david in sweden

money on more projects ...? how about painting the gasometers red and white ? or, building SMS's own railway platform for fans to travel in...?

Those of us (older fans) who recall that for the majority of the 27 seasons that we were in the top flight, we finished below half way in that division. It was, admittedly, a bit too close for comfort for many of those seasons, and the squads could have been better had big money been available, but the Liebherrs are hardly likely to encounter a big debt problem with the (rumoured) £90 million income which Premiership clubs are given nowadays, and a man like Nicola Cortese holding the purse strings.

if there were awards for the " most shots on goal " ..then David McGoldrick (remember him?)....would have won the Golden Boot in his last season with us. It's the ones that cross the line that count ....(well, almost ..except those the ref. doesn't see!)

if we are promoted....and we get Napoli and A.N.OTHER top Euro side, it'll be a good test of our squad against other future European opposition. I won't expect it to be friendly practice games, but a chance to see us matched against class continental opposition. If the crowds are low (as some predict)... it'll be more the result of summer holiday planning, rather than a lack of interest from Saints fans.

whilst football journalists wax lyrical and poetically describe Billy Sharp 2 goals as nails in the coffin condemning Donnie to L1 next season, many of them seem to have overlooked the fact that Doncaster (one of only 7 sides to have already beaten us in the League this season) had ..prior to yesterday lost 20 league games AND conceded 61 goals, before Billy knotched his pair yesterday. such is the nature of journalism, the truth is that Donnie have had a very poor season - having said that I'd like them to stay up even for Gillett's sake.

the quality of " bounce-back-ability " (whoever dreamed up that one?) is highlighted quite well if we see that West Ham seemed to have " peaked " around Christmas / New Year time, when they took over at the top, and we had our infamous " blip". In an 8 game period, we won only 8 points ..of a possible 24 with a GD of - 4, whilst the Hammers won a few, and took a 4 point lead at the top. Now we are 9 points clear of them, we can see that indeed we may have "bounced back" (12 League games undefeated), whilst Hammers have been tossing away points with every game. Hopefully if we can maintain this current form the "blip " will only be a bad memory - soon forgotten. our greatest strength may not lie in playing masterful, possession type football, but fitness levels which can last to the 95th minute of the last game.

Surely, there are a number of factors here that many people don't consider directly. The fact that the players you named aren't running around at 100 mph as they did at the start of the season, is masked by the fact that 40 games on they aren't necessarily as quick and sharp (No, not you Billy )...as they were in August PLUS the fact that the rigourous training that they have had all season may build up strength and endurance - but isn't the same as a measured pre-season build-up where everything can be planned in advance. Coming back from injury is more than just training with the rest of the lads several days a week. Alan Shearer's famous quote; being match fit is not the same as being fit enough to play.. the above-mentioned players aren't alone in lacking the 110% we have come to expect from players who are " Saints fit ". Whilst the 30 year old Guly may not have been used to the pace of English football, Adkins has been mindful of this and often subs. him in the last half hour, as also Adam Lallana who has been replaced 4 times in his last 7 starts. You don't have to flog a horse to death to get the required result. It's silly to expect players to suddenly take up where they left off, just because they are back in the start-line-up. It takes time to build up that good form again. More than ever nowadays, its a squad game (something Nigel Adkins is always first to point out) and because someone is on the bench doesn't mean they are "second-choice" anymore. Having a fresh pair of legs available in the last quarter can mean the difference between winning and losing. The concept of the " impact player " is seen in a new light now, and De Ridder's three league goals have all come from his sub. appearances, and are only a fraction of the 12 goals scored by oncoming subs. so far this season. Having a sub. coming on is no longer a case of ten men and an "also-ran" whose filling a role, but everyone must do his bit, and a 9min. subbing can be as valuable as 90 mins. of running. Though (sub). Lee Holmes' 88th minute goal (v. Watford) didn't radically affect the final result - it doesn't ignore the fact that someone who may only have been on the pitch for 3 minutes can contribute to the final result. It may take a few more weeks before we see the return of the form that SDR, Chaplow and others showed in early season, but I expect to see it..soon.

Er ..sorry ? what was the question again ?

well what do you expect from the manager of a bottom of the table side ? He's no Nigel Adkins - is he ? for me it's more fun listening to " Big Sam's" continual bleatings about why West Ham can't put all three points in the bag every game.

Having some of the best facilities in the country, one of the best Academy's and (most importantly) visionary leadership both on and off the pitch will help. Hopefully , in future we won't see the Walcott's, Bale's and Alex OC's ...disappearing off to the London "elite " but our newer talent will stay in the club. It isn't a foregone conclusion that despite Liebherr money, we'll spent £10-20 million on every new player.¨That sort of money can go to better salaries instead of fees.

Of course, it isn't the end of the stats. war. Looking back at his record of consistancy since he joined us ; I think his record is as good as anyone. We have a goalscorer who has given us " success ", rather than just " survival ". I'm glad that there have been " another 46 goals " because we have been far too dependent on big goalscorers to keep us alive in past decades. Ron Davies in the 1960's. Channon in the 70's and, of course MLT without whom we would have been in Div.2 (or whatever you want to call this division) around 20 years ago (certainly after Alan Ball's departure, I guess).

