Rebel

Yep - but that only accounts for roughly the first years parachute payment of £16 million I still think AA is counting that as revenue in his annual figure though. He's almost as bad as Storrie in the way the way he twists things around so much that the truth gets lost If the parachute payment is extended to 4 years it still gives them another £48 million of guaranteed revenue to play with though

I got the feeling AA was counting on the parachute payments as revenue Surely any money they make from players sales this summer and any guaranteed future income - i.e. the parachute payments - should be used to pay their debts

I don't think anyone really knows what players will be going where yet - except for the odd exception such as Chamakh. Surely at this stage its more about which players we think will be leaving - and players we might be looking at. For my part I think Connolly, Poke, Lancashire, Waigo, Thomas, Jaidi, Pulis, Perry, Wotton, Murty, Forecast, Molyneux, Holmes, Gillett and James will be leaving Saints for various reasons this summer. As for possible signings I think we are looking at Simeon Jackson, Albert Adomah and obviously Michail Antonio. I also wouldn't be surprised if we considered bringing back Neal Trotman and Jacob Mellis. I also have a feeling we might be looking at Nathan Tyson. Obviously a lot of this will depend on whether Pardew stays with us for next seasopn. People have obviously linked us with Mullins and Reo-Coker as they were key players for AP at West Ham and both look likely to leave their current clubs. For similar reasons Thierry Racon and Nicky Bailey at Charlton have been suggested if Charlton don't go up.

OK - own up who's been making up all the transfer rumours about Saints on http://www.football-rumours.co.uk/ ? Anyone would think we are billionaires or something!? Oh we are!! There are some really bad ones on there - particularly from yesterday! Players we really don't want or need - and loads of players I've never heard of before! Mind you there are not as funny as the Liverpool or Man Utd rumours - most of their fans seem to be completely delusional about the financial states their clubs are in! I don't know why I look at the site really - I guess its just for entertainment!

lets not start likening Cortese to Lowe! please no! Lowe admitted he was not a football man - but a jolly hocky sticks, rugby loving fox hunting member of the upper classes - which means he knew nothing about football and looked down on us not even as customers but a captured market to be made mugs off! I doubt they even played football as his school - probably such stupid version of the Eton Wall Game! Now Cortese is a Swiss Italian - which probably means he grew up playing and watching football - so he probably knows as much about football as most Saints fans. He's also hinted that he's been involved in sports finance before - so he probably know's about the business side of sport than Lowe as well! lets not confuse Lowe with a good businessman - he was a City Boy - and hopefully we've all learnt by now that they actually know very little about business but an awful lot about taking other people money and taking big bonuses for nothing! its easy to captain a ship when the wind is blowing in the right direction - but as soon as we hit a storm and saw some rocks Lowe was out of his depth (a paddling pool with water wings on) so far Corteses has shown more business know how and an better understanding of the fans in one season than Lowe ever did in his ten now Pardew hasn't done a bad job, but he hasn't done a great job either - and at one stage the play-offs looked very possible - so it is disappointing for all that we didn't make it and AP has to take the blame for that as manager (at times he got the tactics wrong, at times the team selections and the substitutes) And NC is right to ask some difficult questions as to why we failed to make the play-offs I'd expect answers to those questions - and good ones - if I was NC - not excuses - but I would give AP at least another season to prove he is the right man in the right job at the right time if the answers he gives are just excuses maybe NC is right to look for a replacement part of the problem is I think the goalposts moved during the season - from a top half finish to a play-off place - and money was spent on this basis in January but then I think both AP and NC underestimated how much of a rebuild the team needed at the start of the season! if we stick with AP, keep the core of the team and invest in strengthening the squad we will go up next season anything less than that and we are rolling the dice a bit and hoping for some luck!

and at one point they referred to him as a striker - and to qoute Shakespeare 'neither a striker nor a star he be' at Saints!

