The Kraken

I can look at his comments from two ways. He hasn't mentioned looking for a new CM, and I guess I would have preferred clarification, so can agree with Alpine's "worry" about it. That said, Holmes still has an awful lot to prove in terms of being fit so can't yet be considered a proper replacement out wide, AP is right to say we are very short of depth there. But at CM it could be a massive kick in the teeth for Wotton (and maybe Puncheon) if he also came out and said we had no cover there. That's the positive spin, anyway. But I guess we'll see before the end of August what will happen, I really can't see how we won't strengthen in such a key area.

I've seen that BT will also be offering Sky Sports; any idea of the price (and indeed how it works)? I live in a conservation area and can't put up a dish, plus only have analogue cable available, so any other options would be worth investigating.

Can't be that similar to Richardson's; for his it took the club at least 4 days to work out what it was and announce it.....

I think it's pretty well accepted on here that we need to sign a CM and RM, so yes.

Defence is OK, strike force OK, shame we don't seem to have a midfield.

No matter what the majority of other managers think, it's pretty clear that Pardew rates Puncheon above Antonio for a starting position. And while I wouldn't presume to speak for the opinions of the majority of others on here, the comments I've seen suggest that Puncheon is seen as our first choice RM, based on our requirements for next season alone. So, you're right, we'll have to agree to disagree. Antonio was capable of some very good performances but also very capable of the mundane and awful at times. You rightly pointed out before that he's young and will improve, but for this season at the very least I'd absolutely have Puncheon as he has proven it at this level and is much more likely to be the strong, consistently good player that we need. And I think the fact that he finished with so many asissts (second highest after only playing for half the season, I believe) shows that he's not just an average plodder and gives the team a brilliant extra dimension. Anyway, I'm still in hope that Reading will decide he's surplus to requirements and we can have the best of both worlds with both players. He's only on a one year contract with them and if they think he is only one for the future they have absolutely no guarantee of securing his services once the season is gone (especially if he doesn't feature too often) so they may yet decide their best bet is to cash in now.

Again, very much disagree. Based on their performances at the back end of last season I would start with Puncheon every time. Apart from a few notable exceptions I was mostly un-impressed with Antonio as a starter, and Puncheon was the much more reliable option, hence we he started every single league game since his signing while Antonio sat in the wings.

For right now and the season to come, Puncheon is a better player than Antonio. Antonio may go on to better things in years to come, but it won't be next season, so even if he was here Puncheon would start ahead of him at RM. And where are people saying we won't miss Antonio, or a player of his ilk? Pretty much the common consensus I've seen is that we are 3 signings away from having the squad we need for the whole campaign; a CM, RM and CF to cover Lambert. Hardly anyone is arguing that we won't miss Antonio. But I simply have to disagree with your opinion of Waigo, I won't miss him at all and think that a combination of a fit Connolly and other new striker will comfortably cover the options he gave us.

Again, I disagree. I think the sales are good; on the other thread I stated my opinion that a total figure of 15,000 season tickets would be what I would consider a successful figure, and I think if we don't hit that figure we'll likely be pretty close to it. That said, I think the whole marketing effort this summer has been pretty shabby, in all honesty. If we can attract 15K customers with no real marketing push whatsoever, I think its fair to ask how many STs we might have sold with an aggressive advertising drive. Dave Benson Romsey labours the point somewhat but is absolutely right when he says that the number of STs sold would have been higher if the installment plan had been in place, or if more notice had been given that it was being removed. Also, a minority of people may have needed the renewal packs as a final shot in the arm to sign up for the new season. Now I'm sure the club had their own very good reasons to remove the plan, and I really don't want to get into that all over again, but I'm sure it's removal was not done for marketing purposes. Plus I think most of us can agree that the way it was announced at such short notice was a pretty shameful move byu the club. So with proper marketing measures in place, whether the additional number of potential STs sold would have just been single digits or in the hundreds/thousands is obviously completely unknown; so the extent of the shortfall is impossible to gauge. Nonetheless, I simply cannot equate a large sales figure to a marketing effort which simply didn't happen.

Hmmm; while you might consider the Sales scheme to be a success so far, I don't think the Marketing scheme could be deemed a success; for the simple fact that there wasn't one, certainly not for season ticket sales. Announcing your prices exclusively on your corporate website with no other external advertisement or inducements can't really be categorised as marketing, so I would say that the good level of sales thus far is in spite of any marketing, and not because of it. And while the removal of the installment scheme was catatrophically handled and announced, at least we all know that from all seasons onwards there will be no such plan in place, so have plenty of time to source alternative savings arrangements.

You're going to have to explain this one to me, because I've got no idea how you can justify it. In formations alone we can (and have) comfortably accommodated 442, 451 and 433. Puncheon is left footed but can (and has) played all across the midfield. And while you may have grave doubts about his ability, I'll happily go with the votes of his fellow professionals, AP's view if him, and my view having watched him action on a number of occasions, and say that he's definitely one of the better players in this division. Lalllana can play anywhere across the midfield, plus also up front or just off the main striker. We have excellent attacking fulll backs and 4 very capable centre backs, so could easily adapt to 352 if necessary. I agree with DellDays, we are currently missing Antonio; Oxo is very quick but will need to be introduced gradually and being young his form will be up and down so can't be relied upon for ever-presence. To say we have no plan B makes no sense to me whatsoever; we have an extremely adaptable squad of players.

