david in sweden

We HAVE to tell ourselves that we will be in with a shout in the last and having a good squad, even if some of them are on the bench, will give us the cover we need. Players do go off form, others may get injuries and if we have to go to the Academy to get replacements then we become weaker. In the last 10 years Prem./CCC / and L1; (at one time or another..) we've had... Strikers who have gone... 10 games (or more ) without scoring. 6 injured defenders, 5 injured strikers ..3 injured goalies... and a partridge in a pear tree ! + umpteen players who've have lost / never found good form. But seriously..let's say we get a play-off spot and win and suddenly we're back in CCC, it would be good to have some " not-so-new faces " who've already acclimatised themselves to SMS and.. are hot for the higher level. Many CCC teams have internationals in their sides and some recently relegated from Prem. are too good for CCC for another season. Without naming names, there are a few in our present squad who might not look so sharp next August. So (as for new players) if we're half way up the league by New Year... let's get them onboard as soon as poss! ) and full steam ahead for CCC.

Of course we all know the old adage " never change a winning side "... but Murty has SO much experience-it's difficult to think of NOT using him when fit. However, good winning form is one thing. Injuries cannot be forseen-but can be planned for. IF..(heaven forbid,) we have serious injury problems in the back line (or Trotman doesn't stay after January).. then I for one would be overjoyed to see him back in a start line-up.

Sad but true but first impression count for a lot ..(even too much) as many people never forget career debuts. Unfortunately for Ollie, he's had a string of unfortunate occurances in his time so far. Memory serves that he was great in the Academy / U18 side but his first team career hasn't started well. There were a lot of youngsters who got the " Dutch curse " on their careers last season, were played unwisely and later suffered for it. Giving away penalties, own goals and two red cards don't really help Ollie's image. The red card v. QPR last season was a travesty, as there were far worse fouls in that game that didn't get even a word of caution from the ref. BUT history will relate Mick Channon's debut game goal, and Alan Shearer's hat-trick v. Arsenal was a great start for two teenagers, who to be fair came into GOOD teams and neither were needed for first team action until 12 months afterwards. Players like Martin Crainie, then 17, when given the left back spot - in an away game at Chelsea : (couldn't get his head out of the way of a rocket shot and conceded an own goal). Things like that stay in the memory and no-one forgets. Martin Crainie has managed a passable league career and was a good captain of England U21s too, but he never impressed the manager of the day when he was here. Ali Dia wasn't the only " one-game nightmare " player we've ever had, but it's beginning to look like Ollie's Lancashire's future (and I hope he has one) ...may be... elsewhere.

I looked at the incident too and he clearly gets a fist in the face. VERY poor sportmanship on behalf of the Djurgården fan, and for the player it only added injury to the sorrow of losing what was a very competitive game. Perhaps it's good (for Allsvenskan) that Djurgården didn't go down, but hard luck on Assyriska who'd had a good season.

Well we can wait and see if Millwall go into free fall now...? I'm sure that (if asked) AP would prefer 12 points a month, instead of the curse of the Pharoahs...which is all history anyway. The best encouragement for any football manager is the age-old quote; " You're only as good as your last game !"... good luck AP.

He may have done in the past, but I think that two years out of the game can have a sobering effect on someone and he must feel very glad (and grateful) to be back in the game and playing again. (Thanks to AP).

For those of us with an elephants memory...doesn't David Connolly remind you... a little.... of one of our 60's hero. ? I refer to George O'Brien. Not perhaps physically (George was only 5'6")... but his style of play. George was one of the laziest player I ever saw (in the Le Tissier sense) and would seldom run with the ball but had a great finish with either foot whether he was outside the box, or stood on the goal line, and he could put away a good penalty, too. A real goal poacher and one of the most consistant strikers the club has ever had. 180 goals in just over 6 seasons speaks for itself. At an average rate of a goal per game, David Connolly could become a new strike hero and think.. how we might perform ..when he is fully match fit.!

Don't know who Rovers no.11 was but Antonio beat him cutting inside TWICE. for second and third goals . Good looking player.

...and associated details are on OVERSEAS SAINTS (for those interested).

was a real nail-biter. Yesterdays Swedish Cup Final was a repeat of last week final game with AIK beating Gotherburg 2-0 AGAIN to do the double. An unusual occurance in Sweden (where the Cup is almost a non-competition ) and doesn't have the " magic " that we associate with the FA Cup in England. Today was the final play-off game in the Allsvenskan (Prem.League) On Wednesday Div.2 play-off team Assyriska thoroughly beat Djurgården 2-0 but weren't quite up to it for the second leg in Stockholm. Djurgården scored twice in the second half to (2-2) and force extra time. 10 man Assyriska fought on bravely after losing a man through injury when they'd used all 3 subs. but finally lost to a goal 4 min.from time. It saved the blushes of the once-proud Stockholm club and they live to fight another season. Allsvenskan without Djurgården would be like the Prem. losing Tottenham or Arsenal. They have good resources and will certainly do better next year. Goodbye to Swedish football for this year. Back again in April 2010.

