Pip

Waiting until the last second so that it will give me another month until it comes on the credit card bill but not too pleased to get a text at 6.20 this morning from the club reminding me to renew....

Interestingly the difference in prize money between 16th and 17th places is just under £2million. That would cover Sparky's bonus!

I have to agree with the essence of what you're trying to say even if others are being deliberately picky about the way you've phrased it. Any team sport is about getting the blend right. In the 70's we had older pros at the end of their careers blending their older heads and legs with young and hungry lads who were able to compensate on the pitch and the balance was right. These days we need to blend expensive big name signings with academy players and young foreign players hoping to make a name for themselves. In theory it should still work but somehow the balance has got out of kilter and when it started going wrong the inevitable manager changes seem to have made the problem worse. Hopefully an experienced Premier League Manager will know how to put this right (if he's allowed)

Fair play. Who's going to be the first to knock the club for this?...

Slightly worrying if there is a long Board Meeting going on. Should take about 2 seconds.... You're Fired!

I can see what Pellegrino's trying to achieve which is more than I could say earlier in the season. We've got 3 games this week - 2 of them absolutely vital - and he was trying to win the game to give the team confidence while keeping players fresh for later in the week and ease a couple of players into match fitness. Mission accomplished. Looks like we're stuck with him so let's support the win and hope that the next couple of games go according to plan.

I thought McQueen was one of the reasons for our far more upbeat performance at Old Trafford. Always willing to attack but if he gets caught upfield he busts a gut to get back into position. Contrast this with Bertrand, particularly the other night, who strolls back from upfield and stops or slows virtually every move forward. I know who I'd rather see on the pitch in a relegation battle.

It evidently does which is why I'm fascinated by the fact that an reliable ITKer who obviously has close links with the club tried to get us trending on Twitter to get Pellegrino out.

I'm inclined to say out as we need a manager who can take the club by the scruff of the neck and stamp their personality on it. Trouble is, would anyone of that calibre want to come here when it's quite obvious that they are given certain parameters to play/work within?

West Ham spent the whole game nudging any player who went up for a header to put them off balance. Got away with it so much that they made it so obvious the ref had to give us one and he chose the best position! Soft penalty/hard penalty - one thing in common... Penalty!

I think the fact that Bertrand is totally incapable of kicking with his right foot slows play down. He's forever stopping, turning around or passing back rather than pinging a cross in.

Probably caught the virus up in London when he went up to tout himself about.... sorry, I mean watch the athletics world championships!

I also liked this part - Van Dijk’s value has soared in a summer that has seen defenders transferred for huge sums of money across Europe, with the £70m price tag that was placed on the Dutchman in some quarters earlier this summer now needing to be revised. Shall we go for about £100m now?!

Pied?

Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? Virgil happy to stay with us but Liverpool leave it too late to get another target in because of their own sense of self importance!

Am I being thick/naïve? Why would you turn down a pay rise unless there was some kind of condition/contract attached to it which you don't like? He says in Echo article that there was no contract to sign just a pay rise which he was entitled to turn down...

I don't think revenue is actually relevant to the size of the stadium anymore. TV money is king

For someone who was clearly bought as back up with the potential to coach to become a first teamer eventually I have to say he's surpassed any expectations. He's been thrust into the first team before he was probably ready, taken his chance and improves game by game. I like his attitude and willingness to learn and don't see him as the type who'd look for a big money move after a few good games like some I could mention. It's not like we paid for a Champions League ready player - what do people expect sometimes?

Was Stephens not a right back when he first arrived? Perhaps that sort of versatility would make him a good option on our bench.

Is it possible that this may help us? We already have a "contract" in place so we're the only club who would be able to buy?

Did anyone else notice that it was also Joe Hart's 300th appearance for City? Strange coincidence.

I like Claire Balding as I think she's witty and intelligent but have CB Fry on my ignore list as a supercilious sarcastic patronising idiot. There's a problem!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2754285/Southampton-stronger-following-summer-exodus-claims-chairman-Ralph-Krueger.html

:lol:

My theory is that we've had quite a few targets about to sign on the dotted line but they've come on here to see what kind of a club they're joining and it's all fallen through for some reason.....