um pahars

Aha, but you're forgetting Bud "Dune" Fox doesn't just let it sit in an ISA, instead he is actively scouring the markets for the next investment opportunity. "There's no nobility in poverty" (I haven't got a video for that though).

But perhaps those overseeing the decision to field weakened sides aren't the "supporters" of the various clubs, but instead the owners/executives who are more motivated by the short term £££££'s offered by the Premiership.

LMFAO. Good spot. Using that logic we could be MASSIVE if the millions who have been boycotting Saints over the last 30 years suddenly turned up.

I have to disagree. I would like to see someone signed who would go straight in to partner Fonte.

You only have to look at the number of pages a poor performance or result generates against a good performance or result. Negatives generate much more controversy, passion, counterpoint etc and they are also viewpoints that people are quick to jump on and rubbish/debate. Some people on here do think it is sacrilege to offer up a viewpoint that could be deemed to be critical!!!!! Our centre half position would not appear to be ideal. The manager is obviously out there sniffing for one, so he thinks we need bolstering, but for some reason we haven't landed anyone yet. Adkins obviously feels we need strengthening, but can't see many on here having a pop at him telling him to just be happy with 5 out of 5.

Happy to go with the Club's decision of not going through with this deal is there are any doubts regarding fitness. After all, we should all remember the Delgado fiasco!!!!! But with Adkins identifying that the centre half position needs bolstering it is a little disconcerting that we haven't filled this gap yet. Presume Adkins and others are just as concerned and are working flat out to resolve it before the window shuts. I certainly think it's an area that needs bolstering. Have no problem with Jaidi coming in for specific games to kick some ar5e, think Martin needs more time to develop and perhaps even a loan out, whilst Seabourne is OK, but not as solid as I would like.

We regularly fill up at the recycled chip shop fat place just under the bridge. Quite a bit cheaper and you get to play the "guess whose restaurant's waste I'm smelling" game. My hands are clean.

You've got your numbers the wrong way round. We were regularly getting about 75% of the season ticket boycotters on our role call outside the ground during matches, plus a further 1,500-2,000 who would have attended on a match by match basis staying outside as well. We regularly gave in a list of 4,000 individuals to reception during half time throughout that season. Add in those who were boycotting but couldn't justify the travel costs (we used to get them to sign in remotely) and it was north of 5,000 who were actively boycotting. It was very impressive. We din't like his penchant for Harris Tweed.

Playing being the operative word. LOL. I love listening to the world according to Dune and his ramblings on Rhodesia, Churchill, Islamists et al. Great comedic value!!

Probably more spent than your oil company investments. Gordon Dune Gekko and his take on middle east economics me up!!! Pure comedy value

Investments. LMFAO. A couple of hundred sprinkled here and there does not equate to an "investment"! Reading some of your share dealing posts reminded me of my nephews playing Risk! Go and find me a Rhodesia video

Not saying Tito or The Colonel are/were good news, but just as when Tito popped his clogs and the former Yugoslavia fell in to internecine battles, I do fear for Libya. Let's just hope they accept their differences and there is a ccomodation for all.

I think it's terrible the way the Cups have been undermined (remember the FA allowing Man Yoo to go to Brazil rather than play in the FA Cup!!!), but being pragmatic I can totally understand why clubs do it, particularly those on the cusp of being in the Premiership (whether in danger of being relegated or in with a chance of promotion). The rewards are so great that the Premiership is sadly the only thing that matters. Days out at Wembley are nice (I certainly enjoyed our JPT day, but then again we should have been strong enough to win that and get promoted!!), but the real magic of the Cup was lost a few years back. Would have no problems if Adkins decided to play a shadow team in the cups. Can understand the argument about being beaten by a lower team being an embarrassment (I'll take some short term redness if we get promoted) and also that a win could increase our winning streak/build confidence, but think promotion is the ultimate goal.