How about Lukas Jutkiewicz on loan from Everton to be that extra striker. Despite the name he's from Southampton and a Saints fan supposedly. 10 goals for Motherwell in the Scottish premier league this season. At 21 he's still got a lot to learn, but he's a physical presence up front and has potential. He could be the perfect back-up to Lambert. He's got a year left on his contract so if he makes the grade we can sign him on a free transfer next summer (with the development fee due to Everton of course - that's if they offer him another contract) If not Lukas how about Sam Vokes on loan from Wolves - another Southampton boy and Saints fan - and another centre forward with potential but still lots to learn. He's not been playing for Wolves and spent time on loan at Leeds this season. Again would be a great back-up to Lambert.

What about Molyneux, Holmes and Wotton? I thought they were all out of contract as well.

It will be a plain white collared shirt just like England's home tailored by Umbro kit - but with a plain red diagonal sash - simples really! if your celebrating Saints 125 year anniversary with a special kit its got to be as close as you can get to the very first / original Saints shirt and that is it! I think its also the shirt worn by the first football club in Brazil Charles Miller set up - so another good reason to wear it and highlight Saints link to Brazilian football you've got to think big brand here! we should make it our home shirt only, and use either this seasons red and white stripes without a sponsors logo or the new yellow and blue kit for away games. I have a feeling the away kit will be as close a replica of the 76 FA Cup shirt as possible - a plain yellow shirt with blue edging and the Umrbo logo down the sleeves in blue (instead of the Admiral logo). If anyone has seen the Umbro fashion range they have this edging on the sleeves of the the tracksuit tops and its looks class - coz it reminds me of the 76 kit! I'd like to see Umbro and Saints copy the classic designs of the late 70 and early 80s (Air Florida /Rank Xerox) home shirts over the next few seasons the early 80s was not only one of the best shirts we've seen but also one of the best teams! it makes commercial sense as well as they will all sell well! Anyway does anyone know when its actuall going to be announced/released!?

Nicky Bailey would definately be a good addition to our midfield - and I have a feeling Charlton our going to be a selling club this summer somehow I think the Norwich and Leeds (if they go up) players will be going nowhere realistically I think we'll be looking at the better players in League 1 and one or two from League 2 such as Thierry Racon - Charlton Johnny Jackson - Notts County/Charlton Adam Le Fondre - Rortherham Albert Adomah - Barnet Simeon Jackson - Gillingham I wouldn't be surprised if we get one or two young players in on loan from Premiership reserve squads It would be great if we could persuade Neil Danns and Elliott Ward to join us - but I'm not sure they will drop down a division Same with Vokes and Surman - although it would be 2 divisions! might be worth putting a bid in for Nathan Tyson at Forest as they have so many strikers and he's proven at this level I'd love to get Oakley back as our midfield general

Leeds and Huddersfield - with Palace coming down rather than Sheff Weds! That means we'd be the biggest club in League with the largest support and biggest/best stadium. No great boast I know but it should up our chances of being Champions! Also Hudderfield have money to spend due to a wealthy owner. Not on our scale but they will still be challenging us for the title. Swindon will probably lose Charlie Austin and a couple of other players. Similarly Palace and Charlton will both be in financial trouble and lose players such as Shelvey and Danns. Also means more London and Southern games - good for taking big away support - which means more points normally! Plus Millwall, Palace and Charlton will all take points off each other in their Sarf London derbies!

I wish I'd left 5 minutes early - like the players - to beat the traffic!

