West Dean FC Legend

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....

To be fair I was Southampton Junior League, Salisbury and District and Commercial Houses goalie - played a tiny bit of Hants football and I honestly - in my standard - looked better than Bazuna - I thought I was crap or average at best too. I have said this about ten times on here, so this is the last time, forget his mistakes, forget his good saves, or not coming off his line, I just look at his positioning when the opposition are attacking. I have never, ever in 56 years or watching and playing football seen an adult, regular, goalie start off in such weird, poistions and places when a team is attacking, I say every time 'Why's he standing there?' So what the f are professional goalie coaches and just coaches doing when they watch him? It doesn't make any sense at all. That's my last post about him - and my last post for a while to be honest.

Isn't it on record that the senior players said they are more 'comfortable' playing the possession style and tippy-tappy, or did I imagine that? Some people have got stick for saying that they think SR and the players have influenced how we play regardless of the manager, but a few 'regulars' disappeared under Still - so did they argue and get dropped - we had the mystery 'the coach isn't popular' news item, which people said was Stephens, who was dropped at the time. Yet, the team goes back to this style of play eventually, and when they play a different way they don't seem to like it - I mean even the 5-1 thumping style lasted about two games. You can call us conspiracy theorists, nutters, anything you want - but this team under SR ends up playing 3 CBs as soon as they can and loves tippy-tappy football. Until SR are completely gone, along with a lot of senior players, we are stuck with this crap. To be honest this will be my last post for a while, I've lost interest in the football entirely and although this place is fun we are just talking in circles - nothing is going to change. Not. One. Thing.

Tipping Point: Lucky Stars on ITV is quite good, I mean it's entertaining at least.

Our goalkeeping judgement seems failry poor at the moment, so a chap who has only wedged his way into 5 games since being at his current club doesn't fill me with confidence, I mean Downs was supposedly a player to watch and look forward to...... I have no belief or trust with Sport Republic's Southampton FC at the moment. They are the only ones who can change that....

There will be one, or perhaps two, weird changes, but mostly the same, three centre backs for sure, the team will pass it back and forth for a bit, have a little spell of confidence and look fairly good, perhaps even score a goal, then go back to tappy-tappy, Millwall will pump balls high into the box, no one will claim or stop them, they will score 1-1. Last minute mistake at the back with pass-pass-pass play and we lose 2-1.

If there isn't a dominant vision and a way of approaching football in this club then explain why it has publicly been stated the players like our current manager and the way he plays the game, they stated they were happy.....guess what? He plays tippy tappy pointless passing. Still didn't, players didn't back him - sacked, Juric didn't players didn't peform - sacked. Maybe is it a coincidence except we all know what egomanics players are, and people on here have said some players looked like the couldn't be arsed in some games. I wonder why that was then?....

The way things are going, the play, the players, the different managers, I think we can see that within the club and the majority of senior players we have absolutely live by the 'tippy-tappy passing back and forth game'. Russ Martin installed it, hugged everyone, told them it was the best way to play, the team got promoted playing it and now it is entrenched in the very fabric of the club because of that 'instant' success, doesn't matter about losing two games 5-0 or the embarassing relegation, it WORKS! The players definitely want to play it and I think the senior managment are tied to it. It is boring and crap but I feel SFC are stuck with it until some major changes happen, so it doesn't really matter who the manager is, doesn't really matter who we sign on - we will tippy-tappy our supporters and opponents into comas.

Ahhh - Russ we have missed you so much.....well some have, I am not watching the game on the telly but instead watching Rising Damp on 'That's TV 2' - I think it's the correct decision.

Three CBs - no matter what the score. Lose 5-1, win 4-2, doesn't really matter, the philosophy, tactics, players selected by the club, will not change. Tippy, tap around the penalty area and halfway line. Score loads of goals - great! Let last-minute winner in - great! Results mean nothing to the philosophy!

My mate's aunty queuing up at the Dell and getting me and my mate tickets for the FA Cup finals in '76. I was 14 he was 13, we were the only people, adult or child, in the village that got tickets for the FInal. That included my brother who was 6 years older than me and had been watching Saints since he was 6, he wanted me to give him the ticket because of this and then he was going to beat me up to get it. My mate and I went, thought we were going to lose, Bob sat down on the terrace and gave up with about 15 minutes to go, he was convinced they were going to score - then that goal went in, luckily he'd got up just before it was scored. Saints will never, ever, have a moment like that again in my lifetime. The drive back on the coach was fantastic.

I used to like Peter Wells. I remember posting this on a Saints Forum years ago - so long ago I can't even remember which one it was - and a chap replied really, really angrily saying he was the worst goalie Saints had ever had and I was an idiot. He wasn't world-class but he wasn't that bad either.