SaintJackoInHurworth

Is there any free street parking in reach of Anfield? I've never been before and would like to know where I am best to head for in order to park. I am happy to park a mile or so from the ground. Thanks!

I am travelling to Liverpool from Darlington next week. If anyone who is also travelling from up north would like to share lifts then let me know. This could be: * Someone coming from further north who is likely to travel down the A1 past Scotch Corner OR... * Someone who lives somewhere between Darlington and Liverpool (along the A1/M1 or M62 corridors e.g. Leeds) I am happy to drive and receive contributions towards petrol or be a passenger and make a contribution. I will try to check back on here sometime over the next few days or message me through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neil.jacko. Cheers!

Fitzhugh Fella:

I take it you missed the poll that was done on this site? While Saintsweb can't be taken to represent all fans, it certainly represents a significant sample and the poll clearly showed that over 50% did not like it. I imagine, however, that there will have been many who bought it anyway as it represents Saints return to the Premiership.

Just think what our sales would have been like if they had chosen a kit that the majority of fans like! I can't believe that it has outsold last season's kit, though maybe pricing has something to do with it. I loved last season's kit and bought it as soon as its price was reduced at the end of the season! In my opinion, it strikes me that the club's claims are either a complete fabrication or that the Premiership glory-hunter factor has come into play and we have also sold a lot abroad in the light of buying Lee, Yoshida, Mayuka, etc.

My reason for resurrecting this thread was not in any way to suggest that Martin was the answer to our defensive woes. It was written as some have rightly noted in the light of Seaborne's untimely recall to the squad against Leeds (a match which I had the displeasure of witnessing) and in the light of the change of manager at Palace. Ultimately, whether or not Martin has a Premiership future, it is doing him and us no favours if he is rotting away without any chance to play for a team in the Championship. I hope that either Holloway helps him to get sorted or that it is possible for the loan to be cancelled so that he can be loaned out somewhere where he might get some experience (or in a worst-case scenario, that he can replace Seaborne as our fourth/fifth central defender).

I don't think Adkins should go just yet as I don't think any manager would be able to lick that defence into shape tbh! I think we need a bit more loyalty not less and I think it is shameful how we treated some players in the summer - especially as some of the players have not been replaced with players who have shown themselves to be of any better quality than those that have left. That having been said, I do have my doubts about Adkins and always have (I have always believed we made a mistake when we let Alan Pardew go). Adkins certainly has a great ethos about how to play the game, but he needs to instil some more drive into the squad as well as a dose of Premiership nouse! Sometimes we are a poor man's Arsenal, passing ourselves to death without any finished article. I understand why we bought Rodriguez and Ramirez in the hope of doing something about that, but I think it has got to be more than having the players with potential. There has got to be some fresh ideas, drive, passion and intelligence too. Reflecting on our transfers in the past year or so, Mayuka. Lee and SDR have not been good buys and the jury is still out on Yoshida, Rodriguez and Davis. Ramirez looks like he could well be a great star of the future, but he is far from the finished article yet, while Clyne has imo been one of the better buys, but also has much to learn. Alongside this we sadly let a few players go in the summer who in hindsight may still have something to offer. I am particularly embarassed by the way we let Billy Sharp go. While he may not be the highest quality, nevertheless what he may lack in quality, he more than makes up for in workrate - something this current squad is lacking! Of course, we do not know to what degree Adkins has directed the transfer policy or whether this has been left up to Cortese. Either way, mistakes have been made and these must be rectified in January. At the end of the day, I am not convinced that changing the manager now would be the right option and, like under Rupert Lowe, it could be a fatal decision which further destabilises a fragile position. If, however, Adkins does go then personally I would love to see Joe Jordan as manager or coach, but would not want Redknapp anywhere near the club! Gary Neville may be able to do a job, but he has zero experience of Premiership coaching.

I'm listening to 5Live. Must search for a TV stream! At the start Savage was saying that Wbrom were the better team, but within a few minutes he is now saying Saints playing well and a poor start from West Brom!!

