St Marco

Goodluck mate. Damn dirty BA!

Yeah was not many when i was there either. Had about 4 old ladies outside with notebooks asking for our numbers. It would be quite funny if BBC used our poll on their show later "and we have a southampton poll, it looks pretty close between conservatives and lib dems with around 30% of the votes each, and we have 2% for a guy with a pig head and 1% for the Paul Wotten Party".

Think the mods have vanished so let's do our own poll. To gauge how we as a Saints community voted. So who did you vote for? No need to explain why you voted for them or why you didn't vote for xyz. I voted conservative

I actually rented this at the weekend and have to say i'm very impressed thus far. They have made quite a few changes over fifa 10 that hopefully will mean fifa 11 will be the best yet. Like for example the sprint button. If you have someone who is not very good at ball dribbling and they try to go on a mazy run it can be more difficult. You now have a chance to lose the ball by hitting it just slightly further then you wanted which gives others the chance to get a tackle in. I think they have done a great job on the mistakes aspect of the game. This add's to the difficulty but also add's to the realism. Your passes are no longer 100% accurate over long distances. When you get the ball passed to feet it is harder to do that little turn soon as you receive it and goes past a defender. The game is hard. But like with other fifa games you get used to it and soon as you work out what your individual players can do but more importantly can't do then you can start pulling off great moves. As 9 say's above the presentation is top notch. When you actually make it to the world cup (you have to do the qualifiers first and friendlies) you see the spectacle of it all with flashing cameras, confeti, anthems and most importantly the crowd. This is the area they have worked on a lot i think. The crowds feel so much more realistic. The songs they sing, the noises like drums, the boo's against rival teams or players who did a nasty tackle etc.. the atmosphere feels perfect. The only thing i don't like is once again it is hard to score. The shooting mechanics feel better but sometimes the goalie pulls saves out that you think "jesus how did he get that", which i guess is just good AI. And i hate with a passion the new sub and manager animations. But i guess it is better then the old pan to stadium one!

So he say's only yesterday he is in the market for a new striker. Which doesn't sound like someone thinking they are about to be sacked. Which means someone above Pardew has leaked something Cortese might have said to them. Which is very unlikely. Cortese is obviously a business professional, i doubt he would gossip like that. As for those thinking he should be sacked. And the "plenty of decent" managers thing. I hope we don't get what you wish for. Because so many times this club has changed from someone doing well and building for the future to someone who has well and truely fecked things up. The reason we have been where we are for so long is this attitude. Pearson was supposedly crap, look at what he has now done. Stop making the same stupid mistakes. We have won nearly 50% of our games this year. That is the best record by a Saints manager. Get real.

Got the game for £20 from tesco and picked up the Hori arcade stick from Game for £24 (normally around £60). I love it, superb game. I put loads of hours into the first one and will do the same with this one no doubt. It feels so much better then the normal one. Love some of the cut scenes. With the arcade stick is quality.

Personally of all the three i felt Cameron came out looking the most likely to adopt the hardline aproach to certain things. Like for example on the youth thing. Cameron said they need to be disciplined as they were out of control, there were something like 17000 attacks on teachers. The only reason that happen's is because the teachers can't do anything about it due to the messed up laws that need changing. As he pointed out one student brought in a knife, threatened to knife his teacher, got expelled, was brought back after a board rejected his expellsion. That is just silly. These little kids are the future of this country and if they are allowed to grow up as they currently are then you have to worry about what this place will be like in say 20 years time when they themselves have kids. Clegg wants to just have a chat with them. Tell them that xyz is wrong. That won't make any difference at all. They need hardline discipline and based on the policies i have to say only conservatives seem to grasp that fact.

Yeah i would just rent this one to be honest. Typical EA wanting all the money. It has got good reviews though so will be worth a pick up.

Totally disagree mate. The other two at least backed up what they were arguing about by offering different solutions and reasons why they opposed each others policies. They were debating it quite passionatly and at times fiercely. Clegg on the other hand offered nothing. If you read that BBC report and read the analysts they all agree Clegg was weak. When he was put on the spot about his policies he either said "it is in our manifesto" i.e he doesn't know the in's and out's of it so tries to avoid it. Or the thing he did most was laugh. To imply they were wrong. But yet he didn't explain why they were wrong. And from reading the reviews and stuff this seems to be a huge problem for him. By laughing shows weakness. Can you imagine someone like that arguing for our rights in europe or against us? In contrast look at cameron when he is being attacked, doesn't laugh, doesn't smile, doesn't shake his head. Just comes back with his views. Sometimes they are in my opinion wrong views, but he at least makes them clear. As much as Brown has taken a kicking he did the same. Clegg is clearly out of his depth and the third debate made people realise that he is not the pull your sleaves up and get stuck in guy that the country badly needs.

