Micky

Agree with that part - we could get into Europe. But just because we are owned by billionairres means nothing whatsoever, nor does it mean we 'do what we want'. The root of all success is not to throw money at it. We are lucky at the moment because we do have wealthy backers who are willing to 'invest' in the club and try to make it a success. Being a success outside of the Premier league is a lot lot easier than being one in it. I would suggest that our billionairres will not be investing anywhere near the type of money that Man Citys are. A glib statement pointing to our backers (who may actually have us operating on budgest smaller than our competitors), followed by the big 'we are' is, as I said before, bollux.

I hope it's tongue in cheek, otherwise it's just total bollux.

This is very true. As an ex smoker I can totally sympathise with smokers, to them beer and fags go togeather. Smoker are the lepers of society, we have made them the social outcasts. Much of my work is in Germany - many hotels, pubs and even restaurants cater for smokers. I think that a total ban was somewhat draconian and unwarranted in may ways - and as you say has help extinquish many pubs.

Gents, I really could not agree more. My roots to the continent go back to the mid 70's, and even then you could drink until 4 in the morning if you so wished. This meant that you were not forced to get as many drinks down your neck as fast as you could before 11 oclock and closing time. Hence a much more relaxed atmosphere in which to socialise and enjoy the night. Unfortunately opening bars and clubs drinking hours really has only made the problem worse as far as I can see, and most city centres appear 'no go' areas on a Fri / Sat night. Personally, even as a young single bloke, I never really saw the need to 'drink til I puked', and that whole sort of outlook is lost on me. Frankly, I'm very happy that I learned my drinking habits in another country - ours are a disgrace.

Really interesting stuff. I hate to say it, but as somebody who works on the continent a lot of the time, brits 'drinking culture' and behaviour is pretty embarrasing.

I think that all you've managed to do there is highlight the very reason why very many people are happy to stay in the Championship. The reliance on massive amounts of money in the Premiership has totally alienated about 75% of the current incumbants. It is a league that is fast becoming nothing more than a joke - a two horse race which even a blind man can predict the outcome. Until some pretty significant 'field levelling' has taken place, (and not just for the benefit of Saints, but for the benefit of all teams and football in general) - then I am quite happy to sit with Alps and watch competative Championship matches.

As we lived out of the country for long periods of time, my kids had no real affinity to Saints, and consequenly my second son chose villa as his team when he was a kid and followed them. However he now lives in Southampton with his girlfriend and they are both STH's. Better late than never.

This. Could of probably doubled his wages while halving his workload - many would have taken the 'easy' option. Got loads of time and respect for a damn good pro - top bloke.

Planning for success is relatively easy, however the wise man, will also plan for failure. Football can very quickly turn around, City of all teams should know that. I'm very happy with our (compared to thiers) modest investment, compared to most others, state of the art facilities. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Simple really, once the stadium is downgraded to a bowl, the platoon becomes a spitoon and we all spit in the bowl...

25 years. http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16072807

..... Stephen Carr forgot he was 47....!!! My I larfed - mind you, he has been around a while 'aint he. Good read though - thanks.

So to sum up then, our following for fratton wil be made up of pansies, mincers, lads, chaps, geezers, chavs and a few hoolies thrown in as well. We is well 'ard. Any fans going?

And about time too, been looking all over for these - thanks.

If they had to test him to establish his alcohol level, I would argue that he was not in a fit state to be armed with a loaded SA80. All in all sounds a pretty tragic set of meaniless circumstances that led to a man losing his life - shocking.

Even if it wasn't you can bet your bottom dollar that all questions would have been vetted prior to going on air. There is far too much muck to rake over and the new owners will not want to put anything but a positive light on the club, so there is no way the questions would be 'open house'. Shouldn't really pre-judge the owners - it will be interesting to hear what they have to say. Hopefully we (and the Pompey fans) will actually find out what their intended plans for the club are. It appears to have been a very long time from taking charge to responding to the fans and the media in general - should be interesting.

Indeed, Englishman working abroad taking advantage of thier fantastic country. Unfortunately though, as I struggle with accents from Liverpool, Newcastle and the like - listening to some over here is like hearing a completely different language sometimes...! Being slightly illiterate as well, I struggle with words that have spelling that do not follow the normal rules of pronounciation. My wife likes the Irish name for Marie, which I believe starts with a V, or something like that - totally baffling to me.

Unless he personally comes off the bench and scores a hat trick he won't be getting my vote...!

Ethel.

Anyone for the next round: http://news.sky.com/home/article/16072164 Very sad, but again hard to be anything but on the side of the homeowner.

Would be happy with: Burnley v Southampton - win Cardiff v Southampton - draw Southampton v Watford - win Derby v Southampton - loss Southampton v West Ham - draw Reading v Southampton - draw Southampton v Middlesbrough - draw Followed up by 2 wins over Peterborough and Cov. Obviously would like to win them all, but the bubble will burst, form will dip and injuries could play a part. So long as we maintain good momentum, things can only look good. The acid test will come when we loose 2 or 3 games in a row - how will we react, what's our bouncebackability like?

TFFT I thought it was just me - god it's good to come out ain't it....!!!!

And your reservation would be totally warranted - even with LGTL's explanation, I still have no idea how to pronounce it. (knee ave / nee ve ?)

This. Good start, but caution advised.

Whatever floats your boat I guess - but as I said - it will come across as totally arrogant to opposing supporters and I can understand why. As I said, if it was Pompey or Brighton (or any other club actually for that matter) doing it we would be the first to start handing out the stick. But whatever, each to their own - when we've got 6 games left to play and are 10 points clear, I'll consider joining in with this one.