Alain Perrin

How dare they be the biggest spenders in league 1. S Sir Rickie doesn't work for peanuts.

I'll never forgot Marians for his goals (Man U / Pompey especially, but crucially in the Great Escape season. However, those memories are sullied by the fact that when the club really needed him in later years he was injured (granted sometimes genuinely, other times less so). After the early years (1999 - 2002), he was a drain on the clubs meagre resources and I have a bad taste about his role (or lack thereof) in the relegation season / Championship season. When we really needed the little man to step up to the plate, he was injured (genuine maybe, but often it sounded work shy). His goal return in those years (granted most as a sub, some on the wing) wasn't good and when he did play he didn't put in a great amount of effort. 1998-99 6 3 1999-00 33 13 2000-01 31 9 2001-02 36 14 2002-03 9 1 2003-04 14 2 2004-05 0 0 2005-06 8 1 It's kind of like only going to work 25% of the time but still being treated like a hero. Nice work if you can get it but I find it hard to celebrate it. So thanks for the goals MP, I just wish you could have been bothered to do more when we really needed you.

Anyone who thinks you can be a CEO without also having a strong self belief that you're always right (aka arrogance), is either 14 or deluded. There's not a huge difference between Lowe and Cortese, they're both businessmen who had/have an iron grip on the club. The difference is that Cortese has a mandate, from the fans (for now) and from ML's wallet. Long may it continue. The mandate makes a huge difference. If Lowe had 'pulled a programme' there would have been marches, plane banners and posts full of vitriol. Whoever heard of someone in football with the name Nicola? Answers on a postcard to Torino please.

Has Skacel signed? Seen him on YouTube - he looks good.

Personally I think Pardew is playing a dangerous game. I think the stories are being fed to the press by him to put pressure on Cortese (by generating the upswell of fan sentiment that this thread represents). The question for me is why: - does he feel pressured by NC and is fighting to insure his position. - is he looking for additional investment / commitment - is he looking for a longer contract? - is he looking for an 'out' - to West Ham or similar - "I had to go because the chairman didn't support me" yada yada yada. I don't know, but it can't serve Cortese for the press to whip up fan anger. (FWIW, I'd like him to stay as I think changing the manager leads to squad reshaping that we can ill afford this season).

I'd like to apologise for my halfwit brother's information which although right in spirit, ie. withdrawn because of a production issue, wrong in fact (ie. not down to how it was produced, but the content). When I spoke to him on Saturday he said as much but I'd hit the 3 post limit so I couldn't correct. So sorry for the curveball. Trust me though when I say that my uncle knows Messi and he's definitely signing

Maybe they know my brother. He works in sales there and that's what he's heard. But who knows, maybe Chelsea have signed Lambert?!

Should be clear that **** up was the wrong paper in the machine, not anything to do with the content.

My brother works at the printers. There was a **** up with the order and they didn't get done. NC was mega ****ed apparently.

It smells fishy to me. The bigger the debt gets (boosted by newly declared interests by Gaydamack / Chenrai etc.), the smaller the percentage that creditors like HMRC hold becomes. The upshot of this is that HMRC will have less ability to block a CVA - hence, I suspect, why it passed.

In fairness I'd welcome a Dodd / Gorman dream back over Pardew any day of the week.

I reckon we make about £7.5m per annum from tickets. I seem to remember a stat that said the average take from tickets was £15 (once you take into account concessions etc.). It would be interesting to know what the wage bill is but as we're not a PLC anymore I'm not sure we'll find out that info. I wouldn't think we're paying more than £8K a week to top names, but it is a crazy sport, so who knows. I think the Ward experience probably tells us we're on the sensible side of extravagant. Not having a mortgage clearly helps, as does hospitality and balti pies etc.

To suggest their is some referee conspiracy to do Southampton down is laughable at best. There are good referees and bad referees and they get assessed like you wouldn't believe to try and moderate them to a consistent enforcement of the laws. But they're human and will be standing in the wrong place, looking in the wrong direction or make the wrong marginal call. It happens, suck it up. We've had marginal calls / bad decisions made in our favour, but it's natural that we wouldn't remember them as much as the decisions that rile us.

he's a private man, leave him be

The replay shows the offence starting outside of the box (just) so it rightly wasn't a penalty. Close call though. Regardless, it was a great free kick.

My selfish reason for wanting Pompey to survive is that if they don't we don't have a real derby.

It's immoral to suggest Saints shouldn't have a points deduction this season regardless of who/what/where/when triggered administration. Effectively our new owner got a £x million reduction in the asset value of the club because of the administration. That saving means he has more to budget for players etc. So, in my opinion, regardless of what the rules say, a ten point reduction which has an impact (not something meaningless a la Pompey) is fair and proper.

Ain't going to happen. Sent by my c*ck, using TappyB*llocks.

.. but he does look like a monkey

Agree. Trade descriptions act and all that. It's not like it's rocket surgery either.

I think it's a disgrace. I won't be satisfied with 100%, he needs to be 110% committed at least.

Oh and Kevin Phillips is an overhyped player. One great season with Sunderland and then the premiership defenders found him out. I was dismayed when we signed him.

How accurate is that though? Or rather how much is myth put about as part of the Lowe slagfest? I'd heard two versions: - DD was being touted around at 1.5m, and RL would only approve 1m. - Strachan rejected Drogba because he 'was too similar to Beattie'. Without hype or prejudice I'd like to know the answer. Does anyone know the truth?

I think it is too simplistic to say 'you should always play x-x-x', sometimes different formations suit different opposition / available players / surfaces / weather conditions. We've developed as a team over the year so to declare two 'early' defeats (Swindon & Huddersfield) as 'case closed' over 4-5-1 is a bit premature. I think Saints do, with the players available (specifically Morgan) play better as 4-4-2. This doesn't however mean we should play it every time.

I think the booing is understandable, but not for the reasons you are getting irate about. It is quite obvious that Cortese is Alpine_Saint. Let's look at the facts: - Veiled criticism of Pardew at every opportunity. - They both have unrealistic expectations - Austria / Switzerland - what's the difference - 'Alpine_Saint' knows everything about how the team played (even though he's not there - the only explanation is that his alter ego Cortese was watching). Q.E.D. - Alpine_Saint is Cortese. That's why I was booing.....