Funny enough the media agree with me. The BBC wrote "Nick Clegg tried to repeat his trick of presenting himself as the outsider, campaigning against the "two old parties". He laced his interjections with plenty of "let's stop this political points scoring" and "there you two go again". (I have to say these were sometimes met with groans by sections of the media centre)." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8652354.stm What a gimp.

I think this one showed how poor Clegg really is. His style is to answer each question like "i agree with you xyz, it is really bad that xyz has happened. I don't think it is right that xyz is like that. Our policy which is in our manifesto was clearly labelled out, xyz orginisation said it was the best. To interupt these two old politics parties from arguing, or scoring points off each other, people don't want that" etc etc Which doesn't actually answer any of the questions and is highly contradictory because by constantly mentioning the same thing i.e the point scoring thing, is trying to point score by saying you don't argue....What a load of bull****. Clegg and the Lib Dem's offered nothing. I dislike the other two almost as much but at least they answered the questions and tried to not be rude to each other, they counter argued very well. That is what the point of a debate is. If Clegg want's to stand there and act like them arguing is wrong then he and his party should be nowhere near government because to get anything done you have to fight for it. He doesn't have an ounce of strength in his entire body.

Also he said "i would never say anything like that" before the tape was played. Which again shows he lied....

What i don't get is what the women actually asked that he felt was out of order. Her questions were pretty good and very relevent. We in Southampton have seen one of the highest eastern europe population increases here so we can sort of relate to her questions. I would not say we are a racist city, we are a nice bunch really. So i can understand why some people would like to know how these people are selected to live here. Is it a simple open door policy etc.. By asking those questions does not make you a biggot, it is just asking how their party policy on imigration works. The reason why he is getting a kicking is not because of he left a mic on it is because it shows his public image and his private image are two very different things. If he try's to be all sincere in front of the cameras but is really like that off it then you have to say he is just a phoney. What shocks me is that this wasen't some evil heated debate where some yobo threw a egg at him or insulted him etc.. It was a grandma, who has voted labour all her life just talking normally with her. She even said she agreed with him and will vote labour at the election. He had no need to be irritated. It was all set-up to make him look good. A interview with a labour die-hard supporter. He had the cameras, he had the mics etc.. He even said "they will run with it" talking about the news going to report on him visiting this women, in a form of propoganda to show he cares what people think. He fecked up bigtime. If he is like that with something so trivial then what is he like when it is something more heated? Labour will not win the election, we all knew that anyway. But with this they will be lucky to even finish second.

I must be really stupid or something but for the life of me i cannot believe a word of that. Here are the history books http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/ResultsSearch/0,,10794~2009000054,00.html And see next to the score it has another score (the who won on penalties score?). The figure clearly shows who won the game and the way they won the game. People such as yourself are just trying to over complicate something that does not need to be complicated. It is very very simple..... Firstly you seem to be getting it confused, this is not a league game, this is a CUP game. League rules and cup rules are very different. Where a league game can end in a draw a cup game cannot. It seems so childish that i have to even point that out. So now we have gathered it is not a league game we have to look at the cup rules for the games. In these instances the cup rules were if a team draws at the 90 min mark rather then continue to play for another 30mins they would have a penalty shootout and the team that scores the most goals wins. The thing which your not accepting is the method of penalties to determine that winner. While you mention neither team scored more goals then the other in normal time you don't mention one team scored more goals then the other in the shootout. A goal is a goal, they both put a 1 on the teams score tally. In this case it put a 1 on our shootout tally. So after we DREW over 90 mins we were asked to play a shootout to determine who would win and thus advance to the next round because again there has to be a WINNER. On the shootout we got more in the net then they did, our number was higher then theirs, thus we won the shootout. Which was the method used to seperate the teams if over 90mins there was a draw. Meaning we drew over 90 mins, we won on penalties, we progressed, thus we won.....

I don't want them to die, i don't want any real fans clubs to die. What i want for them is the action that they deserve and have dodged at every turn to be taken against them. Let's not sugar coat it, they cheated, they are continuing to cheat. They bought players with borrowed money that they had no intention of paying back, they loaned in players with no intention of paying their wages on time. They argued their finances were sound and they should have their transfer embargo lifted only to find a few months later they are £120m in debt. They lied to Vantis about their finances claiming the debt they owed was just 40% of the current total. They have sold countless players for vast sums of money which has vanished without trace. They have criminals running the club with connections to as dodgy as dodgy people get. You could write for days about the things they have done wrong. But they have yet to have any punishment handed to them. They are in admin but yet their admin is different to everyone elses. They are being bank rolled by an owner who got owenership of the club by a default on a loan. The actual administrator has history with those involved and is seen as a shift character etc etc The only punishment they have had is the -9 which means nothing to club that was always going to get relegated. Even with fielding all those players that shouldn't be there they were miles away from staying up. So i don't want to see them die, i just want justice to happen to them. Clubs like Luton for example have done nothing as bad as Pompey have and they got the book thrown at them. If they come out of admin on the 6th of may with nothing else happening to them then it is a total scandal. They deserve at least another -15/-25 next season and deserve a similar ban on them like Bournemouth have in terms of signing players.

