The Kraken

Very much agreed. And the only evidence I can see to hand (offer for Cork accepted, generous offer for Sharp rebuffed by the player) suggests this is exactly what the club are trying to do.

Yes, probably correct; ability wise, history suggests he will score goals, but fitness is still a doubt. That said, his goal scoring record at this level is solid but not spectacular, averaging around 1 goal in 3 games (or 15 goals over a league season). Decent, for sure, but arguably not enough for a first choice striker in a promotion-seeking team.

For the league below we did; for this league I think we'll struglle if we don't improve in most areas. Fonte is obviously good for this level; whether he's one of the best Cbs in the league we'll have to wait and see, but I have no concerns with him. Have seen him a bit for Palace in the NPC and I think he's the real deal. Kelvin is a great shot stopper; still there are question marks about his all round play, but I think he's good enough. Aside from that, we don't have anyone in the spine who has previously produced the goods at this level of football other than Jaidi, and I really think he will struggle this season (particularly against quicker forwards). Hammond I just don't think is good enough to be a starter for a top level NPC side. Schneiderlin IMO still has a massive amount to prove; bags of potential but needs to turn it into performances. Lambert has never played this high, I think he can make the step up but we will see. Connolly and Barnard IMO at this level have a mssive amount to prove, and the fact that we've apparently been in for maynard/Sharp suggests Adkins sees that as a key area to improve. On the wings then yes, we do look strong. I'm comfortable with what we have at left back, right back could potentially be improved. But I maintain we are 4 or 5 players short of a team who can challenge for the title, with three main holes at CB, CM and CF.

Last season the club came in for a fair bit of criticism for their marketing approach, and many predicted sales would be extremely low. They weren't. Can't see the situation is any different this year to be fair. i think the club are continuing with their policy of "if you want a season ticket we'll sell you one, but we're not going massively out of our way to promote them". Not saying I necessarily agree with that approach, but sales figures last year seemed to stack up fairly well despite the minimal promotion so there's not really any evidence to argue for or against it either way.

Strange list. Heineken is a very nice lager (the old 3% stuff was pish), 1664 also pretty decent. Bud will do if there's nothing better but is a bit bland and American. Carling, Carlsberg and Fosters are atrocious lagers; nothing to do with acting well 'ard, just being in posession of working taste buds.

Make sure you keep this for the next time Alpine Saint starts one of his attention-seeking bleatings about why we haven't signed anyone early enough.

Out with the old, in with the old. Carling is not really any improvement on Carlsberg. Hopefully they'll do Grolsch in 500ml bottles.

Which the player only turned down because he wants a move to a Premier League club. So nothing to do with not meeting wage requirements. The lack of intellect of some people on here still manages to amaze me, it really does.

In a perverse way I'm really hoping that pre-release sales absolutely bomb so that the club are made to realise that it's a completely dopey decision to remain so secretive over such a trivial issue of a kit release. Sadly I think there will still be plenty of people who will buy the kit before seeing it; in much the same way as Apple get all sorts of sad acts camping out for their latest gadget, I think there will be a fair few Saints fans who simply have to have the kit on pre-order. Quite why anyone would shell out over £40 on some clothing they've neither tried on, much less seen, is beyond me.

I was down at the Megastore a couple of days ago, and this is confirmed with a sign on the door. From memory it says: Pre-order: From 30th June Kit reveal: 20th July On sale in store: From 21st July Edit: I know that's pretty much what it says on the advert; I thought/hoped we might get a reveal of the kit before the sale date though, it seems not.

There's no pleasing some people. If you remember the "why haven't we signed anyone threads from last year" this one is going exactly the same way. I imagine as soon as July gets here there will be another attention-seeking bleating along the same lines. Last year we signed 4 players in the summer; Richardson, Dickson, Butterfield and Guly. All bar Guly were signed by the club by mid July. And yet our start to the season was still poor. Our early new signings were of no real benefit. I don't understand why people put so much stock in WHEN a signing is made, rather than WHO the signing is. Yes, it would be great to have players that will improve the team, and I do believe we need them to compete at the top end of the table. And it can be a bit disappointing to see other rivals make signings. But expecting 4 or 5 quality signings to have been made by now is nonsense; there's time left in the window and if it means we bring in the right player, the wait will be worth it.

