CHAPEL END CHARLIE

I'm glad to see that you now agree that a only a tiny proportion of Saints fans on here have called for Lambert to be dropped. Never mind, this thread must still have added some sort of value to the forum ... not quite sure what it is though.

This forum has around 2000 active users, and you've found 2 calling for SRL to be dropped. I see ...

Well I follow this forum fairly closely (as a form of sadomasochistic punishment) but I can't for the life of me remember many Saints fans calling for SRL to be dropped So unless someone can tell me who they are, I'm going to assume they're just the figment of the OP's rather overexcited imagination ...

Semantics is the study (or science) of meaning in language - not your strong point by the look of it. I make no secret of my suspicion that Nigel Adkins is not necessarily the prime mover behind some recent transfer deals. Furthermore it is also my belief that any football manager should have a real input into transfer dealings. But if you disagree with that, then please explain why.

OK then. Those blessed with even a basic command of English should be able to tell the obvious difference between someone claiming they know something as a fact, and those putting forward an opinion. When I write "it seems to me questionable" this is meant to imply that I see some room for speculation (or doubt) in the proposition, IE that Nigel Adkins enjoys a real input into transfer decisions at this club. I'm always happy to help, but I do hope that is quite clear now.

My reading of the situation - do you think Nigel Adkins was battering down the Don's door all last summer demanding we signed Gaston Ramirez? As for my contributions on here being too short and to the point ... well you may be right I suppose, but I know some on here who take a different view.

I've just seen 'The Girl' (BBC2 Boxing Day) a semi fictional account of blond bombshell Tippi Hedren's problematical relationship with Alfred Hitchcock while they made the classic suspense thriller The Birds together. I'm a enormous fan of this movie, and of Hitchcock in general, so as you can imagine I settled down to watch this programme with some sense of anticipation. But truth to tell I found it something of a disappointment. It's not that I object to seeing Hitchcock exposed as the odd, rather perverted and obsessive man he undoubtedly was, because that side of his nature is well known to me. Neither is there anything at all wrong with the casting - Sienna Miller and Toby Jones both deliver remarkably good performances here - the problem lay perhaps with a script that just couldn't carry the full feature length 90 minutes the BBC had given it. One of the key lessons that the real Hitchcock left us is that pacing is nearly everything in film making - a lesson the director of this programme has yet to learn it would seem.

I was very careful to only say that they came here from the Swiss/Italian game - not that they are necessarily nationals of those states. The wider points are that although the manager is obviously far too busy to scout the world game for players - he should at the very least have some real input into transfer decisions. It seems to me questionable that Nigel Adkins is in that happy position here. It is equally obvious that if you only look in the same place for foreign players, then that (self imposed) restriction may result in us missing out on good players from other places. The Italian game is not exactly the home of bargain football - there may perhaps be better value for money elsewhere.

Well I'm glad you decided to raise the subjects of "bias" and Emmanuel Mayuka. We signed this player - who despite his 'high world ranking' Nigel Adkins seems utterly unconvinced by - from the Swiss Club BSC Youngboys. So there you go then, another example of our Italo/Swiss Chairman signing a player who just happens to come from the Italian, or Swiss game. List of recent SFC signings with significant Swiss/Italian connection: Emmanuel Mayuka Gaston Ramirez Guly do Prado Artur Boruc Should we sign this Astori lad from Cagiari that would then make it five - half a team. If you are really were as in favour of scouring the world game for players as you claim to be, then I would hope you would agree with me and say that we should cast our net as far and wide as possible in order that we might catch the best fish in it. At the moment however our net seems to be heading in one direction only. I say the manager should have a big say in the composition of the squad he is supposed to be managing - other opinions are available of course ...

Here's a idea. If we really want the manager to manage the team and make it a big success, then why don't we ask him who he wants for a change, rather than getting yet another player in from the Italian game who our Chairman happens to have heard of/fancy?

I see talk that the cost of the Stapelwood redevelopment project is now north of £15m - so that is serious money by any reckoning. But this item has been in the budget for some time, so I'd expect sufficient funds had been allocated to this project. Our automatic promotion on the other hand only became a certainty very late in the season. Therefore it seems to me the most likely explanation for the loan is to help fund transfer activity. However, as the Don stubbornly insists on keeping me 'out of the loop' re club finances, this must remain merely my guess.

You feel it at all likely that there is no connection between a club spending (in the region of) £30m on players last summer, and the very same club then requiring a cash transfusion? In the absence of hard evidence re this question, I prefer my guess, to yours.

Good grief! If memory serves we needed to take a significant loan out on the international money market just in order to fund last summers transfer activity, which let's fact it was substantial. Those on here who seem to be expecting 3/4/5/ more signings next month may well be in for a something of a disappointment to put it mildly. I'd be happy enough to see one (or two) players added to the squad who would noticeably improve the first team - frankly even that may be asking a lot.

His works were such a profound influence on the imagination of this (now middle aged) child that his passing seems almost akin to a family bereavement somehow. I suppose he'll be best remembered for the fantastic series of Supermarionation shows he and Sylvia developed for Lew Grade. However the later live action series, such as UFO & Space 1999, were just as an important part of my youth. RIP Gerry, you were FAB. Those who saw the programme about Sister Wendy Beckett broadcast on Christmas Day will recall how powerfully she argued that the constant stream of high quality entertainment our lives are now immersed in is a harmful thing, because this deprives us of the peace and quietness the contemplative life requires. In that sense Gerry Anderson was a truly dangerous man.