In the light of the change of manager at Palace, I thought it might be timely to resurrect this thread. I wonder if Holloway might give Martin the chance of a game? He hasn't done so today, but I guess time will tell. Can I just clarify... is he on a season-long loan or just on loan until January? If he is on a season-long loan I hope that if Palace don't play him this will be cancelled so that he can either: a. be loaned somewhere else where he can get valuable experience, or b. be added to our squad instead of Dan Seaborne - I personally think he would present better back-up than Seaborne, though hopefully we will sign a couple of better first-choice defenders in January, in which case it could be that there will be no space for either of them this season.

Really? Perhaps you could enlighten us as to what I wrote that was inaccurate? Do you doubt the statistics about how many goals we have scored and the comparison of that with other teams? Go check the facts and you will see they are correct! Or maybe you don't think we are usually slow starters, in which case I would suspect you must only be about 8 years old having started to support Saints a year ago when for a change we did actually start really well? Or perhaps you still doubt our financial situation despite the fact that every transfer window we outspend what the doubters proclaim? Please do share you superior knowledge with us...

Spot on! This is just complete media nonsense. It goes a bit like this: * Hmm, 'arry is without a job - who could he go to? * Hmm, Southampton have spent loads of money and are near the bottom - they could sack their manager. * Hmm, 'arry seemed to do very well at Spurs and we thought he was going to be England manager - surely he will get a job in the Premier League. * Hmm, 'arry lives in Bournemouth and doesn't want to move from there. Working in Southampton would be very convenient for him. * Hmm, 'arry used to be manager at Southampton - perhaps they will sack Nigel Adkins so that he can go there. * Aha! (Journalist's brain whirrs slowly) Maybe 'arry could get a job at Southampton!! Wow! Of course... that's it! * Now, when would this happen...? Hmm... (brain continues to whirr slowly..) * Perhaps if Saints fail to beat QPR that will be that for Adkins... * Hey, look at that...! The next match after QPR is against former Saints manager Alan Pardew's Newcastle - that would be a great game for us to talk about! Imagine the column inches... * (Brain slowly whirrs some more)... yes! It's gotta happen! Redknapp to be revealed as Saints' manager in a home match against Newcastle in about three weeks' time. * Wow! I'm a genius I think! They might give me a pay rise if I have guessed this one right! Cue: article in press...! Incidentally, FWIW, as many have pointed out apart from his spell at Spurs, 'arry has been a dreadful manager at many teams. He has been particularly poor at working with younger players - hence at Spurs he decided he would let someone else do the coaching for him and then just take all the credit. I think getting rid of Adkins would be counter-productive and would create the same sort of uncertainty we experienced in our relegation season. Incidentally in that relegation season, 'arry's record was worse than all the previous managers we had employed that season and he at the end of the season he sacked Jim Smith to make him a scape-goat for his own failings. He then appointed Kevin Bond who was even worse and we made an atrocious start to life in the Championship. Some of you will point to 'arry's success at Spurs and the development of younger players that has taken place there, but I refer you to my earlier identification of how Redknapp has achieved this success... he has got someone else to achieve it (namely Joe Jordan) and then taken the credit for himself. With this in mind, if for some crazy reason we decide to sack Adkins then my personal preference for successor would be Joe Jordan and not any of the other names that people have mentioned. If we are to change anything in the club's coaching staff, I would personally be pleased if we could keep Adkins and bring Jordan to work alongside him - that would be an amazing partnership!

OK - I am fed up with all the wrist-slitters on here! Let's look at some positives... * We have scored more goals than any other team in the bottom half of the Premiership. * We have scored as many goals as Arsenal. * We are the joint 8th highest scorers in the Premiership so far this season. * We have got as many points at home this season as Arsenal. * All of those statistics are despite the fact that we have played 6 of the top 9 clubs in our opening 8 fixtures. Reading and Liverpool have only played four of these teams, Stoke City and Norwich only five. * We are not bottom and are only one point behind the two teams directly above us!! A win against Spurs could potentially see us jump up to 15th in the table. * Our players are inexperienced at this level. They will get better as they grow in experience. * We have maintained a (numerically) great level of support despite our difficult start. * Unlike many of the teams towards the bottom of the table it seems likely that we will be able to spend money to attract better players (especially defenders) in the January transfer window. * We were only narrowly beaten by the Manchester clubs who dominated the Premier League last season and were close to drawing against them or even beating them. * We are usually slow-starters and get better as a season progresses. My advice to you all is this: 'Keep The Faith!!' and 'In Nige we trust!'

