Kingsland Red

Cracking game and atmosphere, thoroughly enjoyable evening. And I read on here our season's over !

Adequate today against a team that really never got in amongst us. Good to see Harry Reed and Sam Gallagher both slot easily into the system, and Guly had an excellent 55 minutes. Yes I know the opposition will be harder on Tuesday ! Onwards COYR !

Like all other SWF folk, I have picked up comment from recent more balanced newspaper articles etc this last week,and let's be honest , that is our only source of 'facts'. Concern previously was that we would go backwards without the driving force of NC. However, I am beginning to wonder if KL and her advisors were seeing 'The Project' as put in place and funded by Markus, beginning to flounder on the rocks of NC's abrasive approach, hence the recent KL intervention. Could it be that, rather than the club going backwards after NC's departure, that infact the Liebherrs got Cortese to left his position as CEO due to his stalling on progressly building a relationship within the greater community, due to self imposed distractions. For example disputes on non-payments to local businessess or contractors working at Staplewood; a poor relationship with popular figures like Lawrie Mac,Benali or MLT; supporters acting as programme sellers etc. You could add to that his reported dealings with other clubs and the local press; a fascination with Serie A or B imports; and keeping players around like Sharp or Barnard, rather than letting them go and getting them off the books. Maybe KL wants to bring back the feel good factor her father originally instilled into the club as well as progressing onwards.

Can we expect the club to make a statement when the new chief exec is appointed along the lines of: "NC did a good job for the club but was holding back the progress of the desired project. We now have *** in place and look to move on at a more satisfactory pace to our desired target of European football".

Yep: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21237023

I can see FFs stance here as I knew programme sellers who had worked at the club for years. Strange autocratic decisions like the programme sellers, closure of the programme shop under the Chapel, charging car park fees for fans queuing for tickets,ticket tax,problems with the catering inside and outside the ground, and not paying contractors who renovated the suites in the summer before starting out in the Premier League can all be added to those issues already raised and were all accepted by the support, provided we kept progressing on match days.

Both Jeffs sons are Saints fans ( and good keepers in Tyro). He is a regular midweek attendee with them, albeit we have nowhere so may midweeks as the days in the lower leagues.

If clubs, like Southampton, continuously feed clubs like Chelsea their best players ,like Shaw, then of course Chelsea will get in the Champions Leagueinstead of clubs like Saints. I understood the club were trying something different in keeping their talent. Simple, isn't it Merson ?

Where is Tzun Tsu and his Art of War when you need him ?

So much good news. Can we also have Dennis Rofe back to put the cones out (I accept a half time rallying of the support has been surpassed by the 'world famous' relay race)

I am just beginning to dislike the man sniping at our club. We have moved on, can he ?

This has probably been posted in the middle of a previous thread , but is the first article I've read from others, rather than the NC PR machine (Ashton Daily Mail or Ben Smith BBC) or Saints fans: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/nicola-cortese-chose-to-leave-and-was-not-forced-out-insist-southampton-9065638.html

So the Liebherrs are finding their feet after Markus's untimely death and have dispensed with Cortese. For Saints this is not a withdrawal of funds , just a new appointment of an executive . As part of the consolidation of the MALI Group it has maybe been decided to sell off Saints. Happens all the time to football clubs. Would the clubs status in the leagues improve prior to a placing in the global market, I don't think so. Interesting times but not the disaster we seem to be making out.

So a billionairess becomes our chairperson, hardly a Lithuanian bank owner or Angolan landline salesman.

Or Corteses's group of Swiss bankers he's kept in the background ?

Ah, 'Walking in a Liebherr wonderland' after all !

I understood Cortese had previously indicated that if the Liebherrs did not want to continue, then he had other funders in the back ground.

As we have had confirmed to us in the last couple of months, the requirement for a squad with strength in depth is essential. Even consistently good clubs like Tottenham or Everton have got in the top four once but not been able to sustain the challenge the following season. Existing big clubs will always get the better players so the only way of fulfilling Mr Cortese's dream is to get the young players in or via the academy and then work with them as they mature. It is an interesting project and I am happy to watch it unfold, as until Cortese came along, my ambitions for the club extended no further than winning the annual relegation dog fight.

Blimey, how the mighty… http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/ambitious-royals-snap-up-thomson-1-5805486

First time for us as fans of the Saints for many years that we can enjoy the football on offer without promotion or relegation fears. Imagine how boring life is supporting say Everton, Liverpool or Arsenal, or maybe not…..

He is on loan from Juve, so probably a slightly more complex situation than tempting Sassuolo with a large bid…..

Haven't seen a team visit and attempt nothing at all but time waste for the 90 minutes since we played Wycombe in Div 1, which we also won 1-0. The one minute of added time at the end of the first half was a joke, Forster held the ball for longer than that. Whatever happened to the six second rule? Anyway, at least we won what I believe is our first time with Howard Webb officiating our game in the Premier.

Inigo Idiakez - watching Leicester v Derby on now, and youth team coach at Leicester according to Sky.

Blink 182 concert at Wembley Arena; queueing for hours at The Dell every Saturday morning for tickets for some game or another as we never got much nearer the top of the season ticket waiting list; or bidding for a tele tubby at an infant school fete . Now at 20 and 23 their nicknames are no longer appropriate !