mikee

But that IS my point. Tomorrow's game is hairdly a fair test when we already know that it is on TV with a lunchtime kick-off and only a few hundred away fans. In my opinion it is about as fair a test as Boxing Day, hence my comment. The OP even waited to the day before the game, to make sure there wasn't a surge in sales before putting it forward as a benchmark for stadium expansion. i am sure that I would be met with equal cynicism if i put forward the boxing day match as a pointer that we do need to expand the stadium with the OP leading the way.

I might have taken your post more seriously if you hadn't waited until it was obvious we are going to get a small crowd before posting. will you be saying the same about the next home game?

84 was first visit for me. Couldn't get a decent view up the back of the terrace so climbed up on the fence at the back. Was just getting down when moran scored as it was virtually full time - went mad anyway. Probably the most hostile atmosphere i have ever experienced. think we drew brighton in the next round which was also very messy and I can remember the special football train getting bricked on the way home as we passed through Havant and Fareham. alan knight's testimonial was one of my favourite trips. A good win and Matty who I think scored a hat trick got a standing ovation from the Skates which really brought a tear to your eye. I think he was replaced by Dave Beasant who then played as a striker! Also remember Dave Beasant keeping all the away fans amused after the game by telling us a series of jokes - all whilst the skates were right behind us outside the ground chucking coins over and fighting with the police because they couldn't get to us. One of my proudest visits was taking a Spurs ST holder friend of mine to FP and watching his face as he realised the intense hatred that existed. Pretty sure we drew that game 2-2. He took me to Spurs v Arsenal in return but it just wasn't the same level of vitriol and he knew it!

But I thought we were only getting given our match tickets on the coach. How is that going to work if the party is split up? Bizzare

I think it shows how spoilt we have been when most see last night as an average to poor performance! How quickly we adjust our expectations. I know that it is relatively poor compared to the majority of this season but even as recent ago as the last 2 seasons that would have been a good performance. I hope that don't become a bunch of spoilt brats and can appreciate that we are a record breaking (or at least equalling) Saints side.

He really gave Jos a torrid time and held the ball up extremely well. I see him as a better option than JayRod for less money and more proven quality. He could play with Lambert and play his role if he was injured / suspended. Plus he is still very young and has alot of developing still to do. As a comparison, I would say he looks better than Beattie did at the same age and could be one hell of a player by the time he is 25. Particularly playing for his hometown club.

I like Huddersfield and hope they get promoted but as far as the unbeaten run is concerned I have 2 comments: 1. despite this they are not top of the league 2. it ignores their defeat in the play-offs - arguably more important than all 46 of their unbeaten games

IMHO this is already (footballing wise) the best Saints team since the early 80's and it may be the memory fading but this is fast becoming my favourite ever Saints team. the level we are playing at is irrelevant as it is about how this team makes you feel about being a Saints fan. I am also confident that the style of football Adkins likes to play will be competitive in any league and that means we can look forward to more good times ahead.

Totally agree with this, there is no need to use the word black to insult someone. It's the inclusion of that word that demonstrates you see the person differently due to their skin colour. There is also an issue that some people are particularly sensitive to racism and can often mis-interpret harmless remarks. One of my best mates has clearly suffered a fair amount of racism in his life. The problem is he is now so senstive to the issue that he can see racism where it doesn't exist. I don't even see him as black but until he can see himself as anything other than black I fear that he will continue to be a victim of racism.

But we will never know what really happens at these dinners on this forum and I don't blame people for not posting due to the subsequent abuse they are likely to get. Ironically it is the people who shout the loudest about their right to free speech that are actually stopping potentially interesting contributions from others.

WHy is it the negative numpties that always seem to spout incorrect assumptions as fact. The reality is that we have 13,000 STH's and these dinners are for STH's, therefore Cortese meets almost 0.1% of theses fans each time, so if we have had 4 dinners so far (guess) he has already met 0.4% of the STH's. I also know from personal experience that researchers regularly use samples as little as 100 to represent whole markets or populations. You are only interested in facts that support your negative outlook so I fully expect you to try to argue with my numbers but I really couldn't give a flying f**k what you think. I just wish you would stop spoiling my enjoyment of what used to be a good forum.

The beauty of sky + Table, Pause, Enjoy........

Certainly helps clarify that it is down to a general lack of knowledge rather than bias. Guly has clearly shown at times this season that he HAS it. The issue is applying it on a consistent basis.

I really can't understand the slagging of Guly and Connolly gets off scott free. For me has has been far more ineffective over the past 5 games and yesterday gave the ball away EVERY time. You might be forgiven for thinking that people are more interested in justifying their first impression of a player than giving an honest opinion.

But Strachan bottled that game as well. With the way we were playing that season we were all looking forward to giving Arsenal something to worry about for the final. But Strachan decided to not bother trying to win and it back fired horribly. The cup final - once the game kicked off - was embarrassing for me and completely took away what should have been incredible feeling of pride after a great season. Despite all of that - it is the style of football that Adkins plays and his ability to keep the team focused on winning that convinces me he is already a better manager than Strachan. He may still have to prove himself to some but for me he deserves my belief that he can bring unprecedented success to SFC.

