RobM

Don't be daft, it's nothing like it. Charlton don't play in red and white stripes

I quite like Stoke, simply because there are so many ex-Saints there! They also have a fine choice of home kit design

This is going to sound odd, but bear with me... I'm glad it hasn't been 100% smooth running. I have more confidence from the fact we've lost, been through some rough performances, haven't played 100% in all games and are still top of the league. I'd be concerned this was going to run out and may put it down to a temporary high from promotion if it had all been smooth running. But we've had to battle and scrap in some games and we have walked over others, looked superb at times and a class above some very good teams. It all gives me much more confidence that this is the real Saints What I want now is one or two additions to our permanent defensive and attacking options. If Jos does well between now and Jan, keep him. If not, we need a solid CB. With Jaidi and Martin as cover and hopefully Seaborne back soon, we have good enough cover. In attack, we need Barnie back to fitness and we need one other. If Lamber gets injured, we're screwed.

I don't think Beattie being an ex-Saint has anything to do with it. NC isn't that childish to put an internet and media fuelled spat ahead of good business. Heck, would he turn down Theo, Bale, AOC etc if they wanted and could come back to us, just because they are ex-Saints? Heck no. If the club think Beattie has something to offer they will talk to his people about a move. It's as simple as that. As for what Adkins said, he said they have not spoken to him. They may well have spoken to his agent though. And let's not rule out some good old fashioned hospitality. An ex-Saint who will still have links with some people at the club could well have been invited as a guest. He might even have been invited to train with us to keep his fitness. The one thing we can be absolutely sure of, is we know nothing about the situation.

This would be the quickest possible way of screwing up the team spirit and positive attitude we have at the club.

I kind of agree, but also see why Cortese would have gotten upset. It was in the public domain, as many similar planning applications are, but it wasn't reported in the press and was something you had to go looking for. Cortese wanted to do the 'big reveal' himself and make a song and a dance about how great the improvements are and the direction he is taking Staplewood, so asked the Echo not to publish their story. By all accounts they agreed to hold it, but then published it anyway. I can sympathise with him getting annoyed, but he did throw his toys out of the pram too much.

I'd love to see him as a defensive coach at Staplewood.

You could also argue that clubs / agents don't like him because he isn't a typical football man, wont be taken for a mug, wants the very best deal for the club and is prepared to walk away rather than bow down to agents, as far too many others seem willing to do. With the Echo, he showed that a local rag must be responsible in their reporting or else he will deny them their source of information. Pretty fair really, since they were reporting utter B.S. and Cortese has to protect the clubs name and image. The Programme cover was nothing more than a Chairmans update and thoughts being the main story. The person behind the main story - be it player, chairman, manager or kit man - has their face on the front cover. That's no different to any other story. Let's not forget we get very little information out of the club and have historically moaned about it, so let's not be too hard when they give us something. The car parking fiasco really isn't as bad as many make out. There are very, very few free car parks around, even in places you're arriving at to spend money. The charges at SMS are fair and we've always charged for match day parking, so I don't see the big deal in charging away from match days, rather than provide a free car park to all around. The sacking of Pardew turned out to be an extremely wise move, so I don't see how that can be held against him? As you say, he looked at all the options and decided Nige was the man. Seems to have worked well Cortese isn't beyond criticism and shouldn't be free from judgement, but some of the examples you've provided aren't, IMO, something to be critical of. Just a sound businessman making difficult but sensible decisions for his company.

Connolly is the better football player, Phillips is the better goal scorer. Connolly is the better human, Phillips is a ****. That's all.

That was a stroke of genius! To get that much cash for a player who didn't play that much in League 1 and not at all in the Championship was superb. We didn't miss him when he was out, we didn't need him at the start of this season, so I wouldn't say we lost him, but we certainly sold him for a superb amount of money.

