mikee

I think we all know that this side needs re-inforcements to be able to compete in the Premier League, but somehow yesterday we managed to without them. I think that is why it feels more like a victory than a defeat. It is also quite obvious that we are likely to have better players available to us for the Wigan game so there is even more reason to be optimistic about that one. for now, we all deserve the opportunity to bask in the glory of yesterday's result - lets worry about Wigan later in the week, by which time we may have Ramirez, Phillips and a CB to boost our confidence.

Lallana wide left and Lambert in the hole would have been much better. Lallana is going to move there anyway if ramirez joins

agree but I would still play Lambert in the hole and push Lallana out wide

I would do the same and also not convinced about Lallana in the hole or JRod on the left. Only difference is I would swap Lambert and JRod around - that way we have more pace up top to support breaks and SRL is great at holding up the ball and playing others in. Personally I feel this may be Rickies best position long term as he can dictate play and score goals without exposing his lack of pace.

reading this reminded me of that QPR documentary with that Italian guy who was looking after rangers on behalf of Briatore - he came across as a right nutter who flys off the handles with each goal conceded. somehow though this doesn't ring true with the impression you get from Cortese when he speaks (albeit rarely) about his plans and ambitions for SFC where he seems very determined and calculated rather than emotional and reactionary. I wonder if there isn't some italian stereotyping going on here. Cortese comes across as too professional and stubborn to fire one minute and then kiss and make up the next.

But wouldn't you incur the match day surcharge of £2. I presume the rules are different for league games as I bought 8 tickets for the Ajax game and was only charged £1.50 in total booking fees?

lots of great goals there but one on my favourites was the one away at Liverpool. rarely do you see the home fans applaud a goal against them but you can see it clearly in the clip as Matty scores at the Kop end. we lost the game but it was worth the trip for that goal alone. It is hard to explain to my sons that Matty was so good that he was virtually every football fans favourite player - regardless of which club they supported. Can you imagine a player achieving that kind of status in the current game?

Of course it can include things that we have always done - that makes sense. The only thing that is new....is branding it the Southampton Way!

It's a marketing strapline used for branding and differentiation from our competitors. Generally these things tend to be organic in that their meaning can change and evolve over time to suit the needs of the brand. This is a particularly good approach for things that are aspirational rather than absolute, which I think a lot of what Cortese and others refer to as the Southampton Way is. Whatever it is, it is unique to Saints. I would like to think it includes a more ethical business model for top class football, where glory rather than money are the key motivators. We can already start to see this I think with the Academy development and future plans to half of our team come through the Academy.

Good article and I am expecting Guly to be more of an attacking midfielder next season. It is his preferred position and he showed on the last game how motivated he is to play there.

this is a myth. Norwich brought in 7 players during the close season last year - and the year before that as well. They have just been integrated into the same style of play so it seems like the team has not really changed. This is what I believe adkins means by "evolution" but it doesn't mean we wont bring in at least 5 new players.

How about solidarity with a bunch of decent fellow football fans who find themselves in a terrible position that could have happened to us! doesn't mean we can't cheer on our own team but their is no harm in showing our displeasure at the way organisations like SISU think they can mis-manage football clubs.

Am I reading that correctly? It is equity investment that is being limited NOT loans. This seems crazy as it is all the people that are buying clubs with loans that are the real problem. They expect their money back when they pull the plug and leave the club in question in ruins. If owners want to gift clubs money in the form of equity investment - how is that a problem? Am I mis-understanding this or is this another case of the FL not knowing their arse from their elbow.

I hope they don't wait to sell all of the seats until they order more terrace tickets. I want 4 tickets but not seats - otherwise I will have to just pay on the day I guess.

In Iceland on holiday and have just found out that the sports bar Gorrillan have said they will put the game on for me!! Now getting nervous having resigned myself to the fact I wouldn't be able to see it.

Can't we do a west ham and lend Donny back Sharp for tonights match - just to improve his fitness of course!

No - Jordan Sibley does too!

whilst i hate him and what he did to saints, I actually think he would be a great manager for England. You shouldn't have to coach the best players in the country - just put them in their natural positions and give them the passion to play for their country. Surely this is his (can't even type his name) strongest attribute - make the players believe they are invincible. Too many England managers - particularly Sven and Fabio - have played players out of position and not picked players based on form and they certainly haven't been able to instill the passion required to succeed at international level. Much as I can't stand him and would run him down if he crossed the road in front of me - I can't help feeling that our chances of winning something as a country in the summer would be better with him in charge. He does also benefit from not having a lot of English competition for the job!

Hopefully team that finished - with Lee in for Connolly (who is a liability at the moment) otherwise Lee wont even make the bench which would be very strange, particularly given Connolly's inefectiveness.

I think everyone is concerned about our form over the past couple of months - but that doesn't mean we should come on here and slate the team until they start winning again. As supporters we need to back them even more now and help them get their confidence back - because that is the only difference as far as I can tell. It is easy to support a team top of the league - it is times like Tuesday that really count and I'm just glad that most of the bed wetters on here don't actually go to games.

he was clearly worried about the knee jerk reactionary bed wetters on this forum and how they would over react to this performance - apparently with good cause (Adkins - not the hysterical tarts) I shall go back to avoiding this site for a few days after a bad result.

None of us know what the real issue is so can't make any judgements based on that - what we do know is that only one person is making this public via twitter but comes across like a spoilt kid rather than a professional frustrated he can't ply his trade. This not the way to go about resolving the situation. Despite the public comments upon his return from QPR he clearly has no remorse and has learnt nothing. How anyone can use this to have a pop at Cortese is beyond me but I am sure that Jason will be happy with that response.

Have to agree with Marsden - from meh to fans favourite. Also Gerry Forrest - came from Rotherham I think and was a class right back.

He obviously went to Celtic to win medals and might not want to leave without having got at least one medal. If he is guaranteed a medal anyway then he is more likely to come in January - IMHO - otherwise he might be tempted to wait until the summer.

Just a thought - but has Hooper already played enough times for Celtic this year to qualify for a champions medal if they win the league this year - even if he joins us in January?