Legod Third Coming

Unless they win and stay for the fourth round...

For me: Kelvin Rudi Perry Pearce Cork Morgan Surman And from here on I have a problem. Definitely Lallana, but where and the rest?

Yep, a big crowd against United will make little difference, against someone like QPR it could make a huge difference!

A game we are more likely to lose given our record.

There are what 9k ST holders? That means 8k fans (some of whom will be members admittedly) fighting it out with the 25k who will suddenly want to attend to see Ronaldo and will have their finger hovering above redial the moment tickets go on sale. Can we at least agree that people who HAVE been this season should be given a priority over those who have not?

It is vital that the game is used this way and should remward those who have made the effort this season already too.

Fair play for your principles, will be interesting to see how many share your hardcore stance...

So that's your view. It doesn't matter if real fans who have attended all season are usurped by those who will attend once this season and then clear off once Burnley and Blackpool come to town? I always knew you held fellow fans in contempt but even for you this is poor, really poor.

Even you can see the irony and hypocricy of fans who claim to have been protesting about the Chairmanship of the club and staying away as a result, who rush back at the first chance to see Manchester United?? Or are you really stupid? For me, so long as the hypocrites do not prevent genuine fans attending there is no issue. But some humble pie from the high-moral brigade wouldn't go amiss...

On a serious note, it is vital that all fans who HAVE been supporting the team this season are given a fair crack at the tickets over and above the Premiership fans. It would be a travesty if those who have turned out in the wind and rain to see us get stuffed miss out.

No, it should be FREE to ST holders. £10 if you have been to more than six games this season. £50 bar those.

Even when we had the ball deep though and it was being swung into the box, we simply didn't have anybody to meet it with a thumping header! It is such a shame we cannot afford John, he would have bagged a hatrick yesterday. Having said that, Bradley had a golden chance through on goal and passed it to weaver when a shot either side would have nicked it for us. Strangely subdued for a bloke who scored two stunners against Reading.

Every Charlton player was bang up for it first half and Gillespie ran us ragged down both flanks - which meant we simply weren't able to get into the game. James for me is an enigma. His crossing is superb but his positional play is all over the shop at times. Lallana may still be mentally/physically feeling the effects of his recent injury. His thinking is also too quick for some of his colleagues... In the second half we were attacking through the middle of the park with ease and he and Cork were instrumental in much of that. Our problem was the final third. Sometimes we had great chances to cross the ball but I was closer to the goal from row k than our 'attackers'. Whether deliberate or otherwise, we weren't throwing men into the box which I personally would have done against a team whose confidence was suspect.

Wright and Watson

Reactions to the above from the ground: 1. Jack Cork moving into midfield changed the game for the second half. A really good managerial tactical change. Cork was outstanding throughout and between he, Perry and Davies were our three best players. 2. Perry was returning to his former club where he is hero-worshipped and as a result one could reasonably expect him to be on his game. And no-one I know of has said Perry could not or does not fit our system. For his age he is sharp and he reads the game superbly. 3. Having travelled to and from the game with four Charlton fans they were unanimous that the performance was their best of the season by a country mile. They were also convinced we would nick it in the second half when we clearly the better side. Ignoring their form under Pardew (who won nine games in 2008 ), a point at the Valley is far from a disaster. 4. Thier keeper also pulled off some excellent saves in the second half, but probably not to the same standard as Kelvin in the first. That we have a great keeper should not be a cause for complaint. He is paid to stop the ball going in the net. 5. What stopped us winning that game was the quality of finishing as has been mentioned elsewhere. What stops us having John and Rasiak here is not the manager, but the club's finances that many on this board have the power to alter but are choosing not to. Overall, perhaps those who say we shaded it are Saints fans. After all, if you want objective reviews buy the Guardian.

I don't think DMG is the answer to our goal drought, but nor is Saga based on last year's form - the year before maybe.

From the bench or reserves?

At the start of the season, many people were on here expecting us to be bottom by a country mile at this period. A joke manager with a team of boy scouts they cried... What seems to have been overlooked is the amazing job that our manager is actually doing with a bunch of lads, the vast majority of whom had played next to no first team football at their respective clubs. That JP gets so little credit for this makes me laugh. He is a sensationally decent bloke and is doing a bloody good job too. Even Alex Ferguson had Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, McCLair, Hughes and co to rely on in his team of 'kids'... Before people start complaining that we are not to of the league just have a serious think about what the circumstances are at our club and whether your expectations need a sharp pin.

