david in sweden

100% correct Turkish. I agree with every word. If being a " nice guy" qualifies you to be a good manager, there are quite a few in L1/L2 who would be top of the list. A lot of top international players have tried and failed in management. I always thought DJ was a nice guy, but for that case up against him, he would have got the boot before the end of that season. We were appauling until Hoddle arrived..and survived.

yes impressive ..especially ín a team about to be relegated, but can you see him getting " Saints fit "?. He 'll be 30 in November, and unless he's for free, I don't think he'd be such a good investment. NA is up for signing experienced 22-26 year olds with a view to long term development.

Crikey ! only a week after the end of season ..and nearly 500 posts already. How big will this thread get before August ? Can the IT system take it MODS ?

I think this will be a calmer few months for NA. That's a managers life for you . Tears when you lose, and sometimes ..even tears when you win ! of course there's new players in ?..planning and training, tactics etc, but when he came ..he had to pick us up from the bottom of L1...and then get promoted to Npc..and then again ..for the Prem. and now were there. The Prem.(as it is now) is unknown territory for almost everyone at the club. Yes I know we have a few players who've been there, but none were in good teams and playing well at that time, so it'll be a bit special for everyone. I hope that NA can wake up a few mornings next week and relax.. knowing that he doesn't need to prepare a team for Saturday. I'm sure he'll spend the summer watching even more videos of the current Prem. sides ..and trying to plan their downfall..and then a long hard look at the fixture list comes out. Then the pre-season.. hoping that no-one gets injured and that those who are will heal properly. The pre-season games..still hoping for no injuries...then " the Marcus Cup "..and.....THE BIG KICK OFF. WOW !..where did the summer go?

..and anyway Rickie is better at penalties !

Looks very impressive Phil, but you forgot to mention the goalie situation. I still rate KD very highly..but do you really see Bart as his emergency sub...?.in the case of ...the worst. (and don't let's talk about Forecast ).

they can look as much as they like, but Danny seems content to stay put for the rest of his career with SFC - if you read interview with him.

WOW ..he must have long legs!

yes Turkish, I agree but why shouldn't the " someone " be us ?

I agree totally. My real point is that MANY people come on and suddenly "pre-judge a player" (they sometimes have never seen) based on the fee (free or not). I recall quite a few negative comments when we bought a 27 y.o. L1 striker called ..Rickie Lambert. What a waste of money he was going to be - they said.

Liverpool. I know they got £50 mill. for Torres (only Chelski would have paid that)...but they must have been underwhelmed with the purchase of Carroll. He can surely only get better, as he's been rubbish most games this season, and 'pool fans have only partly forgiven him because of his late winner in the FA CUP SF. Big money players esp. strikers ...(for Saints anyway) have in the main been a catastrophe.

OMG . He's 6' 6".. well at least we'd have someone to match against Peter Crouch ..on level terms.

I can recall quite a lot of people saying exactly the same when we signed a slow-moving, muscle-bound 30 year old reserve centre half ..from Newcastle. His name was .. John McGrath. R.I.P. In retrospect, I've rarely seen anyone tougher...and hardly a red card in sight.

Nice one. well written. Almost makes you feel you were doing the interview yourself !

this is only just the end of the season and already threads are rife with everybody's HCDAJFU suggestions for August... Somehow it seems (for some) ...that only a hefty price tag will surfice for it to be a "good buy". New club record?...perhaps... maybe a bit less ?.....Does £1 million sound too little to be "good enough" ? Many of the best players we've had in the past have cost next to nothing ..or nothing at all.. often a free, but the very word " free transfer " or OOC sounds like the worst of the worst to some contributors. Let's leave aside the list of youth players who've come through the system in previous decades, when players like (the late) Dean Richards saw out his contract with Wolves and joined Saints because he wanted a better class of football. Others came for a mere pittance, but saw light at the end of the tunnel. Some times players don't get along with their prev. club managers; Chaplow and Hooiveld are two recent examples of this, others like Fonte and Sharp saw greener fields ahead when they signed, and they didn't cost an arm and a leg, either. We saw a glimpse of T. Lee's skill (before his injury) but when I first heard the rumour of his possible signing my thought was "Aha ..international striker ..Mmm £2 million, maybe a bit less - if we're lucky? "....but instead he was a free transfer (!) Others will say "can't be much good if he's a free transfer ". In the end, the deciding factor is a players ambition, rather than a club's demand for a huge fee. Based on this seasons performances, I'm glad we didn't lash out those millions on CMS or Nicky Maynard. Nigel Adkins negotiating tactic to any player he wants to sign will simply be .." how'd you like to play in the Premier League? " Any international player on a free..and with any ambition left ...will certainly want to listen.

