franniesTache

Greggs? I think we should be aiming higher than a pastry shop, this fabled MEGALOPOLIS OF SPORTATAINMENT GREATNESS (tm) will be attracting michelin star restaurants, we will see the re-homing of the Ivy to old norham road, clubs will flock from Ibiza to set up residency in the britannia road warehouses, when we flatten golden grove and northam estate they will be rebuilt with luxury yurts and short stay complexes that all have their own sex pond and butlers. The south of france will lose the Cannes Films Festival as it will move to the newly appointed AREA OF CULTURE that is derby road, with the meridan water filled with super yachts eager to observe the greatest moment of gentrification ever known. The hustle, bustle and glamour will be the focus point of new signings, eschewing boring places like Milan, London, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid in favour of the greatest sport and cultural complex known to man. If you build it. They will come.

Except that's not true for either of the two stadiums you mention. In Manchester the Commonwealth stadium hasn't led to regeneration of the area, the Northern Quarter closer to Picaddily was already being gentrified before the stadium was built and was largely down to a council scheme in the 90s and second much bigger period after the bombing of the arndale center. The City of Manchester stadium is actually a fair bit away from the main gentrification of manchester and has a large a road that goes past it, with the immediate area still fairly run down and without a huge amount there in the way of shops (unless you count big Asda's). As for the Olympic stadium and Olympic park, well Stratford shopping center was there prior to the Olympics, Stratford high st still has "character" (shorthand for pretty stabby) and west of the lea Hackney Wick had already started to be gentrified about 5 years before the Olympics due to Hackney being popular and artists being priced out who moved to the empty industrial units there. Then if you go south of the Olympic park you have victoria park which is one of the biggest parks in East London and gentrification has nothing to do with it's use (funnily enough the old big breakfast house is on the corner there). Having spent a fair bit of time in that area pre Olympics, during and now the only really significant change i can think of post the stadium being built is the swingers club that used to be opposite Crate has now turned into a pub, which is a shame as it used to be hilarious sitting at Crate and laughing at the people sheepishly trying to go in without being seen. So yeah both your "examples" are utter horseshit, and to think that it would re-generate Northam, Golden Grove or Derby Road/St Mary's is naive at best, unhinged at worst. If football grounds and events venues could do that then so many of the shops, clubs and pubs on Old Northam road wouldn't have shut down when St Mary's moved there would they?

Ah yes Man City's staidum that was built for the Commonwealth games and came with investment in sports facilities into an area already being redeveloped, and The Olympic stadium that was built for the Olympics including landscaping an area of east london that was already getting significant investment because London was moving east (via a huge olympic investment fund) are perfect examples of how grounds that weren't built for football can be examples of football grounds gentrifying areas 🤣 Next you're going to tell me that Salford changing is down to proposed plans for Old Trafford and nothing to do with Media City and the investment in Salford there. In fact i'm going to revise my question of do you live in Southampton, to have you ever left your mum's bedroom? Because you've clearly never been to London or Manchester. Oh and btw i worked in Manchester and lived in East London so know that neither had anything to do with Man City or West Ham....

I see we've entered the completely mental period of the summer where people are advocating for the removal of Sotonians from their homes to accommodate a shopping center or hotel at a football ground in a city that doesn't attract a huge amount of tourism. I swear to god some people don't live in any form of reality, because "gentrifying Northam and Golden Grove by adding a hotel to St Mary's" is about as realistic as the council's old plans to build a monorail to ocean village. Honestly it's like some people have never even lived in Southampton 🤣🤣🤣 I'd love someone to name a single area in the country that's been gentrified by a football ground too

yeah i think you're right he had a pre-existing back injury that the insurance wouldn't cover. Also remember something about him refusing an op too but it's so long ago that could be my memory playing tricks.

Came into the thread to say Ekeland and was glad to see so many others already had. I've always wondered what we'd have done had we kept him as him and Matty looked the absolute dogs together.

