ant

Love Olaf's, and their beer selection is indeed fantastic. I run The Butcher's Hook in Bitterne Triangle, and we may be a good shout for your needs? Don't tend to be able to run as many casks as Olaf's, but there's still 3 beautifully-kept options on at weekends. Local and national picks, and always top-drawer stuff. Rob and Maz won't mind me saying it (as they've told me as much!) but our keg range tends to be more expansive/exciting than theirs, if you're not fussy about dispense type. Well-behaved minors always welcome, too. It's a decent option to park up this way if you want a quick getaway towards the motorways. If using public transport (or in possession of a designated driver) you've got The South Western & Junction en route if you want a small crawl to or from the stadium. Oh - and we're licensed for off-premises sales if you want anything draft or packaged to go. Current selection is updated daily: https://www.butchershookpub.com/menu/

Tap It is still operational but the taproom doesn't seem to open any more, strangely.

I don't think you could say that across the board. There was a mixed degree of understanding. The questions mostly did a decent job of levelling that out, IMO.

Something that struck me was how preemptively defensive they were with the disclaimers about how it was going to be run, why it wasn't live streamed, etc. Despite the visible shock of some of the panel (Henrik Kraft looked like a deer in headlights!) *somebody* at the club has their ear to the ground, at least. It felt a bit like a rebuttal of the criticisms in the early stages of this thread.

Must have been Rasmus. He was near enough the only person with anything to say about on-the-pitch issues. (Also, FFS - this forum always manages to tempt me to spend the fiver when we're shit...)

Beyond the recording (which I'm not even going to try to transcribe)... Spoke to Martin Semmens afterwards and asked him whether they've considered staff at the lower rungs, RE: relegation. He seems reasonably confident that there wouldn't be job losses on the previous scale should we go down, due to SR's backing. Then talked to Adam Blackmore outside - firstly for Solent, and then off the record. He has zero faith that the board will actually sort things out...Take what you will from that. But IMO he'll have seen plenty that we're not privvy to. Adam also doesn't believe his access to the club is being cut off. And cryptically said that whilst some within the club don't like what he's saying, others do.

Bloody hell, that's quicker than I could get over here to post it. And it's my file! Appreciative 'likes' on this post, please. 😛

Think this may be my 3rd post in 24 hours, but we've got word that bags, laptops etc. will be allowed in the room. Failing all I'll either try to take some notes on my phone or scribble down as much as I remember afterwards.

We've pulled together a fair chunk of the attendees via Twitter, and have a group chat on the go. If you've been invited tonight and use Twitter, give me a shout (@antonydjames) and we'll get you involved. Better that we're coordinated if we need to take 'alternative' tactics to get a message across.

Put it this way: if they think they're only going to be fielding the pre-vetted questions, they're in for a bit of a shock.

Invite received.

Has anybody from here received an invite? Surely they're not waiting until tomorrow or Tuesday to confirm who's going? Must be a thorough vetting process. 😏

Nothing says 'confidence in the manager' like hiding them away. Though let's be honest - it's odds-on he would lamp somebody.

If Jones can get the players playing, he has no real need to court us. My concern remains that tonight was a flash in the pan, and that he's ultimately capable of neither. But hey - a forward step's a forward step.

It's not a load of wank at all; this is a valid route for clubs like us to sign players that would - through traditional scouting methods - be out of our league. Or already on the radars of bigger, richer clubs. The problem is we plainly don't have the aptitude or nous to correctly implement it.

Wasn't as bad as expected. But equally I'm not sure I've ever felt so dissociated from the club (and/or top-flight football) as I did during it. It's the sort of fluff you pull out the bag when 10 points clear at the head of the league. Not when you're struggling to string 3 passes together. Yet another indicator of how out of touch the decision-makers at the club are.

And he's united the fanbase! Unanimously against him, sure. But a win's a win at this point.

We've got a squad lacking in quality, grit and commitment to the cause, which has been further hamstrung by inadequate recruitment/staffing and unfocused, self-aggrandizing senior 'leadership'. Yet still some see fit to turn on their own...

Abject performance aside, if tonight wasn't the nadir of our support, I don't want to know how much lower it goes. I'll stand up for our yoof all the time they bring the atmosphere. Tonight? Silence in the stands - yet come half time they were giving it the big 'un in the concourse. Not least through bashing the divider to Block 43 (ooh, that'll spook them!) Somebody even let off a flare down there, FFS. Of course it was all phones in the air; got to record it for Instagram. 🙄 And once back out for the second half? Silence. I'm far from an old fart, but I'm bloody jealous of those of you that got to experience the 'proper' version of this.

Gonna be a good ebening for their fans.

There was a pigeon on the pitch during the Arsenal match - particularly noticeable during our goal. Some of their fans seemed to be going nuts about it, saying it had distracted Ramsdale. 🙄

We used to score goals of this ilk with impressive frequency circa 2014 to 2016. A very pleasant surprise.

Just look at our points tally and league position. We don't have the luxury of being picky about where our wins come from.

Yeah, they were 100% released in the 95/96 season - remember getting them for Christmas as a lad. Doing a cursory bit of research, the Souness one is regarded as rare (and worth a bit of dosh now).

Pretty disgusting, when you consider the amounts of money thrown at footballers per week - and the relatively small annual figures required to get all employees up to a Living Wage. It's not called the Living Wage without reason. And if employers aren't looking after their staff it's likely the taxpayer that's having to subsidise earnings. We talk a good game about being a community-focused club. Time to show it.