The Kraken

Very much agree; its a hugely competitive league and anyone who thinks a top half finish is in the bag is deluded IMO. I think we need to strengthen in all areas; at least 5 new first team players needed until I would consider us capable for a shot at the top.

I always wondered if he could play in the number 10 position, just behind the front striker(s). With Lallana and Guly both not being traditional wingers I also wondered if a Christmas tree formation might work: stadard back 4, Schneiderlin hammond and Chaplow in midfield, Guly and Lallana behind Lambert. Of course the full backs would have to provide the width.

It's taking a lot of people a lot of time to realise that we're not a big fish in a little pond any more. There are many clubs around us now who are of a similar size. Add in parachute payments to relegated sides and we're at a distinct disadvantage to the spending power of a number of other sides.

Cheerss Crabby.

I don't know what font Crabby used for the text so made do with something similar.

Same website; the 2007 game. http://eastleighfc.blogspot.com/2007/07/six-goal-thriller-friendly-eastleigh-v.html Plenty of first team players in that too. Playing a reserve team against Eastleigh is a relatively new thing.

2006 actually; I found the match report online. http://eastleighfc.blogspot.com/2006/07/eastleigh-2-1-saints.html And Burley was the manager, not Redknapp.

Maybe now, but it wasn't always that way. I went to the game when they beat us 2-1 (2006 maybe?) and we had a near full strength line-up.

How about the ridiculously flat 'shopped image of the aap3 logo? And maybe the blotchy effect of the orange kit is just a trick of the light on my monitor, and not how it appears in real life? You cling on to the fact that the kit is real, pal. I'll not trouble your disturbed reality any more. And edit: are you blind or something? There's a perfectly good photo on this page that shows the contrast between the actual Air Florida red and the off-colour orange of this poor attempt at a mock-up.

With the badge removed.

The fact that the kit is orange is not great. If you're going to photoshop a kit, at least make the colour accurate. Especially given that the badge is the giveaway for what the red should be. And the logo is stupidly large. And on the sleeves you have to have the sponshorship panels; so Umbro wouldn't actually get to place their brand on the kit. Aside from that, it's a nice style.

Agree with Micky, on a few counts. Firstly. I think the crest should be there, and converted from full colour to just red and white. Secondly, the words need sorting out. The font on mine was very poor for a start, and the words need to be more resounding, while staying as a short statement. And third; no offence at all taken, a professional designer really needs to get their hands on this. If Gekko can get involved, brilliant. A fair amount of money is being thrown at this; while I think it's great amateurs such as me can throw a few ideas around, it really needs someone who properly knows what they're doing to get involved and give us a polished end product that everyone can be happy with.

Any good??

I've raised this point previously without it being answered; why were last season's signings made too late? Last season we signed Ryan Dickson on 10th June, Frazer Richardson on 6th July and Danny Butterfield on 17th July. Guly then arrived on 23rd August. We then signed Richard Chaplow and Jonathan Forte in the winter window (Chaplow after an initial loan), plus Dany N'Guessan on loan. None of whom went on to establish themselves as a first team regular. Our pre-season last season was, in retrospect, a shambles; and the Pardew effect as it turned out was very de-stabilising on our early season form. But how do you manage to blame our early season form on our incoming transfers being made too late? If they were too late, when should we have made those signings?

Where is this form of leaving transfer activity too late? Last season we signed Ryan Dickson on 10th June, Frazer Richardson on 6th July and Danny Butterfield on 17th July? Guly then arrived on 23rd August. We then signed Richard Chaplow and Jonathan Forte in the winter window (Chaplow after an initial loan), plus Dany N'Guessan on loan. None of whom went on to establish themselves as a first team regular. Which of those signings were too late? Our pre-season last season was a shambles and the Pardew effect very de-stabilising on our early season form. But how do you manage to blame it all on our incoming transfers being made too late?

