saint1977

Would be interesting to know if he was anywhere near full pace. Got rid of Carberry but decent start by Hants. Surrey really need to win this one whereas Hants would be happy with a draw where they could pick up some handy bonus points. Given the forecasts for the weather, I'd put as many runs on the board as we can. Can't see that our relegation rivals elsewhere will get 3 or 4 day's play either, unless there is a really seaming Durham-style pitch somewhere.

No surprise, Lamb has struggled with the ball and not the made the impact hoped for with the bat. Latouf has been at Hants for a while now and despite Hants (as usual) having a good season with the ball and an awful one with the bat, he still hasn't had a regular run.

Has anyone noticed that Interbev (the global giant that brews Stella and "thanks" to a recent takeover Bud as well) are shying away from Stella's thug image and trying to rebrand as a family of Artois beers. The bok actually isn't too bad. Interbev's claim that the beer is 500 years or so old is tosh though - one of the ingredients is maize for a start! I think British Chavs have done for Stella what football hoolies did for Burberry. In Belgium itself, the youngsters drink of choice tends to be Jupiler and like the UK, they get on to the fine historical brews as they get slightly older - De Konick in Antwerp, Westmalle, Kwak, Moortgat (Duvel and Maredsous), Tongerlo, Orval and if you can ever find it, Westerveleren.

A bit concerning if the Republicans manage to cheat and buy the election as they did in 2000 - McCain probably has a 50/50 chance of making a term with his health so Palin, the inexperienced Redneck, would be President. Still, we're talking about an electorate that voted (genuinely this time) in 2004 for Bush Jnr on the basis he was the sort of bloke you'd go for a beer with.

I see in the Scots press today on the BBC Sport Gossip Column that McCulloch has already said he won't play for Burley again - don't know what's gone on there.

The £2m was to keep Norwich afloat for this year but not good news for them that the Turners have walked out - that has been the difference between Norwich holding on to players post-parachute and us selling. Still, shows Delia and Wynn-Jones genuinely care about the club - shows you also how crap Wilde is. What does Mike Wilde actually offer SFC? At least Secure Retirement put in £3m to clear Askham's overdraft even if they put in nowt after that.

You are joking right? No really, you are joking?

Askham again - and the man is still involved with SFC.

I was at that game and was very, very impressed. Just after Antti signed, Finland and Wales were playing each other in a WC Qualifier so there were Saints goalies at both ends (Niemi and Jones). The strikers on both sides got really fed up as Jones made about 7 brilliant saves but Antti still outdid him, leaving Bellamy and co. stunned! One of my favourite sporting memories. Also, Antti saved England's bacon in 2002 with brilliant saves to keep Germany out whilst Beckham scored that wonderful free-kick. You'd have to go some to see a better save than Antti's Vs Villa though! Top player and top man, hopefully Antti will be involved with us in a non-playing capacity in the future. We've had a lot of wasters and people abusing the club since 2003 at all levels - playing, managers, coaches and directors but Antti is the real deal and his desire for Saints to succeed was genuine.

I really and genuinely hope that is correct.

The club's overheads, particularly the academy, are huge at at least £5m p.a, if not more. Sadly, I can see one of the big clubs investing in it in the future (ie first option on the products) to help pay for it...SFC a feeder club anyone?

I think the financial situation is pretty bad Alps I'm afraid, it would great for the club if you were right but we were very close to doing a Cov and having to take the first bid that came in. That may still be the case later in the year if we can't hang on until the January window. Still not convinced Wilde and Lowe will be at the club by XMAS - they might have to take an offer if costs don't come down by quite a bit more. SISU went for Cov because they were 30 mins from going under - hope it doesn't happen to us.

It's called the academy and takes at least £5m, probably more actually, to run.

In Cov's case, they were about 30 mins from administration, we can probably hobble on until XMAS although it's going to be tough. I did hear that administration might be an option pre-XMAS if we were in the relegation zone as the club really is struggling, it isn't just players' wages either, the academy is one of the best in the country but not viable in it's current size and form on CCC income sadly. So we need investment ASAP just to stay afloat.

Correct although even for a buyer with the money, there are a lot of blockages at SFC, not to mention Mike Wilde who really needs to recoup some money on his shares after over-stretching to buy them. Whilst Askham is still around, I cannot see SFC moving towards a much-needed buy out.

