Guided Missile

I'm sure the youngsters had a lot of fun and I am sincerely happy about that. As far as the empty seats, these were on tables that had made a reservation. I asked if we could sit down on them and was told that they were unavailable as they had been reserved. They remained empty and unavailable up until kick off. The reason for this was that they were reserved for a number of under 12's that were to be dropped off, but didn't turn up. Why would they feel that they had to turn up? The event didn't cost them anything. Good luck in future at this type of event and I hope the families enjoy it. For me, it is corporate suicide on the part of the club to allow free access for any sector of the fanbase and has badly affected the goodwill I had for the hospitality events. This comes from someone that spends over £5K a year with Saints, not a couple hundred...

I find it hard to have respect for a football club owned by a convicted rapist, who has been found unfit to own a radio station by the Radio Authority. Shows the lower standards operated by the Football League...

Exactly... I'm ashamed of my gullibility and refuse to whine like a b!tch any longer...

I've come to the conclusion that I am just a miserable sod for expecting an available seat, where I can eat the food I paid for and didn't do my research carefully enough, when I thought the 1885 club may be suitable for adults intolerant of other peoples children at the weekend. Now I know it's a naked exercise by the club to pack the punters in, at inflated prices, I will stick to my ST universe and pub themed pre- and post-match routine and leave the Mike Channon suite well alone until the end of season, players presentation dinner, when, I hope, we will all be getting drunk celebrating the Championship.

You obviously didn't talk to any of the stewards for their experiences. Broken glasses, food stains on the carpets, running aorund in the corridors. I admit I'm a miserable sod, when it comes to other peoples kids, but I was sold the tickets as some sort of corporate hospitality deal. To quote the Saints website: Launched to celebrate the club's 125th Anniversary year, this is a more casual suite with a lively atmosphere.The 1885 Family Club is a great way to enjoy the match in style with your friends, family or business associates, but in less formal surroundings. * Children under 12 go FREE. Enjoy the match with business associates? Friends? If arranging to meet your business associates or friends, in the local McDonalds in the middle of a childrens birthday party, prior to the match is your idea of enjoyment, whilst paying for their meals out of your bill, then I heartily recommend it. As far as I'm concerned, never again...

It is pretty obvious that those paying for the hospitality subsidised those that didn't, ie the under 12's. I have two kids and have never expected a free ride for them when they were young, but I am guessing that in todays benefit culture, that concept is outdated. I did expect a f** cking seat, though, having paid for it. Obviously this arrangement only suits those adults that have under 12's to take. I won't be there with my impeccably behaved 20 year old son who gave his seat up to a pensioner who was standing close by. Didn't notice any "nippers" who got in for f*** all doing that...

I don't know if anyone tried the curry club, but I thought it was good value for the Shrewsbury game and decided to book something similar for the Blackpool game for my son and I. At £49 plus VAT a head it seemed OK value, but apart from a cushioned seat in the stands, the reality was a bit different. On arriving at just after 1:00PM, we struggled to find seats and kids were running all over the place. As soon as we had finished our main meal, we noticed a number of people arriving who had nowhere to sit. We gave our seats up to a couple of people who looked hungry and wandered over to the bar to buy another drink. Due to the free food and matchday ticket for the under 12's, it was apparent we were going to have nowhere to sit to enjoy our beers, so we walked into the adjoining corridor and sat down to finish them. It took about 2 minutes for a steward to walk up and tell us we weren't allowed to drink alcohol in that area. I told him that he could find a seat in the Mick Channon suite for us to use, I'd gladly comply. He kindly told me he'd turn a blind eye. I quickly finished my beer, went into the stands early and another steward told me we weren't allowed to go to the pitchside and had to stay where we were, as there was limited access to the rest of the ground. I must say that the game experience was great, but I will never be doing the hospitality thing again while kids under 12 get in for free. If you have the carpet rats, fine, but I don't and it pi $$ed me off that the little bu ggers had monopolised the seats and ate all the desserts. Pub and my normal seat for Man U, I think...

At least we beat Man U in the preseason tour of 1981, as this trip down memory lane shows.

