shurlock

Sounds about right - this era's DMG, too big for his boots and not as good as he thinks he is...

Wasnt in attendance but if true and it sounds true is heart-wrenching.

76 and Keegan - wasn't even a wetdream in my father's mind. Man U 6-3 - was in the lounge, listening to the game on solent (this was the era when solent had the legendary goal sound to mark a goal, though this game got full live commentary). Was allowed to open the creaky backdoor to the garden (usually a strict no-no) and run around as the goals flew in. Le Tiss goal at the Dell - day before an important exam, so had to revise. was so pumped up by the audacity of that day's events and so spontaneously buzzing the next day that I coasted my exam - indeed, I got a prize off the back of it and a nice cash reward to boot- all thanks to saints and le tiss. The big man passes away - just got off the phone with a mate, fatefully saying that this was the first year in my life that we had been favourites for anything (other than relegation) and checked the OS, hoping news of a new signing (with the nitty-gritty of the bournemouth performance still fresh in my mind). needless to say, I was still and am shocked. Basically came of age as a Saints fan in the early 90s - only caught the end of Chris Nicolls reign, so the Branfoot era was the crucible in which most of my assumptions and anxieties were formed. Still remember waiting in the carpark of the Dell with my mother and brother after a nervy 0-0 draw against Coventy where, languishing at the bottom of the league, we had failed to break down their dour but solid 10 men. It was mid-February and felt like Siberia rather than Southampton but we waited a few hours for the players to come out with the aim getting a photo with Shearer (It was his first Saints game after his debut goal against France). He finally appeared but the photo mother took only managed to decapitate Shearer, leaving his head out of the shot and so it could have been anyone with two arms and two legs. The only silver-lining was that my mother did take a picture-perfect snap of the eternally photogenic Ian Dowie

http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/economie/story/28109626 Seemed like until his death he was still in the business of rescuing struggling companies and finding employment for their staff.

Good OP - dont't like big outpourings of loss - a tad tacky and ephemeral - but I do want something that lasts the test of time. Again nothing showy. A ML chant that like all our other fav chants is instinctive, humerous and celebratory, gets sung regularly and spontaneously-whether we're at SMS or getting spanked in some rainy northern sh*thole- and becomes part of the repertoire or greatest hits would be ideal. Somehow I don't hold out much hope, though - we're incapable of coming up with our own chants (how long has it taken to coordinate and think of something for AL, our only home-grown star)? Its likely that after next Saturday, most of our efforts will slowly fizzle out which would be a shame...

Gasmi

Definitely better than what i saw of Pekhart and that was when he was thrown upfront.

Still remember NC's story about Markus first game at SMS - how he and his family flew in for Ajax not knowing what to expect and returned home late that evening, exhausted but exhilarated. As if to round off what had been such a cathartic day -indeed the mood of an entire summer- his wife found him soundly asleep in his favourite armchair, draped in a new saints scarf, his face beaming with a proud and belonging smile.

You also like packing fudge?

and? nobody's being mawkish; nobody's pretending they knew the guy; but they are exhibiting some gratitude for what he did for the club. It is about the football but done with a bit of generosity and humility.

Would love for you to have seen the five year plan come to fruition and for us to repay the tremendous faith you showed in us during our darkest hour. That you did it with such little fanfare speaks volumes to the kind of person that those closest to you will now miss.

Excellent news, though doubt it would have happened had most of the U-21s not been called up to the senior squad as part of the backlash against the humiliation in the WC.

Very good player in midfield- would coast into our current side. Though safri was a v.good player in his own right, we lost some real pace and power after WBA coughed up a £1m for him.

The last thing Cortese sees us as is a plaything - people may disagree about the means but Cortese is serious about making us successful, at least defined in terms of winning things. There is a distinction between controversial actions/decisions that affect fans and ones that affect the media: by and large, I need much greater convincing/justification when it comes to the former. After all fans interests are naturally aligned with those of club and they show the kind of loyalty and commitment that gives rise to the expectation that the club will sometimes put the bottom line to one side. The media is a totally different beast- nobody says it should show slavish deference to football clubs -so what goes around will often come around- but neither does it show much interest in speaking truth to power, except when it serves a commercial imperative and that usually entails sensationalising/sexing up the facts. In other words there is world of difference between the rights and wrongs of scrapping installment plans (which affects fans) and getting the media to cough up for match images or stonewalling the Echo (which affects the media); however for some there is no difference which suggests nothing more than a warped anti-Cortese fixation.

Agree totally - idiots on this board think the papers give two monkeys about us; we are just a plaything, some tokenistic ammunition for a self-important media that loves to give it but can't take it. Glad we've ruffled a few feathers. F**k 'em.

The Dutch duo tried him in that position - I think he has what it takes to develop as Fabregas has done but he always seems to pull out of a forward run or a one-two that the holding man role is fast becoming second nature.

We need a proper big man to hold the ball up and get to the end of crosses...

Problem definitely wasn't width - compared to last season where balls would be harmlessly lofted in from all areas, today's delivery was fast and flat. Lambert's absence was one problem; another was the tendency of Barnard and Connolly to peel off and run the channels, emptying the box of attackers with the likes of Hammond only rarely providing support.

How I largely saw the game as well.

How can you compare Carter and Antonio - its not particularly a case of one or the other?

HMRC will appeal it - as long as there's legal uncertainty, i'll be surprised if any new investor comes in and that's what the skates ultimately need.

btw the individual are not illegal immigrants - they are legally entitled to be there - just that they were squatting in a housing complex that's renown for gang violence and drugs and due to be demolished by the government.

Think Plymouth, Swindon, Colchester will be upper mid-table, knocking on the playoff places while Brighton will flatter to deceive and Charlton won't have the momentum or staying power.

Bournemouth 10th?

The Wembley veterans go drinking in and around Baker St. i.e the Globe, then jump on the Bakerloo line to Wemberly, so there may be something in your theory.