shurlock

Not the first tie in 2009, the 3-1 as Lets B Avenue says.

With fresh blood like the OP to liven up the mongboard gene pool, the future is bright...

Bump

In L1, we took 650 odd to Hartlepool for a midweeker in November. Puts Saturday in perspective.

But that's what we were as a PLC -of course, a disproportionate number of shareholders would have been 'fans' relative to other PLCs, though their shareholdings as a whole would have been pretty small.

Am sure it will be beautiful...

Of course, accountability comes in many shapes and sizes. Often it just means more short-term pressures - only need to look at how many PLCs are at the beck and call of the City to appreciate these dysfunctions. In fact, many companies are taken private precisely to escape this form of 'accountability'. Whatever accountability is lost is more than made up by the ability of management to invest and build for the long haul.

Actually it's noticeable he hasn't been doing it much of late - whether in the cup or the league.

You seem to be confusing accountability and affinity.

Admittedly, I have been a bit unkind to a few monkeys on here but that's not xenophobic, is it pal?

Save your I-have-a-dream histrionics for the picket fence. Perhaps having a wurzel in charge who looked and sounded wonky like you has clouded your memory but I don't really remember the pre-Liebherr days as some garden of Eden for the ordinary fan. Of course, perhaps you're just xenophobic.

I think Rob Lee behaved differently knowing Sunderland was in the hat. God bless MLG

How come when I used to play FM and forgot to save after a cup draw, I used to get drawn against the same team when I restarted from the last saved point?

Glasgow

Mate you're having an absolute horror. Why don't you and Bazza have a break, have a kitkat or something.

I think Fonte's comments in the same postmatch press conference also revealed quite a bit about possible motivations. Specifically he observed a strong finish to the season could only help players WC prospects. Controversially, perhaps, one could argue that a consistent run in the league is more likely to impress a national manager than a lucky passage to a cup final, regardless what fans want. IMO, there's such a disconnect between a 5th round tie and European football -to assume that one will naturally lead to the other is pretty presumptuous- that it is hard to see how a remote competition would figure prominently in the here and now of a cup tie. Can you realistically see us holding back not to qualify for Europe should a chance present itself in the league (7th place would be enough on some permutations)? Of course, even if we were to qualify for Europe via a cup or the league, nobody would force us to play a full-strength side, so its downsides would only as bad as we chose them to be. Totally agree its a shame the cup has less intrinsic value for people who didnt grow up with it -and as you say its not even a domestic vs. foreign mindset, though for British players/managers the division is generational and probably means less for parts of our squad. I agree there wasn't the same managerial urgency we have seen in other games (remember Villa where he subbed JWP after 20 or so mins or Fulham). That said, the game didn't cry out for changes in the sense that Sunderland were murdering us or that we hit a brickwall tactically. Like the frog in boiling water, the result crept up on us and once we fell behind it became hard to get out of a rut (though we had the most clearcut chances). Perhaps Morgan and Cork would have offered more than JWP and Victor but perhaps not. They are closer to the standard of the first XI than say Jos or Fox were to the backline, even though I think JWP is vastly overrated at this moment in time. Dont need to remind you that our setup requires an intensity that is hard to sustain -most opposition fans think we tend to fade in the 2nd half of games for precisely this reason. IMO this is nonsense but back-to-back away games up north will take its toll. I remember in the 2011/12 promotion season, for instance, how leggy we were up at Reading basically we assumed that the first XI would effortlessly put another shift in like it had done in a brutal midweeker against West Ham. For all the cryptic mumbo-jumbo Adkins spoke, he was right on the money when he noted one of most accurate predictors of promotion was depth of squad. Fatigue happens; its not an excuse. Too many first teamers were also off the boil -we rarely pressed and won second balls, and that's not just the weak link fill-ins, though Guly in the Jrod role was particularly gash, leaving Lambert and Lallana too isolated. While I agree MP is aloof, I've seen similar body language in many league games, especially recently. He doesn't try to warm himself to the average fan but not going to lose much sleep over it.

Those who are now screaming bloody murder applauded MP's team selections in earlier rounds. Its not like he simply stuck two fingers at the cup -unlike say the league cup, though it served other purposes, suggesting that a number of today's choices were 'well-intended', even if they didn't pay off.

Completely. Who said posters on here lacked self-awareness

Anyone saying this is one of their lowest points supporting Saints doesnt do themselves any favours, I'm afraid

Glad to see people coming around to this view - frankly it was heresy to say as much during the summer or earlier in the season. Its been clear as crystal that he's nowhere near ready. Even admitted that he secretly played nonleague football while he was at the academy to toughen up, so dont think he would see a loan to a NPC side as detrimental to his development. He's intelligent enough to see the big picture.

Anyone saying this is one of their lowest points supporting Saints doesnt do themselves any favours, I'm afraid.

You and GS have matching avatars - how adorable. Bloody uncanny - its almost exactly how I picture the two of you. One question, pal: who's the third amigo in the picture? Dalek? Someone else...

Seen this explanation given elsewhere - its utter b*****ks. Winning the cup isn't a means to an end. It has intrinsic value -quite apart from the European qualification that comes with it.

Where's this Facebook post? And please explain why finishing 8th that has no special value attached to it, say unlike making it to Europe with a cup win among other things, would trigger an incentive payment?