I'd disagree with Mills at LM, only from what I've seen of him there before, he tends to get a bit lost. I was quite impressed with his short stint at LB though, and maybe a year on he may have developed into a better winger, but I'd be very wary of considering him a proper option. With Holmes, I guess we won't know until he's given a chance. I always liked Holmes when we were in the Championship, but whether he can regain and maintain that form and fitness is another matter altogether. I think he at least deserves to be given the chance though. It's cases like these where I think we would use the loan system if we needed to get someone in at short notice once the season is underway, I get the feeling that loans are much easier to achieve than pre-season as clubs have a much better idea of their needs, and sometimes having a player leave for a month or two does both clubs a favour.

I think this is where you will find common consensus across this whole message board; to ensure a smooth promotion push we would be much better served by having another strong CM to support Hammond and Schneiderlin. Wotton and Puncheon can come in and do a job (Wotton played the JPT final and we didn't do badly there), but neither can be considered a proper long term option. We got away with Morgan and Hammond last season, but maybe having a third CM will give us more options, allow them more rest by alternating with midweek games, and generally keep them all on their toes by providing competition for their place. Edit: and forgot to add, I believe AP has already stated that he's looking for a Lambert-cover, so we can presume that is in-hand.

While I think Oxo may be used a fair bit, I'd prefer if we had an Antonio-type figure as well. At 16/17 he is going to need to play a couple of games then sit out a game or two, so as to nurture his development. And being so yound he will be much more prone to lapses in form throughout the season, so it would be naive to think he can be Puncheon's replacement all on his own.

Some valid points, and overall I agree; saying that, I don't agree that either Butterfield or Richardson will prove to be "marginally" better than Semi, I think we will now be much improved in that area. Also, with both Harding and Dickson available on the other side our attacking full back options are very good; there were times last season when Harding looks a bit jaded so having cover there is very important. I agree that the injury to Lallana is a slight worry, though I'll wait and see how much action he gets in the upcoming games before passing judgement fully. And it may well be that if Holmes is back to fitness he (or Dickson or Mills) will provide adequate cover in that area anyway. Not sure if you're not making a complete contradiction in your post though? You lament only having Hammond and Morgan at centre midfield, but state that having potentially two strikers as back-up "won't be much help". Though I still think we'll sign another CM (hopefully Danns) to give competition and a range of options there; and as you say, when that happens hopefully the optimism of all, and not just the majority, will be lifted.

I don't see why in this case; there's a big difference between blind optimism and reasoned confidence. As the OP pointed out, over the last 39 games of last season we were on automatic promotion form. For the last 36 games it was champiionship winning form. We've lost some squad players from last year, we have signed some players, and there is the potential/expectation for more players yet to come. Given the barometer of form that we already have, and the likelihood of strengthening the squad further, I don't see why it's arrogant to suggest that we won't at least repeat the previous form shown over the coming campaign. Given the compartivie investment we have already seen in the team (and yet to come), I would personally be disappointed with less than 90 points and would suggest that the sum of our parts had under-achieved if this were to happen.

Stop being such a drama queen and twisting opinions to suit your argument. Hardly anyone disagrees with the fact we need new players. But most people recognise there are 3 weeks until the start of the season, another 3 weeks to the end of the transfer window, and so aren't criticising the club for the lack of signings (yet).

You make it sound as if transfers are made by just choosing something off the shelf. Not all (in fact most) of our purchases won't be players who are made instantly available for sale. There is an element of negotiation with the club and the player which can take time. Take Antonio for instance; Reading may well have decided that they want to take a look at him with their full squad before either keeping him or letting him come to us. If AP decided he couldn't wait, got someone in of lesser ability, then found out that Antonio is for sale after all, then we're left with a second choice player which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. And there's still 3 weeks to go until kick off.

I've just given the reasons why I think 15K would be a "successful" figure, based on last year's ST figure (when we were in League 1 with a minus 10 deduction and with many people initially having average to low expectations of our form); plus all of other factors I listed. Maybe I'm missing the point.

No. Season tickets weren't able to be made available for sale until the takeover went through.

Sorry but I've no idea what point you're making.

I have no idea DellDays; perhaps you could enlighten me? What were they like in the Premier League? And why is it relevant? Our overall atendances compared to the Championship are significant;y up, so why should we not expect the same with seasosn tickets?? Based on having 11.5K season ticket holders last year, having made some good signings already with more expected to follow, no points deduction, going into the season as holders of a cup, expectations of a successful season high, well regarded new owner in place, bookies favourite for promotion, I would have put a season ticket figure of 15K as a successful figure. That's not to decry the 13K we have already, which I think is reasonably decent, but pretty low when compared to Norwich last year who were in a similar position to that we are in now.

Still plenty of time for more sales yet; I'm planning on getting mine closer to the deadline. This released figure is only an indicator of current sales, not a final figure. We may yet creep up to the 15K mark, which is the level at which I think the sales figure could be deemed a success.

I think my point is that no-one knows how good he'll be; he's a prospect but I could well be very wrong and he could make very little impact. However, I get the feeling he will be used fairly considerably, and while I fully agree that he should be nurtured I just have the suspicion that he may be used a bit more than you think. Like I say, I could be very wrong. I've previously said I expect us to sign another RM, be it Antonio or a similar other. But I personally will not miss Papa; his games at RM in the league were very limited and I didn't particularly rate him there anyway. With a fully fit Connolly I think we have cover for that position up front, especially if we (as has been hinted) sign another quick forward.

Given that (I think) last year's total was 11.5K, I would say anything over 15K is a relative success. But I also agree that if an installment plan and proper marketing drive had been in place we could have sold a few hundred / thousand more.