cambsaint

I shan't dwell on the disgusting anti-semitic comments and Nazi apologism of Livingstone except to say they were utterly disgusting and the only socialist party he should belong to is the National Socialist Party of Hitler. My main concern is the destruction of a party I have supported all my adult life. However I could never vote for a party led by the incompetent buffoon Corbyn, that has been infiltrated by a bunch of metropolitan Trots. Unless the MPs do something very quickly the party will be reduced to a joke extremist rump akin to UKIP and Farage. In extremis if I had to decide between the two of them it would probably be Farage. It will take years to recreate a Socialist Democrat party and I doubt that Liberal activists will want to recreate the original Lib Dems from the ashes of their electoral disaster. I dread the prospect of several decades of Tory misrule, but unless Corbyn and the Trots are got rid of very quickly I see that as a bleak future for my children. In all honesty it won't affect me too much as a pensioner living in a prosperous rural Tory area, so I may well not vote again in my lifetime, unless a well-led Social Democratic Party with realistic aims of government can be created. It is noteworthy that Corbyn has been 'banned' from the traditional Labour heartland of South Wales, and told to keep away from Scotland during these local elections - that should say it all.

I'm surprised just how many older people want to leave the EU. They have lived through seventy years of peace in Europe and the Western world. The European Court was largely led by the British and Churchill post WW2 to try to ensure that never again could a Hitler legitimately reach power via the ballot box and go to war and commit crimes against humanity. They have enjoyed previously unimaginable prosperity since we joined the EU. Our economy was a basket case post-war largely due to incompetent old-boy management and class-war by the unions after they had seen how the officer class lived in WW2-(that's my opinion btw.) If you really think back to the halcyon days of the fifties and early sixties (sarcasm btw) you will remember a moribund, class-ridden society in which the majority of workers were poor. Many pensioners are enjoying a lifestyle that couldn't have been imagined a few decades ago and living much longer. They are able to travel freely to Europe for holidays and even invest in property, or retire to the sun. Their pensions have got to be paid for somehow, as we are sitting on an unexploded time-bomb as all public service pensions and pensions and benefits are unfunded and paid out of current taxation. Without willing hard working immigrants payig tax on largely low incomes we could never afford them. Where I live the Addenbrookes Hospital complex looks like a crane-breeding colony (The Liebherr variety not the feathered), I recently went up the Shard and saw the enormous hospital complexes that have been built in the last couple of decades. These largely have to be staffed by migrant health-workers, due partly to government policy in not encouraging or allowing (doctors' trade union and subservient politicians largely guilty here) enough UK residents to train, but also by sheer numbers. Property prices have allowed the elderly to crucify the next generation and forced many of them to be fleeced by scum buy to let landlords. Why on earth would my generation risk destroying their good fortune! There are countless examples of good EU legislation that have benefit consumers when British politicians would have cosied up with the big business that provides their free meals (ever noticed how so many get fat very quickly after election), their directorships, their fat consultancies -yes I mean you man of straw, as well as Tories. Is the real reason desire for self-determination to try to return the UK to a post-feudal society like before the mid sixties. Surprisingly I hadn't meant to write this before I read the poll figures, I had meant to say that I had never been so decided in my adult life about how to vote. I'm not any more after writing this, I'm not going to risk my good fortune and my children's future prosperity on a chimaera of an unlikely better deal I realise that despite its undoubted warts I'm actually pretty comfortable with my lot in the EU.

