1965onwards

.........in the financial mismanagement stakes. At least £30 million has been received for Crouch,Walcott,Bale and Jones,plus £13.5 milion parachute payments,since relegation. Huge resources for a non-premiership team. There is no way we should be in this position. The sight and sound of Mr.Wilde preaching prudence and salvation is the biggest joke ever, considering he was the one who brought in Hone,Dulieu etc,even bigger jokers than he is. We will probably be at least £4 million short on expected gate revenue this season. We will be paying at least £3 million wages this season for high-earners we expected to go. We are therefore going to be £7 million short of what the bank wanted us to do financially. Our net debt will INCREASE rather than decrease,and we will fail to meet the banks cost- cutting targets. The chances of us avoiding administration are rapidly approaching ZERO.

While we are enjoying a superior brand of football,it is a lot less effective that it should be because the lads have taken TOO MUCH on board from the coaches;no doubt over-grateful for the chance they have been given.A bit brainwashed i believe into passing too fast for the sake of it.Naive in fact. The average pass is also much too long.Consequently the team cannot keep up with the speed and distance of the passes,and we lose possession too easily because the player receiving the ball is stranded up field with too little,if any,support,and outnumbered. Total football is about a team moving quickly up,down,and around the pitch,with the ball passed at the appropriate speed in sync with the speed of the team as a whole. The team needs to step back and think for themselves a bit. They need to build up attacks with greater patience,and to pass only to players in clear space,or who can make a further immediate pass such as a 1-2 or playing in triangles.This will allow players to make shorter passes,which will be more accurate and easier to control,and thereby result in retaining a lot more possession. While the movement is a lot better than the statues of previous seasons,it is still nowhere near what it needs to be,especially around the box. At the moment,too often,players move away from the player with the ball,when they should be doing the opposite,and visa versa. Nothing i have seen so far convinces me that the lads understand sufficiently what they should be doing,and when and where. Coaches and players need to take on board that a more patient game will give the team a greater share of possession than they are achieving at the moment,with the benefit that the opponents will have less possession,with less pressure on our defence. A further consequence of a slower build up will be that the team will stay better connected,with more players being in a position to attack or defend at any given moment. More,easier possession, will also give the players more confidence,which is vital at the moment. The players and coaches need to spend a day just watching DVDs of Arsenal games. 60 yard crossfield balls look good,they rarely produce anything.

I don't think many Saints fans are against the team consisting mainly of youngsters in the midfield and attack,but they know that experience is vital at the back in an English league. A defense also needs square pegs in squeare holes,as was shown conclusively last season with Burleys bizarre selections. JP has got the defense badly wrong,and it is undoing all the good work going forward.

There is little wrong with the play going forward,a little more experience and we will put more chances away. The problem is obviously at the back,where the fullbacks are just nowhere near up to the job. Defensively,JPs "totall football" equals total CRAP,has been all season,and shows no sign of improving. Today,there was no need to rest Perry,as he hasn't played for 2 weeks!!!!You blood a rookie CB at Home,not away. JP has brought in several players,but has neglected our weakest area of the team.He is as pig-headed as Burley.Hatch and Surman have shown no sign of being capable of doing the "total" job he expects of a fullback,and Cork is the only alternative. In midfield,while doing well,too many passes are made to players who are not in enough space.This is a consequence,i believe,of JPs mantra of quick passing,which too often results in passing for passings sake,whereas more patience would result in finding players in more space to carry the move on,rather than losing the ball,as happens too often at the moment. With our dodgy defense,it is more important than ever to retain the ball as much as possible,as this will reduce the other teams chances to attack us,and will also build and maintain confidence in the young players. It is imperative that we pick up points in the next few games,or the players confidence could well be shot to pieces.To do this we need to play a tighter,less expansive game.We have nothing to lose by doing this,as we are hardly putting our chances away anyway.A few draws would be an improvement at the moment,and we could move on from there. Someone needs to tell JP that this is professional football,not fantasy football,and Saints are not his fantasy team.Real teams get relegated,go out of business,people lose their jobs,and fans find themselves in despair. JP better find some pragmatism pretty damn quick,or he will soon find out what British football is really all about.

