CHAPEL END CHARLIE

No player, however highly rated they are should be automatically selected for every game just because of their reputation. We surely need a in-form Ricky Lambert if we're going to achieve anything this season - but right now he's he is not worth his place.

That notion that a player who is struggling to make much of a impact in the 3rd Division will somehow magically perform significantly better at a higher level is as risible now as it has always been. As for yesterdays performance, some on here don't seem to have noticed that time and time again Oldham's Left Back gave Puncheon about a acre of space to play in during the first half. With that amount of space (and benefiting from being fed with superbly accurate long range passing by the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin) Puncheon can be quite effective. But once Paul Dickov had addressed this obvious issue during his half time team talk Puncheon's influence on the game diminished dramatically and he was deservedly substituted.

I pay good money to have my say on here and I don't appreciate the likes of you censoring or removing my posts, I stand by every word that I wrote. You Sir can rest assured that I treat your petty threats of infractions with all the contempt they deserve. The day I allow a insult to pass on here without without exercising my right of reply will be the day I leave this forum. For your information I have tried my utmost in the interests of forum harmony to reach a amicable agreement with the member concerned -we have a long 'history' you might say. Firstly I tried ignoring him in the hope that he would get the message that I didn't want to 'talk' to him anymore after he repeatedly misrepresented what I had said and then refused to issue the apology I was due - needless to say that didn't work. Then I proposed (via the PM system) that we both formally agreed to stop commenting on each others posts in future (I have found a similar arrangement to work satisfactorily with someone else I find hard to tolerate) He refused to agree with this entirely reasonable proposal.I don't know what else you expect me to do? If NickG (or anybody else) wants to take 'pop' at me then they can take their best shot - but if they (or you) are laboring under the illusion that I'm not going to respond in kind then they need to take a reality check.

I think the only way he was going to give Lee Barnard a free kick today if was a Oldham player pulled out a gun and shot him in the head - anything less than that and it was 'play on'.

To be accurate I described him as a 'poor-to-average' player and I saw nothing much to make me change my mind today. As for the supposedly wonderful first half performance you saw from him, I'd say you really are too easily pleased. I take it you disagreed with the managers decision to give him the 'big hook' for a raw 17 year kid, who some might say did more in 20 minutes than Puncheon did in 70.

Sorry to buck the trend on this rather sanctimonious thread, but I'm not quite ready to join the Jason Puncheon Fan Club just yet. I hardly ever boo Saints players and Jason Puncheon is no exception, but a wave of overgenerous bullsh1t on here won't turn what is frankly to all appearances a poor-to-average player into a good one. I've been following this football club for longer than I care to remember and during all that time I've seldom seen a forward Saints player with less composure in front of goal than Jason Puncheon - the expression 'rabbit caught in the headlights' comes to mind. It counts for nothing if you work hard and run the ball into a good position if you then (with remorseless regularity) waste the opportunity by shooting wildly or failing to pass accurately to a better placed teammate. If I see this player shoot 20 yards over the top of the crossbar again tomorrow then I think I'll scream out loud, and if the paying crowd start to get on his back again I won't join in as usual - but I will fully share their sense of frustration.

Sorry to buck the trend on this rather sanctimonious thread, but I'm not quite ready to join the Jason Puncheon Fan Club just yet. I hardly ever boo Saints players and Jason Puncheon is no exception, but a wave of overgenerous bullsh1t on here won't turn what is frankly to all appearances a poor-to-average player into a good one. I've been following this football club for longer than I care to remember and during all that time I've seldom seen a forward Saints player with less composure in front of goal than Jason Puncheon - the expression 'rabbit caught in the headlights' comes to mind. It counts for nothing if you work hard and run the ball into a good position if you then (with remorseless regularity) waste the opportunity by shooting wildly or failing to pass accurately to a better placed teammate. If I see this player shoot 20 yards over the top of the crossbar again tomorrow then I think I'll scream out loud, and if the paying crowd start to get on his back again I won't join in as usual - but I will fully share their sense of frustration.

Ha! That is my ideal woman.

I'm thinking of moving on from this 'Cash' bloke (who he?) to Willy Nelson, or quite possibly Conway Twitty. But there again the charms of Faron Young are starting to grow on me too. As my musical guru, what do you reckon ?

Turkish, you should move to the Chapel where the more discerning Saints gather and where proper dress standards are still maintained. Take this picture I took as some typical Block 19 fans before last Saturdays match with Tranmere : But you're not wrong, that lot from the Itchen are a bunch of scruffs.

I believe we actually scored and totally outplayed Tranmere during both half's yesterday - which seems to suggest it makes little or no difference which end we start at. Some of us have being saying exactly that for the last 2000 years (or so it seems) on this forum in the hope that the message finally gets through !

Living in the infinitely superior town of Poole with its many Saints fans , I realized this sad truth some time ago. I wonder why they didn't start singing their hilarious "Oh when the Saints go Johnston's Paint" song again ? ...... oh

As I live in Poole but work in Bournemouth this was a particularly enjoyable result for me - well done my Saints ! Had we not won the penalty's however I not at all confident we would have taken all 3 points as our fundamental problem (Ricky Lambert's form) hasn't really changed. Having said that, having Lallana back does significantly improve the teams balance. Onwards and upwards.

