Saint 76er

WE NEED A STATUE OF MARKUS NOW!!!!! Outside SMS there should be statues of Ted and Markus, watching over us together. They are the great folk heros of our football club. One from a former era, one from the present. We could not be where we are (or perhaps even in existence) without either and I want to see them both immortalised in bronze and keeping watch over us for the start of our premier league campaign. Over to you Nicola ... Thank you for giving us days like today Markus. RIP big man.

Many will indeed be sat, but some may, of course, be standing ...

This for me too! We always looked great in this kit in the Keegan era, it was like a kit ahead of it's time. Critically, it stood out as being exclusively (I think) Saints and it was great to have our own identity, especially at a time we had such standout players. Whilst the stripes are a club tradition, they do lump us along with Stoke/Sunderland etc and we hope to be in the same league as them two shortly, so want to look different really. As someone said though, fact is the new kit is probably in production now in some Asian sweatshop ... and betting is it will be regulation stripes again!!

Kudos to saintkenny over on the DE site for this one .. pure genius! Our Nigel, who art in charge, hallowed be thy name, thy tactics done, this game was won, at Posh as it was at Palace. Give us this week our Premiership status, and deliver us from the Championship, for thine is the best team, which will give us the glory, for ever and ever .. Amen. COYR/WIFM

Cinco Ocho closed out the ninth in very nice style in Phillies opener, retiring the batters in order, following Doc Halliday's eight scoreless innings against the Pirate crew. 162 game winning season coming up ...

Well, somebody may know something and with a potential return to the PL looming now is the time when all the whispers of ramping things up once we reach the promised land may start to become reality. The SW redevelopment may be the thin end of that particular wedge. Unlike Lowe, it may be that the Liebherrs are prepared to speculate on their investment in order to increase it's overall value. If that is the case then we are in for exciting times and discussion boards are exactly where fans might like to discuss such matters ...

Further to FF's thread on the Staplewood redevelopment, that does bring into question how such major projects are to be funded. SW project will cost serious money, does anyone have a heads up on that value, 10 million+ perhaps? We know the Liebherrs don't do debt, which suggests there is a pot put aside for things such as this and rumour has it that Markus did make such an arrangement. Certainly, Cortese hasn't seemed to bat an eyelid as the SW plans became ever more grandiose. He must be very sure of his funding arrangements for this as NPC income won't pay for it, or probably PL income either as, although large, that will get eaten up in player and other admin expenses. Also NC, almost from day one, has spoken openly about expanding SMS or even a brand new stadium, which would involve really serious money! Can't see him going out and getting a loan for this though, which brings us back to the "pot", or internal funding already in place. A short while ago someone had a thread claiming inside knowledge of a really huge sum said to be available. The amount was so large as to make most of us dismiss it instantly and probably rightly so, however with SW underway and now with the PL looming talk is bound to increase of stadium redevelopment, so the question is ... exactly what funding arrangements does Cortese have with the Liebherrs for such major infrastructure projects, as the monetary figures involved will be simply huge and would normally be way beyond a club such as us, or at least a club such as we used to be ..?

Marlinsanity ... Like it! Go Phils!!!

Just watched the first half of todays Scottish LC final and Celtic are a very ordinary side, truly Saints would thrash them (and don't even start me on Kilmarnock). Unusually for Scotland both goalies played well though. If Celtic ever got into the FL (think FIFA might have an issue with that though) their current level probably would be about mid table L2.

Phils won 102 games in regular season last year, how many did the Nats manage? ... Oh, and you so overpaid for Werth, crazy contract! BTW Chester (no not Cheshire) is a former riverside industrial city south of Philly, now being renovated. It is also now home to Philadelphia Union of the MLS, with a brand new 18500 seat stadium on the waterfront. In the old days the industrial landscape up and down the Delaware river (predominantly steel) drove the expansion of the US and was part of the industrial might that enabled all those government freeloaders to prosper in Washington. Of course, the industrial age is basically no more, but Philly fans remain bluecollar by tradition and proud of it. No plastics there that's for sure, just tough and committed fans, and that in itself is a great reason to be a Philly fan (Phils, Sixers, Eagles or Flyers). Go Phils!

What dominance is that, sunshine??? How is Werthless going this spring, hope he gets the occasional hit for you! Listen, you don't have a dominance over Philly but quite the opposite. In fact Nats FO so scared of the annual invasion of Phightins' fans that they are trying to restrict ticket sales for Phillies visits to DC area codes only. They must be real scared to want to sacrifice 30,000 ticket sales to try and keep the invaders out. But don't you worry, Philly fans are on to it and it will still be like a home game for the Phanatics!!! Who said only Saints and Poopey have a rivalry ... Go Phils!

Would that make him a cheapskate, by any chance? ...

