SuperMikey

When have we ever had a good pre-season? Lets focus less on the small games against Sutton and Havant and the big ones we have coming up in a couple of weeks like Plymouth. Plus, the game obviously meant a lot for Sutton and their fans, so they were never going to roll over for us were they? If anything, I would've let Sutton win and given some more youngsters a run-out. And on the subject of cover, Pardew actually states in the OS write-up that he feels wide midfield is now the priority. I fully expect us to have a squad that we're completely satisfied with by the first game of the season. We just need to chill out and let Pardew et al. do their job!

Go on then, what's your festival record? Went to my first festival at the tender age of 13 and never looked back! 05 - T in the Park 06 - Reading 07 - Glastonbury 08 - Glastonbury, Reading 09 - Glastonbury 10 - Glastonbury, Reading [GLASTOGUSHING]My favourite has to be Glasto, it's just such an amazing experience and if you've not been before, it'll be one of the best weekends of your life.[/GLASTOGUSHING]

I've heard that as well - continental festivals are supposed to be far better organised and run than the ones we get over here like Reading etc.

Thought he signed a 5 year deal 2 years ago? Or did I dream that?

He was very dangerous, thought HCDAJFU as cover at least, he was one of the best players outside of the league last season in many people's views. Was speaking to the FFC kitman through work on Wednesday (he actually got me a free ticket for the game after I mentioned I was planning to go, very nice bloke!) and he said that Dean was due to go up to Swansea today to sign a contract with them. He did look like a good player though, it may have been that Farnborough have played more games and our CB pairing was relatively inexperienced, but he turned them inside out a couple of times and had his finishing been better, he may have scored a couple too. Think we missed the boat on that one.

Fair enough, I guess I (and most Saints fans as well) have an automatic 'dislike' function for Redcrapp and mostly all the things he's associated with. Spurs are still deluded though, HR talking about how they have 90% of a title-winning squad who could also compete for the CL as well in today's papers for example...

I'm going to disagree with you there, imagine the press fawning over Saggy Chops if he actually won them anything. I'd probably leave the country.

I'm sort of rooting for them to break up the elite Premiership clubs a bit, it's gotten far too monotonous up in the Top 4 and hopefully Man City will be able to dislodge perennial underachievers like Arsenal or Liverpool.

Get a job Stu.

The outcome of this trial is f*cking disgusting. While manslaughter charges may have been a bit harsh, the guy just gets away scott free? He pushed the bloke over for no apparent reason, as well as tonking him with his baton (this is The Lounge, I realise the innuendo in that part of the sentence...) and triggered his death. If it was the other way round, a newspaper seller pushes a policeman, the newspaper seller would've been locked up by now and facing manslaughter charges. The way this country works sometimes just f*cking sickens me.

Failed to impress on trial at Charlton over 2 weeks, not sure he'd be up to scratch here if he can't get a contract there.

To the tune of Elvis Presley - It's Now or Never Adam Lallana On the left or right He's got the tekkers To make League One look sh1te Tomorrow will be too late Please score a hat-trick And i'll be your mate... (I wrote this, and I much prefer Viva Lallana!)

Depends - did you wear a condom?

Only had two real jobs, Sales Assistant at Boots and Telemarketing, which i'm doing at the moment. Both are pretty sh1t.

Also, how f*cking fat was Farnborough's No.24? He made Stern John look like Kate Moss!

I think what John B meant by 'putting himself about' is, "tripping an opposition player, then falling on top of him and dislocating his shoulder".

Greatest hope for this season?- Champions Biggest fear?- Losing a key player like RL Most important player?- Rickie, Lallana, Fonte or Schneiderlin Terrace favourite?- Got to be Rickie Keep an eye out for...- Oxo Player you'd happily drive to his next club?- It starts with Pu and ends with Lis.. One change you'd make at your club?- CORTESE OUT FFS! (Only kidding!) Have we got the right manager?- 100% What advice would you give him?- Think of the fans when you're setting out a team for a 0-0 draw with Hartlepool on a soggy Tuesday evening. Which team do you most want to beat this season?- Got to be Pimpley Opposition player you despise?- Michael Brown Opposition player you secretly admire?- Kanu (Can't fault his record) Where will we finish?- 1st-3rd

