Saint Fan CaM

It starts with respect and that is earnt. The players know who Pardew is and where he's come from...he had earnt respect in the industry before he came to Saints. He had not come from the backroom (e.g. Wigley etc), so did not have that cross to bear. The next thing is that AP has switched the side around such that there is a bias of HIS players in the team - it is the classic managerial ploy to bring in your own players because these guys will not be tainted with old principles, especially if those old ways failed. If the new guys are for you, the best of what's left of the old guys will also be on your side. Lastly, it is essential that the Manager has the support of his superior. If there is a hint of being undermined, then the whole respect system comes tumbling down. I feel certain that AP has the full support of Nicola and Markus. Everything in the manner in which the club is now run tells me the managerial set-up is far, far more healthy than in the previous regime. (PS: Good OP - good discussion - lol at the cross-over attempt to religion again!).

Not quite true. He may have hung up his boots, but he still has an eye on the game since signing up as presenter on SSN one could argue.

In terms of the Wotton versus Schneiderlin debate, the essentials might be summed up as... Wotton : Provides solid, no-nonsense defensive duty and breaks oppo play up, but offers less in the way of positive, attractive offensive play. Schneiderlin : Provides a degree of defensive duty alongside positive, accurate passing, but is not a threatening physical presence and tends to go in for rash challenges due to his lesser experience. With Connolly up front, whose attributes would servce the team more? It's a real dilemna because both of them offer benefits. Perhaps its a case of who would complement Hammond more? Incidentally, my take on the undercurrent to AP's recent comments are that he is readying Connolly for 4-4-2 action possibly at home. Lastly, is it easier for us to go from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 or vice versa do you think?

Hey, I am not in a position to question whether you have some form of direct or indirect contact with MS - the thing I cannot understand is where you got 70% from! If this is a guess, then it might be useful to say so rather than dressing it up as fact. As said, I cannot believe for one minute that 70% of Saints fans have no time for Schneiderlin - 7% perhaps - but whatever, if that makes a player hate the club then perhaps he's not mature enough to take centre stage and AP should be shipping him out?

To be clear, I was NOT criticising MS atall so there's no need for the "'I'm a better fan" snidy comment. The question posed was who should be left out, given that everyone appears to be performing pretty well. You think that leaving out Papa will retain balance - I disagree - whenever there are two frontmen Lallana seems to lose his way, so Papa provides Lallana's balance and that's something Connolly will not be able to do in quite the same way, if atall IMO. PS: I think your rumours of Morgan hating it here because 70% of fans don't appreciate him are complete and utter rubbish. Where did THAT come from?!?!?

If AP decides to start with Connolly rather than bring him on as a super-sub (and therefore go 4-4-2), who should he replace? With his current form I cannot for one minute believe Lallana will go. And if that's the case, then I think Papa provides good balance on the right, so he shouldn't go. So that leaves us with central midfield. I cannot believe that Hammond will go - he is having a rich vein of form for us now and is a big presence in midfield. So that leaves Wotton or Schneiderlin. Difficult call really given that Wotton seems to have recovered some composure - at the moment it seems that despite his better skill, Schneiderlin is perhaps a little less consistent and not as able to break down an opposition attack, so perhaps he should give way? :confused:

Yes, its worth it - remote from Solent area match commentary and at the moment it's the only way to get decent match highlights when the team are playing away form home. IMO I think it should come free if you've got a ST though.

Have been in an exec box on a number of occasions with a client, but not this season so far although I will be in one this week. Great company, good service, plenty to eat and drink, seats are more comfy as they're padded. View is good, but my ST seat is better! Get a free programme - woohoo! Only downside IMO is the atmosphere is not quite the same as being amongst the regular crowd - i.e. somewhat more restrained shall we say.

What he said - please.

Try reading what I said - "his tender years" not "he played for us for years. OK - now take your foot out of your mouth and start again....

Walcott keeps getting injured - result of Lowe insisting he play too much too young perhaps? (PS: Not a Lowe dig - genuine question regarding his tender years playing at Saints).

