saint1977

I was just thinking exactly that. I can see it being a season-long loan with a view to perm because we'd probably pay Wolves more if we secured promotion to CCC and it might suit Drew as well as he'd probably not want to play in L1 for more than a season. Drew always had ability and an eye for goal but lack of upper body strength always was a drawback but he may have developed at Wolves. He's still youngish and would be a standout player at this level so yes from me. Still not sure where we'd actually play him in the first XI though, in the centre of midfield him and Hammond would be too slow and perhaps with Morgan too lightweight.

2010/11 Saints - 100+ points, a side too strong for CCC let alone L1 and top 6 in CCC season-after in front of regular full houses at SMS 2010/11 Skates - -17 start in the CCC, a double relegation in front of 7,000 gates and relegated again with 4 down in League 1 in 2011/12 Looking forward to next season already! The skates will be feeling what we felt after the shootout at Pride Park - the gamble has failed and years of misery await as a result. Can't see a Markus or Nicola on the horizon and can't see them even being able to sustain themselves in administration. With our fanbase and the facilities and stadium in place and no debts (take note skates), we are going places.

Makes Jaidi look like Antonio for pace, far too slow. OK for L1 for a 1 year deal but we could do far better and Doherty couldn't play in the CCC or PL.

I agree with all of those releases. I like Thomas but clearly the club wanted to move on. Feel sorry for McLaggon and particularly White who have had stinking luck with injuries but we've been there before with Pahars and Svensson and it didn't work even if I applauded the sentiment at the time. The rest were not good enough - simple as. Semi had a second chance with us after Nowich but doesn't have football awareness, just pace so well done AP on releasing him. James disappoints me - there is ability in there but like Semi, just switches off during games. James has also had plenty of chances in his native midfield this year and just hasn't consistently stepped up despite decent cameos like Brentford away. Pulis, Wotton, Forecast and Molyneux will be on their way as soon as their deals expire as they were signed later last season or in Forecast and Wotton's case on longer deals (thanks Rupert). Calderon looks set to join, Arfield we seem interested in. Saw Forest linked to Adomah at Barnet, we may need to swoop quickly there. I'm happy for DC to stay but we didn't get that many games out of him so not too devastated if he doesn't sign. Looks like an enjoyable summer ahead to me with 4-5 quality players coming in and not the usual filler waste of wages from the recent past.

Excellent posts on here from Shurlock, Benji, Arizona and in particular Corky Morris, which gives an insight into the culture we are looking at. I'm fine with what is happening, Pardew said after the JPT final that NC wanted updates on progress and was pushing for success. I still believe that Pardew will be here in August and barring a poor start, will be here in May 2011 with the League One trophy. Bottom line - this is Markus's money, he has cleared the debts, invested in players and Staplewood (note to the Skates, it is wise to invest in assets other than those that steal toilets from Homebase) and yet financially the club still seems to be well run, which is what happens when you have proper business people in charge. Markus and NC like to be discreet in their transactions, which is what Martin Samuel and his tabloid chums would see if they took their noses out of Harry Redknapp's arse for 5 minutes. This isn't Secure Retirement and the tin pot set up we had before with Old Man Askham still pulling the strings and controlling the biscuit tin which so nearly killed the club. A lot of clubs would swap their position for ours.

I also make a living from project management and agree with you from my own experience. Breakdown companies have stopped using overseas call centres as the staff couldn't read the sat nav and the poor motorists were stranded for hours! You can be as cheap as you want but if you can't deliver the service it is irrelevant.

No, but the quality that the customer recieves in services or goods takes a dramatic dive. I have stopped using companies that outsource their customer service as I feel as paying customer that I deserve at least to be able to understand in English what is being said to me! Outsourcing can also divorce customer needs is less obvious ways so that one-sized fits all become fits no-one. I have mixed views on Unions but they do have a role and senior positions have to feel the pain and take a slightly reduced profit so that when the economy upturns they are ready to grow. Don't believe everything the Daily Mail tells you.

Brighton fans won't know who to boo first or most next season! Calderon, Harding (who got it big time at SMS from them), Hammond or Pardew. What a selection! Could be tasty at SMS when they come to SMS. We owe them one for that 3-1 defeat and we can't play that badly again. Oh, Fonte is ex-Palace as well, make it 5 for them to boo and abuse!

