John Boy Saint

Considering they are still digging up Hampshire to install fibre to folks front doors, and making an absolute hash of connecting it, they probably need to keep supporting Saints to keep them in peoples minds when they finally get it sorted.

Brother in law, who is a Chelsea season ticket holder thinks so too.

Liquorice straw is intact, plus beautifully enhanced with a light coating of pocket dust (maybe even a bit of bogey), conker is a twenty-er........... crikey! going on Pilchards valuation, find another marble and I should be in the market for an executive box!!!

And they cover themselves with the $h!tty spiteful little gem of : if you have the temerity (and that is the word that has been used) to challenge the decision we'll double the punishment. They managed to retropectively Harshly punish Tyronne Mings last season in the Cherries game at...............oh hang on...Man Utd. But Ashley Youngs leg breaker just evaporates, they really do think we are stupid. Truth is we should be use to it by now

Ok.....I have 2 marbles. a conker, a picture card of Bobby Charlton, a Sherbet Dib-Dab and a half chewed toffee? ​I might grow up one day!

sorry....... And bloody loose the damn thing 90% of the time. His assist for Arsenals 3rd on Sunday was shameful, for a player with such "mercurial" talent he should have seen Iwobe off. Anyway as we can see here, without doubt Tadic is a Marmite player. As for sleepless nights, that's probably down to the relegation salary cut clause in contract, and the fact that no other team has considered taking him off the shelves of Southampton FC Players'R'Us Superstore.

I have mentioned elsewhere (probably further back in this thread) that I have an acquaintance who was at Bristol City then Villa as an apprentice (in old money) played against Wallaces and Shearer, but blew his chance. Having been in the game from a young age the game is drilled into his brain, go to a game with him and it's an education far beyond what most "experts" on here pontificate about. He commented about Targett while Shaw was with us asking "who's that young left back of yours blond lad" I obviously said Shaw, he instantly said "no, you have a better one in your academy" I said Targett "that's the one". Like I say it's been commented on elsewhere so I won't babble on. But this chap has no affiliation with Saints and lives away from the area yet he had been aware and seen Targett play in academy games. I just don't get it on these pages why whenever a nipper comes through our system more often than not they are viewed as not good enough, when in reality having passed through the longest interview process in the world, someone far better qualified than most have deemed him to be suitable for the job of professional footballer. All these Johnnies we would rather the club spent squillions on were just as green as Targett etc once, just we didn't see them when they are making the odd naive error.........I struggle to recall when playing for us, if actually let us down. Funny how many Fulham fans believe Matt is player above their current level, yet our armchair "experts" think he is at the only level he is capable of.

Don't think that was so much heads being buried in the sand, smarter fans of theirs must have gone Hmmmm just as we are right now, but they were repeatedly snaring............apologies; finding a willing mug......... sorry; investor with a fat enough wallet to keep them trundling along, how many times did you see that rag tag bunch with a crusty stadium, no training facilities of their own change hands and at the same time think, strange that no one has knocked on our door with a suitcase full of money to buy us with the package that we are. Good ol' Arry taking us down kept them in the premium league in the world as sole players on the south coast, and kept the shop window on smart street looking all sparkly with players they couldn't afford, tempting the money in from all sorts of characters but there are only so many of them, and the Emperors new clothes can only be sold a couple of times at those prices. With us, most folks know the Swiss in business play their cards very close to their chests, on the flip side modern Chinese are a bit more materialistic if they have it they like to show it, so its slightly odd that right now the club is a bit like North Korea in its silence.

In the EFL Cup Final when Lingard popped their second in our onion bag, there was a chap just in front of us who left his seat we presumed to release some of the beer that had been processed, we never saw him return! My Daughter was on the upper deck and she said when Man U's second went in a few up there got up including a group, like us she figured they had gone to use the facilities or for an early beer, but noted they never came back. So you are probably right in your observations.

We certainly do seem to be going to the dogs all over the place where protecting our assets are concerned, Premier League status aside. Not talking to one of our products just leaving him to his own devices under the charge of another team for 4 months, when lads from Chelsea, who in all honesty are never going to see a Chelsea first team appearance, are in regular contact just seems wrong. Add in the Olomola nipper ripping up the pitch at Yeovil for half a season, they request to extend his loan or even buy him, we drag him back and pull up the drawbridge stick him on the bench for the under 23s if he's lucky, unless I have missed something his contract is up in the summer pound to a penny he will turn his back on us and probably go back to Yeovil for bobbins. If this is a general trend in the academy there are a whole heap of what were promising nippers currently out on loan, who we would be no doubt relying on should the worst happen come May, that have seen that whilst the grass might not be greener over the, fence its a perfectly acceptable green and just stick two fingers up to Saints and move on through not being "loved". Weird

As I said elsewhere, I think the team we played on Sunday will be the core of the team over the next few games more workman like than finesse. To be honest Carrillo and Austin up front is attacking with the handbrake on, whilst Long might not have been prolific for a couple of seasons and is lacking in certain areas the one thing he brings to the party is nuisance, the first defenders in your team are your strikers, someone like him makes defenders cautious of pushing up especially when they know with a head start they have little chance of catching him. Play like Sunday and better, we're in with a chance. If what Batman posted elsewhere is true, then we have Mike 'bloody' Dean on the whistle, and it's on TV so the perfect stage for him to be the only star on the pitch- 50/50 in our box you just know where he's pointing. Just be a treat to do em twice in a week.

