Torbay Saint

According to the Portsmouth News the PFC have warned staff that wages could be late again.

Does that mean their website address is back on the open market? It would be terrible if it was sold on...

Very poor article today. Which begs the question how did it win Newspaper of the Year? Surely it must have been Newspaper of the Year for just Southampton!?

As soon as I heard last night that torquay wanted a new striker I thought of MP - not sure why?

You coming from this situation with no knowledge at all. You don't know what fee Coventry wanted, Ward's wages, fitness, signing on fee etc. Do we really need a high earner in the squad at the moment with Jaidi, Perry, Thomas etc when we can pick him up in the summer (if needed) for free?? Likewise, aside from ONE game at Millwall have you ever seen Seaborne play? Steve Perryman rates him as one of the best ever to leave the Exeter and believes we have done a clever bit of business. At Exeter he was being watched by several CCC league teams and we know Norwich placed a bid for him. Yet Ward is still at Coventry. There is surely a reason for this?? We only have to look down the road to realise how dangerous splashing money around without a care is. It was only 6 months ago that we were in a similar position. I think it is still important the Club is ran sustainably and if that means signing a few players with real potential that could generate a profit if and when we feel it is sensible to sell, rather than sign proven players on big wages, then so be it. I for one never want to be in the position we were in last year ever again. Pardew's transfer record at this Club to date is spot on and I for one will support his view on player transfers at present.

Well - for a few years at least anyway. No one knows the boudnaries of the SDA (which is meant to accommodate 6,000 dwellings and associated facilities asidentified within the RSS). Jacksons Farm may well end up within it - but that work is yet to commence.

Didn't they say that before they announced this signing? so this signing could well be the one before Friday?

I have put this up before but for completeness: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/elh010_hedge_end_sda.pdf Page 2 shows the approximate area of search. Proposals for the whole SDA have to be delivered through the emerging Development Plan and in particular the North / North East Hedge End SPD. I understand this will not be complete until 2013 (work is not meant to start until this summer!) Dowds Farm for instance differs completely from Jacksons Farm - it was an allocation in the Eastleigh Local Plan. Whilst I am promoting land in Eastleigh Borough, I am not at the SDA. But this information comes from other planning consultants who are. The site has no planning status in an Adopted Development Plan. It is currently unallocated and as you have said is within an agriculture use. The only way the site would come forward in the short term is if there was an insufficent housing land supply. The Council has a number of 'Reserve' sites which are to be used in this circumstance.

It is located within on the periphery of the Hedge End Strategic Development Area. Given the number of Local Authorities involved in the SDA I don't think houses will be appearing on it in the short term. I know that at least one Local Authority was becoming increasingly opposed to its concept even through it has been in their Development Plan for a number of years. The precise boundaries of the SDA are yet to be determined - so Jacksons Farm might not even be identified yet!

Well I read that there were several Clubs interested in him and even Norwich had put bids in. From memory some of those teams were from the Championship. They can't all be wrong? He must be decent?

That ties in with what I was told - that he wants to play and was looking at other options. But as of yesterday he hadn't gone. I think his contract runs out at the end of the season so its a matter of whether saints will let him go now.

They do share with the Blues!!!

Thank you!

Brilliant.

When was the last time we won on boxing day?

Calum Davenport? The Tin Man? Imants Bleidelis (2 apps between 1999 and 2002)

I can see him working with WGS again before us. Not an issue for us but if found guilty, would Stoke actually sack Pulis after taking and establishing them as a Premier League team?

19 goals in 6 and a half away games!

Like I said - you need to read around the subject and I pointed you in the direction of the correct reports. You are criticising people without a full appreciation of what is happening. There are plans for the areas you highlighted. Ocean Village is in private ownership (but not the company you referred to). A site can only be allocated if there is reasonable prospect of it being delivered. If it can't (as a private company has different or even no interests in developing the site) then the wider land use planning document will be found unsound at enquiry - no doubt you would heavily criticise the Council then??! You and others made reference to regeneration of other cities including Portsmouth. It is easy to see its legacy, but the waterfront development mentioned are still in their infancy. Lets see what they are like in 10 years or so. For someone who works in the development industry I am surprised that you have such a view on the planning process. As a planning consultant I can promise there are worse LPA's in the country!

Again I think you being harsh on the Local Planning Authority. It you had read their Adopted Core Strategy or City Centre Action Plan you would have seen that Ocean Village is identified as a proposed development site. I believe there is even a section on the night time economy. Ocean Village is in private ownership. You are quite right that the LPA does hold all the cards. But aside from allocating and identifying sites for development as they have done, what more can they do? As for parking around the stadium, being involved in devleopment to the degree you claim, I am sure you are aware that the government agenda towards sustainability would encourgage the use of public transport!! In planning terms there are a lot of worse authorities than Southampton!

I am not sure your analysis of Ocean Village is accurate. The loss of facilities at Ocean Village is market led - the Council has very little influence in making a facility stay or go. As for the ability of the Council's town planners - weren't they the same town planners who assisted the Club with the development of St. Mary's Stadium after the problems asociated with Eastleigh? As an engineer you wouldn't have contact through the development process so it is an unfair judgement call on your part.

The majoroty above must be world beaters then. I would be happy for that chance. Good luck to him.

Cheers guys - much appreciated.

As part of a memorial tournament my old University football tam have raised quite a large sum of money to donate to chairty. We are looking for a sport related chairty to donate some money to. Ideally it would be related to football. Does anyone know of any that would be suitable? Thanks.

Mine would be the picture from the Cup Final between Saints and Arsenal of the teams lining up before the game. It was a great day and all, but who wants to look at a picture of that and be reminded of the day we lost the Cup Final!