Charlie Wayman

Test comes the week before players report back from training, when is that? If he stays or goes that's when we'll know for sure

On more careful reflection the delay looks to be administrative only. Soon, it will be exactly one year since the buy-out so it seems likely they are waiting for income flows from ticket sales to start to flow in the second year - which will be the 'first' fully operational year. The first year finances must have been somewhat artificial covered as it was by the settlement. I have been told (club) that no changes to seating or executive areas are scheduled, they have great difficulty selling what they've got available already.

For Holloway and Blackpool it is very much the case of "be careful what you wish for". I'd bet odds are less than 1-10 on for Holloway gone by December + Blackpool gone by January. They are about to get Tangerined!

Really odd! Why keep prices secret, it's always a take it or leave it situation anyway. I suppose they're hoping Pardew will sign a BIG NAME to boost interest and justify increases. Even our great Swiss Rollers must have cottoned on to the fact that we in Engerland are in a recession and soon to be taxed out of existence. Where will the money come from then, old thing? Any rise for the same old s**** in this climate cannot be justified as most of us had a zero inflation award this year. What's that? Inflation is running at 5% do I hear you say.. Just try putting up prices by 5% and reality will kich in big time.

Now I feel really sorry for my old Dad, he had to watch that lot playing as a kid. One size fits all kit did them no favours and a bit of running up and down and lifting weights might have come in handy. At least it's daytime so they did a bitmore than turn up of a Thursday evening to do a little bit of exercise ready for Saturday

Did we really offer £20m for James Milner? Wow!

With the sate of the £, I would suggest Bangladesh, Tibet and just possibly Papua New Giunea are the most affordable options

Surman is talented, fact! In fact, just the sort of reticent genius personality that Pardew loves to inspire. MacCartney couldn't do it 'cos he is a knumbskull street-fighter with nowhere near enough sensitivity to understand people management, especially those with fragile ego's. In the comfortable surroundings of HOME with a paternal arm around the shoulder Drew will blossom into a full international. He has vision to spare and can score goals from anywhere Bring him on!

Pardew are you watching? Get drew back to st mary's where he belongs! Failure at wolves? Ballacks! - his heart was here all the time

Bit of a let down for me with our claimed ambition. Would have hoped for West Ham or even Spuds, at least somebody from the Prem. Won't bother with this one.

The Pompey jibe is way below the belt, never been near the place. Saints stickers would ensure the trashing of my car. No chance of me going up the Spinnaker Tower to catch sight of Fart-on park either. Whichever way you look out it's still Portsmouth, Ugh!

SEASON TICKETS? Who like me is beginning to get very edgy about season tickets for next season? Why the delay? Cortese spoke of "stadium improvements" this summer, is that his code for the whole or much of the best seating areas in Itchen and Kingsland being re-developed for corporate and other high-added value seating arrangements? Is this the beginnings of the BIG SQUEEZE and BIG FREEZE-OUT of we ordinary fans in favour of the prawn sandwich fraternity or more likely the Swiss Cheese Fondue set? I need to know, You need to know... does anybody know what's going on down there? If we get moved, where to 'cos for sure nobody else in Itchen or Kingsland will give up prime positions to accommodate the rest of us?

I'm surprised Puncheon is staying, a one predictable trick pony if ever there was one. Amazing what gems lay hidden in Argyle reserves, one of the best premiership teams out there.

You ghastly Nerd! What have you got against Lloyd James, he was one of the very few people who really tried to keep us up last year. Big Loss, BIG mistake! Whose mistake we'll never know.

The "I's" have it! Stadium enhancements? That sounds to me like more corporate boxes and less seats for fans to help increase revenue. Me and my pals could be in the brown stuff as we have prime seats in the Itchen, safe bet we won't get them next season or at least not at a reasonable price. Ever felt you're about to be disenfranchised? I'd like to see an end to the dispute with The Echo 'though.. Come on guys on both sides, have a beer, chat, kiss and make up so we can all move on. McMenemy, "Shut the F(ishnets) Up!"

Not going myself as Pardew is certain to use the match as a last-gasp contract renewal session for squad players that frankly doesn't ring my bell at all. If he doesn't know who to kick out Rrse first by now he's a dimmer twit than I gave him credit for. See you all next season for more of the same!

I'll buy that. Nice One!

