Fitzhugh Fella

Good point. Why Semmens said that I don’t know. We may be a feeder club but we shouldn’t be publicising it.

When you look at Levy at Spurs then Semmens is a different league. He certainly installs confidence

Spot on

Never a good idea to reveal an intended leaving date. Players switch off. Gordon Strachan is a good example when he announced he was leaving at the end of a season but he then only lasted a few more weeks.

Broja is now a double edged sword. If he continues to impress no way will we be able to compete for him so he will either stay with Chelski or go to the nouveau riche clubs like Villa or West Ham. If he bombs from here on in then we suffer as a team and will we want him? One of the drawbacks of loan deals is you can get stung. Toby Alderwerield was a previous example.

I’ve just read the Barnado report in full (it’s available via a link on the Club’s website). I’m glad I made no comment either way before I read it as I learned a lot. I’ve also spoken this morning to some of the victims and they have no wish whatsoever to see the statue come down. I also think the present Board’s statement after the report came out last year to be spot on and they have responded in an exemplary fashion. I think the article in the Athletic was written and published in haste and without much thought to the consequences. No doubt many employees and board members of SFC, back then, were guilty at the very least of neglect and one or two, even now, are refusing to take any blame. However for one man, no longer with us or able to defend himself, to bear the brunt of this tragedy is simply not right. At the end of the day though my sympathies lie with those who were abused and I just hope that eventually they can get some sort of closure.

A good friend is his next door neighbour in Aldershot. My mate has been telling me how good he is for over a year now.

Like you I am encouraged by Ankerson's involvement. Brentford have got to be the best run club over the last decade. However Serb owners have left me cold ever since Milan Mandaric arrived at Portsmouth but it does seem this guy does actually have access to decent finance. I think in this day and age the altruistic, decent and minted football club owner (a la Marcus Liebherr) does not exist and we have to swallow the inevitable warts that come with being privately owned, if we want to compete and I would rather be owned by this guy than the Saudi bone saw boys for instance. And, as has been pointed out, Semmens and co have done a good job steadying the ship since Les set off on his path of destruction and I don't think they (or Katarina) would sell us to any old tyre kicker with empty pockets. So its a cautious welcome from me (Turkish please take note so you don't later make yet another fictitious claim about me never liking the owners), but as a Saints fan of long standing I reserve the right to insert the word "cautious" before the word welcome. At least there is now hope after a grim 3 or 4 seasons.

To be honest this forum only exists for Turkish and his ego these days.

One thing is for sure whoever the new owner is you will still be the biggest cock on this forum 😀

A man of principle

Tbf just mentioning it just lessens the chance of it happening in the minds of the superstitious, or, those who like touching wood when talking about Saints. But to be fair how many times have we all seen Saints lose games we should have won on paper?

Strange thing to say after they've won

z is American s is Queen's English

But a lot (Puel, Koeman and Pellegrino) weren’t bothered. Foreign managers never anticipate staying that long. In a way we are also a stepping stone club for managers too.

When he goes we will struggle to find another manager (especially if he is foreign) who pays as much attention to the academy. This is Ralph’s big strength imo as he actually takes an interest in the whole club set up. But his day to day, match to match, weaknesses outweigh this attribute which is why, sooner or later, the axe must fall. Maybe there is room for him upstairs (if he is interested) because he has something to offer away from the actual football on the day.

Waiting for Godot

He's not that stupid. He knows he's probably reached his pinnacle at SMS.

For those interested in history we have never ever played Swansea in the FA Cup. Out of the top 2 divisions there is only now peterborough and Leeds who we've never drawn out of the hat.

I seem to remember after the Norwich debacle and the Liverpool mauling posters saying the same about the forthcoming home games v Leicester and Brighton.

Spot on. I know it’s better than it was under the 2 Ps but I no longer look forward to a game at SMS, knowing in all likelihood I will be walking home under a cloud.

Find ones that do?

Micky Fialka and MLT ride again?

Macarthy for all his faults made a miraculous save following Walker-Peters first error. Even the ref acknowledged I noted.

You are so wrong about it being personal. I think his personality is a great fit for our club inasmuch he cares about the youth and the overall way the club is structured. No other foreign manager has shown anything like the same amount of commitment to the infrastructure, the set up and the DNA. For that he should be applauded. I also like his personality, he interviews fairly well, has a nice sense of humour and most important the fans warm to him. He also seems to accept our limited budget. When I say frustrating and, comparing him to all those names you mention, I am talking mainly about team selection (which is obviously fundamental). He tinkers irrationally. Whether its Walker-Peters/Perraud or Walcott instead of Tella. Redmond was given far too much game time when his form went drastically off the boil. He only stopped alternating the keepers when it became obvious Forster was seeing out his contract. Picking Livramento exclusively at full-back. His recent treatment of Adams who came back from international duty on a high only to het yanked twice at half-time. I could go on but you are well versed enough to recognise he can baffle the hell out of us. I am not saying he is worse than many of those names just incredibly frustrating and hard to fathom and this sometimes obscures his finer points. These next two home games are make or break for me. 4 points keep in anything less then I would start to cast my net if I was Semmens or at least dip a toe in the water.