Can't be bothered to read this ridiculous thread... ...any change of manager would just be a repeat of the mistakes of Rupert Lowe. Nobody is going to do any better with this crop of players than Adkins. If we change manager we must be prepared to be relegated, to lose half the squad and to begin to rebuild again. If we stick with Adkins he and the players will gradually together amass the Premiership experience necessary to turn things around. In our favour is the fact that QPR, Wigan, Norwich, Reading and Villa are also woeful - especially up front where we are strong. In addition, in January we will have the chance to right the mistakes of the summer and buy some quality defenders. We might even be able to cancel Aaron Martin's loan and see if he can do any better. He is certainly a more disciplined defender than the ones we are playing at present. Adkins has made mistakes and I am sure he would admit that; but people learn from mistakes. To change manager would just invite someone else to make the same mistakes and to begin the learning process a lot later. One thing I believe is that we need to stop changing around keepers and give the jersey back to Davis, working to improve his confidence and decision making. His start to the season suggested to me that he was affected by his past experience. If he can just get past that he can once again become a hero in goal. Boruc seems worse than Davis and Gazznigga just doesn't have the experience yet. Finally, I have to point out that Adkins has a lot more sense than to go with fans' wisdom for how to set up a team. I would suggest his decision to play Lambert from the bench was in no way a statement of Lambert's ability but was a tactical decision based on the idea of keeping things tight in the first half and then letting him come out at full energy against a tired defence in the second half. It worked earlier in the season and Adkins obviously thought it was worth a go again. We can criticise him all we like for trying things, but as Albert Einstein once said, insanity is 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'. I am pleased that Adkins is not content to just keep doing things the same way when things are not going right.

When we were 2-1 down today we were well on top from what I can work out reading match reports. Then Wham were given a questionable free kick followed by a clear push on Fonte in the area which resulted in the handball that gave them the penalty. Yet, BBC spent no time analysing the free kick awarded nor did they notice the blatant push on Fonte that led to the penalty. Was this bias from someone within the BBC or was it just poor quality analysis? The resulting goal was pivotal and changed the course of the game. If the referee had got either decision correct then WHam wouldn't have had the goal and who knows... maybe we would have got an equaliser? Surely the BBC should have picked up on this?

Judging by the Adkins interview for the BBC, this is the current phrase which Adkins is using to gee up the players: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19615244 (check out the interview). It seems to have worked today and sums it up perfectly! So... perhaps it's now no longer "We're all on the bus together" so much as "Together as one!" Bring it on!

4-1-1-2-2 formation with a front two instead of just one up front: ---------------Davis----------------- Clyne----Yoshida-----Hooiveld----Fox -------------Schneiderlin------------ --------------Davis/Cork------------- ---Ramirez------------------Lallana--- ---------Rodriguez--Lambert---------- Subs Gazza Fonte Cork/Davis JWP Mayuka Puncheon Richardson In this Schneiderlin acts as holding player and spreads passes out from the back, while Davis or Cork act as box-to-box players and link up play. Lallana and Ramirez have a free-ish role behind the forwards to roam and cut inside or get out wide as required. Rodriguez provides that extra bit of flair in and around the box and across the front line, while Rickie does his usual hard work all across the front and provides knock downs for others or gets on the end of crosses, etc. to score. We would use this to press forwards and keep Villa on the back foot keeping a high line, while ensuring that no runner is allowed the space and time to get behind the defence should Villa break forwards.

