david in sweden

.or wondering if Skacel has actually signed...??:

OK that's the answer then, but does that rule out the possibility that two-footed players still exist, and are capable of playing both sides. ? Statisically, only one person in four is left-handed, even fewer are both left handed and left footed, and a proportion of those are ONLY right-footed (e.g. one of my sons), and because of that most teams have right-sided attacking formations, and are desperate to find ANYONE who is left-footed (we had that problem inbetween the Bridge-Bale period). In consequence, overlapping full backs are usually right-sided and always look good because they have less defending to do when the opposition create attacks. Our left flank rarely looked better than when we had Bridge and Marsden, and when Bale was a lone attacker but who was criticised for his poor defending.! Perhaps AP is looking to revive an attacking strategy that is left-sided and not the traditional right-sided methodology...? Agreed, It doesn't solve todays " problem " about a RB, (but then again the season doesn't start till August and there's still time) ..but it does provide a possible answer to the question of why the sudden interest in left-sided players.

...is it SO RIDICULOUS ...? Was Harding totally useless at right back...or ?. Just because he came to fill the LB slot doesn't it mean he can't play RB? No player starts his career with LB tatooed on his back, and good players can play almost anywhere. Nick Holmes debuted at LB, but it didn't stop him playing both RB and RH (right midfield) as well as inside left then several more years at LB, before having 4 seasons at right wing after Ball had gone. David Peach , a recognised LB also played left midfield and as a striker on occasions and Manny Andruszewski played both right and left back in the late 1970's. Frannie Benali was a goal scoring striker and played for England schoolboys before switching to LB. and Alan Shearer ('though not a defender) was goalkeeper with Newcastle's Boys team before joining Saints youth side in his early teens. Older fans will recall the legendary (my words) ex-Everton star Jimmy Gabriel 1967-72 who played in FOUR different positions for us in his first season...and also was sub.goalie on one occasion. He later also played as a striker AND right back. Jeff Kenna and Simon Charlton played in both full back positions, as did Claus Lundekvam who played his first full season at LB before switching to central defence. The much-maligned (by some) but versatile Rory Delap played his first games at RB, but later played at both right and left midfield and also left winger. I don't know AP thoughts about the LB slot, but Dickson is touted as the best LB outside the Premiership and Harding (one of the finds of the season) will surely find a position somewhere....so why not at right back ?

...and scoring from free-kicks...and beating 5 defenders on the run ...and then scoring ...and dummying " dummy " keepers...and not missing penalties (well almost...) and spontaneously scoring with half-chances from anywhere inside or outside the box...GET IN !!!!!!!!!!

....in the pouring rain with water running down your neck ...!

Can you re-define legend.? He is one of only 9 Saints players to have made over 400 apps. and the only non-British player ever to have done so. He was a part of some of the best central defensive partnerships we've had in the last 30 years...and retained by a myriad managers whilst many others fell by the wayside. Monkou / Lundekvam Lundekvam / Richards Lundekvam / Svensson He also received a couple of horrific injuries " in the cause" and seldom shrank from a tackle. He also played over 40 games for Norway and captained them on several occasions in what was quite a good international side at the time. I think that speaks for itself. While I don't condone any of his "off -field" misdemeanors, he is obviously a sad man with problems, but has my respect for his performances on it.

Change of tactics Chez. new Pardew formation. we play with two left backs, two left sided midfielders and a left winger. Why all this obsession with right-sided players ...?

Agreed! the man's made his choice, he's over 18 and can choose his future. Forget him and move on !

I think the main thing is that nobody was really good that season - or the one before. I think it's a bit unfair to single our AS who was more red and white than a lot of those " experiments " that were tried by various managers.

maybe we would have been more impressed if he had scored a hat-trick !

it doesn't matter, as long as it's OK to... bat-on . oops sorry !

So that's Pardews new strategy... next season ...we play 1-9-1 inspired reasoning !!!

.at right back of course ...haven't you figured that out yet ?

well... so much for his opinion !

