david in sweden

.........although Wotte's quoted remarks on Thursday, " I know he was going for a medical with a foreign club ........" " I was surprised to see him still here ......." " I don't want anyone who isn't 100% for the club ......." .....would seem to indicate we've seen the last of Rudi, one way or another!

Things being the way they are ... I expect ONE small page on the OS....... sometime during Tuesday PM!

for those fans who grew up with a history watching the likes of Cliff Huxford, David Walker, Hughie Fisher, Jimmy Gabriel and Jimmy Case ....any midfielder who can tackle well .......is a welcome relief.

I wouldn't believe the NOTW if they told me it was Sunday !

.Yes and.........according to my stats. Thats goal number 28 this season, ...but only the 8th time we've scored in the first 45 minutes of a game !!!!!

HI Norm, the answer is .......YES ! It's cold and snowy outside and I don't want to go anywhere today!

my guess: Upjest Docza, the Hungarian mob we played the practice game against last week. time: Monday 12.00 noon.

Being a member of " the old school " who thinks that Sean Connery was the only " real " James Bond !........ I kinda think that it only belongs to the original Terry Paine, though I'd admit MLT was a worthy successor to wear it.... after that forget it ! Both Ballie and Keegan (very worthy in their own right ) but weren't here long enough to become " legends " for the Saints fans.

.....maybe we should " rest " the number 7 shirt for a while, or give it to the "Player of this Season to have for NEXT season....'though might be a bit strange if that turns out to be ......Kelvin Davis.!

well done " donkey " a great set of stats. ...interesting to see that 15 out of the 33 you've mentioned are Academy Maybe they all won't be good enough to make a League careeer, but it's impressive to say the least. If only half of them make the team on a regular basis then its a success story for the Academy , especially when you consider whose "gone before" .........Walcott, Bale......Best, Blackstock and Kenwyne Jones all came in their teens and belong in the same generation squad.

Not a nice photo, as I recall him as having a friendly face, if somewhat " lived in ". ...but Iain Dowie, there was an ugly face!.....but another brave striker.

OH!... that's BACK to Blackpool then, but he might still have a league career as I think he started with Accrington Stanley and now they are back in the league again. ( LEAGUE 2 )

Yes I thought that too, but even Gillett was an Academy player at first.? McGoldrick was "bought" from Notts County by .."someone " , but was only 16at the time and playes at Academy level together with Blackstock and Best, (whatever happened to him at Coventry ?)

released by Preston ! NO !!!!!!!!!!! I'm not going to suggest the obvious, but to spare a thought for a brave hard-working fella' who always gave 100% for us ...even if the Premiership was ...a bit above his level. (Recalling stories, when he was newly-arrived and Strachan had 4 injured / sick strikers, he volunteered to put on a shirt despite being unfit to play !) NOT amongst the top goalscorers of his time, but a great provider who gave James Beattie a tireless service...... and more than a few assists. Hope he can find a good niche to play out his career. Good Luck Brett.

....looking at the ever changing squad we have, it occurs to me that there has been an enormous through-put of players since Strachan left. (I quote him because the Cup Final was a high point and that seasons team was fairly stable.) Someone said a while back it had been over 100 players. I first watched Saints when they didn't sign 100 players in a whole decade!! Our longest serving player at present is : Andrew Surman /who came up through the Acacemy; youngest reserve player, etc until (...yeah yeah) but putting aside this seasons crop of Academy debutants,.....who do we have left on the staff (of senior players) either Burley or pre-Burley and who signed them ? M. Svensson was signed by Strachan ..I think, or ? but... who signed Davis : ? ...and ? ´...... who else is there ? ...and ? ...and ? Any more ideas ?

.......not to mention the fact the captain ought to be a player on the pitch !

I wrote my suggestion on this a while back... £1 million up front NOW, another £1 million if /when they get promotion and 25% of an eventual sell -on if /when he moves to a bigger club. Considering the deals for Bale and KJ . Dyer was in the same bunch as so this is a good deal for Swans.

.......front ..! Will we see any activity at all in the transfer market? Maybe an Academy lad going on loan for a month or two... but no-one seems to have any rumours about ....anyone. Shall we get this Dutch centre-forward, or ?. we need a bit more muscle up front, and some more cover in defence. It's still a long way to May!

Maybe, the loan-outs were a financial decision and not a footballing choice? I'd certainly like to have kept one on staff in August...but I'm glad it's Saga who's come back....the other two seem to be nonentities in their new clubs.

To "drop " him sounds like a punishment and that's not fair to say. No-one (who hadn't seen him in Reserve games) knew who he was until last April, and his subs. goal v. West Brom was piece of quality finishing a lot of pro's would have been proud of. However, he's still young and a couple of dozen games doesn't decide his career future. We should be grateful to JP for letting these lads play a higher class of football........but look back in your In That Number.....and see... Almost all of our good youth players, way back to Chivers and Channon ..and a lot in between ..Stokes, Moran, and MLT, rarely made it into the first team and stayed. We hear fans quoting Alan Shearers wonderful hat-trick v. Arsenal at the Dell (when he was 18)..but they quickly forget that it was almost 2 years before Shearer even got more than half a season in the first side, and his real "glory time" was his last season before moving to Blackburn. Lallana looks a good player, but I really think a few reserve matches wouldn't hurt him at all, and he can get back his goal-form and some confidence. He's been out injured, and has to come back into a side threatened with relegation (!). You can't expect young lads to turn it on every week in those circumstances. For the next month, at least we should bolster up the side with the older heads, and let Lallana and Co. come on for the last 30 mins. and liven up the game - not put them under pressure from the first whistle.

Burley persuaded Skacel to move South, and not a bad move either - except he got stranded somewhere in left midfield when GB let it become the Gareth Bale Show! I think he'd have done better to have played at left back and had Bale further forward, the way everyone said Bridgey should play, but RS was Burley's man and always got a game. When Burley left...he was stranded. I'm sure if GB had gone to a club side he'd have bought Rudi like a shot. ..but there is no Skacel tartan as far as I know....and now with the steady stream of " coach/managers " he's been in and out of the side and as someone who wanted to continue playing(in his case) for his country..frankly I don't blame him for being pi**ed ! I think he's a good player, (he's not in Ivan Golac's league) but has a similar style and I like that bit of aggression from a full back..(ala Hollywood, Dennis, Mills, Benali and a few others) but since we had Bridge and Bale - they were young and hadn't developed that " extra grittiness " a defender should have. IMHO It needs (someone) to show interest and encourage him more. I'd like to think that Svensson could encourage him 'cos if he stays I think he could become a permanent part of side.

............and certainly not used to playing league football (at whatever level) .....twice in a period of three days. The lad must feel kna****ed !

Know what you mean Duncan, but in the business world, it looks better to say you " resigned " -on a point of principle, or disagreed with the managements policy - rather than that they sacked you for poor performance. JP will be back in Holland, licking his wounds but with his character unstained, and getting muted praise for being brave enough to accept such a tough assignment. (Like my PR release ?) " spinning wheel, going around ..la la la la"

As Lawrie Mac used to say ..everyone needs a kick up the backside once in awhile, and perhaps exiling Saga to Denmark, cut our costs and made him a bit sharper (no pun intended). Now that he's back ...he's all fired up as he was in his loan period to us. As for Rasiak and John..they have to make up their own minds where their future is. Whether someone gets £10K a week, or £10K a day ..if they're not keen to play and are content to collect their wages on the bench every week, then we're better off without them, and they are better off with a side who they might like better.