SaintJackoInHurworth

I met Kelvin and his kids in the Saints Megastore a couple of years ago. I was with my wife and daughters at the time. I didn't like to hassle him while he was with his kids, so didn't say anything, but from what I observed he seemed a normal down-to-earth kind of guy. My kids were too young to know any different at the time and my wife not sufficiently into football, so I told them once we got outside. We bought a couple of Saints monkeys while we were in the shop. The smaller one which attaches to the car window we called Kelvin in honour of seeing him while we were in the shop, while the other one we called Kevin, partly because it's a similar name to Kelvin, but mainly because my older daughter was being grumpy that day and didn't want to call her monkey Kelvin but preferred to call it Kevin instead (just because...!) My main point is that I'm sure Kelvin is a nice guy and he has always seemed very committed to the club. I've been pleased that he has stayed with the club and not moved on as it would be a real hassle to change the names of the monkey. PS Unlike some (numerous?) posts in this thread, every word I have written is absolutely true.

Some people on here just need to get a life! People are divided about this song - not liking that we forever sing about Pompey, but wanting a song that lauds Pochettino; liking some of the words of this song, complaining about others. So I simply (or perhaps complicatedly!) made an attempt to suggest an alternative and all you haters can do is to criticise my efforts. At the same time, others have pointed out that we are forever copying other team's songs so I have suggested a few ideas for songs that could easily be adapted for the terraces - but again all you can do is criticise. If you guys are so clever, why don't you try coming up with something that genuinely sings support for our team, our players, our town, our manager, etc. instead of criticising the efforts of others?! There is a long tradition every summer of people suggesting new songs to improve the dross that is sung on the terraces. I was simply continuing that tradition. If you don't like my suggestions then come up with your own instead of making small-minded put-downs that, as far as I can see, suggest you have nothing more than the intellect of a Pompey fan. Alternatively, if you don't like the sorts of things that are discussed on forums, then go out and get a life and stop criticising those of us that do enjoy discussing such things. I can't believe how critical and small-minded some people are becoming on here. No wonder some tried to introduce some sort of moderation to the forum a few years ago. I am beginning to think that they may have been wiser than I realised at the time.

I have commented on this song on another thread where I pointed out that there are several slightly different versions of this song going around - largely because like the OP no-one can make out what is being sung! Personally, I agree with the sentiment that I would rather sing about Saints than about some naff fourth division club with a fat bare-bellied prat of a fan who stirs up unnecessary hatred across the south coast. I would suggest that we need alternative words for the song depending upon who we are playing. So, for example: Playing Norwich Is that what it's like to be Norwich, always boring yellow and green? You've got Delia, we've got Pochettino, Pochettino! Playing West Ham Is that what it's like to be West Ham, long balls and boring football? You've got Big Fat Sam, we've got Pochettino, Pochettino! Playing Sunderland Is that what it's like to be Sund'land, supporting the BNP? You've got a fascist boss, we've got Pochettino, Pochettino! etc... I also think we can create some new songs based on tunes that no-one else has yet thought to use. So, for example, while we have already got a perfectly good Adam Lallana song (pinched I guess from another club and another player) I have previously suggested it would be quite funny and different to sing a song for Lalland based on the old Smurfing song: La-la-la-la-la-la-la-Lallana, La-la-la-la-la-la-la-Lallana, La-la-la-la-la-la-la-Lallana, Lallana! La-la-la-la-la-la-la-Lallana, La-la-la-la-la-la-la-Lallana, La-la-la-la-la-la-la-Lallana, Lallana! For those that don't know or remember it, check it out on YouTube: - you need to listen to the refrain from about 25 seconds until 1 minute 9 seconds! Here are a few other songs that I am surprised we do not sing, either in their original form or with some adapted lyrics: Us Against The World, Coldplay - simply sing the second verse and chorus as they are or change some bits of it: The tightrope that I'm walking just sways and ties The devil as he's talking with those angel's eyes And I just want to be there when the lightning strikes And the Saints go marching in And sing slow-ow-ow-ow it down Through chaos as it swirls It's us against the world The Saints Are Coming, The Skids (also recently covered by U2 and Green Day) The Saints are coming, the Saints are coming I say no matter how I try, I realize there's no reply The Saints are coming, the Saints are coming I say no matter how I try, I realize there's no reply The Saints of Los Angeles, Motley Crue (Change Los Angeles to Southampton of course plus a few other cosmetic changes!) We are...we are the saints We signed our life away Doesn't matter what you think We're gonna do it anyway We are...we are the saints One day you will confess And Pray to the saints of Los Angeles. Finally, here are a few songs that could all be adapted to create some great terrace songs: Paradise - Coldplay (And it's Gaston, Gaston Ramirez, oh it's Gaston, Gaston Ramirez...!) Every Teardrop is a Waterfall - Coldplay (Our secret weapon is Jay Rodriguez!) Imagine - John Lennon (Imagine there's no defence, it's easy if you try???!!! - hopefully taunting the opponents rather than highlighting our own shortcomings!) Clown - Emeli Sande (We've got Luke Shaw, out on the pitch...) Maybe - Emeli Sande (Jack Cork, taking the ball out of defence, giving it out to the forwards, he's gotta be England class...?) Breaking The Law - Emeli Sande (I'll never stop following Southampton!) Read All About It - Emeli Sande (I wanna sing, I wanna shout, I wanna follow Southampton, no doubt...) Beneath You're Beautiful - Labrinth/Emeli Sande (and at right back - it's great to see Nathaniel Clyne (repeat)... shrug them off now boy, etc.) Overjoyed - Bastille ('Oh I feel overjoyed to see the Saints are climbing up the Premier League...') Oblivion - Bastille ('cos we're going to follow Saints' instead of 'are you going to age with grace?' and 'Southampton' instead of 'Oblivion', etc. Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears For Fears (Supporting Southampton, Southampton... supporting South-ampton!) Shout - Tears For Fears (Shout, Shout, let it all out, We are the Saints and there ain't no doubt, come on...!) Man on The Moon - REM ('Would you believe, we're are Premier League, Premier League...' or similar) Ignoreland - REM (Just substitute 'Southampton' or a players name for 'Ignoreland' - dead simple!) Find The River - REM ('We have got Gaston Ramirez...') My Beloved Monster - Eels (My beloved Saints and Me, we go everywhere together...) Anyway, that's just a few suggestions...!!