Hope Duncan takes BA to ET and kicks their backside. I've never flown with them since the Virgin dirty tricks debacle - we go with Virgin or Singapore Airlines depending on where we are going who are far better than BA's rude service. I've never worked in the airline industry or BA but I know a number of people who have and BA's senior managers have a long and well established record of ineptitude in industrial relations and archaic employment practices.

Skates still cheating I see. HMRC have to go for them now, as a message to other clubs. AA is just as bad as the rest of them that caused the mess, what on earth is he doing to justify his salary? Hopefully the story in the one of the broadsheets - may have been the Indy - about a Premier League investigation into corruption and who knew what about the various takeovers is true. Firstly, it'll guarantee justice via a hefty points deduction and secondly, I think it would be appalling if Storrie is allowed to sit watching the sea in his newly extended big house scot free. Whoever the Skates are playing in the CCC next year, they are my second team for the weekend. The very least they should suffer is -17 and a team full of talentless kids, just like we had to watch last year. Actually, they can have James, Wotton, Pulis and Molyneux on frees so that they cost the skates wages (probably be their top earners) and points, not us.

I'm not against the ideas Dune but it needs employer buy-in and I don't see the evidence of that. It's all very well Cameron saying he wants BS and for us to spend more time with our families but tell that to employers! Now, what he could do is get Ashcroft to put in £10m of the taxes he allegedly cheated on paying into a start-up fund and employers can put in for matched-funding at different levels for a day a week of their staff's time in a local BS project. So for an SME, they'd get 80% of the wages refunded but the likes of IBM might get 25% as they can better afford it. Good for the CSR angle for the companies and good for employees to spend time in communities. If the employees enjoy it, we might grow it and then we need to work with the charities sector on helping them culturally change to adapt to the new patterns of volunteering. I was a bit tongue-in-cheek on Ashcroft - although he actually should do this an apology to us - but philanthropy will be crucial in developing BS fully with public finances so sickly. Cameron must repudiate and publicly reject Thatcher's "no such thing as a society" comments from the 1980s added to the injection of private finance if the Conservatives are to be really taken seriously on this.

There's the rub. I do take part when I can in activity that would be deemed "Big Society" but get up at 6am and get home around 8pm due to the commute I do. I like Cameron's ideas in principle BUT if they are going to work he will need leverage on UK employers across all sectors to make it work and to enable people the economic freedom to do it - whether that means tax concessions I don't know. We already work the longest hours in Europe for the highest house prices so something has to give. Personally, I'd reduce local government's scope far more, giving housing to Housing Associations would take local politicians out of it and encourage responsible tenants and a big saving on TUPE transfers of LA Housing Depts. Also, why not have regional HR and Payroll teams - Soton, E'leigh, HCC etc? I know Soton is a unitary authority but think about the savings. It's areas like Social Workers that we should be preserving at local levels as the risk is too high of regionalising these and ditto communities teams.

If this was the 1930s and we were talking about the rise of Facism and internet forums had existed, if we'd listened to papers like that then we'd have ended up with Moseley as PM with Hitler's fist up his backside and speaking German. My Grandfathers didn't both fight in WWII - one as POW in Burma - for me to listen to anything that extremist, traitor rag has to say. Put 20% VAT on all newspapers, Blair allegedly didn't do it because he was influenced by Murdoch - typical Blair, always out for #1. Getting back to Saints, this story is garbage.

Rasiak is unlikely in my view, the club were allegedly delighted that Reading paid them a fee and relieved them of the wages. Stock would be a great signing although his recent injury record is a concern, we do need a quality CM to compete with Hammond. Depending on what happens with Antonio, I would expect the Adomah rumours to have legs as a pace outlet to develop. Martin's impressively mature start yesterday may mean a new CB is less likely. Looks like we are less likely to be trailing Le Fondre from Rotherham as Pardew wants a taller targetman to shadow Lambert. Right-back is the priority, Semi is never going to be up to it and ditto James. James really needed a good showing yesterday, I thought he'd had some decent games in midfield covering Hammond but perhaps Pardew has lost a bit of confidence in him. Semi, James, Lancashire, Gillett, Thomas all to go IMO, Perry to retire.

Marstons have developed fastcask - a bright-ready way of serving real ale that is much better suited and less tempremental for large-scale events including sports events. They have patented it and now supposedly licencing to other smaller local brewers.

