alehouseboys

Funnily enough I stumbled across something about this the other day... http://www.serif.com/forum/ViewThread.asp?Thread=41268&Numb=18

Well he's more or less said what most 40-plus-fans (maybe even 30s) have been saying/thinking for a long time, unfortunately the younger generations really aint gotta clue what we're on about. The only hope of saving the game in this country is to bring back safe standing areas, allow fans be a little more animated in those areas...oh, and charge a reasonable price for the privilege.

PMSL that you thought we shouldn't find all this very amusing :smt003

Oooh, Gawd Bless 'im, lovable ol 'Arry's gone an' done the honourable thing again... He's a diamond.

...now where did they put all those 'Judas 'Arry' badges?

"It's a big opportunity to manage a big club before I retire," said Redknapp. Is he "Judas" or "Public Enemy No.1" down there again now? Probably had enough, what with them still struggling to fill little fartton some weeks despite having had the best 5 or 6 years of their lives, promotion (us relegated), winning the Cup and getting into Europe. And then taking just a few hundred to only their second ever European game while Spurs, regardless of how bad they are and Europe no novelty to them, still took a couple of thousand to Italy! Little choice really and maybe he knows something...is the money about to dry-up at fartton? But when it all goes wrong will they forgive ol' Saggy for being a Gooner?

IF...we had a Wayne BRIDGE, ENAMEL Petite or someone like that guy we got from BirminGUM, you know, Mark 'Physcho' DENTIST , we might. Anyway gotta go, got to be back at work by TOOTH-HURTY (ya see...2:30...The Dandy, circa 1970),

...shame you could only call on 17,000 home fans to turn up at fartton to witness it - that would've meant 20,000-or-so empty seats in your new ground...if you had it...

...and the skates could even use it the next time "Judas" 'Arry f*ks-orf... 'Arr-ree, where ever you may be Not long now till lunacy and we won't give a f**k when you're hanging from a tree you're a judas c**t with HIV ...see!

...like some of the things the skates were gonna do to 'Arry and his family when he ventured up the M27...

Ahem...I think we're again being far too generous to you, what about when you were regularly getting crowds of 5 or 6000 (not to mention cup gates of 2000-ish)? Moneybags-Mandick was there some time before you gates got up to the mighty 10k mark. And why were there only 12,000 skates inside Fartton last week...against Chelski!

...yeah, but...around 14,000 of them were Saints fans for a run-of-the-mill fizzy fixture whereas you struggled for 12,000 skates for a 'very attractive cup fixture' last week against top quality opposition (thanks to Chelski fans for getting the crowd up). Now, no doubt you'll say "it's so expensive...and...and..." but let's just assume (I'm being generous here) all the normal 18,000 skates that usually turn up for home games, for some reason, gave this a miss, does that mean you've only got another 12,000 fans that took advantage of the chance to go to a game? That must have been a tad worrying for those planning this new stadium, on that showing you'll have a lot of empty blue seats...

As 'Scudamore' pointed out Leeds don't fill their ground every week (and the 'Bradford derby' recently included 3000 visitors). Look at Brum, top of the league, just scraped 18,000 on Saturday. Considering our predicament are our crowds that bad?

But Derby only got "30,000...week in week out" once they looked liked making it to the 'promised land' and for their calamitous one season up there. Like everyone else they came back down expecting to "win week in week out" and get promoted. After their start, watch their crowds start dipping and if they remain in this division for another couple of years I'm guessing they'll be down to 15k anytime soon.

Fair enough...as long as you drop the fatually incorrect 'scummer/pony bummers' obsession (can you actually explain them?) and while we're at it, how about that myth about some fictitious dock strike. Anyway I think if we all called you 'Hillbillies' that would be far more appropriate...:smt023

Everything within the long-black-liney-thingy is 'in' Southampton... ...note location of the seperate towns of Romsey, Hedge End, Totton, Eastleigh, etc.... ...whereas cosham is clearly 'in' p*rtsmuff... ...don't thank me for the geography lesson.

Hedge End and Romsey are not 'in' Southampton. Myself, I'm west of the city centre and while I can't vouch for what goes on to the east I wouldn't be surprised that the nearer you edge towards portsea island the more likely 'pikey' tendencies will be in evidence...

Nah, Pikey is fairly accurate. I guess it stems from the fact that portsmuff was just a small rural area made up of little villages (fratton, buckland to name a couple) and being an island the practises carried out amongst families in such cut-off places is obvious (and evident) to all. So while the locals were only fit for shoeing horses, selling pegs, etc., when the naval port was established they had to move in dockers in equal numbers from both Bristol and London to do the heavy work for you. Sorry, our dockers would have helped but they were already running our own successful port. And I can quite safely say that having lived in Southampton for nearly half a century I have never seen a "genuine gypsy" (or anyone else come to think about it) riding a horse through our wonderful city streets. Don't thank me for the history lesson.

So no different to just about every other club in the country then?

...couldn't have been all the work of some mischievious little skate then? Nah, course not...

We could get a decent crowd in for the Brum cup game with cheaper tickets on offer, play well again and it should see a few more turning up against Blackpool, tho' not the most tempting opposition and live on Sky, anything over 20k would be acceptable.

...or from John Lewis with a 5 year guarantee... http://www.johnlewis.com/230476264/Product.aspx?source=42200 ...not a 'latest' model but 'kin good value for a big 'un!

You've been in the States waaaay too long...

True. But it is a rather catchy chant.