captainchris

predictable

Yes definately winning games is the key !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good point!!!!!!

Can anyone throw any light at all on why we didn't buy Antonio ?/?????? I thought AP said he liked him at end of last season and he did look mone our better players on many occasions last year and the one most likely to open up defences. This team will be so predictable and will struggle like hell with AP's long ball game........

This result is surely no surprise........

If this is the case how does this situation equate to lasts season's excuse that we didn't have time to get a team together?

Dreaming I'm afraid

So agree with this. Antonio and Papa made the difference in lots of games last year. They are players that can change a game - you need these guys. I'm concerned that these players have not been replaced. They papered over a hell of a lot of cracks last year. Currently we do not have enough to go up next year....

And the fact that as of now we have not replaced our pace in the team with Antonio and Papa gone..........Hopefully the picture will change dramatically very soon but right now we are heading for a reality check when the season kicks off!

This squad without Antonio and Papa will not be good enough to get out of this division..........= we need new faces to replace them plus right back etc.......

We are in Switzerland before that. Indeed last year we were told a thousand times that AP didn't have time to put a team together so this year you would have thought that additions to team would have been sorted well in advance. Evidently this is not the case - therefore no wonder there is some surprise that we are not ready with starting squad by now. What's left from last year will not suddenly be good enough this year.

It will be Eastleigh, Farnborough, Pooole Town, The mighty Salsbury and one very low league Div 2 team plus one good team for TB Trophy by which time we will be anything but ready for new season - as usual..........

Rose tinted glasses.......Papa and Antonio were our real get of jail free cards last year. They were flare players and without them we only have one real 'flare' player in AL and possibly JP on a good day. I am surprised we are leaving it so late to sign new players considering the whole of last season we were reminded of the late start AP had with his squad building......... Surely if you are well prepared you would have a very good idea by now who you want to bring in and get the thing settled. I know there maybe things going on behind the scenes but .............with just two weeks to go and a squad that currently will not be enough ?

if we continue to always play teams 'to get fit' only and play just one half decent team in the Ted Bates trophy we will continue to be ill prepared for the real games. I wonder where we might be touring this pre season? Farnborough - Salisbury, Eastliegh, a list of Swedish part time lumberjacks the redicilous list of pointless useless preparation games is endless.......Get a grip Saints and get some ambition by playing decent opposition and preparing to win the first game! In short, we are never up to speed at the start of the season for this reason..........................

Just shows - guess work isn't always accurate..................

100%

Whilst you are quite correct, the point surely is that a polite 'sorry we can't help on this occasion' would be respectful of the enquiry.

What a shame you felt the need to post that!

Your comments are completely over the top and bias. Every single paper in the UK prints rumours. If you want facts only read an encyclopedia. God almighty if you support Cortese that much and believe every single thing he says you are - to be blunt daft. People buy papers that major on sport for the rumours and hearsay - that's what I and millions of others buy the papers for. Stop defending Cortese on this - he is very capable of looking after himself and making a mess of it! If you want sensored press go to North Korea. The witch hunt on the Echo is misguided - get over it!

I'm very sorry but I don't agree with tethering the Echo reporting to what Mr Cortese wants. Even Lowe didn't try to do this and the Echo virtually put every log they they had on the fire to stoke up anti Lowe rhetoric. The new owners are doing some great things for the club but the anti Echo stance is not one of them. Is sensoring the press really ever a good thing - no, very rarely.... One other thing about the new owners, the corporate facilities are nothing short of dreadful. Plastic glasses for an evening event I recently attended there - quite unbelievable - apparently they deem it too dangerous to give people glasses in the Le Tissier suite......... Soooo.......Good stuff on the pitch but other things ........not particularly good at all!

This is sarcasm - right?????????????????

No Strong opinions on the subject then !!!

Tooooooo much sentiment.............not enough substance. We are a side with very high standards and ambitions now. Surman is often off the pace and prone to day dreaming. If he can't find a place in the Wolves team - which was expected when he left, then finding a place in our team now would be just as hard.

One of our huge problems with starting slowly as we do every season is we play a very poor quality amatuer opposition every year. Part time Swedish Lumberjacks just do not cut it as proper preparation for a season and don't tell me it's all about fitness!!!!

Cough cough on the tactical analysis !!!!!!!

This is not easy. I am not one of AP's biggest fans but Mark Hughes does not fill me with confidence for sure. 26 games not won in a season is quite a lot in consideration of his armery. However also what will not of escaped the owners notice is Saints lack of tactical superiority and cultured football. We have won many games despite our tactics not because of. I would have given AP a little more time on balance but more in hope than expectation that he could carry it off.