John Boy Saint

Even the Ipswich player had the same trouble, the ball slowed within feet of being kicked giving Long a chance to race Bart to it.

Quite a strange game, so strange that when the ball hit the back of the net not even a little yes!! departed my lips The game seemed to meander along insignificantly, it was almost as if we just shut down into energy conservation mode. I know it was only Championship opposition but if we can shut down a game, whilst it might not look pretty it's a handy ability to have in the locker.

What makes it worse is they seem oblivious to the fact that their ineptitude so transparent to those looking on. There is no doubt that we are not a dirty team, we are not where we are by being roughouses like Stoke are against a classy team. Looking at the screens on the concourse post match against both Chelsea and Arsenal we had committed twice as many fouls as the "fancied" opposition, and this is despite Ronald a few months ago saying that they have been working with the players to step in to win the ball and then block by positioning their bodies in an effort to avoid giving a foul, yet referees being conned by theatrics and there own preconceived ideas whistle for a non existent foul. In yesterday's game I am amazed we didn't end up playing over 6 minutes of added time, but then maybe the penny dropped with "not so fat" Phil that even if we played till midnight Man U still wouldn't have had a shot on goal.

We have photos taken pre season with the players in Palafrugell when we played Llagostera last season and Morgan is the only one out of loads of photos with a face like a smacked @R$e. C'est la vie That was great today I was working at a trade show in London, it had gone quiet and my Manc mate had fired up Sky Go on his iPad we had loads of fellow exhibitors round the little screen on our stand when Dusan slotted home, most of the smaller hall at Olympia must have heard my cheer!! These are great days Bros

Mario Biondi and the High Five Quintet Driving back from the Hull away game this was on Craig Charles Radio 2 show, empty M1 he played the long 7 minute version of the linked song which was spot on driving music to my ear, and spurred to find a bit more in a music genre I hadn't really paid much attention to.

if you have Sky+ just record it wait 10-15 minutes then start watching the recording then you can x30 through all the clap trap:D

That was quite good fun that night, even more amusing they were sponsored by Powergen.

Really why would he want to go somewhere that cant buy a player for a couple of years?

You would think there is a chance as it's the last remaining "cup shock" possibility of the round, as they missed the QPR one with a cursory glance.

and that Chambers had possibly reached the limit of his development as a footballer............ bit like working for Mars confectionery after a short time you were given a number and that number basically said how many positions up the promotion chain you could go v your abilities.

I sat watching him yesterday from a good vantage point in the Chapel, when the ball was in a position to play to him he was consistently stood behind the defensive line. So Fraser in Goal, Saints players building an attack, Ipswich players defending THEN Long then the Ipswich Goal keeper he rarely checked behind him to see that he was being played on it was almost like he was more reliant on the probability of the lino cocking up but the lino had already seen a red and white striped shirt in an offside position, so putting the flag up was an easy option if in doubt. The Midfielder is probably itching to play the ball to him but can see that he is offside so waits for him to step back on side. Like I said above watching Suarez last year from the same vantage point he would know a ball was coming in and was moving in a curve just in front of the static or shuffling sideways defence, as the ball came in the defence would move backwards facing the ball but Suarez was already facing forwards and accelerating having sprung the offside trap. Shane Long has a lot of guile he is not a slow coach you would have thought after so many games for so many teams someone would have picked him up on this and trained it out of him.

Still winds me up that he gets caught offside so much, watching him yesterday he is wandering along behind the defensive line endlessly, when you watched Suarez last season against us he had a knack of running infront of the defender knowing the ball was coming over the top giving him a head start as the defender has to turn around to catch him. I also think its becoming clear that his reputation for going down cheaply in the past does him any favours with the officials.

Excellent as always...... Happy New Year to you.

Probably more of a Citroën, like Marmite you either like em or hate em, the same way so many blinkered winkles drop him from their suggested line ups in pre match threads.

is there a discount if I opt out of the photo with you?

Ooo will they be available to purchase online too? I am working in London so missing the trip to OT but it would be dead cool to have one of those in the bar for the second half.

The shops will be shutting as the game kicks off unless the Trafford Centre is a 11-5 kind of centre on a Sunday. Worth identifying somewhere along that road to the Traffird Centre and M60 as my Manc mate has pointed out they hold the traffic round OT for almost an hour after kick off so being somewhere down Wharf way or whatever it's called has less traffic as there is nothing from the other side of OT joining it for a while (hope that makes sense)

Strange observation from yesterday, Arsenal were getting the rub of the green off the ref for innocuous stuff but as soon as we went a goal up it looked like he was being a bit more generous towards us. I wouldn't say we are a dirty team by any stretch of the imagination but looking at the stats V Chelsea then Arsenal on the screens on the concourse after the game I was amazed to see in both games we committed about twice as many fouls than our illustrious opponents.

Went to a wedding a few years back and they had those throwaway cameras on each table at the reception for everyone to take photos of who was on the table etc. When they had been developed the Bride said when looking through them that she had thought it a myth when she read somewhere that the person you end up with as a life partner has facial similarities, she was amazed to see that this was true of just about every couple photographed.

8-0 has to be up there without doubt. A bit recent; Yoshida snaffling the ball pinging it out to Davis for him to ping it with the outside of his foot for Yoshida to stick it into the net off his shoulder v Everton. What a great goal.

Happy New Year

Not as long on the ground as Chelsea players who at the merest tap hit the deck and laid there like they had been taken out by a Sniper hidden in the floodlights using a high velocity rifle and Dum-Dum bullets.

Very impressive landing, be interesting to know how much of that was computer aided and how much was pure pilot and co pilot ability.

At least they try to put something different on each of these, the Martin Tyler bit was quite interesting and nice that he requested to do this game as his anniversary for commentating for 40 years. Strange to see Mourinho just milling about outside the dressing room in the corridor you never see that with other coaches.

Or has allowed himself to be bullied into feeling guilty for something which, as I said on the post match thread, in real time looked exactly what he booked him for, Lino had a view didn't give it either as he saw the same in real time Fabregas over doing the theatricals as he hit the turf. 27 different angles shown over 4 minutes on Sky and hey the ref got it wrong, even from my seat behind the goal in real time Fabregas simulated contact. So now Jose has got himself into a Fergie position and got another Premiership referee nicely tucked up in his pocket, unless the Ref actually has the balls to ignore what's gone on before next time he Refs a Chelsea game: which by apologising he has instantly become a submissive.