Piran

'5th'

Apologies. Missed the 5th round bit.

Nope. Those are the only two 'or' left, so no Team xxx or Team yyy. MLG points for me?

The latter. And it really is tiresome.

I disagree. You're talking about talent here. Any manager who couldn't get their talent to perform in their team ain't a very good manager, in my view. Similar things have been said over the years about Stanley Matthews, Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, George Best and so on. Do we just want to watch athletic work-horses who fit into a team ethic? I don't think MLT was that much of a slouch, anyway. I watched him score at Chelsea once, racing away from the defence to slot home. I expect most of those Chelsea defenders would beat him in a 50 yard sprint, but Matt's speed was in his thinking and execution. And, as you say, many oppo supporters were quick to appreciate him, a rare event, though that may have stemmed from the realisation that while he was brilliant, the team around him often didn't threaten their own team.

Well done to RedFear, MarkSFC and S-Clarke for a reasonable debate, without resorting to the usual hysteria. For what it's worth. I mainly agree with the point of view of RedFear, and have never really 'got' the dissing of Gao or Kat. The club is available for sale, any one of us could just buy them out, and do things our own way. We just need to raise a couple of hundred million quid. In my experience, if something is going well, as I believe SFC is at the moment, don't underestimate the man (person) at the top.

Well said, Cartman.

I wonder if that was because of the change in Fulham's 'usual' tactics, and their players following Scott Parker's instructions? I have seen a few of their games (on TV) this year, and it was definitely a different Fulham (and Brentford, too) to the team that played many of their previous games. I suspect the early booking, too, played its part. Lucky to not be red, in my opinion.

You may be right, but I'm happier when the opposition start well. We usually pick up when that is the case. Especially when RH has the chance to influence them at half time.

Yeah, I agree with all this. Even let the Blue Phew join in. It's good for Saints!

The problem with that proposal is that Spurs, at least under Levy, don't do 'reasonable'.

Well, my first game was against Swindon Town in the '58 - '59 season, so I feel I can offer at least longevity to the debate! I loved all the suggested periods, but my favourite was the McMenemy teams of 81 - 84. Such class. Channon, Paine and Le Tiss also receiving lots of well-deserved mentions, but my favourite was Osgood. I often thought he was worth the admission money just to see him.

I too thought he was the next big thing. Can't remember the opposition, but he looked so calm on the ball, and used it well. I remember saying to my companion that day "He looks really good">

I, too, find this a bizarre suggestion. Case was a great player, very influential, and I believe (haven't checked) he played more games for Saints than any of his other clubs.

I too have faith in him. I can see a real footballer there. I reckon that by the end of this season, we'll be glad we have him at Saints.

Did you see Cahill's contribution to Arsenal's goals on Sunday?

Not if you're that little ray of sunshine that is DT!

It could be that 31 points will be enough to survive this year. Last season 33 (and a better goal difference than Swansea) would have done it.

Elevated??

Well, I don't know how you would define 'journeyman', Waylander, but your definition is surely not the same as mine. Some of my favourite moments watching Saints play, was when Ossie was on the pitch. A true star for me!

You know what your problem is Disconnect? You're looking at this from the point of view of a supporter. Many (most?) of the comments on this forum, to which you refer, are from people who are just permanently critical, or on a wind-up.

As it happens, I was at all 3 of those (I don't get to many home games nowadays). My memories of the 1967 game were that Saints absolutely hammered the Hammers that day - could have been many more for us, and they were lucky to get the 2 - but before kick-off, as these World Cup winners were warming up, they looked fantastic! Taller, more handsome, more tanned, and the way they passed the ball around amongst themselves! Then the game started! Happy days....

Unbelieving, Jeff?

This gets to what I believe is the hub of the matter. If you look at any successful organisation, from a corner shop to the real world giants like Microsoft or Exxon, you will find ONE person setting the standards and delivering a sense of purpose to all the members of that organisation. Ferguson did it at Manchester United. He may not have been nominally the top man, but he set the agenda. Saints need something from the ownership to do this. Cortese did it here once; he wasn't the owner, but you can bet a pound he was driving things.

Well said, Turkish.