Saint86

In short, its just a badly thought out idea which is hampered by the stadium as it is. Only sensible place for the away fans really is where they are right now, or to try and shift them right into the Itchen corner proper, which causes issues with the boxes. A wider change to the stadium should be looked at... which won't be cheap. If the club simply wanted a "home end" with safe standing, the simplest way to achieve it would just be to keep everything as it is and used the chapel. As it is i think the club are mixing two different changes together here. I.e. they could just put safe standing seats in the back rows of chapel - and voila, home end created. Then, if our more vocal fans actually move there (away from the current away supporters), look at moving the away fans properly to somewhere else in the ground and making wider changes to the stadium. But, and as has been said to death - our vocal fans chose to be next to the away fans and not in chapel, which is consequently fairly quiet. So moving the away fans to chapel will in all liklihood result in a net movement of the current northam fans, and northam becoming quiet in a few seasons and chapel / kingsland noisy, and all the club will have achieved is pissing off a load of impacted season ticket holders, the entire family section, and giving more of the shitty glare seats in itchen / northam corner to the home fans rather than the away fans 😂

Liverpool, Everton, Portsmouth - they're my big 3. Have developed quite a strong dislike of Leicester in recent years. And i guess Newcastle, incredilbly toxic fanbase that seem to turn on every manager, they pissed and moaned about no investment under Ashley and how they had it worse than any other club (what was it £40M just on Joelinton?), then they dressed up in head scarves to celebrate being brought by one of the most vile regimes on the planet. Yeah, newcastle are in the 5.

Fair point re kingsland corner and access. In some ways itchen corner would work better if not for the corporate boxes. Re discussions, we'll see if they actually listen, i have my doubts as with most consultations like this the decision is made long before it is ever shared. I think if anything, they mixed up having a "home end" and safe standing, with moving the away fans. Reality is that moving the away fans seems like a seperate issue and there is no material difference between keeping them where they are, and giving them effectively the opposite seats at the other end of the ground. Either the club just install safe standing in chapel end in a "build it and they will come" approach to a "home end". Or do likewise at the top of northam and accept that the most vocal fans will just follow the away fans.

Mixed thoughts about this. On the inclusion of safe standing for 50% of a stand as part of plans to increase atmosphere... Basically everyone stands in Northam anyway, so safe standing in itself will have zero impact on atmosphere. By inspection this is just nonsense from the club. But equally, it will improve safety, so no loss there regardless and a good thing if anything... although i know there are people that argue about "safety" (or behaviour) in standing areas. The change that will create an atmosphere is creating a home end. But with respect to creating a "home end", Chapel is an entire stand dedicated to saints fans. Why is this not the home end already? In fact it was originally intended to be the home end, but (everyone who was so inclined) moved to the Northam stand and itchen corner to be next to the away fans... The only conclusion that can really be reached here is that the most vocal fans are associated with the away fans, and so will follow them wherever they move to in the stadium... so just like they've migrated to northam and itchen corner, they'll now migrate their way next to the chapel kingsland corner. And again, if all the club wanted to achieve was a full length of stand with safe standing... chapel is right there. So seems poorly thought out from the club. In addition, they will now have pissed off the baulk of chapel, family members, and the chapel end of kingsland due to a lack of consultation and consideration. Another issue is ofc that policing is far trickier for getting troublesome away fans to and from SMS from the chapel stand. Given its an unnecessary change in the first place. Ultimately, what I think is likely to happen is an opposite of where we are now. I.e. that the fans in Kingsland and chapel that don't want to be sat next to the away fans will now all move to the equivalent seats at the Northam end of the ground - and they will sit - and the club will for certain enforce seating in non "safe standing" areas as there will now be no excuse. In parallel to that, more vocal fans will move back to be near the away fans - Where there will not be safe standing 🤦‍♂️. We may even end up with a worse atmosphere, with a split home support, and a very vocal and unopposed away section - this happens a lot now even as it is - often with home chants only developing after a chorus of shit support from the away fans etc. Sadly, it doesn't feel like this change has been well thought out by the club at all, and they're pushing through a poorly considered change without even really discussing where to move the away fans to properly with season ticket holders and members that will be most effected. I do think the club really need to open this up to all season ticket holders and members for their thoughts on where to move the away fans. Clearly it would be easier and more effective to make the top half of chapel as standing - and not have to move the away fans at all. Or, if the club are intent on moving the away fans (which i do support if done well), move them to the Kingsland Northam corner? Also, the lower northam corner / itchen corner seats are the worst in the ground... Give as many of them to the away fans as possible imo.

