Wes Tender

Not altogether a surprise that Docker would pour cold water on the idea. After all, it offends his sensibilities that somebody should be so obscenely rich when there are others who are exploited by them on subsistence wages. Or something along those lines, eh, Docker?

The worst that we managed was the unethicality and immorality of the reverse takeover and the attempts by our supposedly upright custodians (who were deemed to be pillars of the local business community) to buy shares from the widows of deceased shareholders under false pretences. Further ignominy was heaped onto us when Wiseman had to resign in disgrace as Chairman of the FA over bribery allegations. But those stains on our history fade into insignificance compared to the the shenanigans at Pompey. Just when you think that it couldn't get any worse for them, it now turns out that they have uncovered the dodgiest administrator in the business and somebody so erudite and versed in the language of the professional accountancy world that he describes as "b*llocks" the accusations against his probity. I must say that the club that attracted barrow boys like Venables, then chief executives and managers like Storrie and Redcrapp who are under investigation for tax evasion, deserves to be owned by people who are gun-runners on the run from justice, a pair of comparatively penniless fake sheiks and their financial affairs in the hands of a convicted embezzler. These people are the metaphorical flies attracted to a pile of sh*t.

More or less what this Skate says in The News: They're a bit slow off the mark there, mind you. Because of the perspective that we are afforded by reviewing the situation at arm's length, this theory had been expounded on here some time ago, along with other credible alternatives such as it being an exercise in money laundering, or a device to obtain development land in the heart of Skatesville. Now that this guy has expounded this theory, it begins to gain credence with other Skates, but all they had to do if they wished to be kept up to speed on all of the ins and outs, possibilities, improbabilities, legal standpoints , etc, was to come on here, where Hampshire's football intelligentsia post (well, excluding Corporate Ho, obviously)

How wonderful to see Corporate Ho posting again, spluttering and coughing with indignation and exasperation at all those nasty things we have been saying about his bent little football club. And what a game effort he has made trying to defend the indefensible, resorting to second hand hearsay and even a childish and bigotted jibe at the nationality of our owner. Liebherr was born in Germany, so he must be a Nazi, eh? And you wish us to take you seriously as having half a brain, Ho? No, I suspect that what it proves is that he is envious of our position and so he lashes out at our benefactor and saviour just like a child in the playground jealous of another who is his superior. It must be irksome to him seeing how smug we appear to be at the precarious state of our rivals, but surely he must expect a bit of gloating back, as he didn't exactly show much humility when we were in administration, did he? Understandably, he attempts a show of bravado, claiming that it gives him entertainment coming on here and reading our take on things, but the reality is that the entertainment is all ours and he has just added to it. You're the icing on the cake, Ho, the one for whom the idiom that there are none so blind as those who will not see was invented for.

So unlike your manager, you think that it is fair and deserved then? And you admit that you had an advantage over other more financially prudent clubs by fielding players that you could not afford?

Avram Grant:- So pray tell us Avram, how a team has an equal chance when its club massively overspends to buy players which it cannot afford? Just give me a simple yes or no answer as to whether you think that is fair on those other clubs who have not been so profligate with their spending and are therefore at a disadvantage. I thought that by reputation, Israelis were generally thought to be renowned for their business accumen, but if you believe that somehow a football club does not need to be constricted by the same financial principles that affect other businesses, then perhaps not. Or is it just you that doesn't understand these things? Are you unable to see the other side of the coin too? Those same fans were perfectly happy when the massive overspending bought them the FA Cup, star players in the England squad, a high position in the Premiership, etc. Why should anybody else apart from somebody connected with Portsmouth feel the slightest bit sympathetic towards them? We had to take the medicine like men when we went through this. Stop your snivelling and stick to what you do best, coaching your overpaid players and supporting our local red light industry.

This really is stupid assertion to make. One only has to look at his record pretty well since he started in professional football to realise that he has hardly set the World on fire. Does it not occur to you that if he was any good, that Daddy would have kept him at Stoke?

It really is truly delicious. Keep up the good work. What you are doing is almost tantamount to missionary work, spreading truth and light into the darkest recesses of deepest Hampshire, bringing education and succour to the ignorant local savages. But be wary, for if they turn on you, despite your good works, you could end up in a forced marriage with one of their maidens and made to live amongst their tribe in Paulsgrove. If that happens, I'd advise the lesser evil of being thrust into their cooking pot, your sticky end overseen by the fat tribal chief West Wood, resplendent in his regalia bought from Charlotte Street market and his tribal tattoos, ringing the death knells with his bell.

