Frank's cousin

One senses that you would be quite happy should that prove to be the case - that is why you suffer from the abuse. Us one celled amaeba's (which incidently all amaeba are so the one celled bit is actually superfulous) will continue to 'support' a side that has given us great entertainment and an exciting season, irrespective of the final outcome, whilst you can laugh at us all (I suspect the wind up will bore you one day, but keep going, you may eventually cause some degree of humour... but I doubt it)

.. - FA Cp Final 2003, half yellow, half blue in a sort of braveheart kinda thing....

As others have pointed we brought in Sharp and Lee - Sharp has had a struggle for sure, but given what he has been through, his goals have won us games and he is starting to get things right - yes its a bit hit and miss but the lad needs time - nothing o thoi splanet must be as awful as losing a child and its to his credit taht he can don the shirt and give it a go... somethings in life are simply more important.... Lee looked a cracking buy until his injury, and I dont think its beyond realism to suggest that his pace and dynamic approach is what we have lacked these last few games - with him in the side I think we would still be sitting top. Its all very well suggesting that its squad depth etc, but there is a limit on what we can affford and want to invest in when still in the NPC - for West Ham, their expensive gamble may pay off given their financial liabilties they NEED to go up or are screwed, so for them play offs is failure, but for us, I still suggest given the above that whatever happens its been a great season and if we dont go up, I wont be looking to blame anyone, maybe just bad luck with injuries to Lambert before Christmas and Lee right now that meant we lost a fresh set up up front, just when we needed it most.... but its not over yet and a good win tomorrow will have us all believing again!

I'll miss this thread when they finally die off...

Middle ground suggests 'compromise' and loss of principles which is why some on both sides are looking to the party traditionalists - BUt I am not talking about compromise or loss of principles but about recognition and working towards a NEW set of principles and policy that are not stuck in a victorian time warp - and are based on the NEEDS of Britain in the current and future global economy - Businesses, horizon scan, try and anticipate the future market trends and ensure tehy are well placed to meet them and thus ensure long term profitability. Political parties are all too often constrained by their own baggage of history and rhetoric and **** it from adult debate around letting real electorate and Country needs define policy... affaid they lose their 'hard core' traditional voters, rather than focussing on gaining new supporters who are enlightened enough to base their voting choice on policy that is fit for purpose in a modern society.... rather than following ingrained party lines, no matter how hopeless the candidates might be.

I have lived up here with my educated English accent on and off for nigh on 10 years and never had any anti-english sentiment - banter during sporting encounters sure, but nothing that woul get me to question the general attitude - and that includes the less celebrated areas of Glasgow. The fatpie man (who I cant stand) has been very clever over the past decade - he has always focused on 'Westminster' rather than England, although 'london based government' featured strongly - thus arguing a reasonable case for de-centralised Government - the problem is it is based on an intrinsic nationalism. Ironically, it was devolution that saw the SNP gain strength - not because the majority thought Pie man was right, but simply because most Scots felt that they no longer needed to worry about Scotland being used as the experiment for misguided and wacky policy... teh poll tax being the obvious. How ould teh Geordies or scousers reacted had that experiement been imposed on their region in initial isolation? Pie man is now looking for every which way he can to 'rig' the vote - 16 year olds... etc. He will play a blindr I am sure in that he will not provide and substance to the economic claims he makes nor request that a decision be based on what is best long term socially and economically for both Scotland and the rest of the UK. He will press home every cliched piece of BS he can find, such as holding the vote on the anniversary year of Bannockburn (as if that has any relevence to modern society)... basically he is a ***t.

Especially true as had we just played those 4 games each back in August we would have gotten 12 points! and been promoted last September

The problem is one of shifting goal posts - taking the season as whole, back in August only a few extremely optimistic fans were willing to suggest we would occupy one of the 2 auto places with 3 games to go... Its no surprise to me that as the season has progresssed we have found it more difficult - its a long season, other sides that started poorly picked up and many that had invested heavily started to gell. In addition, we needed to adapt and bring in alternative approaches to our passing style, simply because (and this is no criticism) we do not have teh quality for it to work against all standards and tactical approaches. To base the evaluation of the season on last 7 games is simply wrong, and only because we have shifted the goal posts of expectation the longer we remained in the top two. This squad deserves promotion if they hold out, if they dont, I dont see how anyone can class the season as failure - sorry, dissapointing yes, but not failure. I also believe NC is much more pragmatic than most fans - yes he will be acutely aware of teh opportunity and the desire to remain ahead of schedule - I am sure teh right amount of pressure is being applied to Nige, but not to the extent that it will have a negative impact. Nigel is still learning, NC is still learning - as we will do next seaosn no matter what happens. Nige may peek and not be able to take us further, who knows (although I suspect there is more to come form him as his experience and knowedge increases), but to suggest we have somehow failed based on 7 games is mis-judging the situation IMHO.

yep and last August we were level with 23 other cubs having just been promoted from a lower league and now we are 3 points off top spot, 3 above 3rd, with 3 to play - no one who calls himself a saints fan cn consider that a failure whatever happens over the last 3 games - if we dont make it I will be a ****ed off, dissapoint as everyone else, but I wont consider the side to have failed or 'feck up'....

Dog - the Jerry Sadowitz of SWF

Dune, why are you not an advocate for evolution? - forget words like 'modernization' or 'change' - but evolution away from political rhetoric of all 'traditional' party policy - policy that was developed in different eras and under vastly different social and economic circumstance... the same applies to all parties by the way, not just the right - perhaps even more so the left.

