Alain Perrin

Sad loss IMHO. A motivated Rasiak would have scored a bagfull in L1. That said, wages off the book is a good thing and should allow strengthening elsewhere.

Sorry that's ********. The valuation reflects many things not related to performance (how much a club want to keep a player which itself is relative to his stats vs other players in the squad in that position, how long his contract has to run and how affordable to the club he is). Rasiak is a goal threat. He may have a silly haircut, he may not be 'all action', but he scores goals. That is a fact and that is all you want a striker to do. Had Saints been able to afford him last year I think we wouldn't have gone down. But.... for a League 1 team he is on silly money (someone said him and Saga are 14% of our wage bill - if so, then that money could be better spent). However, he's just doing a job. Like any job, he's looking for a mix of money and prospects -same as any other person picking up a wage. If you think he should live in a different world to anyone else, then you need your head checking.

Personally I am cutting down. So much so I haven't renewed. I think the 3 post limit will be the nicorette patch I need because fundamentally there are better things to do (especially as most of the arguments are circular). I also have a slight (and probably pedantic, given the effort the mods put in) niggle about paying money for something that used to be free. So I'll take my money and my mouth to the advertisement funded purgatory of the three post limit. And with that, I'm out.

Gaylord.

Was it you?

I agree that all is not rosy (and I agree that Lallana adds little to the team - he's very talented, but doesn't seem to be able to apply it). I did go yesterday and took positives from the new signings and the fact we survived a bombardment (the kind that Saints of old would have crumbled under). The negatvity ("this is relegation form" etc.) don't help matters IMHO.

Some people need to get a grip. We didn't become **** over night, and we won't become un-**** overnight either. Calling for Pardew's head or grumbling, makes you no better than Rupert Lowe in his most trigger happy moments. Give Pardew time and he will make Saints competitive again. If you look at what he's done in the first few WEEKS of taking the reigns (signing a solid CM, loaning an uncomplicated CB, sigining a proven scorer), you can see he is building this side. But it won't happen overnight. I was as frustrated as anyone at Swindon. We looked powerless, yet Pardew did nothing - no substitutions, no changes of formation, nothing ( untiil too late). I wondered why, it wasn't because we didn't have options on the bench. I think the reason is that Pardew is still learning about the team, still assessing, finding out how they play. So give it time people. I have faith that Pardew will deliver. (incidentally if you you type open bracket "until", the system thinks you are typing c * * t. When will the censorship end? The moderation of this site is a complete load of ****ing ******** - what a load of ****s.

Hmmm, why would he do that?

Hmmm let's see. Imagine there is a club, let's call them Sewthumpten, they offer you a contract that dicks you out of £50K. You then get caught in the middle of a civil war and are back stabbed by someone else at the club to get your job. I'd say that he's justified in feeling that way. He wasn't born in Southampton, all he's got is 12 months wages. Even the most blinkered fan could see that last year was a strategy aimed at cutting costs to the bone to stave off relegation AND administration. It failed. If you want to blame someone for the mess blame the infighting *****s on the board, who seemed happy to fight it out in the Echo than settle their differences and work together. Personally I liked JP. Out of his depth but at times (particularly early on), Saints played some great football. Certainly a million times better than the ******** at Swindon on Tuesday. But JP is history, the future in AP and, given time, I am hopefully that the quality can be regained, but this time with results.

How naive Phil. What you've described there is the 'real world', and it is stupid of you to think that that applies in this forum where crackpot analysis, petty vendetta and mock outrage rule absolute. The sooner you accept that - everything is black and white, there's no Mr Inbetween. - transfers can be completed inside an hour - signings should be published on the OS within 38 seconds of the contract signature. - that we have a divine right to win. ... the happier you'll be. That kind of serenity really helps your golf game too.

To be honest I thought the same last night. The football was truly shocking, yet Pardew made no substitutions - why? Three reasons: 1) He's sussing out the team / wanting them to learn the formation 2) He's not a subs manager (pick the best team and that's it) 3) He's clueless I've got to go for (1), the others are too depressing, but it makes sense too. Otherwise Rasiak would have been on from the start / subbed on early.

