spyinthesky

Any one read it? If so a good read, especially in relation to his time at the Dell?

I'm in I have a soft spot for Coventry especially after our 8-2 & 5-5 games back in the 80's

I remember playing against Cowes when they were a decent Hampshire League team Pat Parker was an elder statesman centre half. Quite lanky if I remember correctly and, as mentioned, a real gentleman. Think Cowes played in red & white stripes at the time RIP Pat

Sorry missed out Osvaldo from above list

If you add NC into the equation, the club has probably saved £150k a week in wages from the recent (confirmed) departure (plus trousering reported £1.7m from JP's sale) of: Cortese Fox Barnard Martin Puncheon Lee Sharp

Liverpool Echo suggesting Everton will bid for Jay Rodriguez after Lukaku's injury last night. Return to the NW may possible attract JR would Everton be able to improve upon Jay's wages or be a more attractive long term prospect Would leave us very short of experienced strikers IF it happens

Thought the time taken by AOC to applaud all areas of St Marys was a very nice touch and obviously representative of his affection for the club and fans even though he has now moved on Wouldn't mind seeing him back down here for the right money Young English player with the right work ethic

Presumably none of the youngsters on here will remember the 'enjoyment' of queuing for big match tickets at the Dell with long lines of supporters snaking round the ground. Also turning up at a popular pay at the gate game and being turned away as the ground was full. (Fortunately never happened to me) last time I can remember an overnight queue was for the 76 cup Final and then there was a lock out for Mick Channons testimonial on the Monday So glad I was here to witness both Writing this reminds me of the special evening games at the Dell. Poor floodlights seemed to enhance the atmosphere and there was the all pervading smell of cigarette smoke, booze and hot Bovril plus whatever was on your shoes after a visit to the latrines. Also for big games the Echo used to publish both attendance plus gate receipts which wouldn't equate to a fraction of the weekly wage of our top wage earners nowadays Good memories but glad we have moved on.

Agree with this For every Alan Shearer there is a Matt Pattison and I sincerely hope that young Sam follows the Shearer line I am nervous about tonight but no different when we played a very youthful team (Dodd debut) v undefeated Liverpool at the Dell and smashed them 4-1 Good luck to all our boys tonight and hope for a god result and no more injuries!!

Also am I right to understand that Pompey have had to raise £450k from their HNW fans to pay for some outstanding ground improvements to maintain their Stadium (!!!) Licence One of these is improved accommodation for way disabled fans who have suffered regular abuse from the Fratton Faithful(!!!!) Last bit doesn't sit that comfortably with the 'Best fans in the World' title

Don't think he can be criticised for trying to get the Stoneham site underpinned by retail. Decent business principle As I understand it the SCC provided the St Marys site FOC and Rupes/Andrew Cowans sorted out a £33m mortgage via Norwich Union Again credit where it is due However there were many downsides, including the laughable letter of support from the 'mystery' supporter at one of the last AGM's I would love to read a full resume of the Lowe years at some stage. Come on Duncan I think you should have a go before our collective memories fail

I am no particular fan of Rupes but walking up to the ground today made me reflect what our position would be today if Rupert and Co had spunked our Premiership revenue on big money signings a la Pompey and not invested in the new Stadium and training facilities. If we had stayed at the Dell who knows where we would be now. Certainly not able to attract 24,000 fans for a cup tie against relatively modest (no disrespect intended) opposition. Southampton City Council should also be congratulated for overcoming the longstanding problem in finding a site. It still rankles with me that the residents of Stoneham, the politicians at Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council had their spurious objections to the Stoneham site upheld. However, thanks to SCC, the stadium was built in the heart of the city and we have decent facilities. I had a good view today, was kept dry and saw some new talent develop. All good stuff.

For those who think today will be a stroll in the park should remember that only top class saves from the often maligned Kelvin Davis kept us in with a shout against Bristol City and Burnley I thought our team v Bristol City would be good enough to see them off comfortably but we struggled at times and it was only the introduction of regular first teamers as subs which pulled us through both games

My first reaction to the news was..'Typical of Osvaldo. Waste of money. Get rid asap, especially after his spat at Newcastle'... I then remembered that when I was playing football at a reasonable level many years ago, there were regular flare ups in training for any number of reasons. However in those days such incidents never made the press and also fans were more tolerant as most players weren't on massive wages and didn't cost a fortune in transfer fees. Todays players do have a greater responsibility towards their club and supporters and, all things considered, if we can cut our losses with Osvaldo and try again for a decent replacement, that should be the objective. I am glad though that we have a few points in the bag. It would not have been good to suffer injuries + Osvaldo problems if we were at the wrong end of the table

I see Penny's red swimsuit is going up for Auction. Someone unkindly said that Adidas were going to buy it to make into a set of kit for Accrington Stanley ahead of their relegation clash at Fortress Fratton On a separate matter, I notice there is a Toy Fair on in London at the moment. Wonder if our ex favourite poster is in attendance?

