Village Saint

I am a big fan of Fonte but I would say more than equally. If Fonte had done his job no goal would have been scored.

it's no good Bearsy. Like Americans they just dont do irony!

If you really think that, you are ignoring the evidence of a long career. Sharp has never been someone who will help a team who aim to keep the pressure up by holding the ball in the opponents third. Hopefully now he is back at the right standard where his biff bash style can prosper he will start scoring goals again, although he struggled badly at Forest last year.

So why above are you so distressed at us losing him?

In fact we are a stronger squad having got rid of players who weren't good enough and yet frankly got in the the way of players who might develop and come through. As someone else has pointed out Sharp, Puncheon, Martin and Fox should have gone in the summer but I guess no-one wanted to buy them which tells its own story. Fox is probably different as it probably wasn't safe to assume that both Shaw and Chambers would turn out to be as good as they are. They have. None of it is exactly rocket science.

None of these can compete with Lee Hughes who not only has assault convictions but has been jailed for causing someone's death. He has dropped down to Forest Green Rovers but some accounts suggest he remains unrepentant so I am sure he could do the job.

Oh it really really is

The same dreary rubbish in yet another thread. The reality is that absolutely nothing has changed except that finally Nicola Cortese - who despite what some on here would suggest has done a really good job in getting us where we are - has thrown his toys out of the pram once too often and talked himself into a position from which there was no going back. Probably inevitable at some point. We are where we are. We have a great squad, a good manager, a very good academy. We are in a good position to push further up the table. That is the ambition of the players and the manager. It can be achieved. If the new CEO has no ambition or if they dont get on with anyone it will be a big impediment. If they give the manager (and his other staff) and the players a supportive space in which to work we have every chance. Otherwise a CEO really isn't that important at a football club - the players, the coaches and the manager are - and therein lies the rub. Despite his other strengths Cortese just didn't see that. Hey look it might not work out; we might never get to the Champions League but nothing that has happened so far this week has made that more or less likely. Chill and enjoy the best season for 10 years.

Minty - you really haven't got the point of this forum at least for a significant minority of the posters. As usual yours is a reasonable balanced interpretation. Thanks for reminding me that there are some Saints supporters out there capable of rational thought.

Not to mention gratuitously offensive to people experiencing mental distress and incredibly badly informed (has he not noticed how dinosaurs like Redknapp are now an increasingly isolated minority!).

Yes what we really need is someone with a track record - obviously in the English game - we dont want someone with those fancy dan foreign ideas. Simon Jordan/Harry Redknapp/Terry Venables would be my dream team (CEO; Manager, DoF) with maybe Peter Ridsdale in there to ensure financial probity.

Playing the ball is completely irrelevant in the modern interpretation - quite rightly. Irrespective of the injury it was a reckless challenge that merited a red card. The look on Brown's face showed that he knew that too. He clearly expecxted to be sent off. It was a far worse challenge than Vidic's powderpuff effort that got him sent off!

You are most emphatically not alone. There are so many plusses we need to enjoy it while we can. For me the best thing is going away ANYWHERE and knowing we really could get a result. It hasn't happened in the top division since that year we finished second.

Lots of interesting discussions but surely (and apologies to alpine here) Glasgow Saint is the only true Saints legend since Matty.

You are being a little unfair there. Ince, Long and Ings are the sort of players West Ham would buy (c.f. Vaz Te; Baldock; Nicky Maynard) - by the shedload. Okay if you are happy bumping along at the bottom of the Prem but not players for a team with ambition. We haven't seen enough of Astori to know if he would be good enough - and maybe he would - but he is the sort of player Spurs would buy. Their policy is to buy as many players as you can who seem class but with absolutely no idea of how they might fit together or make a team. Eventually some of these must be okay although I am stuggling to see who of this summer's imports that might eventually turn out to be. We aren't poor but simply haven't got enough money to do that and have to recruit much more carefully.

Still I think at least that manager's statement has demonstrated something useful. I think we can all agree that football can 'do without' Paul Lambert.

No it is not a legitimate question as you well know. obviously you do it just to drawe attention to yourself but really.... absolutely bonkers

Not just weaker but fundamentally, irrecoverably weaker (at least for the forseeable future) and as such, just as accepting even 30m for Shaw would be unless we could get a replacement for that money who was better (and I cant see that), for Spurs selling Bale for that fee was very very bad business indeed.

Some good contributions all round but if only allowed three - Shilton and Wright would make our defence a lot tighter and Le Tiss would be a shoe-in for the centre of the three behind Lambert.

Really - did you ever see him play?

Actually none did. Indeed every report I have seen correctly identifies that we played well but were let down by a ratrher stupid mistake. However, ackowledging that would spoil a good moan.

nobody who understands goalkeeping could blame Boruc for that. He was in exactly the spot any keeper would be coached to be for play at that point. To some extent the wind didn't help but the real problem was the fluke bounce. He looked a prat but was in fact blameless.

Looks like Glasgow Saint was right after all. This was a rash signing.

As indeed is entirely appropriate. 'Font' and 'Fontay' are in fact both incorrect. A closing unstressed 'e' in portuguese is actually pronounced 'eh' - a very soft shortened, very short and ALMOST silent sound (similar to French). Jose himself did point this out in one early interview - everyone looked blank so he said he didn't mind which people used.