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I would like to see him loaned out for the rest of this season and play regular League football and after pre-season, maybe to a good side for the first half of next season. It is only by playing regularly that we will get to see what he can achieve.

There may be something his agent was asking for that caused NC to pull the plug and contact Exeter late on Tuesday evening.

Lancashire is nowhere near the finished article. We have lost Monk, Williamson, Mills and Cranie by not developing them along with Howard and Elliott. If Pardew lets Lancashire go it would be premature. Lallana has performed much better of late and not before time. James is a different kettle of fish. He is slow, that will never change. He isn't a bad footballer but our 5 year plan will see him replaced sooner rather than later. He isn't an issue for me as I don't rate him and can't see him playing much except as a stand in once the transfer window closes and Murty is back in contention.

James has a fundamental flaw, he is slow. I don't see a future for him here with the plans we have. I don't expect him to be with the club after next season, along with a lot of others. Lancashire looked a class act against Leeds.

For a number of seasons we have been really light at the back and vulnerable to crosses especially with a keeper that doesn't dominate. I have looked on with envy at most teams tough, uncompromising central defenders usually bought on the cheap or free transferred in and wondered why we never get in that sort of player. Now we have brought one in to replace a Preston reserve, of course he is going to play with the added bonus of being naturally left sided. Martin and Lancashire are work in progress and deserve the time to develop, Jaidi and Perry need rotational assistance and Pardew obviously doesn't rate Thomas. We are looking at a lot of games coming up and the centre of defence is vital. Fonte is high class and will play, Seaborne has proved he is the uncompromising defender we need to get stuck in. I thought the two Exeter centre backs looked pretty tough against us in a ten man team and gave nothing away. A right back would give us a regular miserly back four including adequate cover for rotation and injuries. We also on a regular basis need to play four naturally left sided players (which we haven't yet got) to provide balance. For too long we have made do with one or two, where we want to go that won't work.

Quick, clever, natural left sided midfielder, right back, another target man/striker who scores regularly, attacking central midfielder or defensive midfielder if someone else attacks (Lallana/Hammond/Schneiderlin). Until we do this we will still be in work in progress lacking the balance of top teams capable of winning the league.

We know Ward is supposed to be a decent player BUT he was transferred from West Ham and is one of Coventry's highest earners, He has fallen out with Coleman and is not going to re-sign. It might be that money/medical/character wise he may not be what we are looking for and that on reflection the club just decided to let it go. Then again there may be no problems and he will sign. We are having to rotate the centre backs because of the midweek games and it is not a position that can be allowed to be weak especially as we have a keeper that doesn't dominate the box. We accepted a Preston reserve straight into the first team so I can see this lad playing. We haven't committed nearly half a million on him to use as back up.

So if I get this right, Benali didn't get banned, he wanted to be at Stoneham. So what did happen?:confused:

After Exeter went down to 10 men, I thought they played well and that we were hanging on at the end. Their defence looked pretty solid and I don't remember the individual but thought both their centre backs looked pretty solid.

I sent the Sports Desk an email last week because they were obviously unaware of the Dec 31st cutoff for bookings and were saying in the Echo/Pink that Schneiderlin was suspended and others on four bookings were facing suspension. I pointed them at the FA rulebook. That they were unaware of the rules I thought was crass. Needless to say I didn't get a reply but they haven't mentioned it since.

Relatively, we spend a lot of time on here and collectively a lot of ground is covered elsewhere. We are a minority and the majority get their news from regular sources. Tv and national newspapers have very little in the way of Saints news so the Echo plus local radio and Tv are the only available sources for them. The Echo pulling together the available news and conjecture makes sense and is interesting for readers that haven't heard any rumours. It is easy to get blase if one works at the Hant's FA and in local football but others who have no connections are grateful for that article. Two of the rumours have signed so some of the information is worth passing on. So what has happened with Ward?

It would be a mistake to write off Lancashire. He looked a very good player for Grimsby against Leeds and kept Beckford very quiet. He is still a young lad and may well turn out to be a good player, he should be given time to develop through loans. Centre backs tend to mature later than other positions. We have already lost Mills and Cranie who are both coming along nicely, Williamson and Monk are two more and we don't need to lose any more.

If it has happened it has happened, however I get the feeling that as far as the club is concerned in these sort of things, unless Cortese is ready to announce it, it hasn't happened.

Sky S N are saying Ward has signed, surely that would cast doubt on this.

I think you would have looked forward to playing against him. By the way there is a photo of you in the Pink this week, if you can't get one, let me know, I probably can but will bring mine in on the 19th.

I just don't get why James has become an issue. He is a stopgap defender and will be dispensed with in due course. We are building a team to get us to the Premier league sooner rather than later and James is not quick enough to be in that team. He is a weak link and is out of position, we need a strong defence and are working towards that, James would not hold his place in that defence.

Waste of time. only says, hopes it will happen, have to wait and see.

Absolutely nothing, he earns too much at Reading. He has just moved into a new house at Bartley with his girl friend who comes from Totton. He shares transport with Raziak and commutes daily.

It would be well for those criticising Harding to reflect that he has coped on the left side on his own, without any player tracking the full back and has often had to cope with two attackers. Because we are so lop sided we have always had a right midfielder in front of James. He has never had to cope with two attackers on his own.

James is a short term answer to an immediate problem. Because of his lack of pace he will never be the long term right back. It is only a matter of time, as new players are brought in, before he becomes a regular substitute, then eventually moves on.

Brian Howard has moved into a new house at Bartley and is commuting to Reading with Gregor Raziak. I believe he is no longer on loan and has signed a three year contract on very good terms. I think Pardew has talked to him but he is too expensive for us at the moment and he isn't interested in playing in div 1. He would like to finish his career at St Mary's and would be interested if we were promoted, also has a get out clause if Reading are relegated.

I get the feeling Bill he is treading on toes that are still coming to terms with a different way of doing things and he doesn't suffer fools. I think change was needed and as you well know it is sometimes difficult to change the old guard. I wouldn't hold a ruthless streak against him as it is certainly something I can see is sometimes necessary.

I do know he treated Oldknow's PA well after Oldknow left. She was essentially working partly for him but worked primarily for Oldknow as she was his PA last time he was here. Cortese recruited his own PA before Oldknow went and she was being trained by her. Oldknow going left her out on a limb, but Cortese gave her a choice in what she could do and essentially created an new opening for her, in the particular part of the company she was interested in.

Both deals?

Fryatt?