Charlie Wayman

Maybe it's me but did anybody else notice during Pardew's comments pre-Bolton on Tuesday night the detached and emotionless way in which he referred to Guly when describing how he would fit into the team? Very unenthusiastic would be my interpretation, which led me to think that maybe the Italian connection has come to the fore once again. Was this the work of Corteses and his pals in Italy? Maybe Cortese is now deciding who comes in and not Pardew? You never know, maybe he takes the view that very few of Pardew's buys have been a huge success. Shades of Delgado and Lowe...

Good to watch. OK, Bolton played their second string and we matched them but it was mainly Brit players v Brit players; if foreign imports had never happened this would have been a good measure of where we are. However, Bolton 2nd XI as seen last night will be about lower nPC level, if we do what we are supposed to do this season that's where our level is as well - so, no surprise at all that we about matched them but couldn't best them. What Buit the reality check for us in the Itchen was how far removed we are now even from the 'survival' level of the Premier League e.g., Fulham or Everton. Coyne's post match remarks were chilling when he said the CC competition begins seriously in the next round, suggesting that Bolton were strolling last night using the opportunity to get some of their second string match fit - and we still couldn't match them! Pardew seems to be seeing some very positive signs from this game. I'm not so sure, plenty of the same old flaws but Mills and Chamberlayne look like good prospects on their late showings. Rumours linking Lallana to Bolton won't have been assuaged by his 90 mins of daring-do - part of the courtship intended to impress Bolton even more? Come and get me in January?

What a load of old bull****e! Why these blokes expect us to swallow this crap is beyond me. If this spiel is a measure of his football quality as well don't raise your hopes too much. At least we can be honest and say "Who???" TFIH?

Slight correction "We are nowhere now!" "Playing the waiting game" is a not too subtle euphomism for the reality of our situation that the effing idiots who pass themselves off as scouts haven't got an effing clue about who to buy or which positions need filling! Either Pardew has targets or he has not. What on earth is the use of picking up any old player who just happens to have been released by a higher division club, whatever his pedigree. FFS we are supposed to be building a team to storm this league not just than handing out a set of kit to any bloody journeyman who happens to take the King's shilling? Somebody please tell me it's only a dream.

Today's 'word' from somebody who is friends with a former-player is that Pardew may be on his way. Don't shoot the messenger!

Not very helpful Mike, as you must realise real life isn't like that. Most people won't walk 20 yards to use a crossing. What is wrong is to knee-jerk to immediate conclusions about any links between this accident and the decision to allow normal traffic flows along Northam Road. The accident may or may not be related to non-closure. Pray for the lad's recovery...

You'd have to say on balance this was a woeful performance from players who are supposed to be the envy of this league, truth is we are just not good enough to win this league or gain promotion despite all the pre-season hype and bookies nonsensical odds. The only lad who acquitted himself well today was Lee Barnard and typical of Pardew no prizes for guessing who got taken off? Not his poster boy of course nor that cretin Puncheon. We struggled just like this last August, then it was blamed on the 10 points deficit being a 'mountain to climb'. What are the excuses going to be this time? Now if I was Cortese, I'd be clicking on 'Contacts" this evening. I remember Third Division football from the fifties and sixties and this is just like those days when you realise how difficult it will be to escape from it.

We should walk it, starting with a 5-1 win over Orient tomorrow and a 3-0 thrashing of Bolton on Tuesday. This league will be a cinch. The Carling Cup will be ours for the taking! Bring it on!

Quite! Some rivalries, jealousies and old scores about to be settled? Will he last long? Probably not, if fans of 'The Godfather' are to be believed!

Rather more than a few I'm afraid. Very little hope now of new permanent signings, in my view, after the sad events of the past two weeks even the future direction of our club must be open to question. Whatever assurances to the contrary have been given by "spokespersons' for the Liebherr family, the reality is that we are now under new ownership; the passion that Marcus brought with him that would have guaranteed funds to buy as and when necessary may not be shared by his inheritors. OK, so they might not pull the rug from under Nicola Cortese but Marcus was his mentor and that vital link has gone. Nicola may now be very much on his own as far as financing the club is concerned which means he only spends what he earns.

Either Saints are a wonder team with a crap manager or they have a brilliant manager but the team is crap. That's the only two explanations of today's abysmal performance. If you were booing who were you booing? For my money the team looked totally disinterested today like they couldn't give a toss whatever the result. If so looks like Pards has lost his authority which could be because the team sense he's only a couple more defeats away from being fired or walking. I'll wager that the next time we all troop up to SMS for a home league game he'll be history and we'll have some bloke called Angelino Spaghetti or some-such running the show.

Daily Telegraph has us down as clear favourites to win the league at 9-4 today. Nobody else even close. Sheff W at 7-1.

