shurlock

get your tin hat at the ready

Pompey struggled to get goals last season, selling their best striker to another team that drew blanks is pretty ominous....

Palace are out on a preseason tour of the US, so can't see anything happening just yet.

What a total k**b- hope he finishes on the scrap heap :toimonster: like all those other natural born leaders. stick to playing chopsticks on the piano, tone...

A well thought out playlist for when the teams come out - no more camp Brüno eurodisco. lots more last gasp winners....in our favour for once.

what do you mean by sources? you say the 3rd is involved in top local football, how about the other two?

Patterson - you've got to be kidding?! Neither he nor White should be counted on to lead the line this season -support, subs maybe- but we need proper replacements, ideally style for style (so we need the pace of a BWP, something which Patterson hasn't got). We will be exposed again if we get complacent and do things on the cheap.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/4491913.Wright_Phillips_leaves_Saints_for_Plymouth/?ref=rss

Just a quibble but weren't Chelsea in the 2nd division (today's championship) during those years?

I especially like one where the paulsgrove skate inbred:rolleyes: who led hundreds of other skate inbreds :rolleyes:in antipaedo demonstrations -in the process victimising innocent families- got herself reported to social services for child neglect after her three-year-old son was found naked wandering its streets. LOL Only in portsm**th. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/antipaedophile-leader-is-reported-for-child-neglect-710882.html

As Stevie I would doubtless agree, you make your own luck - thats how I defended Southampton to my mates throughout the 90s as we survived one relegation dogfight after another. For some, we still are one of the jammiest teams in existence.

Excellent post- its possible to be even-handed, even with such an emotive subject.

I don't think the cash is irrelevant - yes, he will spend wisely but from what he's said, he won't be afraid to spend if we are challenging, whether in L1, the Championship or elsewhere. Strachan left because he didn't have the resources to take us to the next level - I don't think that would have happened had we then had the current regime. For me, its potential to kick on when we are successful that makes new ownership so exciting.

anyone think quashie could still do a job for us? better than wotton in the middle that's for sure.

I'm not defending Lowe -thank **** he's gone and fresh air is blowing through the club- but I do want to point one of his perhaps overlooked legacies. Looking at how the Charlton deal is on the brink of collapse because of its massive debts and how Liebherr thinks that the reported £13million he paid out for is a snip, a “modest financial commitment” (not least because it includes a brand-new stadium over which Lowe presided), Lowe's emphasis on financial consolidation and debt minimisation, even during the premiership years and notwithstanding others subsequent wastefulness, ensured that things never completely spiraled out of control and ultimately made it much, much easier to sell us.

Christ, what are we going to do for player songs!!!??? We have no others...

Heard they were south african...

Unlikely to happen. You just have to look at the US which has dealt with this problems for ages (a front row ticket to watch the New York Yankees for one game is close to £1900 and top salaries are around £18,000,000 a year). Fact is Sky and advertising are underwriting the game and so far nobody has complained that subscription fees are too high - I would be quite willing to pay more than I currently do for my sports package. As franchises become global, so an emerging global middle class will be wanting to watch Premiership or Champions League football - that's what the likes of Real are banking on. If there is meltdown, it will be among the smaller clubs that have overstretched, perhaps, by being relegated from the premiership while there is greater consolidation at the top -perhaps a European superleague. Don't quite understand what is meant by tangible assets - football as entertainment is the product. Always has been. Finally, considering we're living through the worst credit crunch in 50 years, Im surprised that not more clubs have hit the wall. As such, I think it reflects the resilience of the game. If limits are reached, players wages will start coming down or levelling off before the system meltdowns. The bigger concern is how to ensure proper competition when wealth is so concentrated but that wealth ain't illusory.

I agree the US system has many advantages but it wouldn't work here. In most sports, there's one league (of course, split regionally) and they dont have the relegation system. If you're a potential star, you care less where you initially go because you'll be playing on the highest stage week in week out. Teams are also protected from the huge dips in revenue that accompany relegation, so again most teams can afford high salaries. Boom and bust is built into our leagues but it also offers more teams more chances to be successful (see Hull and Burnley's recent promotions) - by contrast, the US system is a monopoly. Another difference is that in the US, youth development takes place at high-school and university level; here you join a club when you're a young kid - at that stage, its highly uncertain whether somebody is going to make it but it still requires big upfront investments, so clubs with deep pockets are at a distinct advantage. Fact is winner-take-all markets exist in all walks of life, not just football. Unless you support a local club, most people, especially foreign audiences, don't understand why you would want to watch even good players when the best is readily available on SKY and other media? In other words, lesser talent is a poor substitute for greater talent. The result is that even a tiny advantage over competitors can be rewarded by an avalanche of market share.

I think AL had a problem with Wotte and didn't fit in his set-up. I think a new manager will do him alot of good -and hopefully, we'll see more of his undoubted potential- though I still dont know what his best position is.

Would help if we sorted out the contracts of Euell, BWP, Saga and John and start seeing Thomas, Schneiderlin, Lallana (who did start today) as well as Murty in action. Very early days.

Good LB, over-rated manager. Better candidates out there.

Coppell was at SMS to check out Burnley for a potential playoff fixture.

Itchen blocks 1-4 aren't open either. With the corners closed, only block 4 is open.