spyinthesky

I have to admit to feeling sorry for McCarthy. He did a lot to get us promoted last season and is a reasonable keeper. Unfortunately he does not have the foot skills to play RussBall and that was evident on Saturday as well as most, if not all, of pre season games. So that, sadly, is down to the Manager and indeed those holding the purse strings. What supporters must not do and there is form here in past years, is to offer up a negative vibe is McCarthy is selected for next Saturdays game. Confidence in any player is crucial and to adversely affect this by jibes and comments during the game is completely the wrong thing to do. On a separate matter, in all the time I have been a Saints fan, only one GK has come through the ranks to play more than a few games for the Saints and that was Bob Charles in the 1960's who must have been the inspiration for Tubby Morton, the original net minder at Melchester Rovers!!

I went to school in Fareham and although it was primarily a Pompey focused town eg the Pompey News had a far bigger circulation there than the Daily Echo, there was a far amount of Saints fans at school and we used to have good natured Pompey v Saints games (which we generally won!!) Up until 1960 Pompey had been the top club on the South Coast (from around the mid 1930's) whereas Saints had been in the ascendency from the Southern League days of the 1880/1890's. Many people from the Southampton area used to get the train down to Pompey to see First Division football without any issues at all. Things changed when Saints went up to Div 2 as Pompey were relegated from Div 1 and we immediately won more games than they did. I remember going down to Fratton Park for the first meeting there, which we won 5-2 if I remember correctly. Both sets of supporters mixed reasonably well although our young supporter who used to run round the perimeter of the pitch in Saints kit got tripped up by the adult Pompey mascot in a sailor suit and a supporter threw sand in the lads eyes when he went down which wasnt at all friendly. Not long long after Pompey supporters came down to The Dell for John Hollowbread's testimonial game and caused some problems and the rivalry then ramped up as football hooliganism started being 'fashionable' in the early mid 1960's. I have a vague recollection of some Saints fans going down mob handed to a Pompey game one evening and causing problems at Fareham station (possibly a Pompey supporting lad was badly injured) and the rivalry moved on from there, especially when the so called 657 mob commenced operation. Ironically the so called 'Scummer' name which, supposedly comes from the laughingly ridiculous Southampton Company Of Union Men (S,C,U,M) was actually first used in the autumn of 1976 when workers in the Commercial Docks in Pompey, broke an agreement not to accept Brittany Ferry ships transferring from Plymouth and TGWU members, primarily from Southampton but also including members from Weymouth, Poole and Plymouth, laid siege to Pompey Docks for several days and Hampshire Police were called in to provide protection. All the information can be found about this can be found in the archives of the Daily Echo and the Portsmouth News so it it pukka info. I know quite a few people from Pompey and by and large they are OK. However most, if not all, have a real chip on their shoulder about Southampton as a city and a football club which seems to reflect an inferiority complex which I find it hard to understand. Pompey has always reminded me of a northern town transplanted on the South Coast but without any humour.

Nic old chap, anyone who uses the terms 'gotten' or the awful 'from the get go' (and appreciate this criticism can't be levelled at you for the moment) needs to have a lie down and ban themselves from watching US inspired TV, Media and Cinema. Kind regards.

I am pretty sure there has been ongoing discussions between the club and the Council at least from the Cortese days. As far as I am aware the Council owns the freehold of a lot of land around the stadium and they certainly would like to 'gentrify' the Itchen waterfront. However the Aggregate companies on the waterfront adjacent to St Marys have long leases and the ships would need to find a new home to operate. In this respect there could be options over at Dibden Bay if that ever gets developed.

I think NHS staff do great work for not a lot of money although as I understand it, those on salaries of between £32k and £49k pay 9.8% and £49k to £63k pay 10.7% and + £63k pay 12.5% However the employers contribution is now around 20% on a Defined Benefit Basis so this is really a level that very few other pension providers offer and is a significant amount of Treasury outlay.

