spyinthesky

I agree with this To my mind Forster has been harshly treated by some posters on here. Keepers are always prone to mistakes. Lloris at Spurs has been consistently good but was criticised for Chelsea's second goal yesterday and I am sure Forster would also have been taken to task by some on here for letting in Chelsea's first if he had been on the pitch. Forster is by no means perfect, his distribution is sometime wayward and he doesn't command his box too well (but there again which keepers do in the modern game?) and he is not quick on his feet. However I would rather spend money on strengthening our defence and midfield than splash the cash on a replacement keeper I have seen many Saints keepers in my time (going back to the 50's) and Forster, in my opinion, rates in the top 5 only behind the likes of Shilton, Niemi and Flowers and possibly Jones Collectively we have form as Saints supporters criticising keepers. Boruc and Kelvin Davis in recent years spring to mind and there have been others in years past.

Anyone feel a little bit sorry for him? My feelings are neutral about him now. The positives which were built up after his sterling service from League 1 days up until his departure last season were obliterated by his behaviour when he engineered a move away. However his performance yesterday and the obvious poor opinion about his worth as a player by West Ham fans makes me feel a small amount of pity for him. That said I am sure he can reflect on his winners medal with Portugal and a decent 2.5 years deal at West Ham (plus a tidy signing on fee) to compensate. Shame really, with a bit more class about his departure he could have remained a Saints icon.

Any one read the Times article on Spurs wage policy today? Dele Alli - £50,000 per week (presume basic before bonuses?) Tammy Abraham - £50k Jonjo Shelvey - £70k james Morrison at WBA - £65k James Milner - £120k!!!!!!!! Christain Benteke - £120k Javier Hernandez - £140k Harry Kane - £100k Christian Erikssen - £75k Andre Gray - £72k Eric Dier - £65k Jesse Lingard - £75k (rising to £100k) Danny Rose - £65k Ben Davies (paid less than Bryan Oviedo at Sunderland) Toby Alderweireld paid considerably less than Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Micheal Keane so wonder what he was on at Saints? Shame he would now attract a massive transfer fee as presumably our wage structure may now be better than Spurs Based on these wages perhaps Wimmer would be happy to come here as I guess he isnt on a massive salary at Spurs based on these reported first teamers wages

At some stage in my dark and distant past, I remember there used to be a waiting list for season tickets at the Dell. At that stage the Dell had a capacity of 30,000 but only about 5-6,000 seats, and the main standing areas behind the goals were uncovered so you got wet in the rain. Standing under the East & West Stands provided some protection from the elements (unless you were at the front) whereas at the back of the terracing there was a restricted view due to the overhang of the stands. The Dell was great for memories on the pitch but the facilities were crap.

We paid £6.00 for our Cup Final tickets which seemed extortionate at the time but the seats were up by the Royal Box so hate to think the comparative price nowadays

24th August 1960 As I recollect we played Liverpool on our first year back after promotion from Division 3. I went in the boys entrance with the right change my Dad had given me only to find that the entrance fee had either increased from 6d (ie 2.5 new pence) to 1/- (ie 5p) ir 1/- to 1/6d(ie 7.5p) Quite a few lads were turned away as they didnt have the right money. Fortunately my Dad was a steward at the time and he was able to come to the turnstile and get me. Sometime after this my Dad used to get me in to the ground free via the main entrance with all the other stewards This meant me being at the ground by 1pm so had to wait around for 2 hours - no mobiles etc to while away the time but I just enjoyed being there and seeing all the goings on. Anyone remember the uniformed Master of Arms type who used to front up the entrance to the Dell (I think ex Saint Bill Beaney did the job for a while)

Cant be bothered to research but dont we have a pretty poor win ratio for first games of the season? Seem to remember that Leeds 3-1 after promotion back to the Championship was last opening day winner

I am pleasantly surprised about this Assumed we would be down about 4,000 on our season ticket sales and thought the issues re VVD, general lack of entertainment at home games last season and no big name signings would have restricted the crowd to below 30,000 Good news if we exceed 30,000

Yes this seems very odd, Sevilla playing two games in two days 250 miles apart. Hope we didn't play against a weakened team yesterday!!

Dont know wheher it was my imagination but Bertrand did not seem to be 'engaged' today.

Think Pompey may be running out to that catch ditty ...'Its a small world'.... i am sure there are some appropriate words someone can dream up for this wonderfully irritating tune.

Sue Carabao are an Asian based company (drinks related) who had a stall at Wembley for the League Cup final where there was the opportunity for participants to hit footballs at electronic targets (I have to say as an 'oldie' I did rather well) I think the draw for the early rounds of the cup where made in Asia and there was a bit of an embarrasing cock up with some duplication.

Surely Taylor wouldn't be considered for first team action? What about Gazzaniga who seems to be from his Spanish loan

I think Virgil is a top, top player. Best central defender I've seen in Saints colours over (too) many years supporting the Saints. I had hoped he was decent individual who would stand by the long term contract he signed last year. However there are very few honourable players about these days and Virgil seems to be no exception to this. If he wants away, let him go for the best deal on offer even if this means Liverpool who will be seen by many fair minded people as a lot of shyshters who tell lies. We can tell Virgil he must stay but if his heart is not here his form will suffer and the relationship with the fans, which is now tainted, will become toxic. Best maximise value from the bloke and look to get in the best replacement as possible (and plus a decent defensive midfielder) and hope Virgil suffers a recurrence of his recent injury soon after leaving Saints (as long as this doesn't impact on his transfer fee) It hurts me to say this but I am fed up with our club (and others) being shafted by Agents and players.

But Liverpool have said publically that they have no further interest in signing VVD As honourable people surely we have to take these honest people at their word...surely!!!

I would agree with this comment. Seemed a genuinely nice guy who seemed to get on with all his team mates. Probably a coaches dream, trained well and never complained However he was limited on the field of play and for Everton to give him a 3 year contract (albeit as a Free Transfer) on the basis that Koeman reportedly said ..' he can provide cover in a number of positions' ..seems rather generous. I reckon he was passable as cover at right back but wouldn't like to have see him in any other position across the back four in Saints first team action Best of luck to him though

Interestingly Coutinho was very close to signing for Saints when Cortese was here but Liverpool came in with an 11th hour bid than won the day

To be fair Brighton have a decent core support, there is a feel good factor over the new stadium and, of course, excitement over their promotion to the Prem. Unfortunately a lot of our feel good factor was diluted last year and the prospect of losing more star names this close season All our gang have renewed plus one additional so we are doing our bit but understand why others have decided not to renew.

Liverpool Echo reporting that Saints and LFC are discussing terms for VVD

How good are our U 21's likely to be this year?

Cant deny that is a decent performance for league 1 but recollect that Bradford City consistently sold around 18,000 due to competitive pricing. Wonder how many we would sell if Pompey prices were offered up to our season ticket holders?

Although I got the venue wrong, am I now officially ITK on the basis of a very tenuous link between leaks and leeks?

Swansea away? See what I did there?

Black armbands and floral tributes at the ready!!!