Weston Saint

I do not want the disappointment of losing in the semi. I do not want the disappointment of losing in the final I do not want to win the cup, see us enter Europe with too small a squad and end up being relegated next season because we spread ourselves too thin. Look at Wigan, Swansea, Birmingham and other before. WE ARE NOT YET READY FOR EUROPE. We need to build an experienced squad over the next few years to give us a fighting chance. Yes I was disappointed with our loss at Sunderland but I had got ove it by the evening. Life is so much more.

Many see Davis as an important part of our midfield, something I agree with, but some of my close friends have pointed out that he does not have the ability to get things moving. He looks for the safe option with the very occasional good cross field pass starting an attack. Gaston came on last week and lit the game up for 10 minutes or so then disappeared out on the right. He could be the linchpin if he plays more centrally providing he compliments Lallana and does not negate Adams flair. I would like to see us start with Ramirez in place of Davis and use the latter later in the game to bolster our midfield in the defensive way he usually does.

So what Nick, he is a good friend and I am educating him.

I wonder how many who feel the season has gone tits up actually pay money to attend regularly. I paid just under £700 this year to watch Saints. It has been a good season. I have enjoyed the highs and been disappointed with the lows. Is our season over - no bloody way. We will pick up more wins. This is all about getting the momentum going again. It is not about team confidence. I can assure you they still think they can win every remaining match. If we finish 9th it will have been a good season. Happy Clappy? If I am I have paid to have that opinion. Get behind the team.

Have a look at the Skoda range. Forget the past, these are really good cars now. Pop up to Winchester Motor Co. I have a Skoda Octavia Elegance 1.8 TSI. Hidden gem.

Edit

You are indeed

Look at the gates for our cup matches over the past few seasons at reduced prices from those charged for league game. Then look at the gates for league games over the same period at the higher prices. Now tell me what the fans priorities are using those statistics! We are all upset we lost in the cup. The team put out should have been good enough to beat Sunderland. They didn't because too many of our regulars failed to reach the standards we have come to expect. Don't blame the owner. She does not pick the team. Just a bad day in the office against a club our first team could not beat at home earlier in the season. It happens.

I am sure he will

Quote from a Pompey friend

Definitely not. 100% on this.

Not when the right player to suit our style is not already available. That is what he was saying

Telling comments MP: “On Tuesday, we saw @Sam9allagher play very well. Why not give him the opportunity to keep playing? MP: “It’s not easy to sign someone who fits the profile of player we want.” MP: “@Mattytargett is going to train with us, and he has a chance of getting in the side if he performs at the level we look for. MP: “Sam can work well and learn from Jay Rodriguez, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana. So that suggests to me Gallagher is in and Osvaldo not part of his learning future so he is history. No replacement for Fox from outside the club. Right time for these decisions as we e playing well with this squad and safe from relegation. Summer is a time to strengthen when we have a pre season to bed in.

We need to be careful not to go the same way as the Roma fans. Of course what Osvaldo did was unacceptable but we should leave the club to sort it out. Hopefully he is now receiving counselling and anger management advice. After that it is up to the club and players to decide if he gets another chance. It is not for Supporters to make any rash judgements in my opinion.

KL appears to have embraced the "Southampton way" set up by Cortese but in a more friendly nature. She has publically backed the Manager, stated no player sales in this window if they are part of our future, addressed employee concerns over sale of the club and communicated openly with the supporters. She is also constructing a board to advise and run the day to day club issues. This my be a short term statement to stabilize the club after Cortese's departure but it is positive in all aspects. ML purchased the club for about £12m and add ons. After his death KL converted loans of over £30m into equity. Cortese was also provided with the means of purchasing more players to develop the plan. For me the goings on this last week suggest KL is making sure her investment it protected. The club value has been rising and she will be determined to see it through. When and if she is ready to sell the club could be worth £150M. Someone buying at that price will be serious players and will want to enhance that investment with more capital to drive the club further forward. So for me all that has been said by KL so far is positive and encouraging. It has taken a week but Southampton FC is back on track and likely to be a more friendly club to supporters, staff, suppliers and ex players, without losing it's cutting edge on the field of play.

Of course she will just as Marcus appointed Cortese, a financial man. It is the structure below who are football people. They are still in place.

It will be business as usual tomorrow. Pochettino and the players should be too professional to let this affect the game on Saturday. Of course the Manager and players will seek assurances that the vision of the club remains the same. That will only come when the owner appoints a new CEO so do not expect any rash decisions for now. According to reports it was Cortese who resigned. He was not dismissed. We do not know why and we probably will not find out the truth in the coming weeks. Cortese put in a structure so that if anyone was to leave the business would not be harmed. He was a good hardnosed Chairman & CEO as far as the business was concerned. He was not everyone’s cup of tea but he had the vision and someone else’s money. Let us see who comes into the hot seat. CEO’s go, businesses evolve and may be the time is right. A good win at Sunderland will be just the tonic.

Wise words for one so young

If top clubs want to pay silly money they obviously think he is the best left back around. Why would we want to see our best players going for any price. Why should supporters settle for second best in any positions!

First, it is well known that the majority of expensive mid term signings in the premier do not produce performances up to expectation. This is partly due to the needed to bed into the team and for overseas players to understand premier football. A pre season is essential to get the best understanding of our tactics, other players strengths & weaknesses as well as the team understanding that players strengths and weaknesses. Mid season are often panic buys and we do not need to panic. Obviously, if the right player comes along at the right price then we will likely sign but at present the message seems to be that the club are not active in the market or have made any approaches. Secondly, mention has been made of Cortese not engaging in extension contract talks with the Manager. That is Cortese's way when he is confident. He has probably told Pochettino that he will in due course. He did the same with Lallana last time round. Finally, for those panicking that we might lose players late on in the window and be left short that will not happen. This is a happy and together squad enjoying regular Premier football at a high standard. If there heads are turned Cortese will insist on them sticking to there contract. It has happened before. Remember Man City, Liverpool and Man Utd had top stars who pushed for moves but were refused. Everyone has their price but Cortese is hardly going to allow all he is achieving to go to waste. I am not naive, I am confident January will not see any of our regulars moving on.

Matt Paterson now playing for Aldershot

You make a good point CB Fry. My thread on FA cup was based on the premise that many clubs including ourselves do not put out their strongest teams for the FA cup. However should we reach the final that would be far more exciting than the final game against MU. Imagine the headlines "Saints finish eighth and deny Man. U. the title" or "Carberry scores a century on first day of home game against Glamorgan" Think I might just go to the cricket although as a season ticket holder of both I could dip in and out! Wonder what your namesake would have done confronted with playing in either? We are reasonably safe requiring a maximum of 13 points from our last 18 games and no real prospect of a top 6 finish. On that basis, as Duncan says, we should be putting out our strongest team and going for the cup. We have a realistic prospect of winning it this year. Team announcement at 2pm will give us a good idea but I am not holding my breath!

But what if Clattenburgh said those words, Adam said something and that was why he was yellow carded. I was not told what was said but I do know the club were very unhappy with the yellow card and that was part of the reason for the submission.