Ken Tone

Not directly saints-related. Sorry mods. But it is a totally different world running a club with a squad of overpaid millionaire prima donna, mostly foreign, mercenaries, to running a lower league club where the players are desperate to impress the manager to get/retain a contract. "I used to be a Man United player" wins repect in Macclesfield or Milton Keynes, but is likely to get the response "So what?" or "So did I", or even just "Que?" at a club like Blackburn. K.

Ince ? ...you're joking. He's a first rate idiot with an inflated sense of own importance. I've said it before but I'll say it again. How can you take anyone seriously who invented his own nickname as a player ("the Guv'nor") that of course no one actually used, except to mock him. What a prat! K.

Sensible idea. Gets my vote. This letting season ticket holders buy more smacks of desperation to me. If there really high demand why on earth let S-T holders buy more? Whenever an organiser can't sell tickets he advertises saying , 'just a few left'. This looks rather like that to me. Try to build up demand by pretending there is already high demand. K.

It's not even that long since idiots like Dennis Wise allegedly got away with homophobic abuse of their own team mate, Graeme Le Saux --- abuse based solely on the fact that he openly admitted to taking part in perverted activites such as "reading", occasionally "watching a play" and perhaps even "liking some art". I wasn't at the pompey/spurs game and do not know what was chanted. I do know that there is a line that shouldn't be crossed in terms of what is said. Whether it was crossed that day, who knows? That is not to say that fans shouldn't abuse opposing players, or indeed their own chairman. They always have and always will. It's the nature of that abuse that is under scrutiny. K.

A rather glass half empty post! 1) It's good news that Cork likes it at Saints. It suggests that the dressing room is a happy place with the team pulling together. 2) I think you're wrong. Were Cork to be on the fringe of the Chelsea first team I could see some logic to what you say, but he's surely way down the pecking order yet. A more likely scenario is that they might sell him to a weaker premiership or top championship club in the summer, if he continues to develop here but seems unlikely to make it at the level Chelsea require ..... the most likely fate of every youngster at any club that can just buy ready-made international players at will. K.

No, that's a misinterpretation. I was there and have seen replay. Both slid towards the ball, at 90 degrees to each other. Wolves player in effect slid across the front of Euell, knocking the ball out of Euell's way and putting himseif there in the way instead, because he got there a split second before Euell did. I'd have said both were a little reckless but neither committed a foul as such. Had Euell been later and able to pull out from his attempt, then yes a foul, but as it was almost simultaneous, then it was effectively a 50-50 ball. The Wolves player clearly was hurt btw, and any suggestion (that I've seen in some other posts) that he dived or made the most of it is unfair. And to answer the thread title, yes we can and should appeal. K.

I too thought he looked good. In fact he stood out against us, but even so, on that performance I wouldn't have rated him much higher than "he'll play in the premiership one day". K.

Quite. I was there on Saturday. I didn't see any hoofball. Frankly I wish I had seen some occasionally! Davis didn't kick it out once, whilst his opposite number was kicking into our penalty area. K.

But on premiership wages, supported for a while by parachute payments, and maybe having made more of a name for himself with more media coverage so that he might then be 'rescued' by another so -so premership team - cf Rory Delap's career! So you couldn't blame him for going. However I would be really sorry to see Drew go. He is both a proper saints lad, and a really promising player. He won't ever be a star in the premeirhsio, but he is certainly going to be of at least 'journeyman' premiership standard, which is more than can be said of most players. As I said last season, he is the new Oakley,ie appreciated by managers and those who watch *football*, but not always by the more gung ho, "just get it in the box" type of fan. K.

I will, whichever league we're in. It's called supporting your team. You're supposed to do it through thick and thin. K.

An what the hell is the Muratti ? K.

Am I alone too in thinking that the apparent instruction to our keeper to always roll the ball out to a nearby player, so we build from the back is OTT. By all means make this a tactic, even a frequently used tactic, but not *every* time surely? Quite apart from whether this is agood tactic in itself, it became so predictable for the opposition. Just occasionally, Jan, please let Kel just welly it upfield. K. PS Dear Jan, Can we please swap all 3 of Smith, Robertson and Pulis, for one Clinton Morrison or similar?

It seems to me that I keep seeing us play pretty pretty football, but with no bite up front. It's been really noticeable in the last 2 home games how Clinton Morrison and Dele Adebayor (sp?) have been the real difference between the teams. In this league a big, but mobile, striker makes the difference. Stern John and Rasiak are not mobile, and Saga is not big. Nor is McGoldrick. On the other hand Euell is both, and has played quite well in 'the hole' lately, behind Mcgoldrick. He began his career as a striker. Why not play him in front of McG ? Poortvliet can stick to his precious 4-2-3-1/ 4-4-1-1 formation, but just swap those 2 over. I wouldn't expect Euell to actually score all that many, but McGoldrick and the midfield might get more playing off him, and either way we'd keep the ball up in the opposition's half a lot longer. At the moment the keeper rolls it out, clearly under instruction never to kick, it gets played up to about 2/3 of the way up the pitch via some very pretty passing, but then it bounces off a big defender or one of the passes goes astray , and it comes straight back into our penallty area. K.

