saintmatt

This time can we learn to accept that there's very little we can do about the bigger clubs bullying us and just enjoy it The law of the jungle has existed in all walks of life since day dot; the structures in football are the problem, not the club itself

Great news on the face of it but... does anyone have a snapshot of the fan reaction when we appointed Pellegrino?

Spot on

Bump Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1. Rasiak/Derby away 2. Lambert/Pompey away 3. Gabbiadini/Swansea away 4. Beattie/Pompey home- first derby at SMS 5. Le Tiss/Arsenal home Great thread to read and reminisce!

Is Ryan Shawcross still any good? Didn't watch the Stoke match today but saw he was interviewed afterwards (BBC website) Worth a punt if people are worried about needing a hard bast*rd leader at the back?

Take it a step further- we as fans could consider ourselves lucky we have such a competent board in place that we don't consider such signings. Life after all is just a series of events that happen by chance, is it not? The butterfly effect.

I accept France have a wealth of talent in his position, but who’s to say his development, or perceived ability, would not have warranted at least a place in the squad? I wonder what Morgan is thinking now too. I believe his debut- and most of his appearances- were on our watch after all? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

“It’s got nothing to do with loyalty. Southampton are sh*t. Mid-table premier league club at best and I want champions league.” [emoji848]

But I prefer this one

What would your side be?

Really putting your b0ll0cks on the line there mate In the same vein can I change my choices to: - a good centre back - a good wingback - a good winger - a good forward We also shouldn't sign anyone bad

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44269285

Grealish Berahino/Benteke Chester Gibson

Terrible analogy. Are you seriously comparing a house to a company operating in a dynamic, fast-moving environment with pulls/pushes from all directions and multiple agendas to control/satisfy? Houses are fixed assets which exist (not operate) in markets typically well outside the control of the owner/decision-maker and where value is primarily driven by location. But even if we do persevere with what you’ve said: 1) les didn’t move in/inherit the house, he was there from 2010; and 2) when les took sole ownership, he did so under much harsher financial constraints - Cortese may have had the money to buy the best kitchen (and I accept he did nail the decision) but les was arguably off to IKEA for the bedrooms I think even the (respectful) anti-les brigade will be backing away from your arguments, so perhaps try again? (And that’s my three posts.) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it's just clicked with me too Oh, the irony

You do know there's a table out there which represents a very good proxy for a club's success (or otherwise) across a range of measures, including recruitment? It's the one we had four consecutive top 8 finishes in.

He'll attribute that to the cortese after effect because it fits his narrative Don't get me wrong, I like cortese, but I also recognise he was operating with far more (financial) freedom - the purse strings were tightened after he left; that's why he left Seriously cannot understand the negative views (and in some cases outright vitriol) pouring les' way - yes it was a bad season but we all make mistakes and he's done more than enough to justify his position imo

Critically the £36m would usually also have to be paid upfront and in full to activate the clause. This can kill the deal with some clubs who cash flow based on transfer fees (in and out) spread over x amount of years.

If I remember rightly, flybe "gave the stadium back to the fans" Translation: didn't want to pay the extra for stadium-naming rights (for a then mid-table championship team)

Deserves our support and another season The guy was the one constant throughout our rise to 6th ffs

I'm torn + We did create chances (early on at least) + We did have bad luck + He did seem like a nice chap; showed a quiet dignity and signed autographs when hounded by the fans by the coach at Newcastle away ? The team/morale he inherited - Apparent lack of charisma - Sleep walking mentality; I understand he couldn't show all out panic about relegation but some acknowledgment of concern would've been reassuring - Hanging on for a payoff; I understand him doing this but I'd imagine he would have gone sooner if he'd been more reasonable on the payoff compromise The "worst manager ever" comments are probably a lot to do with the recency effect imo - similar happens with those who say "that was the worst I've ever seen Saints play" after every poor performance (also imo)

We should get Unai Emery

*5...

Probably already mentioned but table was as follows after 33 played Swansea -19GD 33PTS -------------------------- Saints -20GD 28PTS Man City 6-0 Swansea was more significant than any of us knew at the time