So... if all the EPL games will be shown in detail in the US, I guess that means there is some hope of finding some fairly decent game highlights online each week if I happen to miss MOTD?

And back to the issue of Stoke City... with Pulis sacked I wonder if they could slide down the table into relegation trouble. While their style of play has not been pretty it has kept an average side in the Premier League for several seasons on a limited budget. If they are looking for a more attractive style of football you have to wonder whether they will be able to deliver the results in the light of their limited budget. Personally, I am hopeful that with Pulis gone we might find playing Stoke a different proposition next season. If they try to play a more attractive style of football I believe that would suit us down to the ground - we do much better against ball-playing sides than against those that employ strong arm tactics and the long ball (though I am not suggesting that is all that there has been to Stoke's game - but it has been a significant part of it).

From what I could hear on Saturday at Sunderland, there seem to be several different versions of this song going round all with very slightly different words. Here are a couple of others: That's what it's like to be Pompey That's what it's like to be poor You sign Whittingham, we sign Pochettino, Pochettino, Pochettino OR Guess that's what it's like to be Pompey Guess that's what it's like to be poor You sign Whittingham, we sign Pochettino, Pochettino, Pochettino OR Guess what it's like to be Pompey Guess what it's like to be poor You sign Whittingham, we sign Pochettino, Pochettino, Pochettino Of those, I personally prefer the one in bold even though it's quite hard to get the words in! That having been said, I would prefer one that didn't focus on Pompey at all - why worry about some tin pot club in League 2? I would like some more positive words about Saints: This is what it's like to be Saints now, Moving up the Premier League Signing lots of players with our manager Pochettino, Pochettino, Pochettino!

hmmm - wonder if Paolo might use half time to encourage Sunderland to try some continental tactics - i.e. trying to get Stoke players rattled to get someone sent off. If so we could end up seeing a card-fest with both teams losing players fro the end of the season. That could well be to our advantage - though we usually do worse against teams who are under-strength because of injuries and sendings off!

