SaintBobby

OMFG. Some highlights from that Farmery interview. "We've got our budget, the more we can raise over that budget, the more we can spend" Q: "What are the main hurdles that need to be overcome if the Trust is to be successful?" A: "I think the key thing is to get over the hurdle of actually owning the club...then I think the business plan kicks in....I think a lot of people who are waverers at the moment will start pledging their money" (he thinks people will write cheques for £1000 after the Trust has taken control...!) Q: "Where realistically do you think Pompey will be in five years' time?" A: "Well, if you look at Exeter and AFC Wimbledon....the Championship" WTFILN

Just put £10 on a Saints win. 15/1 on betfair.

Reading are bigger than Wigan IMHO

Thank god someone started this thread. I was hoping there'd be a match reaction thread somewhere, but just couldn't find one and didn't have the confidence to start one myself....

This is a classic. So bad it's good. http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/pompey-talk-no-game-but-new-players-incoming-1-4706264 I especially like the bit at about 18 mins in when the bloke seriously says "Who's left? X, Y, Z and Colin the Masseur". "Kev the Kitman...who is very respected in his field...how much more can he take?" WTFILN.

If MLT thinks NC is a total ***t, let him say it. We're all far too precious. Why can't he say it? Let him say what he wants. It's not destabilising the team or anything. Matty is a club legend and now a Sky pundit. Why should be bite his lip at all?

If you will have "Viking Warrior" as the name in your passport, you're likely to get stopped, I guess... Why not go for "Joe Smith" or "Bill Jones" or something similar...

I'm a big fan of Cork. Although I though he was a little under par tonight. But he deserves our support. Let's start a thread for him alone. Not one for him and Morgan combined. It will mean so much to him.

Stewards can be very heavy handed. I think Saints staff particularly so. We should complain when they are. But this isn't an Occupy Movement protest FFS. There was so demo tonight and the self-appointed fans' representatives looks even sadder than ever. The white hankie thing will surely go down as amateur hour legend. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/10172160.Saints_fans_plan_Adkins_protest/?action=success

Superb tonight. Got my MOTM vote. Not just the saves, command of the area. Although we got the call for the foul, he punched the ball out c. 30 yards one-handed from a corner in 2nd half under pressure. Impressed.

Terrific first half. Tough 2nd half. Bloody hell, Everton defend well. Happy with the point. Our first nil nil draw for 500 games or something?

I do wonder about these SISA people. Was that a success? Viva la revolution.

Hilarious coverage on Sky Sports News. Desperately looking for a people involved in the massive, brilliantly clever "hankie waving mass protest". I think they found four. Two of whom just wanted to blow their nose. It's so sad, it's almost cute.

Great article. Which surprised me...as the opening line "The reaction to Nigel Adkins being replaced as Southampton manager has been such that the phrase “widespread disbelief” has almost become a cliché." is one of the worst I've ever read.... The phrase is already a cliche.

Always favoured Fonte for the armband. But seems very unlikely this is on the cards. Love Lallana and Lambert to bits, but don't really see either of them as captains. So, guess I'd go for Morgan again.

I'm now much more reconciled to the sacking of Adkins. I'm willing to give Cortese the balance of the doubt on this. It will be hard/impossible to compare with any counterfactual of "how would we have done under Adkins" - but as long as we stay up and other "stuff" starts coming good (transfers, player morale etc etc), I'll be content. My worries about Cortese run rather deeper, however. There have been a series of decisions and rumours that seem to suggest he's a bit fruity - disgruntled staff, the weird decision to dispense with programme sellers, the falling out with the Sun, a lot of dysfunctional stuff behind the scenes (useless ticket office performance, screwed up loyalty points scheme, truly odd decisions in the corporate lounge area, that bloke who was apparently denied a season ticket, the poor communication with fans, high turnover of staff). If things are going great on the pitch, this is all flotsam and jetsam. But if things start going wrong, you risk getting into a truly grim downward spiral.

4 points would be a pretty good return from the next 4 games. You've got to assume we'll lose to Man City and Man Utd. I'd probably even accept 3 points - as long as these were taken against Wigan. We need to average about a point a game - but not over a spread of four games which includes the best two teams in the league....

Can we have a totally separate thread for every poster's individual opinions. It would make things so much easier.

Don't totally agree with this. There were other options available. We could have kept Ramirez in the central position. And should have done IMHO.

I'm a bit more sanguine about the whole thing after a couple of days to reflect. Maybe 15th was the highest NA could ever get us to...

According to the Mirror, tensions over transfers were a big reason behind the sacking. Just saying. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/tensions-over-transfers-saw-nigel-1546179

Widespread growth of the fan ownership model is a pipedream, I fear. What's the value of Southampton Football Club? £50m - £100m? There may be twice as many Saints fans as Pompey fans, but look at the laughable attempts by the Pompey Trust to scrape together a truly pitiful £1m. (and this at a time when the alternative could well be liquidation, other clubs would be seeking to raise money from fans on the basis that it would be "nice" to have fan ownership). If there are 10,000 Saints fans willing to stump up £5,000 - £10,000 each, then fan ownership becomes feasible. But there aren't. So it isn't. It pains me to say that Saints can't even get their fan representation sorted out. SISA are a tiny, trivial joke.

If evidence emerges that the Liebherr investment is on the same scale as the Chelsea and Man City investment, I will reappraise. There isn't much evidence of this. (Additionally, the vague information about a big loan from the British Virgin Islands or whatever at least raises an eyebrow rather than underscoring the theory of an enormous war chest We are not really spending on the levels you suggest - yes, we've spent a lot on transfers, but that's only one element. What do you think we're spending on payroll? Absolutely nowhere near the amount spent by the big clubs. Of course we have spent a lot on renewing the squad, Man City and Man Utd etc don't have to. They are already established at the top of the division. We needed to replace players who may have been good in the Championship, but incapable of cutting it in the top flight. I'm guessing on payroll, but I'd be confident in suggesting we are nowhere near the top 4-6 clubs. That's a major reason why we're 15th and still at 7/4 to be relegated.

Correct. We don't have the resources. We've spent £30m on transfers so far. A huge amount for us - but hardly competing with the top 4. Does Cortese have an additional £300m in a war chest? I doubt it, but, as I've said, I'd reappraise if it became clear we were competing with Chelsea/Man Utd etc on spending. I can safely say our matchday attendances and revenues are less than Man Utd and Arsenal. And we're receiving millions less in TV rights compared to the Champions League teams. I'm also sort of assuming that Man Utd/Arsenal etc replcia shirt and merchandising sales are rather bigger than ours. Happy to been proven wrong, but seems a reasonable prediction.

Get in, Baggies! 2-2