Saint86

So in fact, the Southampton way is to continue failing - thanks for clearing that up!

This just in on Sky sports, he definitely wants to come here, I wonder what we are paying him to get that reaction about St Mary's lolololol - I suppose, compared to Loftus Road and Craven Cottage it must look like a mini old trafford

This is an absolute embarrassment. In short, on the day of season ticket release - no one can buy tickets. Soon to be on The Apprentice: You're Fired! - the saints IT and sales departments. Absolute Morons. There is not even an on-line statement indicating there is a problem but they expect the fans to keep trying for tickets regardless. Another own goal in the great saga that is "the Southampton way" I reckon that even the understaffed and stricken club down the road have managed to sell tickets on the release day

Especially since Iphones are overpriced and inferior to their competition in every way, and whats more, the gullable mongs who buy them then get tricked into buying all apple. Here is an idea... Why don't i buy an iphone for £100 on £41 a month when I can get a HTC for £31 a month and a free phone, on the same network, and which is superior in everyway except the company that makes it didn't have the audacity to think that they are equal to Mr Newton. Fagphones!

Saints will stay up, in spite of that god-awful home kit, this squad is sound and will fair better than reading's in the top flight. The question is, will West Ham do better than us - because they have much greater squad depth and a manager who has been here before and has a very good top flight track record - In adkins we trust of course - Even if it does entail relegation and a second promotion.

Honestly the sponsor is the worst part about it, look tacky as hell and is positioned far to high, should have at last made the centre of the letters the same colour as the shirt, oh wait, that would have been to much effort and involved a complicated cheap stick on sponsor :/ FFS

It seems to me that the players aren't overstruck on the kit - see Sharpedo's tweet etc - I therefore have revised my season predictions downward to relegation scrap and possible relegation. If the players where a kit they love (ala last season's home and away) then they feel more confident and play better. If they play a strip that they feel is awful, they will play worse. Which means our home form, which is crucial in the premier, is going to be at least slightly affected by this travesty of a kit. I think it will the worst kit in the premier, and why the hell is it all red. FFS. The shirt itself is okay, but the colour makes in very hard to wear with anything other than white/black shorts and sock - which would be man utd. The away kit isn't bad. But in no way are either of these kits a touch on last years home or away. They were ****ing gorgeous and were the best kits we have had in a long long long time. We have gone from that to something which makes me turn my head in embarrassment. And please, fire the moron who thought that conceptually a red kit and a white kit was a clever idea - how much did he get paid for that dip**** brainstorm.

Sorry you've lost me here, how is this any different to Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham etc. They have joined the football league and play there football in Wales o.0 What is the difference if Rangers join the football league and play in Scotland. I for one would take them. They have a huge fanbase and in a few years they could upset the apple cart with that kind of backing. Also, they would certainly offer something new and it would ultimately bum Celtic due to the massive difference in wealth and quality of football on offer. - Personally, and after the way Lennon et al have been ****ing us around - I think Celtic deserve a good bumming. I also know a rangers fan and to be honest, they are quality fans. Yes the club cheated and spent beyond their means. But so did a lot of clubs. They have definitely had their punishment and if they are going to start again, better to do it in the English leagues in my honest opinion.

Don't know if people are interested or what their views are, but Beckham has missed the final 18man cut for Team GB. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/7846753/Beckham-left-out-of-Team-GB Personally I am torn, I think the guy has given everything for his country and aside from one red card in 98 (we all make mistakes) I really can't fault his effort. On the other hand I really don't know what much about him anymore. I hear he is fit and could last the full 90 unlike some players who may get considered for politics sake but he is getting on and is he really one of the best aged over 23 players? Also, I wonder if any saints players may make the list? Lambert perhaps. I heard that pearce watched saints a few times and I was trying to work out who he may be interested in. Came up with Lallana, cork, Lambert and Kelvin. I suppose this is the usual "look at how great saints players are" optimism/blinkers What are peoples thoughts anyway?

Whilst I agree that MLG was perhaps being condescending with his remark, I don't feel your comment about maths teachers is very fair. Also don't spend your time bickering with each other, Turkish is getting away hassle free after his earlier escapades in this thread ^_-

Under this link, The first comment has the following - used to descibe a guy who uses the word obviously 16 times in a minute on your link Got to love them liverpool fans! "Boss lad. down to earth and also a good, confident speaker. future Liverpool captain for sure!! mark my words... next season he will be a regular starter in midfield!!!"

The simple truth is that but ugly kits get relegated :/ Fact!

Whilst I agree with most of what you are saying... the kit IS actually unique in the premier, and in England this year I think. I would guess that is why they have gone with it, to differentiate us from Stoke and Sunderland.. I am with you however, I do not like it, I am quite happy with last years shirt which I think was damn bloody smart, and I won't be buying this unless I am miraculously blown away with it.....We shall see!

Surely this thread should be renamed to "Is Carroll good enough for England" ???

