Decision time looms for Adkins (From Daily Echo)

GX Saint wrote:
Chaplow back for Tuesday is a big plus

JimmyLondon wrote:
firstly why are we playinga left back at right back and why is de ridder on the bench for lalque????
We need to sign payeers to show our intent. Where is the investment. We are not going to get a better chance to get promoted than this.
We will throw this away if we do not get another striker a centre half and a ball winning central midfielder.

If we dont sign players we are not going up.

JohnItaly wrote:
All this well publicised talk of Saints having money to burn clearly must make negotiations difficult for NC/NA. Our recent run of poor results could lead any potential selling club to interpret the situation as Saints getting desperate and will therefore be willing to pay "over the odds". If this is indeed the situation then I applaud NC for sticking to his principles of getting the right
player(s) at the right price.

ghk230473 wrote:
Adkins IS using injuries as an excuse. Fact is we have not played well since end of November and there have been signs like tonight in previous games (Bristol city). We were top of the league at the turn of the year with the injuries and suspension, we have been relying on the same players all season and it is catching up. We have players, Holmes, puncheon etc that aren't going to feature/ not good enough let's just clear them out and get new in. Our squad is half top of league 1/lower premier league and half top of cola league. It's not all doom as not much has been done and players still available (wish we had acted sooner though) but adders has to act fast in not only getting players in but shifting out as well. The bus ride is smelling a bit funky of rotten eggs! Come on Adkins tell wee man to get that cheque book out it's time to trade.

OSPREYSAINT wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:
Adkins IS using injuries as an excuse. Fact is we have not played well since end of November and there have been signs like tonight in previous games (Bristol city). We were top of the league at the turn of the year with the injuries and suspension, we have been relying on the same players all season and it is catching up. We have players, Holmes, puncheon etc that aren't going to feature/ not good enough let's just clear them out and get new in. Our squad is half top of league 1/lower premier league and half top of cola league. It's not all doom as not much has been done and players still available (wish we had acted sooner though) but adders has to act fast in not only getting players in but shifting out as well. The bus ride is smelling a bit funky of rotten eggs! Come on Adkins tell wee man to get that cheque book out it's time to trade.

He should be using the injury crisis as an excuse, it is undeniable that missing key players is crucial, but any prospective players seeing the negativity on our message sites would have second thoughts about whether they would get the support they needed if they came here. It as been totally OTT since we started to falter. We are as much to blame through our negative attitudes.

billythesaint wrote:
Do we really need another centre midfielder as a few keeping saying? Chaplow (almost back from injury), Schneiderlin, Lallana, Hammond, Cork etc. Our midfield is probably the best in the league. We don't need another striker; we've just bought one. We need another defender. Any defender. Hooiveld tackles like Bobby Moore one second and is totally out of position the next. Still can't make my mind up about Fox. Seaborne is obviously not the man he used to be after almost being killed and Jaidi is about 56 years old. Richardson is average. Fonte probably the only defender I can't moan about. Harding is a shower of sh1te. Our keeper has great reflexes but he needs to organise the defence better. Rant over.

soton mess wrote:
The Squad we have is good, but do prado played like a lazy italian, he made no effort. I would like to see de ridder take his place, his pace and skill and distance covered is miles better than do prado's. Fulque i think would have worked better along side de ridder as well, leicester had more pace and were better at limiting space so we couldn't play our game. We are not out of the running yet, but desperately need strengthening with some premiership players, even brighton are showing their intent by going after michael owen (http://www.thesun.c

o.uk/sol/homepage/sp

ort/football/4080600

/Transfer-news-Brigh

ton-in-shock-Michael

-Owen-swoop.html) we need to spend on 2/3 players!

St Retford wrote:
Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

Block 42 wrote:
I don't think adkins had the pulling power to attract big players.the big players we have,pardew signed.i am debating we have ther billions we claim to have and think we only go fort players they know will not sign to appease the fans....i guarentee we will not spend over 4 mill on a player this window.its a disgrace.we have had all summer and winter.if we don't go up from the position we was in adkins must look in the mirror and ask himself if he is up fir the job.we have been utter tripe lately.so what if we dispatched a ten man forest...everyone beats them

St Retford wrote:
Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

OSPREYSAINT wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:
Adkins IS using injuries as an excuse. Fact is we have not played well since end of November and there have been signs like tonight in previous games (Bristol city). We were top of the league at the turn of the year with the injuries and suspension, we have been relying on the same players all season and it is catching up. We have players, Holmes, puncheon etc that aren't going to feature/ not good enough let's just clear them out and get new in. Our squad is half top of league 1/lower premier league and half top of cola league. It's not all doom as not much has been done and players still available (wish we had acted sooner though) but adders has to act fast in not only getting players in but shifting out as well. The bus ride is smelling a bit funky of rotten eggs! Come on Adkins tell wee man to get that cheque book out it's time to trade.

He should be using the injury crisis as an excuse, it is undeniable that missing key players is crucial, but any prospective players seeing the negativity on our message sites would have second thoughts about whether they would get the support they needed if they came here. It as been totally OTT since we started to falter. We are as much to blame through our negative attitudes.

miltonarcher wrote:

St Retford wrote:
Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

100% agree with this. It is staggering that after a couple of below par performances the boo boys crawl out from the woodwork and start blaming NA. Injuries have been a factor, not adding to the squad has been a factor, but the last thing you want to do is to panic buy or buy just for the sake of appeasing the fans.
Where are we in the league? Oh yes in the top two, shocking, surely in our first season in this league we should be at least 12 points clear!!!!!
At the start of the season how many of you thought that we would be top two in Jan???? How many of you thought we would be playing the attractive football we have dished up this season?
Get real and get of NA’s back and support the club.

randre wrote:

miltonarcher wrote:

St Retford wrote:
Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

100% agree with this. It is staggering that after a couple of below par performances the boo boys crawl out from the woodwork and start blaming NA. Injuries have been a factor, not adding to the squad has been a factor, but the last thing you want to do is to panic buy or buy just for the sake of appeasing the fans.
Where are we in the league? Oh yes in the top two, shocking, surely in our first season in this league we should be at least 12 points clear!!!!!
At the start of the season how many of you thought that we would be top two in Jan???? How many of you thought we would be playing the attractive football we have dished up this season?
Get real and get of NA’s back and support the club.

I agree. I had a moan about our work rate last night, but when you lok at the players missing ANY team would miss them. We DO have genuine premier league quality players. I don't believe we need to sign a load of players, we have some great quality coming back and the wheels will soon be back on the bus. I am kicking myslef a bit for moaning about our performance last night, when I look at it in the cold light of day we have got so many quality players out and when they come back we will be OK.

We are still 2nd, so I don't quite understand why so many people are acting as if we have just been put into the relegation zone! I wasn't happy with last night, but for anybody questioning Atkins or Cortese must be mad.

Also, anybody questioning Atkins pulling power with players... who would you think could do better?? Atkins has added some good players to this squad and we are looking for players who are hungry, not ex- premier league has beens who just want to relax on the South Coast for their last pay day.... The Blue fishy friends down the road tried that and look where it got them...

One thought, be VERY careful what you wish for.

shaun_inuk wrote:
West ham have caught and overtaken us with even more players injured or suspended. I agree with all the posts above. Unfortunately we still have small club syndrome and won't invest even from the good position we have been in.

It's all very well Adkins saying that we have players coming back but we should have capitalised whilst in front of the league and been stronger still for these players coming back. If we don't strengthen we are bound to have injuries and suspensions again before the season is out and then the window will be shut.

I wonder why it is we can never seem to land the big fish in the transfer market.

ghk230473 wrote:

OSPREYSAINT wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:
Adkins IS using injuries as an excuse. Fact is we have not played well since end of November and there have been signs like tonight in previous games (Bristol city). We were top of the league at the turn of the year with the injuries and suspension, we have been relying on the same players all season and it is catching up. We have players, Holmes, puncheon etc that aren't going to feature/ not good enough let's just clear them out and get new in. Our squad is half top of league 1/lower premier league and half top of cola league. It's not all doom as not much has been done and players still available (wish we had acted sooner though) but adders has to act fast in not only getting players in but shifting out as well. The bus ride is smelling a bit funky of rotten eggs! Come on Adkins tell wee man to get that cheque book out it's time to trade.

He should be using the injury crisis as an excuse, it is undeniable that missing key players is crucial, but any prospective players seeing the negativity on our message sites would have second thoughts about whether they would get the support they needed if they came here. It as been totally OTT since we started to falter. We are as much to blame through our negative attitudes.

Sorry I can't except that. Lallana's injury was only 1 he did not have time to address but he has sdr, Holmes and falquoe. We have a big gulf in quality from our better to lesser players, that has not been sorted. Holmes was supposedly going on loan why hasn't he? Puncheon? Get rid of what is not wanted. We gave been on the wain since November and IMO our better players are burnt out 'carrying the lesser lot. We've had 24 days to get players in and have not spent a bean, I think that's criminal seeing the position we are in and the prize waiting. If we don't do it now we never will. Also Owen in talks with Brighton and we are being linked with sharp!

shaun_inuk wrote:

JimmyLondon wrote:
firstly why are we playinga left back at right back and why is de ridder on the bench for lalque????
We need to sign payeers to show our intent. Where is the investment. We are not going to get a better chance to get promoted than this.
We will throw this away if we do not get another striker a centre half and a ball winning central midfielder.

If we dont sign players we are not going up.

Well said

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

St Retford wrote:
Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

Exiled Saint - front line eastern outpost of Gosport wrote:
I've maintained for months that without proper cover for AL and RL we were two injuries away from mid table and so it has transpired.

The wage structure is hamstringing the manager with what he can bring In. Either we pay the going rate for top quality players in this window or we can face the playoffs and hope for the best.

The time to strengthen is now. If we scrape up to the prem thru the playoffs with this squad we will come back down again with less points then Derby.

Ach I The Noo wrote:
You should use the £6m to get yourselves some new decent FANS.........?

Mowyjoe wrote:

Exiled Saint - front line eastern outpost of Gosport wrote:
I've maintained for months that without proper cover for AL and RL we were two injuries away from mid table and so it has transpired.

