spyinthesky

Prior to Xmas I heard from a creditable source that Cortese had turned down an offer for the club Not saying it was anything to do with a possible Russian link but, by all accounts, Cortese wants to be out of Southampton in the next couple of years I certainly want my team to do well but would be very uneasy if the owners came with a shadowy business background As far as we know the Liebherr investment is 'clean'

20 yellows and no reds so far this term Whats the betting the ratio per game increases significantly under the new regime btw Big Thank you to the Coaching Team who have been given their marching orders along with Nige

Unfortunately the wife pranged her car this morning, another vehicle ran into a fence opposite us and a delivery driver hit a lampost just up the road. Anyone else suffering? Car insurance claims people rushed off their feet, poor souls

Absolutely spot on

Wonder if the Saints censors will allow mention of Nigel Adkins in Monday's programme? Having pulled the end of season Southend programme a year or so back, expunged all mention of Alan Pardew's achievement and definitely refused to allow MLT's name to be used to advertise his attendance at the recent housing development launch in Woolston, it is expected that Nige's achievements may be airbrushed from history. As an aside, whilst very surprised and unhappy about the latest news, and other aspects of the club management, I think little will be achieved by displays of open hostility towards the Saints decision makers or the new team manager and especially the team. I feel very sorry for Nigel and his staff and also for Mr Cortese's children who live locally and may suffer a back lash from this as young kids can be quite cruel.

Rumours I know but: 1. Heard before Christmas that Cortese had turned down a bid for the club. Could it be that IF this info was kosher perhaps this MAY have something to do with future managerial arrangements 2. From a better source (via a builder working on Cortese's house), our Chairman does not expect to be here beyond 2 years

A fair assessment To me he looked Ok but not much else last season and a lot of people were taken in by his great goal (v Derby?) He was poor in the U 21 game v Man Utd recently and looke lightweight when he came on as sub v Chelsea but I guess that was a difficult game to assess. Can't see him featuring much in our squad going forward but, hey, that is what I said last year about Jason Puncheon!!!

Could be that the player was concerned about Liverpool being the Gun Crime capital of the UK A Local league player was shot before kick off at playing fields in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton and Stephen Gerrard's father had to employ a well known 'scally' to protect his son when he was being threatened by other local mobsters.

Reading the posts on the Villa game, I am impressed with the numbers at the game but sympathetic towards one or two comments from the more vocal supporters who are frustrated at the 'non participants' For many years I enjoyed regular away days but, as you get past a certain age, other considerations come into play and my away attendance is much more limited now. However when I do go, my legs won't take standing for the duration and I don't have the energy to shout and sing as was the case in my younger days. I wonder therefore if away ticket distribution, particularly for the big games, could be organised so that those who wish to sing and stand could be separated from those who sit and stare. I am a season ticket holder so choose to sit in the more 'sedate' part of St Marys. However I enjoy a good atmosphere and if anything that can be done to maximise youthful enthusiasm then perhaps something could be considered. Or would this be too difficult from an admin perspective? I suppose this is the drawback with all seating. Years ago, people my age could pay a premium for a stand seat, whereas the hard core support could congregate with their mates on the terraces and sing and shout to their hearts content.

Perhaps the gentleman was referring to (Sir) Henry Redknapp He was so well liked down there that the News was bombarded with requests to campaign for his Knighthood Even at an advanced age, I imagine (Sir) Henry could make the squad!!

Yes sorry about this I used figures sent to me which, on checking, seem to be way off the mark UK Tax revenue seems to be around the £592b mark with forecast expenditure at an expected £683b leaving a shortfall of £91b The National Debt, which we appear to have carried for centuries, is now around the £1.2 trillion mark. Even so the fact that all this debt is swirling round the world and the UK has been one of the worlds wealthiest countries with annual deficits got back centuries is hard to fathom

Put in a clearer perspective: UK Tax revenue £2,170,000,000,000 UK Budget £3,820,000,000,000 New Debt £1,650,000,000,000 National Debt £14,271,000,000,000 Recent Budget Cuts £38,500,000,000 Remove the last eight zeros and pretend it is a household budget Annual Family Income £21,700 Annual Family Spend £38,200 New Credit Card Debt £16,500 O/S Balance on Credit Card £142,720 Total Savings so far £385 Of course we are not the only 'family' with this problem. All our neighbours seem to have the same financial concerns including our 'wealthy relatives' across the water. It would be interesting to learn who has accumulated all the debt our friends and neighbours owe. There must be some people with big smiles on their faces but they seem to keep it well hidden Perhaps it is the Chinese family down the road

Heard a little whisper that they played a friendly against the KEVth Playing Field Cones and lost 1-0. The humiliation was too much to bear especially as only 10 cones were available due to cutbacks.

