trousers

Watford fans seem chuffed.... http://www.wfcforums.com/showthread.php?t=26006 Good to see TSW quoted as breaking the news!

Saints winger Nathan Dyer has swapped Sheffield for Swansea following the conclusion of his loan at Sheffield United, joining the Swans on loan until the end of the season. The 21-year old made just three starts during his stay at Bramall Lane and will now be hoping to hold down a more regular place at the Liberty Stadium. He will go straight into Roberto Martinez's squad ahead of their weekend FA Cup tie against Histon. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/article.php?page_id=11165

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=7443 http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=7415

I was referring to Lowe's quote rather than Dyer's:- Plc chairman Rupert Lowe said: "I am very pleased Nathan has signed for another three years and that he clearly believes in what we are trying to achieve. "He is quick, attack-minded and talented and he fits right in with the way we want to play fast, attacking football with young players coming through.

:smt044

People aren't questioning Lowe's logic per se, they are highlighting the two-faced quotes he appears to make on the OS. If the renewal of Dyer's contract was a tactical move, why create an OS article where Lowe bestows bucket loads of praise on Dyer rather than just make a business-like passing reference to it? (much like the OS does with any news it wants to slip in quietly....). How are we suppose to trust anything Lowe and/or the OS writes if it should be taken with the same pinch of salt every time? How are we supposed to tell the difference between elaboration and fact? Edit: ok, so Lowe is probably using the OS as a shop-window and his words were intended for the ears/eyes of potential suitors for Dyer...but I still ask how we're suppose to tell the difference between a genuine Lowe quote and one that is 'spin' to sell on players...

Steady....you'll have 'sadoldgit' pointing us in the direction of the Rat Protection League if you're not careful....

Lowe is onto a publicity win-win with this game. Either way it will buy him more time at the helm. You can see the post-match TV interviews now.... A defeat will be heralded as a gallant effort by a young team "heading-in-the-right-direction". Anything better than a defeat will be heralded a spectacular demonstration that the 'plan' is on track (regardless of league performances).

Will be interesting to see how they re-word this quote from the summer: Plc chairman Rupert Lowe said: "I am very pleased Nathan has signed for another three years and that he clearly believes in what we are trying to achieve. "He is quick, attack-minded and talented and he fits right in with the way we want to play fast, attacking football with young players coming through."

'Long time registered/low volume poster who might know something' alert.... Franco Matías di Santo (born April 7, 1989) is an Argentine professional football player who plays as a striker for Chelsea. A transfer from Audax Italiano to Chelsea was confirmed on January 25, 2008 when he signed a four and a half year contract.[2] Di Santo spoke of his excitement at having joined Chelsea and his eagerness to prove himself, as Franco holds an Italian passport he was immediately eligible to become part of their team. Franco's younger brother, Diego is a prospect for River Plate.

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be made sense of from the literal definition, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through common use. In linguistics, idioms are widely assumed to be figures of speech that contradict the principle of compositionality; however, this has shown to be a subject of debate. John Saeed defines an idiom as words collocated together happen to become fossilized, becoming fixed over time.[1] This collocation -- words commonly used in a group -- changes the definition of each of the words that exist. As an expression, the word-group becomes a team, so to speak. That is, the collocated words develop a specialized meaning as a whole and an idiom is born; for instance, "He really threw me a curve when on our first date he asked if I could pay for the dinner." Note, in some cultures, when a man and a woman are courting each other, the male is traditionally the one who takes up the bill or pays the bill; however, times change and in many modern societies, a lot of couples go Dutch (yet another idiom). [edit] Background In the English expression to kick the bucket, for example, a listener knowing only the meaning of kick and bucket would be unable to deduce the expression's actual meaning, which is to die. Although it can refer literally to the act of striking a specific bucket with a foot, native speakers rarely use it that way. It cannot be directly translated to other languages – for example, the same expression in Polish is kopnąć w kalendarz (to kick the calendar), with the calendar being as detached from its usual meaning as the bucket in the English phrase is. The same expression in Dutch is het loodje leggen (to lay the piece of lead), which is entirely different from the English expression, too. Other expressions include break a leg and fit as a fiddle. Another kind of idiom is the use of a single word to have multiple meanings, sometimes at the same time, and sometimes one meaning to be discerned from context. This can be seen in the (mostly uninflected) English language in the common use of the same word for an activity, for those engaged in it, and sometimes for a verb. Idioms hence tend to confuse those not already familiar with them; students of a new language must learn its idiomatic expressions the way they learn its other vocabulary. Many natural language words have idiomatic origins, but have been sufficiently assimilated so that their figurative senses have been lost. [edit] Idioms and culture An idiom is generally a colloquial metaphor — a term which requires some foundational knowledge, information, or experience, to use only within a culture where parties must have common reference. Idioms are therefore not considered a part of the language, but rather a part of the culture. As cultures are typically localized, idioms are often not useful outside of that local context. However some idioms can be more universally used than others, and they can be easily translated, metaphorical meaning can be more easily deduced. While many idioms are clearly based in conceptual metaphors such as "time as a substance", "time as a path", "love as war" or "up is more", the idioms themselves are often not particularly essential, even when the metaphors themselves are. For example, "spend time", "battle of the sexes", and "back in the day" are idiomatic and based in essential metaphors. These "deep metaphors" and their relationship to human cognition are discussed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their 1980 book Metaphors We Live By. In forms like "profits are up", the metaphor is carried by "up" itself. The phrase "profits are up" is not itself an idiom. Practically anything measurable can be used in place of "profits": "crime is up", "satisfaction is up", "complaints are up" etc. Truly essential idioms generally involve prepositions, for example "out of" or "turn into". Interestingly, many Chinese characters are likewise idiomatic constructs, as their meanings are more often not traceable to a literal (i.e. pictographic) meaning of their assembled parts, or radicals. Because all characters are composed from a relatively small base of about 214 radicals, their assembled meanings follow several different modes of interpretation - from the pictographic to the metaphorical to those whose original meaning has been lost in history. It may be a feature that helps everyday life.

