Kingsland Codger

A round of applause for Pilsmer and his 6 week old son - let us know who he chooses for his MoM.

Kasey Keller - not that he contributed much in our 2004-2005 relegation season (he was an emergency keeper and only played 4 times) but he made 'that save' from a Matty Taylor point-blank blast in the last couple of minutes to ensure an all-too-rare victory. Since it was against you-know-who, the save and the victory was all the sweeter and has ensured his immortality at St Mary's.

a minor addition, if I may?

Many thanks Redslo for your blog. You conclude ... "Therefore, it simply was not possible to keep the team together and bring in new players in any significant amount or of any significant quality. " and yet this appears to be incompatible with Mr Reed's statement of April 25 2014 where he said "we want to improve the squad going forward, we want to retain the players we’ve got" - "Our intention is to keep this very good team together and build on it by bringing in players to improve upon it" Can any forum member shed any light on this? http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11172160.Les_Reed_s_Saints_statement_in_full/

Francoise Hardy and although it is over 40 years since I first heard her sing this song, I still get turned on by her accent. Note the way she says 'oranges' around the 25 second mark.

For those who feel reassured by what Mr Kreuger said, here are a couple of confusing (worrying?) quotes. "You cannot begin a Premier League season with half of your starters disgruntled" and "The five players we sold were not all starters" So disgruntled starters remain. More sales to come? Or somehow has Mr Kreuger found out how to make those disgruntled starters now feel gruntled instead?

Of course he did From his statement of 25 April http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11172160.Les_Reed_s_Saints_statement_in_full/ "we want to retain the players we’ve got. They are all contracted, they all have existing contracts and we intend to honour those contracts" ... "Our intention is to keep this very good team together and build on it by bringing in players to improve upon it." "It’s a positive message we want to get out there. Our fans deserve to understand there is not going to be a fire sale here and we have repeatedly said that ... we want to keep all of our best players here at the club and build on that for the future."

Mr Reed did this as-near-as-damn-it in his statement of 25 April. "We want to retain the players we’ve got. They are all contracted. They all have existing contracts and we intend for them to honour those contracts". and "Our intention is to keep this very good team together" "we want to keep all of our best players here at this club and build on that for the future" And yet three of our best players have now been sold. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/25042014-les-reed-statement-on-pochettino-and-players-1509755.aspx Like I said quite clearly a few posts above, we were given a clear indication of what we might expect in the coming season (I repeat the words of Mr Reed "We want to retain the players we’ve got" ) and now things have changed. I am looking forward to the coming season, whether it is to see many new faces from abroad, or the kids from the academy being upgraded - but it won't be what we were all hoping to expect, that's all.

Maybe - but my original thought was to say a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to be replaced by the band of the local Boy Scouts. Perhaps I should have stuck with it. The point I was trying to make is that what we will get this coming season might be good but it won't be what we might have expected to see. Unless that is, you were expecting Mr Koeman as manager and the England internationals sold off.

You bought a ticket to see the Rolling Stones in concert. The ticket was expensive but you were comforted by a statement from the impresario who said everything was going along swimmingly and there would be no cancellations. The next day he announced whoopsy, the Stones can't make it after all; however work was going on to ensure customer satisfaction and provide ticket holders with a different attraction but the deal was take-it-or-leave-it, no alternatives and no refunds ... you would feel a bit apprehensive, wouldn't you? Were you going to get U2? Spandau Ballet? Cold Play? Dido? or Susan Boyle? All have their merits but none of them are what you were originally expecting.

Shaw also made the cross for Fonte to score with a header in the home game against Arsenal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wslweMN17E

Chiellini always did have a chip on his shoulder, whereas Suarez is taking it all with a pinch of salt.

In his interview/club statement/conversation with Saints TV (call it what you will) on 10 June, available on youtube, Mr Reed said ... "if we do sell players it's guaranteed that any revenues we make will be re-invested in the team" - at around 20.02

Oh, all right then ... And he started to shave And had one off the wrist And want to see girls And go out and get ****ed A man called Brian This man called Brian The man they called Brian This man called Brian

Unfortunately, Mr Kreuger's interview of late May, which came so disastrously undone within hours with the quick sale of Rickie, has made a number of posters understandably wary of comments from the SFC Board. Were a Senior Government Minister to say, for example, "we won't raise taxes" and then the next day taxes are increased - would you vote for that Government again? Having said that, Mr Reed came across very well; calm and composed, thoughtful and positive. However, an interview is only as good as the questions asked and clearly this interview had its shortcomings; but it was a master-class in damage control.