Aha! I thought that the contributions sounded too erudite for your average Skate. The trouble is, they have hitherto been hanging on your every utterance as being the sage and knowledgeable one. Now they're just going to disbelieve it all and dismiss it as a wind-up.

There's a poster who comments fairly frequently (and it must be said quite cogently) under the Skate stories in The News, who goes by the nom de plume of Chin. No relation I presume? Or is it a case of a double Chin?

Let's be immature and have a good laugh at their self- induced misfortune. It's much more fun. But otherwise, Chin Strain has given ample other good reasons.

I have stilled my thoughts until now so that I am not influenced by a knee-jerk reaction. Having read the thread, there have been several good explanations for what we did wrong and what Swindon did right. There are just a couple of things I would add. In matches like this, a factor that seems to recur is that the defence and the midfield seem to consistently feel able only to play head tennis, thus giving possession away far too often. I always end up shouting "get the bloody ball on the deck and pass it!" Almost invariably, there is sufficient time for the player to trap the ball and pass it, but it is far easier for those with limited imagination or intelligence to get their thick heads to it instead. We did not do it against Leeds, but it was very much in evidence against Swindon and other matches we have lost or drawn. We seem incapable of winning a game on a Tuesday evening if we won the match on Saturday. Is it that the players are mentally tired, or that they believe that they somehow didn't need to lift themselves against Swindon having beaten Leeds? We fielded what is arguably our strongest team, but do they believe that their places in the first team are theirs just for turning up? Perhaps those who put in sub-standard performances need the kick up their backsides of being dropped for a game or two. Some say that Swindon wanted it more than us. This really annoys me. It seemed that way to me too and it disgusts me that any Saints player should not have the will to win regardless of who we are playing and regardless of what the score is. And Swindon were without several key players, but did not come here down in the mouth, accepting that they would get a tonking from us. Thank God that they didn't have their full squad to choose from, eh? Something I caught on Solent on the way home from the match struck a chord. Merrington I think was reading out a text, when he said that Swindon out thought us and out fought us. He concurred that it seemed that Danny Wilson had planned a strategy that was effective in neutralising our strengths and that his players had strived to outplay us. Seems to me that there is validity on both counts. But is it that Pardew had a good strategy and the players did not implement it, or is it that Pardew somehow failed to motivate the players?

Responses taken from The News to the points deduction:- and Now we know exactly how much this is hurting them. They're heading down to the Fizzy Pop, there will almost certainly be further points deductions there, the parachute payments will be swallowed up in debt repayment, their White Knight appears to be just another glory-seeking tyre kicker, the HMRC reserve the right to challenge the status of Chainrai and thus the validity of the Administrator and all they can do is console themselves with the fact that for a fleeting moment they are above us. We who have no debts, no money worries, financial security, great stadium, training facilities, higher attendances etc. Still, just as long as they feel that they have bragging rights over us, that is all that matters.

Ditto. Generally Mr Reliable. It is natural that the goal scorers will get the glory, but for me Harding was a very astute bit of business and I would put him right up there as player of the season.

He ought to find that his every whim will be amply catered for http://services.vivastreet.co.uk/massage+hull/q/thai

Abuse from us is what he craves, isn't it? Or else why would the fathead cover himself with anti-Saints tattoos? If the thread is really sh*t now, presumably you'll desist from reading it further then? In the meantime, I'm off into the naughty corner, feeling suitably chastised for making fun of the feeble minded.

If I were a Skate fan, I'd be embarassed to have that cretin associated with my club. Thankfully we have no equivalent, so it is great to have the entertainment value that he gives. For somebody so fanatical though, you'd think that he would at least get his historical facts correct about the SCUM connotations. You have to laugh at the contention that beating a third division side would kick-start their season. I wonder how the poor dear is going to accept the reality of us once more being the higher placed club shortly, when they have gone into freefall down the divisions? Perhaps he'll top himself; he's obviously a few sandwiches short of a picnic as it is, so it could be that his mental instability manifests itself in that direction, as his life would become unbearable having to acknowledge that we were once again the Skates' superiors.

Liverpool 4 - Skates 1. Not quite so good against a team in the same division, are you? Did they plan to hit you on the break then? And how many of the World's greatest fans made the trip up to Liverpool? Seemingly only about half as many as we had away at Hartlepool (635) on a Tuesday night and it's 60 miles further.

Get it right for crissakes. You had a strengthened team containing players that you ought not to have had, as you were almost certainly trading while insolvent and therefore you should not have been able to afford them. We had a weakened team because our January transfer window signings were cup-tied. More importantly, we'll see how your administrator team stacks up against ours. Found any billionaires out there yet?

