John Boy Saint

Personally think he is alright - it’s what’s around him being the problem - some comparing to Redmond, when he had the ball players were trying to guess what Nathan was going to do next with the ball next. Sat in the ground last night there were a few times when Sulemana was waiting for a ream mate to show for him.

There were times last night when you wondered what goes on in training, because they all looked like a team of strangers! Part of the problem is that we are just so bloody slow the majority of the time, even when were getting into the last knockings of the game, we looked like we were playing for the draw to maintain mid table obscurity! To show how comfortable Brentford were, on corners their keeper was continuing the chat with the coaching staff on the side lines then standing in the centre circle when the ball was delivered, because 20 other players were in our box. Where was the vision to send our fastest player out to the centre circle in readiness to receive a clearance, probably taking 2 Brentford players with him. For 45 years going down the Saints through rain and shine has been one of those things I have enjoyed in life - the last few seasons have been a bloody chore though, to the point where (and I can't believe I say this) the decision whether to renew is looking to be an easy one. On Brentford - I thought they were a decent team playing pleasing football most of the time, but that changed last night, we must have seen 30 minutes of football and an hour of then laying about on the pitch all ably assisted by the ref who I'm amazed had room in his pockets for his cards they were so stuffed full of receipts for all the crap he'd bought from Brentford. Hey -ho

I think due to our perilous position we are caught between 2 sticks. He obviously has ability, the games where he started he looked useful. Had he arrived in August we would have seen more of him as I think that he is one of those players who needs to play regularly to maintain his inner momentum, bit like Maya when he was in and out of defence. Maya would kick a ball after 5 games out and disappear in a cloud of rust dust, given a run of games and he was much more of the international defender he still is. Alas I don't think "tall Paul" is one of those to bring off the bench in the second half as he is possibly one of those players who doesn't read the game well from the bench and is unable to pick up the match thread when cast into the fray on 70 minutes, at 28 you might struggle to train that into him, and the premier league pace gives you little chance to learn on the job. With our position I am guessing that those in the know can see its a risky throw of the dice to play him more - that said those in the know still send AA out on the pitch to nullify our attack and demonstrate that if the goal was as big as the Chapel Stand and the oppo keeper was a Dwarf, he could still squirt the ball off an obscure part of his boot into the Kingsland.

We hit the post too

Mrs JBS just uttered - that’s us buggered then

That’s the spirit!

You can bet the foot won’t be off the gas because of it

We did beat them 6-3 the weekend after them being humiliated 5-0 at Newcastle. How does Fernandes not get a card for shoving the Lino in the back.

Amazingly from up in the Chapel in real-time at that distance, both me and the equally level headed chap alongside me both thought it was a harsh decision in a 50/50ish challenge. Seeing Leicester Gary on MOTD suggesting Charly was lucky not to see Red, I think the ref actually applied common sense realising that it was coming together at speed, with his closer view saw that there was not malicious intent to injure the Leicester player and had Charly got there a millisecond earlier the offense might have been the other way round. As for the booing of the Mickey Mouse goal kicks, we were increasingly asking for trouble and they were achieving F’all - then at the same time you see Sulemana free with acres of Hampshire to run into up the pitch - ping it to him instead of waiting for Maddison to work out our messing about.

Like your optimism. Got to move the ball much faster to achieve that. Wednesday was painfully slow, Grimsby were there for the taking as the second half wore on, but we just kept our foot off the gas patting the ball about…………and once again does anyone actually work on throw ins it’s criminal the amount of f***ing about that goes on when we get one, and as mentioned before it’s like Southampton docks in the 70’s “don’t throw that ball it’s not your job - it’s brother Kyles, he’ll be here in 10 minutes after his tea break”. Your prediction would be a proper treat.