The wage structure is hamstringing the manager with what he can bring In. Either we pay the going rate for top quality players in this window or we can face the playoffs and hope for the best.

The time to strengthen is now. If we scrape up to the prem thru the playoffs with this squad we will come back down again with less points then Derby.

yep let's break our wage budget and spend money in an unsustainable fashion on players worth half what we pay for them, its worked for loads of teams, look at the wonderful position Portsmouth and Leeds are after adopting those financial tactics, you should be in charge of our club not cortese

we do need strengthening but for the right money, why should we pay anyone more than Lambert and Lallana?

Churchill Saint wrote:
Lots of new posters on here being ultra negative and moaning. Probably the same as those booing your own team last night and getting on the back individual players. Shame on you. Are you so stupid that you can't understand that your team may actually play better if you support them? I came on here have some constructive discussion about the topic (the transfer window) but I can't be bothered

St Retford wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:
Lots of new posters on here being ultra negative and moaning. Probably the same as those booing your own team last night and getting on the back individual players. Shame on you. Are you so stupid that you can't understand that your team may actually play better if you support them? I came on here have some constructive discussion about the topic (the transfer window) but I can't be bothered

I know the feeling. Thing is, most of the negative posters on here are either Pompey or Brighton fans pretending to be Saints. Given that their clubs are, respectively, going bust and having half the squad sent to prison you can see why they'd resent our success. Personally, there's nothing they can say that will convince me that being second in a league we were promoted into six months ago is that much of a disaster.

ghk230473 wrote:

St Retford wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:
Lots of new posters on here being ultra negative and moaning. Probably the same as those booing your own team last night and getting on the back individual players. Shame on you. Are you so stupid that you can't understand that your team may actually play better if you support them? I came on here have some constructive discussion about the topic (the transfer window) but I can't be bothered

I know the feeling. Thing is, most of the negative posters on here are either Pompey or Brighton fans pretending to be Saints. Given that their clubs are, respectively, going bust and having half the squad sent to prison you can see why they'd resent our success. Personally, there's nothing they can say that will convince me that being second in a league we were promoted into six months ago is that much of a disaster.

All this bobbins about new postings? Have you got to go thru some initiation? Because some can't be delirious about not playing well for over 2 months does not make us stupid. This is a forum, put across a good argument to change opinion if you don't like it or do 1

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

miltonarcher wrote:

St Retford wrote: Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

100% agree with this. It is staggering that after a couple of below par performances the boo boys crawl out from the woodwork and start blaming NA. Injuries have been a factor, not adding to the squad has been a factor, but the last thing you want to do is to panic buy or buy just for the sake of appeasing the fans. Where are we in the league? Oh yes in the top two, shocking, surely in our first season in this league we should be at least 12 points clear!!!!! At the start of the season how many of you thought that we would be top two in Jan???? How many of you thought we would be playing the attractive football we have dished up this season? Get real and get of NA’s back and support the club.

Confucious wrote:
Interesting post-match radio interview with Keith Doomengloom, chairman of the Official Unofficial Supporters Club. He said:

"A p!ss poor evening from Adkins and the team despite our best efforts from the stands.

"Although it was a critical match to decide if we went back to the top, we had thousands of fans at home owing to various afflictions including flu, television addiction, lambertitis and backseatdriver syndrome.

"We left several thousand more at home as part of our ongoing strategy to encourage Sky TV to cover matches outside the prem.

"The long silent spells we're part of our tactic to alleviate the laryingitis epidemic in Totton.

"We employed the booing strategy at half time in our successful 'tough love' formation, involving highly effective harsh treatment and derision with the intent of helping the team in the long run.

"We were absolutely right to keep booing Nugent - even after it was obvious he was really enjoying it and waving his hands to encourage more -because as someone once wisely said 'The higher they get, the fewer'.

"All in all, I think it was a night when Markus's family, who have absolutely no need to be involved in the club, could see just why he held us fans in such affection and esteem and made such a costly and emotion-packed commitment to the club.

"There's no doubt the fans played a blinder. Pity that lot on the pitch didn't match our intelligence and commitment.

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

Block 42 wrote:
I don't think adkins had the pulling power to attract big players.the big players we have,pardew signed.i am debating we have ther billions we claim to have and think we only go fort players they know will not sign to appease the fans....i guarentee we will not spend over 4 mill on a player this window.its a disgrace.we have had all summer and winter.if we don't go up from the position we was in adkins must look in the mirror and ask himself if he is up fir the job.we have been utter tripe lately.so what if we dispatched a ten man forest...everyone beats them

Redrobbo wrote:
Let's go out and buy 7 new players put them on Premiership wages and walk the League. It just don't work like that! Our squad currently is as good as anyone's in this Dvision.We have a large number of injuries and our talisman has been suspended for three games, two of which we one by the way.We need to regroup bring in no more than two players(three if Jos is going to be out for any length of time).
Keep the team spirit, and go again. Managers have there favourite formations, I for one think that we shoudl go 4-5-1 away from home, there is nothing wrong with grinding our results.Nigel always likes a 4-4-2 or the 'diamond', he has proved to be right up until a few weeks ago and his track record is better than mine so I bow to his superior knowledge.Opinions on football are like a*rseholes, everybody has one. For all the negative posters on here I would urge you be be cup half full people instead of cup half empty. We very nearly didn't have a club to support, our friends down the road might not survive the latest farce, Darlington are fighting to survive. Count your blessings the club you support are second in the League.Despite what Bill Shankly said football is not more important than life or death, but it is irrantionally compulsive.Keep the faith in NC and NA, we have a 5 year plan and we are building a club from the bottom. If we suceed and have a premiership team with half the players home grown what an achievement that would be in the modern era of cheque book management, and what a legacy to the Leibherr dream.

LuaLua4_1 wrote:
the wheels have well and truely fallen off now. How quickly the fans turn on the team and manager

Air Florida wrote:
Thank goodness for some people with sense on this site. So please: - Stop Moaning - Don't boo And remember: - We're 2nd in the league - It' an automatic promotion place - Ricky's back next game, others will back soon - It's our 1st year back in the Championship - We've got the BEST MANAGER in the league - We're not broke - We have an amazing academy And rejoice that: - Poopey are more than skint, rudderless and sinking - Gus is still huffing and puffing outside the play offs - .......and HARRY IS IN THE DOCK!

Red n White wrote:
It was awful having to watch it on TV and see fans leaving before the final whistle. It's just embarrasing. Why, if you pay for a ticket do you leave early? I've never left a game early, who cares if you get stuck in traffic for ages, you should be proud to support your team for the full 90!!!

forcaster wrote:
As a nuetral I think the Saints fans are pathetic.You keep on about YOUR money,it is not YOUR money it belongs to the Leibher ( not sure of spelling) family.My prediction is YOU will be promoted But the family will recieve the 90million and sell out with a nice profit. Half of you have no idea how to run a business never mind a football club.You all make out you know more than Adkins or Cortese. Get a life and grow up.

ali dia wrote:
He didn't use the injurys as an excuse in his interview on the saints player. He sounded dissapointed that people who played didn't really take their chance. He kept dodging the question about signings tho........not a good sign

Churchill Saint wrote:

ali dia wrote:
He didn't use the injurys as an excuse in his interview on the saints player. He sounded dissapointed that people who played didn't really take their chance. He kept dodging the question about signings tho........not a good sign

I think that is probably a good sign. I guess NA's fed up that the Hooper deal was scuppered partly as a result of media intrusion (deliberately stirred up by Lennon), so he wants to avoid getting drawn onto the subject. I'd like to think that means that there is a pleasant surprise just around the corner.

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC...... Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad" Hmm? Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then? Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while... But i myself deal with reality... Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent... Pay peanuts.. You get M****** So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market.. SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad? HMM? YEAH? It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!! MONEY!!!

oldsaintsfan wrote:
In my youth I was a Saints fan (60’s/70’s) and still look for the results and read the postings with interest although as I don’t live near So’ton I rarely attend matches. My enduring memories of my time as a supporter are relegation fights/promotion struggles with the occasional high points (FA Cup, Fairs Cup qualification etc – happy days – sometimes!). Back in those days a club could only spend the monies generated through gate receipts and anything else invested by board members. Effectively clubs needed to live within their generally local means. TV revenues has changed all that – particularly in the Premier League. The arrival of super high net worth individuals and more recently Middle Eastern oil derived investment which are clearly not driven by profit maximising principles has also totally changed the Football landscape. It seems to me that managing a football club such as Southampton (regional franchise at best however much we love it!) is all about controlling the cash burn. Revenue from gates, merchandise, TV revenue and other sources (including transfer revenue in) less costs (particularly player wages and transfer costs) is essentially a negative number. This requires an on-going sugar daddy to pick up the tab. The lack of a sugar daddy results in the events of a few years ago at Southampton and the current and past problems at Pompey. These are the facts of life even if fans don’t like hearing it. I have no special insight into the thinking of the current So’ton board/owners but they strike me as rational business people making a private equity investment. They will have a long term plan that implies a sensible return on their capital invested. This implies that budgets will imply what finance is available for transfers. If circumstances are such that transfer target acquisitions are priced beyond the clubs view of what is rational (i.e. other clubs want more for a player than So’ton view as sensible) then the purchase does not happen. This is the discipline and anything more requires a growing commitment from the owners (which often cannot be rationalised in business terms). High transfer spending at smaller clubs is not sustainable and leads to the inevitable disaster. I expect Saints to only strengthen the squad where they can buy value and this seems unlikely in this transfer window (where most significant buys are based on desperation rather than any thoughtful approach). Southampton getting auto promotion this season is on any rational basis punching way above our weight (we were League 1 last year). Clearly others have achieved something similar (Norwich). To stay in the Premier League requires good management, insightful activity in the transfer market and luck. Out of last seasons promotees Swansea and Norwich have done very well – both are well managed – however it seems to me that that does not mean that these clubs will not be struggling at some time in the not too distant future. Back in the 60’s/70’s it was hard to stay in the old 1st Division – it is very much harder now to stay in the premiership (the players run of with much of that TV money!) and spending large does not guarantee success – just ask Pompey! Incidentally I do not remember the bad feeling that seems to be reflected on echo postings with regard to Pompey - in my days as a Saints supporter – pompey were just a little second/third tier club down the road. Happy new year to all Saints fans and best of luck to the team and management for the rest of what will be a very interesting season.