I am very possibly considerably older than you and well remember the fifties and early sixties when social mobility was only just beginning. My grandfather was a friendly society secretary in a northern industrial city having started as a fourteen year old wool worker who self-educated himself via union aided WEA courses. He became the executive secretary of a huge branch of a friendly society and collected the weekly subs from workers and paid for their wives and children to have some medical services before the onset of the NHS, when only working men were covered by the Lloyd George Act. Father was extremely clever but couldn't go on to get a full degree and had to be satisfied with a professional qualification he could get as an apprentice. Amazingly when Grandad who held one of the largest business accounts in the City enquired about jobs in the bank for his sons he was told that they weren't from the right social class for the bank (Dad's Army is absolutely accurate.) I was the first in our family to go to university with a generous grant from HCC. The Labour politicians of that era were totally different from the career politicians from today, most were grammar school boys who didn't come from great privilege and had been to university on scholarships. Many were intelligent working class who had come through the Union movement and gained their education from the WEA and the trades union college in Oxford. The vast majority of current Labour politicians today just don't compare with those who I respected and respect. When at Manchester University I knew several Trots who pioneered entryism by helping at Labour Party and Union meetings. They realised that very few members wanted to be on committees and do the donkey work so a handful of highly motivated activists could easily disguise their true far left leanings and soon have massive influence on local parties. I also met a members of the last Labour cabinet when I was politically active at university- these were not the entryists that the massively under-rated Neil Kinnock overcame. I remember one of them advising us that if we were arrested at an anti-apartheid demo and beaten to bite our cheeks till they bled and cough up blood. As this could signify internal injuries they might send you to hospital. I would therefore be grateful if you didn't insult me for being absolutely furious to see the Party I've supported for over fifty years being led into oblivion by a scruffy incompetent buffoon and a gang of trots.

I have been a life-long Labour sympathiser except for Blair's criminal escapades in Iraq and the totally unelectable Corbyn and his entryist mates. However I think the criticism of Cameron is wholly unjustified. When I and my father before me were in business we expected our accountants to minimise our tax bills by any legal means. Whether it is fair or not is a moot point, but the self-employed and company owners frequently take huge risks and as I found out a hard-earned private pension before recent legislation-too late for me regrettably- was virtually worthless. The most surprising thing to me was just how little Cameron earned, a ridiculously low figure for his responsibilities and stress levels IMO. However I would love to see all ordinary MP's tax returns made public so we could see just how much they were earning from all those nice little directorships and consultancies when they are supposedly looking after our interests. A MoD civil servant once told me that every week he passed the enormous walled mansion of a very well known Labour politician and he and all his colleagues wondered how he could afford it having had no family money or a rich wife. A recent TV and newspaper article that fellow MPs censured but was exonerated by an independent investigation showed how. An ex minister of health was paid an enormous sum by a multiple pharmacy wholesaler/retailer to be their Chairman while still a sitting MP!!! Finally I hate IHT. My father was taxed during his very hard working life, and I can assure you that I and my sisters begrudge every single penny we had to pay up. My advice to anybody is to make sure you give as much as you can afford to your children seven years before you die just like Mrs Cameron snr so the grasping politicians can't waste it. Unfortunately all the emphasis on Cameron has largely taken the spotlight off the very real abuses of the off-shore schemes. I sincerely hope that Cameron's publication of his tax affairs leads to a lasting change and all those in public life paid out of the public purse have to publish their affairs, however it would be a step too far for all tax affairs to be publicised, only those of us who choose to govern us and also those in senior public appointments eg Council Chief executives and NHS trust directors who are not paid by PAYE.

The moment I saw the Simpson handball in real time on Sky I was sure it was deliberate and I was astonished that we weren't given a penalty and Simpson a red card. The slow-mos just confirmed it for me. I have no problems about the other two controversial decisions. I thought there was a definite sleight of hand to push it away with disguise. IMO the ref had a poor game.

Brought back memories except we usually caught the train and often walked into town for a Plested's pie and chips before going to match. In the mid sixties if one of us could borrow our Dad;s car it was find a parking place on Hill Lane and queue for hours to get back to Winchester all the way from the match through Chandler's Ford until Hursley Road-no bypass then. My worst memory is the Leicester game when it poured so hard that even our underpants were soaked and we were thrashed. A little later we moved to under the East Stand and well remember all the muck covering us from the stand when the season ticket holders stamped their feet.

I assume they have a right of appeal. If they truly believe they are innocent then they will surely use it.

Kompany back. Were very good indeed against Kiev tonight. Could well end up as Champions if they can play like tonight in the PL, and injured players come back.

