The Cat

Sad news. RIP Leon. He kept the club afloat out of his own pocket and we are all grateful for that.

He was chucked out for urinating on the seats at, I think, the midweek cup game years ago but has been back since. He's not actually banned from the ground. What none of the reports mention is that he was being a right idiot outside, shouting and swearing at Saints fans in front of stewards and generally acting like a ****. There was barely any trouble last night apart him outside and a few other skates inside putting flags up which the stewards mostly removed.

Huge problems on the motorway with a van fire, the road needs resurfacing. Apparently the delays are currently 2 hour. Luckily there's 4000 workmen stood around on the M27 doing nothing each day who can surely get that sorted.

20 coaches plus 3 from Saints Away is half our allocation. That dramatically cuts down on the number of Saints wandering around Fratton. No doubt they'll be saying we didn't show. A 1715 departure from St Mary's for a game 20 miles away means anyone on the coach could be in the ground for a good hour before. Plenty of time to nip to a local pub for a quick livener!

One main benefit to getting people out on loan is that they won't be hanging around Staplewood getting in the way. Ralph's always said he wants a small squad so this is a chance for the coaching team to fully concentrate on the players that will be playing matches.

There's some top quality posts on this thread. If anyone is under the illusion that this isn't an important game or that beating a team 2 divisions below doesn't matter then I feel sorry for them because they'll never get it. I've been thinking about this game a hell of a lot since the draw was made. Bring it on.

No interest in him yet according to Ralph in the press conference, although still hopeful a deal will materialise.

Saw them live last week, they smashed the place apart. Hope you are well.

He only played 1 first team game for Saints against Middlesbrough I think. I saw him in the U23's once and he was just a different class to everyone else on the pitch, although that's to be expected from someone with his pedigree. He is, or maybe was, a very good player.

Other than the one scuffle, were there any other away fans chucked out yesterday? Normally loads of them in our ends.

The K, the E, the V, the I, the N The D, the A, the N, the S, the O He's Kevin Daaaanso To the tune of Danny Nedelko by Idles. About time we moved our songs into the current era rather than relying on the same old predictable nonsense and copying other teams chants.

Not a lot of choice there unfortunately. Maybe something by Band of Skulls or DJ Format. We do seem to play Renegade Master a fair bit on the tannoy as that was by a guy from St Mary's. Would never happen but would be nice if the club commissioned a few local bands to see if they could write something suitable. I'd love to see Saints walk out to a tune by Mystic Peach or Happy 2000. Haha.

He's not crap at all. Should have saved the first goal but he's a very decent young keeper.

No, he's a good player. In fact was one of the only players today that had an ok game.

Thought we shaded it until the first goal and then just fell apart. Burnley were pretty terrible until they scored from punting it up in the air. It should have been a routine clearance but yet again our inept centre backs found a way to let them have a shot that should also have been comfortably saved. After that it was nothing short of appalling.

If he likes a curry then The Vine is a short stroll away from the stadium or training ground.

Totally. Most people I speak to are highly dubious and very sceptical about the way the club is being run. In fact I'd go as far as to say that no one I know is backing the owners. No idea where that chap got the idea that "our fanbase continues to defend the owners" because it's not true in the slightest. Fanbase does not equal a few weirdos on the internet.

Well that explains why he was missing from today's event. I truly did not know that had happened. Poor guy.

Boufal is off if what I heard today is true.

If you're at a loose end tonight then there's some good comedy on in the basement of Mango Thai Tapas just around the corner from Oxford Street. Nathan Caton is down to perform tonight which is a decent act for a small venue. For craft beer check out Unity which isn't far from St Mary's those guys have got some amazing ales going on.

No one at the ground, none of the coaches even bothered to stand in the technical area. Ralph was sending instructions from hospital. First lot of subs at 60 mins were obviously pre planned as everyone knew who was going off without any sort of instructions from the bench.

I asked at the ticket office yesterday. They are posting them next week.

Impressed with Adams, strong, direct, nice touch. Valery was good and so was Boufal. Not impressed with Ings. Horrible penalty, made some bad decisions and passes. He'll be injured soon enough so we can start with Adams in the middle, Redmond and Djenepo or Boufal. Their fans were decent for a friendly. Some of them looked completely wasted.

Have to say I prefer games moved to Friday over Sunday because there's no clash for those of us with kids who play Tyro. It's still **** though.

I wonder if the revamped home dressing room will be finished before the friendly on Saturday or whether they'll be getting changed in a portacabin?