Winnersaint

Billy Davies

39 points 13th place. been objective and got; 14th West Ham36 15th Norwich 35 16th Reading 34 17th Villa 34 18th Fulham 33 19th QPR 32 20th Wigan 31

Possibly one of my most bad tempered moments at home when I was younger was when Saints got stuffed by Watford 7-1. I was probably in my early 20's. Life moves on. I'd still be mighty peeved if anyone stuffed us 7-1 now but it would be greeted with resigned acceptance of that is how things are, rather than an opportunity to rant on an Internet Forum. There are times when I am convinced that the web brings out the worst in people particularly those who know no different because they have grown up with it

As I posted somewhere else on her I did the BBC predictor last week and had us in the RZ for most of Feb and into March before coming good. To those who are unsure whether we will go down or stay up, it was always going to be thus. People are entitled to their opinions but I just don't get the angst and negativity.

OK DW I agree with everything Huffton says. I won't be able to join you but started toying with route planning through my Garmin Connect account. You maybe underestimating distances. Obviously the A33 and A30 pretty much follow the M3 north-eastwards, but it starts to get a little messy as you head beyond Hartley Wintney. This is clearly because at some stage you will have to head northwards to skirt the western side of London Getting to the Chalfonts fairly directly on a route which will keep riders as safe as possible is 72 miles. I'll admit to a tiny little detour around Finchampstead up a climb I regularly do called Dell Road (for its Saints significance) but your estimate of 90 miles to Royston looks to be on the generous side. With this route I've attempted to keep travelling north-east, running wherever possible parallel to motorways without too much deviation i.e the M3, M25 and A1(M) before crossing the latter and heading to Royston running roughly parallel to the A10. I don't know what the roads are like as such but just using these principles it will be in excess of 120 miles from Southampton to Royston. 30% longer than estimated. Just looked at route on a small scale map and the route devised pretty much does not deviate from a north easterly direction which is basically the straight line direction from Southampton to Royston. Wish I could share this route with you, but not paying a fiver to be a full member. Any ideas? I've put it on MapMyRide.

I did the BBC predictor and had us in the bottom three from around now pretty much into March and then finishing more strongly. Key games are Wigan away and QPR at home. I am normally an optimist but can't see us getting anything against City or at Newcastle. I felt for a while that the six game stretch starting with Everton would make or break the season. Potentially we could lose 5 out of the six epecially if QPR's new players are bedded in and they are resurgent by the time we play them.

Agreed. get rid of that persistent Barry Sanchez c u n t and while we're on about it get someone to sort out that idiot in Austria. Seriously this is an open forum they are entitled to their opinion however disagreeable they are.

**** off you ill mannered troll

Couldn't agree more

The whole thing leaves a bad taste, including that interview. Cynical manipulation on LA's part, but hey what a surprise, it's not like he's done it before.

Maybe it'll go something like this! 1 Have the past few months been crazy, emotional, frightening and full of lots of scandalous – truly scandalous – lies that sadly you can't talk about right now for legal reasons? 2 Would you like to see an uplifting montage of slow-motion footage of you looking triumphant and sad, soundtracked by Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes? 3 If you feel the need to cry, or even make your voice wobble a little like you're going to cry but instead fight back those tears and take a breath and keep right on with what you were saying because dammit you're better than this and you owe it to not just the world but to yourself to tell this story then do you think, Lance, that you might be best just giving in to it? 4 Do you by any chance have a folksy anecdote about something your father said to you when you were a very small boy, perhaps while sitting on a porch or playing catch in the back yard? You do? 5 Would you like to talk for quite a long time about what Being An American means to you? 6 Is there a sense that perhaps a lot of people have always been jealous of your success? That maybe there was and remains a lot of jealousy out there, a lot of European jealousy, a British press-led European conspiracy of jealousy? Do you think, Lance, that might be a possibility? I'm just putting it out there. 7 Looking back, how badly did the death of your dog when you were seven years old affect you? Looking at this picture of your dog can you feel the tears welling up, the anger coming out? Can you feel the tears for your dog? Would you like to reach out and pat the dog? Pat the dog, Lance. Cry. Cry and pat the dog. 8 Do you by any chance have plans for a nationwide tour of schools speaking about the dangers of caring too much, falling foul of the temptations of others, being at the wrong end of a vast sporting witch-hunt and basically not learning to love yourself enough? 9 How about a new book too? Possibly something in big type with lots of pictures called Lance: My Longest Journey or Lance: A New Hope or perhaps just Lance: I Suffered For Your Sins? 10 Shall we hug now?

