Charlie Wayman

With everyone fit and a full squad to pick from we should be pretty good as you say but as you saw last season when Oxo, Lallana and Schneidelin and other key players went missing through injury we often fell apart and looked decidedly second rate. So one or two real quality reinforcements are needed to strengthen the squad in depth to cover these times and also to put REAL pressure on the key players. We need one or two who could seriously give Lallana and Co a run for their money so they don't get complacent as well.

It is but we've been away only two seasons and until the political and financial implosions at SMS were well able to hold our own and usually nudging the play-offs, so mid-table should be a reasonable expectation for the early months of the season. Even in Div 3 we did well against Ipswich, Bolton , Birmingham, Blackpool and Manure in the various cup competitions. What you have to remember is that other clubs will remember us for our history and former glories rather than the recent slip-up - like Leeds, nobody thinks of them as anything other than a PL team clawing it's way back to where it belongs - so opponents are wary of them, don't know what to expect. It'll be the same for us. Don't forget too that Leeds and Millwall were in our league only last year so at least 4 clubs in the NPC are very familiar to us. It is not quite the great unknown that some fear. Had we been down 7 or 8 years as happened back in the fifties then the challenge to stay up would have been immeasurably higher. Time for stout hearts and strong voices.

Which confirms as discussed a year or two back that only 7 teams have never been out of the Premiership and at the time of our relegation, we were one of only 8 to have achieved this distinction. That says a lot about us even 'though we have this snide press reputation of being relegation dodger specialists which is entirely unfair. It was pretty galling then to leave the elite party and even more so now on reflecting on this table. Having been away some time inevitably we are now sliding down the games played list of course but we are still top-20 so we need to get back there fast to maintain our record.

I didn't agree with your opening comments about Alpine but do so 100% on this well thought through point. Are we even sure at present whom we might be off-loading? Maybe the Oxo situation is not truly resolved and until it is we may not know our strict priorities or cash situation. If he stays a key position in mid-field is sorted, if he goes we may have far bigger transfer kitty than may be the case now but our needs in mid-field may become critical. If Jack Cork is coming then a midfield boasting Cork, Hammond, Do Pardo, Oxo, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Chaplow and Dixon is surely massively good enough for this league and maybe even the one above. They are all one year older, one year wiser and one year more experienced and with talent to spare the rest is up to the lads up front to knock it into the net fro time to time. The back four is a different story; one hopes we would not kick-off without a quality centre-back to supplement Jose Fonte, praying of course that Mr Pardew does not come-a-calling when half his team bugger off in a sulk over the ****-poor £40k per week wages!

Exactly right! The management concept of "Hit the ground running" obviously has not filtered through to St Mary's yet. Perhaps they were waiting to see the fixture list first ;-) ? Now its Leeds we might go all out to sign their best players before we play them.

Last one to bed please put the lights out... Yawn!

Never seen a ****ed seagull. Can it stand on one leg?

Who?

Tit!

+1 total crap

Let's just stick to Jack Cork shall we.. Where is Jack Cork now, what's he thinking, is he at all interested in coming here?

I fear that may be wishful thinking. You've probably noticed yourself that the boy has that amazing and rare skill of somehow making it seem at times that the ball is magnetically attached to his boots. Many times have we seen him apparently stumble into one or two-man tackles only to emerge on the other side with the ball at his feet and under control even when at the time it appeared he had already lost it? Such control is faster than the eye can follow and is what stamps him out as class. He'll go all the way and he will be pursued by BIG clubs all the way and we must learn to live with it and enjoy it whilst it lasts. Hold on for a white knuckle ride and trust in Cortese. At the end of the day if the boy wants to leave then any contract will mean diddly-squat and it all comes down to what others are wiling to pay - or let his contarct run down and get bugger-all for him. We can only hope and pray for a Paine, Channon or Le Tissier - local prodigies, doubly blessed with talent and loyalty - and crucially no effing agents of today's ilk to stir the ****! Sod the agents say I for all the bad they have brought to our game!

