spyinthesky

There was an interesting table in the Times yesterday focussing on the Tyne/Wear derby which, after the result on Sunday, became the joint second closest of the 16 England's main derbies along with WBA and Wolves. At the top end of the table Saints have the best proportionate advantage over their local rival with a win percentage of 63.6% This ratio increases to 69.8% if Cup games are added to League games For the record our overall record against our traditional rivals is: P 38 W 19 D 10 L 9 F 69 A 48 The head to head record in the early days of the Southern League also favours the Saints but these results have not been included as they are not considered to be 'First Class' matches.

Hope I am wrong but think Sam G will struggle to make it at the top level but there is no reason why he can't make a decent living out of football especially as he is still young and should mature and, hopefully, put injury and family tragedy behind him. Not quite sure why he was played out wide for the U21's but from that position he scored one of the best goals seen at St Mary's against Blackburn last season

Any one still awaiting a ticket thro the post for this one Mine supposed to have been posted last week but yet to arrive

At least he turned out in club colours which is more than be said of Tommy Forecast or Anthony Pulis

Interesting that you were able to get a room at £100 per night I think the tariff starts from at least double that in busier times Saw the building from a cruise ship as it looked very impressive. Looked up the history of the building which started out as a grain store as well as a place where canal boats were built One of the original owners (Stuckey's?) was murdered near by

I had to smile at your comment I wonder if this is the reason why Portsmouth Council have taken against Asylum seekers? Presumably the gentleman shown is residing somewhere in the Leigh Park area?

There are two of us going up independently for the game and staying outside of the city Is it best to go into Liverpool and park and get a bus (or taxi) to the ground or is there parking relatively close to Anfield? Last time I went we had to pay to local scallies to 'watch out' for the car whilst we were at the game!!

Is he still posting? Used to enjoy his in depth examination of many Saints related topics

Weren't we supposed to be interested in Vardy when he was with Fleetwood?

Seems a while ago that Mane was being rubbished by many after the Sheff Utd defeat

Mack rill Probably shouldn't say this but I reckon you are the sort of Pompey fan who a few of us on here would enjoy a drink with and exchange some light hearted banter You seem to have a sense of humour sadly lacking in some of your fellow Pompeyites Presumably your family were not affected by that nasty Dock Strike

Also, from the same organisers, a day at Windsor Races with one of our past (and least successful) manager's on 12 October £239 for the privilege compared to £90 for the Ronald Koeman evening However the ex manager in question will bring along the family pet to explain her part in her master's success and will also be available to offer advice on relatively complex financial matters and respond to texts and twitter feeds. No cats allowed though.

9th May this year Also 3 Queens were in together last year and also 2012 Not an irregular event

If you had the choice of one player from the England squad to improve Saints line up, who would it be?

Will be interesting to see how the figures change post January window Any one know what the figures were for Jan 2014?

It is good that a few Celtic fans have come on here with a decent and reasonable view However I guess there will be thousands of them cheesed off about continually losing good players to a medium sized English club fortunate to have a big wedge of Premiership cash to call on

I agree with you Like the 2 tiers Apparently cost to build was £50m compared to ours at £32m Also it seems the capacity can be increased to 45,000 with the addition of an extra tier, hence the high roof line However all these 'soul less'!!! stadiums aren't a patch on the old fashioned grounds full of rotten views, rotten timbers, under powered floodlights, third world toilets, cooking fat in the pipes etc etc... according to certain myths, of course.

I wonder if we would still be chasing VVD with such vigour if the deal for Toby A had been completed? Presumably not unless we could have signed Toby for the mooted £7m and we could have taken a more hardball line with Celtic on the fee for VVD

Agree with the Chelsea hospitality experience Top rate food etc compared to St Marys and also heaters in the stand roof to keep out the cold!! Guess the price at Chelsea is pretty high although the £50-£60k + Vat per Box at St Marys is not at all cheap. However I think most/all hospitality guests are interested in the game at St Mary''s Was amazed at how many people remained in the hospitality areas during the game at Stamford Bridge and of those taking their seats a fair amount of them (particularly women and kids) seem to be more interested in looking at mobiles and/or tablets than on watching the game Didn't like the hospitality at Old Trafford where we sat behind glass and had the 'atmosphere' piped in.

Apparently 'All Sold Out' according to yesterday's programme More than 20,000 (no reference to actual number) Highest number since 2004!! I suppose the club makes more money by selling more expensive tickets on the day but, conversely, is it better to get money up front especially if results don't match expectations? Seems that only about 15-20 of the 47 executive boxes are taken.

Norwich, not seen as a hot bed of football However for a smallish provincial city, they sell out every home game and have good numbers away They deserve respect for bringing 3,000 ish to St Marys for an early KO that is live on TV Well done for that especially as it is a long journey back after a walloping btw one of our old targets, Gary Hooper, looked a pound or two overweight when he came on

The good thing about Stoneham in my mind would have been its symbolic presence right next to the M27 so millions of cars and passengers would pass it every year and it would have advertised Saints to all and sundry. As mentioned in an earlier post perhaps the best location would have been on the Pirelli site (now West Quay) which was mooted in the 70's However both Stoneham and West Quay only had plans for 25,000 capacity Whatever we all think of the Lowe era it was during this period (and with the help of the local Labour Council and two MP's - and I am not making a political pitch here) the new stadium was delivered Without this we could still be at the Dell, possibly languishing in the lower leagues like our friends down the road

And of course the Pompey News backed by any number of fans and locally celebrities ran a campaign to get a knighthood for the wonderful Henry Redknapp and even suggested including the now discredited Peter Storrie!!!

Re Comparative Attendances Since both clubs entered the Football League in 1920/1, Saints have had a higher average home gate on 54 of the 88 seasons Our lowest average crowd was 9,064 in 1932/3 whereas Pompey recorded a figure of 8,269 in 1994/5 but seasonally adjusted this converts to 37,082 which coincides with their best ever average in season 1948/9 (note this was in a ground with a capacity of 52,000!!) Note also that in the 88 years of this comparison, Pompey had a larger capacity stadium for 74 years In more recent times ie since both clubs ended up in the same division in 1960/1 (ie a period of 55 seasons) Saints have recorded higher home league attendances for 52 seasons!!!!! Oh and the tickets for the Reading game ranged from £2 to £10 - a fair incentive

VVD seems to have pace and the ability to pass with two feet. However he doesn't seem to be particularly 'physical' or 'switched on' Really hope I am completely wrong but he seems to me to be a defensive version of Gaston Ramirez On a separate tack both the Celtic and Malmo fans create wonderful atmospheres.