A mate who runs a car dealership has had 22 orders for cars cancelled killing his cash-flow and plunging him into an £80k loss (which has bank are refusing to support) for the month of November because people want to re-order on Monday and save a few hundred quid each. The CEO of NEXT wrote to the Telegraph because sales at their stores last weekend and this weekend have been decimated. Thousands of businesses (mine included) have to pay the adminstration cost twice in 13 months of changing VAT rates and associated accounting costs. If you could not buy a coat for £100, you cannot afford the £98 it will now cost anyway. The rise in fuel duty will hit my business and totally offset any VAT saving.... And if I want to drink or smoke to calm my nerves that will cost more too. You're right. It't not a gimmick. It's a joke from a comedy government. Only no one is laughing. As for the club, maintain the prices where they were and invest the saving in staying afloat. That's what any fan would want surely?

It staggers me that people who profess a knowledge of how a football club should be run and who might run it, do not observe the basics of how our club is funded and the current perilous state of its finances. The annual report and accounts clearly show the position when Lowe left and when he returned. These are numbers provided by accountants and verified by the city - not some figment of Lowe's imagination. Yes, Lowe oversaw our first relegation in 27 years. For that he must take the blame - or at least a high proportion of it. He then oversaw the sale of players and sanctioning of only 90k on transfer fees for Ricardo Fuller. Had he remained in charge we would have sold players and reduced the remainder's wages. Instead, a new board gambled all on red and it came up black. Hence we have NO CHOICE but to sell the likes of the players you mention. But most laughable of all, is the idea that Lowe is tearing apart what Poortvliet put together.... This is pure comedy and if you cannot see the irony you need a quick trip to Specsavers.

Actually, you would be surprised how many teams in this division play football. Having now seen 2/3 of our games this season, I have yet to see one of these 'hod-carrier' outfits you refer to, but I am in Paris today so missed the game. Perhaps Paul Sturrock erected a wall in front of goal...

4-2

No one will persuade those who profess to be abstaining on principle to come back. So why bother? If the team is winning, they'll come back because they will have the humility and sense to realise they were wrong. And if they are right, there will be no club left to support. Simple. Either way? They're not stopping you supporting are they? And yes, if they come back and you've kept the club afloat in the interim, they will be happy to pay higher Season Ticket prices to reflect the sacrifice you made on their behalf. We know this, because - unlike Rupert - they believe in equity, fairness and want people to invest in the club and team.

There was once a stonesmason. All day long he chipped at the stone in the warmth of the sun, happy in his lot. Then one day a nobleman passed and the stonemason so wished to be that nobleman that he became him. But soon he realised that the nobleman bowed before the Lord, and so he wished to be, and became that Lord. But then he grew hot and realised that the sun was far more powerful than a Lord, so he wished to be the sun, and became the sun. But soon he found the sun blocked by a cloud, so you guessed it he wished to become and became a cloud. But the clouds were blown on the wind, so he wished to become and became the wind. But the one thing the wind could not blow was the stone, so the stonemason wished to become and became the most powerful thing he knew - stone. And finally he heard the gentle tap of the stonemason altering the stone... I do not know what the future holds for this football club. I know its past and I can trace the moments of my life by its players, managers and results. I know that some of the best fun and biggest highlights of my life revolve around this club. I know that the future of all football clubs, like the future of the economy, is fraught with danger. And as a result, I will enjoy, as I always have, the here and now for what it is. Time and again people wanted to see a home-grown team, playing with passion and belief, heart and spirit and with pride in their red and white shirts. That's what I've seen this season in all but one game. And I'm loving it. And anyone who would suggest that somehow Arsene Wenger is a failure, fails to recognise the financial limitations within which the manager is operating. In fact, Wenger's management (as the Arsenal board appreciate - even if some ignorant elements of their fanbase do not) is one of the KEY reasons why Arsenal is one of the few profitable football clubs (even if idnebted through Stadium borrowing). Buying or farming young players for profit is the ONLY game in town unless you are owned by a Sovereign wealth fund. And even those will start to wain as the harshest economic conditions since 1920 soon start to bite for real. But then, ignore me. I'm just a humble stonemason...