CHAPEL END CHARLIE

It's has to be said that its a shame we seem to be reduced to looking at our 3 or 4th choice of Centre Half now - if any of the players in question are not significantly better than Seaborne, or Martin, than we might as well leave well alone in my view and try again later.

I thought it was the KGB's Moscow gaff. Never sign a player named after a prison - remember how terrible Dave Parkhurst was.

What a bad tempered, intolerant, fred. If Charlie Weyman and Dalek for instance care to hold differing views to that held by the majority then they're perfectly within their rights to express themselves without receiving a torrent of abuse in return. I was there and in all honesty we did kinda 'run out of steam' on Saturday didn't we? If someone thinks we might finish the season in 17th place then I would reply that I hope (And believe) we can do much better than that. But he could be right I suppose - certainty is the mother of fools I'm reliably informed. So calm down dears - saying any of this doesn't equate to heresy.

I've always said that this lad had potential, and I have to say it's a great shame we'll have to see whether that early promise ever gets fulfilled, or not, from afar.

'Out of his depth' is the term I would have used, but 'Dodgy' will serve just as well I suppose. In a squad that now has so many genuinely talented players at its disposal ordinary footballers like Seaborne, or Richardson for instance, look as out of place as a Transit van at a Ferrari Dealers.

A erudite bunch ain't they ? I was alarmed to read that just because I support SFC this means I must therefore be 'middle class' - an appalling insult if ever I heard one. To misquote the great Ronnie Barker: I used to think I was working class, but then I went to Millwall ....... and now I know I'm middle class.

It's music, not words this picture needs:

I was going to say that anyone not voting for Kelvin clearly doesn't know their Arsenal from their Alloh Athletic - but that would be too strident.

Don't just watch our game - make sure you see Forest v Leicester for the stupidest Red Card ever.

You're absolutly right, the referee gave Ricky Lambert no protection at all - given that is was Andy Bloody D'urso again this should come as no surprise to any of us. A disgrace to his profession who should not be allowed anywhere near a professional football match in my view.

Don't be too hard on yourself because few ever see this type of thing coming. Sometimes I wonder if you can ever truly 'know' another human being anyway.

A good result but the moment we scored today all the 'fizz' just seemed to disappear from our beautiful 'champaign football' and we went very flat indeed. Excuses butter no parsnips of course but the August heat and a double hard Millwall midfield seemed throw us off our game completely. I wonder if our energetic style of fast, free flowing football is entirely compatible with a punishing 3 games a week fixture list ? Nevertheless, our start to the season is the stuff dreams are made of ....

I'd bet a whole English pound you'd think twice before knowingly allowing a 9 year old child of your own to read Sven Hassel ! Have you ever read Guy Sajer's remarkable war autobiography 'The Forgotten Soldier' detailing his experiences on the Russian front while serving with the elite Grossdeuschland Division? It comes across almost like non-fiction version of a Sven Hassel novel, and just like Hassel, the authenticity of the author's actual war record has been called into question. To me however this book rings so very true I find it difficult to doubt. I remember vividly his tale of the time when his unit was caught exposed on the limitless Russian 'steppe' during a terrible blizzard, and how when machines (and even the poor horses) succumbed to the awful cold only the poor bloody infantry could still endure. If anyone reading this decided to only read one book about what it really meant to serve in the front line infantry during WWII, then 'The Forgotten Soldier' would be my recommendation.

A well taken goal for sure, but describing Guly's performance today as "first class' is so OTT the comment must have been written on a airplane. If we want to talk about true first class performances you need look no further than the magnificent effort our often overlooked goalkeeper put it. Goals win games, but without Kelvin we would have lost today in my opinion.

I don't normally bother to echo what plenty of others have already said - but I'll make an exception to that rule in this case. This is splendid news that will cheer any true Saints fan. Morgan is a fine young player who's noticeably improving with every passing season, and still at the tender age of 21 there should be more to come. One of those in the squad who has a chance of making it as a Premier League player methinks, as ever time will tell. The one relic of the Lowe era that nobody on here should resent.

The great Louis Armstrong once claimed that "insomnia is the lack of gratitude" - in which case I must have been a particuarily ungrateful person for many years now. To any younger insomniacs out there ..... it gets worst with age.

