pap

I don't know. Any of you chaps been shopping lately? Things are a crapload more expensive than they have been for a while, I reckon. Since ms pap has flown the coop during working hours, I end up spending quite a bit of time picking up the slack and shopping. I've also spent quite a bit of time working away from home living in self-catering digs. Feeding one person is more expensive per head than feeding more. I'm also not convinced you can get a decent standard of food for that cash.

I disagree.

Still think this needs to be seen as Cameron's big electoral gamble rather than the sideshow of a nation's independence. I fully expect Scotland to stay in the Union, and there to be much trumpeting about how the Conservatives kept the Union together. I suspect that the campaigns will be full of lies, fear and misinformation. The ASA has no power over claims made during a referendum campaign.

£57. Not a lot of money. I pay more than that on one monthly utility bill. And yet, this is apparently enough dough to get by on for a week in 2013. Iain Duncan Smith, who gets around £225 per day after tax, reckons he could live on £57 a week if he had to. There is a petition here calling on him to do it. http://www.change.org/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week#share I doubt we could even get by on £57 per person per week. What about you?

Don't think it's a case of doom and gloom merchants, trousers. More a case of a load of people actively despising the current government and pretty much all their works.

Again, at the risk of offending you in the Clarkson style, CB Fry kinda occupies the same space you used to in feud terms. Chapel End Charlie has taken the place of buctootim, now in the Grey Havens of Registered User-ville. My favourite detractors are the ones that refer to me as "odd". It's a lovely compliment.

Ah c'mon Turks, if you're referencing a poster in a thread that they have not yet participated in, it's a bit of a feud. The only reason you're on safe ground here is because the thread is about internet stalkers. I have not named mine, btw. Can you guess who they were/are?

I think you should be flattered with the attention. Being namechecked by a "famous" celebrity like Turks ( relative to SaintsWeb, at least ). It's probably not unlike being Jeremy Clarkson's dog. I can't really call Turkish out for having feuds with people. I've got form meself, y'see.

Blimey. Getting the excuses in early, CB Fry? I was listening to Football Weekly yesterday and was reminded of your good self when the podcast team started to discuss the relative merits of some of the teams closer to the bottom. It's odd, but it seems like there is nothing but respect for the way Southampton are playing at the moment. On Stoke - your model of a better football club than Saints, the general consensus is that no-one will miss them. Finally, poor Nigel has become something of a figure of fun since joining Reading. Linkage, although be careful - your ears might start to bleed at hearing the positive coverage. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/series/footballweekly

I've known Turkish's name for yonks. I also know loads of other people called Richard. Gotta say, none of them seemed particularly bothered about it unless people are constantly calling them "d!ck". But then, wouldn't that bother most people, even if they are not called Richard?

Blimey. You're on first name terms. Look who's stalking! (joke)

No, they're a lot smarter than I generally am, Tokes.

I normally have one major stalker at a time. They generally think they're a lot smarter than they actually are.

Depends on whether the "no one gets free tickets" rule is being applied across the board, doesn't it? If someone else of his ilk ( former Saints player, etc ) is getting tickets, then MLT should be. If no-one else is, then I don't see why MLT should be any different.

It would when Rickie is one of the best England strikers out there. I don't care about Rickie's age. If England qualify for next year's World Cup, they would be mental not to take him if he continues playing like he is.

I'm not sure that they hate us. This still amuses me.

I'm shaken to my core by this news. I was led to understand by forum footy expert CB Fry that Stoke were the sort of team we should be emulating.

