dinger

As evidenced by this ball 'boy' attempting to waste time (like a footballer), then pretending to be injured (like a footballer)? There's no moral outrage here. The lad was being a kn0b and will get a mouthful from his dad/the club. Hazard got a red card. Both parties apologised, nobody died.

This whole incident has cheered me up no end, just as I was starting to feel disenchanted with professional football.

Ha! Rumbled.

I think the work horse bit was with reference to his tackle.

This is the big thing, the research, the effort he puts in. He puts even the other Sky pundits to shame. Was watching a game the other weekend where they had a little feature on the 150th anniversary of the FA and wheeled out the original copy of the laws of the game. Then the presenter said something along the lines of, "and can you believe that there are still only 17 laws in football?", to which Jamie Redknapp expressed his absolute astonishment. Then 45 minutes later he's jabbering on about some penalty incident and keeps talking about 'the letter of the law'. WTF? What qualifies you to talk about the letter of the law when you so clearly haven't read them? How is it possible that pundits on national TV are able to say about goal-line officials, '"I don't know what it is they do", as if that is somehow a criticism of the officials/UEFA. Find out what they do and tell us! You're supposed to be the experts! Rant over. Breath now.

That DM position rarely attracts the same praise as a more attacking player, simply through being less spectacular. But it was really gratifying to see Red Nev praising the Morgan/Cork partnership last night.

This seems to be the case. The media seems to be massively overplaying the language thing. Radio 4 had Laurie Mac on the Today programme this morning, and that was pretty much their first question to him as well. At that first press conference he seemed to not need a translator for the questions in English, just felt more comfortable delivering his anwers that way.

Who's your tip for the title, Colinjb? I've got my eye on Ghana.

This seems fairly put. And NA strikes me as the kind of guy that would play on with a professional face whatever was going on, even in the knowledge he was being sacked.

Erm, a couple of things here...

I'm not sure that scans.

I'm gonna **** you up.

Crivvens!

Think you might have to sit tight for a bit, Trews. This is surely only the start of it. If there's any justice there'll be criminal trials to follow.

They're like chalk and cheese.

I particularly liked... 'Although I'm a Newcastle fan and we look like fighting relegation with Southampton, but I hope they stay up because I like Adkins, I think he's a nice guy and the football Southampton play melts my heart, so good luck to them and I hope we survive with Southampton at the end of the season.'

Reading the match report in the Grauniad, which is a bit something and nothing regarding Saints (concentrating mostly on Chelsea), but there are a lot of compliments from neutrals in the comments, which is very pleasing to see. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/16/chelsea-southampton-premier-league

When Guardiola took over (summer 08) they weren't on the ropes exactly, but they had finished the season 3rd and won nothing that season (07-08), a situation that would become unthinkable thereafter. He was pretty ruthless staright away in restructuring the squad and shaping it how he wanted it. As Smirking_Saint says, there were a lot of highly paid hangers-on there, and dressing room unrest under Rijkaard. He didn't just come in and maintain the status quo.

Shaw might be there or thereabouts, come World Cup time. At the moment he's definitely behind Cole and Leighton Baines. But Cole is getting on and his form is starting to drop. It rather depends on what happens at the end of his Chelsea contract in the summer. If he takes a move to a club in one of the big leagues, he's probably going to remain 1st or 2nd choice. But if he takes the money and goes, for example, to the MLS, then he'll quickly drift out of the picture. But Shaw's time will come sooner or later if he keeps developing like he is. Lambert might get a call up to a squad for some qualifiers, I think. There's nothing wrong with having a proven goalscorer on the bench, however old he is. As someone said above, there's Rooney, Defoe, and then... Bent? But at his age the World Cup is a long way off. Who knows what kind of form he'll be in by then?

Great performance, great result. Well done Saints.

I'm not saying it's right, but it's an option...

They're neither of them bad. The agent looks like a slightly pinched Ronan Keating.

If he's anything like me he'll have spent the festive season drinking red wine, smoking pot and playing computer games. Definitely not the sort of player we're after. Also, he really needs to stop masturbating so much.

Isn't it just

I would have thought that was a rule laid down by the Administrator..? Was certainly the case when I was working for Threshers group and they went pop. Interesting article here (albeit from a few months back) that illustrates the kind of mentality that has led to this. Certainly sounds a lot like the company when I was there. http://www.philipbeeching.com/2012/08/why-companies-fail-rise-and-fall-of-hmv.html?m=1