Gloucester Saint

The article Alex Law refers to is here https://advanced-television.com/2022/01/24/survey-1-in-20-young-adults-watch-bbc-live/ There is most support for adverts, then staying as is, with a subscription model (the Conservatives preferred option arising from Dorries failed attempts to privatise C4 https://www.thesocialreview.co.uk/2022/04/17/the-conservatives-netflix-problem/). One of the issues is that Netflix over-expanded and hardly has any new programming with the hefty debt accrued, despite yet another price rise coming our way. Amazon Prime has the issue that it isn’t clear whether it’s profitable or merely a loss leader for the rest of the empire. Regarding the BBC, iPlayer use in that article was rising amongst that demographic albeit less than the over-65s. Of course, live TV viewing will be far higher for the over-65s because that demographic is by and large (with exceptions) retired and the UK has an ageing population. There are improvements to be made which would widen the BBC’s reach but that probably involves social inclusion measures the Conservatives probably won’t want from a culture war perspective. Some of the programming, especially children’s, was recognised as still being world class and the rest popular with middle aged onwards. The BBC are far from alone in having issues as a long-standing public institution connecting to millennials and the generation following https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/are-millennials-really-killing-the-tory-party and https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/trust-in-news-uk/ Tastes may still change a bit later in people’s lifecycles. In this household, we have little time to watch any live TV bar the rugby WC matches but do use the catch up channels including iPlayer. A final observation in that article is that ITV/C4/Sky would all be opposed to BBC having adverts because after the initial excitement by advertisers at being on the BBC, they would be fishing from the same market for that income, lowering the tide.

Meanwhile the 1930s tactics spilling over from 6 January 2020 by Trump’s thugs are backfiring in (not) getting Jim Jordan as speaker https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/hardball-tactics-jim-jordan-allies-backfiring-house-speakers-race-rcna121121

Which the hard right still wanted to privatise (and failed) as too liberal and not compliant enough with a Steve Bannon-inspired culture war unlike GBeebies, Mail or Murdoch empire. https://www.channel4.com/news/channel-4-privatisation-plans-scrapped-in-government-u-turn

‘Jimmy Savile, he’s one of your own’. Jimmy was more of a Conservative than anything else at heart. So you may have supported him twice with a Conservative Party membership and the BBC. You mug, if you did. Jimmy got a knighthood out of it too. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-jimmy-savile-s-close-friendship-with-margaret-thatcher-8432351.html PS - Hamas clearly are a terrorist organisation, and their actions absolutely appalling, but I don’t need the aid of broadcasters to spell it out in primary colours for me. Nor should the situation be used to further an already pathetic culture war imported from Trump and Bannon (yes Daily Mail, I’m looking at you).

Interesting piece in the Telegraph today from the Five Eyes conference about the potential enhanced domestic risk from Iran taking advantage of the Israel-Palestinian situation. Been building for a while before now but mainly focused to date on the Shia hardline cleric regime bumping off dissidents and Farsi-speaking media. The Iranian regime needs to be very careful - there’s a population in the main who have never liked them and the West can see attempts to stop international inspections on their nuclear weapons programme. Contingent on whether the majority of the Iranian public want rid of the Islamic Republic badly enough. There have been a lot of public protests about the detention death of Magda Amini 12 months ago, including big protests last month, but is that enough to back a Western-armed opposition? https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/mi5-chief-warns-of-iran-backed-terror-attacks-in-the-uk/ar-AA1inuWS?ocid=NL_ENGB_A1_00010101_1_1

Charles sent off for NI

They’re in danger of generating even more sleaze headlines than the Major era. The sheer corruption is bad enough but the volume of sexual scandals is piling up rapidly - Pincher by name and by nature, Parish, Bone, Rob Roberts, Khan in Wakefield, Andrew Griffiths, Warburton and Elphicke. This is just Boris, Truss and Sunak era. Lab/Lib has the odd bad apple too but nothing on this scale. Huge problem and they may need to look far more closely in selection at character rather than what people’s views are on Brexit, migration and culture wars guff.

Born Winchester but grew up in Netley, close enough. Never something that would bother me either but you’d be amazed having worked at both ends of the M27 how many people were aghast at their offspring being born in a PO/SO postcode. Many of them not even football fans. Not as extreme as the cricket when Yorkshire had their rule until the early 1990s that you could only play for the county if you were born there. Quite a few tales of hospital dashes to get back into Yorkshire in time! The most successful footballers actually born in the city must be Weston Park Boys defender Graham Roberts, Nick Holmes (don’t know which school) followed by Bitterne Park’s Darren Anderton in terms of trophies and international caps. Wayne Bridge doesn’t count as Winchester and grew up there, wasn’t Paine from there too? Steve Moran one of my favourite all time Saints but Fareham. Channon from south Wilts.

