John B

I do not think e have not frittered away money we have just bought some players who did not fit into our team and the PL Although buying Carillio I agree was a ridiculous signing but the others in my opinion were not

We have been top of the leaague quite often early in the season but have not been top at the end of the season for nearly 50 years

I think you and other Saints supporters should get a bit more realistic especially as the clubs coming up next season could be Norwich Watford and Bournemouth which were relegated last season and may possibly relegated next too You need to accept that SFC has not got the financial clout of most of the clubs in the PL never has and never will that is why it will usually be where it is currently in the PL table towards the bottom but at least we are a PL team and likely to be one for sometime. Top class players will not come to the club because we cannot afford them young players will because playing in the League could be a stepping stone to one of the top teams However performances like yesterday's do not go down well unless we have the rub of the green and win We beat Man City last season with a fluky goal last season but that only happens with a bit of good luck. If Diallo had scored and Leicester's goal had not we would have won and that was their only shot on target Football is a game of fine margins and we would be in our third cup final in my lifetime We were lucky to have played against Watford and Crystal Palace to get to those Finals this time we had to play a team in the top 4 of the PL and recent Champions I am pleased to be a Saints Fan we have played quite well during the last year beating top teams and getting to the Semi Final just because we have had a drastic loss of form lately that happens in football especially in 1n 1974 when we got relegated after not winning for something like 15 games but I doubt we will get relegated this time. I have friends who support Ipswich QPR Reading and Nottm Forest and would gladly have our position in the PL

At least nobody had to pay to get to Wembley and waste their money

I started with Marshall and Gray

Sacking Puel was completely stupid Sacking Hasenhüttl at the moment would also be stupid as he has better stats than Puel but if we get relegated that is a different situation Sacking Pellegrino was the right thing to do as was sacking Hughes who did the job he was brought in for In the first thirty years I followed the Saints no manager was sacked how the PL has changed that

Here is my little offering I do not know precisely what the strategy of SFC really is and what its objectives really are Clearly the main objective seems to be to run the club profitably using only revenue the club earns The second objective is probably to remain in the PL and to hope for success in Cup Competitions If that is the case Ralph is not failing so there is no need to replace him as he is performing reasonably well to meet these objectives Saints are now an established PL club And not a YoY o club like WBA Fulham Norwich Reading Sheff Utd etc and I doubt with Ralph in charge we will get relegated next season with the Clubs coming up from the Championship I am 75 years of age and have supporting the club since I was a teenager and Ted Bates was manager and since 1966 when Ted Terry Paine and Martin Chivers took us to Div 1 have fully supported the second objective Although it may have failed a couple of times it has kept me interested for 55 years including watching teams like Hartlepool Dagenham Redbridge Yeovil etc in League 1 and trying to keep up to date with results in 1978 when we gained promotion in 1978 whilst travelling in SE Asia and Australia without the Internet I fully realise that the Les Reed era tried to suggest that the club would be challenging for European Football but that was completely unrealistic without massive investment which some of the other clubs seem to be able to afford So I think your idea of sacking people who are probably doing a good job to help Ralph in doing what the club wants is not the way forward Of course I would like the club to challenging for League honours but in the 50 or so years Saints have been in the Top Division I would have thought our current league position would be similar to the average over that time and that will hardly change without out spending loads of dosh

I can read I think your original post is barking

We have won cup matches we played well in the first half of some games and the second half of others my point is that we are not crap all the time Although I do think the manager is because he never seems to be able to react and changed the outcome of games and just hopes for the best

I am sort of with you but WBA were pretty good and had lots to play for and we have everything to play for next Sunday lets see what happens in our remaining league games before we decide on Ralph's future Lets face it we cannot be that bad against Leicester we are so inconsistent the only consistency about us is our inconsistency

Seems a bit harsh on Redmond who scored the winner and made an assist especially as Adams made a complete hash of a chance towards the end of the game

I don't think it was dishonest it was just like life sometimes things go right sometimes they do not and it is impossible for refs to be right every time

