Miltonaggro

They should get Les Dennis, cheap and passionate...

Historically there has always been rivalry between the ports, with Southampton existing as a naval port prior to Portsmuff, this continued with commercial rivalry into the Victorian era. The posting above about 1970s youth culture and football violence is spot on, and from this the tag 'Pompey Scum' emerged - at some point this was hijacked by the blue few and reversed to 'Scummer' with some pseudo-historical nonsense tagged on as justification for good measure. The ranking of the Portsmouth hooligan element has also been hyped up over the years, and anyone who can remember 'Docker' Hughes and his .657 (bus) crew would vouch for much malnutrition, acne, 36 inch chests, and market stall Harrington jackets. There were many occasions in the 70s and 80s when the pubs of Millbrook, Lordshill and Thornhill, along with much of Southampton docks emptied for a home game and visiting 'hard cases' got the shock of their lives inside and outside the ground, and there was an element of that the last time we met the skates at St Marys - perhaps their Premier League sojourn softened them a bit more than they would like to admit. In recent years, my personal (genetically implanted) dislike has been fuelled by the continual stream of bullsh*t from both PFC and their supporters as they've been passed from one foreign speculator to another, like playing pass the parcel with a turd. In all of this they've managed to fool the national media, cheat HMRC, and destroy local businesses whilst acting like a poor man's West Ham United, which is pretty much what they are (albeit with half the support). For a visual reminder of the basis for the rivalry have a look at a picture of our respective 'super fans' - ours the late great Herbie Taylor, theirs the overdue, idiotic pastiche W******d. Thankfully natural selction always endures...

Agreed, I hope that Adkins pins this to the wall of the dressing room. There seems to be an incredible lack of analysis in these reports, and this is very much an annual 'trotting out' exercise for many London hacks (football experts...) - I wonder where they had Norwich placed last year? The Guardian report John B posted is indeed more reasonable, althought I would not tend to agree with the notion that our blue neighbours are out of the woods and stable just yet or that Birmingham will not be a basket case! I have a gut feeling that a couple of big time Charlie managers might struggle this season as painting by numbers always looks easier than it is in practice...

I think with Centre Backs experience really matters. Looking back at some of our best players in that position we signed John McGrath at 30, Chris Nicholl at 31, Dave Watson at 34 and Kenny Monkou at 29. Also, Claus played his best football for us in his late twenties early thirties. The real mystery is why Warnock wants to get rid, as this is a player who seems to have all the right attributes...

In his 'Championship Team of the Season So Far' (21 December 2010), Manish Bhashin of Football Focus/MOTD named Gorkss in the 11 and described him in the following terms: "Kaspars Gorkss (QPR): Certainly not a player you'd mess with, Gorkss plays like the proverbial brick wall at the back, but can also offer an option at the other end of the field at set-pieces. Nothing phazes him, he does everything you ask of a defender and is a great communicator on the pitch." At 29, could be just what we need alongside Fonte...

a size 5XL shirt must look like a stretch of the M3 from the air!...

I think that a salient point here is that once we are back in the top flight, we have a sporting chance of keeping our most talented youngsters (though perhaps the Bridges rather than the Bales), until then it is always going to be mission impossible. Given the unusual 'debt free' structure at SFC (in comparison to perpetual shareholder appeasement) we are something of a test case. Premier League money might be enough to pay comparative wages, a ground extension might bring us into line with the next tier of domestic and European clubs, but once the real big boys tap up a player it's always going to be incredibly hard to keep hold of him. Take Gareth Bale, we were all mightily p*ssed off when he went to Spurs, but now Spurs are in a similar situation with the likes of Real Madrid sniffing around, and the kid is still only what, 21! Turkish makes a good point in saying that if Chamberlain is big enough to tout himself to the red tops, then f*ck nurture, let the bidding commence so we can reinvest to get into the Prem ahead of the glorious five year plan. Long term, the only real English blueprint for a club like ours consistently punching above it's weight in Europe is Cloughie's Forest side, a different era, but never say never. His policy with wantaway players was to say f*ck 'em too...

Lol! There is always that risk...

This. The point being made is that Wenger can't have his cake and eat it. This is no reflection on his abilities as a manager, coach, or dream date - in any walk of life broadcasting the message do as I say, not as I do, tends to get up peoples noses...

I'm glad somebody posted this as I couldn't believe the gall (no pun intended) when I read his comments about Mancini. It's probably early onset senility added to the fact that it is coming apart at Arsenal. He'll **** himself in a post match interview next and blame Alex Ferguson...

Good post. When you think about that list, it's only Delgado (and his shadow Chala), who failed to make an impact. How about a striker in the Ostenstad mould for this league, he would tear it a new one!...

Emnes would be a very good shout...

and the award for Northern dinlo advised by chancer agent of the month, goes to...

Checked it out, and Beattie was 20 and 5 months when he joined (22+ before he started scoring regularly), Vokes is 21 and 9 months (if he joins), so well past it by comparison...

That looks mustard. The icing on the cake would be the away kit in yellow and blue, or light and dark blue (in homage to the Patrick Rank Xerox away kit)...

Though it seems like he has been around for a long time, Vokes is 21, same age as Beattie when he joined us from Blackburn (without a senior goal to his name). At 6 '2 and 14st he could be an excellent second target man behind RL in the pecking order. Worth a punt for sure, for a local lad, being north of Watford is bound to put you off your stroke!...

Le Tissier. No brainer...

This. To speak about this signing in the same breath as KK is pure folly. In that era I remember us signing Dave Watson from Werder Bremen (as a Tyro defender my hero at the time) and Saints fans didn't bat an eyelid, the current England centre half and an absolute rock of an international player - it was the most 'normal' thing in the world! Someone mentioned Prutton previously and that is where this signing fits - a young quality addition with bags of potential. I for one think it will come off for Cork at Saints as he's been playing without any stability on loan for years and still doing well (and that shows commitment and character). If Adkins and Cortese set up a press conference at the De Vere in the coming weeks and Messi steps out form behind the curtain I might go deja vu, and come over all unnecessary...

We owe the man an awful lot. When you think that it's only two years it puts the 'five year plan' into perspective somewhat. WIFM...

As long as we get paid in full, this could be a perfect move on a number of levels...

This put me right off: http://www.youtube.com/user/owenhargreavescb#p/u/4/uH3m3hkr2dA

Agreed. Considering his waist measurement I think he may be our long anticipated marquee signing...

I have it on good authority it is in fact David Mellor, we are looking at...

Spot on...

Going forward there could be something in this. Rather like the Boys From Brazil, albeit the Boys from Staplewood. Nige in the Gregory Peck role...