david in sweden

........that their grandfathers used to tell them about ....

No! No! ...that refers to the report that the doctor gave to the manager ......after the player's medical.....

strange though ...that we never hear of retrospective action against ....referees. .....but perhaps the explanation is that ......it's not that they make mistakes, it's just that they look the other way and don't see " everything ":rolleyes:

at a time when " Manager of the Month" had a special meaning to Saints' fans. I think Tony Pulis was tipped to take over at SMS, but then we plumped for "someone else " perhaps ....signing young Anthony was a pre-amble to a deal that never happened.

.....the ultimate name in " Saints youth products " ....it took him over 20 years to make his League debut

...........and alienated the rest.

...what did he say? ......losing interest in Saints ?.......I hope he was a keen fan when we we're bottom of L1 with -10 points....... .....that's just what the club needs .....fans who stick with us through thick...and thick .....and then complain when there's bit of thin. They scream and tear their hair out and threaten to burn their season ticket.......and has only been a fan for 25 years. I watched my first Saints game 57 years ago .....and remind myself there are 34 games left .....and am a bit more ......philosophical.

to be corect - only two. Fonte argued vociferously with the ref, but suppose he was booked for the "penalty foul ", but whilst waiting for the Arsenal player to be treated, both van Dijk and Bertrand were yellow-carded for continuing the pointless discussion with the ref. ....who had lost his patience by that time. If Madeley and his fellow linesman had done their job correctly , the game would have stopped after the blatant foul on Long...or at least when we saw the Arsenal player laying in the six yard box with a head injury.....and none of what followed would have happened.

Not the daftest suggestion I've heard in a while. It's refs makes the decisions ..as in this case .....who decide the final result. It's always a bit pathetic for the interviewers to speak with managers / players afterwards, and ask dumb questions like ...." did you think it was a penalty?" If an experienced official like Harold Webb said it was a mistake, there are a lot of others who might agree with him. Madeley got it wrong, the game should have been stopped before the "penalty incident " even occured. As it was we had 3 players booked for arguing the truth about an incident that the ref. got blatantly wrong.

Agreed, I watched several "replays " of that incident..... It was a good free kick, and perhaps only justice that it hit Cech on the back and went in. Had he not reached it, it might well have gone in under the bar.

well it seems that " the referees " on this site are mixed in their opinions, but I feel worse this morning than I have about any negative result in a long time. The game should have been stopped (1)..... for the earlier blatant foul at the other end on Shane Long, (right in front of the linesman).... who has radio contact with the ref. in the middle. .....or (2) .....when a player with a head injury is laying motionless in the 6 yard box, and the fact is totally ignored by Madley....... all this occuring long before the " penalty incident " I have seldom seen Wenger more relieved than he did in his after match interview... His comment that .." we were a good side " is no consolation at all. If the referee watches a video-replay of this match.....he should feel thoroughly ashamed.

almost right.....except it was the 94th minute ......

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about....maybe she was just discussing opening a Thai / Chinese takeaway at Staplewood....or .. is it another headache for Les.?

.....that means we've passed game 20 (of the 30 game season).....Not much change to see at the top end of the table. Malmö and Nörrköping has pulled away from the rest and are 7 points clear with only a point and minor goal difference to separate them. AIK have made their normal late season recovery, but are unlikely to catch the two leading clubs. At the bottom, the fairly predictable demise of Gefle and Falkenberg is on the cards, and even if one of them puts together a run of results they are hardly likely to move out of the bottom two (relegation) places, whilst Helsingborg have slipped into the last relegation play-off spot. The Swedish "wrist-slitters " amongst the fans of the two big Stockholm clubs, Hammarby and Djurgården were sensing the worst at Midsummer, now breathe a temporary sigh of relief, after a few positive results of late, but it is poor consolation for these two "big clubs" who have known greater glories in the past. With Sweden still enjoying exceptionally fine late-summer weather, fans will look forward to a few more games in shirt-sleeve conditions, rather than raincoats. The Swedish international side, (which was so attractive to watch just a few years ago), is also in transition with a new manager - but without the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kim Källström and veteran keeper Isaksson ....who all " resigned themselves " from their International duties this year, leaving the Swedes with a mix of mediocre "make-do's", and a few promising youngsters who are still finding their way at this level. Their recent friendly game against Holland was a lot of running and shouting, but not much good football and ended in a rather tame 1-1 draw. Hey ho...into the Autumn mists.