Wrong thread

i've met loads of footballers down the years and got to know some of the Saints players relatively well, but of the most random ones i'd say mine is probably playing pool and hanging out with the early 90's Barcelona squad managed by Johan Cruyff

In the case of my group it's because the Northam is full of inbetweeners type weirdos who engage in shit "bantz", sing songs about players cocks and generally act with no class or originality.

I'm not sure what's more challenging for Saints, winning games or coming up with original chants. Anyway since we're actually going to be playing those inbred, piss stained scabs next season how about this to the kinks dedicated follower of fashion? They see him here, they see him there His clothes are fucking piss stained & he's never washed his hair He's a dedicated follower of portsmouth Oh yes he is (oh yes he is) Oh yes he is (oh yes he is) Always dressing scruffy and his sister is his wife Ohh he's a dedicated follower of portsmouth

Looks like someone has screen grabbed a teams call there, that's a really stupid thing to do and they're almost certainly going to lose their job for that because it's very easy to work out who it is. I can't imagine risking your job like that to "leak" a kit that's going to be announced fairly soon anyway

I left Laurie off because i didn't see much of him as manager in person, 84 at home to cov was my first game so i'm just a bit too young for him. I actually liked Jones as a person, he was massively out of his depth as a manager but he called out our overly precious fans for being entitled and was genuinely funny at points. Plus he at least seemed like he had something about him instead of being one of those dull modern football drones who only talks about stats. Martin was the singularly most arrogant manager i think i can ever remember us having, he even had the arrogance to give people a powerpoint presentation of why "his way was the right way". Such a smug cunt, and wouldn't look out of place as one of those public schoolboys that waltzes around top companies thinking they're special but they've just got their because their dad owned the place

Likeable WGS Ball Nicholl Adkins Least likeable Branfoot Branfoot Twitchy Branfoot Martin

We managed to move our seats online for the renewal price from the Northam BANTA wall to the chapel block 21 pretty easily online, and with no fuss, so i don't think you need to wait to do it (in fact i had the option as a link out of the email they sent)

I'm surprised it wasn't more people given it's been The Greatest Era of the club ever. Couple that with the brilliant job Sport Republic are doing on everything except that football bit that doesn't matter and you'd have thought it would be 90% highly satisfied.

SJ is almost certainly hearing about this stuff from the same source i did i'd imagine. A consortium you say? But who would be interested in leading a consortium of a club by the sea

All the teams playing the three promoted sides. We need one of them to get less than 12 points so we don't look as bad as we've been

Apparently that prick Adrian Heath is going to be there, so for him alone i hope we ruin their party

We've got five of us together right at the back of Block 21, and about the same again in the rows infront. i'm assuming that the ones currently not available probably will come available once the renewal window passes as they'll be people who had season tickets there last season.

I thought that but when i checked back my season ticket in the Itchen North for our last season in the championship cost me £430 so it's actually an increase if you do a like for like. It's obviously not terrible pricing but given people are skint at the moment it's not great, and the extra 5% fee for people doing monthly payments is a proper kick in the bollocks to those folk

Renewed mine, I make it my 43rd consecutive season of going which makes me feel properly old. Moved to block 21 from the Northam Wall as i couldn't face another season in what seems like a creche for Soccer AM fanboys

Nah it definitely didn't. It "stemmed" from someone who if people knew who it was no one would be asking questions anymore. Also just because the club are open to buyers and have made it known they are up for sale doesn't mean it will happen. Because lets be honest, who in their right fucking mind would buy a football club?

Given we are in our golden period and that the board are doing a magnificent job on everything except for recruitment and managers i think it'd be foolhardy to expect anything other than a home banker here. So Saints 9 Man City 0 seems the obvious choice for a prediction. We are all so lucky to be watching such a golden era of the club, the best in our history and no doubts

Yes but on the flip side we have a new pub, a champagne bar coming and the best gulags this side of siberia outside the ground. All we need now is a picture of a train on the wall of st mary's, a championship spoon hide and seek game, an award winning radio station, and the best catering in a football ground in an SO postcode and we'll truly be in a glory era of the club