Just like last season when we didn't buy Ryan Dickson until 10th June? Just like last season when we didn't buy Frazer Richardson until 6th July? And just like last season when we didn't buy Danny Butterfield until 17th July? Guly was admittedly a late arrival, not getting to the club until the season was nearly over, on 23rd August. We then signed Richard Chaplow and Jonathan Forte in the winter window (Chaplow after an initial loan), plus Dany N'Guessan on loan. None of whom went on to establish themselves as a first team regular. So, using last season as a benchmark, which players should we have signed earlier? And when should they have been signed?

Antti Niemi Right back - Michael Svensson - Dean Richards - Mark Dennis Jimmy Case - Steve Williams Rod Wallace - Matt Le Tissier - Danny Wallace Alan Shearer Subs: Tim Flowers, Gareth Bale, Neil Ruddock, Ronnie Ekelund, Marians Pahars, James Beattie, Ricky Lambert.

I'll start getting concerned if we haven't signed any new players by the time pre-season training starts. It's always nice to have new players signed by now (such as West Ham with Nolan) but it doesn't actually achieve anything. Plenty of players like to go on holiday and allow their agents to get to work and identify the best offer for them. There's also the possibility that, rather than just signing any old player, the club are undergoing an extensive scouting/recruitment process to get in the best possible players we can get. That said, I think we need at least 5 or 6 new players to allow us to compete at the higher end of teh table. The transfer window is open until September, but realistically we need to be looking at getting all of those (or at least all bar 1 or 2) in well before the start of the season.

According to www.nufc.com and Joey Barton's twitter, Kevin Nolan has been sold and is having a medical at Wet Sham.

I wouldn't classify McClaren as a sh!t manager, but neither is he a good one. Average is the best description for him. Wikipedia has what I think is a pretty good summary of him. His spell with FC Twente was very impressive, but he totally failed at Wolfsburg. I can't see him doing too much with Forest.

Why? He's less than 24 so even if he does go anywhere when he's out of contract, we'll be due a development fee for him. And development fees these days tend to be an accurate representation of the transfer market.

The OP stated that he feels the league is "getting tougher". I think the current managerial merry-go-round is actually just waking people up to the challenge we're going to face. Our time of being the big fish in a little pond is now over; we're placed in a league with an awful lot of clubs of a similar size. Since our relegation from the Premier League a number of our current rivals have played in the top division, and benefitted from the increased revenues on offer. A number of those clubs have, like us, moved to new, larger stadiums thus increasing their revenue-making potential. The result is that we have a Championship division which is arguably stronger than at any other time in its history, as there are so many more clubs with large grounds, decent attendances, and financial backing. Anyone who thinks this season is going to be easy is, IMO, a bit deluded. Yes, we have some decent backing, a tightly-knit squad and some great facilities; but so do many of our rivals. I consider we're at least 4 or 5 players away from a squad that will complete for the title, perhaps a few more than that for a 46-game season. Adkins has done well to get us where we are, but this season will be a big step up from taking 3 points against the likes of Dagenham & Redbridge.

The fact that lots of teams have (as you rightly say) changed their badges suggests that badges are not what sticks to a club. Badges are no different to a normal company's logo; they can become outdated, and in normal industry companies will change their logo to keep updated with current trends. A football club really shouldn't be all that different, should it? Take Leeds as an example; a large club with a wealth of history. They have had numerous changes of badge throughout the past 50 years or so; Our badge looks exactly like what it is; an amateur effort. Changing badge doesn't mean we're forgetting our history; I don't know why some people are so precious about it.

Shame, our crest is pretty rubbish really. It doesn't even represent our history, as its only been around for about 40 years or so. But then, going for a new crest brings in all sorts of risks that any new one would be even worse!

I just don't agree with that the squad was "very poor". Certainly on too much money for their actual worth, but not poor. Pearson inherited a squad that contained the likes of Kelvin Davis, Andrew Davies, Surman, Viafara, Safri, Stern John, Saganowski, Dyer, Wright-Phillips, and a young Lallana. Not an amazing squad, but by no means a "very poor" squad. While definitely not being good enough to challenge for the top of the table, that squad were under-achieving. Pearson did well to turn it around (and I very much wanted him to stay), but lets not convince ourselves it was a miracle that he saved us.