Quite, some of the club plants on here would apologise for the fan-blaming on here if they had anything about them. But they won’t because they have their orders to divide the fan base. They are supposed to be professionals with one of the very biggest budgets in this division so get the three points, some clean sheets and stop whining. You’ve got the tools so get the job done and at least give the club a shot at the play offs. Our away fans are one of the most vocal around when we can see a team giving their all, playing at a decent tempo and being positive. We don’t enjoy being an experiment for non-effective methods or philosophies. Instead, as someone has posted, THB’s seeming injury will give the club another weak excuse for a 3-1 defeat at Hull.

All the posters who say it’s only one point off the play offs are also wrong because it’s 2 with the negative GD. Not as if his record at Swansea and MK wasn’t a huge warning with a red beacon on it. The issue with only had one clean sheet so far is that if by chance we do squeak into 6th on the last day of the regular season, can you really see a couple of clean sheets needed to win the play-offs. Or just three decent performances when it matters? Not an end of season propaganda run aka Swansea. Bring an experienced keeper in for January and maybe. Given his aggressive defence of Bazanu at the fans forum. It won’t be with him in charge.

Which there probably isn’t amongst the general population, and the hardliners have been poised for a few years for a scrap, which Hamas and Iran have been stupid enough to give them in the most vile and unspeakable way. What will be making the Netanyahu crowd think harder is the threat of Hezbollah getting involved on the northern border with Lebanon. Lebanon could really do without it too, so far no dice but Hezbollah has mobilised and trained troops that could get involved in S Lebanon. Israel would be more stretched by a punch up on two fronts - probably Putin’s dream to distract the West on his dreadful Ukraine campaign - and the 2006-10 punch-up Israel had there was very damaging for all concerned. https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-israel-hamas-lebanon-war-423f5f20d691dcd0cc8af1788f11857b#tbl-em-lnopvz2qq8miutzqdhh

It’s also worth pointing out that Netanyahu unpicked many tenets of the Oslo accord and he’s brought about anything but a ‘safe peace’ which is what he originally campaigned on in the mid-90s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu Hamas has also purged many of its opponents over time in the Palestinian Territories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas The issue is mistrust even though both broadly can see a two-state solution on pre-1967 borders eg one would always eliminate the others right to the Red Sea. Whilst there are extremists at the microphones it doesn’t help.

Davey certainly ruled out working with the Tories again on the Laura K show on the BBC a few weeks back and with Beth Rigby again more recently on Sky https://news.sky.com/story/liberal-democrat-conference-sir-ed-davey-hints-at-post-election-deal-with-labour-12969876

One thing we’ll all agree on - Suella is fucking moron for trying to score political points within her own party on this issue https://news.sky.com/story/waving-a-palestinian-flag-on-british-streets-may-not-be-legitimate-suella-braverman-warns-12981988 Hamas is a recognised terror organisation throughout the EU and Western world, it’s widely been a criminal offence for many years to promote or support their activities in any way.

The opponents were Rotherham. Not won away in 12 months, 23rd and lowest scorers. It’s akin to arguing that City wouldn’t have chased a second against the Saints side who propped up the league last season because they were scared of Adam Armstrong catching them on the break (two goals all season). And it’s a valid comparison as Saints had players on the bench who earn more per week than Rotherham’s entire squad. By all means play Devil’s Advocate but Martin got it wrong tactically. It’s the type of logic Pellegrino used and it got him the sack.

After 2-12 aggregate from four defeats, two goals conceded in the first minute of two of them. You seem delighted with drawing versus a side who haven’t won away from home for a year and 23rd in the league. And with 80% possession there should be a fuck sight more chances and efforts on their goal. As for people lauding their goalkeeper, he did have a good game but it was hardly Kelvin at Leeds, peak Neville Southall at the Dell or Brad Friedel vs WGS’s Saints at SMS (now that WAS a show of shot stopping because Saints truly peppered the Blackburn goal from all angles, and didn’t need 39 slow passes to work up to it). At least he was free - Bazanu statistically the worst in the next league down and he cost £12m. Think about that. Brilliant business by the club again. Yeah, those four white flag displays - and Ipswich should have been 0-4 with the woodwork and two sitters even Che could have scored - boiled 99% of fans piss frankly. Only an abnormal few seemingly who weren’t. Thing is, you’re actually a fan and not one of the infiltrators who have popped up. At least they’re getting paid to spout garbage on Rasmus’s behalf.

