david in sweden

Directly after the War, Ephgrave and Stansbridge shared the goalie position 46/47 and right up till Jan 48 when Ian Black was signed. Black missed only 2 games through 48/49 and finally left at the end of 49/50 season and Stansbridge got only 2 games that season. In that Number doesn't show Alf Ramsey as being selected to play as forward (which of course he did do during the Wartime league games) but I can well believe he played up front if there had been injuries to Wayman or others as there were no subs. in those days and so it was quite likely. Ramsey didn't score in his sojourn as a CF (unless it was one of his 4 penalties, the other was a free kick) isn't... In that Number.. a great source of useful info.?) You mentioned Bill Wrigglesworth but in fact he debuted in October 1947 (aged 35) and played only 14 league games before moving on Jan1948. The team you mentioned first - never actually played together in one game. Stansbridge only played in 4 games where Wrigglesworth was picked, and during that time Webber was out injured and Clements played at CH...although of course all the players you mentioned did play that season. (please excuse my nerd-like stats.) but I'm sure it was fun. It was my fathers generation as a fan and he mentioned all the same names.

Harry Penk .sure ! ..even... In that Number remembers him. recalled as one of the shortest players ever to play Saints first team football. At 5'4" Harry made up for height with some skill on the ball and played 60 games (7 goals) 1960-63... while fighting for a place with Terry Paine, John Sydenham and the emerging David Chadwick. Harry played left wing but lost his place when John Sydenham returned from the Army ..and John S and Terry P. became wing legends. (1200 games between them).

some serious DELL memoirs from different sources suggest that Charlie wasn't such a good role model, or so postive in the dressing room (!) ...still you're partly right... but without that deal we wouldn't have got Cliff Huxford in our backline.. and for that I'm not sorry. They didn't come much harder..(and that includes even Jimmy Case).

Agreed .fhs. There's no pleasing some people - is there? You can't legislate for injuries and illness and say IF ONLY...but here's a few. Ron Davies - Despite his wonderful record - was kicked around so much by angry defenders not good enough to beat him fairly - and finally lost the skill. Steve Mills - terribly injured in a car crash 1975 - later died of leukemia. Austin Hayes - great young prospect. Scored on his debut, Irish international League Cup final team 1979 - died of cancer aged 28. Ronnie Ekelund - looked great for that half season..had bad back..was it ? Marian Pahars - How good might he have been - but for that ankle injury.? Michael Svensson - One of the best Saints CH in my lifetime ! I'm sure people can make there own lists but surely we can't complain about MLT ...after all those wonderful years and 200+ goals. I think any fan who'd seen MLT for only ONE season would have got their money's worth. (Do older Man.Utd fans complain about George Best (who was " finished " by the time he was 26) ..I think not.

Ted Bates was on record as saying the ONLY sale he ever regretted was that of Martin Chivers. Although it was (then) a British club record £125,000 I think Spurs fans would have said they got a bargain.

We had to turn the corner sometime and I wrote a thread a few days backabout the stats from the first 14 games. Since the arrival of Jaidi and Papa weigo and the permanent pairing of Lallana with Lambert the second 7 games have been much better.

Yes we would Norm, but I am also surprised that there was no place for George O' Brien.

I agree 100%. If McCarthy isn't happy with AS by January, he might consider a loan-back till May. If we are serious about getting out of L1, we need enough depth in the squad to play 96 minutes a game until the end of the season. Why not ?, he was consistant enough to warrant a transfer to a Prem.side no-one can think he's not good enough for L1.

Looking at the facts, we and Rovers are about the same level. Our home game was 2-2 at 90 mins. and they got the late goal for the points. Because of the -10, we have only 11 points, but our playing record is "worth " 21 ---only 1 point behind Rovers. Our present side is infinitely better than last seasons and so I fully expect this to be a "win-able " game and look forward to a Prem.side when we get to the 3rd round. COYR !!!!! ... or as it's the Cup.... blue / gold

As previously mentioned my late father (died 1991) often spoke of his favourites amomgst those you mentioned. How Ellerington was always considered superior to Ramsey who was often only a reserve. The bravery of Ted Bates who dived headlong (amongst the boots) to head home, and indeed George Curtis, who sounds to have been quite a handful ! Sadly that great team never quite got promotion , and a lot of people seem to have deserted the club after they fell into Div.3 South in 1952.

No worries...if he's fit enough to walk (sorry run) he only needs to be on the pitch 20 minis...score his goal... and it's back to normal .

Eric Day (was a favourite of my late fathers) and played 1946 -57 and is one of the elite group with 400+ club appearances. A good striker he netted 158 times in 422 games and is in the top 10 of all time Saints scorers. Don Roper (born in Botley) played in the Wartime leagues and later in Div.2 had two spells, after only 2 years 1945-7 , he was off to Arsenal for a record £20, 000 fee and stayed there 9 years and was a firm favourite for many years at Highbury. He later returned to the Dell in 1956 (aged 34) and still had admirers in the fan base. He carried on until he was 37 and played in total 133 scoring 43 times. NOTE: Although he left the club under unhappy circumstances ( he did not get his promised job in the boot room,) In that Number says he was never seen at The Dell afterwards, BUT on at least one occasion he was pointed out to me standing on the terraces (by several older fans) (c.1970).

