stu0x

You quite simply cannot irreperably damage your iphone by jailbreaking it. It's a software fix, not hardware. The very worst case scenario is you 'brick' it (usually something like it goes into an endless springboard launch cycle, so you just have the apple logo on your screen forever). All you do is restore it, and it's back to normal. Have things like Appsync been updated yet? I jailbroke my old 3G, but I found using installous to download directly onto the device quite a chore... much easier to use Appsync and just download on your PC, drag into itunes, then sync. But I think the most recent iteration of Itunes broke Appsync, at least temporarily.

Won't happen. Which is a shame, because he's a very good player. If we could take him on a season loan with first option if we get promoted, it would be a superb deal, as I believe he has the potential to develop into a first choice premiership player, and the timing would be right for it to be with us. It's all very well having the Academy and developing 15 year olds, but we should also be looking very seriously at 19-21 year olds (particularly ones with PL experience, however brief) as they are the right age that we should be looking at to form the bedrock of our first team when we get there.

Everyone's a betting pro until the season starts. This time last year what odds would you have gotten on Liverpool finishing 7th? They had shorter odds to win a league and cup double. How did that work out again? We are arguably favourites (I like Wednesday as well), but no more. Beyond that, anyone who thinks there is any certainty over *thirty six games* is a fool. Still, I might be wrong. That must be why there are so many bookies in business, because the punter always wins! Can I interest you in some magic beans?

ML and NC have been clear from the start that they want to run Saints as a 'proper' business. So we don't just "have the money anyway". 8m would be a massive return on Lallana, and definitely worth it. We could do our entire summer business with the payout and have cash left over. Would you rather have Lallana or 5+ absolutely top drawer first-XI players? No brainer. Even if you consider Lallana as the best left midfielder in the league last season (which personally I do, I'm a big fan of his), you could replace him for 1-2m, guaranteed.

Why do they? If they contributed next-to-nothing, what is the point in bringing in replacements? To do equally nothing? If we bring in one wide midfielder and one centre back (both of which I would anticipate us doing), all of those players are essentially obsolete. You don't need to replace them all man for man if they weren't all first team starters.

True, but how many of those (who haven't susbsequently been replaced) played any significant part for us last season? Our squad was bloated and a lot of those released were dead wood.

Which makes sense, given the mens' final is on Sunday. I agree though, that definitely wasn't Heskey on Saturday. Looked far more like Mike Tyson.

I must have missed something here... is/was Connolly only on a season long deal? A squad of 23 should be 2 players in each position, plus a keeper. You can afford to have an average 'cover' player provided you've got very able cover from one of the other positions. ie between them Lallana, Dickson and Harding provide excellent options on the left as any 2 out of 3, so you can afford to use the fourth left sided spot (either lb or lm) to develop a youngster. On that basis I would say we are between 3 and 5 players short of a squad of 23 that should be favourite against any other this season.

Just for all the obvious legal experts on here - you do realise that sentencing is decided by the COURTS, don't you? It has nothing to do with the Police/CPS. I also find truly hilarious the suggestion on this thread that apparently the Police shouldn't have bothered investigating this matter, and by doing so they're demonstrating they are over-resourced. You know, given it was a major incident that made the press and involved large-scale offending, and all that. What else should they not bother investigating, out of interest? On that basis, the odd poxy rape or murder doesn't seem like a very good use of resources. Probably very little. The Courts often take the approach when it comes to assaults/offences against Police that they should almost expect it. Whereas every other judicial system in the world punishes offending against the Police extra-harshly (on the basis that it's an attack on a representative of the crown etc), in the UK they tend to be more lenient, not less. Bizarre. Stu, just out of interest (as you seem to have a great deal personally invested in this matter), have you actually seen the video footage from the EGs? You seem to refer repeatedly to 'throwing coins' as the (only) thing that these people did - is that based on what they said, or what has actually been proven? I'm asking the question in all seriousness, I know very little about this matter and on the face of it the sentences do seem strong. Having said that, one thing I do know about disorder is you'll never ever get to the truth of the extent what happened unless it's captured on video, and even then often not 100%, so I would just be naturally sceptical of an acertation that 'all they did was throw a coin'. And incidentally FYI, Violent Disorder is a far more 'serious' offence than Criminal Damage, and encapsulates disorder as a whole (obviously) - the fact that they weren't separately charged with criminal damage does not mean that any damage caused (or indeed any assaults committed) are not taken into consideration in the sentencing - quite the opposite.