......or to some form of un-clear power..?

many of you have said the same things that I thought..... Long's missed chances .........and then the blatant foul on him..... Ref's failure to stop the game with their man down injured in the 6 yard box....and surely the weakest penalty decision in ages. A 50/50 ball with both men going for it . Tadic's fantastic close control but he always wants to beat ..yet another man ..and then score goal of the season before Christmas..... Diamond formation (supposedly) gives more possession, but negates many of the good things we had last season... Romeu saved us several times , and VvD seems to have lost that " composure " he had last season. If KD is the contact man between the dressing room ....and the Boardrom ......what does he have to tell them.?

well...if Fonseca had anything to do with us signing Vegard Forren for over £3 million .....I suggest he keeps quiet about it ....

Don't know (or care) where Mitchell will end up, but isn't Pochettino's comment just a little hypocritical ? .." very disappointed at (PM) decision to hand in his resignation..." Guess what Mauricio.. .there were quite a lot more at SFC who felt the same about YOU !

.....FFP favours rich clubs .......has it really taken 3-4 years to come to that obvious conclusion? The big money behind these clubs will lobby to keep it that way, whilst the remainder will stay handicapped by this ridiculous ruling, and fall even further behind.

True ...many of the Academy successes started with the club at a very young age - and yes quite a lot of them happen to be white....Lallana, Shaw, JWP, Targett, etc.... ...except of course Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain....or shouldn't we mention them because it might negate the author's ridiculous " apartheid " theory? I can't recall who said this quote......think it may have been Rupert Lowe.... " ....that we (Saints) don't necessarily look for young players with a lot of skills....but those who are intelligent, have athleticism ....and we can teach the rest." As for the current situation, a majority of the U23's happen to be " white " ..BUT a not-inconsiderable number of the U18 squad players - aren't British .. nor are they "white". Certainly we seek players who have specific talents and many " non-white " footballers are much faster than an average white player - hence their use as wingers/strikers. On the other hand, in international athletics ...I can't recall the last " white " athlete who gave Usain Bolt a run for his money either...... I don't think we "avoid " buying certain types of players because of their cultural background /ethnicity, but we can only buy those .....that we can afford to buy... if we were " filthy rich " ....and with a huge transfer budget.....then maybe we'd have bid for Pogba instead.

Really ....I've no wish to be seen to criticise your obvious concern for young Jack's well-being, and ..if it were another player ..I might even agree with you. However, I (rightly /wrongly) formed the opinion some while ago that Wilshere was a typical London " Jack the Lad," who although he undoubtedly possess talent for the game, doesn't take life so seriously and that the "smoking habit " is something he really should have kicked a long time ago, if he is to become the superstar that some journos claim he is / will become. A sportsman, (any sportsperson) has a priority to put their health first and that any "habit" ...be it Tobacco, Alcohol ..or any sort of pill ...or powder... does nothing to improve their performances. I wish him no harm, but really think he has already come " a bridge too far " in terms of his fitness and career prospects ....but nevertheless is not starving on the streets, or having difficulty in paying his mortgage(s). His inclusion in the Euro squad was a shock to me ..for a player who had played only twice in a year, and (apparantly) was nowhere near match fit. It was a desperate move for Roy Hodgson to include him in the first place when there were other candidates who were more worthy of a place who were fit. I noticed little direct criticism from the media, who quite the contrary, seem to think he would / could inevitably be a match-winner, and must not be ignored. I can only assume that Hodgson felt "under pressure " from the media to include Jack....and to play him in the team. We saw the result in the final games. Sorry to contradict your genuine concern, but that's my opinion. In this matter, I would love to be proven wrong, but I'm not going to hold my breath in the meantime.

......no-one old enough to have seen John Sydenham in full flight ?

ah ! ...but no dreams = no ambition = no success. Despite the prophets of doom and gloom who knows what might happen if we play well enough.

me too Steve, ..and it's most interesting to notice who's first to publish a rumour.. and how quickly the others copy the story, often word for word...... (not that there is any real truth to any of it) ..but like you, I find it refreshing to find a positive storyline.

tbf Dalek .....we don't know that for sure, maybe there is someone who we can't get just now, or maybe Puel does have a plan B ? If Fonte continues his excellent and consistant form, the question might not arise for another season or so ... Mane grew into his good form, and was called " all manner of things" by people on this forum in his first few months at SFC.....I think Wanyama was " a one-off " and although his three red cards may be one of those un-enviable club records we want to forget, there were a number of shortcomings in his game that Pochettino has yet to discover...... Maybe his replacement might be a totally different style of player.