david in sweden

I don't like LEMONS.......and I type as I'd want to. ...or should I go and cower in a corner, cos you don't like it?, I thought the rule on here was...if you don't like it...you can ignore. and .....If you think that's in any way extreme?...then take a look at some of the other threads on this site.

I was wondering if you'd make a contribution Turkish ....wow 17,000 plus posts.. you really do have the opportunity to do this full time - don't you. I don't think anyone suggested he was even Championship level, certainly not me, but some people criticised him for lack of performance when it someone else's idea to employ him. I was lamenting the lack of opportunities he's had..... when he could surely have made some sort of a career at a lower level, given the chance. As it is, he will have to start over again after the summer, and hope he gets a new start with someone else.

but of course, my typing got ahead of the calendar.... but the argument is surely still valid.....an on-form player shouldn't be ignored ...and those three teams mentioned have three of the world's better international keepers, too..so if RL can score against them.....why not play him at international level.

.or one that needs sarcastic comments, but I cannot see the (lack of) logic in not even selecting RL for an England squad ? I've always heard managers say ....whatever else play your best players (regardless of form). So liven up Roy Hodgson ! In case you don't look so often, the list of Prem. goalscorers is very long before you get to the best ENGLISH striker - Rickie Lambert. Ah, all the media will say.... he's playing for a club near the bottom ...and he was "just lucky " to score against Man. Utd, Man City.....and Chelsea.. ..and what if he does have an impeccable penalty scoring record 31 out of 31....England have still got Frank Lampard (oops sorry)... and well anyway.... he's too old at 31. Yes, of course we have to bring on younger players....but does the FA's vision only stretch..... from World Cup to World Cup...? Are they secretly preparing a special anniversary game....at Wembley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that 1966 win? ..............for goodness sake NO....don't do it. Germany will win this time. just re-run the film of the original - with Kenneth Wolstenholmes' legendary comments. With the Euro Championships next year, England will once again try to win a trophy for the first time in 47 years. Even with ordinary form, Rickie is likely to continue to be amongst the top English marksmen ..come May, and his good form may be just what England need for that tournament. YES. we know, he'll be TOO old come 2016, but must we use every international championship as practice for World Cups, when RL could give us a real chance to reach another final ?

Indeed you're right ..Tony F. A midfielder or winger drafted into the side, can drift in and out of a game, but CB's are involved much more than others - (even keepers) - and need patience and clean sheets to impress. (which is why I haven't disregarded Aaron Martin yet), but getting a tough, commanding CB in his teens is almost impossible I think ...the last young Saints' central defender who got people interest was called ...Ollie Lancashire .....I rest my case.

Yes.. he's still a Saints player, although out on loan - though not for much longer. Sadly, I've read little positive comment on this site for RD, but harsh criticism is hardly fair ...when you consider all the circumstances. He was a product of Plymouth 's Academy (in their better days) and even debut-ed for Argyle when aged 16. (2004) Overcoming an injury, he was loaned out and eventually signed for Brentford, and was a stand-out player whilst still in his teens and got rave reviews. In 2010, Saints paid £125K for him (with the promise of add-ons**), as Dan Harding's cover, whose good form at the time, meant Ryan was on the bench up until our L1 promotion. Still out of the action, even after Harding lost his place to Danny Fox, Ryan looked increasingly unlikely to get any game time... with the emergence of Luke Shaw. Loans out gave him some action, and though Yeovil wanted him...they couldn't come up with the finance for the deal, (by now he'd cost Saints £200K**) ..and so RD stayed at SMS. At last...a six month loan out to Bradford City...where he played 5 games with some good reviews UNTIL...an ankle injury that needs immediate surgery, and 6 months rehab. With the prospect of the " op " .....and then being out of contract in June, his once promising career looks to be in real jeopardy. Good Luck Ryan ...I think you'll need it.

Yes our Academy maybe one of the best in the country, BUT it stands to reason that not everyone who is a " starlet " now is going to make it..well not with Saints anyway. We see that former players; Walcott, Bale ....even Dyer and Alex O-C, all had that " stand-out quality " but it's going to be hard for all the current crop to get into / and stay in the future 24 squad. Shame really, because many of them will undoubtedly make a career somewhere.... but it won't necessarily be at SMS. The real difference will only come when they get a chance of a few games in the Prem. to show their ability. However, I'm all in favour of loan-outs because; ... it (1)..gives a young player the chance to get " proper games " even at a lower level, and up his game (as Reeves has done)...(and it didn't do Lallana any harm). and (2)....if ....by some bad luck a player isn't retained by Saints, then at least there may be an opportunity to re-build a career with an L1/L2 club where he excels. There genuinely is a search on for the ' X Factor ' amongst those Academy lads who are good now, but will see a change for the better / worse when they're 21 and not getting games.

interesting point ..YES, but what's an " un-natural position " when you're pumping your arms, running full pelt side by side with a player and he kicks the ball against your hand /arm ?

oooooooo

Mmm.....maybe, but isn't that what we said about Jason Puncheon a year or so ago ?