Their are always good players..even in the most mediochre teams... Rickie came from Bristol Rovers, Punch from Plymouth /MK Dons and Barnard from Southend. The trick is to spot them . Don't think AP did so badly getting those three...or do you ?

what did you expect ..it's Friday afternoon...wait till Monday !

However, I recall AP's comments (and he did seem concerned) but my emphaisis was really on the .." finding someone good enough " part. Neither Barnard or Connolly are that tall and we need another 6 footer as cover for Rickie. Since posting this thread at breakfast, I see a report has come up that we are interested in Charlton's Nicky Bailey...!

must be in Alan Pardew's thoughts... Obviously Lambert was the hero of the season as is irreplaceable, but what happens if ..he's injured? Not only was he top scorer but best in assists too. Great that we have Barnard and Lallana but neither is a replacement for Rickie! Being old enough to recall the great days of Ron Davies, I also recall the fall-out Saints had whenever Davies was injured. Defenders weren't kind to him and he had several spells when he was out for longer periods - and not always 100% fit when he bravely returned to fill the breach. Looking at L1 goalscorers: Lambert 31 and Barnard 24 are already on our books. Beckford 25 moved to Everton while Paynter 26 (ex Swindon) will replace him at Leeds. Holt 24 and Martin 17 have gone up with Norwich, as has Morrison 21 with Millwall. The only other leading scorer still with his club from last season is Austin 20 at Swindon. I cannot believe that AP doesn't have concerns about this - but where can we find good enough cover for Rickie Lambert..?

78th out of 92. Mmm sounds a bit too good to be true. but we were only 7th ..perhaps if we hadn't had the -10 points ....?

I read this a bit late, but I now see they won 1-0. They put out a few reserve players against Belarus and it was good enough. Belarus are a tad better than San Marino, but there style is a bit bland and some of their tacking is grim to say the least. Now that Wilhelmsson is back (fit ?)..and showing some pace on the wing, Sweden will revert (under new management) to wing play and two strikers up front.

I'm glad I'm not alone with that observation. whilst the administrator was finding reasons to hang onto the Pinnacle bid week after week, ML had (if I recall- first shown interest in MAY 09)..but everyone wanted MLT & Co. to be our saviours and hung on whilst they tried to find other backers to join them...waste of time. I bear no resentment towards MLT at all, he was only trying to help his club, but I think he was misled by the Pinnacle consortium. Evetually ML put his money on the table and it was a done deal. Thank goodness.

shades of the RL syndrome ...." he's not football." You're right of course, he probably is doing it all on his own ..and that's his mindset. As a top banker (I have worked with some)..he will rely on his own judgment and ..in this case..who else is there to ask at the club? If he's on holiday like everyone else, he won't ignore it I'm sure. Hopefully... the message will filter through and he'll re-think the payment scheme. The prices don't seem inhuman, but not everyone can fork out one or more ticket buys in a month.

at least it would resolve one problem, but we need a second RB, too. The other defensive spots all have cover...Mills, Martin and Seabourne but having got rid of three RB's from last season we need at least ONE more RB to cover possible injuries during the season. (remember Murty) was a good choice in the beginning but one bad injury put him out for the season, and we had no natural replacement. IMHO...if AP doesn't sign anyone else at this position, it means he's going to look at Murty again - after pre-season (yes I know he's been released, but AP is allowing him to train / rehab. with us during the summer and will .." talk again " AP's words" . EITHER THAT ..or he'll bring in a young defender from the Acacemy..but don't think we have anyone suitable ..do we ?

good question ...maybe.. he's only a millionaire ! shock / horror ! Maybe he's only worth 900 million ..oops! there goes our reputation

1-it's not a problem ..the boss is the boss and (you/we) do it his way. 2- He's not English. I know he speaks the language and he has good ideas but he comes from another planet and his ways are not our (english) ways. 3 - I like his style - especially ignoring the gossiping media and just getting on with the job .