sambosa75

To be fair I think I'd rather lose after 90 than after extra time. I dont want that as an excuse when we lose again in League One next week, that we were knackered because of extra time against Brum.

Southampton's new tactic of employing players able to traject footballs at pace from their anus' appears to be paying dividends....

I'll take 2-1. Lambert and Morgan. It will be hard-fought. We may even go one goal down.

Because thats served Samprass and Federer so well hasnt it? He'll get the major soon enough as there are 2 majors a year on his best surface. People assume because he's British his best surface must be grass but his hard court game is the best in the world which is reflected in his ranking. The US Open is do-able but I reckon the Aussie Open next season will be his best bet.

QPR away or Newcastle home or away please.

Cant believe you didnt check the massively underrated tnaflix! I'm sure you'd have found what you were looking for there!

I personally reckon its ********. She strikes me as someone in quite a low level position such as admin. How many admin roles do you know of with a 6 month probation? I doubt there are many.

I purposefully havent been keeping an eye on this thread because I never thought it would happen. Went on the Saints official website and its on there. I'm chuffed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be fair, I'm pretty sure the Plymouth fans are looking forward to a day out at St James' more than the Newcastle fans are looking forward to going to Home Park.

Our back 5, providing we sign Jaidi is looking pretty rich in experience for this season! Davis, Murty, Perry, Jaidi and Harding. Loads of games under their belt be nice to see a back four with experience in seeing out games, instead of pressing the panic button at the first sight of danger.

The Kings Mall car park in Hammersmith is very cheap. Usually about £8 for the whole day and is really close to the station which is on the Picadilly and District line.

They've got about 20 screens and about 10 different receivers so I'd put my mortgage on it if I had one. Call them up, the staff are always very friendly and helpful and the owners a top bloke who likes Saints so will make sure it gets played if you ask for it.

Famous 3 Kings is quality. Next door to West Kensington tube station. Usually get a few Saints fans in there as well. Always a good atmosphere.

Would be a great signing. A player with a bit of skill, eye for goal, good experience and someone who builds good rapport with his fans. I'd be up for that.

Thought Harding kept Routledge reasonably quiet today, which would suggest he's got some pace. I'd say the left side of the pitch is the most promising aspect of the side at the moment. Awful up front. Even half-arsed, Rasiak is 10 times better than Patterson. He might not right all day or chase back when he loses possession but he causes problems which is what you want from a forward. If they can do both then great, but if its one or the other you want a forward that gives the oppositions defence something to think about.

Just back from the game. Typical Saints really. Played some neat short passing on occasion without creating anything worth speaking of and conceding 3 goals along the way. First goal was a soft header from a corner, 2nd one was due to too much dithering on the ball in our own area but the 3rd was cracker, although Lancashire might have done better to stand up to the runner instead of backing off. Left side looks promising. Patterson looks like he needs to do a lot of improving before he's capable of doing a job as a dis-interested Rasiak caused more problems for QPR in 25 mins than Patterson did otherwise. We seem full of running though, but are definitely crying out for some fresh blood, ideally with some experience.

For a start its 23 players but my squad at this point would be; Rob Green David James Ben Foster Glen Johnson Wes Brown Rio Ferdinand John Terry Joleon Lescott Jon Woodgate Ashley Cole Wayne Bridge Theo Walcott David Beckham Michael Carrick Owen Hargreaves Steven Gerrard Frank Lampard Joe Cole Ashley Young Wayne Rooney Peter Crouch Michael Owen Jermain Defoe First XI would be (4-3-2-1); Green, Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Walcott, Carrick, J. Cole, Gerrard, Rooney, Owen. Subs; James, Brown, Lescott, Beckham, Young, Hargreaves, Crouch. Simples...

Absolute warrior for beating it as many times as he did. Thoughts go out to his wife Elsie and his family. This has ruined my day.

I thought we already had one for an upcoming series with Sri Lanka?

I live in Kensington Olympia so will no doubt mooch on down. Walkabout isnt a bad shout, think there will be a few in there. Anyone know how much tickets are on the door?

"It's not them signing the players. Jesus. 3 years ago, Southampton signed Rudi Skacel and we all presumed we'd get promoted as a consequence. Imagine our reaction and expectations when big name and big money players like Owen, Emre, Boumsong, Martins, Coloccini, etc etc... " I was basically saying imagine our (Southampton fans) reaction if we signed some of the big money players they have signed. We all went mental when we signed Rudi Skacel, let alone the likes of Michael Owen or Martins or Emre or Duff etc...

