MarkSFC

WRONG. Sums you up really, quoting something as fact when it isn't. The top price ticket is £25 FACT. And of course, you only pick out what suits you......

DBP....where has it been said that when we get to the Premier League ticket prices will be £50 and Chelsea-esque? I would expect no more than £35 absolute top whack but honestly doubt it would go that high. You do like to voice your opinion in a manner which suggests fact. I'm sure it's deliberate and I'm sure you like the reaction you get. You talk of the Ted Bates trophy being "a tradition" when it's been going for only a few years. I'm not saying it should be abandoned persee but if the game is to truly reflect on TB it should fit in with the first teams preparation. If the manager whoever he is, and obviously that's AP right now thinks it's not the right prep to play a high profile club then so be it. Maybe in honour of Mr and Mrs Bates there should be one game every season where the gate receipts are donated on their behalf to the Saints Foundation or to a cause that the Bates family choose. Local ground level football perhaps? I would also like the academy to be named The Ted Bates Academy. I doubt this though as I suspect NC is on the verge of announcing that DaveBenson"StuRomseySaint"Phillips is going to be appointed as football consultant and his first task will be to reverse the takeover and put the club back into administration because that way we will take much longer to achieve promotion. He will then have to re introduce the installment plan for the season tickets and obviusly at just £125 each (5 months at £25 should be affordable). He will also put in a condition that everyone who buys a centenary ST can buy one every season from now for the same price. This way he and his mates can always afford to go. As income drops the players will be sold - by Stu in his call centre - and the funds will not go back into the playing squad but will be shared out amongst the families of the recently jailed thugs. Community project alive and kicking. As the players leave and the team gets worse Stu and his mates enjoy the luxury of sitting exactly where they wish because no one else turns up. As times become increasingly hard Stu and his mates hire a coach and visit Eastleigh for a big local derby. The subsequent defeat is tempered by a great day in the pub and pulling a local Eastleigh bird. They then get the coach back home. Following the devastating defeat to Eastleigh Stu sacks AP and employs the cheapest manager available- himself. Finally. Mission completed. Football Consultant and Manager. Anyone who thinks this is nonesense is retarted.

As much as we should always remember and honour Ted and Mary Bates (my grandfather knew him and was proud of that fact - says it all for me) I never thought that The Ted Bates Trophy match was entirely fitting. For us the fans it meant something but I think playing games against random teams was preety meaningless. Call me synical but I feel it was just an idea from Lowe to get more income! The statue is a very fitting tribute and maybe that's enough. Before every single game you will see people at the statue taking photos. Maybe when NC and ML build our new stadium it will be called The Bates Stadium?!!!

Position?!

As great as it would be to have made a few signings by now (not least to shut a few people up!!) it's actually a good sign that the players Pardew has targeted are actually quality for our level. It seems likely that we will be paying a bit for 4 or 5(a RB, a CM, a striker, and also a central defender better than Jaidi, and hopefully Antonio) which means that we won't be the only clubs in for these players. That means negotiations and patience. The selling club will push the price as much as possible and they will be in no hurry...theres 2 months till the window shuts!

When ML and NC were in discussions last year it was done extremely privately. MLs company is not one that appears to court publicity and ML certainly isn't. This is their nature and the manner in which they do business. Moving from the environments they ate used to, to what is the most public of arenas would surely be a steep learning curve for anyone. I agree with those who say communication with the fanbase has in general been a little underwhelming. I would contend that maybe this will improve. I am happy for NC to concentrate on getting the infrastructure in place behind the scenes before he addresses the PR side. Sure he may lose a few ST holders this year but judge the man two or three years from now. I think someone has mentioned on here about employees not enjoying NC as a boss etc. It would be interesting to know what level of employee it is. Very often (and many here may hate this) the lower paid employees are less motivated and therfore any question of their workload is taken personally because most people at the lower end of the pay scale ( for many different reasons ) just want an easy life!! Also it is extremely reasonable to assume that over the last two or three years at SMS the employees have had very little direction or leadership coupled with the stress of the poor running of the club. I'm not blindly "in NC I trust" but it will take alot more than removing a method of paying for the product and realistic pricing which actually is very good value for money, and some REAL facts, before I start to doubt his intentions and/or ability. A couple of major signings this week would be good though!!!!

perfectly stated trousers!

If increasing the cost of parking "near the ground" has to increase to cover the operating costs so be it. If you don't like it park somewhere else, find another method of transport, or don't bother. It's is increasingly tiresome to hear a small minority moaning about what appear to be sensible and more to the point realistic measures set out by the club. £200 to park at the stadium is something I wouldn't pay but if you want that convenience that's what it is. Our club MUST run profitably - agreed not at the expense of the masses - BUT this cost and the STs will only effect a very small percentage realistically. IMHO if NC does not make tough decisions, and I don't think any have been that bad, the club may struggle long term. Sure ML is ploughing money in but that is from what I can tell for the infrastructure. Any day to day operation must be self sustaining. Simple economics. Get over yourselves.

