Minsk

If any player wouldn't get a sniff of the first team fr a couple of years then they will probably never make it. But I still feel any player would improve more by training, day in day out, with internationals and Premier League standard players than (for example) playing for Brentford against Gillingham, Crawley, Port Vale, etc. However, the first point I made was just last week in response to when some were calling for Gallagher to be loaned out as 'our season was now over'.

Thanks very much for that Saint-Armstrong. A very good Read. It also backs up something I posted on another thread last week; it is better for players like Gallagher to remain with us and train with the first team day in day out than go on loan to a L1 Team. To be honest, IMHO, I also don't think prem teams should be allowed to bring players in on loan. It is completely ridiculous (for example) that Everton's best striker (Lukaku) can play against any other team except Chelsea.

Tiger_Tony.... got quite a ring to it!!

The best team I have seen play was probably: I Katalinic I Golac D Watson C Nichol N Holmes M Channon S Williams A Ball D Armstrong K Keegan S Moran Of our current squad, only Boruc (vice Katalinic), Lovren (vice Nichols) and Shaw (vice Holmes) would stand a chance of getting into that starting 11 (although I would also be tempted to drop Steve Moran for Adam Lallana if playing in our current 4-2-3-1 formation).

Can you suggest a line-up Saints can put out that wouldn't be merely "solid, but toothless"?

Don't believe they left out Oxlade-Chamberlain and JWP

Why aren't they playing in their pink kit? Where are the 5 000 bestest away fans? Why haven't Chesterfield scored yet?

Yes, it is.

If he is out on loan he doesn't get to train with our first team or under our coaches. Plus, Bournemouth can fork off after the carp they threw in our direction a couple of years back. However, I would be more than happy with us loaning out a few players to each of the Skates fellow relegation candidates.

I usually spend about 3 weeks every summer in the Crimea, sometimes 4, last year just the 2. I have also been to that ex-submarine base (it was a must do for an ex-RN SONAR operator). There is no doubt that the economy of the entire Crimea is hugely dependant on Russia - mostly through tourism. Crimea is, I would say, made up of about 80% Russian ethnicity. Virtually all the people there see themselves as much Russian as Ukrainian. The Crimea was only given to Ukraine in the 50's. This would never have happened had they thought the Soviet Union would one day break-up. I really don't believe, and whole heartedly there won't be, any military conflict over this. There is not a legal government in Ukraine. The ones in power now have not been democratically voted in. I don't think this can be resolved until there has been an election there. A referendum will be held in Crimea before that; there nay have to be another one after too. The only thing that really concerns me about this entire affair is that I absolutely love going to the Crimea. As part of Ukraine there is no requirement for me to get a visa to go there. If it comes under Russia, then I will need one. And the Russians do, deliberately, make it difficult for UK nationals to obtain visas when outside of the UK. (A member of staff of their embassy here admitted as much to me when I tried getting a visa to go to Moscow. He said it was to reciprocate the way the UK authorities treat Russians/Belarusians when applying for visas.) To be fair though, they didn't take any money from me until I had jumped through all of their hoops and had produced enough paperwork for him to say I would be granted the visa. Unlike our government, who take the money then keep it when a visa is refused. So, I think my summers are going to be a bit buggered up from now on. This coming one, most certainly!!

I am pretty certain the outcome of this will either be Crimea going back into Russian hands (like Ossetia) or becoming its own, new, nation - although probably only recognised as such by the Russian Federation. Crimea was due to have a referendum based on giving it even greater autonomy than it already had (which was considerable) some time in May. This has been moved forward to the end of March. It could well be that this referendum could be further changed to give the the vote for a complete break-away from Ukraine - with or without the addition of them becoming part of Russia. This is how it is being reported in this (pro-Russian) part of the world.

A very good question, and one I was wondering too. I wonder if there are a load of uncapped Brazilians, Argentinians, etc, that they could give Gibbo nationality too?

It was obvious that Gibraltar would be drawn in Spain's group, and then moved. Completely wrong imo. If Spain won't recognise Gib, and thus refuse to play them, they should have been made to forfeit the two matches and the 6 points. How can you have 2 teams in a competition where they can't play against each other for 'political' reasons?

So, in the first paragraph it states that Barker 'accused some of his players of simply waiting for the season to end' and the article finished with a direct quote from Barker saying, "We are just papering over the cracks at the moment, waiting for the season to come to an end." Nothing hypocritical there at all, eh Mr Barker? Maybe the players are just taking their manager's lead? Please, please, please lead them out of L2 this season...... you only need to drop 2 more places!!!!!

It would be great for Tesco if that area in the bottom right corner were to become apartment blocks someday..........

That was awful. Get rid of Pochettino and bring in a manager who actually gives a feck!!

Just looked at our last 6 results: 1-0 2-2 2-0 2-2 3-0 2-2 Come on Saints, keep the sequence going and give us a 4-0 win tonight!!!! I would then happily take a 2-2 on Saturday and beat Sunderland 5-0 in the replay.

An excellent way to express/explain the level of their debt reduction.

I wouldn't mind at all if he came back. I doubt he would though. I also wouldn't mind AVB or Laudrup.

This And this My next trip over to the UK is for an RN reunion, where I will be meeting up with dozens of old shipmates many of whom I haven't seen for a couple of decades, all organised on FB.

Very, very, unlikely IMO.

The team for the first match against Italy, and nutter Osvaldo, should be: --------------------------Hart----------------------- Clyne---------Cahill-----------Jagielka-----Shaw ----------------Cork-----------Gerrard------------- JRod-----------------Lambert-------------Lallana ----------------------Rooney----------------------- In all honesty though, providing there are no more serious injuries, I think the only nailed on Saints player to go to Brazil is Lallana. Rickie stands a fair chance of being the 4th striker (with Rooney, Sturridge and Welbeck). I really can't see any others making it.

I was busy during the first half so didn't watch a stream, but listened to Merson on Sky Sport saying how great we were playing. So was abit surprised to see the footballing experts of SaintsWeb saying how carp we had been during half time. Watched the second half though, and what a half! 3 fantastic goals. A great performance from all the team. Really hard to pick a MoM. It could go to: Boruc for those great saves in the first half (chances which came completely against the run of play according to Mers - although 'just doing what he is paid to do' according to one SW expert); Cork for turning the game around when he came on; Yoshida for a commanding CB performance; Lallana for yet another Captain Fantastic performance; JRod for leading the line so well and a quite sublime finish for the third. But, I think I will give it to the player who FF assured us, only a couple of days ago, would be out for the next few weeks. For someone sat on the treatment table at SMS - someone who many other SW experts had written off as 'past it' and 'nowhere near as good as he was last season' (despite playing and scoring for England this season) - he did a fantastic job to score his 100th league goal for Saints and to set up 2 more, with inch perfect passes. Yes, arise, Sir Rickie Lambert!! If you play this well whilst being out for a few weeks I am really looking forward to what you will do when back in the team!

Something else to think about: The 13 players on the field in Saints shirts last night cost us about the same in transfer fees as the Arse paid us for AOC