John Boy Saint

Good set of lungs on him too, you could really hear him barking out instructions yesterday.

It was great to see us playing flowing football in both halves again. People seem to be moaning about how quiet the ground is during the game, but I don't know about some of you but yesterday in particular our play was mesmerising to the point of hypnotic. Mrs JBS often says that I sit there in a state of automatic trance when we are playing well, so the quietness is no doubt due to vast numbers of the crowd being in the same world as me. We seemed to have a nice balance yesterday across the pitch, Kelvin Jos & Jose solid at the base, Morgan setting the tempo, Jack doing the dirty work and Rickie and Guly prowling around like Predators. Then you have pure speed up the right and a bit of intelligence on the left. Richardsons crossing 9 times out of 10 is pretty lethal. Men of the match for me were Morgan and Steve, that track back tackle from Steve in the first half was immense.

Conversation in the car going home was that he has to be signing of the season, and that of the centre back pairing he is the stronger of the two...................... And seemingly a great bloke with it: always claps the crowd at the end and that Squarehead this last week.

I think there were folks who bought tickets in the row behind us who had not realised that it was a 1pm kick off as they rocked up at half time. Oooooopps!!

This is such a simple formula for half time and something thankfully they have persevered with as it has become increasingly amusing and the whole stadium gets to see it. Yesterday with the little nipper on his toes without the ball and then both missing the goal at the end was the first time most of the stadium got really vocal. A few weeks back the teams seemed a little uneven in size when to came to the end the "bigger" team who were well out in front skewed it wide, well considering most half time entertainment is derided by many the oooh from the crowd was quite loud then the roar of encouragement for the next nipper to steal it at the end, and the cheer when he did, shows it works.

Merry Christmas to one and all. ............... and especially to the team who while we are taking it easy are training today: God Bless Them and Thank You for a 2011 to remember for many years to come.

How many of you think the shops should be open on Boxing day? For years the vast majority of stores were shut Christmas, Boxing, and New Years Day, even 20 years ago. Now Supermarkets and many stores remain open as late as possible on Christmas Eve, shut for one day (without doubt these days reluctantly) them go again on the 26th until Easter Sunday. Strangely Boxing Day was a day for servants who were given the day off after ensuring everything went smoothly on Christmas Day for their employers. Now it seems like the meaning of Boxing Day has been lost and the servants are back at the coal face serving the hordes who can't go without the shopping for 2 days. I dont work in retail, but I think the 3 major Bank Holidays of Christmas should be returned to total Holiday for all but the very essential services (and Football) , surely we can all survive without the shops being open on 4 days of the year at least.

Hands up those who, after years of supporting Saints, look at that ONE time out of 6 where there has been failure, just see that as the leveller to keep their feet firmly on the ground. Bit cynical I know, but as the definition of a cynic goes: an optimist with experience!

Dull as ditch water in our house! I fancy Goose for a change but all I get is upturned noses. So for our first Christmas in our new house the four of us will be having the usual Bird with all the trimmings: Pigs, Stuffing, Roasties, Fart pills(Sprouts) with bacon and Chestnuts etc etc Finished with trying to burn the house down with a flaming Christmas Pud with strategic coinage secreted about it. All washed down with a choice of a very pleasant Cote du Rhone, a tasty Sancerre, possibly a nice Prossecco picked up on a recent trip to Venice.

Ooooo shock horror!!! Krauts you say??!

They can run it for the Brizzle game, 3 of the 4 Chapel old farts are set to repeat the Huddersfield game last Christmas where we shed the responsibilities of (very) Adult life, and catch the train from Basingstoke to Southampton and drink our way to the stadium and back again afterwards. ................ The Chapel Arms will get the swerve this year: I swear that beer is 75% laxative (for number 1's!).

Gold Star on top of the Christmas Tree for the Cat!! Outside Nottarf Krap Saints shirt and a Squarehead.................. Priceless

Taarabat can leave whenever he wants, PSG were on the sniff Warnock said he would drive him there himself for the Mickey Mouse money being talked about. Dyers crocked long term. QPR friends of mine can't wait for the window to open as their squad is a bit light: they also said when JP comes on it is like a wasted substitution as he is not up to speed with the rest of the team. I think this little kink in his career is beginning to haunt JP, so the penny might have dropped to be a team player rather than the misfit he is becoming.

Bottom line is if he is willing to conform to the team ethic and be on the bus then worth a punt, but if he wants to be Billy Big Wotsits or a bit mardy like Puncheon then that is a hell of a lot of money to spend on a reserve team player.

