Monkou

Best defender we have had since Ken Monkou.

Has to be better playing Clyne at rightback than playing Stones out of position. On the basis that you need 2 players fighting for each position to be successful, I would say it should be a fight between Clyne and Chambers with Nat well ahead at the moment. Let Stones fight it out with Cahill and Jags for a center back spot.

Seems strange that right leaning people would read the guardian but for what its worth: Male Yes Aged 60 or above 30 Social grade is ABC1 (Which is upper, middle or lower midde-class) Probably Middle Lives in the South Coast region Madrid Leans politically to the right Yes Typical professions are in Travel and Hospitality, Engineering and Mining No Favourite dish is Sweet and Sour Spare Rib Curry Favourite hobbies are Bird Watching, Gardening and Reading No Favourite sports are Football and Cricket Those and Rugby (Union) Have general interests in Business and Finance, Radio and International News Yes Most likely pet is a Cat Yes Shops at Waitrose Would do if lived in UK Wears brands like Blue Harbour, Bench and Craghoppers No Banks at Lloyds No Drives an Alfa Romeo no Favourite film is One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Shawshank Favourite TV Show is Bleak House MOTD Favourite music artist is The Moody Blues Beatles Favourite celebrity is Audrey Hepburn Scarlett Johanson Reads The Guardian and Condé Nast Traveller The Times seems a bit daft and most of these probably explained by small sample size. Obviously some of these categories will be influenced by the wealth of the surrounding areas but apart from that probably little correlation. Will be more interesting comparing 2 teams from the same city (provided there was a big sample size)

That is an awesome idea, hope they make a go of it. My stag do was a few months ago, might have to get divorced and remarry just to have the chance of launching a 2 footed tackle at Linvoy Primus..

I don´t necessarily agree that the upcoming games against the other top 4 are the key. These teams seem to be dropping points against the lower teams where we are not. If we can put away teams like Leicester and Villa consistently over the season, and scrape the odd draw against the top teams then we should be very close come the end of the season. It is a big if though, we have ridden our luck so far in a few games.

Thankfully, most of the pubs are away fan friendly so you can pretty much take your pick without too much worry (of course there might be the odd moron but its relatively rare). The king Alfred is ok, has a bbq normally but gets pretty busy.

Just to clarify as i think there is some confusion. The clubs must offer a minimum of 10% or 3k. However, they can demand that the visiting club pre-pays for the amount of tickets that they want above the smallest allocation. This means that the risk of not selling all the tickets falls on saints if they take the extra allocation. The club lost money in the past (last time we were in the prem) so stopped automatically taking the full allocation. If we had requested 3k, only sold 2k, then we would have lost around 30 grand. Considering the game is mid week, and we have played there already this season (meaning a lot of people might not bother to go again for triple the price) it was probably not worth the risk.

We have had very favorable fixtures, losing to the only 2 decent sides we have played. I would be more than happy with another top 10 finish and maybe a tilt at the cups.

I would like to know what people mean by the term quality? If it is simply who would win in a head to head match, then yes, the quality is at non league level, due to the differences in strength between men´s and women´s bodies. If by quality, you actually mean skill, then I would strongly argue that the womens game at the top level (the national teams of US, Japan, Sweeden etc) is at least at championship level. Because of the lower levels of strength, you see, a greater emphasis on passing and dribbling. It is true that the level falls off quickly and the depth in the game is not there. It is also true that the goalkeepers are pretty useless. However, having watched a fair bit of womens football i find the "its like a pub league" comments to be laughably ignorant.

The reality is that any business will charge as much as it can to maximise revenues. They could fill those last 1000 seats with a 5 pound price cut but they would be losing money overall so it would not be worth it. The only realistic way prices would fall for saints is if they increased the size of the stadium too much and then had to cut prices to fill it. Alternatively, if there was a Europe wide Salary cap (not going to happen) that would also bring prices down eventually. What annoys me is that people, not so much at saints thankfully, seem to think a football club is some kind of charity and that they are entitled to watch their team for a low price. If you don´t want to pay for it then dont, go watch your local team, the reserves of the women´s side. If enough people feel the same way then prices will come down.

A great idea to get the players used to playing at St Marys. Hope those that can make the effort to go. A crowd of 5k would be fantastic.

Fog on the Tyne is the best of those suggested above. Please not just another rip off.

Great memories. My first ever game was v Wimbledon when he scored the tee´d up free kick into the top corner. Spent the whole next day in the garden trying to replicate it... No success but I was only 8. I don´t think I will ever see a player like him again in my lifetime.

It was an incredible place, exciting, charming, electric but ultimately stifling. Without wishing to get overly sentimental, images of the dell will always remind me of going to my first matches as a kid with my old man. The deafening noise when Matt scored his two goals against Newcastle is something I will never forget. Sure others have similar memories.

Something lost in translation I would imagine. The very fact that he wanted to be treated back in Argentina so that he could better understand the doctors suggests his English was not the best. A non story this one.

If you don't mind a bit more of a walk, upper street has some decent bars.

Doesn´t happen in rugby.

That is an awesome logo. Very interesting post aussiesaint. Have you thought about sending a piece like that to the club to put in the programme?

Atletico Madrid has a sister club in it (dont forget Atletico are kind of a sister club of saints anyway - we are the reason they play in red & white) and I would be suprised if other clubs did not look to invest as well. Man City have done a similar thing in the MLS. The idea of owning a "feeder" team in a foreign league does seem to make sense on a number of levels. More interest in the club, bringing in sponsorship, plus the chance to have an overseas academy and funnel in the best players.

This could be our best signing since Rickie Lambert. Well done do all at the club who have got their heads down, ignored the hysteria and put together a decent looking side out of the ashes of last season. Wonder if Robbie Savage still thinks we are relegation material..

A colleague of mine is a Sporting fan. He does not seem particularly bothered.

Well, lets just say, that they are prepared to sell one of both of them. Obviously, once that decision has been made, the priority is to optimise the price. The best way to do that is not to announce to the world that you might sell them, just to appease some fans on a forum. Not every business dealing can be transparent.

He wanted to leave for a bigger club and was honest about it. Don´t see the problem. He gave us so much, probably more than any player since Le-Tiss, that is what I will remember. And the echo thing might have been a bit cheesy, but it was well intentioned. He didn't need to do that and most players would not have bothered.

Or..... just show him a bit of appreciation for playing a big part in getting us to the prem and then move on.

Like others, I like the idea of Veho being sponsor, but I can´t help feeling both them and the club have missed a trick a bit. The rugby club I support, Saracens, are sponsored by Garmin. All Saracens season ticket holders and members get a discount on all Garmin products. The club can sell this an another benefit of membership, the company is likely to get more sales, and fans who wish can save a bot of money. Surely Saints and Veho could have done something similar?