oldsaintsfan wrote:
In my youth I was a Saints fan (60’s/70’s) and still look for the results and read the postings with interest although as I don’t live near So’ton I rarely attend matches. My enduring memories of my time as a supporter are relegation fights/promotion struggles with the occasional high points (FA Cup, Fairs Cup qualification etc – happy days – sometimes!).
Back in those days a club could only spend the monies generated through gate receipts and anything else invested by board members. Effectively clubs needed to live within their generally local means. TV revenues has changed all that – particularly in the Premier League. The arrival of super high net worth individuals and more recently Middle Eastern oil derived investment which are clearly not driven by profit maximising principles has also totally changed the Football landscape.
It seems to me that managing a football club such as Southampton (regional franchise at best however much we love it!) is all about controlling the cash burn. Revenue from gates, merchandise, TV revenue and other sources (including transfer revenue in) less costs (particularly player wages and transfer costs) is essentially a negative number. This requires an on-going sugar daddy to pick up the tab. The lack of a sugar daddy results in the events of a few years ago at Southampton and the current and past problems at Pompey. These are the facts of life even if fans don’t like hearing it.
I have no special insight into the thinking of the current So’ton board/owners but they strike me as rational business people making a private equity investment. They will have a long term plan that implies a sensible return on their capital invested. This implies that budgets will imply what finance is available for transfers. If circumstances are such that transfer target acquisitions are priced beyond the clubs view of what is rational (i.e. other clubs want more for a player than So’ton view as sensible) then the purchase does not happen. This is the discipline and anything more requires a growing commitment from the owners (which often cannot be rationalised in business terms). High transfer spending at smaller clubs is not sustainable and leads to the inevitable disaster. I expect Saints to only strengthen the squad where they can buy value and this seems unlikely in this transfer window (where most significant buys are based on desperation rather than any thoughtful approach).
Southampton getting auto promotion this season is on any rational basis punching way above our weight (we were League 1 last year). Clearly others have achieved something similar (Norwich). To stay in the Premier League requires good management, insightful activity in the transfer market and luck. Out of last seasons promotees Swansea and Norwich have done very well – both are well managed – however it seems to me that that does not mean that these clubs will not be struggling at some time in the not too distant future. Back in the 60’s/70’s it was hard to stay in the old 1st Division – it is very much harder now to stay in the premiership (the players run of with much of that TV money!) and spending large does not guarantee success – just ask Pompey! Incidentally I do not remember the bad feeling that seems to be reflected on echo postings with regard to Pompey - in my days as a Saints supporter – pompey were just a little second/third tier club down the road.
Happy new year to all Saints fans and best of luck to the team and management for the rest of what will be a very interesting season.

oldsaintsfan wrote:
In my youth I was a Saints fan (60’s/70’s) and still look for the results and read the postings with interest although as I don’t live near So’ton I rarely attend matches. My enduring memories of my time as a supporter are relegation fights/promotion struggles with the occasional high points (FA Cup, Fairs Cup qualification etc – happy days – sometimes!).
Back in those days a club could only spend the monies generated through gate receipts and anything else invested by board members. Effectively clubs needed to live within their generally local means. TV revenues has changed all that – particularly in the Premier League. The arrival of super high net worth individuals and more recently Middle Eastern oil derived investment which are clearly not driven by profit maximising principles has also totally changed the Football landscape.
It seems to me that managing a football club such as Southampton (regional franchise at best however much we love it!) is all about controlling the cash burn. Revenue from gates, merchandise, TV revenue and other sources (including transfer revenue in) less costs (particularly player wages and transfer costs) is essentially a negative number. This requires an on-going sugar daddy to pick up the tab. The lack of a sugar daddy results in the events of a few years ago at Southampton and the current and past problems at Pompey. These are the facts of life even if fans don’t like hearing it.
I have no special insight into the thinking of the current So’ton board/owners but they strike me as rational business people making a private equity investment. They will have a long term plan that implies a sensible return on their capital invested. This implies that budgets will imply what finance is available for transfers. If circumstances are such that transfer target acquisitions are priced beyond the clubs view of what is rational (i.e. other clubs want more for a player than So’ton view as sensible) then the purchase does not happen. This is the discipline and anything more requires a growing commitment from the owners (which often cannot be rationalised in business terms). High transfer spending at smaller clubs is not sustainable and leads to the inevitable disaster. I expect Saints to only strengthen the squad where they can buy value and this seems unlikely in this transfer window (where most significant buys are based on desperation rather than any thoughtful approach).
Southampton getting auto promotion this season is on any rational basis punching way above our weight (we were League 1 last year). Clearly others have achieved something similar (Norwich). To stay in the Premier League requires good management, insightful activity in the transfer market and luck. Out of last seasons promotees Swansea and Norwich have done very well – both are well managed – however it seems to me that that does not mean that these clubs will not be struggling at some time in the not too distant future. Back in the 60’s/70’s it was hard to stay in the old 1st Division – it is very much harder now to stay in the premiership (the players run of with much of that TV money!) and spending large does not guarantee success – just ask Pompey! Incidentally I do not remember the bad feeling that seems to be reflected on echo postings with regard to Pompey - in my days as a Saints supporter – pompey were just a little second/third tier club down the road.
Happy new year to all Saints fans and best of luck to the team and management for the rest of what will be a very interesting season.

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC......

Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad"

Hmm?

Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then?


Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while...

But i myself deal with reality...

Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent...

Pay peanuts.. You get M******

So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market..

SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad?

HMM? YEAH?

It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

MONEY!!!

Air Florida wrote:

forcaster wrote: As a nuetral I think the Saints fans are pathetic.You keep on about YOUR money,it is not YOUR money it belongs to the Leibher ( not sure of spelling) family.My prediction is YOU will be promoted But the family will recieve the 90million and sell out with a nice profit. Half of you have no idea how to run a business never mind a football club.You all make out you know more than Adkins or Cortese. Get a life and grow up.

Some of us, not all. "Some" being the minority. So why dont you go and get a life and read your own club's forum AFC Totton fan perhaps?

randre wrote:
Portsmouth have just been issues with a winding up order from HM Revenue & Customs. I think all Saints fans should count our blessings... A sound business owner, well run club, second in the league.... But still it seems some "fans" are not saisfied!

randre wrote:
Portsmouth have just been issues with a winding up order from HM Revenue & Customs. I think all Saints fans should count our blessings... A sound business owner, well run club, second in the league.... But still it seems some "fans" are not saisfied!

mcsaint wrote:
If we end up not getting promoted, we will still have progressed. Last nigh showed clearly we have a team (who were injured / suspended) but not a squad. Much as I love em all, we can see that there a lot in there who wont cut it at the top of Championship, let alone premiership. Davis, Fonte, Hoover, Fox, Morgan, Dean, Chappers, Ricky and Adam are good enough Sadly Dan, Aaaron, Frazer, Lee Holmes, Guly and Connley are not good enough, if we have a couple playing at a time, then thats fine, but if they are all playing then thats not a good team.

mcsaint wrote:
If we end up not getting promoted, we will still have progressed. Last nigh showed clearly we have a team (who were injured / suspended) but not a squad. Much as I love em all, we can see that there a lot in there who wont cut it at the top of Championship, let alone premiership. Davis, Fonte, Hoover, Fox, Morgan, Dean, Chappers, Ricky and Adam are good enough Sadly Dan, Aaaron, Frazer, Lee Holmes, Guly and Connley are not good enough, if we have a couple playing at a time, then thats fine, but if they are all playing then thats not a good team.

randre wrote:

oldsaintsfan wrote: In my youth I was a Saints fan (60’s/70’s) and still look for the results and read the postings with interest although as I don’t live near So’ton I rarely attend matches. My enduring memories of my time as a supporter are relegation fights/promotion struggles with the occasional high points (FA Cup, Fairs Cup qualification etc – happy days – sometimes!). Back in those days a club could only spend the monies generated through gate receipts and anything else invested by board members. Effectively clubs needed to live within their generally local means. TV revenues has changed all that – particularly in the Premier League. The arrival of super high net worth individuals and more recently Middle Eastern oil derived investment which are clearly not driven by profit maximising principles has also totally changed the Football landscape. It seems to me that managing a football club such as Southampton (regional franchise at best however much we love it!) is all about controlling the cash burn. Revenue from gates, merchandise, TV revenue and other sources (including transfer revenue in) less costs (particularly player wages and transfer costs) is essentially a negative number. This requires an on-going sugar daddy to pick up the tab. The lack of a sugar daddy results in the events of a few years ago at Southampton and the current and past problems at Pompey. These are the facts of life even if fans don’t like hearing it. I have no special insight into the thinking of the current So’ton board/owners but they strike me as rational business people making a private equity investment. They will have a long term plan that implies a sensible return on their capital invested. This implies that budgets will imply what finance is available for transfers. If circumstances are such that transfer target acquisitions are priced beyond the clubs view of what is rational (i.e. other clubs want more for a player than So’ton view as sensible) then the purchase does not happen. This is the discipline and anything more requires a growing commitment from the owners (which often cannot be rationalised in business terms). High transfer spending at smaller clubs is not sustainable and leads to the inevitable disaster. I expect Saints to only strengthen the squad where they can buy value and this seems unlikely in this transfer window (where most significant buys are based on desperation rather than any thoughtful approach). Southampton getting auto promotion this season is on any rational basis punching way above our weight (we were League 1 last year). Clearly others have achieved something similar (Norwich). To stay in the Premier League requires good management, insightful activity in the transfer market and luck. Out of last seasons promotees Swansea and Norwich have done very well – both are well managed – however it seems to me that that does not mean that these clubs will not be struggling at some time in the not too distant future. Back in the 60’s/70’s it was hard to stay in the old 1st Division – it is very much harder now to stay in the premiership (the players run of with much of that TV money!) and spending large does not guarantee success – just ask Pompey! Incidentally I do not remember the bad feeling that seems to be reflected on echo postings with regard to Pompey - in my days as a Saints supporter – pompey were just a little second/third tier club down the road. Happy new year to all Saints fans and best of luck to the team and management for the rest of what will be a very interesting season.

