Fitzhugh Fella

Always the smart arse?

Indeed it was at St Andrews and in it he recalled walking down Soton High St shortly after he signed and seeing the Charlie Wayman cafe and thinking "Oh my God I am replacing an institution".

I know there are not many on here who would remember him but Eddy Brown died last night aged 86. He played for us between 1950 and 1952 (59 games 34 goals). He was Charlie Wayman's immediate replacement and in one of the Saints history videos he is quoted as saying how hard it was to replace such a great player. He was an extrovert with a huge personality, becoming a male model and then later a sales rep in Preston. He attended the launch of the Ted Bates book. A FA Cup runners up medal was won while playing for Birmingham in 1956. His 189 career goals from 399 games is very respectable. A lovely man he was always ready to help us historians out with a piece of info or the loan of a photo.

Thanks Ron, but the players are usually as much in the dark as the fans - remember Alan Ball saying upon being invited to the Potters Heron when KK was unveiled he thought he was being set up for a "This is your life" programme.

The club is aware that the existing site is poor and are working on producing a new one within the next week or so. They are "tied in" to the old provider and are staying with ...for now.

I’ve always speculated how some transfers happen, especially these days where they seem so protracted and painstaking. It was interesting to note in the Jay Rodriguez deal we agreed a fee with Burnley before we even spoke to the player which I guess is the appropriate order for signing someone under contract. But then I read yesterday’s interview with Vitesse’s Alexander Buttner who it appears was invited over to Southampton last week and was impressed with what he saw. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11700/7858948/Buttner-favours-Saints-switch Now it seems whilst having the player keen to move we are now attempting to cut a deal with his club, so a reversal in protocol compared to the “JayRod” transfer. I wonder why? Presumably Vitesse okayed the visit? In the old days transfers were handled so differently. Ted Bates once described to me his first signing as Saints’ manager – “Without any money at the time I wanted to buy Jimmy Shields from Sunderland who was available for £1,000. At my request the Supporters’ Club lent the money and I duly signed him in the North East in July 1956 on my way to Scotland with my wife as part of our summer holiday”. Poor old Mary Bates had to get use to her holidays being planned around Ted’s transfer targets. Sometimes Ted would drive to meet a player, sign him and bring him back there and then in the back of his car. Brian O’Neil for instance arrived that way. As Bates put it “when I heard he was available I travelled to Burnley and conducted the negotiations for the transfer with Chairman Bob Lord in a meat factory which he ran”. Ted then drove Brian south to join his new club. And of course Ted famously and illegally signed Mick Channon on a Sunday just 24 hours before the young Wiltshire lad was due to put pen to paper for Bert Head’s Swindon Town. Perhaps my favourite Saints’ signing story goes back to 1898 when our trainer Billy Dawson was back in his native Potteries enjoying a close season break. He read in a local paper that Wolves star Harry Wood had yet to agree new terms with his club and so he tracked Harry down to his local in Walsall and persuaded him to join the Saints there and then for a fiver a week. He arranged for the forms to be sent up via a train and Wood signed the paperwork at Birmingham’s New St station. Wood was made captain, played over 270 games for us including two FA Cup finals and his son, Arthur later became our goalkeeper. Life and football was much simpler then.

Seriously my first thought when I saw this picture was "I am in the Liverpool club shop". That is the main reason I hate this kit. It looks like we are trying to emulate a bunch of dodgy scousers.

Lemmings? Blind Loyalty? More money than sense? Nothing else constructive to do on a cloudy Sunday? Consumerholics? Myopic? I could go on. The kit is crap full stop. Liverpool-look-alikes, and if you are happy with that.....?

Occasionally a little gem comes along

Where's his curly wig and dodgy moustache?

Sums it up for me - is Brookside still going? Think we need to make a few signings to divert our attention away from the most uninspiring unoriginal and unimaginative design conceivable.

There is a limit to how far you can try to spin the club can do no wrong, but I have got to say this is the worse kit we have ever unveiled. The shorts could have been navy blue as they were before the war but as things stand it looks like we have bought a job lot from a Toxteth charity shop. Absolutely horrendous. What a way to celebrate a return to the Premiership - I am embarrassed. Who the f+++ came up with this montrosity should be shot or made to spend a week in Skatesville wearing it.

no one likes a smart arse!

Ramsey always denied this

There going to be a different future Mrs Trousers?

Well-spotted, Spyinthesky, I recognised him but couldn't put a name to the face, especially as it was side on. One thing that confused me you say you were kicked by Cliff Huxford but he left in May 1967 so you must have been at the Dell earlier? Thanks for the ID of Bill who incidentally is Tony Pullis's father-in-law.

2 of the old players being interviewed were Bill Ellerington (still alive) and George Horsfall who became Ted Bates' bucket man.

I see my mass murder suggestion has been taken up on the news message board - "I know a bloke in Southsea who reckons he'll make someone disappear for £50 and a pint. I'm not sure what he does with them but he tells me "the sea holds a lot of secrets". Surely this is the simplest way to trim the wage bill?"

Rangers seemingly can go into liquidation and yet stay in the top-flight if the other 11 clubs in the SPL agree it. Seems a bit bizarre but money talks and all 11 will have an eye on the gate receipts. However with the blue few's dwindling band of followers I doubt League One clubs will be similarly disposed. Short of mass murder I can't see the high wage earners being shifted, Chanrai, cutting his losses will walk, the Trust don't have enough to pay the creditors and the players, which leaves liquidation. Can't see it panning out any other way - plus Birch's bill cannot be peanuts.

God you are boring - have you ever considered a life away from this forum?

You were not at Highbury Boxing Day 1970 then

Very interesting - thanks for pointing out how we should all be wary of people with vested interests!

Two words to counter your argument RON DAVIES

He is moving to Chandlers Ford, he is having a big house totally renovated. HTH

Bookies have us and Reading as joint favourites to go down according to tonight's Echo - that suits me; no pressure and I am sure NC will be looking closely at the odds and seeing if he can overturn them.