suewhistle

Brighton away, and then I'll make a night of it... :-)

B******s!:-) Some of us even play. I'd agree with the OP though. Our season finished late last week due to bad weather this winter. No football, no twice a week training, no 2/3 times a week skiing, teaching finishes next week. I'm not so keen on the summer. Anybody know of any yacht crewing vacancies this summer? Watch leading experience, blah blah...

I suspect the bigger teams plan ahead a bit more, and didn't want to risk playing a non-existent club! Not a great deal different from previous seasons, though, and sensibly keeping travel costs down.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/04/liverpool-tom-hicks-george-gillett-debt More on liverpool's situation here, and the fact that the owners are seeking re-financing.

If he does become Chairman perhaps we should also register him as a player. You never know, the play-off final might go to penalties!..

Shearer succeeded as a footballer through sheer single-mindedness. MLT through natural ability and an intelligence which, and I don't mean to insult, Shearer just doesn't have.

I'd imagine Prem and CCC teams would also appreciate playing on a decent pitch.. [bitter experience here as in our last game we played the league leaders away on what must have been the worse pitch I've ever played on].

Hopefully one day finances mean they can come to Italy. My team's pre-season last year included games at 1400 metres, which is great for the lungs!

I sail a bit. None of those coarse motor thingies: I sail OPBs. Other Peoples' Boats..

Buy a new one. The club need all the turnover they can get, but maybe wait another 20 days...

Hope so, and should be over from Italy on my summer visit. Perhaps we can have a Saints exiles meet-up: DubaiPhil, Eric, me, etc, etc, perhaps even Alpine!

Looks like I'm from the same stupid generation.:-) I actually started getting interested in Saints living abroad and never having seen them play. Dad used to get the discarded newspapers off the aircraft, and he was starting to get excited about something over the weeks - it was that promotion season when they first went up. I was intrigued, and as a playground footballer I asked to go. As Mum and Dad were both from Eastleigh visits to grandparents meant that there were opportunities to go to games and I was soon hooked, although I still can't remember my first game. We were locked out of seeing Man U one year so next year I made sure we were earlier (although not enough for me!) and we only just made it in to that record Dell crowd. Dad, being a good deal taller than me actually saw some of the game! I was right behind the shot for Hughie's stuttering run and last minute goal, went to the replay and then semis and final, which was made easier by being a student at Southampton Uni. How I got through my finals after that I don't know! And so the story continues. A few years ago, after hating the compulsory sport at school I took up formal organised football. I moved to Italy where as the result of pre-season daily fitness training, twice a week during the season as well as 2/3 days skiing a week during the winter plus being a tall physical Anglo-Saxon lump I'm fitter than I've ever been and occasionally come of the bench. I made my home debut at half time last week and scored a header within 3 minutes. It wasn't a Ron type header, but I was thrilled. Being part of a team in any way is great; I can't relate to the Arsenals or Chelseas of this world. I've never given up on Saints but if all goes well I hope I can rekindle the spark of connection with our team that I think we've all lost over the last few years

Perhaps he's more intelligent than the average footballer who ****es their money up the wall and buys cars that depreciate the moment they leave the dealers. He's probably setting himself up nicely for when he has to leave lucrative English football, which might be soon by the looks of it!

As another overseas Saint does anyone know the start dates for the new season? It'll save me googling but I also wanted to say: "I'll be there!". No season ticket, obviously, and only a token financial support (although my few shares are worthless!) but just to show that there are people all over the world willing Saints on.

I know we've had some pretty depressing crowd figures this season, but does anybody think that we'd have had less than 20k like Reading tonight if we had been in the play-off semis? I hope bidders are aware of our potential with even a little bit of success...

Cheers Nick, I'm not sure what people expect to get in this world of NDAs. We certainly need something to keep our hope up, and it's not as if we hope you are wrong. Obviously the tension is getting to people...

I haven't been here for a few weeks as it is all too depressing. Can anybody PM me a succinct and preferably optimistic summary. On another football front I actually started a game for the first time this season last Sunday on a crap pitch in steaming humidity near Turin. I was appalling: Ok positioning but must have been nerves but couldn't trap a sack of potatoes. So please let the news be good... Plus I now have a cold.. Aaargh!!!

Yeah, saw that before coming on here which made me pop in for a look. I've been too depressed to look before. I hope the FL show some common sense (hah!), but if a club of Saints' history can fold completely the whole pack of cards might come tumbling down: I can't see our debts being that much greater than many clubs.

sod me

I've got a bad feeling about this, I've just found a decent P2P stream, so me watching will probably be the kiss of death....

Oh sod, I suppose I've got to find an internet stream or a local bar with every obscure channel going, and promising to buy loads of beer so that they keep it on the right channel...that's not a problem, watching Saints...

**** = merda....

****, I've only just logged in and saw the OS site first. This is deeply worrying... and don't say it'll be easy to find a buyer.... "What happens if you are unable to re-finance or find a buyer for the club? If the administrator is unsuccesful it is likely that the Football Club will enter an insolvency process which is likely to effectively mean that the club will cease to operate. Clearly this is an outcome that all parties will want to avoid."

I haven't read the whole thread, and this year I'm living in Italy so can't make it, but i see no mention that women can't play.':-) FA rules allow mixed charity matches, so maybe next year if I'm feeling flush or back in the UK? Currently train twice a week with my Italian team, match on Sunday and I ski 1/2 times a week as well, so for my advanced age I do well. 5'10", a skier's and footballer's *and rider's) thighs and if you ask nicely I'll wear short shorts.. Give me a hockey stick and I'd probably do some damage as well.... Have fun guys, I'm only jealous..

I've skied on the Hannenkahm at Kitzbuhel immediately after a World Cup race, and even with newly edged skies and turning as much as possible I was still ****ting myself, but great to say you've done it. As for going on the pitch, ahem... "You'll never stop the East Stand, You'll never..."