Fitzhugh Fella

But his contract runs out in the summer and he is free to talk to other clubs in January so the million dollar question is Are we or have we offered him a new contract and if we have will he accept it?

I think there has been an exaggeration at the level of booing brought about perhaps by a tv mike in the wrong place. I am on the edge of the Northam and although there were a few groans and muttering when he appeared on the touchline they were drowned by the subsequent chant for his name. No Saints player should be booed before hand - at the final whistle maybe if it is deserved.

Went to see "Sightseers" in Harbour Lights cinema this afternoon, Ben Wheatley's latest black comedy thriller, and in it is a scene of a load of hippies and new age freaks/shamens wildly dancing around a camp site bonfire. When another camper complains about the noise of the drums the camp site owner apologises and says they can't help themselves "they are all from Portsmouth". That line raised the biggest laugh from the cinema audience throughout the whole film.

I think Stuart was made redundant earlier this year

This - I can't believe how Lee was so bad tonight. He was so ineffectual

Got to say Lee was dreadful and Mayuka not much better, neither contributed to one memorable incident.

There is a hint of sadism in your post - I like it!

What a shame you have to resort to including a few insults with your views; "childish"? Moi?

Trouble is there is so little public information coming out of SMS these days his post match interviews are the one chance we might actually learn something about our club. I was confused on Saturday having read all the negative reports from those at the match and then listened to his interview which left me with the impression that we had actually got something out of the match. I felt he was patronising in his responses - a bit more honesty and reality would not go amiss. I don't mind losing but when I hear my team have hardly mustered a shot on goal all afternoon I expect the manager to be at least as ****ed of as me.

Have you ever tried the subtle approach? Just asking

His post match interviews now to me are utterly worthless, win or lose. He just goes into a zone that is meaningless. Beginning to lose faith and the players must be too. Sorry I know he is a great bloke and has worked miracles but am increasingly thinking he can go no further

Classic response. We have just pulled the current European Champions and Cup holders and its "boring". Proof, if it were needed that something has gone seriously wrong with football. I wonder who will be managing them?

Agree 100% - he is starting to come across a little patronising, especially after yesterday when anyone would have thought we had just won.

NA was talikng our performance up - reckons we finished the game stronger blah blah blah

Thankfully we won't be able to use tiredness as an excuse if we falter

I was surprised Davis came on today when we were chasing the game and also surprised with Norwich lookiing the stronger team in the final stages on Wednesday, Adkins did not give Mayuka a chance.

Can't argue with that

Yea I thought that too but liked the line with Saints are coming through

If we are as fit as Adkins claims then we should be able to handle 3 games in 6 days especially as 2 were at home. Sorry tiredness is a lame excuse and not good enough. When you come up against a big club having an off day it games like that you need to take at least a point.

Was listening and singing along to Them's version of Dylan's "It's all over now baby blue" this morning and found myself inserting "Pompey" in the place of "baby". Check it out about a minute in "look out baby the Saints are coming through.........., and its all over now, Pompey blue" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7WJHdE0__I

Totally agree Pedro, its not much better than when we were at the Dell where at least the expectation was lower

Yes Ron, he is now goalkeeping coach at Otterbourne FC who have just celebrated their 50th anniversary.

Yes Ron, he is now goalkeeping coach at Otterbourne FC who have just celebrated their 50th anniversary.

