Saint Charlie

IMO (and probably yours too behind the facade) Adkins is far, far superior to those above Managers. I wouldn't swap him for them. Whilst Managing Saints and S****horpe he has been promoted in more than half his seasons as Manager - the others don't have stats like those. Boothroyd has failed in 3 out of his 4 jobs. I can't see one that Adkins has failed in? Brown applies for everything going but ultimately had one and half good seasons at Hull. I don't see the similarity?

I would say (IMO) that successive promotions count for a lot. They show that NA is a Manager who has actually achieved something tangible (which a lot haven't) and has made many more correct decisions than incorrect ones in his tenure. That, rightly, he is extremely well liked and highly thought of at SMS by fans, players and Senior Management. That he fits into the culture of the club and understands the vision Cortese has set out.

Those Journos havent really commented on Shaw staying suprisingly. One of the worst is John Cross from the Mirror who continually said Arsenal were targetting him this window, that talks were going to happen etc and that he would probably move.

They have been woeful going forward most of the times Ive seen them. Beneteke is a handful but all they do is punt the ball to him and look for knockdowns. They have some tidy midfielders who are decent on the ball but don't play to their strengths.

This - the key is the next couple of weeks. One more injury or suspension over the Villa and Chelsea games would mean going into Everton with Fox or Martin playing centre back.

Any good train offers for this?

Makes sense and again reinforces the club stance that no GK is on the way. The Fonte injury and Shaw emergence might have changed the thinking slightly I agree.

Its just bizarre that Arsenal will charge differing amounts to away fans when there is no logic behind it. Saints fans are always going to want to visit the Emirates and are bound to sell quite a lot, but as Cat C the tickets were only £25. You shouldn't be penalised for supporting a successful team. How there can be a difference of 50 quid for Man City away to 20 quid for Wigan away is just bizarre.

I think despite what some believe there are clearly multiple discussions happening at the same time, and options are continually assessed.

Agree with this. The Bournemouth Echo give an excellent representation to the club, and when you go on their site the msot read articles are always the football ones, it would be a key factor for those who still buy a copy too.

For me we needed 1 x CB desparately before Fonte got injured. If he is out til March or so then we need two. If we got say Astori and then he got injured we would be in exactly the same situation as we are now. Even if we got one top class CB and then a younger improver (Prem version of a Seaborne or Martin) that would be ok.

IMo the Puncheon one can wait - he is playing well and it doesn't need to be sorted in the transfer window like the CB situation does.

What is going on with them? After a few years of basically nothing in the way of Saints stories they suddenly seem to have sources telling them about Lallana and Fonte injuries The last proper exclusive the wrote about us was probably the Schneiderlin signing in 2008 or so! Would be good if they could turn into some kind of decent local press like many other clubs have but not holding my breath.

I got bored of that. I won't reply to your negative sensationalism but I thinm you have improved slightly since the other day so am happy to talk sensibly!

Well - due to the Fonte/AL injuries the prioritisation/urgency has changed I think. Will be interesting to hear Adkins in his press conference today.

Stating the obvious I know but with Fonte likely to be out for a while and Lallana still at least a month away this window is becoming increasingly huge - probably the most important since the takeover for me. Currently we only have 2 fit CBs, both who have some level of question mark about them (Hooiveld much more than Yoshida for me). Whilst we have others they are nowhere near the standard we need ie Martin so are not worth including. We also lack a wide player in the absence of AL meaning that Guly and Puncheon (who are doing well) have zero backup - if one gets injured/loses form then De Ridder would be nearly in for a start! is this a fair summary? Essential Requirement: 2 x CB - at least one before the Everton game. 1 x wide player as soon as we can Could do with Adding: 1 x GK (but it seems like we won't) 1 x CM (as soon as Cork or Morgan are not in there we struggle) Long Shot: 1 x Striker? We seem to have quite a few but with Mayuka away we are possibly short? If Lambert say got injured we would have Jay Rod backed up by Lee? (Pls don't say we should recall Sharp - he can't play the role we need.)

I think we now need one fairly quickly (by the Everton game) and then one other by end of window. That plus a decent wide player and we would be looking ok IMO.

Definitely need two new CBs now.

"Great news but..." You are getting too predictable ;-)

Can only be good news, should stop the speculation until the summer. Its funny that the Journalists on Twitter who constantly link Shaw to Arsenal and Chelsea fail to report news like this!

But Borac can see the whole game from the back Davie, does that make a difference? I would go for Morgan.

Out for up to 6 weeks according to the Echo who suddenly seem to know everything. Really puts the pressure on in the transfer market if true. Need two new CBs.

Did you mean last warning? You said grass. Troll.

Im sure Saints are aware just like all other teams. Must be a reason nobody has gone for him.

Did buctootim used to be Tijuana Tim?