sandwichsaint

Are Liverpool bringing their own ref? Hands up they beat us fair and square in the League Cup but they do seem to get an awful lot of decisions go for them.

The other nonsense saying 'pundits' have introduced is 'he was entitled to go down, there'! Not for me ... if a player is tripped or kicked or pushed with enough force to put him off balance and miss his next stride then it's clearly a foul, if the forward always attempted to make the next stride it would be obvious when he had been fouled (and when he hadn't). Too many players look to buy a contact and either ride it with no intention of playing the ball again, or just take a full on dive into it or over it. Refs would also help themselves if they were more prepared to give freekicks where the fd is impeded but attempts to stay on his feet and move fd to continue playing the ball (Mane at Chelsea, clear contact causing him to lose position, he stayed on his feet and tried to regain the ball, no foul given). If Benteke had ridden the contact and continued to try to play the ball ref would then have had to make a decision as to whether he had been sufficiently impeded to award a foul. Benteke throwing himself full length and then claiming 'contact' doesn't mean he was necessarily fouled. Pundits eh?

For the younger viewers, I'm trying (struggling) to think of a modern comparison. I guess with the change in playing styles he would nowadays be seen as a wide mid-fielder. He was fit as a fiddle and hard as nails, and he had a wand of a right foot. If he was transported into the modern game I suspect he would have left Saints relatively early, while still on an upward trajectory, joined a 'big club' for a big fat fee and big wages and then become yet another semi-anonymous member of somebody's bloated 25-man squad, he would then have failed to train-on, and ultimately under-achieved against his original potential, whereas if he had stayed at Saints he could have played 700+ first team games, become a Saints legend, earning slightly less money but having much more fun and kudos on the way, and maybe even winning the odd trophy too. A salutory tale for all the youngsters who followed behind him ....!

Pretty predictable, it's got previous that machine. Back on topic, did anybody 'here' anything? It must have been a pretty uncomfortable last 20 minutes for anybody unfortunate enough to have been there last night.

Mane at his best is an outstanding young player, one of the best young players in the Prem, and he is (was?) probably worth close to £30m. Since Xmas he has been utter gash, he doesn't look interested, he doesn't appear to be trying, he doesn't look as fit or as sharp as he did previously; he looks every inch a player who is winding down his time with us and waiting for his big-money move and the big wages that go with it. I'd be very surprised if he produces anything worthwhile over the remaining games or if he is with us next year, we've probably already got his replacement lined up.

Thank goodness you waited 48 hours before coming up with that considered response.

Disappointing, with a 100% concentration we could have won that. 70 minutes and Chelsea going nowhere, restricted to possession and random long shots and then Costa gets his A game out. We get suckered in, and what was a decent defensive performance goes to rats. 1st sub is abysmal, CA had been labouring since HT, Long is injured, and they bring on Pelle, why in the name of sweet baby J didn't he bring on Mane? Their first (and second) goals are both really poor goals to concede. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say the better team won, they were clearly better in most departments, but did 'they' do enough to win? (or were we undone by a crap substitution, and a lack of concentration/distraction?).

Fair comment. It's definitely hard to argue that the referendum is not needed, though TBF I haven't really seen anybody pushing that line, unless I've missed something obvious?

What percentage turn-out are we expecting? It's obviously early days in terms of the referendum just having been called this week (though some would say it's been a bit of a slow-burner for the last 30 years). Outside the big media/politico bubble, and beyond those obviously interested and committed (such as those posting here), has this really taken off with the ordinary Joe in the street? Is it likely to? If we vote to leave a part of me would think we've lost a lot by leaving, if we vote to stay a part of me will think we should have left, I really am very ambivalent about the whole thing and can live with either outcome. My totally made up polling figures would be: 25% strongly against and can give reasons for that, 25% strongly for and can give reasons for that, 25% plague on all their houses, they're interested but have totally given up on 'politicians' (of whatever hue) being the answer to just about any problem, 25% couldn't give a rat's backside, they're not interested, full stop. I reckon on that basis it's all to play for

Can anyone get me a single ticket on the exchange? There are a few singles on there this morning but when i log in I can't buy against my ST, I guess you have to be a non-ST member to buy? It's for my (adult) son, he's definitely a Saints fan, I'm happy to buy you a pie and a pint for your troubles.

depends what he spends the other £1980 on? if he puts away a grand a month you're probably onto a good thing if he's spending 2k a month you're being taken for a ride.

