trousers

It's a bit more subtle than that.....winning wasn't the primary objective. The primary objective was to give some of the fringe and academy players game time. From what I can make out (I didn't see the game, but the match thread was quite positive until the second half), we weren't a million miles away from getting a result last night.

Indeed. We've already got 7 (seven) games in December. I'm convinced Pochettino would have played the 'B team' vs Chelsea had we progressed last night, thus giving rise to yet more toys being thrown out of prams across SaintsWeb Forum land in the next round.

You're not suggesting that some Saints fans aren't clever enough to have worked this out themselves are you... ?

Alps me ol' mucker, I was wondering if you could help me out? My short term memory is dreadful. As such its difficult for me to keep pace with everyone's opinions on here. If you could post the above opinion of Ramirez every day for the next 2 months that would be a great help. Cheers mate.

This was also the match thread

Feel free to quote one of my "we'll finish 4th" prediction posts

See post #557

Been out all evening. Just got back and read this thread from the beginning. By half time we had been "playing as good as our first choice 11" and everything was rosy. That prevailing view, of course, completely changed when they scored. It's quite entertaining to read these threads retrospectively having not been around during the game. Not sure what's more amusing though. The wind up merchants or those being wound up and reacting.

I can't. Which means we both agree that, in sacking Adkins, Cortese acted "contrary to accepted wisdom"...

Yes, that was the point of my slightly tongue-in-cheek attempt to add balance to the list of 'bad' stuff...

But most chairman wait until their manager is on the slide before sacking them rather than at their peak, as most can't see when their manager has reached a peak until after the event. Cortese seems to have mastered the art of pre-empting management failure (so far)

You missed off: "sacking managers at their peak"

Please stop this indirect lack of respect to our own away fans please.

No, Glasgow_Saint. The SWF rules are that only the majority can be right. People acting in the minority can't be right, surely?

Yep, that's exactly why I think Cortese's petty response (if that's what it is) is "slightly amusing". Well spotted.

Could this be linked to the Financial Fair Play initiative that Cortese voted against? A bit of a tit-for-tat response, as in "you've told me how I should run my business so I'm going to spend this as I see fit" in retaliation... Petty? Yes. Amusing? Slightly.

Yeah, fair point. I did hesitate before posting it and probably made the wrong decision. Apologies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-24831779 It's a good job Portsmouth Football Club generates c.£300m for the local economy per year...

Enough of this frivolity... I'm off to watch the Champions League. Call it research for next season...

Eh? I've never done that before...

I take pride in my banal consistency

I feel sad for people that feel sad for other people's opinions on a football forum

Indeed. What this forum needs more of is people with their finger on the pulse as far as the future direction of the club is concerned... http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?5486-Administration-inevitable&p=124032#post124032

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11700/9010189/capital-one-cup-gus-poyet-surprised-and-impressed-by-southampton