itchen

I noticed that too. All blond and, I have to say, quite short.

For those of us too stupid to buy tickets early for this game, does anyone know of live TV stream?

But if Brighton had got two fewer wins, they wouldn't be champions. The fact is they got those wins and so did we.

I think we've signed Kevin Keegan.

Thank you Nigel for not settling for the playoffs.

If Plymouth were to go bust this week before playing their last game, all their results would be expunged. I believe Brighton would lose 6 points and we would lose 3. We'd be on 86 and they'd be on 88 going into the last game. All right. It's not going to happen and I wouldn't want it to for Plymouth's sake. Well done Saints.

This week? You tight sod. For life, surely?

Is this necessary? I've been to most games this season. I'm not moaning about not being able to get a ticket. I could have bought them after the game against Hartlepool but did not expect them to sell out so far ahead of the game. That's my mistake. But why this need to feel superior?

Tried to buy at the ground just now and "sold out" signs are up.

Good grief. Some people need to get over the fact that some people like to support different football teams. If they didn't we'd have no-one to play. And surely it's better that people support their local team rather than glory hunting after the likes of Man U or Arsenal. And if they live in East Hampshire, they're likely to support Portsmouth. And I know this won't make me popular witn some, but just being a Portsmouth supporter doesn't make you a bad person. Although there are bad people who are Pompey supporters (and some bad people who are Saints supporters). Banter's one thing, violence is just wrong.

I already did this! Find your own nit-pick.

Inept? What was inept about it? We were in control for virtually the whole match. Yes, we could have upped the performance a little perhaps. But inept? Did you see the same game?

And, technically, he's not "wanted by Scotland Yard" but is merely on unconditional bail while awaiting an appearance at Southampton Magistrates Court. Could we amend the lyric accordingly please because, frankly, it makes us a laughing stock the way it is?

Oh God. Those hard, heavy, unforgiving boots and the leather footballs that absorbed water. I remember as a not-very-good-at-football 11 year old being forced to play in the freezing driving rain along with the other not-very-good-at-football 11 year olds and really dreading being struck by that hard, heavy ball in the thick mud that passed for a pitch in January. And you try telling the kids of today that, etc etc. How long before this non-Saints thread gets locked?

My dad took me to my first game when I was 7. Although he was from Southampton, we lived in SE London then so this was at Charlton. I remember the score was 5-2 to Saints. I've just done a bit of Googling and have worked out that this was 17th October 1964. Saints finished 4th in Division 2 (now the Championship) that season. Despite flirting with Charlton when a teenager, I always looked for Saints results and would support them when they were playing locally (especially at Crystal Palace). And when I eventually moved back here as an adult, there was only one team to support, probably thanks to that first result.

It is, sadly, the modern way. Broadcasters now seek to stir up controversy in an attempt to gain ratings. In addition, everybody's opinion is equally valid so the appeals for text messages and emails become as important as actually telling us what is going on with the game. The Football League Show is particularly annoying for this. If they spent the time they waste reading out the opinions of Mr and Mrs Drunken Fan from Droitwich on showing a a bit more of the games it might make for a more satisfactory programme. Solent the other night properly raised the question of cover if Lallana is out for any extended period and talking about Puncheon in that context was legitimate. But (a) if they were remotely well informed about the rules they should have known it is not allowed and (b) if they were remotely well-informed about the club they would know that it is extremely unlikely. Having raised it, they kept banging on about it with Merrington's piffle about "putting an arm round players" becoming more grating by the minute and seemed to be designed solely to stir up listeners. Please, Solent, just tell us who's playing, which player passed to which other player (I realise you seem to find this difficult, especially if the players involved are black) and what happened as a result.

I imagine that somewhere in Austria, there's a man with a big pack of Doritos, assorted dips and the local equivalent of Vimto sitting cackling to himelf and wondering what other ridiculous tripe he can spout to wind up those fools back in England. Come on people, nobody can take these threads as anything other than the work of a highly-skilled wind-up merchant.

Do you write parodies for a living? You've got one or two regular posters to a T.

It's disappointing to give away two points to a late goal. But, to put it into perspective, we'd already lost our two most creative players before we scored. And we had a goal disallowed which the commentators (and Jordan Sibley) seem convinced should not have been disallowed. So disappointed, yes. Having a hissy fit, no.

1-0 Franchise

You're right. We've won 7, drawn 2 and lost 1. Shocking. Adkins out.

Why all the sniping? First half was a bit too much hoof ball but I can't remember Kelvin having to make a serious save in the entire game. The only shots they had on target went gently into his arms. And in the second half we managed to pass to each other and could easily have had more goals. I thought Harding was excellent, as were Fonte and Barnard. Jaidi's passing sometimes frightened me but, defensively, he was great. Three more points. On we go to the Valley.

I think that calls for a G&T.

We scored the goal BEFORE the sending off.

If we've learned nothing else since our club was brought back from administration, it's that those who claim to be "in the know" quite simply aren't. None of the ITKers thought we'd hang on to AOC or Lallana. None of them knew we were signing any of the players we signed in the last two seasons until the club announced it. And yet whole threads can be kept going because someone said on another message board that one or two other clubs are upset by our negotiating tactics. We're seen by many clubs that are living on much lower incomes as rich. Therefore when we express an interest in player they believe we should pay more and then are upset when we only offer what we think the player is worth. It may be that we sometimes pitch too low but we're hardly unique in that, are we? How many times do you see managers or chairmen of other clubs quoted as saying that team x "made a derisory offer"? It's just a part of football. If we really want a player (and the players wants to come) then we'll pay the market price to get him. But we won't be held to ransom because we're perceived to have loads of dosh. Seems sensible to me. We're upset by the negotiating tactics of Liverpool, Arsenal and Man U when they try to unsettle our players.