You have to hope that Sunday gave the players a bit of belief, having watched the West Ham game admittedly online, that was a car crash, I was picking bits of windscreen out of my face for most of last week, whilst having a ticket for the Emirates I was more looking forward to dinner out with friends (who are Arsenal ST holders). At full time I didn't have a face like a smacked backside, because for the first time in weeks we had a bit of fight, another week on the training pitch with Mark, Eddie and Mark who knows. Think we saw the core of the team for the rest of the season on Sunday, no frills just players prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in, yup you cynics the boy might of been brought up in a house of fish (who cares?!) but there is no doubt JWP is a Saints player through and through, given the choice picking teams in the playground and just JWP and Redmond left to choose from; the other kid is getting Redmond. Tadic can slip on a bar of soap, might do us a favour when the muck and bullets are flying during the run in, we don't need players selecting reverse..................... Not seeing Iwobe off yesterday backs this up, you can point at Cedric and Jack all you want, but that cross should not have come into the box, Tadic should have seen him off. As for recruitment we all know its pants, we don't have one nasty B@$t@rd in the team its too polite. regular readers know I have a pal who knows the game, I said a couple of months back "dunno whats gone wrong with Gabbiadini" his reply......... "Thats why he is at Southampton, and cost less that £20m". Get a couple of results in the next couple of games, and the season gets interesting. Come on Saints don't let the hope kill me.

Oh what joy - he will be itching to point to the spot as soon as the ball enters our penalty box and merely, coyly, looks at anyone’s arm...............it’s even more nailed on seeing as it’s on the Telly

Not sure what some folks are looking at or for, reading some of the comments on here. As usual a few seem to base their match analysis on the last time they wiped the floor with their 4 year old playing them at FIFA whatever year it is on PlayStation. Having been at the game, and after watching the past few games there was an obvious nervousness about Saints, but despite Arsenal’s huffing and puffing early on Mark Hughes first objective was achieved - not to concede early. Shane Longs goal just seemed to relax the players and you could see a bit of fight that has been missing certainly v Newcastle and W Ham suddenly show itself. You can point the finger of blame at whoever you want to with regard to conceding the Arsenal goals, but at the end of the day they have technically capable and slippery players who create opportunities and openings and unlike in the last 2 league games where the oppos pretty much went through us pretty softly none of Arsenal’s goals were a piece of cake for them. Someone earlier in the thread had Yoshida swinging from the gallows for the deflection for their second, these things happen - and when you are down where we are they smart just a little bit more. His leg an inch higher and it’s a stunning reaction block. Across the pitch we had a lot more fight, Romeu seemed back, and now he has passed the amnesty date is free of the 10 card suspension that he has been on the cusp of should be a bit more combative in the middle. JWP had a good game too, busying himself about the pitch and whilst many slate the dead ball specialist tag, after watching the Stoke game where it looked like no one else in the team had taken a corner in their lives, he does deliver a corner into the box with a bit of menace, unlike Tadic and his regular pass from the corner to the oppos keeper. Hmmmmm Tadic if anyone could be accused of being a passenger in our team it’s him, he bottles out of too many skirmishes on the pitch through fear of possibly getting hurt. Referee was, as usual, bloody awful. He should have been binned off the Premier league list when he got Gibson(?) and Oxo mixed up with Oxos goalkeeper impression. Mustafi can cuddle Long from behind no foul, breathe on an Arsenal player foul. How does the Lino not see Chambers pulling longs shirt? Seems that shirt pulling to impede a player is “just one of those things that happen” As for the sending off, whilst Jack in 3-4 years time might have the presence of mind not to react, Mariner could have stopped it reaching the point of conflict with and earlier whistle. And just like Shane Long is tarred by reputation by officials it’s about time they wise up to Glass Jack and his laying on the pitch routine he has been conning them with for years. Still the games are running out, but whilst it might be too little too late it was good to see a bit of fight and forward thinking endeavour from the team.

Yoshida is right footed, and is able to deputise at right back too

.........How many??...........................You can't just leave us all hanging like that!!!!

Given how impotent our front line are, well attack in general, even with an unlimited budget you could fill our back line with the best defenders on the planet and they would still probably struggle.

Last game of the Easter Weekend at Gigg lane, where league one rock bottom Bury are playing local rivals Rochdale and are losing 0-2, Bury just missed a woefully taken penalty followed by an even easier chance, cousin said it’s raining season tickets on the pitch. Doubt we will see that down SMS but reassuring to know we are not alone in our suffering. Bloody Cousin likes telling me that they have more points than us

You could argue that you have been paying good moneytowatch that level of football for much if this season.

Just flicking through the channels on this rainy bank holiday stumbled onto the blue few v Wigan, our fishy friends have their tails up being 2-0 to the good, all the "Scum are going down", and "we're coming for you" songs have been dusted off. Bless!

The amount of hot air being produced in post match interviews of late the heating bill at SMS and Staplewood must be zero!

Sue I would suggest that you stop fannying around and get your purse open, what you can see online is all that is left!!!!!!!! Itchen sold out ages ago!! Think there are just 2 blocks, in the Kingsland showing healthy availability.

Hello Dele Alli has woken up

i would put Long in ahead of Carillo, much rather have someone with a bit of nuisance and no goals over someone with no pace and no goals up front.

Wow absolutely smashed that, evil dip at the end