david in sweden

we maybe have someone come up with a text like ..Three ***** in a Fontaine, no sorry Fonte..or was it Forte? ..Oh dear there's a song there somewhere...

well there we are again. MY prediction from 10 days ago... #1 I couldn't believe that QPR has totally lost interest so quickly, they were just waiting for their new " banker" to buy up the club, Now suddenly all that Warnock bu** sh** is plain to see. Of course he wants Punch*** and now the guys got an open cheque book ...JP will be their first buy! good poker game Mr. Cortese!

well to start with ...1.80m. is 5' 11" (+/- a bit...), maybe he was 5'9" when he was a junior and no-one has updated the stats.?

Don't think it means we have lost interest in Gorkyss.. (that's if he's interested in us?)... or any of the others rumoured... The targets seem to be CCC level players and not paying £5 million for someone this season may be a sensible idea. WHEN ...we win promotion there will be a big sorting of the "wheat fron the chaff " if we are to surivive in the Prem. long term, and if any of these guys are " up to it," then they will have been a very good deal, eh ?

Same age group round 25, and he's certainly played more games ..I read 200+ ...and Bristol City have been in CCC.. ( most of /all )..of that time, I think?

and especially if Jonathan Forte is on the bench, eh Dave ?

Fans at all clubs have differing opinions on players....(although Jack Cork hasn't been here long enough for the "regular moaners " to have started on him yet ...) but they will....in time. A few people on this site who have come out and said that Ricky Lambert is only really good for..free-kicks and penalties!! .......get your head around that statement if you can ...!!!! I'm sure that Waghorn (if signed) ..will prove his worth (when / if ) called upon...

Fouls usually occur when the other side has the ball, and you want to get it - legally or otherwise. Looking at the stats. for ball possession this season, I'm surprised that the opposition has had the ball as much as they have ! You don't need to foul when your own side has 60%+ of the action .....

He's still only 21. Obviously didn't get a lot of regular starts at Sunderland, but had a good record when on loan at Leicester. Roy Keane (then manager at Sund'land said he thought the lad had a good future. As for "cast-offs" don't complain too quickly. I recall a 21 year old "cast-off " joining us from Blackburn in 1998. JAMES BEATTIE ! that wasn't such a bad deal at the time.

kind 'a makes you think that the whole media circus is just waiting for us to lose our first game ... around Christmas... and then say we're kass and are not going to make it !

I'm pretty sure he'll be happy to go anywhere other than SMS and having to train with the U16s.

Aha ! ......Those training methods...Is that why we ended up being relegated from the CCC. Our present training methods have got us to the top of CCC... Something very wrong there...me thinks.

doesn't mention MONEY, though.... As an Academy product we are entitled to some re-imbursement from Reading , I think? ..and I haven't heard any news of the Tribunal's decision on the "fee" for Gobern (now Hudd'f'd). Is such info published on an FA site ..or elsewhere?

agree totally. Svennis was buying everyone who could lace up his own boots. Some good names but too mnay new players coming form clubs who all play different styles. It'll take too long for them to get to know one another's games... Ricky Lambert 's quote midweek says it all... " we 've had the same squad together now for two seasons, we know each others play very well....."

Although it is quite rare, there is a syndrome? of players who actually perform better the higher level they play at... I also think that Morgan will be even better when we move up to the Prem..along with Adam Lallana who has that MLT quality of just floating around the pitch and seemingly moving into top gear at a moments notice. The inspirational players. Though it's 10 years since he retired..I still enjoy a blink at the "Impossible " video of MLTs career. Never needing to train hard, or practice basic skills repeatedly, he just seem to make it happen ad.lib. I watched U-tube take on Lallana's goal v.Leeds (from behind the goal angle ) and saw how he bent the ball around the keeper and in off the post - almost without pressure and so with much time. Morgan's chip to Adam... for the last goal at Ipswich, almost re-wrote the training manual....sheer class. A good player.

.....seems like the WHO could supply us with quite a few tunes...like HAPPY JACK....and a quick look at our bench when we need a SUBSTITUTE...but nowadays it seems we win ANYWAY, ANYHOW; ANYWHERE.....why are we successful just now?..I CAN'T EXPLAIN!

hadn't made the connection before, but all this chat about Nigel's transport reminded me of the old WHO number ...MAGIC BUS !

ANOTHER great signing....

6' 2´" tall, 27 years old but with only 200 league games to his credit? Why? Does he has " personal" problems? Yes... he was good in his early career, but loaned out to several struggling sides who probably wanted him as "cover " rather than becoming dependent on him as a regular and then having to buy him? Maybe his loan terms were connected to appearance money, and the clubs who were skint didn't want to pay out more ? Has two years left on his Sunderland contract...and isn't popular with Steve Bruce ? Time to make a career decision, Kev. Continue on the bench, or make a move..?

Exactly the point I've been making (and being criticised for) since May. Whilst some people continue to insist that David Connolly is " injury-prone" . He has been fit, and on the bench since March and fortunately fit to replace Lee Barnard in April. He scored 3 in the last 6 games (incl. one of the two at Brighton) and scored in every start in pre-season and in the 3 league games so far. Lee Barnard ...on the other hand ...was injured in April and is still not fit !! That gives me real cause for concern. After 4 months ..I could understand it if he was on the bench trying to play " catch-up" with Connolly, but he's not been named for a game once yet. Problems ? A good start to this season, YES. ..BRILLIANT in fact ...but with 43 games left... I'd like to have more striker options..in the event of .. .!!*^##//

Correct, Let's be Avenue, ...either I was flicking through the pages too fast... or I've begun to be dyslexic ! However, it doesn't affect the original q. which was about the number of early season goals we'd scored historically. These are not applicable because neither cup competition starts so early in the season. ..but thanks for pointing out the error anyway.

you mean they hate us --more than Pompey do ...? I think Adkins " high profile / confidence " interviews got up Gus Poyet's nose a little, especially when we were still mid-table but began talking about winning the title. Even some of our own fan base thought it was a bit over the top. Poyet may be good at what he does at Brighton, but he's no match for Nigel's " agressive, all-action " interview style, and I think that transmitted itself to the max. 7000 Brighton fans who squeezed themselves into the Withdean.

we can... if we get someone better before August 31st.

Of course you're right (here)but record-breaking is not about comparing team with team ..or player with player, but is a reflection of performances on the day. Like everyone else I'd be overjoyed to think we'd win 46 straight League games, but most realists know it's not likely to happen. It does happen, of course I recall the Leeds sides of the early 1970's who took the League, and even Europe by storm but always seemed to fall at the last hurdle. Manager Don Revie said in an interview..he told his players.. " we're going to go thorough this season and not lose a game."... it didn't quite happen, but they did go 35 games on the trot without losing a game....!. In the early days with Arsenal ..Wenger's team went ..50 games without defeat...? However, a good start does reflect something about the team's morale, ability and unity. Those previous illustrations show that those (Saints) sides began well although they didn't win anything at the end ...nor does it suggest that we played the three weakest teams in the League.... or that we caught them " on a bad day.". Look back to those threads in mid June after the fixture lists were published, when everyone was quivering in their shoes at the headlines talked about " tough start we have to the season " ...yeah sure baby ! The best reading is the comments from the managers of Leeds, Barnsley and Ipswich who complimented Saints - and seemed glad we hadn't won by a larger score. Those opposition players were scared ****le** by our passing, possession and attacking style. That makes nice reading - doesn't it ?