All you need to know lads is that I've been plodding up to the Dell and SMS through fair weather and foul, through the good times and the bad, for better and for worse ever since my namesake wore the famous red & white stripes - so reasonably I can lay claim to being a Saints supporter. It is still good 'though to get the opinions and feedback of supporters of other clubs on here although it beats me why they should bother.

Absolutely inspiring as long as we have the courage to stop all those other lesser equipped greedy bastards from stealing our best graduates. Cortese must tell the "BIG Four" to Eff Off and build their own systems if they want good players in the future.

Only to half-wits with their heads in the sand. The thinking people know he has a point.

This is not news. Likely Bids for these players has already been widely reported in the press. OXO has not be mentioned anywhere in a Liverpool connection, only Gooners and they have more immediate concerns to address as has been widely discussed on here before as well.

We are Swiss owned. Roger Federer always wears a plain Swiss-Red shirt and White shorts so let's guess that we'll be in a Red shirt with a White sash next season and White shorts and White socks. We always do well in white socks. No Black. Just a variation of gym kit. Well, I only get three a day so might as well use them all....

Bloody Hell! Somebody actually agrees with me for a change and that is not to knock the great managerial job that he is doing here. Maybe we should appoint Gerard Houllier as DoF to help Nigel, a role that should work for Houllier as well despite his fragility. Nicola... over to you to sort out the details.... After all he helped discover and groom most of the French tam that won the World Cup and European Cup a few years back.

Why does this thread bring to mind the great lately-departed Lord Duckhunter? Best grass, best food, best hospitality... the one thing he forgot was we played not the best football! Who was that Welsh comedian bloke (Max Boyce?) who used to patronise the England Rugby Team of the 70's by saying: "We may have beaten you but at least you had the best jerseys!"

The biggest threat will be injuries and a lack of quality in depth in midfield. Lose Lallana or Schneiderlin through injury for any length of time and we could struggle. Keeping them 100% fueled up for 46 games will be a very big 'Ask' and of course we can't by the law of sod.

Wrong. Not even Cortese would expect top whack before he can guarantee a full house. Competition for spaces it's called. My guess is it won't be a blanket increase of 20% but a variable rate depending on position and seat cost, say 25/30% on higher value tickets and maybe only 10/15% on lower value tickets. That way you don't lose those least able to pay and the rich bastards can subsidise the poor. It's called being decent and democratic if you're poor and soaking withe **** if you're rich. A time honoured principle and imaginative unlike the football we'll get to see.

Never heard of a free press then? Hadn't got you down as a bigot. What ya wanna do, pick on them when things are goinfg badly?

I think we have to look deeper than the surface on this. Wenger will be under tremendous pressure after a very disappointing season and it remains to be seen whether the restructured ownership at Highbury still buy into Arsene's philosophy of buying in good cheap youngsters and turning then into superstars who form the basis of a team that win everything... Except of course that THEY DON"T! This is the big question and if they decide it's time to call it quits, Wenger may well be shown the door (in a gentlemanly fashion of course like being retired upstairs to be Head of Yuf Development or some-such hollow title. If Wenger goes then expect Arsenal to adopt new policies and start buying in more experienced players from overseas like their rivals and Yuf will fo now have had it's day there. We keep getting told that Arsenal 'have no money' so in these circumstances £10m for Oxo makes as much sense as watching England play test cricket against Sierra Leone on a wet Wednesday. My guess is either; (a) The Echo is stirring to get some sales in this dead part of the year (b) Oxo's dad is panicking 'cos he knows his lad is the last thing on the minds of Arsenal's management right now The other question is his own demeanour - he looked very happy indeed at the Walsall match and was clearly delighted to be part of a winning team on the up. Nor is it affecting his England career being in a lower division, so from his perspective "what's to worry about yet?" "Money", I hear you say, "Money" I'm sure he's getting more than £30 a week as well, Cortese is far from being naive fool of that you can be very well assured.

This thread is the greatest feat of self-delusion in the history of this halucinogenic website. The idea is so preposterous that it can be taken seriously only by those who are permanently ****ed out of their heads. For goodness sakes guys get real and grow up.

Why would they sell when they could walk the league next season. Don't be surprised if they repeat what they did in 05/06