Always a shame to see empty seats but those who didn't go were fortunate to miss 45 odd minutes akin to sitting in a dentists chair!! However the crowd figure was the 4th highest of a day when a lot of 'well supported clubs' had surprisingly poor attendances. So well done for all those, like me, who had to endure one of the most one disappointing second half displays in recent memory (Leeds 4-3 defeat remains stong in my memory!!) Obviously there are a number of part time Chelsea fans in/around this area gloating at the moment but I remember seeing Saints wallop Chelsea 6-2 at Stamford Bridge back in the mid 60's and then going back to London in the 70's/80's when Chelsea played in front of 13-15,000 home crowds. So a lot of those following Chelsea nowadays are no different to the remote 'glory hunters' who latch themselves onto the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool etc. I hurt today but this only stores up emotions to doubly enjoy the times when the team do well, particularly against the so called 'bigger clubs'!!

If all the clues comes together the 53 yr old is a big Saints fan Still didn't Jason Mumford get a tug from the police recently and it doesnt seem to have finished his career.

Ironically a friend of mine's wife, who lives in Sussex, had the misfortune to travel, by train, with 2 young children on a Saturday a couple of years ago with some Pompey 'fans'. She is a fairly open minded person but said their behaviour was appalling and threatening to mainly women and young kids. I am not naive enough to say that Pompey are alone in having such 'supporters' but a significant percentage of their lot like to revel in the 657 Crew mythology. Again on the Swindon Forum there was comment regarding moronic behaviour on the post match train to Reading. When you think we probably took a large percentage of the 50,000 + supporters to Wembley by train for the JPT , and I can't recollect one bad word (even allowing for the overcrowding)

I think the 'wealthy business man' is supposed to beTheo Paphytis ex Millwall chairman John 'Pompey' Westwood has posted this on his Twitter account so it must be true!!

On the reverse to this were some comments on the 'Town End' (?) Forum about 'the drunken, foul smelling idiot with the bell' and from a father who's 13 year old daughter had been terrorised by some Pompey fans after the game. Don't think there was much 'class' displayed here. Meanwhile Kevin Bond (ex Asst at Pompey) is waxing lyrical abour 'fantastic' supporters at QPR. Surely there are none comparable to the 'fratton faithful'?

Ken was a brilliant bloke Typical Yorkshire. Very dry sense of humour. Decent player too although injury haunted him for most of his playing career. Big mates with Dennis Hollywood although they often vied for the same full back shirt. Part of the team in the mid/late 60's that really knew how to enjoy life off the pitch outside the glare of today's tabloids. Remember going on a football tour with Ken and co to Germany where we were invited to a Trotting Race. Ken told us to back the favourite in all of the 10 races. 'Can't lose', but of course we did!! As has been said in earlier posts, Ken was a very competent snooker player and coached a lot of youngsters. Much better at potting balls than manouvering containers into ships hatches!! Ken struggled a bit with his health in recent times but seemed to have overcome the issues before this sad news. Much sympathy to his wife Jean, son (big Saints fan) and daughter. A real loss.

Couple of questions Does the 4-1 figure often mentioned by Pompey fans actually equate to the number of Admins suffered by both clubs? Also am I right to recollect that during one of the earlier Pompey admins there was the offer of a helping hand, financially, from a group of well meaning Saints fans? Wasn't this rejected along with comments alonf the lines of ...'we don't need no help from no Scummahs'....

Spoke to a mate of mine who scouts in the North West He has a poor opinion of Dann and doesnt understand our reported interest. Bit worrying if true

Interesting piece I would agree that Rupert Lowe had some good ideas but his demeanour and self promotion (who can forget that obviously self penned letter of support read out at the last Shareholders meet) did not strike a cord with the majority of the fans. I am very surprised Rupert has decided to dip his toe in the water at such a low level and not re-surfaced higher up the Leagues. Simon Clifford has a reputation in the lower leagues as a loud mouth with dodgy shoes and dreadful rambling grammar. Check out his rant in April this year when Garforth played Curzon Ashton. Perhaps Rupert, with the benefit of his public school education, can tutor Clifford Minor in the correct way of producing the written word.

I wonder what the PNE fans made of that? Their adult tickets were £23 See that Lee Holmes came on as sub