...we have been naive in our first four games and have paid the price... ...we have not signed the defensive cover that many of us expected... ...we put in a particularly poor performance against Arsenal... ...we were frustrated that our transfer dealings were not completed by the start of the season... ...we have been surprised, confused and disappointed by some of Nigel's selections and substitutions... ...our first team kit is NOT a Saints kit - the colours are wrong... BUT.... ...IT IS TIME TO END THE RUBBISH!!!!!! Despite all of the above... ...we are still only 1 point behind Reading, 2 points behind Liverpool and QPR and 3 points behind Sunderland and Norwich all of whom have had FAR easier fixtures than us to start the season. ...we are the ONLY team to have scored against Arsenal this season. ...we scored TWICE against both Man Utd and Man City. ...we have spent the seventh most on signing new players of any teams in Europe. ...we almost beat both Manchester clubs and were beating them. ...we have had huge support at all of our matches. ...several members of our squad were on international duty last week, beacuse we have some great players. ...our squad is young and inexperienced and will get better and better and better! ...Liverpool have Man Utd away in their next match and QPR have Spurs away, whereas we have Aston Villa at home. ...Norwich have got to play Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in their next four games, we have got Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham and West Ham - our fixtures are relatively much less difficult (though not being stupid enough to suggest that any of those games we have any right to win). ...Portsmouth are towards the bottom of League 1 even before they have had any points deducted. We are in the Prem! ...Ramirez, Yoshida and Mayuka will finally get a full week of training with the squad this week. ...Kelvin Davis WILL grow in confidence once he has got a few clean sheets and made a few great saves and realised that he CAN cut it in the top flight. ...we have scored in 3 out of 4 games we have played and we will score goals against most teams this season. ...We will have learned a lot from playing such quality teams to start with and can now start to apply those lessons in the games ahead. SO, let's get behind the team, the manager, the players and NC and stop all the moaning; and let's wait and see where we are at Christmas! We will not be bottom and may even be mid-table by then. If I'm wrong and we are bottom THEN you can moan all you like... IF you really think that is going to help!! This fact is undeniable - the players, manager and club need one thing more than anything. They need US to get behind them and give them our rapturous support, to cheer them on to victory. They do not need a bunch of grumbling, moaning, negative losers - just look where that got Blackburn and Bolton and Birmingham and Middlesbrough... I could go on!! So let's end the rubbish NOW!

I don't think it's jealousy - just anger at the mess he made of trying to keep our club in the Premiership and the money he wasted on poor quality signings, PLUS the public criticism he then aimed at the players when they needed encouragement in a potential relegation situation, PLUS the way he jumped ship back to P*mpey so quickly and then proceeded to criticise Saints. There were always very good reasons for the way people turned against him and they remain still.

Great to see the opinion given by Dan Morgan was based on having watched Saints play... NOT!! Does he not even realise that we are not playing in red and white stripes this season: "hoping I would see him in a Stoke shirt, but in the other red a white stripes he has failed to impress."

I don't understand those who say they like it because it is different! In what way is it different to the other million and one teams that play in red? Whatever way you look at it, it is a 1980's Nottingham Forest or Liverpool kit! If you want different, take a look at the 1980s Keegan era red and white fat stripes - that was different - and yet still a proper Saints kit. Or how about the 1970's Saints shirt with the thinner red stripes either side of each red stripe? Or the Draper shirt that some hate with the V at the top? Personally, I thought last season's kit was hard to beat - it was simple red and white stripes and yet looked somehow more stylish than other red and white striped kits. Despite its simplicity it was incredibly distinct from Exeter, Brentford, Stoke and Sunderland kits. It's a shame we couldn't have just stuck with that one. Still, there are some benefits - they sold off the old kits while I was visiting Southampton back in the spring so I got hold of a copy of last season's kit at half the usual price and so that will serve me for a few years now until they bring out another must-buy kit. The more rubbish kits they bring out, the less costly it is for me!

For those that don't think the media made much reference to Ward-Prowse on Sunday, you obviously didn't listen to the radio commentary and/or watch Match of The day. On Both of those he was singled out for particular praise. As to whether he made mistakes, etc. and whether he, Chaplow or Cork are better, I agree that he did fail to pick up Ferdinand, but also agree he will learn from that. However, I think we will probably see Adkins rotating the three of them (and Schneiderlin and Davis) to get the best from them and to ensure he doesn't overuse any players. I suspect therefore that we will start to see Cork coming back into the first team soon and Ward-Prowse becoming sub, but there will still be some matches where Adkins will give JWP a start. Over time we will have to wait and see!! The competition will do them all good!!