QPR could have had 3 or 4 goals while we still had 11 players on the pitch,so lets have some perspective. JP has seriously underestimated the quality of attacking play that our defense will be up against.He has also seriously overestimated the amount of possession that we will command. JPs use of midfielders as fullbacks has been sussed by Grayson and Dowie,so they used the ball over the top to destroy our weak flanks. Dowie did not bother with the long central ball today,because he had a better plan of attack. JP has been easily outhought by Grayson and Dowie,which amply demonstrates his lack of experience of the English leagues. SUCCESS for ALL teams begins with a solid defense,no matter which country you play your football in.We can perhaps forgive a drunk for not appreciating that universal truth, but not someone who has played in a world cup final. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that JP is on an ego trip,where he has decided on a course of action that he will not deviate from,no matter what the outcome. The Titanic comes to mind.

Another similarity to last season. Relying on an aging defender with a dodgy knee( a al Powell). History always repeats itself.

No proper defense and players out of position. Is Burley secretly still in charge?

In case anyone has not noticed,we do not have the players to play any other way than what we are doing. When we had the players last season who could play the usual non-premiership way,they were crap at it. For the second season running we have started the season without a proper defense,which means that most of the good work going forward will be wasted. I know it is still early days,but i am prepared to stick my neck out and state that playing midfielders at fullback in an English league is as about as stupid as it can get.

Oz,notice Burleys two main apologists immediately jump in. McSaintwarwick and McOBS.

There is no question Arizona,that 2 seasons ago Greg did the business. He was in a team that was much better than last seasons. Last season he did nothing in a much poorer team,which amply demonstrates his style of play requires things to be set up on a plate for him.If they are not,then he is a liability to the team. IMO,the way we are playing now requires our Strikers to play a way alien to Rasiak,whereby a hell of a lot of good work done in midfield would be wasted because of his style of play(or lack of).That is why myself and others contend that his inclusion in the team would be detrimental. JP obviously agrees as he has kept John and got rid of Rasiak,and i do not feel that anyone can question JPs judgement at the moment.

Just as you were wrong about Burley Saintwarwick,you are laughable in your opinion that a strikers performance can only be viewed against the goals he scored,and not also the negative effect on team play that a lazy striker with poor movement can have. A certain Alf Ramsey recognised that it was beneficial to overall team play to leave Jimmy Greaves out of the team. This is called intelligent assessment,a concept that i know you are not familiar with,as again seen in your support for Burley.

What those who champion Raziak fail to address,is the detrimental effect on team play and the effectiveness of the team of his laziness and lack of movement. You cannot isolate one aspect of a players performance,you have to assess the whole package. While he may score 20 goals a season,his style of play may result in the team scoring 20 goals a season fewer than if we employed a more energetic and mobile striker,whereby his contribution is nullified.

Forget January,pray we don't lose any in the next week.

People forget that he is still only 19. Wise and K.Phillips were late developers,and many others besides. Fabregas and Rooney were exceptional for their age. Plenty of time for Theo,and i think i detect a little better thinking this season. Still think he will be better as a striker than on the wing,and looking at Van Persies performance yesterday,he could get his chance there very soon.

Woodward has minimal input into these Olympics,his remit is 2012.

Shows what can be done with intelligent players and intelligent coaching and management,instead of thick,couldn't care less journos and manager.

No real wonder with Burley,Benji. He is baffling the Scottish fans already.i

All real fans want is some decent football to watch from players giving there all for the club and fans.Anything else is a bonus. We now know that Walcott and Bale were not the only decent players in the academy.and i for one am even more ****ed off by Burley holding these players back.

Whatever happens this season,the boys have already given the fans more than last seasons players did during the whole season.

Only 4 points of automatic spot.

Today shows that if you have movement,skill and motivation,you do not have to worry about bully boys.Football wins.

Football under Wigley,Redcrap,Burley,Dodd and Gorman was laughable.

We,ve played more intelligent football in 3 games than all the games since Luggy left.

Could our boys put the last nail in Jewells coffin? Quite a few on here wanted Jewell for manager.

These boys are playing so well,and their still novices. Anyone who thinks we are not going in the right direction knows nothing about football.