melmacian_saint

What I find most repugnant is the obsession this country and Europe in general (though to a lesser extent) has with America and its living. How people seem to ignore the fact that it is probably the most ill society of the developed world I don't know. I feel like vomiting when I hear people with American accents doing adverts on the radio over here. As I do when I see that neo imitations of baseball caps. We seem to forget were it all came form in the first place.

Interesting point. In fact, I'd say that since we left League One, few signings seem to have enhanced the team attitude (don't mean quality obviously). Or maybe the fact that most of the regulars from that time are still in the team and some of them have been gradually thrown to obscurity. It's also a shame that two players who seemed to be big changing room leaders in Hammond and Sharp are not really Prem standard and left. You can sense some lack of harmony of the team when they play. Even in the Villa game. Interesting comment about Jos as I've seen it too. He's certainly not the changing room ego filling type, in fact I consider him an honest workmen, but he seems to be more worried about making sure he's not blamed than in what he's supposed to do. After watching Yoshida play with Fonte you can see that the Portuguese himself looks much calmer and composed than with Jos. I am also sure that Guly is the kind of player I would not want in a dressing room. Looks depressed every time I see him play and doesn't seem to care. Rodriguez doesn't seem to be Mr. Brightside either. Obviously results haven't helped but you could argue that the team spirit has never been high from the start either.

First season: Norwich took 5 games to win. Swansea took 5 games to score. I would have loved if it had taken us only 5 games to get a clean sheet (to compliment the weird start), however it's past that too...let's hope 8 is enough.

It was Hooiveld who instead of being all over the guy that crosses to the far post was marking that big threat called the 6-yard box line, allowing him all the way from the side to literally Boruc's face after Yoshida got stitched by Guly's nonsensical pass.

Why not play Butterfield on the right, let Clyne get back to the left where he wasn't bad at all and get Fonte-Yoshida back at CB? Our best days in defense were with this set-up (except it was Richardson at RB, who was doing well and it's a shame he's out). Plus Butterfield, although surely not amazing, has PL experience and was unlucky with fitness and injury problems last season. Why is he not playing?? After Richardson's injury that was an obligation. Playing a makeshift RB when you have a player for that position and the other "did a job" but clearly struggled for 75 minutes is an unforgivable, basic mistake, that neither of us would've done even on Football Manager.

Clearly no one saw Winston Reid push him down as soon as he's trying to attack the ball, putting him off and leading to him lose his balance (hence the frantic arm movement). But there you go... If it were John Terry or Anton Ferdinand then it would've been an insult from the stands, from a player of a different nationality or Reid himself would be facing a media trial....

No one mentions that Reid is dragging him down just a second before...

What Guly and Rodriguez are doing in the starting line-up I don't know. Why Gazzaniga goes all the way from the starting line-up to the stand I don't know either. Boruc looks fat and that goal shows that he's probably not at his best yet.

So good morning and welcome to the most special day of all at Fortress Fatpipes!! Forget the PL big 4, AC Milan or an FA Cup showdown, it's the visit of mighty Shrewsbury that is making people camp outside the ticket office and the turnstiles during the last week, all because they have won the most glorious trophy of all: being the first kid in the queue to get the (terribly poisoned and mouldy) sweet from Uncle Trevor. Of course they've got no idea the nasty fat bully Balu is coming to take their place, steal their favorite toy (the Fratton rocket) and their lunch money. But hey, here's to a "very exciting challenge!" in the words of Neil, the geeky bestest friend!

No way, I know it's not Saints but that is clearly Scott Parker.

Scenario analysis here (realism is NOT important): If the Trust were to take over in, say, November, through a long, long-term payment to Chainrai to recover ownership of Fortress Fatpipes, what would be the immediate consequences, apart from the 10 points and all that? Would we see Appleton leave the scene as the ambition is cut? Would we see the 30th of November as "farewell day" for more than half of the actual squad as lack of funding means that their salaries can't be paid further? Would we finally see the signing of realistic, acceptable, lower L2-Conference players and the use of the development squad and other youngsters plus whatever loans they can find? More importantly, how far down the divisions would they stop, having to pay the CVA (not the same backing or possibility to explore loopholes) and Chanrai, before they can avoid relegation? Southern Premier? Maybe a last day miracle in the Conference South?