Is there a 'none of the above' option? In = corporate big-business, big farming, undemocratic boy's club, free movement of labour (the 'I' word) Out = swivel-eyed loons, little Englanders, turning back the clock 50 years, neo-con USA arse-wiping Am I the only one conflicted?

Gold or Dave?

Anybody else seen this doing the rounds? I didn't believe it till I tried it myself this morning but it definitely is out there. Do a regular Bing search on, 'Labour are ....'. 'Liberals are..' 'SNP are ...' 'Conservatives are ...' all of these will give you a range of results such as: right / wrong / left / right / stupid / funny / popular etc etc. Now do exactly the same thing on Yahoo .... and you will get pretty much the same results. Now do it on Google ... for Lib/Lab/SNP you will get the same results as before.... do it for 'Conservatives are ....' and the results are completely blank. It would appear that Google are suppressing search results around the key word 'Conservative'. Scary stuff!

Taken to it's logical conclusion who's going to be the first team to down-size their ground then? All those pesky fans with their associated running costs and their ever-diminishing share of revenues, surely the most far-sighted and ground breaking of clubs will down-size to a mini European-style stadium with a capacity of say 15-18k? Fleece the remaining hard-core bestest fans, those who would pay literally anything to see 'their' team play live, exist on the TV revenues and the global brand. Genius, I can't believe I'm the first person to have spotted this, silly West Ham and Spurs and Liverpool all moving and/or expanding and wasting all that money they'll never get back.

Anybody remember the away Friday night game in biblical rain at Roots Hall? Notable for an outstanding performance from Morgan, probably at that time the best I'd seen him play. And for a 15 minute cameo for a young lad on the right wing who looked lively and got a decent write up from me, nowadays Premier League semi-regular Michail Antonio.[h=1][/h]

Manchester United Arsenal Chelsea Manchester City Liverpool Everton Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Leeds United Sheffield Wednesday Sunderland for me ................... over Sheffield United West Ham .................. will always be 'bigger' than Birmingham City Aston Villa Wolverhampton Wanderers West Brom will always have more about them than ......... plucky Coventry City Stoke City ..... or Leicester? ... spin a coin on that one Norwich City not for me (nice club tho) ..... would rather see a roaring Cardiff City dragon for a bit of variety/balance Ipswich Town

Koeman Poch Sturrock Strachan Burley Hoddle Souness More than you might think, any more? Prob also ought to claim George Reader too although he was chairman rather than manager, and refereed rather than played.

Think you'll find Ladbrokes already run a similar scheme...

In four days time I get to take the afternoon off work, drive 160 miles, sit (block 36) with some great people (and a whole bunch of plastic JCLs), watch my true love look really good for 25 minutes before self-destructing, see us go 0-2 down (or in my wildest dreams 1-2) then watch '00's of people who will be back at home and nicely tucked up in bed by 10-45 stream for the exits; I will stay to the bitter end while being completely owned by JeFFing Watford fans, then will queue to get out of town, negotiate the vagaries of the department of transport's notorious night time roadworks program and arrive home @ about 00-45, then get up and be in work by 07-15 on Thursday morning. Positives? Sarfampton til I die, Sarfampton till I die, I know I am. I'm sure I am, Sarfampton till I die.

Too little, too late. Not sure that either would be particularly bothered by that outcome, I'd play Romeu regularly for the second half of the season, and sell either/or or both this window but only if the price is right ££££, and attempt to source a Mane replacement via the black box. Hindsight's 20/20 but we would have been better off binning VW in the last window. I'm sure some people will still his 5hit song on Saturday though.

Gazza VVD Romeu Tadic Mane Wasn't there also a national 5-a-side tournament for paperboys (think they were called newsboys) that we did well in once or twice? Cue somebody posting up that they knew someone who played in it. Make my day, somebody post up that they actually played in it!

If only we'd kept the receipt eh?

'Arry's available, he'd jump at it too, obviously only if his knee's better though.