Dear old George rose from his grave and moved into TV retiring from Dock Green when he was 80 in 1976, after his last job at Wembley providing security for the Saints team after their FA Cup win.

Respect for the police evaporated when George Dixon retired!!

Keegan. European Footballer of the Year No way can that be beaten. But under McMenemy we had Osgood, Ball, Shilton, Watson. Ivan Golac was a good un too. Ronnie Eklund was another but unfortunately didnt last long

Christophe, What sort of attendances are to be expected in the 3rd Division? Will your home crowds be bigger than most? What's the latest on Girondins?

Couple of names we were linked with: Manuel Benson winger at Burnley, last season Samon Ghoddis midfielder at Brentford, apparently out of contract, back in June. Presume both off our radar?

Some members of our Derek Reeves Appreciation Society applied to the Ticket Office for Season Ticket Cards instead of this new fangled App thingy, communicating using headed notepaper and quill pen left over when we were all members of The Dell Supporters Club back in the 1950's (most of us still retain our label badges). Fair play to the Ticket Office, the Cards have arrived well in advance of the first game, without any fuss and without charge. Top Marks to the team there. I wonder if there are any others on here who can remember the days of having to queue for what seemed like hours to get in, stand in the rain at many games, piss in a smelly trough, after a half time Bovril, and then walk down to the Echo Office after the game to queue again for an early copy of the Football Echo, and have been pleased to receive a physical piece of plastic to see us give away myriad goals this season by messing around trying to keep possession in our own penalty area? Us old 'uns reckon a big boot upfield is all that is needed like the old days to keep the ball as far away as possible from our net and, of course, the return of a goal scorer in the mould of Derek Reeves (or Charlie Wayman or Ron Davies or indeed anyone who can be termed a proper Centre Forward). Up The Saints!!!!

There was also that time in the Dickens era when workers in the Naval port were upset when cheaper footwear was being produced by workers in the Combined Union of Northamptonshire Tanners and Shoemakers. That's why Pompey supporters have never forgotten and refer to the supporters of Northampton FC using an explicit word that should not be heard in front of children or those of a sensitive disposition.

I lived for a time in Lowford so would be interested to know if GM lives in the nicer parts of Bursledon or Pilands Estate which has really gone down over the years.

I appreciate not many people read local news nowadays but looking at the comments on the Echo site seems to indicate there are quite a lot of people with quite radical and often ill informed views on a number of issues, often expressed in very poor grammatical language. There is a 'lady' providing a prime example of this relating to a piece on possible protests tomorrow night in Southampton. In her rant see seems to indicate that Muslims are protesting about 'proper pig'. I assume she means 'Pepper Pig' but who knows. And it's not just people in this area, it is often even worse elsewhere in the country.

