Piran

Leeds have never beaten Saints 8 - 0. I was there when we lost 7 - 0, and that was the early seventies, and it really was embarrassing. I don't think anything like it will happen this weekend, in fact I fancy Saints to get a result. Crazy, I know.

Talking of obsessives, has anyone bothered to count how many times H*****berg has contributed to this thread?

Thank you Turkish. A little ray of reason amongst a lot of crap.

Wouldn't that be luvverly - both Saint Lard and Benji to be right!

Alpine? It just shows, you shouldn't judge someone by the drivel they post.

Well, two days on, I have arrived back in Cornwall, having been at the match on Saturday. I am amazed at some of the comments on this thread - the first comments I have read since being at St Mary's. The way I saw it was that we were outclassed in the end, but is that surprising? City have all the assets that we can only dream of - THE top European manager when he was appointed last year, some of the greatest players in the world - the only question I would have if I were a City supporter is "Why didn't they do this throughout the season?" It was not a bad performance from Saints at all, particularly considering the missing players, so how this defeat can be used by some to question our management is beyond me. It must be serious when I agree with a Dalek comment - "Show some perspective" - I must be getting old.

Thanks Shroppie for the taste of the interview. It seems as if Puel is doing a reasonable job with our team, but many posters are right, he is a bit dull to listen to, so I think we should get a manager who is far more interesting in interviews. Paul Jewell used to give good points of view when he was at Derby, and Neil Warnock always livens things up. Even Harry Redknapp did well in front of the cameras, but I think the one we should go for - never a dull moment - is good old Ian Holloway. Come on Ollie! You know it makes sense.

I was there too. Hadn't realised it was February - I thought it was sooner after the World Cup win. One thing I do recall though was watching the two teams warming up before kick off, and West Ham and their England trio looked like supermen. Bigger, fitter, more handsome, and I feared for Saints, but then following kick off we were magnificent, and West Ham were lucky to get two.

Thanks for that David. I was lucky enough to watch just about all Ron's games at the Dell, and a few away too. All that has been said above is true; he really was a wonderful header of the ball, but perhaps more should be made of his finishing ability. Many times, watching from the Milton Road terraces, Saints would score at Archers Road end from a goal mouth melee and we wouldn't know who the scorer had been, until out of the bunch of players would emerge Ron Davies, receiving the hand shakes and back slaps of his team mates. None of your kissing and hugs in those days!

I too find his You Tube efforts boring and hard to comprehend. However, I couldn't give a damn as long as the team do the business under him. In my opinion there is far too much weight given to what people say, rather than what they do, though I guess a footie forum is not the best place to say so!

I'm glad that you have written this Gaucho, as I had the same adverts appear on Monday evening, and I too feared for my grandson, who occasionally uses my computer, seeing this filth. It hasn't reappeared since though.

Well, I for one absolutely loved watching Osgood play, and certainly do not consider that he was a disappointment with Saints. Many times watching him, I would think it was worth the admission fee just to see him perform, and I don't remember him being 'hardly ever fit'.

Keegan's performances really were top rate. The wonderful effect his arrival had on Saints cannot be underestimated. It was even headlines on the BBC evening news that day! I went to every home game in those days, and the Lawry Mac team was great to watch, even more so in those couple of years after KK had moved on.

I was unable to attend or listen yesterday evening, so thanks to Batman for the synopsis. I think this thread says far more about the Saintsweb forum and its contributors, than it does about the fan's forum!

There must be a few on this board who would like to offer congratulations to 'Lawro' on his predictions this weekend. After all, there have been plenty who have cast aspersions on his forecasting abilities in the past. I would like to have had some money on his overall predictions throughout this season so far.

Why would anybody take any notice of anything that Garth Crooks says or writes?

I remember Williams arriving at the Dell, and watched most of his home games for Saints. He brought an immediate touch of class to the defence, and was one those players who always seemed to have time, a sign of a good footballer. Great going forward too, an unusual thing for full backs in those days. Thanks for the memories, Stuart.

As a regular at the Dell in those days, I probably saw most of Ron Bacardi's home matches, and an occasional away game. I also met him a couple of times (in those days the players were far more part of the community than they are now), and all the comments about his greatness are justified, in my view. The comments about his incredible heading ability are also right, aided by Ted Bates setting up the team to provide for him, but he was also a good poacher. Many times from the far end of the ground, we wouldn't know who had scored Saints latest goal from a melee, but Davies would be the one coming out from the crowd with his arm raised, receiving the congratulations from his team mates. Happy Days!

So sad that I was unable to get there today. Had to give my ticket to a mate. By the way, how did John Terry - Captain, Leader, Legend - get on against our front men?

Thanks for that, Fitzhugh Fella, really enjoyed the read and the reminiscing. My first game was 1959, vs Swindon, so we obviously saw many of the same games and players. I found the prices interesting, as I have often wondered just how much it was to go. From the mid-60s to the end of the 70s, I hardly missed a home game, and travelled to many away games too, twice in a week sometimes, and I don't ever remember worrying about the cost. You couldn't afford to do it with the present prices. Well, I couldn't! Probably rose-tinted specs for looking back, but the games were always entertaining; plenty of goals from Reeves, O'Brien, Paine and co., and then the arrival of my all-time hero, Channon. Hard to believe that when he was first in the team, there were plenty on the terraces calling him 'a fairy', just because, at the age of 16 or 17, he'd been dumped on his backside by some hairy-arsed brute with as much talent in his whole body as Channon had in his little finger. And there were some violent bastards playing professional football then! Happy days!

As someone else said, nothing will match the wow effect of Keegan's arrival, but I was overwhelmed by the arrival of Ball, and of Osgood, at the time. And they both went on to do their bit for Saints. I used to think that Osgood's tricks and sense of fun which could be seen when he played were worth the entry fee alone, and Ball was obviously one of the most influential players ever to play for the club in my time, which now goes back over 50 years!

Personally, I'm not keen. Nothing wrong with change, but I think this has gone too far from our traditions. If I had anything to do with it, I would make the pinstripe wider. Say about 2 inches. And I would have black shorts. Apart from that, it's fine.

I'm not veggie, so am not too worried by the original question, but I will say that the cheeseburger I had at a recent game was probably the worst thing I have ever eaten in my life. It was disgusting! Because my cousin had bought it for me, I made a valiant attempt to appear to be enjoying it, but finally gave up and confessed, and then binned it. I don't care if a catering company was responsible for producing it. In my opinion the club should ensure that whatever is sold at St Mary's is top quality. They've done a god job with the football on offer, now let's see the catering improve, including for vegetarians. Or did that go out of the window with dear Rupert?

Some years ago, when both were in their prime, Viz had a front cover with caricatures of Le Tissier and Peter Beardsley and the headline "Tiss and Beardo - Sex Gods on Tour"!!

Did anyone see the date of that article? August 2001!