This thread rolls on and on, the boys in The Mail editorial offices must be ****ing themselves with mirth at how stupid are the leemings lining up to see who can jump furthest out from the edge of the cliff; how many are logged on to The Mail website to see if there are any 'latest' stories? Crikey, even the Big Mac's been suckered into opening his gob and spewing forth mumbo-jumbo gobbledy-gook although let's face it that's not too difficult! Truth is many people in football and the media will be jealous of where we are right now and will pull any trick in the book to try and destablisise our ship and stop it becoming a force again in football. Before you say 'Yep! Charlie's off with the little people again', always remember that when somebody wins, everyone else loses - Saints success in future will be at the expense of others. If you want to stop a juggernaut, best to do it before it gathers too much momentum.

I guess what's true for managers and players is also true for coaching staff, you get what you pay for and the best always want to go to the best clubs.

Nick, I'm sure you have worked with and under totally objective managers who have no emotion or compassion within their management style or decision-making; who to the rest of us seem ruthless unsympathetic bastards but we have to accept that these people exist, are not rare and make life very uncomfortable. Also they are usually far more successful than the rest of us. If NC is one of those then loyalty and tradition and all those metaphors go out the window. Id somebody needs to be 'shot at dawn' as a reminder to the others so be it. What we'd like and reality do not always co-incide!

Of course the Mail story is not a complete fabrication based on a whim. Week-in, week-out we never get a mention in the rag so you have to ask yourself why now? We really are not that interesting to Fleet Street so there must be some reason why they'd waste column inches writing about an also-ran Third Division team unless they have been fed something sensational with a promise of more to come. Pardew always says the right things and has been pretty adept at getting fans onside - witness his "I'm Southampton through and through... " comment on BBC 1 last Sunday during the (so-called) football match between two anonymous Second Division teams scrapping to hold on to their place in that division. BUT he has not delivered what clearly NC and therefore ML wanted, a quick route out of this abyss we are in and a short march to the premiership. As I and others noted last week, the structure of football finance and therefore football itself in this country is changing so fast that we are in very grave danger of being left behind - we need to be in at least the CCC before they declare independence from the football league and restyle themselves as Premier League B and soon after ban relegation and the entry of any clubs from lower orders of life and NC/ML will be aware of this better than any. Also there is a very strong possibility that we are now running at a significant loss especially if the money Pardew spent on players this year was only a loan from ML. Gates of 17,000 probably don't pay the 'rent' even with no stadium to finance. Of course, no manager can guarantee promotion next season; the uncomfortable truth is that this team has had almost as many woeful days as successful ones this season so clearly needs a big shake-up and NC's must get this right, "Do I trust AP to spend another £3million wisely enough to provide that guarantee when clearly the last £3 million he spent was only partially successful?" It's a difficult call, he may have decided "You've had your chance at becoming part of MY dream but what you gave me is not what I wanted" This would be especially true if NC/ML enjoy and envisaged Saints under a former premiership manager playing The Beautiful Game, which AP most definitely has not delivered. I like many others am fed up to the back teeth with the "aimless long ball up-and-under, direct style" that he's fallen back on which is so thoroughly unentertaining that it must bore the pants off everyone who has any love of football at all. You'll all pile in of course and plead that this is L1 so what do you expect but be honest with yourselves if our blokes could play football the beautiful way they would but it is obvious they can't and so won't be able to in the future either. In all these circumstances I could understand NC being irritated and edgy, he's got himself on a hook (judgement by ML) and must wake every morning asking himself how the breakthrough might come to get him off it. Failure next season would not be the end of Pardew alone so to NC another yaer of the same is a big risk especially if his boss is prepared to cut him another year's slack on his budget. I mean, these guys are not playing loyalty games, when they came in they envisaged us being top six in the PL challenging ManC and Spurs not 7th in the Turd Division competing with Accrington Effing Stanley and Aldershot.

Pardew Out! Cortese Out!

League I winners 2011 my Rrse! Lack of effort was appalling. Tanking wossers, sell the bloody lot of them!

Totally agree with you,very succinctly put and a voice of common sense and levelheadedness. The issues have not changed at all, it is very unlikely any of the newcomers expected success in their first season here. If we end up next season in mid-table then it's a whole new ball game. Niggling at the back of my mind is the new threat of the CCC breaking away from the FL and going it alone as a sort of Premier League Lights. We need to get back there fast to make sure if there is another huge cash bandwagon about to roll we are aboard. Nor can we expect Herr Liebherr to hang around for long if effectively LI and LII become even more disenfranchised fro the main action in England.

Apparently a lot of you lads are "in the know" through insider contcats at the Club so... Any steer on when we'll be sent Season Ticket apps?