CHAPEL END CHARLIE

Deckchairs -Titanic , you fill in the rest . I'm assuming this type of pointless rehash doesn't cost very much , if I'm wrong and we've wasted serious money on it then someone wants shooting . It should go without saying that any spare cash the club has should be spent on the team or maybe the 'overdraft' .

I'm really not looking forward to the game and fancy us to lose 3-1 , or 4-0 if Paul Wotton and BWP get selected again .

What you say is all true , but I'm struggling to see the funny side or indeed to cease caring .

It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when genuine Saints fans start to feel like this , and a damning indictment to those who're responsible for our much loved club's decline .

If we get any half decent offer for Surman he (and Lallana , Schniederlin ...etc) will be gone at some stage , that's as plain as the nose on your face . But don't for one minute believe this will solve SFC's underlying problems however . £1m/£2m will just keep this cycle of decline going for a few months more - the team's results will get even worse and the 'gate' and income as a consequence will get smaller . Next March the club will have to try and sell some season tickets - any takers ? Ultimatly this grand old club is heading for both Administration and relegation -sooner rather than later IMO , unless something changes PDQ .

This is quite a familiar argument , I can't say I agree with it . The laws of the game apply equally at all levels of football , from the local park to the Premier League (at least in theory) - a fouls a foul wherever it's committed . As for the standard of refereeing lets just say I'm not entirely convinced it improves very much the higher you go in the game . Where does it say pretty football gets more protection in the PL - Stoke did beat the Arsenal recently . The more you think about it the dafter it gets , would DMG score 20 goals a season in the PL ? do we really believe Simon Gillett is going to boss the midfield against Chelsea , or even Fulham for that matter ? You only have to watch MOTD on any given Saturday to see just how good the standard is at the top now , and let's face it we're miles off .

Buy you're (deliberately ?) confusing two separate issues . If you are referring to post 43 in your 'read my posts' advice (which I have) this seems to be a piece principally regarding Bassett's reported willingness to work with Sir Clive should he have become SFC manager - clearly this is quite a separate issue to Rupert Lowe pressurising his managers/coaches into selecting young players they do not feel are ready for the first team . I can only suggest you reread the thread starter . I must repeat the club Chairman attempting to pick the team is most certainly a major issue at any football club and characterising it as a 'storm in a teacup' seems to me an excessively generous interpretation for any Saints fan to make . I'm reminded of World War Two being described as 'a little local difficulty' !

Football club Chairman attempting to pressurise his manager into selecting players he does not want to play , and you consider that a 'storm in a teacup' . Is there anything Rupert Lowe could do that would upset you ? :confused: I would have thought most fair minded fans could agree that was quite a major issue at any football club at any time , but each to his own I suppose .

I recall last summer if anyone dared to suggest that Rupert Lowe was in effect acting as de facto Director of Football and interfering directly in team affairs you could guarantee an instant chorus of complaint from the usual suspects (Nickh , Professor , Faz.... etc) that any such notion was in error - I'd be interested to hear if they still maintain that point of view in light of this evidence . It remains my point of view that the structure of the club with a business man making crucial football decisions is fundamentally flawed both in concept and practice . As was said at the time - this can only end badly .

It's my opinion that were Leon Crouch still Chairman at least one of Rasiak , John or Saganowski would still be at the club - with LC paying their wages from his own pocket if necessary . Needless to say that's not a very likely eventuality with Lowe & Wilde calling the shots .

If Poortvliet were to leave you can bet your last dollar Stuart Henderson would replace him .

Why should he doubt his team selections or tactics ? - apparently each poor result is all down to 'bad luck' , so there's obviously no need to change anything and we only have to wait a little longer for that hammering we're due to dish out to make it's promised appearance and everything will be fine .

It's perfectly normal for fans to be disappointed when their team losses but the sense of unease goes much deeper than that - and with good reason . Yes we created 3 or 4 half chances yesterday but that's a pretty poor return for a home side playing against a nothing special opposition is it not ? May I remind you we've won only one home game this season and should Watford get anything at Swansea today we'll be back in the bottom three again , some might say we're in grave danger of staying there . So a 'dramatic over reaction' - or are you being complacent ?

4-3-3 could be an effective system to employ - if you have the right players . Clearly we don't have the necessary top players needed to utilise this formation so persisting with it in the face of repeated failures (at SMS anyway) is an act of total folly . IMO Jan Poortvliet has to change the system - or we change him for another manager with a surer grip on the realities of British football .

Too depressed to give any in depth match review or player ratings , suffice it to say the best team won and we hardly created anything of note . Answers on a post card please as to why Paul Wotton or Badly Wrong-Phillips ever get to play for this grand old club - and please for the love of God can we try that revolutionary 4-4-2 system at SMS every now and then :mad:

You make it sound like a player is akin to a piece of land or property - there to disposed of to the highest bidder . A player is not merely a disposable asset on a spread sheet , they're human beings signed to a legally binding contract and if they don't want to move there's nothing a football club can do to move them .

We better get the leaving cards in then .

You're right a consistent level of performance is key (as long as that's consistently good that is) and to be fair we have seen a few good performances at SMS this season . The problem is they haven't been able to maintain any decent standard , that goes for both team and individual players . DMG's form is all over the place to be honest and impressive early displays for both Robertson and Peckhart have not been repeated . So beware optimism when it comes to SFC this season , the last time I felt that sense was just before Blackpool FC came to SMS and we went straight back to square one again . It goes without saying I'd be delighted to be proved wrong of course .

Only if you believe there's a direct coralation between the managers wages and team performance - which I don't by the way . Just as likely a new manager will improve Watford's performance level , at least in the short term .

I take it McGoldrick received the customary yellow card for taking his shirt off ?

I'll swap my poor spelling for your equally poor grammar . http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/homophones2.htm Here endeth the lesson .

Not sure if this is common knowledge or not but it seems JV has found another club back home in Columbia . http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team?id=2919&cc=5739 Not hugely popular on here last season but I liked him .

I've just been watching Stoke v Arsenal on MOTD and Stoke scored yet again (indirectly) from a Delap long throw-in . I seem to remember we used this tactic frequently while he was with us and very little ever came from it :confused: . Interested to read your opinions as to why Rory's long throw-ins are now so devastatingly effective for Stoke City FC and were so ineffective for the Saints - what's changed ?

It's a season-long loan with Watford having an option to purchase in January . I'd be surprised if we ever saw Rasiak playing for SFC again .

Well done Saints , I'm simultaneously pleased and amazed ! It would be very nice if we could do this kind of thing at SMS every now and then .