NO worries, I might not agree with your politics, but your manners are sound!

twas a stab at humour - maybe not so good, but then that is why I ain't making a fortune in stand up - but humour nonetheless.... there are many form working classs families that attend private schools - parents just have to hold down 4 jobs betwen them to pay for it - and good on them for to for putting their kids education ahead of 46 inch plasma tellies, Sky and boob jobs.

'open entry' - would be carefull there - especially with these uKIP types - went to public schools you know and they is secon only in the buggary stakes to prisons... or so I am told...

I'm a tryin' brother....

... and yes I have been drinking

No. this is not about a 'third way or middle way' but about recognistion that we need to have a clearer less party orientated way about looking at the UKs place in a global economy and ensuring we look after our people through and a policy that balances our competve edge with serious compassion for our people - no one has got that right, and no one is saying it would be easy - Blair though about it, but still could not resist sticking his tongue, ***** or whatever else was required up Dubbyas arsehole to position himself as a global player - Cameron is a wet, ineffective ****, who has the lib dems up his ringpiece and is only in power because anyone on the planet could have beaten Gorden Brown.... a raving looney that ****ged the rotting corpses of nuns would have been more electable that Gorden Brown - despite the fact he's not a bad bloke, just a crap politician.

meanwhile down the road.... NEW EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES WE are looking for bright, self motivated and willing to learn individuals who would like to develop a career in retail management. At TESCO, the UK's largest grocery retailer we value our employees - you will be offered a competitive salary, company pension and opportunities for self and career development. If you would like to know more about carreer opportunities at our new Fratton SuperStore, please contact Mrs C. Hinery, Human Resources, Tesco (Fratton).....

PS... This is not about a 'middle ground in a lib dem sense either - about as ineffective, wet feck wits as there ever was - this is about accepting and understanding the way teh world has evolved and offereing something that is effctive, realistic and not affraid to ditch and challenge 'traditional' party values. I would even go so far as to suggest that those stuck in their 'traditional party' view are so far up their own arseholes that they should be banned from having a vote in the first place - would make the outcome more democratic!

NOt sure why there are any folk/voters/party members left that are still obsessed by their 'traditional' positions... These are the blinkered few from both sides be they raging tories, or stalwart socilaists - time, the global economy and culture have made both 'traditions' out dated, look ignorant and unelectable. We do not live in dickensian times without any workers rights that created the socialist cause, nor do we live in time where industrialists or land pwners can simply not give a flying feck how they treat their workers - The Japanese showed how productivity can be INCRESED by effective and trusting ralationships between workers and management - sadly for the UK we never learnt the lesson and the Unions fecked whole industries - as did the complete and utter ack of any compassion or understanding of the impact on society of Thatcher's crushing of them... two opposites that had such negative impacts on the country - the unions crippling R+D and development, Thatcher whole communities - plenty of estates where everyone worked at the car plant or coal mine - small decent communities turnied in to wastelands of joy riders and litter in under 5 years of thatchers policy... and yes the Unions were in part to blame.... Politics should never be about 'old traditions' but about offereing the best policies and approches for OUR country in the CURRENT global economy, which a compassion for the electorate. Sadly too many voters and political wonnabees on all sides seem stuck in some victorian time warp, ingrained with views of howTHEIR party has and always should act and behave... and forgetting that anything that does not evolve - becomes extinct. I look forward to teh day when traditional tory values as well as old school socialism are extinct as they are ineffective in the modern world.

Sorry disagree. Nige and the squad have to date over achieved - something that has been possible only by playing a fluid passing game that has caused many more static sides problems and a unity of spirit and togethreness that any manager taking a shine to someones missus (alegedly) is never going to achieve. As a result this is a still a work in progress and had others with more established sides actually delivered we would be all be more that happy having gained a play off place. To suggest Nige has 'failed' if two other teams win more games and gain more points than us in our first season in the NPC is disengenuous - and for me that IS how you have to look at it - over 46 games not just the last 8 because only after 46 have you standardised the opposition, all played the same - if we finish 3rd it will be feckin disapointing and will seriously feck me off.... BUT it will not be failure.

Brilliant! Married to a Scot and even she though that was funny as f...

Had to happen one day!

Unlikely, but then so have many of the results been - the beauty of this division is that on their day anyone can beat anyone - the main difference is the consistency that comes with higher quality and fitness/tactical nous. Wherever we end up, I will say that we play the best style of football in this league. It might not prove to be enough to win it, but for me that style is what excites fans and entertains. But if we play to our potential eek in week out, as we have seen its meant we are there or thereabouts and still in with a very good chance of auto, and could win it as you say - stranger things have happened, - although odds are against it!

However much you 'love' Saints, truth is as we will never have more than 20-25K that is a real hardcore... in terms of packing SMS or one day an even bigger stadium if ever necessary is because of success and the quality of the opoosition in making it an attractive fixture - ITS THE SAME at any club, give or take several 1000 and these extra 'fans' help pay for the success. If they pay their money on the gate to be entertained, then that is their right and choice. Being precious about someone wanting to see top 4 clubs is childish. You dont blame them, if you wnat to blame anyone, its those that dont go when they could who say the are full on fans or at least admit we dont need stadium that holds more than 20K...