Wes Tender

I think that Stoke ought to take note of Lawro's sage advice and act on it. He advises them not to pack the midfield and utilise the extra striker up front. That would be fantastic from our point of view, as their strikers would be lucky to touch the ball for most of the match unless they're helping out their defence. He gets the stats wrong about the number of attempts on goal that we had against United compared to Stoke and yet he doesn't realise that Rooney and Van Persie hardly got a sniff of a strike for most of the match, but Crouch and Walters are expected to do better. He also seems to forget that we were the first team to get a draw against Stoke away last season, putting three past what had been up until then the best home defence in the division. And since then, we've tightened up our defence. But keep on predicting that we'll lose, Lawro. From time to time you'll get it right. But your record of predictions on Saints puts you firmly in the category of a C list minor celebrity guest rather than a supposed expert pundit.

Goals don't just come from headed balls. We have our taller players in the box and many goals come from knock downs or headers across the goalmouth and via poor clearances by defenders. Personally, I'd want Lallana to be in the mix to take advantage of those and Ward-Prowse to be out wide ready to track back for clearances out wide.

He takes a good corner, but the decision for him to take them could also be on the basis that Lallana is one of the best players to have on the end of the incoming ball.

£30 million spent on those players, which could probably be recouped from their resale. The conclusion isn't that those players arent good enough, as they both play for their international teams. Whether they have adapted to playing in English football, or even whether they can adapt to Saint's style of play is more the point. Every major team has brought in players who were deemed to be top quality and who then were not successful for those clubs. Many then went elsewhere and became the players that they had promised to be. All that you can do is look at the bigger picture, which currently shows that the team is better than any Saints team over the past 30 years or so. The players we have recruited recently, together with the core we had and the rising stars of our academy have all played their part in that success. And Les Reid has been integral to a lot of that development, so deserves some credit.

As is Cortese. And your point is?

I suspect that Suewhistle is capable of reading exactly the same posts that I read via posters quoting him. The ignore function is farcical when that happens.

After the last couple of posts, I'm reminded of this:-

At the time the OP was made, it was a valid point to debate, especially in light of the improvements that began to manifest themselves under Adkins before he got the bullet. Anybody who expressed reasonable doubts at the time when assessing the prospects of us being managed by somebody who was then an unknown quantity in English football was being far more subjective than those who had blind faith that his appointment was going to be a success. The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, but very few can now have lingering doubts about how brilliantly Cortese's decision has panned out. It was a very bold move on his part and credit must go to him for having the imagination and verve to go with his instincts, which have so far proven to be inspired.

Lawrenson might be one of several of the BBC's football "experts" but during this bit of fun where his "expertise" is pitted against guest celebrity pundits weekly, he only manages to come half way down the league against them. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24604531 On that basis, Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers would be a better choice as an expert. Lawrenson's league table is also miles out and he only manages to correctly predict 3 correct league positions and having Fulham in 7th place demonstrates his lack of knowledge clearly to everybody. Last season he would have us lose every match pretty well and he was therefore wrong more often than not. This year, he could have predicted us winning every match and on balance, been seen as a much better pundit than he really is. The irony is probably lost on him though, as he isn't the sharpest tool in the box.

Who knows how to read that? I certainly can't see how it is concluded that those teams will finish in those positions based on the preceding stats.

No it's not. It's what a buyer would hope to pay. And where there are potentially several buyers, as in the case of Shaw, and those buyers are wealthy clubs, the price would rocket far beyond 13 million. Furthermore, as we probably don't wish to sell any of those players, we can command a price deemed to be ridiculous normally, on the basis that the buyer puts up or shuts up.

If this was a boxing match, either their corner would have thrown in the towel, or the referee would have stopped the fight. I'm hard pressed to remember a more one-sided match, unless it was against a team from the lower divisions and even then many put up more fight than Fulham did. But every player in our team put in a great performance and when everything clicks for us like that, I doubt that many teams could live with us. It was becoming almost embarrassing reading all the praise in the media and all the blogs, but after this performance, it is going to continue unabated. Hansen & Savage were very complimentary and when Arsenal's fixtures for the next few matches was reviewed and Hansen doubted that they could maintain their current dominance, we were highlighted as a very difficult fixture for them. Since when have we been a difficult fixture to the top four or five clubs? Well, since we beat Liverpool at Anfield and drew with Man Ure at Old Trafford and since we have a better defensive record over these 9 games than every team in British football, and Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and all the other European teams apart from Roma. Earlier on, this strategy of Pochettino's seemed flawed, because there are ways that our high-pressing line can be countered tactically. But somehow it seems that most teams are unable to figure it out. If they park the bus in front of goal, it requires a very good defence, which not many have, or it requires very quick players to hit us on the break, again something that not many teams have. And even then, our defence has mostly covered that eventuality so far. So long as we can keep this first choice team fit and free from suspensions, then we may continue at this level in the division. But even with an injury or two, it does seem that there is still some very able cover for most positions and if we are anywhere near this high up come January, we can strengthen further. Do we fear playing any team at the moment? Our players are confident in their abilities and it is so gratifying after all these years of supporting the Saints that there are the beginnings of a significant shift in attitudes so that when teams look at their forthcoming fixture list, they look at playing us with some trepidation and respect.

