david in sweden

Apologies for that inaccuracy. I didn't check the league tables at the time I wrote that. But...with hindsight and 50 years supporting ... I do think of City as a club with " varying fortunes " and up and down. ....and with many years as a Saints supporter, I do like to get the better of teams like West Ham ...and especially Spurs. However, beating Arsenal tends only to occur in conjuction with Halley's Comet. I was at Highbury when we won there in 1968, but there's not been a lot of points won in the interim .

Precisely my thoughts CB..... ....and to be fair ...we do miss your contributions and eloquent usage.... can't you start a few topics now and again?

yes I figured that one out, too. ...and so it may have been ...in my fathers' time. The only time he ever left So'ton (aside from following Saints to away games) was his WW2 service in North Africa and the Middle East. An article stated that " 100 years ago.... " the majority of people were born, grew up, lived ..and died in the same community and seldom travelled more than 10 miles from their home. However, these days, even London " sounds local " in Prem. standards anyway.....compared to say ...Manchester, Merseyside or the North East, and nowadays the biggest game is not always a " local one " (geographically speaking) ..and fans have alternative forms of transport available - don't they? I know people from So'ton and IOW who travel to London to work....I'm sure you do. I agree it's hardly " local ", but some people make travelling to London sound like it's the Moon.

....and now you've understood it, too CB. Wasn't so difficult, or was it? Anyway, you and Turkish must be the smartest two Mensa fans on the site.

well I've noted your point of view anyway. Let me know when you have an interesting post and I'll return the compliment?

Yes Turkish. THX. At least someone understood my reasoning.

well to start with, I'm English (born in So'ton)..and just happen to live in Sweden. The analysis was based on teams in the South and West rather than the rest of the country. As for those people who got their calculators out and clocked the distance....100 miles on a motorway isn't so much - or is it. So when is a " derby " not a derby?. Is 30 miles OK - but not 50? Is it purely down to geography, or are some people afraid to drive so far - even though it is the nearest opposition in their league. Brighton may be (geographically) closer to Crawley... but they're not in the same League yet, and to my knowledge they have little / no previous history against each other, whereas Brighton have some history against South London sides. I'd never regard Reading as a derby game for Saints, (no genuine history) - but they were closer than many other sides. My point there was I think many Brighton fans would be happier travelling along the coast to Bournemouth, or to Reading or Yeovil than upto the North East, or to Blackpool. That's certainly no easy " day out ".

very nice analysis Toon Saint, I agree with much of that myself. Certainly agree with the Palace assessment as they look to be "cannon-fodder" for the rest of the division, and Hull may fare little better, though I think Cardiff might just survive. I also see Chelsea as potential "champs", and whereas some clubs seem to implode when their manager leaves, Chelsea continue to thrive - no matter who their manager is that month. ...and on the subject, I'm not totally sold on the idea of Manchester domination either. Ferguson may still be seated in the director's box, but I'm not certain that Moyes has it in him to replace the legendary "Sir Alex". Citeh had one good season, when they narrowly won the title, but I really don't see them as a threat to the top spot after another managerial change. I agree with your Fulham placement, although they may become a threat, if the new owner "splashes the cash" in the next season or two. I also have my doubts about Spurs top six future - especially if Bale moves on. They often looked like a mediocre " one man band " and may well sink to mid-table without him. Dare I say it, but I wasn't impressed by either of the clubs from the North East last season, and might easily see one of them " making the drop", although it would be tragic for Toons' fanatical fan base - wouldn't it ? As for your prediction for Saints, I'd be well-pleased with an 8th place, (especially after our history over the last decade), but not overly surprised if we do better, but then again - Europe is another mountain to climb. Some of the squad have done well together for 2 or 3 seasons already and players like Lallana, Shaw and JWP have been the club almost before they started secondary school and don't need a " settling-in " period. We seem to have gone from strength to strength in recent seasons - despite our managerial changes, and mostly due to the influence of Cortese, rather than individuals on the staff. He's not afraid to spend money and seems to recruit the right people very thoroughly, and may yet pull a few horses heads (sorry)... rabbits out of his hat in the next year or so.

