Golactico

Here's one to get you thinking. Which of the current 32 World Cup managers has played for Saints? This is not a trick question (i.e. the answer isn’t someone who played for another team nick-named ‘Saints’ – we are definitely talking Southampton Football Club)

As the starter of this thread, I thought I'd post a follow up. I didn't bother with Jerseypro in the end and having looked at some of the other sites suggested, I decided, on balance, that I didn't want to pass over my card details to any site that I wasn't 100% certain of. In the end I ordered a shirt (Cameroon away - my 5 a side team play in yellow and I wanted something 'different') from an Ebay seller in Thailand. This way I wasn't giving card details to an unknown quantity and I had some protection by using Paypal. The seller also had good feedback from UK buyers. Anyway, just got back from a week on holiday to find an absolutely perfect shirt waiting for me, complete with Puma labels. If it's a fake, it is a bloody excellent one. It arrived within about 3 weeks of my order and I'm delighted with the whole transaction. cost of shirt - just over 13 quid including postage. I'm not sure that you'd find England shirts at this kind of value (although I haven't checked) but from my experience, don't be put off by ebay sellers due to the fact that they are based in Thailand. The Ebay ID of my seller was 'beetbrue' if anyone wants to search his items.

Was looking for a football shirt and came across this website: http://www.jerseypro.co.uk On first glance it looks like a well presented, legitimate website selling football shirts at very cheap prices (i.e. New England shirt £19.99). However, delve a bit deeper and there is no contact address or phone number and if you go to place an order, it doesn’t go to a secure connection (ie with the gold padlock symbol) like most trustworthy sites do. Certainly seems dodgy to me, but was just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with this website? I have Googled them but can’t really find anything about them, either good or bad.

Irony is a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. -The New Oxford English Dictionary By that definition, I think you could make a plausible case for Swansea replacing Cardiff in the play-offs being ironic

I was 7 and was sat on the bog when Bobby scored. My brother's mate was going mental banging on the toilet door - neither he nor my brother even liked football. That's what the FA Cup meant in those days.......

No one is asking them to rent the foreigners - just houses to them

Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI2003/1626) These regulations, which are made under section 2(2)(a) and (b) of the European Communities Act 1972 and come into force on 19 July 2003, implement (in Great Britain) Council Directive 2000/43 EC of 29 June 2000 ("the directive") and include provision for matters arising out of or relating to such implementation. The directive is concerned with the principle of equal treatment between persons, irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, in the areas of employment (and related matters), social protection, social advantage, education and access to and supply of, goods and services which are available to the public, including housing.

Has anyone got one of these? http://www.amazon.co.uk/TeckNet-Memory-Modulator-Supports-Control/dp/B000S2KG7C I bought another FM transmitter a few years ago but the background noise made it next to useless. However, most of the reviews for this gizmo suggest that it’s a decent piece of kit. I’ll probably give it a go as it’s only a tenner, but just wondered if anyone has got one and can say if it’s any good?

You were quite right to do so DSM – it’s the only way I’ll learn not to knock off self righteous nonsense in a rush! Whether he meant to or not, Johnny Bognor has pleaded my case in a later post though. On a relatively obscure internet forum, I’m really not too bothered if my grammar/spelling lapses.

I was at school in the 70s & 80s and I remember it being hammered home that a job application form with poor spelling and/or grammer would be the first in the bin. I was helping with an assessment of application forms at work a while back and immediately sifted out those forms with spelling mistakes/poor grammer (just lazy in this day and age with 'spellcheck' etc available). I was told that these applicants could not be sifted out on those grounds as it wasn't deemed to be an important criteria. To answer your question, I think good English does matter, but that this is increasingly becoming an old fashioed view. (I've no doubt someone will find some bad spelling/grammer in this post, just to knock me off my high horse!))

I don't know you from Adam, but that doesn't stop me from thinking this is fantastic news. I have a close friend who's been through similar and can only imagine what it's like to go through what your other half and you have been through. All the very best.

Solent commentry for Saints v Arsenal at highbury in the meaningless league game that we lost 6-1 in the week of the cup final in 2003. Merrington spent the whole game calling Giovanni van Bronckhorst "Van Brockenhurst", as in the New Forest village!

Mark Jacobs was interviewed on 5live this morning - said nothing that should give any Pompey fan any comfort or reassurance, no matter how hard he tried to talk up their predicament. Refers to Pompey's 'phenomenal fan-base'(!) Link here - Jacobs interview is in the last 15 minutes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00psqtf/Sportsweek_10_01_2010/

I've always thought that 'Ruby's Arms' by Tom Waits has a real Christmassy feel to it. Incidently - a quick 'Google' has confirmed my suspicion that Waits did a version of 'When the Saints go Marching In' too.

I noticed that Radio Solent mentioned during their Sports bulletins yesterday that tickets for Pompey’s cup game against Coventry are now on sale – they even gave prices. I may be wrong, but isn’t that unusual for a game like this? OK if it was Man U or another game where there might be strong demand, but Coventry in the 3rd round of the cup? One theory might be that someone at Pompey has said to Solent ‘look guys, we are in such trouble in January that even a few thousand on the gate for the cup game might keep us afloat for a bit longer – can you do what you can for us to shift a few more tickets?’ Yes, I know I’m probably seeing something that isn’t there, but I’ve come to rely on my daily ’Pompey in the poo’ story.

Boogies - Reuben Agboola got into a bit of bother there once, if I recall rightly

Hi, I don't suppose you've got a programme from Saints v Leicester on 27th Dec 1980? I would be interested if you have (was my first ever match - those were the days)

The ChoculaKid - at last, the voice of reason. Please read this article before you believe the propaganda http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/11/english-defence-league-chaotic-alliance In case you can't be arsed to read the article, quote: 'at EDL events, skinheads have raised Nazi salutes and other EDL supporters have chanted racist slogans such as "I hate Pakis more than you". One protest in Luton in May ended with scores of people attacking Asian businesses, smashing cars and threatening passersby'

So, stay away fans like me are being urged to go to the last few games of the season. Then why can’t I buy a ticket yet for the Palace and Burnley games? I’d have thought that whoever is in charge now would be looking to make the product of this ailing business as readily available as possible.

Another 'would never get away with it today' moment was midway through the 1st half. The ball went out for a throw on the nearside of the pitch and Bally definitely threw a punch at Martin O'Neill. These days O'Neill would have gone down like he'd been shot, the crowd would have rared up, the commentator would have got exited and said 'you just can't raise your hands' and Bally would have been off. Back in '79 it just passed off without comment and the players just got on with it!

Redknapp quote from 27/10/08: "When I took over at Portsmouth, in the first game we played, I thought 'how am I going to get this lot out of [the relegation zone]?' because we were so poor. But this team is full of quality. Ledley King, when he's fit, is a great player. [Defender Vedran] Corluka plays for Croatia, [Luka] Modric can play and the ball from [David] Bentley for the first goal was world-class." Redknapp quote from 22/01/09: "this is a football club that has been put together by I don't know who and I don't know how. It's a mish-mash of players with people playing where they want to play. It's scary" A bit contradictory eh?