St Landrew

Frankly, I nearly put this straight into TMS, but the thought of seeing LP sporting a LOWE OUT t-shirt needs all the support it can get. If you get my meaning..

Which is all you have left then. Bit sad, eh..?

The way Lowe budgets for relegation all the time, do you think we can afford to stay in the Championship..? I mean, that involves spending some money..! All jokes aside, I'm getting convinced that the threat of relegation is something that has been accounted for. Whether SFC goes down or not, Rupert has got the money side covered. I'm sure it means little, once the books are balanced, whether we stay in the Championship or not. And of course, it gives the youngsters a year or two to find their level, in League One.

Don't think I've ever known Saints to have encountered the New Manager effect on our own team. My guess is because the previous manager had been getting the players at his disposal punching so far over their weight, so to speak, that when they played at their realistic levels, they lost ground dramatically. Hence a new manager takes time before he gets the players to play much better than they would normally be capable of. It would explain Saints legendary inconsistency too. Because average players can't play brilliantly ever week. Saints have always been so cheap, they don't even realise when they are actually plumbing the depths of that dire policy. Saints players have nearly always had to raise their game to be successful. Apart from MLT and the teams that played in the late 70s to 80s. Even Strachan's team punched way above their weight. Witness the roaring success all of them have been since leaving Southampton FC.

But Andoverian has a point, eh..? What should we care what Pompey get upto..? We didn't really give a toss when they were in a lower division to us, only a short few seasons ago, so why now..? It gives me no satisfaction at all, not even in an... well at least Pompey lost style. SFC are in the sh!t, and are closer to Bournemouth, problems wise, than we are to the Blue Few.

Subs will be there, but I had not given much thought to how many we should have, and what approach we should have in choosing them. I think your suggestion has a lot going for it. PM me during the vote for the last striker position, and we'll finalise that. Nice one.

Hmm... I remember going to the cinema to watch Star Wars, back then. The hysteria the film had created was huge, and so was the expectation. Peculiarly I suppose, I didn't get caught up in it. I thought the film thin and poorly executed. Although it has to be said that the makers manipulated the toy market to great effect. You could watch the film, and see the hooks that were being deployed to get the viewing public onside. Must have been a good payday for George Lucas and Co. I've never seen any of the others in the film series.

OK, an easy thing to organise would be an anti-Board chant, and getting the Northam going with it. I'm sure the rest of the ground would chime in. All [sadly] 9,000 or so of them. Something like: TIME TO GO - RUPERT LOWE Just repeat that phrase, at top volume, at every match, and that'll make some waves.

I'll only accept the first of those nominations, so you'd better decide which one it is. And that goes for everyone who hasn't made it clear, if they have mentioned more than one name. You all have been told many times before, by now.

I've already mentioned a boycott one or twice in the last few seasons, due to the complete disenchantment most of us have had with SFC. Now it has probably never been required more. There is no argument with SFC, just the present Board, and the policy deciders especially. If you are really serious about a boycott, you have to keep at them until Lowe and Co resign. As of this moment, he knows this will never happen. It's a complete pipe dream, and he is completely safe. But several empty stadiums, more importantly accompanied by an agreed statement from ordinary fans that suggests that they will return, en masse, when Rupert either resigns, or promises to go at the earliest opportunity - say within 60 days, will have a huge effect. And if he doesn't, then the boycotting begins again until he does. If you really want Rupert out, this will work 100%. But you must be united in your approach and execution.

Yeah, same here. As it is, I came on here to give Nick Holmes the nod, despite my preference for David Armstrong. But I can see Nick Holmes is well represented, and will almost certainly get into next weeks poll unassisted by me. Keep up the nominations though. If there are more than 6, then only those with the most nominations will make it. David Armstrong for me then.

We'll finish the midfield in true 4-4-2 style by nominating the Left sided midfielder that befits the best ever team of individuals we've seen between us. There are going to be obvious favourites, I know. Please put any considerations of legendary status aside, and let the real quality shine through. Btw, when you've thought about your choice, do make sure that he hasn't already been picked in another midfield position..! Just so you're clear on this, midfield players you CAN'T NOMINATE include: Terry Paine Alan Ball Matt Le Tissier Danny Wallace Steve Williams Jimmy Case These players are in the A and B teams. Every other midfielder is up for nomination. So.. away you go. One player only remember..! **Forgot to mention - nominations end late Sunday night.

