sandwichsaint

Clearly we need a 5-a-side game between Liverpool and Saints to sort out the proper champions of English football: Johnson / Gerrard / Hendo / Sturridge / Sterling v Clyne / Cork / Lallana / J Rod / Lambert Liverpool win on big names/experience/pace Saints win on team spirit/technique/rhythm/tempo/tactical awareness

Canterbury is a massive student town now, not sure what you are really looking for? In the big scheme I'd say it was a pretty quiet/safe/pleasant place to live, would imagine accom is dearer than some other areas. Not over-much going on, strong pub/music scene, limited choice of clubs but always full, usual regional theatre/galleries type set-up Big ratio of girls over boys; Christchurch College (the old teacher training college) is massive now and has a ratio of something like 80-20 F/M. Not particularly central for going anywhere else, London an hour by train. SMS two and a half hours by car or train. Not sure if you are looking for any sports opportunities? Club cricket and hockey are both very strong in Kent (and very sociable), there is some football but a lot of it isn't very good. Can't comment specifically on the courses but UKC and Christchurch both have very good reps.

Still think my team would beat tonight's team: .............. Hart ................ Clyne Jag Cahill Shaw .......... SG... Barry .......... .. Ox ...... AL ...... Raheem ... ........ Sturridge ........... Liking Smirking's 4-3-3 above, think the left side would be far more solid with LS/LA over LB/WR Happy to play Wellbeck over Ox if that's the fitness situation, also quite happy to see Hendo in midfield. Think there will be goals and think we'll win, 3-2 possibly.

Pretty much this, co-commentators are a bit like goal music, if you're involved with the game and the game is entertaining you then you don't even really notice if they are good or bad. I really enjoyed the England game Saturday and although I was aware that PN was doing the co-comm it didn't stand out to me that he was particularly 'bad' nor did it cross my mind that something over 400 people would flood the Beeb with 'complaints'. Haven't these sad-sacks got anything better to do with their time?

Haven't seen the video but reading between the lines, a touch of the Mark Wrights perhaps?

Sash good, Dan Seaborne HeadingHats less so.

Agree .... v. entertaining so far!

Lambert?

Don't agree, nothing like the same old same old, we used to have a reasonable defence and a limited attack, we now have a pretty good attack and a very limited defence. I saw more flair from England going forward than I did from Brazil the other night.

I'm not missing Lawro one little bit.

I'm a bit insulted that you even had to ask, didn't you see me in the Northam after the last game of the season celebrating our momentous 8th place finish? The players waving up at me and me celebrating with a badge-kiss and a chest -thump? Surely no fan that's off to another club next season could be that shallow could they?

Thank the Lord that someone's got their priorities right.

I'd take either, 81/82 is an astonishing conversion rate. What's the 'average' conversion rate in the PL? It can't be above 90% can it? FF, what's David Peach's record if you have it to hand?

If all this comes to pass, and it looks plausible, then can we start to say that the board will have made the best of a bad job? I'd take this scenario now.

Really, months and months? I'd have thought that over the last 12-18 months Saints have had some of the most positive PR of pretty much any club in the country ... reams and reams of positive stories and quotes and articles ... loads of positive TV coverage etc etc. Guess that was alright by you though? No awkward questions were ever asked of who was paying for it, how much it was costing, how sustainable it would be when big clubs come calling etc etc. Now the boot is on the other foot and the wheels appear to have come off you cry 'foul'. What are the papers supposed to do? Super-success-story-Southampton hit a bit of financial/managerial/want-away players-type turbulence, it would be astonishing if the papers didn't want to write about it wouldn't it?

Much better when Lallana comes central, he's a far better play maker than Rooney (who's not a play maker at all). Shaw and either of Clyne or Chambers would add massively to this side. Bet Welbeck lives in a cul-de-sac.

The Spanish de Canio, that's a name we haven't seen yet, which in the current circumstances is one small silver lining.

In Liverpool presumably? (good news wherever it was).

WTF? Have a word with yourself. Man has ST for 8 years with group of friends. Man has work difficulties and not sure if he can renew. Where has CEC said anything in this about 'entitlement'?

Just the 8 for me two.

You got that hospitality manager's gig yet? Certainly making all the right noises now.

Not sure about that, and not sure they are even direct rivals? First up, I'm a JRod fan and I'm more than happy with his contribution since he's been here, he was a bit of a slow burner but he's had a really good season this year and it looks like there's plenty more to come as long as he can get past his injury. Now to the much maligned Mr Welbeck, did you not see the United game at SMS recently? If not I'd suggest that TV highlights don't really do justice to players in the flesh. Absolutely outstanding display, for somebody with that 'awkward' look he is technically on a different level, a sort of bl*ck Peter Crouch, only much quicker, if you will; everything stuck, and he used the ball really intelligently too. Pacy, strong, full of running, and all of it with a purpose; he created their goal and was the only player on their side (bar Mata) to offer any sort of threat. Factor in their international scoring records and it really is a no brainer, I really like JRod and what he brings to the team but anybody saying that his injury robbed him of his WC place is getting a bit ahead of themselves, who would you have left out to accommodate him? Rooney?Sturridge? Welbeck? Sterling?* If he keeps up his progress JRod could be an outside chance for the next Euro's (and that is not to damn JR with feint praise - we are talking the top, top level here and it's no disgrace for a player to be in the position of first reserve, why do we think that finishing 8th in the PL and never having played any European/CL football gives one of our players a shoo-in to some very select company?). *I'd have left Rooney out, a great player and all that but he's just not got the chemistry in an England shirt, a sort of Lampard/Gerrard forever-doomed-to-failure type set-up. My England team from February: ................ Hart ................. Chambers .... Jag .... Cahill ..... Shaw .........Gerrard ....... Barry ................. Ox .............. AL .............. Sterling .............. Sturridge ................... Reckon that side would run rings around Roy's boys.

Wolves will be struggling in the Prem again by this time too.

Would it be fair to say that if Weston has broken cover now we can expect to see one or other or both off before the WC? If that is the case why would MoPo stay? He's allegedly got a 'better' offer on the table and two of his main men are off, why stay? He could be given all the money to spend but those two players are effectively 'irreplaceable' in terms of who we could attract to replace them. Incredibly naive of the club if either are sold before the WC.

I'll be ref, there's a ton of posts in the vault saying these things, just cos no one's sad enough to go back and dig them out doesn't mean they don't exist. Adkins best English manager of his generation? check Adkins for L'pool? check Adkins for England? check And we're not talking in ones and twos, more like tens and twenties.