May I suggest as an accompaniment 'Lanced - The Shaming of Lance Armstrong' a selection of articles by David Walsh et al. Very similar to what you are reading. Also got Secret Race on the go too. At the time, like most people I wanted to buy in to the Armstrong miracle but watching the tour from 96 onwards was like watching a freak show. How Bjarne Riis is allowed anywhere near a cycling team is beyond belief. Ditto Johan Bruyneel. As far as I am aware Carlos Sastre's TdF win has not been called into question probably because he was never brilliant enough to standout enough to be labelled a doper and he does seem to have a reputation as riding clean. The issue I have with cycling is people's attitude to the obvious cheating that has gone on. Like it doesn't happen in athletics (Marion Jones, Ben Johnson) or swimming (Michelle Smith) all in a similar era, and don't even get me started about simulation on the football pitch or doping in the NFL. It is as if cycling is the fall guy for all the evils in sport with regards to cheating. I do not deny it has existed and may still exist at a variety of levels within the sport and I accept that the Armstrong thing is the equivalent of finding out that Brazil won all their World Cups by foul means but a sense of perspective needs to be found Part of me hopes that LA will reveal all, but I suspect a highly scripted confession designed to limit the personal damage to him will be all we get..... I so wanted to believe! The reason he generally is not talked about as doping apart from links etc is asEffectively his career path seems logical and possible without doping. . I dont know how that might have come about as his best years were before my time, but I doubt that such a reputation was based on hard evidence or facts. .

kok

Now that is a strange pub. Saw a right couple of mongs having fags outside at lunchtime today when driving past. Kind of redefined the term inbreds. I could be rude about Whitley but I won't because in the past it's been very good to me! FWIW thought we were good all round. Agree with those who have hinted a mid-table solidity rather than relegation haunted. Team/squad is learning the lessons of the early season reversals.

Pulis - Skate *****!!

Funny how very little of this argumentative sheeite went on last year. Not got anything against Delldays he's entitled to his opinion, as is that idiot in Austria, who's yet to post his special brand of doom and gloom. Can't you go on you submarine for couple of months DD and spare us the unrelenting negativity?

Perhaps Sir Bradley and Sir Chris (Hoy) can have a joust on bikes!

Vouchers for local bike shop, Amazon gift certificate - so got a couple of books for the Kindle.

If my wife hadn't bought me a Mega Drive for my 37th birthday the whole world of games would be totally alien to me. I loved the Sonic Games, played them for hours, along with the early FIFA games and PGA Tour and European Tour Golf . Fell out of love with it on purchase of first computer and spent hours playing F1, Warcraft 2 etc. Even with Interweb I have steadfastly refused to play online anything. Too old too slow. Play Pro Cycling Manager 2012 on PC and have a PS3. need to finish Assassins Creed III. BTW rate Uncharted series as my favourite games of all time!

Good stuff Doc. As far as riding in the forest is concerned I remember wrestling my 5 speed Campag Claude Butler up Blissford Hill when I was in my teens. Lots of mates from school lived in Godshill, Stuckton and Frogham so been up and down it a good few times. My advice is ask Santa for a turbo trainer. Around £100 - £150 will get you something perfectly good. Been using mine since middle of September. All you need is an old tyre that you're not to fussed about trashing to go on the back. Got a good training programme if anyone is interested.Good news is that I got my pride and joy back on Tuesday. Now it's a nice looking bike anyway but with Ksyrium Elite S wheels and yellow Jagwire cables to match the Flandrien flag which is all over the frame it looks so good I could almost eat it. Don't want to enter any events yet as i need to find out what shoulder specialist says but looking at Chiltern Dipper in April, the Jurassic Beast in May and the Action Research Chiltern 100 in June. That hopefully will be my first 100 miler.

Do the fat and ugly fans shame the club in the same way when they're seen on MOTD.

Still improving thanks. Got to see a shoulder specialist though to see if I have to have surgery. Take the riding really easy when you start up again. Good luck.

A colleague of mine until recently is a qualified ref in the Bracknell area. He's registered blind!!!!

Was there at Wembley at 4:33 on May 1st !976. I was also there at the CWC Quarter Final v Anderlecht having hitched from Worcester in the afternoon. I was at Highbury to watch that ***** Heath put us out of the cup semi, and at the Dell a few days later when we stuffed them! Was also at the Dell when we stuffed Blackburn 5-1 when we next met them after Ossie's swansong. Bailey, dogs abuse throughout. Happy days. Been so many times since but those stand out.