I wouldn't say the lack of transfer activity so far is any indication of what we can expect for the season. We know a few signings have been mooted by NA, and I hope and expect to see those made in the next 2, 3 or 4 weeks before the season starts. But I think a lot of people are getting away from the fact that we're committed to a 5 year plan to return to the Prem; and we're not even halfway through that. So I don't expect to see a whole raft of new, expensive signings coming in. Nor I do think we need huge changes (though as I've said on other threads I think we're 4 or 5 top quality players away from a proper tilt at the title).

Yeah. God forbid people should use an online forum to, you know, talk about stuff.

I don't doubt for a minute that pretty much all of the players who played a major part last year can more than hold their own at Championship level. We've got rid of Gobern, but I don't see anyone else of the established players who would struggle at a higher league. I think we're just missing a few players who can really improve the quality of the team. there aren't wholesale changes needed, which is why I'm not too concerned about the lack of transfer activity so far. We'll see what players arrive in the next few weeks, we know NA wants to bring in new blood, and the rumours we've heard so far are encouraging.

Agreed. The club will not outwardly aim for mid-table, they will come out and say they are aiming for top spot. But there's a very good reason we have a 5 year plan; the club expects it to take that long to get back to the Premier League. Which suggests they won't be bank-rolling us as we've previously seen with the likes of QPR etc. I think we have a good core of the side, and currently a squad that would comfortably consolidate itself in the division even if we made no more signings. I just wonder how far up that table we could get with 3 or 4 quality signings.

I think the next 2 or 3 weeks are going to tell us an awful lot about next season's prospects and ultimately our longer-term future. I have and still maintain that we need at least 4 or 5 new players in if we are to compete at the top end of the table; I think the current squad would do well to finish in the top half. As I see it we need a quality replacement for Jaidi, at least one maybe two central midfielders, a centre forward with pace and who can be relied upon for 20 goals, plus a decent attacking right back (what I've seen of Butterfield and Richardson is lower to mid table quality at best). I accept the reasons why we haven't brought anyone in yet, but we're now at the point where players are back from holidays and signings start happening, so I'm hoping to see some from us pretty soon.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing here, as I clearly don't have too much idea of the hidden costs of a membership scheme. I am extremely surprised, however, at the notion that it would cost so much money to run. I'm guessing that the club think it wouldn't be self-sufficient while we're in the Championship, as there simply wouldn't be the demand for it; you wouldn't need to be a member to get tickets for most games, and there's no other real benefits. as a consequence the likely take-up would be pretty small and the club may think they would struggle to break even on it. In the Premier League it was massively advantageous to be a member in terms of being able to purchase match tickets early, sometimes at all. And at £20 a year, you only have to shift 5,000 memberships to see a revenue of £100K coming in. That easily pays for a full time member of staff of the dbase plus tie ins with all the other relevant departments IMO. In reality membership levels in the Premier League were at least double that figure, so at its peak I can't see a membership scheme as being anything other than a money spinner.

Chemical Bros were outstanding. I've seen them a couple of times live and they're just amazing.

Do you think Liverpool doesn't have similar local towns and villages outside the city centre or something? I have family in an around Liverpool and the catchment area is huge, if not in geographical size then certainly in terms of population. Take the Wirral peninsula alone and you have a population of around 300,000 just in its Metropolitan Borough, which is just on the other side of the Mersey to Liverpool. All clubs have a catchment area around them.

Done it a few times, but only whilst away skiing. Skiing off a mountain, thoroughly exhilarating (though of course you end up paragliding with your skis on). You'll love it. I'm not very good with heights but found it to be an amazing experience each time.

As I said. Until I hear from the chairman that his plans have accelerated and the club are going to increase the stadium capacity, I'm going to assume it won't happen yet. If someone says its "far too early to think about doing it yet", my assumption is that he doesn't mean he's going to start within the next 15 months. You clearly feel differently, and as I said, you carry on, I'm not going to try to change your mind. I'd appreciate it if you'd also do me the same courtesy; I've made my position very clear and I find your hypothesising in the face of evidence to the contrary all rather pointless. Please consider this my last comment on the matter with you.

Until I hear from the chairman that his plans have accelerated and the club are going to increase the stadium capacity, I'm going to assume it won't happen yet. But if you want to carry on believing that the club should and will install another 10K of seats right now, please be my guest.

God almighty MLG, let it go. The link you provided to Cortese's interview has already demonstrated that the club are considering a whole range of things for the future, that may or may not involve increasing the capacity of St. Mary's, or may or may not involve relocation to a new stadium. And, in Cortese's own words, its far too early to think about doing them right now. I really don't know what more there is to discuss on that matter. You have the words of the chairman and what he intends to do. End of story.

Sunderland played at Roker Park mate....