SaintJackoInHurworth

That was an excellent read! Thank you. A very good and positive analysis. If we do sign a decent centre back and another good striker, I would agree with you. Even without them I am hopeful we will not be struggling at the wrong end of the table. However, I do have some reservations about our defence in particular if we don't manage to sign anyone. On a related note, if we do sign any players I wonder how prepared they will be. You only have to look at the lack of match practice for Puncheon and others to realise that wantaway players may not be that well prepared for the new season.

One concern I have with our pre-season is whether the players have had enough match practice to get match fit. I think this was dealt with for some players with yesterdays Yeovil match, but that still leaves a significant number of players without a full 90 minutes under their belts since last season. I was quite surprised that De Ridder didn't make more of an appearance than he did but maybe that is because he has already reached a high level of match fitness and other players need the match practice more. I am concerned about Barnard and Chamberlain though as their injuries will have prevented them getting up to that level of fitness you would want.

It is interesting to read about what other clubs have been doing for pre-season: I notice that Leicester have a big match against Real Madrid tomorrow. While this sounds a real glamour tie and great for the fans (and the ticket office sales!) I wonder if it is asking for trouble so close to the new season. I wonder if the players could be a little TOO comitted and end up getting injuries. I also see the possibility of them getting a real beating and having their confidence damaged. Similarly, Middlesbrough have had a big fixture against PSV Eindhoven this evening, with the same possibilities, though not on the same scale as a fixture against Madrid! More amusingly, P*mpey had a fixture arranged against Real Betis tomorrow, but have had to cancel it as they are stranded in America!! Havant & Waterlooville are playing the match instead! LOL What do people think of our pre-season? Do you think we have had enough fixtures and have they been of sufficient quality? Have the fixtures been well-structured, etc.? Personally, I think there has been a good number to give the squad sufficient match practice without so many that the players risk getting injured. Hopefully the final game on Saturday will be a chance for some players to get a full 90 minutes. I like the fact that it is a winnable game but made tougher by the fact that it is away from home. In theory it should be a good game to build up some realistic match practice while building the team's confidence ready to face Leeds.

And AOC injured so he can stay to warm Saints bench instead of Arsenal's youth team bench.

1. I think Jemal will have signed. 2. I think Arsenal will have signed another winger and not AOC. AOC will come out an declare his undying support for Saints in the realisation that no-one is going to buy him until January. 3. Puncheon will be gone or going. 4. Another left-field signing will have been made - they may or may not play on the left of the field!!! More likely they will be a full-back or striker 5. Rumours will abound that Fish is about to leave to join another club.... or he may have kissed and made-up with Adkins and declared his undying support for the Saints' cause. 6. Saints will have unveiled some new project - e.g. next stage of redevelopment of the training facilities, etc. 7. Saints will have demolished a laclustre West Brom. 8. Saints will completely annihilate Yeovil. 9. A significant player will have been injured - either in training or during one of the matches. He will miss the start of the season. 10. Saints will announce the forthcoming release of their third kit (but the actually release will not happen until the last week of pre-season!)

I know there are still a few weeks to go until the new season during which many more transfers will probably be made, but... ...how do people think the Championship will turn out this season? Where in particular will Saints finish? Also, what about other clubs? Who will finish top/2nd? Who will make the play-offs? Who will be relegated? Where will P*mpey, Brighton and Reading finish? Anyone want to hazard a guess for the whole table?! I think Saints will finish just inside the play-offs, together with Cardiff, Brighton and Leeds. The top two will be Leicester and West Ham. The bottom three will be Crystal Palace, Barnsley and either Peterborough or Burnley. P*mpey will finish 13th, Reading 9th.

I agree entirely with the OP that the main transfer rumours thread doesn't work, except for a small number of people. I also agree with ohwhenthesaints that the best way of doing this would be to create a sub-forum for transfer rumours. One thing that used to happen on the rumour thread and/or the hcdajfu thread was that an admin would keep the original post updated so that it kept an up-to-date record of suggestions. To return to doing that would be the only way that I could see any sense in maintaining the current format.

