amsterdam

'twas me - but I was asking about Buttner, not Ramirez...

Touche - or rather touché...!

No - some Vaudois are very sensitive about it - Lake Geneva is a small part around (ironically) Geneva. The lake is Lac Leman... If you fancy a beer anytime in Lausanne, then let me know and I'll invite along some anally-retentive people who will be happy to bore you for hours about this!!

Could be a completely pedantic g*t and say that it is Lake Leman in the background rather than Lake Geneva, but I won't....

"We are Southampton, we're s**t on TV" made me smile.. Not today lads!

You may be right - "We're the Northam, we're the Northam, we're the Northam over here"... And the boil in the bag burgers? Surely better than what's currently marketed as "food"... Love it that my only complaint about my beloved team is the crap refreshments... Actually wanted to raise a serious point; has anyone noticed how quiet Lord NC has been recently? At the start of this "project" he was endlessly quoted and analysed, but, as we've become more and more successful (and closer to his vision) then he's backed off and let NA, SRL, AL etc hog the limelight - a truly great leader, IMHO... I was so happy (relieved?) when Mr Liebherr and team took us over and gave us stability that I was a bit concerned/skeptical about Cortese's "5 Year Plan" of being back in the prem... Without tempting Fate, now we're so close, I have to eat humble pie, and apologise for my lack of faith... I think NC is an astonishingly good chairman and we're so lucky to have him. With love, Mrs Cortese

Hmmm... And I've been to SMS a few times this season and STILL no sign of the chicken monkey petting zoo...

Really? I always had them down as being about 17th in the ranking list of aliens... :-)

Excellent read as always... I also re-read some of the first reports - as the song goes, "we've come a long way baby"....

Chappers for me... Can we have a new chant for him though? Prefer the "F**king Useless" variant!!

Lived in UK, Portugal, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Luxembourg... Visited Israel, Lebanon, KSA, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Australia, Colombia, Australia, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Czech Republic (and Czechoslovakia), Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Belarus, Cyprus, USA, Spain, Andorra, and probably a few others...

Agree - only Jack Wilshire or Fat Frank from Chelski will do (though he might not be good enough at this level any more). Messi would be OK, but do you reckon he can play alongside Chappers?

Thanks for sharing! I've been following Saints too long to be worried about whether players are s**te or not; actually (pre-internet) I still remember some fans slagging off MLT for being lazy, can't tackle, constantly moaning at the ref, etc - I'm sure older readers will have similar tales of woe about all the "greats" ("that CB Fry couldn't jump onto a mantle-piece if you paid him"!) We've had some good teams and some crap teams - it's the nature of football - Jermaine was a Saints player and so is "one of us". I'd buy him a beer and thank him for his service...

This! Whereabouts are you? NOWHERE does a decent wine in Amsterdam unless you're at a restaurant?

BBC Nottingham have the game - fair commentators....

NYE here in the Netherlands is quite fun (probably because they don't celebrate Christmas as much as we do) - can already hear the fire-crackers going off - sounds like Beirut in the early 1990's! I've never understood the "paying at the door" that pubs in the UK have - this is quite a recent thing, no? Anyway, Happy New Year to you all and hope that this time next year sees us all (and Saints) healthy, happier and wiser!!

At least 15... But it shows real love for N(Y)C... But thinking up so many songs Hamster, I wonder, how do you sleep at night? Do you have a woman? And is she the n****r of the world? I don't think NC really likes the fame that comes with the role of chairman, but he's really trying to get us all to come together (right now); the last thing we need is a revolution (or 9). Personally I just want him to give me some truth. How? It's so hard? Think you need to go cold turkey from this for a while. Grow old with me, Love, Amsterdam

Next to the toilets! Thanks for the report Spudgun - sounds like a good evening; must admit, I've never been particularly pro- or anti- any of our previous chairmen, but I do like the cut of Mr Cortese's gib, especially with all the things going on recently with Ashley at Newcastle and Abramovic (sp?) at Chelsea...

errrm - because I live here?! But you're right - I do have an inordinate power over your goat (I believe he's called "Trevor"?) and he's safe now, though slightly shaken. Look forward to your visit Benjii!

