West Dean FC Legend

To be fair, local league football, I can't remember too many games where it happened. I can think of a few were were were cruising about 6-2 and won 7-5 or something but I don't remember winning or losing too often after being 3-0 up or down at halftime. That's how difficult it really is.

Posted this elsewhere - and I mean it.... Well the BBC scores page made it more exciting believe it or not - it was 3-1 to Leicester City at 90+2. Anyway I am really happy for all the long-standing loyal fans who have gone to every game over the last few seasons - home and away, spent money, travelled miles and seen some dire rubbish and probably had the mickey taken out of them for months and months. Enjoy every moment fans - every single second for as long as you can - you deserve it. I'll be honest, since 1970 I can't remember a Saints win like this - so it is fantastic for us all.

I think it can be safely said that when it comes to players, their positions, their importance to the team, goalkeepers are an afterthought at Southampton Football Club. Peretz has made a couple of decent saves and seems more vocal to the players surrounding him but frankly on naughty looking crosses and corners coming in under the bar he reminds me of........me when I played! Just for the record that is not a good thing.

A Ko-Ko the Clown goal!

Is it me or is it a tad boring, I mean just as a football match regardless of the game, it's not exactly exciting? Well that's what I think.

Probably couldn't believe he had to go into training on Monday and work really hard - I mean any player sent out on loan is going to get injured training since Russ Ball. I mean they must miss the hugging too.

Got to admit this fella reminds me of the German goalies that we started to see on the TV when I was a lad - Sepp Maier was the original - they used to wear huge gloves all the time - we only did when it rained - and they stopped shots, dived at people's feet really well, but the thing that British footballers and goalies used to question was their dealing with crosses. They'd stay on the line or always punch it whether under pressure or not, or flap at the ball and miss. Seems out new fella is a throwback to those days. he's not crap but dealing with high balls crossed into the box he does not look confident.

Bazuna played reasonable games for us and kept clean sheets too - it does not make him a world beater or even a great goalie. I mean by this metric that means Pat Jennings is an awful goalie because he let in 8 goals for Tottenham Hotspur in one game.

I have not posted much recently, I mean it is a bit pointless because literally nothing changes, but I did listen to the manager pre-match for the Sheffield United game and I've never really listened to one entirely....is it me, and I am a twit who mainly doesn't know too much about football or how it works, but does he sound like he doesn't know what to say or basically what he is talking about. If he is like that with the players when we aren't about then no wonder they don't work very hard or do what they are supposedly asked. If he is genuinely like this he needs to be removed from the job now. I orginally typoed this as 'post-match' but I don't think I could face that at all...

I agree exactly with this. I didn't even play to high standard and I wasn't very good - but you can just see it, trust us.

Good luck to him - I hope he improves. Mind you his wages will make up for any disappointments I'm sure.

My late brother, Simon (he was my half-brother and kept his dad's surname so lot's of people didn't know he was) was big-time Saints fan. As a little boy, he was 6-years older than me, he used to bully me properly, I mean physical violence, to remember the full line-up of the Saints team at that time from memory if he asked me to repeat it. Then in 1971, I was 9, he persuaded our mum to let him take me to the Dell to watch Saints vs Leeds United on Mick Jones birthday. Mick Jones score two goals and Leeds won 3-0 - so they did give me an idea even then - but I was dying for a pee after about an hour and he took me to the toilet and said he'd never known someone pee for so long. We walked back to the coach (we come from villages so used to get the Buddens Saints bus in to games) and we heard a big roar and Simon 'Saints might have scored' oh well. I never went to another game until my mate Michael asked if I wanted to go on the Budden's bus to watch Saints in 74 in Division Two. I think it was Bristol Rovers and Saints won 3-0. I went to every home game from then on for years - until I started playing football, so that was Saturday afternoons messed up and only midweek games. I saw the FA Cup Final at Wembley though. I moved to Swindon and got married and got into ice-hockey in my 30s so I used to watch on the telly only, and nowadays I live in the Highlands of Scotland so it's still TV but we are moving back down south soon hopefully, very near to Southampton. So I watched home and a few away games for quite a while but then I really got into football and played in goal (hence West Dean FC Legend) plus my mates all started falling in love and getting married and having babies, so there was no one to go with. I have been to the Dell with Roger East the former referee, I also played football on the same teams as him, his entire family are Saints supporters and he was - so he lies about not supporting a club. A few of my mates still go too - they message me about games and so forth - and I look forward to seeing them again in person where they will try and force me to go again. But I saw a Saints team win the FA Cup Final live at Wembley (none of you youngsers will ever see that) and I saw them win the Football League Trophy at Wembley too - I got tickets from the football club I was secretary for as an end of the season reward for that game! So I've not been a full-time supporter for I think fair reasons but I've been a 'fan' for decades and decades and I will be until the day I die - like my brother - not matter how painful it is I guess. Sorry for the small novel that didn't really say much and apologies for any typos.

I'll say it one last time, his position is off, a long way off, he stands in odd places when a team has the ball and is attacking, he stays about four yards off his line and doesn't move, even if they don't score it is wrong, he doesn't narrow angles, he did some dancing stuff for one of Middlesborough's goals. He doesn't play like or look like a professional goalie playing professional football. I looked better and I was rubbish. He is a very, very, very poor goalie and I played in goal from the age of 13 until 45 a rubbish standard but I had rubbish standard defenders in front of me. I sort of learned how to play in goal and even though I was a bit crap I knew what I was supposed to be doing in situations. This goalie looks like he is making it up every attack.

They got promoted with RussBall and I am now convinced due to that the top decision makers believe it is the only way for the club to be successful. I believe this is why we have this philosphy at the club. Never mind that it is so 'king boring it is unbelievable and even when we got promoted we were not convincing...

Has anyone read the article by Alfie House that was referenced on the UI? I only went on that place because a link on Facebook took me there. Anyway it appears he seemed to hint at certain players being in a group who liked Russ Ball, the training methods and they have influenced everything, and like taking things nice and easy. Apparently the 'article' has been taken down now. But how many people on here and other forums have been saying this....