John Boy Saint

No one answered the question, when I asked it previously. Have they done away with the goal line referees assistant in Europe or are they present just for the rarefied atmosphere of the Champions League, one of those on that goal line would have been most useful to tell the ref "no foul....... The Jessie with the bun tripped over a blade of grass". Just like the one who spotted good ol JT trying to give the Barca player good old fashioned playground dead leg in that CL semi a few years back.

At the Dell we painted the windows shut and turned the heating up in the visitors changing room (the un-opening window also got the sun in the afternoons). Bill Shankly at Liverpool made sure that the Visitors changing room floor was polished like glass. Should really go on another stadium tour at SMS just to see what illusions they have in place to un settle the oppos, always thought the mirror on the inside of the toilet cubicle doors was a strange one................ Although I did like the tale that proper nawty Wimbledon were told to paint the home dressing room another colour as the black it was painted helped make the players too aggressive!!

On reading that my first thought was of the Danny Wallace situation where at United he had flashes of brilliance in the odd games that he had with us on a regular basis, but went missing with niggling injuries and fatigue more often than not, and it wasn't until much further down the track that he was diagnosed with MS. On the cover of the Everton programme he was stood there with the heading: I'm fit again - Tadic - and back to my best. As we know he got subbed at half-time having been pretty inert and robbed of the ball so many times in the first half. Sadly the Premier League is no place for passengers, Steven Davies and JWP operate under the radar in games to allow players with the footballing gifts that Dusan has to sparkle; not to be further under the radar than SD & JWP as is the case.

Job done, well done nipper!!

If there are any Twits on here ask Ronald via the blue bird as he seems receptive to that particular medium of communication.

Just like the negotiations with "Clyney are in a good place" uttered with confidence at the end of last season. Just about everyone we have brought in this summer has arrived with very little chit-chat or comment before it. We will just have to see what comes out in the wash on the 1st September.

When you have Whippets like Mane and Long (and J-Rod soon on tonights showing) in the team one of them bobbing about keeping 2 of theirs busy, you would think it makes sense hold their position in our half as soon as someone lumps one right up the field they can sprint after it someone is either going to have to take one for the team or with their pace a 1 on 1 with the keeper opportunity, it also clears our box sharpish too, instead of That first corner from their #21 which was fizzed across the box only needed a stray Bluebottle to fly into it and it would have been in the back of the net.

Turned round to Mrs JBS in the second half, having watched Bake off in the week, and said we just need another 10 minutes in the oven. The Danes have always been good at manufacturing players and selling them round the world, and having read a bit about Midtylland I entered the stadium not expecting it to be a walk in the park. They are Champions of their national league in a country with pretty much the same population as Scotland, because they are not on the TV every week for us to peruse some folks seem to have viewed this game as a cake walk considering them tin pot, if we played Celtic tonight we would have been given the runaround too. They weren't a team of household names but they played to their system as a unit, which goes a long way. Their goalkeeper wasn't too shabby when called into action.......... great at running down the clock too for his team mates, which was shabby. Many folks have a pop at Yoshida but he has been punted around the back 4 in every position bar Jose's the guy is a defender who does read the game well, I think he has trouble when danger is building and other players have not seen the danger and he gets caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, that said he isnt as bad as many make out. By comparison Caulker defended like he had been playing for teams in relegation trouble for the last 2 seasons ball into the box just clear it out anywhere forwards, when he had time to control and release a bit more effectively. Wanyama needs to hold and let Romeu go forwards because his countless wayward sliced shots are no longer amusing even the simple ones are shanked repeatedly, whereas already Romeu looks to have the vision and ball play that Morgan would give to the team going forwards. Pelle should be fined everytime he tries to do one of those pointless flicks with the outside of the boot because 99 times out of 100 they don't bloody work mate, and more often than not we concede possession because of it................ and its no good getting all Mama Mia hands with your team mates because they haven't read your mind and are standing 3ft away, you are the holding player, suck the defenders in give the ball quickly to the player you sucking the defenders in has created the space for. Thought J-Rod started looking close to where he left off for pace. Targett had a solid game despite having a speed merchant with legs made out of elastic bands to deal with. Also thought JWP played well in a style similar to Steven Davies where he did the running and chasing under the radar, very nice deliveries at set pieces which is what he has missing from his game for a while. Mane is just Mane he is like a box of random fireworks someone has thrown a lit match into, many fizz pop and bang making the crowd ooooh and aaaaah but there is the odd damp squib in there. At the end of the day when you are a team like us you cant expect to steamroller every team that is put in front of you. If we breezed into the league stage at a canter we wouldn't have learned a thing about these foreign Johnnies hopefully if we get through the lessons learned from tonight and no doubt next week will hold us in good stead. Hopefully Paul and Mary wont be looking at our under cooked dough and soggy bottoms for much longer.