To be fair, there's just as much unqualified talk of NA's achievements. I don't think we were doomed to relegation, but I honestly never knew how ANY game would go, or how we'd line up. I've got a fair idea of what I'm going to see under MP, and it's usually exciting stuff. What I find particularly pleasing is the "we can beat anybody" mentality. Sometimes, it's not going to come off - but I can live with that as I know we're trying to win. At times, we looked utterly clueless under NA. One year ago, a crowd of spirited Saints fans saw exactly this at Bloomfield Road. NA is now back in the game and will rightfully be judged on his performance. I hope he does well, but if he turns out to be total dogsh!te, people are naturally going to reevaluate his career. Managerial stars rise and fall all the time, sometimes to the extent where any previous achievements are explained away. Also, managers can disappear quickly up their own backsides. Look at how quickly Phil Brown turned from messianic promotion-winner of unfancied team to being perceived as some kind of perma-tanned Yosser Hughes, CVs ready to go at a moment's notice. There has been a lot of unsubstantiated talk and speculation about the sort of restrictions that Nigel was under, that he wasn't candid in interviews because of the big bad chairman and spoke in cliches to guard his true intentions. That, my good man, is increasingly looking like a load of b*llocks. I'm not attributing that sentiment to yourself, but stalwarts of this board will have seen such sentiments expressed. Even when NA was still employed, we had people remark on how much more articulate Crosby was in his interview. MP is as candid as he can be in his interviews, and seems to speak freely and passionately about non-Adkins related issues. Meanwhile, Reading Council have just spent 3 days clearing a biblical flood of cliches from local drainage systems. Alright, I embellished the last bit; but from the evidence so far, it looks like it's very much a case of "what you see is what you get" with NA. His decision to take the Reading job is baffling.

I know. Many lols await. Nine times out of ten, speculation is just talking sh*t in advance, so I'm amazed how people can repeatedly assert stuff with no evidence whatsoever. I'm a fence sitter on most of the big football questions on here; it's rare that I'll stick my next out. The Ramirez transfer was one of them, but that was a bit of fun. All you can do is make an educated guess based on past experience. Sometimes, all that knowledge will completely betray you regardless, and you'll end up getting it wrong anyway. Mark Lawrenson has this problem a lot. I remember that thread when it first came out. Honestly? My opinion at the time was its probably b*****ks, but exactly the same thought process was going on; didn't want it to happen. However, I didn't know anything worth adding to the discussion, so didn't participate.

I've just re-read that thread. In hindsight, you look like one of the only sane people on it. It is a case study in the sort of mental leg-work people will do to support a position they want to be true.

I did actually predict this as a loss. Quite right. For all the recent progress, utterly f**k-up-able. I hope my prediction is wrong.

You shouldn't let popularity denote whether something has any merit or not. "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" is No1 tonight, FFS. Nigel will get all the credit he deserves for those promotions, probably more if prospective employers ignore the huge amount of money Southampton FC had at its disposal. He didn't achieve back to back promotions with S****horpe; got relegated the next year. If that's ignored too, he'll have an even better rep. I admire your bravery, VFTT. You must have some confidence in NA's abilities to keep heralding his inherent ability, especially as our next game offers a superficial glimpse of whether NC made the right call in binning NA. Yeah, yeah - I know that NA has less resources at Reading that he did when at SFC, but if we can ignore external factors when considering his success, then I think I'm justified in ignoring the shortcomings he has in his squad now. If he's half as canny as you ardent defenders make him out to be, surely he'll have a masterplan that plays on the weaknesses of his old boys? For this, and many other reasons, I await this game with interest.

The Axis of Evil is a stupid term uttered by a moronic President for the morons that buy into such terms, hypo obviously being one of them. The term "Axis of Evil" is a genius little hook. First, it uses "Axis", which may convince your moron that these countries are like the Axis of the second world war. The second bit, "Evil", has the benefit of being understood by those ignorant of the names of the major powers in WW2. Of course, the only groups more powerful than the Axis of Evil are the Decepticons, Legion of Doom (DC Comics or WWE version is fine) and the Sinister Six.

CB Fry. Angry man. So, so straw man. Our recent success must be like acid in your eyes!

It was there, and easy to spot in hindsight, as everything is. I remember the Everton pre-match press conference. We'd just beaten Villa 4-1 at our place, and one of the journalists asked a question along the lines of "well, Nigel - a week ago you were getting sacked". NA proper flew off the handle - "Who says I'm getting sacked?". This was a press conference FFS, the one place you're supposed to be on your best behaviour. After seeing him go off one like that in a press conference, I can well believe he might have shouted a couple of players down if they'd disagreed with his points. Over time, that can lead to resentment.