Fitzhugh Fella

OK Mike appreciate the sensible reply and take it on board. Crook, Blakemore and Peach are the only three journalists I follow because they cover this area and do have genuine contacts. They are not always going to say things I want to hear but I have got to accept that as long as they are being honest and I think they are. Just because we don't like the message doesn't mean we should shoot the messenger but you have got to admit so many on this forum only want to believe good news and then put their fingers in their ears for everything else. There are bed wetters and bed wetters, believe it or not, not everyone who posts negative thoughts do it because they wet their bed at nights, a lot of people are genuinely worried and relay their worries on a forum. After a bad defeat I always get solace from people on here who feel as wretched as me. I swing both ways (oh er missus), usually when I am with more negative people than me (my father for instance) I turn into a happy clappy but then when I am with a happy clappy, I become a bed wetter. It is almost an inbuilt safety valve that as Saints fans we all need or at least I do. "Moaners">? No just people letting off steam to make them feel better Don't waste your concern on Burley, if I ever meet you I will tell you the story about the day I went to Doncaster with Leon Crouch and sat on a hospitality table with lots of Scottish fans who did not know who Leon was. What they said about Burley and Southampton FC stitching them up by unloading Burley into the Scotland day was priceless. As for Beatts, well I haven't even bothered to check out what he said to be honest. While he and I and Benali were chatting during a book signing a few weeks ago he said nothing untoward and my impression he was asked a few questions by a Sky journalist and said the first thing that came into his head. Silly yes, but when microphones get shoved in faces silly things get said. Anyway lets move forward, these are tempestuous times, worrying times but also exciting times to be a Saints fan. Cheers

Unlike you I don't jump to conclusions without conclusive proof and certainly when it is over something as serious as this problem was. A year or so later my concerns were all confirmed by one person who would be in ideal position to know. And it is only you I am having digs at Mike because virtually in every post you can't help yourself mentioning bed-wetters and it gets on my nerves. HTH

To Liverpool yes it was acceptable (at the season's end), but to Fat Sam's mob, half way through the season no. HTH

I was talking about the Osvaldo situation - it is an unwelcome distraction at what must a pretty hectic time for Reed/Koeman. We could do without it.

I hope so Ron. The fact he has snubbed the new manager by not returning to pre-season is the final straw. I hope we are not paying his wages and I also hope Koeman makes some sort of hardline statement on Friday because frankly he is taking the pi ss. By my reckoning at present we are 3 forwards down (Lambert, Osvaldo and Rodriguez) from last season and this situation not being sorted is an unwelcome distraction.

Still think NC (who was about to leave) was trying to sell Lambert just to put pressure on the incoming board. That shows he never truly had Southampton's best interests at heart, just his own.

Yep your post makes good sense. I have never really understood people accusing me of having an agenda. I wanted Burley out because of the tales I was hearing about his excessive drinking which I posted on here. That means "I had an agenda". After the Steve Wigley appointment I realised Lowe had lost the plot (interestingly so did most of his fellow board members come to the same realisation) and I campaigned for his removal I will admit. But at least I did it to his face at an AGM. Other than that my only agenda is to unmask Manji one day!

I am just relieved he is not our manager. You always know he has realised his post is nonsense with his subsequent introduction of the word "bed-wetter". I would be delighted to escape relegation next season and would regard that as a good season after the turmoil of this close season.

He got dismissed and he does not know why but he is content with what he left with and has no issue. Perhaps (and this is me talking not him) his way of doing things did not equate to what the club wanted, these things happen. All I know the three players mentioned have no axe to grind and in the case of Franny I think you could say he is really pleased that a certain person has now left. I am only posting this because people just make things up to suit agendas and manji is the nastiest little troll on this forum.

Well I spent an hour in the company of Beattie and Benali just recently and not one anti board word passed their lips, in fact Franny in particular was full of praise so that rather flies in the face of your rather unpleasant guess work. And a very good friend of mine spoke to Jason at the weekend and again not one bitter word about the board came from his lips and his dismissal came up in the conversation. Manji you are just full of nasty sh it!

Like you do you mean before posting on here?

yea me too

or mention the bed-wetters

Again you fall hook line and sinker into "shoot the messenger mode". You do it every time without ever bothering to check the messenger's credentials. You are so bleeding predictable. Crook is a local Hampshire based journalist who does have good Southampton sources. A friend of mine who is a big saints fan and an ex journalist who you would have heard of, rates him. There is a lot of s+it out there I grant you but you need to be a little less scatter gunned in your attempts to be one of the forum bandwagon jumpers.

Yep pretty much sums it up for me. This close season has been unprecedented in terms of us being weakened.

Guan I appreciate a lot of what you say but you can hardly blame the natives for getting restless especially after this morning's comments by Lovren which indicated the Board knew about MP's departure in April. As of yet we have yet to get one decent transfer over the line, which in "normal" summers should not be a worry but with half of last season's team either left or in the process of leaving, is whichever way you look at it, something to be concerned about. I am worried by the board's inexperience, the only man with any football knowledge is Reed and his expertise was not earned at director level. Rogers statement after the Shaw transfer was ham-fisted and showed a lack of appreciation in the way fans think. This is an unprecedented close season in terms of decimation to our squad, the players are back in training and another tough season in the Premiership will start quicker than we think. Prevarication in the market due to inexperience or an unwillingness to go the extra mile, cash wise, cannot be rectified post August 31. I am glad NC has gone and I back the board but I am not convinced despite their best intentions they are properly qualified to the task ahead. Thanks for your post however but permit me to voice the growing concerns amongst us on the outside as it were.

Got to say as much as I am behind the new Board, this is a very well stated post.

It was a Sunday tea-time

With regard to the Lambert to West Ham scenario in January I honestly think NC was trying to destabilise the club in the weeks before he left and selling RL to WHU would have upset quite a few. Then there is the debacle re the kit which it seems NC was engineering. And then there is his spiteful banning of the book despite placing a large order for it. His departure may well be the catalyst for all our stars departing but I am still glad this most destructive of men has left our football club. I said all along it would, with him at the helm, end in tears. It was inevitable. Now we must concentrate on picking up the pieces, nurturing those who want to stay and making sure we get some decent replacements in. I would be happy just to avoid relegation this year. With all the comings and goings that would be a satisfactory achievement.

Pretty much spot on. I said all this a week or two ago but got laughed at but I still maintain the truth lies in there somewhere.

Can't see that especially as we seem to be struggling to sign 2 sub £10m players at the moment

Pleased, nay delighted the stripes are back, should never have gone away. Love to see navy blue shorts a la pre-war, but can't see that ever happening. Now we just need some players to put into the new kit, it's a worry we are struggling to land two players from the Dutch league. At the end of the day it's the players not the kit that will keep us up.

I would believe it if I were you. Had a long e mail exchange with Gordon Simpson and trust me he would not write it if he wasn't certain it was true.

The only drawback to waiting for September to have a moan about not signing players is by then it is a bit late to do anything about it. HTH

this is going to end in tears