CanadaSaint

Me too.

We'll be far from the only team in the PL that's a hell of a lot better going forward than defending. This could be a record year for goals. But we still need to strengthen at the back, big time.

A little more about him: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1436927.html "It's my dream to play for Manchester United. Ever since my childhood, I've always been fascinated by the way they play. It's an ambition which I won't stop striving for ..." Sticking a couple in their net on Sunday would be a good start, Emmanuel.

Mine too, but I want three points.

I don't think we need much more evidence that Cortese doesn't "do" sentiment, or that he will do what he believes to be the right thing - regardless of how well or poorly it's received by the fan base. He has long been committed to "the Southampton way", and it's clear from the signings and especially the pursuit of Ramirez (still stunning, even though we're now somewhat used to it) that we're going to be playing a different kind of football. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Adkins was told that the price of signing Ramirez is losing Rickie. Especially if the excellent point made by Amesbury (above) is correct. It also wouldn't surprise me if both deals were formally announced on the same day, with getting Ramirez dulling the shock and reducing the controversy of losing Rickie.

I guess I wouldn't be as surprised as some if this deal went through, because we have bought (or are trying to buy) a number of players who may not easily dovetail with Rickie. But, besides all the issues around selling our top goal scorer (not to mention how that would play out with the fans), there's the question of whether it would be smart to sell a talent like Rickie to a potential relegation rival.

Does anyone remember NA making similar remarks when Seaborne and Barnard arguably did things that reflected poorly on the Club? If not, perhaps the decision has been made to crack down.

If we can find a way within our system to get them an early ball from time to time, those two can destroy a backpedalling defence. We will waste their talents if they constantly receive the ball with their back to goal and one or two players right up their arses, although Ramirez looks like he has the skills to turn and beat them even in that situation.

Never particularly rated him (very left-footed and quite uni-dimensional) - and he doesn't fit the "young and destined to get better" criteria we seem to be following.

“The arrested followed after police officers noticed a vehicle being driven erratically in the High Street, Southampton, at approximately 4.35am.” Guly doing something erratically? Surely not.

Amidst this ongoing orgy of transfer rumours, I thought it would be fun to see (with thanks to Duncan Holley et al) what things were like when we were first promoted to the top division in 1966 under Ted Bates. Last Game in Division 2 - May 18, 1966 (Manchester City – away): Forsyth, Webb, Hollywood, White, Knapp, Walker, Paine, Chivers, Melia, Deane, Sydenham First Game in Division 1 - October 20, 1966 (Manchester City – home): Forsyth, Webb, Hollywood, White, Knapp, Walker, Paine, Chivers, Davies, Melia, Sydenham The only line-up change on opening day was Ron Davies in for Norman Deane. On the last day of that first Division 1 season, the only changes from opening day were Eric Martin replacing Campbell Forsyth, and Hugh Fisher replacing Ian White. Things weren't much different on our second promotion to Division One in 1978, under Lawrie McMenemy. There were only three line-up changes on opening day, one forced - Mike Pickering, Graham Baker and Terry Curran in, Manny Andruszewski, Nick Holmes (injured) and Tony Funnell out. Holmes was back in for the last game of the season, along with Austin Hayes (RIP) and Trevor Hebberd; no longer in the line-up were Pickering, Ted MacDougall and Curran. It's going to be mighty different this year.

Are most people still convinced that we're going for Ramirez AND Phillips? I think it's an either and not a both - not just because of the price tag but because we have higher priorities that will also be expensive to address.

You could be right, but he's been a key late introduction, I think. And, right now, Blackpool wouldn't give us a spot if they had the measles (although it could all be "verbals").

No, it says what he thinks of the players he managed when he was here, and it's tough to argue with that. Frankly, I don't really blame him for wanting to airbrush the Saints from his CV.

I'm not sure we can play the way Nigel wants to play with Rickie leading the line, and Nigel knows it - which is why he left him out at Man City. He has bought players who really don't fit with Rickie and he wants to play them, but it will take very big gonads to leave Rickie on the bench more often than he starts him. We keep talking about width and pace but I think we have players who can provide that - but not if Rickie is a/the focal point of our attack. I love the guy but I just don't see how he fits, given the players we've signed.

Ince is the guy I've wanted to see all along. He and Clyne could be lethal up the right for years to come - and England internationals to boot. But one of the biggest problems of leaving it so late is the fact that the selling club has little chance to reinvest the money. That will apply especially to Blackpool because they have had a great start, so I fear that we must rule out Ince and perhaps Phillips as well. My hunch is that we're after either Ramirez or Phillips (the back-up option), so we'd better hope that we get Ramirez. But we have multiple permutations up front already and virtually none in the middle of the back row, so - with time running out fast - our priority should be back four signings rather than a battle of egos between two Italian chairmen.

TDD, I don't disagree with your reaction but do you think Cortese and Adkins are fully on the same page? I'm "pro" both of them, very much so, but - looking from the outside - they just don't seem to be gelling for whatever reason.

One of the possible answers would not endear Adkins to the fans one little bit, and it's an answer that makes me feel a bit pukey. Leave Rickie on the bench. Someone said that Nigel wasn't very brave today, but that's a whole new level of bravery for which he would also be criticized.

I'm a big Nigel fan and the "get him out" sentiment is ridiculous but he certainly didn't have his best day at the office today IMHO.

I'm not sure that the negative remarks about Wigan are justified. I suspect that if you look from about 15 game before the end of last season, they've been one of the PL's better teams. They might not have too many big name players but they're very well coached and - despite their budget - they're on the road to the kind of mid table solidity we're hoping to achieve. We didn't play well at all in the second half but let's not make it worse by pretending that Wigan are crap.

What troubles me most is that we already look very predictable in a league that punishes predictability. Two games in and a) an angled ball through our central two has cost two goals and a penalty (Fox saved another today with a great tackle), b) Kelvin is there for the taking on the near post, and c) we'll build slowly and we won't get a team backpedalling with a quick pass out (the freaky breakout against City excepted). There are others. I'm certainly not downhearted but we have a lot of learning to do in a short period.

Round peg, square hole.

I don't think it's just about pace but about stretching teams before they've had a chance to get set. Time after time after time we were so laborious in our build-up play that our only option was to give the ball to a player with a defender up his arse, and then we repeated the exercise. I wouldn't say that Wigan has pace to burn but they sure used the early ball and the spaces well. Lee showed plenty of pace last year but he kept going offside because of our late delivery. IMO it's a tactical problem as much as a personnel problem. I don't want us to ditch our style but use the earlier ball from time to time.

I thought Nigel was out-managed today, which is not that big a deal because Martinez is a smart cookie. But Martinez changed a team playing well while Nigel waited another ten crucial minutes to change a team playing poorly. Our inability to play an early ball, which was evident last year, is going to be a lot more costly this year.

That angled ball past Fonte and Jos has accounted for two goals and a penalty. Sharp should have replaced Rodriguez fifteen minutes earlier. Our inability to play an early ball - not a hoof - is killing us. We always - ALWAYS - have someone up our arses when we receive the ball. Nigel looked a bit paralysed with indecision to me.