spyinthesky

Quite liked the RB who played first half (was he Callum Chambers but did he come on 2nd half?) Unfortunately the match programme was full of a few errors so not sure who exactly was who

Was enjoying a decent lunch time drink and snack in the Pilgrims at Marchwood when in came three 1st team squad Saints players all neatly dressed in training gear, presumably after finishing a training session. I was amazed that they were all unfailingly polite to the staff, sat quietly enjoying a soft drink and left after 30 mins. This is not the sort of behaviour I have come to expect from Saints players that I knew from the past and certainly different from the days when certain first teamers used to inhabit the pubs around The Dell or the Malthouse out at Timsbury and used the excuse of downing several pints in close succession as a way of rehydrating

Agree with Cat. U21's dominated the match and could well have racked up double figures Finishing was rather woeful at times and Sholing's replacement keeper made two excellent saves 2nd half. For those with an interest in fashion Cortese was stood by the dug out in a blue suit whilst Pocch was casually attired in black track suit with white edging. There was a big coaching staff on hand including Jahidi. Les Reed mentioned that they had all the paperwork sorted for the little lad who went to Liverpool (cant remember how to spell his name) but he changed his mind at the 11th hour when the rival offer came in. Will be interesting to see how the U21's perform when they step up a few levels against Eastleigh btw the new shirt, as sported by a few in the crowd of 360, is more disappointing in the flesh than as shown in pictures.

Anyone know when the TV games will be announced?

Two of us plan to go Bit of a different experience to last year when the game was played out in winter like conditions and the car park area was a quagmire!!

Apologies for my laziness but obliged if someone could advise pre season friendly dates for U21's and Youth teams please

I was a great fan of Big Ron and take nothing away from his impact at the time. However I wonder how he would have got on in todays game. Ron was relatively tall (and a good leaper) at a time when central defenders were not 6' - 6'4" giants of today. That said I would rate his all round game higher than Andy Carroll and look what he has cost Liverpool and West Ham. My vote goes the Keegan for his all round game I never saw Charlie Wayman play but many people of my Dad's generation reckon he had pace, control and goal scoring ability at a time when the game was not so easy to play

Nicky Banger left Aldershot's employ a few weeks ago

Just out of interest do many people on here watch the youngsters regularly and therefore take an informed view? LLP makes a good point about breaking in as a young CB, the disciplines in this position (and GK) especially for youngsters are greater than elsewhere on the field We had high hopes of Cranie and Lancashire but neither really made it although Mills did OK later in life as did Monk to some extent. I saw Shaw play the year before last and thought he had talent but never would have imagined he would make such a quick step up into the Prem and the same applied to the young Oxo. btw is Andy Robinson still with us? He always impressed me but suffered a bit from injury and is now not a 'youngster'

Heard a rumour Good at managing debt I understand

Presumably the Bolton player Patrice Muamba, would have had to pass a thorough medical and given the all clear (and there have been other professional footballers and athletes who have suffered significant heart related problems not picked up by health checks) There are some players, such as Asa Hartford who played for Man City at the top level for many years with a hole in the heart, which required regular screening

It is often easy to put 2 + 2 together and make 5. However a month or two back a mate of mine was due for a visit to the Spire in Tremona Rd for a consultation with a Cardiology Specialist. His appointment was bumped as the Consultant had to see a Saints player at short notice. We speculated at the time who this could be and thought perhaps Adam Lallana who had a heart related matter as a youngster. Perhaps it could have been Ramirez, then again it could have been part of routine checks after the problems with the Bolton player

Presume there must have been two of them on the climb?

My random memories of Big Ron 1. Never really heard of him when he signed for £55,000 in 1966 2, Singing along to the refrain 'Da Doo Ron Davies, Da Doo Ron Ron, on away trips 2. Most remembered goal? Ironically a right footed thunderbolt (he always favoured the left) in a last game of the season win over Villa 1967. Think the ball stuck in the stanchion. He scored 4 that day and was denied a 5th due to a dodgy offside 3. Greatest opponent? Mike England when he played for Spurs. He and Ron had a great tussle at White Hart Lane one year (I think we lost 5-3 but Ron won the individual battle) 4. Most difficult opponent. recollect it was probably Billy Baxter of Ipswich. Smaller than Ron but also a good leaper. 5. Off field recollections of Ron? At the Metro/Top Rank surrounded by adoring women (B*****d!!) 6. Last recollections of Ron? Turning out for Wessex Hotel in the Soton Sunday Morning league as a centre half. Great memories and the third recently departed Saint, after Ken Jones and Kevin Moore

