kelkel31

well thank good henderson is not in charge, treated the game as purely a 90min run out and damage limitation exercise which i feel cant be of much help for the coming season, might as well have played 2 90 min games between the squad behind closed doors. used a 4-5-1 which i doubt and sincerely hope we dont use much next year, especially at home and continued to use lallana in a position he is quite clearly ineffective in at any level. if we are going to use him in this way we may as well sell him quick. i personally have concerns with murty being signed after seeing him today, forgivable out of shape but seemed a bit lost, out of position often, poor communication with lallana and unwilling or unable to go past the RM. if we do sign and use him im hoping this was just the tactics and not an insight to his play over a season. thomas look good for the half he played, strong, mobile and communicating well, not sure about the penalty looked like a dive but he shouldnt have got to thomas in the first place. mills looked better at LB, gillet worked well but is better in the holding role rather than further forward, was a little concerned that he look a little lightweight against big players, the type we are likely to see in L1, but was only a friendly. rasiak looked eager and mobile to me, but why oh why was he on his own, have we never seen him play before, better to have played patterson on his own who we know will run all day. great day for kelvin, great display backed up his desire to play for the saints, and man who is obviously happy with the decision hes made. formation made attacking play almost pointless, the goal was well worked and well taken( a player running at the far post, how many times have i asked for that) but happened infrequently. the 4-5-1 did look solid in the first half which should give us a chance of holding onto leads in tight games, team looked up for it and gave a good showing until the last 20mins when ajax just showed there class. not a day for firm judgments as to where this leaves us for the start of the season, started as it should of, a celebration that we are still here, good ovation for ML who had a big smile on his face whenever i saw him in the box. for the first 30mins the northam was in the finest voice i think ive ever heard them, just remember the games 90mins guys, 2wks left of supporters pre season to get yourselves upto the full 90mins, lol overall saints are still here and the signs are we can start to look forward our club being rebuilt into the club we deserve, got some work to do but onwards and upwards cause we are southampton, the pride of the south!

very true, and although i sincerely hope its not needed, i think WGS would have had a much longer honeymoon period than AP. i think AP needs to hit the ground running, there was great expectation when we went down into the CCC and i think the same it will be the same here, many parts of the team have not proved that they are Strong enough to deliver from the out set so the next 2 weeks will be vital to both saints and AP's hopes for the season. a lot has been made of the 10pt deduction, where in my opinion its not that big. if you pick the top 6 teams in the league and expect them to finish 1-6 (excluding saints) if we beat them all home and away(maybe unrealistic) its only a 4pt deficit, 2 games where we need to pick up points over them, this in mind a top 6 finish really isnt too much over expectation for the season but the start will be essential for both team morale( no relegation hangover) and that of the supporters.

i think that gjphilsaint statement that AP was a 'very week' appointment was a little over the top, the fact that people are causing such a big fuss over his opinion is both very over the top and the reason why more people are not regular posters on this site. i stated early this morning that it was an underwhelming appointment, this is based on the same reasoning of gjphilsaint in that it didnt make me jump off my seat with massive excitement, if i was waiting to see who got the managers job to buy a ST or not it would not have pushed me into the former. this isnt to say he will not do a great job for saints, hes shown he is loyal and prepared and capable of building a team that can achieving success, of course only time will tell. my opinion is that football can be a great distraction from the day to day grind at work and sometimes at home, and everyone should be free to have what ever expectations they want and express those opinions. i personally wanted WGS as manager even if the only reason is that i think it would have brought a massive feel good factor to the club, which we all need after the last few years. this may have been unrealistic but i was in the majority in this view and dont try to tell me there was a massive clamor for AP to be given the job, there obviously wasnt! that being said he will get my full support and i look forward to seeing if he can bring any surprising and effective signings over the next couple of weeks, i think we need at least 3 or 4.

i very much with the 'meh' camp, feel a bit deflated by the appointment but that has already discussed. however i do feel its a small risk in that i feel, as everyone is saying we are a L1 club now he will have quite a short honeymoon period. he needs to hit the ground running in the league, anything less than a spectacular start will turn most of the people in the 'meh' camp into people in the 'firmly against' camp. of course he will get my full support but i think it would have been good for all the hype about the 'big names' to have continued and even employed, we as fans need it after the last few years. i think the big rise in the feel good factor at the club will now level out and that the Ajax match wont be as much of a party that it would have been before this news came out, maybe should have been saved until after the weekend, of course just my opinion

