Wes Tender

Just to make this clear:-

I hadn't realised that there was another football club called Barcelona, the one in Ecuador. Their name was inspired by the Spanish club when they were formed and their crest is almost identical too.

Maybe fish and chips together, but the best chips in the World come from Belgium.

Oh, those nasty sponging leeches from the private sector, getting fat with their snouts in the Government trough!

Agreed. And as far as I'm aware, we had it before Peru, so they are wearing the Saints sash. Vive le difference! I say.

No. Why would I, Barry? Lowe isn't coming back, is he? I've renewed before the deadline, transferring to the Chapel family centre, taking young son next season for the first time instead of older son. I'll miss the Northam.

If you go onto the Saints website, on the tickets page there is a plan of the stadium seating. Helpfully, there is also a very good facility whereby you can click on any part of the stadium seating and it will give you a view of the pitch from near that spot. Having just checked it out though, it doesn't give the row numbers. But you would get a good idea still of the view from halfway up that they show.

Brilliant analogy comparison, that. None of those teams is in the Premiership and as far as I'm aware, none of them is playing a top European team equivalent to Schalke. However, if I were holidaying north of Lisbon, I might well go to watch Nigel's team play Leiria. It's quite a nice stadium. If I were in Madrid, I might well amble along to see the Seagulls play Getafe and if in Zurich, I might even go as far as watching the Cherries. But as I'm not on holiday in any of those places, it is rather academic. None of their home fixtures hold much attraction to me. It isn't as if any of them are playing any top division European teams over here.

No. The car doesn't double as a submarine. But if I lived in Tarvisio, I wouldn't hesitate to drive to a match in Villach.

200 Saints fans + 800 Schalke fans = half the seating gone. But naturally all the German, Dutch, Italian or British tourists holidaying there won't be remotely interested, will they? If I were holidaying there this year, I'd sure as hell go to a match featuring any team from Europe's top leagues v Schalke, but I must be a bit weird that way. Schalke have deadly rivals in Borussia Dortmund. No chance of any of their fans turning up, as we wouldn't go to see a Skate pre-season match if we were in the vicinity, would we, not even to go along hoping they got hammered? Schalke is among the top 15 sized clubs in World football, so not really much of a draw at all. The Italian and Slovenian borders are both just 45 minutes away, but why would any football fans bother to travel from there to see any team other than one from their own country? No, you're right, there will only be 1000 fans there max.

Maybe. But will they get a decent seat? If they planned to get there 10 minutes before the kick off, it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that either they then get stuck in traffic and arrive 10 minutes late, or that it takes more than 10 minutes to get in through a queue of other like-minded tardiness freaks. Also that they will miss the erotic pre-match dance routine performed by the stunningly attractive Austrian Fraulein cheerleaders, which they could have watched with a nice ice cold stein of Villacher beer in hand.

The ticket office suggesting turning up an hour ahead for one of two reasons that I can think of:- a) People arriving early will generate more revenue in sales of food and refreshments b) The advice is meant to be helpful to those attending, because it takes into account said local traffic conditions and the amount of time they anticipate taking to process the projected number of attendees. I suggest that people pay more attention to those with experience of attending other pre-season matches in other countries, in different sized stadia, against other teams, as they are bound to have a really good idea about it all.

Apart from any other considerations, the lawyers much be on weak ground anyway, attempting to argue that there might be confusion caused by the same letters being used with the belle and the e on the end of each name. As the belle is derived from the French for beautiful, they can't surely claim proprietorial ownership of it, any more than two rival breweries in the same city could claim a proprietorial exclusivity for including the city name in the name of their product. For example, could the makers of "London Pride" sue another brewery based in London for calling one of their beers "London Centenary Ale", "London Olympic Brew" or something similar? I suspect that the British Law firm must be taking this case on the basis of a nice fat retainer rather than on the Yank basis of no win, no fee. That and the other good reason; that the stupidity of the case will bring much publicity for them through the media coverage.

Did they agree to improve the surfaces around the stadium for the benefit of those locals whose mode of personal transport consisted of mobility scooters then?

I'm pleased to hear that your experience of what is adequate when attending matches in England enables you to take such a confident stance when attending matches abroad, especially when there are circumstantial factors like those I have mentioned which make the situation totally different to anything normal in England too. But I suspect that anybody wishing to go who has any sense, will pay heed to the advice given by those with local knowledge, something that I assume that you do not possess. Alpine actually lives there. I had a grandmother living there and have holidayed there numerous times and was there two years ago, so at least there is some basis for my knowledge that the area has large contingents of Germans, Dutch and Italians there. But still, you may be lucky that few of them wish to watch the match and that you can turn up five minutes before the kick off and sit in acres of space in a half empty stand.

