Badger

Here's what might have been. Should have stayed with Hummel.

Who has the more stylish kit, us or Brackley Town ?

Agreed.

What an abortion. Really have to wonder about the people in charge of our club, and the commercial dept. How do other clubs manage it.

Until this season ..

But we should be capable of being at the top table with resources, and players at our disposal. Fact we’re not is quite an indictment of our game and how it’s run. Agree we should scrap the ‘it’s coming home’ bollocks’ , until we actually win something . Annoys the hell out of me every time, when the news features a group of pissed up teenage saps and mongs shouting it into the camera when we beat Columbia or whoever … If we want to focus on that song, then the Jimmy Hill excerpt is more relevant , “ we’ll go on getting bad results ..” Why ?

No immediate thoughts as to his replacements. Whilst has had limitations as shown in the Euros with squad selection and tactics, credit where due Southgate has always tried conducting things with dignity and deserves respect for that. I felt sorry for him becoming an early target for the media ‘luvvies’ on the box (Lineacre, Neville etc) and once that happened nothing other than winning the tournament was going to put the genie back in the bottle. Very little confidence in the FA to get it right. So the Southgate years will probably be looked back on favourably (certainly better record of achievement than his predecessors over 50 years). Good luck to him, but the acid test, would I want him at Saints, answer would be ‘no’.

I first heard it on the wireless (there’s an old term) in the kitchen. For younger readers, this was a small transistor radio, sometimes referred to as a “tranny” , when you could use the word without anyone knowing the term ‘hate speech’ .

Due diligence and all that ....

Or a loan with an option to buy. In which case he'll be back here next summer.

Kevin Keegan was kept off the radar. No rumours, just an announcement.

They didn’t turn out to be, but Sven was considered one of the best coaches in Europe at the time of his appointment and a bit of a coup to get him. Cappello not so much, and McLaren was only mentioned tongue in cheek. From the names mentioned in the press and BBC Gossip column today ( Potter, Howe, and worse still in the Guardian, Gerrrard and Lampard) prepare for disappointment as we won’t be getting the outstanding coach you want.

Don’t you think we need ‘transforming’ for ‘also rand’ to tournament winners , or is that simply going to evolve on its own in time ? Accept the wealth held by the FA but that has previously brought us Sven, Cappello and of course Steve McLaren. During which time we won fuck all.

If you look at their track record of appointments I don’t share the confidence that a new managerial appointment will transform us.

A name ? Dont disagree with your second paragraph. I thought at HT Spain were there for the taking. Trouble is the international team job isn’t a particularly popular role with all the grief that goes with it

Hope no one from the Spanish FA is going to plant a kiss on any of their players

Nothing new. The problem isn’t simply Southgate, there’s something fundamentally wrong with our football if you consider what other footballing nations (that we like to compare ourselves with) have achieved in the last 50 years. There don’t seem too many stand out candidates for the national team job

For who to take over ?

This is the biggest disappointment. Having got back into it, we seemed to sit back and let Spain regroup.

Being watched and then having a bid submitted are two different things. Maybe clubs want to see how he steps up in a higher league before committing. Although too early to go overboard about the signing, I’m reasonably optimistic on this one, and agree with someone saying he could become quite a cult hero. Also await the return of the bloke nearby being able to comment about ‘the jap’s’ playing well/shit or whatever

Is that a pearl of wisdom?

Not ‘yeah, definitely…’ Clearly a lot to learn but a good start.

One of the great images of our recent history. The other that reminds me of more turbulent times and the takeover talk, is the image of Barry the Briefcase

And referring to the half time team talk by ‘Lego Head’

Get to work on your open letter