Fitzhugh Fella

It's all gone rather quiet or have with all been distracted by events in Yorkshire last night - perhaps a lot of nut jobs haven't made it back yet.

It's probably all been sad before on this thread but here are my thoughts and I do still feel the need to let off a bit of steam. Having just wasted 15 hours of my life watching last night's debacle I do feel I have the right to whinge a little I am trying not to let the horrendous 5 hour drive back from Sheffield last night/this morning, to cloud my objectivity but I can’t remember when I felt so disillusioned with Saints. As the saying goes “it’s not the despair that kills you it’s the hope” and I really felt last night we have blown (yet again) a very reasonable chance to add to our pathetic haul of serious silverware (1 trophy in 129 years). But we choked and lost to a makeshift (yes they had their injury problems too) third tier side in what was at times a shambolic performance that lacked any guile or nous throughout the team from Forster right through to Koeman on the bench. The manager is starting to show cracks in his abilities with some strange decisions to choose players to play out of position (Bertrand last night was a fish out of water) and to give Ward-Prowse two games in four days when he has been out for 8 weeks and not had a full day’s training. What Reed must be thinking I don’t know but being constantly overlooked while on the bench can be doing nothing for his confidence. If he is not good enough then put him back in the U21 squad. Koeman seems to make his mind up and then will not accept he may have got it wrong (I give you Jack Cork). Last night the players were all bickering among themselves, no one had any understanding of each other’s game and once Sheffield United scored the game was up because there was no one I repeat no one (except for one chance that fell to Mane) who looked like they knew where the goal was. It really was very sub-standard and concerning that the ship is increasingly rudderless. Pelle’s stupidity getting booked for what he did on Saturday cost us last night and he needs to shoulder some of the blame. I know we started this season very well with some of Koeman’s signings looking good business but I hate to say it I think there was an element of beginner’s luck because none of the new arrivals are covering themselves in glory at present. Tadic has become a shell of the player he appeared to be, no final delivery, poor crossing, weak finishing and worryingly already looks spent although the first Xmas cracker has yet to be pulled in earnest. Pelle blows hot and then very cold, his game is limited and he is no Lambert when it comes to holding up the ball and variety of movement. Mane sometimes resembles a headless chicken, he has pace and skill but nil awareness. Long? Well I have done my best to look for good in him but he is still exasperatingly getting caught for offside far too often and his finishing is poor. I am sure we could have prised Ings from Burnley for what he spent out on Long. And I had my first long look at Gardos last night, clumsy and uncertain were two words that quickly came to mind, he looked out of his depth and is a poor signing as he is a downgrade on Hooiveld and that is saying something. Clyne was awful last night, my son who bumps into him at clubs in the City says he is full of himself and arrogant and I just wonder whether the England recognition hasn’t gone to his head (a la Lallana) a little. Schneiderlin was petty and stupidly booked and he later kicked the ball away and could have been sent off. He is rash and petulant at times and when things aren’t going for him becomes headstrong. You could say the same about Wanyama too. I thought Targett had a good first half, our best player but then he got taken off for Isgrove (with Bertrand dropping back) but Koeman took the wrong man off (unless he was injured). Isgrove flattered to deceive, he will carve a career at League One level, like Gilllett and Hoskins, but no way is he Premiership or even Championship level. And finally Ward-Prowse, I just don’t see what the fuss is with this boy. Except from his delivery which is by far superior to anyone else (that in itself is a poor reflection) he is no more than a hard-working midfielder. Intelligent off the pitch he may be but he is no more than an ordinary player at the moment although as I mentioned earlier perhaps I am being a little unfair with him only recently coming back from injury. At least he looked up for it last night and he has the right mental attitude. So a very abject, disorganised performance from a group of players who looked like they had never met. Sorry this is a long ramble, I won’t be going to any more away games this season after last night’s horror show so this will be the last of my diatribes. If you made it thus far, thanks and one final word on the fans who travelled in numbers last night. Well done you did your city proud, it was an unacceptable shame the players could not respond accordingly.

I have a spare seat in a minibus plus driver leaving the Cowherds at 12 noon if you want. £50

I wish we had a forward who could finish like Eriksen

I agree and I would also ban them having outside interests/jobs

Comparing Brand with Farage eh? Says a lot about you there Lets B Avenue. One indeed is a cock! The other I don't think so but he has long hair and looks unwashed I grant you, go back to your Daily Telegraph sports pages that is where you comfort zone lies.