Also Turkish, you are like a 12 year old, you contradict yourself massively and misquote people, if you weren't so entertaining I would have had you on ignore long ago. I suppose it goes in your favour that you demonstrate what a good education is actually worth

Ahhh, nothing like the sound of turkish admitting we were right guys

Trying to argue with the fingers in ears few on here is pointless. Saints will be near capacity for their attendance this season, the fact that their are plans afoot for expansion from a guy who knows what he is doing (sorry turkish thats not you, that is Nicola x) ends the debate in my view. The club is going places, they have more fans than those living in the past will credit, and spouting facts at you which back this up draws nothing but dismissive responses with no factual evidence. Frankly i disagree with the negative few of you, but thats fine, free speech and all that. Put simply, I am right, Turkish is wrong Happy days! Catchment area > 1.6million xxx

My point Turkish, is that saints have a large catchment area, and one in a wealthy area. (Although you have glossed over that point.) We are clearly going to disagree on this, but the simple fact is that outside of Birmingham there are a hell of a lot of other cities and clubs to support. And taking the greater urban area of Birmingham, with 900k split between 3 clubs, as opposed to southampton with 300k for one club, we have an equivalent initial catchment area. You then have the population bases I have listed which includes a further 900k to 1.3million, and again we are the only major club to take the lions share of that. In addition, as stated above, and by other posters, our demographic is significantly wealthier and are more likely to afford the games - please look up stats if you are going to continue attacking me for doing that myself as otherwise it is just your opinion you are spouting... salt, pinch of. You do talk sense on other topics but we are going to clearly disagree on the merits of our catchment area and I cba to argue with you about it. And the reason I include Portsmouth is not because their fans are going to spontaneously follow saints - I wouldn't do the reverse - but because there are, shock horror, saints in Portsmouth and havent etc. I also do not find it inconcievable that fans of other teams will come to SMS to watch their teams which has been dismissed by others in this thread. A prime example is Leeds, I know of 2 seperate groups with 5 and 7 people in who always go to sms (home) to follow leeds. Now in the lower leagues this is not relevant, but in the premier with wider fan bases it will contribute a reasonable following, guessing at maybe 500 for the larger teams but that really is a plucked out of thin air figure. The fact remains that attendance wise we will be the 10th largest club in the country, and as our reputation grows this will increase. In addition, we are 10th in the country because we are currently limited by capacity - THIS IS UNLIKE VILLA AND EVERTON, which as i said, are between 7-10k under their capacity. There is therefore room for improvement and with a local population that will exceed over 1.6million with only 1 club in the top two tiers to follow I do not think our catchment area should be dismissed.

Coming back to my point on another thread, cheapest season tickets at Bayern Munich was £104 - Thats a new ground not an expansion x

Based on those figures we are a similar sized club to both Aston Villa and Everton, it should be pointed out that those clubs are between 7-10k under their respective capacities. Saints will sell out 32k every week giving us the 10th or 11th largest attendance in the premier (dependant on West Ham). Clearly we have a decent fan base and catchment area. To argue otherwise (aka turkish) is a bit silly in the least. We have fans from Salisbury to Pool to Winchester. The combined population of these areas would easily equal a city the size of Bristol or even Birmingham. Now while we are not the only club, we are the biggest and we do not face the competition that exists in London or Birmingham, which has 1million people split between 3 very large, and very equal clubs. I am also not including Portsmouth in our "catchment area" although lets face it, we have fans their, and their numbers will increase. There are saints fans in Ringwood, I mean ffs, there are a couple of hundred in my home village and that only has a population of 3000, saints are essentially the only club that matters in the region. That is not to deduct from the cherries, but they can hold what, 10k? are a 30min train journey away, don't have the history, and their fans have been brought up on a staple diet of our future players. So to put population numbers to this - Southampton and Eastleigh - 304,400 Winchester - 41,000 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole - 383,000 Basingstoke - 90,000 Salisbury - 40,000 Romsey - 17,500 Portsmouth and surrounding area - 450,000 Population of New forest - 172,000 Isle of White - 140,000 I don't think it is unrealistic to assume we draw fans from these areas as an immediate catchment area. I mean come on Turkish - we had approximately the 20th largest attendance playing in the 3rd tier. These people don't just magically appear at a click of Nicola's fingers. Saints have a large catchment area, the proof is in our attendances relative to the existing attendance averages for premier teams. Birmingham has a population of 950k spread over 3 major clubs. We are the only premier league team in this catchment area and there are NO SECOND TIER TEAMS. Total population of this area is some 1.64million, or 1.2 million if you excluded (wrongly) Portsmouth. Add to this the fact that their isn't really an alternative competitive sport in the area - i.e. rugby for Bristol and I believe I feel happy to say that our catchment area is pretty damn large. Especially as I have not considered all the smaller towns and villages, or the fact that we have fans who are further afield such as reading, Guildford or even Bristol.)

