adrian lord

I'd say the best seasons ever were 76 and the year we came runners-up to Liverpool in the 1st Division. Both, but especially the latter, were remarkable achievements. This season is also remarkable, and particularly in terms of the academy and English contingent, but not, frankly, in the same echelon as those 2.

Isn't every provincial town well populated with migrant workers from Poland?

I used to live in a damp matchbox.

A worryingly political answer. Keeping options very open. Only thing certain is he'll see this season out.

No excuses for that craven capitulation.

Very enjoyable article, meandering through the horrors of history. What is extraordinary is that it must have taken real time, perverse imagination and effort to create such abominations - it would have been easier just to do something decent. You imagine the lads in the design office at Patrick or Hummel having a few beers for lunch on a Friday and then back at the office enthusiastically getting down to the job of making sure Southampton and their shirters look utter clowns next season. They would have laughed up their sleeves all weekend!

We have strong prestige and admiration throughout the game mainly because of the Academy's sustained success over the last 15 years, and partly too because we have tried to play 'the right way' on our rise up from the depths. We have however, underachieved massively on a long term look-back, and have only one serious trophy, from way back in 76. This undermines our 'size'. We have a solid core home support of about 20,000 who will go even in league one. Not bad but we don't have the tens of thousands of plastic glory hunters that tag on in the Prem like they do at Chelsea etc. which I am sad to say do contribute to 'size'. Neither are we blessed with a 'sleeping giant' globally entrenched and long-embedded 'granite' fan base like, say, Leeds are. We have no profile outside of England, plastic or granite. All in all, we are in the upper-reaches of the group of medium sized city clubs that have had only modest success, sustain a sizeable local fan base, but have no international profile. Can we break out and make a quantum-leap in 'size'? Probably not - even if we had a Notts Forest type run of success in CL and PL, I think we would, like Forest, still be a medium sized club that, once upon a time, had a purple patch.

That bloke who manages Spurs has lost the dressing room and is only care taking for the new guy in the summer. We ought to capitalise....but...

He had awful wind, so was grimacing a lot.

The chap seems to have a personality disorder.

is Tommy Docherty still alive?

Smalling was dreadful, Chamberlain looked rusty and misplaced several passes. Adam and Luke were revelatory. They're off to Brazil.

Bad feeling about this game too - this fixture has all the hallmarks of an ignominous defeat looming.

Yes - but he was terribly off form last weekend.

The Cup loss is a red herring in the analysis of our collapse in form. It was merely a symptom, not the cause.

I'm sure that could be arranged!

Most propitious timing for this apposite thread. While preparing my yacht for the spring today down at Ocean Village, I couldn't help but notice what can only be described as a Sunseeker "Super-yacht" moored up, fully lit and a hive of activity. Incongruous amongst the vessels laid up still for winter. Here's the clincher: It was full of very important-looking and quietly excited Chinese. A group disembarked into a waiting S-class and departed at speed towards St Mary's.

I think Pardrew is a nasty piece of work behind the media persona.

So, in the summer we could be managerless, with an owner/chairwoman who knows nothing about football and a hockey coach running the gaff. Sounds vaguely familiar?

Agree - and in the bottom half.

Rogers has done a good job at Liverpool, you've got to say.

Our heads are dropping.

Hats off to a noisy Scouse support.

On the other hand we could easily get thrashed now if we aren't careful.

Game over.