Here are my predictions for the bottom of the table matches together with my final table when I used the BBC predictor for all fixtures: Fulham Liverpool (H) 1-2 Swansea (A) 0-1 Villa Chelsea (H) 1-2 Wigan (A) 1-1 Stoke Suinderland (A) 1-2 Spurs (H) 1-2 Saints (A) 0-2 Saints Sunderland (A) 1-1 Stoke (H) 2-0 Norwich WBA (H) 1-1 Man City (A) 0-2 Newcastle QPR (A) 0-0 Arsenal (H) 0-2 Sunderland Stoke (H) 2-1 Saints (H) 1-1 Spurs (A) 0-2 Wigan Swansea (H) 2-1 Arsenal (A) 0-2 Villa (H) 1-1 Prediction: Of course, if we lose to Sunderland it could be a bit different, but either way, even if we lose both remaining fixtures we should still be safe - if only on goal difference! In terms of the teams who are at real risk of relegation I think it is probably too close to call between Newcastle, Norwich and Wigan.... If Newcastle beat QPR they should be safe. If Norwich beat West Brom, they too should be safe. This would leave Wigan needing to beat Aston Villa for safety Incidentally, only if those three things happen and we lost both our remaining fixtures would we be anything but safe! In fact just a single draw should be enough to at least finish above Aston Villa on goal difference (unless you think Villa will get anything out of the game against Chelsea!)

As someone who lives up north and therefore rarely gets to a home game - only matches away, I can assure you that our away support is generally excellent. What some of you were discovering is how much better our support is away from home than it is at home. I think the reason for this is that it is generally the more (openly) passionate supporters who make the effort to travel to away games and so you get a whole load of them crammed together and together they make a great noise. At home it is very different as the noisy support is diluted by those that are quieter supporters - who may be just as passionate (before I get criticized for suggesting any different!) but express their support in a less openly passionate way. I think you will find that this is a common trait amongst football supporters with away fans frequently out-singing the home fans, or certainly appearing to do so.

I didn't forget Norwich - there didn't seem much point including them as I am pretty sure they will get at least two points. Hopefully we can finish above them still, but I am not as confident of that as I am that we will not be relegated.

There seem to be a lot of doom and gloom merchants around at the moment, so, let me humour you a moment... what if we lost every single game that remains this season... where would we finish? Let's think about the other teams below us... 1. Wigan - do you think they could get the eight points they would need to finish above us with their fixtures? WBA (A), Swansea (H), Arsenal (A), Aston Villa (H) - where are they going to get 8 points from those games?!! I would say they could get six or seven points at most - and that would depend on beating Villa. 2. Newcastle - they would only need 3 points to finish above us. Easy? Let's see: W.Ham (A), QPR (A) and Arsenal (H). OK, they might get them against QPR - but then again the way the Toon are playing at the moment, maybe not! 3. Villa - after tonight surely they will go on a big run to safety? Or will they...? They also need 3 points to finish above us: Norwich (A), Chelsea (H), Wigan (A). Well, ok, they might beat Norwich, but they might draw or might go complacent after tonight and get beaten. Norwich will want to prove something to Lambert. Chelsea - no chance! Wigan? Well, if they win that one, I refer you to my comments about Wigan above. 4. Sunderland - demoralising defeat tonight and no Sessegnon for the rest of the season: Stoke (H), Saints (H), Spurs (A) - They might pick themselves up and beat Stoke, but I can't see them getting anything at Spurs. So, to finish above us they must at least get a draw against us. If they don't beat Stoke they must beat us. So, despite tonight, it is certainly still possible for them to get clear of relegation - but I bet you won't find many Sunderland fans declaring that confidence tonight! In other words.. even if we lose every game (and I don't for a moment think we will!) there are a whole load of ifs and buts for other teams to finish above us and for us therefore to get relegated. SO, take it easy guys.. we are not in danger of getting relegated! Sit back, enjoy the rest of the season - enjoy the possibility that we could surprise everyone and beat the Spuds (I doubt it, but who knows?!); enjoy the possibility of getting a win or draw at Sunderland and leaving them looking anxiously over their shoulders!... and hopefully we can then complete the season with a nice home win for the fans against Stokehampton - and leave them with no doubts that for all the ex-Saints players they have had on their books over the past few seasons they have only ever been a pale imitation of what the Saints are set to become!

It was shame that we sent him out on loan and kept seaborne last season. There was one time in the season when we were defensively short and Martin would have been able to do a job for us, but wasn't there to be able to take his chance. He was definitely a quality League 1 player and could some day, with more experience, become a decent Championship defender. He could potentially even make it one day in the EPL.