Well [thankfully] we've reached that time when the poll has closed and I can announce the results of Saints best players occupying the CM positions. I know there has been disagreement whether one or two of these players are CMs or not. But whatever they do, they certainly can line up in those positions. Btw, thanks for your votes. A clear favourite, not unnaturally was Matthew Le Tissier - The God. Quite simply the most sublimely skilled player ever to grace the Saints pitch, and yes, I do include any of the opposition players, IMO, including Chelsea's voted best player - Gianfranco Zola. And I cant find any higher praise than that. So here are the line ups. Allow me a little licence if I put MLT in the LCM position. He could play anywhere across the midfield and be outstanding, but RCM was the older Alan Ball's best position, so I've arranged them thus, so far. For the A Team ------------------Shilton------------------- Golac----Wright-----Svensson-----Bridge Paine------Ball------Le Tissier--------?--- and the B Team ------------------Niemi-------------------- Dodd---Lundekvam----Watson----Dennis D.Wallace-Williams-----Case---------?--- The interesting thing is that looking at the two teams building up; one begins to wonder which side would win most matches if the two teams played each other [given that the players were in their peak playing form for Saints]. The A team consists of best players, but are the B team more effective..? We'll obviously get a better idea the closer get to a full team. So in order to do that we'll start the nominations for Saints best LM. This time it's one player only, and you [again obviously] can't nominate any of the players whose position is now fixed in place.

Oh crikey, I have to wait until 2.33am for the poll to close..! Dare I say.. get voting..?

If you think you know where the car resides, then go over and check it out. If the first letters correspond with the make and model, and the latter part of the number doesn't seem ultra strange, then I'd report them to the police. You can explain why you didn't do it before because of the damage to the car. Photograph those hits too. I'm not normally a person who seeks justice, just tending to right things off to experience; but I bloody loathe the I'm All Right Jack, style ignorance from people who should take their heads out of their arses before they do anything where it might involve other people. I bet this person has had few accidents, but if he/she bothered to check their mirrors, he/she would have witnessed thousands.

If you think you know where the car resides, then go over and check it out. If the first letters correspond with the make and model, and the latter part of the number doesn't seem ultra strange, then I'd report them to the police. You can explain why you didn't do it before because of the damage to the car. Photograph those hits too. I'm not normally a person who seeks justice, just tending to right things off to experience; but I bloody loathe the I'm All Right Jack, style ignorance from people who should take their heads out of their arses before they do anything where it might involve other people. I bet this person has had few accidents, but if he/she bothered to check their mirrors, he/she would have witnessed thousands.

I've been making a point of trying to separate myself emotionally from SFC, because I see no point in continual heartache. I must say it's working. I looked up from my Lem-Sip and whisky earlier, to find the 2-0 result on teletext. I'd put the scale of disappointment in the region of 1/10, where '0' is I couldn't give a toss, and 10 is suicidal. My love of Southampton FC is of a club that existed when I started following them in 1966, up until just a short time ago. That love has been eroded by people who have no idea of what it means to head a football club, from a sporting point of view. I've had to distance myself somewhat from SFC before, purely by circumstance; moving to NZ for a while, for example. But this time I'm doing it on purpose. It has nothing to do with Jan Poortvliet, or his staff, or the players. They're trying their best, but the resources just aren't there to back them up. If you budget for relegation, you'll achieve it. That's the only trophy I see on the horizon.

I've been making a point of trying to separate myself emotionally from SFC, because I see no point in continual heartache. I must say it's working. I looked up from my Lem-Sip and whisky earlier, to find the 2-0 result on teletext. I'd put the scale of disappointment in the region of 1/10, where '0' is I couldn't give a toss, and 10 is suicidal. My love of Southampton FC is of a club that existed when I started following them in 1966, up until just a short time ago. That love has been eroded by people who have no idea of what it means to head a football club, from a sporting point of view. I've had to distance myself somewhat from SFC before, purely by circumstance; moving to NZ for a while, for example. But this time I'm doing it on purpose. It has nothing to do with Jan Poortvliet, or his staff, or the players. They're trying their best, but the resources just aren't there to back them up. If you budget for relegation, you'll achieve it. That's the only trophy I see on the horizon.

