Saint 76er

Why is this 'move the away fans' line trotted out time and again when the police are adamant that said fans must stay put for operational reasons? The club are well aware that moving them would make sense, but can't do a thing as the safety certificate would be withdrawn and the stadium closed if they defied the police directive.

Tom Rogic at Celtic. Strong bodied no. 10 who has a habit of scoring 'worldies' and would be a great fit for Saints. Still in early twenties yet an experienced international and improving all the time. Would lose him to Asian qualifiers ( like Yoshi ) but get in before the crowd. We seem to have a trusted relationship with Celtic so this is realistic, unlike M. Dembele who won't end up with us, unfortunately.

I'm impressed that the proposed shirts each have Portsmouth FC embossed on them, just in case the players forget who they are playing for, or indeed fans forget which club they support. Such a boon for those with only a limited attention span.

I used to quite miss Clot ... then this bloke came along! :D:D

At least his name rhymes with Pompey... so that's his song sorted then!

You sure you're not confusing this with loaves and fishes, right?

Fish Mills now with Perth Glory in the A League. Thought he could have been something but he dropped away quickly. Still only 26 though.

If true, we may be approaching a defining moment in SFC history. There seems no doubt the current regime are reluctant to push the financial envelope to (potentially) take us to the next level, instead reverting to an endless five year plan. Meanwhile, a wave of mainly Asian investors is starting to recapitalize the PL and it may well mean that those left behind may find it difficult to bridge the gap. What the long term future is with such investors is anyone's guess, but critically for us how might Saints fit into this scenario and do we think it worth a shot at a bright future if we get the chance or stay with a more steady as she goes approach and hope we don't get left behind? Of course, the ultimate answer will not be made by this forum and if anything happens we will simply be told, like it or not, of any decision in due course.

What division of the World Super League would Pompey be in then, and how many of the Blue Few will turn out on a wet November night in Shanghai? The usual few thousand I suppose, just like that heaving mass at Wigan that time or the recent packed to the rafters affair at Yeovil. Still, I guess these Super Clubs need a league to play in.....

... and still joint top, surely!

But, pretty much every club on this list has a large impressive stadium (Monaco just have money). Do you not think that has a lot to do with the club's market value and global brand potential? Same for attracting upscale sponsors who want to be associated with the more glamorous clubs. We are still perceived as gritty underdogs and that is a perception we need to change if we want to remain at our current lofty level. Doing nothing is not an option and playing our football in a stadium befitting our ambition would be a very good start IMO.

Yes, but to the average Skate fan this means games against PSGH&W, Real Sutton and Barcalognor.

Quite true, in terms of finances. However, in the image conscious world of PL football perception is everything and at present our image is more Stoke City than Man City. Even with our exceptional form on the pitch we are still largely ignored by a media currently indulging in an orgasmic feeding frenzy over a bang average bunch of cockneys who have just got themselves a new ground. Are you starting to see how this works? We don't have a historically high profile name (like say Man U) so we need to look the part in order to convince players, managers, new fans and the media that we have indeed arrived at the PL top table. A new or improved stadium would go a long way to creating this perception. Yes, it's a bit 'look at me', but you have to stand out from the crowd these days and we are wanting to expand our fanbase internationally as well as locally and look at the bounce effect WHU have got solely from a new stadium. Yes, our circumstances are different to theirs but we could surely increase our attendances, probably considerably, if we had a nice big flash stadium to put people in and at a cost to expand SMS of roughly this summers transfer budget, or about four $Longs!

Exactly this. If the board think he will not extend then do they want to spend up big buying "Koeman players" this summer when those players may not suit a new manager in one years time? Ronald's strategy may work in Holland but the PL is a different beast and the board need to decide which manager will get the benefit of, most likely, substantial transfer funds to take the club forward. Also the media would make next season very uncomfortable if no commitment and the attitude of the players is an unknown quantity with a lame duck manager. I hope they are burning the midnight oil at St Mary's to find a solution to all of this.

Also, perfect opportunity to switch to the Keegan kit, which would be overwhelmingly popular!

This is just awful, awful news .................... for Alpine! For the rest of us this is just amazing on so many levels. Ronald sounded almost smug and indicated other deals were in the pipeline. This has the feeling of Ronald challenging the board to stem the bleeding of recent years and show some ambition and they have responded with a humongous deal for our most important player and with other deals hopefully to follow before the summer transfer madness kicks in. All of which leads, we hope, to the all important resigning of Ronald himself. At least he now knows he probably can't tale VVD to some other club if he leaves!

Why wouldn't they, isn't the public purse going to pick up most of their expenses now?

This is correct and is why he is seen instructing subs with his iPad before they come on and why players sometimes run to him if a set piece goal works out. He would be a big loss to us and the club really should get the cheque book out and pay both him and Ronald a big enough amount for both to stay.

Think the suggestion is that the FA may want him in a full time role.

Thanks for the info on the roses, guys. That's interesting stuff and if Southampton was used to launch an invasion of France, that's good enough for me! Maybe then it would be a good idea to change to an updated version of the traditional badge, with the roses and the city's red and white as a background. Simplistic elegance would work for me, rather than the comic book mishmash of a badge we currently have. As we are setting our sights on being a top six PL team with global aspirations, then an update to what is essentially our public/corporate image is long overdue, IMO.

Tells you something about how tired and dated the current badge looks when this 'new' one actually looks better! Genius to replace that hideous ball with a Saints emoji. We need a petition ... On a more pedantic note, the OS report describes the flower on the badge as a white rose when it is actually a Mayflower surely?

Yes, clubs were given an allocation of funds to spend as they saw fit. Saints subsidised one or two away trips each year and did once provide free scarves to all of our fans at a Swansea game. Funds could be used for ground improvements regarding away fans if so desired. As you say, cheaper ticket prices across the board is best outcome for all concerned. However, a certain element of give with one hand etc ...

Whilst this is welcome news, it would seem that the ASI benefits of recent years have now been canned and replaced by the new deal. These now lost benefits were mostly used by clubs as subsidies for cheap or even free away travel. Saints also did once or twice agree reciprocal pricing with clubs using ASI funds.

Sure, it's a nice jacket Ronnie but I couldn't go more than a tenner, honest. Know what I mean like ...