SaintBobby

Is he the oldest uncapped player to have been called up by England?

I'd like to echo the sentiments of those very wise posters above, who express the sage hope that Luke Shaw does not get injured before, during or after the England U21 match. Well said, gentlemen, well said indeed.

Strewth!

let's hope so....

Most tedious draw imaginable - put out the reserve team.

Yeah, I'd settle for that (away) - just down the road. I might even go for a laugh if the tickets are cheap enough.

Right. Well done, Bazza. Top drawer.

There's has been a major cull of Saints players who couldn't really cut it in the top flight. How many have we now got off payroll and/or cancelled contracts for? A lot. Chaplow, de Ridder, Seaborne, Richardson etc etc. Sure, we might disagree with some of the decisions (maybe Dean Hammond "deserves" his chance in the top flight, still?). But it's a brutal and direct cull of the B-list or C-list players. And we have yet to lose an obvious A-lister. Only two notable additions so far - Lovren and Wanyama. But - wow - pretty decent additions. (prima facie, both "A list", surely?) Thanks to the ruthless slashing of the playing squad (killing off good Championship players, who aren't really good enough for the Premier League), we are probably in a position to get in one or two seriously good signings before the end of August. Who should receive the praise for this?

I don't care about this joke competition until Saints are in the last eight (or fewer). As for asking who people "think" we will draw.....???? Sigh.

17th?

Shaw back on his feet. No worries.

Stuart Ripley? Another poor one.

Football finances have zoomed...but I'm not sure they have gone up as much as 200% in ten years?

Top thread. Thanks for starting it, bowers. And thanks for all the useful ancillary evidence, people.

You're not really worrying for them, are you? I hate the way MotD pundits use the term "I worry for them" (as if to show empathy)....when what they really mean is "I reckon they're f**ked".

Never visited Ugly Iniside. What's the origin of the name, btw? Is it just random or am I missing something? It used to be a (printed and published) fanzine right?

Mayuka was indeed a disappointment last season. I think he managed, effectively, one "assist" (for being taken down for a penalty, converted by Lambert, at home to Villa). I agree with Turkish that Sharp as a "supersub" would probably have notched a goal or two. However, I would have played Mayuka rather than Sharp, basically because Mayuka has better long-term potential for the club.

Quoted for truth.

I'd abolish international football. It's of a feeble standard compared to club football and doesn't pay the wages. Go back to the national teams being amateurs, not pros. I don't want people to take England call ups seriously. And I don't want Saints players to get them at all, really.

No, that's not what I said. I was clear it was "feasibly". Clearly there are only 2-3 strikers in the world who are the very best - but being world class just means that you could be in the team (e.g. Messi is injured, but it's okay let's put on Neymar....) and obviously it's contestable who you'd put in the team. I'm just saying it has to be credible that you'd put them in the team. Robin van Persie is world class, as is Neymar, as is Messi. Probably also Suarez. Maybe Rooney at a stretch. But Rickie Lambert - much as I love him - just clearly isn't. So, we're maybe looking at 10 or so strikers, 15 or so attacking midfielders, 15 or so "defensive midfielders", 8 or ten full backs, 15 or so centre backs and 3 or 4 goalkeepers. So, about 65-70 world class players all in all. (obviously the positions "bleed" a bit...but this is a broad tally) Same basic priciple goes for managers IMO. Could this man feasibly manage the best team in the world? Mourinho = yes, Ferguson = yes, Wenger = probably yes. Pochettino = definitely not at the moment, no way. Adkins = no. Again, we're probably only looking at 10 or 12 managers. Only a few nutters would argue beyond that list of 10-12 and throw in a different name that they would ideally want to manage their team. (no doubt, someone somewhere names Harry Redknapp as their absolutely ideal first chocie manager...but they are clearly mental).

I've always taken "world class" to mean that the individual could feasibly be in position at any club in the world. A "world class" striker could play for Barcelona, Spain or Brazil, for example. So, in terms of players, I'd say that it means you could make it into the World XI against the Martians. (or at least into the squad)

Any chance they may put him out on loan again?

If by "being honest", you mean heralding a bunch of people chanting the same thing endlessly without giving a toss about what's happening in the match, I'd agree. It was a bit like watching football, whilst listening to an unimaginative, disinterested one-note black gospel choir wandering around within hearing distance.

Pretty dismal performance to be honest. Astonishing that we won that. Mind you, Besiktas were even less interested than we were. Hey ho.

You do realise that Sun story is 4 months old?