With all due respect to the 'black or white brigade', perhaps both are true? If the club wishes to run an installment plan, there will be costs involved. No getting around that. There are essentially two options: 1) run your own, which is a ballache and probably what the 'high administrative costs' refer to. The club would have to jump through a whole load of hoops getting itself accredited as a financier, etc. The club then absorbs the costs. 2) Farm one out to a third party finance company, who will either a) bill the club a rate per ticket (so again, incurring costs on the part of the club) or b) whack an interest rate onto the repayment terms (which means the fan, not the club, pay the cost). Now, obviously option b is what you're all banging on about, but before we all get quite so foamy mouthed, it might be worth thinking about reasons why option b would NOT be attractive to the club. It involves a third party (a finance company no less) in the fundamental running of a major income stream of the club. It gives that third party essentially carte-blanche in respect of its terms. It places the club in a situation where it is reliant on said finance company to 'play by the rules', not take the **** in relation to interest rates, terms, cancelling tickets of people who miss one payment, selling the whole scheme on to a fourth party, etc etc, and not least remain solvent themselves. Now, would anyone care to look at recent horror stories involving football clubs and financial third parties and volunteer a reason as to why that might not look like such a rosy option for our current owner (who, lest we forget, bailed the club out of the atrociously financially mismanaged scheisse it was in less than 12 months ago)?? If I was in his boat, there is absolutely no way I would hand over such a fundamental and emotive issue such as administration of season tickets to someone else. I mean, can you imagine what would happen if they allowed a third party to manage the scheme, who then proceeded a few months down the line to load on stealth interest rates, start calling in the debt, sell the obligation to a further organisation (like one of those lovely hedge fund things), cancelling on obscure terms, or even going out of business? Net result is a lot of very ****ed off Saints fans who have paid out hundreds and whose tickets are no longer worth more than arse-paper. And I wonder who would be getting the blame in these circumstances? This forum would be FULL of threads complaining about how ML/NC/SFC have 'robbed' them. Not 'Ocean Finance are a bunch of dodgy ****ers, whoever knew they'd end up charging me 28% APR? We should never have gotten into bed with them in the first place', I would wager. So essentially, when you realise how utterly unattractive that option is to the club, you're left with the sole option of the club footing the bill. Which, to be frank, is simply not worth it for them. As has previously been said, if you really want to pay in installments, walk into a high street bank (or get onto one of those newfangled innerweb things) and get yourself a personal loan. Better terms, better interest rate, and less likely to disappear/do something truly shyster-ish than a third party finance company. When that option is so clearly available, why would the club want to go through the massive grief and aggravation of running its own finance plan? Long story short? There *is* a way it could be done without cost to the club. But for various reasons it's simply not an option the club would consider. So, in essence, there isn't. Now recommence flaming.

fixed

Probably because he wasn't actually 15/16 at the time. It's amazing how many African footballers are so good at such an early age (and oddly enough have the bodies of someone 5 years older as well...), but they all seem to peak at about '20'.

Exactly. If he does come, that then gives us a left-sided option of Lallana and Dickson, or Lallana and Harding, or Dickson and Harding. All of which will come in useful at various points during the season. I'd expect Mills to go somewhere on a season loan (with a recall clause just in case) where he's likely to be first choice, and Molyneux to decay slowly in the reserves/get the hint and find himself a new club.

To be fair, Maxwell is miles better than 95% of professional fullbacks. Back on topic... just a punt, but I'd assume that the whole administration process will have put paid to any historical sell-on clauses etc... SLH not existing any more and all that.

More likely Andronikou valued it at £20m and then wrote it off, just to tune up the taxman.

Well, he was sporadically good enough to make it into the PFA Team of the Year. I don't know why so many people are so down on Puncheon. I don't get to many games, so often only get to see highlights. But Puncheon always seemed to be in them. And on the basis that they were in fact 'highlights' (and usually the bits before goals), that's surely a good thing? If he always features in the build up to shots on target/goals, I couldn't really give a monkeys what he does during the other bits.

