Charlie Wayman

The reality is that 4 of the back 5 are way past their sell-by date and are embarrassingly slow and inflexible and dull witted even for this league and as for Harding... (expletives deleted!). Why do you all think he was free and nobody else wanted him? Bargain? Give me a break, he's just a journeyman and a poor one for that. So there you have it a defence made up of 4 old crocks who are too slow to catch a cold and useless bloke from Brighton who's career is on the Rocks.

FFS! WTFIGO? Simon Gillett not even used? FFS. WTFIGO?

FFS WTFIGO? I am so depressed already. WALOFW!

AP really talks him up in today's Echo, says "you can leave if you want to but I really want you to stay... " He'll stay, it's Sagalotski who will disappear now that Rick the Brick is here. Raz & Rick, something sounds good about that. Be very afraid 'Uddersfelt, very afraid!

I was hoping for Sammy Hypia rather than another unknown Chelsea reject

Most unfair. He's a holding midfielder and even blindfold he'd have more idea of where to pass the ball than Wotton. This lad has world class potential so it must be that AP prefers not to play all four "gifted" youngsters at the same time. It won't always be like that as James & Morgan are gaining in stature by the match and AP will soon be able to take the risk of playing all four. Even Lallana is showing some signs of consciousness. Lallana and James look the most likely to get wide and down to the corners, so the other three must fight it out for the two defensive midfield positions. Clearly, AP thinks the soleil shineth forth from the derriere of Monsieur Schneiderlan (nez brun?) so he's relatively safe - anyway he's French under-19 Skip so automatic choice nes pas?. Poor old Wotton was given the big wagging finger several times on Tuesday so clearly hos adys are numbered. We've played 1 important game so far when Simon Gillett came on as sub so he's not far away from a start and certainly not out of the picture.

They do. This year they outbid ITV and it'll be interesting to see how they manage all four leagues without everyone dozing off. I bet the Prem prima-donna's won't like sharing their spot with the pub teams from the Football League

WHO?????????????????

I'm beginning to be very fond of Alan Pardew, very fond indeed! He seems to call it just as common sense sees it. On Saturday Schneiderlen was outstanding, Lallana was utter sewage and it was clear to all that we needed a striker urgently. So what does AP do? Praises Schneiderlen as man of the match, castigates Lallana as being "able to do much better" and buys Lambert, the highest goal scorer in the league last year. At last a bloke with COMMON football SENSE. Oh, I do love to be a Saints fan with Alan Pardew at the helm.

Meme Meme

We've done this to death already. Try seraching other posts before starting up new ones

All very encouraging for Saints fans but it's a bit early to start raising the drawbridge. How many times have we seen new owners lose interest after 2/3 years when results are not quite working out and clubs are bleeding money through inadequate gate receipts and crippling wage bills. I am not suggesting our new owner is of this mold but we are living through precarious financial times indeed and if balance sheets start going south... just a thought to head of your sense of complacency. Just look up the road to see how the world of football club ownership really works.

Kelvin Davis is OUR CAPTAIN! Kelvin is The Rock on whom our future will be built. Kelvin will be here for a while... As good as it is to get an energetic and enthusiastic Murty on borad, he is only here for one year, maybe two so obviously we do not want to raise the spectre of an alternative captain however good he was in that role at Reading. Sensible guys that they are, I am sure they'll work something out between them when it comes to bossing the kids around!

You start to worry only when players like Jaidi say things like... "it was always my dream to play for the Saints". I'd much rather he said to McLeish, "Southampton, Boss? Where's that? Is it in Croatia or Bosnia?" Then we'll know he's sincere! Plymouth are Second division, Saints are Third, where would you go having just played at Emirates, Old Trafford and Anfield?

It's all a bit confusing as I bought extra tickets for Saturday in prime positions in Itchen yet ST's are still selling like hot cakes. What happens if somebody wants to buy ST's for the seats I've already booked for Millwall?

Great news as long as AP stays loyal to Chris Perry. With three new defenders it's getting a bit crowded back there. Guess Wotton may be on his way soon. There's only one Chris Perry

He can give his seat to whomever he pleases. Don't worry, just walk in.

