CHAPEL END CHARLIE

He made a useful contribution to 'Cheers' but I think 'Frasier' could hardly have been possible without him frankly .

I very rarely LOL on here but this is the exception to the rule . The sight of a huge cardboard cheque being presented to PFC from Saints fans to the value of £1.46 would be absurdly funny - lets do it .

They've let Guernsey and the LeTissier family down badly . http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8484902.stm

The point you make about standing is an important one . Fans evicted from the Chapel who still prefer to sit behind the goal may want to relocate to the now vacated away fan section in the Northam - it takes no great feat of imagination to foresee conflicts between those who prefer to stand mixing with those who most definitely don't . If St Marys was a brand new stadium just about to open this plan might have some merit - but that's just not the case here of course . On a matchday a football stadium is almost a living breathing entity , fans sit in the same seats with the same 'neighbours' they have known for years in many cases , a stadium/a stand can resemble a little community with its own history and culture . With all due respect you mess with this at your peril Mr Cortese . Sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing .

Q - Pushing for the playoffs, what do we need ? A - A minor miracle .

So we talking about a enforced major disruption for a great many fans and if talk of moving the disabled section is true expensive structural alterations as well - for what good purpose exactly ? If not the worst idea in the history of St Marys it must be in the top one I'd say . I vote no .

Of course they will , this is exactly (the rather obvious) point I've been vainly trying to make on here for several months now . All the manipulation of statistics in the world won't make us a better team than we really are unfortunately nor will masking the truth serve any good purpose . You can forget your so-called 'form guides' they are irrelevant if not damn right misleading and I can assure you an endless list of excuses for not doing better than we have will mean nothing in May - all that really matters is our actual (mid table) league position and the hard fact that we have scored 1.5 points per game on average . As for the rest I'll leave that for the flim-flam merchants on here - they know who they are .

You know what really irks me about much of modern art ? - its the notion that to create great art little or no real talent or craft is required from the artist anymore , all you need now is a novel (preferably shocking) idea such as Tracy Ermin's chaotic bed for instance and suddenly a modern masterpiece is born . No longer art critics assure me does a failure to master the problems of form , light and perspective mean the creative process need be constrained - a bewilderingly abstract 'Video Installation' of some Policemen doing nothing is of equal worth to say an achingly beautiful Rembrandt self portrait . I can (and frequently have) produced an untidy bed myself , if I wish to see inactive coppers I need only pay a visit to the local station . A vital part of what I look for in art is something that raises me above the mundane everyday world , I want to see something so perfectly sublime in both concept and execution that its creation is totally out of the reach of my own modest artistic talents and imagination . In an age where western religious faith may be in terminal decline many ordinary people still feel the need to behold something that is manifestly greater than ourselves . I feel many just don't see that in much of modern art . As I type this I look up at the wall and see my much loved old print of Montague Dawson's 'Thermopylae' Leaving Foochow and I know that because it's an unfashionably skillful and not-at-all abstract oil painting the art establishment would sneer at it and some would even deny that it is proper 'art' at all but rather a mere illustration in their sophisticated view . To me this attitude illustrates exactly what is wrong with modern art (a clumsy term , it's not all the same) it has become so mired in the need to shock rather than inspire that far from being accessible to all it has in many ways never been further away from the common people .

The last two teams to knock Ipswich out of the FA Cup have gone on to win it - the Gods of football are with us I tells ya .

Breaking News : http://www.autocar.co.uk/ Saab saved !

What you say about 'old art' (I'd argue that all great art is timeless) may well have been true in the past but today it's all there for the people to appreciate regardless of class or education even . My beautiful Holbein masterpiece for instance can be seen at the National Gallery in London free of charge - not very far from the 'street' as it happens . You rate this Banksy chap as a 'genius' - I'm not convinced the use of that term is really justified . The image of two Policemen kissing for example I find trite and not at all original or provocative (it reminds me of a Monty Python sketch from the 70's) and while I'm more than happy to accept that art is truly 'in the eye of the beholder' I'll let history judge if much of today's 'modern art' is of any real and lasting value .

I must admit to being somewhat 'one eyed' at a football match - I tend to concentrate on Saints players and after a game I hardly have anything worthwhile to say about their opposite numbers - unless their were particularly good or bad that is . Whenever some lower league player is linked with a move here I'm always surprised at just how many fans already have a firm opinion about them - more often than not to me they are just names and sometimes I've never even heard of them !

Hmmm ....... modern art . The 16th century is where the real action is man . I'm saving my pennies up for this modest little number .

Excellent point ! - pity it was first made 25 posts ago . Do try to keep up old chap .

David Prutton's 500 game band from the 2004-5 season has also been overturned - as a result it would appear we were never really relegated and the last 5 years have all been a bad dream .

Indeed he was , and neither do I . Comparison exercises between different players in different divisions at different times are of little or no intrinsic value but those who seriously claim that Paul Wotton is in any way the superior (or even the equal of) Youseff Safri leave themselves open to ridicule . For the sake of their reputations I'd advise them to desist before they make a complete fool of themselves . As for the 'we won so Wotton must be good' argument I don't really know where to start - I've seen football teams win matches with 9 or 8 men , it's a matter of record that Gary Neville has won a UEFA Champions League winners medal , Luis Boa Morte still plays in the Premier League for heavens sake ! - all kinds of odd things can happen on a football pitch . But enough of this nonsense , I've a very tasty cup tie with Pompey to think about .

