david in sweden

Thats a long way to come for cheap food... isn't it ?

Mmmm!...James eh? Could it have been James .....BOND ? ...or ?

Not a bad idea but does he have ANY experience coaching / managing ? However, both of the named were 101% Saints when with us - why not. Armstrong was outspoken, hard as nails and (obviously not Rupert Lowe's cup of tea) but could be a driving force..with a couple of younger trainers to help. Merrington had the shi**y end of the stick the year he managed Saints, but without doubt was one of the the FINEST youth team coach we've ever had, and on a par with George Proust. Merrington had; Shearer; Maddison,the (3) Wallaces, MLT, Banger, G. Baker, S. Baker, Dodd, Benali, Tankard, Maskell, Whitlock, Foyle and many more. Many saw first team action and others (like Foyle) who long League careers, though not all with Saints.

sounds intertesting, but do you think he would be so radical as to experiment now but if he did ..who would play at left back ...Surman ?

Wonderfully nostalgic idea....BUT...there a few more BUT'S here, for example, even bringing in Keegan NOW (I take it you don't mean TODAY?) would mean that (a) He, may / may not know we no longer play at the Dell ? (b) Does he know who the players are now? ..and could he pick a " better " team from the players we have now ? © Will the eventual new owners like the idea, and maybe they have other ideas of their own for manager? (d) Has Keegan been really successful as a manager ? ..I know he took Newcastle up when they were bottom of the bottom...but he's " hopped off " other managerial jobs whenever there was a dispute / or criticism (England / Newcastle (again)..and there will be lots of that in CCC or League 1. The idea of " legendary " players becoming good managers doesn't work. Mark Hughes is about to get sacked, Roy Keane did no better, BRYAN ROBSON was worse than anyone. Even playing for Man.Utd (it seems) is no recommendation for great success as a manager. Sorry I think we must to brave it out and see what the new owners want. I like Keegan, and would give him a free seat anytime he turns up (except he could afford to buy the stadium)..but as manager - not really!

That's the flaw in the plan of course, it's really down to a coaching problem .. What do you say Mark ...?

well thats that then, if he buys Saints then we can throw in Hampshire Cricket at the same time . Good deal Eh ?

Well part of the trip is motorway I suppose, the rest is the horse and cart ride into the Cathedral area, but it isn't that far is it ? Let's not pretend it's a metropolis.

I think WGS had some sort of " tactical thing " about playing left sided Fernandes on the right side..and Sturrock (or was it Wigley) got a few good games out Anders Svensson (a right sided midfielder) playing him on the left. A right winger will try to pass the opposing left back down the line, whereas a left-footed player can cut inside on his favourite left foot..and in so doing turn the left back (inside), and shorten the distance to goal. Likewise for a right winger playing on the left. He will naturally use his right foot and cut inside his opposing back and not run the line. At least thats the theory- I believe). In the days when Saints played wingers, Terry Paine (who could play on both wings did this well, as did HIS understudy David Chadwick and later players such as Tommy Jenkins and Terrry Curran (although they didn't have anywhere near Paine's talent). These days good wingers are rare, and seldom seen in internationals. Downing is (IMHO), a complete waste of space and his England career was promoted by his (former club manager) McLaren. However having said that, I am impressed by Aaron Lennon playing an old fashioned winger's role for England. Equally so with Dirk Kuyt for Liverpool (who unfortunately is NOT English.)

.......and had agreed a fee for Skacel, but he couldn't agree personal terms.

.........which is a great shame. Had it been even 2 seasons ago, he'd be in the same bracket as Walcott and Bale and sought after by Prem Clubs.

maybe ..but it's a BIG debt and they'll still have to pay those big salaries ..and maybe buy some more players...not so easy perhaps.

.......which looks good ! doesn't it ? 3 or 4 " big bidders" with real money backing will have to come up with serious bids... and maybe end up in an auction..? There might be a lot more money in it before the best bidder wins.

That sounds funny Adrian, BUT..if we had a few million, instead of an overdraft .... a Prem. side might use them as a nursery side and feeder for new talent. Half a hour on the motorway and the whole of the West Country as scouting territory..... Ah well ......just dreams.!

Right Adrian, It's been a long and difficult season for DMG and few players have had so much responsibility on their shoulders in their first REAL season. Great goalscorers of the past; Channon, Stokes, Moran, Shearer, Le Tissier all started as occasional subs. in teams with established players alongside them, and even then didn't get regular games. Looking back at ITN , you see that most (of the above) spent one, even two seasons as sub. before they became regulars. DMG has been in almost every game this season, in a side struggling for survival, and still managed to reach double figures in goals - considerably better than the three international players we've loaned out this season. YES he's had some bad games, but overall he's done exceptionally well against some tough defences, and if he'd been on target a bit more often, might easily be leading scorer in the league. Give him a chance next season and he may well become a top scorer next season - but in which league? I think he deserves more credit than he's been given by some of his critics on this site.