Not really much to add that hasen't been said. We looked totally in control from the off. First half our wingers looked like they could not be arsed. Leaving Lambo to basically try and get the ball himself. Second half the players obviously got a kicking from Pardew and they started to play. I don't remember them having any clear shots at all. 3-2 was very flattering on them. We should of scored about 6. 2 of the most easiest chances i have seen falling to Waigo and a couple from Lallana. The only way they were going to score was from our mistakes and that turned out to be the way they got their goals from. Seabourne didn't have his best game and his two mistakes lead to the goals but he is young, he will learn. So not really much to say. Another win bringing our current points per game ratio over the last 8 to 2.50 points per game. Possibly the best ratio in all the leagues. Anyone who finds anything to moan about today should be put down for their own good.

Think your pretty much on your own there fella. Pardew is right in what he is saying. If you have three games left you should not take your foot off the gas, you should play to win each of those games. Because while it is still mathamatically possible we have a chance. To accept defeat while still having that chance is not treating the fans like idiots it is installing belief. It is keeping the winning mentality here. In the past we have been to easy too take up your type of attitude. The self-destruct attitude, only looking for negatives and reasons to complain. Regardless of getting to the play-offs or not this has been our best season for a long long time. Our first silverware since 76. Very few people are dissapointed in this season, funny enough the few who are for some reason are the ones who don't go to games. As mentioned, if fans are only going because we are winning then they are not really fans. But this time last year we had higher attendances then that and we were awful, relegated and going into admin, that didn't stop 15k+ coming out. I am pretty sure we will be seeing more then that at the game tomorrow.

"The 70 Page Warning" by the times, pretty decent write up, very damning of them. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article7104316.ece I think a good point is what would of happened if HMRC did not say "it's time to pay us"? The people running the club would of no doubt continued to make more money for themselves in the clubs name. The fans themself are not blameless. Nobody should feel sorry for them. The reality is they did not care. When things are going okay you don't feel the pain of the situation. It is only when it goes wrong that you do. Soon as they lose the final, drop to the CCC, lose their players and get hit with the most likely -15 then play garbage week after week etc.. That is when the fans will see the reality of their current situation. The fans have not even begun to see the fall from grace. It will be interesting to see what their attendances will be like at that point.

Personally i am unsure how you can criticise Pardew for the tactics today? We started with Wotten because he is our only other holding midfielder. We were not to know they would come and park up in the goal and play for a draw from the 1st minute. At half time he came off as he was having a mare. James is more creative then Wotten, is a good passer of the ball, has a lot of assists for the club. On another day he might have played better and we won, nobody would of said anything. He didn't play well so he came off. Now with the Barnard argument be honest about it, he did jack **** for basically 70mins. If he did nothing in that time why would he do something in the last 20? Seems a bit dumb logic to me. With Waigo it was the right decision. We needed someone with a spark about them who could do something different. Again we were all over their goal and in the last few mins we had some chances which someone should have put away. Plus add to that the penalties we should of had. Meaning if just 1 of those things had gone our way people would not be talking like they are. The players looked knackered, they gave it their all. They have played so many games this year. You can't win every game. Not even Man Utd could win every game. To expect it is just setting yourself up for dissapointment. Getting to the playoffs was always going to be hard. Pardew has done a great job here. He has made some mistakes, but he has also made some great decisions. Today was just a typical game of football, it happens. That comes when teams fear your side. I remember this time last year, nobody feared us, they laughed at us. For me this has been one of the most enjoyable seasons i have witnessed, i think i have seen more wins then i have ever seen in one season. Have played some of the best football i have ever seen. So really you have to say those who are unhappy are people who expected the playoffs. Most people would say they were un-realistic to expect that anyway.

Have to say i did think of the reaction on this forum when i heard what he said and now finally being home i see i am right. Personally i think Pardew was out of order with his answers to the guy. I have stuck up for Pardew a few times but you can't act like that, you have to remain proffesional 100% of the time. However you have to say that was up there with the most dumb questions to ask someone after that type of game. It was like saying "So are you going to be all negative all week or put it behind you and try to remain positive?". That was effectively what he was saying. This reporter is supposed to be a pro, he get's paid to do that job. It was lousy work and he got burnt for it. It was like he didn't know what to ask and thought of it on the spot. You have to also understand his passion of that momment. We played ok against a team with a truck parked in their goal with no attempt to play football, no attempt to go forwards at all. We had i think 2 legit penalties turned down by the ref and at least another 2 which on another day could of been given. These types of games always end in someone scoring 1 goal and normally that is down to the ref making the right decision. He got a couple wrong and that cost us. So i understand his ****ed off ness at it. The ref cost us today. I would of been more concerned if he came out all bubbly and happy.