the vast majority of our squad is well under 30, an old head at the back may well be a good move. and besides, he's probably not " Saints fit " ** ...yet .. (nor I suspect is anyone likely to be signed this summer). ** We can see what it did for that lazy, overweight Liverpudlian burger king from Bristol, until he first "really " got fit.

sort of ...there was a link a couple of weeks back of a young goalkeeper NA at Tranmere being interviewed on some local TV station. Apart from the hairstyle...he looked and sounded exactly the same as today.

...... but we did deserves the points when you consider it was Kelvin Davis' finest display in a Saints shirt !

FIRST UPDATE; May 2nd. as I have written many times before, I ignore league tables until after game 6 (by then the shocks are over, and the worst has become apparant). newly-promoted Åtvidaberg topped the table after winning their first three...now reality has set in ...and they have lost their last 3. Elfsborg struggled in their first two games, but have now won FOUR on the trot and sit three points clear at the top of the table with Anders Svensson (will be 36 in july)... and still going strong. Stockholm side AIK has put some good results together and sit well-placed near the top, whilst rival Djurgården fans are looking for the black armbands in preparation for a fearful season near the bottom again. Things are worse on the west coast for Gothenburg (formerly one of the best club sides) and fans are only going out at nights - for fear of being ridiculed by players in their women's side. There is a lot of media interest in Superettan, the Swedish Championship level) where there are half a dozen former top sides, and Stockholm-based Hammarby are unbeaten at the top and Brommapojkarna have made a good start too, as have Michael Svensson's Halmstad outfit. more info. as and when.

interesting comment .. Do you think he will be able to get " Saints fit " , and blend in with our present squad ?

I hope he sussed that one. This "invitation" sounds like a variation of the notorius Nigeria letter. They claim to have a fortune that they will share with you, but when/if you turn up to collect it.. you are kidnapped and held to ransom . A polite NO is in order Nigel !.

quite right The 9, but to be pedantic (!) ..we are not even a Premier League club YET... we are a Championship side that has qualified (by promotion) to play there next season. However, like others on here, I also get stuck on calling "it" - the Premiership sometimes, as that's what it was known as the last time we played there. Anyway, its too long to type every time. I've used the " Prem." for some time now.

NEVER say never...can we quote you on that ?

no thanks to the people who were managing England at the time.

Yes we've been here before... BUT I think Capello (like Eriksson before him) " inherited " a squad... from the FA and the football media.** Eriksson tried a number of fringe players in an effort to get a squad together, hence most of his "defeats " were friendlies when he tried 18 or more players per game. Roy H. has managed a number of " fairly ordinary Prem. sides" quite well ..all things considered - and I count Liverpool in that comment during his time there. I get the feeling that calm, quiet Roy, is not the sort of manager to be dictated to and having got the job...he will be his own man. He may have a different opinion than the above** and I wouldn't be surprised to see a few " surprise names" pop up. and I do think that Hodgson must be aware of their existance, and their potential. With Rooney out for the first 2 games. Bent still injured ANY forward line looks a bit thin on paper.Defoe (maybe).Crouch(possibly)but who else? It wouldn't surprise me to see Lambert - on the bench at least - and then... who knows ..? Much as I appreciate Lallana as a midfielder, I think he'd be last on any short list of MF players. (at present)