Whitey Grandad

It's a suburb of Sheffield where they used to make a lot of steel. When you used to drive up the M1 there was a big Sheffield steelworks on the left (now Meadowhall) and Rotherham was on the right and there used to be a big yellow sulphorous fog over both of them so you had to hold your nose as you were driving past. The coal mines have now closed as well so the place is a lot cleaner but there's no work. They're decent people who support a club with no stadium and no money but after our recent past I can't really sympathise with them. To be honest, I hope that Luton get through and that we have a big gate because I think that they need the money even more than Rotherham.

Not at all, that's what I was trying to say. What I meant was that there is not much point spending a lot of money this season because of the 10 point deduction. I am quite prepared to leave this management business in the hands of the very capable professionals that we now have in charge. I look forward with enthusiasm to our transfer dealings in the summer and if by some outragious good fortune we get promoted this year I shall be delighted, but I don't expect it and I shall not think it an underachievement if we don't. AP is a very good manager and we are privileged to have him in command.

Does that come from living in Rotherham? (Ooh, I can't believe I said that.) :smt107

The rumour I heard was that Markus had put £50m into a trust fund for the club. If true, that should see us safely through the next few seasons. These things take time to turn round and with the 10 points it probably wouldn't make any difference if we spent all of that this season.

Interesting that you should say that. I was surprised to see this morning that the Mail's pools forecast has next Saturday down as a home win. The Times has us down for a draw. Walsall's record: WSWWW, Saints: WWSWW. And there was I thinking we were going to walk this league!

Doing the Treble? I like the sound of that!

We are doing better - better than we were at the start of the season, and it's difficult to see how we could be doing much better than we are at the moment. If you are referring to our league position, then there's a very good reason for that ...

It depends where you sit. If you have to keep getting up and down 10 minutes before the end of the game and people keep squeezing past you it can be irritating. Other than that, it's not a problem, although I suspect that if the players see droves leaving before the end it may reduce their motivation.

Winning becomes a habit. Having said that, there must be zero chance of us winning the cup this year so it's just a matter of when we get knocked out. Still, we can have a lot of fun along the way.

I can understand 'where you're coming from'. I don't even try to get something to eat or drink at half-time because of the long queues, and I have never left a game until the final whistle, but I'll let you off, Boss Hogg.

Man U away. Not because I think we have any chance of winning, and I have been to Old Trafford many times during which we have only ever come back with one point, but because I'm sure that any money generated within the club's footballing activities will be re-invested in new players. Failing that, any Premiership team at St. Mary's.

I gave up on the website years ago. You can't buy two seats together, it's always too busy to deal with you. I bought my seat at the counter this morning but they only had one window open. I'm fairly sure that your own seat will not have been sold before Monday so you have probably bought a spare one.

The vast majority of the population lives in the south east, so it would be better to look at a demographic map rather than a geographic one.

But that was where the skill came into it. It was more of a golf shot than a football one, just the right amount of side on it so that it curled just inside the post.

I parked just outside the ground the last time we played them and it took me ages to get out of the car park. For away games I always try to get to the ground early, then drive the way I would be going after the game and after a mile park somewhere on the left. After the game it's only a 20 minute walk, the traffic's thinned out and then you're on your way. If I remember correctly, the Northampton ground is out of town and near the main road junction so my usual plan is not so easy.

Thanks for that. We are at 7:17.

Is that half-full or half-empty?

In which case there would be a public outcry. Bristol is hardly 'The South'.

Thanks for the link. According to the wording on the FA site, it does not matter if he is eligible to play on Saturday or not.

I wouldn't read anything too deep into this. It's easy to give permission for him to play knowing that he will be suspended.

Thanks for the pictures TB. It helps to give some idea of what it was like up there.

For him to have been eligible to play on Saturday, Saints would need to receive written permission from his club by 12:00 on Friday.Perhaps they could give this permission knowing that he would be banned anyway? I can't find anything about the yellow card disciplinary procedure and when that takes effect however.

You're right. I was referring to the case where another player follows-up legally and scores the goal, because the same player cannot touch the ball twice without somebody else touching it in between. Encroachment does not necessarily mean a re-take. If an attacking player encroaches and the penalty is not scored then the game should continue. If a defending player encroaches then there should only be a re-take if the penalty is not scored. If players from both sides encroach then the penalty should always be re-taken. This very rarely happens.

At least we're consistent.

Wasn't Wotton doubtful after a knock in training?