melmacian_saint

Sorry I meant Sunday Cheers for the help guys! I will go down to St.Mary's before Sunday so I'll take the Itchen way down (think I know where it starts-not Google Maps yet) and probably come back through Mount Pleasant/Bevois Valley, just to make sure I've got an alternative under my belt. Much appreciated! COYS

Definitely signed for the wing. Hopefully we'll see Rodriguez in the middle more often now. One of the best of that Zambia team I got in love with for the African Cup of Nations trophy (in the exact same place where their most promising generation had been lost). Don't know how good he was for YB, but the Zambia manager definitely had him on for the whole tournament. He also seemed to be very obsessed about calling him during games.

Button was good on FM2012 for Leyton Orient when I played them. Played all 46 league matches, conceeded 41 as I finished 2nd, average 7.01 . But then again Pablo Couñago who I think is now almost retired scored 23 goals (went on to score 18 in my first Championship season), so not sure about the realism of it. I also checked and Forecast is unemployed a season after being released from Saints.

Ok so I'll be going to St.Mary's for the first time next Saturday and I am planning on walking there since last season I kept seeing a good number of fans walk back through Portswood which should mean it's feasible. So I was wondering if anyone (who's done it before or not) could suggest to me the best way to walk up to/from the stadium? I know there's a way along the Itchen which could do it now while the sun is up for long but I'm a bit worried about doing it in Winter when most if not all of our matches will be over in the dark. So yeah, help is appreciated.

So not even enough money for the train from London up there? How were they allowed to start L1 I don't know. What happens next weekend when the players are out of contract? What if they can't renew with at least 15 of them? This is shambles.

You sure about this? I'm still waiting for someone to honestly tell me why they always feel more comfortable about Hooiveld than Fonte. Let's not forget that if it wasn't for Silva's mental blockage Hooiveld would've been to blame for Man City taking an early lead. They are both incredibly equal. Fontas is class and recovered from his injury. Since at Barca even missing 15 seconds of training due to a light injury can ruin your chances of breaking into the football team, our club would be a great place for him to relaunch his career and he's good enough to put pressure on both Hooiveld and Fonte to perform.

I think people are missing the point about our CBs here. In case you haven't seen they're constantly being left on a 2v2 or 2v3 situation by the opposition's attack. Our midfield struggles when it comes to defensive recovery, we need at least 2 of them with a more defensive mentality. Who knows play 2 wingers+attacking midfielder behind the main striker. I also question the price and need to sign Rodriguez given what appears is going to be his role on the pitch.

It's August, people are on holiday! That happens everywhere. Attendances won't improve until mid-september. That applies to pretty much most grounds and clubs in the UK.

Why do we always end up with one of our CBs alone in our half of the pitch with the ball and the closest player is about a mile away? Also Fonte was fouled and how clever was it to throw the ball to him with Kone about only inches away?

Don't Chelsea use Gatwick? Just my 2 cents....

The main point was the history both clubs have in their countries. Hope you enjoyed your moment of daftness.

I think it's great. If something has gone terribly wrong in the world is that the some of the press (especially in sports) have stopped informing and instead have developed a lobbying mentality that serves whatever has something in for them. We don't need them.

They're a bit like us actually, a team with its own place in Italian football history (won the league 7 times) who recently went through financial troubles and are now on the up. Another curiosity is they crashed out of the top flight for the last time in 2005 too.

So after an afternoon where I think most of us will be proud of the way we shook the Plastic King of the Prom (because using Yank stereotypes is sooo awesome), right now I can't help but worrying about the Wigan game. The main reasons are as follows: 1.Wigan represents 75%, if not more, of what we can expect from our survival challengers. 2. They will put on a much more focused performance that what Man City did at times during the game. 3. They will play more direct football and also try to close our players out faster; 4. They've got the experience of this battle well into the mentality of the players, hence now how to deal with the situation better on paper; 5. We saw some naive mistakes which will gain dimension in those games, as potential result-defining moments; 6. Given Man City's potential there was more to be motivated about than real pressure for the squad. Want to think they'll deliver and Adkins will keep any possible overheating out of the changing room, but for many of these players being under pressure to achieve a result in the Prem is a new thing; So really, while today showed us how we want to play, Wigan's game will possibly show more about where we are actually going this season. But who knows really? Still I'm optimistic and believe we will cope with that challenge as well as we did with today, and with a good result in the end.

