Pip

I'd be interested to see Guly and Connolly playing together. A lot of criticism is levelled at Guly because other players don't anticipate his clever balls into space. Connolly's thinking is way ahead of anyone else's so a combination of Guly playing Connolly in or Connolly playing Guly in with his speed would be interesting.

Why not sing it when the players have the pre match huddle? No danger of other team scoring and it may galvanise the team and crowd.

Shame that as Spurs reckon Bale is worth £80 million. That could have been a nice little earner.

Interesting it says "straight one off fee". Got away with no add ons due to their predicament perhaps?

I don't disagree with a stand etc being named after him but that gift is the responsibility of the club. This thread seems to suggest a permanent memorial by the fans, in which case some sort of meaningful chant which is not the same as any others around the country might be a nice idea as would having his picture on the banner etc. I think it's something we as a group of supporters should make some kind of effort on. Did he have any particular charity he was keen on that we could organise collections/events annually for?

Perhaps all those who criticise Guly's nervousness in front of goal should think about what their groaning when he gets the ball in the box does to his confidence.

Amazing how rumours link up together to prove everyone's point isn't it? FWIW Fonte obviously had a problem in the warm up last Sat. I thought it may have been his groin but it now sounds like it must have been his thigh. Towards the end of the warm up the physio came over to stretch it out etc for him and Jaidi spent the whole match (from about the 2nd minute) warming up quite seriously, presumably in case he was needed. This would all add up to what was announced, a slight problem and fine after a few more days rest. If he prefers living in London why would he want to go to Blackpool? I think (and hope) that his transfer request is now water under the bridge and it's now onward and upward.

I don't understand this "we need an experienced prem manager" business. we have taken on a young, intelligent manager who has the ability to change tactics to suit the opposition etc, is very enthusiastic and keen to learn. He will get us out of this division because he's done it before and then back to the Prem, by which time he will be more experienced and know his team inside out. All managers are "inexperienced" in the Prem when they first get there but having a secure, stable club behind them when they arrive must be an advantage. The more I think about it the more I like this appointment. I'm optimistic for the first time in months. Good luck Nigel.

Strange you should say that. I met some of the players recently and the conversation turned to Pardew and his playing career etc and one of my companions said to one of the players "you must all respect him" After a few seconds pause the answer was "yeah yeah course we do" which left us in no doubt that the opposite was true. In fact, later in the conversation a very bitter remark was made about his tactics and substitutions.

If this is true then you're right - compensation is up to him, not us.

He still can't go until January and things could look very different by then.

This all fits with what I feel was the essence of the "5 year plan". SFC is a family club which ML and NC wanted to build into a self financing one. To do this the whole club/teams need to run on the same lines and continuity is needed. This comes from all the backroom staff as well as the manager. I'm assuming that NC thinks we need a manager who will buy into this concept and will stay for several years building the club up. A young manager who is qualified on the coaching and physio sides will be an added bonus. I don't necessarily want a big name signing - I want someone who is hungry for success and can see the potential in our fantastic club. If NC has identified Adkins as that man after sifting through mountains of applications then I will give him all my support. Players can't leave until January anyway and I'm sure they'll be professional enough to give it their all until then and then see how the land lies. We're only a few games into a very long season.

Quite agree. A very sensible appraisal which means we all know what needs to be done.

I'm assuming we will make an exception to our new policy and have a minutes silence or possibly clapping? Can we follow this with a rousing chorus of Oh When the Saints at a medium speed? Be nice if the Sally Army Band could be there and lead us so we can all keep in time and not rush off at the end. Sing it more as a hymn of respect on this occasion.

Perhaps it was good to get the "Barnard and Connolly can't play together" argument proved before the transfer window closes. This will prove to the powers that be that we need to spend some more. I think Puncheon lacks something in the final third and he was obviously tiring so I can't understand why Lee Holmes didn't come on earlier - or Joseph Mills for that matter. I also agree that Dean Hammond is not an inspiring captain. Much as we complain about Paul Wotton, I think he would have kicked butt out there and lifted the team.

I was at the same dinner and was also impressed by the team spirit showed by the players. They obviously have great respect for Alan Pardew and each other. Both Alan and Kelvin spoke for a few moments. The essence of Alan's talk was that the players he has can go all the way to the Prem together as a team ( good way to sell it to new targets too). The essence of Kelvin's talk was that certain players may have taken the plaudits for their goalscoring last season but without Bart's penalty saves we wouldn't have had such a successful time! (Don't take that as a dig at anyone - he was very proud of Bart) AP also sees Huddersfield as our biggest threat this season.

If the club is going in the direction of continental teams and having every team within it playing the same way, does anyone else find it interesting that the team against Winchester was set up as 4-5-1? That could cause another lengthy debate on here!

When I went down today to change seats my ticket was already bundled up ready to send out. Normal ticket with gold lettering saying "Southampton FC Season Ticket Holder"!

Not quite true. I have renewed and moved seat within same section. As long as you go to a seat that isn't occupied by a ST holder that's fine. I'm going back down on 1st July to see if I can get a better seat that hasn't been renewed by an existing ST holder. Done this before and ticket office are always very helpful.

This is yet another reason why it wouldn't be worth doing - even if it wasn't just a joke rumour made up by someone on here. The only reason for doing cheap tickets in the club's eyes would be to get bums on seats to cheer the team to promotion but this would result in sold out matches with only half the ground full because it's more "economical" for people to buy a cheap ST and not bother coming to lots of games.

Yes. The only reason we are having this debate is because he is a victim of his own success. 9 months ago we'd have been pleased with a mid table finish but because we did so well and got to within spitting distance of the play offs he has mysteriously "failed".

I think I read that in the Echo today. I certainly felt he should be cut a bit more slack if he was following instructions.

I looked on Wembley website last night and the roof extends to the touchlines. If there is heavy rain some people may get wet but hopefully not many - and not me!

As long as we sing about Saints and not those idiots down the road. We've got to a Cup Final not them so don't even mention them please.