And the next time, it will be on a more level playing field. It might even be at a time when we are two divisions above you, but then I'd expect that you would dismiss it as being insignificant for exactly that reason. Mind you, there are actually two different areas where I derive interest in the rivalry between the two clubs; one in in the individual derby matches, infrequent as they have been over the years. The other is the state of the clubs as entities and the comparison between their positions relative to each other. Of course, on that basis, although you were above us in terms of your league position, even when we were run by Lowe we knew that our debt problems were a minor blip compared with yours. We went into administration for the sake of a few thousand pounds, whereas you lot never do things by halves and wanted to do it in grand style and indeed you have the dubious distinction of being the first ever Premiership club to go into administration. Well done. I suspect that many others share my feelings over this and therefore tempered their disappointment at the loss on the pitch against their pleasure that on the actual state of the two clubs, they were massively grateful that we weren't in such a parlous financial state as you lot. Things are really quite dull here, with only the considerations as to whether we will massively improve our training facilities (what a shame you don't have your own) or whether to expand the existing stadium or re-locate. The comedy value at your end of the M27 must make life much more entertaining than boring old us.

I really do think that you over-estimate the effect of your beating us the other week. We could console ourselves before the match that we are two divisions below you, so the result was hardly a surprise. Furthermore, for two thirds of the match, we were dominant, so you ought to accept that at least for that time your manager was not tactically superior and it was only a great keeper and some luck that kept you in it. But we could also console ourselves that as you were almost certainly trading illegally whilst insolvent, you were fielding players that shouldn't even have been on the pitch. Further consolation comes from our knowledge that we are a club with an owner wealthy beyond your dreams, playing in a decent modern stadium, attracting higher attendance figures than you, even in the third division, no debt and on the way back up. It won't be long before we meet you again on the way down as it seems that you might somehow have avoided liquidation and we can then perhaps judge the match on a more level playing field. You'll be in the Fizzy Pop with a big points deduction that will probably consign you to the third division in successive seasons. If as seems likely we won't make the play-offs this season, we will probably go out of this division as you simultaneously enter it the year after. When you are in the third division, you can have a w*nk at buying the FA Cup and beating us, trying your hardest to overlook where it all got you. Most of us are having a whale of a time enjoying watching our team, safe in the knowledge that our club is in good hands and on its way up again. I can't see your future looking as rosy in a year or two. We are on our way to domination over you for another 30 years or so.

There really is nothing to apologise for, as you are clearly wrong. It is the referee who ought to apologise, as he is undoubtedly the most incompetent referee that I have seen in this division and that is quite an achievement. Photos of the incident quite clearly illustrate that it was Fonte who was fouled in the box, so that if the goal did not stand, then he should have blown for a penalty. But as he also didn't send off their player for his assault on Harding, then his lack of balls or judgement are not surprising. Or did you think that was Harding's fault?

And the linesman on the Itchen line was stood virtually next to Harding getting clobbered by Gradel, was it? His flag arm didn't even twitch. Gormless blind, incompetent tw*t. That was as clear a sending off as I've ever seen.

Typical saint_stevo after a reaction. Did you actually go to the match? If so, did you actually watch it? If so, when was your last eye test?

We were immense. We dominated most of the match and frankly outplayed them. When they upped their game in the second half, we proved to be more resolute in our defending and the extent of Leed's pressure amounted to only one easy save for Kelvin. Beckford was well marshalled by our defence and had to resort to cheating dives in an effort to make a difference. The Leeds defence was also solid, but we carved out a number of chances and it is telling that the winning goal came from a full back. They can mark our strikers and our wide play-makers, but we have players like Harding who can score from the back, as did Thomas recently too. Our goals are coming from all over the team. The refereee was absolutely diabolical. He missed more than one handball, there should either have been a goal or a penalty and certainly a sending off. How a referee can show quite that degree of incompetance I do not know, especially as I understand that he was recently a Premiership referee. Frankly, I don't think that he has reached his level down in the third division. Pub Sunday league seems to be where he belongs. The chants against him were taken up with a passion rarely seen against a referee. You don't know what you're doing, you're not fit to referee, how much are you being paid, rang out at full blast. It could easily have come to pass that his poor decisions could have lost the match for us, but thankfully this was a superb team performance from us and we have now beaten most of the top teams in the division. The match today was a real entertainment worthy of at least the division above. The atmosphere and the fans were brilliant.