The Kraken

Don't see why, to be honest. He needs to prove himself at this level before Prem teams will come calling IMO; at least with the type of cash offer that we'd take to let him go. And I just can't see him leaving us for another Championship team unless we're struggling in the division, which I don't think we will. Transfer window slams shut at the end of the month too. If we're challenging at or around the playoffs I do believe he'll give us at least one season, maybe more.

Watching it again, the thing that strikes me is just how hard the players work for each other. They're obviously very fit, but the desire to close down and pressure Leeds when they had the ball was very good to see. To be a success in this league, the first thing we have to do is make ourselves very difficult to play against, and we're definitely on the way with that.

This was my fear about the new bookies. I first heard it was going to be BetFred, which would have been decent enough. Finding out it was some nomark outfit based in pompey set alarm bells ringing; you can't bet online with them, only in the shop or over the phone. The queues to pick up cash are predictable and will likely put me and many others from betting with them, particularly if the odds are as bad you suggest. Much easier to just bet online or pop into a bookies in town.

A strange statement, given that to move on to "bigger and better things" Poyet will surely have to prove himself a success at Brighton? I think we'll finish above BHA, but I think both teams will be inside the top ten.

Not in the squad. Happy to help.

Dry your eyes, you blouse. Getting all upset about a few kids singing songs, what's the matter with you?! Christ almighty, wah wah wah, you ruinied my day.

Turkish, you really are edgy and hilarious, as ever.

Opinions Roger, it's all about opinions.

OK, seems like no-one has done it yet. Here's some player ratings from my visit to St. Mary's: Davies: 6. One excellent one on one save that kept us in the lead, but his distribution (mostly in the first half) was really poor. Got better second half though. Richardson: 6. Solid enough, didn't offer too much going forwards but looked fairly solid at the back. I'm still not convinced about him as a player, but didn't do much wrong today. Harding: 7. Had one poor moment early on where, from a Leeds free kick, he was caught the wrong side of his man which led to a decent shot on goal. But linked well with Lallana and looked pretty comfortable otherwise. Fonte: 8. Pure quality, still a cut above even at this level, great player. Martin: 6. In the air, fantastically dominant, Leeds didn't get a look in and didn't look like wanting to either. On the ground, looks vulverable at times, and I'm not sure if he's the permanent answer for a partner for Fonte. I was in the Chapel, so a fair distance away, but it looked like a pen to me. Lallana: 9. Brilliant. Just brilliant. Can't wait to see how good he is going to be this year, he really is such a talent. Hammond: 8. Great goal, and a really dominant performance. I'm not his biggest fan but he showed today that he's more than capable of leading of good side at this level. Cork: 7. Did the simple things very, very well. Didn't really stand out in a huge way, but that was testimony to how he went about his job in such a very tidy and efficient way. Guly: 6. Flashes of what he can do, but I still very much believe right-wing is not his position. Won't see the best of him unless he's played in "the hole", which seems his natural position. Just a shame we won't do that very often. Lambert: 8. No goal scoring opportunities but his link up play was superb. Not only wins almost every header, but knows where his lay-offs are going too. A great option to have up front. Connolly: 7. I thought he was quiet all game, then started and finished the best goal of the game, and what a calm and composed finish. Worked well. Subs: Chaplow: 7.5. Bags of energy and did exactly the job that was required of him. De Ridder: 6. Flashes of what he can do but some things didn't quite come off. Schneiderlin: 6. Did what he needed to in the short time he was on the pitch.

Is it f*ck :lol: I love living down here, but Liverpool has got far, far more going for it than Southampton. You don't win a European capital of culture award when your city is an ugly sh*thole.

What are you on about, you loon?

I'm not a huge fan of Seaborne; defensively I think he's ok (but not great), but when he's got the ball he's just so prone to the big hoof. I thought for a while it was being coached out of him, but the last few performances I've seen from him its been back to the old ways. Also, at this level of football, I truly believe you need one real mountain of a centre half; in the mould of Jaidi. We already have Fonte who, while not small, is more the "player" of the pair. Jaidi, despite his criticisms, rarely loses anything in the air and is a real intimidating presence for strikers to be up against. Seaborne doesn't have that same sort of aura about him. Gorkss, for me, is the player we need at this level. Seaborne is IMO more a replacement for Fonte when he's unavailable than Jaidi.

:lol: Did you read the post above your's, or just ignore it?!

This is getting a bit much, isn't it? Lard thinks that way, he shouldn't have to necessarily justify it in massive depth. I think Saints will finish around 10th this season; playoffs maybe if we sign a defender and a centre forward. Do I have to justify why I think that? Do I have to give a list of all of our fixtures, and how we'll perform in each one? Do I have to make predictions for how the rest of the league will do, in order to justify how I came to my conclusion of where we'll finish? Lard is entitled to his opinions. You (and I) are entitled to disagree with them. And sometimes there are no clear facts to underpin an opinion; its called gut instinct.

I'm not a fan of it, and would never post there.

Football365 have an article about "Key men to watch in the Championship". http://www.football365.com/faves/7080149/The-Key-Men-In-The-Championship... One of the players listed is Adam Lallana:

To get this back on track (and to alleviate the mind-numbing pedantry), I agree. He sounds like a perfect replacement for Jaidi, and also seems to have a few goals in his armoury as well. I've been resigned to the fact that Puncheon has played his last game for us for quite some time now, so if we can complete the switch AND get some money in return, it would really be a great deal. I'm still completely at a loss as to exactly how good this squad is though; but with a new CB and also a new, rapid striker, I really don't think a play-off place is in any way out of the question.

I agree; however, on an Eastleigh FC forum a few weeks back there was a thread highlighted on here where one poster (suposedly with connections to EFC) had stated that they were looking at the legal standpoint, or something like that. As I said before, it's not in Eastleigh's interests to pursue it, and I'm pretty sure the language of the agreement would not have speicified a first team requirement. As you say, more to do with the spirit of the agreement.

Blimey, this is like having a conversation with Rain Man.

Yes, that's entirely the same thing.

Without delving back into the archives, I think the wording was quite loose for the games played, in that we agreed to send a "strong" squad. I'm not sure if a "first team" squad was part of the deal. As for the Saturday thing, I've not heard that raised before. But if Eastleigh do indeed have a legal case, there are no more games in the loop due as part of the Martin deal, so they may pursue it. Although in doing so they'd completely write-off any chance of future fixtures with us, so you'd have to question the logic of it with a potential £20K at stake. It's not as if they've "lost" that money in any case, its entirely subjective how much extra they could have made from the game.

A reason I see is that Warnock just isn't being given any serious cash for transfers. They've got in Gabbidon, Dyer, Bothroyd etc, all for no upfront fee. It seems like the coffers are bare, or close to it. Also, they've lost Routledge, who is IMO a very good player and real attacking threat. With Gabbidon on board, Sh*ttu as his partner, Gorkss is going to be 3rd choice. May as well get as close to a swap deal as they can and fill a hole they have on the wing, losing a substitute (albeit a good one). Quite how QPR have no money to spend is another matter altogether.