RobM

As with everything in life, you see what you expect to see. Many of our fans expect bad times and so when something bad happens, their immediate action is to say I told you so (or, I told you we will finish 17th...).

Feck knows indeed, but I have a feeling in my gut that Lambert wont start and we'll see Sharp and Guly up front.

Agreed. Nothing is certain until it cannot possibly go any other way, but if results go our way today (with the results you mention) and we beat Reading, it will take a big turnaround in form and fortune to prevent our promotion. Until it's certain though, it's not certain.

Rupert was right and therefore successful if the goal was standing still at best, moving backwards as the expectation. What we're doing now is the exact opposite of what Lowe did when it really mattered - we're investing for the future. After our FA Cup run and highest league finish, Lowe should have invested in the squad to consolidate our position. He didn't, we went backwards all the way to -10 in L1. Today, now, we're investing for next season. We've been investing for next season for three seasons and, shock-horror, we've moved forward. Yes, the spending is at a higher than normal rate, but when (next season, the season after perhaps) we are in the Prem and have secured our position, our spending levels will even out a bit. We will hopefully have a stable Prem squad and will only need to add occasionally, rather than in the numbers we have done now. This current level of spending is not permanent, but is definitely needed if we want to move forwards. Fortunately the spending is coming partly form the club, partly from the clubs owners, but we have no debt to service and seemingly more money to come. What's so bad about that?

To be fair, Holloway is an absolutely massive cockend.

Indeed we do. But one of the nicer, probably the only nice thing about the dead wood we've kept over previous seasons, is getting rid at the end of the season is a positive move. Now we're looking at letting go of talented players with big potential, it's just not as fun

Classic!

You'll also be reasonably confident that there is no chicken in it! Always reminds me of Chicken and Mushroom Pot Noodles, with 'Suitable for Vegetarians' on the label.

If that comes in, you've got sooo many reasons to celebrate!

Mind games indeed, on two counts. Firstly, by setting the expectations of WHam themselves. It's the same tactic ol' Saggy Chops uses when he gets a new job, when he starts off by saying how important it is to get new players because the current squad isn't good enough, that anything but relegation will be a success, that sort of nonsense. Sam is doing the same - he thinks that by claiming WHam have no chance of automatic promotion, nobody will be disappointed when that happens. Secondly, by hoping to get to our players and put doubts in their mind, put the pressure on, whatever works. He is counting on the pressure getting to us by saying it's ours to lose. With this and his comments about his own squad, about Lambert, you can't help but think that his efforts should be going to WHam and doing everything he can to win games. The more time he spends with this crap, the better for everyone... other than WHam.

That's probably because of what other fans read on forums such as this, rather than what happens on match day. If I'd never attended a game but read this forum, I'd think the same.

Agreed entirely. Your comment about P'Borough rings true too and hopefully playing WHam, a team that used to be top of the table (see what I did there...) will inspire them to bring their A-Game.

Love the look of that team!

And he starts today

Nigel with some of Strachans comments would be the ultimate for me. I like the fact that Nigel doesn't give much away, it's reassuringly professional. But with Strachan, you were always waiting in anticipation for the humour that was bound to come. Check this out for a reminder: http://mywordsonly.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/great-gordon-strachan-quotes.html

A really moving but great article. I think it's only right to link to the LJS Foundation page, just in case anybody wants to donate having read that: http://www.ljsfoundation.org.uk/

Falque. Still here, just not getting any chance to play.

Surely the opposite is true? Away from St.Marys the same old 'hardcore' supporters will be there, the plastics wont be. Perhaps a few new faces, but mostly the same as this season. At St.Marys though, you'll be sat around Premiership football fans just as much as Saints fans. I don't see this is a big deal, it just means you need to pay out for a season ticket if you're the sort who gets upset when they can't buy a ticket, or you need to get in quickly (it's first come, first served after all).

Ticket prices increase with every jump up a division, that's a fact of football. Even the newly promoted clubs are £10-15 more than us, QPR charge nearly double for some of their tickets (£65 for 'Platinum', whatever that is).

That says more about you than everyone else. To say you'd prefer to see somebody injured and bleeding after being hit by an object thrown at them, rather clap somebody off the field, really shows what you're all about.

It does make you wonder what's going through his mind, to make him think that was a good idea!

Never a better description.

Bingo. Nobody strives for second best. We want promotion to the Prem. When we're there, we will strive to establish ourselves there. Once done, we'll strive to be a top-half Prem team. Then we'll strive to be a top-five team. Nobody is saying this will be easy, nobody is saying it's possible, but it's not impossible so that's what we'll strive for. The day we stop striving to be better than we are and achieve greater things, is the day I stop supporting SFC.

If true, that suggests Lambert and Sharp cannot play together, or Sharp can only be a sub to come on later in games.