sidthesquid

Exactly that, but then he'd have to talk about how his team were two down and out already by that point & how poor his team was. Better to big up the sending-off to distract the press from the truth.

But 700 of them thought it was THE derby match and were shocked when the coach headed off up the M3

He may well be, but unlike Rickie he still hasn't grasped the concept of the 'barn-door/banjo interface moment'.

It was almost easy today. Boro never got going and we outplayed them on every level. Chaplow is really back to the player he was five or six years ago, when he was touted as a future England player, but they were all good today & hard to find fault with anyone. We just look so good when it is going our way - unplayable. I love it.

Another yesterday man

I went to the two home ties & enjoyed seeing the young/fringe players getting a go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15438896.stm New Skates manager?

So, basically, they need TWO League matches AND a Cup game to add up to the same attendance we get for one Tuesday game. Sleeping giant my Rse. Comatose minnow more like.

Very stressful way to watch

Remember Ted Bates took over when we were a middling Div 3 team with no great history (and never having played in the top flight) and by the time he handed over to Lawrie Macwe were an established Div 1 team. Nothing that followed was possible without his solid foundations. (Think Bournemouth for a comparison.)

I have to say, seeing that, that we rode our luck a little more than seemed so on the night. Still, never mind, eh, Sam.

He has got himself back to where he was a few years ago when he came on loan. He arrived from Preston desperately low on confidence and struggling for fitness, having gone from a future England international to training with the kids at a relegation-bound ccc club, but we are now seeing the real Lex Luther.... sorry Richard Chaplow. £75k for him is an absolute bargain & well done to NA/NC for bringing him back and sorting him out

I thought we had him on loan with a view to a permanent signing - as per Chappers, Guly etc. That is how we tend to do it. But looks one of the finds of the season - he has fitted in like he has played in that teams for years, not weeks, and last night was as touigh a physical test as he will face this season. Give him his ticket and find him a seat on the bus.

Has he told us the real reason yet......?

I thought it was only ever there for comedic effect in the first place

We have the advantage of living in God's own country down here. Villa players have got places like Wolverhampton, Tamworth, Telford and Bromsgrove to choose from, not the New Forest, Winchester, Salisbury or even Chichester.

Surely the below chart, nicked from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Coast_derby tells you all you EVER need to know about which team is the best. Job sorted Competition Played Results Goals Saints Pompey Draw Saints Pompey Southern League 32 15 12 5 43 43 Football League 26 12 6 8 47 33 Premier League 4 2 2 0 6 6 FA Cup 5 4 1 0 12 6 League Cup 1 1 0 0 2 0 TOTAL 68 34 21 13 110 88

What about that vast army of dedicated fans prepared to travel anywhere in the country to support their team............ Oh, I see, you have a point

Call me an optimist, but if they are happy to delay trial for another four or five months it surely reduces the likelihood of a custodial sentence at the end of it.

As it's pedantry corner time, I'd suggest you overuse 'i' instead of 'I.'

After the costs attached to staging the game there can't have been much left. Probably would have been easier to stick a fiver in the post to them. (Unless of course, and call me an old cynic, they wanted a friendly anyway in international week, and this way they dragged 4000 of the phew out to subsidise it and scored a few brownie points by doing their bit for charity.)

I HATE SKY. Messes up all my plans at best, fail to make my first home game in three years at worst. All for a few p!ssheads to have something to stare at as they start drinking their day away. I almost got to the point of giving up my ST back in the last couple of Prem seasons becaue Sky so consistently fecked up my weekend. Not happy.

From the above.... One of the most interesting things that struck me was how he said his staff collect all the Twitter and Facebook mentions of CSI so he knows what they’re thinking and what they’re saying. It's that old KGB training, I suppose. I think I'd be a little nervous about that. Is this why the phew are getting phewer? Perhaps they are being bundled away in the night to the Portsea gulag.

I'd just like to add a couple of comments. One - I thought Fox played really well, best game for us, two - Watford just couldn't live with us, we passed them to death like Brum, three - why the hell weren't there a queue of Prem teams trying to sign up Jack Cork in the summer, £750000 for him is looking like bargain of the season, and four - I'm feeling scarily optimistic at present, I hate old Merrington's waffle normally but he goes on about 'blueprinting' and he is right, we can bring players in and out but they know how to play in our team and what is expected of them which makes our squad so strong.

Interesting interview on Solent - he said that basically because of his injury - dislocating his shoulder in pre-season - he never really got up to full speed last season (and he was in and out of the team a bit, too), but this season we are seeing what he is really all about. And it is good!