...considering all that he (and his wife) have gone through in the last 12 months, I'm pleased to see that he has had the chance to make a new start and that Adkins is not banging the table demanding more from him just now. He has more faith in (Billy - the player) than many of our fans seem to have. I think that - one day (sooner or later), he'll wake up one morning and really get it into gear, and he'll be a sensation AND ..if it's not until we get into the Premiership, then it'll be all the more of a surprise to some of his critics.

I think we see a little of all of these " qualities " in Nigel (from time to time) but essentially he is "his own man" and that's what I like about him most.

NA is always commenting on the balance /harmony of the squad, so it's a tribute to that philosophy that he can say " we don't need any more " - whilst our nearest rivals are scratching round to find extra players ......for the final push.

Having a good pair of central defenders is always the foundation of a good side. Looking back over 50 years I can recall several top duos that could qualify for a mention. Tony Knapp and Cliff Huxford in the early 1960's John McGrath and David Walker... 10 years later. Jimmy Gabriel and .. " whoever you like" (Jim was so versatile and played in 6 diff. positions one season) Jim Steele and Mel Blyth (from the mid 70's / FA CUP squad). Chris Nicholl and Dave Watson /Colin Waldron (early 80's) Mark Wright and ?? ( he was twice as good as any other partner at the time...) Ken Monkou (worth a mention but seldom had a good partner) - However, all these memorable pairings almost pale into insignificance when you recall later names like ; Claus Lundekvam / Dean Richards and Michael Svensson (in whatever order you like )...MY best of the bunch. although my late father would have said... Len Wilkins, Eric Webber and Joe Mallett, too Jose Fonte and Jos Hooiveld ..? (get on my short list already - even for half a season), hope they're still around a few more seasons.

what about ..? analyse the DVD, look at the rights and wrongs, put the game to bed ...and move on to the next on saturday... (He) looks very good in training, but this is a hard side to get into, there's lots of competition... (from.. " the Game of Football according to Nigel Adkins "

Agree totally. We can't talk about 90 minutes of football any longer. With stop time in the first half ...and then 95 mins + in the second, we see that the successful sides are those who are properly fit, and can go the full time and not wilt in the last quarter. Look at all the games in the all Leagues that are won by those teams who are still running at the final whistle. The Millwall game might have been won by two penalites, but both came form attacking moves right near the end of a tough game, and thank goodness we had a player (Lambert) who was capable of scoring two penalties in the last 5 mins. Only hope we have RL on the England bench in the summer - if we have to go to extra time and penalties at the end. England have gone out too often in the past, because we lacked an MLT /Lambert good enough after 120 mins. of football.

I think all this comment / criticism on here needs to be put into proportion. We may be top of the League, but we can still only use 11 players at a time. Billy wasn't " Saints-fit " when he came, but he is the sort of "physical threat " we need at the top, and he will improve. If Donnie had the type of good pre-season that we had maybe they wouldn't be at the bottom end of the table now. He needs time to get upto speed. His time will come. Tadanari Lee took off like a rocket and was an obvious choice to start up front, if he hadn't taken that knock a few weeks back, then IMO he'd still be keeping Billy on the bench and out of the start eleven... Chaplow had an unbelieveable spell in the Autumn when he practically ran games single-handed - until he was injured. He's back, but he will need time to get back upto the 110% we expect from Saints 'players nowadays. Maybe the same goes for De Ridder too. I'm glad for everyone's sake then Puncheon is back in the fold, but he didn't have a pre-season to speak of, and rarely got on the bench in that long, wasted period at QPR ..one asks "why did Warnock take him in the first place - and then not use him ?" I think he will be a real asset, when he "re-settles " and gets properly " Saints-fit " . ..... the best explanation sits with a famous comment from Alan Shearer, who went on record as saying ; " there's a lot of difference between being " match-fit " , and being " fit enough to play ". Fortunately NA has enough options to be able to rest players and not rush them back.

well it's abit more than that . Billy has started a game 3 times, and been on the bench in every game nce (seven times ) and got on 4 times. Perhaps the fact that we've been unbeaten in the last 12 games is one of the resaons we haven't been "forced" to pick him from the start - plus the prev. mentioned not totally " Saints -fit "

love Jos' comment in the (published today) interview and question about " pressure " on the players... sort of " pressure, what pressure ? " don't know what his IQ is, but his mindset is very fixed. Pressure he says, come from people on the outside. Nice one !

I've already written my piece on this Duncan, but maybe we should think positively also, and re-write the headline. 1948-49 - best we forget !

I know what you mean, but some words of wisdom that encourage me : Your past... is not your future ! (not as if we are going where no Saint has gone before ...apologies to Capt.Kirk)... but we are gradually finding our way back to our Spiritual home - The Premiership .