He's given more than one interview saying how he's looking forward to returning to Fiorentina and "a higher level of football". At no stage has he mentioned even a wish or possibility to stay.

Pardew has already said he wants two players in each position. I'd say Armitage's list of guaranteed first teamers is pretty spot on. Barnard has a year left on his contract. AP doesn't seem to fancy him as a first choice partner for Rickie, having said that he has played a good number of games (even if he does get subbed each time), and does score goals. I'd anticipate him staying on, on the basis that he'll either 'prove' himself as a first choice player or become a very useful rotation player, AP won't want to have to rely on Lambert as much as he has this season. Connolly is injury prone and won't manage a whole season, but again does have obvious quality so is likely to stay, again as a rotation player. So one first choice striker to come in to compete with Barnard for that second spot. I can see him looking to retain Antonio if the terms are right, he's improved massively recently and that covers 3 of the 4 wide players (with Lallana and Puncheon). AP doesn't seem to rate Holmes (understandably), so he'll look to move him on and fill that 4th berth, either with a young player or a 'low profile' cheap transfer/loan of an out of favour player. Waigo will go, he has no interest in staying and (imo) isn't good enough so that's fine. In the middle, Spiderman will stay as first choice. New 'high profile' first choice central midfielder to compete with/take Hammond's place, and probably another 'low profile' signing or promoted youth player in the fourth berth. I can see Wotton remaining as 'cover', and the remaining midfield also-rans (Gillett, Pulis etc) to be moved on. Harding seems a guarantee at left back, with Mills deputising. Fonte guaranteed in the middle. New 'high profile' centre back to take the pressure off (and gradually replace) "Mumm-raa" Jaidi, with Seabourne as the 4th (and, imo, a lot to prove). Aaron Martin to be the 'wild card'. Thomas gone. If Calderon comes, as seems likely, he'll go straight in on the right. Semi will be released along with Mr Glass. I can't see AP making a 2nd RB a priority, so I can see that being a 'fill in' job. No changes in keepers. Tomorrow I'll give you this week's euro millions numbers.

Keegan (or indeed anyone else) would be no *guarantee* of a better performance than Pardew. How about Steve Mclaren? He's looking pretty good right now. I bet no one on here (or anywhere) would have wanted him as manager 12 months ago, mind. The FACT of the matter is, this team this year performed to automatic-promotion level. If we hadn't already had the -10 (and therefore been out of contention), there is absolutely no way we would have fielded a weakened team against Gillingham. So even with the now-famous lack of preseason, terrible start to the finish, we would have ended the season in 2nd, and been promoted. I'm not quite sure how you improve on automatic promotion, or what it is that some people actually want. If you bin Pardew now, you are 90% sure to undo a good amount of the work that has been done this season. Show me a manager who has gone into a club and finished top 2 *in their first season*, and I'll show you a hundred who have gone into a performing club and turned it into a mediocre one. The FACTS are that under Pardew, this season the team has performed well enough to be promoted without the points penalty. Anything about any other manager is pure conjecture, nothing more.

he's a stone lighter for a start, and I don't think he did it by going on Weight Watchers

Interesting, I was just looking at the bottom of the Championship table for the same reason and thinking the opposite - ie there's no teams there that I think we wouldn't handle. QPR (on the off chance they get their acts together) and Palace are the toughest, but neither of them will get relegated so it's fine.

Lionel Messi

You mean other than the 3rd line?

It clearly wasn't a penalty. Watch what Edds does after he goes down. He gets up, the whistle goes, and THEN he immediately flings his arms open and looks about, as if to remonstrate with the ref. Why? Because he thinks the ref is blowing for a foul against him. He knows that there is no way it's a penalty, so the only possibility in his mind is that the ref is blowing up against him, presumably for raising a boot or similar (which would have been almost as harsh as what he actually did). After a second or so he realises that the ref is signalling for a penalty, and he just drops his hands, as if to say "ah... okay then".

Did you learn about the doctrine of sub judice while you were at it?