Not wishing to join in a private argument, but taking your first few questions seriously: I thought the atmosphere yesterday was better than it has been of late at St Mary's. More of the crowd were singing than usual, not just the really sparsely populated northam. I was not aware of anyone abusing the players, apart from occasional abuse at just about all of them from a bloke behind me who I've never seen before, so is presumably not a regular, And ditto reaction to the defeat ..mostly resigned frustration -- no abuse apart from fly-by-night pillock behind, who I think is simply habitually foul-mouthed. K.

A larger than life character ...bit of a rocker/teddy boy if you are old enough to know what that means! Sideburns and brylcream. Saw him play for bolton when I lived up there. Really skillful, sort of a poor man's George Best. Best ever football 'player profle' response in a programme - when asked "what has been the greatest disappointment in his career", he answered "Jane Smith, form 5B". K.

Indeed. Sometimes an arrogant kid will undergo an attitude turn-around *because* their first club kicks them out. At the time we let MacDonald go, Strachan was very much in charge and I don't remember many people objecting, in spite of all the 20-20 hindsight now being shown on here. At the time the message was 'promising youngster, but with sh*t attitude, bad influence on others'. cf Dyer? Will we have the same hindsight shown if Dyer eventually makes it in the SPL or some other mickey mouse league? K.

As in several previous games we played some very pretty football at times. Too much so in fact. Had Davis been instructed to play it out short that often? Rather like the Watford game, we looked the better side in open play, but failed to convert that into goals. Am heartily sick of getting back to my car to hear bloody Merrington going on about 4-5-1. I've always liked the bloke and yes he's a true saint, but for god's sake play a diferent tune Dave. For a start we do not play 4-5-1, we play 4-2-3-1, switching to 4-2-1-3 as we attack. We do NOt always have only 1 player up front, we often have 3. Then as we drive home we had to listen to prats texting in who have clearly only been listening to radio, saying back to Merrington what he'd said in the commentary! Thought McGoldrick had a better game last night, with one other cracking shot in the first half as well as his well-taken goal, but seeing Morrison for them showed what we are missing. He was all over us at times - a proper centre forward, with a much greater physical presence Euell was outstanding, 'in the hole', but unfortunately that meant playing Llallana out wide where he didn't shine. Wootton may not be a footballing genuius, but by 'eck can he shout. He and Euell really worked at driving the youingsters into position. Skacel was quieter but nonetheless looked worth his place, even if not his salary. K.

I know there is all the stuff about Lowe that many of those who stay away use to rationalise their lack of attendance, but I am nonetheless shocked by how small our real core support has turned out to be. We kept saying we were a big club when we were in the premiership. Well big clubs have more loyal fans than we do, that support their team even when they are crap. Forest and Wednesday in the old 3rd division getting the crowds they did, Villa donkeys' years ago ditto -- that's the sort of support I thought we expected to see here in these tough times. But it turns out many of those fans were just as plastic as they claimed others were. This is not intended to knock those in financial difficulty who can't afford to come any more, but as to those that can afford it and just can't be bothered to come in case they might actually have to watch their side lose --shame on them. It's that sort of attitude that encourages non-football people like Lowe to think of us as customers, not as fans. Fair enough, obviously it's up to every individual how he or she spends their money. If you're not coming because you don't rate the standard of football, or are fed up with watching the side struggle, that's up to you, but then don't claim to be a fan; you are indeed a customer. K.

Well shocking it may be, but at least this thread is current. I remember many years ago being at a lower division winter afternoon game somewhere (not saints) where the ref insisted the lights were turned on just before half time, and the club were furious, saying that the extra power usage, with them therefore being on during the half time break too, cost them hundreds of pounds more than turning them on for just the second half as they usually did-- money they couldn't afford. K.

To be fair Dowie is sh:tfaced when he is sober. ;-) Has to be the ugliest man in football! But he's a good manager, and for all the talk of big money at QPR, they havent spent much of it. K.

I'd go along with most of those. In fact put 2 strikers in front of that as a 4-3-1-2 formation and you'd have fair team, but for some imbalance left/right K.

This story that Lowe won't permit us to play Skacel because of appearane money keeps re-surfacing. The club have specifically denied that there is any issue over appearance money with Rudi. Now I'm not naive enough to believe every detail of what the club says publicly, but this is such a black and white factual matter that I can't see what they'd gain from telling a lie that could easily be proved to be a lie. So those that believe this, please what is the figure and what is your source? Or else, can we stop saying it? K.

Takeover tomorrow?! Obviously nonsense. It's not even a Friday tomorrow. Do these people know nothing about a decent takeover thread? K.

I dont know if Roeder is complaining about the penalty or the red card. If it is the penalty he is simply wrong. I also sit in the kingsland and it was indeed a foul and indeed clearly inside the area. As to the sending off I thought it wasn't a straight red though, and I wouldn't even have booked for the foul as such. Hadn't he already been booked? I presumed it was a second booking for dissent. But I didn't see what caused it -- I too was looking to see who would take it. Mind you it might have been wishful thinking on my part to say Stefanovitch (sp?) had been booked before. The ref did ok overall, but as some others have said he ought to have booked a few a bit earlier. I'd mentally booked quite a few! K.

Born there yes but lived here for many years and qualified to play for England. More English than Zola Budd, Tony Greig or Basil Dolivera ! What is more he lives locally, so not just English but Southampton. The lack of foreign mercenaries is real plus this season. K.