Well Duh. Of course you don't leave an injured player in position. My point was I can appreciate a change in players anywhere else, even if the performance of the original player was good. But if fit the CB partnership should, IMO, be kept consistent. I genuinely didn't think anyone would fail to see that was my point.

Given he was out of favour at a weird club, went out on loan and did well and still couldn't get into that Celtic side, his confidence, mental-sharpness and match-sharpness must be down. The fact he seems to be improving with every game he plays for us is reassuring, I just hope he and Fonte continue to play together because on paper, they are a very good partnership. I'm all for squad rotation and 'using the squad', but the CB partnership is the one thing I think should be consistent.

Absolutely, bring back the traditional relegation battles, the tradition of watching our best players leave rather than commit to long contracts, the glory of looking down rather than up the league. Damn this stable, successful, forward-thinking nonsense.

Lallana has done more to earn his place there than Lambert has, however much I love Lambert (love, in a football supporters kinda way...). Lambert has more goals, but I'd bet a lot less if it weren't for Lallana. I'd vote to have both, but if we're arguing about merit, I think we've got it wrong. Nice problem to have, this must be how Adkins feels...

Not entirely surprising, given the knob 'fan' of ours representing us on their own forum. Some of their posters actually come across well and seem fairly honest of the situation.

Two points and two places behind with a four-goal worse goal difference, yet Brighton think they are the better team? Nutters.

He lives with James Beattie, just next door to Skacel.

Did anybody else laugh at the name? Just me...? And it's not really fair to blame Burley for Mario's lack of games. He was ****ed most of the time.

My thoughts... 1 - Absolutely agree, it's very easy to see and think what you want the truth to be. 2 - With the huge gap before the next game, there is nothing wrong with players having a social life and letting their hair down. 3 - Refer back to your first point. With this point 3, have you not jumped to the conclusion - without factual evidence - that Dan was drinking excessively. One night out doesn't mean it's excessive so I really wouldn't worry until we hear this sort of thing happening in the days before the next game. 9 days in advance is fine, IMO. But on the flip side, what good can come from a club applying strict control over a players entire life, preventing them from being themselves, prohibiting them from letting their hair down from time to time. Doing this when appropriate is an important part of their lives, if that's what they want to be doing. They are professional enough to know when it is OK and when it is most definitely not OK. 9 days before the next game is OK. If you try and control and restrict a player from doing this at times like this, you'll lose them.

I'm sure many of those will be from our very own starting lineups! It's nice to have that balance, it's not essential by any means. To answer the OP - Hooiveld. As much as I admire Martin, I'd like to see Hooiveld do well and form a solid partnership with Fonte and that has a better chance of happening if they both play together consistently and as much as possible.

Nice to see somebody take the time to respond like that. No real surprise that it was our own fans who did the provoking, but then it's usually idiots reacting to idiots so if our own fans didn't start it, theirs would have. As said by somebody else already, it really doesn't matter what the Police would have said, they will always be wrong in some peoples eyes.

How funny. Your argument against pretending to know the character of somebody, is to pretend to know the character of everyone.

How many top-flight teams did they regularly play for? How many Champions League appearances did they make? It's embarrassing to hear a Saints fan compare those young reserve team players (one who came through the ranks at Spurs without ever making the grade, the other who would be nowhere without his Dad's name) to somebody who has played at a high level for years. If Hooiveld had come straight from one of his previous clubs, rather than Celtic, we would be far more excited. It's only a bunch of forum users supporting a messed up, second-rate football club posting their judgement after very few games that has got us worried. We wanted a big, strong, left-footed CB who can pass the ball. We have one, with experience at a decent level. Don't forget the other players we have bought in the past who had questionable records at previous clubs. Chaplow, for instance.

I think NC will hope for promotion, expect us to be professional enough to try and win every game, but wont necessarily expect promotion this season. That doesn't mean that isn't the aim, as it should be the aim of every club in the league, but aims and expectations are not the same thing. Next season, if we're still in this league, will be very different and I think promotion will be expected.