Brussels Saint

Fair enough, though don't think I'm really misrepresenting the position. Rage is probably a bit strong, but most republicans I've met do seem quite angry. There is not much which gets me that worked up so I find it an odd thing for people to waste such emotion on. My guess (though admit could be wrong), is that many British people are fairly ambivalent about royalty and as such are happy with the status quo. True republicans make up such a small minority view that they probably realise it’s a futile hope and get angry because of it.

Most people in the UK are in favour of the monarchy by let’s be honest, a large margin. It’s good for us and importantly does its job well, without getting in the way or needing a lot of thought. As soon as the institution starts having anything more than a positive benign influence on our lives its fairly doomed. As such it will carry on certainly into Charles' & William's reign and probably beyond. Most British polls consistently have shown people inherently understand why this is a good thing. What I don't get is why republicans always seem so angry. I'm in favour of the royals, but republicans and their views don’t make me angry. It's good we have their balance, but why the rage?

It was Telfer for me. Could never understand how he could be selected above Fernandes, as I never saw any impact of his hard graft. However, simply put, Strachen knows more about football than me and as such I was wrong in not rating him. I understand and accept this. For me it's a shame the people who moan about Guly are not able to have their view, but fundamentally understand they are wrong on the basis NA is better at identifying a good footballer for his team than they are. It's fine to have an opinion and voice it, thats part of being a fan, but as some do, having a seemingly unwavering belief in their own viewpoint on a player seems to lack a lot of self awareness. On the other hand I think we can all agree McCann & Ripley were both pants and stuff the clueless managers who selected them!

Guly's best position is at the point of a diamond. I'm a fan of his, but also don't think we will see that much of him next season. Maybe a fair bit as a sub. For those who slated him last year or reckon he is a poor player, what do you think NA sees in him, playing him often, that you don't? NA is no idiot and if it's clear Guly is poor, why would he play him?

Good news if it works out. For me Jay Rodriguez is the most similar to Lambert as he can operate in a similar way, as a fulcrum for attack. Now if Lambert is injured/suspended we need to change our style. A lot of money, but I like this player.

Hypothetically, who would you rather have here, TF for the final year of his contract, or Tal Ben Haim on 36k/week? No saying "neither", its one or the other. For me its TF, we need some one who is good at setting up the cones.

I used to wear Thomas Pink pretty exclusively, but now just Charles Tyrwhitt. The quality/cut is excellent and as they sell most of their stuff online rather than from stores the company has low overheads and keeps the price down. Ah yes, double cuff always, unless its a slim fit.

Will be interesting to see if we do bring 2 keepers in. We all know TF is not up to it, but would it not make sense to keep him as the number 3 and just bring in an emergency loan if we get an injury?

One of my favourite non Saints players, but would still say no as simply too many injuries.

I think you could add Harding & Butters to the possibly list too.

My first reaction was yes take it. But after a few mins and the posts of St. Marco & Stattmeister, I'm now firmly in the no camp. Good work gents my position has been changed by the strength of your arguement! Of course a lot does depend on what we do in term of signings over the summer, but had 3 hopefully 4 players who are better than we currently have and we should expect 12th - 16th.

Terry Hurlock immortalised in latest statue at St. Mary's Local sculpter Ian Brennan was quoted as saying "......I think you'll all agree, its a better representation than my first effort"

I quite liked the cover too. Cortese fortunately is not just about front, he has a lot of competence to back it up with too. Anyway I always felt it was done to give the impression of how negotiations were made on the OXC deal. I think the details were announced either just before or just after. "15m Arsene, no more no less". I don't think any of us expected Cortese would get that much for him.

I've been out of this thread for a bit, hows it developing? Concensus reached yet?

Other than the Queen then, its a no.

I kind of take your point, but it is roughly what I'm saying. I think there are maybe 6 teams who each year have the potential to make the top 4. I can see us on an individual year maybe outperforming a couple of them, but never enough to push us higher. Best case a freak year like Evertons, but us being a top 4 team, just don't see it. Also I'm not 100% sure Cortese has ever stated his plan is to make us a CL club. The only thing I remember is him talking about the time he was sitting alone in the boardroom with Markus at the end of the day and him being shocked when Markus told him he wants us to be a CL club. It came across as a slightly misty eyed "what a guy" Markus was type story rather than a solid foundation for the future. I'm sure even Markus can dream a little and joke with his best mate whilst they share a few drinks at the end of the day, but unless he left us half a billion in that trust fund, its not going to happen. Not Markus' style and for me therefore, not going to happen. Now if Cortese comes out and makes a clear statement (like he did with the Prem plan) that the CL is the new goal, I'll maybe start to believe a bit, but until that point, its nonsense.