of course wider use of cameras won't make it 100% foolproof, but it would make it a lot more reliable if we get the majority of those decisions correct. If anyone thinks it won't make any difference ...try watching MOTD for a few weeks and count the mistakes....oh but don't worry lads, it's only another 3 points we lost ..yeah sure

this really hits a tender spot with me. Sepp Blatter retains his 19th century attitude to fair play and the ref. is always right, when it's clear to anyone whose ever watched a televised match that refs. are anything but perfect ..... even when they have technical assistance from the linesmen /women (sorry..ASSISTANT referees), who are seldom better placed to make a valid judgement. Those better placed are ...YOU and I ...and the TV cameraman / commentator who can watch replays of incidents over and over again from every angle you like, whereas the ref. has only a split second to make his decision. I never thought that cricket would ever stoop so low as to take ultimate responsibility away from the umpire...but they have .....and it has proven to work, as it does in other sports, too. Goal-line technology is only the tip of the iceberg, and may be called upon only once / twice a season, whereas dubious penalty claims occur in every game...not to mention off the ball incidents. Replayed incidents from the Citeh game showed that we had a good shout for two penalty incidents,(neither given) which the even biased commentators admitted were genuine. NO Mr. Blatter.. waiting for TV replays takes only seconds...whereas corners, throw-ins and free-kick " line-ups" can waste anything up to ONE MINUTE:blush:.....time a few yourself and see. Now that the technology is available, for goodness sake, let's use it and get proper results to matches.. and not the ridiculous errors of judgement we see in so many games.

Saw him on a streamed U21 game a few weeks back. Looked fairly competent.....won't compare him to Gazzaniga - who I don't rate as Prem. quality yet - but .let's face it Cropper is 20?... .or almost 21 I think, it certainly is good for him and perhaps in a few years?...(who knows)...there are a few good US goalies around at the top level ....so why not ?

....thanks for the update Lets B Avenue....I totally lost track of the date...but then again, in my generation... you count the decades first ......

Yes ..of course it did, but to be more accurate, the club was almost extinct before NC came.....and we were forced to sell some of our best prospects to pay salaries each month during the summer ...and I'm bound to admit that ...had the Liebherr offer been accepted in May....then the likes of Dyer and Surman might still be on the books ...but let's not dwell on that, but instead say that Pochettino's new-found " acceptance " seems to have helped Saints turn the corner with the media and give them something positive to talk about. Make you wonder how we can still appreciate Nigel Adkins... and yet have fallen under the spell of our new "supremo" ...after such a short time.

..of course, very few Saints fans would have seen Harlee Dean play any game in a Saints shirt, but he is typical of the type of up-and-coming players (Dickson, Seaborne, Forte and Barnard also come to mind) who were signed around the time of two successful L1 seasons ....when few people - except perhaps Nicola Cortese - expected our elevation to the Prem. to come quite so quickly - hence some of these players are still on our books, with valid contracts for another year or more. Had we still been in the Championship. I expect that they might have been fairly regular selections in the first team squad / or at least/ on the bench. Those two rapid promotions meant the standard of our opponents has increased at a greater rate, than the development of players (such as Dean and those mentioned above). Nice for the club and fans, but tough on players who have struggled to improve themselves from L1 standard ...upto the next level in such a short time.

sounds about right then. .KD...has about done his share - and it would be a shame to sack him now, and I doubt if Guly can maintain his new-found energy levels for another 12 months. Although it does leave the tempting likelihood that we can expect a dozen or so new signings....although probably not all this summer.

perhaps a few of those WAGS...... who have hitherto ignored Saints' games..... might want to come to watch a game or two in future?

Thinking back to the days when the "old" Dell floodlights were still in use, even a slight mist could mean you couldn't see both goalmouths - unless you were on the halfway line. However, unless you're going to start another " all-weather " thread.....we could talk about the "big freeze" of 1963 ...yes, 50 years ago....when the FA Cup Rd. 3 game v.York at The Dell (scheduled Jan. 3rd) was postponed THIRTEEN times in between snowstorms, then a thaw, and ice, more snow, then thaw again...and finally a waterlogged pitch. That game was eventually played in Mid.Feb ..it was worth waiting for as we won 5-0....BUT, the occasion that really comes to mind isn't about fog either, but rain. Sometime (forgotten exactly....in the 1970's) ...we had a fixture v. Leicester at Filbert Street. It had rained heavily all week in the Midlands, and though it wasn't raining at kick-off it became apparent that the game was going nowhere. The pitch was so waterlogged that water stood to the height of the short-clipped grass, and every time anyone attempted to pass the ball... it travelled about 3 feet....Players were literally treading water and whenever anyone was tackled, or lost their balance they fell to the ground and really made a big splash. Play was confined to the midfield.. as no-one could kick it any distance at all, and on the rare occasions someone kicked the ball into the air..it landed and sank into the pitch and stayed ...like glue . The comedy of this " very short match" (the ref.abandoned the game before the half-hour).....was captured on the day by BBC TV cameras, and appeared - with suitable watery music - on a Saints MOTD video that I purchased ..some years later. Seldom has one football match given me so many laughs .

pretty impressive - even in club cricket. If he doesn't make it at Saints, maybe he'd find a spot as opener with Hampshire..?

looks like Beattie and Phillips to me ....or ? they obviously didn't all transfer down ..but the fourth photo on the OP.....(between Pahars and the "young" Theo) .

.....is Graham Murty also involved in coaching one of the youth sides ?

nice photo selection .. but isn't that James Beattie and Kevin Phillips ...or ?

when attempting to make comparisons between players from different generations.... there are lies, damn lies and ...." statistics " I know, I borrowed that one from W.S. Churchill.

SADLY ........MLT's almost unique, reputation as a Saints legend......is decreasing with his every "stand-up comic" routine on Sky.