Tony F

Disagree at 2 levels. 1. Training and preparation 2. Choice of taker. There needs to be a firm policy. Specifically Tadic's record is so bad, Puel (or Davis as Captain) should never have allowed him to even think he could/should take a pen. I don't recall if JWP was on the pitch at the time but Tadic should never have been the appointed candidate.

Just one comment about Alfas in general. Assuming you want a manual, they clutch can be heavy. May not seem a problem but in heavy traffic it can be a problem depending my on your age and fitness. I had to get rid of my Alfa after 8 months just for this reason. It was "doing my hip in"!!. But maybe the newer cars are better these days.

So it looks pretty clear now I would say. The two Northeast teams plus one from Swansea or Hull. They don't play each other but both play Sunderland. Hull play 'em at home, Swansea play 'em away..... GIven the fixtures remaining it looks more likely Hull stay above the line

BBC website quote..... "Reports in the Daily Star say Everton boss Ronald Koeman wants to sign out-of-favour 27-year-old Southampton defender Cuco Martina." I think he rated Cuco more highly than Puel does. I can see that Martina would want first team footie whereas we want quality subs on our bench.....

I think a bit of "reason behind the thinking" might be an aid to discussion.

Looks like we lost our 27th game every season!!??

No Mattio, that's the point. The station (and IoW ferry, I believe) shuttles are not free....... but they used to be.

Witty retort sir! I normally use the train and walk from Central, but when its crappy weather the (free) bus is a good option. Its £3 now. Not sure that represents a discount

In our Prem days prior to relegation, financial meltdown, buy out of the club etc, the shuttle busses to/from SMS were free. Of that I am certain. Furthermore, if I recall correctly, provision of free shuttle busses was a condition of the planning approval for SMS..... so far, so good. However, during our dark dismal days I believe SFC appealed to the City Council for the right to withdraw club funding from the service (citing unaffordability - given that the club was on the brink of collapse), meaning that it had to be run commercially - ie paid for by those using it. I assume that this agreement was a temporary relief from the planning conditions - but I stress this is an assumption. Does anyone else agree with my memory of this history/interpretation? If so, then I wonder why there is no clamour for the club to once again subsidise the service (and respect the original planning conditions) given that we are no longer on the verge of financial collapse.... I would be happy to told I am way off the mark - and willing to understand the true story. My head is over the parapet.......GO :-)

"Guessing about guessing"...... hmm. Are we wiser?

1 April according to "Physio Room" website..... Believe or disbelieve........but I guess its based on something better than a wild guess.

The "Physio Room" website shows VVD supposedly due back 8 April with Austin and Targett both listed as 1 April. I am not saying this is gospel but I hope it would be based on some sort of information rather than a wild guess. Pied and McCarthy are not due back this season according to the same website. We have 5 players listed as injured, which is an improvement on the 10 we had listed about a month ago.

Beating the apparently "invincible" Burnley at home too. I seem to recall Saints fielded a full strength team there and came away with nought

Is this the point where we ask DevonSaint for the Andre Marriner like/dislike Saints stats?

Another problem with 3 team (3 game) groups is that a small country without great wealth - say Haiti, just to give a name - will have to somehow fund a 2-3 week trip to somewhere expensive (say Japan just as a random possible location) for a squad of 23 plus numerous hangers on, just for two games of football. I wonder how, realistically, very small nations would fund their attendance without sponsorship of some kind. At least 4 team groups guaranteed 3 games.

No-one ha mentioned the Black Box yet. The same system that found VvD probably has our next 2 first team CBs lined up.....??

So..... Barca 4 City Nil. What will this mean for us? Answer A: "Trouble at Mill" - unsettled City might be there for the taking or Answer B: Backlash time.....??

Are Scousehampton looking for a left back then?

BBC still showing Wet Sham with zero shots on target.......

Sounds like he had a great match (effectively his "second debut" for the club) against Palace this evening?

One thing that doesn't seem to have changed is our slow start to a season... That 4 points from 6 in league one, through to 2 points from 4 this season (and similar last season)? If we could bag a sharp start to a season it would be a such a pleasant surprise!

Good to see, following our signing of Redmond, Saints seem to have 3 established U21 players.

I think you have identified the key issue here. Today we are signing players who are young and very much still improving - not only in the club's eyes but in their own eyes too. So inevitably some will want to realise their dream (if it comes knocking) and move to a glamour outfit and pocket the big bucks. If you think back to our Premier League days before our meltdown and reconstruction, we signed players like Williams, Telfer, Ormerod, Quashie who were (with respect) "journeyman" sort of players and mostly close to or over the age of 30. I just don't see us signing that sort of players any more and I think that is indicative of our attitude as a club - but the price to pay is, every summer transfer window, a couple of our "better players" are likely to leave, to move onwards and upwards. The only way to stop it would be to push into the top 4 and offer Champions League football at St Mary's Stadium. Will it happen? Maybe - but its not really likely...... So if we as supporters can enjoy the "new reality" and not fret over it, we will probably be doing ourselves a favour!

That's pretty brave on the face of it. A PM is only three clicks away from being on the forum; one "copy", one "paste" and one "post"......

Mind you, the 8pm Friday kick-off is probably something of a dampener to demand. I would have applied for tickets if it was a Sat or Sun afternoon.