The answer is: (b) preparing for L1

Indeed. It was "perfectly normal" to some people. What do they know? Pah.

July 2008.... http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/search/?mode=movenav&page_id=10350 Nathan Dyer has revealed the club's new coaching set-up was the key factor in his decision to sign a new contract. The England Under 19 international had been stalling on a new deal while he waited to assess the recent changes at the club. But the pacy winger is delighted with what he has seen from Jan Poortvliet and his coaching team and he is hugely excited about the new campaign. He said: "I never wanted to leave the club but I had to make sure it was right to stay. "I am only 20 but already I have had a lot of managers and a lot of chairmen and I wanted to make sure the set-up was right. "Rupert Lowe has come back as chairman and I like what he has had to say about the club and the way he wants to take it forward. "The philosophy of exciting attacking football with young players will suit me and I am really looking forward to being involved. "I needed to see what the new manager was all about and what style he wanted to play and I have been very impressed by what I have seen. "It all looks very exciting. He wants to play with wingers and with young players and he wants to play fast, exciting and attacking football. "That is ideal for me and the future is really bright so I am delighted to be part of it. "I never said I did not want to stay here but with so many changes I had to be sure it was right and that is why it has taken a while to get it all sorted. "But I am delighted it has all been done and now I can focus on preparing for the new season and trying to win back my place. "That won't be easy because there is a lot of competition with Lee Holmes coming in and Bradley doing well on the right and other young players coming through too. "But that can only be good for the club and I am very excited about the way things are shaping up." http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/search/?mode=movenav&page_id=10349 Nathan Dyer has settled his uncertain future by signing a new contract with Saints. The exciting winger has put pen to paper on a three-year deal keeping him at St Mary's until 2011. The England Under 19 international had been training apart from the first-team squad while his contract situation was resolved. But now he is back in the fold and setting his sights on regaining his first-team place in Jan Poortvliet's exciting set-up. He said: "I am delighted to have got it all resolved and to have signed. I never wanted to leave the club, it was just a question of getting it all settled. "Now I have to try and win back my place because Bradley Wright-Phillips has been playing well on the right and scoring goals and Lee Holmes looks a very good player. "It will not be easy to force my way back in but I will be working hard in training and in games to try and force my way back in." Poortvliet added: "I am delighted Nathan has signed because he is a very talented player who can take people on and make things happen. "He likes to run with the ball and has great pace and he will be a great asset for us this season." Plc chairman Rupert Lowe said: "I am very pleased Nathan has signed for another three years and that he clearly believes in what we are trying to achieve. "He is quick, attack-minded and talented and he fits right in with the way we want to play fast, attacking football with young players coming through."

Someone phone up Barclays (Reading Branch) to find out WTF is going on.... Can anyone out there do a decent Rupert impression over the phone?

So that's why he didn't report back for training straight away....

Are you saying the use of idioms went out with the Ark?

Your transfer window predictions for Saints? Barclays get twitchier

Chelsea defender Jack Cork, whose loan spell with Southampton expired on December 31st, has joined Watford on loan until the end of the season. Saints were keen to extend Cork's loan, following the 19-year old's valuable contribution to the first half of the campaign at St. Mary's, but Cork's desire to work again with Watford boss Brendan Rodgers appears to have swung his decision. Prior to his appointment as Hornets boss at the end of November, Rodgers was in charge of the Reserves at Chelsea, and played a key part in Cork's development as he rose through the Youth team ranks at Stamford Bridge. Since becoming manager at Vicarage Road he has already acquired the services of another Chelsea youngster, Liam Bridcutt, and now adds the England Under-21 international to his squad ahead of their weekend FA Cup tie against another of Cork's former loan sides S****horpe United. Chelsea have now confirmed the terms of the loan and it has now been announced by both Clubs. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/article.php?page_id=11163

Some mixed views on this Man Utd message board: http://community.manutd.com/forums/t/29443.aspx Several posters seem to believe that Ferguson will stick with his '2nd team' policy against Derby in the Carling Cup and take a relatively strong 'preparation for Chelsea' squad to SMS.... Baton down the hatches!

Metaphorically or literally?

+1 You can just see it happening....

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/search/?mo...&page_id=11152 "Head coach Jan Poortvliet is pleased with the level of competition for places in his squad ahead of the expiry date of a number of loan players at the club. "We will see on the 1st January what the situation is with the loan deals," he said. Reading defender Alex Pearce has already extended his stay at St. Mary's by a further month, but there may be further movement in and out with Chelsea player Jack Cork's future high on the Dutchman's list of priorities. "As far as I know, we want to keep Jack and Jack wants to stay here," he stated. "He feels comfortable and likes it here and we hope that he stays". Dear Jan, Probably best to keep shtum the next time the OS come knocking for an interview. Regards, Trousers

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/search/?mode=movenav&page_id=11152 "Head coach Jan Poortvliet is pleased with the level of competition for places in his squad ahead of the expiry date of a number of loan players at the club. "We will see on the 1st January what the situation is with the loan deals," he said. Reading defender Alex Pearce has already extended his stay at St. Mary's by a further month, but there may be further movement in and out with Chelsea player Jack Cork's future high on the Dutchman's list of priorities. "As far as I know, we want to keep Jack and Jack wants to stay here," he stated. "He feels comfortable and likes it here and we hope that he stays". Dear Jan, Probably best to keep shtum the next time the OS come knocking for an interview. Regards, Trousers