No. Funnily enough, she used to get the presents just right.

I got a presentation bottle of Rose Cava. I don't like champers, and I don't like Rose wine. The person that knows me well, knows this too. That took skill to get it so wrong.

I think I'll distribute infraction points to the next person who comes on here, plainly having not read the voting rules, and buggers off again having only voted for one player. I'm so p!ssed off for feeling ill on this day that I'm in the mood to do it. So vote for two players and go and enjoy your Crimbo, because I'm not. :mad:

Here's another you might as well have while I remember to tell it. Again this was in Italy, in the town of Roccasecca, and it happened to me when I was a kid of 12 years. I'd been exploring some ancient ruins that were said to be an old house that some distant ancestor had once owned, and was walking back to where we were staying; when I started to walk down a particularly sunny and open path. It was broad, but reasonably steep, so every 10 ft there was a small stepped drop of a few inches. The air was so warm and dry, and nowadays I realise why so few Italians suffer from arthritis, aches and pains. The climate is just so good..! That day it was especially great... but as I proceeded, I saw a little white stone with a black catholic cross, and a tiny number on it, by the side of the path. It was hardly any bigger than a few house bricks bunched together, and as I passed it, the air suddenly went much colder. I thought it was a sudden breeze, but it was still air, and anyway, all the breezes had been warm. The path continued for a good 50 or so more yards, and all the while I was getting colder and colder, despite the Sun blazing away, and I was quite claustrophobic, as if something unknown was getting too close. At the end of the path I turned a corner, and once more the warmth returned, and I felt fine again. A couple of days went by, and we were back in the hotel room when some talk turned to what I had been doing on that other day. I explained the path and the white stone. My Dad started to smile. He asked who told me the joke. I said that I was being serious. Well apparently, it really wasn't a joke, because there was a story of an old man who had fallen and died, and the stone had been placed there. And it was said that if anyone walked down the path on their own, he would accompany them down the path until they got to the bottom. It was his way of looking after them.

Oh OK. Here's one that involved my brother when he was a youngster. The family were on holiday in Italy, and they had all gone to a village to visit some distant relatives. They had also done the Italian family thing, which was to visit the grave of the recently departed grandmother. Anyway, my brother had gone into the church to explore, and somehow had gone through a door, and got lost. He started to get a bit worried, but he saw some monks [as he says] walking up a flight of stone steps. He went over to the last one and asked if he knew the door to the outside. He couldn't see his features because the hood covered the face in shadow. The monk stopped in front of my brother, and then silently walked around him and up the stairs. But something was peculiar. The monks habit was disappearing into the steps as he walked up the flight, and not being creased by the floor. What's more, his feet seemed to be below each step. Eventually my brother found his way out, and ran to meet the family. He told his story, and when he told the bit about the steps, they informed him that the steps had been renewed about 20 years previous, by removing the worn parts and cementing a new step on top of each old one. So the monk had been walking on the old steps..!

Woke up this morning with a scratchy and dry throat, flooding nose, a temperature and a few shivers. I had an emergency call out to a particular charity's offices the day before yesterday. I've always suspected their air-conditioning as an incubator of germs and viruses, and I'm pretty sure I've picked up something from there. I've been invited out for Christmas dinner, and that's off; and I've got a goose madly thawing away for guests tomorrow, and I'm going to have to put them off. I think I'll just get quietly bladdered on whisky today instead. At least I won't feel as crap as I do now. Pay no attention if I come back on here and start talking bollix at some point [yes, I know - what's the difference from the usual]. Just remember that YOU are feeling fine.

Yep, the Beeb have been trotting out some good old ghost stories from the likes of Dickens and the famous Cambridge Provost M R James. I've seen them all loads of times before, and now have a recorded copy of nearly everything the Beeb has produced from this cobwebby old genre. Still thoroughly enjoyable. Merry Christmas everybody, and Good Night.