West Ham renewal prices: Kids from £110 Adults from £620 Executive Box from £26,500 + Vat Lounges from £7,250 + Vat Greenwood/Lyall Bar £2,100 + Vat

Exactly. There are plenty of European teams who would make the list. It was interesting to see the attendances last weekend in the top English, German, French and Italian Leagues The average crowd in the Prem was 35,400, in Germany 49,300!!!, Spain 26,600, Italy 21,400 (how their crowds have fallen) and France 21,000 In Germany the home crowds were: Augsburg 30,112 B Dortmund 80,645 B M Gladbach 54,010 E Frankfurt 51,500 Freiburg 24,000 Hamburg 57,500 Hanover 49,000 Nuremburg 46,157 Stuttgart 51,020 Some serious crowds there presumably attracted by new stadia and cheap ticket prices

Reference to the clapper distribution was one of the things in Poyets email rant that got him suspended!!

Well done Brighton. Topped the home attendance list for last season with a home average of 26,373 However failed to beat ours of 26,419 from the previous season. Good effort nonetheless Meanwhile Saints have now finally overtaken Pompey in the all time (ie from League entry) in 1920/1 in the overall home average attendance over 86 seasons. Saints 17,557 Pompey 17,377 However over 86 seasons Saints have recorded a higher home attendance on 51 occasions which shows our dominance and loyalty especially as Pompey had a larger capacity ground for all bar 12 of the 86 seasons and, in fact, could only average 73% of capacity when they won their two League titles!!

White track suited man was in handcuffs after the game by the refreshment counter under the Itchen Stand being interviewed by a uniformed policeman. Presumably he will get charged for entering the field of play and perhaps get a banning order. He was daft to do what he did but perhaps a word in his ear may have been the best punishment on the day. Fair play for the rest of the fans for keeping off the pitch. Wonder if those Stoke fans responsible for setting off the flares were nabbed?

Don't think any one knows quite how much the loan from Vibrac (based in the British Virgin Islands) amounted to. The £30 odd million is the debt to equity figure arranged by the Liebherr Trust which, presumably means that if the Trust was to sell up this would be the minimum selling price they would look to achieve. Saints are not alone in getting cash in this way. Vibrac have recently loaned £16m to Fulham, £13m to Everton, and £60m to West Ham (who are in shed loads of debt) QPR borrowed £15m from Barclays in Hong Kong and Swansea a mere £3m from Lloyds. It is likely other clubs have taken out 'Pay day' loans (often at 10% Interest rates) set against future TV and Season Ticket earnings. Smaller clubs are also indebted in other ways eg Pompey have to pay back a Council Loan of over a £1m in the near future

Brought back some pleasant memories of the Cardiff Final I thought Saints fans were excellent on the day However for those of us fortunate enough to be at Wembley in 1976 you can times the Millennium experience by a factor of 10 at least, possibly 100. The lead up, the Final, the return home, Channon's testimonial on the Monday followed by the hottest summer of the century, all fabulous and I hope one day it can be replicated especially for the younger fans

Any one know exactly which players were at the awards? Presumably most/all of the First team squad but would that also include Ramirez and Fox who have no further part to play this season. What about the likes of Richard Chaplow and others who are unlikely to be here next year?

Potentially more worries for (Sir) Henry Redknapp and Tony Fernandez especially if M. Remy spends a bit of time at Her Majesties Pleasure

I have heard from a couple of sources that Cortese does not see himself being in Southampton for a lengthy period (one suggested reason is that his wife has not settled too well here) However I have always been reassured by comments he supposedly made about having other investors lined up to take the club forward. I am not particularly keen on the way Cortese treats people in general but have to give him credit for guiding the club to the position it occupies at the moment. Most of us were looking for more progress next year and this may well be prejudiced by uncertainty. A period of stability would be nice but the portents don't seem to be that encouraging. I posted a hypothetical question a week or so back asking whether the owners might now look to sell the club as a decent profit could be realised from the sale. Perhaps the Liebherr family Trustees are, indeed, looking at this scenario. Problem with this we just don't know who is out there looking to buy into a football club. Just look at the chaos at Fratton Park caused by dodgy chancers.