Saint Fan CaM

Alpines sentiments are OK in that timing of squad enhancements in relation to a strong start to the season is important. The timing is though somewhat of an over-reaction given there is a good week before training camp. Having said that, with Papa, Antonio, Semi, Connolly and James not replaced yet, the strength of last seasons 1st team has been dented. And bringing in Dickson has not really addressed these positions. There are a number of young players listed by Saints in the squad that appear to be wanting 1st team football - my hope is that NC is not telling AP that he has to work with these players to make up the numbers and gain auto because I do not think they are strong enough. Central midfield is extremely weak if one or more of Spiderman or Hammond are out. So yeah, there are concerns, but it's much too early to start worrying about no action just yet.

Well one probably had the personal finance to be in the same circles. The other just happened to have worked in the same industry sector. Both plausible reasons, however I feel there is only one who would truly have handed over power for the good of the club and that was not Lowe. Evidence? If it was Lowe, why did he wait until AFTER the deadline before putting the club into admin?

First post eh? Sounds like you might know something we don't? Why would today be a 'busy day' - why not tomorrow, afterall tomorrow's Friday!

Of course it was said tongue in cheek slightly, but thought a bit of reverse physcology might do the trick and prompt the club to release some news. Some missed the point, but hey ho. Anyway, heard on Solent this morning that there is a complete lock-down at Staplewood with no media presence whatsoever allowed in - not even Solent. Now then, either someone is over-reacting a bit, or there's one or more secret new signings starting training with the squad. Your guess is as good as mine.

Was supposed to be going to Wigan. Did the permit paperwork hit a snag? Shouldn't be a problem. http://www.wigan.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=177224 Bit more... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Palacios

You were doing so well until you mentioned that bit...

I did say some!

I think perhaps we all feel that way a little bit because for a number reasons things are a bit slow on the news front. This is just the way of NC it seems - he prefers to ensure Saints lead the way on positive Saints news - fair play I say. It is clear that there is work on-going at SMS to revitalise the stadium. I feel sure there are or will be soon new players coming in - we couldn't compete without them. It's July 1st tomorrow and the players start pre-season next week, so in the next week or two, we'll start to hear about a few things and I predict some of the negativity on the forum will start to evaporate.

Surely this is the key bit...if you know KD personally or know someone close to him then fair play, otherwise it could be said that it is general knowledge that he has aspirations to play in the Prem with Saints as an integral part of the 5 year plan. Bart could feasibly ride on KD's coat-tails earning and learning all the way to the Prem.

Simply because he is Club Captain and a senior member of the football squad, so while there's nothing obvious clearly, my feeling is keeping these types of guys on board is an important factor in the upward push. If the likes of Davis can be tempted away, then perhaps the 5 year plan might be threatened? Seems perfectly reasonably to me.

Someone involved with the website has been caught with his/her pants down. Hate to come across negative, but that's not particularly impressive from a company aiming to be world-class TBF.

Rats - sorry, didn't see this.... http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?23503-Stay-in-touch Feel free to delete Mods.

Anyone else had problems using the 'datacleanse' section of the OS? Even the error reporting page returned an error for me! I have contacted the club and if I hear anything I'll post the info here.

I would rather keep KD to be honest.

It think Terry had something to do with the spirit in the camp for certain. Why did he feel the need to conduct a press conference which he subsequently apologised for? Another example of poor discipline or a lack of desire to adopt the Managers regime (whatever that was). IMO Terry should never play for England again - almost tantamount to treason! Henri was summoned in front of the French President to explain the squad's poor show - why shouldn't Terry be held responsible as the original captain and instigator of the start of squad unrest? He should be banned from playing in the Prem too! We hear the arguement that there was a lot of individual talent in the squad but no team. Now I am struggling to think of one player that exhibited a significant show of individual talent to be fair, but for me the responsibility to bond and gel the team with solid tactics etc etc. lies directly and squarely with the manager. Capello has failed significantly in his job and there is clear evidence of that.

Mmm, would be a real pity if KD went now. It would make me wonder whether all the hype about the 5-year plan is starting to unravel a bit at ground level. However, if KD gets a call from the Prem, what would keep him here? Has he settled his family here? His position of Club Captain might hold certain benefits that he would not get elsewhere perhaps? Don't know, but my gut feeling is that KD will be a Saint when the season kicks off.

You must be a bunch of laughs on a night out! Good to see everyone's in cheerful mood and spirit, willing to engage in lighthearted banter. As a general comment (not particularly aimed at you Arizona), if you don't want to abuse or be abused, there appears to be little point in contributing as a 'full member' of this forum now. Meh.

Was just thinking how great it would be to hear some news from the club early this week on new signings etc. now the England team have messed up and given us a miserable weekend. A perfect opportunity I think to raise the spirits of Saints fans everywhere. Agree? Incidentally, I heard from a friend over the weekend that the stadium refurbs are going well and the work includes painting the roof it would seem. Pity there's no info on the OS about this stuff. Anyone heard anything about the Staplewood project?

That's not entirely true I would suggest. The reason the Rooney's, Gerrard's etc get games at the top level is because they fit in with the game plan for the team. Take away their foreign team-mates and they are stuffed. Actually, there are plenty of very good young players in English football with great skill - e.g. Walcott, O'Hara - however many are overlooked or completely screwed-up by their club to play 2nd fiddle (or worse) to a foreigner(s) or put out to loan. IF England had a Manager that put together the best TEAM based on the best player attributes at his disposal, instead of including players that SUPPOSEDLY are the best England has to offer, then we might see a way forward. IMO this will only happen with an English manager. The German team are a perfect example of this approach - who had heard of most their team before Sunday?

Mmm, £16 and little chance of getting my own seat eh? Someone is not thinking straight in SMS towers it would seem. I think I might need to think long and hard about where I wish to spend my money this year having bought an ST. The club seem not to value my loyalty, which is fine...I'll spend any extra money elsewhere perhaps as I don't need to watch Bournemouth get excited about the cup final of their season.

My choice would be Redknapp shadowed by Shearer and Beckham as formal Assistants. Make the latter two long term appointments to ensure continuity - Redknapp is a bit of a survivor anyway. Just because Redknapp happened to be around Saints when we were on our way down was not his fault - the club was rotten to the core. And look how well Argentina are doing with Maradona - his past is a very sorry tale, but they have forgiven their man and are reaping the rewards of re-instating their National pride and passion. We must be adult and think more about the country rather than petty local feelings. Redknapp, despite his Pimply connections is the best choice England has for Manager right now.

Unfortunately, because when we enter the Premiership we'll be needing better players to compete, we will have lost most of our current squad on the climb through the CCC. The key will be to maintain managerial stability so that the team spirit that unites the squad to gain two promotions will be carried through to the Prem. If all the elements of the club are in place by the time we get to the Prem, I doubt we'll be modelled on any of the current top Prem teams anyway. There is a real strength of vision in Cortese's strategy for the club and this will be key to how the entire club reacts when finally taking it's rightful place back in top division. As the song says, it's the climb that's the most challenging and rewarding aspect of getting to the pinnable of success in whatever you do. I've watched Saints almost go down and out of existance - nothing will spoil the journey back up again for me.

He would have played with ten times more passion and pride than all of those buffoons put together that's f'sure.

I really don't know what the problem is. All the previous essential stuff is still here... Even the smilies.

I have just finished a spreadsheet analysing where the players have come from. Of all the England squad, just 12 players came from the top 6 Prem teams. And not all actually got a decent game (e.g. Crouch). We need some new hungry talent to come through - why not Jamie O'Hara for example - he's had a fantastic season, can score goals and is better than jaded Lampard?