Saint Fan CaM

Very difficult call regarding Murty - I like him at RB, but we've been winning while James has been in place and it might take Murty some time to get back to match fitness again given his age. I think on balance its a case of don't change a winning team until its absolutely necessary. Also, its good that there is a little competition for places.

Sounds stupid and you would think they would have the simple hardware or software to mix in the crowd noise easily. Blimey even I have software to do that.

Having seen the penalty decision against Gobern I have to say that was very, very soft. The guy literally collapsed like a sack of spuds when Gobern was really only doing what many other defenders do - i.e. containing the player between his arms, but not actually holding him. Mind you, pretty silly thing to do when there is no real reason to do it and the ref was probably waiting for a chance to 'liven things up'.

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Mmm, not particularly exciting draw really - pity we haven't got a 'simulate' button like on FIFA to skip on. The team need to go into it with a winning mentality clearly, but hey if we crash out I'm not going to be appalled. Bigger fish to fry this season IMO.

Cherries at home.

Thanks Baj. Gotta say the 2nd and 3rd goals were absolute quality. Connolly and Antonio are the real deal. We HAVE to sign Antonio in January - he is going to be a total menace in this league and the CCC.

Mmm, my thoughts are that AP needed to change BACK to 4-5-1 later in the game to protect the 3-1 lead and also not tinker with the defence. To be fair though we held out (as we should have expected to do) and perhaps there is something to be said for trying new ideas out.

My thoughts entirely. He's finding it hard to get himself into the first team and when he does, when does he contribute to the point where we all think "blimey, AP has a selection headache next match"??? Fact is the lad is pretty mediocre IMO and will be found out when we go up to the CCC.

Great vid that...well worth the watch (and wait for Silverlight!)

Looks to me that it is shown 2.25 hours later, which means it will be on 10.00pm UK time?

Well he must have something about him for AP / Cortese to agree to hire him I guess. Results will be interesting and who knows he may be the next Prost (for all we know perhaps he studied Prost when he was around)?

Dont' worry GordonM, as the winky thing indicated my post was somewhat tongue in cheek. I have read all your posts on this thread and have to say I completely agree with you. In terms of music, I play live in bands and the venue choices are poor to say the least. Having said that, it all comes down to the punters who cross the threshold and the price of drinks... i.e. prices are daft and punters put off and would rather sit in their comfy sofas in front of their 42" plasmas sipping beer or wine from Tesco that costs 1/3 of the price in a pub etc. Sometimes you can count the audience on one hand! In terms of general City amenities, I completely agree that there is massive potential for Southampton to raise its game. You would have thought that the development of West Quay would have seen further exciting attractions. There was talk of a large Spitfire tower - seems to be just talk. Years ago there was talk of a monorail system (I thought this was a fantastic idea that ticked lots of boxes), but nothing happened. The list goes on and on. Whoever is in charge of City development needs a rocket up their @rse.

To pay for Dodds wages? Seriously though, perhaps the emphasis in terms of expenditure is geared more towards the playing squad and coaching. Over the last 10 years or so this has been deteriorating and hence so have 'shop' sales. Repair the main product (i.e. the 1st team and its position) first, that will bring more sales of merchandise, tickets etc and then you will need to employ more ancillary support staff. Seems sensible enough approach to me.

Good luck to the lad - hope it all goes good for him - 1st team or not.

Someone has to play in the reserves?!

Preston - small backwards town with backwards people. Saints - large, progressive, vibrant City with top citizens. Should have stuck around here Chaplow, you loser.

I think the OP was really just about this Fridays game. But yes, if we cannot hold onto Trottman in January we need to find a good replacement and quick. It might be Martin - who knows - perhaps he is THAT good?!

Good to see Murty is progressing well, with a return to action possible in a couple of weeks. As AP seems to be very pleased with James progress, I wonder whether he will find it hard to get back into the side? http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1850441,00.html (And Molyneax is nearing a return - ahem).

Excellent post Wes. I find it hard to comprehend that any supporter cannot see the clear blue water between Lowes policy of selling our talented youth to finance the business (he admitted as much) and Markus/Nicola's stated policy of investment in the Academy and a desire to keep hold of its best output. Regardless, surely it's time to forget the mistakes of the past and be thankful of the fortune we received when Markus bought the club. Why should we not trust Nicola when he says we'll keep hold of our telented youth? It's time to look ahead - not back.

It is absolutely inconceivable at the moment to predict the crash that would happen if Sky were to pull out (at worst). There are so many clubs that rely very heavily on Sky money to keep their businesses afloat that the Premiership and CCC would be transformed. Saints are one of the very few clubs that would be in an extremely strong position should that ever come about thanks to Markus. I've always been of an opinion that one should not fear change, however this would be an incredible upheaval that would shake the very foundations of the FA. Bring it on!

Difficult call - Thomas for his bulk or Perry for his composure. I think for this game, Thomas gets the call.

I absolutely loved the last part of the OS piece. Nicola is saying that they intend using the top talent from the Academy in the 1st team rather than considering them an asset to sell. Will these guys ever get anything wrong?!?!?! What a fantastic statement for not only Saints footie fans now, but a signal of investment intent that the whole of Southampton should be happy to hear. Also, I like the idea of using previous club players to act as ambassadours for the youngsters coming through - visionary, exciting times ahead indeed. We are VERY lucky to have Markus and Nicola - they are shaping a club to be SO proud of now. That's made my day.

I can tell anyone who's interested, I tried to get 4 tickets for the Kingsland or Itchen (including swapping my ST seat) and found it quite hard to get a decent set of seats. Looks like either they're starting to sell out OR they've decided to close a stand (I heard a rumour that the Chapel would be closed???). :confused:

Thought this worthy of a bump as we should hear something today whether he is staying or not. I think a loan extension with option to buy at the end of the season would be best policy.