david in sweden

heroically said TDD.....would you take a sleeping bag and a goodly supply of food too?.....I don't think ....that your opinion counts more than NA/NC ....who won't want to sell him anyway .

........and to think the thread only began less than two weeks ago ......feels like a month already !!!

if I recall correctly......Stuart Gray was appointed (belatedly).. after Glenn Hoddle's sudden departure to his " spiritual home " at White Hot Lane...I think he had about 8 or 9 games with barely two wins. to call Steve Wigley - our manager - was slightly wrong... better "caretaker " as I think at the time, he didn't have the requisite coaching badges required to be a Prem.manager..(?)

just about right I think St.Chalet...expect I would think Billy would get an airing, too. Not going to chance any of the key names when only 3 days away from the MU game.

whether it a sale....or a loan ...those players who don't have a squad number so far are pretty obvious candidates. .I should think .... Although, I certainly expect to see some of the older Academy ex's to get loan...Reeves, Hoskins are the first that come to mind.... they haven't matured yet, and getting into the present Prem. squad - even as an U21 - is almost impossible for them...

..he looks good, I suppose ....so... we change out a Fonte ...for a Fontás .....OK, but the last comment on his profile looks ominous. We have that problem already!

....with the Echo's list of " player enquiries " having past 60 since May; I don't have an inkling as to who we will sign . I think I ought to sit back, relax and wait for the first press conference of the week.

Oh .you're the guy with the sense of humour ..right ? Those managers who have equalled Nigel Adkins' record of back-to-back promotions can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Sure we know some of those players won't make the grade in the Prem. but he wasn't given a crystal ball to predict when we got promotion last season. Most fans would agree on who... will / will not.. make the grade based on the first two games...so I'm sure NA knows it. The real proof of success in this League is what happens with signings / transfers this week ......and in January ...and survival come May.

I agree with the sentiment you express ....but in reality those " Premier League stalwarts " are more likely to be Premier League rejects. No club allows their best players to leave and harm the team set-up and money is seldom an issue for Prem. sides. Players who are sold between Prem.sides are those who are surplus to requirements and /or not good enough for a regular spot.

......having followed Redknapp's career (and recalling his sojourn with us) ....he is the last person I would want to consider as a potential replacement for any team. His " success" has been built on big spending and a healthy dose of Harry's peculiar brand of dressing room " bu**sh*t". Apart from the fact that the next transfer window will be Jan.2013, we all know he would never get some of his " type of deals " past the watchful eye of Nicola Cortese - let alone spend the volume of money he did at Pompeii.

the first line of my contribution is : I don't think we should sell Ricky Lambert. However, it's plain our very long honeymoon with success has hit a snag. Our mode of play for the last 3 seasons has been tailored to Ricky's style and he's had a goal feast. No-one expects that it will go on forever, and despite Ricky's well-earned Prem. goal at Etihad, he'll find it much tougher to get the space and opportunities he's had in the recent past. NA talks about trying different formations, and we need to. Any normal Prem. player past 30, knows his shelf life can have next weeks date on it, and the joy of scoring in the Prem. must make way for the reality of ..what happens next? Either Ricky must learn to play another (less dependent role in the side) and allow the team to play another formation where he isn't the key player anymore. Sadly, in our present League position ...we don't have time to experiment. NA is fully aware that if we don't put some "real football" together and score some goals in the next two games we could still be sitting on 0 points.... after 4 games. Now is the time to see if Tadanari Lee, Jay Rod and Billy Sharp will become the " new-look " Saints. The next chapter in the fairy story is taking 3 points off Man.U next Sunday and Ricky picking up another goal or two. The reality may be more cruel and serious decisions will need to be made this week. (of course the whole idea maybe a ploy to help the Blackburn manager hold on to his job a little longer, as he seems unpopular with the owners and already has one foot out of the door. If he gets the boot, then Ricky... (if ever transferred)... will have to fit in with yet another managers survival planning). Nigel Adkins' methodology has worked so far, but if it fails... he maybe become another manager who begins to feel the draught !

Careful though, Dawson has an injury record almost rivalling that of Sicknote !

Skacel ? ...did you say Skacel ? .......no sorry Skirtel (phew-thank goodness).

is it a language? ....looks like someone tipped out the box of Scrabble pieces...

must be related to those types I recall at The Dell, when we were in Div.1 all those years ago. Never saw then before... They turn up, shouting the odds, but couldn't even identify half of the team , yeah, yeah...

Fonte was actually fouled by Kone, who went on and scored. The ref. didn't give it, but the TV commentators confirmed it straight away in the replay of the incident / goal. However, IMHO Fonte has skill but he really lacks pace and playing last man (as he invariably does) he's gonna get scalped every time by a fast forward.

This was at the time that Fox was injured. He was down for a while, but came back and ran off the injury..or so we suppose. Whilst he was on the ground so long I really expected him to go off and Shaw to come on.

are we the only two that have highlighted this problem, Window Cleaner.? Every time I bring up the subject people suggest Gazza as replacement ! I'm not ANTI-KD.....but do anyone think that Gazza (good talent that he maybe) is a good replacement / challenger for the No.1 spot.? KD has stayed virtually injury-free in 5 years, but IF anything were to happen, we can't run round in panic and try to get an " unemployed Prem. class keeper " - who just happens to be free and available.

I think a lot of us agree with that, but he'll do well to hold that consistent level for 5-6 games...by then Jack should be back !

yeah - but would the same thing work on some of our sleepy defenders?

oh really Tokyo, It may be OK to sign " big names", but those two would never get " Saints fit " - would they ?

I've been out of the house for around 4 hours and this thread has advanced more than 4 pages (!) .........and nearly half of that has been by ....This Charming Man. Is this a record ?

I don't know how good your Japanese is ..? ..or how good the translation was..but ... could it be he's unhappy because he's been injured... and is not up to full fitness yet ....rather than criticising the manager because he hasn't been selected yet? the "homesick bit " is natural. of course...as it would be... if Hiroshima had bought you to play in their team...and you were living in Japan. .

in case anyone is wondering about the weakness in our central defence.. I'm asking myself.... if replacing a Dutchman and a Portuguese...... with a Japanese and a French-speaking African will help things run more smoothly ? Esperanto lessons, anyone ?

well...speaking for myself... a lifetime of listening to politicians should have taught me, but I do like to think that some of the " absolute truths " that are printed in some papers...might have a grain of validity to them... (even of they claim they have a " good source ")