What a great post... this puts a real rational look at the team. I myself, never want to go through what we did a few years ago... People that want the club to spend 10 million on players need to remember where we were 2 years ago!!

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

Red n White wrote:
If the skates go out of business we go top again! I'm sure they'd love that

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC......

Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad"

Hmm?

Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then?


Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while...

But i myself deal with reality...

Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent...

Pay peanuts.. You get M******

So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market..

SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad?

HMM? YEAH?

It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

MONEY!!!

What! You can only spend money if good players are available, what is the point in spending millions on players that are no better than what we have got.

You say that we pay peanuts, well we are not doing bad for a team full of monkeys then... 2nd in the league... 2nd from top, not 2nd from bottom... WAKE UP!

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC......

Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad"

Hmm?

Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then?


Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while...

But i myself deal with reality...

Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent...

Pay peanuts.. You get M******

So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market..

SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad?

HMM? YEAH?

It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

MONEY!!!

What! You can only spend money if good players are available, what is the point in spending millions on players that are no better than what we have got.

You say that we pay peanuts, well we are not doing bad for a team full of monkeys then... 2nd in the league... 2nd from top, not 2nd from bottom... WAKE UP!

legod7 wrote:

Air Florida wrote:

forcaster wrote: As a nuetral I think the Saints fans are pathetic.You keep on about YOUR money,it is not YOUR money it belongs to the Leibher ( not sure of spelling) family.My prediction is YOU will be promoted But the family will recieve the 90million and sell out with a nice profit. Half of you have no idea how to run a business never mind a football club.You all make out you know more than Adkins or Cortese. Get a life and grow up.

Some of us, not all. "Some" being the minority. So why dont you go and get a life and read your own club's forum AFC Totton fan perhaps?

What's suddenly wrong with being a Totton fan. I am a Saints season ticket holder and watch Totton when Saints are away.I watched Saints last night and will be watching Totton tonight. Does that make me less of a Saints supporter

randre wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

We were actually very close to going out of business. It is people with this belief of spend spen spen that have run clubs like Portsmouth... Now look where they are! Spending money on players is good, but only if done within a sensible business strategy. I believe we will buy players, but we fortunately have a manager and chairman in charge that will not pay silly prices in both transfer fees and wages.

I would rather be sat where we are.. 2nd in the league with a sound business footing than going through what Portsmouth are going through now.

I can't even believe people are moaning... What a season we are having. I can promise you this... There are 22 other clubs in this league that would love to be in our position right now. Fans from other clubs would think Southampton fans are crazy if they looked at our forums... Fortunately most Saints fans seem to be reasonable!

SteamEM wrote:

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC......

Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad"

Hmm?

Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then?


Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while...

But i myself deal with reality...

Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent...

Pay peanuts.. You get M******

So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market..

SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad?

HMM? YEAH?

It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

MONEY!!!

What! You can only spend money if good players are available, what is the point in spending millions on players that are no better than what we have got.

You say that we pay peanuts, well we are not doing bad for a team full of monkeys then... 2nd in the league... 2nd from top, not 2nd from bottom... WAKE UP!

Hmm? Take it you weren't there last night fella? The young lad on loan is not better then we already have...
I'm not saying spend £10million on a player that isn't better than we have.. I'm saying why appease fans upon the sale of £12million Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain?, That the received funds would be invested in the squad?That my friend is a FACT. I deal with reality..
Hey.. Maybe the squad will be strengthened.. But the first eleven are decent players.. And to buy players of better quality is likely to cost over £4Mil per player.. LIKELY to cost.. Average quality loan players from Spurs with no future at the club is not thinking long term..Regarding my money comment... You need to wake up... This is football today.. Clubs too keen to make incoming funds disappear.. SFC would rather have the £90million that promotion is worth.. Rather than the £12million Oxlade-Chamberlain brought in.. Short sighted while still in Championship many may say.. So.. For me.. Football today... All about money... MONEY, MONEY, MONEY,

Tis time to invest some now though don't you think??

Regardless of all this.. The squad done excellent this season up to Dec.. Not sure where on my last post i said they have been pants????

Yep,, Its you that needs to WAKE UP!!

Block 42 wrote:
its all you happy clappy fans that are a disgrace.you make no noise in thee stadium.you don't chant you don't sing you don't abuse nugent.i watched real madrid sunday and their supportets put ours to shame.much much more vocal.why id this I want answers.most people in our ground just sit drinking tea and eating sweets then moan at us lot making noise.

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

I agree

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC......

Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad"

Hmm?

Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then?


Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while...

But i myself deal with reality...

Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent...

Pay peanuts.. You get M******

So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market..

SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad?

HMM? YEAH?

It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

MONEY!!!

What! You can only spend money if good players are available, what is the point in spending millions on players that are no better than what we have got.

You say that we pay peanuts, well we are not doing bad for a team full of monkeys then... 2nd in the league... 2nd from top, not 2nd from bottom... WAKE UP!

Hmm? Take it you weren't there last night fella? The young lad on loan is not better then we already have...
I'm not saying spend £10million on a player that isn't better than we have.. I'm saying why appease fans upon the sale of £12million Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain?, That the received funds would be invested in the squad?That my friend is a FACT. I deal with reality..
Hey.. Maybe the squad will be strengthened.. But the first eleven are decent players.. And to buy players of better quality is likely to cost over £4Mil per player.. LIKELY to cost.. Average quality loan players from Spurs with no future at the club is not thinking long term..Regarding my money comment... You need to wake up... This is football today.. Clubs too keen to make incoming funds disappear.. SFC would rather have the £90million that promotion is worth.. Rather than the £12million Oxlade-Chamberlain brought in.. Short sighted while still in Championship many may say.. So.. For me.. Football today... All about money... MONEY, MONEY, MONEY,

Tis time to invest some now though don't you think??

Regardless of all this.. The squad done excellent this season up to Dec.. Not sure where on my last post i said they have been pants????

Yep,, Its you that needs to WAKE UP!!

LOL... You are judging a loan player from Totenham after 60 minutes.... Yes we were bad last night.

I agree we need to buy some players, I never said we shouldn't, I just don't think we should buy players just because we can. In the "REAL WORLD" as you quote, many teams don't want their best players to go. I believe we will make some signings, and this is why football is so good, I agree with you that signings are needed, but only the right signings, at the right price.

blitzbenji wrote:
Can't believe the negativity about Adkins, it's one game! We had numerous players injured and the fact of the matter is Our fringe players are not good enough.

SteamEM wrote:

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:

randre wrote:

SteamEM wrote:
I like the positive comments coming out of SFC......

Like the quote few months back now..."The money we received for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wil be reinvested in the Squad"

Hmm?

Gonna be a busy week in the transfer market then?


Positive comments.. Yeah... they are ok for a while...

But i myself deal with reality...

Reality is.. Peanuts has so far been spent...

Pay peanuts.. You get M******

So.. Gonna be hell of a big week in the transfer market..

SFC must be planning a£10M spending spree on new players to strengthen the squad?

HMM? YEAH?

It's all about.... THE MONEY... LOVELY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

MONEY!!!

What! You can only spend money if good players are available, what is the point in spending millions on players that are no better than what we have got.

You say that we pay peanuts, well we are not doing bad for a team full of monkeys then... 2nd in the league... 2nd from top, not 2nd from bottom... WAKE UP!

Hmm? Take it you weren't there last night fella? The young lad on loan is not better then we already have...
I'm not saying spend £10million on a player that isn't better than we have.. I'm saying why appease fans upon the sale of £12million Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain?, That the received funds would be invested in the squad?That my friend is a FACT. I deal with reality..
Hey.. Maybe the squad will be strengthened.. But the first eleven are decent players.. And to buy players of better quality is likely to cost over £4Mil per player.. LIKELY to cost.. Average quality loan players from Spurs with no future at the club is not thinking long term..Regarding my money comment... You need to wake up... This is football today.. Clubs too keen to make incoming funds disappear.. SFC would rather have the £90million that promotion is worth.. Rather than the £12million Oxlade-Chamberlain brought in.. Short sighted while still in Championship many may say.. So.. For me.. Football today... All about money... MONEY, MONEY, MONEY,

Tis time to invest some now though don't you think??

Regardless of all this.. The squad done excellent this season up to Dec.. Not sure where on my last post i said they have been pants????

Yep,, Its you that needs to WAKE UP!!

LOL... You are judging a loan player from Totenham after 60 minutes.... Yes we were bad last night.

I agree we need to buy some players, I never said we shouldn't, I just don't think we should buy players just because we can. In the "REAL WORLD" as you quote, many teams don't want their best players to go. I believe we will make some signings, and this is why football is so good, I agree with you that signings are needed, but only the right signings, at the right price.

Nope.. Not judging yago falque on 60mins? Where'd i say that? I just don't think there is any long term point in loans of this type at this time..

St Retford wrote:
Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

bigfella777 wrote:
Rumours are saying Michael Owens going to be loaned to Brighton now. Tadanari lee , Hong Kong fooey.

wasp1 wrote:
What a bunch of moaning muppetts most of you lot are .
If we dont go up then so what , we`d most probably only come straight back down again . I for one enjoy being in this division , who enjoys relegation struggles anyway .

forcaster wrote:
As a nuetral I think the Saints fans are pathetic.You keep on about YOUR money,it is not YOUR money it belongs to the Leibher ( not sure of spelling) family.My prediction is YOU will be promoted But the family will recieve the 90million and sell out with a nice profit. Half of you have no idea how to run a business never mind a football club.You all make out you know more than Adkins or Cortese. Get a life and grow up.

