BG_Saint

I don't think Cortese will leave. BPL is much better competition at the moment than Serie A (both in terms of prestige, quality of football and moneymaking potential). Liebherr provided the money to buy and bail out the club, but it's been Cortese in charge this whole time, so he *must* be seeing this as a personal project.

It's a game, I feel, we could have won. We are a good team - and we played some of the best teams in the league recently (Arsenal, Chelsea x2, Man City), which made us look...not so good.

I voted "Exceptionally good". I think that with the resources at his disposal he has done very well. His transfers have been very good (Osvaldo just needs time). Tactically the team is performing very well and playing football that has been commended by pundits. His subs are always spot-on and have won us quite a few points. Young players are blossoming under him (think Lallana). Youth players are given a chance into the squad. He came under controversial conditions, yet he won over the changing room and the fans - the atmosphere in and around the club is very very positive. I don't think we could have done better.

I respect your view. It would have been nice to have a similar run in the League Cup. IMHO the main reason for going the way we did was that at that point, it was much less clear how the season ahead would unfold. Risking serious injury to crucial players early in the season might have led us to different position in the league...

Of course it does - the FA Cup is much more valuable in any given sense...

I agree except that the Europe Cup brings in a lot of international experience which is valuable if you are ever aiming to become a Champions' League team. Players also need to adapt to playing twice weekly, the whole club has to plan and prepare for that, including squad depth. That and it's a benchmark - it would be nice to hit it.

Great read, thanks for sharing!

What if Real offer us 100m for him? Would you still not sell? We can buy 4 players of his level with this money.

This whole discussion about whether Gaston meant the pass for AL or not completely missed the point. And it also shows complete misunderstanding of how modern football works. Ramirez didn't even need to look to the are where he wanted to pass (and that he did just adds to his game), because much of the plays that occur on the field, even in open play have been discussed and practiced before in training during the week (and maybe even in pre-season). So, maybe he wasn't expecting AL to be there, more likely J-Rod or SRL, but still he had a look (because he had a second to do it) and his pass was great. Of course AL also deserves credit for his finish.

And hairstyle?

Awesome! Unfortunately, I am in the capital Sofia, which is on the other side of the country. Balchik is a very nice town, I've been there a while ago.

There was a similar scene on "League of Gentlemen". Almost ****ed myself laughing...

Like last time we played them you mean Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

WBA are a poor team but they are defending well. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Um...actually watching the game? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I've been reading the forums for a while now, but just about made the step to becoming a full-time member with posting privileges. Not sure there are many people from around here who support the Saints (I'm the only one to the best of my knowledge), but if there are, it would be cool to get in touch.

I'd go with Cardiff - I'm sure Tan has some kind of Malaysian "vodoo" (I know it's ignorant) magic that works better...

Wired Magazine has a long interesting analysis on the rise of use of the Prozone software and data analytics in general in football. http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2014/01/features/the-winning-formula Turns out Saints were one of the 'early adopters' back in the early 2000's. Harry Redknapp didn't like it much though (what a surprise).

It feels much less wild and safer than when I used to live in Colchester in all fairness... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm in Sofia, Bulgaria (it's pretty lonely nowadays with everyone going to the UK to claim benefits and steal some jobs...) I started supporting the Saints as a teen after watching several short videos about The Dell and the club and watching a few matches with Matt LeTiss. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I envy his connections... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Pepe Mel is a good coach, well respected in Spain. Should stop West Brom's slide, they've been really bad recently. I was especially disappointed to see them go "the Fulham way" with the signing of Anelka and the like.

Jos might not be the best def in the world, but why would you want to do this to him?

When does MoPo's contract run out?