I went to Portsmouth School of Pharmacy in the late 60s early 70s There was rivalry, yet even though I lived for a year almost opposite the gates on Nottarf Krap, I never felt threatened although I obviously never looked for trouble. Obviously I wouldn't leave any Saints related stuff in my car, I used to go to every home match, either by train or car, that was the main reason for choosing Portsmouth over Brighton, which was by no means as cool as it became. The rivalry was there and of course there was hooliganism at the time, but outside the hoolie brigade the rivalry was mainly fairly friendly.( In those days the Milton Hoolies used to go and join the Millwall and try to take over the Pompey end.) I left the area before the rivalry became vicious, and all the rubbish about dock strikes was never mentioned in the 70s. I think that as Portsmouth's decline deepened they began to hate our success especially in the great days of the early 80s under McNenemy and the virulent dislike began in Portsmouth and was mirrored in Southampton. The situation now is nothing short of ridiculous.

I think he will stay for the reason that he can do a Fergie there and resurrect a club that was massive in the fifties and early sixties ( Spurs not MU), and take them back to major success. It would be regarded as (and would be) a far greater achievement than going to a top club with established stars and just continuing their success. This year he has shown us that he is as good as we all thought he was, achieved far beyond expectations. He has the opportunity to become one of the greats. Also he has shown himself as outstanding in developing young players, and there is possibly a question mark whether his playing style and management philosophy would go down well with established superstars. IMHO and I really mean that this time, (no sarcasm for once) , he should stay and try to make Spurs CL winners. Imagine the adulation he will get from the Londoncentric football media if he does that. I imagine that Levy and the extremely rich owner will do all they can to keep him.

I was at Uni in the sixties when Trotskyites first tried entryism, and after helping Th***her in by causing chaos in the unions in the late seventies, Kinnock eventually ousted them. B Liar then successfully managed entryism with wannabe Tories. It now appears that the Trots are back in force in the party. however there is a ray of hope in that it has been reported that the Party rules still require a putative leader to have 15% of the PLP as nominees. Corbyn has no hope of this and it is rumoured that he will be out after disastrous local election results. I still believe that the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s were the only decent governments that I can remember, I was a baby in the post war Labour government which gave us the NHS and nationalised key industries after WW2. If this is so then we can look forward to a new Labour leader and bitter local party infighting. I don't think the labour Party will survive in its present form, so the Trots will have ensured decades more of Tory misrule.

In realtime I thought Wanyama's was a straight red. In slow-mo it was obvious that he had completely missed the ball and Payet made a meal of it. However I thought we played better with ten men than in last twenty minutes of the first half when we completely lost it. WH had 73%possession in one 10 minute spell. Overall a very hard fought, well deserved really gutsy win. Koeman very reasoned in his after match comments.

Wasn't that called The Hyde Tavern when I lived there- up to '79. In the sixties/seventies it was a good pub, but not our regular-that was the long gone White Horse in Cannon St. where I was in the twiddly footvall team. A good twiddly football table and jukebox and bar billiards were the prime requirements of a pub in Winchester, and of course Strongs preferably if not Marstons.

I was sitting right at the front at the Arsenal League Cup match last year. Sanchez had the ball and was clear in. He shot so hard I could barely see it (crap old eyes). I was right in line, he shot low at the base of the near post and it should have bulged the net in the opposite back corner. I was convinced it was going in, but somehow Forster managed to palm it behind for a corner. It took a second or so to realise he'd saved it. It rates as one of the best saves I've ever seen and I watched Shilton a lot. It doesn't quite beat Shilt's save when we all thought he managed to curve his back up when diving the wrong way to push a certain goal over the crossbar. ( Of course balls were much heavier in those days and much slower but heavier. But imo it rates as one of the best ever saves from a perfectly hit shot. If he stays fit I think he'll be England's number one, but can we hold onto him? Last night I also think his immense physical presence put off (scared the **** out) of one Arsenal attacker who should have scored easily. His agility for such a huge man is awesome.

