Badger

Yes, reading on Wikipedia about him and it includes this comment attributed to Jose Mourinho after the player was on loan at Inter: Yep, we sure pick them, but it seems we have been seeking a loose cannon all along, what with Osvaldo, Cardoza (didn't he have a mega strop at Benfica ?), and Naingollan linked ( bloke who looks like Nigel Quashie and has a Mohican - must be unbalanced).

Cheltenham Town away (for selfish reasons). Or Swindon.

Yes, but not if the player does not really want to be here. I don't see the merit in signing a player who comes here begrudgingly if forced out of Roma, or as a last resort .Or if he has a rape charge hanging over him.

As an away kit, why not ?

Irrespective of how we compared, there were far too many games last season where we dominated possession for long periods,but created little, and spurned what chances we did create to then fall behind, or be thankful for a draw. Spurs, Sunderland away are the more recent examples, before that Swansea (home and away),Norwich (a), and Everton (h) spring to mind. Even Wigan (a) where we lambast our defence for conceding so late, could have been put to rest had we taken chances created in a second half onslaught.

Don't doubt what you say, but it does seem a recurring theme from last season.

Vossen was a much rumoured player twelve/eighteen months ago, and previously linked with Everton & Fulham. He does appear to have fallen out of sight, and even media speculation with other clubs.Don't know why, possibly realisation that Belgium have a few more - better - players at their disposal. My recollection was that he was a goalscorer, possibly in the Sharp/Hooper mould. If so, then it seems we have adjusted our targets for a stronger, more mobile update ie a younger RL, than just a good finisher but who might go missing or not be involved in the build up .

Just thought I'd share this local snippet from Glos. Rory Decrap scored the equaliser for Burton v Cheltenham today. Jug eared c^nt !

4- 1 ,at home, can the day get any better ? Big team, promotion certainties !!

I wonder how long it will be before Jerry & Kate McCann are taking up a seat alongside Doreen Lawrence in the House of Lords as perpetual victims of a crime, the media et al at Milliband's invitation.

But it will still look as unsightly as the bona fide articles which cost £30 more.

Two things in that clip stand out for me. Costa appears an arsehole, well suited to replace Suarez as pangy says. Also, don't those red and white shirts look good ? If NC agreed for us to have shirts like that, I'd even tolerate him indulging in the red shorts that he seems so obsessed with (for a season anyway).

Agreed.

Re above , sorry for hijacking the born in the 70's /80's thread with memories of the 60's. Clearly we had more exciting times a decade earlier !

This was the forerunner : "Anything can happen in the next half hour" , possibly the most dramatic introduction ever (for a five year old it was anyway).

Agree about the transfers, although doubt we will be worse than last season, so unlikely to go down. Yet again our transfer strategy seems to be to chase some high profile (over) expensive targets, which ultimately leaves us chasing shadows for weeks on end. The prospect of a £20m + Brazilian international, is beyond our wildest dreams of a few years ago, but I'm not convinced this is the right course for us, how long will such a player need to 'settle' etc ? With the exception of Ardiles very few South American players have immediately adapted to the game here, and been trouble free. Any other names that are likely to be thrown back at me, are likely to at least have had a year or so in Spain or Italy ie a European league first.

Here is a good potted history of Southern, which will strike a chord with anyone growing up in the 60's onwards

Yes, this echoes my sentiments re SDR, who on balance played a part in our successful rise up the league. Thanks, in particular for the Reading goal which was his crown and glory as it turned out, which set some really mental celebrations in place. Yep, that too strikes a chord with me, don't think he had a continued run to cement a place, although you also felt that like many wingers he'd always be inconsistent and never play well twice in a row.

I still think we need another CB, has Alderweirald left Ajax yet ?

Time will tell whether Caulker at £8/9m is better value than Lovren for a similar fee.

Yes, indeed. I have changed the original to suit !

We should have hijacked the Caulker deal.

A local player we missed out on was Graham Roberts. Although I'm not sure of what stage of his career he was closely linked with Saints. Others - Steve Guppy, and Darren Anderton.

Did Inverdale make any comments about "lookers" ?

That sums it up. I'm amazed people are so relaxed about the GK situation, and have a memory loss about how problematic this was for us in the first half of the season. At the moment we have Boruc, and then its probably panic stations all over again. CB - I don't really see Yoshida as better than back up, and feel we should be looking to improve. Winger with pace/striker - no further explanation required.