MarkSFC

Not fussed thatvthe crowd was "only" 10,000 ish, especially as it was the largest of the day. It hasn't effected the result, and in these tough financial times isn't it better that people save their money for the next two home games which ate far more important!! Hopefully 24-25k+ at both!!

It's all about the 3rd round, that's when the FA Cup really starts so anyone at home really.

Maybe he was ill maybe one of his family was ill maybe he had a family emergency maybe he had a wedding to go to maybe he was moving house who cares....we won....we're in round 2!!

Ah, I see! Yeah We didn't need one in the summer, will next summer. Think Seaborne is is near his full potential!!

Move your computer downstairs! Nothings that bad that you have to watch egg chasing over listening to Saints, however bad the feed!!

FCUM aren't "the only team in Manchester" ( and of course manure are in Salford!) so they will struggle to gain big support I imagine. Had the worst happened and Saints as we know it had disappeared I'm sure a new SFC in some guise would have been formed. Not having a football team representing my city would be unthinkable....whatever level it started in.

What don't you get Nick? Seaborne is not my fav I will admit but he struggles under pressure IMO. In the Championship he will be pressed and pressured quicker and more often. Martin has far more potential for me and looks more cultured and calm. He should be getting there by next season but he's still young! Raidhi is obviously getting towards the end of his career and NA doesn't seem to see him as first choice now so I doubt he would be in the champ! Therefore I believe we need a decent CB if/when wevgo up in May.

Exactly. Pardews big failing in the summer.

Need to win 2 games before that....

I like this kit and it is as others have said a celebration kit. My favourite kit was the Rank Zerox/Air Florida/Draper Tools kit of the early eighties. Probably something to do with it being the best period for Saints since 1976 and when I was entering my teens and going with my mates rather than me dad!! We also had some brilliant players and some bloke who was European Player of the Year!! Another reason for a kit like that would be so it stands out a bit from every other red and white striped kit!!

Goallies KD will be good enough but given a chance would expect Bart to takeover within the next 18 months. Although hes young still for a keeper at the highest level he should be pushing to be numero uno in that time. If not....sign Hart!! Defenders Fonte without doubt. I think Martin will be quality within 18 months but think we will need A.N.Other as good as Fonte. Seaborne may only be good enough as 4th choice. Jaidi may be past it then but could still be utilised in emergency although hopefully by then an academy kid will have pushed through. Harding and Dickson are definitely good enough between them. Frazer and Butts been there done it. No worries there. Midfielders Midfield will definitely need strengthening. Morgan should/hopefully(!) be very effective in the championship but Hammond I dubt. He doesnt consistantly stand out in this league so not sure about any higher. Chaplow will be useful assumiing we get him...experienced and after a good period of games (and because hes just coming into his prime) could be a real asset. One CM better then all the above needed though. Lallana obviously good enough. Back-up on the left..Holmes/Fish/Punch all ok but nothing outstanding...probably ideal as AL will play most of the time you would think!! On the right...Alex Ox backed up by ????? Guly maybe..Punch at a push...maybe another RM/Winger needed. Strikers Lambert definitely, Barnard probably...certainly a great bench man. Doble should be progressing well enough to be 4th choice. Guly Im undecided on. Ideally we will sign a striker in January to ensure promotion this year and someone who will also do a decent job in The Championship. So in summary I think for the championship we need to sign a Striker, a CB, and a CM all better than wht we have (rater than players who are better than some of what we have) and maybe a rightwinger. I would have thought that including January we probably need to spend 5-6 mill on players to compete in the Championship. Once we are (hopefully) there it depends on whether its a two season project or just one to get to the Prem. Two may be more sensible in terms of progression for the players and also it spreads the spending. If we want to go up in season one I would have thought a bit more spending would be required so as to ease the transition into the Prem....but thats getting way too far ahead!!!

Antinios an interesting topic because in the summer I would have loved to see him back here. Now however as he can't really get in the Reading side I don't think he's good enough for us. Sure he could do a job right now if he's on form but next season in the championship, IF we signed a rightwinger we could do better than him. Actually as others state, we already gave better! Had we signed Antonio in the summer, then maybe just maybe we would have had a better start but that's gone, we move on! Alex Ox is most definitely the future!

We have now certainly, but in the Championship next year I'm totally unconvinced by Seaborne and Jaidi is not getting any quicker!!

At the close of the window I was frustrated that Pardew hadn't brought in "the lambert replacement" striker that he went on about, a centre midfielder and a speedy right winger. Bignall addressed the striker issue in terms of a body but hasn't in terms of impact and goals. This is the only area I think is seriously important to address in January. Although it's two months away now and I'm sure Lambert will come good, we can't take the risk. Investing in a quality striker now will guarentee promotion IMO and it should be someone who can or does play in the Championship. Danny Graham was mentioned to me today and would fit the bill nicely. When we go up, I think the squad is still preety good but I would think we would need a CB and a CM of quality. Other than that the squad is pretty good.