Salar wrote:

randre wrote:

oldsaintsfan wrote: In my youth I was a Saints fan (60’s/70’s) and still look for the results and read the postings with interest although as I don’t live near So’ton I rarely attend matches. My enduring memories of my time as a supporter are relegation fights/promotion struggles with the occasional high points (FA Cup, Fairs Cup qualification etc – happy days – sometimes!). Back in those days a club could only spend the monies generated through gate receipts and anything else invested by board members. Effectively clubs needed to live within their generally local means. TV revenues has changed all that – particularly in the Premier League. The arrival of super high net worth individuals and more recently Middle Eastern oil derived investment which are clearly not driven by profit maximising principles has also totally changed the Football landscape. It seems to me that managing a football club such as Southampton (regional franchise at best however much we love it!) is all about controlling the cash burn. Revenue from gates, merchandise, TV revenue and other sources (including transfer revenue in) less costs (particularly player wages and transfer costs) is essentially a negative number. This requires an on-going sugar daddy to pick up the tab. The lack of a sugar daddy results in the events of a few years ago at Southampton and the current and past problems at Pompey. These are the facts of life even if fans don’t like hearing it. I have no special insight into the thinking of the current So’ton board/owners but they strike me as rational business people making a private equity investment. They will have a long term plan that implies a sensible return on their capital invested. This implies that budgets will imply what finance is available for transfers. If circumstances are such that transfer target acquisitions are priced beyond the clubs view of what is rational (i.e. other clubs want more for a player than So’ton view as sensible) then the purchase does not happen. This is the discipline and anything more requires a growing commitment from the owners (which often cannot be rationalised in business terms). High transfer spending at smaller clubs is not sustainable and leads to the inevitable disaster. I expect Saints to only strengthen the squad where they can buy value and this seems unlikely in this transfer window (where most significant buys are based on desperation rather than any thoughtful approach). Southampton getting auto promotion this season is on any rational basis punching way above our weight (we were League 1 last year). Clearly others have achieved something similar (Norwich). To stay in the Premier League requires good management, insightful activity in the transfer market and luck. Out of last seasons promotees Swansea and Norwich have done very well – both are well managed – however it seems to me that that does not mean that these clubs will not be struggling at some time in the not too distant future. Back in the 60’s/70’s it was hard to stay in the old 1st Division – it is very much harder now to stay in the premiership (the players run of with much of that TV money!) and spending large does not guarantee success – just ask Pompey! Incidentally I do not remember the bad feeling that seems to be reflected on echo postings with regard to Pompey - in my days as a Saints supporter – pompey were just a little second/third tier club down the road. Happy new year to all Saints fans and best of luck to the team and management for the rest of what will be a very interesting season.

What a great post... this puts a real rational look at the team. I myself, never want to go through what we did a few years ago... People that want the club to spend 10 million on players need to remember where we were 2 years ago!!

Me too, I am ashamed that fans do not get behind the team. If you wish to spend, spend look west......

Churchill Saint wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

I agree

I disagree. The Liebherr family's investment in quality should be measured over the course of their 5 year business plan not on spending during a mid season transfer window.

I also think some people judge the quality of a signing by the size of the fee. I for one don't. Value for money (e.g. Jos, Cork, Chappers) is much more important than the price (Torres, Carrol, Delap....)

OSPREYSAINT wrote:

Red n White wrote: If the skates go out of business we go top again! I'm sure they'd love that

How does that work and what is the likelyhood?

Churchill Saint wrote:
Looks like the Poopey winding up order is going ahead. Could mean a fire-sale of their assets. Anyone else think Dave Kitson would be a good acquisition to boost our striking options? (yes, I know he's a skate, but...). Has premier league experience and did look in a different class to his teammates (not difficult, I know)

thomasupton wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

I agree

I disagree. The Liebherr family's investment in quality should be measured over the course of their 5 year business plan not on spending during a mid season transfer window.

I also think some people judge the quality of a signing by the size of the fee. I for one don't. Value for money (e.g. Jos, Cork, Chappers) is much more important than the price (Torres, Carrol, Delap....)

We bought Delap in 2001 for £4 million surely we could beat that transfer record by now??? We're 2nd in the league so you're saying throw in the towel now and wait another 3 yrs. Anyone who was there last night can see we need investment now!!! I'm sorry for being ambitious but that's what I pay my money for!!

Velleity wrote:
The idiots who booed our team off the pitch were a complete embarrassment last night.

Think on. If someone has said at the start of the season that we'd even be pushing for the play-offs they'd probably have been shouted down for mindless optimism. Are people now so complacent as to expect Saints to walk this division?

As for the numpties near us harping on last night that Adkins is useless and that we need Neil Warnock (no I'm not kidding!), your memories must be terribly short. 15 months ago we were down at the bottom of division one; since then, look how our "useless" manager had performed.

Football fans seem to have the memory of a goldfish.

Churchill Saint wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

I agree

I disagree. The Liebherr family's investment in quality should be measured over the course of their 5 year business plan not on spending during a mid season transfer window.

I also think some people judge the quality of a signing by the size of the fee. I for one don't. Value for money (e.g. Jos, Cork, Chappers) is much more important than the price (Torres, Carrol, Delap....)

We bought Delap in 2001 for £4 million surely we could beat that transfer record by now??? We're 2nd in the league so you're saying throw in the towel now and wait another 3 yrs. Anyone who was there last night can see we need investment now!!! I'm sorry for being ambitious but that's what I pay my money for!!

No, I'm not saying that at all. I hope we do invest this window and I hope and expect promotion this season. All I was saying was that IMO it is to naive to think that the more we spend on players the more the chance of going up. NC's approach is to look for value signings rather than go for the big money, high profile signings where the prices are stoked up by the players' agents.

You've only got to look down the M27 to see what happens when you spend money not properly budgeted for.

thomasupton wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

I agree

I disagree. The Liebherr family's investment in quality should be measured over the course of their 5 year business plan not on spending during a mid season transfer window.

I also think some people judge the quality of a signing by the size of the fee. I for one don't. Value for money (e.g. Jos, Cork, Chappers) is much more important than the price (Torres, Carrol, Delap....)

We bought Delap in 2001 for £4 million surely we could beat that transfer record by now??? We're 2nd in the league so you're saying throw in the towel now and wait another 3 yrs. Anyone who was there last night can see we need investment now!!! I'm sorry for being ambitious but that's what I pay my money for!!

No, I'm not saying that at all. I hope we do invest this window and I hope and expect promotion this season. All I was saying was that IMO it is to naive to think that the more we spend on players the more the chance of going up. NC's approach is to look for value signings rather than go for the big money, high profile signings where the prices are stoked up by the players' agents.

You've only got to look down the M27 to see what happens when you spend money not properly budgeted for.

But we haven't spent a bean. Lee still hasn't signed and we have one player on loan who didn't even last a whole game. With the assets we have here there was never any chance of us going under.

Baddesley Bill wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

I agree

I disagree. The Liebherr family's investment in quality should be measured over the course of their 5 year business plan not on spending during a mid season transfer window.

I also think some people judge the quality of a signing by the size of the fee. I for one don't. Value for money (e.g. Jos, Cork, Chappers) is much more important than the price (Torres, Carrol, Delap....)

We bought Delap in 2001 for £4 million surely we could beat that transfer record by now??? We're 2nd in the league so you're saying throw in the towel now and wait another 3 yrs. Anyone who was there last night can see we need investment now!!! I'm sorry for being ambitious but that's what I pay my money for!!

No, I'm not saying that at all. I hope we do invest this window and I hope and expect promotion this season. All I was saying was that IMO it is to naive to think that the more we spend on players the more the chance of going up. NC's approach is to look for value signings rather than go for the big money, high profile signings where the prices are stoked up by the players' agents.

You've only got to look down the M27 to see what happens when you spend money not properly budgeted for.

But we haven't spent a bean. Lee still hasn't signed and we have one player on loan who didn't even last a whole game. With the assets we have here there was never any chance of us going under.

Just read a tweet from Dan Kerins that says Lee has landed at Heathrow this evening.

tugboat wrote:

randre wrote:

miltonarcher wrote:

St Retford wrote: Jesus Christ, you lot. Where were you when we were winning? It's like you couldn't wait for a couple of bad results so you could come on here and spout utter sh1te. I hope it's cheered you up.

100% agree with this. It is staggering that after a couple of below par performances the boo boys crawl out from the woodwork and start blaming NA. Injuries have been a factor, not adding to the squad has been a factor, but the last thing you want to do is to panic buy or buy just for the sake of appeasing the fans. Where are we in the league? Oh yes in the top two, shocking, surely in our first season in this league we should be at least 12 points clear!!!!! At the start of the season how many of you thought that we would be top two in Jan???? How many of you thought we would be playing the attractive football we have dished up this season? Get real and get of NA’s back and support the club.

I agree. I had a moan about our work rate last night, but when you lok at the players missing ANY team would miss them. We DO have genuine premier league quality players. I don't believe we need to sign a load of players, we have some great quality coming back and the wheels will soon be back on the bus. I am kicking myslef a bit for moaning about our performance last night, when I look at it in the cold light of day we have got so many quality players out and when they come back we will be OK. We are still 2nd, so I don't quite understand why so many people are acting as if we have just been put into the relegation zone! I wasn't happy with last night, but for anybody questioning Atkins or Cortese must be mad. Also, anybody questioning Atkins pulling power with players... who would you think could do better?? Atkins has added some good players to this squad and we are looking for players who are hungry, not ex- premier league has beens who just want to relax on the South Coast for their last pay day.... The Blue fishy friends down the road tried that and look where it got them... One thought, be VERY careful what you wish for.

Thank god you three posted,I was just about to jump.... Ok it was gash,the young spaniard looks no better than what we have,the thing that stood out for me was that we had no shape to it, with lambo back,guly has done well holding the fort but badly needs a break,we desperately need pace,and de ridder should have started. But were second,not in freefall as some loon posted,and promotion is still on .

andysaint wrote:
I applauded the team off last night - why? coz danny fox applauded us - you reckon we deserved that? the crowd were **** last night - negative atmos all the way through.
Cheer and clap and sing when were winning but lose a game coz weve got 6 of our best players missing and its time to put the boot in.
those who boo the team are a f.....disgrace. OH yea - and walk out way before the end - that showed real backing for the team - well done.

