Wes Tender

Console yourself that they have the residue of players on fat wages because they are a Premiership side (just), but that those very same wage levels that enable them to buy a bit of extra quality to shine against a team a couple of divisions lower, will actually kill them as a club. Ultimately, our wounds will heal knowing that we are a club on the up and that as soon as a week after the match, they could disappear into oblivion. On a performance like todays, we ought to have too much for Carlisle and win at Wembley as a consolation. A year from now, we might be storming away with the division, whereas they may be playing in the Blue Square.

Do you really believe that they will make it to the summer? I personally believe that they will not be able to convince that judge that they are solvent and will therefore be put into liquidation.

Just something to clear up first Tim; were you at the match, or were you listening to it across the pond? OK, you're gutted. We all are. But I for one was proud of every single player on that pitch today.They gave their all and for the majoirty of the match they were the better side. Naturally, not hearing the commentary on the radio, or watching it on the telly, I do not know what the commentators opinion of it all was, but I'm prepared to put money on it that at some stage or other, quite well into the match, they will have stated that if one didn't know which team was which, most would have guessed that we were the Premiership outfit. I also suspect that even when we had equalised, the pundits might have thought that we could go on and win it. Console yourself that in a weeks time, the Skates will probably cease to exist. It would have been nice for their last match to have been a defeat to us, but we will soon have swapped places with them, they probably having been reduced to a level below Eastleigh and Havant . It will take them years to get back, with their crap stadium, with any of their quality players having been sold. In case you had not realised it, this wasn't the team that we could have played if we had put out our best team, it was the team that we had at the beginning of the season, as some other players who might have produced a different result were either cup-tied or injured. Personally, it is my opinion that Fonte for Perry and Murty for Thomas and Connolly up front with Lambert might have won the game for us. So I cannot see that any blame attaches to Pardew.

Surely there has to be further barriers erected to block off Britannia Road at some point? As it stands, the Skates are all forced to go into Britannia Road and will meet with the Saints fans coming out from the Itchen stand.

Not so. I have seats 5 & 6.

The article says that he was invited a couple of weeks ago to attend a match and meet the Chairman. Has he been yet, or is the match the one against the Skates? Interesting to have it made clear that the policy of everybody paying for their tickets originating from Oldknow. And yet apparently non-playing staff will be paying to park at the stadium on match days. It will be interesting to see whether LMac and Cortese get on when they meet. They couldn't be more different as personalities, but I suspect that Cortese is becoming very attached to the club, more and more each week and maybe they might hit it off together. Our former chairman had a character defect that meant that he had to be the big cheese and therefore he resented anybody loved by the fans. But perhaps Cortese is better able to have respect for those who have achieved success through their own efforts and doesn't allow issues of class or upbringing to cloud his judgement. He's certainly canny enough as a businessman to recognise that it would do no harm to embrace those who are held in high esteem by the fans. It will be interesting to see whether there are any changes of policy in that direction.

Storrie:- Nicola, we have come up with a brilliant plan to sell our club. We are having carboard facsimile models made of Fratton Park. These we will sell through the Pound Shop in Commercial Road. When they are taken home and investigated more thoroughly, the purchasers will find a notice printed on the base informing them that they have just bought the club for £1, but that they have also purchased £60 million of debt with it. On the plus side, they are co-owners with anybody else who bought one.

Yes, it's a sensible case that you make. Many who are used to seeing those players on Tuesday said that it was out strongest team, but part of that is because we are familiar with those players (apart from Fonte) as they have mostly been here longer. But with the schedule that we have coming up, it really does require two teams to accommodate some of the older players, or those prone to injuries. Many of the new players are cup tied, so the team for cup matches almost picks itself. In the league matches, the newer players can take some of the pressure of the squad and can play alongside those who are fit enough for two games a week, or those coming back from injury or suspension. It is still a bit early to assess whether some of the newer players are better than the existing ones in certain positions, but by the time we have got the cups out of the way, we should have some idea who would be the first choice for the league matches.

Something interesting that I picked up on reading the report on the Court proceedings:- Pompey have argued whether in fact VAT ought to be levied on player transfers. They wanted that to be adjudicated on before the winding up order was heard, presumably because if the court ruled in their favour that VAT was not due on transfers, Pompey would not owe the money to HMRC and therefore they could not justifiably proceed with the winding-up order. But then the Barrister acting on behalf of HMRC argued that if the Court ruled in favour of Pompey that no VAT could be levied on player transfers, then effectively the club would have to refund all the VAT money that they had received from clubs who had bought Pompey players. So whether this debt is owed to HMRC or to other clubs is largely irrelevant, as it is still a debt of that amount. Anyway, there is no way that a court would find that VAT is not payable, as the precedent would mean that probably billions would have to be returned to clubs from years back and then repaid to the clubs charged it. Surely Pompey's barrister must have known the implications of this and it therefore smacks of a delaying tactic to give them time to find some other sucker stupid enough to pour his wealth down the drain that is Pompey.

I disagree. It's an easy mistake to make really. They are both wearing red and white striped shirts, for a start and both wearing black shorts too. They both have short hair too. See, it's becoming harder and harder to tell them apart already. I was right behind the goal in the Northam and had a perfect view, but Nineteen was probably watching them from a much further distance and possibly behind them, so the mistake is excusable.

Well, you don't remember correctly. It was an assist by Weigo, not Lallana. But then again, you seem to have memory blanks over a number of other things too. Shame that because you were confused about this, it has clouded your judgement of the part that Weigo played in this win. I'm not dour about the match. I enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps you didn't see it clearly from where you were sat, so both your view and your judgement have been clouded. Again.

