Monkou

Its really dissapointing as we were one of the original grounds names during the bid process. Having said that, I agee with Fan the flames that as many games as possible should be played at the traditional rugby stadiums so if we have missed out so that Sandy park could host some games then fair enough I suppose. Thats a cracking ground which always has a really good atmosphere.

Until we have a waiting list of 5k or more it would be stupid to expand the stadium from a business point of veiw. Why would the club want to give up what pricing power they have?. A ticket to see southampton needs to be hard to come by.

Seriously, do you actually beleive what you are typing?

Sadly, a lot of chavs go to football which is why the rest of us have to be segregated and can’t have a beer at our seat. Personally, while I love football and Saints, I only go to watch Rugby live as it’s a much more enjoyable and sociable day out.

There are 3 worse teams than us in the league. Yes, we are safe.

Giorgio Chiellini would keep us in the prem without doubt. If only Nigel was being asked the same question.

Well apart from Ken Monkou, i'd have to go for Marian Pahars. Kept us up on last day of season the year that we commited to st marys. Also he was just a good player to watch, full of energy and loved playing for us.

I think we only ended up receiving just over 5m for walcott as took early settlement and forefitted all the add ons when we went into administration.

Was behind the goal in the Milton Road end. Can't beleive its 15 years, feels like longer ago than that. Remember my dad saying after the game that he thought it would be the first goal of many...

Yes, without doubt. I guess most on here have not seen much of him in recent years but I have seen him play quite a few times in the MLS (which is not as bad as you may think) and he is still quality. The experience would be invaluable this season and the young players would benefit greatly. Shame it's all hypothetical.

Well I would like to think that NC, unlike some on here, is clever enough to understand its not a good idea to make a decision on the long term manager of the team based on any single result. Nigel doesnt suddenly become the wrong choice if we lose and by the same token he isnt suddenly the right choice if we win. If we are going to be relegated this season (which i think is by no means certain), there is nobody I would rather have as our manager to get us out of the championship than Nigel Adkins.

I'd say we will stay up - Have seen us in a worse position than this in the past. We have a good attack, competitive midfield and poor defence. If we can scrape a few wins with Ramirez back through till Jan and then buy some experienced ex-prem defenders we should be ok. Those who have made the point that there are at least 3 teams worse than us in the league are absolutly right - but that counts for nothing unless we start concentrating for 90 mins.

Top post SSA. Sadly most people on here will ignore the last 6 years, preferring instead to concentrate on a few bad performances this season. Let’s just hope NC has a slightly more level headed perspective.

Well ok, we had a lot of potential, but that wasnt reflected in our league position at the time (and we had another very good manager in charge then as well). However you look at it, Nigel has done a fantastic job. Does that give him immunity from the sack, not at all - i just dont think we should be laying all the blame at his door and i havent seen any names mentioned on this thread that I think would do a better job with the players available.

In answer to the question, I don’t fancy anyone as next manager. Hope we stick with Nigel for many years to come as he develops into a top manager. I know football fans are not in general known for their patience or football knowledge but the comments on here defy belief. Most of the managers named on this thread would be far worse than Nigel. Fact is, Nigel took over an average league 1 team and took them straight to the premiership. He has improved them to a good championship team but of course we are going to struggle in the premiership. Hopefully in January we will make some good signings and be enough to stay up but even if it isn’t there is nobody I’d want managing us next season in the championship more than NA.

Nigel Adkins to still be manager NEXT christmas after guiding us to around 15th place this year and a better start next season. I wouldnt bet against that.

I have to say Roy has been a great appointment for England. Finally a manager who is prepared to give youth a chance and pick players that actually want to play for their country. He is building something for the future that probably another banager will build on after the next world cup and take all the credit for. Well done Adam - make the most of the experience and learn all you can...

Not a great draw to be honest. Would probably have been easier to get a smaller prem club like us who would play their 2nd XI.

Staggering thread. So if we beat Man U (which I think we have a good chance of doing), can guarantee that a lot of the people who have been predicting our demise will suddenly think we are bound for mid-table.. Also, lets not forget Wigan have one of the best managers outside of top 4, build up a decent team over several years in the prem and were one of the form teams at the end of last season.

So, where is everyone watching the game on Sunday? Was going to go to Red Lion but a lot of the regulars I usually watch games with are away so thought I might try Legends. No doubt we will be very outnumbered with all the new plastic city fans that no longer support Chelsea..

Would make taking the kick-off a pretty big deal though!

By Average most people mean the arithmetic mean (not to be confused with the geometric mean which should only be used for things like interest rates over a time period). Anyway, the comparison to Wigan and Munich is completely irrelevant as they have completely different business models. Saints will charge a lot more because, in short, they can. As long as demand remains strong and supply remains the same (i.e. 32k) then there is no business case to reduce the prices, other than perhaps for a bit of goodwill from the fans but I hardly think they need that after 2 successive promotions.

I may be a traditionalist but for me our 2nd kit should always be yellow. Its part of our history, 1976, turning cardiff yellow in 2003. If they want to have a 3rd kit and mess around with that then fine.. Same with England, 2nd kit must be red.

Great acheivement at newcastle and as other have said, did a lot of important rebuilding work for us. Best manager ever though! Has to be Lawrie or Ted? Probably Lawrie as football is about winning trophies.... and he did.

Think we will win 2-0, maybe 3. Are we a better side than coventry - obviously. Are we a better side than West Ham - in my opinion, yes and by a lot more than 2 points. Think an early goal will settle the nerves and we will cruise it. Some of the negativity is amazing on this board - its like being in the kingsland stand.