Thanks for that thoughtful contribution .

'He Does a job' 'Good enough for this division' 'He tries hard' I've read all this and more used to justify the inclusion of sub standard players at our club , many might say it's exactly that kind of thinking that has contributed in no small measure to the two relegation's (and one near miss) we suffered over the last five years . 'Bog Standard' footballers who can reliably put in a honest effort but not much more are 'ten-a-penny' in world football , if we really want to build the promotion/cup winning team that is this great club's stated ambition then we have to be far more ambitious than settling for that . Paul Wotton is not our Claude Makele - indeed even the comparison is absurd as he just doesn't do the defensive midfielders job at all competently . The last player we had who came anywhere near to performing that task was Youssef Safri - perhaps we should have spent this transfer window looking to find a midfielder of that quality rather than signing players for other positions . I thank Paul Wotton for all his efforts over the last two seasons , I recognise that he was signed as a free transfer at a time when we had no money , but frankly (and this is all just a fans opinion of course) I wish he were plying his trade elsewhere .

Mate , we really must have been at different games .

One more signing ...... and the squad will require a bigger bus .

Yeah, apart from the inability to complete a meaningful forward pass , or to win the ball in the air very often , or to break up opposition attacks , or generally be very good at football he was great . If you are satisfied with filling the squad out with journeyman players who reliably give you their all but in truth have very little left in the tank anymore then Paul Wotton is most certainly your man , if you expect rather more from a Saints player however ...... As for comparing Wotton with Chris Perry this is nonsense - Perry was and is a far better player (technically at least) than Paul Wotton - the different levels both players reached in their respective primes proves the point I'd argue . At one point yesterday the referee (bless him) actually managed to surprise the 20,000 watching and play an advantage - unfortunately as the ball was already at Paul Wotton's feet our 'advantage' didn't last very long of course .

David , living in Stockholm is not much of an excuse for not coming to games you know (says the man who doesn't do Tuesdays) - I met some Saints fans who'd come all the way from Finnland yesterday .

Your retraction (if that's what it is) seems unconvincing at best . It's always informative to reread this forum's rules and regulations every now and then : DO NOT post comments that are libellous or potentially libellous. Anything deemed to fall into this category will be deleted without warning. The Administrators of this forum could be prosecuted for libellous content posted by another forum member. It is our responsibility, as the Admin Team, to exert reasonable control over forum content to this end, which is of course publicly visible . Do as I say not as I do eh ? However as I've seen this forum used to promote a criminal conspiracy with the apparent encouragement of the 'powers that be' on here I suppose calling a player a liar pales into insignificance by comparison . As for your claim to treat all our players fairly and without bias I'm quite content to let the rest of the forum draw their own conclusions on that subject .

My ratings for Saints v Ipswich (2-1) K Davis 8 - Plenty of work to do and he did it excellently . Makes a difficult job look easier than it realy is . W Thomas 8.5 - He can be outmaneuvered but reliable & competent at RB , His goal will surely be the best of his career & our season . R Jaidi 9 MOTM - What a superb players he is , more Rock of Gibraltar than mere footballer - easily MOTM for me . C Perry 7 - At the tail end of his career here but still a more than competent defender . J Mills 7.5 - So obviously destined to be a very good player you really have to LOL at those on here who can't see it . A Lallana 6.5 - Flashes of the quality we all know exists but we need more from him really , looks like he requires a break to me . L James 6.5 - Pretty anonymous in my view , contrary to popular opinion he may be better at RB than midfield . P Wotton 4 - A shockingly mediocre performance - no change there then . L Holmes 5 - Nothing at all special in all honesty and a return to the reserve team can only be a matter of time . L Barnard 7.5 - Good debut and a tireless worker in both attack & defence , will probably make a lethal combo with Lambert . R Lambert 7 - Getting very little support from midfield here but his work rate is beyond criticism . A tad more pace & he'd be PL class . Substitutes: S Gillett 7 - A welcome (and unexpected) return for a more than useful player . M Antonio 7.5 - Not on for long but still scored the winner again . Surely a permanent contract has be earned ? O Lancashire - Late sub . Conclusions : Ipswich dominated our makeshift midfield in the 1st half and we could count ourselves very fortunate that a unlikely wonder goal from Wayne Thomas and some resolute defending saw us leading at the break . We made a game of it later however when the manager shifted us to a very necessary 5 man midfield and we started to play in ITFC'S half for once . So overall Barnard looks to be a good signing and clearly much more of the 'finished article' than Patterson is at this time , Gillett should stay until the end of the season at least IMO . Despite some obvious midfield deficiencies and a dreary start this was a more than creditable win against higher (but strangely lacklustre) opposition .

Any ammount of supposition doesn't add up to real evidence , you really can't go around calling someone a liar with something substantial to back it up . The hypocrisy in your attitude to players on here can be quite astounding at times . I can distinctly remember you on more than one occasion arguing that players are perfectly entitled to pursue their own economic self-interest (doubtless something connected with Rudi Skacel or another of your favorites) but when a player whom you don't happen to like does exactly that then he's in the wrong apparently . That was called a 'Double Standard' back when I went to school . "Better a thief than a liar" my old dad used to say to me , accusing a man of being a liar is a very serious matter in my old fashioned opinion and my final advice to you on this subject is either produce something that proves SJ has lied or withdraw the remark .