positivepete

Yes, it depends on what their definition of electronic is. I suspect it could be an app, especially if they have to hold your vaccination record as well. a quote from The Times this morning ... “Some Premier League clubs are already in talks about combining such a digital passport with electronic tickets, which would have the added benefit of eliminating ticket touts.”

Good letter “Whitey”. it will be interesting to see how other fans in that area react. I am not sure of the numbers who have held tickets continuously since The Dell, but it must be down to a few thousand now scattered across the stadium. As you say, friendship groups built up over that time will inevitably be spilt up now. The ticket office has has its ups and downs over the years, but the communication of this must rank as one of the low points, with massive unintended consequences for the supporters involved. So much for the dying remnants of the “family club”. No doubt the club will March On.

Regarding the “league 1” loyalty. This was promised in the past and nothing came of it. regarding the “screenshot” yes, that did occur to me, but one day they will start to check the tickets. Frankly, we should not be vaccinating children for this virus, and if anyone isn’t vaccinated, the EPL are suggesting adding virus checks to the app. Down this road lies madness.

I had been a season ticket since the last few seasons at The Dell. After many years in block 31 - I moved there with my son when the Kingsland Corner was shut back in the day - I didn’t renew this season just finished for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was pretty obvious at the time that we would not get to see many games, and secondly, because they introduced the electronic ticket. For me this presented a big problem that the club were unwilling to discuss. I normally miss a number of matches each season because of international business travel. My granddaughter had replaced my son as my matchday companion, and when I am away a family member, or a friend takes my place. Of course this becomes virtually impossible if the ticket is on your phone, unless you buy a phone for that purpose. Today, we see the situation is compounded by the news that the Premier League want to add your vaccine status to your ticket to ensure full grounds, and to reduce ticket touts (not a big problem at Saints). Having watched my first match way back in 1966, I suspect that now I have seen my last match. Although I work in the digital data interoperability space for industrial data, the creeping use of linking personal data is going too far for me. There is no justification for linking your vaccine status to your season ticket status. I will greatly miss all the friendships I made over the years in Block 31. Perhaps we should start a “survivors group”.

Spot on, Shroppie. it’s been a while since we have had a match thread this long. It is what it is. We are not a bad side and we will recover. Well done to all those punters who put a bet on Dean awarding a penalty. Seeing the odds, I would imagine a few of you regular punters came out ahead last night,

My impression at the time was that Mason signalled the ball had hit the players chest, so he wasn’t minded to give the decision. If he had given the decision for a penalty, I doubt it would have been overturned by VAR given the evidence we saw, as there was no clear and obvious mistake. The off side declsion was a bit like the Bamford decision. The players body is onside except for the arm pointing to where the player wanted the ball played. I would have thought that type of “action” will be clarified as the player is not looking to gain an advantage. In last nights case, I think that even if the assistant did not flag, the “goal” would still have been ruled out under review.

It was an oddity that with his record of coaching successfully in Europe he wasn’t appointed to more prestigious jobs in England when he returned. Managing Benfica is no simple task. He was certainly an important figure in our history. Thanks John.

I was a glory hunter. Saints first ever top tier match Southampton vs Manchester City 20th August 1966. We had both been promoted.

Not aimed at MLG, Please fill in the form at the end of the regulation document that you can find on the following link, and it will tell you how many points Pelle would get now https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/policies/player-registration/points-based-system The Chinese league is a tier 5 league, so not many points there. His last appearance for Italy was some time ago, so he loses out there. a good exercise for you pundits who want to see if we should sign someone. Big Sam said yesterday he had given three targets to WBA, none of them made the required points.

One of the key points in that article is the discussion on related (feeder) clubs in Europe. The new FA rules for work permits mean that signing players under 18 is not allowed, and signing players from small teams in overseas lower leagues, or from teams facing relegation in the higher divisions will be difficult as they will not get the required points. A number of clubs are now looking at European clubs to park players at that they find through good scouting. however, the post above regarding Croker’s comments shows that at least we recognised the issue of the academy.

Under the new rules it is unlikely that any EPL club will sign players from the Chinese League. As Pelle has not played for Italy for a while, he is unlikely to get the required number of points. there is an appeal system, so maybe an appeal based on his previous appearances for us might hold, but in any case, I am not sure he would fit in these days. https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/policies/player-registration/points-based-system

Not sure anyone has beaten them easily this season. Most of their defeats have been by a single goal. They obviously lack a bit of confidence, but they will match our work rate. A win is a win, and if it is by a single goal that comes from a deflection, take it and move on. If we want to be in the top seven or eight this season, we need to win when not playing well, like we managed on Monday.

Interesting to see other teams now looking to try and counter our formation and the movement of the front four. We have taken 64 points from the last 38 games. For context, that is two more points than Leicester got last season finishing fifth, and would have seen us in the top 7 all of the last three seasons. So we can’t be doing much wrong. It is up to the other teams to stop us.

Get a grip. Firstly, the article says the player is asymptomatic. Secondly, a fit athlete of the age range of the current footballing squad at Southampton is highly unlikely to suffer any serious reaction to COVID-19. The overwhelming majority of people suffering bad symptoms either have underlying health conditions or are severely obese.

Slattery was well ahead of his peers at 15, 16 but he was also physically stronger than his peers at an early age. Often, when moving into mixed age groups these players struggle because they can’t rely on their physical attributes. This may, or may not be the case with Slattery. This interesting contrast is Smallbone. He was physically less dominant than Slattery, and as he was rotated around various midfield positions in the U23’s you saw his technical attributes come to the fore. No doubt Smallbone will be on the weights over the next 12 months, and you will see his shape change. Hojberg was the same. His shape changed dramatically after the first 12 months, and during that period he lost some of his touch and balance, most of which he regained after the programme goal was reached and his regime changed.

Good luck, Dan. Big shoes to step into. Carl Anka provided the best Saints coverage anywhere last season, and he clearly had the respect of Ralph.

One of the benefits of the lockdown has been the new style press conferences. Carl Anka has been a breath of fresh air with his questions, and Ralph clearly looks forward to answering the points he raises.

We often play Brentford “behind closed doors”

Billing at Bournemouth has potential. Looked decent at Huddersfield. Difficult to call when he been in two teams who have not played well in consecutive seasons, but he could help us in that area for the right price.

He was called the Cornish Maldini in an interview today

Only team to have a player as the top scorer in the top flight and still get relegated. Channon 21 goals season 1973/74

Unfortunately, despite the officials knowing it was a joke, there was no other course of action they could take once he claimed it was a head injury. They would be on a hiding to nothing if he did have one and they ignored it. That said, no one, including the officials thought that it was anything other than “he didn’t fancy it”. Be surprised if he lines up at Wembley next week.

Interesting chat about the handball. A few days after the previous game, the PGMOL ruled that the Alderweireld handball should have resulted in a penalty when reviewed by VAR.

I wouldn't have guessed the three that he chose. Nice to see other players getting recognition. Jose did also name and praise Stevens and Bednarek. (Not necessarily a clue). A lot of Jose’s antics are to deflect attention to allow him to avoid publicly blaming players for a poor performance, and too many of them were made to look poor yesterday. They did not look like a “team”, just as we didn’t until that second international break. The fact that we look like a team and look like we care is a Damascusian type conversion.

Nor Will Smallbone. 2-1 up last I looked