It's been a very quiet window and Man U are doing ok, Chelsea are too good to be in trouble and it's only been 2 games, no one has been naughty at any club, Eva the touch line totty has run out of steam. Come on guys who can we write about. Saints are a selling club -who's their best players - right get on that as at least one in the bucket of their players thrown at the wall is probably going to stick.

Saw him in the car park at M&S in Lymington said hello and he said he still went to games................. after what he did for the club more importantly the staff can anyone see him staying away.

Yup, Cork over Surman.

I'll look forward to that!

Welcome to the Premiership and poor refs if you aren't one of the chosen few.

After the doom and gloom of Saturday............... something comes along to put a smile on your face. http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?54905-Now-we-know#.VdHq3LJViko Both Chelsea and City looked a bit shabby yesterday so best to just Cheer up and move on.

Still amazes me that Kirk from Corrie actually made the regular trip down from Weatherfield for every home match before his Dad got all uppity about something.

At least you can see a likeness in that shot looking up at him.................... surely the original Ted one was loaded onto a boat down the docks and pushed over the side as they sailed over the Marianas Trench with a couple of 20ft containers full of concrete tied to it just to make doubly sure.

My tin lids both pink flavour, went to their first game aged 5 & 6 hooked ever since, 2 moments from each of them showed the passion for Saints the eldest at 9 stood on her seat in the family corner the night we played p*mpey in the league cup giving back the reply to the p*mpey chimes with the right (wrong for a well brought up 9 year old girl) words: half of me mortified the other half "good on you girl". The youngest the morning after we gloriously beat Man U at ours in the 88th minute, I hear her get out of bed into the bathroom after a couple of minutes all you hear is "who are ya, who are ya?". As as a supporter once submitted in the back of one of the Hagiology books on Saints: You don't choose to support the Saints, the Saints choose you.

For a bloke who only rocked up on Wednesday I thought he looked pretty good straight out of the box. From behind the Chapel goal you could see he was constantly weighing up the option on offer right across the field, thought he looked like he had been with the team for most of the summer, looking forward to when he has settled in.

Do that still have Junior Saints as my tin lids had that years ago, got them on the ticket presence list, in the draw to be a Mascot, and a heap of goodies to get them hooked.

What cobblers. He was on a yellow after being the only defender to put in a challenge on Lukaku who was rampaging down our RIGHT, the ref had already set his stall out with regard to clipping dirty Saints wings, anyone who was at the ground watching the game could see when he flashed his second yellow for very little, Saints players became visibly nervous to tackle Everton (Red card first half for him would have been a street party outside some posters houses on here). For their break away goal from our corner he was the only one back with 3 Everton players to choose from, everyone else was ambling back from a carp corner all of a sudden everyone realises too late that Targett is in trouble on his own, just like last week he was left exposed by team mates. And more than once he was left exposed. Frustrating game, first half we just seem a bit laissez faire and slow, when we did put our foot on the gas Everton struggled. Romeu straight out of the box looked good and looked like he had been with us longer than since Wednesday, always looking at the whole pitch and Saints players for a pass. Everton just had one of those days where the ball did everything they wanted it to do and we just weren't at the races across the whole field. Ref was shabby too 4 mins injury time with 5 subs 1 goal Cedric being taped up three of theirs getting lengthy treatment and ambling...............although if he added 30 minutes we weren't going to score. Still same points tally as last season at this point.

.......... and they discovered a box of teaspoons wrapped up inside it!

Think I might get down the bookies before the Newcastle game is published and put 50p each way on the draw you hinted at.

A plug for Sky every week on the BBC, the only media outlet in the world where the opportunity to advertise does not exist that would be right up their Strasse! Bruno will make the comment "Matt you are so lazy............ but technically gifted".

Wasn't the bloke who scored the Sevilla 4th goal Konoplyanka the nipper we had in our academy when we were last in the Prem but we just could not get a work permit for him despite all our efforts........... Had we been Man U it might have been a different kettle of fish.

Bloody hell Charlie got the pipes the wrong way round in the Top Deck Shandy factory!!!