Tom & Gerry

1)The day I see football as s business is the day I stkp going. Sentiment is a huge part of football and there is nothing wrong with respect. 2) In my opinion he was not that bad but perhaps the truth is somewhere in between. All goal keepers make mistakes and I think it would be difficult to find a good one prepared to put their career on hold and then come in cold after say 5 months and have the confidence of the defence.

1) I don't expect footballers to be hero worshipped in this day and age of outrageous salaries but do think loyal servants who have spent a long time at a club and helped it get promoted 2 leagues deserve a little respect from so called supporters. 2) When a team is playing badly you need your keeper to be outstanding. On Saturday Kelvin was just on the level of the rest of the team. He was a little rusty as you would expect of any number 2 who doesn't play much, though he did make (in my opinion) one worldy save in the first half. It's a team game and you need others to cover for individual mistakes. Someone covered for Mane's mistake no one did for Kelvin's. 3) There is not much to choose between Kelvin and Gazza, Ronald went for experience. The difference is Gazza will improve, Kevin will not. 4)Those of you who can remember as far back as the summer will recall that there was much doom and gloom as we had to replace a number of key players. The previous summer was even worse. In spite of this the ream have played with a remarkable team spirit and togetherness. Ronald didn't wave a magic wand and this just happened, it was down to people like Kelvin to help create that spirit. Give the guy a break.

Not everyone sees things the same . Some always see things from the worst possible scenario., Just as some have an irrational fear of flying or hospitals or what ever,

Sadly many gave up when those individuals were in charge, but those that remained must have liked something if it was only Le Tissier.

I've never thought that some posters could really believe what they've actually written. We all get angry and frustrated when the team do badly and this is a good place to vent your spleen. Some people seem to get their satisfaction by winding others up. If you don't like the owner, the chairman, the staff, the manager or the team then you don't like Southampton football club let alone support it. So what would you be doing on this forum?

When things are going well he is a football genius who has masterminded a revolutionary system producing player after player from the acadamy for the first team and he has a scouting system that can spot the next big things in world football and get them to Southampton before they are spotted by anyone else, both players and coaches. When things go badly he is the blunderer who has sold the crown jewels, can't pursuade players to sign contracts and has wasted millions on expensive flops. Personally I think he's pretty good but not as good as he says he is.

We have lost 2 out of 7 competitive games this season. Admittedly the team has not gelled and we don't know where the next goal is coming from. This happens in the game, for spells in most seasons in fact. No team in the history of the game goes on an upward spiral for ever and when a team goes from league 1 to Europe in such a short space of time there has to be a correction some time. Close the Window,get Clasie and Bertrand back and a new centre half and things might start to click. We can put all that effort we were going to put in to Europe in to the cups. Things always look black when we have lost a big game but don't blame individuals, it needs a team effort to pull things round and players and staff look better and confidence grows with a win.

You stick to your contract of employment and let Vic stick to his.

A week ago in a press conference when asked if he was in talks to extend his contract he said something along the lines that he just played and his Agent sorted that stuff out. So has his Agent told him that this weeek he's to be unhappy? Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk

I don't care a monkey's if he's happy or not. Are you happy in your job every day?. If Ronald says he's not going that's good enough for me. Now he just has to knuckle down and do his job like the rest of us.

I'm always surprised at the number of people who do attend football matches,and even more those who having spent all that money leave before the end. So if people don't want to turn out on a Thursday night to watch a team they've never heard of it's only what I would expect. No doubt my expectations will be exceeded.

For a club that has won so little in the way of trophies over the years either would be fantastic. I'm not sure if Europa has the prestige of the FA Cup in this country, perhaps in Europe. If we won it would anyone notice? Balanced of course by entry to the CL. Maybe we could ask Ipswich Town fans which was better in the long run.

Sorry, I'll get me coat.

I know it's an alien concept to some, but players can improve you know.

Scoring goals in the Premier League is massively difficult. I just think with experience it will come for him.

If you are not in the Champions league a team is for one season only. That's the way it is now unless you have no players good enough for the bigger clubs. It even happens to Liverpool. There is nothing you can do about it but plan to replace those that leave. Yes they were key players last season, others will need to step up and be key players this. If Clasie signs and is a success he we leave if not next season the season after. Teams have always evolved , just not this quickly.

Poopey so nearly beat Liverpool in the semi final. A Saints Poopey cup final will never ever again seem so possible.

If you were really ambitious you wouldn't be bothered with these minor trophies, only the significant ones.

Lee Barnard was a good athlete and ran about a lot. I think there is a lot more to Shane Long than that in terms of skill and intelligence.

How come our academy can produce all sorts of players but never a goal keeper? Was the last decent first team keeper Gerry Gurr?

We've put in an enormous effort this season and now we've run our race, as have Spurs. The lesson and warning has to be just how fragile success is in this league.

Shocked to hear this. He brings back memories of many great times. RIP.

Cor Blimey, of course we must do our best with the hand we've got and I will be shouting as loadly as anyone, just as you Europa fans will cheer when we win a cup tie, though I have shockingly heard a few fans say they would rather us lose than draw a cup tie as it might affect our league form, but I'm sure that's a minority. I really am not trying to create a cup V Europa arguement which I agree is a false one. I am not even saying that we should change our priorities,though I would err towards playing our best possible team in the later stages of cup competitions. What ever happens happens but I would just prefer we won a major trophy, what is wrong with wanting to win something? Others would prefer we have a long run in Europe, fair enough no big deal. I do have concerns that Europa might hinder our prospects of getting that trophy but let us hope that we can march on in league and cup and over come those difficulties. The club do have a pretty good record at over coming difficult situations. I am also not as excited as some at the prospect of Europa. Yes we have some great if heart breaking games in Europe in the past, I'm thinking of Newcastle and Anderlecht in particular but this Europa is a different animal. I admit I don't watch it much but then who does tucked and hidden away as it is on ITV4. My impression though is of boring football,teams I've never heard of, half empty stadiums, and teams that lose the following week end. I really do hope though that the product is much better than the image. After all the JPT wasn't so bad after all was it. And I really hope our players improve for the experience and are not just more tired. I would love it if we became a force in Europe, it's just that I want that trophy just a little bit more.

Indeed. I well remember the Inter Cities Fairs cup where only 1 team per city could participate. Any one outside London, Manchester and Birmingham in the top half had a chance. The question was - will participation in Europa damage the club (lower league position, less focus on domestic cup competions) or help it grow and how can the club grow if it doesn't progress to the Europa if CL qualification is a step too far. I just thought that winning a cup first would mitigate some of the down sides of playing in Europa on Thursday nights and might generate interest that would help the club grow Some however are in denial that there are any downsides to Europa and seem to under estimate the excitement that a cup win brings. Just look at how many fans we took to Wembley for the JPT and how many are attending tonight for an under 21 game that is on Sky.

Not at all. Swansea raised their profile by winning the league cup. It's a mute point how much participation in Europa raised it any further especially as Gary Monk says they have reached their ceiling. For Saints winning a trophy first might be a better way of growing the club as it would put bums on seats in any expanded stadium for instance.