You might have some insight into the way they think, but they are not disenfranchised. Nobody has taken away their right to vote, which is what the word means. They aren't the same as criminals serving time who really are disenfranchised. If they can't be bothered to vote, or they feel that nobody represents them, then tough. Young people weren't that bothered about voting when I was that age too, so not much has changed.

Isn't it amusing that anybody on the right of the political spectrum is a retard, whereas those on the left are by implication intellectuals? Going on just this one comment of yours, I'd say that Delldays' level of contribution has as much validity as yours, but at least he expresses opinions on the subject in hand, whereas your forte seems to be insulting those with whom you disagree.

There you go again with this absurd notion that an entire section of the population is disenfranchised. First it was the underclass and now it's young people in general. Nobody is disenfranchised. You and the idiot Brand might equate their sense of frustration and helplessness as being tantamount to disenfranchisement, but if there was such a widespread groundswell of opinion that wished to bring about change, then somebody would have recognised the opportunity to mobilise those votes and created a party that they felt they could support. It isn't as if new parties couldn't potentially bring about changes if they gained popularity, as the Scottish Nationalists, UKIP, the Greens etc have proved. It's just that the type of party Brand would want, is thankfully unelectable.

So don't do as I do, do as I say, eh? I despise hypocrisy in politicians and those who try and gob off about politics who are also hypocrites are no better. Brand isn't just a comedian; he's also a joke.

The system was fine before Labour decided that it wanted as many as possible to receive a university education. Before, only the very best gained entry and it was a reasonable assumption that the cost of their tuition was recouped by the higher taxation they paid back into the coffers for the rest of their working lives. Now, too many attend, taking useless degrees like Media Studies and the result is too many drop out, or swell the dole queues with their devalued degrees and the tuition fees now act as a deterrent to weed out those who might not take university seriously. As you rightly say, there is increasingly a scenario whereby many are concluding that they ought instead to get a job after college with decent A levels and after three years work experience, they are better off than all those graduates with their pieces of paper, no work experience and an unknown quantity to the employers. I also agree with you that foregoing a decent wage from a dead-end job for three or four years whilst serving an apprenticeship for a skilled job that will set you up for life, is also a very good move.

The underclass are disenfranchised? When did that happen? On what basis are they no longer permitted a vote? Has legislation been passed that I missed that only allows home owners the vote, or is there some attainment of an educational qualification now needed? Regarding the idiot Brand, I'm with Buctootim. If Brand feels that strongly about it, why doesn't he stand for Parliament himself to represent the interests of the underclass? Oh yes, because he can't even be bothered to vote, let alone rouse himself beyond self-publicising himself to earn peoples' respect by doing something more positive.

Ninth isn't a three letter word. Nor will any position featuring three letters other than "top" fit with "of the premier league" grammatically. Apologies for my pedantry.

It's only the Mirror. They're only one step up from the Star and not to be taken too seriously. They might gain some credibility if they gave some credence to their story by providing some evidence to support it, rather than basing it on gossip or comments taken out of context. I think that we ought to start playing this game too. Why doesn't Cortese declare an interest in taking Messi or Ronaldo on loan and see whether the Red Top journos would take that as seriously? As for the Shaw rumours, we have had these journos reporting it as a done deal that he will be going to Man Ure, Chelski, Citeh, etc up to the closure of the last window and despite him signing a lengthy contract on his 18th birthday, they have started yet again. Mind you, since Man Ure began to believe that they could get him for around £12 million or so, reality has upped the assumed valuation to secure him to £25 million. But I suspect that we would not sell him even for that. I really do wonder when the penny will finally drop with these journos, that we do not need to sell any of the players we wish to keep.

Yes. Cleverley is both, but I very much doubt he would get into our team. But we could take on Young as a Diving Coach, although on second thoughts he isn't very good at it, so as you were.

Should we really be considering the rejects from a team below us?

In some countries in the Far East, where bribery and corruption is rife, sometimes glory teams' replica shirts are handed out by political candidates to bribe voters. So you see somebody wearing an Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool shirt and engaging them in conversation about "their team", you find that they aren't really fans at all, but it is smart to wear a shirt of a glory team. Those replica shirts are almost certainly fakes and cheap to buy anyway, so although the appearance is given that the big 4 clubs are raking in loadsamoney, the impression is slightly false. But I wonder whether there will increasingly be some cachet for the overseas fanbase of the less glamorous clubs like us to grow, purely on the basis that those who support us can claim to be individuals, capable of making up their own minds, rather than following the majority like mindless sheep. If we can beat those teams at least in half of the matches we play them each season, I could see our popularity growing apace, starting with many adopting us as their second team, then switching allegiance as their glory teams begin to fade, much as Man United are beginning to, post Ferguson and Liverpool did the past couple of seasons.

Barry felt fully qualified to express an opinion on what world-beaters they would be before they had even kicked a ball in anger in the Premiership this season, so I feel quite measured commenting after 8 matches. But of course you're right and I'm always one to say the same thing. That applies also to our three new signings, although Lovren and to a lesser extent Wanyama have already been lauded as great signings and the jury is still out on Oswaldo and indeed on Ramirez from the last window.

Barry Sanchez: :lol: