CHAPEL END CHARLIE

This sorry tale proves yet again what a monumental waste of precious resources Cup competitions are to a club in our situation . Starting on minus 10 points we've far more important business to concentrate on this season than a relatively unimportant competition few care about and even fewer think we could possibly win anyway . Frankly it would have been preferable to have fielded a team composed entirely of of reserve/youth team players against Northampton in the last round and gotten rid of this irrelevance before we'd played last night and lost an important player for God knows how long . Before I'm accused of being wise after the event I'll hold exactly the same view on the FA Cup and the JPT this season . PS - I reserve the right to completly change my mind should we get a day out at Wembley in a final

Given the choice I'd prefer Saganowski over Rasiak , not because Saga would score more goals (I can't see either being particularly prolific) but because he's more of a team player than Rasiak . It's all academic for the moment - both will probably leave .

I note that Rasiak is not included here : http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1768534,00.html

If any more leave we'll definitely be short at the back and sides .

Kelvin Davis and maybe Gillett and/or Schneiderlin .

You must be right because I agree with this 100% .

Posts 7 & 30 on here ? http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=16055

Rude and ignorant people will be met in all walks of life and this forum has it's full share FF - but as you're certainly one of this places foremost contributors I can only urge you to ignore them and continue to provide the vast majority of decent (& appreciative)Saints fans on here with the informed and interesting information you've become known for .

Appalling summary - Paterson is spelt with one 't' not two - thank God I've never made that mistake . :---)

Helped no end by a big turn out of away fans last Saturday - I've seen Premier League clubs bring down less travelling support than Brentford did .

I don't see why you can't express disappointment with our results so far and yet still be supportive of what Markus Liebherr & Alan Pardrew etc are trying to achieve - the two points of view our by no means mutually exclusive . You could just as easily say that Saints fans (in the main) have been remarkably patient and supportive over the last 2 or 3 season considering just how poorly this club has performed - on and off the field .

Interesting as it is to argue the merits of this player over that player the heart of the matter is that even when we did deliver a decent ball into the box there was nobody there to make anything of it . The lesson is that at all levels of the game the need for pace is overwhelming , Saga/Paterson/Lambert/Rasiak - none of them would win a sprint race against the Cheltenham Girl Guides second eleven . If there's any money left in the transfer kitty spend it on somebody who's a bit quick .

For my money the 1st choice midfield if we're sticking with 4-4-2 should be : (l to r) Mills.......Hammond......Gillett.......James LLoyd James is more ok rather than great and a proper RM would be very welcome .

My ratings for Saints v Brentford (1-1) K Davis 7 - Only called upon for fairly routine work here , which he did we his usual efficiency . L James 6 - Reliable hard working but not at all special player . N Trotman 7 - Big quick and confident young defender , good in the air too - we'll soon knock that out of him . C Perry 6.5 - Experienced & capable CB , tellingly selected ahead of Wayne Thomas . D Harding 7.5 - Dan the man was my MOTM before he scored - the best LB we've had since Bale IMO . A Lallana 5.5 - What exactly is this players proper position ? he's neither striker nor wide midfielder really . A career in limbo . M Schneiderlin 5 - Invisible for 92 minutes but then nearly won the game for us . D Hammond 6.5 - Good grafter & much better than Wotton (but who isn't) . A useful but not outstanding signing . J Mellis 4 - Deservedly subbed at HT he's another young player learning his trade , Lee Holmes stand in basically . Criminal miss on 16 mins M Paterson 5.5 - Lively enough and he'll be a good player in time I reckon . Subbed at Half time (yellow card ?) R Lambert 6.5 - The record shows he's a good player in this league but we didn't see much of that quality here frankly . Set up our goal . Substitutes : M Saganowski 6.5 - I'm not a fan but a decent honest effort again here , but Saga goals are like hen's teeth - very rare . J Thompson 4 - On for Mellis he somehow managed to be no better , lightweight & ineffective sums it up . G Rasiak - A Late sub he had little opportunity to do much . He's already been replaced by Lambert in truth & should go. Summary : A fierce competitive and evenly fought battle in the main I can't say we deserved anything more than we got . Just Like the Millwall game we wilted in the sun again with 20 minutes still left to play and to be brutally honest we could quite easily have lost the match in the last 10 minutes - more fitness work required I'd say . You don't win football matches with a team that doesn't believe in itself , but it's hard to build that belief without winning games - Alan Pardrew has to find a way to break that vicious circle , asap please . Anyone with even half a football brain in their head can see we need more time to get this team functioning properly but the trouble is this minus 10 point penalty (thanks Rupert :mad:) means that unless we start winning games soon we're going to be in serious trouble again. Finally - If there is a club in world football that throws away more points than we do from winning positions I'd like to see them , I could do with a laugh .