Just acquainting myself with the new League table(s) we see those traditional "derby" fixtures every season. United and Citeh, the Merseyside pair and Newcastle v. Sunderland in the North East. ....not to mention the North London " hate games " between Arsenal and Spurs, but I noted that there are some unusual (not to say strange) pairings that will play each other down in the South and West. "derby games" , by tradition have some sort of "sting" to them and those old, and not to say rare, matches between Saints and Pompey are certainly a thing of the past. A quick look at the other leagues turned up some interesting fixtures that, although lacking any real historical precedent, are close enough for a short car / coach ride for their traveling fans. Brighton (no doubt) regard their games worth Bournemouth as one although with Reading and Yeovil in their fixtures those will, at least, be more " geographically friendly games " than Middlesboro and Blackpool. L1. Bristol City (one of those yo-yo clubs who rotate between CC and L1), will have several trips to the Midlands; Coventry, Walsall and Wolves although the greatest rivalry may be when they play Swindon. L2. The other Bristol side (Rovers) might wish they still had Rickie Lambert on their books, especially as that £1 million fee may seem light years away now and has certainly long gone in trying to keep the club solvent. It's not far to Newport or Cheltenham for them, whereas those three South-western coastal clubs (Plymouth, Exeter and Torquay) all play in the same divison again next season. Which leaves Portsmouth - remember them ? ..(on the way down to non-league Conference football) unless they can find a miracle from somewhere... have Wimbledon as their nearest rivals. Whilst it's down to Cardiff and Swansea to out-sing each other down in South Wales, Saints' nearest opposition will now (on the map at least) be Fulham and Palace (not so exciting perhaps) although I've always liked to compare us with Tottenham or West Ham (from a historical perspective). New season only a month away, we'll see who come out as "top dog" in their regional derbies. Would be interesting to hear if any of you, living in other parts of the country, have memories or tales of " traditional derby rivalry " between clubs in your area ....(current or historical ?)

now the $64,000 question (sorry did I hear £8 million mentioned)....is can we really expect RL to get another 15 goals next season? does anyone expect him to get more than he did last season ?.or is it the right time to sell? Reading have their own Russian billionaire who is keen to get back to the Prem. ASAP Audacious is the word for Adkins' bid, but why not? Rickie will still get a cart load of goals in the Championship and who knows...Reading might get back up on the rebound. I think that we'll never again hear that sort of figure for RL. OF COURSE, He's already got legend status and I'd be sorry to see him go ........but time passes quickly when you're a Prem. footballer and over 30 ...and if we do sell, it will help to balance the books on transfers.

His was much more of an organisational job - not as a football coach. He should do well in a future England role, and hopefully will be part of a new structure in FA when all the " old crocks "are finally pensioned off.

yeah I read that, but I thought we got rid of all the programme sellers ?

..........and this is just the start of the clearout. next in line will be Aaron Martin, Jonno "Quick", SDR, and of course both Lee Barnard and Hammond are officially still under contract, I think? ..and I think that Lee and Mayuka will feel pleased if they see some sort of future ....in the future....

The musical talent in our family lies in others, but when I first heard his name .......I thought of the chorus in the old Peggy Lee classic .....Manana, Manana....Manana is soon enough for me .....(its on You Tube somewhere.....) so how about .........Wanyama is good enough for me !

Ah ..what do they know.....?

but.... we don't have red and white stripes anymore - do we ? ......(more's the pity) .

well, better said that..... he's playing in an SPL club, that doesn't mean he's a less than excellent standard (by English standards)