A few weeks ago I remember posting to the '25 man squad' thread. At that time we had a squad of exactly 25 over-21-year olds plus 7 under 21. We have now got the following squad with 22 players over 21 years old: Goalkeepers Kelvin Davis Paolo Gazzanigga (U21) Cody Cropper (U21) Right Backs Nathaniel Clyne Frazer Richardson Danny Butterfield Jack Stephens (U21) Centre Backs Maya Yoshida (Non Home-Grown) Jos Hooiveld (Non Home-Grown) Jose Fonte (Non Home-grown) Dan Seaborne Left Backs Daniel Fox Luke Shaw (U21) Central Midfield Steven Davis Jack Cork Morgan Schneiderlin James Ward-Prowse (U21) Richard Chaplow Corby Moore (U21) Attacking Midfield/Wingers Adam Lallana Gaston Ramirez (Non Home-Grown) Guly do Prado (Non Home-Grown) Steve de Ridder (Non Home-Grown) Jason Puncheon Ben Reeves (U21) Callum Chambers (U21) Strikers Rickie Lambert Tadanari Lee (Non Home-Grown) Jay Rodriguez Emmanuel Mayuka (Non Home-Grown) Sam Hoskins (U21) So, some thoughts and questions: * As we have only got 22 players aged over 21 (I’ve assumed that this should include the players who are aged 21 – i.e. Ramirez and Clyne – is that correct?) we have space for three more players. So, the question is – will we bring in any players who are without a contract or will we just keep these spaces vacant for the January transfer window? * Will any of the 22 players go out on loan to the Football League? I would personally hope that we might be able to bring someone in as cover at left back. Anyone know of any good left backs that have not yet got a club? Another centre back would also be good - shame we sent Martin out on loan instead of Seabourne, but hopefully he will return next year and stake a place in the squad. I would also expect that SDR might go out on loan and potentially a couple of the under 21 players (e.g. Sam Hoskins, Callum Chambers, Ben Reeves).

11.02 on BBC transfer day ticker: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19422123

SORRY...! Ignore that first link - I thought it was a link to details of their first team squad, but it's not! Ramirez is still listed on their website. However, I remain reasonably confident that we will hear confirmation in the morning that he has signed - based on Ramirez's own tweet (though again I recognise as already mentioned that he jumped the gun a couple of weeks' ago too!)

Hi all, I've finally read through to post 7015 and thought I'd make a few comments. Firstly, for those looking for confirmation that Ramirez has signed, check out this page on the official website of Bologna FC: http://www.bolognafc.it/squadra-giovanile.asp?id=7. Ok, so it is not an official announcement, but you will note that Ramirez is not listed as a Bologna player on there. Also, just to clarify: @BolognaFC is an unofficial Twitter feed - the official Twitter feed is @BfcOfficialPage. However, it would seem fairly likely that @GastonRamirezOk is the official Twitter feed of the player. It links to his official Facebook page and the Facebook page links back to it. In addition, the official Bologna FC Twitter account follows @GastonRamirezOk, which gives further credence to it genuinely being his Twitter account. Taking these facts together with the Tweet made from the @GastonRamirezOk Twitter account retweeting the unofficial Bologna page, it looks as if this may well be a done deal. The only caveat to this being that, of course, Gaston Ramirez himself tweeted that he thought the deal was done a couple of weeks ago and the whole thing was almost blown out of the water at that time! I suspect that tomorrow's press conference will cover a number of issues: The Man Utd match and the signings of Ramirez, Yashida and Mayuka (and possibly more if we sign anyone else before 2pm tomorrow!). I hope that the official announcement of Ramirez's signing will, however, come in the morning. Finally, on the subject of Twitter, I am not a big user of it, but have begun to see its benefits within the past year. I think you will find that some of the opinions (and that is all they are!) we have found out from people like Simon Peach and Alan Nixon have mainly been offered as a result of questions that Saints fans have posed to them, so don't knock it! ...and yes I have asked them a few questions myself - though not a lot!