Nick65

Agree that about 75 points is needed to get into 6th place, so just 70 to go .... Which means something like Win 21, Draw 7, Lose 6. That won't be easy, but after watching Friday night's performance, by no means impossible. Southend looked a decent-enough side, but we were comfortably in control from first to last. There's no doubt in my mind that this Saints side in this form is good enough to get to the play-offs. Keeping everyone fit and in form is the issue. And although a md-table, or even top-8 finish would be a reasonable result given where we started, the reality of that outcome is being stuck in Div 1 for another season - would Lallana, Spiderman etc be prepared to put up with that? Much easier to hang on to them if we're back in the Championship.

Blimey this thread has taken me back about 40 years. When Saints were at home, having got the train and bus back home to Everton, I could time it so I could pick it up within 5 minutes of getting off the bus and walking to the newsagents. As someone else said, there was the ritual of the van screeching up, driver chucking out the bundle and then the guy in the shop cutting off the string - I usually got the first one. And it was a great read - every week there were a load of letters from people slagging off Ted Bates and telling him to play Mickey Judd or Bob McCarthy or whoever because the first-team weren't up to it. And if Saints were at home and had scored (well, in the first half anyway), there'd be a photo of it on the front page, which to my 14-year old mind was like magic.

Getting the train from Liverpool Street to Prittlewell (nearest station apparently) - anyone know of any decent pubs round there ? Cheers

Got to say I agree with this. Local rivalry is one thing, but administration, threat of liquidation etc is totally different. Anyway, there's no way the Skates are going out of business is there ? As long as they're in the Prem, someone will buy them. I guess the gun-runner will have to take a pretty hefty financial blow, but the club will be OK. Would be good to play them in the Championship next year though ...

Reckon we need a decent left-back as first priority and should try and keep Mills, if only for backup. Murty at right-back would no doubt be OK, but like another poster's idea of Ifil from Colchester. Getting Size back would be good, although the defence has rather an old and slow look about it. Maybe Lancashire will improve this season, or that Racine kid. Would like to see Lloyd James get a go in midfield. Wright-Phillips and Holmes on the wings, with Lallana 'in the hole' and John upfront. If we can keep all of them, I reckon that would cause problems for a lot of Div1 defences. And that still leaves Rasiak as sub, along with up and coming players like McLaggon, Gobern, Thomson, Paterson and White. Euell can still be useful for us as well. Assume Saga will be off though.

No - I meant Trousers' virtual fireworks .... Thanks Trousers BTW.

Sorry - no idea, but can I just say I really liked the fireworks. Any chance of seeing them again ?

F**king fantastic. Usually a bit of a cynical git, but admit to filling up when I heard. Saints are back! COYR !!

What a bunch of krap - the ONE guy who's had a go at running the club to actually do anything other than screw us up - and he gets a bolluking for apparently putting his hand in his pocket AGAIN. Unbelievable.

http://www.rivals.net/FORUM/pgeThreads.aspx?boardId=106&clubId=30 Apparently Darlington have achieved the 75% creditor agreement, which means they can get their CVA (well done them, BTW). But one of the replies in their thread mentions a 4-week wait before the club is officially out of administration to allow for appeals. Is this right ? As I understand it, if a club starts a new season in admin, it will get another points deduction. Is this another reason for Pinnacle not signing (have to admit, I'm not sure when the official start of season is) ?

Obviously, I'm as much in the dark as everyone else, but it could mean several things - for instance: A general request to be treated fairly, not related to anything as specific as starting off with the same number of points as everyone else. A bargaining position, asking for something you don't expect to get, in the hope that a compromise is reached and the compromise is what you really wanted all along (i.e. 10 point deduction and nothing else). A recognition that accepting the -10 inevitably means future penalties, meaning the -10 has to be vigorously contested. Or something else completely. The 3rd one is the worry to me, but there must be examples of clubs that have been penalised for going into admin and not getting further penalties when they came out of it. Aren't there ? Whatever, this whole thing is doing my head in and I suspect I'm not alone ....

