trousers

I'm undecided as to what the best course of action is at this moment in time. I can see pros and cons of protesting and not protesting (which, of course, makes me "uncourageous" and "without conviction" according to the self appointed Saintsweb intelligentsia... ) However, I'm inclined to agree with the OP regarding today's game. There is every chance that today's game will be watched by our prospective signing(s) (either at the stadium or remotely on TV). I don't think we should underestimate the impact a negative atmosphere might have on their decision to join the club. Yes, we are in danger of relegation and fans not protesting in some shape or form could be equally unhelpful to our fate, but I feel the time to unleash the cavalry is after the window has closed, not before. The danger of doing it before the window closes is that we end up shooting ourselves in the foot and/or cutting off our nose to spite our face. And, yes, I accept the danger of leaving it until after the window is that we could find ourselves in stable doors and horses bolting territory. However, after today's "free hit" game there is only one more league game before the end of the window. As such, I would venture that the difference between protesting today versus starting the protests on 1st February is negligible. So, whilst I'm still undecided on the benefits of protesting at a conceptual level, it's fairly clear in my mind that starting the ball rolling before the window closes is, on balance, not the right thing to do.

Is he hungry?

...

I'll let you off this time but please leave the next one un-nibbled for at least an hour and I'll split the winnings

Source?

Damn you sir. He went 40 minutes without a bite. At 30 minutes I put a cheeky fiver on 60 minutes. Thanks a bunch

Source?

"Oh yes we are" "Oh no we're not"

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I prefer this analogy:

*like*

The online article is here if anyone wants it (scroll about half way down): https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/5374499/alexis-sanchez-pep-guardiola-manchester-united/

You should apply for the job of Pellegrino's press conference advisor. That would have been a much better answer than the 'not ruling it out' one he gave just now

Pellegrino not denying the club's interest in Promes in today's pre-match press conference. Agreed with the journo that its the type of player we need but "don't like to talk about him becuase he's not our player" He could have simply said "no truth in that story" but chose not to.... make of that what you will....

I'm beginning to think Steve is Les Reed in disguise.... Promising stuff but not delivering.... Actually, now I think of it, they've never been seen in the same room together to my knowledge....

I haven't gone "all gooey" but I do have a box of tissues on stand-by

He'll do. Make it happen Leslie (sooner rather than later I would suggest)

Nah.... I much prefer to leave the flawed concept of choosing sides to you humans. Opinions: the root cause of all wars since c.63,732 BC You could always "work up the courage" to join me on the fence.... you do need a lot of balance up here though, so it might not be for you....

Good evening Guan... if I may, can I ask a question before contemplating getting involved in this... Has your role/position/source at the club changed or are you still the same 'Guan' in the same position as before.... i.e. the chap who used to drop us ITK titbits? I just sense that something has changed in regards your relationship with the club, whatever that may have been. (I'd always assumed you were an employee of the club but maybe that's wide of the mark?) Reason for asking is that I'm reluctant to get involved with anything that *could* be born out of a personal vendetta against the club. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing you of such a thing, I'm merely trying to rule it out and better understanding where you're coming from. I tend to over think stuff so this could just be a simple case of a fan venting his anger/frustration who just happens to have had connections within the club. Apologies for the inquisition (nobody expected that... ) but my curiosity got the better of me! Cheers Lord T

https://southamptonfc.com/news/2018-01-18/video-shane-long-pre-southampton-tottenham-premier-league

He's got his white hair back now I see. Normal service is resumed

Yep, that does blow my theory out of the water somewhat. Must stop this thinking out loud malarkey

That's a key observation for me too. The irony is that the constant churn of players, to avoid contracts running down, has actually served us well since we returned to the premier league. The goal to have more players on longer term contracts has possibly backfired. The aim was to achieve stability but stability could actually be our enemy... For 'stability' read 'complacency'... (Cue the "told you so" brigade...) The previous churn of players actually keeps everyone on their toes (from the boardroom to the players) and keeps things fresh rather than stale. Les, Krueger and co obviously see stability as a good thing....but perhaps it was the 'instability' that was keeping us competitive all along...? (Caveat: just thinking out loud so I could be talking a load of old tosh )