The players that I've seen linked recently are: Adomah - Barnet, speedy winger out of contract Dickson - Fast left back at Brentford, watched regularly by bigger clubs. Not if we need him with Harding around but maybe Dickson could go LM Mullins - Mail and Sun yesterday although £1m is either skates or his agent talking. Nominal + wage cut is more like it Armfield - young midfielder at Falkirk Players I'd like to see us linked with: Le Fondre - Rotherham Leven - MK Dons, would give Hammond competition. Good shout those posters who suggested it. Any decent right-back because Semi just isn't up to it.

Yes please! Brilliant in CCC play-off final last year and has had some good games in the PL this year too I'm told. Trouble is, the promoted sides to PL may want him but if Pardew wants a quality player for that position, he's our man.

Good shout and also if Mullins is settled in the area and has kids, he probably wouldn't want to uproot them unneccessarily from schools etc. He's 31, as Steve says he knows his current wage won't be replicated, he knows Pardew, knows we are ambitious and debt free and knows Pompey could go pop altogether. Could be a good player in L1 and would give Morgan and Hammond the competition they need to become as consistent as the rest of the team has. Can also play RB and CB from memory.

I can't wait for next season - they are going to cop so much flak from us and when we are celebrating the L1 title with a few games to go and they are 15 adrift of safety in the CCC (after starting -17) we should sing loud and proud on the Football League Show highlights "One Team in Hampshire". We have already become Hants's top team again in my view and just to reinforce it: - No debt vs £120m including fleecing 2 charities - Bigger better fanbase even this season 2 divisions below - Bigger better stadium - Better players for start of 2010/11 The only thing they can throw at us is being in L1 but that is only temporary as they know we'll win L1 next season with 100 points and they will go down 24th in the CCC so roles will reverse and we'll be ready to push for CCC top 6 in 2011/12.

Enjoyable game and a good season, unlucky that top 6 so consistent. AP - please sign up Antonio and Papa if they are keen to sign perm deals. Add in a new RB, a back-up CB and a CM and that's a squad for top 6 in CCC, let alone L1. Surely we will sell a lot of STs over the summer for what looks like an enjoyable promotion campaign in 2010/11? Laughed at the Bournemouth fans. Fair play to them on their achievement but they might not be singing that song when Papa scores the 5th at SMS against them.

Fitness is a massive issue. Pardew and his staff by all accounts work the players hard in training and we are seeing the results - the first ten games we conceded a number of sloppy, lazy late goals , now we are regularly scoring late ones - Yeovil, Brighton and a number of games where we were already winning such as Walsall where we've kept our foot on our opponents. By contrast, the late conceded issue has largely disappeared, which also seems to have coincided partially with Fonte's arrival as he is so calm. Apart from Norwich, we are the best side in that league - Leeds only avoided a hiding due to a disallowed goal and a dreadful ref and Hudds, Carlisle, Walsall and B Rov have all felt our power recently. Sides in good form have pushed us, notably Brighton who will do well under Poyet next year but that's ok. I still think we need to strengthen in CM but then judging by the Jan links to Stock, so do the club. This has been the most enjoyable season since 06/07 and 2002/3 before that. Roll on next season.

I have wanted Semi to do well so he could disprove all my Norwich friends who really do not rate him and gave me awful stick when Pardew brought him in. I was warned that he always starts well and then the concentration goes. I'd been willing to cut him slack after his injury V Leeds and the fact he'd had some good games before that. He could be a good player with his pace and perhaps the club thought that with Pardew and Dodd on the staff they could give him that extra bit coaching on positioning etc. On Saturday he was very poor so at the moment with regret I would have to say release.

Are you sure that's not one of the Skates' fans coaches getting confused on their semi-final dates?

This is a big game - we only have faint play off hopes but we just need to keep winning and hope Hudds blow it and as we know Brentford are a tough outfit for Hudds to face with no little energy, skill and pace at Griffin Park, they hammered us second half up there. Pardew has already outlined that he will be strengthening in the summer so one or two players need to step it up if they are not to be spending next season benched. Mr Hammond in particular needs a consistent finish to the season as I can't see him dislodging Morgan next season but I can see Pardew bringing in at least one new CM, if not more. Hopefully Seaborne will continue to develop and stake a claim to a regular starting spot and Semi has done well so far but deal up in the summer. The Charlton turnout (or lack of) thus far is surprising, they could go second if results go their way.

I'm told that he was carrying ankle problems at Norwich which caused him to miss games at times. Not a chronic problem apparently but needs monitoring so therefore we need to ensure Semi has someone to cover him. If he plays 46 games injury free next year assuming he does get a deal (be surprised if he didn't) then great.