Exactly. And I can imagine the internal claustrophobia attacks plus jam stress that goes through most people as they hop on the buses/train or try to drive out back into town. Although to be fair if I had experienced even a year of the Withdean craphole, a stadium in the middle of the channel would've seemed a great matchday experience. For the record does anyone remember season ticket prices at SMS before the 2005 relegation?

Not terrible (never was). However I'm still very happy I bought last years.

Agree with this. Plus it's not like we're terrible lacking inspiration to score goals.

Davis had a good game, neat passing and not afraid to have a run at the Portuguese half. I really think he's a good player, hasn't disappointed so far for us. Shame we lost Baird to Fulham so long ago. I'm sure with him on board our defensive sector would've been much less troubled.

I was looking forward to Cork and Schneiderlin in midfield for us this year. Thought they linked up really well. So I hope he gets back soon. That way we can defend more efficiently in midfield and not have players running through it all the time.

Baird and Surman could probably do starting 11 IMO. Bridge is perhaps slightly past the age so agree with rotation.

We're not signing football spice. EVER. If we do then we will have become Sun FC rather than Saints FC and will have sold our soul away. Plus we will be no better off than with Fox with the addition of him being a liability outside the pitch as well as in it!

Actually Richardson, by many written off from PL standards, up until his unfortunate injury and since his half-time appearance against Villa, had shown to be adapting quite well to the league, much better than him.

On the contrary, I'm sure they would. By the same chain of thought, if the average English players look for time in the home nations, then their top players could also simply ignore their home squad and join England!

What I don't understand is this fixation that under-the-radar English players have to just ignore where they were born and lived all of their life, open up the dusty family records and just join a home nation to play 90 minutes every other semester. We see it with all of them, including that of the Republic, and it really annoys me because the majority of them don't even prove to be irreplaceable assets for them! Surely Fox, a guy from Cheshire and an Everton supporter in his youth, doesn't give a flying frick about the Flower of Scotland if it weren't for a crack against the Xavis and the Sneijders? And how would Wales feel if Giggs or even Bale had decided to play for England to get a crack at a major competition? If I were a local I would be quite upset that people from my place don't get a chance simply to accommodate average English players who don't cut the mustard back home. It happens all over the world nowadays though...I think it's the Armenian keeper who is from (and starting playing pro in) Nigeria!

Maybe it'll be January implosion when all the good players leave and the finances have dried up and the players leave for sunnier shores. Also can anyone explain to me how are they allowed to sign Akos Buszaky who actually was able to play a fair bit for QPR in the Prem last season?!?

This is why we should forget Pompey. It's all about being the South's main identity force now, the one that keeps us away from the shadow of London!

I honestly think that stadium expansion should not be on our agenda until we have proved as a club that we have progressed further than ever before, and that right now means achieving at least 2 seasons in the top 5 in close succession (not immediate though) and getting some Euro football under our belt, which is still very far away from where we stand. Let's face it, catchment base expansion in the South is limited and we face tough competition from the more successful, mainstream London clubs which even for people from around Hampshire look a better shout for a football day out than St.Mary's (not looking at Arsenal and Chelsea only- WHU and Tottenham certainly fit the category). Unless we can reach a position that gets us more mainstream attention and puts us in competition with them (ala Tottenham in recent years), we will not be able to attract many more people to the cause, be it ST holders or just supporters who come once every other month/semester. We were close to achieving that position in 2003 before our post-Strachan managerial suicide bombing. And we are now coming from quite a distance to catch up. I'd say that currently our regular match-attending fan base stands at 26-27k. Alongside the performance standard I mentioned, we need to be scoring regular near or sellouts at SMS (big 4 games not enough) like we did at the Dell to make an expanded stadium a wise and assertive shout.

Still remember his performance at Cardiff. Thought he was great but reckon we needed Fernandes earlier in that game. Good to see him do well, shows our academy can supply any type of PL standard player rather than just the odd star every 3-4 years. And again, insists how the departure of WGS and posterior conversion of Paul Sturrock in a scapegoat imploded the club. Hate you Rupert.