Daft Kerplunk

Staplewood’s pavillion building is a small space and the manager’s office is pretty much next to where Wilcox would’ve been, and the management and players eating area is also where the leadership eats. The idea that there be a close working relationship between manager, coaches and JW isn’t far fetched, and that Wilcox would have been around the players too and they are feeling the potential loss isn’t hard to imagine. Players are paid well but they are human and they’ll know that change is coming and that’s unsettling. It’s a big shame.

Probably because sport is quite different from business.

I like the idea of flat earthers living around the other side of the tea tray they imagine the world to be. Do fine people live on both sides of the flat surface? Would it be easier if it was a globe with a central gravity force keeping us all stuck down? Funny how the earth was always flat before people starting sailing around it. Makes you think 🤔

I wonder how many people are burned by seeing Mane turn into a world class player after slating him early on. The big difference with Mane for me was that he was still very capable, and showed it sporadically early on, and contributed in the Premier League. At the time, people wanted the finished article straight away. With Kamaldeen, people are being more patient but he should really be tearing it up in the Championship by now. He isn’t yet and that’s not a sign that he will one day be a world beater. Fingers crossed he does though but that’s out of hope, not expectation.

This is one of those situations where a change is very much needed, and the thinking behind how it is now wasn’t the best. Apart from the clear fact that it will be annoying for some, and change routines for a chunk of people, most objections can be overcome, and actually could be better. For one thing, it’ll much easier to contain fans in those rare cases where it is required along Melbourne Street. This is for the benefit of the bigger picture. We need to have our fans at both ends for the majority of games. It’s about what will be created, not what exists now.

Me, and him, and them.

Very positive that this is happening. Away fans should not be in the ends and the side is appropriate. This should in theory greatly improve atmosphere as there will be a standing end, and then some will move next to the away fans and it’ll liven up those who think going to football is for sitting on your hands and being near silent. As for safety, it doesn’t matter where away fans are at St Mary’s because isolation can happen either side if necessary. Coaches can park in the trading estate and roads can be closed off either side to allow traffic to exit. In a way, being at the other end may lead to less confrontation as away fans will be sent on a longer walk away from the stadium and Britannia Road can be used by home fans. The current set up is just what people are used to and change will be fine. For those old enough, away fans moved from the end to the side at the Dell, and two whole ends for home fans made it much better in terms of atmosphere when it was all seater.

That is quite the line up of strong performing boats 😂

Hopefully the bottles of Head and Shoulders are flying around the dressing room after that shite.

I think this ship may have sailed

So, bad day at the office or have Hull just given teams a way to beat us? That for me was worrying because it seemed like Hull targeted our weaknesses effectively, put pressure on in the right places, and stopped us creating anything of note. They should and could’ve been more in front by half time and perhaps the lads thought they’d come out in the second and Hull would go to pieces as we passed it around them. Instead they continued what they’d been doing. Hopefully it was a bad day but tonight was not enjoyable bar a far too late push to try and score, by which time Hull could just sit and watch us hit a brick wall.

The biggest club in the world is of course Real Madrid, the most commercially successful so far is Man United. Nothing to do with Jason Wilcox but just needed to point out that Real is still the club every player would leave their club for, and historically always have. And I prefer Barca.

Truth 👏🏻

Big test now. Perhaps the win on Saturday and record went to the team’s heads a little. Downes is a big miss but he’s one of 11 players. A loss might not be terrible if reduces pressure to keep extending it or ends the assumption that it’ll keep going regardless of effort.

Not laughing at you, laughing at the comment as it is good to get a humourous response 👍

Perhaps he wanted to keep his jacket. Why would you get angry about this? You’re not entitled to it. Say I made a sign outside your house asking for your clothes. Would you be a diva for telling me to piss off and get my own clobber? Entitled fan behaviour sucks.

Sounds much better in terms of not letting players stall in the development phase. If a player has reached 23 and isn't in the first team then it probably isn't going to happen for them for whatever reason. Let them go to a lower league team much earlier where they may find themselves, and it saves money too that can be spent on first team talent. This is better for everyone, particularly if the club is not just indulging inconsequential first team appearance stats like it used to.

That’s clearly an Bukta hint…or perhaps Spall 🤔

Excellent. Ex-pros, and from the better youth era coaching kids how to be professionals. Was badly lacking previously.

I understand they’ve gone there for the tea rooms and natural springs.

Rational (not insane) window.

Double 5, somewhere between an 8 and a 4.

I understand that this was a challenge put to previous leaders at the academy. Perhaps the CoT could confirm as they’ll be able to ask what the new CEO thought of the academy success when remnants of previous regimes were waxing lyrical about the amazing academy. A huge amount spent, not a great deal of production. Ultimately, whilst busy patting themselves on the back, they lost their way, and spent plenty doing it.

The last player to come through the Saints academy who was Premier League level was James Ward-Prowse. Oxlade-Chamberlain is older than Prowsey. It's likely that unless we buy players other academies, the next Premier League level player from our academy who has developed here over a long period is likely about 10 years away.

Hopefully this finally confirms what plenty had said before. Semmens was a chancer, someone who’d made a career out of marketing and PR in an easier time. He started the downfall by engineering the Gao takeover, cleverly blamed everyone else but when it was only him and his merry team of incompetents in charge, it went to dirt. Noddy.