Fitzhugh Fella

Spending more money today extending Diagouraga's loan and bringing in Rhys McCabe from Sheffield Wednesday. Barker throwing the dice one more time. Pretty sure their rivals have no such luxury but they are living within their means.

One of the highlights of Monday morning is reading the fans comments page on the Snooze after another pathetic skate under-performance. Witnessing their slow awakening to the fact that all their dreams and hopes that burnt so bright last summer were built on sand is just so pleasurable. Their gradual realisation and acceptance that yes, they truly are a car crash of a club condemned forever under the current inept leadership. Indeed, if I am ever feeling in need of being cheered up, I just watch the rerun of McInnes's presser introducing Barker as the new manager. (The only thing that comes near that cringeworthy footage was the interview with photo copier salesman, Wacko Jacko in that Dean Court Car Park). Barker is doing a tremendous job of alienating his players and the fans while Champagne Charlie and his fellow clown Mick "hang dog" Williams, watch on helplessly out of their depth is pure comedy gold

One person who will have a very shrewd idea which way Ms Liebherr and Ralph Kreuger plan to take this club is Mauricio Pochettino. I have said it before, his signing a new contract (or not) will be our clearest indication of what the future holds.

But with him it was always going to end in tears!

They really aren't a happy bunch of bunnies judging by the comments on the News. I think Barker's days are numbered and McInnes, shirt unbuttoned to the navel, will have a chance to do another comedy performance when he unveils the next saviour. Can't wait

He sounds genuine and intelligent. Welcome! I think we will all know if the club or organisation (to use his word) is going in the right direction will be if and when Pochettino signs a new contract. He is a shrewd football man and he will be able to judge fairly quickly whether the new structure of ownership means business.

Absolute cracking read and a perfect example of why football bonds a city

I would just like to place on record that if this is true I am very genuinely pleased.

Could a mod make this a sticky please?

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/an-appreciation-bob-charles-1409063.aspx

Former Saints goalkeeper John Christie sadly passed away yesterday in Chandlers Ford. He was a stalwart in the 50s, making his debut in 1951 and playing his last game in 1959. He was succeeded in the team by Bob Charles who also passed away just last week. The Scottish-born Christie played 217 games for the Saints after joining from Ayr United, before winding down at Walsall and Burton Albion. A keen golfer (Royal Winchester) John loved the Saints, and up until recently he hardly ever missed a match at St Marys. Whenever I bumped into him at my local supermarket he loved nothing better to chat about the team's fortunes, he was a genuinely nice bloke. Condolences to his family.

I guess if you compared the bloke who had driven through the night to make the lunch time ko, spent 100 quid on petrol and a ticket and then had to flog his way home again might, just might have been a teeny bit more peeved than the armchair fan whose only exercise and expense while he watched the game on the box was to open his fridge? I stand by the liklihood that those who couldn't really be "arsed" about the result are the ones that don't bother much going to games. One of the first match day threads I check out is "just back from the game" because generally speaking by the fact these fans have actually made a big effort to actually go then their views are more valid. And if you find the whole thing tedious why do you bother adding to the tedium?

Exactly what I was thinking. Armchair fans tend to move on quickly.

The white van has just arrived apparently. OK I am flogging a dead horse but the fact dead horses are being flogged shows just how little there is for us all to fall out about. Thank God there is a World Cup looming with hopefully 4 Saints involved.

Yea but this afternoon's draw adds further perspective, even Gary Lineker tweeted about it this afternoon.

I am just glad we can concentrate on the League - it's so important we hold onto 9th, I gather we may even get presented a cup! Next year we should enter our U12s for the league Cup and our U15s for the FA Cup and let the head tea lady handle all the pressers!

Dunno why this thread was moved, seems quite relevant to the main forum. Stange decision by a mod who I would have thought had better things to do

Well this sort of sums things up from today's Observer - very Saints related and worth a click to all those who say "get over it". http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/mar/08/how-football-lost-touch-young-fans

I must admit I got a surprise opening my Observer this morning to see a big picture of the Saints winning the Cup - very fitting in the light of Hull v Sunderland and what might have been!

and important why those with differing opinions are allowed to give them without abuse. The fact this thread is still going proves that the Sunderland game still rankles. Our season is effectively over - I am delighted that we are safe and I am enthused about the standard of our football but it could have been just that little bit better had MP taken things a tad more seriously. Good money is spent by fans going to Cup games and they need to feel that the club aren't treating it like a second class fixture.

This and then this again - nutshell!

MoPo ****ed up end off. Why? - who knows but he made decisions that lead to our defeat inc picking Kelvin Davis, making Jesus to do the PR and sending on McQueen for Lallana, all of which proves he couldn't really give a fig. But who are we to complain - it's not allowed on here or so says Old Nick and young NickG and uncle Tom Cobley. Presumably they would have us all hung for heresy. I would love to be waking up early in the morning for the drive to Hull. I remain ****ed off. Sorry

But we were never going anywhere in the League so, to me, Boruc's gaffe is irrelevant, whereas I genuinely believed we had a half decent chance (draw permitting) of winning the Cup. Surely the leap of faith is more pertinent in the Cup than the League. We have hit our glass ceiling there, big time.

This - the season ended at the Stadium of Light. Apart from the "who might go to Brazil" speculation, there is not much to get excited about. Such a waste of a good opportunity!

David Bull has shared some memories on another list - "Herbie muses that Duncan and I might know more re the death of Bob Charles. Not so in my case. Duncan e-mailed me this a.m to say news of Bob's death (on Thu 6th, it said) was on Bill Beaney's Facebook. I didnt know Bob was ill. You may have spotted him, Herbie, at the launch of ALL the SAINTS. I spoke to him on his arrival, when he declined to be part of the player's front-of-house line-up and I never saw him again that evening. But if Bob was shy in public, he made up for it in private interviews. When I spoke to him for Ted Bates's biog, Bob gave me a graphic goal-by-goal a/c of the famous 5-1 Cup win at Man City - brilliantly conveying what it was like to be a nervous 18 year-old keeper on the big stage (42,000+ crowd) at Maine Road, unable to believe the goals flying past Bert Trautmann at the other end. One of the best match-reports I've ever heard. One reviewer of DELL DIAMOND - Duncan's dad, if memory serves - commented on the novelty of a goalkeeper reporting in this way. Such good stuff that I've recycled it in two subseq books and am likely to use much of it again in any Appreciation that I might get to write of Bob for the O/S and/or the programme".