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:
Last night we were total crap. Fans have the right to moan about the game - but not if it's their first post on here, not if they didn't comment when we spent over half a season top of the league and smashed the clubs all time record for consecutive home wins.

Look at the back of your programmes and then say our squad is smaller than the others.

The turnout was appalling last night, fill SMS and then demand that other peoples money is spent on new players.

The club should be run on a sustainable financial footing. Do you realise that 20k a week is over 1m a year? Our turnover is probably about 20m at the moment. Please think it through before you talk sh1t.

As for the bloke who thinks Adkins should have been sacked at Xmas - really? Clubs are accused of acting too quickly but when someone takes a club from bottom of Div1 to top of Championship in little more than a year we really would be laughed at you kn@b. Only a week ago some were concerned that we might lose him to Liverpool!

andysaint wrote:
I applauded the team off last night - why? coz danny fox applauded us - you reckon we deserved that? the crowd were **** last night - negative atmos all the way through. Cheer and clap and sing when were winning but lose a game coz weve got 6 of our best players missing and its time to put the boot in. those who boo the team are a f.....disgrace. OH yea - and walk out way before the end - that showed real backing for the team - well done.

andysaint wrote:
I applauded the team off last night - why? coz danny fox applauded us - you reckon we deserved that? the crowd were **** last night - negative atmos all the way through. Cheer and clap and sing when were winning but lose a game coz weve got 6 of our best players missing and its time to put the boot in. those who boo the team are a f.....disgrace. OH yea - and walk out way before the end - that showed real backing for the team - well done.

St Retford wrote:
PS nice to see Cardiff being taken to extra time. Hopefully they'll win on penalties and get distracted by a Wembley final. I don't half like the look of that Zaha lad at Palace, mind. We should totally buy him.

Tirau Dan wrote:
Not getting picky but some don't have a grasp of the English language. The manager is not making any excuses, he simply highlights the fact that the replacement players did not perform.
I read that as a tactful nudge in their direction that they are the ones under pressure.

Plastering the threads with down and out negative comments won't help at all.. Fortunately most players don't have a lot of respect for the Boo Brigade that capitulate their faith the second we lose.

Nobody knows the predicament better than the Manager. He's the most honest hard working guy we've had and has produce fantastic results.
He is without doubt the best we've had in many years. He stated earlier that there are very few quality players available that would "add" to the squad. He can't pluck them from a hat.

Nicola Cortese is the best Chairman in years with visions of Europe. The club does business in private.. that is laudable but morons still slag away about commitment and vision... come on you lot get a bloody life, shut your gobs and get behind the best era SFC has seen in recent times.

SAINTS WILL WIN THE LEAGUE COYR

ghk230473 wrote:

Tirau Dan wrote:
Not getting picky but some don't have a grasp of the English language. The manager is not making any excuses, he simply highlights the fact that the replacement players did not perform.
I read that as a tactful nudge in their direction that they are the ones under pressure.

Plastering the threads with down and out negative comments won't help at all.. Fortunately most players don't have a lot of respect for the Boo Brigade that capitulate their faith the second we lose.

Nobody knows the predicament better than the Manager. He's the most honest hard working guy we've had and has produce fantastic results.
He is without doubt the best we've had in many years. He stated earlier that there are very few quality players available that would "add" to the squad. He can't pluck them from a hat.

Nicola Cortese is the best Chairman in years with visions of Europe. The club does business in private.. that is laudable but morons still slag away about commitment and vision... come on you lot get a bloody life, shut your gobs and get behind the best era SFC has seen in recent times.

SAINTS WILL WIN THE LEAGUE COYR

I don't understand this adulation for both cortese and Adkins. Adkins, we are above expectation in the league granted but performances have been dodgy for 2 months. The team bar Hoover, cork and fox are Pardews players. He has done well but it is early days still.
Cortese? There's a lot who do not like him, mc'menemy, le god etc. He is getting paid very well to get us where? Does any one know any more. If we haven't got any money that's fine I don't mind this league but can some one from the club let us know? I don't think the puncheon ordeal is being handled very well either. We do not want him he hasn't even got a number so other clubs also know. We paid £250,000 for him and been offered £650,000, why not get rid? Off the wage bill and away from the youth. I'm not having a dig just looking for something I may of missed.

ghk230473 wrote:
Bill, so you are saying we cannot enter premier league until another 2years? I honestly don't mind this league. What is wrong with a bit of transparency from the club? And what is wrong with promotion this season? I do not know the plan apart from half the team is going to be from the academy eventually. What I do know is we are still close and it is not too late.

Baddesley Bill wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:
Bill, so you are saying we cannot enter premier league until another 2years? I honestly don't mind this league. What is wrong with a bit of transparency from the club? And what is wrong with promotion this season? I do not know the plan apart from half the team is going to be from the academy eventually. What I do know is we are still close and it is not too late.

Of course not...if we go up we are ahead of plan (you know... the one that we all bought into just before we were going to lose our Club). The plan as I know it (in simplistictic terms) was to get back to the PL in 5yrs. I would naturally assume that the investor would want to post a profit along the way and not lay his investment to casino type gambling. I'm not a major shareholder...(just a fan following my Club in a positive way). I just feel that the boo-boys should knuckle down and support our Club...or find the cash to try running it themselves. My best guess is that (like me) you don't have that kind of money...so just do what you can do best and support your Club!

OSPREYSAINT wrote:

Block 42 wrote:
its all you happy clappy fans that are a disgrace.you make no noise in thee stadium.you don't chant you don't sing you don't abuse nugent.i watched real madrid sunday and their supportets put ours to shame.much much more vocal.why id this I want answers.most people in our ground just sit drinking tea and eating sweets then moan at us lot making noise.

That is because the majority of us are not narrow minded, neanderthal planks, we appreciate football whoever is playing and if our side is being beaten by a better team, for whatever reason, I can still appreciate what is happening.

ghk230473 wrote:

Tirau Dan wrote: Not getting picky but some don't have a grasp of the English language. The manager is not making any excuses, he simply highlights the fact that the replacement players did not perform. I read that as a tactful nudge in their direction that they are the ones under pressure. Plastering the threads with down and out negative comments won't help at all.. Fortunately most players don't have a lot of respect for the Boo Brigade that capitulate their faith the second we lose. Nobody knows the predicament better than the Manager. He's the most honest hard working guy we've had and has produce fantastic results. He is without doubt the best we've had in many years. He stated earlier that there are very few quality players available that would "add" to the squad. He can't pluck them from a hat. Nicola Cortese is the best Chairman in years with visions of Europe. The club does business in private.. that is laudable but morons still slag away about commitment and vision... come on you lot get a bloody life, shut your gobs and get behind the best era SFC has seen in recent times. SAINTS WILL WIN THE LEAGUE COYR

I don't understand this adulation for both cortese and Adkins. Adkins, we are above expectation in the league granted but performances have been dodgy for 2 months. The team bar Hoover, cork and fox are Pardews players. He has done well but it is early days still. Cortese? There's a lot who do not like him, mc'menemy, le god etc. He is getting paid very well to get us where? Does any one know any more. If we haven't got any money that's fine I don't mind this league but can some one from the club let us know? I don't think the puncheon ordeal is being handled very well either. We do not want him he hasn't even got a number so other clubs also know. We paid £250,000 for him and been offered £650,000, why not get rid? Off the wage bill and away from the youth. I'm not having a dig just looking for something I may of missed.

perry taine wrote:
We've even resorted to slagging off our own fans for lack of noise...!!
Pr!!cks, couple of crap results and it's all doom and gloom!!!
Don't know why you bother !!!

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

InThatNumber wrote:
Lots of media outside St Mary's tonight, not sure why, can only think maybe the arrival of tadanari or someone else

St Retford wrote:

Churchill Saint wrote:
Lots of new posters on here being ultra negative and moaning. Probably the same as those booing your own team last night and getting on the back individual players. Shame on you. Are you so stupid that you can't understand that your team may actually play better if you support them? I came on here have some constructive discussion about the topic (the transfer window) but I can't be bothered

I know the feeling. Thing is, most of the negative posters on here are either Pompey or Brighton fans pretending to be Saints. Given that their clubs are, respectively, going bust and having half the squad sent to prison you can see why they'd resent our success. Personally, there's nothing they can say that will convince me that being second in a league we were promoted into six months ago is that much of a disaster.

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

ghk230473 wrote:

randre wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

We were actually very close to going out of business. It is people with this belief of spend spen spen that have run clubs like Portsmouth... Now look where they are! Spending money on players is good, but only if done within a sensible business strategy. I believe we will buy players, but we fortunately have a manager and chairman in charge that will not pay silly prices in both transfer fees and wages.

I would rather be sat where we are.. 2nd in the league with a sound business footing than going through what Portsmouth are going through now.

I can't even believe people are moaning... What a season we are having. I can promise you this... There are 22 other clubs in this league that would love to be in our position right now. Fans from other clubs would think Southampton fans are crazy if they looked at our forums... Fortunately most Saints fans seem to be reasonable!

We went out of business for a number of reasons but the main was chairman Lowe thinking he new more than the manager, signing his own players (delap and tin man) and going through too many managers. But what is wrong with taking a punt on players for promotion and £90m prize money? If we haven't got the money just be transparent and let the fans know and stop this in house fighting. Also why have we not sold puncheon?, we paid 1/4m and been offered £650,000 we don't want him, we are paying him and he's poisoning the youth. I think it's time for the fans to be put in the picture after all it's our club.

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

Your wasting your time mate, they are supporters and appear to be happy that we are in existence and look to be improving, the administration episode hit them hard! Would be nice to hear from the club about where they stand and reasons why players have not been signed.