Here's the promised match report.. We were made to work for the win, I went to the game expecting a 2-0 or 3-0 judging by the strength of the squad, but Farnborough were very good for the entire 90 minutes and it was certainly not the dominant win that was forecasted. We looked a bit suspect in midfield, the majority of our posession went straight from either GK or DF straight to the strikers, and it wasn't very effective at all. We didn't keep the ball either, Farnborough had a lot of posession and moved the ball around well, and caught us on the break a fair few times. It's not unfair to say that our strikers were completely marked out of the game, although they did have very little service, but Connolly and Barnard showed signs of a good understanding with some nice flick-ons and one-twos being played. I think a fair result would've included at least one Farnborough goal, as they did pose quite a threat going forward, and Dean McDonald in particular was very threatening and turned our CBs inside out a couple of times. If the quality of finishing had been better overall, I think it would've been a 2-2, but seeing as it's pre-season, i'll let them off for the lack of goals! On with the player ratings; Bialkowski 8 - Very solid in goal, some very good takes from corners and made a few good saves before being subbed at half time. Hope he signs a new contract as he could be a good long term replacement for Kelvin. Butterfield 6 - Didn't see much of the ball, but his marking was good although he did get beaten for pace a few times, something we might have to get used to. Mills 5 - Seemed to be the main playmaker in the first half, although his distribution wasn't great and defending was a bit suspect at times too. Faded when moved to midfield in 2nd half. Martin 6 - Solid at the back, good communication and bossed the players about getting them organised for set-pieces etc. Looks a good prospect. Seabourne 5 - Squeaky buttocks whenever the ball went near him, as his passing was awful and got us into trouble a few times. Pass it off as pre-season rust, but must do a lot better if he wants to be playing first team football this season. McGlashan (Trialist) 6 - Made some good runs and showed his pace, although he was under-used as a creative option when he was quite often in space. Took a crack in the shins from the goalie and went off, but he looked good overall. Holmes 5 - I'm a fan of Lee, but he didn't make any more fans tonight. He dived quite a few times (which prompted some synchronised miming from some FFC fans!) and had a couple of opportunities to shoot but tried to over-complicate things. Must do better! Pulis 4 - Looked completely bemused, i'm not sure he realises he's meant to be a footballer! Went off injured with what looked like a dislocated shoulder, so could be out for a while and may be a good excuse to cancel his contract. McNish 6 - Worked hard but it never really paid off for him. Reckon he could pop up around the first team this season as Pards seemed to be pleased with his performance. Connolly 6 - Anonymous for most of the game, save for a few good moves. Looked quite unfit I thought, or perhaps just tired. Either way, he was pretty static all game, should've been subbed earlier imo. Barnard 8 - He was like herpes, he was bloody everywhere! Never stopped working and took his goal very well, and it was deserved too. Looking forward to seeing him bang them in for us this season! SUBS Forecast 5 - Credit to the guy, he did make one very good save, but apart from that he was dire imo. Very shaky at dealing with crosses/corners, and almost lost the ball by trying to beat an oncoming striker with the ball. Racine 5 - Didn't see much of the ball, and was played out of position at CM, but he did okay. One for the future. Reeves 6 - Looked good at LB, coped better than Mills did with their right winger and looked good going forward. If we didn't already have 3 senior LBs in the first team, i'd put him on the bench a couple of times before Christmas and loan him out for experience. Argent - Not enough time to make an impact Doble - Not enough time to make an impact Tafazoli 6 - Solid at CB, very tall and imposing and won some good headers. Looked comfortable alongside Martin, potential future CB pairing? Needs to go on loan for experience imo. Holder-Spooner 6 - Looked promising, very energetic and quick. Played out on the wing but looked more comfortable playing centrally. Another one for a loan spell/a few cameo sub appearances. Farnborough honourable mentions go to Dean McDonald (who's just about to sign for Swansea), their No.7 (we could do worse for cover at CM) and their No.11 (Fast winger who beat his man a few times). Not too sure about the names for the last two, but i'm sure you'll be able to find them somewhere. Farnborough also had young Daryl McLean on trial, I didn't know we'd released him and only found out when I got chatting to his Dad whilst queueing for a HT snack! Apparently he's had interest from some league clubs and is training with Farnborough for fitness "until something better comes along". Good luck to the lad though, always thought he looked like a good player when I saw him and i'm sure we'll regret letting him go one day! I'm signing off for the evening now to get some well-earned rest, so goodnight everyone!

Oh, I see. Didn't read the OP! Sorry...

The Damned United Bloody Billy Bremner. 7/10

Signing for Blackpool tomorrow for £1m.

Rumours circulating that Wayne Thomas may be offered a 1 year deal here by AP as cover for CB/RB. Can't believe that's true myself, unless WT is having a hard time finding a club, as we all know that he needs the regular income to provide care for his severely disabled son.

Two Door Cinema Club's album is brilliant, the hype is well deserved. Today has been a day of commuting, so i've had some old school Biffy Clyro (Scary Mary era), old school Phoenix [unitled era), old school Rammstein (Herzeleid era) and old school RHCP (Mother's Milk era) on my iPod on the trains today. It's been rather bloody brilliant.

+1 Went into one of the portaloos this year and somebody had diahorrea'd literally all over the entire place. The seat was completely brown, it was dripping down onto the floor and there were sh1tty handsmears on the inside of the door and the sides. Stank to high heaven. Needless to say, I chose to go to the long drops instead!

I thought Bostock was deemed to have done quite well at Brentford - he scored a couple on his debut IIRC? We could do worse on loan, good cover for CM/ST if nothing.