Ulrich van Gobbel

I'm sure I'll be repeating other posters on this topic but my moments are.. Joy - the adventure of the last 3 seasons has given me more joy than all the other seasons I have supported Saints combined. This joy culminated in the Coventry City game which secured promotion back to the top flight. A brilliant day, result and atmosphere! After a day of drinking my memory of that Saturday becomes hazy at around 6pm...the next thing I remember is waking up at London Waterloo station with no wallet, money or train ticket. I then managed to negotiate my way back to Maidenhead whilst gently humming WTFILN to myself. The one train ticket inspector I came across let me off and congratulated us on our return to the Premier Division. Markus' face on the big screen at Wembley filled me with pride and joy as did the reception he received from the fans that day. Sadness - Relegation from the Premier League was tough to take especislly when we were given a glimmer of hope by going 1-0 up on the last day. The less said the better. Amusement - I've tried to think of something less obvious and a bit obscure.. One of the funniest things I've seen on a day watching Saints was after the JPT Final at Wembley. A load of fans were drinking outside the stadium at some of those mobile bars celebrating the win when it quickly became apparent that everyone walking out of a certain part of the stadium, down an alley and onto the road where we were stood couldn't see that there was a curb to step down onto the road. Cue 100 or so Saints fans shouting 'Ooooooooh' like an opposition goal kick whilst the bemused and unsuspecting pedestrians approached, confused as to why they were receiving such a reception, before tripping to a chorus of 'Weeeeeeeeeeey' and trying desperately to style it out! Maybe it was the beer, maybe it was the Wembley win, maybe you just had to be there...but it was hilarious!

Such a lazy prediction for bottom 3. How he thinks that Saints will be bottom of the table come May 2014 is beyond me and Norwich will not be in the bottom 3 either. If you swap us and NCFC with Hull and Stoke/Sunderland I'd personally agree.

This.

Agreed. A point which I have raised with my Sunderland supporting housemate! You can't compare Saints and Sunderland's transfer strategies this Summer as they needed a complete overhaul and we require 3-4 quality additions. That said I genuinely think that Sunderland will struggle this season as they have seem to have gone with a bit of a scatter gun approach to their Summer spending. There will no team spirit or cohesion in their squad whereas we have a really settled group of lads who seem to have a great bond based on back to back promotions and excellent performances in the 2nd half of last season.

Agreed. A point which I have raised with my Sunderland supporting housemate! You can't compare Saints and Sunderland's transfer strategies this Summer as they needed a complete overhaul and we require 3-4 quality additions. That said I genuinely think that Sunderland will struggle this season as they have seem to have gone with a bit of a scatter gun approach to their Summer spending. There will no team spirit or cohesion in their squad whereas we have a really settled group of lads who seem to have a great bond based on back to back promotions and excellent performances in the 2nd half of last season.

Strange that he played vs Welling this week.. Good luck to him. Always worked hard but never quite cut it in a Saints shirt.

Good read that, thanks. We already have a fantastic reputation at home for our academy...it's great to see that recognition coming from further afield!

Totally agree about Germany. I lived there for 6 years in two 3 year stints as my Dad was based there in the Army. Aldi and Lidl are their main supermarkets - absolutely nothing wrong with the quality. Aldi are in double digit growth in UK and are helping to erode the market share of the likes of Tesco as people 'trade down'. Long may it continue.

I'll never forget that game. 2-0 down at HT but the fans didn't get on the lads backs...amazing support in the 2nd half, quick fire double from Forte and Barnard got the winner? I like to think the support that day helped us claw it back and that winner is firmly in my 'Top 5 most mental St. Mary's goal celebrations'!

I noticed this too. Perhaps Sharpy is off somewhere permanently and he wasn't risked last night?

Great news! Based on his solid pre season performances he will be a more than adequate understudy for Clyney.

Great signing for Bournemouth and good luck to Drew. As others have said: a good local lad, always gave his all for us and above all...a Saints fan. I can still vividly remember his goal in the first leg of the playoff against Derby. Cracking left foot!