CanadaSaint

IIRC one of the big reasons for Walcott deciding to go to Arsenal was that he would be mentored by Thierry Henry; this is what he wanted and that's what they told him would happen. I think Henry was very willing to do that - and did it - until he left for pastures new. AOC would not go there with the same attractive prospect in mind, so he has less to gain and more to lose by going to Arsenal now. Liverpool might be a different prospect because that's a line-up he could crack. I agree with Ron. If he has the confidence that his game will progress more by staying here, and that he'll be even more attractive in a year or two, he's much better off to stay. If he wants to cash in now rather than take that risk, he'll go.

None at all because it didn't help his salability, although most of the interested teams are already out of the Cup. However, it was a signal to him that he can't sulk his way out of the Club, if that's what he was doing.

You could also take it as a sign that Adkins views him as a negative force in the squad, which is how it sounded on that interview. They cup-tied him two weeks ago and now they've left him out of the squad. The message doesn't get much clearer than that, does it?

You lot keep banging on about the players, but what if Cortese or - God forbid - Adkins picked up a knock or hit a bad patch of form? We'd be up sh*t creek without a paddle or paddlers.

Yes, I'm sure the associated active wrist movement is familiar to them.

"Guly in the hole" LOL

This game's a pretty good reminder of why we want to finish in the top two.

Given Cortese's often-stated commitment to bringing players through the Academy and into the first team - a cornerstone of his idea of a successful club - I think he'll fight tooth and nail to keep Chamberlain. If he succeeds, hot on the heels of Lallana's new contract, his actions will have spoken far louder than any words uttered in an interview. He knows that his handling of those two players poses the biggest test of his reign thus far, and he also knows that a lot of people - well beyond the fan base - are watching.

If we don't sign anyone it's (as likely as not) because A) Cortese, Reed and Adkins feel that we have a strong enough - and deep enough - squad to secure promotion, and B) they would rather keep their budget "up their sleeves" for the Summer, when we really will need it. The January window is a bit of a gamble anyway, because teams want to keep their best talent and because the really talented players, as a result, tend to be very expensive. It's a bit of a gamble, granted, but if the transfer budget is limited - and I suspect it is - I think we'll look back at this decision in the Summer and conclude that it was extremely wise. If the end of the season becomes a bit hair-raising due to the fixture backlog and the pressure on squad depth (as it will for most teams), I, for one, won't be second-guessing a management team that seems to be getting most of the major decisions right.

He's still mad about the Marchwood Priory song.

It sounded rather more pointed to me, Nick. Every so often a player is deemed expendable in order to make the point that the team and the club are always bigger. If that's what's happening here, so be it. I don't want to see anything damage the developing chemistry.

The best sign of all, for me, is the way the goals are being shared around. We’re a far better side than the “Ricky or nobody” team of last year. BTW I got a chuckle from the exit song at Oldham – Don’t Look Back in Anger, wasn’t it?

He's doing it, for the most part, with another manager's players - good players, indeed, but not his choices. Good managers can add style, and good managers can add steel. But he's added style AND steel. Delighted with him.

If he gets another one will it be a pair of Goolies?

Good call, Trousers.

Why would we needlessly cup-tie a player (there were other options) if we were planning on selling him right away?

This is the phase where we need to start remedying a weakness - our inability to get a "killer" second goal when we're on top.

They were just replaying the minute's silence in case anyone missed it.

You two, go and sit on the naughty step.

Praise indeed, Dave. Let's wait and see if he does it consistently, and also - as I mentioned earlier - if his psyche can withstand a poor game. That's my big concern about Bart. My comments about keepers and crosses in the modern game were more generic - very, very few keepers "dominate the six yard box" the way they were expected to some years back, and that - to me - is a function of the ball as much as anything.

I think it went downhill when the ball started to become livelier. The goalie's (milliseconds) thought process is to compute the high intercept point and go for it, so that you take it as high up the arc (and above heading-height) as you can. With today's ball, you can all too easily get to that intercept point only to find that the ball has swerved or dipped somewhere else. So keepers are - often wisely, in my view - reluctant to even go for it.

Yes, and it would be nice to have someone skilled at laying bricks after watching a few players skilled at sh*tting them.

The thing that worries me about Austin - and it fits into this "going to all the games doesn't help" category - is the impact he might have on dressing room chemistry. None of us knows whether he really is the arrogant c*ck he's alleged to be, but Adkins has spent too much time getting the atmosphere right to risk losing it all with one signing, no matter how good the player. I know you weren't advocating that we sign Austin in particular, but the chemistry angle is crucial when you have a big squad of quality players. Ask Mancini!

I'm in the middle on this stuff. I haven't seen this squad play "in the flesh" so I know that my thoughts have very limited value and I tend to keep them to myself. On the other hand, I do know my football and I watch and read everything I can find that is Saints-related. I'm also guided by the views of those whom I know are very knowledgeable and perceptive about the game - Derry (a long time friend and former manager) being a good example. These are bases for a valid opinion, although I'll still only post when I'm reasonably confident about what I'm posting. By and large, people who go to games regularly have a more informed viewpoint than me. In contrast, I've been to countless games over the years and been shocked at the utter stupidity of some of the comments made about tactics and individual players. These comments portray such a mind-blowing lack of knowledge about football that I can only shake my head. Yes, these people may have the credibility of being season ticket holders and seeing every (home) game, but the credibility ends as soon as they flap their lips or start typing. Anyway, that having been said, I'll offer these thoughts: 1. Squad depth will be much more important this year than it was last year because (injuries aside) there's going to be a logjam up the road. We are better placed to face it than anyone in the division but I think we could consolidate a little more in positions already identified by this forum. 2. Adkins has brought not only a style but a steel. I watched Newcastle get turned over by a weaker team on a dodgy pitch, and I saw how quickly they resorted to hoofing before - basically - surrendering. It seemed all too familiar. We, on the other hand, have started to win at grounds where we would probably have dropped points last year, and we're slowly but surely forging an attractive style for the future (not easy in this division). We’re managing the tricky task of getting out of this division with a team that could do well one division up (and perhaps higher). 3. No matter how many games we attend or don't attend, there are some things that occur inside pro clubs that are beyond the sight and hearing of the fans. These are things that push decisions in certain directions - while the fans (local or distant) ask WTF? There's no geographical advantage there. 4. No matter how many games we attend or don't attend, none of us is “privy” to key information such as the level of transfer funding available in either the shorter or longer term. Without that knowledge, none of us is in an informed position to talk about who we should or shouldn’t buy. Again, no geographical advantage there. At the end of the day, though, we’re all Saints fans, aren’t we?

I'm not convinced about Bart, and he has one of the greatest weaknesses a goalie can have - a rather fragile psyche. If he makes one mistake, another is very likely to follow. This, to me, is a definite area for the cheque book.