Re : Bale and a few others mentioned here...they went because ....that was back in the days when we needed the money ! However, being a " star " in a mediocre CCC side (which is what we were then,) doesn't qualify you to be a star in the Prem. He just found his level.

A good point well-made Chez, but EVEN Proust must have been a 40 year old ex-player at sometime, and Puckett is around 50 now, and like Stuart Henderson fairly good at what they do....but they won't go further. There are certain types who do really well coaching youngsters; Stuart Gray and Steve Wigley come to mind, not to mention THE most successful youth coach in the club's history..Dave Merrington, all of whom failed to cut it when given the first team manager spot. Time will tell but Doddsy has his chance to make a second career with Saints. Let's hope for everyone's sake he does a good job.

Looking back 50 years,few League clubs persevered with youth squads and many others ended up spending tens of millions on overpaid imports, and created huge debts for the clubs that could never be recovered by more sales. Both Saints and Man.Utd (though they were in diff.leagues (literally) had good youth squads in the late 1950's ..ours included Paine and Sydenham who played +/- 1200 games between them. Much of Man U's great side was lost in the Munich aircrash 1958?. After that Tommy Docherty's Chelsea 1960-produced Osgood,Venables,Tambling and Hutchinson to name a few. Ron Greenwood late 60's-75 brought on Moore, Peters, Hurst, John Bond, Lampard (snr)...and Harry Redknapp (where have I heard that name before?) ... and of course Bond and Redknapp followed him with the same formula. Ramsey did well at Ipswich (1960-2), also later George Burley (whatever happened to him ?) Liverpool always had good youngsters (1965-80) till they started buying foreign. Now it's only Gerrard and Callagher. Alex Ferguson created a superb young team in the mid 1990's with Becks, Butt, Scholes, the Nevilles and Ryan Giggs. Sainst youth talent has come in flashes over the same period; Paine & Sydenham have been mentioned. Then we had; Chivers & Channon. later Nick Holmes, Stokes, Steve Williams, Gerry Gurr, Bob McCarthy, Fry, Bennett, Andruszewski, Hebberd, Waldron, Moran, Graham Baker, the 3 Wallaces, Agboola, Lawrence, Le Tissier, Shearer, Maddison, ...and later in the 1990's; Dodd, Benali and Kenna, then Oakley and Bridge were also here as teenagers, (as was Chris Baird) - even if they didn't all play at U16/U18 level. The original Academy may well have been a Hoddle idea at first, but it produced; another Mills, Crainie, Walcott, Bale, Surman, Best, Blackstock, McGoldrick and a few lesser names. Sadly few (ex.Walcott and Bale) were ever Prem.standard at a time when we had a struggling side, and obviously left when we needed experienced heads to save ourselves. The Double Dutch experiment looked more exciting on paper than on the pitch, and RL couldn't asfford to continue supporting it but it was still a good idea. The above 30 names managed a League career (for better or worse) but over a period of 50 years - was it enough? It would have been nice to think we could have produced a few more, but if we can genuinely create league sides that have 4-5 home-grown talents - then the Academy will pay for itself many times over. Few will argue that Doddsy is NOT a good choice for the job - especially as he came from Bath at 18 years old himself - he knows the task. If it works properly the Academy will saves many millions in transfers in future and even generate income from players who eventually move to other clubs. Good thinking Mr.Cortese!

Djordjic doesn't look like international class at the moment but he is tough and has a little of that " Zlatan arrogance " about him. With half the national side going into retirement, we may well see him get a few outings from the new manager (whoever that is). Bojan may well surprise everyone, some players raise their game at a higher level (wait for AIK's Euro qual.matches and we'll see) he's certainly been well worth his place in the AIK side this season.

With hindsight, Melia was not the bad player lots of people suggest. He did lack pace, but had good vision for the game but much of his passing was on the mark,but people tend to remember the passes that went astray. He tended to be a better player in away games (where home fans didn't jeer him so much and remembered his glory days at Liverpool ). I saw the away game at Highbury (Easter 1968) where we unexpectedly won 3-0 (with Ron Davies injured) pint-sized Micky Judd scored on his debut and Joe Kirkup scored with a centre from the side-line, plus a Paine penalty. Melia absolutely ran the midfield and was a class above everyone else on the pitch. Sadly he rarely got credit from fans in home games, and it eventually got to him. Sad that having invested money in a player and seeing him picked every week, fans don't do more to encourage players who are going through a tough patch, but ridicule them instead. Unfortunately, players who are prematurely bald (Melia was at 25) and later David Armstrong (a much better player than JM) tended to look like someone's grandfather - and in consequence got rude comments all the time. Likewise Chris Marsden (who may have shaved his head) didn't look like a film star either, and only some of his super performances saved his reputation.

