Giordano

Excellent idea....must give this some thought....in our 125th year i think something that venerates our roots somehow is in order....something like " Always Saintly" will be easy enough or "Saints Above"...or "Oh To be a Saint"...easy enough online translators...

È probabilmente il miglior attaccante al nostro club ma è troppo incline di essere ferito, temo. Thats what I think anyway.

A 606 blogger with direct access to a player has posted that this is going to happen- bbc 606....it seems bona fide ...link is posted elsewhere on the forum...

As someone who has worked in the Health and Fitness industry for nearly twenty years i have more than a passing interest in the news that NA is going to conduct various types of fitness tests at Staplewood after tomorrows game. It makes absolute sense. He needs to know what the raw material hes got to work with is capable of. An objective battery of tests will give him a scientific answer with no bull****. He will know who is capable of running for faster for longer, who is stronger who can jump higher who has fastest recovery time who has optimal body mass index what the respective VO2 max's are etc etc. It will include diet and out of club refuelling habits too. Note that this is nothing to do with tactics at this point or formations and so on. Its basic basic stuff. Its what the smart guy would do and build it up from there. If what im hearing is correct and that the physical conditioning of our players is not up to last year then NA WILL know immediatly how to put that right and can and should insist on it being rectified asap. WHEN the players are fit, THEN they can do what you say regarding tactics formations etc. If they are not fit then forget it. Once they are objectively fit- well if they do not or cannot perform then it is either a competency issue ( they are not good enough) or a management issue ( his tactics and man management dont work) or both. Id say the first port of call once they fit and if they not performing would be the player competency issue. I'd give it two/three weeks tops. After that they should all be at optimal levels, they cannot be that far behind. If they not improving performance expect player turnover... If anyone has any information regarding the type of tests Nigel will be using later this then please let me know. I could just try calling him up and asking if he could tell me himself - may well do anyway, but if there is anyone itk out there ( pilchards?) please pm me..Ta.

If its to be someone who knows what they are doing in getting out of Division One Adkins is the outstanding candidate. He may even be good enough for the CC - but if you want the outstanding guy for the CC its probably Billy Davies. If you want someone to stay in the Premiership and punch above your weight then probably Allardyce is your man. If you want to get into europe without going too mental then MON is the guy. Right now NC need only concern himself with number one. And thats what i think he will choose. And he'd be right to as well. Its not as sexy as Keegan or MON but Adkins gurantees promotion much more than the glamour names, as counterintuitive as it seems. I wouldnt get a ferrari to do my weekly sainsburys shop even if i thought i might need it for a drive in a few years time. If i got a problem with my plumbing i call the best local plumber - not the guy who fixes the hoover dam. If i needed to drill a hole in a piece of wood i wouldnt use a mont blanc pen with 24ct gold nib, id use a black and decker.If i wanted to show that i know my football id pick the manager most likely to get me the title " div 1 champions 2010" on our honours board. I think that will be Adkins.

If its to be someone who knows what they are doing in getting out of Division One Adkins is the outstanding candidate. He may be good enough for the CC - but if you want the outstanding guy for the CC its probably Billy Davies. If you want someone to stay in the Premiership and punch above your weight then probably Allardyce is your man. If you want to get into europe without going too mental then MON is the guy. I wouldnt get a ferrari to do my weekly sainsburys shop even if i thought i might need it for a drive in a few years time. If i got a problem with my plumbing i call the best local plumber - not the guy who fixes the hoover dam. If i needed to drill a hole in a piece of wood i wouldnt use a mont blanc pen with 24ct gold nib, id use a black and decker.If i wanted to show that i know my football id pick the manager most likely to get me the title " div 1 champions 2010" on our honours board. If i wanted to be a johnny showoff useless c%nt id pick someone that wld impress my international friends like Gullit or similar but that does not have a clue about hartlepools tactics...think i made my point!;-)

