The Kraken

Well being as it seems to be completely his decision I don't think we're really in a position to criticise. He can wear what he wants.

I've previously been to away games at Arsenal (Highbury), Tottenham, QPR, Palace, Wimbledon, Villa, Chelsea, all in the PL and all bought on general sale (or membership), so we'll have to consistently step up our game for that to be the case. Our away following does seem to have significantly increased since our last stint in this league though, so we'll soon see how many people really want to pay the huge ticket prices that some of the London clubs are charging.

Premier League rules state you have to give a minimum of 10% capacity or 3,000 tickets, whichever figure is lower. Saints have trditionally given up to 3,200 due to the peculiarities of St. Mary's. Back in Lowe's day there were occasions when we didn't take as many away fans as we could have, as beyond the initial allocation they were not on sale or return (i.e. if we took 2,000 and only sold 1,500 the club was out of pocket for 500 tickets).

So if applied exactly to St. Mary's, 26,282 possible season tickets.

My argument would not so much be that its arrogant (it is), but that its a chant that was nicked from Manchester United. In which case, its not unique, and therefore certainly not striving for the "best in class both on and off the pitch" mantra that the club keeps aspiring to. if we're truly going to top that summit then we'll need a chant that is all our own and better than all others, rather than some cheap gimmicky rip-off from another club.

As it always has been at St. Mary's.

Yep, there is, and its been in place for quite some time.

If you're going to quote me (or others) then I'd appreciate it if you either get it right or post a link. I have said before that the most we got under Lowe was around 23,000 season tickets. Lowe's and Andrew Cowan's benchmark for a bigger ground (as told to Steve Grant by AC, I believe) was a few continuous years of season ticket sales above 25,000. No, I don't believe that for one minute. Away fans are given 3,200, cup games are not included in the ST price so there is no guarantee of getting your seat for cup games (plenty in the Northam had to move for big away cup allocations). All restrictions are pretty muh the same as when Lowe/Cowan set their benchmark, while its possible there have been minor fluctuations in this number I certainly don't believe its now impossible to sell 25,000 season tickets.

That's a huge "provided" right there.

Away kit hasn't been formally launched yet, so probably holding it back for that. Although it is a little tip that the club are holding onto the third strip and not binning it all just yet. Edit: What he said above.....

I do find it incredible that there are still a few poor folk who are so sheltered and so unbelievably sensitive that any slight questioning of just how we'll measure up on our march into European football is met with such alarmed cries and accusations of negativity. As you say, it's quite a thing to behold and thankfully a lot of posters on here do recognise that next year will indeed be a huge challenge that simply can't be taken for granted, especially with just the current squad.

Wahay! Two "negative Norman" accusations and an "engage your brain" in one post! Top work, you win today's Positive Pete award.

OK. So, to try to judge our potential in the PL, its completely irrelevant how we fared against the top 6 clubs, is it (2 of whom we'll actually be facing next season)? Its completely irrelevant that we only won 2 out of 10 games. But much more important that we were consistently able to beat the likes of Doncaster, Coventry, Barnsley etc etc. If that's your idea of sense then count me out, I'll stick to my views thanks. Our achievements last year over the course of the season were excellent. Our achievements over the top 6 clubs give something of an insight into how strong our team is compared to other similiarly strong (or arguably weaker) teams to us. But you carry on ignoring all that if you wish.

Good point, apparently not. I saw that Kyle Lafferty had already played for FC Sion so assumed it had happened, but it appears on further inspection that he played without having clearance. Reading back the BBC report it says temporary clearance will be given, not has been already. So Lafferty/FC Sion could be in a bit of trouble.

I doubt it matters how long. The players have been granted temporary clearance from FIFA while their investigation takes place into Rangers' appeal for compensation. Once that gets revealed for being the sham it is by all the lawyers then they'll get full clearance. The Scottish PFA said they were fully expecting this from Rangers. Being as they employ lawyers and have advised the players that they are free agents, its fair to assume they are pretty confident of the status of the actual situation.

Christ, you know you've done something wrong when Dalek agrees with you.

How many games do we need to look at against the better sides before it makes an impact? 2 games against Reading: we won 0. 2 games against West Ham: we won 1. 2 games against Blackpool: we won 0. 2 games against Birmingham: we won 1. 2 games against Cardiff: we won 0. So against 3 sides that were previously in PL; against 2 sides we were promoted with to the PL this season; and against 1 side who made the Championship playoffs: we played 10 games and won 2 of them. It's no guarantee of anything of course. However it should prove to be a bit of a notification that we consistently struggled against better sides in the division, and we'll need to considerably step up our game in a better division with much better teams than that around us. I think the size of the task ahead of us may come as a bit of a shock to some.

Not sure I agree he's miles better now, only in that I think he was bloody good anyway. He's maybe just developed his all round game a bit better to fit into a system that Adkins wants to play. He was often completely unplayable in his first season and his confidence was sky high. I agree he maybe does a bit more for the team now, but he was also sensational as a bit of a maverick, playing under Pardew's system. Leyton Orient away a case in point, 2 nil down with 10 minutes or so to go and he thundered in two great goals. I'd say Pardew improved him, got him fitter and playing at the top of his game, NA has maybe just refined him a bit more.

Big shout when he scored what, 30 league goals and 6 cup goals in season 2009-10 before Adkins arrived.

Saints baulk at Rangers refusal for Davis clearance.

Fairly sure that for at least one year, maybe more, when we made a profit Lowe invested that by overpaying on the standard annual stadium mortgage repayment. So the total owed came down faster than the initial repayment structure.

I think you might be missing the point of an internet message board? They're entirely designed for pointless, subjective conjecture.

Probably, yep. i hadn't really looked at it but kind of always assumed he had a full Premier League season behind him. Give it a year and he will have....