News in the Sun...bit of an oximoron frankly. With the emphasis squarely on moron.

Good point, well made. Crazy time to call a strike - they need to wake up and smell the coffee. Failing that, start thinking about how they meet the demands of their customers - radical for this type of organisation I know. Err, back to the OP. I think 20k will be easily achieved this weekend.

Mmm, he seemed to me to be very similar to the likes of Dyer for example - i.e. players that we have home-grown. And yet I have to say that the few brief glimpses I have seen of him play perhaps show he has that little bit extra - I would imagine that we will extend his loan if Reading allow that.

Sometimes it happens that way - despite having the potential, the effort is not rewarded with the expected results (goals in Sagas case). He has been unfortunate with the organisational changes and in particular the Dutch experiment. He now needs to move on if he is serious about sorting out his career. I can see a move back to the Polish lower leagues if he doesn't sort himself out - I feel sure he will be released by AP as soon as possible.

I often think the manner in which a point is expressed is important, especially if the topic is contraversial in some way. The use of a question mark to indicate I am asking of others opinions is a method you would think would do the trick, but often even that fails and all you get is personal abuse - I can only assume because either some posters do not take the time to properly read a post or they are genuinely illiterate. I have noticed that Alpine employs the question mark, but still gets it in the neck and IMO that's wrong. If you think someone is wrong, fine say that, but there is no need to throw an insult. Having said all that, what I find equally offensive in a strange way is when it seems ones posts are completely ignored because seemingly you're not part of 'the in crowd'. Come to think of it, sending a poster "to Coventry" on here when they post offensive remarks is probably far more effective than a ban in some respects.

What a fabulous win...dunno, I had a strange feeling it would be 1-3 (see build-up thread) and I've not felt quietly confident about Saints for...well, years. Pimpley lose to Spurds too - oh, wonderful weekend I love you. Bring on the Dons (err, I think that could be tougher tho).

I like your rainwater in a hole analogy, although I'm not so sure you entirely hit the point home. To answer your point regarding dinosaurs and extinction, there are traces of their lineage left today - e.g. crocodiles, alligators and sharks to name the most obvious. Not only that, but there is very clear geological evidence that (a) dinosaurs existed once...(b) there was some kind of extinction event that wiped them almost completely from the face of the earth. There is clear evidence also that there have been other extinction events and there may be more to come in the future. The link to your later points here is, will man be able to mature such that he is able to survive a future extinction event? Right now the answer would have to be a resounding NO! We have all the right intelligence and attributes to enable mankinds survival, however world politics, religion, economics and a host of other factors would probably get in the way. Lastly, I too like the "God was a genecist" idea. I too find the old civiliations knowledge of astromony, mathematics and other science baffling on the one hand, but also strangely exciting to contemplate. Imagine that somewhere in the mists of time spacemen visited Earth and made some form of contact with our ancestors. How could they possibly describe to them the context of their magical powers (incredible powers such as electricity and movement in the air for example)? The locals would treat these newcomers as gods...and the 'gods' might attempt to explain aspects of society in terms and stories our ancestors might understand. Eventually the stories - handed down generation to generation - get distorted and used by successive generations to wield power and influence people. None of the above is any more likely than any other explanation frankly. What really wrankles me is that so many are unable to keep an open mind, but then that is at the heart of all of humankinds religions for obvious reasons.

You clearly didn't get hooked into the Pards thread that turned into a very deep and meaningful discussion on religion and the meaning of Liff (lol). Mind you that somehow didn't descend into petty name calling - amazing what a few wins will achieve isn't it?

Stick Mods?

As most others have said, this should not be a problem. The ticket has been paid for and gifted to you, so no reason why you should not get in.

I do dislike it when the players current Manager says "we wouldn't stand in his way if he wants to go". Makes it sound like they're glad to see the back of him!

Here we go again. Funny, I do not feel the same level of anxiety now with an impending away game coming up. I actually am starting to believe we can win these games now and win them convincingly. So - here we go... Oldham 1 - Saints 3 That'll do...

LOL - very good.

Ah, so God may in fact be a biologist or indeed a geneticist?