PS It is quite significant in my view that none of the BIG clubs have come in for AL in the way they did for Bridge, Walcott & Bale who were much younger than Adam when they were plucked away. With new concerns over the dearth of young English talent in the PL after the fiasco of Cape Town, surely at least one of the top six clubs will have considered whether he could do the job at the highest level? Although the jury may still be out it begins to look as 'though he hasn't quite got what it takes to be a top player by the judgement of Wenger, Ferguson and others who really know about world-class talented players. Let's face it Adam's had chances at U-21 level and not taken them. For my part he is certainly talented but also extremely unreliable, he has had good games when he shines like a star in the firmament but all too often has stinkers when he can disappear for large parts of games. He is however "one of ours" and that always gives me (and you - I hope) a very special buzz that you never quite get with imports from other cities. I loved Drew Surman for all his foibles and weaknesses and he loved us and it was a black day when he was sold to save our club and to no avail. Let's not lose Adam Lallana the same way otherwise we might begin to wonder why we trek up to SMS of a Saturday especially if your local serves better fries and cooler beer

If he shared a house with some bird, it is easy to understand why he'd want to sell up if they've ended their relationship. No self-respecting new partner would want to move into some other bird's nest. Let's be realistic, in the present depressed housing market it'll take ages to move his huse on anyway whatever it costs, so he won't be going anywhere soon - if it's sold by January he'll be lucky. If he does have itchy feet one would have thought that the end of year transfer window is when he is most likely to look at his options. If Saints are leading L1 by then and going like a tram he'll stay and see us through to the Championship. If all goes well after that why would he want to leave if there is a realistic prospect of leading us into the premiership withing two years? Relax, stop worrying and look forward to the day when he is fully fit again and trots out once more at SMS. If I'm wrong, Saints will only have themselves and AP to blame.

Plymouth know all about Third Divsion football and will be keen to start with a bang. Just like last season we are ill-prepared with players arriving too late to really gel with their team mates so expect over-enthusiasm to impress on their part, far too many loose passes as a result and not much cohesion in attack. Morgan will get booked in frustration as he contemplates another year of palying with averagely competent midfielders around him. We'll be vulnerable to set pieces again at the back especially from corners. We are so hyped up about our own abilities that we may not have prepared properly for Plymouth; if they come out fast at us we could be 2-0 down at halftime. This is likely to be our annual wake-up call in fact; if we draw 3-3 it would not surprise me but more likely we'll lose 2-1. Come Monday the Pardew out campaign could be in full swing on here

Aye! to that. The official programmes are in my view worthless tat that add nothing to the match day experience so i don't buy them. Years ago, I used to buy every one and store them away as souvenirs, how times have changed now that commercial interests outweigh every thing else. I'll give the fanzine a whirl if a seller is in prominence on Saturday but please no filth, keep it clean, make it funny, fill it with good information taht we can't get anywhere else, no trips down memory lane. We all loved Channon, Keegan, Paine and Le Toss but that was then and this is now, the best may be yet to come. Good Luck! A quid eh? Crikey! that used to buy two tickets at the Odeon and a nice F & C supper to follow, wrapped in an old copy of the Southern Evening Echo which you could read for free afterwards. If you were really lucky it would be the football edition.....

The rumour about AP is partly a no-brainer and partly rubbish. No-brainer because if we are not top by December it's obvious to all he'll be ousted; rubbish because a man of AP's calibre could still get a job in the top flight so if he was under sort of pressure from above now he'd be long gone. He needs a Third Division team like a hole in the head, it's us who need him. NC is no fool he realised it was a coup to grab AP

Surely Adam won't be short of offers, it'll only be a case of which one he picks.

So who will be 8, 11 & 13. Watch this space but it looks like three to come in during the next month. Maybe Scholes, Neville and Giggs? Rumours are flying in Salford.

What I wish to know is, why, if the club cannot afford an instalment plan that would help seriously needy Saints fans a way of buying their ST, can they afford to pay these muscle bound preening guys to strip off and admire each other's biceps (and... ????) in one of the most expensive resorts on this planet? And.... guess who's paying for all of this frivolity and bonhomie? Only those who cannot guess the answer will be admitted to the ground. I know, I know "Miserable Old Git Mark II"

You can park in City Centre Car parks for games for £4.50. I'm no spring chicken either but find the walk up and down is great exercise and there are always streams of fans walking up with me. At the end of the game by the time you get back to your car the traffic has died down a bit so that's more comfortable all round as well. A win-win situation unless you are one of those types who must be the first out of the car park.

So how many points at the end of August? I'm betting for 2

What the hell are you on about? This makes about as much sense as David Cameron

Brilliant Signing. Looks like Capello will want to be seen around SMS quite a lot in coming seasons, indeed he may want to play our whole squad if this goes on. Offer he couldn't refuse? Nothing to do with concrete and boots one hopes?? Just need Carrick and Barry now and that should do it!

Oh dear! I don't have time to read more than an Executive Summary old boy! We had to watch the Johnstone's Paint Trophy dry last year, is this to be the year of waiting for concrete to set? Please bring the shutter down on this thread, I knew more about Snr Corleone before.