests to them that we are actually over performing on matchday income. We will see a whole host of initiatives launched over the next few years on match day. If people are going to think they have spotted the flaw in the strategy based on a few headline figures, this thread could go downhill fast. There's money in the bank. There 's a long term plan. We're on the brink of good things. Enjoy the ride.

Sums it up perfectly for me (I was thinking about Bridgy too but concluded that going back just does not work - even for him). At the end of the day we are on the verge of producing a team that will be known as the Adkin Babes. A team of young players who have played together for years and come through pretty much as a unit, capable of competing at the very highest level. These new rose tinted are pretty awesome... Although Sturrock turned out to be the worng man for the job, I still find it hard to forgive Beattie for his role in that sad episode.

or you can read the thread already running http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?29111-New-Season-Signings

Is this thread going to be repeated EVERY week?? Pardew has gone. Get over it.

Best game for Chaplow today for several weeks

Some good memories there. missed the 4-1 against Liverpool but agree from what I saw of the highlights. Of the games I saw it would have to be the 4-0 against Spuds closely followed by the 6-3 against Moan Utd. But two other games stick in my mind - 3 including the Everton FA Semi defeat... They include the 3-3 3rd round cup draw with Forest in 1977 and my first ever Saints game - a 3-2 win against Sunderland after bein 2-1 down at half time. October / November 1967,

I think people are forgetting what Adkins said when Forte and N'Guessan first joined us. He said they had speed but needed some top coaching to become usewful players. He felt Staplewood was the place they would get that coaching.

lol. That could be read two ways!! Actually I think he has a great future with us but I do recall NA saying that he needed some work but he believed he would be a better player for the training set up we have here. It is an opportunity for him IF Oxo and Adam are out for MK Dons but don't write him off if he does not deliver immediately.

I think you've lost people's attention which is why no one is responding.

Good call. Still can't fathom why we let him go. Sort of player you build a team around - very much in the Billy Bremner mould.

It wasn't that clear. For a while I thought they were singing 'There's only one dodgy keeper....'

Frankly Chaplow summed up Saints yesterday. Rarely got out of first gear but had a much better second half. Whoever pointed out that he rarely gets the ball was spot on but he does make some intelligent runs creating space for others. For me his strength is breaking up play but he backed off yesterday - probably because of his yellow card count - and only won 20% of his tackles. But he did intercept quite a few passes and completed all bar two of his own two dozen passes which is not bad. In truth he rarely loses the ball and covers a great deal of the pitch in a game. All in all worth his place.