spyinthesky

He came with a lot of anticipation and really didnt deliver that much I recollect

I have to say when the question was put at last nights forum about whether or not Flynn Downes was coming, there was a very low key 'yes' from Jason Wilcox. It didnt seem too positive.

Presume being broadcast on Radio Solent. If so, what time?

I went to the Argyle game in 1966 when we were on our way to our first ever promotion. Early May if I recall and we needed to win, which we did 3-2. No segregation in those days and plenty of Saints fans around the ground. We went behind the goal and, before the start of mass hooliganism and unfortunately witnessed a bloke get bottled not far from us. Not sure which team the perpetrator supported or who was the victim but quite out of character for the time and not great for a young lad to witness. Hope we can replicate the win without any nastiness.

Mason Holgate is apparently on £70k a year at Everton so I doubt we would be willing to pay him that here.

Dont necessarily disagree with you as I think Mara has been a big disappointment but I wonder how many goals Mara would score in the U21's? I guess the coaching team will be able to make a comparison of both players from their performances in training. I would love it if Dom Ballard made it through to the first team but there must be something that has restricted his 1st team involvement so far.

I agree with you 100% about improving the physicality and height of our team, especially as this is particularly need in the championship

I am sure a neutral would have seen that as a really enjoyable game. Nice to score in the last minute for once. As has been predicted we should score goals but concede many as Swansea did. However I suggest we have a better squad and probably need it with the amount of yellow cards being liberally dispensed. We do need to get more height and muscularity in the team. Assuming we dont lose any more players and this is a big IF, I suggest out staring X1 is likely to be: BAZ KWP JAN B JACK S (with Bella Kotcha as 1st replacement option) MANNING (or Peraud if he stays) SMALLBONE DOWNES ALCAREZ TELLA ADAMS ARMA (who I think offers more options than Edioze at the moment. I think that side with a bit of adjustment should at least see us through to the Play Offs. However it is some way away from Premiership standard and I hate to say it but I enjoyed todays game more than most Prem games, the 4-4 draw with Liverpool notwithstanding>

All good on the surface if we can continue to service the debt and buy wisely, no more Tall Paul's, Orsic's and a host of others going back in recent times.

Just found a programme for our last(?) game v Norwich 4.12.19 (7.30KO) Ralph in charge and playing squad McCARTHY Cedric Yoshida Vestergaard STEPHENS Long Ings ADAMS DJENEPO Rpmeu Jwp ARMSTRONG,S Boufal Obafemi Bertrand Redmond Hojberg SMALLBONE Gunn !!! Vokins Slattery Ramsey BEDNERAK Danso N'Lundulu Lewis Hesketh Valery McQueen. We had beaten Watford the previous game after coming back from a goal down courtesy of Danny Ings and a free kick from the recently departed and much missed JWP. This was the season where we suffered the ignominy of the 9-0 thrashing by Leicester. It is interesting to note that Will Smallbone is the only player still on the books who made it through to the first team here from the 70 odd players in the U18 and U23 teams at the time.

Was possibly one of the very few Saints fans at Elland Rd in the early 1970's and stood alone in the home end. The Referee gave a very soft penalty against Gerry Gurr for tapping Billy Bremner on the head with the ball, after Bremner had given him a dig and wee Billy then collapsed onto the ground. I yelled out something profound, immediately realised my mistake and then looked round to see hundreds of Leeds fans staring at me in disbelief. Did something similar in the corporates at Stamford Bridge a few years back when Jay Rodrigues scored early doors. Most of the Chelsea 'fans' around me seemed to be mainly Russian women or their kids, all focussed on their phones so no problem.. Got away from both situations without a scratch.

Of course in those days a Manager went to watch players who were recommended by his (part time) scouts. He made a point of watching them play at home and away to get a better idea of their capabilities. All that said I can remember the times when there was a dissatisfaction at The Dell about the team's performances and going back to the early 1950's rumours abounded that the Saints Directors not wanting promotion to the First Division after the team narrowly missed promotion from the Second Division, on one occasion being well ahead of the pack at Easter then suffering a poor run of form to the last game. God knows what the meltdown would have been if Social Media had been around then!! btw Big Ron Davies wasnt Ted's first choice. He originally wanted Bobby Tambling from Chelsea but the club couldnt meet the transfer fee required by Chelsea. Thank goodness for that as Ron was a great player for Saints.

And we got Frank Saul as part of the deal. That went well!!

Some suggestion that we were in for Max Aarons. No chance now, just signed for Bournemouth & Boscombe Albion.

Looking back at the Reading pre season game we absolutely murdered them but conceded two breakaway goals and they nearly scored a third. Cant see us recording a clean sheet this season and we dont have the talent up front to outscore some teams. The problem with set pieces has been evident from the start and hopefully the new guy who has been brought in from Arsenal will help although I recollect that set pieces was one of Arsenal's problems last year. There is definitely the need for some height and muscularity in the team. Russell Martin is aware of the need to get rid of quite a few 'dead woods' within the squad.

Ohh for the days when we could beat a League 2 team on their own turf 8-0 when we had top players like Redmond and Elyonoussi!!

Another Brexit benefit??? Hauliers in Northern Ireland are having to lay off people due to the complexities of paperwork due to Brexit rules.

If I was negotiating for Saints, I would look at the transfer fee Spurs received for Hojberg and add on another 25% to give a reasonable valuation for JWP> Shame to lose him but I reckon JWP would do well for Spurs.

Is the Park & Ride not being used this season? Dont think there was much take up last time round.

Interested in any updates on the following injuries pl 1. Bella Kotcha 2. Larios. 3. Ballard. 4. Peraud. 5. Sulemana. (if he is indeed injured) 6. Livramento (has be passed his Newcastle medical?) 7. And is Tall Paul still alive and 'kicking'?

I agree. It seems amazing that someone at the club (Rasmus?) was allowed to stump up £18m on such a waste of space.

He needs to practice shooting and work better against the ball. That said he could turn into a decent asset

Reminded me of the time that Donald J Trump referred to Tim Cook as 'Tim Apple'!!! However Franny has done more for charity, honour, dignity and loyalty as that twat across the pond.

First of all credit to the Manager and his assistants in bringing in a quite different type of play in a relatively short time and to the players who have embraced the system. The concern going forward is the likelihood of losing JWP, KWP, Tella and Adams from last nights lineup. I am also concerned about our lack of height both in defence and attack. The former allowed their big defender to outjump Smallbone (who has done well for us so far this season as a 'new' recruit) which led to Weds equaliser. I would like to see more height and physicality up front to provide options for our wide players. Ideally someone in the mould of Mitrovic who scored for fun at Fulham when they were in the Championship. Overall though a decent result against a team who wont go down but unlikely to feature in the top half of the table. Norwich will be an interesting challenge especially as our home form has been dire in recent years.

I remember Ian Branfoot (our esteemed Manager at the time) reckoned that the Speedie/Dixon partnership would score more than Shearer. To be fair many people (including myself) reckoned that this may happen as both were proven goalscorers whilst Shearer had potential. However that opinion changed fairly rapidly. Shearer scored a cracker at Palace in his first game and went on to score regularly for Blackburn whereas our Chelsea investment was in line with future striker investment ie pretty poor.