Frank's cousin

Once again this issue has proven how feckin immature this country is when it comes to politics and debating what should be a simple issue. Both campaigns have been characterised by negativity, misinformation and scare tactics... feckin patheitic. If you look at the issue objectively, and without your party political blinkers, its feckin obvious that a fairere system is one in which the local MP has the 'backing' of the MAJORITY of the consituents. At present we have a system where many MPs have not only small percentages of the the local vote (because turn out is always so poor) but often as low as 35% of the local vote... This directly contributes to the apathy when it comes to voting as so many of the seats are 'safe' - with a small number or constituencies (and thus a small number of teh population) living in marginals that swing and determine the government - for many, if you live in Tory or Labour Heartland, and have the opposite view, your vote in effect counts for nothing... not a true demonstration of democracy. So it should be obvious that a sysyem that takes into account EVERYONES preference and also who they wish to to avoid representing them is a fairer system all round..... However, that does not mean its should be AV, or that its the best system to ensure a stable and strong Government of either side. It has failings, in that quite rightly many have argued that its also unfair for some folks to have in effect' more than one vote' - that is actually not true, as AV does NOT give anyone more than one vote, but merely transfers it. However, I can understand why some might have issues with this, afterall if someone is in the lead after round one, they have demonstrated that they are the FIRST choice of teh highest number - the problem is that could be as low as 30%, thus not really representative of the local population. Is there a fairer system? YES IMHO there is - but our current government believes we are all too stupid to understand it - and the wet LibDems just bent over and took one up the backside from thier masters anyway. There are FAR better transferrable voting systems such as STV that place a much higher value on the 1st choice vote than the 2nd or 3rd. Its is VERY simple - 2nd choice voye only counts for as half a vote when redistributed and the 50% winning post reduces accordingly. 3rd choice votes, count for less again etc so in many cases the original winner will still win as if you get 45%+ in teh first round its almost certain taht you will get past 50% in the secod, which is fair. However, if you only have 30% in the first round yet are somehow in the lead because of a fragmented vote, its more difficult as the 2nd and 3rd choices will have greater impact... That system esures that in seats where a candiate is obvioulsy cloase to finish line (40%+ in the first round) usually goes on to win. Whereas if there is no clearly preferred candidate (no one above around 35%), the redistribution ensures that the winner is at least preffered over the others by the majority and what is not fair about that, as it provides a much better local mandate. Trouble is teh population is considered too stupid to be able to cope with AV let alone STV of various kinds... sad and pathetic... Also teh Torries voting NO in this seem to have very short memories. The Tory MPs, Rags and supporters were always very quick to highlight how Blair never really had a mandate during his third term as he only got around 20% of the vote.... yet now they are defending the sysyem that allows for that status quo - not through any rational common sense, but simply (as are labour) because its one that works to keep them in government.... so all parties supporting the NO campaign are hypocrits to be honest with the Tory's being teh worst kind given theri bklair bashing over the mandate issue - which is the same principle.

Top effort MIke, and all those who have donated so far - will drop by when teh mrs is out and make a donation ;-) nice gesture from NC as well... come to expect that sort of thing from the class act. Mike, sorry if I missed it but what will its say? Design etc?

Bet the bookies love him... ;-)

THIS! I suspect that is the main reason why Pards had to go... whetehr it was just with NC or with oe or two players, we were not fully united as a TEAM. That has been vital during what has been a really busty period of catch up with the games in hand - the unity of the squad, no whingers or moaners, just good pros who came in whne they got their chance and have delivered. And NIge has to take a huge amount of credit for that. 85 pints in 40 games since he took over (including the MK dons defeat), thats an avergae of over 2 pts a game, and we have conceded only 12 at home all season... the last 15 games have been incredible considering how many were away from home etc. Fantastic spirit, unity, and support have made this a cracking result and a deserved one. Forget all thsoe who snipe about us having the resources... you still have to do the business, the pressure is higher, and others are extra motivated to bring you down to earth... that makes the whole thing more difficult - Seagulls had no pressure and no expectation, so arguably an easier situation, but well to them anyway. Hudders, have had a fantastic run, but as we have suffered in the past, simply a few too many draws in that run, where as we lost 2 in ours but more wins... the nature of the 3 points. What a day, what a seaosn, what a club, - congrats to Nige, the players NC and Markus looking down, bet he had his scarf on and camera out yesterday!

Top post - this is what it should be all about being a fan... getting simple joy from supporting your team.

Chers for that apreciated! Respect. Ironically though, I think your excellent form was probbably just what we needed... we had to fight to the last and I thibking knowing that has helped spur us on, even when we lost a few players through injury. All the best for the playoffs - given your points tally it should be yours by right, and thankfully given you form, you should have no problems.

