david in sweden

no I didn't say that READ AGAIN ! ......Sometimes....you are rather good at reading selective parts of a post, Turkish I said we hope that Lambert does start ...what I did say was that he shouldn't be expected to play 90 mins every game. So far it's only game 8.......by the time we get to 28 he might not be in such fine trim. Playing one man up front and being marked by three defenders he's going to come in for a lot of "attention ".....but I do think there is a tactical advantage by not playing him entire match every time, and coming on fresh after HT /60 mins. He takes the same chances as everyone else about getting injured but alot of our injuries so far this season haven't been becuase of fouls / dirty play, but off the ball accidents. There's nothing magical about 30 ......or 29 or 31 but stress takes it toll especailly on older players - not just when they reach a certain age. There is no reason why Rickie shouldn't play at the best level he can for another 3-4 years(I hope he does ) . , but he can't be expected to run around like the 21 year old around him.

Sweden and most of the Western European countries changed also.

OK maybe ....he didn't . Maybe... a sudden stroke a genius came to him .....and the very idea of playing experienced internationals alongside his younger hopefuls....might help them improve. The fact that he managed to find 4 or 5 (such) former Saints players at the same time was probably a total coincidence !

Good, very good or Brilliant ?.We can all find superlatives for Rickie, but now he's past 30 ....it's insane not to make definite decisions about an (eventual) replacement for him. I never thought Jay Rod came to us as the " finished item " but with time he will (hopefully) develop into a top-class player, but that won't happen without giving him games. Memories of the young James Beattie who was slated terribly and achieved almost nothing in his first two seasons..only to end up as leading English-born scorer in the Prem...a couple of seasons afterwards. We all hope that... whether Rickie starts...or comes off the bench he will stay fit, because any sort of injury at his age (superfit-or not) may take a darn sight longer than a week or two to recover from. IMHO...playing him at this level 90+ mins. every game is tempting fate. Adkins (perhaps more than any other Prem.manager).. understands fitness and injuries - and IF Rickie were "carrying an injury " then it would (obviously) have to be the best-kept secret in the club .... Last season we got good mileage out of Guly (another 30 plusser,) by not playing him the whole game every week. Without his his early season goal tally we might still have been in the Championship. Selecting RL....or having him on the bench is a combination of tactics and fitness. I trust NA on those points. Of course we'd like to think he'd be around when /if we get a penalty..(I'd like to think we still had MLT around for that job) but we have to move on and some day.another player will have that responsibility.

ERROR on my part ..already admitted andthe question re-worded!

OUCH!.. long time (ago) , short memory. OK .I'll try again.....what did the Chelsea management say to him when they told him they didn't want him anymore? .......and did he keep the same salary level after moving? .

I think it's great! maybe a shock for some to hear....(who might not have understood it)...or perhaps have never heard poetry spoken before !... sounds great lines in it ...and it's on a par with " a man's a man for all that " ......and "IF..... you'll be man, my son "

No We didn't know Turkish - have you mentioned that before ? Unfortunately - even some ex-professional footballers retire and leave their brains in the boot room, and there is a long list of former internationals who were absolutely hopeless when it came to managing a team.

If we have history on our side then we'll get all three points. Spurs have had a terrible record at SMS, including a double defeat in 2002-3 and that incredible (4-0 win) FA Cup 3rd round tie, (which went down as one of Anders Svensson's best games (and goals for that matter. Times change and now we are struggling but only after playing 6 of the top 10 sides this season, and none of those top sides got there JUST by beating us. However, we will turn the corner sometime and this is the ideal game to do so - for several reasons. Team wise . I'd play Boruc. The back line (and midfield) practically picks itself, but if Luke Shaw is going to get a start we've nothing else to lose - so why not?. If other results go against us, we could be bottom by Saturday evening. Rickie should start (but we still have to consider giving Rodriguez a run of games - or he'll never take off). Lastly.... if Tadanari Lee is back fit, I'd like to see him (and /or) Mayuka get more than a 20 minute run-out. I think Tottenham, who have speedy wingers themselves, may also be vulnerable to the same tactic.

here I am agreeing with you AGAIN Kraken, Jack Cork is a player very under-rated when you consider that (since he was a youth player) he played for England at every level - except full international. He was always going to find it difficult to get into the Chelsea side, but his spell at Burnley showed what he could do, and Chelsea may still rue the day they let him go. After his impressive season (as you said) in all 46 games he has been extremely unlucky to get injured, especially after his selection for Team GB...where I think he should have played from the start, I think we'll see a totally revolutionised midfield when he is back, and Ramirez is on song.

Given the choice would you refuse to buy a programme from her? .....that smile alone is worth the £3 .

......doesn't he mean Bing Grosby?

....or the right setting for wrist-slashing suicides in the event of defeats.....

tbh ....when he was shooting off his mouth and doing everything possible to self-destruct last season, Cortese made a sensible decision...JP apologised, and it does seem to be working out a bit better alround. Puncheon provides the sort of midfield agression we need without getting yellow-carded every other game (the one fault I find with Schneiderlins game). Apart from his forceful runs, JP can at least cross a ball, and although his passing is sometimes a bit wayward, he is VERY difficult to dispossess... and holds the ball up very well. A totally different player and one we've not seen before (since he's been in Saints colours ).

whilst I agree that the possibility of KJ returning sounds most unlikely......the idea of the Lambert-type of player going to Stoke.. isn't. Pulis surely recalls the McMenemy days.. and how Lawrie recruited a squad of over 30's internationals to baby-sit his up-and-coming starlets. Even if Beattie and Higgie have moved on a while back, the likes of Delap and Crouch show how he blends in the experienced heads alongside some of his younger talents. I hope that neither scenario is going to happen, but it doesn't sound so implausible as some of the rubbish stories the media likes to put out on a slow day.

a bit more than 1 or 2 seasons, I'm sure. The top 4 has (more or less) been the same top 4 for almost a decade, whereas I suspect the next 4 teams (i.e.5-...been a much more of a mix during that time.

Can't argue with that one Alpine, I don't think we need to relegate teams from the Prem. but let the American-owned mega clubs, and Oil Sheiks take their teams off in to a Euro " Super-Dooper League " and play in a different European city every week...and the rest of us can get on with some good old-fashioned English football. Without the top four /six, there isn't a huge difference between the clubs below them, and it's much more fun.

........you mean considering he's been a Prem.manager a couple of season's longer than NA's 8 games ? .......or the fact that he'd been with a Prem. club before, and knew a bit anyway ? .......or that AP still had a few quality players on the books at Newcastle when he took over... ...... and the fact that (for a while) at least he had Andy Carroll..... when he was still scoring goals ? ...... or, that he bought one or two very good replacements with the £35 million they conned out of Liverpool ? .......and still had some cash left over afterwards.. I know it's not that simple, but IMHO Adkins did a better job than Pardew might have, though I also think that by now we might have been a Championship side - at least....and with the players we had in L1 and then the squad we had in the Championship ....most managers might have achieved at least that much.

..... 1% commission ?. I do hope the rest of the deal is better than that .....Good luck Turkish. QUESTION : Have you tried Amway instead ?

well that's something that Nigel Adkins should know about ...didn't he take a psysio. degree at Uni......or something like ..?

I was merely pointing out that your comment " enough is enough " after only 8 games ....sounded very serious and wasn't at all clear to me what you meant?... as for your faihful support.... I acknowledge that and wish I had more opportunity to be there at SMS with you all, a little more often myself. My next visit isn't for amonth or so. .....however, think I'll leave this thread to the rest of you to argue out .... and go back to being calm and positive...