Dalek2003

I agree the personal insults are getting out of hand. If it carries on it will kill open discussion which can be about strong opinions. Some posters seem to think that having well considered strong opinions are akin to trolling. Ironically when they resort to personal insults and venom they are the ones breaking the site rules.

Ok, since the Liebherr takeover. Has to be Koeman for me.

We are talking about Hoddle as a Saints manager, not what he did afterwards. Under his time as a manager Saints were high up in the table. we had a become a well organised team, hard to beat and grinding out results. Statistics have shown in the past that Hoddle was one of the best managers at points to games ratio, all achieved in the Premier League. Hoddle is NOT my idol, but he was a damn good Saints manager and surely should have been appointed in 2004 instead of the clueless clown Sturrock.

Stop being a trouble maker.

Agreed. We were very consistent under Nicholl and as you say he kept our heads well above water.

Your posts are fine. Don't be discouraged.

A great enthusiast. Leaving for Man City a massive mistake.

Whatever you say, Hoddle was a great manager. The way he left us for Spurs was wrong and I bet he regrets it. I am also sure that we would have retained our PL status if he had been re-appointed in 2004.

Interesting. I still think though that SFC nearly went to the wall before Markus saved us. From the little I know about Markus, he did not buy the club as some sort of 'flash' status symbol like some owners but was genuinely excited about building a sustainable club for the long term. Also, a club that would invest in youth and have one of the best acadamy in Europe. I would imagine that this is installed into the club ethos and we have remained true to it. I also believe that Katarina is staying true to her fathers wishes and so she should. OK, we might not always finish 6th, but in the long term I think the future has a better long term future following a prudent and sensible plan than the model followed by certain clubs who are now playing in the Fouth division.

You are right. It's good to have a 'rant' and it's good that a site has a range of different opinions. The rules of the site are clear, avoid personal comments etc. There are many posters here who like to demonise posters who have a different opinion from themselves. Yet, by becoming personal, they are the ones breaking the site rules. Your post and others I have just mentioned are different but perfectly acceptable in terms of a discussion board IMO. Again, Alpine very rarely 'personalises' his comments and yet he receives more than his fair share from some very sanctimonious posters.

Do you insure your car or house ? IMO the principle is the same. The longevity of SFC needs to prevail and before Marus rescued us we were in great peril. I expect when he came along he made that point and we have stuck with it ever since. Supporting SFC will always be a bit of a roller coaster and we have to be realistic about the Club. We are a good medium sized club that will occasionally dip into the second league. Although hard to to take, if we are in a good financial position it lessens the trauma and allows us to rebuild in a sensible and sustainable way. We can then start on another upward cycle. We must start seeing the bigger picture and the long term, unlike many clubs who put themselves in peril because of the fear of relegation. If we can plan for relegation we can see it as an opportunity to rebuild and stop fearing it.

That must be the case for other clubs as well. If that is the case then a lot of clubs spending heavy are taking a massive gamble with their future should they get relegated. Interesting that my local club Norwich also keep their spending in check and bounce back from relegation in good shape.

My anxieties are real. I don't see why I cannot express them. I do not feel that Saints can ever guarantee their league status until we are mathematically safe. Saints are a club that always have to put the avoidance of relegation at the top of their agenda. We have a relatively small number of really class players and squad and it does not take much to undermine things. Who can forget what happened to Svensson and that 'rabbit hole' of a pitch etc.

If the club has a 'reserve' and we can maintain our PL status then it could be argued that it is worth the risk to limit our investment. Should we need to bolster the team in January we could do so and if the very worst happens and we get relegated we can rebuild the squad without being in debt. The trouble is, in the short term it shows lack of ambition, which to some extent is true. But, after previous experiences becoming sustainable and staying out of debt is as much a priority as our league position IMO.

The way people disrespect each other when an opinion is posted is ridiculous. The post written by Farahaji is controversial, but well considered and well written. It is open to discussion. This is a football site open to football discussion. If you just want the basic facts go to something like the BBC site or the official club site. Why the do people have to insert venom into their posts directed at the poster ? It is no wonder that people are discouraged from posting. One of the worst to suffer is Alpine, yet he makes some very good points that are often direct and very much intended to start a debate.

As we are about to see.

TBH anything but a heavy defeat will be a bonus against Arsenal. Our season will be defined by taking points off our near rivals, such as Swansea, Hull, Bournemouth,Sunderland.

Flirting with relegation and sweating in the last couple of games 15th to 17th.

Ok, ready for a white knuckle ride !

I'd take that right now, I really would. I think the Board would be quite happy with that. Maybe the money saved could be used to strengthen in January.

Well that is some comfort a t least.

Alpine, where do you think we will finish. I know people accuse me of all sorts of things but we cannot take survival in the league for granted or am I being too pessimistic ?

How many times do we hear statements like that. Indicative of the priority of the Board. Just hop it is not a false economy and that we don't get dumped out the Premier League.

You are probably right.

Profitability wise or team wise ?