david in sweden

get the goalie situation sorted ! Boruc needs to sign ....and do we really see Gazzaniga as his deputy?..... I know KD's on a three year deal but who's happy with him as a longer term stand-in ....in the event of .. If Fox is left out then ..who is Shaw's deputy at LB.. if ...(he goes / is injured?) Targett is promising, but that's not the same thing as being " another " Luke Shaw - is it ? Same goes for RB. Clyne is OK..as long as he's here, but what if ?.....Chambers maybe a good prospect, but not as a permanent solution. Only another CB ..IF... he has some pace. Fonte is skilful, but too slow. Yoshida is OK .most of the time, (but he's not a CH)...and Jos is the kamakazi-player who gets the injuries in the cause. Forran is still an unknown quantity, let's hope he's worth it (longer-term) ....for that money, anyway. I'd like to see another striker who gets a game, (as I don't see Billy Sharp returning), but Mayuka never gets off the bench, so....where will he play?....and what about Tadanari Lee ?

Agree with this part, just as long as we don't play him (or Yoshida)... at right back too often.

Yes, me too, but he is a very exciting player to watch, and I'm sure he wants a first team spot in a Prem. side after all this time.

Nice article Sam....but you have managed to highlight some of the points that seem to upset visitors to this site - in particular. With 50 years of following Saints behind me I've noticed that the rapid development of Football clubs into " businesses " has been apparant even since the early 1990's. In Ted Bates' day (more like 18 years) as team manager, he identified targets he could lure to the Dell and went begging to the faithful old Board of Directors, who duly dipped into their personal wealth and coughed up the recessary transfer fees. Even after the relegation hiccup of 1974, Lawrie McMenemy could pick his targets from the clan of old England captains - especially after winning the FA Cup in 1976 - and it has to be said, we might even have won the League title on a couple of occasions - had " bigger money " been available from the Board in the early 1980's. It was obvious that we'd struggle when the Premer League (as then) started in 1992, and after pocketing the record fee for selling Shearer - the club started spending money quicker than they could count it. Rupert Lowe's subsequent rule as Chairman gave us mixed blessings. SMS (of course) ....was no longer just a 20 year old dream, and the need for an Academy was at last taken more seriously, though it was clear he had no conception of the levels of finance needed when (if the story be true )....he told manager Graham Souness he have a transfer budget of £2 million. The passing success of Glenn Hoddle, gave way to a more stable team with the arrival of Gordon Strachan, who adopted the age-old policy of " importing " some of his former players to stabilise the team (Paul Williams and Paul Telfer), but stumbled somewhat when we saw he had no Plan B (a decision that may well shorten his tenure as Scotland's manager - unless he's learned from the lesson). Stumbling into the 21st century, only to be relegated at the hands of " 'appy 'arry " and his cohorts....SFC gave the title " Manager of the Month " a new, and more dramatic meaning... until the nightmare of summer 2009. Regardless of the mixed feelings about Nicola Cortese, we must admit that although it was Marcus Liebherr's " lunch money " that finally bought the club, it was Nicola Cortese who took the idea to him in the first place and convinced him to invest in the club. Most managers are " football-addicts " who.... either were established players who can't stop playing the game in their mind /or/ players who failed to make the top grade themselves and want to prove they can succeed at coaching a team. I suppose Pardew and Adkins come into the second category....Pochettino is from the first. Not everyone succeeds - or is given enough time, but that is the nature of the game (or should we say business) today. No Chairman worth his salt is going to take the chance of " losing " £90 million media income (through relegation) - unless he has 110% confidence in his manager. No-one can deny that (partly) Pardew, and later Adkins had that " confidence " ..upto a point, but somewhere after last April, Nigel Adkins came unstuck and Cortese decided (perhaps correctly) that NA didn't have the right mindset for a Prem. manager ...only time will tell. But for as long as Messers. Cortese and Reed make the decisions (and sign the cheques) for players THEY think will enhance the squad, it is for the manager to make the best of the talent he has - or else. IMHO, the (Adkins choices) to buy Forte and Sharp were allowed to pacify NA's desire to use some of his " old and trusted " players - without spending BIG money - until his constant pursuit (and failure) to buy Celtic's Hooper. I doubt if any (of those three) could command a regular spot in any other Prem. side. The really BIG money ...was paid out on " the committee's " chosen players. NA's failure to seek an experienced goalkeeper " of international standard " last summer was a major mistake - due mainly to his support and loyalty to Kelvin Davis - an excellent club-man and all-round good guy but who had clearly reached his level of incompetence in the Championship last season. Other "differences of opinion " may never be fully revealed, but in the future those two back-to-back promotions may be seen to be " the runaway stagecoach " that NA couldn't sufficiently bring under control. In future we will see that few (if any) managers in the Premiership will be able to overule the DOF and the man with the cheque book, and they'll have to learn to live with that.

