Saint Fan CaM

Not that keen on Yakubu to be honest - seems to be the exact type of journeyman player we could do without. Having said that, at his age he's probably pleased to sit on the bench, waiting for our main strikers to get injured and pick up a fee to take him out to retirement.

Forgetting the detail for one minute, anyone who doubts NC's determination to lead Saints into the top half of the Prem and potentially beyond must have been living permanently in a secluded cave for the last three years. The five year plan remains - individual targets will have been moved by necessity. I have no doubt SMS will be expanded or a new stadium built (from the horses mouth) - the timing of this will not be apparent until we have performed in the Prem with the revitalised squad decided over this summer. Planning may start as early as January 2013 if things look really encouraging - but we'll not know of course until the construction starts or it's announced on the OS.

Kightly would be good - Jarvis would be great. Both would be excellent business.

Take it or leave it TBH - I don't think he's too much better than Morgan, but he has got some experience on his side. s-:

I don't think loan players are the answer - they just don't seem to fit into the team ethic that has seen success at the club over the last 3 seasons IMO.

I see that once again the old destabilising forces are still out to try to mess with the heads of those that will believe them. These people want to discredit the great things going on with the club to serve their own agenda. Give up guys - the club is on a path of success and your day has been and gone.

Wouldn't change a thing. I've thoroughly enjoyed the climb back up the leagues and love the set-up now.

My dream is for a world where dorks on an internet football forum are able to debate subjects without resorting to abuse of other posters because they don't have the intelligence to do otherwise. I'm not holding my breath for that one.

Stupid question, unless you're an armchair fan IMO. If I thought we were just aiming at mere survival from day one I don't think I would bother going to watch football atall - what the hell is the point unless you're challenging to win every freaking game?!?! I don't believe for one minute anyone at the club is planning to put the club into a position of fourth bottom - so why should any supporter? Simple answer - NO!

Man City away - 8-1 loss. Welcome to the Prem!

There are many key factors to consider. Dune puts up a very good case, as does Dubai_Phil. One key aspect alluded to is access out of the Stadium. Not so much of a problem getting in as travel times are staggered, however getting out of the SMS is always a complete nightmare. Just count how many traffic lights exist between SMS and the M271 westwards and the M27 J5/7/8 eastwards and this will tell you all you need to know about why St.Mary's location was a bad choice in the 1st place, let alone with an extra circa 10k+ trying to get in/out. If there was a way to marshall traffic out to the M27 easily, then SMS expansion would make more sense. IF the council had the balls and was highly forward thinking then perhaps out of town parking with a monorail link to SMS and the town centre might be a fantastic idea that would also attract general tourist trade and promote good environmental management. But no, that would be too much to hope for (other than West Quay I am struggling to think of something really exciting the Council has done to promote the City in the last 30 years). If the Council do not play ball with Cortese (in terms of obtaining land around SMS and improving road infrastructure) I can see us relocating - possibly Stoneham, because that has the best overall options in terms of development to take advantage of road/rail/air links. I heard that a £300m development fund had been provided by Markus to use when Saints reached the Prem - probably way off the mark - but who knows? £15m on a revamped training facility tends to suggest there's money to spend on big projects. Being stuck in a vehicle for 30-60 minutes trying get out of the City is not going to appeal to many and will potentially turn prospective fans away. If we want Saints to compete at the top then we have to welcome all-comers to the party and the next step with the Stadium will be an important one for the clubs future.

Good article - the only bit I would change is the last sentence. Saints have come back to the Prem STRONGER than ever before - everything about the club now is better than the days under Lowe and as for the future...well, we shall see. Exciting times ahead still I think.

I think you will find that David Connolly will not be turning out for Saints again. He is too crocked and will be retiring I suspect.

This. What in incompetent article that really is. It SEEMS like it's praising Saints, but actually it reads to me like the guy is trying to compare Pimpley with Saints - well that's not only absurd - it's a ******* disgrace!!! They cheated their way to short-term success, robbing charities, their fans, other teams etc etc. on the way. Saints did what? Invested in infrastructure and then underinvested in the 1st team - completely different! Makes me blood boil. ):

I think those that give Fox stick for his defensive duties perhaps need to also consider how much slack he has to take up because Lallana is all over the place trying to make gameplays up front - i.e. sometimes he's having to cope on his own at the back. Personally I don't think we'll see much better unless big money is spent or we nurture another Bale through to the 1st team. Be careful what you wish for - he is part of the Saints TEAM - not a good idea to start breaking up that up.