1 - the ability to both leave and return to the stadium during half time to have a smoke outside away from people who dont like it 2 - employ kids behind the refreshment stands that can serve more than 40 people an hour 3 - have one member of staff per till and at least one coffee machine per 2 tills 4- have coffee that tastes like, well coffee 5 - only allow people who can read to go to toilet, i.e no entry means you use the door marked entry! 6 - allow post match reporters(if we have one) to ask questions that might upset people without the fear that they will lose there jobs or not get any further interviews 7 - strikers that at least look like they give a damn 8 - players that score 9 - a team that wins 10 - a designated penalty taker that can take penalty's 11 - ive bought my ST again and intend to keep doing so, can i have a plaque with my name on it and the words keep your arses off my seat! i love to moan if you hadnt guessed

so what are we to do get a manager for this year that can get us out of this league, then fire him and get one for the championship, and if we get promoted the the premiership we need another one. At this stage the best investment the club can make is in the manager and the coaching team. someone with a clear direction, motivation and purpose to do the job for 10 years and mold the club the way he sees fit. if that means we go all out to get what are 'big names' and get them to buy into the long term of the club then i say lets let our dreams run wild! that being said i will continue to dream about WGS and steve coppell being announced this week and everyone else should be allowed to as well, weve had enough **** to deal with in the last few years

i cant remember this person that is being discussed, but if i did i bet hes sitting at home waiting for all saints fans to thank him for bringing a billionaire to the club! if i did remember him im sure i would think he was a complete arsehole!

i will not argue with the majority of points on here, they are all valid, raising money, feeling part of the club and not being in a position to attend all games. i just feel at the stage that the club is in the biggest priority is to gain a significant season ticket base maybe over the 20k mark. this allows more solid plans to be made as we will be more aware of the income that will be generated across the season also aiding with generating sponsorship revenue. i am lucky that im in a position geographically, work wise and financially to be able to purchase and use a ST and i have sympathy for those who are genuine saints fans who are not in the same position, but for the time being anything that may detract from people getting a ST is not needed, long term plans need a solid base to build from, the most solid base a football club has is its season ticket holders. the membership scheme should be brought back in the future maybe when we show that we are challenging for a place in the premiership, as always just my opinion and as i say all pro points are very valid.

as i say, no proof, if i would have known these conversations would take place i would have been in the room myself, but hes honest as the day is long, if he heard it he did, whether it was the truth is another matter, came from one of the directors and the ticket office, moaning a little about how hetic it was going to be there to get the tickets out on time. as with most things it may have been true at the time, we as saints fans know more than most, things change in a matter of seconds, best laid plans and all that, the sooner its over for me the better!

right, i didn't attend the eastleigh game, if i had this would be first hand information, as it is this is from a conversation that happened in the eastleigh boardroom and comes from a source that would not lie. the deal will be going through on tuesday and it will be the swiss that will be buying us. it was also stated that mark wotte will continue on as manager. this information comes from what i would call an 'old school gentleman', he just doesnt lie, that being said it was just a conversation and no evidence has been seen. this is the gossip thread and i will therefore class it as that but lets just wait and see. as a side bar they also commented that the swiss feel sorry for MLT and the way seems seemed to have gone with his involvement in the pinnacle bid.

the short answer as i have been told by a club official is no. No license means the game cant go ahead, but this was the understanding on sunday and as we know things do change and he may still have been waiting for conformation. he hasnt asked me and my partner if we want our box seat reserved as normal yet if thats any indication

we do not know what the **** has been going on. Mark Fry has been useless, the pinnacle consortium has possibly been less than honest and the FL seem to have had a far bigger involvement in the purchase of what in its own words is a 'business' than it ever should have. now if the FL has proved to be the biggest obstacle i would implore TL or MLT to make a formal statement stating fully what the conditions of the FL were, if they were infact 'illegal' and release any document that would expose this. surely the FL can be charged with 'bringing football into disrepute' and as such big changes that are needed can start to be made. we as a club already seem to be ****ed,any exposure is unlikely to have a detrimental effect of any future deal as any bidder should already be aware of them. maybe the only thing left for Southampton Football Clubs legacy is to bring about much needed change in footballs institutions, publicly exposition there actions to as a minimum 'the court of public opinion'

he needs to be removed from his position, complete and utter **** up! surely all details with the holding company's creditors have already been agreed and therefore are still in place for any other buyer. he keeps spouting out absolute rubbish with his none information statements, making matters worse. he is the person in charge of SLH, he should be the one resolving any issues with the FL, including legal action against them which in my(yes i hear you say warped) mind should include some kind of action that prevents the FL from conducting any form of competition until this matter is resolved!

we are supposed to be playing eastleigh in our annual match on Saturday. this game cannot go ahead, like any other game unless we have a license. there is no excuse for the length of time this is taking, a deadline has to be set where pinnacles involvement needs to be removed from the equation, and that time needs to be very soon, very very soon!

if MLT was only speaking to KK and others for advice on who to employ as manager there is one name if havent seen mentioned that i think would have been very high on the list of names, and if were allowing ourselves to believe that KK or WGS (which would both be fantastic) are coming theres no reason to not add one more. the best choice of manager( not the sexiest i know) is steve coppell

