ant

Yep, I'll be in the neutral section (albeit directly next to our fans as I managed to get adjoining seats).

Well you can't score from the bench, I'd have thought that was fairly obvious. He's barely played in the Prem and when called upon it has generally been to see out a game - also a situation unlikely to invoke goals. It's also easy to forget that despite his lean spell towards the end of last season he continued to provide vital assists and still ended up our 3rd top scorer. He probably isn't good enough for this league, but he'll do a job when asked to and certainly doesn't deserve the sh*t he receives.

I suppose so - was going on the OP's statement that the phone lines were "permanently engaged". Also presumed it was a legit queue on the website as I wasn't online at 9am, but it does seem the wait times were a bit extreme. From a technical standpoint I can sort of see why an increase in demand (if there was one) would mean there's not the capacity for any other sales either, though it creates a pretty poor user experience. In any case you can enter the ticket site straight away now.

'Try again at lunchtime when it's died down' is about the best advice I can offer. The only alternative is to get in the queue and wait it out. Shouldn't take that long, although I'd advise leaving a browser window open so that you don't miss when the system lets you in. No idea why there's such large numbers clamouring for the FA Cup tickets. This allocation is only open to ST holders and even then your seat's reserved (unless you're in block 41 or 42).

It's a shame because when the Northam's really rocking I wouldn't choose to be anywhere else in the ground (other than on the pitch of course, lapping it up and earning a few bob). I know that the fear of losing has returned after being spoilt for wins for a time, but that's even more reason to get behind the team and chant rather than stand there in silence.

Well it's hardly black and white, but if you want to judge footballers by their indiscretions I'd imagine there's a few others that you might like to think twice about cheering for in the future. He's clearly been dealt with according to the law and the club's code of conduct so where does it end?

Erm... Aside from the ref gifting them two ridiculous free kicks outside our box in quick succession, how exactly were they on top during that period? We played some excellent possession football to keep them at bay and then took it into the corner to run down the injury time, again with little to no threat of Reading breaking away. Very professionally seen out - not the standard Saints fare at all!

Well he didn't put a foot wrong today which makes the reaction beforehand even more bizarre and embarrassing. Some of the morons that booed Guly were soon chanting his name when he pulled off a deft bit of interplay minutes later. It's difficult because some are blinded by idiocy (thus the "oh look, he's running!" sort of comments) whereas others are ruthlessly fickle. No excuse either way though - booing a player as he comes on (or the decision to bring him on, there's little distinction) is a disgrace. Was glad to be part of the majority that took the initiative and loudly chanted his name in response.

40p/share I believe, but yes there were fees to be paid meaning that the club would have seen significantly less. Lowe never really was one to quit while he was ahead though and of course Wilde/Crouch had their reasons for holding on for a better offer. Still, that odd mix of stubbornness, greed and loyalty got us to where we are today so it's difficult to have too many complaints about how matters unfurled!

SISU put the only firm offer on the table during that period didn't they? Certainly alludes to that in those minutes and I always assumed subsequent chit-chat and rumour-mongering was just that. Interest from Paul Allen is also recorded in there, but whether that was based upon an official enquiry or what the club had heard via the press I don't know. Anyway, thank goodness the shareholder opinion didn't match that of the board and thank goodness for Markus Liebherr.

Also booked up for this, did it late last week. Best option considering that there's no trains and I'd quite like to drink on the day rather than be designated driver. Much cheaper than the 'official' coaches.

I spent most of Sammy Saint's 'performance' on my mobile (I'm on the Youtube video towards the end if you require evidence) and didn't clap along, but regrettably did let the odd smirk slip. Do I scrape a pass on the Griffo test? Gangnam Style is beyond contrived but some of the fans present enjoyed it, you didn't. Don't be so joyless and elitist.

Funny, I seem to remember that we played them in the Championship, League One and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy inbetween

As expected, it was already a 'mare by the time I got to Thomas Lewis Way at 5.20pm. Would suggest avoiding it altogether and going via Swaythling/Bassett across to The Avenue, or leave Thomas Lewis Way early and cut across Portswood to The Avenue that way. If you haven't left already and fancy making K.O. I'd get going!

