david in sweden

before we start to get..... surprised / upset /angry / outraged at some of the figures quoted above......and start to compare them with (most) fans salaries ........(here I am assuming that we don't have TOO many of this site who earn 38K week or more)...perhaps we ought to remind ourselves that they still have to pay tax, regardless of their amount of their salary..and many who are reliant on agents to handle their affairs may be up paying 20% of it to the greedy barstewards. Of course it's OK if you are a class player... and have a 15 year career in a top side then you can put some away and prepare for a life after football.... but very few do so successfully. The career span (at top level) is often quite short - especially if you get seriously injured - and those who suddenly leave Prem.sides, and drop down a league or two quickly find the reality of lower standards of living a bit of a shock. However, as someone has highlighted Rickie Lambert (above) I think IMHO ...for someone who worked in a beetroot-packing factory.... and made his way through four leagues ....and has become a star attraction in the Prem...I don't begrudge him one penny of whatever he's on. He's earned it all, and given a many of us a great deal of joy. Well done Rickie.

...and if we don't play them ...how will we ever know ? They deserve a chance....and.... as they are part of the " 25 group ", or even if they are U21.....where's the problem?..they are all registered players, and we need to know if they can cut it.

yes but you know ...if he had been at Saints ...with a scoreline like that ....he'd be in line behind Tommy Forecast!

agree with your comments - in principle, but the back four against Sh.Wed. is unlikely to be that which will face Everton.

..by which time he will be ...27 ? don't think another 3 years will quite fit the bill for NA, but will be a good buy ....for someone.

I think some of us might say that he's a few years away from reaching his prime. Goalies generally mature much later than outfield players. Several Prem.sides have' keepers in their late 30's... but the number of top class keepers under 30..... can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Fair enough ...we'll agree to disagree then...

not being harsh Adrians, but if you were a Prem. manager...... and could choose between playing a 20 year old who'd had half a season in L1 ..and one home game in the Prem. OR An experienced international goalie with 46 caps and over 300 league games - (and a lot of clean sheets) - behind him.....and you were taking a team to Goodison Park...who would you choose? Obviously its down to fitness, but the man is a dedicated professional. I don't believe he's been sat in front of his TV drinking six packs throughout the summer....just because he was OOC. and naturally Gazzaniga needs matches, but a string of clean sheets for the U21 side would be good prep. for games against top class Prem.sides - wouldn't it ?

Boruc ! ABSOLUTELY! If he's gonna do the job, Goodison will be a good test for him. Gazzaniga did nothing wrong, but tbf......he had (almost) nothing to do ......

CORRECTION: we were ....they've still got zero points!

can't find a better adjective...... Whilst watching ......I thought... if they play this way every game, they'll take the title by storm.

very similar thought to that I recall .......when Brian Clough signed Peter Shilton ......and was asked why ? Cloughie said.....because he'll earn us 18 points a season ......and he was right ..

I would think that anyone who is prepared to go onto a football field, and to cross himself.....in front of 50,000+ fans.... has a very strong belief, and a great deal of courage.

Play at Everton.? I really hope he does. A clean sheet at Goodison would show them that they got it wrong !

yes me too. Doesn't the Prem. demand that we have THREE keepers on the books - even if they aren't over 21....or, even on ..." the 25 list " .?

yes my goodness - didn't he ! ....but it's surprsing when you think that many of MLT 's record haul weren't always hit ..so hard.

I didn't need an Atlas to see that most of these " rivalries " are based purely on geography. Of course the nearest side ..in your league.. constitutes a " derby game "....of sorts, but not always. With last year's derby game v. Pompey , (I can't recall the stats. exactly)... but we hadn't played them nearly as often as many people think, as we weren't in the same league for nearly 20 years before the war. .and about 15 years after it. AND in many cases it was a "friendly rivalry " and not the " hate campaigns" that take place today. After we went up (in 1966) they went down...and the games became much less. I don't think we'd met Bournemouth ...in a League game.. since the late 1950's until our couple of games in L1. So I'd hardly call them rivals..and not Brighton either, for much the same reasons. Without reaching for a record book, and purely by guesswork....I'd say that since say 1960...we'd played Norwich, Newcastle, Sunderland, Middles'boro, Notts. Forest and Bolton most often..and usually in Div 2 .(Championship) ...and in the 27 years in old Div.1 / Prem. ...probably(?) ....Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton, Man Utd and Leeds. Difficult to say who I regarded as rivals, but in Div2. the games mentioned were competitive and entertaining... .and winning over any of those Div.1 clubs - as we were often low down in the league ....and every win was nice...but in retrospect... I never expected to beat Arsenal (well not so often) but a victory over Spuds always felt good.....and everyone hated Leeds.

of course this is not Saints, but every time there is a discussion about penalties... I recall the words of my first boss - over 40 years ago. Born in London, he was an Arsenal fan and never stopped recalling the name of Ronnie Rooke. A player whose career, sadly, was divided either side of WW2, Rooke signed for Arsenal in 1946 and in two seasons scored 68 goals in 88 starts.. My(former)boss said Rooke could kick a ball harder than anyone he'd ever seen....and on occasions put both the goalie ....and the ball.... in the back of the net. It always come to mind when I watch penalty-takers, and I think we see that few goalies get much of a chance when Rickie Lamberet takes his penalty kicks.

I think you're right there, old players only bring bad habits with them, but I'm delighted to see that Rickie Lambert has improved so much - and not just in goal-scoring ability. Attitude-wise of course but he's leaner and hungrier..and after all these years... surely not a million miles away from an England call-up either (?), that's if he continues to score regularly. With Rooney still out ..who knows ?.... .and I agree about overall blueprint. In the future, it'll be young players who can be coached properly...but I still don't rule out the addition of a " football legend "..who knows who NC is after... next time ?

thanks Super saint, ......don't know where he'd fit in our present set-up just now, but he'll be a big name when he gets going !

I think we all know that one, but yesterdays win (though eagerly anticipated).... was not won in the way we all expected. I'm very grateful for the 3 points, but I'm sure it wasn't won in the manner that NA expected either. The fact that we " experimented " with Gazzaniga in goal worked, (although TBF he scarcely had that much to do....) .or, that the " forced experiment " of switching Clyne to LB.. .also worked..... especially as Richardson didn't let the side down, either.... Yoshida showed he has class,...... even if it was his first full game, and Mayuka proved that he can " motor " too. We are in an " experimental phase " and (as I had written before) ...may well end this season with only 3- 4 of last seasons' first team regulars still in place, and I expect to see Artur Boruc in goal next Saturday at Everton, too. This is the time to bring in the new faces..... and find a formula that will work .....for the remaining 33 games, and it may well take a bit more time.

of course Villa fans were upset at losing to an upstart newly-promoted Saints side, ......and the fact that they conceded two goals to Rickie Lambert - (who had also scored against Man.City AND Man Utd.).... but I think there were a few short-sighted comments in trying to defend the reputation of their side who hadn't won away since January (!).

there is a lot of difference between the theory and reality of this idea. A full back may be " patrolling " a certain area well enough and " containing" his man, but if the winger changes sides.... then the opposite FB may not be able to cope in the same way and it becomes even harder for someone of medium height to mark a taller man ...(see earlier post re-Lallana. and their giant no.20)