david in sweden

this thread seems to have gone on for a very long time Dibden..... without anyone agreeing / or offering any real solution. The answer surely has to be ...as many (mistakes) as it takes to learn the lessons.......and keep us in the Prem. Nigel (like most of our players) is new to the top echelon and it takes time to adapt. The players trust him and it will work out... perhaps later rather than sooner.

....and it's wide open in the race as we go into the last month of the season, and any one of four sides could still take the title. It's not been so wide open for several years.. Anders Svensson's Elfsborg are clinging to the top spot, only one goal ahead of Malmö ..and both Häcken and Stockholm side AIK are only two points behind them. - it looks like a really tight finish which will certainly go up until the last day. The winners of the Superettan title (Championship) title will most certainly be (Gothenburg side) Öster, who were (unluckily) relegated last year but have taken this league by storm losing only 2 games and are already 10 points clear of (Michael Svenssons old side) Halmstad ...and (the Stockholm-based nursery side) Brommapojkarna who are presently only separated by GD. It's a tough time for one of them, as only the top two are guaranteed promotion ..whilst the third-placed side will have play-off games against whoever finishes third from bottom in Allsvenskan (Prem.)

well if he's still on his second cup of tea ? ...would be fun to hear about who were the players he admired most in the Saints side of his era..and what was it like playing in front of Peter Shilton.and what was Shilts like as a person (we all know about his playing record?

After the 125 year anniversary, you begin to realise that our club does have a long, and distinguished - if not always successful.. history. This book, full of old photos of players in bygone times certainly highlights that, and for people like me, who appreciate history ...it's a real gem. It would have been a great present for my (late) father..who grew up in an era when many of these players were the club's heroes. The team of the early 1930's included the great Ted Drake, who my father had shared a pint with on a few occasions. Drake eventually moved to Arsenal (for a then club record fee)....and went onto to play for England.....(where have I heard that scenario before?) The real spirit of our club is not the successes of recent years, or even the previous promotions and Cup Finals ..or the many international players who spent time at the club, but the continuity of fan support over generations and the many contributions that the club has made to the local community and the citizens of So'ton. Nice one Duncan, thanks again !

think that about sums him up. He was that era's Joey Barton, but Lawrie Mac seemed to be able to keep him on the rails (well - most of the time). On his day, he was an absolute class defender and a good attacker..but .later on... he reverted-to-type and looked like a " warm-up " act for David Prutton.

I think we'd all say that Dennis was a great character. He arrived in August 1982 (as a free transfer FB) ...at the same time as a certain England keeper - Peter Shilton, but neither of them could stem the flood of goals they endured when in the first 7 games, when we had only one win and a draw ... and managed to score only 3 ....whilst conceding ....18 (!) ..sound familiar?...( that included a 0-6 game v. Spuds and a 0-5 v. Liverpool.) Rightly or wrongly ..Dennis got he chop.(or was he injured).....and Lawrie Mac. brought in ....(another) England captain Mick Mills who had captained Englands World Cup side a few months earlier.... Even in good form - it would be hard for Dennis (then 34) to get regular games, and he eventually moved over to the coaching staff and served the club well for several years afterwards. Good luck Dennis... you deserve some !

The Swedish Post finally made it .....Mine arrived today Duncan..many thanks. I think I owe you £1.82 for excess postage ! see my PM about page 77.

.thats a matter of opinion. I read that Sam told Roy H. not to select Carroll as...he was woefully short of match practice !

given the fact that we have a surplus (though not unecessarily so) ....of strikers and midfielders........getting the goalie situation settled and buying in extra defenders is the main priority. Survival will follow, as long as we keep scoring..and keep a low GD.

but I do think that playing an international keeper with several hundred first team games under his belt is preferable to a youngster who's played half a season in L2 ...and a couple of soft games against lower league opponents .....might have been a better selection when playing away to Everton.

....and Forecast spent the whole game... on the bench, otherwise it might have been even worse !

If he's clever, he'll wait until January to see where Forest are in the table........before deciding what to do... .......if Saints do sign him, that'll be my two international keepers on the books.

seems fairly logical ..if you play to keep possession, then it's lots of short midfield passes......but teams with wingers and big front men play long punts upfield...... Whichever way.....our main probelm seems to be what we do with "the football " when we get into the last third !

Do you mean that he should have (lied)....and said that we were unlucky .......and ought perhaps to have won? I'm sure that you don't believe that .....and neither do I, so what's wrong with being realistic and admitting the truth?.

CAREFUL !...you'll arouse Turkish's wrath. That sounds like a hypothetical question to me .......or, do I mean hypocritical?......

and of course if they lose games, he'll blame it on the suspensions.... caused by the ref. who * booked 8 of his team last night. He said...... Wham " were'n't a dirty side " ....(well, he would say that - wouldn't he ? ).......sounds a bit like a Don Revie type comment to me. * Wham had 8 bookings - surely one for the Guinness Book of Records?

alternative answer number 3 ........it's not a problem. The real problem is ......we didn't score more than the other team.......

Thanks for that LTC-----good point well made. If only ......it could have been written on the first day .....it would have saved 200+ nonsensical posts on the subject!

I think it also has somehting to do with the slightly more sophisicated style of play in the Prem. After the last two seasons of rolling over the opposition... it'll take a little time to adjust.

I'll make a mental note of it.... .for next time ...if I don't forget

Usch ! (naughty words).......you mean tough and uncompromising ...... sorry... Jimmy Case retired years ago ...

MY first thought... after he (JayRod) signed........was that he would be groomed to become Rickie's eventual replacement. However, as it turns out he may have to wait a bit longer than he (and many others) thought. Surprise, Surprise says the Footballing world ...Rickie Lambert can score goals in the Prem. too If we play (as I think we must) Lee and Mayuka on an (i)regular basis then JayRod is going to have to spend a bit longer on the bench, or until RL's career takes a down turn...which seems unlikely just now. It's a "squad game " says Atkins.....and he won't be the only one.but if you think I'm being hard on Jay Rod .or his performances let me quote you the career record of a striker who joined us some time back. Season 1... 22 starts ....scored just 5 goals...............OK we said, he's new. Season 2.... 8 starts ....scored no goals at all...What a waste of space he's turning out to be ! Season 3... 29 starts ....scored 11 goals.................. Alright... a bit better..at least he was leading scorer... Season 4....24 starts.....scored 12 goals...................still doesn't sound very promising - does he ?.....but wait a bit.. Season 5....35 starts.....scores 23 goals ! ......it was James Beattie. He was the highest-scoring English player in the Prem. that season and missed out on the Golden Boot to Thierry Henry - no less ! Jay Rod's time will come. Beattie was 25 when he got his best tally, but whilst we've still got Rickie Lambert fit and scoring .I hope that Jay Rod will learn a little patience if he doesn't get to start every game.