Holmes_and_Watson

When I've seen things like this recently, it's been partly due to resturcturing, but also due to the big shift financially, and in quality, from going form regional to a more national league. The league organisation want to promote the best teams as quickly as possible up the regional divisions, with lots of relegation. But then slow it down at the top of the region to help ensure that only the club best prepared goes up. Plenty of counterpoints to that though, as you've pointed out.

It's a very tough balancing act, where perfect world planning of recruitment, development and release meets endless real world variables. Good to hear that the succession planning has identified a number coming through the narrow market of Replacvement Ralphs. And that they take confidence form their approach in that their first choice by miles is now doing so well.

Assuming they stay up, no bad thing to have an outlet for some of our younger players in the SPL. We've certainly got plenty of first team players from it.

One

And is it that when you handed him money, he automatically dived away from your autograph book?

Although the goal is more likely to fall over if the near post doesn't exist. Oh wait, now I get you... 😊

No wonder I skip those bits. What an utter clown. Some other idiot said recently that he was a little surprised that JWP hadn't attracted the attention of a top 4 (later top 6 in the comment). Because JWP would be a great option to bring off the bench. I had no idea he only hadn't missed endless first team minutes, at a club he's loved at, because he knew there was a good sit down waiting ahead. I only don't recall who said it as I was turning them off. Idiot.

That's good to know. If we can progress up the leagues, I'm sure they will be needed. And hopefully we can attract top academy talent too as we go, combining that progression with the good name Saints already have in developing players.

I heard that they had to change the colour of the Man Utd font at half time during the beta, because they had trouble picking it out against the background. 🙂

Yeah, shopping trips with my parents where I had no control over the itinerary, but desperately trying to get near the TV department in any store or window close to full time. 🙂

"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work." - Steve Martin

I've watched it a few times, and I'd put it down as cordial, without being particularly chummy. As they weren't covering their mouths, you can make out a few words. Ralph: Who would have thought we'd both end up here? Ralph: When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master. Ralph: Only a master of the Saints, Ralph. Ralph: Your powers are weak. You have a disjointed squad and no team spirit. Ralph: If you cut me down, I will still be made Director of Football. We're still waiting confirmation from VAR on whether the lightsaber strike was legal.

Thanks for all your work! Although disapointed that bias was built in from the start. Oh, the old "no, the transmitter was at Crystal Palace" line. 🙂

Oh, lets see... nips off to other bits of the Interweb for Sauce... Here we go... It was recent enough for it to stick in my mind.. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/west-ham-owner-s-ps1m-loan-to-crime-boss-9321418.html

I didn't get a "media are against us" vibe from the other posts. I thought we all agreed that they weren't worth listening to.

Oh noes! I might do that... because...um... by waiting for the mechanism to complete its full cycle, I'm preventing it jerking open and increasing wear and tear. So, over years I'm saving us all maintenance money casuing price rises? No? Rats...I'm just being annoying then... 🙂

I was really pleased to hear him speak up about it. His weight of opinion as an ex player and manager was a heck of a lot more convincing than the jellies he was sitting beside. Puts into context all the "footballing" guff Moyes came out with.

Well Done Saints!

I'd always land on the wrong page of Ceefax. We'd be on page 2 of 2 and I'd always get the other one, or vice versa. I always had that little tense wait for it to switch over. Looking back, there was porbably a button to move it on or I could have refreshed it. But Id' have been too busy desperately waiting to think like that.

Oh possibly. I don't see him too often. But perhaps he's just at the satge of giving an honest opinion. He did ask if there was time for him to get his say, so it wasn't a rant or anything.

Yups. Had Ralph gone off on a tangent, or not answered at all, he would have been picked up on that. It's only a MOTD studio pundit. Their mouths only open and spew rubbish so that air can get in.

Sullivan also made a nice 1 million payment to the head of an organised crime gang, who engaged in lots of violence and money laundering. Utter scum.

Souness has "no sympathy" for Zouma and has gone out of his way to say "He wouldn't have in the team this year" if he was manager. Until "he showed real remorse" Also as a player, he "would not want to be in the same team as him". Souness not having any of the PR statements from the club, despite what his spineless co hosts are saying. Well done, Sir.

The Villa 'keeper went out of his way to position Buendia in a way that increased the chance of a deflection. Zouma feeling "unwell" and has dropped out the squad. No excuse for having the utter scumbag in the squad in the first place.

If there was some sort of VAR conspiracy (puts on tin foil hat handily available from Salmons covid posts), I'd have thought the current top clubs would have conspired against the Sportswashers. Not that they would have preempted it, by already having bought it off. I mean, what's the point of being in the Football Illuminati, if some Journalist-Killer-Come-Lately can just buy their way in?