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

saintkenny wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

simple fact the club runs by its own means and wont cheat status ,thats why its 11 years since the club paid 4 million ,it just used liebers money restart and paid him back with a loan ,the club survived under good ownership with a 15.000 ground ,even then we did not get gates of 11000 like pompey did in the premier league ,and they reckon we got empty seats what a laugh ,lowest premier league gate at stmarys was 24.000 since 2000 that is 13000 more ,yet they paid players 40.to 50 grand a week ,this has never happened in the history of southampton football club or the future either .this can only work with clubs like chelsea or man city who play champions league football ,where you can gain profit ,that is why portsmouth could not run as a premier league club ,making no profit for the owner paying high wages and long contracts ,so has we run by our own means ,we have be careful how we spend .and you only get a month .later if promotion is achieved then at that point you buy premier league players having that status .the best team we have will gain promotion in this league ,we just need to buy better cover in reserve .which we have been over december .example this team every week would go up 1 davis 2 richardson 13 fox 26 hoovield 6 fonte 8 cork 14 hammond 18 chaplow 11 lallana 7 lambert 9 barnard .this team kept playing kept the team top .with guly covering for barnard and would stay there .with correct reserves will go up .with out spending millions this is achievable ,and if it does then there will be a 90 million kitty to buy players ,having got premier league status .we have lead the league for 4 months may well do again ,lets not wast cash now when we do not need to

St Retford wrote:

andysaint wrote:
I applauded the team off last night - why? coz danny fox applauded us - you reckon we deserved that? the crowd were **** last night - negative atmos all the way through. Cheer and clap and sing when were winning but lose a game coz weve got 6 of our best players missing and its time to put the boot in. those who boo the team are a f.....disgrace. OH yea - and walk out way before the end - that showed real backing for the team - well done.

You've hit the nail on the head. I remember being away at Hudddersfield in one of the first games of the Liebherr era and we were a bit disappointing but I clapped them off at the end because I was grateful to still have a team to support and because some of the players had the grace to come over and clap the away fans. Some bloke came up to me and had a right go, saying that if we clapped after poor performances then the team would think poor performances are acceptable. Is it just me or is that an unbelievably stupid attitide? As if anyone knows better than the team and coaching staff when a performance isn't up to scratch. As if anyone will work harder than Nigel to fix things. And as if a team will play harder for fans who boo them than who appreciate them.

ghk230473 wrote:
I agree with you but I think some want to wait until the youth come through? I don't really know, but you won't change their minds, I hope a signing or 2 will be made and puncheon and others are gone too, it's still not too late. It's not nice getting slatted though for having ambition and we're supposedly the negative ones!

thomasupton wrote:

saintkenny wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

simple fact the club runs by its own means and wont cheat status ,thats why its 11 years since the club paid 4 million ,it just used liebers money restart and paid him back with a loan ,the club survived under good ownership with a 15.000 ground ,even then we did not get gates of 11000 like pompey did in the premier league ,and they reckon we got empty seats what a laugh ,lowest premier league gate at stmarys was 24.000 since 2000 that is 13000 more ,yet they paid players 40.to 50 grand a week ,this has never happened in the history of southampton football club or the future either .this can only work with clubs like chelsea or man city who play champions league football ,where you can gain profit ,that is why portsmouth could not run as a premier league club ,making no profit for the owner paying high wages and long contracts ,so has we run by our own means ,we have be careful how we spend .and you only get a month .later if promotion is achieved then at that point you buy premier league players having that status .the best team we have will gain promotion in this league ,we just need to buy better cover in reserve .which we have been over december .example this team every week would go up 1 davis 2 richardson 13 fox 26 hoovield 6 fonte 8 cork 14 hammond 18 chaplow 11 lallana 7 lambert 9 barnard .this team kept playing kept the team top .with guly covering for barnard and would stay there .with correct reserves will go up .with out spending millions this is achievable ,and if it does then there will be a 90 million kitty to buy players ,having got premier league status .we have lead the league for 4 months may well do again ,lets not wast cash now when we do not need to

Waste cash? We haven't spent a bean yet this transfer window. Lee still hasn't signed. Hardly splashed the cash?

Strasbourg Saint wrote:
An honest question for everyone regardless of your opinion about the current state of things at SMS.

Saints: 2nd, 50pts
Leicester 13th, 38pts

Having spent millions, the Foxes are finally starting to play to their potential.

Having got off to a flier, we're now stuttering.

So, if we took promotion as the goal, would we swap our position and squad for the Foxes' position and squad?

thomasupton wrote:

Le Tissier's Nose wrote:
When we were hours from going out of business, that was the time to moan!! We're 2nd in the blooming league, have had one of our best ever starts to a season and you're all on here moaning about it!

Yes last nights performance was poor, but one in 20-odd isn't bad for Saints is it!?

Get a grip all of you and don't buy into the negativity the Echo/doom and gloom merchants continually preach!

Sheesh......!

We would never of gone out of business, to many assets hence why Lieber family bought the club. St Marys cost £30 million how much would that stadium cost now to build? The only reason we ended up in the situation like that was because of lack of investment in quality players. Why wont the board invest in quality now?? Maybe we're paying back the money??

cpnhadock wrote:
I am amazed by some of the idiots on here..... We are second from top, we have been top for ages, we have a good squad (maybe not perfect or complete), we have a great stadium and no debt....

Those of you that doubt Nigel or Nicola need to think long and hard about our former situation under Lowe,Wilde etc... or maybe the times we endured under former managers??

It we are in the play offs this year, I will be more than happy - anything more is a plus!!!.. slowly slowly catchy monkey!...

Get behind Nigel, get behind Nicola and Get behind the team!!

COYR!!

Strasbourg Saint wrote:
An honest question for everyone regardless of your opinion about the current state of things at SMS.

Saints: 2nd, 50pts
Leicester 13th, 38pts

Having spent millions, the Foxes are finally starting to play to their potential.

Having got off to a flier, we're now stuttering.

So, if we took promotion as the goal, would we swap our position and squad for the Foxes' position and squad?

SouthamptonLegend wrote:
You know when you pick up your kid from a birthday party and there's always that little sh*t who's the devil child and everyone knows it apart from the parents...well that's what some of you fans are like!

Everyone knows we need investment but because saints is your baby you don't like being told what's wrong and how to improve the situation for the better.

After being top for most of the season, if we finish 10th at the end would that be a good season? Would it be reasonable season? NO.

What better time do we have to get to the Premier League??? Do you like regrets and saying what if??? We might not be able to compete next season...we won't have the momentum and winning mentality that we've acquired coming into this one, and without investment, how is the team miraculously going to pull it's finger out and win promotion next year???

Would you rather risk saving money this season and have the same squad to compete with next season with the odd cheap signing in the summer? Or would want to see your chairman get behind the whole club now and reinvest £5-10million on quality players that will give us a real chance of going up now? It's not like we'll have to give the big signings back is it! If for some reason we don't get promoted after the investment we'll have a better team to compete with next year.

One thing I cannot comprehend is why Wayne Bridge isn't back at Southampton. He's stated he'd love to come back, he's willing to play in the Championship, also said he doesn't care about the money AND is a million times the player that shower of sh*te Fox is!

ghk230473 wrote:

cpnhadock wrote:
I am amazed by some of the idiots on here..... We are second from top, we have been top for ages, we have a good squad (maybe not perfect or complete), we have a great stadium and no debt....

Those of you that doubt Nigel or Nicola need to think long and hard about our former situation under Lowe,Wilde etc... or maybe the times we endured under former managers??

It we are in the play offs this year, I will be more than happy - anything more is a plus!!!.. slowly slowly catchy monkey!...

Get behind Nigel, get behind Nicola and Get behind the team!!

COYR!!

Why are fans idiots for having an opinion that differs from yours?

thomasupton wrote:

saintkenny wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

simple fact the club runs by its own means and wont cheat status ,thats why its 11 years since the club paid 4 million ,it just used liebers money restart and paid him back with a loan ,the club survived under good ownership with a 15.000 ground ,even then we did not get gates of 11000 like pompey did in the premier league ,and they reckon we got empty seats what a laugh ,lowest premier league gate at stmarys was 24.000 since 2000 that is 13000 more ,yet they paid players 40.to 50 grand a week ,this has never happened in the history of southampton football club or the future either .this can only work with clubs like chelsea or man city who play champions league football ,where you can gain profit ,that is why portsmouth could not run as a premier league club ,making no profit for the owner paying high wages and long contracts ,so has we run by our own means ,we have be careful how we spend .and you only get a month .later if promotion is achieved then at that point you buy premier league players having that status .the best team we have will gain promotion in this league ,we just need to buy better cover in reserve .which we have been over december .example this team every week would go up 1 davis 2 richardson 13 fox 26 hoovield 6 fonte 8 cork 14 hammond 18 chaplow 11 lallana 7 lambert 9 barnard .this team kept playing kept the team top .with guly covering for barnard and would stay there .with correct reserves will go up .with out spending millions this is achievable ,and if it does then there will be a 90 million kitty to buy players ,having got premier league status .we have lead the league for 4 months may well do again ,lets not wast cash now when we do not need to

Waste cash? We haven't spent a bean yet this transfer window. Lee still hasn't signed. Hardly splashed the cash?

OSPREYSAINT wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

cpnhadock wrote:
I am amazed by some of the idiots on here..... We are second from top, we have been top for ages, we have a good squad (maybe not perfect or complete), we have a great stadium and no debt....

Those of you that doubt Nigel or Nicola need to think long and hard about our former situation under Lowe,Wilde etc... or maybe the times we endured under former managers??

It we are in the play offs this year, I will be more than happy - anything more is a plus!!!.. slowly slowly catchy monkey!...

Get behind Nigel, get behind Nicola and Get behind the team!!

COYR!!

Why are fans idiots for having an opinion that differs from yours?

It is just someones opinion, not cast in stone. I behave like an idiot on here sometimes, posting before engaging the brain cell, usually I apologise or correct the mistake, not a problem I hope.

ghk230473 wrote:

Strasbourg Saint wrote:
An honest question for everyone regardless of your opinion about the current state of things at SMS.

Saints: 2nd, 50pts
Leicester 13th, 38pts

Having spent millions, the Foxes are finally starting to play to their potential.

Having got off to a flier, we're now stuttering.

So, if we took promotion as the goal, would we swap our position and squad for the Foxes' position and squad?