First of all I think this is a very positive statement that will hit the spot with most supporters. We are unlikely to ever know but I would be very interested to learn who actually prepared the draft before Katharina signed it off. Whoever they were it was a very good effort.

John Don't think posters are sniping at Aaron Martin, just trying to give an honest assessment and I for one would love to be proved wrong as he cost us nothing. However as I recollect he went on loan to Palace last season and was shipped back after only playing a few games so may be that is a reasonable yardstick to consider

Question is, do we want Pompey to go down to Non League where they should comfortably survive and possibly thrive with record attendances etc and possibly regroup for a glorious return to League football (more honours on the board etc)? Alternatively they survive and, hopefully, get stuck in League 2/ Div 4 for a few years with interest dwindling away. I suppose if they went down to Non League and got a hefty points deduction and ended up doing a Stockport/Bradford PA/Workington/Boston or even a Maidstone this would be seen as the natural progression this side of the M27

I agree with you on this Because I was uncertain of my whereabouts I bought my ticket for the Bristol City game on the morning of the game (for an evening KO) I wasn't aware of the surcharge and was asked to pay £22 for a ticket For a moment I thought about walking but didn't I know £2 is not a great deal of money in the grand scale of things but it was the principle that annoyed me, especially as the three people ahead of me were being delayed at the Ticket office and I was expecting to exceed the 15mins parking time All this for what was really a reserve team fixture!!

Disagree entirely even tho Jos is not really top Premiership standard I have a soft spot for Aaron Martin as he is a local lad who came to us from Eastleigh. His family are Saints fans and Aaron has always done his best when turning out for us. However he would really struggle in the Premier and probably his future lies in League 1 or 2 where, hopefully, he could do well (possibly as a team captain as he has good leadership skills) and make a decent living btw Aaron injured his leg in the pre season friendly at Eastleigh and is just coming back to fitness so good to see him feature last night Slightly off topic, Lloyd Isgrove doesn't appear to have made the progress expected of him pre season but hopefully he will be able to move forward

Is the big Markus flag still in existence and, if so, will it be allowed an airing now or are there some family reasons for it to be kept stored away?

Any advice to the incoming CEO? Fwiw mine would be (in no particular order) 1. Create a better dialogue with the fans 2. Ditto with businesses in the area (note only about a third of Boxes seem to be taken compared to 100% in early years) 3. Get rid of the 15 min parking charge 4. Convert back to stripes 5. Review some of the previous new signings eg Forren, Mayuka, possibly Ramirez and Osvaldo 6. Assist with supporters travel expenses for some longer away games 7. Get rid of the £2.00 charge for pay on the day tickets. 8. Embrace the clubs history. Forge stronger links with Ex Saints individually and the Ex Saints organisation. 9. Review possibilities of Concerts at St Mary's 10. Continue progress with the Academy and continue the progress the previous Chairman was able to achieve 11. ...and probably most important..keep Katharina Liebherr sweet'....

I am sure MLT has been bombarded with approaches from the press re his take on NC's resignation so his comments, as reported in the Echo, are undoubtedly responsive rather than proactive. I think he has been reasonably measured in the way he has given his view and, I have to say, his comments are broadly in line with my own personal view. However it is interesting to see the mainly negative stance towards MLT taken by people on the Echo Forum with a groundswell of support for NC. Undoubtedly MLT had an Agenda against NC but there again this was probably as a result of NC's view of MLT and past players/history of the club (apart from Terry Paine of course - wonder what TP will say in his Football Echo column today?) One thing that MLT did touch on was that if NC had been a bit more sympathetic towards the history of the club and the requirements of the average fan then he could have become an enduring Saints legend. No doubt his personality did not allow him the luxury to pursue this option, which is a great shame As someone ably pointed out NC can be compared to Marmite. Let's hope if he does re-surface at the club at some stage he will maintain his vision for a successful future but be a bit more understanding of the requirements of the average fan.

I remain somewhat disappointed that Cortese has gone but only the passage of time will provide a proper view. He has been very closely linked with the rise of the club to unexpected heights post Lowe era and for that we have to thank him and the owners for their input. However there has been lots of associated baggage along the way, most of which has been touched upon here. There is probably more to come and certainly a lot of people I know from the business world have not got a great deal of positives to say about him. His attitude towards suppliers (and fans) could be portrayed by some as being symptomatic of a hard nosed business man but you have to build relationships with people (especially in a business as unique as Football) and, in quite a few respects, he did not display the attributes of a fully rounded Chief Executive in sympathy with the traditions of the club. That said when you compare him with some of his counterparts at other clubs he comes out as a shining example. Finally I wonder if the recent Clattenburg nonsense may have had some impact on the owners view of NC's stewardship?