david in sweden

I've felt that we need a back-up for Ricky Lambert (in the event of .....) and have said so many times since January. I'm glad that we finish every game without serious injuries but I am surprised that NA hasn't signed sufficient back-up. it would be catastrophic if " something went wrong " and we lost the advantage we have built-up so far this season. Of course, no-one expects players to get injured, but sh*t happens and neither Barnard or Connolly have the stature or the style of play to replace RL (if necessary). Forte (apart from being on loan) is a non-starter in this debate and Doble doesn't even get a regular run-out in the so-called U21 and hasn't had a proper debut yet.

big item on BBC site regarding the "testing " of suitable systems that could be implemented for season 2012-13 ??

No of course it won't be... unless "approved " by the Football League or whoever much further ahead in time ... but it wouldn't do any harm to use it to monitor a few games and invite an FA representative in to take a look ...

yes, but obviously had untapped potential..was it Liverpool after him ?

well of course, players do have the right to refuse to move - even though they ae under contract, or if they don't like their personal terms... but we'll know quite soon now ...one way or the other.

my thoughts too. I think Ricky is a great player and as leading scorer in the division has proved it, but should he be injured ...we have no natural successor to take his place...

wasn't it more a case of the Administrator forced us to sell him in order to get money into the club...? (pre Liebherr) as I recall, Swansea had a pitifully low club record for signings ..less than £1 million I think, and Swans cashed in on that deal when we might have got 2 or 3 times more... had we not been forced to sell.....or ?

Dunno ...what's the Saints (in Welsh ?)

I think this is standard " managerial double-talk " to protect his back against angry fans who lose their star player. Obviously, it is a financial matter for the CCFC Board, but the manager doesn't want to be blamed if their already bad form ends up worsening even more. " what can I do, it was out of my hands...." it might save his job but they will still be relegated.

Most 4-4-2 line-ups seem to have one big man, and a smaller, faster player up front to play off him. Fairly obviously Barnard (subject to the discretion of the Court) and Connolly (injuries permitting) are one pair to choose from but Lambert doesn't have a natural replacement - and Lukas looks to be that. Please... no-one say he's not as good as RL - thats obvious, but there is no other logical choices and good as Guly is, he can only manage 60-75 mins. games before being subbed. No-one is surplus to requirements if they are in the squad .. and fit. Whether Lukas - or anyone else for that matter - will be good enough to get a regular spot in OUR eventual Prem.side (God willing) remains to be seen but his presence in the squad, and possible contributions to the team... may be enough to see us over the finish line in May. Who is likely to be in next seasons squad is anyone's guess, but good performances in the Spring will obviously play a part. Come back in April.

me too, but it rather depends on what the judge decides - doesn't it ? If the worst were to happen at least we 'd have some cover..if Ricky were to be injured..surely no one would have asked the question ....

so we are saying that at age of 22 ....Ricky had played 145 games and scored 26 goals, whereas at the same age Lukas has played 142 games and scored 33 goals. NO ..I'm not going to say it .. but someone with a crystal ball can tell us how many he will have scored by the time he reaches 29 ..right ?.

...think that's the goal of ANYONE'S season isn't it? .. in the 93rd minute, too

I like Barnard and Guly and Lambert and I wouldn't be wanting to see them replaced... but it's only sensible to get cover up front. Lukas is young enough to be coached ..(look at what we did with Ricky compared to when he first came) .. If anything were to happen to any of the above three we would need some sort of viable alternative, but don't let's have people comparing him to Ricky after his first game.....it'll take time for him to get off the bench and earn his place.

Regardless of what some people think about him, his 7 league goals this season put him in the top 10 scorers... in a team that's 23rd in the league. Thats more than Guly 6, and Lallana and Connolly have got 5 each..it's also almost half of Coventry's total ..the rest of the side have only managed 8 between them. It's also better than the other £4 million candidates being bantered about, so far this season Maynard has 6 league goals, JayRod and Sharp only 4 each.

for interest sake ...I looked Lukas up on Wikipedia, talk a bout a laugh. Of course he qualifies for England (though hardly likely to be selected) having been born In So'ton, but also for Poland via his grandfather AND (wait for it )...Republic of Ireland via... his grandmother I thought that was par for the course..surely almost every other player has an Irish grandmother ..don't they ?

of course, but looking at their League position AND defensive record ( or lack of it ) ....I'd say defenders were a priority...

...will be the "loan players " all the sites are talking about as " make weights " for the deal ? My bets go for Ryan Dickson, not a bad player but too far down the list, and Lee Holmes who i would definitely want to keep but he needs games to get himself some form if he is to be in the running for a spot in the squad.. IMO Dan Harding has to be kept here as our back-up for Danny Fox, but without Butterfield we have no other established right back as cover for Richardson - not at present that is .....

...not such a bad thing, eh ? I recall that the "young " Kevin Davies (and James Beattie for that matter) put themselves about quite a lot in the beginning of their Saints' careers, and then developed into very useful strikers . Maybe a bit of good coaching ...might make the difference ?

Is Lukas coming then ...? it was only a guess on my part when I started the thread #1 ... but there did seem to be a number of comments about him earlier in the year. Maybe scoring against us was enough to tip the balance and I guess we don't have to ask if he'd be committed to playing for us, either. Seems like he and his family are already fans. Perhaps the only ironic bit is paying out several million for a player who cost nothing in the first place and went through our own Academy. Which bright spark of a manager OK'd his departure I wonder?

well that will pay a few salaries won't it ...

This has always fascinated me as everyone seems to think that players should automatically score at international level, without realising that you are up against an international keeper (not one of your ordinary club wallahs). They are more likely to save kicks than most -except of course for those that sail over the bar ..or go wide, and that must be a laugh for them. (I wrote this before) but just after Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed England manager, I met him, together with my son at an autograph signing in Stockholm. At the time I did ask him if he was going to give Beattie and Bridge more of a chance, but he was politely evasive, but I also pointed out that England had gone out of several tournaments in the previous decade - purely because we were incapable of finding five players capable of putting the ball in the net after 120 minutes play ! He looked shocked .." Really ? he said, no-one's told me that.." I suggested that it might be embarrassing if the same thing happened AGAIN ! In a press conference several weeks later prior to the 2002 World Cup, he announced to the media that England players were going to have extra practice..taking penalties ! Fortunately, or unfortunately, it wasn't needed on that occasion but how can "professional managers not take such things into account ". I know many of us were shocked that Hoddle didn't take MLT to the 1998 World Cup, but he obviously hadn't considered it very carefully as we had gone out that way so many times before..and that MLT had a record of 48 of 49 penalty goals ! So much for planning.

? not sure about that, but I know that Jason Dodd (successfully) took a few on those occasions when MLT wasn't playing ...