I am someone who was born just after the end of WW2 and can remember going to collect food vouchers at a Post Office in London Road well into the early 1950's. We had very little. Both Mum & Dad lost relatives and property during the war and this was not uncommon. National Service put young men into uniform for a year or two and subject to discipline. I got the cane at school at 10 years old for repeating a word I had heard but had no idea what it meant. We had discipline at school and discipline at home. It wasnt pleasant and sometimes the boundaries were stretched but basic rules were set and this brought most of us in line. We rented a 14" Sobell TV, had no phone, no car, no foreign holidays and we stood in the rain in the Chocolate Boxes to watch the Saints make their way up from Division 3 to the unexpected heights of Division One. A lot of us used to sneak in to watch Hampshire Cricket later in the day FOC when they played at the County Ground. Many of us played football in the winter and cricket in the summer either at school or on the many Sports Grounds around the town. When we went anywhere by coach or train, the entertainment was provided by looking out of the window, not focused on a screen which nowadays provides irrelevant or seditious material. I was given a small Kodak camera for passing the 11+ and promptly left it on a Royal Blue coach taking us to a rented caravan in Weymouth which leaked and after 3 days we had to pack up and go home so I have very few photos of me growing up and most of them would not have been good enough quality to pass through the Boots developing process in any event. We had scraps at school using fists as the only weapon, no kicking and definitely no weapons and no Drugs, the latter contributing a lot to society's woes in recent times. In rather a rambling way, I am suggesting that although my kids and society as a whole have many more material things, life has become much more polarised and less disciplined, to the detriment of us all. Moving onto the subject of Immigration, I have a lot of good friends who are not WASP's and have all made decent contributions to life in this country as have many immigrants before them eg Irish, Caribbean, Huguenots, Jews etc Most of them, who have integrated fully into life in this country, agree that Immigration should be controlled and decry the way Britain has lost it's perceived traditional values. How Immigration is dealt with in a sensitive way and how the legislators deal with those promoting radical views is beyond my comprehension but something needs to be done.. However those 'patriots' supporting the likes of Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon , Katie Hopkins, Nigel Farage etc etc are not helping nor are the likes of Twitter and other platforms that allow access to all sorts of unsubstantiated nonsense to be passed on to largely under educated thugs who delight in a bit of summer rioting and the opportunity of robbing the occasional convenience store. This all seems to be reminiscent of the problems that led up to WW2 when Mosley and his black shirts turned their attention on the Jews, replicating what was going on in Germany. Although they were effectively repulsed here by actions of those who were opposed to their doctrine, the world moved onto much more dangerous times and unfortunately this seems to be happening around the world at the moment. I havent much longer to concern myself about this or the concerns about whether Saints will be able to avoid another relegation but I do worry about my kids and all you whippersnappers on here who will have to deal with the consequences. Best of luck chums.

But didnt the Aussie lady who won the gold win all her previous races?

GM You seem to suggest that immigration is an issue unique to England (or the UK) However in reality there are similar issues in other European countries, especially those closer to North Africa, and even across the Irish Sea there are challenges. And, of course, the USA has problems. I think even you will agree that some Immigration is required and perhaps EDL supporters would be prepared to tolerate Eastern European immigrants rather than those with a different view on religion or a darker shade of skin tone. Question is how do you deal with those who come into this country 'illegally', especially those without documentation. Appreciate your thoughts.

Whilst having a degree of sympathy with people trying to escape violence/economic hardship in their own country, there are obvious and growing issues with unregulated immigration. I often try to imagine how i would deal with this if I was a Minister in charge of Immigration, especially trying to deal with those arriving via Channel crossings and cant come up with a solution. That nice Mr Farage reckons he would get the Navy to tow the rafts back to the French coast and drop them off there. Is that his only view on the matter? Appreciate thoughts of our intelligent posters on here. Would the introduction of identity cards be part of the solution? How would people arriving without passports be repatriated?

Fact of life, if we go down, as expected, we are not going to hold onto our better players and we start again from scratch> I cant see much enjoyment in the coming season but that the 'joy' of being a Saints fan. The money the club has lost from a litany of recent crap transfer dealings (apart from Livramento and Lavia) has really impacted on the quality of the team.

I agree with you re KWP playing forward of Suga. He has all the skills of a forward and some defensive nous. However unless KWP agrees to an extended deal he has, very unfortunately, to be sold to release transfer funds.

Also someone I know phoned up to ask for a ticket and the girl in the ticket office tried to explain how the App worked to a nearly 80 year old who has no idea what this entails. However the poor girl had to give up a lost cause eventually but at least kudos to the Ticket office for progressing the enquiry.

That's interesting. When and how did you apply for this and was there a charge?

Of course you cant make too many assumptions from pre season games but I guess Everton fans might be a tad concerned after drawing against Sligo in Ireland, losing 2-1 at Salford and another 3-0 loss at Coventry tonight

I tend to agree. Bucking the rend a bit, I have been looking to buy one of those caps with the peak at the back. Are they only sold in the good old US of A?

Didnt Steve get attacked by a Pompey Youth team player in a bar/club down in Pompey? As 31CC mentioned, Steve went to Prices Grammar School in Fareham and presumably lived around the area.