No offense DD but MLT is the only true hero saints fans have had in the last 20 years, some have come and gone but he stayed through everything. As far as im aware he has never stated he would like to return to the club in the normal capacity's of coach or manager, but then the chips come down and he steps up to the plate. he may have backed the wrong horse, none of us know the ins and out of the pinnacle deal( he may or may not also) but id defy any argument that he his not the best figurehead for SFC, the one unifying force that can galvanize nearly all of the fan base. If the pinnacle deal is as flawed as this forum and the echo have suggested, which is difficult to see with us being in administration( i.e MR Fry should know what hes doing) then the swiss or any other group were to come ridding in on a white horse saying 'heres the money but we know nothing about football' id have no problem with MLT coming out and saying 'I want to be chairman of SFC, no matter who it is' i for one will stand up and applaud :smt041

a casino is a members only club, are they allowed to have rules that state whilst in the club there employees are allowed to ****ing beat the **** out of you, no they aren't, they still have to abide by the bloody laws of the land, there is no argument on this (this is obviously an extreme analogy but makes a point!) i have this idea in my head that the FL has to have a license to organize events such as a football league and even if they dont im sure the clubs have to have such a license to conduct matches in front of the public, if so the actions of the FL and in turn its members should surely put themselves in a position where there are grounds for these licenses to be revoked as the right to appeal is a basic right that must be provided, to remove this right should be considered a very serious offense!

it is not possible for southampton football club to receive a 10pt deduction. we are incapable of producing a CVA and therefore we either have no deduction or 25pts! now lets restart the arguements using the real facts

will someone in charge ****ing talk plain english and ****ing explain what the **** is going on!! if its what we think, and we honestly have no clue, i say sue the FL, sue the people individually and sue the clubs they represent, see how they like it when the litigation papers land on the desks in the morning!! i have had ****ing enough of all this bull****, things need to change

i really think this is now the case, its more about the extra 15 points than the original 10. nobody will buy the club if they now there is no way of avoiding the further 15 points, the side bar to this is if we do avoid the extra points for not being able to produce the CVA as required by the league, it obviously brings into question the original 10 points that pinnacle never intended to question. result is the FL has ****ed up, pinnacle never intended to have even a discussion about this until the FL asked for the CVA which is quite clearly not a part of the deal that has been brokered in good faith!

thedelldays being an upstanding member of the community, if you were in a position where you committed a very ha-nous crime and were almost certain of a long jail sentence, but your lawyer said he could get you off on a 'technicality' would you say no and take the long jail term? we did not break the rules as they were written, i think most of us agree and understand this is the case, i dont care if its morally right or wrong, the laws of the land(and in this case the rules of the FL) are there in writing, you cannot both change the rules and apply them retro-actively! also what we understand to be the conduct of the FL in that they maybe attaching terms like 'no appeal' is further in breach of the rules of the land, 'members club ' or not!

and theres the money shot. the FL are working on the basis that by ruling with an iron fist nothing can change. this is obviously an ignorant view and if they continue in this vain there is a very real chance that someone will pull the trigger and the football league in its current form will be no more. whether this is a good thing or not is debatable, the current FL board and there rules are ridiculous but the alternative maybe anarchy or NO football league!

i know we dont know what players or staff we will have, if there will be another relegation hangover but if we are not at least on zero points by the end of sat 29th august i will not be a happy saints fan! que the laughs and derision pls

i think this just continues the climate weve been in at saints for a long while. almost all of us are completely in the dark to the clubs REAL state of affairs and also in respect to the current progress and terms of any deal. we have very little reason to fully believe anything that its presented to us weather it be from official sources of from the number of ITK's that keep popping up. the absence of official news coming from MR Fry(whether we believe it or not) is not good and only continues the cycle of 'spin and lies' that none of us as saints fans are happy with! we have 2 choices(although really we have 1) we can either sit back and wait for things to be concluded or we can continue to speculate, present and discuss rumors. either way its our own personal choice and we all have to face up to one fact, we have no place or influence on what is happening, we just have to live with the outcome!

advertising revenue in all sectors is down, the idea of a radio station if only for now is a none starter. people saying we must concentrate on football are right in that that is where our priorities lie. but Dubai Phil has a great point about communication, not just with our ex-pat brothers buts also with people right here in the city and beyond. maybe a more sensible idea would be something along the lines of what phil said and do it as a web cast, probably only 2-3hrs a night and also a match day broadcast. i think im right in saying that there will be no need for any license if its done thought the website and with no view of generating extra income through advertising. A small fee to get some ex players to do the show and invite special guests along as well. no need for music(no fees to pay) as anyone who has a computer and a web cam can participate in discussions. im sure we can all agree that another form of media were we can all slag each other off for being crap saints fans is much needed :-)