Ive read every post to date on this subject...and heres my ten pence worth: We support the team, the club, first and foremost. Some of us support the "ethic"- the spirit of "who we are and what we represent" of our club first and foremost. Those of us that do are getting killed off daily. I support saints on automatic pilot but I cannot think for a moment that there is a generation of kids out there who will LOVE this club and what is become.. Without that metaphysical relationship with the club SFC may as well be Starbucks or Tesco's - a retail outlet which you can use or not. Growing pains Cortese would probably say. the inevitability of progress in this mega money results orientated age, or bringing "the Southampton way" of playing football closer to reality..... But whilst he can justify it on numerous grounds it still does'nt make it feel right. Whilst we are paying customers we can still influence how this "business" is being run though. I helped form a small group called The Southampton Diplomats what seems decades ago. I wont go into the charter here but the summary is sporting fraternity and love of saints as the bonding element. I feel all the sleeping diplomats, embassy staff and consular agents should have a look at this as a possible action plan: In Italy when the tifosi are unhappy with stuff they mount silent protests. The organisers enforce it. Noone is allowed to chant cheer or sing in order to show displeasure at the club for the first half or a prearranged point or period of time before or during the game. Perhaps during a five minute window 5 mins before half time at a home match. Flags and banners are placed upside down. Sometimes the supporters on the curva actually turn their backs on the match en masse. Its futile but we can still be heard - by our silence. We are meaningless apart from our cash to NC. We are fickle and if a marquee manager like Shearer/MON/Pearce/Zola etc comes along we will all be excited again. If we win 5-0 next week we will forget Pardew....we can pretend we don't see what is going on but if we do nothing then we are co-conspirators in the assasination of our club history frankly. I think we can sit silently for five minutes at a game shortly to show that WE do count though. That WE do have principles. Right or wrong a decision theres a way to effect change in an organisation that still ensures goodwill and trust and respect is maintained. This action just sucks, and its NOT the "Southampton way" that created that intensely loyal fanbase of the last century.

Ah...i see....thanks for clearing that up........so its the "over 21years old/older, squad type" players that are the most likely loanees to clubs in the championship and to us rather than the young young ones - mind you the really top clubs are unlikely to play their kids too often - look at walcott- he still barely gets a game every month or so........and thats if the club cannot sell them outright first.....Id say its less likely an older squad player would be happy popping down two leagues to benchwarm in case lambo gets injured or morgan etc but a youngster would be more likely to take it for a season "for experience".....Suggests to me that championship players may be more our potential market place hence looking at the likes of tyson who doesnt start for forest etc..

I think/hope we will get one or two hot young prospects from the PL with pace and flair this year at SMS. Does anyone know the date when the Premier League have to unload their squads to comply with rulings on squad size? Is there such a ruling for Championship? My gut feeling is that AP has been chatting to some PL managers about who he may borrow for a season from them to toughen them up a bit but he cannot do anything until the PL teams resolve exactly who is staying who is going...domino effect really. ...its only my guess but i think we will maybe BUY one ready quality passing professional at least championship standard (hopefully a CM) but take two younger ones from the PL who can attack and score from wide or central .....and that we may get them like buses....three at the same time......just a guess mind...

I think its outright xenophobia bordering on racism that we've not had any Italians playing for Saints. IF we'd had more Italians playing over the last 30-40 years im sure we would be in the top ten of the Premier League and regularly in the Champions League, would have won a few UEFA cups, the Supercup and possibly the World Club Championships at least once or twice. As it is we are in the third tier of professional soccer in England and all because of not buying Italian professional footballers. Its crazy. Why does'nt Cortese do something about it. Theres lots of players who are Italian that don't play in Italy- most of the Serie A is not Italian and none in Milan ( Gattuso is scottish and Pirlo is a mistaken passport as is ambrosini but none of the Inter players are Italian besides materazzi who is not even human anyway) so all those young and reserves italian players are just hanging around and im sure they jump at the chance of playing in front of 30,000 at SMS than in a field in front of 12 for the Primavera sides...???????????? Someone should do something about it.

