Crazy Diamond

So from reading that article the men at the top of the club want instant success, which is what all their previous owners wanted as well, and look where it got them. I'm SO looking forward to their trips to play Gosport, Havant & Waterlooville, and Moneyfields in what will undoubtedly be their opponents' 'cup finals'...

I'm hoping to get less dinlos per square inch where I'm moving to. I've got a right bunch of them where I am at the moment.

Russell Brand is a nob, end of story. Anyone read about Margaret Hodge today? It's on the front page of the Times but you won't find it on the BBC.

I'm pleased to say that I'm moving my season ticket away from the bloke who sits behind me and has booed Pelle for not scoring enough goals. What a mong.

I think he makes a valid point about our homegrown players making up the depth that the squad will need. Ask anyone about the Europa League and they'll say that a team needs a big squad. Should we make it I can see us picking a lot of youngsters for games, and why not? As good as European football would be for us I can't see us winning it, we'll have a low seeding and come up against some big clubs, so why not 'blood' the youngsters and give them quality game time against tough opponents? They can either sit on the bench and not develop in the Premier League or get a taste of a high level every few weeks for a while. As for Schneiderlin I fully expect him to leave and if there's any truth in this Clasie and Vilhena stuff then we seem to already know who we'll replace him with. I wouldn't read anything into him not mentioning Clyne. Simple rule in interviews, don't answer a question you weren't asked. A replacement for Clyne? Again, if you believe the rumours then Daryl Janmaat sounds about right.

Don't forget he made Tony Pulis the man he is by signing him for Bompey in 1986.

I'm hoping to go to San Francisco next year to watch some baseball. I asked a few people in the Bay area about it on Twitter and they were very helpful. Consensus is that September is the best time to go, wherever you stay try and be close to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport), San Francisco itself is good for bars that do good beers - website tip, try BeerByBart.com. I hear Oakland is worth a visit too.

I'm amazed he's valued at his release clause price anyway. He's an average player playing for a below average team in the bottom division.

Unforgivable. Hope they get docked points for behaviour like that.

Threatening language and behaviour on the walk back to Southampton Central and then again on the trains was something I personally saw. Again, something I don't understand. They'd won, were looking good for promotion, there is no rivalry, where does that kind of thing come from?

A fair few Reading fans acted like total nobheads when they won 3 - 1 at our place. I know I'm not the only one who witnessed it. Yep. Being the kind-hearted Saints fan I am I gave up my time and money to work for them when they were in the doldrums. Got to know their squad quite well. I left before they went up to League One/the money came in. I'll always remember how smug they were when they beat us in a pre-season friendly. Unbelievable.

I've not missed that point to begin with, so it's hard to continue missing it. Anyway, don't let me distract you from your spreadsheets. I've never understood that one either, and their behaviour when they won at our place was downright shocking at times.

I would also class taking photographs because some view it as an opportune moment as lacking in taste and respect. A minute's silence for me is stood up, bowed head, hands behind back, in silence. Not 'oh look at that, the players have joined arms, I'll get my phone out for a picture'.

No, it's the point entirely. They would not be in the Championship without the money they have spent, let alone the Premier League. I wouldn't mind but this whole 'we hate the scummers' sh*t gets on my nerves.

Are we ruling out a fantastic return for Tommy Widdrington?

Can't see any of them coming back. Would love Toby to stay but can't see it.

I don't get what the 'thank you Paula' thing was about. What are we thanking her for?

Do you want a medal for being able to use italics or something?

The Daily Echo's (Bournemouth version) editor was on Five Live last night and there are apparently no plans to expand or move.

It's not harsh. A 'fairy tale' to my mind is Hartlepool staying up having been ten points adrift three months ago with a hopeless bunch of players, or Blackpool going up via the play-offs a few years ago with a squad made up of cast-offs from other clubs. I fully recognise the achievements of Eddie Howe who is a good manager, but you cannot ignore where this success has come from or what it boils down to. They were able to pay Burnley £1m+ to get Eddie Howe back when they were in League One, a significant amount of money especially when you consider it cost us the same to buy Lambert from Bristol Rovers. It's unheard of to pay that much for a manager at that level. £3m is still a big amount of money for a Championship team to pay for a League One striker, and then consider the wages of players like Boruc and Jones on loan. They were bidding £5m for Birmingham's Demarai Gray in January. We've done the exact same though and are no better. We spent way beyond our means to get out of League One and then paid a decent amount to escape the Championship. I read somewhere a few months ago that the only reason they escaped penalties for their unbalanced spending was because the Lallana deal and their 25% cut. I fail to see how this is a heart-warming tale, especially when Bournemouth fans act they way they do. It's not just us either, there wasn't much love from Reading's lot on Twitter last night, although admittedly they're not much better. 'AFC All Mouth' was one description that amused me last night. I was staggered that Jeff Mostyn actually said on television that he was pleased with their record win away from home because it was one better than us against Sunderland. Where does that attitude come from? Mostyn should know better than most that we've been pretty good to them over the years.

What's that sound I hear? It's a lot of buckets rattling. When I was in secondary school in Winchester there was a kid who claimed to be a Bournemouth fan. I met him again a few years later when as it happened we both chose the same university... Bournemouth University, as it happens. By that time he was a Saints fan, and I can remember the last time I saw him in the flesh he was wearing our 125th anniversary shirt when I saw him outside his halls of residence on Holdenhurst Road. I asked him 'I thought you were a Bournemouth fan?' and he replied 'nah I've always been Saints!' According to the fountain of knowledge that is Facebook he's been to nearly every Bournemouth game this season and is shouting about their success, particularly looking forward to playing us 'scummers' next season. A rivalry by the way that I will never, ever understand. I've never looked down on Bournemouth and thought we had a very good relationship until we dared to drop to their level and beat them three times in their 'derby'. None of this is a 'fairy tale'. They spent £3m on Callum Wilson and the season before that £2.5m on Tokelo Rantie. They're bankrolled by a secretive millionaire and whilst Eddie Howe is a good manager, it does help when you have a massive wage budget and transfer kitty - something I was pleased to hear the Daily Echo's editor Andy Martin, an old lecturer of mine at uni, say on Five Live last night, between a gushing Steve Claridge and over-excited set of pundits. Blackpool's achievements a few years ago kick this one into the long grass. Will I be hoping they do well next season? No. I couldn't give a toss.

Well I hope they're enjoying their trips to Morecambe and Dagenham & Redbridge because there's plenty more of them to come.

The timing of them asking for permission to talk to Cook is just incredible, even by their standards. "Yeah we know you've got a lot on, but this is the bestest club ever talking to you, so stick him on the phone yeah?" What a joke.

Sheringham would be mad to take that job. He's been credited with turning West Ham around this season after his work with their strikers, he could easily stick around there and work his way up. It's got to be one of the least attractive jobs in football. Go to a team in the bottom half of the bottom division, being a few places above oblivion or going in the mix with others for a play-off spot. There's a reason why managers like Keith Curle, Gary Johnson, John Sheridan etc all get lower division jobs - it's because they're not good enough for anything higher up. That's the kind of person they'll get in charge - if they're willing to look beyond ex-players and 'legends'. They'll be appointed and make all the usual noise about it being a great job and they relish the challenge, then after some considerable time of mediocrity they'll get sacked.

An ex-Premier League manager and a manager seemingly destined for the Premier League turn down the chance to apply for a lower half of League Two job. What a surprise. They're just a parody of themselves now. Really they've been lucky Waddock accepted the assistant manager's job, given that he's proven that he can win promotion from two levels of the pyramid.