I wrote an article on ex-Saints for the Norwich programme which included a mention of Otterbourne FC's Ian Ritchie (the person responsible for organising the appeal for Kevin Moore). He has just sent me this article which is a nice comparison between football today and 1962. it will probably only appeal to those of a certain age but what is interesting is how the price of football has risen far in excess of the cost of living. Have a look for yourself "I started supporting Saints in 1961/62 when, at the age of 12, I moved to Southampton with my family. Oh the happy days of watching Derek Reeves, George O’Brien, Terry Paine & co from the ‘boys’ chocolate box at the Milton Road end. Fast forward to the present day and after following Saints for over 50 years, I finally had a mention in the matchday programme for the recent home game against Norwich. That mention was purely a by line in an article by Saints’ historian Duncan Holley, but it nevertheless encouraged me to buy a programme, which I don’t normally do these days. I have to say that the presentation and look of the current publication reminds me more of the handbook that you get given when you buy a new car, running as it does to 76 pages. Just out of interest, I decided to have a look back at my programme collection from 50 years ago, when of course, buying a programme was part of the matchday ritual. In looking to get as close to the date of this season’s Norwich game (28th November) I found that Saints were at home to Norwich on Saturday December 1st. Incredibly, like 50 years later, the previous home game was against Newcastle. Amazing coincidences. Comparisons with bygone years are sometimes a little unfair, but here are a few things that I found. The 76 page compared to the more modest 16 of the 62/63 version. However the present day version cost £3 compared to the sixpence (2 ½ p) of the 62/63. A quick check on inflation rates tells us that if the programme price had only matched inflation, the cost today would be 42p! I paid £34 for my ticket the other night, in the Itchen stand wings. The equivalent West Stand wing seat back then would have set me back 6 shillings, which with inflation would have risen to £5.05 at today’s value. The Boys gate entry was one shilling, 5p. Back then the threepence on the ball competition (that’s just over 1p in today’s terms) returned to the winner £25, which would equate to £420.75 today which suddenly looks a lot more attractive than the £75 paid out by the Saints Foundation to the holder of a £1 winning ticket. Oh and by the way, the second prize back then was the match ball. The Norwich programme from 62/63 shows the winner of the £25 as a Mr Hazelton of West Grimstead near Salisbury. I wonder if he is still around? The ball was won by a Mr Diaper of Valentine Road in Sholing. I wonder what happened to it and whether he is any relation to Dave Diaper, today’s Sholing FC manager! Of the programme advertisers back then, most have gone. The brewers, Brickwoods, Watneys and Strongs have long since been acquired by others. Other old Southampton businesses now disappeared include Toomers, who used to supply Saints’ kit, Perrins Motors, Basticks Mens Shop in Above Bar, Hargroves & Babey, and Criterion, the old Citroen Garage then sited in St Mary’s Road. Surviving to this day are Beestons Funeral Directors, R H Hammond the builders, The Florida Restaurant in Pound Tree Road, Barfoot & Powell and of course, The Echo! One advert that took my eye was from the Aldershot District Provost Company seeking recruits to the Territorial Army, describing the ideal candidates as ‘young men of integrity and resource’ to fill the few remaining vacancies. For me, one of the copouts in today’s programmes and not just Southampton, is the modern style of listing the entire playing squad for each team on the back page, with tick boxes so you can record who was playing for yourself. I suppose in these days of keeping line ups a secret until an hour before kickoff, we will never revert to that form of presentation. With only 16 pages, there was of course nothing like the editorial coverage that one gets in today’s version. ‘Manager’s notes’ have stood the test of time, with Ted Bates and Nigel Adkins featuring in their respective issues. In the 1962 version there was also ‘From the Boardroom’ with comment from the then chairman, Mr John Barber. Many supporters today I am sure would love to know the views of the current chairman, but we’ll leave that one out there. Whilst today’s publication provides an interesting magazine, to me it serves little purpose as a match programme, and to a large extent, up to the minute information supply has been overtaken by the internet. I will confess to checking my phone at 7pm on the night of the game to ascertain the starting line up. The other ritual we have lost now is the rush at the final whistle from The Dell back into town, to peer into the shop window of Radio Rentals to see the one and only running of the day’s results. Then it was a question of hanging about in Above Bar until around 5.30 when the Football Echo (to give it its proper name!) came out and you could see all the results and the league tables. They were much more innocent times. Football Clubs were football clubs and not plcs. I was saddened to hear recently of the demise of the external programme sellers at St Mary’s for no (apparently) good reason and then to learn that the programme booth concession behind the Chapel goal was also given summary notice to quit. Those at the top need to realise that football, particularly British football is part of our culture and history, otherwise why would I be moved to write an article such as this? It was not my intention to end this nostalgic article with negative comments concerning the current regime. Much has been achieved since the injection of the Liebherr family cash, and like all Saints fans, I am grateful for that. I fully accept that in today’s tough world a football club has to be run as a business, but I sometimes wish for a bit more openness, and perhaps more ‘football club’ and less plc. ‘Southampton ‘til I die’ but not sure when I will next invest £3 in a matchday programme"!

Not being funny but there are umpteen threads where our goalkeeping frailities are being discussed. Old folk like me can't keep up