Wurzel

Probably knew nothing about us, googled us pre-match, read about what a fortress The Dell is for us and g ot his excuses prepared.

I hope Saints have reminded the PL that we have no problem fitting in the fixture on Tuesday 25th/Wednesday 26th, so could they please contact Newcastle and see which one they prefer.

Plus of course the embarrasment, loss of trust and potentialy ruining any future working relationship if you approached the subject with the alledged perpetrator and the rumours turned out to be false. It appears Merrington was the only one prepared to take that risk. Thankfully nowadays there is enough awareness of the subject that i'd like to think most of us would ar least ensure any such rumours were investigated. and anyone innocently accused could at least accept why it had to be checked. Back then though it was a different world. Agree with you about the "every school had them" bit. Our PE teacher was a "gay pedo" based on nothing more than his shorts were tighter than most 😂

For those that can't read the article I'll quote the final paragraph here Firstly I would say that I hate the current woke and cancel culture so this may affect my judgement. If, and I mean if , Bates was aware of what Higgins was up to, or even suspected it, he should have acted. . For all we know he may have done so, but Higgins convinced him it was nothing but salicious gossip. Taking it further would have been the right thing to do, but failing to act doesn't necessarily make him wrong. No-one else involved ( or potentially involved) has a statue. Removing it would cast aspersions of a much bigger involvement in the affair by Bates, treating him as a scapegoat and putting him, in the likely view of public opinion, as an instigator at the same level of wrongdoing as Higgins himself. Any one else involved, to whatever degree, would continue to remain publically unknown That club statement indicates that many people both inside and outside the club failed to act. If that's the case why remove one individual's statue? - the only logic I can find for doing so is it acts as a reminder every time the victims see it - whilst the club continues to exist. If they truly believe a tribute to a great man should be "cancelled" due to possible involvement in this affair then surely, by association, the whole club should be "cancelled". That of course will never happen, nor would I want it to. Higgins has been punished under the law. The club has investigated themselves, found fault in their system at the time and taken steps to ensure that such a thing can never happen again under their watch. For me - and I accept the victims may feel differently - that should be the end of the matter.

I would have thought joining us would be a no brainer for AB. He seems a pretty level headed guy who knows where he is at now (ie, still learning the game) and what he could become (which could still range from a lower level PL striker to a top CL performer). He could go back to Chelsea, who almose certainly will at best give him a place on the bench for the next couple of seasons with ther occasional run out, whilst they wait and see if he can develop into that top level player we all hope for (as would probably any current CL side). Or he could join us, get regular game time for the next couple of seasons whilst still developing, safe in the knowledge that if he develops into a CL quality striker in those couple of years (and we ourselves don't reach those dizzy heights 🤣) then we are unlikely to stand in his way when clubs at that level start sniffing around. Either way, if he develops as well as we hope over the next couple of years he'll end up at a CL team. But he'll develop a lot quicker, and probably enjoy himself a lot more, playing for us week in week out whilst doing so. Which to be fair fits entirely with our business model in recent times, which, despite new owners is unlikely to change any time soon.

Just realised why my PaddyPower account continously shows an open transaction. I'd forgotten I'd bet on a top 10 finish for us this year just before last season finished. I thought 7/2 was generous then, only dropped to 3/1 now so not much change there. So I guess that means we are performing roughly in line with bookies expectations. Good to see they still have Newcastle as odds on to go down😁. Not so pleased that only makes them 4th favourites for the drop😥

What happened to Sky showing full game starting @ 9?

I remember spotting myself clearly in that clip celebrating amongst that melee on MotD that night. Combination of fading memory as to where I was actually stood, deteriorating eyesight and being used to HD tv, don't think I'd have a chance of finding myself again now!

To be fair even that is unnecessary, just scan the QR code and report it positive (or negative, depending on what you're trying to achieve) . Don't even need to actually do the test.

