ant

Holmes played on the right against FC Biel too and provided a couple of assists. Adkins was evidently continuing that experiment.

I don't think any incentive would've actually packed out the stadium though. The promotion celebration match after the last game of the season was free for all and didn't fill half of the ground. All in all the attendance was fair and roughly as expected.

Indeed, if I drink at the ground this season it'll be Saints Ale.

True, but (at risk of copy/pasting what I said in another thread) on the plus side it tastes a lot better than the other watery sh*te they sell at the ground and it's a full pint... To be fair any 'ale' that has to be chilled and comes out of a tap rather than a pump is going to suck, but can you really see them installing all of that and luggling kegs between the bars when it runs out? Doesn't really fit with the conveyor belt nature of service so the queues would be even bigger.

Yes. Essentially they created an enclosed section outside the front of the Kingsland stand which was the only way to enter. You gave your ticket stub at the North or South side of this enclosure and were then able to walk around that paddock (which is where the funfair, band and burger vans were) and in/out of the stadium as you pleased.

Perhaps, but on the plus side it tastes a lot better than the other watery sh*te they sell at the ground and it's a full pint... To be fair any 'ale' that has to be chilled and comes out of a tap rather than a pump is going to suck, but can you really see them installing all of that and luggling kegs between the bars when it runs out? Doesn't really fit with the conveyor belt nature of service so the queues would be even bigger.

The fact that we're back to this level is enough for now (a great two seasons' work considering where we could be post-admin), but it's great to know that Markus' vision is being carried out so doggedly. Also nice to see that we have a chairman who's more human than some will give credit, as well as being able to bust balls when it's in the interests of the club.

Well from what I saw... Cork looked assured enough, distributed well and linked up nicely with Connolly for the first goal. Oxlade-Chamberlain... The only way you could possibly tell how much he was arsed today came across in his performance - and he gave as much as any of his teammates. I'll give you that point on Jaidi, but he won't be playing week-in, week-out. Plus a 'better standard' than League One is a pretty wide term as most leagues are. The Holmes experiment didn't work today, but did against Biel. Hardly conclusive. Doble didn't really see much of the ball. The delivery wasn't there for him so he had to come deep. Jury's out on Jonno. Still doesn't deserve all of the stick he gets mind. Amazed at the explicitness of the quoted conclusions from watching our players for a mere 45 minutes against vastly different opposition to that of the Championship. Agree that Bart looked assured, but he wasn't really tested. Would have been very interesting to see him between the sticks for the second game.

I'm not sure it's right to chastise those who didn't go really. I thought that the attendance (7-8k by my estimation?) was fair and everybody that was there seemed up for the occasion. Support during the Bilbao game especially was surprisingly good and at times almost louder than some of our home crowds last season There were plenty of mitigating circumstances as listed above that meant that fans couldn't go or legitimately chose not to. I especially agree that it was poor timing for many, but I guess pre-season isn't exactly the longest period so what are the club to do if they want to hold such a cup? Instead I'd rather congratulate those that made it happen. From my point of view the format worked well: we got to see Saints against higher-level opposition with some interesting results; the games were faster paced than I'd anticipated and therefore less dull on the whole; there was some added value with the extra entertainment put on which made it a touch closer to an event than merely another friendly. Clearly it wasn't going to be for everyone, but most of the attendees I saw or talked to seemed to be having a good day. The club really ought to be labelling future annual events (should there be any, I assume there will) as a 'celebration' rather than memorial. That's exactly what it was - a day to fondly celebrate Markus. An optional extra-curricular to paying your respects on matchday if you will, rather than an emotional blackmail affair. TL;DR version: It was a lot more worthwhile than any other friendly/warmup match I've ever been to and a decent afternoon's entertainment all-round. The tribute flag looked brilliant. There were a few! Somewhere between a dozen and twenty for each team that I spotted, unless there were more that weren't sat with the main groups. Most of the Bremen fans seemed to wearing stuff that said "Schottische Werder" (had a flag with the same thing on it), so presumably travelled down from Scotland. Was a few characters in their midst and a weird arm-wavey thing they did at set pieces that the Northam soon picked up on and copied.