Antonio is under 23 so there would be some sort of development fee due to reading even if he is out of contract

Forecast, Pulis, Molyneux, Holmes - Lowe and the Dutch duo did some good deals for us didn't they!

he does try bless him but he does hoof the ball a little bit too much he is vocal both on and off the pitch - and a good leader for the team - he puts the effort in but more often than not his passing is abysmal - and his tackling a bit wild - or clumsy even saying that he made one great diagonal pass tonight - but also toe-punted what should have been a cross in to the box - with time and space on his side- into the middle of nowhere and I got told to stop moaning about him by the moany old git in front of me tonight - so there! and you know who you are if your reading this - and your son goldilocks. I hope your sitting somewhere else if you go on Saturday (or you can go and support another team yourself!) he reminded me of one of this know it all boring as f*ck self important economics lecturers - you know - professor ****ehead!

he was a bit rusty and lacking in confidence - taking him off was a massive mistake on Pardew's part he should have started with James or Gillett over Wotton anyway - or moved James to right back at worst and lived with the decision to put him on Morgan was at fault for getting the stupid red card in the first place really! it was Tim Sparv and Joshua Dutton-Black who played alongside James in the middle in the youth team - and I thought both of them were better than James - but all three were good enough to make it

the ref was far from the worst we've seen this season! we got our tactics wrong - delayed the final ball too much - and played far too much long ball but I think some of that was down to the players - not just the managers teams selection and tactics palying Wotton from the what Wotton couldn't or wouldn't perhaps we should have given Gillett a go tonight if I was Cortese I'd be asking a few difficult questions in next management meeting!

That's the question a young Saints fan sat behind me in the Kingland asked his Dad after one of Rickies goals! I nearly choked on my goal celebration! Not by quite some way I blurted out - Rickie is good and could well become a Saints legend - but Matt was world class - and their is a big big difference! There is only one Le God for me! Channon and Paine aren't far behind though.

Didn't we beat them 4-1 at home that season - or is my memory playing tricks on me

perhaps we should be - Bournemouth should be a nice 6 points and two home games! Besides our goal difference will take a real boost from those 2 games! It will be interesting to see if the 'mouth can keep hold of Pitman and their other good player!

I think in 5 years time we will be in the Premier League and looking to finish mid table. It will take us 2 years to get back to the CCC - and 2 years from that to get back to the Premiership But this is only if Cortese and Liebherr invest enough money in the squad to do it in this timescale (I reckon it would take £15 million on top of the £15 million they spent on buying the club) (once back in the PL though it would take at least another £30 million spent on players in the first season to keep us there) I also think we will be playing at an enlarged St Mary's with a capacity of somewhere between 40-45K I've always thought Saints don't play enough on the fact that with Charlie Miller we gave football to Brazil a pre-season friendly with Brazil at some point over the next couple of years should really be used to highlight this fact and we should play on it to position ourselves as a bigger club also as probably the only Premiership club south and west of London (if we get there) we will have a huge potential catchment area for corporate hospitality, neutral watchers and future supporters we should also focus on being the club of Wessex - not just of Hampshire proper! How about "the Saints, the spirit of Southampton, the Lords of the South Coast, the Kings of Wessex and the Pride of the South" as an unofficial strap line! key to it all though is building the right squad - a good crop of home grown local boys brought through the academy with a sense of pride and place - added to with one or two big signings from abroad (Brazil, Argentina, etc) should do it!! signing bright young players from Brazil and Argentina has certainly worked as a business model for clubs like Sporting Lisbon and Benfica in Portugal - so I don't see why it wouldn't work for us there is no reason why - if we get the scouting network in place and play upon our connection with Brazilian football - we couldn't sign the next Kaka, Kerlon, Pato or Keirrison before he becomes a world star

It was Leyton Orient in the third tier for f*ck sake - if I didn't have a season ticket or a freebie in corporate hospitality (as I did today) I probably wouldn't have gone! That's the problem with being in this sh***y division! Saying that I probably wouldn't have bothered for Hull or Wigan either!!

I like the Carlisle idea big time!!!

Their owners are worth several £100 million I believe. I used to work with a friend of one of them!

Things just keep getting better and better for Saints fans! There will be no StuRomseySaint at St Marys on Monday so we can all have a good time - wear our shirts with pride and wave our flags - without someone going on and on about all the bad things! You never know we might even win a game without our bad luck charm!