Not sure what is sadder.. that there are two dispicable ****s responsible for attcking these folk, or the utter f**kwits on here defending it as the (grand)parents fault. How fecking sad. A few years back when a friend of mine died, a staunch saints fan, his coffin had a guard of honour of folk wearing saints and pompey colours - fans from both clubs we got to know when doing some charity work in honour of a young saints lad. We never laid up on the banter often fierce, but its football, a game.... sadly there seem to be those who defend still defend violence in football with some psychological and social bullsheidt, laced with misguided, misinformed and uneducated 'alpha male' bolox. There is only one thing anyone needs to know about this sort of thing and thats that any fecker who thinks its 'part of the game' or 'expected wearing club colours in another town' is simply a thick as shiit uneducated f**kwit.

Great to see the Tom Petty vid again... great song.... we will win tomorrow, why? Because, The the lads are focused, know finally how to do a professional job... it wont be easy, but we will pick them off... have faith and we can then all enjoy Saturday

Really never thought it matters - its just an ego thing. Its easy to support the so called bigger clubs - simply because armchair fans want that success by associataion and as with most things this day and age, everyone wants a short cut to success - the only advantage of being 'bigger' (read wealthier with the odd trophy in the modern times) is the abilty to attract the best players, but more importantly hold on to your home grown talent...at least for 6-8 years etc. The great thing about this game is that even teh lowliest can upset teh biggest now and again... just about.

Great win, who gives a flying feck about that git Poyet... looks like they battered them but gifted them 3 goals... all I will say on that. WE MUST NOT GET caried away and think we are there yet. Both these last two games are going to be really tough - we NEED to win one at least and far better to do that on Monday rather than have the brown trouser moment next week.... focus, work hard and do a pro job, which will sadly mean we send Plynmouth down... but we must get this down and dusted Monday.. COYRs

About a journo getting a bit of fanny? really it interests you that much? people having sex... great story. (and before you mention it, could not give a flying feck who is ****ging who, of those MPs either even if they have in the past been going on about morals and the like) no interest to me whatsoever...

...does anyone really care....

Spent 4 months in Romamia in the summer of 92 in a place further North calles Iasi (pronounced Yash) teaching English to Medical Students - hooked up with Med Student from Edinburgh..... fantastic overnight first class train journey when heading home ;-) It was bleak then, but crackin people and a fantastic time, but being only 2 1/2 years post revolution it was still very much like a commie state, but with a few western bits and pieces - so if you think it was still bleak in 2003, for me it was actually quite wierd how far things had progressed with western food chains etc, and actually items you could buy in the shops if you had money... back in 92, the department stores had racks and racks of shelves all filled with teh same tin of dubious looking food stuff, or feather dusters etc... tons of whatever stuff they could get... queues for bread which was usually stale and markets selling nothing but tomatos and green peppers... nothing else was in season or available.... also it was around 95 F the entire time and got eaten alive by Mozzies 2003 - rain rain, beer, crumbling stadium, rain, 1-0, great laugh, got a decent Steaua shirt froma taxi driver at the airport - probably a nIke fake, but who cares, he only got an old 2001 home shirt that I had brought as a along as a spare anyway... home fans completely mad, but good banter, especially after the game... airport at midnight was hideous, nothing open, and a long wait, but cant miss these nights, special stuff.

Not taht I saw... it was ****ing down - banter with the local next to our 'cage' was was good... even got a bit tense, but fine at the end - lots of fans swapping things - although one bit was hilarious as a Saints fan through over his shirt only to receive teh world's smallest flag (about 8'' x 5'') in return which he tried in vaon to wrap aroun his shoulders as its was pouring down and pretty cold by now.... in the usual case of proper sainst fan solidarity everyone ****ed themselves laughing. Good trip that.

LOL - Your posts make me contemplate the love that dare not speak its name Deppo

Easy - not sure the name of the ground, but Steaua Bucharest's, 2003 - crumbling concreate, grass growing through it - built into a bank which seemed to be the only way in and out, no toilet, no roof and tropical like storm on a cold wet night, no sleep, straight back on the bus to airport and we lost 1-0.... would not have missed it for the world! ;-) ****ed myself laughing (sorry) that those lads who had changed about £300 into Romanian, Lei, found you could get totalled on about a tenner and could not exchange it back! sorry but I had tried to warn folk about this on the old boad at the time ;-)

Just heard some of Poyets comments - sad f*ck - the whole 'in ten years time... winners played passing' wahta a prize A ****... despite a great season playing good football and winng the league, hes still seems more upset by us than anything else -tosser. They deserved teh title for playing good football consistently - so whats his feckin problem? Sad little man.