My suggestion Kingsland = Matt Le Tissier Chapel = Bobby Stokes Itchen = Ted Bates Northam = Rupert Lowe I'd **** myself laughing.....

I'd mark Lallana lower than Wooton. Lallana failed to do his job and gave Wooton a master class in playing backwards. Football tricks do not a footballer make.

There were plenty worse performances than Wooton. Maradona he ain't, but to make him a scapegoat is wrong IMO. He's the only big un we have in the middle and, much as I rate Gillett, he's not the tallest. Lallana contributed far less. He needs to work out how to play on the wing, or how to sit on the bench. Too much flash, too little product.

Lallana needs shooting. Until he can... 1) Give us some width and not wander into the middle at every opportunity. I'm all for licence to roam, but he takes the ****. 2) Learns to tackle and get close to his man when not in possession. 3) Provides support to his left back (see 1) 4) Not receive every ball and move it backwards (I swear, every time he got the ball tonight he moved back 4 yards before thinking of moving it forward - oh, too late, closed down). He's got good tricks and skills, but for me he's too lightweight, tries to do to much with the ball, too late. I don't think he's a winger. And I think he's too lightweight for the centre of midfield. A conundrum.

Ahh a plan... but I'm in Old Town. All hail the Swindon Saints Massive!

WARNING... The bus station car park gates shut at 10pm...... and then they don't open till 6am. Could be a long night!!!

Agreed. Too often there are a bunch of muppets on here with opinions that are based more on a player's haircut or tatts than on reality. Does Wotton pick himself? No. AP picks him to do a job (leader, muscle, height - who cares). If Wotton fails to do his job, do you think AP is better placed to judge than you (from behind your keyboard, listening to second hand opinions on Solent?) Wotton wasn't the reason we lost on Saturday, by the sounds of it, there were 10 others. Trust in Alan, or, if you can't do that, at least give him until January.

And clearly you weren't here when a helluva lot of other players played (variously I have heard Fuller, Crouch and Bennett described in this way). Wotton isn't Maradona, he's not going to be. He's the big guy in the centre of the park, uncomplicated muscle. Are there better players with those attributes, yes. In our squad, no. Should AP be looking for someone? Yes, I think so. The reason (I think) AP plays Wooton is experience and muscle. Whilst Gillett is a better player (IMHO), he's not going to beat anyone up.

Hark at the suicide squad, bashing their keyboards in frustration. Patience is the key.

Personally I think the continued reference to bi-polar disorder is in bad taste, regardless of whether some troll has irked you in the past. For people with that condition and their families it is no laughing matter. Given the level of moral outrage some people on here are prone to, it is a shame to see double standards being exercised when they find someone irritating.

I struggle with the concept you can be a great defender and concede lots of penalties. Mistakes happen, he just seemed more prone than most. There were definitely 3 penalties he conceded (Blackpool, Burnley and Charlton). Out of 20 appearances that appears heavy for me. The 'fourth' non-penalty (my mistake) was just outside the box vs. Birmingham. I am not against him as a defender (I think he was excellent in the air), my problem is that he gave away too many clumsy fouls. For Burnley and Charlton they were suckers penalties where he got too close to his man and gave the attacker the option of tripping over his feet. Because of that I'm out.

It's like saying Fred West was a good builder, just a pity he buried prostitutes under my patio. Giving away penalties is a cardinal sin in my opinion. How many did he concede (I think 4)? For a central defender in half a season that is shocking.

Liability in my opinion. I've never seen someone give away so many penalties. He only looked good because we'd become used to so bad.

Call me an old codger, but.... - I can't understand the obsession with having the f-word in every chant. If Andrew-Lloyd Webber took that approach I think his songs would be far less memorable... - I think that any songs of more than one sentence (repeated) will struggle to get learnt. Give It Up / Rasiak is a good example of an easy to learn song.