I don't know but the French Rugby Union side changed from their traditional 'French' blue to dark blue a few years ago. Recently they seem to have hit on a shade somewhere in between the two.

The Ox?

Oh, dear, I hope not. I, too, received such an email. I logged in and confirmed my contact details; although I remain resident in the same house as always and have received my ST in the past without any problems. Maybe I can now expect several emails from that charming man in Nigeria and his associates, offering me all kinds of treats? What I most miss receiving are offers for those much-required penis extension tablets so frequently advertised several years ago. Where are the old-fashioned scammers when you need them?

Look on the bright side. Surprisingly, Ashton could have included the interview with Mr Krueger which repeated the same promises as Mr Reed had said one month earlier - and yet within hours one of our international strikers was sold on the cheap. His article could have been even more damning - we got off lightly.

Are you saying Reed didn't anticipate a bid for an England international striker? Maybe not from Liverpool, but from anyone? I take the point made by SaintRobbie that AL and Shaw are still with us and so to have delayed/rejected bids so far shows some resolve but to have caved in so feebly over Lambert runs contrary to his earlier statement. Had we accepted a bid for, say, Kelvin Davis then Reed might be cut a little slack but to have sold Lambert within a month of his statement is damaging beyond repair.

Maybe I'm reading Mr Reed's statement too closely, but then, how else am I or anyone else supposed to read it? I'll quote it again ... "No club has been given permission to talk to any of our players. That will remain so." And yet, one month later, Rickie Lambert was given permission to talk to Liverpool - he decided personal terms. and the next bit ... “We want to retain the players we’ve got. They are all contracted. They all have existing contracts and we intend for them to honour those contracts." It's that pesky word "all" that's the killer. He didn't say "some are contracted" nor did he say "most are contracted", he said "all". And, again, the decision to sell Lambert shows what he said one month ago to be just so much baloney.

My point being quite simple. Neither Mr Reed (nor, after his statement has also been shown to be utterly worthless, Mr Krueger) has any credibility whatsoever.

Mr Les Reed, 25 April "No club has been given permission to talk to any of our players. That will remain so. As far as the policy is concerned, we’ve had a great season. We want to build on that season. We want to improve the squad going forward. “We want to retain the players we’ve got. They are all contracted. They all have existing contracts and we intend for them to honour those contracts. Any enquiries we get will probably be met with a ‘no – not for sale’. Our intention is to keep this very good team together and build on it by bringing new players to improve on that" http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/25042014-les-reed-statement-on-pochettino-and-players-1509755.aspx

Not daft at all. I wouldn't rule out the club being sold in its entirety. I just wonder if there isn't a kind of 'double sales' project. By this I mean the plan is to sell off the bulk of the current squad, upgrade Martin Hunter as the manager and promote the fringe and academy players - so next season's squad would include the likes of Rowe, Reed, Targett, Gallagher, Sims, Stephens, Hesketh, Isgrove and other youth team players along with, say, Hooiveld, Gazzanigga, Mayuka and the odd loan or free transfer coming in. Very little, if any, cash will be spent on new players. Then sell off those players and repeat the process. If we survive then so much the better but when relegation(s?) eventually comes along (whether that is sooner or later is only of mild concern) then there is the parachute money, before selling off what's left of a struggling club in whatever division we happen to be in. Who knows, the academy lads might surprise us all and become our new legends but I fear from now on 'the project' will be all about selling with little buying. I'm mildly surprised to see myself suggesting this conclusion; until yesterday morning I had fallen for Mr Krueger's statement, hook-line-and-sinker. I had also been impressed by the statement of Mr Reed just before the Everton game (see below). But it all looks so hollow now. Time will tell, but the good times are unlikely to be repeated for a generation or two. I can only hope the above scenario is all completely wrong. +++++++++++++++++ Mr Les Reed, 25 April "No club has been given permission to talk to any of our players. That will remain so. As far as the policy is concerned, we’ve had a great season. We want to build on that season. We want to improve the squad going forward. “We want to retain the players we’ve got. They are all contracted. They all have existing contracts and we intend for them to honour those contracts. Any enquiries we get will probably be met with a ‘no – not for sale’. Our intention is to keep this very good team together and build on it by bringing new players to improve on that" http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/25042014-les-reed-statement-on-pochettino-and-players-1509755.aspx.

Quite why anyone thinks there will be any funds made available for new purchases is beyond me. Today's utter fiasco is clear evidence the asset stripping has just begun. Ask yourself a question ... why would any business sell an asset at speed and at a knock-down price? Maybe I'm disillusioned after being so thoroughly let-down by Mr Krueger's now worthless statement but I fail to see any good news in the near future.