So far the Twitter conversation is as follows: @Hilton89 Chris Hlton @Lukeyjuke #comehomejuke @Lukeyjuke Lukas Jutkiewicz @Hilton89 haha oh dear has it started?! @Hilton89 Chris Hlton @Lukeyjuke I started them mate, miss you too much after the summer! @Lukeyjuke Lukas Jutkiewicz @Hilton89 same here my friend, visit due very soon! @Annawaldron1 Anna Waldron @Lukeyjuke So..are the rumours true.. Are you gonna come play for the saints? @Lukeyjuke Lukas Jutkiewicz @Annawaldron1 not heard anything, news to me! So... pretty inconclusive I would say! 'Not heard anything' doesn't sound like any bid has yet been made.

I believe he is better than Seaborne and would not want him to go on loan for that reason. IMO, he needs to start the season as cover for Jaidi, gradually replacing him at centre back and becoming our regular CB alongside Fonte by the end of the season.

Correct!!

Any takers? If it is not answered this evening I will try to get on and post the answer at some stage.

It has been more than 15 minutes, so can I suggest an easy question: On 19th January 1980, Saints played Man City at the Dell and won 4-1 with goals from Channon, Ball, Watson. Who scored Saints' fourth goal with his first touch in league football? (I was there! )

I am absolutely staggered at the amount of stuff some people on here actually do outside of following Saints and contributing to this forum. I can spend hours just reading this forum without more than an occasional comment, yet some of you seem to contribute loads to the forum and then do all the stuff that you have listed! Unbelievable! Personally, I love my job, working for a Christian charity supporting/encouraging churches/Christians in their work with/for children, young people and families (e.g. running holiday clubs and events, etc.) I spend much of my spare time with my family (wife and 2 girls aged 2 and 5) and after kids have gone to bed generally settle down to doss on the net (Facebook, this forum, etc.), spend time with the wife or go to activities related to the church of which I am a member. This includes heading up a group which is seeking to have a positive impact upon the community in which the church is located by running community activities, etc. - I guess this is quite similar to my job but kit is separate from it. I would love to get back into doing some sort of fitness activity - either playing football regularly or running. I need to get myself sorted for this!

Mate - can I suggest a simple solution... ...instead of taking her out for a boring meal on the evening of 14th Feb, paying well over the odds to do so in most places and being distracted anyway, why not talk to her and suggest that instead of celebrating that evening, you celebrate over the course of the whole of the preceding weekend and/or during the day instead. So... on Friday 10th you have a slap up meal at home followed by a night of passion. On the Saturday, you take her to her favourite retail park in the morning and then drop her off for an afternoon of pampering while you go to the Burnley match. On Saturday evening, you book a night in a nice hotel and have a great time there. On the Sunday you take her out for a romantic drive in the country, stopping off at a cafe for tea. You then return home to watch a DVD at home in the evening, followed by another night of passion. On Valentines day itself, you could take the day off work and take her out for a nice meal at lunchtime following another morning shopping spree and either an afternoon of passion or a nice drive in the country or similar. For the evening, you arrange one or more of the following while you head off to enjoy the footie: * Some girlie mates around - either single friends or friends whose husbands/boyfriends are also going to the match. * A romantic video (with friends). * A pampering session. * An evening watching Diversity, Take That or similar in concert with some friends. If you do something like this, she will be delighted and will only want to encourage you to have a great time at the footie!!

Everyone is going on about how Lambert should or shouldn't be in the list, but I think the bigger issue is whether AOC should be in the list. If this is a list of the ten best players outside the Prem based on current ability then AOC and a number of these players should definitely not be in the list. They have huge potential and may well be class Prem players in years to come, but they are not that yet! This list looks more like a list of the players in the Championship believed to have the biggest potential for the future.

I don't know about the Peterboro game as I wasn't there, but I was at the away game at Huddersfield and imo Seabourne was dreadful in that game - several times the ball bounced over him because of his inability in the air and in particular his poor timing. He was responsible for at least one if not both of the Huddersfield goals. If he is to remain at Saints and hold down a regular spot in the side then he will need to improve in these areas and some of the others that have been noted by others. Adkins and the coaching staff will need to make the call as to whether they think Seabourne can make the step up to regular first team football in the CCC or whether we need to invest in another CB. Personally I rate Martin more highly - but what do I know?!

Manners? He has only played 8 times for Bloxham FC this season scoring 2 goals. Surely signing a player of Barrie's quality is aiming a bit low? How do you know he is on a free anyway?!!!!!!!! http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bloxhamfc/s/players-coaches-9006.html&player_id=205653

If Bompey score another will that put them in the driving seat on the away goals rule? Or does the away goals rule not apply?