How do you know? Do you have the sort of local knowledge that Alpine does? Do you know what the local traffic is like when there is an event at that stadium? Alpine has indicated that there is a capacity for seating of 2000 and that Schalke are expecting 800 of their own fans to attend. Do you have any idea of how many locals, Saints fans, or neutrals holidaying in the region are likely to attend? There are usually large numbers of Germans, Dutch and Italians holidaying there and these are people who like their football and would be attracted to the prospect of a match locally featuring an English Premiership team against a top Bundeliga club. If you're attending, I really hope that you don't leave enough time to get there and that when you do finally arrive, you either find that you can't get in, or that you can't get a seat with a half decent view. Your past experiences of other matches against other teams in other places count for little without local knowledge.

What reputation? Unless they mean their reputation for producing a really crap watered down product. If any reputations have been harmed by association of a similar sounding name, it is the reputation of the real Budweiser in the Czech Republic. Any serious beer drinker in Europe wouldn't touch the Yank product for fear of them becoming a laughing stock among their peers. I haven't tried either of the two products that are the subject of this thread, but I don't need to, to know instinctively that the British product will be the far better product and that if it gains in popularity through being given a helping hand from the publicity that Yank Budweiser is giving it, if anything, Budweiser will be the beneficiary of an increase of reputation because of the similarities of the names.

As Alpine lives very close to the ground and has taken the trouble to find out this information for the benefit of those hoping to attend the matches, I don't understand why there has to be these snide remarks from some. If you're not going, then nothing to do with you. If you are, then your own fault if you turn up 5 minutes before kick-off to find that you can't get a decent seat, or are held up by traffic in the area.

Frankly, I'm beginning to hope that he doesn't get any other offers anywhere and has to stay at Celtic. It will serve him right. pressingon: Good idea. Or the player should be told that he can have a bigger signing on fee which includes an element of agent's fees, out of which he can assess how much he thinks his agent deserves.

Correct. And if these three players go to the so-called glory teams, each of them will have one place fewer for other players that we are also looking at. Eventually, we as a middle position Premiership team will be a far better proposition than the likes of the newly promoted and lower down teams and can take our pick of the remaining good players.

These players were rumoured in the newspapers to be ones we are after and the article is another rumour in a newspaper that those players have snubbed us. There are any number of factors that might mean that any or all of those players might yet sign for us, or that there are indeed other players who are alternatives to those that we are making a play for, that we fans have not even caught wind of yet. It is early days still and it could be that those players are being urged by their agents to wait, in case offers come in from the glory clubs that are rumoured to be interested in them. But then those glory clubs might also be waiting on news on other players that they would prefer to sign, or might not be prepared to match our rumoured price. This sort of player isn't a big name player known throughout football. Rather they are young players with potential, or slightly older with a decent track record, who should be able to provide quality at the level we aspire to be. The other side of the coin that argues that these players consider us too small, is that there are the players we have here already like Shaw, worth twice the amount of any of those three and perfectly content to further their career here for another year or two. Ultimately, there are only so many places available in any squad, whether that be the top clubs in England and Europe, or those currently a few places below but with ambitions. Once those places are filled with the top teams, there will be plenty of really good players still seeking to play in the Premiership who will come to realise that we are a club on the way up, the next best thing currently.

Norwich have signed Rip Van Winkle?

Villach and the area surrounding is very picturesque. My grandmother lived there and we visited often in the school holidays when I was a nipper. Nearest aiport is Klagenfurt, but other airports like Graz, Linz, Trieste Ronchi, Salzburg and Venice are all doable as alternatives with one and a half / 2 hours journey by train from the airports. Southern Austria (Carinthia) is a great destination for a holiday with lots to do and see. The summer temperatures are the highest in Austria, often nudging up to 30 degrees. There are about 200 lakes surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. Trips into Italy and Slovenia are close as both borders are just 45 minutes away. Lakes Worthersee and Ossiarchersee provide swimming, waterskiing and other watersports in clear, warm water. A great area for walking, mountain biking, climbing, horse riding, camping and other outdoor pursuits. We went by car for a holiday a couple of years ago and it's about 12 hours drive from Calais, comfortable to do with an overnight stop and practical for four/five Saints fans to share the costs and have a good time for a week's break perhaps.

Me too.

There is a myriad of alternatives if Britannia Road is full, just opposite the gasworks. Victoria St, Rochester St, Guildford St, Wilson St, Cable St, Peel St. I have never failed to find somewhere there a minute or so away. On a Saturday which isn't a match day, you can park on the Industrial Estate adjacent to Chapel Road on a single yellow line all day for free. I'm a cheapskate (nothing to do with those Skates!) and just don't ever pay for parking. Even on match days I park only a short distance from the stadium for free all day.