This explanation seems to make a lot of sense to me. Pinnacle's concern is with points deductions, but future ones - not the one that's been in force for 2 months now. But they've got a stick to beat the FL with - namely Mawhinney's 'inextricably linked' comment. If the FL used that to dock us the 10, it surely follows that if the club is in new ownership, creditors satisfied etc, it shouldn't matter what state SLH is in.

I don't think so! 10,000 extra people = about £200,000. Could make all the difference.

"The fact there are so many offers being made for the club - and some ARE significant" Do we know this for a fact (I mean the 'significant' part) ?

Bought tickets for me and the nipper this afternoon; the guy said 'they're selling really well". Whatever that means. Anyway, a full house (and result) like SheffU last season would be more than useful.

If we need £500K to get to the end of the season, then it's vital to get a full house for the Burnley game - where else are we going to get serious amounts of money from ? So that would mean we've got 11 days. Two weeks ago I really thought we could be finished, then I thought we'd be OK (relatively) when there were supposedly 19/30/34/whatever interested investors, now I'm getting more and more edgy with each passing day ...

Can't believe some of the bile on here, particularly the stuff directed at the lad who organised the march last time. So what if he's only 16 - does that make anything he does invalid or something ? For what it's worth, I'll be there on tomorrow to support the team as I reckon protests are too late for this season and we're stuck with what we've got. But to imply that people who protest and/or march are not 'true fans' is just plain wrong and Wotte should know that. And even if he doesn't know it, he shouldn't have come out with such crass comments.

Harry (Gawd bess you guvnor - be lucky me old mucker, diamond geezer, bare bones, f'sure etc etc) Redknapp. He's not had nearly enough stick IMO; at least Bailey got a bit of pay-back. I used to hate a WestBrom full back called Graham or Gareth Williams. He played against us in the cup in 1968 and went in goal for them when their goalie was injured. They won 3-2 in extra time and he was jumping up & down in front of the Milton giving us the V like the Welsh tw*t he no doubt was. I guess these days that would qualify you for an FA tarring & feathering for 'incitation'.

Isn't there a decent right-back we can get in on loan from somewhere ? Lloyd James used to be good abrasive midfielder for the youth team - shame we can't seem to play him in his best position.

Didn't expect much from this season to be honest - would have settled for 20th place, no wholesale selling-off of players and a bit of financial security. I'd certainly take that now. If we could actually put all of 'our' players on the pitch, I think we'd be comfortable in mid-table. For me, nothing illustrates the chaotic state of things better than the crazy situation of having 3 proven goalscorers out on loan, while we make do with 3 guys (Robertson, Paterson, Pekhart) who probably wouldn't be certain of a reserve game at most Championship clubs. No disrespect to these guys (especially Paterson - at least he's ours), who might make the grade but they're not up to it yet. Anyway, I'm hoping the return of Schneiderlin & Holmes from injury and (please God) John or Saga (or even Rasiak) from wherever will see us OK.

Tackle happened right in front of us and I have to say a red card was very harsh. As someone else said, it looked and sounded as if he got a bit of the ball first, was sliding in from the side and it wasn't two-footed. I reckon the referee was influenced by the fact he came steaming in from a long way off. But obviously not a good idea to dive in like that - should have just tried to hold him up instead. Shame as he loooks a decent player, good in the air and comfortable on the ball.

I think it was half-time against Hull in the 76-77 season unless I'm getting my dog-display shows mixed up. It was a crap game, the pitch was a mud-bath and Saints were 2-1 down at half-time. I remember some bloke in front of me giving Lawrie Mac a load of stick about the first half performance as he was walking from the dug-out. LM stopped & stared, looking like he was about to pull a baseball bat out from under that leather coat thing he used to wear. Crowd goes silent, LM moves on, crowd cracks up. Can't imagine JP resacting like that somehow.