If he can piss off an Eastern European government he's already a good 'un in my eyes. But knowing our luck I wouldn't bet against our first away fixture once we qualify for Europe again being Red Star or Partizan Belgrade. Probabaly not as popular as a trip to the San Siro for away fans 🤣

The more I read about this deal the more the criticisms of Katharina from certain fans seem wide of the mark. Not even heard of Bogli before but he obviously represents her and/or acts on her instructions Not sure how her deal with Gao came to fruition, I would guess it didn't turn out how she hoped but at least he took no money out of the club. This time she, with her veto , has ensured the deal was a cash purchase, no threat to the clubs security whilst rejecting other , probably higher, offers. She could have insisted a buyer purchased her share as well, took the cash and ran, but she has put the future of the club first. There's a good chance her 20% will be worth even more in the future, and she probably doesn't need the money, but she has done us a big favour right now. I'm guessing, but I'd imagine without her Gao would have been happy to take the first offer that met his price whether it benefited the club or not. My only concern is that under the new deal her 20% no longer has a veto, so she has no control over the future of the club, but then again everything I've read so far about the new owners makes me think the future is not going to be a problem. Getting happier about this take over by the day.

I'd have thought the opposite, can see it becoming if not the norm then inreasingly popular. In fact it doesn't even need group ownership to benefit the clubs. Man Utd for instance have "loaned" at least 30 of their up and coming players to Royal Antwerp over the years to get matchday experience, based on nothing more than a mutual agreement. But the group ownership would have more financial advantages.

Nice away and 3rd kits, not much room for a sponsor though

It is! Christ, if Gao had let us know he'd accept as low as that we could have had a whip round on here and bought it ourselves

Good point, well made

To be fair, did he mention this year?

Just caught up on this thread after a few days away. So we are being taken over today? Or maybe not? There was a time a few years ago that all our announcements were made around 10pm (think it was to piss off The Echo), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another 4 hours at least .

ITK? Not heard of him before , unfortunate name , but if he's got the money to invest he'll do for me.

And 3 more games to go. Come on Saints, we can do this ! 😂

Article in The Athletic recently pointed out how we always have a player go down around the 60 minute mark and whilst he's being treated the rest of the team grab a drink in a group whilst RH gives out new instructions. I had noticed myself we do it most games but not the coincidental timing. I had to laugh when I looked at the clock as Tella went down, he timed it to the second 🤣

Definitely need that. On the plus side first time JWP famously used his shithousery on Zaha it probably won us the game (did Zaha end up getting himself sent off? ). On the even plusser side, JWP ends up getting himself sent off and strengthens our side for the next 3 games.

Defence in watching the man with the ball not the runners shocker.

👏👏👏

I'd agree with that. I'd go as far as to see in the past few years he and Romeu were our most important players, the type that go relatively unnoticed but get the job done. But all good things come to an end and we let him go at the right time. I've guessed from this thread's re-emergence that Leicester played last night so have just found the highlights. I can honestly say from watching that I have no idea what position Bertrand was - or thought he was - playing in last night. Slow chasing back (after only 3 minutes) for their 1st, played them all onside for their 2nd. You could argue that he was very exposed for their 3rd goal, having to cover a player in the centre and out on the wing, but even when he got to the player with the ball he was bypassed easier than a pitch invader avoiding an overwewight steward.

From a playing point of view the BIB is very much needed to the extent I'd make it a January priority. This policy of youngsters coming through the academy plus up and coming youngsters from other clubs bought relatively cheaply to improve and sell on makes sense from a business point of view. But on the pitch we end up with a team full of players that have learnt their PL level street smarts -or rather lack of it - with us. I'd guess Theo has the most PL appearances of anyone in our squad, could therebe a more nicey nicey after-you-sir type of player? We are crying out for some experienced heads for no other reason than to teach the younger players a thing or two about holding on to leads and game management. I'd swap half the current squad to bring in a modern day Jimmy Case. JWP often gets mentioned for his shithousery, christ if that's as tuff and streetwise as we can manage no wonder we're going nowhere. Hopefully any takeove can bring with it a change of emphasis on the playing staff side of things.