I'm a fan of stripes, but just as some of the 80s shirts were quite radical at the time, I would like to see us doing something radical with the stripes this time. Perhaps we could in some way blend sash and stripes or something seeing as some people like the sash (personally I am not that keen, but could see a merger of the two working). The other issue of course is having something that would work with the aap3 logo. With this in mind, I wonder if Umbro could come up with a stripes design based on the stripes on their boots? Something like this: Perhaps it would need thicker stripes or a few more, but would be a radical variation on stripes and has a sort of sash-like quality to it. What do you think? (Apologies this is not a fully developed idea but I have only had MS Paint to work with and not paintshop pro or anything fancy!)

I am more than happy for Saints to have teamed up with a growing local business. I just hope that a three year deal will not limit us if we manage to get up to the Prem within that period of time. I doubt that will be a big issue. My bigger concern is what the sponsor's logo looks like and how it will be laughed at by other fans... SO... in order to beat them to it, here's what some of you are already thinking...

I have to say the abuse of Flinders was rarely if ever funny, but he took it VERY well and somehow saw the funny side. The songs about the steward though were not abusive - just funny. Yes, it was a bit childish, but like people have said, that was about all the fun we were able to have for the whole game. There was nothing homphobic about the chanting - the fact that Alan Carr is gay wasn't mentioned as far as I can recall and, personally, it didn't even cross my mind that anyone might be implying that the steward was gay. In terms of what actually happened, it started with a few fans chanting Alan Carr, Alan Carr, Alan Carr, etc. (to the same tune that is used to sing 'Here We go, here we go', etc.) At first I don't think everyone (myself included) could work out what was being sung, but gradually more people began to work out what was being sung and joined in, pointing at the steward in question. Then it changed to 'Alan, give us a wave, Alan, Alan, give us a wave', etc. with boos when he did not. As it continued, so the other stewards began to realise what was being sung and who it was being aimed at. They began to laugh, but tried their hardest not to do so. I think that was probably when it really began to get funny as they struggled not to laugh. Finally, as we left, there was another steward (or it may have been the same one, but I'm pretty sure it was a different one) on the pitch near the exit from the stand out to the eating area, who also looked a bit like Alan Carr. Someone spotted this and pointed at him and shouted something like 'another Alan Carr!'. Consequently, everyone started to sing the same songs to him. Personally, as I say, while the Alan Carr Chants might have been a bit childish, it was quite funny and imo harmless.

I share with you some doubts about Adkins, but like any manager he does some things well and some things not so well. I think that he had a hard job tonight as the players had gone for a while without a game, whereas Hartlepool played on Saturday and had a stinging home defeat to put behind them. I believe the lack of a game on Saturday affected the performance of some players and certainly did not help those who have recently returned from injury to get back to match sharpness. I need to comment about one particular comment you have made though... you seem to be suggesting that we would have been better playing three players in the middle tonight - Chaplow, Hammond and Schneiderlin. I can assure you that that would not have helped. Our midfield was already too cramped and replacing Guly with Schneiderlin would have compounded the problem while leaving us short up front. In addition, you suggest that Schneiderlin should have played instead of Guly. In fact, Guly was at times our main creative outlet - especially in the first half, so to have not played him would also have been a bad move! Having said both of these things, I would agree that Schneiderlin was missed tonight - but mainly because Hammond was so poor. If I had known that Hammond was going to play that badly, then I would have played Schneiderlin instead. Obviously he couldn't know that beforehand, but I think Adkins biggest mistake was that he did not take Hammond off and replace him with Schneiderlin in the second half. If you were not meaning that Schneiderlin should play instead of Guly and did indeed mean instead of Hammond, I wonder who you would play instead of Guly. Would you have preferred to see Barnard play from the start? Or would you have gone for N'Guessian?