Obviously difficult to compare different managers due to them all working under different circumstances. For me Lawrie is my all time favourite but I am 46 and had no real experience of Ted Bates. I already know deep down that Adkins is the best manager we have had since Lawrie, but it feels a bit premature to say it out loud. Currently he is on a par with Strachan at the moment but will certainly overtake him this season based on achieving promotion to the Premier League. But then my memory of Strachan is tainted by him completely bottling it against Arse in the 2003 FA Cup Final. Under Lawrie we were genuine competitors and ALL teams feared coming to the Dell and with the dominance of finance in the modern game it will be virtually impossible for the current Saints to ever reach that level. However, if NA & NC achieve all of their objectives and do it over a sustained period of time, then they will be the equivalent of TB & LM to a whole new generation of Saints fans and will create another legacy that future managers and chairmen will be measured against. That in itself will be achievement enough.

Why don't the authorities just ban sponsorships from "related companies" to avoid a loop hole for gifts. There is already a HMRC definition of related companies and it wouldn't stop investment in infrastructure such as stadia and academies. Also surely any "traffic" issues with a development at this site could be addressed with a number of "park and sail" locations at say Hythe, Millbrook, Burseldon / Warsash etc. It would certainly add some glamour to the club. Include decent shops. a large spa and good creche and it might make it easier to grow the attendances as it would be easier to justify for many family men.

personally I can see the demand in the Premiership for 40K if we had the capacity, probably only for the big teams and definately if we allocated 5K to away fans. I doubt our gates would drop below 30K for league games. That much I can see just based on our recent Premiership experience. Any more than that would require a major shift in the clubs success and would only happen over a long term period - that's not to say it can't happen if Cortese is to be believed but there is no current evidence to support it. As I say 40K expansion would be very low risk but very costly per seat bugt I would expect this to happen sometime in the next 5 years.

Saw him at the ex-saints game on Sunday - he was there with his wife and kids. I asked him where he would be playing this year and he said "nowhere, I am enjoying some time with the family". Clearly any offer from Saints would suit him best but i don't think that we are really interested. No harm in letting him train with us, just to have a look at him and how he might fit into the squad, but personally, whilst I loved him when he was here, right now i would prefer a younger pacier striker to have on the bench.

I understand the point you are making and I expect that FIFA will end up bringing this in, but for me it will look a bit like bringing in some technology so they can say they are embracing technology when in reality it will have no bearing on 99% of matches which will still be decided by other more important mistakes that will go un-addressed.

Personally i get much more frustrated by poor offside and penalty decisions - those often have a major impact on the outcome of a game, and with refs being so inconsistent i don't buy the "it evens itself out" argument. What is the point of bringing in technology for something that might happen no more than once a season at each ground and ignore the wrong decisions that happen several times a game and result directly in goals being scored or ruled out?

The problem with the OP is that we are only enjoying the Championship now because we are winning - and this will inevitably lead to promotion - if not this season then soon after. Personally, I think that if we can keep the same manager and ethos and add to the squad in a discerning and deliberate manner, we can be very strong in the Premier League. Look at how well the squad has dealt with the step up to the Championship - the natural assumption is that we will not win as many games - well so far we are winning more! I think our style of play is key to our future as this type of football will allow us to compete better in the PL and will certainly ensure that we are too good for the Championship. It is a real cliche but Nigel really has made the whole team worth more than the sum of its parts and I am really looking forward to seeing how far this can take us in the PL. I share many peoples views on the "excesses" of the PL but it would make me even prouder of Saints if we could compete without resorting to these tactics but maintaining our principles. This will also give us the best chance of growing our fan base and picking up neutral support as many see the PL as full of mercenaries and having no soul.

Agree - most improved players so far- in order: Hammond, Richardson, Lallana, Guly, Lambert.

I don't think it will ever be our intention to compete with the likes of ManU and ManC on a financial basis. I can however see a time when by playing our style of football and keeping our youngsters as well as attracting others that aren't in it for the money, we could compete on the football pitch and challenge for at least a top 6 spot. It is just that most managers these days are too lazy to coach players and seem to rely on buying success. Which requires money we will never be able to support. This is what I think that Cortese means when he talks about the "southampton way". Mercenaries can go elsewhere but if you want to upset the big boys playing great football with a great bunch of team mates, then come to saints.

I am sure from what Nigel has said many times that we only want players who really want to play for Saints and buy into the "PLAN". I am also sure that if NC or NA get the feeling this is not the case, they will move on to other targets and I for one totally agree with that strategy. There are too many mercenaries in football, both players and agents and I would rather these players signed for another club. I will only worry when a player that we want, and who wants to come here, subsequently signs for someone else - but I don't think that this is the case so far. The team spirit we have at present is critical to our success and we cannot afford to jeopardise that with a player that doesn't really want to be here. I appreciate that as fans we feel the need to speculate and worry but on this occasion I really do feel that it is unfounded. I also still think we will sign a CB and striker by Thursday.