I just look forward to seeing them get mauled in the final, all the players on their ass crying. Because the momment that whistle blows they will then feel the pain of it all. They will then know what suffering is as they fall from grace and struggle to stay even in the CCC. Their whole situation is a big two fingers up at clubs like Us, leeds,Luton etc... Mr Orford things they are long suffering fans who deserve nothing but greatness, if he thinks that is suffering then he will probably hang himself this time next year!

I saw him live and read his book etc.. i find him funny. The problem is as others have mentioned we find this stuff funny until the person is taking the **** out of something that effects you. Like with Frankie and this women, she probably laughed at all the jokes about foreign people, alcoholics, drug addicts, scotland, ginger people, the politic jokes, all the celeb jokes etc.. until finally it was something that she is effected by, then it becomes not funny. Which is hypocritical. Jokes are designed to make you laugh by taking the **** out of something. If your the type of person who takes things way too serious then you shouldn't be at a Frankie Boyle show anyway.

Just over a month ago we were 22 points behind then 4th place Colchester. The fact if we win on tues will see us a point ahead of them is a pretty huge turn around if you think about it. We have gone on an amazing run of games and they have imploded. I remember awhile ago some people were saying how great a team they were and how much of a great job their manager had done etc.. If you look at it now you have to say the opposite. Boothroyd has made some poor buys in the window and has fallen apart at the worst possible momment. Based on the last 8 games they have averaged 0.62 points a game and sit 3rd to bottom in the form guide. While we sit 1st and average 2.37 points per game. If we put that over the current season that would see us joint 1st with 89 points, that is including the -10. That is a pretty amazing stat. One i think some people have ignored. Where as Colchester would be on 26 points and sit 2nd to bottom. In 2 weeks Colchester play Huddersfield. For us to get into the playoffs we need Huddersfield to either lose 1 and draw 1 of their final games. They cannot win 2 of those games or it is impossible for us. Which means realisticly we need Colchester to do us a favour. If we win all our last games it does not matter how many Colchester win as we will be a point ahead of them. If Huddersfield beat Stockport which is obviously going to happen as they are poor then it means we need Colchester to beat Huddersfield. If we win all our games, Colchester beat Huddersfield and then they draw to Exeter means we go into the playoffs. So i hope they start picking up form because if they go into that game like they have in recent games Huddersfield will pick up their 2nd win and we won't be able to get into playoffs. So in a weird way Colchesters fall from grace can effect us getting that last spot.

Without being too disrespectful to SPL i remember on one of the BBC sport programmes when the SPL split was being discussed. They asked people like Hansen what level he thought the league would be without Rangers and Celtic and he said around the bottom of league 1 and top of league 2. I thought that was a bit harsh but he explained they don't have the attendances because they don't have the stadiums and thus the ability to make money to buy better players is not there. Looking at the average of attendances if you remove Celtic and Rangers it makes pretty grim reading. The top team would be Hearts with 14k followed by Aberdeen with 12k. Then comes a massive drop to Kilmarnok who have 5k. 5 of the teams in the SPL have an average of just 2k. That is awful for a supposed top flight league. To put that into context 20 teams in League 2 have higher attendances then that. Point being the level of football in SPL is low. No great managers want to go and manage there. Look at Mowbray. He got the Celtic job just a month after getting WBA relegated. I can't see someone like Pardew interested in that. Right now Saints has to be one of the best jobs out there. You got a great fanbase, nice south coast location easily commutable to surrounding areas including london, got zero debt, a good stadium, one of the richest guys in the world bank rolling you, the 5th richest club in England, in league one. And can now add to that a good team. The potential here is massive. If seen through to the end there is no reason to see why we could not do what clubs like Spurs,Villa,Everton etc.. are doing. We are clubs similar in size. We just lacked the money guy. I think he will try and hold onto this job for as long as he possibly can.

I'm sorry but that is just silly, it has nothing to do with including things such as weakened teams etc... It really is simple. A cup game that cannot be a draw has to have a winner. That means it is IMPOSSIBLE to have a draw. If it was the game would end and the two teams would go home. But the rules are there MUST be a WINNER. Rather then playing until next year penalties are the method used to find that WINNER and LOSER. On each of the shoot-outs we scored more goals and saved more shots thus we were the WINNER. The history books and stat books will show those results as Saints WON on penalties. Not Saints DREW over 90mins. By that logic that is like saying France drew the world cup.... That is just dumb.