Great result - top day.....but job is far from over - its just another 3 points with 9 more needed from 12 to do the business and get promoted, 6 if Hudders lose at brighton but we cant count on that. Its been the story of our season that in the big games against the top sides, we do the business and then slip up against sides where we should be winning.. so now is the time to put that chestnut to bed good and proper. Celebrate a good win, but lets not think this is anything more than another 3 points with 9 still needed to go up without the lottery of the playoffs. I would trade the 3 points today for 12 in the next 4 anyday whoever we were playing... even had it been cheats FC from down the road. This win means NOTHING if we feck up in any of the remaining games. COYRs - prove that you deserve that 2nd spot - dont let us down!

Its all a bit of banter. Poyet and Adkins know the score. Pre match hype helps sell tickect and generates interest and its good for both clubs to get a bit of extra coverage - classic marketing. Even better for the victors ;-)

Does it matter? I have not been LM's biggest fan since he got himself embroiled in the politics, but this is hardly a big deal. 'LM bigs himself up a bit' shocker!... When he was a manager, especially ours, that 'confidence and ego' was a BIG plus as it gave him authority, but also his confidence and self belief permeated throughout the side - I believe part of that 80s success was not just because we had such a good squad, but one that actually belived it could compete with the best... cant expect him to change his personality, huge ego, but this is harmless, as our Academy has a bloody good profile nationally anyway given the names that have come out of it in recent years.

But when has this site ever looked at those things objectively? ;-)

Whole thing is something of a viscious circle for a club the size of Saints - Do you invest heavily in youth development as purchasing esatblished grade quality is beyond the budget (assuming you want to live within your means), only to eventually see teh grade A youth sold as 'bigger clubs'/agents offer a shorter path to success and bigger wages.... or do you try and bring in some expensive established players to encourgae the best kids to saty and buld success that way... we saw that work successfully under Lawrie in the 80s - combining experience and home developed talent - and I dare say its easy to say why not follow that model again.... the problem as many have pointe dout has been the premier league, the risches, agent and player power have changed the environment - that model so successfully applied by LM is simply not possible anymore as we cant afford the likes of a comparable Keegan, and the youth get blinded by untold riches at an earlier age at so called glamour clubs... sadly I dont think there is an answer anymore, as the big clubs like the current status quo as it means an end to the time when a Man U could ever be threatened with or even get relegated... tehy are even guarranteed a CL spot more or less and the additional revenue that comes from that... sad times, but the only real blame actually lies at teh feet of those armchair prem top 4 watchers who would ratehr watch Man U et al than support tehir local side, so feed the Sky schedules... the football fan who regually goes to support their local side is no longer the real value of the game.... But back on the point of the OP, I dont think saints are any different to any other club in terms of 'those that got away' - simply due to the was diffrent rates at which players mature, their own levels of patience for a start, and how their agents work/get thejm better deals at an ever younger age. For me, that last point is the worst - agents have ruined the value in developing young players as even if the club does not need to sell to keep their heads afloat as we have seen tradtionally with lower league clubs, the promise of riches and short cuts to success have spoilt the abilty for most to at least get 3 or 4 years out of their best talent and help them achieve moderate success as smaller clus used to in the past...

Dont disagree with the above, but what has been missing from these signing stories (and what we quickly forget about when its us and not 'them' down the road) is that for whatever reason, rightly or wrongly we had a wage structure and policy that Lowe refused to break - we 'lived within our means'. A grand extra for one player can quickly become a grand extra for 20 as they all start to demand what 'he' has got... especially as agents all talk to each otehr and before you know it.... Why is it we are more than happy to slag the 'cheats' down the road for the same principle, signing players onm wages they could not afford, beyond tehir means, yet ignore that when it comes to Saints... ? At the time in question we were breaking even, something that about a squillion posts on the 'pompey cheats thread' suggests they should have been doing.....

Seriously?- you paying feck know how many quid in fees to get a degree and are writing a final dissertation on 'football hooliganism? WTF has happened to education? All you need to write about Hooligans is about 5 words.... 'thick morons with no intelligence' - don’t confuse all those stories of about 'lawyers and doctors' as hoolis - ability to pass exams is no market for intelligence.... all the BS social commentry attempting to mitigate feckwit behaviour as a result of 'mob, gang, need for male bravado' has already been written and bored people to death already - seriously - just write ' All those involved in football related violence were a bunch of ignorant c****'and you SHOULD get a First - because thats all thers is too it and it is 100% accurate. :-)

Sorry but will stay positive. Its been a long hard season, we have injuries to arguably 4 or 5 first 11, and people are pessimistic that we 'look disjointed' or are not play well - who gives a flying feck HOW we are playing? Under these circumstances and at this point in the season what matter is points on the board - we did that against a side who occupy the last 1/4 of the the league - who we always struggle against - I am usually more confident when we play sides in the top half as they tend to be more open... but i digress.. get on the feckin bus FFS - we are doing a Man U in the league - playing sheidt and winning - its ours if we stay together and follow Niges' mantra - 'ITS ABOUT THE SQUAD@ all of us together and believeing we can do it - anyone one who is not on this bus can Feck off ;-)