I agree with you there and I am surprised that no-one else has said it. It was nevertheless petulant and possibly worth a card. Put that together with him pushing one of the West Brom players just afterwards and I would concede there remains a strong argument to say that the ref was right to send him off. Of the three red cards given in the match, it was the one that was most debatable. Incidentally, no-one has also pointed out that the West Brom player's challenge for the ball when he was fouled by Fox also had a hint of being two-footed. His foot was certainly off the ground. I suspect if Fox had come in with a one-footed challenge then the West Brom player could have ended up being booked! It doesn't justify Fox's awful challenge though.

Gary Neville has just answered all the pessimists on here... he reckons we have the potential to do really well next season and to emulate Swansea's rise, finishing in the top half of the table (with the caveat of continued improvement through purchases in the summer). 'nuff said!!!

I switched off my laptop before MOTD, but just gone and got it so I could come on here to make exactly the same point!! Such a shame we didn't sign him! He looks a real class act.

Here's one I submitted last summer: I would possibly add a bit more black trim and would definitely combine it with black shorts. It may also need a bit more red and a bit less white. Nevertheless, hopefully you get the idea! (PS I appreciate that clubs aren't as free as this to create their own designs and have to go with variations based upon manufacturers designs, but that's a shame in my opinion!)

We are not Forest, we are not Liverpool, WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON!!!! Red and White STRIPES all the way - I will NOT buy a Southampton kit again until it is Red and White Stripes. If they abandon stripes I will continue to wear the numerous red and white kits that I have already got - I will save myself some money and the club will lose out on it. Simple as that! As for shorts - No to Red shorts, Yes to black shorts. Also I continue to be a fan of maintaining some black trim. Both of these factors are what makes us distinct from Sunderland and Stoke. Red and whites stripes with black and white trim (and possibly some extra red trim too like in the 70s kit) is a distinct Southampton look.

I accept all of that - in my original post I did point out that I had maybe been a bit optimistic in terms of Saints results (mainly in terms of us beating Swansea on Saturday) and that I had been a bit pessimistic about the results for some other teams. My point was that it was not beyond the bounds of possibility - and I don't think those predictions are wholly unlikely. I certainly think that Saints will finish between 8th and 12th. As for who will be relegated with Reading and QPR, I think it is too close to call - it could be anyone out of Stoke, Aston Villa, Wigan, Sunderland, Norwich or Newcastle (although I would expect Norwich and Newcastle to be ok).

er... not sure how to resize it!!!

I had a go at the prediction league on BBC and I think there is a possibility that we could end up finishing as high as eight and then we could relegate Stoke on the last day. This is partly based on us maintaining very good form and Swansea, West Brom and Fulham finishing with indifferent form, so I am not for a moment suggesting is what will happen - just that it is not beyond the bounds of realistic possibility! You will see my predictions first and then the final table: Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us What do you think?

Surely our priority has got to be to strengthen the defence rather than the midfield??!!

I'd like to think we will be aiming for a top ten finish!! We are only two points behind Fulham and four behind Swansea. Fulham's form has been on-off and Swansea have not won a match for a few weeks now. Above them West Brom's form has also been less than consistent, though they are seven points ahead of us so probably a bit too much of a gap for us to catch them. Let's see how high we can go!!

So... anyone care to tell me how on earth there is ANY mathematical way Pompey could escape some form of relegation? Or are you just going to ignore my question?

Errr... I haven't been following this and not about to try and catch up.... BUT... isn't that impossible now?? I was under the impression there were now three possible scenarios: 1. The Portsmouth takeover fails to materialise and the club are ejected from the football league. 2. Portsmouth win enough games to get out of relegation (i.e. winning just about every one of their remaining games), the takeover is completed and they come out of administration, but they are deducted 10 points as they do, thus throwing them back into the relegation mire (NB If they win every game including today's they will be at most 8 points above the relegation zone). 3. Portsmouth get out of administration, but fail to escape the relegation zone. They are thus relegated to League 2, where they will start the season on minus ten points.

My question was more concerned with the list that must be submitted of players that are part of the official squad - excluding the younger players. Having sent Seabourne and De Ridder out on loan and brought in Forren that I assume leaves us with one spare outfield place and one goalkeeping place? Or have we got another older player that may now get an official squad number?