Your response is as eloquent and well structured as always DD, but in fairness I come to expect nothing less from you. What exactly is a load of horse sh*t? Lets take a club similar in stature to Newcastle in terms of fanbase, history of winning things and annual turnover. Tottenham for example. If mid-table was truly the best they could ever hope for, with the dullest possible brand of football and all their key players not wanting to play for the manager anymore do you think they'd keep hold of the manager in question or look at another manager who could play more progressive football and give them a fighting chance of pressing on and challenging a bit more. I personally couldnt see them sticking with what they have. Clubs like Bolton and Blackburn with poor fanbases and little history (bar 1995 when Jack Walker bought the Prem title for Blackburn) are simply just happy and content to be there. They have no brand of football to speak of and no history of producing real footballing talent. Even Saints have a history of getting managers out who dont play football the right way. Branfoot being a good example. We have a rich tradition of producing good footballers and expect our team to attempt to play football the right way. Same as Newcastle.

I'm genuinely not sure they would. The Premier League really isnt the be all and end all. As a Saints fan, I havent missed it in the slightest. Its the most boring, predictable league in the world. The only real motivation for being there unless you support a top 4 side is for the money the club gets being in it. I would take a top 6 finish in the Championship every season than struggling year on year in the Premier League, waiting for that once in a blue moon you fluke a win over Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea. Dont get me wrong, I'm sure Newcastle fans would want to be in the Premier League but not if mid-table was the best they could hope for. A club of that size and stature (say what you like but they are still the 14th richest side in the world in terms of revenue) should not be limiting their aspirations to that.

I hate this sort of complex a lot of our fans seem to have. Their fans are excellent, there is no two ways about that. They turn up in their droves irrespective of the football they play home and away, domestic and abroad. The common misconception is that the build themselves up as some sort of ultra-super fanbase, when really it is the media that create all the hype and label them as "too big to go down". I have to say Newcastle fans went down and displayed more dignity than any other side in recent history. I probably counted two Newcastle fans on TV at Villa Park that were crying when they got relegated. The rest were singing and supporting their club the way it should be supported. As for how they treated Bobby Robson, lest we not forget that since Robson left Newcastle he has had 2 seperate battles with cancer. The latest one appears to be getting the better of him. It wasnt the fans that were calling for his head, it was their chairman Freddie Shepherd. He then dropped a massive boob by appointing Graeme Souness who noone wanted in the first place. He then ensued to fall out with Newcastle's most effective players (Bellamy, Robert etc..) and dismantling a side that was almost there had they signed a competent manager in Robson's place. By the time Souness deservedly got his marching orders, they had a squad full of big names that Souness signed out of desperation to keep the fans temporarily on side as things were going wrong on the pitch. This trend continued until Allardyce arrived. He was constantly talking about steadying the club, which he has a point with but the club were playing truly shocking football. To the point where Newcastle's most influential players at the time were heading on their way out, dismayed with the techniques Allardyce was trying to adopt. Given, Martins, Owen, N'Zogbia all wanted out. In order the stop a mutiny, Ashley decided to get rid, NOT the fans. Its exactly the same reason Roque Santa Cruz wanted out the minute Allardyce arrived at Blackburn. Too much emphasis on grafters and not enough of players with sound technique. Enough to get a team consistently finishing mid-table but Newcastle United as a club were never going to be content with that being what they aspired to. When I say the club, I mean the fans, the board, the players, the marketing of the club... everything. Since then, Ashley has done a range of desperate acts to appease the fanbase who could see the club was rotten at the core. He finally brings in a manager the fanbae approves of and will afford time to get things right as they trust him and know he prefers to encourage his players to play the right way, the players finally start showing some unity under Keegan and Ashley then decides to bring in Dennis Wise to have final say on all transfers over Keegan. Even the most blinkered fan should realise what a stupid move this is. Before people say it, Keegan was told he still had final say over first team transfers and Wise would be looking after the recruitment of the youngsters. Keegan walked shortly after because it wasnt as had been sold to him. If it was, he would have stayed and they would have without doub stayed up last season following their first 2 results of the season, which happened under KK. Mike Ashley has ruined that club and all their fans have done is turn up consistently in their thousands despite whats been happening. I cant understand this logic to laugh at their fans. Its the last thing they deserve. Seems like a real small-club attitude to take pleasure in the plight of someone else. I'm pretty sure you wouldnt go on a Newcastle United message board when we were in administration and find any posts displaying glee at our demise. Yes I am reasonably well informed on Newcastle United issues as a lot of my family are Geordies.

A player with the ability to single-handedly keep a side in the Premier League? In todays market, absolutely priceless. I could see Man City paying silly money for a player like him. At his best and at his fittest, easily £30m.