John Boy Saint

As is Pep Guardiola's.........which starts the most bizarre auction as they both start a bidding war for the job where they each offer their services for less money than the other. Even more bizarrely this has nothing to do with managing what has fast become the richest club in the world due to the number of exhibition games they have played in North Korea following the sudden fall of the communist regime, and the discovery of larger oil and precious mineral reserves than the whole of the Middle East and South Africa put together under its soil, turning them very quickly into a capitalist state. It emerges that the whole country supports Southampton after a friendship struck up between a couple of the national team players and Terry Paine during the 1966 World Cup. These exhibition games earn Saints per minute what Man City were paid for a whole exhibition game in January 2015 in the middle east which emerged as a sly effort by their owners to inject more cash into the club via the back door and avoid falling foul of FFP. Now all this money has filtered into the accounts Saints can Hoover up any player they wish without fear of sanction to push hard for the elusive CL qualification. Pep and Jose both really want the job as living or having a job in Southampton is the only way they can qualify to buy a residential property on the new waterfront between the Itchen Bridge and the old TVS studios as this has become the most desirable property location in the world with land values that dwarf Sandbanks to mere pennies by comparison, replacing the Northam bridge with a tunnel to lessen road noise saw the prices rise another 45% the day the first car entered the Matt & Franny Tunnel.

Not a surprise, some of the questions that are asked in these press conferences are pretty banal, the one the other day asking if he was going to play a weakened team against Chelsea deserved the response it got. Half the blokes in the room got moist at him alledgedly being sacked, it was column inches from heaven, tapped out their 5 penneth worth then had to back track. To me he seems like an intelligent chap with very little patience, who has no time for the football media circus and the inane clap trap that it spews out more often than not, don't think he has much patience for cobblers in general. What makes him slightly quirky is that he considers what he says almost in an effort to avoid what he says wasting another 5 minutes of his life with the question that his answer might provoke. Think his no nonsense demeanour probably went a long way towards bucking the players ideas up and saving us from relegation in the short number of games he was manager for.

Think our fingers are still singed from the last player we got from them as a pay-off from those shysters. still these days we ain't desperate or stupid

I seem to get the impression that the ones that are ready are kept on the simmer out on loan where they get competitive game time whilst becoming more street wise.

Just as an aside I still think Steven Davis for the £750k goodwill payment to Rangers (that we got told off for making) has been a cracking bit of business.

Good job we got the Chelsea games out of the way early then:D

It's on Sky 5 too

Sunderland vs Saints W Leicester vs Saints D Saints vs Aston Villa D Man City vs Saints W Sunderland are fragile score early and we have enough guile to beat them. Leicester is the funny one if they win the next 2 (yes they are playing the champions elect but strange things happen) they might lose the "we have nothing to lose gung-ho mentality" they seem to be playing with at the moment and we could catch em cold. Villa is another funny one will they have one eye on the cup being only 2 weeks away as a distraction or a motivation, Sherwood seems to have them ticking over nicely. Man City seem to blow hot and cold, ageing team that looks like they could have very little to play for, so thoughts of flip flops and warm sun on their backs could slide into some of their heads. We have Swansea to keep us honest as they are only 7 pts back with 12 on the table.

That was impressive and she was in amongst the masses not aided by the rarefied atmosphere of the elite runners and their head start. Couldn't give a monkeys about her tax exile status really, seems to have the demons not far away between her ears, so the public life reason hold more water that bunking tax.

Think Mane needs to give JWP some lessons as JWP gets muscled out of challenges whereas Sadio when getting muscled out throws the dice in the hope of getting something from the contact from the hapless officials, as has been said Hazard is a maestro at getting spawny free kicks from contact as light as a mouses fart but refs buy it week in week out.

Fair play to him, but I would have said that Bertrand had a hand in it too only because Chadli was nibbling away at Ryan off the ball just before the goal all the way down the wing from their box into our half, even a naughty little elbow back into Ryan's chest which no big deal was made of (my mate sat alongside me spotted it at the same time) they "kissed and made up" but moments later Chadli was off after the ball to slot home it was like Ryan had just switched off momentarily almost in relief of keeping self control and that the pest had moved away. Still at the end of the day it was an entertaining game, would have been nice to have beaten them, but league position and points had it down as an even contest. Pelle's second goal was a thing of beauty, Mane to Long first touch of the game delivered with all the right pace height and accuracy then met with perfection by Graziano to beat Lloris.

Basingstoke town are in the Conference South play-offs after a tidy season home 2nd leg v Whitehawk next Saturday 3pm for those North Ampshoire Saints fans with thumbs to twiddle.

We are 50/50 Dutch/English where we are (Germans arrive and leave 2 days later because of it) it's like a pilgrimage it's full of regulars, we get on well it's a small site though, last year was good fun as many nights spent drinking watching the WC via Dutch satellite, my Dutch was coming along nicely............. Can Padre in Pals is a nightmare with them. Maybe Benteke should get his toenails cut because he must look like Strumpel Peter with his socks off to have been offside!!

That's a shame Daughters graduation (hopefully) puts us back sees us in Llafranc as you head home, would have been nice to have met up for a glass or 2. Benteke was onside by a country mile!!

Played well today sadly most folks are judging him on the attack of the yips he has suffered from in front of goal this season. Like Pelle in his barren spell, that shot he should have leathered past Lloris you could see a million things going through his head before he powder puffed it

Never thought I would say this to you Whitey: Cobblers he was well onside. Sorry mate............ Pals this year?

What a lovely goal scored by Sanchez for Villa to level it up, shocking Lino decision for offside v Benteke Citeh go down the other end and score bloody officials

Been funny if the Cuckoo Clock struck one right at the end.

17 probably the worst I have done in those silly quizzes for a long time

Come on guys take it easy on the lads, surely Forbes Phillipson Masters a good few years ago would have softened the Mickey taking.

Funny that Mrs JBS has said since she first observed young Sam on the pitch that he was like son of Rickie, in body language stance movement working the ball. Be great if he makes it to that standard.

Ooh this is a strange one, want the obvious final to open up the chance of Europe, but spent a while working for the Reading Evening Post which was obviously big on Reading and Saturdays when I had to man the office till 2 o'clock and Reading were at home would get in for nowt and the ground was just round the corner, yep when everyone went "who the hell is Ian Branfoot!!??!!" I knew quite a bit about him. Saints fan is going come on Arsenal football romantic is pulling a bit for Reading.......... Sorry.

Saw this in the paper this morning and found it on line to share with you all. Saints are sat firmly in mid table. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3043181/Chelsea-worst-behaved-team-Premier-League-comes-showing-respect-referees.html Sadly the comment from Jose was missing, he reckons because the food and drink is so good at Stamford Bridge the assessor doesn't see the game and from next season it's bread and water at the Bridge. The point scoring criteria is interesting, but given the carp refereeing performances we have witnessed against us we should be higher if the players hadn't bitten their tongues. ......... His Smugness of Anfield is cock-a-hoop at the table.

What has not been factored in is the fact that the teams who have made Europe recently have had managers (possibly ignoring AVB) who have no experience of juggling playing in a domestic league and in Europe at the same time, whereas Ronald has both as a player and manager.

Just a little parking tip for those going up by car, as you take the exit for the Britannia Stadium when coming from the South, you will see a big BMW and Mini garage on your right, they have parking in their pound at the back it's a but more of a walk up hill but on leaving after the match you are away pretty sharpish and on the M6 heading for home, pretty sure Bucks Saint said he was back home Maidenhead way by 7:30 after parking there.