It's probably just a case of a good player being out of form. It seems to me that a large part of our comparative 'success' at the tail end of last season, and our comparative 'failure' at the start of this season, is all down to Ricky Lambert. In form, his prolithic goal scoring made what was in truth a fairly middling team look great - out of form his lack of goals make the same middeling team look worse than it really is. Either way our fate this season very largely rests on the shoulders of this one player. A club that harbours serious ambitions of promotion shouldn't really find itself quite that dependent on one player.

A game of two half's if ever I saw one. If we continue to play like we did for the first 50 minutes, then we'll be bumping alone the bottom of the table all season frankly. On the other hand if we can carry over the form that we finished the game in ... well I think we could still do alright even now. By the way - the ref 'bottled' at least one clear penalty decision in the second half.

My cheap old Beko CRT TV when bang the other day so I replaced it with mid market 'HD Ready' Hitachi 32in LCD. I can't comment on Sky as I don't believe in pay TV, but the normal Freeview picture quality is appalling on my flash new telly I have to say. Not impressed.

If you don't know what Alan Pardew is alleged to have "said or done" how in the name of sweet reason can you then claim that his dismissal must have been "necessary" !!!!! As for anyone having the temerity to offer unsolicited advice on the nature of what we now are allowed to post on here, I can only say that I shall continue my longstanding policy of 'calling it as I see it' without fear or favour to anybody. I advise others to do exactly the same.

Although I never in my worst nightmare thought our start would be quite as poor as it has been, I must point out that some on here did state that the squad had significantly weakened over the summer, and that this season might not prove to be the triumphal procession that so many predicted. It doesn't matter what the bookmakers think. It is of no importance what the pundits write. The good finished of the previous season does not guarantee a good start in the next. Never listen to your own propaganda. Do not underestimate the opposition. A Chairman should either fully back his manager, or sack his manager. Always strengthen your squad over the summer if you can. You really just have to pay the 'going rate' to sign quality players. The above is all pretty basic stuff that I'd expect most football people (or even reasonably astute fans) to already know. Whether this level of footballing common sense has ever permiated down to the rarefied world of Swiss Merchant Banking is another matter.......

Football club Chairman are often pretty keen on setting their managers difficult targets and then sacking them if they look like failing to reach them. While I'm quite old enough to have learnt from bitter experience that sh1t always flows downhill, perhaps our Chairman would like to consider his own position should we fail to achieve promotional from this miserable division yet again this season. Although it's far too early to write this season off, if we do find ourselves still playing the likes of Yeovil Town or Dagenham & Redbridge this time next year then I know exactly who's door the blame for that will really lay at - and here's a clue - it won't be Alan Pardew's or whatever poor 'sap' we get in to replace him. This football club belongs to the Liebherr family ultimately, not Nicola Cortese. Both that family and the lifelong supporters of this grand old club deserve to have their club run by someone who knows what he's doing.

This is a very insightful post. I blame idiotic customers the the demise of Woolworths I blame the poor bloody infantry for the failure of the Somme offensive I blame our children for the state of the country I blame democracy for the rise of dictatorship I blame the Police for every crime I blame the trade union movement for the spread of rust on by old MK3 Cortina I blame the Church of England for all human evil I blame Nigel Mansell for mustaches I blame myself for the stream of crap decisions the senior management of SFC continue to produce ........ This all seems perfectly fair to me.

I am Spartacus !

So I take it you approve of the following then : Squabbling with the local press over trivial matters Alienating large numbers of Saints fans by arbitrarily withdrawing ST installment plans The ridicule the club is currently receiving in the national press over this absurd photography ban. The curious case of Nick Illingsworth's Season Ticket Sacking a decent manager without having a replacement lined up etc..etc..etc When I see something going wrong at the club I love then I say so. If you and others don't like it ... well I could hardly care less frankly.

It gives me no pleasure to say this but it seems to me that the administration of this club has been appalling of late, and as the man chiefly responsible Nicola Cortese deserves all the flak he's getting. Football is slowly moving towards becoming a truly professional game now. Players spend years in the academy before they play for the 1st team, managers & coaches have recognized qualifications in their chosen career - even support staff such as groundsmen & physios are trained professionals. The great exception to this tide of professionalism in the game is (ironically) the most important position of all - the Chairman. A successful career in Swiss merchant banking is not really an ideal preparation for managing a British football club, nor is a reputation for secrecy or a disinclination to work within a traditional boardroom structure particularly beneficial. The harsh truth is that we have a novice chairman who's reach obviously far exceeds his grasp. We have much to thank Nicola Cortese for, without him who knows what would have become of this club ? But does that mean he should be immune from all criticism ? I think not. One can only hope that Mr Cortese curbs his apparent dictatorial tenancies and learns how to run a British Football Club in the fit & properly way before too long. In the meantime while he learns this unique business, the damage being done to this grand old club's reputation pains this fan more than he can say.