Absolutely superb!

Whenever he has too much time to think about what should be a simple finish, you can bet he'll fluff it 🤣

Che "barn door" adams back in the house....

Never a penalty on Fraser then, Martin going ape about stuff like that (and potentially picking up cards) is not worth it.

Talks really well. Adds further fuel to the fact that Rasmus wanted hassenhuttle out and was responsbile for jones and selles. AKA relegation.

Good news... We've beaten an FFP hamstrung Everton and a name dropped league 1 side to his signing. Heck of a coup this. Hopefully he's hungry!

All of which means he doesn't have many miles on the clock, is very determined and resillient, and will have a burning desire to make the most out of his career. Danny Ings-esq i hope. Plus he was bloody class technically.

That isn't really a question for me - it's for the club and for the sell Che crowd. I wanted openda when he was about £8M 😭😂 I think he's an experienced lower prem level striker - and therefore a very good option as a squad striker in the championship. I have confidence he'll continue to score important goals between now and the end of the season. The reality is that top championship strikers / lower prem strikers go for circa £15-25M. It's doubtful we'll spend that and upset AA's role in the squad and the current balance to the side. More likely we'll take a punt on a lower quality Scottish player (or similar), an unoroven kid with potential, or a former league 1 player with a handful of goals at this level and a bad injury record... (based on SR's track record anyway 😂). Flipping the question, who do you want to replace him with (that you think is a reasonable target for a similar fee)? And are you confident that they'll hit the ground running and score the odd goals in tight games to win us the points that get us promoted? There are no certainties in football, but for £5-10M I have more confidence in Che than SR's attacking recruitment.

The situation hasn't changed. Its silly to sell him for minimal fee unless we've got an adequate replacement lined up - If his goals fire us to promotion then any £5-10M fee we get this window is negligible in comparison. I would think this should be so bleeding obvious that it shouldn't need pointing it out?

Brookes was absolute quality when he was breaking through at bompey before his illness. I'd snap their hands off to have him at saints permanently (let alone as a loan). Although obviously only if he's fully recovered - I guess a loan with a purchase agreement might be a good deal all around.

No need to rush it. Keep it nice and easy for now ideally, allow some squad rotation / resting and bedding in the kids. Keep winning and a premier league side is inevitable basically.

Switch "Victor Wanyama" for "Carlos Alcaraz" and you've got a chant that's simple enough and about the right tempo for us 😂

Southampton doesn't have a bay? It has the solent and fawley power station... maybe we can incorporate that 😅

Two former academy players and club captains gracing the London Stadium atm. Highlights we've had some great times and sadly fallen a long way - but then hopefully its the start of a new exciting journey. Just a shame that we've got no real academy "stars" in the side currently, although i know smallbone is an academy lad.

Seen us looked to david Brooks. Would like us to be all over that if possible!

Exactly this. People who keep suggesting it are just missing the point entirely.

Disappointing but maybe not the end of the world - and we have had a very good month re catching ipswich overall. But play 5 at the back vs a team with 11men behind the ball for 45min and you don't deserve to win frankly. Noriwch threatened to do exactly that all game so no one can be surprised it happened. That first 45 the result of Martin not making the big call re Stephens/bednarek/THB? And i wonder how significant not having bednarek and THB next to each other was in the Norwich equaliser? Played through us like butter there without a single challenge being attempted. Ultimately though, this could prove to be a rueful 2 points dropped at the end of the season - hopefully not! I think Martin needs to sort out what he prefers tactically / selection wise going forward, upsetting the team and/or dropping players undeservedly to just fit in Stephens doesn't work. Also, personally a bit disappointed that we waited that long to bring Alcaraz on? We were clearly tiring and he adds a real quality and threat to our attack.

Get in! Much better this half. Fair play to Martin for switching it up.

Nice bit of time wasting / breaking up saints' game there by Rowe.

Much better now at least!

Fair advantage and good delayed booking from the ref there at least. Although i might have preferred a free kick.