He sold to the Fuller's Group. H was Lymington Precision Engineering. Don'y know thw figures but probably around £10/15M. Certainly not Football Club territory but more than I've got.

0-2 is exactly how I call it as well bearing in mind what we have seen so far in the build up. We are not ready; even if AP manages to bring in "two new faces this week" how on earth can anybody expect them to blend in by Saturday. Even Ronaldo & Beckham wouldn't alter the outcome that much Our lads were cream crackered yesterday 'cos the poor souls had to work too hard in training last week... effing dingbats, they're not even fit yet. I can see us being on -10 for quite some time and if we get turned over three times in the first week, boy we are going to struggle all the way. Mid table is where we are heading if this happens

Poor old AP, damned if you don't, damned if you do. If he cam with a preconceived list and signed them you'd moan because he knew nothing about Saints and how those blokes would fit in, now he is here give him some time to understand what he's got and what he needs.. We used to call it S.W.O.T. analysis in business and it didn't stand for Sign Worthless Old Tossers

Yeah! but Jimmy Greaves was crap, They've changed the offside rule since those days so 'goal-hangers' as we used to call them were made obsolete after that.

It is possible that; 1. Gregor Rasiak has transformed himself overnight from a disinterested bystander into a world-class striker who can score goals for fun. 2. AP has such an inspirational and articulated approach to player motivation that within 5 days of his arrival on the training ground, the proverbial 'arm round the shoulder' has magically altered the personality of this once recalcitrant egocentric 3. With a revised system of play that prevents the mid-field from retreating to their own 18-yard box every time their opponents get the ball, there is now less of a gap to the strikers so attacks can have substance and purpose. You take your choice but I'm backing the last of these, that players like Rasiak are more the victims or profiteers of the system of play they are in. Of course his crowning ability is to score goals in the manner of the two he netted on Saturday not to run about getting sweaty and knackered like a headless chicken. They were not gifts to a lazy sod but the result of getting balls with pace and height into the 6 yard box from wide angles so that the striker had at least a half decent chance to make something of them ... and he did! Don't under rate this guy because of past experience. No striker on earth is better than the system he plays in. Did he do a better job than John on Saturday? Statistically, Yes but as Saints were totally all at sea in the first half, it is not really a fair comparison as Rasiak would have struggled as well. Sometimes it's better to be a sub when things have settled down a bit.

Morgan played against Ajax and demonstrated that he has vision and ability aplenty, so much so in fact that AP would have automatically included him against Hearts had he been fit and willing. So which is it? I think he is far too good for this league and he is only a kid so why would he want to spend 5,6 or 7 years, i.e., his whole career, helping Saints get back to the Promised Land when he could develop and mature with a PL team like Arsenal with far brighter prospects over that period of time, more money, more medals, more international caps. Why would anybody want to be a professional footballer from abroad playing in a foreign country for a THIRD RATE team that his mates back home have never heard of, from a town they would struggle to find on a map. This is where we fans have to swallow hard and accept reality despite all the hoopla that goes with a rich new owner and a newly appointed manager eager to please. We are where we are and not where our hearts think we should be. Players have short careers in which every year counts and which could be their last because of the cruelties of fate and the whims of feckless and bigoted managers. Hay is made in the sunshine, which the French will know better than us as they have far more experience.

Shame on all those so-called fans on here who couldn't be arsed to turn up and watch at SMS yesterday. What a dismal turn-out for AP's first game. It depressed me, seeing so few so goodness only knows the effect it had o ourteam morale. If this is 'everyone behind our team' Southampton style, then we are well and truly Effed! Cheers to the 4,500 who care and sod the rest of you miserable, penny pinching sods.

... AND You keep needing to keep reminding yourself that we are in Division Effing 3! Forget all this re-branding sh*t* put out by the Football League over recent years. Perhaps that we have a realistic chance of ditching this charlatan 'new' Labour crap for ever next spring, maybe we can all get back to the centuries old tradition of calling a spade an Effing spade and being a shade more realistic about evreything. A healthy dose of realism does nobody any harm as we have found out the hard way this summer.