Reading the Telegraph about the announcement of Pep Guardiola going to Man City, and the probability of him having huge amounts to spend, possibly even enough for Messi and the other super stars. The article went on to say that even the juggernaut that is Man U is going to have to respond, possibly by appointing "The Special One", and sorting out the hugely expensive selection of new buys that haven't set the PL alight. This could mean that the big four will all have to spend big this summer. Poch seems to have settled in at Spurs, and is undoubtedly as good as we thought he was, and may well join the Euro elite. Although they face uncertainty with the move they have plenty of money and will undoubtedly be a force in their new stadium (more's the pity). West Ham will soon have a 60K capacity and all the publicity and potential sponsorship that comes with that. We've seen that the mega-bucks the PL generates allows all clubs to buy good players and the mid table will become even harder. I can't help thinking that in the coming years, there will be about ten clubs all fighting for six down and the bottom three or four will become a revolving door, having their day in the sun, going down and returning again. It is going to be extremely difficult to finish in the top ten in future, let alone the top six. Saints are going to have to be very well managed in the future, as will all the other PL clubs, there will be no room for error in my opinion.

I can remember it being sung by most of the crowd, and not just the singing fans when we were in Div 3 about 1961 think. When we went up we played Portsmouth and I heard the Pompey chimes for the first time and saw my first football fight when the Pompey Matalo came into the Milton. I was too young to go anywhere till the mid sixties when singing and chanting had been popularised by the fans, but the Dell, (except when my next door neighbour took me to Arsenal v Man U in about 1960, and I saw Newport County and Cardiff with my uncle and father when visiting. Believe it or not one of the most popular chants back then was still 2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate. I think that Glory, Glory sung by Spurs on TV in Europe was probably one of the first songs to become well known. I think that in the 50s and early sixties very few clubs had a song, with the exception of West Ham, Pompey-if you include The Chimes, Spurs and Saints. At that age I never went oop north but I think that the popularisation of football songs began with Man U and Liverpool. regrettably I have to admit that Man U had the wittiest and most inventive. I come down very strongly on the side that OWTS is the Saints own song and all other clubs using it are guilty of lazy plagiarism. However we can take solace in the fact that "Imitation is the sincerest form of flatter" Now a song based on that might make an interesting and witty response.

The disappointing fact is that we are £100 million behind Spurs and Liverpool. It is hard to see how we can make this up. We aren't going to be on Sky every week, and even more disappointing when we are our pitchside advertising doesn't look as if it brings much in. I certainly don't want Saints to sell their soul to usurers and bookies who are only interested in money grabbing and causing hardship, so I can't see us picking up a really juicy sponsorship deal. It is pretty certain that clubs in London will find it easier to get good sponsorship and the kit manufacturers are only ever going to give megabucks to clubs with a worldwide fanbase. West Ham could massively increase their income when they move to sponsor friendly surroundings. Newcastle have an enormous local fanbase and high matchday income. So the status quo looks pretty set, which means that our youth strategy is the way we have to go. It is a shame though that Liebherr cranes won't give us a generous sponsorship. Man City can be sponsored to the hilt by the national airline of the country of the owners and get away with it. So the rich get richer and the top six remains very difficult to break into on a long-term basis. Hopefully Spurs may suffer a setback in income when they move to Wembley for three years, but West Ham could easily jump up.

I think that the water level is extremely high across the entire UK. Most ground is saturated even here in the relatively dry East Anglia, let alone a much wetter Southampton. There is standing water on my usual dog walk in places that I've never seen before (in over 20 years except in flood conditions), and we haven't had much rain here! Add to that the fact that the pitch is at sea level, it has to be entirely dependent on drainage systems, and there is obviously a limit that these can cope. BTW -You should have seen The Dell in the 60s!

The only way any club can keep players is to have mega-rich owners who are prepared to put massive amounts of money, have a 45K min stadium, fill it nearly every week, have a large fanbase,excellent primary and secondary sponsors, be in the CL, and pay ludicrous wages. Any player who would stay at Saints for 60K when they could get 100+K elsewhere must have a screw loose. Everyone's first duty is to themselves and their family and that normally means maximising one's income within moral boundaries. If we are going to be realistic we should be happy with reasonably football, top half on the PL, occasional forays into Europe, occasional cup successes and freedom from relegation fear. I would be ecstatic if we could reproduce seasons like the last one with reasonable regularity. Regarding Mane the club must try to keep him until summer, keep him motivated and sell him for absolute top money.

