Give it another, say, 24 hours (give or take)... sure you'll feel much better then, if you want an end to the 'waiting game'.
Wouldn't go that far at current. Obviously things become a lot clearer and a lot of traffic clears after Celtic v Legia on Wednesday night. Although it shouldn't matter too much, an elimination for Celtic there is more appealing to us.
Being entirely pessimistic, even if we sign three players tomorrow night, they then have to move here [living out of hotels in the meantime], get used to the training, tactics, management and players and hopefully be good enough to play in the first team by August 16th. They'll probably be in full-training on August 6th and they'll get a day off in that time at least - maybe two - so that gives them basically eight or so days to the big kick-off. So the one game in which we are all hoping for a great performance [and for a lot of people it is now becoming one of the most important games of the season] we will probably be under-prepared for and likely to be on the back-foot for the entire game. Admittedly we probably would have been anyway but if the luck goes against us we could get well-beaten. That won't make too many negative headlines for Southampton FC will it? Then again a few more can't do any harm I suppose, what with the hilarious 'Transfer Fruit Machine' in the Daily Mirror dedicated especially to Southampton and even getting a mention in this month's Empire magazine, which is about frikkin' movies, TV and video games... This whole thing has been disappointing. From a media and publicity point of view it has been absolutely disastrous, where once we were almost the 'darlings of the media', we are now in general being pitied or having the p*ss ripped out of us. I don't know about Apple marketing executives but we really need a bullish and clever press office. As for Krueger I just wish he'd stop telling untruths - speaking to Tottenham Hotspur officials in Toronto over their marketing approach to North America, presumably having worked in the NHL in Canada he'd have no idea about that himself then? That was flogging players until the brown stuff hit the fan. My belief has definitely taken a beating and is now in hospital.
I'm going to try and be polite, but I'm sure you won't take it that way. The Liverpool game is only being made to be so important to some fans because of who left us for them. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme. If it does mean too much for you then you need to show some bottle. If any fans don't realise that this is a new era, a new beginning. We are virtually starting again. Things don't happen over night. Be prepared for some ups and maybe more downs than last year. Any fans not prepare for that, I suggest you take a sabbatical. Give the manager time and you may have a nice surprise. Stop hinging the entire season on the period from August 16th to September 2nd. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but whatever, do it with a smile and be a little more relaxed.
I agree they won't have long to settle in, but I think you're forgetting that we could already field an 11 of players we already have that would give Liverpool a test - it's the next few games where we'd need the players in to take advantage of a fairly decent start fixture wise. If the players aren't ready for Liverpool, I'd go with this from what players we have. Boruc Clyne Yoshida Fonte Bertrand Schneiderlin Wanyama Davis Tadic Pelle Ward-Prowse I think that team would give a pretty good account of themselves, but it would be nice for a centre back and a winger to be in there instead of Yoshida and JWP. Put JWP there as I'm not sure Isgrove is up to it and Ramirez won't be fully fit. No one else for the wing really is there?!
That's okay everyone. I do actually like to read other opinions. Personally I'm not pinning my hopes on the Liverpool game but neither do I want to sit at home after the first game of the season looking at a 5-0 reverse or something on the matchday results section and the headlines that will generate. Especially if it could be avoided. Looking at our fixtures if we do happen to lose a majority of what are basically a very winnable set of games it could possibly set us up for a rough, rough season. We did it in the first season, Sunderland did it last season, and other teams have also started badly but got out of the rut, but you can't expect that it is going to happen- IF we have a bad start. We may not of course. I am actually more peed off with the negative press and utter mickey taking that is occurring all over the place - this has been badly handled in my view. I also will not believe the Toronto story until such time as I am proven right. But all opinions are welcome and valid and I take on points where I look to be wrong or have misconstrued. I am a normal person and do realise I often take the wrong view and slant on many things. In this case I hope I am very, very wrong in a big way. You know what they say, 'If someone is given the choice to change their mind or prove they are correct, they will spend all their time and energy on trying to prove they're right'.
That's a good response; I like that. None of us want the thrashing at Liverpool and three weeks ago I'd have been screaming that we had to beat the bastards and run Lallana and Lovren's noses in the Anfield turf. I've moved on now and I am excited at this new era. I am a little worried or maybe nervous, but I'm getting some confidence in Ron and how he portrays himself. We have time on our hands, despite the feeling of panic that is being offered up by some. Here's thinking positive and quietly hoping!
The Leverkusen game will give us more of a clue as to where we are, but as talented and dangerous a side Liverpool can be at home we should remember that we never got turned over last season and that included runs of games without Lovren, Boruc or Wanyama. If we can get Morgan on board and playing then i'll be even more confident. I'm not saying we'll win at Anfield or even draw, but I see no reason why we can't be competitive with the side in its current guise.
We obviously want to do well against Liverpool, but the league won't be won or lost on the first day of the season. As we have had a strange pre-season, we can't expect to hit the ground running...we have to look to steady improvement over the first few games.