Of course the kiddies who love to pick fault in others NEVER get anything wrong! Classic. LOL Delldays: "Time to accept it is unlikely we will go up" http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?25290-Time-to-accept-that-it-is-unlikely-we-will-go-up

I'm so happy to have received my invitation - anyone else got a ticket yet?

This.

O'Hara would be a great shout for CM.

What a bunch of bed wetters some people are! Nigel was only stating the bleedin' obvious - I love this club and I want to be here for the foreseeable - but I'm as vulnerable as any other Prem Manager if I don't get results. The realisation of getting to the Prem also brings with it the added pressure and for a split second he probably reflected on what he'd got himself into! He would be completely daft to jump ship at this stage of his career. And Cortese would be completely daft to not back the Manager that had orchestrated back-to-back promotions, unless the wheels were seriously coming off the tracks big time. I truly believe that with the right circumstances Nigel will become our 'Fergie'.

Hopefully the belief will be with the team, however two things concern me - (a) We did not finish the season confidentally and spluttered across the finish line...(b) the pace in the Prem in even some of the relegated teams is frighteningly quick and my view is we're too flat-footed...e.g. can you remember a goal that was scored on the break this season? We could get trounced by teams that have almost all the whole squad made up of guys that are as capable as Lallana or better. I will be delighted to find us in a position any higher than 18th to be honest until Nigel has time to assess the team and what he's up against. That will not stop the hope and belief being there, but realistically there's a significant gulf between our squad and those at the top of the Prem at the moment.

There are plenty of people with wealth - lots of wealth in some cases. But it takes a very special person indeed to invest in a friends dream and yet that's what Markus did. His legacy will live on at Saints for decades to come. So THANK YOU Markus and Nicola for saving our club, for setting a course and having a vision. Thank you to Markus' family for continuing to support the dream and to Nigel, his players and backroom staff for providing us with a club to be proud of. I would LOVE to see a statue of Markus outside SMS - it would be truly fitting for Markus to be seen next to Ted. Lastly, I think this weekend underpins the vision and plans NC has for the club. We are ahead of schedule on a journey that will place this club at the forefront of English and potentially World football. How can anyone think otherwise given what we've achieved in just THREE YEARS! It is nothing short of miraculous and we've not even seen the products of the new Development Academy come to fruition yet. There are many years ahead of stunning achievement for us I feel sure!

After necking some at the pub, then some at home while watching the game again, I woke up on the sofa feeling sick at 1.30pm - Mrs' gone to bed - so I watched League Show highlights before drinking lots of water. Pizza leftovers and a nice mug of tea this morning after getting up at 11.00am. And I feel reasonably OK.

I really can't wait and of course all the signs are that we'll win. That's the nub of my problem though - there's too many thinking it's going to be a stroll in the park, but I reckon Coventry are not going to be as bad as some think and they'll be surprisingly difficult to break down. I just hope Nigel has what it takes to get them into the right frame of mind and ensure they spend the entire game chasing down every ball and closing down any advance near our pen area. It'll not be a big scoring game IMO - IF we win, it'll be by a very nervy single goal I'll wager. It's probably going to be 1-1...if we're lucky. And I'm concerned about Fonte fouling in the box, giving away a pen and worse still getting sent off. Or Spiderman making some rash challenges as he gets too much of an adrenelin kick. I can just see it happening - the ref has an awful record for giving out cards. Mark my words, they'll be falling over if the wind picks up! You know what, if I'm really honest, it won't be the end of World by any stretch of the imagination if we don't go up auto. Or indeed if we don't go up atall actually. I'll still be enjoying going to see Saints with my mates, soaking up the atmos, having a beer after the match, etc. etc. But without the plastics. Still feel sick thinking about Saturday for some reason though!

A good summary - I agree.