Earlier, Wolves had been denied a goal when the video assistant referee ruled that Daniel Podence's arm was fractionally offside before he crossed for Willian Jose to head in. Seems crazy to me it is football not armball what advantage does the player have in this situation as surely he is not going to score with his arm Like somebody mentioned earlier it should depend where the players feet are and it is not fair on players with large beer guts

YES

I think both Claude and Ralph have done reasonable jobs dont you

Very true no outstanding players anywhere

I fully expect another loss as we are not clinical enough in attack and make mistakes in defence

Very true if things go wrong we lose focus

Why would it sharpen him up

Yes I thought he was OK I think he may have passed away I think he went to Tauntons with Window Cleaner

You are a fool Wes an absolute fool and your ilk inhabit a completely different world which is completely lacks understanding and reality which will cause great hardship to most people in this country - Leaving the EU is a complete Shitshow Just look as what is happening after only a few days as described in the Observer by people with experience Ministers must restart trade negotiations with Brussels immediately to sort out the “baffling” array of post-Brexit rules and regulations that now threaten much of the UK’s export trade to the EU, leading business groups have said. Amid mounting anger among UK firms at cross-border friction they were told would not exist, British manufacturing and trade organisations met Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove in an emergency session on Thursday to discuss problems resulting from the deal struck by Boris Johnson with the EU before Christmas. The prime minister had hailed what he claimed was a “zero-tariff” and “zero-quotas” deal that would allow free and simple access to the single market. Less than a month on, however, Britain’s EU departure appears to be anything but pain-free. One leading figure involved in the talks with Gove described the new rule book as a “complete shitshow”. Another said Gove seemed “very concerned” at hearing reports of problems, after a week in which Marks & Spencer was among leading companies to warn that more bureaucracy would increase costs. The source added: “He [Gove] seemed to realise the full gravity of the situation that is unfolding and about to get worse.” Gove admitted on Friday that there would be “significant additional disruption” at UK borders as a result of Brexit customs changes in the coming weeks. In the first week after the UK finally left both the single market and customs union, the parcels firm DPD suspended some of its services, bookseller Waterstones halted sales to customers in the EU and UK fishermen warned they would not be able to sell their fresh produce into EU markets because of delays at borders. There were also problems with consignments between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as new border checks caught many businesses unawares. Luxury food store Fortnum & Mason also told customers on its website: “We are temporarily unable to deliver to Northern Ireland or countries in the European Union”, while Debenhams has temporarily shut its online business in Ireland. Some of the problems are being blamed on a rushed deal, and others on the sheer complexity of arrangements including “rules of origin”, some of which have not been finally determined. Only goods made up largely of parts that originate in the UK qualify as tariff-free. Stephen Kelly, chief executive of the Northern Ireland business organisation Manufacturing NI, said: “The reason why the UK and EU originally agreed that there would be an implementation period of 11 months was so that people could get their heads around what was needed and assure their businesses were compliant. But we didn’t have that. We had seven days before everyone had to be ready, and one of those was Christmas Day. “There is a big problem with GB businesses being unaware of their new responsibilities. We have the triple whammy here of Covid, Christmas and new customs rules arriving all at once without any time to adjust.” Johnson assured Northern Ireland business owners in November 2019 that they would have “unfettered access” to the rest of the UK. “There will be no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind,” he said. If anyone told them they needed to fill in forms, “tell them to ring up the PM and I will direct them to throw that form in the bin.” The government was also facing pressure over its Brexit deal from the SNP. Ian Blackford, the party’s leader in Westminster, called on the UK government to “pay compensation to Scotland”, claiming a “multibillion compensation package” was needed to mitigate the costs of Brexit in Scotland. Stephen Phipson, chief executive of the manufacturers’ organisation Make UK, said much still needed to be negotiated between the UK and EU. “Industry welcomed the trade agreement that avoided the catastrophe of no-deal, as tariffs and quotas would have been a disaster for exporters. However, this is only a starting point, as there are still substantial issues that need ironing out, with many months, if not years, of tough negotiations ahead. “There are customs experts with 30 years’ experience who are baffled by what the new regulations mean, let alone small- and medium-sized businesses who have never had to deal with the kind of paperwork that is now required. The great fear is that for many it will prove too much and they will simply choose not to export to the EU.” He also raised fears about the UK car industry, which could be adversely affected by tariffs if EU rules relating to the origins of components used in car manufacture cannot be met. “Having built up seamless and complex supply chains over decades, the automotive sector in the UK is facing a jolt to its systems that places its very future under threat,” he added. “While there is no suggestion multinationals will close plants overnight, we have already seen decisions to build new models placed elsewhere. As those models that have been built in the UK for many years come to the end of their life, we are likely to see a slow puncture for the sector of investment drifting away.” Dominic Goudie head of international trade at the Food and Drink Federation said talks needed to re-start between the UK Brussels. “Where problems emerge there will need to be further conversations,” he said. “The trade deal provides the means to do that. It is a question of whether is the will to do so” (after so many months of talks.” Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said there were problems that could grow over coming weeks and months. “The new import/export formalities are proving problematic for many companies. The lack of obvious queues at the border disguises the fact that many trucks are stuck in depots, unable to head to the ports due to their clients failing to provide the necessary documentation and information.”

