spyinthesky

Unfortunately too old now but did a fair old shift around the CSSFL and occasionally had to appear in front of the disciplinary committee to pay club fines when unable to field as side

Thanks for the Isley Bros track. Haven't heard that in many a year, Isleys proabably one the real underated Motown groups. Presume backing by the Funk Bros and strings by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra some of whom used to moonlight on Motown tracks. Spoke to someone today who has recently returned from Detroit. He said it was a very sad place with whole neighbourhoods of derelict houses, the consequence of flight from the city due to mass closures at the steelworks and car factories. Apparently you can pick up a half decent house for $25 provided you can live with the feral gangs that roam around. Shame when you think how buzzing the place must have been in the 60's and 70's

On the JPT Sunday are the Sunday and Tyro Leagues still running a full programme or will teams be fined if they can't field a side?

Matt, as often happens you have to take a view on information provided. The feedback I have had is that he is a very sharp and intelligent man, which is something the club needs. However he doesn't appear to be keen to forge good relations with staff or business contacts, which is a shame, if true. NC certainly appears to have fallen out with Frannie Benali (on a house rental arrangement), the Echo (rightly or wrongly) a business occupying offices in St Marys and has told a well respected local business man (& Saints fan) that he has no interest in improving relationships with local businesses. With regard to the latter some people may say ..'so what'.. but with 47 Boxes and approx 1,000 Hospitality places to fill to maximise revenue, you would think any senior exec would not want to adopt such a cavalier attitude. Of course most of us don't really mind how the club is run if the playing side is successful. However should the tide turn then the knives get sharpened.

Any rumours? Some suggestion there won't be any shirt sponsors but think this may be a misinterpretation based on the possibility of a special anniversary shirt without any advertising. Heard a rumour that NC seriously pi**ed off Flybe which seems indicative of the way he does business. If true this is a shame as there is a warm feeling towards NC and Markus which needs to be built upon not eroded

Would be interesting to try to keep a tab on the number of coaches going up to Wembley. Understand the Travel Club has 106, Greyhound 6-8?, Stu and the Romsey crew, Warminster, Bournemouth etc Also heard of some intrepid fans going by National Express and leaving Pompey!!! at 0800hrs (suitably togged up I hope)

They were offered up to SFC by one of the operators but declined. Not sure of the reason. Possibly cost but could have been lack of Sunday rail pathways to London

Whats the point of Reserve team nowadays? The standard Saints Res play at is poor and the team seems to be filled by youngsters in any event Apart from the 18 or so squad, the rest could go out on loan to save wages/get experience, with an early recall if necessary

Saints taking 44,000 tickets, Carlisle 22,000 Will the remainder either be lost to segregation or to the Wembley debenture holders? If so I would envisage a fair proportion of the debenture tickets being occupied by Saints fans. I know of at least 12 people who are going to sit in the 'posh seats' as corporate guests so our 44,000 could be supplemented by the prawn sandwich brigade

Slightly off topic but whats your favourite Northern Soul record?

Notice a number of Wembley banners, sponsored by local companys, adorning street furniture (ie lamp posts to you and me) along Platform Road. Nice gesture and a good backdrop for the caoches which will be setting off from this location at the end of the month

Just on the western boundary

Bridgey I may need to find someone to insulate my loft. Its not a straightforward job as it is not possible to stand upright in the loft and there are some obstructions and electrical cables to consider. Needs an agile person with an idea of what their doing which rules me out!! Would your man be capable do you think?

Ron I am near you and used Pro Glaze at Maybush Did the due diligence of 3 other quotes and the quote from Pro Glaze was competitive No hard sell and they turned up on time, were polite and tidy. Had a slight snag after fitment which they sorted out quickly and also put a seal on my conservatory which wasnt their responsibility They are a Check a Trade firm I am sure there are others out there equally as good but personal recommendation has always helped me in the past

Also did the 'loop' around Brum from Gas Street Basin. Rained all week but had a number of adventures we still look back on fondly (but were 'challenges' at the time). The 16 or so locks in/out of Brum made us realise how hard the canal boat operators had to work in the 18th century. In our experience canal tow paths seem to attract more than their fair share of the 'intellectually challenged'!!

Some good R & B records released on the Chess record label

I am sure Brendon Bone is one of the more erudite Pompey fans but he falls in to the Storrie Teller mode if he really believes there are 250,000 Council Tax payers in Portsmouth. The latest population for Portsmouth & Southsea is 197,700 with approx 80,000 householders and a few thousand commercial premises. Probably out of the 80,000 householders, who are eligible for Council Tax, a fair proportion dont give a toss about Pompey FC and some others dont give a toss about paying their taxes, so the 250k figure is whittled down quite substantially

Its great that people intend to show their colours and certainly if the guy outside the Alfred is a local (just like Pirate Paul years ago) then fine but what irritates me a bit is the possibility of money going to some chancer from London/Liverpool etc who gives nothing back to the club If a sold at a reasonable price it makes sense to buy Official saints merchandise

Walking up to the game on Tuesday I saw at least one Asian entrepreneur (hopefully not down from that London for the day!!) selling flags for a fiver. Decent mark up but that's not really the point. Set me thinking how good it would be to have a sea of Saints flags at Wembley If the club could buy in at a cost of £0.50 - £1.00 per flag and sell for £3-£4 a pop (to undercut the street traders) there could be a potential profit of 10,000 x £2.00/£3.00, enough to buy a little club down the road perhaps or 10% downpayment on another Jason Puncheon!! After all there will be 5,000 going up by club coaches for starters

To be fair 19k tickets sold at Carlisle is not a bad effort. Smaller population and not exactly in a reasonable driving distance

A lot of pitches are now reminiscent of those back in my youth when playing surfaces were like quagmires between Nov and Feb and then dust bowls into March & April St Marys is a shining beacon of verdant grass in a plethora of paddy fields. Got us thinking over a recent pint. How many of the 92 football clubs share facilities with the oval hoofers. Starter for 10 Wigan Prem RL Hull " RL Swansea Fizzy Pop Union Cardiff " Union Doncaster " RL Watford " Union Reading " Union Huddersfield Div 1 RL Bristol Rovs " Union Wycombe " Union Stockport " Union Rotherham?? Div 2 ??? Not sure about Rotherham who paly at Dons Valley. Also possibility of some Div 2 sides offering up their facilities for Prem side Reserve games eg Bury/Aldershot?? Whilst Wigan have the funds to relay their pitch mid season what is going to happen at Stockport. Glad we dont have to play there again this season

No chance if its on TV

'One to Watch' in the programme 18 month loan from Man City. 21 yr old Agree he was dreadful

Dont wish to **** on our collective chips but Walsall were the worst side at St Marys this year. Looked like a bottom 4 team

PES As someone who's view of PFC has been coloured by the significant moronic part of the club's support, I am cheered by Pompey's current state. However there are, of course, a reasonable number of decent Pompey fans and I have more than a fair degree of sympathy for their current plight Your assertion that PFC will never die is correct. All of us true fans swear ongoing loyalty to our chosen club and, in fact, adversity often heightens level of support. I reckon Pompey's hard core support may actually increase next year in the Championship but I fear the loathing level directed this way will increase. Certainly Pompey used to win hands down in the Hampshire hatred stakes but I'm afraid our fans have reciprocated in more recent years