saint1977

Yes, I ‘loved’ being in the away end in 2007 when we lost 5-1 up there as a total shambles http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7019679.stm I also ‘loved’ when PNE scored an injury time winner in the return game at Christmas in front of our ‘proper support’. Did laugh when someone in the Kingsland North shouted ‘Merry Christmas Saints’ as the goal went in.

No sunlight on farmers uplands https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/29/uk-farmers-impact-brexit-trade-deal-losing-common-agricultural-policy Another sector had its pants pulled down by Putin, UK billionaires, Tory far right/UKIP/BNP

Exactly how I feel, I mean Saints have always turned a profit on players ever since I can remember and it’s fine as long as you re-invest well. 2014-16 that happened but then failed to keep pace when £15m became £20-25m and so on, leading a decline in quality quite rapidly by Pellegrino. Still no excuse for the lack of identity and purpose, MK Dons Mark 2. The targeting of the more vocal fans eg Block 1 has further disenfranchised long-term supporters. It will take a sea change in attitude and engagement to win 10-15k fans back next season. More likely to be administration part 2 forcing change.

Which is why I don’t think protests will work this season, but thousands of empty seats next season when the clock starts ticking on the parachute payments will act as more of an incentive for SR to start running SFC properly and taking more of an interest. The games v Blackpool, Rotherham etc with a boycott going could be down to 15k and the break even figure last time in the Champ was around 23k. Only so long Dragan would fund the difference for without a clear plan to reverse the decline.

JWP is off form and I suspect as frustrated as we are by the total shitshow which is Rasmus, Semmens and SR, worsened by the David Brent they just hired. I’d want to be gone as well. As well as not celebrating his goal, you could also see Lallana was thinking ‘what the eff has happened here over the last couple of years and why there is a 12 year old in goal? It used to be good here’. JWP should be more vocal as the skipper but even Kante would struggle playing with Diallo who has comfortably broken into my worst ever Saints top flight XI alongside Adam Armstrong and previous legends such as Wesley Hoedt, Olivier Bernard, Steve Baker, David Speedie (AA’s strike partner), David Lee and Callum Davenport.

Right to sack that manager, wrong timing when it needed to be April 2022. Needed to sack the CEO in the summer and bring in a football figure like Benitez so SR could learn the game. The chronic lack of football knowledge has been underscored by the striker, Bazanu, Romeu and Jones appointment bloopers.

No wonder Lallana wanted to play the celebration down, there will be a first team manager vacancy available down the A27 and M27 by the summer. Fonte as assistant?

This, and then loan him out to Southend, Crawley, Hartlepool. Or somewhere else in NL or L2. Along with most of the squad. Is there a single starting player who would get into an 18 player BHA squad? Maybe Edozie on the bench and JWP if he can be bothered. Lyanco over DCC or ABK suggests too much festive booze in the coaching and boardroom departments.

Well, the attack does need more bite for 6 months. Then finish his career in the Romanian League for Transylvania FC. Rather than rubbing Vicks on their shirts, the opposition will be rubbing garlic instead to avoid getting chomped.

Sell Lavia to Chelsea if they want him. Break the Ings fee record for a new DMC with pace and power. Then break it again for a main striker and £20m on a second one/winger. That’s what needs to happen. Either that or accept relegation and a 3 year plan for automatic promotion. Or loan Wood from Newcastle and spend the second striker money on a quality 10 but still need Gapko-type outlay on a primary striker.

Shows you what making positive changes in coaching and management personnel can make. 12 months ago getting trounced in Australia and told that the likes of Rory Burns was as good was available. Now with a clear style of play there’s also strength in depth and competition with batting and bowling. There will be some days where the approach doesn’t 100% come off - NZ in Feb with a pink ball under lights - but there a belief and drive that had been lacking with English cricket and in football with SFC since Koeman left.

If he wants to play 3CBs then very surprising Caleta Car isn’t amongst them. Realise it’s the only part of the squad that has proper depth after 6 years of consistent transfer window fuck ups but even so, a surprise. It’ll be close and Wednesday played Saints off the park in the first half last round but 2-1 Saints AET. That Saints XI is nowhere near good enough to feature competitively in the PL and the weakest top flight squad in our history but they’ll just about squeak through tonight. The Lincoln side that knocked Sunderland out of the play offs a couple of years ago would have been very dangerous tonight as they were a handy outfit.

