suewhistle

Well, I look forward to seeing you on the train RB! Front carriage as always. 😉

The San Siro and the birreria Lambrate full of Saints fans was fun, but not so many at the Thun pre-season friendly.. Steve Grant ISTR, Swiss Saint, and random others. But they'd better hurry up before we all get too old.

Yeah, but they haven't conceded as many, I don't think. We've still got that record. I've just seen the goal clips and some very empty stands..

He didn't score.. 3-3 draw as per our uninformative OS.

Does anyone think that our scouts said "Oh yes, Carillo would be a good buy.."? That was surely down to Les Reed having a high opinion of his own judgement. This reminds me of the story of Rupert Lowe when he accepted Tommy Fourpast as a contribution to the Bale deal. He asked a goalkeeping coach/scout what he was like and was told "He's crap!". How do you know, asks Rupert? "It's my job to know". But then Lowe was another with an over-elevated view of his own judgement, as his subsequent political career has also shown.

Had you a particular one in mind? Please justify your alternative choice and show your workings in the margin.. 😉 As for CBs on the bench resolutely unplayed, we'd definitely like to know the rationale there too, and whilst we're about it how is our long term injured striker? Why am I paying to see this ****? So many questions and not all rhetorical ones either!

It wasn't just the Northam, the whole crowd were singing and it's pretty impressive when that happens, especially in current circumstances!

Don't be silly. Knowing Saint's luck it was probably a herd of protective mothers..

My stand neighbour made a similar observation on Saturday, although I never get there early enough before KO but also noted it at half time. I'd say they do seem to be getting marginally fitter though, and Onuachu is no longer blowing out of his **** on 50 minutes any more. The crowd in the second half when we were attacking was brilliant for a short while, the whole ground singing OWTS, including us geriatrics in the Itchen. We don't need too much encouragement, but we do need something to cheer about. Perhaps the loan returnees will make a difference after their championship experience? Perhaps we'll finally get an insurance payout on Ross Stewart, or dock the wages of whoever sanctioned his signing.. Whilst we're at it, sue Les Reed for gaslighting us over Carillo..

What do you expect me to do?

Well, stronger bench at least! 😱

Unfortunately driving today, didn't fancy using the rail bus replacement service, so I shall be without the benefits of anaesthesia today. Oh gawd..

There will no doubt be a few posters on this thread off to the Magic Kingdom to watch the tournament: those who obviously have a problem with anybody on the LGBTQ spectrum and make their feelings known. Bless, they're obviously a bit insecure in their masculinity. I've never known confident guys to have any worries or need to comment. The same applies to the comments on 'woke'.. pesky need for equality and talking about it eh? Mind you, having taught English as a Foreign Language to some from that neck of the woods I reckon I'd probably be safer than some of you lot. Like public school boys they feel safer with guys...

Yes, I was thinking of the two most recent! The ones who took their debt down to 5p and then 0.5p in the pound..

True, but the southern helicopter route follows a green corridor out to the coast giving a good close up view of Bournemouth.

Softie! What's wrong with tinned plum tomatoes? Catering size. I've flown low level out of Bournemouth Airport quite a number of times and seen the Vitality stadium from the air; it really does look like a slightly overgrown non-league ground. But as pointed out above they are at least doing something about their training ground, unlike Portsmouth who left a trail of debt to various schools and colleges whose grounds they were using when they went bankrupt: whether the first or second time I don't recall. I do remember that they had an old shipping container with all their cones etc on one of the sites. and they were prevented from accessing it when it all happened!

I thought we'd done a lot of moving forwards recently? One to Torino, to West Brom, Sheffield, the physio's room again for two weeks.. Shame none of them have been replaced.

Probably by you, it would seem. I have to say I don't think much of your ability to judge players. I've seen players develop at Saints going back 50+ years and you can often see early on that they have something and will make it. Dibling certainly has that something already and he's only 18, in his first season, in the top flight, in a crap team and he's already making things happen.

But Dibling starting..

Well at least Leyton Orient won't get whitewashed!

"..and I keep on having to tell people the same thing, it's very frustrating."

I suspect Les Reed did as well..

I was under the East stand near to where Hughie Fisher shot from in that game. I'm not a betting person and was an impoverished student at Southampton at the time but even I was aware that the odds the bookies were offering on Saints were remarkably good for a two horse race. Didn't have enough spare to put anything on at 4 or 5 to 1 (as I recall).. This year we'd need remarkably more luck than we've been getting in the league..

And that's indeed what I have done, see my comment above. But as the examples above show, it's not just about rewarding granny or yield, it's about recruiting new fans in a world where there's lots of competition for discretionary spending. You only have to look at the fans around you to realise how old the age profile is, myself included. Far better to have some of the younger fans saying to their friends, "fancy coming along tonight, it's only £n"..

I don't think anybody has said he is, but getting rid of our famous U shaped heat map is an excellent start, he's demanding more from the players and I suspect he's a better judge of them too, having been round the block a bit.