I'd hate to see 'Arry...jumped up and "has his favourites. I'd love to see Beckham but think he's too close to the current squad to make the neccessary decisions. One day he could be excellent. It needs to be someone totally impartial or at least demonstrates impartiality and purely builds teams for success regardless of who he has to drop. Not Saints related but I would go for Roy Hodgson.

couldnt agree more.....a bit more exciting not knowing before the announcement but its a little frustrating on how quite it seems, but maybe this week will be full of announcements!!

Are they related??!!

Maybe a location thing if true, spent most of hid career up there didn't he with Boro and a bit of time with the toon.

Guy Askham Rupert Lowe Harry Redknapp between them they made the all the worst decisions in our history. C****!!!!

very interesting about the standing foot...will keepers be able to wait to see that and then react correctly?!!

Without knowing all the charges and having not witnessed any of the behaviour the punishments do seem on the face of things a little over the top. Without knowing individual records either you can't make a fair judgement. Anti-social behaviour, agression and violence should not be condoned regardless of the circumstances. Every citizen has the right to feel safe and expect offenders to be punished. This must fit the crime as well. If I "only threw a coin" (which will be classed as a weapon and the act of throwing I'm sure will be coupled with intent to harm) I would accept appropriate punishment if caught. In a civilised society this is the least to expect. If you break the law you deserve to be punished BUT it must be fair.

I'm clearly in the minority here but he wasn't my 2nd best player. Llalana was btw. And clearly Pardew wants another good lb (as oppossed to Mills) and all I've said is that dickson is probably a better long term bet. What's with the love in for Harding, he's not been here long!!!

It's not bull**** it's my honest assesment from what I saw. He gave the ball away too often and was caught in possesion. BUT he improved to what I would guess is his near maximum level, hence Dickson "may" well be better long term from a development point of view I have never understood why fans get so hung up on a player if the club buy someone better....surely that's what matters??!!!

It's not actually. Fonte has stands out from the rest EVERY single game and has actually done it at higher level. Lambert is brilliant at League 1 and should be in Champ but we don't actually know yet. Harding however was inconsistent at best early season and although he was good in the 2nd half of the season he doesn't stand out for me. He probably is too good for League 1 but only average in the Championship! As I said, let's see!

If Harding was really that good he would have been snapped up by a Championship club last summer.he isn't going to improve very much but because of his age Dickson could improve more. Let's see in two years!!

Ian Harte

Dickson is a good signing because he's a few years younger than Harding and is is cheap gamble as he may have the potential to go all the way. Harding definitely won't go all the way, probably not even to the Championship as first choice. As for the team of the season I think you are spot on although I have a feeling we may well get a top striker to put pressure on L & B ( hopefully Austin!!). I'm sure the RB we sign will be great too and the CM will certainly be better than Hammond!! I reckon the other signing will be an experienced CB so after all that we could possibly have the best in every single position!!!

The "fans" of a football club have an emotional attachment which for some runs deeper than others. The level of emotional attachment linked to you general disposition and intelect is a reasonable indication of what you expect "back" from the club. Whatever an individual expects and feels is ok by me but sometimes an element of realism coupled with the manner you express yourself needs to occur. Then you have the "businessmen" of the club. Hopefully (and in our case we are lucky) those "businessmen/women" who run your club are experienced, professional, and have a background of success. Another trait you get from these people is the ability to be unemotional when making the tough decisions concerning strategy and planning. This means that some fans will not be able to logically understand the actions of the club leaders when it effects them emotionally. This is life. Cortese comes from a very non customer focussed world and as such that has benefited us hugely so far. Sure he could do more but would you prefer the opposite scenario where the CEO etc, is very communicative and fan friendly but makes bad business decision after another??!! Given time I'm sure ML and NC and co will satisfy both ends of the spectrum!!

I understand, and as much as your hypothetical scenario could well become the truth so could a thousand others. If it was to occur then it would still not be the end of the world. In order for ML to make a profit Saints will have to be very succesful for a number of years, well the amount of profit that would make a difference to a billionaire! I'm not a "happy clapper" by any means and can definitely see all view points but I don't understand why after all the sh*te we've had over the last 5 years some people always look at the worst case scenario?!! It's your right of course!!

What if.....and this is just hypothetical.....what if Cortese saw an opportunity to raise his profile ( legitematly so ) which is why he put SFC forward to ML. What if ML actually got excited by the prospect of having the modern day rich mans accessory.what if they both realised how special the club is and what a hell of an opportunity it was not just to make a little bit of money in the long term, but actually an exciting challenge that woul actually create huge personal satisfaction but also make hundreds of thousands of people very happy?!! God forbid anyone in this world should not be primarily motivated by money. Remember though it's only hyperthetical!!!0

Paying In three amounts before 6th Aug, now there's an idea....it wouldn't and shouldn't have been at ££328 price. I refer you back to my OP!!!