Junior Mullet

We need a central midfield pairing that can dominate. James and Hammond do well but we still need one or two more and get rid of Wotton before we have enough strength and ability in depth.

Gettin Lloydie!!!! Prove me right mate. COYRAWM

I will be taking loads of Monopoly money to wave at them and throw in the air each time we score.

Bummer. The one team I didnt want to draw. At least it's at home and at least we will have a chance to rotate the team a bit before then to be fresh. With a bit of luck HMRC will wind them up before the 14th and we'll get a walkover.

Oh dear, yet another fan on here that does not understand the role of a forward player. LOL. Lambo was terrific today - he held the ball very well, won most things in the air, drew defenders in and created chances for others. His shot let to the winning goal and was very unlucky not to get a spectacular third goal for us from about 40 yards out that would have sealed it. Barnard has a good first touch, never gave the ball away, looked good in tight situations and was always looking to get strikes on goal. Did well for the team when switched to an unfamiliar right midfield role in the second half. Showed glipses of pace. Looks like he can lead the line in a way Connoly, Papa and Lallana can't which is exactlywhat we need when Pardew gives Lambo the rest he has been saying the big guy needs. There we go, a more considered view from a fellow strikers perspective.

Quality player, been saying for a long time on here that he should have been in the team. I can only imagine that Pardew was holding off until he was fully fit. We look a different team with Holmes on the left. His passion, committment, work rate and technique are first rate for this level.

IMO James will make one of the top three CM roles his own now that we have a right back and Hammond is out injured. I would still like to see us get another top CM player in and get rid of Wotton, but I reckon James will take his opportunity with both hands.

All I got was some ******* video of hummingbirds. Gravesend you suck.

Totally agree - bet it was him by a mile. It really was a desperate appointment - the last roll of the dice by a desperate Chairman who realised he had (A) appointed the wrong people previously and (B) neglected the first team in favour of the youth team farming enterprise

What a place to get separated!

Bale was a very classy free kick taker. I recall seeing him up close several times for the U.18's and he always got such curle on the ball. Lambo combines great power with precision and some curle - a mix that is absolutely deadly at this level. We have had some very good free-kick takers over the years.

I'm looking forward to my trip to Wembley this year and to automatic promotion next season. Glad I'm the patient type.

I thought Gillett was one of our better players last season. Looked a completely different player under Pardew this season and looked bereft of confidence. Pardew likes tall players who can compete in the air. Gillett never stood much chance.

I would love to see us bring someone in to allow Wotton to leave. I've never seen a CM player hide from the ball so much or give the ball away so bloody often. The weakest link for me. There are better options out there and we need to buy one.

Fonte and Seaborne starting tomorrow by the look of it then

Good signing.

Nope - they were quality players who fans, managers and pundits alike thought were quality. Guess what, they turned out to be quality.

Meh signing. Not at all impressed and actually I do take account of what fans think of players, afterall they are the ones that watch players week in week out. I too was very unimpressed with him when he played against us. I do not place too much confidence in what managers or the likes of Perryman say. They are one man with a particular view. Not only that but sometimes what they say publicly doesnt always match their private view. Ferguson says Wes Brown is the best defender in the Prem. Harry Redtwitch is another one that says what he thiks is best to suit him. Perryman conducted himself like a **** at the Exeter game and I am placing no reliance whatsoever on what he has to say. Despite my dissappointment with this signing I do have confidence in Pardew. He and his coaches and scoats know what they are looking for. For that reason I will reserve judgement on this lad as a player until I have seen him play.

Looking at that picture I remember him now - he played pretty poorly against us and I'm not entirely sure but think he was carded and argued quite a bit with some of the other Exeter defenders. If it is the same guy, would do well to leave him alone.

Who do you think we could get for £1.2 million from Div 2 that is as good as Fonte, has the necessary experience of the CCC needed to fit our vision of where the team is going and who has been playing regularly against opponents as good as or better than the ones faced by Saints in Div 1? 24 Div 2 teams. Average 2 starting CBs per team = 48 players to choose from. How many do you think would be good enough? For me it's a no brainer. We are and should be buying players that are of a good (if not excellent) CCC standard. There simply aint many of those in Div 2 and those that are in Div 2 are probably no cheaper than those that already have a track record in the CCC.

The players expectations would simply be reduced and they would be payed less. Some of the stars may go and play in different countries if there was money there. Simple supply and demand economics. Personally I am all for the players getting the lions share of the spoils from modern day football - they are after all the stars of the show.

Hey, we did this one on another thread last week. In a nutshell and very generally, each club can break even provided it does not exceed it's natural stature. Saints have a very good solid base to build on - stadium, wealthy part of the country, large catchment area, proud history, loyal fans (most importantly) etc - enough IMO to found a solid Prem club on and Liebherr and Cortesse know that. Pompey on the other hand do not have a sound base and instead have a CCC/Div 1 following, low average wealth per fan, fickle fans (they were there when they won the FA Cup but where have they all gone now?), poxy ground etc. They have been punching above their weight and are payiung the consequences for that. I will not be concerned about the club's finances until we are in the Prem and Liebherr goes mad and pumps in tens of millions more for a push for the Champions League. Personally I cannot see that happening. I reckon they, like many of us fans, would happily see us stabilised in the Prem making a good crack each year at the Europa places, as we did before without breaking the bank. Think Fulham as a model. TDD, enjoy your football mate. No worries. Rejoice in the fact that the PLC structure (AKA the main thing responsible for our demise) has gone and that will never return in your life time. COYS

Doesn't have the right attributes to be a very good RB IMO. We are lookikng for excellece throougout the team and whilst James has done OK he's not been good enough. On the plus side he has a great attitude, can cross the ball well, is a hard tackler and seems to get on with the rest of the team. On the downside, he is too slow (pace and acceleration) and positioning at times is wobbly (althoug he has not been helped by team mates at times). He also lacks height and has regularly been beaten in the air at the back stick and that has lead to conceding goals. I think he has a decent future ahead of him as a tenacious defensive midfielder.

But who's best, Cassie Sumner or Lucie Pinder? There's only one way to find out......custard fight

It suggests nothing.