Panda

There are many reasons why the gate for Brum was down (holidays, credit crunch, expecting the worse, etc) but I refuse to believe people will stay away from watching their favourite team because of who the chairman is! Love him or hate him, he really does not count when it comes to a game - then it is about the team and their performance. If we get another couple of good results and some positive reports then gates will go up again, RL or not. It is some fans obsession with hating RL that is causing division not the man himself. He is, in my opinion, doing what has to be done to keep my team afloat and if the side benefit is a succesful team then wonderful. One win does not mean we have turned the corner but things are certainly looking better than they might have done had the changes not been made.

Just back after a day out with the family and delighted by the result. I am so pleased for the team who have had to bear the label 'kids' from the press, media and fans. No, they have proved they are men and deserve their win today after creditable performances against the taffs and brum. Just as one swallow does not make a summer so one win does not make a season but I am also so please the misserable b*st*rds who were posting doom and gloom on the post-match comments thread even before kick-off have been put truly in their place. This team is going to surprise a lot of people this year and all we need now is to see the back of the remaining losers from last year who some on here seem to worship and may be, just may be, we can be proud of our team again. Just think, eleven or more guys who are desperate to wear the red and white stripes and give it all they've got - a long time since I saw that. Takes me back to the sixties and seventies! COYR

THREE keepers in the squad! Perhaps we are dropping Kelvin off at Stoke on the way? Is there ane injury doubt on one of them or something? Seems odd otherwise.

Thanks for that positive contribution Mole, fortunately not all of us feel quite that way yet, People keep saying Barclays want their money back and will crush us until they get it. I am no fan of Barclays for personal reasons but I do know that they are not commercially naive. They know full well that success on the pitch means success in the bank account and relegation to League 1 is NOT Barclays preferred route. To get their investment back they firstly need to avoid us going into administration and then they need to give us support and time to rebuild to ensure their investment is protected. I do not believe for a moment 'Barclays are picking the team' as some suggest and I do not believe they are insisting any bid for any player must be accepted. Andrew Davies left because he wanted to go. He said so himself. Barclays did not insist he went as was suggested on this thread earlier. Banks lend money when times are good and want it back when times are bad but I repeat, they are not naive, they do want their money back with interest and neither administration or relegation are going to deliver that. If we go into administration it will HMRC who will do it not Barclays because HMRC are not interested in long term commercial benefit, they implement the law of the land where taxes are concerned. So cheer up, we may be broke but we are not broken. The guys playing for us are better than many who have not seen them give them credit for. Sure, its going to be a long tough season but this time there is hope when last season, to my mind, was betrayal. Fortunately thise who betrayed us have nearly all gone now, just a couple more left and hopefully they will be gone soon. In their place we have fresh faces keen to impress and desperate to please. Give them a chance eh?

Why do you assume there will be a club left if we go into administration? Sure, AFC Southampton may be playing in the lower reaches of the football pyramid just like Southport, Barrow, Scarborough, Maidstone and Newport County. Anyone wishing administration on us is wishing to see our club dead. There is no guarantee of survivial and total liquidation is a high possibility. Let's not go there. Let us trust that somehow severe cost cutting linked with a youth policy really can get us stable enough to survive in the longer term. This is not about RL and MW and getting even with them. What pleasure can there be in watching them out of pocket for the value of their investment when we have no team left at all? It is not about blame, it is not about incompetence, it is not about hate. Football is going through bad times (self inflicted by Premier League greed) and we are suffering like many others. There is no quick fix.

I agree, an excellent analysis BUT ... I have been around long enough to know it doesn't work out the way things should! We are talking football here and it is (almost) totally unpredictable and there is one thing I am sure of, your predictions will be totally wrong! If it were that predictable what would be the point of it all? The season will unfold one week at a time. There will results that are expected and total shocks. Some unfancied teams will do well whilst teams strong on paper will disintegrate, managers will be sacked, players will be injured, some may go in to administration - who knows? But a good analysis all the same. Maybe, just maybe, Saints will be one of the surprises of the season? We can only hope and without hope there is no point in going on. All the best in your new job.

I'm with you. Time to move on. The last two years have been as bad, if not worse, as the years before them. We have no one better to take us forward. We have no one else to take us forward. We have no other course to follow which will take us forward. We are where we are. Based on our experience of expensive 'journeymen' who do not deliver I think this really is a wake up call for football as a whole. It is not sustainable in the long term if we go on the way we have done. It is back to the sixties/seventies as far as I can see - grow your own and add in some seasoning when and where you can. Not before time. And can we please get over this obsession with the club's board. It is down to the players and coach now and all we can do is go on supporting the club we love and care about. After 55 years a Saints fan I cannot and will not give up now regardless of who is chairman. It is not the chairman I support and cheer, it is those in red and white stripes that matter and if they never do to me again what they did to me at Bristol Rovers (amongst others) last year then for me the only way is up

I'm with you. Time to move on. The last two years have been as bad, if not worse, as the years before them. We have no one better to take us forward. We have no one else to take us forward. We have no other course to follow which will take us forward. We are where we are. Based on our experience of expensive 'journeymen' who do not deliver I think this really is wake up time for football as a whole. It is not sustainable in the long term if we go on the way we are. It is back to the sixties/seventies as far as I can see - grown your own and add in some seasoning when and where you can. Not before time. And can we please get over this obsession with the club's board. It is down to the players and coach now and all we can do is go on supporting the club we love and care about. After 55 years a Saints fan I cannot and will not give up now regardless of who is chairman. Its not the chairtman I support and cheer, it is those in red and white stripes that matter and if they never do to me again what they did to me at Bristol Rovers (amongst others) last year then for me the only way is up.

Sadly, this is an all too true analysis of the situation. Add to Dodd and Benali as emergency centre backs the name of Chris Baird! It is, however, quite noticable how Aaron Racine has suddenly appeared on the scene and was on the bench for the West Ham game ahead of Thomas! He is obviously highly thought of although only 16(?) - I have not seen him play but the reports have been positive. I don't think JP would hesitate to play him if we needed him. There will obviously be high hopes for Ollie Lancashire but one does have to wory about his injury record and with Michael Svensson its like waiting for a time bomb to go off - you just know his knee is so vulnerable. That said, Thomas is no right back and is not going to be a preferred centre back, he will be on good wages and will be worth a bit on the transfer market so I think his days are certainly numbered with us.