So very true. The bit that caught me was the bit I highlighted. Having moved out of Southampton to north Hampshire when I was 5 for my Dad to be closer to his work in London thanks to the new M4 just up the road. My paper round too financed getting to Southampton on the local coach company’s Saturday shopping trip to Southampton first. Then dumping my paper bag and finding the local milkman to help him out on the weekends funded getting to go down the Saints more regularly and coming by train from Basingstoke - my Dad was “if you want to do something make it happen”, being 13 and nine miles from the station as he could see I was funding my Footie adventures anyway I could, he was happy to run me and a couple mates to the station and pick us up later. 45 years later that “Magic” has definitely gone - even up until the return to the Premier League, there was 6 of us from outside the city who despite us being in our 40’s and 50’s when Saturday came our mental clock would roll back, go through the turnstiles and it was a time machine we were all 14 again having giggle down the Saints (without alcohol assistance). Once back in the PL one by one they have fallen away purely down to the substance of the PL - only Mrs JBS and I remain going down the Saints from our little gang. I have reached that point where, I am questioning my own mentality of going down the Saints to endure 90 minutes of misery. I think my 58 year old self is finally growing up and accepting that I’m not 13 anymore when it comes to Saints, and there are better things to do with my time (and Money). Shame really.

Did we leave our name and address on the way out for Leeds to apply for gift aid.

Loved the question along the lines of "if he hopes to make the position permanent come the end of the season" - "Well the position is permanent and I am the manager" Followed by a brief Paddington stare, coupled with a look of "do you have any other stupid questions?".

That was my thought too ....................................thanks for saving me the typing 😁

Bloody applemakeyoulookatit autocorrect- I changed it 4 times - phone rang and I just pressed “post

I'm hoping that the Chelsea game performance up against the Wolves game performance might be the shaft of light we are hoping for. Versus Chelsea we kept at it second half when we knew the storm would be coming - the first half v Wolves we looked to be on much more than the season thus far, then second half with assistance of NJ's pack shuffle we downed tools. City in the cup we looked the part, and made them look ordinary. Just gives you belief that with the right direction, there is a team in there capable of getting us out of the mire we are in. This game is perfect to show the slither of hope isn't misguided.

He certainly seems to have gotten an about turn out of few doubters - good for him. As an aside - this brought a smile from the last post when I looked just now "If Tyrese is actually suffering from concussion from Tuesday night, he might not know who he is anyway. So as one Manager once famously said of a stricken player, "tell him he's Pele and put him back on! "

Blimey - He was indeed the voice of my football for years. His inability to fully hide his love of Spurs on the mic was a tad annoying though 🙂 RIP Sir

The Belgian goal was a cracker rifled beyond the reach of Earps - Dhont had a swing and got a 1 in 100 connection.

Sorry it’s the Mail - wife buys it on Saturday for the TV and the puzzles https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11764775/Yes-Minister-flagged-beleaguered-counter-terror-Prevent-scheme.html Worlds going to shit

Most likely because the "Brains" trust had blown so much sunshine up their own backsides for "the greater good" of SR - that promoting the managers number 2 would come across as being cheap and tin pot - so having convinced themselves with BS that Jones the nugget was for real and not fools gold, pushed him so far that he accepted, he was nowhere as big a risk for their egos, as stepping up the more suitable candidate from within. If you dig out the Reuben Selles thread from the Autumn, aside from the clowns with no vision or SR brains, the majority of us were accepting of giving him a spin - I have a work colleague who on first impressions you would think she was scatty, put her in her daily selling domain and she is a silent assassin. I could sense the MD just couldn't see it and was slightly belittling, we had 6 days away at a trade show recently and for the first time in 17 years she was eclipsing my often remarked work rate. At last the penny has dropped with the MD - what I had been trying to tell him, he could actually see for himself..................................more often than not, upper management can't see the value of the gems they already have.

Bloody Multi Quote went wrong

My boss took me to Loftus Road with his sons ST to watch Saints win with a Mane goal in added time (Boss said "here we go" as Mane pulled the trigger to ensure I was sat on my hands) Probably a good job too as the bloke sat behind me might well have had me seeing stars. This was established in the first half when Elia took a full speed professional footballers kick right in the wedding vegetables - just typing this is making me wince. 2 cans of magic spray must have vanished down the front of his shorts. From behind me "get up you big Jessie he hardly touched you" bla bla bla - after his tirade hit a pause I turned to say what he had received downstairs, and the chap behind him said "its going to take more than a bag of frozen peas to make his meat and 2 veg look anything like normal".

I think I still have the one from 26th August 1978 - When a few Southampton businesses boarded up their windows through fears of the tales about the Smoggies travelling hoards.

Having known that Javi at the time - it seems a bit of (new to everyone) early days trolling got past the point of no return with an unhealthy head of steam - so he went home.