Seems to be mostly Iranian weapons and some homegrown Hamas have used thus far. But little doubt the outbreak is helpful to Putin’s campaign in Ukraine so the US and NATO are distracted. Whilst I can’t stand with every fibre of my being Netanyahu and his fellow extremists, and their bullying, illegal, activities in the occupied territories, Hamas have no justification either for these tactics https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67053011 They’re not interested in 2-state solutions or the everyday issues of Palestinians, who they are harming beyond measure, they’re just hate-filled racist thugs willing to collaborate with any blood-stained repressive state who will give them time of day to kill Jews and Westerners in general. Every bit as bad the racist Netanyahu. Even Thai labourers trying to earn money for their families in Israel getting kidnapped and brutalised.

Yep, a minority of posters/fans seem determined to defend the indefensible, plus a few plants by the club (who are as subtle as a fart in church). It’s comparable to when Jeremy Corbyn posted that video at the end of 2019 opening with ‘well that was quite the year’ on the basis of a few more BO-stricken Trots signing on the member rolls. For younger posters, this what the forum was like in 2008/9 with entrenched posters, bitterness and PR plants lurking in plain sight. All we are missing is Richard Chorley and his pieces of silver lobbed at Rasmus. One big difference - that was a post-parachute payments kindergarten squad of lower/non league lads plus Kelvin, Lallana, Surman, Morgan and McGoldrick before he became half decent. This season it’s the third biggest payroll in the league. Jan Poortvliet and Russell Martin have rather different resources to draw upon. Martin’s performing worse than George Burley was if a comparable resources comparison I’d being made. At least we had some wins and semi-consistency, 6-0 at Wolves etc before it went to shit the next season. Burley also underperformed but there was clear improvement in some players eg Jones, Bale, Surman. I’d struggle to spot a first team player at SFC who has improved in recent memory. Look at Ryan Fraser - arrived taking on defenders and going at them, now a sidestep shuffler like the rest.

There’s a small minority kicking about on the site, as well as a handful of long-standing posters who just have a different perspective on events and Martin (which they are fully entitled to have btw). Some of the language of the post you responded to was very PR-ish and suspiciously similar to the Lowe agent who was known to be on here mid-late 2000s. Another one teatime yesterday was talking about the club not being capable of being of 7th/9th place PL and/or cup final. Clearly didn’t know anything about recent history of Saints, WGS period and further back and other posters very quickly corrected them being caught out. Nor were they aware of the recent history of Palace, Brighton, Stoke, Watford, Wigan who have done one or both. Clearly, we aren’t as ‘big’ as those clubs either. The common strand from all of them is fan blame and sparking division via WUM posting. Could be lurking skates but 20-odd unbeaten, top of the league and bright young manager, why would they honestly bother? It feels far more like club/PR agency infiltration and it wouldn’t be the first time. Hopefully the mods will be proactive in dishing out bans.

Yep, WGS used to talk about being brave on the ball and that meant using the ball progressively and ambitiously In the right areas. He used to describe sideways or backwards passes all of the time as cowards football.

Pele is an interesting story. When it’s been discussed on here about Stephens or Lyanco possibly being better at DMC, that’s what happened with Pele. He was signed by Burley for a decent fee but was all over the place as a CB. Due to injuries and suspensions in midfield, he was played there, was better than expected and stayed there for the rest of the campaign. Became a bit of a cult hero with the fans. The reason he played CB in the play off first leg was Claus’s career ending injury in the final league game v Southend which we had to win to make the play offs. Brought down Pearson for the penalty and lucky not to get a second yellow. Derby should have been down to at least 10 by that stage with two awful fouls to crock Bale and in-form Kenwyne Jones (hence slightly out of form Rasiak on the bench). IIRC, Burley got a decent offer from West Brom and sold him that summer as he wanted to sign Safari from Norwich

Educated at world top Unis. Get your facts straight boy. Don’t wind our fans up like you are always are on here or you’ll get a reaction. If you can’t handle that, and you can’t, wind your neck in about our fans. Try a lower league club where there’s no expectation, you’ll prefer it.

Get these club PR people off our site

In huge danger again, back to where he was pre-Boro. Had to win today, next game has to be a heavy victory and immaculate display. For a manager on the brink, his Pellegrino tactics and holding on for a 1-0 v Rotherham were astonishing. Go, go now. You have no legitimacy from our fanbase.