I went to the match. Joensu and Ewell's match reports are pretty much as i saw it. I been to a few of these "meaningless" preseason matches and this one was probably one of the more disappointing ones but by the same token im not too worried about it. Sutton were much better than i thought. Well organised and compact with a few pacey + mostly technically competent players. I listened to their prematch team talk and the funny thing that stood out was "they are not superstars" or words to that effect plus "if you kick it long we will be chasing it all day". Pity we didnt add that to our teamtalk as there was way too much "hoof" from us...If AP learned anything from this its that compact well organised teams can stifle us out quite easily- even non league teams.......but i guess we knew that from the last half of the season...just seems we dont have the guile to sort it out, especially without adam and puncheon. FWIW I think that the bench were also unimpressed, especially by the lack of urgency of our guys in the first half- someone screamed at lambo from the dugout to get in front of a sutton free kick as he was watching them about to take it so to me it was clear the manager was NOT happy at the lack of concentration...screaming at lambo in public vs a nonleague team is not something i imagine is normal. The number one reason for me was the reluctance to tackle. I suppose over 46 matches we will be good enough with a deep enough squad to get through on percentages in our league and thats the smart move so best to avoid preseason injuries if you can but i prefer our squad players to bust a gut in these matches especially to show why they should start. The only guy to do that was Oxlade, but his nerves made him fall on the floor a lot (free kicks in a league game hopefully) and he really should practice crossing with his left foot as he has a good trick to cut in but the space he created for a left foot cross is wasted if its a "swinger"...which i suspect his left peg is.... Overall id say that too many on the pitch knew they were guaranteed starters against plymouth whatever happened v sutton and thats never a good incentive to put your foot in ...two or three strong incoming players would not go amiss.

My Ferrero Rocher went down very well at Wembley but im not certain they will be necessary for this fixture. Ideally the FR can be brought on whenever the higher level skills and services of the Southampton Diplomats are required. I do not anticipate a need for them at Gander Lane however, as im sure there will be enough saints embassy and consulate staff there to keep matters as they should be.

Think i will take my kids and sister for a little drive down the road to Sutton to see the new team first time this season. Will be interested to see Butterfield and Dickson (if playing) and I always take great interest in A Trialist. Usually plays quite well whenever i've seen him so will look out for him too! Will prob be behind the goals and will post my version of what happened there the same day... Oops: i mean what happens on the pitch not what happens behind the goals...i doubt " spilled ice cream on shirt of son in clapping accident"...."squashed licorice allsort into backseat of trousers" and "daughter cried when got finger jammed in folding chair mechanism" will be of interest in my match report...

Cesena fans are dreaming of the return of ex-Senegalese striker Papa Waigoffside (previously with them 2005-2007). and are weighing up the possibility of taking him off Fiorentinas' hands seeing as Fiorentina appear to have no intention of keeping him in any way shape or form.

Delighted with the venue. Looks first rate with two good oppos to play against. Gutted with the timing as will be in Thailand during the whole camp. Would certainly have made arrangements to get over there for the two games and a bit of swiss role/toblerone if id had more notice. Has sfc announced a travel service for fans who want to travel+support???? Never mind. Maybe next year SFC could give supporters a bit more notice. After all im sure the local sponsors are hoping that english supporters will come and drink their bars dry, fill there hotels and eat there restaurants out of fondue and cuckoo clock sets. Cant think of any other sterotypical ignorant brits abroad comment to make but im sure others will!

I have gone overseas for preseason tours with saints and would do so again if i could have advance notice of when they were. I think they are a great way for a typical fan to get close and bond with the team in a way impossible when you roll up to SMS or an away fixture. Ive loads of stories from meeting the likes of crouch, strachan, claus, anders svensson, Beats, van damme etc from them + priceless memories. If the overseas fixture / friendlies have been booked and organised ( and by now if they happening mid july id have thought they would be) as much advance notice to supporters as possible seems the obvious thing. The only reason for no official confirmation is that they are unconfirmed and/or Pardew does not want supporters watching training matches. The latter i find unlikely, so it must be there are unconfirmed issues. I dont believe its an anti supporter conspiracy by cortese in the slightest and its rather sillly to think otherwise. I can subscribe to the " could do better on the supporter PR front" but i don't think we are deliberately not being told as some kind of weird snub to fans who enjoy seeing the team play and try out different tactics ( and players) in no pressure matches....always instructive to me anyway and a helpful guide to the players real personalities.