Thanks for posting, 19/25 for me

Brexit, that’s what happening. Sunlit uplands my arse https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-nhs-staff-medicine-shortages-b2247575.html

The ‘what is happening to our country’ thread may as well close - Brexit and all of the issues it is causing particularly the NHS https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-nhs-staff-medicine-shortages-b2247575.html Massive democratic deficit between what was promised and what is causing. No wonder Redwood tweeted yesterday about how NHS managers are to blame for the recruitment shortages - no John, it’s you, Boris, Braverman, Patel, Raab et Al to blame.

Their football culture is rich in not paying debts/tax avoidance, rusting metalwork, thugs the age of grandads, seats not big enough for obese people, one song and a bit of ner ner-ing, multiple tattoos, BO and fish copulation. And John PFC Westwood.

When I was younger I found that the round system drove quite a lot of the heavier sessions. When I went to Scandinavia for work and pleasure, that wasn’t there in bars to the same extent because of the sheer cost of it. The UK has caught up in that regard (cost per unit) so maybe along with health reasons that’s why people are cutting back. People in Scandinavia still enjoy a quality drop but you have to seek it out - you don’t see as many ‘buy 12 cans of Carling for £8’ offers that you get in the supermarkets here. Still a surprising amount of public drunkenness outside of the bars in Copenhagen though! Now I don’t get into rounds so it means I drink much slower and enjoy it. If friends want to drink 2-3 pints to my one, go for it. Less peer pressure to keep up when you’re all middle aged and older. If I needed to stop altogether I’m confident I could. Would still use the pubs where I live.

Real ale drinker because I enjoy it but only moderate amounts and only one pint per visit to the pub. Plus it’s costly these days. Beer festivals at national level now serve thirds so you can try a few beers without overdoing it. It’s the dehydration with drinking much more than that, not had a hangover side since my stag do in 2009 and before that 2007. Better to have quality over quantity whatever you drink. Plus the 0 beers are getting better all the time, Guinness 0 I like particularly. The Left Back - the key is not to have an alcoholic drink before trying it. All 0 beers have a worty aspect to their palates. As long as you don’t expect the alcohol punch and full complexity, and take it as a beer-like dark drink with a smooth feel you’ll probably enjoy it.

Sad to see and this one was caused by a collision of players where ACLs have traditionally happened. Overall there seems to have been far more ACL injuries in the last decade than any before it. Wonder why? Changes to pitches? Style of boots? Pace of the game? Although lower leagues seem to have far more too.

I agree with you but on the domestic front some of the compromises involved will mean Sunak and Hunt telling the ERG and DUP to fuck off. Jeremy has the guts to do it, not sure about Rishi yet. If it did happen Braverman huffing off onto the backbenches would be a definite benefit. The US situation is a bit more unpredictable after the mid-terms and any agreement has to be better than the shambles agreed with Australia.

You don’t have to be a leftie (Liberals aren’t lefties - perhaps Pinko as LD calls us). That was 60 seconds of searching. The stench of it was overwhelming. The 9th link there was the 9th goal for us Remainers over the Brexiteers with the Tory Party deeply in hock financially to Russia and some very shady people. Like Ralph, Brexit’s time is up. PS - any chance of outlining any Brexit benefits that are actually tangible apart from increased levels of racism and xenophobia PPS - enjoy the US mid-term results? Your hero and his Icke-type followers got the floor wiped with them, worst mid-term results for a generation. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/all-the-times-robert-jenrick-has-faced-corruption-charges-260587/ https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/gordon-brown-most-corrupt-at-least-a-century/ https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-24/u-k-scandals-boris-johnson-s-tories-signal-they-ve-been-in-power-too-long https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2825 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/06/tory-peer-michelle-mone-involved-ppe-medpro-government-contracts https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20189386.tory-anti-corruption-tsar-resigns/ https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20211107-boris-johnson-s-govt-is-mired-in-corruption-scandals-but-do-britons-care https://www.nationalworld.com/news/politics/what-is-the-sleaze-row-tory-corruption-debate-explained-what-did-owen-paterson-do-how-johnson-responded-3451283 https://www.politico.eu/article/britain-tories-russian-money-oligarch/

Had to be a penalty. Cynical and stupid foul and they’ve been doing it all night. Nowhere near winning the ball. Oh fuck. Belonged at Twickenham.

For Saka who has been too lightweight against a powerful French back line.

Brilliant cricket by England and Pakistan playing well, fighting hard on a road of a wicket, packed out stands glued to the action and climatic finish. Great advert for Test cricket, the form of the game I love most.

They are probably going down anyway but it’d be good to see the club go balls out to strengthen genuinely with more mature players in the forward, 10 areas. Whether those players would join given the dire league position is another matter. Crazy this wasn’t addressed in the summer along with replacing Ralph. Still, we’ve heard from the owners and Semmens - they’re thrilled with how things are going.