Kingsland Red

I wonder if this is clearing the decks for a Hughes replacement ....

No wonder we go to St Marys with such low expectations. We have an owner with little interest of any success ( or failure ) in the sporting arena. He bought the club and probably by now (TV and VVD money etc) has recovered a large proportion of his outlay, but with little intent of investing any further. We have a board lacking direction from above who do as little as possible to maintain the status quo and cannot act decisively as it may rock the financial boat. At what point does this man get involved in the purpose of a football club, rather than show more interest in buying up a local cement works ?

I agree with The Cat, several players missing from the OP team that greatly contributed to our plight with Saggy in charge. Don't forget (Where's ) Bernard, the left back who was generally AWOL somewhere in the centre circle; the useless Davenport who seemed to be Saggy's no1 centre back, Saggy Junior who could not run for longer than the first 20 minutes, and Quashie who did better for us once we'd got relegated to his level.

The most bizarre thing was, ( from memory sitting on the half way line) no player appealed / celebrated

Yep, Leganes start at Bilbao on Monday

Strange one - the LED lights should last indefinitely and be far cheaper to run than say halogen.

Ah Gotcha !

.... Really - how do the fans do that , please advise ,I've often felt I need help loosening the shackles of this club

I agree - that was on my mind.

Not that I would, but the same process could be applied to Pellegrino. Then where would we be ?

Fee agreed, discussing personal terms

Of course, two STs in same seats since the move to St Marys

Best stay away until resolved, there is no point being on here except a cursory glance every week these days.

Fantastic gig. I wondered if St Marys would be big enough after seeing them at various large stadiums over the years. Although obviously smaller the atmosphere and sound last night were vastly better.

Glad there was an opportunity to question the motives of Gao and why China is as important to Southampton FC as the real supporters who live in the ‘50 mile radius’ and will support the club unconditionally. I would never recommend anyone support a club, but also never understand why they would not support their local one that they can watch regularly with their family / mates.

After the ' Salisbury incident' one would imagine any friend of Putin laundering money in this country may have trouble. It would explain comments from the parents of young youth players from this area trialling at the Cobham training ground, and when checking in seeing dozens of Russian speaking accountants in the office building.

Beat me to it - none better, a wonderful moment.

In a nutshell, this sums the whole thing up very well

Everton and West Ham think big every summer then get in the pragmatist managers to pick up the pieces. Good luck to them.

As we proved under Hughes,pragmatism rather than flamboyancy is the new success for clubs outside the top four. The earlier a team plays for a Pulis style point, the more points they are able to accumulate. The Huddersfield and West Brom (under Pulis) matches at St Marys were two of the most boring Premier League games I have ever seen. Teams playing with a more attacking outlook ( Everton under Koeman, Watford under Silva or us in a care free style before Christmas) end up struggling to grind out the points.

The sooner our board start realising we should not be a stepping stone to the top six for players and managers, and develop our identity as a 7th -12th team the better. No more stupid unrealistic promises / 5 year plans. That and a few more good cup runs is where we are at. That's as good as we can be and after this scare even the over zealous must realise this.

Probably the most tense final ten minutes at St Marys. Typically Saints retreating back to the edge of their area and were under siege, with everyone on their feet willing the ball to stay out the goal. Wave after wave of Sheffield crosses and half clearances straight back to them. The relief at the final whistle matched the euphoria against Norwich a few years earlier.

My reference to Disney club fans is to those who, irrespective of where they live, support a top six club for the comfortable winning lifestyle - we all know them. That club is certainly not the Saints !

If you want Disney fairy tale, trophy winning, tickle my tummy football you're supporting the wrong club. We are Southampton, a city that follows its club - today at Wembley being an example, a great day out. It will be more Quentin Tarantino than Disney but it's our city club. Like CB Fry I will be there next season, be it watching Man City or Shrewsbury Town.

I will be at Wembley with one of my sons. The other is supporting friends at the London marathon. I am at Wembley as my club is playing there, although I have no expectations of the current inadequate incumbents representing us on the field of play or boardroom. I do hope though that we can fill our allocation as a show of support of each other and our city club.