Some of them however seem to forget they spent most of the last 30 years WAY behind us (glory-hunting however stops them from knowing anything about their club's past, let alone that of other clubs) and certainly a world away from their current challengers.

Good game from Fonte IMO!

You mean Gillingham have shipped him back?

I think Pompey's Winter of Discontent is coming round this year. Can imagine hot water and heating being cut from Fortress Fatpipes sometime in October, and all those exploited players leaving for warmth somewhere else. After all, "Crisis? What crisis?" has been their motto along the last 2 seasons. Maybe then that'll mean at least 15 years out of League football for the deluded lot, just like the lefties back then.

Can't blame them. This is what I mean about inflated growth, exactly what the Liebherr's are NOT trying to do here. Clubs that don't invest a lot into their fan base will always be exposed to lack of support. Fulham, Wigan, Reading....kind of shows where football has been going since it became a profitable business (for some anyway).

Couple of questions: 1. What happened to PCC's PR stunt with the loan? Will they be forced to swallow their bullsh*te and gain the hatred of a good share of Portsmouth's population as they tell the PST that really they can't help with a penny? 2. What's Birch's deadline for a Trust takeover? Is there even an official FL deadline for this? How long can a club stay in admin before its either new owner or bust?

I honestly think that Cortese probably thinks that Adkins has something to prove. It's true he turned us around but it's equally right to say that without the financial backing we have now he probably wouldn't have pulled the trick so outstandingly. It's a big test for any manager, and for any players or club for that matter. If the Liebherrs want to bring about real change to the club it can't just be about investment of bags of money with no solid foundations left for the club to run without it. Hopefully he and the squad will be up to the task and after an initial struggle we can find our way and celebrate survival come May.

Sounds good, hopefully a CB will be in before Man City, or at least someone for the left side. About the English players being poor value: the problem is not their quality, but their restricted catchment area. Very few English players have made an impression outside the UK and even less at a middle-level. I've always assumed it's a football school issue. This means that their price is high inside the UK because most clubs will have a look but there is virtually no interest from abroad.

Very excited. The best league in the world is back on our backyards (in my case for the first time ever and who knows how many times more?), only 4 years after it seemed to never come back again during our lifetime. I do agree signings have been underwhelming but it's a clear sign of trust in the ones that took us to the Prem. Whether that's a big risk or not I think come November we'll have a pretty clear idea about how active we'll be in the January window. I'm however not happy that we haven't at least covered the essentials. For example, one CB should've been signed, and relying the substitute keeper role on someone who has a League Two season's worth of experience in Pro football is very risky (and Kelvin really needs some pushing), and we should've got some decent alternative for our left side. I would appreciate if someone could explain to me why they consider Hooiveld any more reliable than Fonte. To me they are exactly of the same level and offer the same concerns, essentially because they live in the team sheet. If we had signed a third CB, I'm sure both would still be starters but would definitely have improved on their performances (although I honestly feel it was the lack of quality on the wings that let them down at times last year). As for the rest, still think the right wing needs someone else, but apart from that our squad is reliable. I predict a shaky start but hopefully we'll get our feet on the ground and start walking quite soon. Still think we'll probably battle until the last day to ensure survival, but that's really just the Southampton way.

Just to be sure and even though it has nothing to do with this game (but with the general topic), I've made the following assumptions concerning the United game: -On the website, you can only purchase for Wigan/ManU if you're a ST holder, and only use the priority booking if you are one; -The deadline shown for the start of the sale of ManU only tickets on the website is for ST holders exclusively; Is this true? I'm hoping so because I'll be away for the Wigan match and have 2 relatives that would like to come to the ManU game, so I'm looking to buy tickets for that match only, but I'm worried about the fact that non-ST people from the general sale of Wigan tickets (not sure when it starts) might get ahead of me in getting tickets for the game.

Just to be sure and even though it has nothing to do with this game (but with the general topic), I've made the following assumptions concerning the United game: -On the website, you can only purchase for Wigan/ManU if you're a ST holder, and only use the priority booking if you are one; -The deadline shown for the start of the sale of ManU only tickets on the website is for ST holders exclusively; Is this true? I'm hoping so because I'll be away for the Wigan match and have 2 relatives that would like to come to the ManU game, so I'm looking to buy tickets for that match only, but I'm worried about the fact that people from the general sale of Wigan tickets (not sure when it starts) might get ahead of me in getting tickets for the game.