We used to have a role call during the game (done outside the ground, on the net etc) and we regularly had over 75% signing up. It was a comprehensive, tight and well organised boycott. At many games we had over 2,000 turning up to take part in protests instead of going to the game (with another couple of thousand sending their apologies from home - we used to check they weren't at the game). Additionally, we had sent all the season tickets to the Club and those involved were informed they were no longer allowed to buy tickets individually as a redress by the Club. 21k would be a fair average for us in the Championship at that time (recently relegated, team being dismantled), I'll take that (still ****es on your current "crowds" LOL). I'll also take the short term rise to 24,000+ was a combination of relief and the boycotters returning.

But he never had to build something from scratch or reinvent the wheel. The infrastructure was already there and there were some decent people still in situ. Plus of course he brought others in to help him, inc AO.

Sorry Ron, but I find the idea that Cortese has picked up Chairman Lowe's little red book and is using it to run the Club as somewhat insulting to Cortese. The basic principles of running a football club aren't rocket science, it only seems to get hard work when you either get the big appointments wrong or you attempt to go off piste and think you know more than you do. (plus talking to AO in the past, he and others weren't impressed by what they found when they rocked up - not that they didn't create or leave their own problems, just highlighting that he, and they, weren't enamoured by what the little red book was delivering and do were unlikely to replicate it).

That reminds me. We have an inter club friendly on Sunday. Older players v younger players but struggling to see if any of the lads are interested. Plus presentation night on sat 10th sept but haven't heard if any of your lads team are coming along!!

'twas our honeymoon so we pushed the boat out and did something different!!! Next year will be back Tina months flashpacking somewhere. I fancy 5 weeks trekking from Finland down to Greek islands taking in Eastern Europe and then a week or so on a beach!!! First time we've cruised and it was fabulous, just not sure I could justify the cost. For 12 days on QE we could have spent 5 weeks in SE Asia.

Queen Elizabeth around the Med. Rome, Florence, monte Carlo, Barcelona and Gib. Very impressive boat and some fab memories (got a few great perks courtesy of Exit2 off here who greased some palms!!!). Where did you go???

In a word, no.

I presume Phil means Andy Oldknow. To be honest what Cortese is doing (and doing well) is nothing different from many clubs up and down the country and to trying and suggest he is actually following Lowe's path is disengenuous IMHO. Investing in youth (for use in first team and/or providing an income), appointing the right manager, supporting him in the transfer market and being successful are not new ideas and certainly not Lowe's blueprint. New ideas that Lowe tried would include appointing a Rugby Coach and a self publicist of kiddies football as Football Manager & Assistant designate and asking them to undermine the current incumbents.

It' shis dad's name and think he was called Harry junior or little Harry which then stuck.

Oh I agree that he and others at NOTW and NI must have known he was complicit in the underhand methods, but at that time the general consensus outside of Wapping (and outside of Watson's office) was that he was not a part of the scandal and so he was unlikely to blow the whistle. Whereas Mulcaire and Goodman, having been fired, were much more likely to blab unless someone made it worth their while to keep schtum.

No they didn't. I helped organise the boycotts and personally recieved 2,500 season ticket renewal forms completed (all bar the money details) but sent to our protest group, and not to the Club for processing. On top of that we would regularly attract hundreds for protests outside the ground (who can forget the drawing of the curtains). The main reason for the drop in attendances was due to the organised boycotts, stay aways and protests. Once Lowe had left the group announced that everyone should return to St Mary's. Game before Lowe left: 18,000 Game after Lowe left: 27,000 (dwindling to 24,00 after that) HTH (There were of course those who protested inside the stadium, their perogative as they just found it impossible to do without thedir Saints fix)

Spot on. And re-reading those Clifford tweets just reminds me how fecking mental it all became and how mad Lowe was post the Cup Final. I remember people chastising me because I went from thinking Lowe wasn't all bad to thinking he had lost it big time (I think GM used to bring up a post from 2000'ish where I praised Lowe and tried to use it as a stick to beat me with, whereas I didn't see any problem judging people by their merits and not thinking they were either always brilliant or always terrible). Is there something about football that makes people become egotistical maniacs or does it only attract those kind of people in the first place and it takes some time for their true colours to show???? The vision that Clifford sets out is absolutely stark raving mentalism of the highest order and to me a clear indication that Lowe had lost it by that point (forget the Total Voetball that followed it).