spyinthesky

Brighton had loads of empty seats too but attendance was around the 30k mark

So did we. Football up until Xmas, Hockey until Easter then cricket. However we all wanted to concentrate on football. What school did you go to?

I went to school (about 10 miles from home) in the very severe winter of 1963 and cant remember having a day off> I do remember having free milk at school and the milk being frozen in the bottles with birds pecking through the top to get at the milk. And we didnt have central heating in our house, we used a paraffin stove which didnt chuck out much head and used to smell!! My parents didnt have a washing machine or any other modern benefits. Our 14" Sobell B & W telly was rented from Radio Rentals and went off air at 11.00hrs when viewers were expected to stand for playing of the National Anthem!!! Oh and our football boots had nailed in studs which occasionally went through the soles causing lacerations to the soles of our feet.

Just listened to the broadcast and it was good to hear someone who talked sense about the way the club is being run and the strategy for the future. That said, if we lose a few upcoming games against the teams below us in the League the current positive view of our club will be diluted. Meantime it is refreshing to hear Martin Semmens talk in a sensible way compared to the rambling way our previous Chairman, Ralph Kreuger, used to come across.

Liz Wallaker on Radio 2's Pop Quiz today mentioned she is a 'mad keen' Southampton fan. Apparently the presenter, Ken Bruce's son, is also a big Saints fan. Does this qualify for another 'celebrity' association?(but a bit tenuous) Unfortunately the lady lost 30-15.

Which we will probably have to pay for in a roundabout way.

It seems that people in Ukraine are relatively relaxed about the impending invasion we are all told to expect. I truly hope their sanguinity is well placed.

Vestergaard struggled when he first played for Saints then went through a relatively OK period and there were some on here who bemoaned his exit. However the reported £15m we got for him seems good business now. I certainly dont have anything against him or Berty both of whom did their best for us (Berty in particular) but the team has improved without them.

According to the BBC Arsenal are keen on him. Bigger club than Saints and probably able to offer higher wages to him (and his Agent) but possibly Chelsea would not be keen to see him go to another London club.

I guess it all depends on how much money we have to spend. In my view the priority is to concentrate on buying or replacing Broja. I would hope that Forster and McCarthy could no a job perhaps with Willy kept on as backup.

We are never any good at Everton. Last time I was there we had a very young Leon Best and David Mcgoldrick upfront. At home the situation is more positive. Despite their position Everton have some good players and their win today will give them a good deal of confidence. Should be a good game and i really hope we can put together a good performance

Pleased to admit that the prediction of 1.5points from the 5 games against the top teams has already been exceeded by 233%

Based on Inside information, I have put £100 on Ian Dowie at 100/1 £10,000 will buy be a padded seat in the Kingsland stand for the next few years as we tumble down the Leagues!!!

I am strangely optimistic on this one, generally a bad feeling as Saints normally let me down when I am in a positive mindset. In reality if Man Utd take some of the (many) chances they have been spurning in recent games our recent optimistic bubble might be deflated. It would be great to get a good result up at Old Trafford but it remains important to get decent results against the teams below us in forthcoming games.

My view on this was that it was definitely a foul on Broja which the Ref should have blown up for. Having said that, if I was the Ref having made the (incorrect)decision to play on, I would not have stopped the game as it wasnt necessarily a clash of heads. I initially though Broja was seriously injured but he was back running around shortly after. Re the Hojberg 'handball', I would have been very disappointed if that had been given against one of our players. Meantime thank you to VAR for the last minute decision. It would be interesting to note how VAR has worked for/against us since inception.

The Russian Foreign Minister is a no nonsense individual who has been in the job for 17 years. Meantime we have a wet behind the ears counterpart who's main claim to fame was once getting cheesed off about cheese!!!

Great credit to whoever scouted him and to whoever arranged his loan. Introducing him into the team has really transformed our style of play and, at the same time, increased his value as a player. In the unlikely event of us keeping him next year, there is great importance in ensuring any replacement will provide the same attributes. Whatever the outcome a significant portion of our next season budget will need to be spent on a striker

There was a 'medical emergency' at the Oxford v Pompey game at the weekend. However some suggestion is that this involved one of the Oxford staff being involved with one of our nice neighbours from the east. No doubt some people will put this down as vaccination related rather than the suggested head butt.

There has been some suggestion that Boris's gibe at Keir Starmer was in initiated by a whispered comment by Rees-Mogg during PMQs.

Interesting article in the Sunday Times today by Max Hastings, a renown historian, who used to work with Boris at the Telegraph. He reckons that working with Boris was interesting and he respected his ability as a journalist. However as a Prime Minister he will probably go down as one of the worst in history on par with David Lloyd George. Apart from Gove, who he reckons has a decent brain, the rest of the Cabinet (apart perhaps from Rishi Sunak) are complete toadies with little political acumen. Boris does not have the gravitas and attention to detail to lead this country and is looked upon as a person of ridicule across the world.

Lets not forget this is a 17 yr old lad that made his first team game in front of a big crowd. Hopefully he will learn from the experience and with careful handling will be a decent asset to the club. He certainly looks as though he has ability going forward and let's no forget that Gareth Bale started out as a left back and made progress due to his offensive abilities.

Dont you think Boris was going to get rid of them anyway as sacrificial lambs?

Good question. I have friends in the Diplomatic service who reckoned Boris was one of the worst Foreign Secretaries ever but despite this I assumed he would be brought to heel by more sensible people at the top of the Tory party. Bearing in mind I live in a constituency that is true blue, my vote for anyone other than a Tory MP would not have made any difference. That said I did not vote Tory in a recent local election as a form of protest against Boris and his mates and this was before the revelations about Partygate.

Despite being a Remainer, I voted Tory in the last election as I didnt fancy Jezza and his gang being in power and thought Boris and his mates would be the least worst option. However Boris and more or less all of his Cabinet, as well as some other odious right wingers, have far exceeded my concern of them collectively working in the best interest of the country. I am not sure who I would vote for when the next election comes round,

Teresa May will not be everyone's cup of tea but at least very few, if any, people would question her attention to detail and honesty, which seems to be entirely lacking with Bumbling Boris. For someone who is generally to the right of centre with my political view and was not, in any way enamoured by Jeremy Corben, I now consider the right wing jokers associated with Johnson are even worse.