I am very very happy with the new kit. Its Classy and a different league to others entirely down to "NO sponsor" emblazoned on it. It will be instantly iconic. It obviously will be a big success and wearable this season but also next season + and wherever saints fans may gather as it transcends "seasonality" that afflicts football tops these days. Buying the new season kit is not a foregone conclusion for many Saints fans, but for this kit i think many will make an exception and buy it regardless as its been so very cleverly marketed. Does anyone know what the highest sales of a new kit ever was? Id suggest that this will exceed that - if not by unit sales certainly by ££ receipts but probably both. The figures would make an interesting read....Was our highest shirt sales "keegan"???......SFC have got a big hit on their hands .................stay tuned for official website updates next week on a "sell-out"..... PS- whoever said they'd wait til the end of season to buy it at half price- i dont think this kit will ever be discounted. If anything if you buy two and keep one mint/pristine in its packet you may actually resale it in future for a lot more. Its an investment opportunity for the canny sports shirt buyer. And no, im not paid to say that by the shop....its just a hunch i have about this kit ...demand WILL exceed supply and if Cortese etc know what they are doing then yes the kit will fly off the shelfs. Expect a specially priced limited edition of this one in due course......................

This is from the oooh shock horror school of journalism but AP was at a west end restaurant called 5 Cavendish earlier today cracking open pink champagne with an attractive blonde woman apparently "the most attractive lawyer in london" according to another guest at the table. I wonders what he was celebrating. I loves intrigue me....Got this from my mate eating there with his lawyer! He wanted to know why was AP clebrating? I said maybe its cos he didnt get sacked on Wednesday!

One interpretation of Cortese is that he is arrogant. It is that he lacks personal humility, that he seems petty and unable to withstand even the mildest criticism. It is that he has learned his public speaking style and demeanour from the Jose Mourinho charm school. Club statements from him can appear in one interpretation to be a thinly disguised resume on behalf of a bigger better job ahead, listing his personal greatness,brilliant decisions and strategic mastery of the sfc situation, with repeated reference to his superb role in everything that's ever been good this season. Its then interspersed at times with expressions of frustration and implied insults for the less good bits and those that "dare" to question his authority even in the most benign and well-meaning ways ( like MLT and others expressing support for Pardew in the media - was that really an offence worthy of his crushing "put-down" in the statement). That's one way of looking at it. You might also consider that powerful and important people do not need to brag about their exploits. They are self-evident. All this "I" stuff and repetition of his brilliance as the "saviour" in bringing significant financial backing to the club, picking the manager etc might be interpreted as him having an immodest nature. An objective neutral could hypothesise from the stuff we can read in the public domain that Alan Pardew and him will never be "having fun" together no matter what Nicola has said about the relationship. On an even more flippant note one might ask " How can a divine special one have fun relations with mere mortals anyway?" for that's the impression you might get such is Nicolas' apparent personal appreciation of the role and title "saviour of the club". He's really got into character some might say. Nicola joined and saved the Saints, but does he now think and act like he's become a latter day one? Have any of the List wondered why Nicola needs to go on about how great he is all the time, and why club statements come across as a propaganda vehicle for "Nicola is God/Big Brother". Do you know what the psychological antecedent of such behaviour comes from? Where does the need to put down dissent in the most brutal way come from. If you read Machiavellis "Prince" you'll get a pretty good answer. Why is there little or no praise bar the "obligatory" 4 lines at the bottom of his self proclamation of greatness about the rest of the SFC team from the part time cleaners upwards? To some cynical observers it might look like an obvious "tag-on" because you are supposed to thank the little people in these end of year kind of speeches aren't you... One might predict that with an ego this size ( Southampton is his "baby" - ahem, historians may confirm that it was a baby 125 years ago and that he has been a foster daddy around 8months of its life...) that the longevity of his stay at St. Marys will be related more towards its ability to deliver further personal aggrandisement than it is to the clubs development. When, and if, the two are not in synchronicity - well that's toys out the pram time...He will need bigger and better and if he fails to get it quickly enough the toys will be thrown out and he will head to Milan or whoever else he can get to preen himself with on a bigger stage. Of course if this force of nature can deliver the Premiership in two three or four years hence and keep us there then we should be almightily grateful. To quote another long ago philosopher we must hope that in Nicola we have a beneficial dictator, a "Philosopher King" as Plato once described. It may be the best thing we could ever hope for in this day and age of phoney financiers of football clubs. Nobody will be too worried if we are playing Champions League five years from now and he will be a genius. The thing is, he may think he is a genius already. Markhus does, obviously. I don't at present but im open minded and am open to being convinced otherwise. All I hope is that he delivers the club up the leagues in a more humanistic "saints"way than what im seeing from him at the moment. A "Southampton style" refers to how we run the club as much as how we play football, Nicola.