Hmmmm how many of the jolly West Ham souls on the You Tube video filmed at brighton will be nicked. This has to be a Political Correctness flagwaving conviction, its football banter between 2 sets of fans, everyone knows its going to happen, yes some go over the top. Parents taking Children to a game know there is likely to be some choice language, and I am pretty certain that someone who turns up at a football who is homosexual is going to be fully aware that their is likely to be some refrence to the gay community spouted from someones mouth. When Brighton turn up it just gets more pronounced. So if someone has been done for chanting about peoples sexual leanings: how many Portsmouth fans obscenely gesturing and commenting in full view behind Saints players on national TV are going to get their collars felt by the OB???

What you guys really all go out and do it with fish this big............................. Weird!

Oi Halford!.........................Eieeeeeeeee---Oorrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say none of these monkeys represent me, brother Perry has only given me a bit of chirp along with Brother Richard before entering SMS for a supporters forum that they were not invited to. Why the Daily "bog roll" Echo give these no marks column width baffles me, because neither McMillen, Chorley, or Illingsworth represent any of my current thoughts regarding Southampton Football Club, nor probably most Saints fans. Adam Leitch: stop being a lazy bloody hack and talk to real Saints fans for soundbites, not some gobshoites who have put a Poundland spotlight on themselves by some quirk of fate.

Can I add, again on a tangent: being stood in Junior Saints corner, as it was, just before the Saints v P*mpey game in the league cup with Mrs JBS and the tiddlers. The P*mpey chimes start up and the universal response from the whole stadium being "F off P*mpey, P*mpey F off" out of the corner of my eye I see a finger pointing in time with everyone else, I turn to see my 9 year old Daughter standing on her chair belting out the words at the top of her voice. Embarrassment and admiration in the same emotion........... And she never got thrown out for such potty mouthed chanting, disgusting!!

Being sat outside the Boys gate at the Dell at 10am in the morning on a matchday just to ensure that we had a front row position for a good view from the Milton back in the late 70s early 80s. Would hang over the wall to see what advertising hording we were over, and more importantly which letter in the advert so that we could look out for ourselves on either the Big Match or Match of the Day: the latter was a challenge as having set out from Silchester in north Hampshire to be outside the gate by 10 - half past in the morning, Jimmy Hill would have said 2 words and I would have nodded off!! Appeared in the Boxing Day special edition of Playschool TV programme, filmed at the Coventry game, which we lost 2-1 back in 1978 (if memory serves). The cameras were following a family going to the game to stand in the Family enclosure which Saints were one of the first to introduce. Stood (or crushed into) in one of the Chocolate boxes v QPR on a misty day where in the first half the Archers goal would fade slightly from view. Caught bags of snacks thrown by promo girls from the pitch at half time. Ducked when a record store promoting itself had the same pretty girls throwing 7" singles into crowd, which soon came out of their paper sleeves becoming black discs of death!! Laughed when in the Milk Cup (league cup I think) v Wolves, mini cartons of milk were thrown in to the Milton Road end only to opened then thrown at the back of the goal net in the hope of hitting the Copper walking, naively, behind the goal.................. 2 cartons hit the net bounced back and hit the target!! Regularly meeting 2 girls on the Milton who claimed to be Trevor Hebberd and Austin Hayes sisters...................... Methinks being 14/15 having spent 10 years growing up out in the country me and my mate were probably being teased by City Girls! (remember back then information technology was the stuff of Sci-Fi films........ Wiki-what!!). Probably a bit of a meander off OP course here.

? Didn't realise that he had trotted out for us prior to the 2-2 Bolton 1st home game back in the top flight in August 1978.

If my smattering of Latin based European languages is to be relied on I quite like paragraph 3 (haven't found translate on my iPad still)

Always a bit of Gardening going on in the Chapel box during the game as the San Andreas fault always opens up somewhere in the box. Plus a nice little bald patch emerging where the players go through their pre match warm up drills.

Makes you feel cold just watching that! All this progress and you get a pitch like that and the game goes on, now you have a green pitch but the game is off because it's a bit Icy on the approach to the stadium.!

Ooo-errr! I thought this thread might have disappeared down the page by now. As someone said a bit of a brain fart, although after being the butt of some folks mirth, a few anomalies regarding the changes in the 70's emerge, so being born in the mid sixties an easy faux pas. Bloomin' glad my user name on here is no longer on my shirt, otherwise there would be chap at the end of Brittania Road selling Rocks and bags of gravel for the weekly stoning!! Still the root of my initial post, was probably getting a bit piddled off at TV & Radio football commentators saying West Ham would go top with a win......... Not about a 3 clear goal win. As if it is West Hams god given right to be top of the table. Note to self: don't post a silly question under the influence after midnight.