Of course we are. However to look on the bright side we are still only a good run of results from a decent league position. I was amazed yesterday when I read in the Telegraph that we have had the second highest number of shots in the PL. We can obviously get into position, but just can't finish it off. We desperately need a striker who can actually find the net in this window.

While not a fan of Motorhead, while watching the Beeb I realised I would probably have seen him in Reverend Black and the Rocking Vicars at The Clevelets Hotel near Blackpool around 1965. They mainly did covers of "Them" songs and Gloria was top of The Radio Caroline North charts for several weeks. I used to see them and hear RCN when I went to my Aunty's to have a free holiday at Thornton Cleveleys near Blackpool in the early to mid sixties. At the same time I watched The Trogs and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick and Tich learning their trade at The Winchester Lido Sunday Club for two shillings or 10p just before they became famous. Also watched The Family do a stint at Manchester Uni Wednesday free dances just after they had formed. Of course my wife beats all by reminding me she went to The Marquee every Friday night in the sixties. We were very lucky to see great groups in intimate locations for very reasonable prices in those days.

Having previously been pro-Europe with varying enthusiasm, I am rather surprised that one thing has changed my mind. That is the Eastern European leaders saying they will not allow us to make our own policy regarding benefits. I was prepared to accept free movement as I believed that our economy needed an influx of younger workers to pay the pensions of my generation. However while being prepared to accept the original terms with a veto, I cannot accept that British policy can be made in Poland, hungary etc. I will therefore now vote to leave, unless we get very significant progress. Albeit with considerable regret and trepidation.

"That dreadful woman" said it would have been a travesty if Saints had equalised. Where does she come from? Surely she knows that a travesty is by definition Saints losing! More seriously it didn't seem to be a particularly balanced account.

So if you don't mind, you can wish for Labour to be reduced to an incompetent, malicious rump - more presumably to mirror the Lib Dems in their current state - but I as a lifelong Labour supporter wish to have a party back that is at least trying to be a popular, responsible, social democratic party committed to social justice. Corbyn is no "choice" for me, nor is it for the former Labour voters who've deserted the party in droves at the prospect of the ludicrous posturing of Corbyn. I agree with the above completely. There is a sensible debate to be had about moving away from New Labour and B Liar's reign, which made me tear up my membership card in disgust. Unfortunately Corbyn is not the answer either. He is totally unelectable as far as many English and Welsh voters are concerned, his pacificist and anti-royalist attitudes are anathema to many to begin with. These are viciously exploited by the Tory scum press, but that is a fact of life any Labour politician with real expectation of being electable has to face. His naivity in dealiing with these is nothing short of incredible. Over the past few years inequality has increased alarmingly, and the young are getting a disgraceful deal. When I was young we had excellent education, generous student grants (admittedly both selective-but a large number of my fellow Grammar school students came from council house and lower income families). Money is now creating an even more unequal society by private education. Council houses were available to those who couldn't afford housing. It was relatively easy to buy a house, and my first house was in Lordswood and there was a wide social mix of buyers. Nowadays almost all of my friends have had to help their children on to the housing ladder, as it requires a massive income to buy in more expensive areas. Admittedly the young enjoy low interest rates, but these have also been one of the main drivers of the buy to let market. Surely there is a young Labour MP who can effectively draw the old themes of fairness, equality of opportunity, good social welfare, while ensuring sound economics and not being anti-business (apart from the those like the disgusting usurers ), while ensuring a sensible defence policy. I also miss the presence of labour MPs who had come up via the Unions and knew what it was like to do a proper job. We now seem to be stuck with students from a narrow range of degrees and predominantly middle class upbringings who go straight into politics with no other life experience. (Even the old Hampshire Tory MPs -public school, officer in the services, something in the City, then safe Tory seat had more experience of life outside "The Westminster Bubble" than the current appalling young politicians. Also I am the same age as Corbyn, and to even consider taking on the stresses of leading a serious political party let alone fighting a General election at 72, and God forbid being PM strikes me as insane. He could however do a good job by standing aside and ensuring the Party moves to the centre left as a social democratic party with a conscience.

Good for being able to sing "Abide with me" at cup finals. Unfortunately we don't get the opportunity very often.