.if City are having their supposed " clear-out sale ", then we ought to be in for John Guidetti.....the young Swedish striker who made so much impact on loan to Feyenoord last season. He was the star player in Citeh's youth side at 17, and has been out on loan a couple of times. Don't want to compare his style to anyone in particular.. .but he looks a bit Beattie and a bit Shearer....and actually sounds intelligent in interviews.

One fact .... for we " nerdy statisticians " ; Brett Ormerod must have some sort of record...in that he played for 3 different club sides at Wembley. Saints V Arsenal FA Cup Final 2003 Blackpool play-off match winner 2010...and now FA Trophy winner with Wrexham 2103.

I don't like the word " hate" . it's a bit better to fall back on a Germanic word like " Schadenfreude "....which roughly-speaking means ....." taking joy in someone else's misfortune." .and which is little worse than the way they treated us in 2009..........better still that they survive... and descend into L2.. and maybe even further ...and end up playing Havant & Waterlooville in the Conference.....or Salisbury and Eastleigh in the Southern section, that is unless those two clubs don't pass them ..on the way up ...... Longer term....there maybe a lot more satisfaction in not having them suddenly disappear overnight and just remembered as a bad memory.

inspired by this thread I found the game (FA Trophy final - played at Wembley) on some obscure thread and quite enjoyed the game. Boring 0-0 at HT turned into a real game in second half. Brett Ormerod had a couple of good chances ....including a fantastic header from 10 yards out which grazed the crossbar and went over, before Grimsby eventually scored in a goalmouth scramble. Wrexham turned up the pressure, but Grimsby's young keeper McKeown kept them in the game with a couple of saves any international keeper would have been proud of, but he was beaten by a penalty after an Albanien U21 winger named Cieslewicz came on as Brett's sub - repeatedly tore through the Grimsby defence - was eventually floored and Wrexham equalised from the resulting penalty. Grimsby's keeper kept out Wrexham shots left, right and centre..but his luck ran out after extra time, when Wrexham ran out worthy winners after winning the penalty shoot-out 4-1. I was pleasantly surprised by the standard which looked just as good as any L1 game, and look to see how Wrexham (a good few points ahead at the top of the Conference) will manage next season - if promoted. Brett still looked pretty lively ...but the winger Cieslewicz---definitely look as though he's destined for better things !

......needs a good speechwriter.. I think I'd keep it a bit shorter than that .....One paragraph would have done it .......Suggest you re-write it in the past tense Ron... and re-issue it the day after the Wembley game - same effect.

sort of a Catch 22 situation for Sturrock..... if he wins at Wembley ..he goes......if he loses he goes anyway...

well you guys .... remember that this thread is about Tadanari Lee.... I read one of the more obscure overseas sites last week and apparantly... he made headlines when he scored and gave an assist for the Tokio side he's on loan to...

The worst case scenario seems to be that Shaw AND Clyne would both depart in the summer (heaven forbid)....so it's down to Staplewood lads and look at the likely replacements..... Calum Chambers played at RB and scored for his England Under (whatever it was) side last week, and many seem to be enthused with the performances of Matt Targett who is a leftsided defender.

AGREE TOTALLY ...but historically, very few " London-born" players have settled into life on the South Coast. If he misses " the bright lights " (or whatever they like to call it ") ..then he'll relish the thought of a return, and the salary he'd get....by moving to a top 4 side. Interesting to see how things are at the end of the seaosn. IF we stay up - no problem, but if things go wrong they'll be an ongoing auction in the media for our best players. If the top London clubs do succeed in luring away such players, then I hope Cortese makes them pay (BIG TIME).

perhaps MLT has won him (Merson) over .....to support his (MLT's).. Anti-Cortese agenda?

I note that he hadn't told the media exactly " which words were uttered ". maybe.... he told Cortese and Adkins? - hence no club discipinary measures were taken, and everyone moved on. It may have been a question from a Polish journo who asked about the incident .? .and the truth came out...? No-one seems very clear on this. However, many people seem to be commenting on the use of the word racist.....whereas it can literally cover " a multitude of evils ", not not merely refer to ethnicity. In Sweden, there are more than a hundred different ethnic groups, the anti discrimination laws are liberally applied to almost any sort of discrimination against anyone ..for almost any reason.

yes he did ....and he got booked !

team selection (on Sky) shows Boruc selected for Poland.

A question I posed several times last season .and again last August ...see my post #19.

....that also could be a description of generic Saints' fans ....

.....or... maybe some atheist said.... " useless ****** Catholic **** "..... (that would be different) .

..maybe the culprit was from out-of-town ?

you're right of course....but psychologically it'll be great just to see him at SMS every match day...huh ?

'uddersfield Town.. are they still in the League ?

...but would only be one-footed, that's if you are making comparisons.

IF he signs for them .. whats the betting he get called ....van Wolfwhistle ...when he has a bad game ?