St Landrew

And I thought I was miserable..? I've just spent the entire Christmas period with the flu, 'cause I responded to an emergency IT problem, on the 24th, at a company which has an air conditioning system that breeds viruses. All the bloody special little extras are still waiting to be eaten; the Xmas puddings, the mince pies, the f**king goose, which is still in the fridge waiting to be cooked; and only now am I starting to feel a tad better. Bit f**king late now. Crap f**king Christmas I've had. Well I've started on the whisky, so I don't care anymore.

Hmm, some interesting points. How did Painer manage to get out of his National Service..? Did he just miss it, age-wise..? I agree with you that David Armstrong wouldn't be a prime candidate for a wide left position. But then we're only using the 4-4-2 to accommodate as many players as we can. If the A Team line up shakes up as though it might, I would have Le Tissier and DA dovetailing, with Le Tiss giving the width, and DA feeding him. If they'ed played together during the same era [only a few years apart], I'm sure they would have worked things out. Both played very much with their brains as well as their feet.

We were actually playing 4-4-2 during away matches during the late 60s. There is a video interview somewhere out there in Youtube land, between Ron Davies and Jimmy Hill conducted on the day after the Saints V ManU 4-1 win at OT, for ITV's - The Big Match, where Ron tells Jimmy about the new 4-4-2 lineup we play. Curiously, Jimmy Hill makes out he's not familiar with 4-4-2, [obviously for the viewers benefit] and wants the lineup explained..! Our Ron explains in his inimitable way. I wish I could find it again, to show here.

I thought he summed up the overall situation reasonably well. Pity someone didn't bother to check the Latin though - Annus Horribilis is the correct spelling for the jumped up title.

Perhaps someone ought to answer this fan's questions. It may answer for a lot of people.

Thank you for saving me the bother, rpb.

Well this sort of thing did no harm: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6GIbHTHq87o And we all know that Marian played mainly as a striker, but sometimes played in a deeper role on either wing in midfield too. There's no mystery to that.

I see Australia's fireworks were a tad louder than in NZ: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7806209.stm

I take it this is client based e-mail, e.g. Outlook or Outlook Express. Have you considered web based e-mail, e.g. google-mail..? I'd had a current client based e-mail address as my main one for some years. Then the spam became too much bother to sift through, even when putting up loads of security barriers. It kept them out for a while, but they returned. Now that e-mail account has safe lists only, and I use it for business purposes. I signed onto Googlemail for my informal, everyday e-mail, about 2-3 years ago. I think I've received about 20-30 spams total in that time; but the thing is, it is so rare it doesn't bother me. And Googlemail is not like crappy old slow Hotmail. Btw, I'm certainly NOT recommending people like Yahoo, who want to clog up your PC with sh!te. Googlemail is as tactful and withdrawn as you want, or not.

We may have forgotten it, but some Saints fans have already started celebrating 2009. In NZ, the time has already come and gone. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7805974.stm And in an hour or so, the first parts of Australia will be welcoming in the New Year.

Nothing at all. But his name is Chris Marsden. I don't want to invoke any memories of legend. Otherwise I might as well call Marian Pahars, the Little Latvian, or the Latvian Owen. This poll is all about quality, not how much a player is loved by the supporters.

Tsk tsk, nobody has picked me up on the fact that I've been asking people to vote for their best quality player, and to leave out the legendary status. And then I go and write Chris Marsden Football Genius in the poll entry. Apologies, it was all composed at the height of my shivering moments. It has been amended.

Rupert's left the door open. Close it on your way out.

And Phil Boyer, Ted MacDougall, Alan Ball, the list goes on. As to the Potter's Heron. I might as well dig this out from my Youtube library: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIMD8N0kts Listen to the commentary and it mentions that KK had been voted EFotY for the second successive year. That's how much better he was than anyone else.

Well just make sure that your first f*ck off is an enjoyable one, because that'll no doubt get your camera taken away, and the second expletive will no doubt get you ejected from the ground. Not the best way to spend £25, eh..?

