scotty

Merry Christmas from Nursling to one and all. We're still going to get thumped by arsenal though.

This. And I don't know why. Ron needs a win, it's not a likely scenario but it could happen. I've got a good feeling about this one.

Could we club together and send a few boxes of high grade booze to the arsenal dressing room before the game? I can't see us getting any points if they're sober, and it is christmas.

Keep on topic, what about the game?

I'm guessing that it's because of the managerial merry-go-round currently taking place.

Turks is still smarting from yet another correct scotty prediction. Those pints are mounting up.

Always going to be the case against a pochettino side. Once they're ahead they aren't likely to ship anything defensively. I remember one of his first interviews when he was here, "the defence starts with Rickie Lambert."

As I pointed out to turks earlier, I should have punted a few quid on my 0-2 prediction on the build up thread.

My mate dropped round for a drink with me and my girlfriend. There was a lot of flirting, and when she went to the kitchen I followed her out. "Could you cope with two guys in a bed?" I asked. "Too right I could," she grinned. "Great!" I said. "Here's twenty quid, go to the pub and I'll phone you when we've finished."

I don't see us getting anything from this. 0-2.

I'd have dismissed the idea until Ron made those comments about saints lack of spending. Mourinho seems to me to have been angling for the sack, he's probably got something else lined up, you have to wonder what is going on behind the scenes.

Other than that, we're in great shape.

FFS. why not go the whole hog and put them on secret sales as well?

We got rid of puncheon at exactly the wrong time. How long was he rotting in our reserves while he made up his mind whether to bother turning up? Then Nigel got him straightened out and playing well, then boom.... flogged. I still remember that equaliser against Chelsea.

Very good.

I think it's time for an anagram contest........ "You hide it well"

Would be interesting to ask that question on the wigan forum. They had a decent manager and a half decent squad, but they're out of the prem now with no obvious likelihood of returning for the foreseeable.

They won it, then got relegated a few days later. I wonder which game they'd have preferred to win.

£12m is very little for a prem striker nowadays, regular starter or not. The way he's been utilised suggests that big Ron sees him more as an impact sub than a regular starter, and Ron was in charge when we signed him.

I'm not so sure Stekelenberg will be leaving in the summer myself. Either way, Gazzaniga hitting form and becoming a viable option as backup can only be a good thing.

That'll be because there's never been one.

Coming from such a perennial optimist, that's a worrying comment.

That's another good point. Fresh off the bench, he's the type of player that a tiring defence would be terrified of.

At the time we signed him we had just had our squad comprehensively raped. We needed players who were match fit and up to speed in the prem. I clearly remember Big Ron saying that in a televised interview when asked about Shane Long. He was bought to do a job and he's doing it, I really don't get this criticism.