WELL...the stats. will tell you that he was a central defender signed for £60K (at the age of 30) from Crystal Palace in 1974 and played 135 games scoring 7 goals). In actual fact, it was the first season after our relegation from Div.1. We'd had a "typically poor start" to the new season only 1 win in first 7 games, and were in the bottom three. McMenemy was reshaping his side and although the team looked impressive on paper with; Gilchrist, Channon, Osgood and Brian O'Neil up front, sadly we were trying a new CB pair almost every other week. Mel had spent six very good seasons at Palace, but after his arrival he was scarcely out of the side, although frequently changing his position at CB whilst LMcM. tried partnering him with a succession of the new faces from the youth squad; Paul Bennett, Manny Andruszewski, Malcolm Waldron, but it was his partnership with Jim Steele that really proved to be the best combination and they were the central pair who played in the 1976 FA Cup Final. Jim Steele was certainly " Steele by name and Steel by nature " and took no prisoners... whilst Mel was decisive and skilful and the pair worked well together (if the improved defensive record is anything to go by). By the Spring of the following season both Blyth and Steele had departed, and were temporarily replaced by Waldron and another youth product Forbes Phillipson-Masters McMenemy used to joke that he sounded like a defensive trio all on his own. After the dust settled; Chris Nicholl came on the scene and was often outstanding at CB for the following six years (later manager). Mel Blyth (as you suggested) not always remembered by everyone, but a good, reliable defender who DAJFU......when it was most needed, and IMHO deserved better credit for his contribution to the side than he got at the time.

I wouldn't say "wasting time " but such a lot has happened in such a short time at SMS, and few people really see the " visionary part" of things in the same way that Cortese and MP speak about it. Pochettino's targets aren't the same as Adkins (would have been I'm sure). MP sees who " he thinks " is needed to add to the squad, and knows the players that he'd like to sign (and money is - almost no object ATM) The " problem " may be down to a number of things (reading between the lines) with (a) Some foreign players who look at the Prem.table and ask themselves " who are Southampton, and why did they finish so low in the table?". (b) S.American / Latin players who think Prem football is (only) in the north of England, and will only consider joining what they think is " the best ", or © agents who are playing both sides against the middle (as with on-off Celtic deal) and are looking to line their own pockets at the expense of their player. there may also be a.... d, e, and f factor for all I know, but there is still 5/6 weeks before things start to get serious, so I'm not unduly concerned. The worst part of the waiting is the many sites / hack journalists / twitter "twits " who are trying to "scoop " a story, and in the meantime some fans are reading everything as Gospel and getting frustrated into the bargain.

..that's because his agents wanted a bigger cut of the fee than he was going to get ......those sort of greedy barstewards are very good at sabotaging deals. Can't believe anyone would really want to willingly choose Cardiff ahead of Saints - except maybe a Welshman.

I know little about Damiao,(so I can't comment).... but a lot of these Latin / S.American players look good on YouTube when they are playing on dry pitches and against slow-footed defenders. That 'aint Prem style. I've been saying that since he was 29, but he keeps defying all the odds (and his critics). Of course we need a good replacement, but not one who needs a season or so to get upto RLs goal-scoring tempo. JayRod blew a bit hot and cold last season, Lallana didn't turn out to be the alternative either and it seems a lot of people expected very much more from Ramirez. My mad idea for this week..if you absolutely need to replace Rickie so soon...give Puncheon a spell up front ! HCDAJFU .......for a very short while, anyway, The list of goal-scoring "talismen" in Saints' history looks like this; Wayman, Reeves, Paine, O'Brien, Davies, Channon, MLT and....now Lambert. We need someone whose name can respectably appear on that list, and such a player isn't on " my radar " yet. TOUGH CALL - if you're talking Prem. survival for another season or two.!

..according to him.

It really surprises me how " 'appy 'arry " has survived so long and still bounces back time after time. He'll take QPR's money for another season and then gracefully bow out depending on whether or not QPR get a quick return to the Prem. NOTE: HR will be 67 next year. If they go up, he'll get his promotion bonus, and if not ...they have MacLaren as a ready-made stooge and replacement - and how he has managed to stay in the game at this level for so long is another surprise. He based his whole reputation on Stewart Downing at 'Boro....and then got the job as no.2 to Ericsson (and insisted on using Downing in an ill-balanced England line-up) I was sorry to see Ericsson go, but even more depressed to see MacLaren replace him. His record was terrible IMO. He'll pull the strings at QPR now, whilst 'arry stands before the TV cameras and babbles on his normal platitudes about lost chances and points thrown away ..yeah, yeah 'arry... we've heard it all before. Meanwhile ..expect to see Downing as a surprise signing at QPR when he plays his time out....... everywhere else in the Prem.

but that doesn't work when the team is wearing grey shirts ......:lol:haha