Graffito

Difficult to draw any firm conclusions as the new formation is a work in progress and this was after all a friendly. The formation provided defensive solidity, defensive lapses from Fonte being due probably to lack of concentration/poor judgement. It worked better when Saints played a higher line and got forward in support of Lambert. Playing deep and soaking up pressure will only work if we have more pace in the side to break on the counter attack. In any event we need to move the ball much quicker and for players to keep interchanging in midfield and upfront. It will take time to bed in.

Can't read that but I saw him with his kids last season two rows from the back of Block 34.

I think it suggests we do have clearance but the fee should be held by the SFA (a bit like an escrow account) until the uncertainty over oldco/newco is resolved.

Sell him or part exchange for someone better.

Good question. I assume it's something the club wanted from the player which it got in return for resolving uncertainty of Davis' situation.

Yes, probably some irregularity (uncertainty) in the way Davis ended his involvement with Rangers.

£800k just to get the job done? I don't think so. There must be another reason he's paid the money.

Tommy's there to fetch the ball when it gets booted in the lake. What a backdrop. Beats being fking stuck here.

Would take all of 5 minutes to learn that.

Agree. I always thought he represented our club well but this is all very unfortunate and quite why he's said it is a mystery.

If we sign him "Cody Cropper cops a whopper".

The quote below suggest that the third party is not the agent. It suggests that the third party claim is being made against Vitesse not against Saints: "Last Friday Vitesse came to an agreement with Southampton about the transfer of Alexander Büttner to the Premier League club. "Because Büttner himself also agreed on his personal conditions with Southampton FC, Vitesse was in the supposition that the transfer was a fact, with the proviso that Büttner would pass a medical examination. "However, in the course this weekend the player informed Vitesse via his agent that a third party had a supplementary demand towards the club. "Vitesse gave to understand to the player that it would not comply with that demand, since it was applied in retrospect and Vitesse will not be pressurised. "Vitesse is disappointed about the course of things, all the more because Vitesse negotiated with Southampton FC on the player's request. "Southampton FC has taken up an absolute correct position and is not to blame for the possible fall through of the transfer. Vitesse have also tried all possible to keep the set deal going."

Yes a bargain. For some reason I too thought the land was transferred at nil cost but evidently not though the cost of the land was low. As a rule of thumb you'd expect the land value to be closer to a third of total scheme costs. Perhaps it was heavily contaminated.

Outgoing: 20.4m construction 4.3m site and third party acquisitions 2.1m service diversions 1.8m planning and infrastructure 1.3m finance incl' construction period finance 29.9m total Incoming: 17m debt 5.0m sale of the Dell 3.6m Football Trust and other grants 3.1m gross proceeds from Placing and Open Offer 1.2m stand sponsorship & other commercial 29.9m total

Peerless.

100 pages or so into "Spike Island - The Memory of a Military Hospital" by Philip Hoare, the hospital being the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley. It's an odd mix of history and personal memoire. I know more about Netley Abbey and it's gothic connections than I ever wanted and the RVH so far has barely a mention. The most interesting bit has been a couple of pages on the author's primary school, St Patrick's in Woolston which I went to around the same. He mentions the toilets open to the elements, the ramshackle buildings, the sloping wooden floors, the interminable masses on Wednesdays in the church next door and the fearsome Mrs Clements who wore calipers. Quite a surprise and an odd experience to read something of which I have personal memories. There's also been some interesting history of Spike Island itself, in particular Sholing, including that stretch of scrub land and abandoned orchards that ran along from just below Butts Rd to I can't remember where, it was such along time ago I lived there, where I used to play as a child. Touches on Sholing's connections with gypseys and with the passage of convicts to Australia.

To be fair he's not grade A.

Best wishes mate and impressed that you're thinking of others at this time in the advice you've offered.

He wants the club to do more to encourage him back but doesn't say what. Not sure why he bothered writing it.

I had that problem and asked the ticket office when I bought my Season Ticket today. The explanation was something to do with a password in an email sent out inviting me to renew my registration details. I vaguely remember receiving an email a while ago but ignored it because I thought it was for renewals. Apparently not so. The password is your date of birth. Doesn't really explain why you're told you'll be sent a new password in an email which never arrives. Can only suggest you try your dob. Failing that renew over the phone.

Buttner's a left back isn't he?

Yeah right and my old man said be a pompey fan. Pull the other one.

Each to his own but at no point during last night's game was I bored. I found the match riveting. Just a pity the Italians went down to 10 as they were no threat once that happened.

What do you think caused us to adapt?