Polaroid Saint

Oh, I dunno, there's every chance that we go this season without. I mean, what self-respecting Far East Asian Betting Syndicate 'Website' would want to be associated with us?

I'm on the North East all next week. Although Middlesbrough is not a destination, Sunderland and Newcastle, Stockton and Yarm will all be visited. I shall try to wear a saints shirt as often as possible and I expect I will be welcomed by most football fans from the region with a chuckle and a smile.

This season of "The Spygate Saga" has ended quite well. The plot twists, the nastiness, the cunning, the idiocy, the drama, and the fact that, despite the hype and Hollywood special effects, the dragons were eventually irrelevant: Better than the Game of Thrones finale, at least.

A few conflicting questions for us as a club to answer here. Q1: do we want to be seen, publicly by fans and wider world alike, to be 'sorting out shop' and to start afresh? A: yes = sack Tonda this week. Q2. Do we want this to drag out and end up with an externally imposed decision? A:, no = Sack Tonda now. Q3. Do we want to keep a proven manager who wins, and attempt to mitigate reputational damage? Keep Tonda, new contract with caveats. Work hard on the PR. Revise in November . Depends on Q2. As does.. Q4. Do we want to actively embrace the chaos and, depending on Q2, actually try to keep bulk of side /squad/management in place - with a tacit acknowledgement that we got it wrong but will hopefully 'be better' in future? Keep Tonda, and (hopefully, in a perfect world) walk the League as (formally cheating) bastards everyone else hates? Is our goal +as a club+ upwards progression (promotion, stability, win something) or maintaining a good reputation (but with potentially years of struggle). No idea what I personally want.... ... I kinda think 'fuck em'. Just not sure who 'they' are.

It sorta feels like a straight red for a headbutt, when the other player has gone down clutching his face and rolling around in 'agony', while the opposing team gather round the ref and aggressive demand a sending off... ...only for the replay to show that it was something of nothing and they barely touched eyebrows. Hopefully we will see some kinda of equivalent review and rescinding of this 'straight red' at some point.

Please forgive me; I do not take the very real financial, logistical and emotional impact on fellow Saints fans who have booked and planned for Saturday lightly. That's a shit-show and it's on the club and the EFL and the 'independent' panel - truly, it's crap and I feel for you. However, I'm not that pissed off about missing out on the chance of promotion this season. 3 months ago, it was unlikely and we all would have settled for another year in the Championship. Even minus 4 points. The biggest issue with that reality, now, is how we can possible keep not only the squad together but also keep this weird leftfield gem of a manager in Tonda. I suspect FIFA/FA ban incoming and we lose him too. Which is galling. I suspect some may think less of me, but I don't think what we have admitted to doing is really all that bad. But hey ho, people just as unqualified as me have made their decision and several hundred million pound difference between supposedly equal clubs is the (potential) result. If nothing changes between now and Saturday I can only hope Hull win. We have shifted from imocouus club people kinda like, to a club with a bit of a stink, but also, maybe, a bit of a sting?

6 points and £7m is clearly acceptable to the club as an operational loss... ...Same as playing Bazunu for half a season and a Damien Downs transfer.

Oh right. Yeah. Erm. Yeah 72hrs. Golf course. Cool.

Gatepost, surely?

I have nothing to say. So I'll say nothing here. Fa fa fa la la. Football is mental. I love it. Love you idiots. Love Saints.

My gawd. This is what Football ™️©️ is all about really. Isn't it? I feel a bit silly, sick to my stomach, got palpitations and slightly giddy and over excited (and, no, it's not just the cider). Games like this don't come around too often. And although it's not a classic masterclass of football talent or skillful goals it is bloody exciting. I hope I am is upbeat I'm an hour or so. Come the fuck on Saints!

I've got commentary in German, accidently bought a case of 8.4% Vintage Cider and now a one-nil to fucking deal with. Saints (and me) never make it easy. Settle in, this is either going to be a classic or brutal.

I like my spices fruity, I like my lemons hot I like to hide in the bushes Spying on men in shorts and wot-not. I film it from the fairway and the green I film it from the Tee, Tomorrow I will kill again, This time in West Quay.

It will be fine. And possibly, at worst: It will be a fine. We (and Boro fans) are in a little bubble here. It adds a little bit of spice to the games this week for sure, but it will not 'run and run'. To compare this to the actual game, this is equivalent 'cheating' to the level of a 'talking to from the ref', not a 'yellow card' and certainly not a 'straight red'. Pfft. Stuff and nonsense.

It's too early for a statue. But, by jiggery, the boy's done good.

Middlesbrough vs Southampton - Saturday May 9, kick-off 12.30pm Southampton vs Middlesbrough - Tuesday May 12, 8pm

Bloody 'City' ending our unbeaten run again! Hurmph 😉 Seriously though, a more than decent showing today by everyone and should actually give us a boost for the run-in/playoffs. It's so genuinely amazing to be proud of our team again, (even when we lose).

He had "Caught The Sun" just like the two citeh fans earlier. My new favourite euphemism for getting day-time-drinking drunk

I didn't see 'tired' (of course they ARE but not beyond their level) but certainly not 'jaded' players out there, I saw a slightly less-than-our-best line-up play within themselves. The FA Cup Semi final at Wembley is four days away. Every professional footballer (and all us non professional ones) wants to play and play well at Wembley. In a game that matters. We know this. The players know this. The manager knows this. It will be a completely different side, mentally, on Saturday. This performance and result might serve to make our team even more determined to do something special (pt1). Would two more points tonight get us Automatic? I personally doubted it with the way other games and the table looked going into the game and I doubt it beyond Saturday too. Playoffs confirmed. Just keep Not Losing and we will be at Wembley three times. Winning the last two games is the magic, drawing tonight is fine.

Saints must aim to remain unbeaten for eight more games this season. None of those actually need to be a proper "win in normal time". Such is football.

Indeed it just has!

Stick Romeu on for Manning. I don't care it's not his position or his pace as gone. Let's see how 'fearless' that Dowman lad really is. 😉

Hopefully Wrecsam are mentally and physically drained by this (and not emboldened). Tricky to tell. Good game to watch for a 'neutral'... ...I'm generally on board with the Wrexham 'project', for all the Hollywood glamour and the TV show, it appears to be a rare case of owners who actually care about the club, history and - most importantly - the community. I don't get the hate. Surely that's what every club wants? Having said that, they our direct rivals right now; so hope they are knackered and depressed by this result. Grrr.

I enjoyed that almost (almost) as much as the goals. Love a diving header from a goalie outside the box at the attackers feet.

As long as we appoint a manager with a good C(R-)V, the first few games could be a Prelude to future success. If they can then put across their preferred Type (R) of football to the first team with Clarity we might just get a Hybrid of Elegance, attractive Pass(port)ing and a Rig(id back) Line. But, as we know, with Sport Republic's HR(-V) it could b e:Ny1.