Whitey Grandad

It’s been an issue for decades now. Away teams in the second half attack a goal which has there own supporters behind it. That’s a big boost for them and is one of the reasons that we surrender leads. Which other grounds can we think of where the away fans are immediately behind one of the goals?

Another one of my bugbears. BBC nearly missed the second goal because they were too busy showing replays even though the game is going on. Why is another replay of something that we already know about more important than some that that may happen? It’s like reading an exciting book where you keep going back to read the previous page and then skipping the next.

I think it was the Itchen corner that has been suggested.

I have seen mention that the concourse in the Itchen makes it difficult to segregate the fans but I cannot believe that it would take a lot of money.

It was available but not needed. Its presence delayed the offside decision slightly.

I heard that it was the Police who insisted on the location of the away fans.

They are miked up these days anyway. No referee would ever not look at his assistant in such situations. He would never referee another game.

He was looking across to the referee. Then after a moment or two he raised his flag. He seemed unsure as to when he should raise his flag, I don’t think he had any doubt about the offside. There was then an anxious wait until the referee confirmed the decision. That’s iPhone of the problems with VAR.

That won’t have influenced the linesman. In the new world of VAR the offside protocol is a complete mess. It was a clear offside and it seemed to me that there was a short consultation between the referee and his assistant. It may be that the officials don’t normally operate under the VAR environment.

Wednesday at 19:45

It was only a few seconds but it always seems longer when your adrenaline is flowing.

It takes a long while for any promising player to adapt to the Premier League. This is true of lower league players as much as it is for those coming from foreign leagues. That’s why they tend to be brought into clubs like Saints rather than those in the top of our league. These clubs will wait until the talent has been proven and developed before splashing out the cash and paying a premium for doing so. Clubs like ours are the developing grounds for the big boys.

Wednesday 2nd March. Total idiocy.

Thanks for your views. I must say that I was impressed by your team.Whilst we were disjointed your lot were putting together some very slick moves. That succulent goal from Stuart Armstrong was something that you only see once every few seasons so there’s no disgrace in losing because of that.

Rats leaving a sinking shit.

What’s the point of bigger screens anyway? All they show are adverts and propaganda.

Nobody ever likes to admit that they were conned. On this matter my conscience is clear

There are times when words are not enough. You have no need to apologise for anything. My thoughts and respect are with you.

There is a throwaway comment in TheTimes this morning. ”Frank Lampard will lift Everton gloom but faces immediate test of his credentials” “Lampard may have ended as the unanimous choice of a tortuous process, but that is different to being first choice. Indeed, it is worth recapping why it has taken Everton two weeks to replace Rafa Benítez. The first choice was Roberto Martínez, a move which was instantly spiked by the Belgian FA’s understandable refusal to allow him to perform a job share in a World Cup year. Duncan Ferguson was supposed to be in caretaker charge for “upcoming games” which offered a chance to press his claims. That was abandoned after the 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa last Saturday despite the fact Ferguson was subsequently handed an interview at 24 hours’ notice. Lampard has asked Ferguson to remain on his staff. Portuguese coach Vítor Pereira then became the preferred option, with the proposed inclusion of a break clause in his contract that could be triggered at the end of the season effectively making him an interim appointment. This would give Everton the chance to regroup in the summer when a better array of candidates were available. Or at least ones they had a better chance of seducing once the season was over. Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhüttl was the main target.”

Oh good. So if we are ever invaded Poland or the Ukraine will come to our aid. Now I can sleep safely at night.

I meant in the sense of where the away fans are situated and to what extent having away fans behind the goal helps their team in the second half. I am not as familiar with the arrangements in other grounds as I once was.

It’s the bang-bang mentality. Things either work or they don’t. No room for Mr. Inbetween.

How does St. Mary’s compare with all the other grounds?

That’s been a bone of contention for a long time. When you consider that the usual convention between teams is that the away team attacks the end containing their own fans in the second half it should be no wonder that we tend to let in more goals in that period. It may also go part of the way to explaining our tendency to let leads slip.

But they weren’t shite until we signed them.