1 - It's been a long time since we have met - any memories from previous encounters between The Owls and Saints?
Yes, it’s been too long - no league encounters since 99/00. Speaking personally, my last experience of Hillsborough was many years ago in a 0-0 bore draw memorable for watching your owl mascot being attacked by kids after the final whistle!
2 - How do you think you will do this season?
We're still licking our wounds from relegation and have seen the departure of 15 players. Certainly the bloated squad needed a clear out, but we've also lost some quality players, with the biggest loss (in more senses that one) being Peter Crouch. However, we still have a number of Premiership quality players, some promising youngsters and Harry's eye for a bargain. A good start is imperative to help generate the momentum that we require. Despite the slow start against Wolves, with one or two more decent signings we have the potential for one of the automatic promotion places and will expect play-offs at the very least.
3 - How's Kenwyne Jones doing for you guys?
Kenwyne scored a hat-trick in pre-season against Anderlecht and earned himself a starting berth in our new look attack against Wolves. Unfortunately, he was anonymous up front and failed to gel with new strike partner Fuller. He’s a popular character at St. Mary’s, but has looked too raw in his few first team appearances and would probably benefit from another loan period – no doubt Sturrock would have liked to have partnered him with Leon Best!
4 - Wednesday and Manchester City had problems adapting to life outside the Premiership, are confident you won't be seeing a few grounds in League One soon?
Let’s hope not! Ironically after the summer clear out our squad is looking much more settled and team spirit is much improved. We don’t have the financial problems that could lead to free fall and while we’re short of a few players, I think we’re well equipped for a good season in the Championship.
5 - Is Harry the right man for the job and are you happy with Rupert Lowe?
If anyone knows how to transform a team and take it out of the Championship, it's Harry, and he's a popular figure at the club. The arrival of Sir Clive Woodward and our interfering Chairman Rupert Lowe could cause Harry to walk, but right now they need him more than he needs them, so expect Harry to have all the cards and stay. Lowe is a divisive figure at the club. Most fans respect his business acumen, but feel he had a large part to play in the calamities of last season. As he keeps, saying football is a results business and expect the fans to react accordingly.
6 - Who do we have to watch out for on Saturday?
After last week’s contract disputes, Antti Niemi reminded Saints fans that we still have a world class keeper on our books. The new look defence is still bedding in, but the ‘Polish John Terry’ Hajto is already a fans favourite with his no nonsense defending and rocket-propelled free kicks. The one to really watch out for is 16 year old prodigy Theo Walcott who has electric pace and a bag of tricks – remember the name!
7 - Who are the players who may come in for a bit of abuse from your fans this season?
Now we're denied the pleasure of regular encounters with Pompey, other rivalries pale in comparison. However, I think Darren Purse will come in for a fair amount of abuse after turning down Saints for Cardiff.
8 - Paul Sturrock has done wonders at Hillsborough - what went wrong for him at Saints?
Most Saints fans would agree that he’s a good manager and feel sorry for the way his Saints career ended. Despite reasonable results, he struggled to deal with the egos of certain Premiership players and ended up being the subject of a whispering campaign, only to be replaced by inept Stuart Wigley.
Chris is the editor of
http://www.southampton-mad.co.uk.