I don't want to see wholesale changes but I would like to see a few players rested. As great as it is to have a run in the cup and it would be good to get to Rd 3 and pull "a big team", promotion this year is paramount. After Saturday we have 3 tough games where no less than 7 points should be the target. We have a good squad so some changes should not disrupt things too much and indeed mau well produce a really good performance as those currently out of the team may well force Adkins hand for Carlisle. My starting XI would be; Bart FR. Jaidi. Martin. Dickson OX. Chaplow. Morgan. Holmes Lambert. Barnard Impact Players Davis Seabourne Lallana Doble Wotton Guly Punch

Ask "leftback"!!

I'm not going to bite, this thread sucks.

This.

I stand corrected! Although I put two and two together and assumed that if our Chief Scout has indeed been relieved of hid duties then maybe NA wanted "his man". Maybe Scunnys "network" was really just "one man"!! Even if nothing to do with NA I just hope we are getting the best for the job that we possibly can!

I agree that the Chief Scout and his team are very important but I think as you move up the leagues they will have less impact overall. Brighton, Bournemouth and indeed NAs former team have far different (and lower) ambitions to us. When clubs build or plan new stadia the capacity is the clear factor in determining long term ambitions. Bournemouth are planning to go to 14,000, suitable for mid to low Championship over the long term. Brightons Fslmer ground I think is just 21k which I think says their ambitions at mid championship sustainability with the odd season up in play-offs and maybe the odd foray into the Prem. Both these clubs will rely more on their scouting system as opposed to signings loads of players. Scunny with their single figure attendances have clearly achieved their status ( obviously with NA) with a great scouting system. Therefore perhaps NA wants some of those guys here. A good scouting system can obviously save you millions long term so I hope any appointments in this area are made for the long term good of the club.

That's your parogative.

Who really gives a **** about one journalists opinion? It's meaningless.

I do wonder sometimes why some people actually support Saints. They're not happy when we are losing and they're not happy when we are winning. Sure we are all different but I go to games firstly to see Saints win. That's number one. Secondly if that win is managed in a great entertaining manner then even better. But if we lose and it's we've played entertaining football I'm unhappy. Against Colchester I thought we played some really good stuff and I saw glimpses of a different style to last season. But we drew so the overriding feeling is disappointment. Watching beautiful exciting football is largely reserved for the premier league. Consciously or not most fans judge their team against what they see in the Prem, without really taking into account the opposition and "real" quality of player at the club. This season is only about winning. I don't give two f**** if we win every game with a dubious penalty in the 97th minute as long as we go up! Of course that won't be the case but in Adkins I think we have someone who knows how to get the win against all opposition. Pardew proved he couldn't. The players we have proved last year that on their day they can play good football AND score goals. This year for lots of reasons that hasn't quite happened but 4 wins out of 5 and 5 wins out of 7 shows that the mentality is there. Performance in sport, well anything actually is all about thought processes and behaviour. Each helps the other but how you think has more effect on behaviour than vice versa. Only the players themselves know exactly how they think in preparation for games, during training etc, but I have an incling that Adkins has done more in that regard than the physical stuff. After all unless someone is open to new ideas they will not implement them, at least not to full capacity or long term. They will merely revert to type. When coaching people the only thing that eventually cements change is "seeing results". Only when the person or team see fruition of there work can you hope for sustained performance. The world is a results based world where winning and success are priority. Entertainment in itself is secondary because winning or seeing your team win is more satisfying.

I can because I said it was. Against Bournemouth and tranmere he was good but my opinion of him is based on what I also saw last season. I gave reasons for my opinion, all you've done is shout it down. Give me reasons to prove that he can produce his best form over a sustained period 10-15+ games and also; prove to me that when he is constantly pressed and under pressure during a game that he actually has the ability and speed of thought to not get caught in possesion as often as I think he does and that he does this better than the other 3 CBs.

Despite two successive wins I hope to see Puncheon and Seaborne dropped. Admittedly I havnt seen the last three games but listening to the commentary these two are not performing. I like Puncheon but I think he needs a break because I suspect his trouble is that he's trying too hard. He's a good player on form but hasn't found that form all season. Seaborne on the other hand is one of those players who at his best will be good in this League BUT he is not capable of recreating that form for 10,15 games. He will for 3/4 then have 2/3/4 mediocre games. Adkins has talked about the consistancy of performance from the team. We cannot afford to carry someone like Seaborne. I think Martin is far better and will be very good but on Tuesday I hope Jaidi plays and then again against the Shrews alongside Martin. This would give Fonte a game off before the three tough games at Carlisle and at home to PBoro and Brighton. This way all four CBs would have had some game time. I would also play Bart v Shrews. My team on Tuesday would be: Davis FR. Jaidi. Fonte. Harding Lallana. Hamm. Chap. Holmes Barnard. Lambert subs: Bart. Dickson. Martin. Morgan. Guly. Oxo. Punch