I have just read Adkins comments after the game and have to say I don't know what he is talking about! Lallana made some cahnces but they were no more than half chances - I don't know how Adkins can say he nearly had a hatrick - that makes it sound like he had a bad game and missed some sitters! I would say, as above, that he had a game in which took a little while to get up to the pace of the game, but gradually improved and then showed glimpses of his usual brilliance. As he got up to the pace of the game, he then worked hard to get into space and when he received the ball made the defenders work hard. The facts are that we did not create enough to win the game. We did not need to play such negative tactics (not allowing the full backs to work the wings) and it nearly cost us. The only part of his report that I agree with is that Kelvin did well in goal. But even then, I don't think he had a huge amount to do! Adkins comments make it sound like they were raining in shots on our goal, when in fact during those spells when they were on top it was more often than not Fonte, Harding or Butterfield who dealt with it before any shot could be made! As to whether this result is a disaster, I personally don't think it is. On paper we had the hardest fixture of any of the teams at thye top of the league and we did no worse than any of them except Brighton. If we can get the team playing to its potential then we will get promoted. My only question is whether Adkins away tactics are right for a team with such a lot of flair. I hope he will rethink his approach and realise that we can win games away (as we did far more often under Pardew) because it is there that teams are more likely to open up and attack, thus creating the opportunities to play to our strengths.

Just got home from the game about 45 minutes or so ago and have just spent ages writing my analysis of the match!!! Here goes... Well, as you will already have worked out, it was a pretty dire affair. We had few genuine clear-cut chances and didn't do enough to win the game. In fact we were lucky not to lose as one of their players managed somehow to balloon the ball miles over the bar from about 8 yards with the goal gaping in front of him!! Nevertheless, I think a draw was a fair result. Tactically I think either Adkins got it wrong or the team did not play to his plan. I suspect it was a bit of both. Our midfield seemed quite packed in the first half with Chaplow and Hammond seeming uncertain of their respective roles and offering little. Meanwhile Chamberlain positioned himself wide on the touchline ready to receive the telling pass which rarely came. Hammond rarely featured and certainly did not provide the ammunition for the forwards and wide players. Lallana was left having to come inside to get the ball and then sometimes he would receive the ball. Sadly at times this ball was received even when Chamberlain was in a better position. Chaplow improved a little in the second half, but Hammond continued to be disinterested and it seemed like we only had nine players on the pitch at times with Hammond offering so little and Chamberlain getting such poor service. When Chamberlain did finally get the ball it was not when he was in space but where play was tight and he had little support. Inevitably he tried to use his prowess to get past four players but the third or fourth player would usually tackle him. On a more positive note, Harding had a great game and was by far our best player. Fonte too put in a towering performance and Butterfield played very intelligently at the back, though sadly offered less going forward than he has done in the past. Guly had a very good first half and a very mixed second half. In the first half, he was the only Saints player to offer any threat, but in the second half while he did some good stuff at times at other times he made some poor choices and lost concentration. He was not helped by a seeming lack of communication between him and Lambert. Lambert himself also had a mixed performance. At times he would do some intelligent play with the ball, while at other times he seemed to lack a yard or two of pace and the drive to work the space behind the opposing defence. He was also frequently getting dragged out of position, leaving Guly more often than not as the main striker. Lallana took most of the first half to get up to the pace of the game, but once there he showed glimpses of his usual brilliance, but as I hinted above I sense that the rest of the team are becoming too dependant upon him and are not ready to play the ball out wide often enough and use other players like Chamberlain. Jaihdi had a poor performance and got caught in possession a number of times. He looked like a player that was short on fitness, confidence and pace and/or like a player whose career is coming to an end. It was a sad sight to see. Kelvin Davis had little to do, but he dealt with everything thrown at him and cleared up when there were one or two moments of indecision in the defence. In terms of subs, Barnard ran around like a headless chicken trying to use every ounce of energy he had but as a result was rarely where he was needed in front of goal. When he came on the side finally woke up to the need to pass the ball out wide to Chamberlain - who, of course, had by this time gone off so there was no-one out wide!! Overall, we still looked the better side and dominated possession, but we had little passion going forwards and had no-one to make the intelligent passes from midfield up to the forwards and attack-minded midfielders. What would I have done differently? I would have taken off Hammond and brought Schneiderlin on in his place with clear instructions to get the ball out wide to Chamberlain more often. I would have also suggested that Lallana vary his positioning a bit to keep them guessing, going out wide a bit more to receive the ball out there occasionally. I would also have pushed the full-backs forward a bit more. Defensively, I don't know what I would have done. Hartlepool play the ball in the air a lot and so Dan Seabourne could have been a liability as on past evidence, he cannot handle that very well. Finally, as a last throw of the dice I would have considered bringing N'Guessian on to bring something a bit different in the last ten minutes.

Poor refereeing decision cost us the points imo - no way that was handball at the end.