Thanks for the heads-up - work in Fair Oak so would have been coming back that way. I live around the corner from Onslow Road and even then didn't realise it was closed. There were temporary traffic lights on Monday and yesterday so I avoided it this morning. I guess that means The Avenue will be pretty bad too as everybody floods (ahem) that way instead.

Thought that both Shaw and Clyne supported Puncheon/Lallana admirably in terms of offering a rearwards outlet and overlapped well, but it's now being done in a more measured way and doesn't upset the overall balance of the defence.

Our build-up play belies our perceived lack of pace - many teams seem to forget that it's often quicker to zip the ball about and make it do the hard work. If you watch how we play on the break it's all very measured; we don't tend to score by dashing forward with the ball, but we're learning how to be clever in possession and sustain pressure upon the opponent's goal that way. We also defended from the front superbly yesterday. Punch/Ramirez/Lallana didn't give the Newcastle back four a moment's peace and picked their pockets numerous times. It's also incredible how much space Gaston and Adam are able to create themselves with a simple shift of the body. Sharpness like that will cause our opponents more problems than raw pace. Of course if you can get a player with a more complete set of attributes i.e. speed on the ball AND a decent end product then they're an incredible asset, but there's a reason those players sell for the big bucks.

He did. In the past 4 or 5 games Lallana's cover of the left back has been tireless, as attested by his tackling and interception stats which are actually amongst the best in the division.

Davis looked like a different player at CM/CAM against Man City and QPR. That's his role and while he can cover in a more defensive midfield position, in reality we're just stifling him there. With our current formation Davis might see his chances limited to the bench but he's a fantastic choice to switch in for Ramirez if we need to see out a game without cutting off our attacking opportunities entirely. The Cork and Schneiderlin partnership will be key to our season.

You can laugh, but I've seen the prototype.

Since it's unsegregated between away and 'neutral' fans I recently bought a couple of seats adjoining our fans. Missed out on the fabled loyalty points but don't have to faff about with allocation windows or risk missing out. The Fulham ticket office was top notch too - the tickets arrived in the post the next day.

Well last season I could barely walk a dozen paces around and about the city without seeing a Saints shirt and this year's version certainly doesn't seem less prominent. Bit of a skewed statistic if true though - you can't underestimate the extra exposure of the Premier League. I imagine that vast swathes of plastics have descended upon the store to show support for their 'beloved' Saints. I like it, but opinion of our core support still seems divided.

He admitted that he had an attitude problem, which was a big step. When Punch showed a determination to make it work here and the club welcomed him back into the fold that was good enough for me in terms of reassessing him from that point onwards. Of course everybody has their own opinions and observations but what I've seen since then is a lad that's fully integrated into the team and works bloody hard as a part of it. His tracking back in particular has improved immeasurably and there's a strong understanding developing with Clyne. At the level of player we're likely to be able to sign, who isn't going to be predictable at times?! Beating his man will likely never be his strongest attribute but it's not the only method of attack. I'd say his most 'predictable' method in the PL has been cutting in along the box and shooting across goal, from which we've had 2 excellent strikes and a decent number of near misses already. Although it crossed my mind that he may have simply been turning it on against QPR it seems a bit of an injustice to suggest it was merely borne of a personal grudge. He's been a handful in plenty of matches where that wasn't the case and quite simply looks like he wants to be here. Perhaps he hasn't changed his spots and it'll all come crashing down again in 6 months time but for now I believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Something clicked in the Summer so let's make best use of it while we can.

Another good post. There was a newspaper article around a year ago explaining the 'relative age effect' in youth teams/academies. For example in England the selection period runs from September to August, like a school year. Physical attributes are far more likely to produce winning results at a young age, so those born in September/October time are generally selected over those born in the Summer who will be close to a year younger. I'll see if I can dig out the full story. Ah - here we go: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jun/19/fa-plans-age-group-football Quite an interesting read; I didn't realise that Messi had specific growth issues requiring treatment, thought he was just a diminutive lad. Bet you he wouldn't have made it through the English scouting system.

Ah OK, might as well not send the lads up there and call the match off then. It'll save a few quid on petrol at least.