dellboypete

I hear the popes around - should have got him in to do a bit of exorcism then

Have to say that the seats were very comfortable though!! And I really liked the concourse which looks out over the pitch. Toilets were pretty good too. And the bar code entry was novel. Pity about the game Ist half was positive and I really thought at half time we would go on and win this. 2nd half was dire - it's as if something was said at half time and most of the saints players came out with their heads down. Can't wait for colchester!

They clearly get their info from this board then!

was the trip before or after the treatment??

In the unlikely event that we'll be in the play-off final next May - I'm still convinced we'll get auto promotion no matter who we have as manager - the League 1 & 2 play-off finals won't be at Wembley. Just saw this on the bbc website....... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/8956524.stm Cos the Champions League Final is at Wembley ............

Everyone mentions 1976 - one of my memories was for the draw fro the semi-final. I was at uni oop north and was one of the lucky ones to get a ticket for the 6th round at Bradford, but went back down to soton saturday night to celebrate at home! Was driving back to uni on monday (in my much loved mini countryman - the one with the wood) listening to the semi-final draw on the radio. I nearly came off the road when we got palace, i was so excited. Had we got manure or derby in the semis I doubt if we would have made it wembley. The other one I often recall is the last league game at The Dell. I was working rotation in the Yemen and managed to get to enough games that season to get a ticket. I was sat right in the back corner of the West Stand (Milton end). Sitting next to me were a group of about 5 or 6 real old timers. Two of them had been season ticket holders since the war and they all seemed to be well into their 80's. The saddest thing was that none of them were going to migrate to St Mary's (of course they may have changed their minds). At the end of the game I sat chatting with them and we were some of the last people out (shows how long we stayed!!). It was a really moving experience. I was sad as I had started going to the Dell in the mid 60's, but i was really looking forward to St Mary's. I often wonder if any of those old fans did in fact go to St Mary's.

This made me smile, because my wife went to Greggs and ended up getting a degree in Maths (I'm not sure if it was because of, or in spite of going to Greggs!). As it turned out we put all our children through private education. One of the drivers was that we moved to Surrey, having lived abroad, and the local state schools were seriously over crowded with poor facilities. The school our kids went to had superb facilities, for teaching (although some of the staff were pretty average), sports and extra-curiccula stuff.

just wondering if you could elaborate on what a fibrelastic pitch is - sounds synthetic - whats the need for a fancy irrigation system?

This link was on another thread http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-one/promotion and it seems that we are odds on to walk it with every known bookie in the universe (almost)

In the Independent this morning - good build up including ... Why supporters should be optimistic The red kit England will play in red shirts and shorts today, and have never lost playing in an all-red strip. They have worn red shirts and red shorts four times: in 1962, when they beat Peru 4-0 and drew 0-0 with Bulgaria, in 1963 when they beat Czechoslovakia 4-2, and in 1970 when they beat Belgium 3-1. The game is on the BBC Since 1982, when World Cup finals games were split between the UK's two main terrestrial channels for the first time, England have won 62 per cent of their games aired on BBC and just 30 per cent of those shown on ITV. England also have a better goal difference for their games on BBC: 12 compared with just four on ITV. It's a must-win final group match * In Mexico '86, England had lost to Portugal and drawn with Morocco before they thrashed Poland 3-0. * In Italia '90, after drawing with Ireland and the Netherlands, Bobby Robson's men dramatically beat Egypt 1-0 to reach the knockout stage. * In France '98 after beating Tunisia, England lost to Romania and went into their final game against Colombia in 1998 needing to avoid defeat to make it into the next round. They won 2-0. It's a Wednesday Fabio Capello's first game in charge of England, in February 2008, was on a Wednesday, when his team beat Switzerland 2-1. Since then, England have played 14 matches on Wednesdays, winning 10 of them and losing twice. They have scored 40 goals in these 15 matches, conceding 14. It's like 1966 all over again * 1966 was also an election year. * North Korea have only qualified for the finals twice – in 1966 and 2010. * In 1966 Spain were the European champions. In 2010 the European Champions are... Spain. * In 1966 France, Mexico and Uruguay were in a group with the hosts, England. This year France, Mexico and Uruguay are again in the same group as the hosts (South Africa). The referee Germany's Wolfgang Stark, 40, has been selected as referee. England have won all three of their games in which he has officiated. The manager Capello has won silverware with every team he has managed. The group Two of the last three World Cup winners have been in Group C.

Most americans have conveniently forgotten that BP America is was formed when BP bought out firstly Sohio (the old Standard Oil Ohio based in Cleveland) and then Amoco (the old Standard Oil Indiana) and shifted their headquarters to Houston where it is one of the largest employers, and the vast majority of staff are americans. I'm not suggesting that this shifts the blame at all. The bit of kit that that didn't work, the BOP, is also manufactured in Houston.

http://www.football-league.co.uk/carlingcup/news/20100614/carling-cup-round-1-draw-details_2245684_2070108 on Wed 16th (day before fixtures come out) as expected we are seeded South group

Ha ha! Good plan - but don't have enough sparetime at the moment!

I'm looking for a BIG wallchart to print out at A1 or A0 for our office wall. I've obviuosly come across lots but when printed at that scale look a bit cr*p. Anyone got any pointers? Cheers

This will be a sad day for football if they go out of business. Another club screwed by the league. OK they may have overspent but had they not had the 10pt deduction they may havemade the po's. However, I look at it from our perspective - this time last year we were in exactly the same position and I thought that there was a real chance that we would go out of business (see other thread). We relied on people like Leon Crouch to pay the salaries - if it wasn't for him we might have folded. I'm no fan of CP but I do feel for their supporters and hope they survive

Possibly, but I'm now getting 50mbs broadband - lightning speed

Sorry Eric - you were too late! The air tickets went but I still have a FREE ticket to give away!

I can't make it on Saturday - so if any one wants one let me know today so I can put it in the post 1st class unless you live near J9/M25 and/or work in London. Rather than it being wasted I'm giving it away free, gratis and for nothing. PM me if interested

Couple of good articles about Platini in the Times this morning - one specifically about our good friends :smt071. Portsmouth farce should have been prevented, says Michel Platini http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article7109942.ece I've been liberal in my copying from the piece, but the following two paras from it sum up what we have all been saying for months CHEATS

Due to unforeseen circumstances I can no longer go so I have an unwanted ticket. Face value - £23 - Brian Moore Stand - Uncovered - Block 3 Lower - Row 48 PM me if interested.

have just seen THAT goal on SSN - he reminds me more and more of MLT - sublime at times

Seems unlikely that they will go bust or enter administration. They are starting work on their new stadium in June: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southend_utd/8582327.stm and the court thingy this week seems more of a judgement on their appeal that they originally overpaid the HMRC rather than owe any more

Not entirely true - I got a call from my bank hsbc in early December saying that they thought my card may have been cloned. As usual I declined to discuss anything on the fone, so they said they were blocking the card immediately and that I should go into my nearest branch asap. I did and it was a genuine call. My card was in a bunch of several thousand that had been cloned, but fortunately my details hadn't been used yet. The drawback was that it was just before christmas and my replacement card didn't arrive until the new year

Anybody living near Leatherhead (J9 M25) might like to know that the Leatherhead Food Research labs pay by the hour for people to go and test all sorts of food. My wife goes occassionally and she says they are often desperate for testers! This is an independent place and tests stuff for most of the major food manufacturers and a lot of the stuff is top end of the market (but a lot isn't).

Have to laugh, just listening to it on bbc radio and at half time the commentators were complaining that they didn't have any tv monitors as they had been sold by the admin bloke to raise cash!!