Alain Perrin

Not that I am encourgaing buying crocked players, but doesn't insurance offest this. Delgado for example, I can't believe we ended up on the hook for everything (especially considering how careful with cash Rupert was).

Pahars dived more than Tom Daly

If we don't we'll begin to be sucked in to the Financial Fairplay proposals which seem to be moving towards a £8m loss cap in 2012-2013, cut to £4.5m by 2016-2017. Maybe Nicola is thinking get the players in now and, provided we can support the salaries within income and the excess then we'll be well positioned? The way I see it is £100m this transfer window would be the best way forward. Let's get Messi!

Same for me. There are very few compensations for working in Swindon's town centre!

Read into this what you will.... from @AgentSmagent Southampton to spend big, it's going to get #Messi

I appreciate it's a bit crap but, having not won, I haven't yet had to queue for winnings. Like any operation I suspect they might be having a few launch issues and hope that they can correct after a few weeks. Controversial though it may be, I suggest we give them a few weeks before jerking the knees.

Blowy for a hatrick. Fact!

The sort that wants flexible resources. If it was just Sid and Mary in the ticket office answering telephones then you'd have a long wait to get through for popular tickets. By outsourcing you can flex up when you need people, flex down when you don't. Let's be clear it is a transaction charge, not a per ticket cost. Yes if you only buy one ticket it is 10%, but I'd guess most buy 2 or more. If it is baked into the cost (because they ain't doing it for free) then if you buy 10 tickets you are subsidising people buying less. It's fairer and clearer than being inside the face value price. Not sure I understand the double negative. You're not being unfairly penalised, you are paying a premium for allowing you to order from your sofa. That premium includes the person to answer the phone, the system to process it, the person to stuff the envelope, the credit card fee and the postie to deliver it.

Odeon is a rubbish comparison. You pay 75p, go to the cinema, print it off from the machine and go in. They also sell tickets for their many cinemas every night of the week so a lower marginal cost is to be expected. The phone service is outsourced to a third party who provides the service for the opening hours - their costs will reflect this whether they sell zero tickets or 100 tickets an hour. Also the net difference between the cost of the person to answer the phone and the web server to process your order probably isn't that great. The fact is that no-one knows what percentage of the ticket tax goes towards paying the costs. The costs are however greater than just a lick and a stamp. If they were a tenner I'd agree with you but there in keeping with what the rest of the ticket selling industry charges. Personally I'd prefer it was hidden in the ticket cost, penalising everyone, just to shut you ****ers up...

Irrelevant. If we signed anyone this week I doubt they'd have anything more than 5 minutes at the end. The first choice partnership of Fonte / Jaidi is what will start on Saturday.

Yep - I was wrong,

Not just you Charlie, but this typifies some of the sad ****ers that call themselves Saint's fans. 10 years, 300ish games of football and your most memorable thing was a banner? FFS - get a life. For me (a football fan) the best was : - Camara's goal vs. Norwich or 4-1 against Spurs in the cup. And the worse was : - Leeds comeback from 3-0 to win 4-3. (For the poster who said Blayney's save vs. Newcastle, wasn't it Paul Smith?)

Dammit. I was a week late with my prediction. http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?31149-4-weeks-one-day.....&p=1083888#post1083888 Anything more than 24K will be a miracle in my opinion (due to holidays and holiday expenses in the most part). I wish people would stop moaning about the the ticket prices. We are in the middlish of the league on prices, we've (in many cases) got better (paid) players and (often) a nicer ground. Mainly it seems to be people caught by the change in categories with the biggest gripes. Whilst Saints may be charging you more, in many other ways lots of those 55+ are living the golden age of retirement. Long life expectancies, unsustainable final salary pensions and good state benefits - all of which will be unaffordable for the pensioners of 20 years time. So in a decade or so when compulsory euthanasia comes in to sort out the demographic problem, you'll be seeking to pay more, just to avoid a bullet.

I think anyone who is touting Saints (or Brighton for that matter) for promotion is probably misguided. What happened last year was unusual - back to back promotion challenges aren't that common and I think the Championship is stronger this year.. I also agree that our defense has issues with pace (something we'll see more of in the Championship) and whilst 'fragile' might be a bit harsh, there were key games where we got exposed (Peterborough away as the example that journos probably saw and took note from). Midtable for me. Bucking the usual slow start, Saints will start strongly (riding on the confidence of promotion) and then fade in October, flirt with the playoffs in February before consolidating in midtable obscurity.

...

Now then, now then. now then. I feel making it simpler will lead to better adoption hence I've chopped out the first bit. Otherwise I take my hat off to you Sir, it's close to genius.

5:51am an you're tginking of beer? I suggest help may be required!

£600K is not a lot of money for a banker; trust me, I work in Zurich a lot. And, as people have mentioned, getting irate about a football chairman's salary when players are paid a multiple of that is akin to worrying about global warming when your house is on fire.

He ish my colleague, but also my life partner...

Although it might be romantic to see the club as being run for the people, it isn't. It is being run for a profit. Whilst there might have been some 'fun' in Markus' original investment, if the club bleeds without prospect of return I fully expect the Liebherrs to exit stage right. We can't want more, better (and QED better paid) players and expect all that for free. Outside of Hacker Murdoch's millions, the most significant source of funds is the fanbase. The days of the community club are long gone. There's no point *****ing about it.

Ah I see the classic "worst player to pull on a shirt" has made an appearance, how often that comes to bite the arse that speaks it?! Kenwyne Jones is the highest profile recipient I remember but there are others too. Look, Ryan Smith might be crap (I've mentally blocked that period when the whole team was ropey), but my point stands, given a different time, place or circumstance, players can be better than they appear. But if you don't think that the majority of Saintsweb forum members are reactionary jihadists, then I guess you're part of the problem.

Ryan Smith - one of many players that the great minds of Saintsweb have written off, yet given a different time, place, age, manager, formation, position, morale, fitness, application etc. can turn out to be half decent. Yes, Pulis may be crap, but this doesn't prove the rule. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. But I suppose it's far easier to be smart ass keyboard warrior than play professional football.

Chants should be simple. No complex, multiplicative inflected stanzas or complicated words. For example: To the tune of "He's got the whole world in his hands"... "You've got a co-ork up yer arse, You've got a co-o-ork up yer arse, You've got a co-ork up yer arse. You've got Jack Cork up yer arse." Ideally sung at at opposition attacker as JC steams into the back of him.

4 weeks one day and 91 minutes until we have the : - the first "Atkins" out post of 2011. - the first post decrying XXXX XXXXX as the "worse player ever to pull on a Southampton shirt" - the first post linking low attendance with the "season ticket pricing fiasco" (forgetting the fact the world and his wife are on holiday) Probably on 7 weeks until some knobber declares they "our season is over" or "I can't see us finishing anywhere other than champions / playoffs / mid table / relegation".... because they never learn.

Meh. Underwhelmed tbh. He's no Messi.