sydenhamssocks

Absolutely ! Not really bothered who manufactures them. Would just be nice have our true kit design back !!

A great place! Not so much a stadium but a real old football 'ground'. Atmosphere was like having an extra man. My first game there was 68 I think, a draw with dirty Leeds. Miss the old Dell club too. Great after wins when the man of the match would pop in.

Programme, Rosette,Ticket Stub, Various copies of the Echo and that vinyl album pictured earlier !

Taking coaching badges and occasional tv pundit in Scotland

Totally agree . Mind you the way this thread is going he's in danger of becoming popular at last !

Or Arsenal 6 - Saints 1 Arsenal 1 - Villa 3 Never works like that Will we beat Villa...course we will ! Depends what you compare the SPFL to ? There is a lot of life outside that division too. just as we found when we toured the provinces of the English lower leagues. Your example- Hibernian- are currently a poor set up with a manager hanging on by his fingertips. In better times could they have beaten Malmo- Possibly. Could they have beaten Swansea- definitely not, but that says more about Swansea than Hibernian or the SPFL

A good point well made. Football fans in Scotland don't think about the English prem all the time. They support their clubs and get on with it. With Clubs like Rangers and Hearts in financial crap there is now more young scottish talent getting a chance to play first team football and gain experience. It's a big turning point for the Scottish game which was ruined when Celtic And Rangers(the original) tried to copy England and brought in lots of foreign imports. In a lot of cases they picked up cheaper 2nd division Europeans and strangled the routes for home grown youth. Celtic apart, its possible there may be a return to days when the Strachans Dalglishs' Jordan's came south on a regular basis.

Well that's that then ! Scottish football operates differently to English. It's to do with population size and the amount of clubs in a small area v smaller crowds and less tv dosh . Hence the quality of player being somewhat lower. But it can still be entertaining on any given day and is enjoyed by those loyal to their clubs week in week out. There are a good few prem games over a season that are as dull as dishwater but that's the nature of the game I guess. As for Celtic today. I suspect Boruc and Wanyama and Hooper would have made a difference to their former club.. Three top scots :-)

What a night for him ! A lot of years struggling to reach the top welled up inside him as he rose to power that header home. Well done Ricky !

I think a lot of the 'kit' upset is caused by the lack of a nod to the tradition of the stripes. Whilst, over the years, our home ground has changed and grown, our playing squad continues to develop, our ownership/backing is of a level we've not experienced in the past and our club is more corporate Image aware. The one thing, as a fan, you still feel close to is the kit. We all have our favourite players and popular areas of the ground etc, but a replica kit is the one thing you can take home. It always used to be a proud and important moment when someone recognised your Saints shirt ! Made you feel you represented the club in some way. The Heritage of any football club is important to all its supporters, but as times change, we have to expect that so will our club, as we strive to be a force in the top league. Afraid this new kit is not immediately a Saints one to the untrained eye but as the OP said a small explanation from the boss as to why stripes are not figuring would have maybe helped. As Mr Cortese continues to make all the big decisions on our clubs behalf, it might have been seen as a welcoming idea to engage with the fans over kit style/design ideas. After all if it is 'only a shirt' what harm could it have done him ! I'm in the over 50's mob and have always liked our stripes and always will. It is an awful kit though !

No stripes No black shorts Off the shelf template Identical to Bristol City's And of course...over priced It's not really Saints as tradition would have it but that seems to be the future ! Shame, but nobody listens to the fans in this new corporate age. Love it or hate it , it's what our leader wants so....tough. Will we ever wear stripes again ? Retro shirts an appealing option... I'm sure there's a box in the loft !!!

Like many others, I was a fortunate little boy who got to see Ron play at the Dell Always on the end of John Sydenhams crosses . He was my first real Saints hero and my 44 year old bar scarf still has his name sewn on it by my mother, who I pestered until she agreed ! Hope the club find a suitable way of paying tribute to a Legend. God Bless Ron

Sad news indeed. Was at Wembley for that Zenith final and will always remember Kevin's towering header hit the Forest net. R I P sir

This for me too.

Yes agree with you , but if we start like this,as we're away and keep it tight,then introduce Lallana to mix it up a bit later when we've hopefully worn them down ! Wishful thinking or a plan.... ?

Absolutely. Davis has been more pivotal to a good team performance than he gets credit for.

Boruc Clyne. Fonte. Yoshida. Shaw. Cork. Morgan. Punch. Davis. JRod. Ricky. subs: Kelvin. Forren. Lallana. JWP. Ramirez. Richardson. Mayuka. And 3 points are ours !!!!!

Yeah, it could be a fitness thing . In a way I hope so or it makes Pochettinos choices look poor. To be honest I have preferred the midfield of Punch. Davis. And JRod sitting in front of Morgan and Cork with Adam coming off the bench to mix things about when required . For me, those 5 on the park feeding and supporting Ricky with Shaw and Clyne at full back has been the strongest and most suited to Pochettinos style.

110% Agree ! Many here seem to right Davis off as a 'journeyman' pro who has mixed form. Under Nigel he wasn't used properly. He is a midfielder who has good defensive strengths and can make those late runs into the box looking for goals. Ramirez struggles with both those disciplines ! Davis also suits the pressing style very well as he chases and ferrets around in middle of the park, exactly what has been required for Pochettinos plans. I remember a certain journeyman pro called Chris Marsden doing a similar job and no one complained ! As for Adam and Ramirez together, too much luxury at once maybe ? But it doesn't work and I know which one I prefer !

Agree, Pochettinos purchases in the summer will tell us more about him. It may not be necessary that the centre backs have to be super fast to fit this 'system', a bit of old fashioned anticipation and awareness would probably do the job !

I jumped the gun there ! Should have had ma different category for him Based on how well we know him I think he will fit the system 'when' ready though Good spot . Ta

Like any particular style or system,'the Pochettino way' is reliant on each individual player having what it takes to make it work. With an inherited squad who were mostly purchased to fit another managers requirements it was always possible that some of the squad may not be suited to it. From what I've seen, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Clyne, Morgan, Cork, Punch, Ricky(as capt), Davis and JRod have all adapted to it well, Adam still to find it having been injured but I'm sure he will. A high percentage of these players have to be 'on it' at one time for the system to completely work or we end up looking ragged and out of touch. At Newcastle: Fonte out - Shaw taken off - Punch not selected - Clyne exposed due to non selection of Punch - Davis & JRod both a bit below par on the day. At times this left us looking unlike the side of recent performances. There are others in the squad who just don't 'Fit' with the current style or can't adapt. This was very apparent at Newcastle. Maybe not their fault, just a different skill set perhaps ! Our high tempo pressing game is demanding but brilliant to watch when it works ! I think those listed above, along with Boric, will have enough to keep us up, and hopefully Pochettino has lined up a suitable import or two from La Liga to give these guys the back up they sorely need !

If Forren is what we hope for, then this is currently our strongest starting line up . Davis suited perfectly to the Poch' way and JRod is like new and improved signing . Should be a good day !

He kept Roy Keane very quiet that day if I remember correctly. Liked him. A team player who would play wherever asked to. Think he scored against Newcastle in a last home game of the season ?

Good luck and many thanks to you Nigel. If we require 38 points to stay up this season, you can rest in the knowledge you achieved 22 of them !!