saintbletch

Just been announced on 5 Live that HMRC has issued a winding up petition against PFC for non payment of taxes. The hearing will be held in February.

That was my initial reaction, but that was then and this is now. Bringing a decent player struggling for form into the road crash of a club that was Saints is very different from bringing in an in-form player into a decent side. And we do need cover for Lambert.

I don't know how up-to-date this is but according to the W H Ireland Director's bios web page.... His old mate (Lord) Jonathan Marland is also on the board and they were both involved in a messy boardroom shake-up in April that saw two directors ousted that wanted to remove Rupert and some other members from the board. I don't think he's purposely keeping a low profile, I just think that whatever business interests he has are not newsworthy.

To answer the OP's question....I think Lee Holmes is a really decent bloke off the pitch and I remember his displays on the pitch early last season fondly (before QPR). My 13 year old daughter wears Lee Holmes' top to each home game - not a replica but his official match top. I'll explain... We went to the club's open training day at SMS earlier in the season which was fantastic. Everyone there got to meet all the players who patiently signed autographs and posed for pictures. Well my daughter and her mate were trying to out-do each other getting photos, autographs and other memorabilia from the players. Long story short but with the help of some fantastic stewards who wanted to keep a couple of hormone-fuelled teenage girls quiet, my daughter's mate got a brand new Saints top signed by all the players and my daughter got the training top off Rickie Lambert's back. Top bloke. We were the last to leave the stadium and Rickie Lambert was the last player in line signing autographs and as he jogged back to the tunnel after posing for pictures with us, and as we were being ushered out of the stadium, my cheeky daughter shouted "Can I have your top Rickie please?". He stopped, thought about it, stripped off his top, jogged back and handed it to my daughter who just about fainted. Top bloke. Lee Holmes? Well my daughter had previously asked Lee if she could have his shirt (as she did to every player) and he said that the next time he played he would give her his top. I thought that was just a push-off a) because he didn't want to give her his top and b) because he wasn't likely to play again any time soon. But he chatted to us for quite a while and he was insistent that if he played she would get his top. Well a couple of home games later (can't remember who against) Lee Holmes made the bench and came on for the last 5-10 minutes. Towards the end of the game my daughter made her way down to the tunnel area (with the help of one of the friendly stewards) and at the final whistle, Lee Holmes saw my daughter and remembered her and his promise and before he had left the pitch he took off his shirt and handed it straight to my daughter. I thought that was a really nice touch and was very impressed that he remembered. So, unbelievably my daughter got Rickie Lambert's sweaty training top and Lee Holmes' official match shirt as well as the bragging rights with her mate. And the club got two female fans for life.

Yep, he'd me up there for me too. I'd also echo John Martyn for earlier in this thread and throw in Nils Lfgren both of which I got to see at The Brook in recent years. I'm not sure this trio falls into the axe wielding category but Paco de Lucia, John McLauglin and Al di Meloa take some beating for absolute technique.

Hope the Lounge is the right place for this very clever video. . If we did a Saints version, who would be in it and which film?

Strike blocked. Just announced on 5 Live. Ballot was illegal.

Agreed a wonderful move. That got a mini-standing ovation in the Itchen North. At the time I thought their second goal might have been offside just as the ball was played through to Holt. The highlights don't make it clear but it looks borderline.

As the Norwich players performed the ritual post-penalty Norfolk Haka, the referee decided to see if Neal Trottman was as tight at the back as his reputation suggested.

Yes, there was one on the summary screen. Let's see if this works....

It was interesting but a little simplistic. I'm somewhere between Nelson Mandela and The Dalai Lama Economic Left/Right: -3.50 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.82 Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to calm the kama of the South African nation.

A classic.

Indeed. But many of them came back up from the concourse after the goal and stood on the steps and walkways in the Itchen North. Created a very good atmosphere for the penalties.

Have to say Pardew really calls games well. He's very good at assessing the games and incredibly honest too. Also glad to hear that Wotton for Morgan wasn't tactical as the game went away from us in the second half, although obviously concerned that we might be without MS for Leeds.

Some good counter points. In fact you are the only person I have "seen/heard" brave enough to defend the BA cabin crew's action. I should say that I support wholeheartedly the right of the crew to decide en mass to strike. I also support the unionisation of the work force. But the cabin crew here has got this terribly wrong from a PR point of view, or, as you say BA management has spun the story against them. I should declare an interest or two. I am a regular business traveller and an executive club member and I always look to fly BA when I can. I also have two kids booked to go on a skiing trip over Xmas with their school, flying BA, that now looks in jeopardy. Per you points above. I can see why cancelling a threatened strike and seeing BA renege on the agreement makes the cabin crew feel aggrieved. And they should find an acceptable way of holding management to account for this. All valid explanations. But the flying public has less brass in pocket and as a result right now, and potentially never again, they will not pay the premium to be greeted by a "better" class of steward/ess. I think I read the fact that the BA pension combined schemes' deficit is something in the order of £3+Bn. I also saw the record losses that BA posted recently. From the outside it looks like massive sweeping changes are required. Secretly? Definitely not. But changes needed? It appears so. Unfortunately they are fighting market forces and not just management. I feel that if they are successful then they will have a company so uncompetitive and out of touch with the needs of today's traveller that BA will die a sad slow death. Agreed. But it's not just Willie Walsh that has to decide on this. It's the market. I will morn the passing of BA from premium carrier to low-cost seat shop. But I'd personally be more upset if the company failed to exist. There are principles at play here and I can feel the bad place the cabin crews find themselves in. They are caught between management that has reneged on previous agreements and they feel that they must now show that they are serious. But right now, against a backdrop where some of the most extradoniary things have happened to our economy, the sad fact is that they will likely have to accept what management wants. But perhaps still have a company and a job. There are principles for me too. If BA cancels my kids' school ski trip, I'll do what I can to never fly with them again.

Depends if you swallow.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Chelsea started signing up all their pros on long-term contracts when they got the transfer 'ban'. I personally wouldn't expect to see him forcing his way into the Chelsea team any time soon unless the transfer ban is upheld and every pro in front of him decides to leave the club. That said I agree he'll have "better" offers ahead of us I'm sure. Shame he'd be a cracking signing.

Agreed. A pro rata deduction would only matter 'in theory' if it's possible that the league campaign will finish prematurely. And if that were to happen, well I suppose you never know, then it will be the current league position at that time that will be taken. That total will already include all of the 10 points deduction. So computing a pro rata deduction is pointless. (no pun intended).

Actual size.

Very funny. FYI Saints start at 7:17.

LOL. I thought Middlesbrough were in for Lambert in the summer but had to sell a player first which meant he came to us. Perhaps they're following up their interest? Or it's the training tops.

So you basically used a lot of emotion-laden, hot air and defensive rhetoric to say what I originally said... Who's got the collosal[sic] chip on their shoulder?

Depends on your perspective alpine_saint. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles_naming_dispute I think you'll find there are many people, on both sides of the sea that divides us that refer to them simply as "these islands" because of the political connotations of using the term the British Isles.

Yeah. What's with the Irish? You'd think "we" had messed in the affairs of their country for centuries or something. It's just a game. I bet the Iraqis and Afghanis will be the next to not cheer our team on. Ingrates. [this post is intentionally heavily laden with irony in case that isn't immediately obvious]