Stern John was one of the few little chinks of light in an othewise awful last season. Several times, while at work, I'd enquire of the score on the Beeb website, or here on the forum; to find out that Saints had surprisingly got one in the net. And yep, it was Stern John again. Later I'd watch the 30 second highlights, and his goal would always be a bit of quality. These days he's not the hardest runner, but he's always known where the goal is. And that kept the relegation wolf away last season. So fair play to the guy, and here's a little sign off from an appreciative supporter: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sA6jfxxQt-o

Tsk tsk, MB. You must know that in the modern world, we are not allowed to annoy or infringe anyone's personal beliefs. By allowing the taking of photos, the club puts into process the eventual prospect of someone stealing somebody's soul. But other than that, it's all about copyright.

I could quibble about the exact percentage, but I agree with what you say CF. There are times when I still enjoy driving, although it does tend to be very much in the minority of the time. Motorcycling is another thing altogether. You don't have to break any speed limits to enjoy bikes, but it occasionally helps..! Perhaps it's because bikes are SO directly connected to the elements, that there is where the enjoyment really lies. Btw, I thought of I, Robot when writing the original post.

I'm old enough to have owned a car without servo-assisted brakes. It was my first, an Austin Mini. It had drum brakes all round which, if not set up correctly, wouldn't pull up unless you hit the brake pedal with the force a sledgehammer. And then you were quickly into new wheel cylinder kits. When they were in good condition, the braking was pretty good, accurate, and had plenty of feel. After only a couple of goes [southampton remember, so no proper winter each year], I could brake quite well in snow and icy conditions, without locking up. The first time I touched the brake pedal, on a wet road, in a servo-assisted car, I nearly slammed into the bloke in front because practically everything locked up. There was little feel. I was being detached from direct control of the car. Of course, I quickly got used to it, but then nearly wrapped myself around a lamp post when turning a corner in my first power assisted steering car. I couldn't sense any feedback from the tyres - but then I got used to it. ABS is a good thing, I know. But there's a part of me that hates it. It makes me lazy, and it can fail, which means I'm back to my skill, which has to be practiced. And with ABS, it isn't. There's going to be heaps more of this stuff in the future. Car safety devices have really turned the corner, so to speak. Already, according to Mercedes, we really don't need the driver anymore. And in the near affordable future, if we combine all the systems, we could dial in our destination, sit back, pick up the newspaper, and let the car take us to the door. While in the meantime, the newsprint gently rubs itself onto our noses as we nod off. Excluding the present enthusiasts, what's the betting that driving becomes an optional hobby for the average motorist within 10 years..?

Well exactly. My last post should have read... I'm not 100% sure I disagree... as it is in cases like you've mentioned where this kind a measure becomes a danger, rather than a solution. There's also the accelerating out of a possible danger situation, which would be taken away from driver if he/she was on the speed limit. On the whole, in the majority of situations, given driving skills across the range of people who manage to pass the test, this would almost certainly provide statistics which will just entrench its use in the future. As it stands at the end of 2008, the driver is in a continuing process of being shifted away from having direct control over the vehicle. Some of these things appear to be good measures, some are perceived to be bad. It's worth a thread in itself.

Yes, I saw some of this coming from way back too. Problem is Ponty, I'm not 100% I disagree with it though. But I think, whether we objected to it or not; as the title of the thread says.. I noticed during last seasons's MotoGP races that there has been a prototype crash protection system that has been built into the racing leathers. It actually consists of airbags that deploy through slots in the suit. Of course, at the moment, it's all carried in the racing hump on the back of the leathers, but developments are continuing.

As it happens, in my case, I had to use me 'ead when I chose Dave Armstrong, but me 'eart was also torn between Syddo and Nicky Holmes.

Thank you for reminding us of the true importance of this thread, Ewell. Looks like a good man, and a loving father has died prematurely due to either a complete accident, of a second or two of irresponsibility. Possibly only Jordan Robertson really knows.

No, just encouraging voting.

Yep, the speed limited car is going to be with us. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7803997.stm Please note that this will be on a voluntary basis only. But we know what happens after that. Within seconds of being introduced, insurance companies will give discounts to those that have them installed. Pretty soon after there will be insurance hikes for those that don't fit it. It will become a compulsory fit for new vehicles, and then that will be the end of the variety of cars. Cue end of exotic car industry, and we'll all be running around in different coloured Smart derivatives. If the car makers had been a little more self policing on the speed front, this wouldn't have come this soon, even though it's been possible for years. What really p!sses me off is that they'll do the same to bikes too.