LuckyNumber7

Agreed, I was hoping these rumours weren't true as I've seen him play several times for Celtic and not been too impressed. That he can't get in Celtic's team and they weren't prepared to offer him a new contract says it all. Still if he signs I would love to be proved wrong.

If they are really offering £10m we should snatch their arm off.

I keep seeing this yet don't recall hearing anything of the sort at the time, other than a vague comment that we could rekindle our interest in the summer. As usual on here that has been completely exaggerated and is now taken for gospel that it's a 'done deal'.

Agreed, Armstrong is bang average.

Glad we're back in stripes, but I hate the way they stop at the chest area and the plain back. It's a bit meh.

Agree with pretty much all of this. The rich clubs will just get richer making the league even less competitive, whilst the fans are expected to fork out even more money on yet another subscription. Meanwhile the overpaid, overpampered players complain at having to sometimes play two games in a week and that they need another break. I despise this winter break nonsense and couldn't give a toss if it benefits the national team or not (it won't). And whilst I agree referees need help, VAR in it's current form is an abomination. All this added to the increasingly sterile matchday atmosphere and I really am falling out of love with football which I never thought would happen. That said I will probably still renew.

The 'big 6' can f off to their own league as far as I'm concerned, leave the rest of us to it and see how long the gravy train lasts then. It's the competitive nature of the Premier League and the 'lower ranked' teams that has made it the success it is.

Yes exactly how I feel. He's the right man at the right time.

Excellent post, can't believe the number of people getting their knickers in a twist at the small club comment, I can only assume they haven't been Saints fans for very long. In the grand scheme of things we ARE a small club and have been spoilt by punching above our weight for the last few years. Whether you like it or not, FFP means we have to be self sustaining with little investment from the owner, and that puts the big clubs in a completely different league to us. I still look back on the great escapes of the late 90's with great fondness as that battling character and the 'Spirit of Southampton' was what the club is all about for me. If you want to be qualifying for the Champions League and regularly winning trophies you need to support one of the big 6 as it's never going to happen with Saints, and I have no problem with that.

Really hope he stays, he has obvious ability but has been unlucky first with injury and then being frozen out and having his confidence destroyed by the clueless one. Under the right management I think he can thrive here.

Don't really get all the nerves, just about to walk to SMS and really looking forward to this, I think we can get a result.

We are Saints not Man Utd. Most of those managers mentioned would have no interest in coming to Saints, especially after the season we've had (Tuchel has already rejected us). Nothing wrong with having ambition but you have to be realistic with it. The job Hughes has done in reuniting the club and giving us some purpose and direction again in such a short space of time cannot be overstated. Most fans are behind him and the players seem to enjoy working under him so to this end a bit of continuity is a good thing. Besides, he took Stoke to three consecutive 9th place finishes, who's to say with the right signings he couldn't get us top 7? Contrary to popular belief we do actually have some good players, they have just been horribly mismanaged the last two years. Hughes has earned the chance to show what he can do and to me he just feels like a good fit. Give me 10th next season with a couple of the bigger scalps along the way and I would be happy.

He brought back the fighting spirit and united the whole club again. Massive thanks Sparky. Give that man a contract.

I've been wanting us to sign Rogic for about the last two years, a very good player. He's just what we need, a goal scoring midfielder with a physical presence and good on the ball. He won't be joining us in the Championship though sadly.

Yep, I don't think Hughes is the best manager in the world but he is certainly competent, which is more than can be said for Pellegrino. I've no doubt if he had been given an extra couple of months we wouldn't be in this mess. It's so refreshing to see a manager with a bit of passion who looks like he cares, and that has transmitted to the players and fans. I'd be happy to keep him regardless if we stay up or not.

Don't know what game you were watching, but he was appalling even by his usually poor standards which is saying something. How this guy is a Premier League footballer is quite baffling. He simply has no idea what to do with the ball when he has it, and just stands around looking lost when he doesn't have it. However I don't agree with getting on player's backs, and he was still given a good reception when he came off. Crowd were excellent yesterday.

Don't get me wrong they were pretty poor as well but apart from a couple of renditions of OWTS we were virtually silent. The atmosphere on the whole was just very flat and combined with our masses of empty seats I thought our support was embarrassing tbh. Absolutely, at the back of the Kingsland North it's becoming an increasingly regular occurance to be surrounded by Chinese.

I made the mistake of getting tickets right at the back (assuming we would sell out), and found myself surrounded by thousands of empty seats. Honestly it felt like being at a League 1 game rather than an FA Cup semi-final. When I think back to the 2003 semi at Villa Park and how crap and apathetic our support is now in comparison it's quite depressing. You know you're bad when you're outsung by Chelsea. Anyway next time we field a weakened team in the cup I hope there's no bleating about it on here. Why should the club care when clearly a lot of the fans don't.

Yeah it's a bit strange really. I'm not necessarily opposed to drums if it helps the atmosphere (sad that it's come to that) but if you're going to have them they should be at the back of the stand and beating them properly, leading the chants. Not stood out the way tapping them lightly so no one can even hear them!

What? Redmond is utter garbage, one of the most over-rated players I've seen pull on the Saints shirt. Boufal is inconsistent and frustrating at times but he's twice the player Redmond will ever be.

I feel your pain, I had to miss the Inter game at SMS for the exact same reason. Ten days in Florida went a long way to making up for it though!

Loving the look of that lineup, so refreshing!

He may not be the most exciting appointment but we don't exactly have a plethora of options right now. I think he would get us playing more positive football (who wouldn't) and reckon he would get a lot more out of the likes of Gabbi, Boufal and possibly even Redmond. Until this season he had done a pretty good job at Stoke. Not my first choice but don't think he'd be a bad appointment. More than anything if it is him, we all as fans need to get fully behind him and the team if we are to have a chance of staying up.

Happiest I've been all season! He strangled the life out of this club. It may well be too late, but at least we might go down fighting now...

Disgusting and he will probably lose his job for that, but the driver comes across as a complete knob as well.