BBC story states that Salisbury are up for sale - for £1. Not quite Saints story - I know, but another club in trouble and they can be bought for considerably less than Saints. A great shame, especially as former Saint (and 1976 FA Cup winner) Nick Holmes is manager. Nick has done a great job with getting his side into the Conference League - and holding a midtable position - Last seasons cup run entended to two games v. Notts Forest before being defeated and this season despite crippling debts and (like Saints) having to loan out / sell players to keep the wage bill down. Hope someone can step in and help them, too.

well.........maybe but..... I just hope that the new owners pay homage to our past and don't exclude all our golden memories. Lawrie McMenemy is figurehead for the club's long(and not always distinguished ) history. During his time as manager; we won the FA Cup, had the clubs MOST successful seasons, fielded a side with the England keeper, at one time played FIVE former England captains in the same side..and finished runners-up in the top division behind Liverpool. (There are still fans who claim that had that season been two weeks longer, we would have won the title that year. ) OK that doesn't mean much to fans who weren't watching games 25-30 years ago, anymore than the young fan who saw an elderly Ted Bates wandering around and asked.. " What has that old guy got to do with the Saints Football Club ? "... when fans of an older era could tell a lot more. But along with Terry Paine, Ron Davies, Mick Channon and Matthew Le Tissier (now 40 years old ).. are just names in a record book to some, but really are the heart of our club and its history. My greatest hope is the likes of the players named, and many more won't be shut out by the new managemant..whoever they are...and that our great players of the past will remain as part of the " new " club, whether they are represented on the Board or not.

I'm sure that we all share your concern Alpine, but it isn't an auction and Fry is going to get the best all round deal he can for the club (which for the time being - he controls). He said that most of the bids " aren't serious " - (which I read as); well-meaning but without big financial backing, and no prospect of long term renewal of the clubs fortunes. I don't believe that hewants to get case off his desk before Easter. Fry is also in business and he knows that a high-profile company reconstruction (like a football club) will also be good for his company's image. I'm sure he's keen to get the best deal he can, and won't allow any fast-talking entrepreneur to "steal " the club and exploit it. It's most interesting that there are a couple of " interesting bids " (according to various sources I've read)..which suggests that they will buy up the club with their " pocket money" and then cough up 10-20 million next season for a complete overhaul of the coaching / playing staff etc, and cover the running cost, and of salaries until we get on our feet again. That requires a good financial basis and long term commitment, and that's why it can't be an overnight deal. Let's also hope that we find an owner / chairman who knows what colours we play in, and won't need a GPS to find their way to SMS !!

If you're happy or not - the real question is : What is life like... AFTER Rupert ?

I'm not sure that I even believe the Shearer story TBH, after all it is April 1st and he's refused the job many times before. As for MLT, he's a legend in his own right, let's leave it there.. Can anyone really see him making players train harder..when he was the " easiest-going " (synonym for lazy) player we've had in the last 30 years .. but a great goal scorer. Hire him as part time coach to show the youngsters how to take penalties and free kicks, that's a good investment of his skills , but not as manager.

Maybe we can see if Mark Wotte can shuffle the pack and use Holmes again now he's back. I don't see him as an immediate replacement for Gillett's role, but he does have a lot more experience, let's hope we can benefit from it.

TO BE FAIR ... most of these players were /are on short term loans. Yes - Pulis has a contract beyond the end of the season, but came on a free. Recovering from injuries takes time; it did for Matt Oakley, before he moved. Forecast was 3rd reserve keeper with a Prem. club (whose name I can't bring myself to say) and a good prospect. Pekhart and Robertson were on 3 month loans, and gone already. Molyneux was reserve team player at Everton despite his young age, and will improve with time. Gasmi (known to the coaches) is only here till May and came with a recovering injury - but with the limited number of Reserve games only a few of them had a real " run-out ", - especially when trying to bring on Academy players at the same time. There is a world of difference between being a Reserve / Academy Player and even being sub. for a struggling CCC side in this league. Despite everything, an incredible number of young players have shown up well this " very difficult season " especially when they would have been glad to get a place on the bench a year ago. James, Thomson, Lallana, and Gillett have all shown some consistancy and both Surman and McGoldrick (despite his critics) have had a full season so far and are both among the leading scorers. Whereas, Schneiderlin would have more admirers had he scored a few goals, (sadly Holmes was injured before he got going, as was Jamie White ) but even McLaggon and Paterson showed great promise and scored valuable goals when called upon as subs. Looking at the potential of these lads, and with fresh memories of Walcott, and Bale's success , I think we have the foundation of a good side - provided we don't go down ! With our grave financial situation, I think we've done the best we can - all things considered - and could be a bit more fair with less criticism of the younger players ... and keep bitter comments ...for members of the Board.

What is more interesting is : How we exiled fans like myself -and thousands of others around the globe - could get some reliable links to watch games - any games ...from the UK ?. We really feel discriminated against. Sure ...if a game is on Sky or other channel it might cost the club some £ '000's if fans stay at home to watch but in my case - in Sweden - we don't have a hope of seeing the games - live or otherwise. There are loads of Saints fans in North America, " down-under " and even some in the Middle East - not to mention most Euro countries. We need to rely on the "luck " of finding an obscure cable channel which ..might ..show an English CCC game. Extremely frustrating to follow a game on - TEXT ! Any suggestions; links or otherwise gratefully accepted. Thanks.

I agree absolutely, Sheffield I have written before that - despite the horrendous (false) accusations against DJ, he really wasn't perfomimg well and might well have been sacked for poor performance (Saints were 17th) and I think Lowe did well to give him "gardening leave " - as apart from the charges against him - his own self confidence must have been near zero. Bringing in Hoddle, was (IMHO) a masterstroke at the time. Nine months later, DJ was freed from all charges but Hoddle had moulded a good team together, and it was right than he continued as manager. Later events clouded all that, but it was a good decision at the time.