Congratulations to Saints for the signing of Wales wing sensation George North from Scarlets.
Amazingly, there have been mumbles and grumbles from various corners about the signing of a player widely regarded as one of the most exciting backs in world rugby.
Most Saints fans are of course delighted with North’s summer arrival, but some are saying Saints don’t need a winger, they need world-class talent in other areas, while others are having a bit of a pop because North will spend half of the season away on international duty with Wales.
Well, the Saints were caught between a rock and a hard place on that second point.
They want to bring the best players to the club, and invariably the best players are going to be internationals, and that means they are going to miss chunks of the season.
It’s just the way it is, and clubs have to put up with it.
Saints have gone down the route of bringing in overseas players that won’t be involved in international rugby in the past when they appointed Alan Solomons, and had their fingers burned.
They then tried to recruit fresh, exciting, English talent and that was great while it lasted.
But then of course, that great, exciting, Enlgish talent ends up getting picked to play for England - so they end up missing loads of the season anyway!
There really isn’t a perfect answer, although I suppose the idea is (salary cap permitting of course) to bring in a few worldies, but then have the quality in the back-up players in your squad to ensure they aren’t missed too much when they are called up by their country.
And I presume that is exactly what Jim Mallinder and his new backs coach Alex King are working towards at this very moment.
And I also presume that King was consulted fully on bringing North to club as well, which brings us back to the point made by Ben Cohen, among others, that a world-class winger isn’t what the club needed, that the money would have been better utlised bringing in world-class talent for other positions.
I think Saints fans have to trust Mallinder and the Gardens coaching team on this one.
King will already be in conversation with Mallinder, discussing what the Saints need for the way they are going to play the game next season.
They are the only people who really know where the Saints squad needs strengthening, and they will ultimately be judged on their decision-making and how Saints play and perform next season.
But one thing is surely certain, if North performs in a Saints shirt as he does in a Wales one, then there will be smiles all round at the Gardens next season.
FIREWORKS FOR GOALPOSTS?
Great news that the Premier League will bring in goal line technology for next season, as it is long overdue.
I don’t want TV pictures or technology to rule on anything else in the game, but it makes sense for the black and white call of ball over the line or not to be 100 per cent correct.
No more slightly overweight referees assistants failing to keep up with play, no more referees taking the conservative option, no more guessing.
Soon we will know that if the ball crosses the line, then it will be a goal, and that has to be correct.
But I would go further than the referee being notified with a message to his watch or earpiece that a goal has been scored, let’s jazz this one right up!
Let’s let the crowd know the ball’s crossed the line.
How about the goalposts lighting up bright red when the ball goes in? Or being rigged up with fireworks?
What about an instant blast of music from the stadium PA? Perhaps Blur’s Song 2, or a specially recorded version of Gold from Spandau Ballet, of course renamed Goal!
I am sure there are already people at Sky Sports thinking up innovations, and I’m looking forward to it!
FA TO BLAME FOR STAYAWAY FANS
Wigan Athletic are getting plenty of stick this week for failing to sell their 32,000 allocation for tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final against Millwall at Wembley.
The club’s fans are copping stick from supporters of other teams as they have sold ‘only’ 20,000 tickets, but I don’t blame any Latics fan that has decided to give the semi-final a miss.
And if anybody is to blame for the empty seats at Wembley tomorrow, it is the Football Association.
Yep, it’s the old argument of the semis being played at Wembley.
Now I know it’s not going to go away, because I know every semi-final until the year 3000 or whenever it is has to be played at Wembley as the FA try to pay for the stadium.
Let’s face it, even if Carlisle are drawn against Newcastle United, everybody will be dragged down 100s of miles to north London.
But if that is what’s going to happen, I don’t think any club should be criticised if they don’t sell their tickets for any semi-final.
Because I know from experience, going to Wembley is not a cheap experience, especially when lengthy travelling is involved.
I suppose that is fair enough when it’s a final, when it’s a one-off, a day a fan cannot miss, when there is the prize of a cup at the end of the game.
But when it’s a semi, it might not be a one-off, that fan and family may well have to do it all again just a few weeks later.
And we could be talking hundreds of pounds a time here.
It’s not right, and it’s not fair on the supporters, but let’s face it, since when have the FA ever cared about them?