Charlie Wayman

Exactly how do you "avoid going up"? That's a concept I can't quite get my head around unless you're talking about match fixing! I'm hoping we can avoid going down but after that will take anything on offer. Evidently the current team couldn't beat ManUre's 2nd XI so no chance they could survive in the PL so the answer to your question is 'No'. We must build a PL squad before we get promotion not when we get there and are struggling to survive.

All any of you need to remind yourselves is that every team that went up via the play-offs for the past 6 years has come staright back down again. talking about the top six is therefore futile. Talk about the top two and you might be getting somewhere but not top 6 and let's get real, saints will ne tbe top 2 for sure. I'd guess Cardiff to win it and Swansea for auto. Yep, I know that means Reading to go up next weekend and then down again next year! The south's version of Yo-Yo specialists WBA Brum, WHU and Blackpool are most likely to implode and sink to mid-table as players stampede for the exit door and managerial changes.

I wondered who that plank was who kept driving past me and honking his horn. It's normally very quiet in Chilbolton Avenue so I thought I'd better put you straight before or all your horny mates turn up with their old bangers honking the place out! It was not Nigel Adkins it was me!

This is great news. David Connolly is a really nice bloke and will be good for the dressing room. He's a trier, he's blessed with rare skills and never stops running: let's wish him well with fitness this season. 20 goals from him and we should get the 46 points minimum we need to stay up. What a choice to have to make, David Connolly or Lee Barnard, two very similar types of players all fired up, that'll keep No 7 honest for sure although I don't see it as a problem as Ricky Lambert just keeps improving every game. In fantasy land I would prefer Michael Owen as the fox-in-the-box but for now David Connolly will do me just fine. I like him, I like his attitude, I love his goals - what's not to like?

The aim of course is to knock balls into spaces where we do have players which is why Morgan Schneiderlin may well turn out to be the best midfielder we ever had here. It's called looking around you long before you receive and pass the ball - not a difficult skill to acquire especially by one with international pretensions. Anders was an enigma, some time she appeared to be classy but on too many other occasions he clearly bottled out of tackles or couldn't be arsed to run and tackle so letting oppos run past him into dangerous areas. Overall verdict: a flawed artists who flattered to deceive - 4/10

;-))

It's not just football, it's everything, shows, restaurants you name it every bugger wants you to book in advance these days - always with a friggin' booking fee of course and penalty clauses if you decide on the night not to go. It's all a marketing con designed to scare you witless about not getting in so that you part with your money early; once they get it try getting it back! It works only because too many people are gullible or daft enough to fall for it; those who "must have" or "can't say no" screw the rest of us they never stop to reflect that it doesn't matter a toss whether you miss a game or not or don't go to a particular restaurant. Time after time when you arrive pre-booked there's always plenty of room and how annoying is that - very effing annoying!!! It's very rare to see a genuine sell-out. Sadly this nonsense of pre-booking costs everyone in the end not least the perpetrators 'cos as likely as not a lot of us get the hump and say "sod that for a load of ****" and don't bother to go anyway.

As always simply not bold enough in the clear-out so some expensive journeymen get retained whatever their past contribution and irrespective of our future needs. So with few going through the building "Exit" expect even fewer coming in through the "Entrance". Looks like every seat on that effing bus has an annoying. 'Reserved' ticket stuck on it! The retained list always gives some insight into what will happen next. This one suggests a lack of toughness in telling a player his time has come wahtever his past contribution - FFS we are not running a bloody retirement home - but taht's what you could expect when everyone has a smile on their faces? If they are all friends and mates together as one, it'll be like a 'flippin Masonic Circle - with no room for anybody trying to break into it.... ... and inevitable it means we have not freed up any wage bill constraints to add some bigger signings. For this announcement read "more of the same", "no change", "we're good enough as we are to do a 'Norwich' etc. I hope they are right, 'cos we won't have much say in it yet are expected to shell out another £5/600 to support their beliefs. 'Twas always thus - Saints fans get used to boots in the ballacks... one at a time lads, please!

Absolutely right. At the end of the day it's League 2 football and there's a recession on and biting deeper ever week. A lot of people are going to struggle this year and onwards and quite a few will lose jobs and committing to a ST for many right now would be considered by many non-footballing wives a luxury too far with such uncertainty ahead. You know the old cry - "cut out the fags and booze and look at all the money we can save" to go on holiday to some worthless despotic slumpit of a dog-****e beach or perhaps more meaningfully on a new pair of trousers for Wayne or dress for Tina.... 17500 tops in my view at start with maybe another thousand picking up the half-season bargains at Christmas if we're doing well enough to be in woth a shout od something worthwhile at the end.

