Colinjb

Forgot to say thank you for actually reading my content in the end rather then reacting emotionally to a post. I know you hate that, prejudging posts based on preconception. As for the timing, if I was the first to mention the idea then perhaps, certainly wasn't though and as such decided to exercise my freedom of speech and start a topic on it with fellow Saints fans. As it happens people have been actually discussing football and our realistic ambitions for the season on here this morning rather then f**king about over personality disputes for a change.

We got there in the end though.

Why? I don't think anyone has has explicitly said 'We're going to finish top 4.' There is a healthy skepticism, it's just a wondering whether it's possible.

If it is eventually deemed that he hasn't earnt his keep then I would expect him to leave after 2.5/3 years of his contract while he still has some kind of sale value.

Hinting that things are not as nice as some may perceive. Fair enough.

It's being discussed by the club itself and a few in the media. It's legitimate and should for me be dissected, for better or worse. It is also a point worth debating as far as the premier league as a whole is concerned, the 'top 4' has been perceived as a closed shop by many, despite the recent removal of Liverpool from that bracket and addition of Manchester City (after Spurs pipped them for one year). Arsenal have survived some recent scares to maintain their place, Manchester United and Chelsea are also always around the summit. What do teams need to do to get among them? Can they get among them? Is having that ambition just a fools errand? If so then it calls into question the efforts many in the game are making at their respective clubs to succeed. The same conversations i'm sure will have been held by fans of Everton, Villa certainly Spurs and possibly even in the past by clubs like Bolton who seemed to all have reached a glass ceiling. How do you (can you) break the bloody thing?

The topic begins with the title 'Daring to Dream.' Explain your viewpoint and debate or stop trolling you odious fool.

And your opinion for the content after the metaphor Hypo?

Our trickiest test so far. An entertaining 2-2 draw for me.

Getting quite fanciful but hey, while the sun is shining and all that.... We have had a better start to a Premier League season then I can ever remember and look really quite solid, but with the talk of finishing in the top four what improvements would need to be made to the first team/squad to do this? My take: currently, no of course we are not good enough yet based on the teams around us. There is the potential for many of our players to be good enough in the future (Shaw, Clyne, Morgan) and we do have experience of that level in Boruc, Wanyama and Lovren. (Did Osvaldo play in the CL with Roma?) If we played in any league outside of the main four in europe (Serie A, La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga) I do think we would be good enough already but it's the nature of the beast that we are in that we are playing catch up against clubs with more money, reputation and appeal for the players that could allow us to progress. - Is this an insurmountable obstacle? We need a little more class going forward, particularly from wide areas. Coutinho would have been perfect and it'll be interesting to see if we keep faith with the current squad or keep adding. Hopefully our strikers as they learn how to play together will become more consistent, there are signs that they are getting there although goals against Palace (who are only heading one way) would surely be a minimum requirement for any side with the ambition our grandiose words hint at.

It's nice to be noticed. However, that is a bit far fetched even for my optimistic tastes!!!

As I said, his strengths lay elsewhere. I agree with your reasoning for starting Gaston. We need a little bit of flair in the mix and I believe that could help bring the best out of Dani and Rickie. I feel he would be more effective then Jay right now. It's a pity that the most driven I have ever seen Gaston was for a fleeting five minutes against West Brom when he looked to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Sadly he also took their midfielder in the face with his arm.

Yep. Phil Gartside was once trying to campaign for the removal of relegation from the Premier League (albeit an enclosed two tier setup), he wasn't doing it for the good of the competition.

If purely retaining the ball is a key factor then Victor Wanyama will do well to keep his place in the side, but he will stay because his strengths lay elsewhere. Personally i'm glad we have the depth in squad to keep Ramirez out of the team and have as a tactical option should he be required. He needs first team action to get sharp but is being kept out by players who are in better form. Catch 22.

They may not have spent the transfer fees of many clubs in the league at the time but their Wage budget was more then ample. From memory Bolton Wanderers have an extremely large amount of Debt based on that policy, all leveraged against future TV Money. Wonder where we have heard that before. I lived with a Bolton fan for one of the season during their golden era (03/04, when they got to the league cup final) and he could see the failings in their style of play but they were entertained thanks to the contributions of players like Jay Jay Okocha and Djorkaeff. Players like that are a rare vintage and he did get the best out of them. Agreed entirely with that. I respect entirely what Sam Allardyce has achieved as a manager but the thought of him at Saints is extremely uninspiring and contrary to many of the positive things that are in place here.

You can have two Sky Go apps registered per account (I have one on an Xbox 360, another on my Galaxy S3.) I'm not sure if the Sky Sports and Sky Go apps would be linked though.

Just finished this now. Picked option 'C.' What a game.

Personally, i'm just going to enjoy our league position while it lasts. It would be highly, highly improbably for us to be in this position when it matters but while the sun is shining make hay!!

I will look forward to any project that you guys undertake. As for updates. It always seemed to me that the magnum opus that is 'In That Number' Would be ideal for updated/follow up editions on a ten year basis.

Following Margate when younger it wasn't unusual to pay up to £15 a ticket at Conference National - Ryman/Southern Premier Level. That was 10+ years ago.

There are a few who do not think much of Punch either on the forum i'm reading.

You have an e-mail Duncan. I do hope this isn't the last Hagiology book.

Anywhere that needs to build an entire country's infrastructure to cope with a single month's event should never have been considered/eligible in the first place. Should San Marino strike massive natural resource reserves should it bid for a tournament? They are planning stadia for cities which do not yet exist. E.g. Madinat ash Shamal, Population 5,000, a 45,000 capacity arena planned. Lusail, Nothing there aside from a motorcycle racing circuit yet an 86,000 capacity stadium planned. This is an excuse to build up an entire nation in 9 years, not hold a competition.

We have no obligation to any player to play them. Their form must justify their selection. Rickie's form is not his best right now and he will have to work to maintain his place in the side and get back to the level we know he is capable of. There is no point playing someone out of form in the hope they get into an international squad. The selectors will see they are not at their best, not pick him anyway (we are not a team right at the top of the league, as we saw it took a LOT for him to get called up in the first place) and our form would suffer.

Building a team around Osvaldo as our long term strategy. Sensible perhaps. Selling the only other viable leading man (and a bloody good one at that) who had signed a long term contract and had pledged to finished his career with us... which would also leave us highly vulnerable should Osvaldo get injured. Totally irresponsible.