I recall ..not so long ago we had SIX central defenders injured at the same time !. The Jaidi / Trotman pairing looks good now, and hopefully they will stay fit and suspension free, but if the same were to ahppen again, then we are back to Thomas and Perry...Mmmm..maybe alright for one game but no long term. If Murty comes back fighting fit then I 'd be happy, but a younger Jaidi-type would reassure me. Strikers are notorious for inconsistancy...many people recall James Beatties 23 goal season - but it took him the first NINE games to get off the mark! He had two "purple patches" scoring in 5... and later 6... consecutive games. Fine if Lambert, Lallana and Connolly continue in form, but early on in Strachan's time we had 5 injured strikers in mid Jan. If Saga isn't up to it, and Paterson is still not the real thing yet, we need another experienced striker around. Goal diff.will be important at seasons end.

xxx

No insults intended Toomer, if my maths is correct you were about 5 then (?) (don't know how much you'd remember about it.) My first game (as I recall) was in 1959 and I was 11 then (more old git abuse forthcoming). Went with my Dad to see Saints v Blackpool (a big team then) in FA Cup 3rd round tie at The Dell. Everyone (29265) went to see the sprightly Stanley Mattews (then ONLY 44) turn out for 'pool. Stood under the old clock scoreboard at the Archers end - on a freezing cold afternoon - didn't see so much, but recall watching ' pool keeper George Farm playing in track suit trousers ..caused quite a stir in the crowd with jeers and cat-calls. We lost 1-2 in the last 5 mins.

Anyone who can recall Charlie Wayman is OLD and must be nearing 80+ !). " old-ish " ..must be when we were in Div.3 South last time (1959-60) and probably nearing pension age.. IMHO...The Div.2 teams (1960-66 ) are sort of borderline " oldies ". Anyone watching Div.1 first time round 1966-1973 is a " senior fan". Div.2 1973-1978 and FA CUP winners 1976 are probably around 50 and quite commonplace on this site. MOST people can recall some of the 27 years in Div.1 / Prem.days....from 1978-20** and anyone who's NEVER watched Prem.football is most likely - still at school.

What an "exceptional " example he was to all those young fans who wanted to be like the World Footballer of the Year, or whatever they called him then..and to do this is a World Cup match screened everywhere aound the Globe. Yes ...he had some sort of talent, but to me... he was just a cheat and this picture proved it.!

There is an old ITV Sport insert on YOU TUBE of the famous 4-1 win v. Man Utd. at Old Trafford in August 1969. It's BW and not good quality, but you can see all three in this legendary win. You might recognise a few names in the Man Utd side, like Charlton and Best. Sadly there is very little archive material from this period, but they are all a joy to watch. George O'Brien was also a great favourite in the early 1960's Quite the laziest-looking player I ever saw who didn't like to chase the ball for more than 10 yards, but could score in themud from almost anywhere; 35 yarders, penalties, " roll-ins," left or right foot - didn't matter to George. In 6½ seasons he netted; 23,22,28,22,16,32 and 11 league goals... and a couple dozen more in various cup games. Great days! Yes, you would have enjoyed it - believe me!

I think you might have added " an average " of one place per match. There are some bigger gaps higher up the table which in theory would need two or three wins to overcome, but your idea is right. COYR !!!!!!!!

No apologies for my " nerd-like " statisical contribution in the past, and I'll NOT make them today. Individual match analyses may vary but now we can see the effect of AP " new look " side. Many people were a bit unsure in the first few games. Lambert was an instant hit, and Harding too, Pity Murty got injured so early on but it was clear that Saga wasn't going to make it , and Paterson is still a shade too young. Trotman came in (another good deal AP) and so too Hammond and Mellis.... but with 7 games gone..it wasn't so exciting. P7. W0 D5 L2 goals 5-8 points 5 (effectively still -5) Then the masterstroke, Jaidi signed (at last) and we had the strong backline that we need in front of Kelvin. Papa Weigo has his critics, but everyone says he's exciting and unpredicatable. At last we had a good front line with Lallana and Lambert scoring regularly. ..and finally David Connolly provides the icing on the cake and he's super sub. even before he's started a game.since then: the second 7 games look like this . P7 W5 D1 L1 goals 18-8 points 16 (though still only 11 of them count). OK we don't have a watertight defence, but whilst we can score more than the opposition... it's still 3 points a game. If things had been "all square" from the start (instead of -10) our 14 game record of 5-6-3 puts us in 9th place....and be one of 3 teams on 21 points. Only 3 teams have scored more than us, and only 7 teams have a better goals against. IF.. this form continues we will gradually eat away the -10, and start to look really good in the table. COYR !!!!

well done you lot ...(almost right Echo ) 21387 today.how many next time ?

Well I asked myself the same question. Dad said that there were dozens of coaches going up and lots more by train. The prev. seasons (Spurs) fixture got only around 29,000 fans. As both teams were in the running for promotion, you could expect larger crowds but I find it hard to think that Spurs could have "found" 40,000 new fans in a season. It does seem certain that Saints had a big following and very few Dell games that season had less than 24,000 and there were half a dozen up around 28-29,000 plus the famous 30856 (v.WBA) and which was still a ground record over 20 years later.

most likely so, but if it were true, it would be a great Christmas present for the rest of L1. I'm sure that Leeds don't WANT to sell him, but it might be a question of money.. ......you know ...some clubs have those sort of financial problems.....