I expect saints to come between 10-15th. I think we have a pretty decent first team although the depth is lacking which is a worry. The fact is there is very little difference between the bottom 6-7 Premier teams and the top championship clubs, and we kicked the championships ass!!! (Chin Up) You can expect Lambert to score 15-20goals next year with no injury (Based in Holt who he has outscored in every division). Sharp, Jayrod and Lee will get some as well due to our all round attacking being so strong. And we haven't even mentioned Lallana - When Oxlade was here we still said Adam was better - well Oxlade has gone to the Euros and played in the Champions League..... I think Adam can hack the premier to be honest. I also rate Jos and Fonte, the latter less than the former. But I think they are a solid, although not top class pairing that reminds me of Claus and M Svensson. Needless to say that they were one of the best CB pairings in the league at one time. People also seem to be forgetting Cork and Morgan who are our stand out CM players. They are good lads who will more than hold their own and who will improve. I mean ffs, look at Charlie Adam and dobbie - if they can step up then so can our current midfield. We also have chappers who is so athletic I can't wait to seem him chase down the pretty boys of the top flight (although slightly less shirt pulling will be in order!) and Hammond is worth a game for the gritty matches - stoke etc. Fox is a sound Left Back with all things considered and we won't be going all-out attack in every game next year so he should have more cover. Frankly, Kelvin is still a sound keeper for 1 maybe 2 years. He won't be the worst in the league, and he won't be the best. And Guly still remains, although whether he will shine or disappear will be one of the exciting questions to be answered - thats right, exiciting! to See how we hack it at this level, not moaning before the season begins! Maybe I am optimistic to expect us to be better than some of the dross in that league, but if we do bad I won't get on Nigel's back, even if we get relegated I wont! This is a long term project, the guy is new to this level as our some of the players. Maybe his is gifted, something fresh, maybe the whole team are. Alternatively maybe they need time to learn and adapt. I think Nigel has won the right to that time and therefore I think the original post is a bit of a disgrace. I want this club to be the new Arsenal - but will also win things! And I think we can achieve this given time. We have the money, and we have the atmosphere, confidence, spirit and talent to achieve it. With the youth academy that we have and what is currently in existence/being improved, there are few teams that should feel as optimistic as saints for their future improvement in the league standings. And that is the simple truth. Look at villa - dropped like a rock, Newcastle can't go much higher, Liverpool - where are they now compared to where they used to be. Then look at clubs like Stoke, West Brom and Fulham - we have the potential to eclipse those last 3 teams, and you can be damn sure that that is on Nicola's minimum five year plan! COYR!!!

Can't resist this, but with the "most of his experience at league 1, and the fact that he was a starting CB in the early championship games until some little ****er kicked his head in, I would say that you must also have doubts about Lambert? no?

We will be fine mate, have faith, I said from the second we got promoted from Npower 1 that we would go up last year. We have, nto I am telling you we will be around 10th this season! Those first games are not an issue. Even if we lose 5-0 to city it is a game that we are not going to be expected to get a result out of. We have a damn good team with a couple of additions. And we have lambert, I mean holt got 17 goals last season..... Lambert will be 25 JayRod is going to be a beast and we have big old jos, morgan, corky and lallana!! Its a solid young team, even de rids will get some good game time next year. We will need his pace for crosses. Have faith, and enjoy, we have been looking for this since we got relegated, don't blink and wish for millwall when you see the first fixtures. Bloody pathetic. If that is our attitude then we don't deserve to be premier league as fans!

Guys get some perspective.... We can decide the title in the first 4 weeks On a serious note, I would rather play city away first game than after we have played 6-7games and we have had a wake up call. Right now we are on the back of back to back promotions, we are not expected to win and this is a cup tie for us. Its followed up by Wigan at home, and if we can't win that we will be in the relegation zone regardless. Loosen up. We may well get 4 points from these first 2 games and then we can enjoy Manure at home. I really don't think this is that bad. It is a tough league next season, but we have great team mentality and I think we will surprise a few people. Also lambert, lallana and cork and morgan will be a bit of an unknown for the first few games and that is a decent premier league core. Ultimately the boys have nothing to lose and everything to play for. And they will be full of confidence. Have some faith! What we have achieved so far has been spectacular but the best is still to come. And this team, with the right additions can be a 10th placed team this season. Its a tough start, but imagine how easy it will be to play the other teams after those first 4 games ^_^ Ducks head in anticipation of impending barrage!!! Then for good measure, adds "champions league, here we come" Lots of Love, Saint86 x

I would disagree, I think Gary Neville is a moron, and a biased one at that. I also prefer every pundit on MOTD. Coverage wise the beeb has better pundits and take the time to research the teams in question. When saints were on sky last year they had Oakley (vs Leicester) who openly admitted he had not been following saints and who knew sod all about our current team. The pundits were the same and the commentary was just dross. almost as bad as ITV (yes i did just say that!!)