CamberwellSaint

Cruel but funny. It'll be absolutely brilliant business if we land Forster for less than £8-9m, send Gazzaniga out on loan and let Artur's contract run down.

We were stupid enough to buy him a year ago; someone else will be stupid enough to do the same thing now. If we get even half what we paid, it'll be good business.

Man alive, this thread has completely gone native. It's like Lord Of The Flies in here. Isn't there any transfer gossip worth the mention tonight? Felicity Kendall (circa 1977, t-shirt-with-no-bra in The Good Life, obviously)

It's been a strange pre-season I think; surprisingly successful league position achieved against a backdrop of boardroom upheaval, followed by departure of greedy slippery-pole-climbing manager and jump-ship starry-eyed players. I know that the opposition hasn't been strong, but given that we've played the youngsters right left and centre, and used 22 different players each game, then 3 wins and no goals conceded suggests a squad that's learned to play for the manager. I like the way there's been no drama, and a general sense of do-your-job-thanks-very-much. With Wanyama, Ramirez, Schneiderlin to return, Rodriguez to ease back, Forster perhaps en route in, and Lovren to have to suck up what Suarez sucked up a year ago, we're not in a bad position. I can't help thinking that a good dozen Prem clubs would love to have our "problems"...

Poor bastards. Those on here demanding fast appointments, ending uncertainty, etc etc: Be careful what you wish for. There but for the grace of God go us.

The OS still has Lallana-talks-about-world-cup-stuff as one of its main stories, so I'm thinking that they're confident that the new manager will at the very least not have Lallana and Shaw with their bags packed and one foot out of the door when he arrives.

LR couldn't have done much more, in the real world, IMO. He's got an old-skool football gaffer speaking style, but without the bluster (Roy Kinnear, I'm talking about you) or pig-headedness (Allardyce!) that can be embarrassing to listen to. Something about his manner gave me the impression he can be pretty persistent, and not easily rattled. Given that he's been here since our lowest recent ebb (league 1, minus10, 2008, lest we forget) and it's been onwards-and-upwards since, my sense was that Shaw and Lallana have probably been handed copies of their contracts, and very politely been told to calm the f*** down til a new manager arrives. Some will be riled by all the talk of data sets, video panels, audits etc. I wouldn't worry- he's basically saying: We are very well informed and don't rely on hearsay, chitchat, or what 'Arry said through his car window. Good job, all told.

Absolutely right. I think Reed dealt with it as well as possible in the interview- it seemed pretty clear that the board knows who they want and their man wants to come here. This could have become a circus (much like Sp*** pursuit of Pochettino) but credit to the club (and whoever the new manager is) that it hasn't.

I'll bet Adkins is at home thinking, "I hope the fans don't kick off with anything really juvenile. That's what has poisoned the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and Saints don't need it".

NIce work! I'll keep an eye on that.

Oh dear. Someone's been at the Enoch Powell/Nick Griffin juice haven't they? A third tier player will always be a third tier player. What's changed is that professional footballers are far fitter and faster with better training and tactics and nutrition than they were/had 50 years ago. The Saints team from 1960 would probably get a goal or two against the current lot(Sydenham and Paine were genuine quality), but they would also a) get decimated by bookings and sendings-off for fouls that would have been commonplace in 1960 and b) run out of steam after an hour trying to retain posession and get murdered after that. I'm not even going to try to argue with your "our lads" and "hundreds of non-white Brits" nonsense. You should be f***ing ashamed of yourself. Look at the Saints squad pictures for f***s sake. Mods? Is this forum BNP friendly all of a sudden?

Anyone who thinks that Pardew should be sacked has got a very short memory. Anyone remember the shot-away state of the squad and the shoddy training and the rock-bottom morale and the totally-inadequate quality of the players? Anyone on here got any idea about the time it takes to develop teams? The fact that Cortese and the rest of the senior people have kept their mouths shut and let Pardew get on with it, shows... ... they've got half an idea of how to run a football club!

And it betrays a simple attitude. Pardew started with no time to prep the squad, and found himself with Kelvin Davis and a shower of ****e for players. Anyone wanting "how many games shall I give him" answers at the end of September, has no clue. Sorry, but there it is.

Are you his Mum?

From the Guardian podcast (Kevin McCarra was reporting on the game) "It was embarrassing, just because Southampton have young players doesn't mean they have good players.." He's got no reason to sugar coat anything..

I'll second that. Cutting costs and maintaining performance while carefully being aware of the (?) calculated and multifactorial risks we are running is even harder... Beyond anyone in the current plc, IMO.

Many thanks to GiveItToRon and NavyRed for the excellent reports. Amid the *****ing and attentionseeking elsewhere, its good to read some decent football debate. The message I get from this is that if JP and the youngsters can get us anywhere near midtable, that will be a massive achievement. With coverage as thin as this, if a 1st team of KomedyKelv, Killer, Perry, Stern, Mule and kids can survive a season in the CCC it will be one of the all-time great Saints achievements.

A Flat-Cap responds: 'Pivotal' is spelled like this: 'Pivotal'. It's obvious but I'll say it anyway: A man who's supporters loudly trumpet like this, and can't spell, always risks looking a fool. Lowe is what he always was: A modestly successful local businessman with delusions of grandeur and no understanding of football. HTH.