suewhistle

We talk about the clubs coming down with parachute payments, but 2 of the 3 (brum & WH) have large debts and wage commitments they may have problems with. We all know about Pimpley whose debts may not be as high as WH's but lack - well, everything really - including the crowds. Of the rest we must compare well for crowds and we no longer have the stadium mortgage to pay. I'm really undecided as to how well we'll do, and I haven't watched any Championship football, but on the basis that it's better in life to be optimistic I'll go for play-offs and I assume we'll have been _aiming_ for automatic. Better not tell Brighton that, though, or we'll never hear the end of it.

..er.. and 50% what? Hope it's not like that crap Bud which should be done under the Trades Descriptions Act for calling itself beer.

This thread has made me laugh. I didn't know who it was before and I couldn't be arsed to look, but I do know now! Surely if he did what he's accused of it can't be libel. Presumably the super injunction is purely on the basis of privacy, but it's the thin end of a very dodgy wedge.

Nah, I suggest them to family as a Christmas prezzie. Actually as I'm a bit femme I don't actually wear dungarees, so sorry if I'm not your fantasy woman...;-) I wouldn't dispute that footie is expensive these days, as I pointed out on another thread, but what gets me are the pitiful moans about it here. There are plenty of political arguments to be made about inequality, but maxing out credit cards isn't a response. If you want to do something extra you can't really afford, whether a skiing holiday (my own vice), or a footie season ticket or horse riding in the forest or a nice motorbike or whatever, get yourself an occasional bar /shelf stacking/cleaning job/whatever. Judging by my visits to soton when I end up in various pubs, Lidl, IKEA etc., where speaking Polish would be a useful asset there are obviously jobs out there. Poor pay certainly, but enough to pay for those luxuries: complain about your effing fuel bills, not the price of a footie season ticket.

I don't think your right, going by my own rule of thumb 'pint test', which is akin the Mars bar test used by economists to gauge comparative inflation rates. Somewhere amongst my belongings I have my accounts (ie. a side or two of A4) listing what I spent one year when I was a student at Southampton in the mid 1970s. Whilst some things are now relatively cheaper (tights, lippy, anything made in China) I noticed that the cost of getting into The Dell was around 3/4 times the cost of a drink or a pint, and that was probably at students' union prices as well. Now if you take a cheap pint at around £3 (we'll ignore 'spoons for this exercise) the cost of a footie ticket (in Div 3) is now x7 or so. The fact that one is now seated is a bit irrelevant as there is no choice. Given what clubs are spending on wages as a % of turnover this is probably not surprising and I'd be interested to know what the comparative percentages were back then.

..and can't pay for it either!

If you already have a card that's maxed out should you be getting a season ticket or going to footie too often anyway? It's a discretionary spend FFS. As someone else has pointed out £500 is a lot of money to some people, so that's why they should be saving now, given the opportunity. Get a money box even, if that helps you budget; come back from the pub having had a pint less than usual pop £2/3 in the jar. Forego that takeaway and cook yourself something even if you're feeling a bit tired, pop in a fiver. Most of us have had lean times at one stage or another and have had to prioritise. If going to the football is a priority, prioritise it and _do_ something about it, but the constant moaning on here is child-like.

Moi? There's lots of Sues around...:-) But yes, that's exactly what the question is, and it's such a heavy suspicion that I'm still not sure whether to go for the c*ck-up theory by the football authorities. I normally do, but in this particular situation conspiracy seems to be playing a very strong game..

Well, he didn't do it all on his own, you know.. Mind you, if there's any hanging to do I'd rather do it to Berlu, by his gonads, which would be the most fitting way.

Another article on the same site is even more interesting IMHO: http://www.twohundredpercent.net/?p=12750&cpage=1#comment-41799

Not that I'm wondering who you've been talking to, or anything like that... This thread hasn't lost its wicked chuckle factor, has it?!

B***** that, why do Chainrai's ground improvement work for him?

With a whole platoon of mutaween on board, no doubt...

I don't know. How do these people get rich in the first place if they are so stupid? OK, we know they are ammoral, but they must have advisers, business instincts. Or just ask any regular on this thread FFS!

Interesting. I mentioned in another thread last night reading an article in a Turin newspaper on finances in Italian football. Equally in the s**t and talk of a salary cap there too. Apart from the top games crowds are significantly lower here, for all the the talk about the Ultra nutters in the Curva Nord (or wherever).

Thanks for pointing that out. I reckon if any of us here ever meet him, pints are in order!

I pay for my own car and petrol so don't tend to go so fast a you lot, even when crossing France on the autoroute... you lot can obviously afford it. Anyway, my story is second-hand... many years ago when I first bought my house I had a copper as a lodger (amazing - not right wing , intelligent, laid back - he didn't last long..). Anyway, he had a visit from a MET traffic cop and I heard the story of a biker he stopped early one morning roaring down alongside Hyde Park at a rate of knots. "So" he says to the biker "I'm going to book you, not for your speed but because you didn't see me". So in those stories where you slowed down, perhaps it was worth it!

"I worked regularly in Italy..." I was out for an apperitivo tonight [no footie training due to me achilles tendonitis] and was reading the paper and an article about the finances of Italian footie. To summarise, it is also in the doo-doos as although income has gone up a lot they haven't been controlling their costs which have gone up a lot quicker. Wages have gone up to over 80% on income. Mentioned the new 'fair play' finance provisions etc etc. It makes me think that Saints could be in a good position to get some players from over here given the crowds we get: I don't think fans realise how much better they are at SMS compared with most of Itaalian football - serie A included.

Don't. He could always do like the rest of us and change jobs or careers. I just hope he's been saving his money so that he can retrain or start a business.

Yep, I think the fans have helped this season and we are part of the buzz around the place. Plus his comments about looking forward to next season are significant. I saw him in the first pre-season friendly at Thun and the coaching staff kept him on the pitch at the end doing sprints. Obviously he's getting older and slower (I can sympathise..) but I don't think he'll start next season in bad shape.

Good morning! Hope you all went to be early and had a good night's sleep.:-)

Looking at those fees how does one become a football agent? I've got a few languages, based on the continong, play footie, have an eye for a player (Stevie Mills, aahhh) and I'm honest... B*****r, done it again, haven't I?

Nah, no need. Any decent journalist would have this page earmarked or get their research assistant to keep them updated: "Sharon, get the latest from our Southampton research team, would you. Ta" As for the FA, I've always assumed they were part of the conspiracy. They can't be that incompetent, surely? Ah...., well, OK, a bit of doubt there.

Exactly what I was just about to write.

I like it! It's something most Saints fans will understand, baffle the opposition and not embarassing at all: humorous in fact.