Matthew Le God

What about the huge numbers of shirts they have sold? Unless you survey every single person then every poll is skewed in some way or other. Even then you could pick holes in it as to how the respondants by taking a poll have been influenced.

What about the poll on the Echo website?

They have had loads of flights across the US and Canada and delays galore and missing out on training. Took them 42 hours to get there in the first place. Far better to stay at one training base rather than continuously traveling on inter continental flights. Fatigued already in late July. http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/More-Travel-Disruption-For-Blues-1164.aspx Bet they wish they went to Switzerland now...

1) It is still a much better squad than this time last year. Do you not agree? 2) Are you telling me Mills, Dickson, Puncheon and Oxlade-Chamberlain are slow? 3) Are you telling me Connolly doesn't offer a good option off the bench? 4) Are you telling me no media sources have reported Saints have made a bid for speed merchant Nathan Tyson? 5) Are you telling me Pardew hasn't said he wants to sign alternatives to Lallana and Puncheon?

I really can't follow the logic in that. Winning a competitive League game is a lot more important compared with winning a friendly in terms of the squads mentality.

Squad on the opening day last season vs Millwall 8th August 2009... Davis Murty Thomas Perry Harding James Wotton Schneiderlin Lallana Paterson Saganowski Subs: Bialkowski Gillett Holmes Lancashire Pulis Thomson Gobern The squad above only won one of its first 10 games and it did evolve in personal over the course of the season and ended up earning only 3 fewer points than 2nd place Leeds. Compare that to a potential squad for the opening day this season vs Plymouth 7th August 2010... Davis Richardson Jaidi Fonte Harding Puncheon Schneiderlin Hammond Lallana Lambert Barnard Subs: Bialkowski Dickson Seaborne Butterfield Wotton Oxlade-Chamberlain Connolly And have these still in reserve... Mills Martin McNish Gobern Holmes

Do Saints have any of the playing staff or backroom staff that England do?

You are jumping to a negative already that Saints will have a bad start to the season. Why have you done that? At the moment you have no idea how they will perform against Plymouth and in other upcoming competitive games. No-one does until they start playing them!

That is irrelevant. How many League games will Saints be trying to get 3 points in by playing the best possible XI to achieve a result? How many friendlies will Saints be trying to get 3 points in by playing the best possible XI to achieve a result?

How is it checkmate? Who said pre season last year was everything? Pardew in summer 2009 had from 17th July until 7th August to prepare for the first game. By the time the first game came only a handful of the current first XI had been signed. Pardew in summer 2010 has had the whole summer to work with the squad, before they broke up he also with Nick Harvey would have done they fitness program whilst they were away. Results during pre season matter not, it is the results over the course of the season that matter.

How many League games next season will Saints make 5 subs in? How many League games next season will both Saints and their opposition be playing for 0 points? It was a non competitive friendly ffs! Players don't go in for tackles etc like they would in a League/Cup game. They are played at a much slower pace and are used to build up fitness. Pretty much every team in the country has already drawn or lost a few games this pre season that if it were a League game you would expect to win.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/forest/Forest-players-Wilson-Tyson-transfer-targets-rivals/article-2451127-detail/article.html

Every year people confuse pre season friendly results with something that matters.

For Dickson in the first half.

The way they worded it makes sense.

Saints Vs Sutton: Davis. Butterfield, Fonte, Jaidi, Harding. Schneiderlin, Holmes, Dickson, Hammond, Oxlade-Chamberlain. Lambert Line up 4-5-1. Dickson on left of midfield, Holmes and Schneiderlin in middle, Chambo on right with Hammond just behind Lambert Subs: Mills, Wotton, McNish, Doble, Martin, Bialkowski, Barnard, Reeves

In fact I doubt many teams have ever had such high % of fans in a number of surveys liking a kit.

You are clearly in a minority, as most Saints fans in polls love it.

Then why is he listed in the squad on the OS yesterday? EDIT: I see it is mentioned on Twitter.

Most bookies at the moment have odds for Pompey suggesting a mid table finish.

The quotes from the Football League do not say Pompey have been allowed to sign three players to make it up to twenty. I'm not saying they won't sign three players, but those quotes don't actually say they have been given permission for that.

Any substance to that rumour?

[video=youtube;l2D3-FkoXNU] This thread is now complete!

He has never been captain of the under 21's. He hasn't even played a game for the proper French under 21 team. In any case if for example it were England not using the World Cup squad in their next match, how many England under 21 players would be used instead? 4 or 5 at most. They would use players that didn't make the squad. Who would most likely be older. i.e. the ones that missed out like Darren Bent, Leighton Baines, Bobby Zamora, Owen Hargreaves etc

http://www.al-saddclub.com/output/page5518.asp http://www.al-saddclub.com/output/page5524.asp