As usual you do not seem to realise what you are talking about Yes we are getting new trade deals but they are the same or inferior to the ones we had when we were in the EU especially the Japan deal We are trying to get Free Trade deals with both Australia and NZ with FOM but both countries have rejected our advances because they do not want to be flooded with low skilled Brits There are free ports in the EU. There were free ports in the UK until 2012, when UK legislation establishing them expired. So presumably they were not thought to be a good thing Most of reputable business does not want to reduce your so called red tape because they are in effect standards for their products which they wish they keep when competing with other EU countries However the EU FT deal as aknowledged by Gove is going to be crippled for traders by Red Tape for goodness knows for how long But yes you are right in that the UKIP wing of the Tory Party want to cut loads of rights in the work place in order to increase profits and reduce workers benefits and wages There are significant issues still with Fishing NI Passporting in the Financial Services sector and the ability for service providers to gain Access to the EU without FOM as well as the loss of EU companies relocating to the EU So we are no where near the Sunny Uplands and £350 m a week we were promised According to the Bank of England the cost of leaving the EU is at least £80b which I would have thought was far from being of great Value Keep safe but do read some articles written by Business People Economists Hauliers and Fishermen as you seem to be indoctrinated by Brexit propaganda You could have a St Paul on the way to Damascus moment on the way to St Mary's and see the error of your ways

A week ago, Brexit became reality – and it’s as bad as we all feared, with barriers to trade and a loss of rights. One week into 2021, here’s how those sunlit uplands are looking: Businesses hit with red tape, delays and costs: New customs declarations have put up barriers to trade, as a consequence of which many UK companies ceased trading with the EU this week, hauliers have been turned back at ports, the cost of sending packages to the EU has shot up and EU companies have stopped delivering to UK customers. €6bn has already left the City, with worse to come: Six billion euros of EU share trading left the City this week and is lost for good, while the loss of passporting rights on January 1 and failure to agree a deal on equivalence has put £26 billion of financial services exports at risk. Travel to EU will be more hassle: From January 1, for anyone travelling to the EU, there will be more costs, paperwork, delays and limits, including a reduction in free healthcare and the return of roaming charges. You will also need more paperwork to bring a pet – even to take it to Northern Ireland. Brexit means borders within Britain.

I know you do not believe it but there were major advantages to be in EU and SM/CU that is why there are 27 Full members an other associates ones and that is why I have been trying to explain that leaving the UK is going to be awful for the UK with no tangible benefits I have no idea of your background but you dont seem to be very well informed on how the EU works and that WTO rules are worse than our current new treaty I used to work for a French IT company and realised how FOM SM/CU was so good for trade one benefit was we could ship hardware direct from the Factory in the Loire Valley direct to our UK customers without hardly any paper work . It is not so called bureaucracy it is real I have sold some football books to someone in Liverpool it took me some time to get the documentation sorted out.