Yeah one day...but that one is a tough ask, you'll have to ask Cortese about that one it is his idea afterall
Elektra King: I could have given you the world. James Bond: The world is not enough. Elektra King: Foolish sentiment. James Bond: Family motto.
Lots of talk about saints lack of experience.... its hard to find a player in what would be our first choice who hasn't got prem or champ experience...Davis prem, harding reached champ playoffs, butterfield and fonte champ, jaidi prem. Lallana champ, cork prem, spiderman champ, chamberlain enough said, connoly prem, Lambert enough said. Reserve team. Bart champ. Mills champ. Richardson prem. Seaborne and Martin better than john rocha and hog roast. Holmes champ possibly prem. Forte champ. Hammond league one but outplayed bolton and brum when given the chance. Chaplow prem. Guly serie a. Barnard champ. So there you go, quite an experienced first and second choice eleven. X
Also as someone who lives in suffolk and watched norris a lot....... he is bloody clueless. Don't let ten tap ins fool you. He will lose control of midfield against any champ pairing. I remember gillet and spiderman taking him apart a few seasons ago. Lots of effort but such a bad and clumsy player
What will the lottery numbers be for Tuesday? In answer to the original question. I have no idea. The team that plays best over the course of the season. I think we will finish quite close together though.
I think we have to move on from seeing Portsmouth as rivals. For 27 years we were in the top flight and that's where we are heading back to. With the best will in the world we are going to leave our local rivalry behind, or confine it to league cup games
I've never been into this rivalry really but I always point this out whenever past achievements are brought into the argument. Southampton have the better record of matches won in the derby matches and can claim to have the longest sustained spell of top flight football however Portsmouth have two top league championship trophies and two FA Cups to their name while Southampton only have one FA Cup therefore each set of fans can claim superiority over the other in certain areas.
This season will be one of the toughest Championships for a long, long while. There are only a few teams that you can imagine struggling and I would suggest that about 75% of the clubs have a chance of making the play-offs. For me, Leicester and West Ham look like being shoe-ins for the top two places and the play-off positions remain open to speculation. With regard to the respective positions of Saints and Pompey, as a Southampton season ticket holder I hope we finish above Portsmouth. We have a larger and stronger squad on paper but I think we will struggle to get goals this season. I'm not convinced that Lambert and Barnard will be quite so effective at the level and expect Guly to struggle. Whilst I think our defence and midfield looks extremely impressive, the forward line is an area where I am concerned. I think we can assume that AOC will be off before the end of August and it will be interesting to see where any money is spent. If you analysed the scenario scientifically, Southampton should finish higher than Portsmouth's smaller squad. However, Cotterill is just the kind of manager to inspire a club to promotion and as recent seasons have shown with the promotions achieved by Blackpool and Swansea, an unfancied team is capable to clinching the third berth. I find that Portsmouth often seem to ride their luck - when you expect them to be down and out, they turn things around spectacularly. The last two seasons have seen a team devoid of financial clout and effectively being unable to properly compete in both the Premiership and last season's Championship. Portsmouth did really well last season given the circumstances and I have a sneeky suspicion that you will finish 6th and snatch the play-off final. There are plenty of teams who are far superior to both Saints and Pompey in this league. However, things are very much on the up at Fratton Park and I think the kind of "feel-good factor" that we have enjoyed may culminate with the Fratton faithful's expectations being exceeded. Atkins has re-built a Saints team from the foundations created by Pardew and I would have to say that I enjoyed the style of football we played last season more than at any time since the days of Strachan. He doesn't have a particularly good record in the Championship and, whilst I don't think we will get relegated by a long chalk, feel that this season will be a steep learning curve for him and think we will finish about 14th / 15th. Odd to read a suggestion here that Brighton may pip both Saints and Pompey. I must admit being one who had then earmarked to struggle and go down this season. If Poyet starts off well, what are the chances of him being snapped up by one of the Premiership clubs once they ditch their current manager?
I'm not expecting promotion at the first attempt, but it's on the radar for Saints. I, for one, take great heart from the fact that all three promoted sides ( from League One ) did very well in the Championship last season ... Norwich City, Leeds United and Millwall Saints will be a stronger outfit than last year, and whilst I anticipate a mid-table finish, a play-off push wouldn't be a shock. There is a good vibe about the club, and momentum / confidence counts for a lot. It's about 90% mental, as they say ... and perhaps I am exactly that.
Just to add ... Norwich went up with 95 points, only 3 better than Saints, and when you factor in the awful start we had, there's good reason to be optimistic at the very least. As for Portsmouth, I think they are on a downward curve at the moment. Really looking forward to some closely contested DERBY matches though. Nice to see Saints, Pompey and Brighton in the same league. Should give an already very tasty league, a little added spice.
I feel we will finish above them, but have a horrible feeling we will be beaten by them at nottarf krap and only manage a draw at st marys.
I don't no where we will finish but we will both stay up with them up the road just infront. I think we will be like Birmingham; not score many but not concede many at the same time. As long as we win both the derby matches and stay up, I four one will be a very happie chappie. coupled with that i should have my motorbike by the time you visit the Fratton.
I'm really liking that we don't have rigid expectations this year other than to not get relegated. We can aim to impress and go out to win as many games as possible without the pressure of rigid targets. With more pragmatism, fewer managers would need to be sacked for being a gnat's crotchet away from achieving expectations. Finishing anywhere between 2nd and 21st wouldn't shock me.