Thing is, unless dear old Markus called Nicky over on his deathbed and said "Here you are old pal, have half a billion (and this watch) for the Saints and take us all the way", it's substantially unlikely we will ever be able to compete at the top of the game. Such an action would have gone against a lifetimes habits of hard work, invention and Liebherr business acumen. Billionaire's are billionaires for a reason and whilst Markus has a track record full of ambition, he was at heart a practical businessman.

In the Prem, I think you still can though, so long as its pure infrastructure. Eventually though when we have completed investments in the academy, ground expansion, gold plated bogs etc. you are right, the big clubs will still have the advantages. My guess is the financial gap between the top (Man U, City, Arse, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs) and the middle (Villa, Everton, Newcastle and hopefully us) will be less. I dont think that means we will be able to compete for the top honours, but it should bring transfer fees and wages down and that helps the middle clubs just to run themselves more effectively.

"CL = Not a hope in hell. Anything else = Why not." Well put. My view exactly. Having read all of the various arguments, I can find no rationale that could ever see us qualifying for the CL. We however could quite possibly be challenging for a PL finish of 5-8 and a cup run every year. Thats a sustainable goal for a club of our size and whilst Cortese is here, I'm fairly confident we will do it. When he and the Liebherr family move on, the biggest gift they can give us, will be no debt and a sustainable business model.

My guess, is that it will help us in the Premier League, but not in the Championship. I believe the PL new rules prevents wealthy owners spending a lot on transfer fees and wages, but they can invest in infrastructure. As such, this then makes a more level playing field as it's unlikely we will go down the route of paying transfers in the 10s of millions. The Championship Fair Play rules, are different then the PL ones, as they cover total expenditure. Saints voted against probably due to the fact we seem happy to spend more than we earn, on projects such as the academy to help us get to the PL. If we were still in the Championship/L1 we could not have done what we did in the last 2 seasons due to the financial restrictions.

Off to watch The Sweden England game in Kiev. Car to Berlin with 2 mates, then the Kiev Express train (25hrs of Borat lunacy) followed by 3 days boozing. Staying with friends in Kiev, basically kids of the Liberal Ukrainian Elite (Dune would love them! - very different from the UK version), then 2 days to get back home. btw. I have 3 unused tickets to Sweden v France in Kiev if anyone wants them (I realise this is a long shot!). Happy to sell them at face value.

I would be amazed if we spent more than 15m on transfers, but it's going to be interesting to see the names we actually sign. We know targets are already in place and work has begun, so I'm fairly confident quality will be coming in. NC & NA up till now have been good at springing the surprises and whilst not all signings have worked, those we have spent relatively big on, have all been a success. I think we will see a fair bit of Jos & Chung type signings rather than Joey Barton and all hail that!

I really think Morgan will be our standout player next season. I also don't really buy the "Premiership is suited to him arguement", but just think he has developed so much recently. His tracking back at the start of the game to dismiss the Cov forward who got clear in the box was superb reading of the game. He is by far our best defensive midfielder and sitting in front of the back four with his excellent range of passing will make him dictate games. His style reminds me a lot of Xabi Alonso and whilst he is not yet of that quality, he's a very similar player. A lot of European & EPL teams actually play with 2 defensive central midfielders, a central striker and 2 attacking midfielders/forwards. I would like to see us do this next year, with a pure ball winner CM brought in alongside Morgan. The box to box CM and 2 genuine wide players seems a bit old fashioned in todays game. I think teams try to go to 4-5-1 when they dont have the ball and 4-3-3 when they do. Most of the time this means 2 CM players sat in front of the back 4.

Agree you would hope Fox stands a chance. Morgan for me, I think will be our stand out performer next year and that could easily get him recognised. The French FA have had him on their radar for a long time. Lee obviously has a good chance if he plays regularly which I think he will. Jos might be a good shout, as solid Prem displays will put him in the spotlight. Lallana, unfortunately I think is unlikely to get a call. I hope I'm wrong as he could be sensational, but my gut for some reason tells me its not going to happen. Ah yes and whomever our new RM will be, is going to be an international.

My guess is we are probably reading a bit too much into it. I think Nigel is a realist however and he knows Cortese could choose someone else (has the cash, ruthlessness, ambition etc) but he just really hopes he does not. As you say perhaps one of the first glimpses of an unguarded NA, who having got so close to a team of players and achieved so much, has a fear it might end here. NA knows his record was about L1 & the NPC, he now is just hoping he gets a chance in the Prem.