I see people saying they "wouldn't get out of bed" for sums that would mean they were vastly better off than 99% of humanity, and others who genuinely think they are struggling on a income as substantial as £30K a year. I can only suggest they try and think about it, open their eyes, and gain a better perspective on what it really means to suffer hardship in this world. I take home significantly less money than the large majority of you reading this, but even I am in truth a wealthy man. Like you I have plenty of food to eat, a roof over my head, and ready access to adequate health care - more than that I can even afford luxury's such as a car and a broadband connection for instance. We should all understand that billions of our fellow human beings can only dream of attaining a standard of living that some on here seemingly take for granted. You, me, more or less everybody in this fortunate country - we're all living on Easy Street.

You're not wrong DP - and after 'Bronco Billy' my favorite Eastwood movie. Blessed with a script to die for. Chief Watie - "I didn't surrender, but they took my horse and made him surrender. They have him pulling a wagon up in Kansas now"

A 4 year sentence for posting something stupid on the internet ...... run for the hills ! they can't catch us all.

But the first Saints player to be subbed again yesterday - which might suggest that the manager is not entirely happy with his (second half) performance level. I say even what is obviously a very good side should be constantly looking to improve, and perhaps starting with Morgan and keeping Guly in reserve might make us an even more effective team than we already are. I could see Morgan's much better defensive instincts tightening up our defence and blessed with that superb range of passing he could provide even more ammunition for our strikers to feed off. The flip side of that is that he's unlikely to score himself. You pays your money and you takes your choice .... Lallana, Cork, Hammond, Schneiderlin - not too shabby a midfield that.

A middling footballing talent hitched to ridiculously over inflated delusions of grandeur and a rotten attitude towards the game. Although 'Gash' seems a tad harsh a description for a player who can (on his day) play a bit, I can fully understand the sentiment. A 25 year old with 8 or 9 different clubs under his belt already ? Like a car with a list of 25 'previous owners' on the log book this should give any club real cause for concern. All in all I strongly suspect that precious few Saints fans will be sorry to see the back of him - I know with absolute certainty I won't.

Although I like to give the impression of being a well read and sophisticated reader, I feel its about time I came clean and confessed to my literary sins. The truth is that in my youth I was a huge fan of the Danish writer Sven Hassel's war novels, indeed during my late teens I read little else. To those unfamiliar with this writer these books record the (semi-fictional) misadventures of a small group of German soldiers serving in a penal regiment. Told in the first person by 'Sven' (who you can readily tell did actually serve in the German Army during WWII) the memorable 'cast' he assembled for the delight of his readership lives with be still: Porta - The central personalty in many ways, this crooked corporal was always ready with a pair of pliers for pulling gold fillings from the teeth of the dead. He saw no reason why war should be any more dangerous, uncomfortable, or unprofitable than was absolutely necessary. Tiny (AKA Little John) - A enormous psychotic bear of a man it was best to not to annoy - Porta's chief partner-in-crime. Like his mate best kept away from brothels ..... The Old Man - The veteran sergeant and family man who somehow managed against all the odds to keep most of this motley crew alive and away from the firing squad. The only thing left that could really upset him was the killing of children. The Legionnaire - A experienced ex French Foreign Legion killer with a fatalistic attitude, "Allah is wise" was his usual response to almost anything. Heide - The only real Nazi in this squad of misfits and hated by all. Barcelona - Formally a officers batman who has now fallen on hard times. Always ready with a hilarious tale of his time serving a eccentric Prussian General. Sven - A lazy incompetent soldier ridiculed for being a foreigner stupid enough to volunteer for the German Army. Lumbered with carting around a heavy machine gun. The 'Stabs Feldwebel' - Porta's enemy. Corrupt, bureaucratic, and utterly self serving, he made damn sure he was well away from the front line at all times. Cynical, humane, sometimes hilariously funny, very often extremely brutal, these books are most definitely not for the squeamish. Although he has his imitators, I don't think I've ever read anything quite like them. OGPU Prision, SS General, Legion of the Damned, Blitzfreeze, March Battalion ..... it's all coming back to me now as if I read them yesterday rather than 30 years ago. Are these books the cheap & trashy war 'pulp' they appear to be, or profoundly powerful anti war literature ? Buggered if I know, but I can tell one thing - they do leave an impression on a lad.

Good luck to him, this player very obviously needed a move away from Reading. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him grab this opportunity and do well.

In a very well written piece the point you made regarding how (ex physio) Nigel Adkins has gotten the team truly fit is especially pertinent I thought.

As for crime fiction (if I ignore my deep and long lasting admiration for the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) I rather like Ian Rankin's well known 'Rebus' novels - he's a hard drinking cop who breaks all the rules and is constantly in trouble with his superiors. Aren't they all I hear you say.