Kingsland Codger

Pahars v Everton 2002 - a late-ish penalty. Memorable for me as I had been living overseas for some time and this was my first match in years. I surprised myself at the emotion I showed. Camara v Norwich. I had to sit down and compose myself after my exertions. I felt quite unwell. The 'Niemi' goal v Fulham at Loftus Road. The entire away end went absolutely nuts. Beattie's first goal in the League Cup tie against you-know-who. Channon for England v Scotland. 1976. My joyous celebration was deliberately short-lived as the match was at Hampden and I'm not that daft. To be fair to the Scottish fans around me, the only 'abuse' I received was a loud chorus of 'spot-the-loony'. And another special moment ... Loftus Road against QPR in 2007 - the 'Ray Jones memorial match'. We dominated, were 3-0 up and then the Saints fans started singing 'One Ray Jones, There's only one Ray Jones'. The QPR fans stood up and applauded us.

Who was that guy playing CB alongside Yoshida when we won at Middlesbrough just over a year ago?

The few corners that actually made it off the ground were straight into the arms of a 6ft 6in goalkeeper. I even found myself wondering if JWP should have been in the squad for his delivery alone. Still, Kirsty MacColl has a song for us

There were times in the second-half when England looked very much like Saints in the season just finished. Plenty of possession but far too slow, far too laboured and a reluctance to move the ball forward. I was watching with someone who has next to no knowledge of football who regularly asked how many passes would England make before the ball eventually found its way back to Pickford. Having highlighted the shortcomings of the England team, I was surprised at the number of genuine goal scoring chances created and this delight was only surpassed by the frustration of seeing so many of those chances butchered. However, the necessary goals were scored, the win obtained and we move on to take on Panama. As for the penalties not given, the comments from Whitey are worth considering rather than rejecting. We can all say how obvious the hauling(s) down of Harry Kane looked but as WG pointed out, if extremely well qualified referees looked at the footage and decided there had been no foul then what are we all missing?

In addition to the Burnley fixture, it looks like we might clash with Champions League/Europa League fixtures as follows … CL matches on September 18 and 19 - we are scheduled to play Liverpool away on 22 September (might not needed to be switched) EL match on October 4 - we are scheduled to play Chelsea at home on 6 October EL match on December 13 - we are scheduled to play Arsenal at home on December 15

Bumping an out-of-date thread with some up-to-date information. Red Funnel are offering some good discounts for travel between now and 20 July, however there are restrictions. If any of you plan to travel to the South Island soon you might find a cheap return ferry ticket using this link … Red Funnel discount page

Number 11 at the bottom looks like it might say Guido. Number 6 has a small 35 next to it, so that might be Jan Bednarek. Similarly number 10 has 34 beside it and suggests Jake Flannigan.

I am neither sad nor clever - but I can point you towards a website for you and your daughter. http://www.soccerbase.com

The timeline RK uses when discussing the sacking of MoPe and the hiring of Hughes is puzzling. RK saw the abyss deep into January. After the Newcastle game (10 March) a list was one through and Hughes was the clear candidate. Hughes was appointed on 15 March. Why the wait from the end of January? Hughes was released by Stoke on 6 January. No doubt he took a holiday but this is a 6 week gap.

Tadic v Bournemouth for the goal and Yoshida for PoS. Can’t bring myself to vote for Boufal’s goal.

A huge pat-on-the-back for our defenders in recent away matches. After the catastrophe at Newcastle and then the Olympic Stadium, things improved (slowly) but the last three away games have seen us go through 285 minutes (plus) and we have only conceded one goal (and that took a heavy deflection). This at a time when suspensions disrupted the selection. As I watched on TV last night, the commentator pointed out how the stats showed Saints were vulnerable to crosses and the main Swansea tactic was to put this to the test. And our lads passed with flying colours. Those last few minutes didn't seem nearly as scary as I was expecting and, as others have pointed out, Swansea looked a bit like we used to - trying the same tactic time-after-time when it was clear this wasn't going to work.

Good luck with the surgery. Hope all goes well. If you have the op in Southampton General they are one of the very best.

Try https://www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/discount-isle-of-wight-ferry-travel.html

Maybe a boycott of the refreshments and merchandise being sold inside the stadium? This would appear to be the only other option available.

Nature - The Rock Islands of Palau in the Western Pacific www.amusingplanet.com/2013/10/the-rock-islands-of-palau.html. Man made - Nagasaki as a glorious example of recovering from the worst thing that could ever happen.

One would have hoped such a process would be a minimum requirement with every manager.

Oh no he's not.

Touch-and-go for me. The problem isn't the snow - we've had very little - but the black ice which is treacherous. The only ways out of the village where I live are up steep hills. Lizzie Yarnold might feel at home tackling them on the return leg but not me and my little Mazda. However, the sun is out, the temperature is on the up, the thaw is on and I reckon it is good to go.

Away at Brentford, a midweek game in January 2010. Lloyd James got an early goal, Kelvin Davis saved a penalty, Lee Bernard missed a chance to put us further ahead and they got the equaliser late on. Numbingly cold, snow piled up just away from the touch lines and I couldn’t get back to the hotel quickly enough.

Quite. A phrase often used in football is “these-things-even-themselves-out-over-a-season” (though I’ve never seen any stats to back it up). It was about time we got a lucky break. Of course, the referee providing an assist is way, way different from Decoure’s deliberate cheating but we must take what crumbs come our way.

Far too early to tell - haven’t seen any of today’s FA Cup tie but so far he has been given so little support and supply it has been impossible to comment on his talent. His effort, however, looks good. He tries, doesn’t give up on apparent lost causes and puts himself about.

Completely agree. First half we looked good. Tadic and Bertrand had a good thing going down the left flank, we created good chances and were unlucky to go in 2 down although fair play to Liverpool who took their two goals really well. Second half was just awful. Two down and in the relegation zone and we didn’t put in any effort at all. No urgency, no desire. Players we know are good and capable making shocking errors, passing the ball to no-one, or worse, straight into touch. Dire. Up until yesterday's second half I was of the view we would escape relegation as we had the ability to do so. But now ... we certainly don’t have the desire and I cannot see it appearing.

I enjoy watching both sports. With football I only really enjoy watching Saints and things that are Saints related. If, say, Steven Davis is playing for Northern Ireland or Dusan Tadic for Serbia I shall pay attention to the result and its implications ... maybe even watch some of it if the match is on TV. Most England matches are of no interest if there is no Saint playing. However, with rugby I don’t support a specific club but will watch an international regardless who is playing. New Zealand v South Africa, Scotland v Wales, Australia v France ... love watching them all. In short, I follow the Saints but not football per se whereas with rugby it is the sport I follow and not any team. Does this answer help with your questions?

Mark Hughes and Wales?

Help here, please ... Am I right in thinking that JWP's goal at WBA on Saturday was only his second direct from a free-kick? And the first Saints goal direct from a free-kick since JWP's previous score? (At home v WBA January 2016) Many others have tried to score directly since SRL left but I think JWP is the only one to succeed (to name a few in no particular order - Aldewiereld, VvD, Yoshida, Tadic, Mane, Davis, Boufal, Bertrand).