SNSUN

He'd probably commit suicide after doing even one of my 4.30am starts. I have no problem with getting up at 3am, although granted it's once in a 16 week cycle, it's the getting to sleep the previous night I find difficult!

Quite a few choices. Clyne, for stepping up to the Premier League with ease and making the right back slot his own. Fonte, for improving when he had to and becoming a solid Premiership defender. Cork, for solidifying the defence. Shaw, for mature, almost exceptional performances at left back. Lambert, for getting goals and proving a handful for defences. For me, and I say with this with forgiveness in my voice, it's Puncheon. He's won us points and has proven a huge asset on the wing.

T lower half of the table is tighter than it may seem, even though QPR and Reading are 5 points behind, QPR can easily get out of it. I haven't seen enough quality about Reading to think they'll survive. This could be Wigan's year, but even they pull out important results. We can only concentrate on ourselves at this stage, and on getting as many points as we can. On MOTD they were talking about Norwich (for example) being safe. They're only 7 points ahead of us, and are are very catchable. Let's get the FA Cup out of the way and then those games against Villa, Everton and Wigan could have some important points in them for us. (United and City too, although anything is a bonus there!)

Neither to begin with, even if we sign a central defender with a reputation that makes us all go "wow". Yoshida and Fonte have done very little wrong of late, so keep them in until such a time as one dips in form.

Nah it was a wedding present. Nearly seven months afterwards, I feel it has soured the memory of the whole event. I think I'll beat the generous guests to death with the bottle.

We signed Jos Hooiveld in December '11. Now THAT's getting business done early. I hear Curtis Davies would've joined had we pushed his paperwork through for the Arsenal game. Now he says we can eat his poo. NA out.

How long were you waiting to start this thread!?! :-) I hear Guly's in for a new 3 year contract, and Tal Ben Haim is close to agreeing terms.

Happy New Year everyone and a Happy Birthday to Garrett and Guly! What would make 2013 a good year on the Saints front? Survival for me. Nothing but survival.

The Champagne was corked. Can Cahmpagne be corked? Tasted like it. So bring on the wine! (Cheap screw cap stuff so should be fine.)

Leighton Baines being coveted doesn't surprise me, but I'd be thoroughly cheesed off if I were an Everton fan. They're having the season of their lives, have signed some good players, and are clicking in every department. I can understand Baines wanting to go to a bigger club, as I can Shaw, but true footballers want to be enjoying their football, and I'd assume he is at Everton currently. On top of that they're a good team under Moyes and he can hardly be earning bad money there. I bet he'd cost too much for Arsenal, although I can see the likes of United going in for him.

The wife and I don't do New Years Eve, Christmas Eve was always my favourite of the two nights out when younger. These days we tend to do a meal out, and then go home to cosy up on the sofa in front of the TV. Thankfully I'm usually working it, and we get paid extra to work through the night. I am off this year though, but am just doing the meal thing. Went to London to stand on the steps of Westminster Bridge for the Millenium. Big mistake. Had the odd NYE in clubs too, they massively overcharge for entry and the night is no better than normal, and in addition it's more packed with idiots. The best solution IMO is a house party with friends.

5 is young for a scout.

I bet it wasn't through choice....

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?42051-Will-Shaw-leave-in-January

What do we reckon celebrities look like when they is getting laid? Poetic license is favourable, feel free to add more. Nigel Adkins: Anne Widdecombe: Phil Schofield: Jimmy Saville:

From Sunderland, Fulham, Stoke and Arsenal I would have taken 4 points. 3 points after the Arsenal game would do. A point would be a good result on Tuesday, but I can't see it. Just a good performance on Sky please.

No. He's playing regular first team football in the biggest league in the world at the age of 17, and he's doing a bloody good job of it. Why would he leave? I can't see it, unless he's more interested in money than football.

I didn't think we had any hope of getting anything out of this game, so we can only see it as a point gained, but it feels like 2 dropped from such a good half time position. Arsenal at home on Tuesday, I'm not looking forward to that, live on Sky.

1) Lose weight. I've put quite a bit on this year and am going on honeymoon to Mexico in June to a resort with 24 pools and a beach. I'm not getting THIS out in its current condition. 2) Quit smoking, the same thing I say every year. 3) Quit drinking. My life would be better if I could do this, but I reaaaaaaaly don't think it'll happen. 4) Be nicer to the wife. I've turned into a snappy bastard since marriage. 5) Visit my family more. I only live 10 mins away but make excuses not to see them, so much so that they constantly offer to take us on meals out so they get to see us. Sometimes we accept.

In order of what the team needs, not necessarily what we'll get... 1) A big centre back, composed but strong. That said any centre back better than what we already have would be good. 2) A keeper. Gazza has made mistakes and needs maturing, Boruc is already out of favour, leaving us with Kelvin, who's reaching the end of his career. 3) A winger. Lallana's injury has highlighted the fact that despite having good attacking resources, we're short in this position. 4) A left back. Shaw has done brilliantly since coming in, I like what I see of him at just 17, but I have no faith in Fox. Will Shaw last all season? He'll have done amazingly well if he does. 5) A defensive midfielder, someone to sit in front of the back four and protect them.

I'm a glass half full fella, but on seeing our team, this is virtually a dead cert loss. Any result that isn't a Stoke win would be a massive result for us. Stoke looked fantastic against Liverpool, they'll be well up for this.

I still think we're going down, but at least with the pre-Christmas form we've given ourselves a bit of hope. More away fixtures than home, and the continued absence of Lallana will hurt us though. We need to pick up some unexpected wins. Strengthening the team wisely in the window is key. Reading will be bottom, then it's two of us, QPR, Wigan, Villa and a surprise team like Newcastle, Fulham or West Ham IMO.

My in-laws do this every year. It dates back a few years when they decided that presents from one relation were so crap, that they could outdo them by doing a Secret Santa with presents that cost a pound or less. (It doesn't have to be from a pound store, it just has to be a pound or under.) This year, now that I'm family, I was allowed to join in too. I picked my wife's aunty Val, and bought her a picture frame. I got a scratch card from the brother in law. (Cheating if you ask me, but still within in the rules.) I also cheated myself and bought the wife's 13 year old cousin a present I got off eBay, a radio controlled Mini Cooper which I scored for 99p. (I ignored the P&P!) Fortunately my family don't go in for this nonsense, they usually give us hundreds of pounds in cash every Christmas, which is far more appreciated. :-0

I've heard good things about Simon Kjaer, although reading recent reports it may be possible to get him for less than £15 million. Apparently unsettled at Wolfsburg, 6'2'', centre back and he's only 24. Any centre back for £15 miillion would do, as I figure that's the position that most concerns me. Ryan Shawcross for £15 million? In today's market that would be cheap. As has been said, I'd rather split that £15 million and buy 2 or 3 players, but that's not what the OP asked.

More casual shirts than I can count, board games, Saints home shirt, Saints gnome, Saints calendar, about £400 cash, new wallet to put it all in, smellies, socks, chocs, and other stuff I forget. Weirdest present from my sister was a drinking straw than you can construct in a multitude of ways. (Which I tried and it makes the drink taste disgusting. I got more joy from seeing my family open their presents from me. Best reactions were my mum on getting a radio controlled Aston Martin (she asked for a real one, but still...) and my wife on getting a bread maker. (Which I actually didn't think she'd like at all.)