EVERYTHING happened in that game. Played on April 1st 1964. In short...Knapp couldn't play. Mike Hennigan was reserve CH. 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3 at HT. Goalie Tony Godfrey off at HT with concussion. Huxford in goal for second half. (now down to 10 men ) Hennigan injured and off field after 50 mins. Saints down to 9 men (with NO SUBs. in those days.) Derby players were queueing up to make new attacks. Estimated ball possession: Saints 20 Derby 80 Huxford played like a windmill in goal with two full backs permanently stood on the goal line. Lost count of the Derby corners. 2nd half goals came from break aways ..and we seemed to score every time.4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4 Paine 3 (2 pens.), Chivers 2 Sydenham 1 Final score 6-4. One of the most action-packed games I've ever seen.

good defender,?.... I don't think so. Lunnis was a head and shoulders taller than Terry, but it didn't stop TP headbutting him on the chin !

As I recall John Sydenham and Tommy Jenkins did much the same thing. Getting past the full back and centering the ball is the prime requirement surely ? Do you expect them to tackle people and score goals, too ?

I'd go along with that too, JPT is the safer route to Wembley, and we want revenge against Rovers ! However, I think AP will want to see some of the " bench " players in action so he will surely use all subs in both games...and hopefully still win. With all the players we have, if we can't change out one or two ....and still retain our form, then the squad .....isn't a good squad. (one of) Thomas and Perry maybe, Mills, Mellis, Holmes, Gobern in midfield ..? Connolly, Saga, and even Paterson / White up front. but only (one off )...not as wholesale replacements.

I have a neighbour (near our country cottage in the forest) whose likely got his Hammarby flag at half-mast and not yet awakened from a drunken coma. In the last 20-odd years, Hammarby have played " third fiddle" to Djurgården and AIK in Stockholm. They did get a " shock" title win a few years back but never recovered that form and have been really shocking this year. Not worth their place (tbh). Won only 6 of 30 games and GD 22-44 (says it all). Djurgården were scarcely better but won a vital last home game but will have to play-off against a good Assyriska side (3rd in Div2). Marcus Allbäcks Örgryte side (from Gothenberg area) made a brave recovery after losing their first 7 games (!) but weren't quite good enough at the finish and go down. Last years promoted Brommapojkarna side (the legendary Academy-like team) survived thanks to a late revival and ended a safe 5 points above Djurgården. AIK won the title again 11 years after their last, when managed by Stuart Baxter they put on a good show in Champions League and gave Arsenal a couple of tough games. They lost manager and good form several years later and were relegated to div.2 before their revival three years ago. Now they are a top side again.Two star players are Englishman, Kenny Pavey (former "somewhere" junior) and Bojan Djordjic (who had a teenage spell at Man.Utd, (where it is rumoured) he told Alex Ferguson HOW he wanted to play, and was later surprised when Ferguson loaned him out to several clubs (incl. Plymouth) never to return to Old Trafford. He returned to Sweden and hasn't looked back. Looks a trifle "arrogant " but really makes sense when on TV football progs. A future international ..maybe ?

I certainly don't expect to hear that he's quitting Elfsborg. They have a great midfield with Anders calling the shots. He's 33 now by the next World cup he'd be 37..even if he played another couple of years he'd have nothing to play for except the record for most caps.(he's got 102) but for that he'd need another 40 to beat ex-goalie Ravelli's record. Freddie Lundberg quit (internationals) last season, probably winger Wilhelmson through injury (though he's not so old). Henke Larsson (now 38) has (apparantly) quit ALL football. He played his last league game for his (old) first club Helsingborg on Wednesday last. He did play the last few internationals to try and get Sweden qual'd - but having lost (twice) to Denmark they were never up for it. There are a number of other (not-so-well-known over 30's who've quit too) and with a new national coach on the horizon they'll not get a look-in as he'll have to work with the youngsters. Younger players likely to rise in status; goalie Isaksson, Kim Källström, The Elm bothers, Marcus Berg and Johan Elmander (Bolton) and Fredrik Stoor (Fulham). One time " bad-boy " Zlatan Ibramhimovic is now the toast of Barcelona, captain of Sweden and likely to stay on top-if he doesn't transgress anymore.

OK ......ask him Who was the best (toughest) defender he played against ? 1) in the football league 2) in internationals U23 or Full caps. 3) which was his (own) favourite match he played in. (any level). david in sweden david.cross@comhem.se

We mustn't forget that Dave Watson also played for Saints Oct. 1979 - Oct.1981 (and also won 18 caps whilst here,) and did captain England on a few occasions.

for those interested in last day results see item on OVERSEAS SAINTS

Stockholm side AIK who beat Gothenburg (A) in the seasons last match. For weeks it had been a 2 horse race but at last AIK won 2-1 in 85th min. Anders Svensson's Elfsborg finished 3rd and last years champs Kalmar 4th. Meanwhile, Stockholm side Hammarby and Marcus Allbäcks' Örgryte were relegated - whilst former top Stockholm side Djurgården will have to play-off to see if they can stay in Allsvenskan next year. After Sweden's World Cup exit, half a dozen " older players " incl. Anders Svensson (33) announced their retirement, along with 38 year old Henrik Larsson who played his last match for Helsingborg midweek, with tears in his eyes. Swedens national coach Lars Lagerbäck quit after the WC exit and the Swedish FA are desperate to find a replacement after Sven-Göran Eriksson refused and will stay as DOF at Notts County. 2010 will be an interesting year in Swedish football (!).