alehouseboys

I don't know if anything happened outside SMS at any point but, although I was sat some way away, could see clearly what went on inside that night. Him and his mates were sat in the Itchen near the Chapel corner when he suddenly stands up, unveils his skate shirt and starts ringing his bell. C*nt. This was p*ssing off a lot around him and he was taking pelters but these weren't necessarily Saints fans at that time as this was England fans from all over. A couple of stewards and Police moved in and told him to cover up but he just took his shirt off and started pointing at his tats. At half time a few faces (that some on here would know) moved in and were giving his little mob earache. TBF he didn't really get a slap as such but one lad kept knocking his hat off and every time he bent down to pick it up gave him a boot up the trousers and sent him over the seats in front. The OB quickly moved in and from that moment on he got protection. When we went past on the way out he was stood outside reception totally surrounded by stewards and Police, it looked like Custer's last stand. I guess they made his mates slip off and get their van to come back and pick him up.

He's been polluting everyone's lives a bit longer than that. Dinenage needed little excuse to give the gimp airtime on Coast to Coast/Meridian years before and he'd get away with calling us 'scummers'...but Dinenage was a Director and also head of PR at fartton back then so he could get away with it. I was working down on pikey island quite regularly in the 90s and was kind of on speaking terms with one or two of the blue few and they say it was the atmosphere at the Dell at that cup game that eventually got the gimp with the bell to get his little band together to try and get their sh*thole to wake up. Contrary to what most would admit, fartton was a fookin' morgue in those days and some admitted to me they were a bit shellshocked by what they got at the Dell that day. And a 3-0 kicking. ...and don't get me started on that "dock strike" bullsh*te...stupid fookin' p*rtsMYTH ****S.

But if we're talking about keeping visitors in our city, keeping them occupied, spending money and leaving impressed (I'm not interested in towns nearby) then we're behind Liverpool. The plans you mention for Southampton have been on the drawing board for many years like many other schemes that either disappear without trace or slowly get scaled down. I wont hold my breath.

Generations of my family have been dockers, unfortunately things had changed by the time I would have been able to follow in their footsteps but it remains something most famously associated with this city and I'll support anything that keeps it that way. But noone could reasonably argue that Southampton offered more than Liverpool for visitors off the ships. The Scousers can boast a far more interesting and instantly recognisable skyline upon arrival, the only thing that catches the eye as you enter Southampton Water are the towering chimneys of Fawley Oil Refinery (and if you glance right the Spinnaker on portsea island). The ships also dock immediately alongside the city there, with all the things Liverpool has to offer right on the doorstep. Here visitors have to jump into taxis and then face a drive through the docks and probably often straight out of Southampton and off somewhere else. There's very little, unless you like shopping, to keep them in the city. Southampton really needs to get a bit more imaginative with new buildings and with what it can offer...Liverpool's quite a good example actually!

I think 'Charlie Wayman' should give us an update.

I take it your "I guess we found our next goalkeeping target" in the 'Post Match' thread was a bit tongue in cheek then?

"We don't need no British Movement" = We need British Movement "We don't need no education" = We need education Paulsgrove grammar.

I wonder if they considered the 'human rights' of the families caught up in the incidents by knowingly letting the moody Millwall crowd out at the same time last week? I would think there were very few inside St Marys last Saturday that thought those nawty Londoners would walk quietly home...even if they hadn't been bubbling away for the past hour and half.

Well, there you go...joint statement between club and Police regarding Millwall game... The following statement is made after consultation with Hampshire Police, The Safety Officer and Safety Management Team at Southampton Football Club. "The last time Southampton and Millwall met at St Mary’s was on 08 August 2009. A total of 2,242 Millwall fans attended the fixture, which ended in a 1 – 1 draw, and there was no disorder before, during or after the fixture. In advance of this season’s match, Southampton Football Club and Hampshire Police assessed the fixture in keeping with normal practice, and the match was categorised as medium risk. There were no reported incidents of disorder in the City before the game and both sets of supporters made their way to St Mary’s Stadium monitored by the Police and the City CCTV. However, during the game there were 7 ejections from the ground (1 home supporter and 6 away supporters for various breaches of ground regulations) When Southampton scored on 18 minutes the temporary netting – introduced as an additional measure on the Millwall side of the permanent Northam segregation netting – was breached by a surge of volatile Millwall fans. At no time was the permanent segregation netting breached and Southampton Football Club are more than happy with the current segregation netting that is in place, which is similar to those in use at many if not most other stadiums in the country. There was no intelligence suggesting that there would be any violence after the match and to have held supporters back without good cause would have meant impeding those supporter’s human rights. Having carefully considered the situation, taking into account there was no violence prior to the match, nor intelligence to suggest any pre planned disorder after; supporters were released on the conclusion of the fixture. A closure of the stadium north car park closure was discussed; however, as the Police Cordon Trailers were not part of the pre match planning they were not available on the day. This will be reviewed for future fixtures and will be in place for any further visit from Millwall. The closure of the north car park often causes issues with home supporters, however, safety is of course paramount and if it is deemed necessary in future then it will be enforced. Three Millwall supporters were arrested in the north car park post match and another in the City later that evening. A Police enquiry is ongoing and Southampton Football Club will assist Hampshire Police with evidence to follow up this incident with further arrests that we hope will lead to Football Banning Orders." Millwall categorised "medium risk"...guffaw.

