Tom & Gerry

Football isn't the real world though is it? It's a fantasy land where we all behave strangely and do illogical things. Where else would you watch a performance that you hated , depressed you and you thought was rubbish and then instead of demanding your money back you buy a ticket for the next one? How can your mood for a whole week-end at least depend on the result of guys kicking a ball around? Why do we hate fellow Hampshire men (who we get along with perfectly well at work) because they come from a town that is the home of the Royal Navy of which we should as Engishmen be proud? Other than reality tv shows staring Gareth Malone where else can grown men be critical of others not singing, not singing loud enough, singing the wrong words or the wrong songs? Why do we shout abuse at players whose laces we are not fit to tie who to get to the premier league must have had to work fantastically hard, gone through many hardships and have been the best of the best of the best at every standard to reach that level? On the other hand it perfectly accaptable in this envronment for heterosexual men to shout there undying love for other heterosexual men. How many players have we proclaimed after 1 or 2 appearances as the future of Southampton football club and yet they have sunk without trace ( Barnard, Folly , Griffit to name but a few) ? and then there are those who you don't know why they are in the side and are never going to make it but then become legends - that clumsy oaf Channon or Le Tissier shivering on the right wing almost as much a spectator as the rest of us with oh so brief glimpses of what was to come. So don't be too critical of what others do at football none of us is behaving logically.

Alan Ball would be a shoe in for this team, so much energy,always wanted the ball, great passer - definitely a Pochitino player probably for JWP. Channon is the player J Rod aspires to be. and on the basis that our defence is doing better than our attack at present Ron Davies for Rickie to give us more goals.

It really doesn't matter if any of us think Gaston is not a good enough player because Southampton Football Club clearly think he is, otherwise a) they wouldn't have bought him or b) they would have sold him in the summer. It is therefore up to not just Gaston but also the coaching staff to realize the potential they think he has. How long do you give a player in this situation with this price tag? Some do not have much patience. I imagine some Spurs fans would have wanted rid of Gareth Bale when they were losing every time he played. It took him a while. I reckon 2 seasons is probably enough. With the number of games coming up he will surely get some game time soon and who knows he may make the doubters eat their words. If not I would sell in the summer. Lets hope Uruguay do well.

Tomorrow the world changes forever. The old order will be overthrown and a new era will begin. Doctor Who should be quite good as well.

No just some atmosphere

Just trying to understand and embrace the new reality. I love the way we are playing and where we are in the league The 2 promotions were great but there used to be something magical about the atmosphere and excitement of a one off cup tie that I miss and which younger supporters may never experience.It certainly wasn't quite like that against Bristol City. Memories like the night we reached the final against Leeds are etched on my soul. But times change, I was once shown the medals of a great old Southampton player called Tom Parker who went on to captain Arsenal. Proudly displayed alongside Championship and FA cup medals were Hampshire Senior Cup medals. I wonder if we used to rest players for those games?

We don't want to be in the Europa cup so we will not win the FA cup and if we look like qualifying in the league there are plenty of young players we can blood to make sure it doesn't happen.

That team of 63 just rolls off the tongue doesn't it.

Sad to see the demise of cup football. It seems we now have more chance of finishing in the top 4, and that is small, than ever winning the league cup. Not saying it's right or wrong, just an observation.

A win for England raises the profile, image and feel good factor of the game,the Premier League and ultimately Saints. If you accept that Saints are unlikely to go the rest of the season unbeaten then defeat at Old Trafford is just about acceptable/ bearable.

The danger is you become draw specialists. I go to games now expecting us to draw not win (then again did I ever go to games expecting us to win)

As I said in my original post the goals against suggest top 4. All I'm saying is that our start is so so, good for us but a top 4 club wouldn't think it that great. We don't yet know if the 1st 6 games will be typical of our season but projecting forward our defence needs to keep up the good work (which might be difficult against better opposition) and the forwards need to score more goals (which I think they can) if we are to maintain anything like our current 6th position.

You dlo need to score goals I would suggest, and although it doesn't matter who scores when your centre half's are scoring nearly as many as your forwards it usually means ypu are in trouble.

One goal from open play in 6 matches equals relegation form. Only 2 goals conceded equals top 4 form So I guess realistically at the moment we are somewhere in the middle which is an improvement but nothing to get over excited by. How we handle the situation when the big clubs come calling for the likes of Luke Shaw will largely determine how far we can progress. We can convince our young players that we have ambition but in the end there is always a bigger club that they would rather play for. We would have the money but it would be difficult to improve on what we have.

I thought nearly all our team blew hot and cold and rustiness and lack of match sharpness nearly told in the second half. For what it is worth I'm in the camp that will forgive a lot from the Gaston's of this world because of the things they can do that other players can't. I like watching him but probably wouldn't play him on Saturday.

There has never been a better team to support...end of.

I'm sorry but some of you are going to have to face up to the fact that football wise the Saints / Pompey rivalry is over. If you really 8 Pompey that much you had better start supporting Eastleigh because that's who they are going to be playing next season.

What would it take for Southampton to win the league. You would need a driven ambitious chairman determined to succeed and not afraid who he upsets (like me) in the process - I think we have that. You would need enormous luck and good judgement in the transfer market as we can not pay the £30m+ transfers that guarantee success. So far close but no cigar. You would need an extraordinary coach like Brian Clough. Do we have that? You would need to hold on to good players longer than might be expected for a club of our size and status - so far so good. You would need to avoid injury and suspension to key players. Then if there was no outstanding team that year with a large slice of luck it could just be possible.

No idea if this is true or not but the art of good management and if you want to move to the next level you get rid of good players just before they start to slide, thats what Man U do. I can't see being a fans favourite or him wanting to stay cutting much ice with NC.

If I was one of their fans I would want to bury my shirt as well and if they wish to pay homage to us by burying their shirts at Staplewood then that is fine by me. So many to teams get buried at Staplewood it would be a good symbol of them being permantly buried so it is a shame that the shirt has been removed. It was a desperate attempt to prolong the rivelry which it is difficult to see continuing in any meaningful way given their lowly status. Perhaps they should turn their attention to teams closer to their level like Eastleigh say.

Imagine what we would have to pay if we played them in a proper game. Those of you who think we will be in the Champions league any time soon had better start saving now.

Nope.

Who said we aren't as passionate as other fans:(

As now there were some for and some against. It was more of a novelty then. As I recall a feeling grew that we should return to stripes which we did do.

Because it's not just a deviation, it's a bloody awful kit with nothing unique about it. Both are true but I still think there is more to it than that. That's why people refer to the history