CanadaSaint

They have the same problem in Rugby.

He comes from Senegal He's magic on the ball He cannot be denied Unless he goes offside Papa Waigo

Is Connolly injured or is he just incapable at this point of playing two big games in four days?

Pleeeeeaaase Adam, have a really good game, keep your width and track back. That's key to A) a win, and B) Harding not getting booked. Lallana's a very big player tonight.

I'm very frigging happy for you.

Sorry, but I can't help laughing. We shattered a longstanding record on Sunday night with a bone- and willy-chilling -46 celsius at the airport - over 10 degrees lower than the old record. That, over here, is what we call a "cold snap", presumably because important things can break off when it gets that low. Global warming, my arse. Leeds sounds almost tropical.

"Amazing frigidity" doesn't seem to do it justice but apparently it's leaving soon and heading - sorry to say it - eastward. I hope it smartens up before it gets anywhere near you. Have a good one, Hamilton.

Anyone called Grandad will surely remember how convinced we all were that some "powers that be" didn't want to see us promoted out of the Third Division (South). The more things change, the more they remain the same, eh? However, one of the reasons I love seeing Markus Liebherr at the games is that it means he isn't just in it for the money. He's also a fan, and fans just love success on the pitch.

Yes, but Kieber's German and most of the tax-evaders in that case are European. Your statement was "An employee of the Royal Bank of Canada in B.C. has been caught helping hundreds of people establish tax-havens with secretive Lichenstein banks", which - at least for now - is hyperbole. My point wasn't about the number of people fiddling their taxes in Canada, but about the use of exaggeration to make points in the endless pro/anti-union debate. I've actually watched it from both sides of the bargaining table and it frustrates me no end. Meantime, Hamilton, we actually managed to obliterate a longstanding temperature record this week. On Sunday night it dropped to -46 at the airport, beating the old record by a stunning 10 degrees. No hyperbole in that sentence - not even the underlined bits!

Hamilton, you accused someone of being "Slightly hyperbolic" earlier in this thread and I'm going to do the same to you. Although this could grow bigger, the very latest news still indicates that it was several advisors in one or two offices, but not even Canada Revenue Agency is suggesting at this point that there are "hundreds of people" benefiting from their actions. This is part of the problem - people on both sides of the union/anti-union debate resort to overstatement in an attempt to make their point, and that carries over to the negotiating table.

For sure these are bigger savings than the mortgage interest (which probably only amounted to half a million or so). We are much healthier in so many ways but January should give us a really good insight into their business plan.

What's the goal here - A) to support the team or B) for some fans to make themselves sound clever/funny? Hopefully someone can tell us exactly how the song contributes to A).

Right. As I said in my first post a lot of it depends how the club is handled within the broader Liebherr business structure. Regardless, though, they're likely in this as a longer term investment which would pay off in the Prem, although it's great to see that they're still smart enough to see the vital importance of the Academy. But Marcus's presence at games makes it pretty clear that the club is more to him than just a business investment.

You're right on both counts - it had to be found but that is (sadly for all of us) too simplistic. It had to be found largely from Cash Flow, which is all the inflows less all the outflows. However, not all of the inflows and outflows are revenues and expenses. The mortgage is an outflow but it consist of two parts - a principle repayment (which is not an expense because it's essentially repayment of a loan) and the interest component (which is an expense). So, when we lose the stadium mortgage we're a lot better off in Cash Flow terms but not much better off in Profit & Loss terms. In theory, though, players are assets, just like the stadium. Yes, we could invest more in players but they usually depreciate (fall in value) much faster than a stadium, and the amount by which they depreciate becomes a loss. If the depreciation on additional players exceeds the interest we were paying on the mortgage, the loss would become greater under ML (if the revenues don't go up as a result).

Not all of the mortgage payment counts as an expense - just the interest portion. The principle portion pays for an asset that the club owns and holds on its books - offset by the loan (liability) that enabled it to buy that asset in the first place. Each principle repayment basically cancels itself out by reducing the debt by the same amount. So, the saving by not having a mortgage is $3 million in Cash Flow terms (money in and money out) but a lot less than $3 million in Profit & Loss terms (revenues and expenses). I don't think things are that much different - perhaps $500,000 or so in saved interest, with the huge exception that we don't owe outsiders any money. But, in the other direction, I'm sure that someone of the calibre of Mr. Cortese doesn't come cheap. Having said that, I'd be very surprised if Marcus holds SFC as some kind of standalone entity unrelated to his broader business interests. It's much more likely that his accountants are treating the club as one part of a broad businesses portfolio. If they are, they could legitimately allocate expenses to SFC that could change the financial scenario significantly. But then I don't think Marcus or his accountants ever saw this is an investment in an English third tier team. They saw it as a long term investment in a team destined to return to the Premiership, so they're probably not too hung up on Profit & Loss numbers right now.

It wouldn't surprise me if Pardew's talking two stories - one outside the dressing room and one inside it. For those of us outside the dressing room it's a story of gradual progress with the possibility of a playoff spot if we can keep developing. Inside the dressing room, and as part of the process of building confidence and setting challenging goals, I suspect he's been very clear that this team has everything it takes to make the play offs, and that falling short of them would be something of a failure. I don't think he wants to let the players off the hook of their own potential - as in, we are not settling for seventh.

Sounds like an appointment by "he who should not be named".

I don't lack confidence but I think we've got to be careful about billing this as the "game of the season" so far. If we do that and end up losing it could dent confidence and create a dodgy streak. Let's take it as "just another game". Having said that, based on what I've seen I'm in the camp that thinks we're better on the front foot. So I'd be tempted to have a go at them from the start, using right-side width to stretch their defence and to help negate the threat of Snodgrass. If he doesn't track back to help his defence they will be vulnerable, just as we are if James is left to fend for himself. In truth I'd feel more confident about picking up three points if Murty was fit but we can still get a result there. And with regard to the JPT I'm all for putting our best side out. Some experience of an important game at Wembley could come in very handy next May.

The pressure on us will increase because the nine point deficit is a lot and we really have to win the games against playoff rivals. Having said that, it's really competitive from third down to us, and I think these teams will be continually taking points off eachother and improving our chances. I agree about KD. Bart strikes me as a real "confidence keeper" - when he feels good about himself he plays very well, but when the doubts kick in his game can go all to hell.

I'd tend to agree with you, but outside the top two it's very, very competitive and teams keep dropping points.

But that's part of the deal with really quick-off-the-mark players, being called offside incorrectly They really need to teach him to hold for an extra split second, and he'll still get to the ball before a turning defender. I don't think he's going to figure it out for himself.

He says it every frigging week and how often has he got his wish?

I'd rather we didn't provide them with any added motivation.

Well, given your prediction history today, not now there isn't.

That well known hatchet man, Antonio, leads the Saints with four fouls.