Whitey Grandad

Branfoot for me. Not just for the 'football' but for not playing Le Tiss and depriving us of what might have been. We nearly 'lost' the two goals against Newcastle and I remember Moody at Highbury when Le Tiss was sitting on the bench. On the other hand, so many season ticket holders had given up because of him that I was able to get two prime seats in the Upper East stand. I don't hate Wigley or many of the others, because it wasn't their fault that they were awful and I don't blame them for having a go.

It suited both clubs at the time. You can't hang on to a player when the 'big' clubs come knocking. It's something that we are just going to have to get used to, I'm afraid. We've done our fair share of poaching players from 'lower' clubs in our time.

Wasn't it 'Western Connection' ?

When it says 'is tipped to go marching on' I wonder who did the 'tipping'?

Thanks for that, it brought tears to my eyes. :smt022

The great Ivan Golac bought his house in Chandlers Ford at the same time as us so we lived in the same close as near-neighbours for many years. His daughters were a similar age to mine and one was in the the same class at school as she so we often had time for a chat. I remember once we were talking about a managerial vacancy at Saints and I expressed surprise that he hadn't applied. He said that he had sent in a letter of application but that the club had not even bothered to reply, which disgusted him. Who knows what might have happened with him in charge? We once talked about defending corners and he said that he liked to leave three players upfield because then the other team would have to put four defenders on them.

After an evening's refreshments at a certain hostelry in Romsey, Peter Shilton insisted on driving home in his shiny Mercedes despite the pleadings of the regulars who implored him to take a taxi. "Safest hands in the world, these, safest hands in the world" he repeated as his car key scatched all round the keyhole. (allegedly )

My memory is of him skinning Jap Staam at Old Trafford to score, and wining the ball back and crossing for MLT to get the equaliser at 3-3.

Great! Let's play nine games and if we're lucky we might win one of them.

Oh dear.

It's been pretty obvious from the performances on the pitch. They get physically tired in the last 20 minutes and that leads to mental tiredness and sloppy mistakes. It's easy to remedy but to leave it 27 games is criminal.

Thanks for the update. We'll be thinking of you Barry, when the lads run out next week.

...but maybe we are broke because we have been playing the youngsters? Who's going to pay to watch them lose?

I wouldn't really call two in a row a 'run'. Let's wait until we've won the next two.

Well done the lads, and all those that struggled up there to support them. It's a start and gets us back a little way to where we should be and will p!ss off those other teams around us. And our goal difference has improved! Now let's concentrate on the next game... ...then the one after that...

Is it just me or is Roopert coming out of this with his reputation enhanced? I see him in a whole new light. At least he has a future in pantomime when all this is over.

It's the wrong way of looking at it. We have to win the next game... and then the next... and then the next... and then the next...

That's not a bad team, but there's no point in playing the yoof now because they're not going to be sold in this window and the priority has to be staying in this division.

'Friends in need'. Now I've started doing it I can't stop.

It would be cheaper to find some clapped-out failed club that's on its last legs and buy it for tuppence just before it folded. Now if only we could find one....

Harsh on Quashie I thought, we could certainly do with his sort now. January transfers are rarely a success.

At last something to make me chuckle. There's something disturbing about the one in the wedding dress. I know one or two people who would...

I came to this conclusion some time ago. 'I feel so much better now that I have given up hope' Our only chance is to change manager but it's almost probably too late for that now.

The figures seem to me to be deliberately misleading. To talk about 'wages leapt from 45% to 81%' of turnover when they have actually risen by 15% disguises the fact that the turnover (income) has plummeted. If the attendances had been at the same level as the previous year then how would the figures look? There has been too much emphasis on cutting costs and not enough on maximising the income through winning games by having the best quality of players available. And as I understand things, 81% is not high in comparison with other clubs. Why the sudden surprise at 12.5% National Insurance employer's contributions? Every employer has to pay it. If the Great British Public knew what their gross salary was before all these deductions then they would see just how much income tax they were paying and we'd have rioting in the streets, and not before time too! (before somebody locks me up for inciting public unrest)