CanadaSaint

Decent enough player for Leeds from what I've seen but I'm not sure how he'd fit into our playing style. I have serious doubts. He strikes me as more of a "big fish in a small pond" kind of player.

I'm very interested to see what a pre-season of our training will do for Sharp because, even though he scored goals, I was very disappointed with his speed over the first 10-20 yards. If we can do with him what we did with Lambert, he could become a very good striker at PL level, which would push Barnard well into the background.

We needed to upgrade in various playing positions, and we're well on the road to completing that. We also needed to upgrade on the key captaincy front because, as others have pointed out, we've lacked on-pitch leadership. That will be an even bigger problem this year unless we resolve it. Nobody, other than Adkins, knows these things better than the players themselves. They also know that they will be very focused on taking their own games up a level, so I'm not sure any of them really wants the armband. Lambert, I suspect, is no exception. I don't think we were just acquiring a quality central midfielder in Davis but, quite deliberately, a captain as well. And Nigel's emphasis on "team first" will ensure that the decision, if that's the way it goes, is well accepted.

As others have said, I don't think Puncheon would be on the tour if NA didn't think he had a part to play this season, and if NA and Cortese were not willing to turn the page, if possible. But the clearest sign is this: http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2856620,00.html? The appearance of a Puncheon story on the OS is a fairly clear indication that he at least will be given (yet another) chance.

The £42.99 per year is for people who want a Dave-free commentary with no cut-outs. The £37.99 per year is for Dave offering insight and the occasional cut-out. The £4.49 per month is for people like Dalek who think we'll be relegated and might want to bail out in mid-season.

Absolutely. One of the things that makes me anxious is the thought of Fox continuing to take opposite side corners in the PL. Under-hit or over-hit them and the ball will be coming back down our vulnerable flank before we can say "sh*t".

No big quibble other than the fact that I'd be more inclined to say Richardson has been about average. But the average for everything is about to change, which was my point.

This year there will be a premium on getting forward quickly and, more to the point, getting back quickly. While Richardson has an older and wiser head, I suspect that he will be shown to be dangerously short on pace - something teams at this level will quickly exploit. What Clyne lacks in wisdom he can largely make up for with speed. IMO this will (hopefully) be a very key signing for us - short term and long term.

Well, they've been coming up a little short for quite some time so Gillett fits the bill.

And so we have another crap thread turning into another p*ssing contest. Roll on season start.

I seem to recall dear old Joe Mercer saying that someone at a world cup had been sent off for "violence of the tongue." If that's where things are going we're going to end up with some six-a-sides.

Did we ever establish who the "third party" was? If it really was Buttner's father, as rumoured at one point, I could see Cortese cooling on the deal.

I'm getting close to being concerned. "Old" football or "new" football, you need strength - and depth - "up the middle" in order to have a chance of being a decent side. It troubles me that we have no goalkeeping cover and no cover in the middle of defence, all the more so for the fact that one of our two first choice central defenders didn't play well for much of the second half of the season. If Fonte was somewhat exposed against Championship teams, he's not going to find life easier in the Premier. Hopefully we'll see the Fonte of the first 20 or so games rather than the one of the last 20 or so. That being said, I have a lot of faith that Adkins knows what he's doing.

No white stripes?

Yeah, ironic, isn't it? But they're also renowned for the "Do what we say, not what we do" mindset. And a lot of 'em don't have much regard for England or English football, and still think there's some score-settling to be done.

In this new electronic world - and it was electronic back then as well - very little disappears into the ether completely. I'm sure the big chains keep records, just in case stuff like this emerges later. I'm also sure that they're "on it" right now.

I don't disagree with what you say but that's not how it will be seen from outside the club and its fan base. Claus has a major brain fart and everyone else ends up smelling, whether they deserve to or not.

This is going to get a hell of a lot bigger and, probably, much farther reaching. As others have said, the precedent has been set in cricket. It's an extensive investigation and jail time for those found guilty. It's a huge embarrassment for the club - at least until former players from a much bigger club are drawn into it, which probably won't be long.

I'll pose a couple of questions because they've been "bugging" me since MLT first mentioned this - and even more since Claus saw fit to flap his lips about it. Given the tendency for footballers to talk about this kind of stuff among themselves, and the fact that some of these things needed more than one player to pull them off, how far did the betting reach among the squads of those eras? Given the tendency for footballers to giggle like schoolgirls in the dressing room when something tickles them, just how aware were the managers of the time? Surely, they weren't completely oblivious to it, were they?

First 30 seconds, wasn't it? I remember thinking that Claus had taken leave of his senses and would be very lucky to stay on the pitch. And now I find myself starting to wonder what the odds would be on a red card in the first minute of an FA Cup Final.

All the best Whitey. Great advice and I, for one, need to heed it even if it does sound really boring. Get that ticker sorted because we're all going to need a good one this year! P.S. Thanks Gemmel.

I couldn't agree more.

Bearsy has been stirring occasionally for several years now.

Pleased for Corky. Not sure how happy I am that he'll be exposed to Pearce's coaching for a while.

I hear what you're saying because MLG's corrections grate on me as well, but he still makes some good points beyond those - and I can ignore the annoying bits. I'm all for a bit of banter but there's a difference between that and the constant sneering and sarcasm that's contaminating almost every thread. It's reached the point at which a lot of good posters don't bother any more, which is sad. No, TK, it isn't that simple because a) people quote them, b) their 'contributions de-rail entire threads, and c) it's getting worse every week. The simple answer is for people who want this forum to succeed is to reign-in the sarcasm and sneering. I've been on here (and its predecessors) for eight years and I'm just about ready to quit visiting because it's so frustrating. It kind of defeats the point behind cheering for the same team.