John B

I think you are confusing Ambition with being in LaLa Land Ambition for something which is achievable is laudable Being in the top ten at the end of the season would be a great achievement and I am really pleased how well we are going this season.but I feel that the Champions League talk is having an adverse effect on some of the fanbase with derision and name calling prevelant on this forum I have been following Saints and Football for over 50 years and there is no way SFC can get into the Champions League in the foreseeable future especially when three from Spurs Everton Liverpool and Man U probably wont get there this season we just cannot collect enough revenue to sustain a top six team. In the last ten years the Academy has not produced enough PL players to sustain life in the PL without buying in and if it was that easy other teams would be doing the same We will finish in one of our best positions ever in the PL something we could only dream about only three or four years ago unless we going down the pan completely like we did in 1974 when we were probably higher in the league than we are now and got relegated but I doubt it.

I dont think he has snookered himself I doubt whether he actually ever thought SFC would ever get to the Champions League just hype

Cork is a Chelsea reject OK for middle of the table sides like us a reasonable PL player nothing exceptional just a good honest PRO

We wont finish in the top 8 so shall we sack him now

Always a risk building a new stadium http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25505385

Football in the PL is a Business and Cortese will decide what is best for Southampton

So if Lallana played at DM and had a poor game would you be saying the same thing

I think it was a pretty silly thread as it states the bleedin obvious as our position in the league shows we more difficult to beat than the ones below us and easier to beat than the ones above us Not surprisingly we are now more difficult to beat than last season when we were lower in the League as we are a much better team as our younger players mature We are probably at the Level we were when Strachan was manager to get to a higher level is going to mean more investment and a lot of hard work but is of course very possible but unlike those days we dont have players apart from Kelvin and Rickie who are reaching the end of there careers

Yes I think you are right today you need twenty or so top class players which unfortunately we do not have it is a shame that money spent on some of the more expensive signings has not paid off and that we got to the PL too quickly and have players like Hooieveld Fox Lee Barnard Sharp still on the books and maybe Forte

I have no idea whether wilde was an idiot but the fans wanted him instead of Lowe however it was Crouch who was Chairman when our decline went into freefall and the shareholders wanted him replaced. But thanks to his mis management we are in the position we are today

Not much love on this Forum I am afraid lots of posters hate each other it seems

There is also a quote that a fool and his money are soon parted whether this applies to Mr Crouch I do not know. But for the inept way he managed the club leading it into administration has been fantastic for the club as Alpine has said from time to time Now all we need is a good transfer policy as some of the acquistions have been puzzling ie getting Ramierz when a GK and CB were required at the start of last season Although we have done really well overall lately our little slump maybe because we have not got adequate cover in the areas I mention Key to success is having a water tight defence which we proved during the first part of the season so lets hope these two positions are addressed during the forthcoming window

I am up for a good cup run as I doubt we will get much higher than we are now but you never know

I think you forgetting that in football there will always be injuries suspensions and loss of form of players so in the PL there is a requirement for a large squad of players something the club has not got We have done really well but we sometimes forget that other teams are all trying to improve as well and the teams above us have been in the PL for years and have been able to develop large squads of good players I just cannot see us breaking into the elite group

Reality we are a small club in comparison to the ones above we have done really well this season but I doubt we can perform consistently to finish much higher

MLT wasted his talent no medals no world cups not much money but that said the PL was a different place in those days now the power and the money rests with the big city clubs which provide most of the England squad

You usually posted sensible comments so why he go MORE money Champions League Football almost certain on the plane to the World Cup I think he might want to go.

One of the best years in the PL ever but as we are very unlikely ever to get into the top 6 at the end of the season I am disappointed that we never try in the cup competitions - some of my best Saints memories over the past 50 years have been in the FA and League Cups

Lets face it it is not Gazza's fault he is here it is someone at SFC

He may well be a poor GK but surely quesstions should be asked why the club invested a large fee for him

Yes I think you are right it is going to take time to build a good squad but feel £30m wasted on three players

So what We have a much better team than Wigan but I doubt whether Sunderland will win the Cup but as we are as good as Man City we possibly could

Yes I agree but the club want to be as high as possible in the League

These days the PL is just based on money clubs want to get the highest position they can achieve to get as much money as possible. A Club like Southamption is very unlikely to get to the Champions League but could win a Cup which as a fan I think would be great but not to the powers that matter at SFC where League Position is paramount. I still think one of the best days of my life was when we won the Cup in 1976

I totally agree with you but I dont expect him to go