Posted this on the main board earlier. Could be handy if you like travelling on coaches (prefer the freedom of other options myself), don't fancy the travel club or struggling for transport. In Friday's Echo there was an ad for 'SOUTHAMPTON AWAY TRAVEL', first time I've seen it, could be an option for you. £18.50 (includes complimentary drink!), pick-ups in Hythe, Totton, Southampton (Toys'R'Us), Southampton Parkway and Winchester. The contact details are: Nick: 07801 867365, Alex: 07961 030850 or nickgregory2@gmail.com.

The "human rights" thing was cited the last time we played the skates down here as a reason for not keeping them back in the ground...and had they done so avoiding the confrontation that then followed. Yet those "human rights" didn't count earlier in the day when the Police held the skates back for some considerable time at the train station (was that not against their "human rights" in the same way?) whilst they cleared the Southampton mobs waiting up in the parks for their arrival. If it really is against "human rights" in Southampton then surely it must be the same all over the country?

In Friday's Echo there was an ad for 'SOUTHAMPTON AWAY TRAVEL', first time I've seen it, could be an option for you. £18.50 (includes complimentary drink!), pick-ups in Hythe, Totton, Southampton (Toys'R'Us), Southampton Parkway and Winchester. The contact details are: Nick: 07801 867365, Alex: 07961 030850 or nickgregory2@gmail.com. I should be on commission!

As others have said, I think he was just fobbing you off. The club don't instruct the Police, it works the other way. We've seen it before when the club were told where to place away fans in the stadium and were again knocked back when they wanted to relocate them recently. Wasn't there also a statement from the OB after the trouble at the local derby when they were criticised for letting out the skates at the same time about how they couldn't keep them back as it was an "infringement of their civil liberties"? This despite it happening in just about every other ground in this country, at Southampton home games previously and just down the road with the bluefew by the same police force! And yesterday I've heard that Saints fans were held back on the train bridge while Millwall fans were taken down Northam Road back to the station. Was that not an infringment of their civil liberties? Same again for the visit of West Ham and the local derbies?

Top of the league, won all 4 games so far...and not a single mention in the round-up chat...

You have a point...

I'd bet the skate printers that are having to proof read it at the mo are absolutely loving it...or maybe not.

Here's a couple of classics...complete with instructions... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yreOKjpMew ...another winner complete with fantastic shorts and comedy ref...

"Jesus Saves - but Channon nets the rebounds" was another around in the '76 cup run. Someone draped a "PFC RIP" one over the fences away at Blackburn for the tele (Friday night live on BBC - cracking trip!) just after we'd done the bluefew at fartton in '84. I liked that one.

...there go my sides

It's a bit like Bournemouth aint it, no 'real' rivals. Their rivalry with Palace only manifested in the late 70s when both were scrapping it out to get out of the old third division. Geographically Palace have loads more closer rivals than Brighton but it's probably the lonely Sussex mob that kept it going. Their obvious rivals *****il Crawley got into the league this year) were our shared south coast neighbours p*rtsmuff but maybe their hooligan reputation is a bit too heavy for 'em. As long as we don't give them too much attention they'll move on to the next target soon enough. Watch out Eastleigh!!!

I'll be content with a mere 5-0 ...last time we won 6-0 away from home we had a little wobble... 'kinell, like wading through treacle on here tonight

'SCUMpey' and the occasionally heard 'Swamp Rats' (as p*rtsea island was largely reclaimed marshland) were knocking about 70s/80s, 'skates' came about through the Ugly Inside fanzine...though hardly menacing enough for rivals. 'Blue-few' is just very appropriate and probably narks 'em most as it belittles them.

Agree with others, great read. Howard Marks' 'Mr Nice' is another...on a similar theme. Some good suggestions in 'General Sports' on sports reading.

Nice one, hopefully Leeds then for the TV...as another who'll be watching from foreign shores.

Yeah it's f*cking expensive living in the south and most of us aren't the London-based high earners that artificially inflate the 'affluence' of people in the south. When oop north many things are far cheaper and your 'average Joe' gets far more "value" for his money. Whatever way you look at it, it's expensive.