New bosses same as the old bosses. Four legs good, two legs bad. Is it worth supporting a club that has no values anymore. That does not understand or care for loyalty? If the club has not got those values anymore then its not sfc. I support the principles of SFC, namely a hants based family club that plays open attractive football in good humour and with flair. A club known for its hospitality and formerly a favourite other team for many because of our style of play, particularly because of our defiance and courage repeatedly in the face of adversity. Great and loyal supporters, faithful forever. If we ditch Pardew "for not getting promoted" this year gone past ( and in the absence of other stuff i dont know about) then the club is reduced to being run by a bunch of cu@ts who dont give a fig for the values. They may as well have let us die back them instead of turning us into the term of abuse most hurled at us - scum. If we ditch Pardew like that then we are well worthy of the title.

I watched his sweden preseason matches and some early season matches of him whatever year it was and he even came over + swopped saints shirts with me at halmstad i think it was ( i must be the only saints fan with a "van Damme" on the back of a home shirt).... He was a talented ballplaying left back. Quite tall for a defender. Quite fast. Good left peg. Didnt he headbutt the foot of the post at sms one match? I think he scored a free kick in front of my eyes there as well. Probably bit arrogant but he was a reasonably cultured + technical, better than average player in a Saints team that probably didnt appreciate him or his qualities...certainly my impression was the players didnt pass to him much and i put two and two together and worked out they didnt like him...I also think a reason for his failure at Saints was it was the sturrock "defenders will defend" period and he was a more offensive ( cue remarks about off field offensive behaviour...)type of player who was happier attacking than defending ( which is a bit of a problem for a left back...)

I was there.....it was delirium for a moment....i could not believe Keegan had scored that wonder goal for us v man utd.......it was like finding the Holy Grail.....but then the ref disallowed it and twas like the knight saying "you have chosen......unwisely" or whatever it was in Indiana jones...

poetic football.....total football.......guys that never got the chance to watch those early to mid eighties saints teams im sorry for you but at least we have the vids........i dont think we will see those kind of players at Saints for a long time.....plus, again for those that cant remember the Dell ( and especially Archers road) can you see how Channon smashed the ball so hard it looks like it can virtually hit the supporters the other side of the nets? Yes, we were that close to the pitch them days.....i think what really tops it off though is Channons windmill and smiling run direct into camera,great telly, copied, incidentally, by Marco Tardelli when he scored THAT goal against Germany in the 1982 World Cup Final only a few months later - direct rip off i reckons...Tardelli must have been watching Channon and thought- ooh that looks a good un if i scores...

thank goodness....thank you St. Landrew....it was bugging me!

Turkish- quite right. That Liverpool team were reigning Division One champions, won the League Cup and charity shield that year and were reigning European Cup (now Champions League) holders. That probably made them the best team on the planet in 1982. And that goal destroyed them with total football. Its the equivalent of us doing that to Barcelona today - not Man utd as i think Liverpool were more dominant at that time than man utd are today.