Complete difference, we were top of the league at the turn of the year big if but here goes if we had done business earlier not that it is too late, and invest we are in a great position to gain promotion and also not have to panic buy like say qpr and spend 1st games of premier league life bedding players in.
Fans are split on invest say £20m on needed players, and past 2 months gave proved that or keep fingers crossed that or injured players get back ASAP. I'd rather get some in now because I think we need them and sell not loan 3 now.

thomasupton wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

thomasupton wrote:

perry taine wrote:
Not read all of these posts, but for all you so called "saints fans" to slag off Nigel and the club's ambition, you should be ashamed of yourselves...!
Nc and NA have both done a terrific job since they came to this club.They are trying to bring in players, but as usual in January prices are inflated and deals take time...!!!
Wind ur necks back in and support your manager, we're 2nd in the league ,otherwise go and support that joke of a team down the road !!!

Adkins will be the scape goat. No problem with him, he does what he's told. Where is the investment????? Please tell me why you're happy not to buy quality players????

Your wasting your time mate, they are supporters and appear to be happy that we are in existence and look to be improving, the administration episode hit them hard! Would be nice to hear from the club about where they stand and reasons why players have not been signed.

Banging my head against a wall lol. Why are so called fans so happy not to invest. We have the best chance possible to get back to the premiership well inside the "5 year plan" Surely a little bit of investment we could be there well ahead of schedule . And I get slagged off for being ambitious and passionate.

rob the saint in NZ wrote:
I've deliberately avoided reading anything on here for the last 36 hours or so, & having wasted the best part of an hour of my life that I will never get back I now know why.

Just hope I never have to work for a company run by some of the posters, or support a football team managed by some of them too.

Patience is a virtue, as is humility.

COYR - WE ARE GOING UP!

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:
Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with.

Is that fair and reasonable?

Ach I The Noo wrote:
The boy Hooper at Celtic looks quite good..............

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:
Some people used to say when opponents came to SMS they parked the bus in front of their goal and we struggled to find ways of breaking them down.

Now people say if they press us high up the park we can't play our football.

Which is it to be?

rob the saint in NZ wrote:
I've deliberately avoided reading anything on here for the last 36 hours or so, & having wasted the best part of an hour of my life that I will never get back I now know why.

Just hope I never have to work for a company run by some of the posters, or support a football team managed by some of them too.

Patience is a virtue, as is humility.

COYR - WE ARE GOING UP!

rob the saint in NZ wrote:
I've deliberately avoided reading anything on here for the last 36 hours or so, & having wasted the best part of an hour of my life that I will never get back I now know why. Just hope I never have to work for a company run by some of the posters, or support a football team managed by some of them too. Patience is a virtue, as is humility. COYR - WE ARE GOING UP!

ghk230473 wrote:
Strasaint, that would go against every fibre in my being. But I would swap goalies and beckford/ nugent for lambert/guly

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote: Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with. Is that fair and reasonable?

He already has. My thoughts are on a par with St leg end and thomo. I will agree to disagree without slagging fellow fans off. And on the subject of the wee man why is the ground not full, as a business man shouldn't this be addressed before the next televised evening game against Cardiff? And can we get rid of puncheon seeing we are paying the wages of a player to poison our youth when we have had an offer nearly 3x the amount we paid? That IMO is good business.

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote: Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with. Is that fair and reasonable?

He already has. My thoughts are on a par with St leg end and thomo. I will agree to disagree without slagging fellow fans off. And on the subject of the wee man why is the ground not full, as a business man shouldn't this be addressed before the next televised evening game against Cardiff? And can we get rid of puncheon seeing we are paying the wages of a player to poison our youth when we have had an offer nearly 3x the amount we paid? That IMO is good business.

You have posted before about reducing ticket prices. So as I read it you want the club to spend more AND reduce it's ticket prices?

I have to say, as a CEO myself, if you came to my office with your plans I'd laugh in your face, then I'd call you a coont and lob you down the stairs.

You're like that deluded lot down the road. They are staying away waiting to see what happens. Wouldn't occur to people like you that if they packed the stadium to the rafters the chances of a buyer coming forward would be much greater.

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote: Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with. Is that fair and reasonable?

He already has. My thoughts are on a par with St leg end and thomo. I will agree to disagree without slagging fellow fans off. And on the subject of the wee man why is the ground not full, as a business man shouldn't this be addressed before the next televised evening game against Cardiff? And can we get rid of puncheon seeing we are paying the wages of a player to poison our youth when we have had an offer nearly 3x the amount we paid? That IMO is good business.

You have posted before about reducing ticket prices. So as I read it you want the club to spend more AND reduce it's ticket prices?

I have to say, as a CEO myself, if you came to my office with your plans I'd laugh in your face, then I'd call you a coont and lob you down the stairs.

You're like that deluded lot down the road. They are staying away waiting to see what happens. Wouldn't occur to people like you that if they packed the stadium to the rafters the chances of a buyer coming forward would be much greater.

I think half the problems on these sites occur because posters do not read the posts fully. What I said is rather than having empty seats like we have done with a lot of evening/ televised games is to go out into the community and offer concessions so we can encourage kids to come and watch. Its called raising your profile a lot of companies do it. Resulting in a full stadium with atmosphere, £5 that you wouldn't of had for a seat and hopefully rather than buy a man u shirt the kids may just may get a saints one. Do you now understand?

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote: Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with. Is that fair and reasonable?

He already has. My thoughts are on a par with St leg end and thomo. I will agree to disagree without slagging fellow fans off. And on the subject of the wee man why is the ground not full, as a business man shouldn't this be addressed before the next televised evening game against Cardiff? And can we get rid of puncheon seeing we are paying the wages of a player to poison our youth when we have had an offer nearly 3x the amount we paid? That IMO is good business.

You have posted before about reducing ticket prices. So as I read it you want the club to spend more AND reduce it's ticket prices?

I have to say, as a CEO myself, if you came to my office with your plans I'd laugh in your face, then I'd call you a coont and lob you down the stairs.

You're like that deluded lot down the road. They are staying away waiting to see what happens. Wouldn't occur to people like you that if they packed the stadium to the rafters the chances of a buyer coming forward would be much greater.

I think half the problems on these sites occur because posters do not read the posts fully. What I said is rather than having empty seats like we have done with a lot of evening/ televised games is to go out into the community and offer concessions so we can encourage kids to come and watch. Its called raising your profile a lot of companies do it. Resulting in a full stadium with atmosphere, £5 that you wouldn't of had for a seat and hopefully rather than buy a man u shirt the kids may just may get a saints one. Do you now understand?

ghk230473 wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote: Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with. Is that fair and reasonable?

He already has. My thoughts are on a par with St leg end and thomo. I will agree to disagree without slagging fellow fans off. And on the subject of the wee man why is the ground not full, as a business man shouldn't this be addressed before the next televised evening game against Cardiff? And can we get rid of puncheon seeing we are paying the wages of a player to poison our youth when we have had an offer nearly 3x the amount we paid? That IMO is good business.

You have posted before about reducing ticket prices. So as I read it you want the club to spend more AND reduce it's ticket prices? I have to say, as a CEO myself, if you came to my office with your plans I'd laugh in your face, then I'd call you a coont and lob you down the stairs. You're like that deluded lot down the road. They are staying away waiting to see what happens. Wouldn't occur to people like you that if they packed the stadium to the rafters the chances of a buyer coming forward would be much greater.

I think half the problems on these sites occur because posters do not read the posts fully. What I said is rather than having empty seats like we have done with a lot of evening/ televised games is to go out into the community and offer concessions so we can encourage kids to come and watch. Its called raising your profile a lot of companies do it. Resulting in a full stadium with atmosphere, £5 that you wouldn't of had for a seat and hopefully rather than buy a man u shirt the kids may just may get a saints one. Do you now understand?

Aka speculate to accumulate bit similar to pay out £20m whilst we are in the accedency to get hold of the £90m. But like I said we will agree to disagree without the insults. Tide waits for no man. Strike whilst the irons hot. No time like the present. Y do tomorrow what can be be done today. He who hesitates may as well masterbate. I made that last 1 up!;)"

Strasbourg Saint wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote:

ghk230473 wrote:

Seedhouse the Unrepentant wrote: Ok ghk I have a proposition for you. How about I say to Nicola if he spends millions of other peoples money on transfers and wages, lets say 20m, we the fans will commit to an extra tenner per match and guarantee to fill St Marys every game in exchange? Gives him something to negotiate with the family with. Is that fair and reasonable?

He already has. My thoughts are on a par with St leg end and thomo. I will agree to disagree without slagging fellow fans off. And on the subject of the wee man why is the ground not full, as a business man shouldn't this be addressed before the next televised evening game against Cardiff? And can we get rid of puncheon seeing we are paying the wages of a player to poison our youth when we have had an offer nearly 3x the amount we paid? That IMO is good business.

You have posted before about reducing ticket prices. So as I read it you want the club to spend more AND reduce it's ticket prices?

I have to say, as a CEO myself, if you came to my office with your plans I'd laugh in your face, then I'd call you a coont and lob you down the stairs.

You're like that deluded lot down the road. They are staying away waiting to see what happens. Wouldn't occur to people like you that if they packed the stadium to the rafters the chances of a buyer coming forward would be much greater.

I think half the problems on these sites occur because posters do not read the posts fully. What I said is rather than having empty seats like we have done with a lot of evening/ televised games is to go out into the community and offer concessions so we can encourage kids to come and watch. Its called raising your profile a lot of companies do it. Resulting in a full stadium with atmosphere, £5 that you wouldn't of had for a seat and hopefully rather than buy a man u shirt the kids may just may get a saints one. Do you now understand?

Another problem on here is when:
a) as Folkestone and NZ Rob said above, certain people only post when things are not going quite so well.
b) people are quick to suggest that their post has been misinterpreted yet seem unable to interpret and thus respond to straight questions being addressed to them.

Yet, once more, I find myself in slight agreement with you regarding community relations. The club could work a bit on that and I'm sure they are. I'm sure we can all agree that they way forward is to get local kids on board before they have been given their first Chelsea or Manure shirt for Christmas.