Costly things are sometimes overrated, and some cheap things can be bargains - this is the way of the world. One can only hope than Financial Fair Play regulations will one day see the end of grossly inflated transfer fees for players who aren't really worth it. I'm not holding my breath on that mind ...

I really don't think you have to spend £30m for sign a top quality player - not if you're clever. Swansea for instance paid £2m for Michu - who got better value us or them?

It's always dangerous to post on threads like this because the future is not ours to see and to be honest 'none knows' how successful this transfer will prove to be over time. But let's throw caution to the winds for once and give Madam Fortune her hostage anyway ... Gaston is clearly a technically gifted footballer and there is no suggestion that we have been sold a pup. But (at this time) it would seem that those who were claiming that we had gotten our hands on one of the very best young prospects in European football are guilty of hyperbole. From what I've seen so far Gaston Ramirez appears to be on a similar level to Adam Lallana, and had he cost us something like £8m/£10m then that would have been a reasonable piece of business. We may have paid well over the odds methinks. To my mind a true £14m player should be so ferking good he can almost win a game for you on his own. To be frank I'm just not seeing that yet.

I suppose any away point (such as todays) is an acceptable outcome for this team in this league. However with another tough run of fixtures on the horizon we find ourselves tonight in a truly perilous position. QPR and Reading are up to their necks in trouble, but given Wigan's well known propensity for Premier League resurrection, who on here would be rash enough to predict that we can stay out of the relegation zone for much longer?. So I must say (with some reluctance) that taken in the round this season is not going at all well. If we were to finish the season where we are tonight I for one would take that happily. Now whether Nicola Cortese will share in that acceptance of mediocrity is quite another question.

As the shy and retiring type I am, alas, especially prone to all types of bullying. So in order to secure the peaceful and harmonious on-line existence I so earnestly desire, I have found it advisable to rain-in any natural tendency I may feel to defend oneself and just let insults go unanswered. I believe one should never express oneself too stridently on any subject for fear of causing unintended offence. Experience has taught me that it is surly better to refrain from any angry response when some scallywag chooses to misrepresented you. Above all I'm a firm believer that when others are found to be expressing opinions that too closely resemble a great big steaming pile of Bovine Excrement it's probably best to just let them carry on without any overly critical comment. This 'moderation in all things' policy has kept be in good stead on here over the years and I recommend it to all.

This reminds me, I received a note from my beloved employers on Friday explaining that because of "difficult trading conditions" we were getting (on top of yet another year with no annual pay rise) £0 Christmas bonus this year. And a merry Christmas to you too Mr Scrooge!

Phil. The chances of you receiving all that much sympathy for your horrific Arabic TV nightmare would be improved if we didn't all know that you are certainly getting mega bucks for working out there in the first place! Look on the bright side - at least you don't have to put up with minimum wage and 5 inches of bloody rainfall every day

With so much Xmas related slop on our screens at this time of year I hope you lot didn't miss something that was really worth watching yesterday - The Story of a Fairytale of New York (BB2 Midnight). Now I suppose you're all familiar with this song and many of you (like me) may regard it as your favorite Xmas music, with its oh so bitter-sweet message of love and disillusionment. This programme spends a whole hour exploring the back story of how this perfect little musical gem came into existence. Now you can't talk about the song without starting with its male vocalist and co-writer, the legendary Pogues front man Shane MacGowen. Never a handsome (or indeed sober) man, a lifetime of substance abuse has reduced him now to a zombie like state that's quite enough to frighten small children and cause even strong men to flinch. It's a minor miracle he's still alive if you ask me. But who cares, because as a songwriter MacGowen has a kind of beautifully poetic, yet raw/savage quality that is rare if not unique. Apparently it took him years to get this song to its finished state - this is hardly surprising given his chaotic lifestyle - but surely the results of his labour were well worth the wait. As a duet the song obviously requires a female singer. The original choice (Cait O'Riordan) left the band so, by chance almost, Pogues producer (Steve Lillywhite) suggested his wife for the job. Thus the unlikely partnership of Shane McGowen and the lovely Kristy MacColl (a talented singer/songwriter in her own right) came about, and a little piece of musical history was made. Most surprising of all is that McGowen and MacColl recorded this technically complex song in entirely separate locations and it only came together on Steve Lillywhite's mixing desk - as prime a example of the music producers art as you'll ever see. PS, there is no NYPD Choir!

Care in the Community has a lot to answer for ...

Would a draw really have been a fair result? Well maybe I suppose, but I doubt this view is widely held among either Sunderland fans, or neutrals for that matter. We did more attacking than they did - as home sides tend to - but for all of that how many decent shots did we actually manage to get in? My recall of this match says Sunderland had more than one shot, and they certainly defended their goal like men - damn them. Methinks if we play as well as they did yesterday at the Stadium of Light come next May, then we'll reckon we too would deserve what we get.

Come on be fair, this lad looked no worse than most of the rest of our squad did yesterday, and he even managed to beat his man and work the ball into dangerous positions on more than one occasion. He's probably some why off being a regular starter at this level - but he's quick and still young enough to improve. Who knows, maybe he'll make some on here eat their words one fine day. I hope he does.