That Catlin sure interviews well, I would follow him to the end of the earth, he speaks with honesty and integrity and is so believable.

He would be a wonderful impact player from the bench but he is far too erratic to blend into a team. After a promising start he has flattered to deceive

Dreadful 2nd goal, Forster's incompetence has cost us tonight.

I assume the Perspex is transparent?

Inter net warriors bored tonight?

Still no statement on "Macca"? Transparency with a hood on.

And this morning the club are refusing to confirm or deny Alan McLaughlin has been dismissed after an internal row - so much for transparency.

Good read from Barney Ronay http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/03/southampton-comfortable-skin-arsenal

Trouble is there really isn't anyone knocking that hard on the door at present

we keep hitting that glass ceiling

Cork still seems important to us fans but not it seems to RK. It is an enigma why the club still seem to need him and yet don't want him

No way Trousers, if the youngsters are good enough they force their way through soon enough and usually by the time they are 18. Jack Cork is the Fred Kemp of his day. Loved by the fans but not rated by the management. Tony Funnell was another one.

Jack Cork is the new Fred Kemp, ie rated by the fans but not by the management!

After last night's game v Villa many are saying it would have been a lot better if Cork had replaced Davis and obviously he is highly regarded by the majority of fans including me. But with Koeman admitting that they are already working on a new deal for Clyne it is evident that a new contract for Cork is just not on the table either now or the future. Big big mistake I reckon. He is a 10m player who will leave for nought.

Ashamed to say I only got 19 but it is early in the morning

Interesting stuff but I think you mean Bob Charles who died recently?

Forgot to include this link which mentions blacklegs from Portsmouth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southampton_Dock_Strike_of_1890

In recognition of going past the 100,000 posts milestone, I have done a little research into one of the enduring myths as to why Southampton people are known as scummers. According to our fishy friends it is all to do with a strike being held in Portsmouth which was broken by casual labourers from Southampton. I could find no references to this myth but did uncover a story which sort of puts the boot on the other foot. Ladies and Gentlemen (and Nutjobs) I give you the true story of the 1890 Southampton Dock Strike. Portsmouth’s involvement in the 1890 Southampton Dock Strike. In 1890, emboldened by the London Dock labourers’ success of the previous year when they won the “Dockers tanner” (sixpence an hour), and by news of similar increases gained at Portsmouth and Plymouth, the Southampton dockers formed a union and decided to strike for more pay, shorter hours and recognition of the union. They were duly offered five pence per hour for day work and sixpence for night work but were denied recognition for their union. The men subsequently downed tools at midnight of the 7th of September and assembled in a crowd outside the dock gates, completely blocking Canute Rd and access to and from the docks. On the 9th the strikers were joined by many seamen as well as “town roughs” according to contemporary sources and all work now came to a standstill. The police made repeated charges but were unable to clear the road whereupon the mayor – James Bishop – applied for troops and 280 men of the Yorkshire Light Infantry were sent over from PORTSMOUTH. The Riot Act was read by Bishop after which the troops attempted to push the crowd away with the butts of their rifles and later with fixed bayonets, but were met with volleys of stones, one of which struck the mayor. There were calls for the troops to open fire but the mayor stayed calm and instead ordered the fire brigade to use hoses and a small area was cleared enough for the troops to occupy a passageway. Some of the mob took revenge by rushing up to East St and demolished the mayor’s boot-and-shoe shop, while others went the next day to his house in Grosvenor Square where the troops stationed outside to protect it threatened to open fire. Meanwhile some strikers had now gained access to the Docks from Southampton Water and the shipping companies appealed to the Admiralty who then sent two gunboats and a torpedo boat from PORTSMOUTH. The stand off came to an end when the shipping companies revised their offer which the strikers accepted “for the time being”. Several of the rioters were given three months imprisonment, while others were fined or bound over. The mayor meanwhile was given a unanimous vote of thanks by his fellow magistrates but the strain of the dispute brought on congestion of the brain from which he did not recover for some months, after which he removed himself and his business to……yes, you’ve guessed it, PORTSMOUTH!