I was traumatised when I heard BWP's was leaving , but there again I thought Kajagoogoo were great .

Available for selection today according to the OS for what it's worth : http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1764110,00.html

Still a free agent apparently . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudi_Skacel

If you really think that 63 year old Markus Liebherr acquired this club because of some overwhelming need to turn a quick profit then you've little understanding of the true natural of his and his family's (extreme) wealth . Why he did buy SFC is an interesting (unanswered) question however - for now I can only guess SFC is some kind of retirement hobby or that he places so much trust in Nicola Cortese's judgement that he'd back him in whatever business NC took an interest in . To return to the original point of this thread 'Our position or Pompey's ?' - whatever the reason behind ML's purchase of SFC the fact remains we are (for the foreseeable future anyway) in a infinitely more secure financial position than PFC . I'm not at all sure how much of that security I'd be prepared to surrender to enjoy the all too fleeting glory that is EPL membership .

As a matter of principle any player who 'wants away' should be accommodated as soon as humanly possible IMO - it's a privilege to play for this club not a burden . I've no doubt both would fulfill their contracts and turn out for us if required but frankly neither player is anywhere near to being so good as to be indispensable . An objective appraisal of the record will show that Saganowski's goal tally for this club is pretty dismal in all honesty and the 2009 Rasiak looks like a 12 goal a season man to me . Any transfer fees achieved and the (substantial) wages saved can be used to sign another proven 'Lambert' type striker who actually wants to play for us .

Ask 2 fans what they think about a player and you'll get 3 different opinions . I've been watching this player closely ever since he signed and for my money he's done pretty well all things considered - you obviously wont agree . All I can say is 'vive la différence' .

This is so true . Without their precarious EPL status Pompey are just one of 100 or so middling regional clubs with modest support , antiquated facilities and strictly limited income generating potential . If they lose that crucial Premier League membership this season (looking a pretty good bet I'd say) it may well take a generation to regain it - if at all . From a strict profit and loss perspective you have to be slightly odd to invest in the soundest of football clubs , in PFC's case I think we can move on from 'slightly odd' to 'Clinically Insane' .

I kind of agree with this . Looking back at his performances Perry rates about 7 out of 10 in my book most of the time , perhaps I'm too easily pleased . Merely a fans opinion but you just don't spend the majority of your career playing in the Premier League if you're a terrible footballer I'd say (unless your name happens to be Louis Boa Morte that is ) . Chris Perry has his weaknesses as all players do (mainly age related in this case) but he's as good a Centre Back as we've had over the last 2 seasons - the problem is at this late stage of his career he should be used as cover for the unavailability of younger more mobile players - not a automatic first choice selection . The teams manifest defensive frailty isn't really Chris Perry's fault at all , the problem is we haven't fielded a properly commanding CB since Andrew Davies left - it's about time we replaced him .

The task in front of Alan Pardew is to turn good players into a good team , I'm confident he'll do just that given that most precious of all commodities - time .

Not a big fan of this chap I take it ?

No keep it as it is , just think how many Saintsweb members would have to change their usernames - I might have to become 'Mick Channon End Charlie' which would be silly .