Usual Oxo really, dangerous and a class above at times. Looked committed and certainly didn't appearing to be 'protecting' himself - got clattered a couple of times when he could've backed out.

Perfect answer to the question posed, in my opinion. With regard to the section I've put in bold above, I too am not convinced that all of the 23 or 24 first team players we currently have are of the quality to push for a starting place without injuries or suspensions. However, they'll be incredibly useful as backup, subs or for when the sh*t hits the fan. If we can comfortably afford to maintain a large squad we'd be mad not to. Even with the shortest of FA Cup/League Cup or (whisper it) play-off runs it could be a 50+ game season don't forget. Sure, you can sign players in January but it'd be better to do so because we choose to - not to buy any old cr*p because our hand's been forced.

Looked a lot better worn on the pitch than in those pictures, so I wouldn't judge it merely from those. As much as the "Yellows, Yellows" chant is observational chanting at its most moronic, it does create a fair wall of noise.

I'd hope that this goes without saying but you just know there'll be some mongs that pipe up, sadly enough.

Definitely preferred the old felt-ish sponsor logos. Apart from the 'orrible feel of the slapped-on ones, the 'white' always seems to look more cream and stands out very starkly as a result. Still, I'm happy with the design as a whole and will hopefully pick a shirt up this weekend.

Nice, does indeed seem a promising player. Will hopefully also put a stop to the Boa Morte rumours now (and prove that we didn't need to make all of our signings in the first week of the transfer window)

Interesting that, as I distinctly remember reading (around the time of the takeover) that Nicola not only courted Markus into buying Saints but did most of the legwork. Mr Liebherr (RIP) essentially provided the resources to do so but evidently fell in love with the club very quickly. We're nearly on an even keel again; is it really time to start rocking the boat? It's a privately-owned company - we, as the fans, can only really influence what money we put into it.

Better off at somewhere like The Alex for pre-match pints, surely? Or The Giddy Bridge at a push/if you're feeling skint.

As I said above, give them a ring on 0845 6889288 and you'll be sorted in 2 minutes tops.

Cheers for nabbing a photo of the size chart. I had a M home shirt last year but according to that chest circumference guide might actually be better off with S. West Quay's close to me so might as well pop in there and try a couple of sizes on rather than traipse down to SMS. Assuming that they're not flying off of the shelves today

Right... Just got off of the phone with the ticket enquiries line (the 0845 6889288 number rather than the sales one). I'd barely finished telling the woman on the other end what had happened before she apologised. Apparently they're trying to work out which was the dodgy batch but in the meantime are laboriously phoning through everybody that's bought one to check whether they've been affected. She asked me to destroy my current booklet and said there'll be a full one on its way in the post today. Seems reasonable in terms of how little effort I had to put in, but I can see a few problems arising if people don't destroy their old booklets. Or if there's a few chancers they phone who claim theirs is incorrect when it isn't. Cynical I know, but not impossible. Pretty big cock-up in all. Glad I've got mine sorted, but looking at the bigger picture this could give the club headaches all season. Do you think there might be some kind of verification process before they send the tickets out next year?

In more recent times there's Martin Cranie who went the wrong way along the M27. Great move for him that was - got a lot of time on the pitch for the skates.

Freepost isn't trackable though, is it? I'm just going to cut out the chance of anything else going wrong and drop it into the TO on Sunday That said I'm one of the 'lucky' ones since I live in the city - if I was coming from further afield I'd put in a cheeky request for the petrol money. I don't believe that the fans should have to put themselves out of pocket to rectify a mistake made by the club. Whatever level of service you expect, there's got to be culpability for a cock-up of this nature.

Non-renewal, paid up-front; only got tickets 9 to 23. First time I've ever bought a season ticket, glad I bothered now.

Very smart that, like that shirt a lot. Wasn't sure if I was a fan of the collar initially, but on second inspection I think it works well. Only thing I'm unsure about is that the shorts look like tarpaulin!

The extended highlights alone are worth that much (apart from the abysmal overlaid 'commentary'), but you get a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff too. Was pleasantly surprised with how much was made available from the Swiss tour.