You shouldn't spend the rest of your life knocking Harry Redknapp. He'e done well when given a free hand, the real trouble here was the constant meddling in team affairs by the Great Lord Duckhunter and his refusal to open up the clubs purse strings and allow HR some room for manoeuvre on players coming in on loan or acquisitions. Still the Great Lord never did "get it", that ultimately it isn't about running a business from the bottom line it's about running a half decent football team. You eternal slaggers off of HR should respect the fact that he has taken Spurs a long way beyond their level and ours when we beat Spurs here twice in a week in our Cup Final Season of 2003.

Mancini to take over apparently.. just heard on RTI

He is a trier but not very imaginative. Does most things in regulation style. Gtes up and down the wing, clatters wingers in midfield but looks like a penalty waiting to happen every time a fast winger runs at him in the final third. I worry that the NPL will find out both Frazer, Danny Butterfield and Dan Harding. On the other hand neither Gareth Bale or Wayne Bridge could defend to save their lives so no change there.

I expect - season tickets to go up 25% for starters. - the manager to say that we'll take each game as it comes - stopping at each bus stop to reflect no doubt. - very few (1 or 2) new players will come into the building and those that do will be unknown to most of us. - by Christmas we will be 14th in the NPL - the manager will say that league position is irrelevant and he never looks at it until the end of March - lots of moaning and groaning on here about why we aren't top of the NPL by the end of October - a significant " Adkins Out! lobby by November - lots of rumours about Chambo and Adam and Morgan ...so, quite a season in prospect!

Years ago when most were poo-pooing this player i was almost alone in aruing that he was the one real piece of class we had on uour books and wold be french captain one day and we;d do well to keep him out of the clutches of the gooners. 3 years on more of you seem to have woken up! Don't worry about losing chambo, worry about losing this guy!

The problem with all of this is if we want new players to come in then we have to reduce the wage bill and so a lot of these will have to be moved on. It is easier and cheaper to move on players who are out of contract so i don't expect many or any of these to say - certainly connolly on a one-year and maybe jaidi - but not the others. Sorry for the caps - not shouting, just finger trouble this morning.

Like forever hopefully. Why should Wenger have all the best French boys?

Why would we want to play in Green? Except KD of course

He hasn't impressed or done enough yet to justify a permanent signing that's for sure so a further loan is the best e could hope for. I wouldn't bother as the games that he's played so far have passed him by simply because the other players don't yet have any confidence in him to give him the ball. The stuff about Everton *& Bolton is usual SunCrap spun by his agent no doubt.

No! - he was just elated, looked very relaxed and very humble on the gantry standing next to us taking pictures on his mobile and chatting to us about what a great sight was 25000 people waving up at the team

It's more than the money 'though as it keeps at least 10 clubs fighting all the way rather than just the top 4 or 5. Similarly at the bottom so up to 20 clubs have something to play for all season

Hope they make it, great team easily good enough for the NPC. Could be better than us actually...

I kinda agree with you on this point, most of the teams in the bottom half play rough longish-ball physical football that for all the world looks like the stuff we've been used to in L1 and none of these unglamorous clubs seem to last very long. If I am correct only 7 teams have never been out of the PL and understandably all the best players tend to flock to them whilst all the the aging old journeymen who make up most of the clubs in the bottom half drift around from club-to-club as relegation and promotion take their course. Stoke's a good example with about 5 ex-Saints still playing despite us not being up there for 6 years. So they can't be very good teams can they and you are right just being like them in the future isn't very appealing at all. As for the girl of your dreams, best not to pine always for the prettiest as so often they can disappoint more!

How can you say that with Norwich promoted and Leeds and Millwall knocking on the door of the play-offs in their first season up? I think you've got it all wrong. I know what you're worried about but Saints will do just fine after they settle in any new players. What I think is clear is the gulf between BIG teams and SMALL teams, by BIG teams I mean those who have been in Division 1 at some stage of their history and the others who never gain the critical mass to do much more than find their level in the second division. The bigger teams can buy their way out of trouble in good times.

I was wrong.

We need talented young players to build a team for the Prem not a load of old timers serving out their time. 2/10 for effort 'though