Agreed. This is the nub of the matter. But apparently the directors cannot apply for administration themselves, or more correctly as I understand it, they would never be granted it except under exceptional circumstances. The creditors can apparently apply for administration, but they would be the ones facing the big losses. So unless a prospective buyer coughs up the lolly to pay off the winding-up orders by the deadline, the club will presumably be liquidated. Therefore presumably under those circumstances there would be no parachute payments and they would have to start again from square one in the Blue Square, or whichever league will accept them. So they're stuffed, aren't they?

Just a week for Fialka and Jackson to get together their respective consortia. I wonder what the legalities are regarding the parachute payments? There might be some technicality that says that it is fine for them to be paid to teams naturally relegated through the normal processes, but surely a club going into administration and relegated because of the subsequent points deduction, or going into liquidation is a totally different kettle of fish.

Adjourned seven days. So the club still exists on Saturday

The case has just been adjourned. No details as to how long for yet.

We've got the best owner, in the land We've got the best owner in the land....

Don't fret at Nineteen's response. It is a knee-jerk reaction to anybody who receives praise from the vast majority of Saints fans. Whether it is done purely to court controversy, or because there is something in his psyche that doesn't permit him to accept others praising an individual without some defensive attack mechanism kicking in is not clear. Waigo completely deserves his moment in the spotlight based on last night's performance. He made the difference and caused all sorts of problems to their defence. B-WP is nowhere near as good as him as a player, or as a personality.

The majority of the first half, our play was awesome, amongst the best that I had seen all season. When the team was announced, I was impressed that in my opinion we had fielded the best team we had available. In particular, it was good to see the return of Hammond, Harding, Jaidi and Thomas. With Fonte playing with the last three, it seemed a very solid defence, but Schneiderlin and Hammond in the middle of the park looked an effective partnership of the gritty midfielder with the cultured passer. Out on the flanks we had Lallana for his intelligent passing and high standard of general footballing ability, together with Antonio's pace and unpredictability which makes him hard to defend against. What was key though, was the partnering of Lambert with Papa Weigo. Lambert had been appearing a bit out of sorts recently, but Weigo energised and enthused him, as he is the sort of player in the box that can make things happen. I thought that he was pretty well unplayable last night and he must have had their defence bricking it numerous times. He has speed, a good footballing brain and good positional sense. Papa was my man of the match and Pardew ought to take it further with him in the absence of Connolly. If Lambert needs a rest, I feel sure that Papa could work well with Barnard or Connolly too. So for the majority of the first half, we played like a team possessed, in their faces, chasing lost causes and winning all the 50/50 balls through sheer guts and determination. Unfortunately, after we had gone two up and the Northam started chanting that we were going to Wembley, the team seemed to think that it was job done and took their foot off the accelerator and sat back, inviting MKDs on to us. It was almost inevitable that the pressure they exerted would produce a goal and for the start of the second half, we were very nervy. It took a third goal to settle our nerves, but why is it that we can't sustain the pressure for the full 90 minutes? I'm in the camp of opinion that says that we need a midfield general to keep up the concentration and effort, but I can't think of any at this level who we could sign. I think that Pardew got this about right tactically. The substitutions were also good and well timed. Schneiderlin blows a bit hot and cold and his influence was fading. Wotton was needed to shore us up and put a bit of bite into the centre when things were getting a bit niggly. The same for Thomas, who had done well enough, but was in danger of a sending off when responding to provocation. In the end, it was comfortable enough, but I think that it could have been a different game had Easter played and if we hadn't taken Puncheon from them. The fans were generally awesome last night and must have given the team a real boost. How nice to see a nearly full stadium. It's a pity though that blocks 43 and 44 were full of people who probably don't go often and don't sing, otherwise we could have had our Kop end.

Well done, Northam Steve. The two magpies worked a treat.

Would have been better had you milling around outsode work at 2 and saw four magpies.

Hey! I've just received an email from FIFA telling me that I've won some lottery I didn't enter. Anybody know of a decent Financial Advisor who can tell me how to spend it all?

Rather amused to see that Puncheon is on your list, as he was one of MK Don's best players before coming to us, so it is a far greater loss to them that he isn't in their team! And for comfort, just look at the list of players who cannot turn out for them. Easter isn't playing because of suspension and there are other players of theirs out injured too. It is nothing like the team we played up there in the last round. We have been moaning that some of our new players haven't gelled yet, but to me it seemed that players like Jaidi, Harding, Papa will be welcome starters that will have something to prove. I also found it difficult to sleep last night. No, we should not take anything for granted, but if we do get through tonight, then we can at least sing Que Sera, we're going to Wembley on Saturday. A win and the prospect of Wembley will lift the players' spirits into the stratosphere, whereas a loss will not be helpful at all. The difference between the two games is that we are expected to beat MK Dons, whereas technically the Premiership Skates (just) ought to have too much in their locker against a third division outfit. If we beat them, it will still be a major shock, even though the Skates are in such a precarious position as a club and as a team. Interesting to read that the MK Dons assistant manager was still attempting to up the ante with his players because we had celebarated beating them there, even though the tie was only half over. Pathetic really. Clutching at straws and making himself look a bit of a tit.

Well, you just broke your promise. You brought it up yet again. My response was muted, as there was nothing much else to say on the matter. Don't read into it something that isn't there. Nearly everybody else on here is quite happy to remember MLT with fondness and awe at his ability. I don't feel the need to argue the toss on that again just because you are pretty well his only detractor.

Is this your solemn promise? Could you please do us a favour and extend that to cover Lawrie Mac too? Pretty please.

You automatically get the chance to renew your seat/s STs before a scheduled date. If you don't renew by then, your seat is up for grabs and you'd have to buy one elsewhere if it is taken by somebody else.