I must pay my fiver and then I can send you a PM! BUT, glad you and your friends enjoyed the place! I've been here nearly 10 years now, so although I'm a 'Ampshire 'Og through and through and Merry Oak was my stomping ground, my kids are as Dutch as Edam and Gouda! I really fancy a change and have had a couple of enquiries from Dubai and Nairobi which sound interesting, but if I'm still here next year then let's meet up? It's always interesting to see the city from a "newbee's" point of view (and makes me appreciate it more, I guess) - for example, the "trams/cycling culture" generally drives me bananas (you need eyes in the back of your head!) but I know that, for my kids, they can enjoy going out on their bikes and will be safe (in London I'd give them a life expectancy of 5 minutes if they behaved the same there!). Glad you had a good experience with the people - the Dutch can seem a bit "brusque" to us Brits, but it's just their way, and if you were in any trouble, they'd be the first to try and help you out (I lived in Paris for 2 years and, much as it's my favourite city in the world, I couldn't hand on heart say the same thing about them!). Surprised (but pleased!) you enjoyed the food! I'm always complaining to my Dutch friends that their food and weather is **** and they always look at me and say "But you're English??"... The Grasshopper is OK, but it's very expensive - what did you/your friends think of the Anne Frank museum? As I said, it's a bit hit and miss for me. The Hard Rock Cafe is fine - loads of food, but again a bit pricey - you're just off the Leidseplein there (very near to the Paradiso); there's an Irish pub almost next door which serves decent food - did you play chess outside?? Anyway, glad you enjoyed it - there's more to the city than marijuana and prostitution (though both are fine too!) and hope you spend many happy weekends in the future over here! Cheers, Peter

Hmmmmm.... Who could you mean, Dalek?!! George Burley, perhaps?! ;-) (sigh) if ONLY we had Glen Hoddle.... (smiley/winky thingy)

Hey Mmm Donuts, How was your weekend (apart from bloomin' freezing!)? The snow's just hit today so you were lucky in that sense...

Hmmmm..... Agree George was great! He wasn't as "prolific" as Lennon or McCartney, but his output was generally top-drawer - Taxman, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Something, Here Comes The Sun to name but a few. And there's stuff on All Things Must Pass which would have made any Beatles album; I don't agree that he "learnt" from L&M - I think it was just Lennon being Lennon - I think the truth was that they didn't give George's efforts enough attention and he (George) wasn't assertive enough. I can sort of see where you're going with your second paragraph (Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass are both genius) but Macca had Ram, which is an excellent album - Too Many People, Dear Boy, Back Seat Of My Car, etc. To paraphrase NA, to be honest, at the end of the day, if the boys had stayed in the building, we could have got 3 or 4 more out of the game.

Nearly forgot SupperClub; not cheap and a bit weird, but laydeez seem to love it; there's also a SupperClub Cruise boat (which I think is a little cheaper) check out the web-site... http://www.supperclub.nl

Try some of these places (all around Leidseplein, just get the concierge at the hotel to mark them on a map): Paradiso; cool building, can get a bit hot and sweaty! http://www.paradiso.nl/web/English-Agenda.htm De Melkweg; bit more "arty" - performances as well as dancing/clubbing http://www.melkweg.nl Jimmy Woo's; a bit loathe to recommend this because unless you get there early-ish (about 10:00-10:30) the bouncers can be a bit arsey, and if you're with mates/partners, it not what you need. You'll have to be quite smart, but it's THE cool place - last time I went was as a guest of the Black-Eyed Peas who started an impromptu "gig" - it was great. If they don't let you in, just go to Suzy Wong's (directly opposite); less exclusive, but still smart (both can be accessed through this link): http://www.jimmywoo.nl And if you get bored with wandering around Leidseplein, hop in a cab and ask for the Panama Club. It's a bit off the beaten track so doesn't get many tourists (though everyone will speak English, don't worry). Not the cheapest place in town, but has a good restaurant and club; if you want to impress your girlfriends/wives it's quite stylish - again, dress smart casual. http://www.panama.nl/nightclub/home.php Good luck nipper, hope you have a good one and let me know how you get on!