charlie saint

Can anyone else tell me why my Super Soaraway Observer, in an article about managers being sacked, had a side panel which listed 3 or 6 of the current betting odds of the next manager to leave a club, including Ronald Koemann? There was no mention of him in the text, which I think was mainly about Mourinho, and I can't remember what the odds were... was he just on the list because he's a manager and therefore COULD be expected to leave? I've checked online, and there's nothing there. I've chucked the hard copy away now...

Skitt's Law, isn't it?

He could have been the next Federico Arias.

It *is* frustrating. Let the mattress dry out before you put new sheets on, is my advice.

I was listening to 5 live too, and the man DEFINITELY said 'compliant'. I, too, imagined he meant what Dalekposter said he did.

Who was it from Arsenal who said on Monday "We (Arsenal) can still win the title"? And why wasn't he laughed out of the country? But if Arsenal could still win the title (ha ha ha ha ha sorry), why wouldn't it be LESS funny if someone from Saints were to say WE could still win the title? We're ahead of them on merit, don't forget, with the best defence in the leagues, etc etc... And what does the fact that no-one from Saints seems even to have considered saying anything like that say about the relative amounts of pressure on us as opposed to Arsenal? I know who I'd rather be.

My parents weren't interested in sport, and neither was I.We lived in a place where there WAS no local team... well, I suppose I could have picked Peterborough... Anyway, my Mum's family were from Titchfield, and her brother had been a season ticket holder at the Dell since the 60s, so every Xmas we used to get something from him bought in the club shop. So, despite having almost zero interest in football, but nevertheless also being a boy, I had to have a team. Carrying a Super Saints bag to school I couldn't very well say I 'supported' Liverpool, or Spurs or whatever the right answer would have been for an easy life. Then during the 80s I forgot about football again, until it kind of became fashionable around Italia 90 and everything. With my uncle still around, I renewed my acquaintance with Saints, and started to take more of an interest, getting down South for a game or two at the Dell, then St Mary's and away games in London. I saw 3 games in the first League 1 season.. Bought the shirt, had my photo taken at the Ted Bates statue... Obviously all this makes me a terrible plastic, one of the worst. But on the other hand, I've never pretended to be anything else, so...

I think you're wrong to have this opinion. Saints Do Well is the archetypal Man Bites Dog story. And it's better than that, because the longer it goes on, the more remarkable it becomes. And the endless angles! How? Why? Why not (Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool...) etc.? Is it a good thing? When will it end? And the presence of Saints in the Champions League, if (IF!) it happens won't even diminish sales of media - because we can (for the time being) command this novelty value of NOT being one of the Big 4, and being a small provincial club actively hated by very few - we can attract the curious. And Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, etc will still be there, somewhere, generating stories. It does mean the journalists will have to do some work, but that never hurt anyone.

Come on - you don't have to have been a bedwetter (is this right?) to have been a LITTLE bit worried for a while - firstly when it looked as if the transfer activity looked as if it was all one way, and later when the question was 'well, how good ARE all these new players, and how long will it take for them to gel?' It was a rollercoaster summer. All of these pundits could easily have had their predictions come true, even if for the wrong reasons (and even a stopped clock is right twice a day). I'm glad they weren't. I'm not surprised to see apologies, either - our success so far is too conspicuous for there not to be.

Nice Wodehouse reference there. I wonder if anyone else noticed and/or got it.

] Wow. Someone who doesn't know what is meant by 'poison chalice', reacts to the virtually 100% of responses telling him to Grip Up by calling THEM 'bedwetters'. It can't be half term already, can it? Meanwhile, back at the ranch: Ronald Koeman!!?

Well, if it turns out he is, I hope he somehow gets hold of your phone number so that you can be the first to know.

This is the thing: In the olden days, we'd quite often have a youngish player (maybe two at once!) who would catch the eye of the greater public. We knew then that they'd probably leave - as the saying went "for the chance to win things." I used sometimes to think that if they were that good, perhaps they could have stayed here and help US win things... of course that was a thought which was never in my head for long enough to ever say it out loud. While there was only ONE 'top top player' in the squad, we weren't ever going to win things, not really. Later on, we'd quite often have a youngish player (maybe two at once!) who would catch the eye of the greater public. We knew then that they'd probably leave - as the saying went "for the chance to win things." In those days, the cynical knee-jerk response was "Ha! For the money, more like - I hope you're happy to sit on the bench you greedy b*stard." Now, we've somehow managed to gather four or five pretty decent players, three or four of whom are, or could be, in the England team for the World Cup, and most of whom look likely to come under pressure, at least, to leave "for the chance to win things." Which is why it's so frustrating: the fact is that if these players stayed, and we added a few, we could really be close to winning things here. Now you can say this out loud, and not everyone will shout you down for being stupid. And they've all got to go to fupping LIVERPOOL apparently.

When I first moved to Kent, Spitfire in bottles was good, being Bottle Conditioned. I don't know when it changed, but I'm not as fond of it as I used to be. Of course, it's better on tap. Shepherd Neame have started doing a range of beers in 'retro' type bottles with the old fashioned labels on. There's an IPA, a dark stout, and something called a 'Brilliant' ale. All on the strong side (above 5.0%), but very drinkable. Anyone else seen them?

Oh - I've got the Yellow one which went with the Light Blue one you're so keen on, and it's fine, EXCEPT it only comes down just past my navel, which because of the voluminous cut of the shirt, makes it very a very draughty wear. That can't be right, can it?

Cor - the opposition would have to wear skins.

YES! I've always said what the team really needed was a David Speedie/Kerry Dixon type figure. Hopefully we'll spend all the Luke Shaw money on him and (I don't know...) Frank Lampard.

My uncle, who watched Saints for more than 45 years NEVER liked Matt Oakley. In fact, he'd have said he thought Federico Arias was a better Saints player than Matt Oakley.

What I would like to know is just what the 'Legal Reasons' might be which mean the club can't be named. You can't cover up crime with a super-injunction, surely? This isn't someone having it away with his wife's sister...

At least he didn't mention the fact* it was offside. *not a fact - if it had been offside, it wouldn't have been a goal, would it?

Are you Paul Scally in disguise?

I know this is all very important, and everything, but all the talk of new chairmen, directors, etc etc makes me think of this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jigsaw-portrait-Manchester-Finance-Director/dp/B00H2UDWSS (which is probably old hat - for which I apologise).

Him 'turning it into a twitter game' is EXACTLY the same as someone's mate doing a sponsored run... and therefore completely fine. Obviously. People do these things, whatever they are (including almost every other enterprise surrounding Children in Need), to nudge people into giving to charity - something people may not do otherwise. I have no idea if 10p per retweet is generous in the context of his wages or not - and it's really not for us to judge, is it? £3800 sounds quite a lot to come out of one person's pocket, anyway - so well done him. What a twisted world we live in.

I liked the comment on the Stoke board to someone who merely observed that we'd be third if the scores stayed where they were... "I'll bet you £1000 that Southampton will not be third at the end of the season." To which the only sane reply is surely "No you f***ing won't."