SaintBobby

Let alone Saints managers. How many managers of any club have amassed 100 points in their first 45 games?

Managed to avoid any of the trouble yesterday at SMS...went for the walkway and moved as fast as possible. Oddly, witnessed a scrap between a Millwall and Newscastle fan in the Encore pub afterwards. My favourite moment though was an otherwise very pleasant Saints fan who was regaling me with a story that began with the wonderful phrase "I'm not agrophobic about poofters, but...." I immediately said that he was very open-minded. As lots of people find large gatherings of gay people in open spaces hard to cope with. He was rather non-plussed...

I'm glad - for some reason I can't quite put my finger on - that my comment on the post-match thread that Cork was MOTM with an honourable mention for Seaborne seems to be agreed by many other fans according to the early results. Davis made some good saves, but there were some communication problems at the back. E.g. when he came charging out and didn't appear to tell the defence that it was his ball to clear and when Fonte cleared with an overhead kick when Kelvin could have put his name on it and collected.

Satisfied with that. We never truly clicked and had to soak up a lot of pressure in the 2nd half. But, fought hard for the win. Sometimes dropped too deep and invited Millwall on to us. Lallana was very average and I think we can only play really well when he is. 6.5/10 overall. Jack Cork MOTM with honourable mention for Seaborne.

Great news. He's real class and I feared we'd lose him. On a pedantic point, the OS says he's one of "only a handful" of players in the present squad who remain from our previous stint in the Championship. But I think there are seven such players...

I can nearly answer this for league games We finished last season with a record of W 13 D 1 L 1 Started this season with W 3 D 0 L 0 So for the last 18 games, we are W 16 D 1 L 1

There's no point. If you want new players, sign them in June. After that, there's no point. No point at all.

You're wrong. It would. It really would.

That video is a deliberate spoof, surely???? Please someone tell me that it's a spoof. Pretty please. Pretty, pretty please?????

This seems to me to be a very fair and accurate summary of the legal position. But not a remotely encouraging explanation of the technological issues. Yes, I appreciate that you have the legal right to convert this webspace to a Pompey site overnight, but I'd still think you were a total w@nker if you did. Having 500 people or so hitting F5 should not crash the site. It doesn't require much bandwith to deal with that. I think charging people £5 was a terrible mistake. It's a nominal sum. And I'd probably still pay it even if I could only access the site on Thursdays. You should have charged £20 or £50 if you really needed the cash to get this sorted. Or alternatively, nothing at all. A nominal cash fee gives people the right to complain but maybe not the resources to solve the problem. If you need £200 or £500 or £2,000 to solve the problem, please just say so and we can see if we can raise it.

I have to say I am amazed by how bad their attendance is. Genuinely amazed. Beyond the "only one team in Hampshire"/"they are a pub team" jibes, can anyone genuinely explain why their attendance is so pitiful?

What's happened to Fitz Hall?

I like Brighton. Always have. Okay, entertaining clash between Poyet and Adkins. But hardly something to get upset about. They are also a shining example of "back from the brink". Saved themselves - with deserved widespread football support - from the clutches of mercenary owners. Kept themselves alive while ground-hopping (no mean feat). Got the fanbase to lobby effectively for a decent new stadium (some candidates in local elections for the Seagulls Party getting majorly impressive %s). Sure, I wish we'd pipped them by two points last season rather than vice versa, but they are otherwise a team I want to do well. Also, the fact that they are South Coast is good news. The entirity of England south of Trafalagar Square has performed pathetically at football for the last 50-100 years. I'd like to see that changed.

I assume you all had 2-5 in the prediction league, as I did. If not, why not? :-) What a start. What a result. Proud to be a Saint...

Wish I could make this one. The Mrs is a closet Ipswich sympathiser. Play without fear - and good luck and godspeed to all who travel in our colours. COYR.

I'd have to be seriously skint to take the coach. Never have. Hope never will.

Lol.

For the free speech merchants... Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

Sorry, I shld have done smiley thing. Your £100 is 99% safe.

I think we can all agree that despite this win, we're not going to finish higher than 17th.

I think we run at an operating loss, but it's not obvious to me whether or how much this matters.

I'm excited by the progress made and the start to the season. Of course, we should aim for promotion, but I still have us finishign around 8th - 10th. Which wouldn't be too bad at all. A lot hinges on the next couple of rumoured signings. In: De Ridder, Cork and Fox Out: Chamberlain is not a bad transfer window so far. But there's a world of difference between us now spending an additional £7m or so and spending no more cash. The money's there - that's clear - but that doesn't always mean the deals gets done.

Yes. It's possible. But I'd say the odds are about right - 14/1 to win the league and about 4/1 to be promoted when I last checked. That's to say, about a 6% chance of winning the league and a 20% chance of promotion.

Are you still taking bets on Saints finishing 17th or lower? I'd like to place a wager that we finish 16th or higher. Name your stake.

I'm starting to become a real convert to Hammond. Midway through last season he was developing into a hate player for me. But had a very good run in and a very strong performance v Leeds. My family at the game said it was evident that he was actually a more proactive and involved captain v Leeds, but that was hard to gauge from the TV coverage on the otehr side of the Atlantic.