Because of the tangled mess of share splits that Guy Askham has created in his dealings that made him a very wealthy man in the mid-1990s. No-one wants to deal with all of the different bickering parties and you can hardly blame them. Until Askham snuffs it and loosens one of the solid share proxies, it's status quo and likely further slide down the Leagues.

Davis Cork, Thomas, Perry, Surman Lallana, Morgan S, Gillett, Holmes John, McG Bench - Killer, Bart, Dyer, James, Skacel (LB when fit), Wotton, Pekhart TWO up front please JP!

Yes, I do remember something about that. There was also a rumour Thirsty's blood group was Tetley's...

Branfoot and Askham again - if he had played one more game they had to shell out an extra £250k or something. However, as Alan could pass a ball, control it and didn't want our goalie and full-backs to be playmakers, he was loaned and then sold to Jim Smith who knew what decent football looked like (sadly Jim was too old to remember when joining Harry a decade on).

Funny how the names Branfoot and Askham keep appearing on here. The years 1991-4 really did do SFC a lot of damage. People, me included, have had a pop at Lowe sometimes but he looks like Abramovich compared that with dark era. Branfoot inherited a decent top flight team and ruined it, Askham and co rewarded that with licence to sign more crap that we had to pay off early and a 3 year contract. The demos should have targeted Guy and Wiseman as well as Branfoot with equal ferocity in hindsight, we would have avoided the mess that followed.

I think Rory gave 100%, he was played out of position and not his fault Gray didn't know what the heck he was doing. Not our best player and was crap in 04/05 but hardly alone was he?

My top pick as well. Him, Wiseman, Richards and all of the "biscuit tin" era. They put in the square root of **** all in and took millions out. Askham must be nearing meeting his maker now and I will not keep quiet during his minute's silence at SMS! In terms of players, I cannot believe people have cited Pahars, Hughes, Rideout, Hassan and others. Pahars - the club would be in the BSP now, or worse, had he not scored those goals at the end of 98-99. I will never forget the peach of a goal against the skates, we haven't got a player on our books now good enough to tie Marian's shoes when he was at his best. Hughes - was still a fantastic player, even in midfield. I remember him and Franny celebrating like mad at the final whistle at Dellhurst. Hassan - came on a free, scored goals from midfield and fulfilled his contract. He probably wishes he'd stayed and not gone to Villa but such is life. Rideout said some silly things when left a bit like Phillips but more out of frustration with Branfoot and Askham - can you blame him? Redknapp Jnr played through awful knee pain for Saints, I can't stand his old man but Jamie didn't need the money and could have stayed on more money at Spurs. Speedie was a total waste of time, Dia for the publicity stunt. Delgado was a right one and Dixon spent more time at the bookies than on the pitch. Redknapp Snr didn't give a toss and has to a prime candidate as well.

Not had much time to be on TSW lately so if he's signed one, that's great news!

My view is that the first half we were unfortunate to be behind, on another day we'd have been 2-0 up. That said, White needs at least a season of reserve games to be ready at CCC level and was very naive for the penalty. Blackpool murdered us in the second and only some wonderful saves from Kelvin kept it at 1-0. If McG had scored at the end, it would have been very welcome but a travesty! Davis - 9.5 and MOTM - Probably his best display for Saints, the 2-one handed saves in the second half were stunning James - 5.5 Good effort but struggled Vs a revitalised (and fit) Hammill. Harshly booked IMO Surman 5 - Not a left-back and a silly early booking Svensson - 6 Not his best game V Burgess Perry - 6.5 Read the game well but poor performances around him. Lack of height is a problem at set-pieces Gillett 4 - Out of character for our pocket battleship, great passes to Blackpool players and awful foul for his booking Morgan S 5 - Ineffective Holmes 7.5 - 3 superb first half crosses that should have resulted in the keeper being worked. McGoldrick and John at home please to start JP! White 3 - Didn't notice he was there until naive penalty. Will come again but too raw for the first team Lallana 8 - Technically IMO the best player on either side. Please get him on a new contract Rupert! McGoldrick 7.5 - Fitter and stronger this season but still needs to work on his option selection. Would be even more of a handful alongside John Subs - Dyer 7 - pace worried Blackpool and did well John 7.5 - a threat and should have been on much earlier Wotton - 5.5 Lost shape when he came on JP - one request please. When we are 1-0 down please put McG up front as a two with with Lallana behind.

Here Here, it's like if Saints win Charles Sale from the Mail is on here (Rupert's mate) or if we lose it's "hang Lowe outside the Bargate" on a Saturday night. It's a game, and somewhere inbetween would be optimum!