In other news, what are the Colts doing?! Ditching the best QB of all time for a guy who hasn't even been drafted yet! What a ridiculous gamble and i can only see it ending in tears. Peyton to wind up as a Jet in my opinion. New York IS big enough for two Mannings. Peyton was owed a $28m bonus if he played next season at Indy, I think, and he didn't get on the field at all last season and had neck surgery in September, which is a big red flag for any QB as they all get hit. Currently PM is touring likely new NFL employers at Denver, Arizona and Miami, with the last two being favourites. He will be expensive and may not last long injury and age wise. Meanwhile the rock bottom Colts are preparing for life with new franchise QB Andrew Luck, whom they will pick at #1 in the draft. We should all discuss the draft on here in coming weeks, to see who you are all looking forward to your club picking up. Draft is April 28th (1st round) thru April 30. In breaking draft news, the Deadskins have agreed a deal with the Rams to swop 3 1st round picks plus a second round for the #2 pick this year so they can draft QB Robert Griffin 111 (RG111). This kid is a bit special and you will hear a lot about him. The 'skins were desperate for a QB (wouldn't you be if you had Rex Grossman starting?) and have happily given away the prime draft picks they could have used to recruit the quality of player they will be needing to protect RG111 ... oh well, guess that's their problem. Go the Midnight Green ...

Seem to recall that NA was said to be on circa 60k at Scunny and Cortese doubled that when he signed him. Not a lot really but we were in L1. However, it's anyone's guess what NA's current contract is worth now that it's been extended. Based on the earlier figures about 150 or 200k may be near the mark. TBH anything less than 1m in the PL would probably be short changing Nigel as it appears managers of lesser quality may well be getting much more than that and NA has a string of football and academic qualifications that few others can match, as well as a winning managerial record that few can match.

Clearly it was a take over bid, so all above board really .... although I can't help feeling the offer was a little on the high side!

After his form today and the injuries to others we will miss Lee if he can't make next week's match due to Japan call up. Hope the injuries to Rickie and Adam come up okay as we will be short up front otherwise. NA appeared reluctant to put BS on as if he may still be affected by his "niggles". Amazingly, Connelly may end up being our only available fit striker ... who'da thunk it!

Quite correct .. apparently Van der Vart said he expected to encounter a tactical genius on his arrival at Spuds, but said 'Arry never mentioned tactics and VdV's quote in the media was "We've got a white board in the dressing room, but I've never seen anything on it yet!". Guys .. 'Arry can't read or write beyond the level of a two year old and has no cognitive ability to operate a mobile phone and send texts or operate technical equipment like computers. We know this is true as he has stated it under oath before a magistrate and presumably this information formed a large part of the jury's reasoning in aquitting him. Should this information subsequently be proved false, does that mean the lovable Cockney rogue in question can be retried due to new evidence emerging or something pertaining to perjury perhaps? That would be a setback for a newly installed England manager, so I'd stay away from using mobile phones in public if I were 'Arry. In any event, how will our favourite wide boy get his 10% cut of transfer fees in a job with no transfers? ...

Not sure that another admin won't trigger the FL withdrawal of golden share clause, maybe after three admins. This would be at least their third, I think. Also pretty sure they can't take on a new CVA when they already have an existing unpaid one. Would be pretty stupid to allow two unpaid CVA's to run at once, but maybe oldco/newco? Same entity though, just different names. Hopefully, HMRC got their timing right on this one and left them little room for escape ...

Sharp or Lukas would have possibilities if we were to sign either. However, sensible thing to do in our situation (top of league, heading for PL) would be to not sign either and put the money saved plus more into a serious effort to sign Gary Hooper who appears nailed on PL class, rather than hoping the others are up to that level.

Am I the only one who thinks that a financial institution called MT Bank is not somewhere I would be depositing my hard earned in any hurry ...

Swop him for Matt Phillips ... Fixed.

This would presume the badge was an unmistakable icon of style, taste and recognisability known the world over. Sadly, it is not and I would guess it has almost no recognisability beyond dedicated Saints fans. Now, if ever, would be the ideal time to change it to something that is, or can become, iconic. Something that will bring more recognition of Southampton FC and present the club as a progressive, cutting edge outfit in the 21st century. Sadly, the current badge has all the savoire faire ​of a 1950's Butlins advertisement ...

Seriously, I expect this badge to go when we reach the PL, hopefully next season. You see, the club badge is it's corporate symbol and that's important in the modern day big business world that is PL football. Saints were a much more folksy entity 40 years ago when a fan designed the badge in a competition, they're not now. Unfortunately the badge looks a bit 'Roy of the Rovers' and is all over the shop with images not representative of the football club. Saints, after all, are not the local tourist bureau. You may recall a new very modern shield design was used to promote the Markus cup competition, so an agency has clearly been employed for that purpose and I suspect a new badge based on that shield may be in the pipeline. In this day and age a corporate symbol needs to be simplistic and unambiguous to have instant impact and recognition as the key image of the organisation concerned. What is the core image of Southampton FC? ... The Saints, of course. It is a superb nickname, as good as any, and should be the key identifying image in the forward promotion of the football club and it's associated business entities. But it must be kept simple, even a stick saint or just the word Saints, so long as it is professional and stands out as the unmistakable logo of Southampton Football Club. The current badge has served us well enough in a simpler corporate age, but just prepare yourselves for the start of the next 40 years, not a continuance of the previous 40 ....

Perhaps that is why Cortese is so keen, reputedly, to want to increase the stadium size. Plans for the future are in motion ...