Maybe it wasn't quite 75,000! Celtic competed in the Trans-Atlantic Cup in the summer of 1981 after being invited to America for the round-robin tournament at the very last minute. The Bhoys invite came after Shaktar Donetsk, then playing in the Soviet league set up, pulled out of the competition in protest that the host club New York Cosmos were planning to field South African Steve Wegerle. However whether Shaktar’s decision was motivated by an admirable stance against apartheid or as a consequence of the United State’s boycott of that year’s Moscow Olympics is uncertain. Whatever the reason Celtic, tempted by a £50,000 appearance fee, made a last minute dash to New York and arrived in the city just 24 hours before their first game – against Cosmos at the Giants Stadium on Sunday July 12th. A crowd of 29,000 saw the Hoops struggle in the 90 degree as the home side made the most of their familiarity of the astro-turf pitch to win 2-0. Celtic then flew across the US to take on the Seattle Sounders on July 14th before a crowd of 21,000. Playing at the Kingdome, once more on an artificial pitch, Charlie Nicholas opened the scoring for the Bhoys with a sublime volley but the home side soon settled into their game and came back to win 2-1 Celtic returned to New York for their final match, an Anglo-Scots affair against Kevin Keegan’s Southampton on July 19th. An impressive 25,000 crowd turned out to see the double header with the Cosmos and Sounders clashing after the opening match. Goals from Davie Provan and a last gasp Charlie Nicholas tap-in sandwiched a Moran effort for the Saints as the Hoops finished off the competition with a 2-1 victory. The Seattle Sounders would claim the trophy following a 3-3 draw with New York. SUMMARY: 11/07/1981 Seattle Sounders 3-1 Southampton [in Seattle] 12/07/1981 New York Cosmos 2-0 Glasgow Celtic 15/07/1981 Seattle Sounders 2-1 Glasgow Celtic [in Seattle] 15/07/1981 New York Cosmos 2-1 Southampton 17/07/1981 New York Cosmos 3-3 Seattle Sounders [att: 40,000] 17/07/1981 Glasgow Celtic ` 2-1 Southampton FINAL TABLE 1.Seattle Sounders 3 2-1-0 8- 5 5 2.New York Cosmos 3 2-1-0 7- 4 5 3.Glasgow Celtic 3 1-0-2 3- 5 2 4.Southampton 3 0-0-3 3- 7 0

I didn't post on a Saints website. I played soccer and cricket in the US and the only time I was able to watch Saints was at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, with 75,000 other fans, a suprising number of whom were wearing Saints shirts. The opportunity to watch Saints when I had retired from playing was a key element in moving back. Seeing more of my family/Southampton/England were a close second. I will now refrain from providing too many more personal details on a web site. Alpine made that mistake and the thought of him in a XXXL replica shirt, typing his bitter posts, destroyed the image I had of him.

Lived in the US for 11 years, actually, Nick. More a case of having the pluck to move back!

Expat Saints "Fans"... ...seem to come in two flavours on this site. 1.Last of the Summer Wine Usually post in glowing terms about days gone by, trying hard to recapture the glory days, back in the mother country. About as entertaining to read as the TV show of the same name, and also about as relevant, to the fans streaming into St. Marys nowadays. Keep it up guys, I think you know who you are, but don't blame me if I think of Compo, when I read your posts. Let's face it, nostalgia is not what it used to be. 2.Last of the Scummer Whine Usually post in negative terms about anything related to the club, city or the country. In the early stages of going native, so not reached that grumpy charm that Compo has. More the expression that the club, city or country they left behind didn't quite fit their ideals, those that served them so badly when they lived here. Zero entertainment value in their posts at the moment and the only relevance to the fan of today is the possiblity that more impressionable section of our fanbase may detect a slight lowering of their moral, when reading them. I think of Lord Haw Haw when reading the uninformed dirge they post. He was hanged for treason, but I think the penalty for them, when Saints are back in the premiership will be the sight of their gradual decline into a sad exile, never quite belonging to their new country and unable to return to God's country to see their team play... HTH... Winchester based fans will get a mention from me, when I've finished my new "Dirty Northern B@ stards" thread...

Ron, Deense, niet Nederlands. Alstublieft bijbenen.

Det vil sige Michael Jackson er den bedste levende akt i verden

Deja Vu: From: Keith To: Guided Missile Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 3:15 pm Subject: I think.. ..your posts about Wilde's personal finances could be construed as possibly libellous. He has given you a response and won't talk further on the subject. I think you've tried to made a point and like many of yours, they are based on half arsed information and your own agenda. From: Guided Missile To: Keith Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 4:28 pm Subject: Re: I think So Mike Wilde has threatened to sue me and you for libel, has he Keith? Listen, you well know my post was pure conjecture regarding his personal finances. With regard to Merlion plc, my information was based on the returns he files with Companies' House, so that post was hardly libellous. By the way, I have no agenda but finding out as much as I can about someone who is about to control the football club I support. I expect the same transparency from Rupert Lowe. Look in the mirror and ask yourself what your agenda is. By the way, if Mr Wilde is threatening to sue me for libel, my lawyers details are : Contact: ******** ******** ******** ******** ****** does all my corporate legal work and is a really nice guy. PS I don't really want my tenner back, just this site's impartiality.

Basically, you appear to reflect the attitude pervasive amongst the moderators on this site. Misinformed about libel laws on the internet and far too precious about your own role and the overblown importance of this site in general. Now, if it was free, I would dismiss your patronising comments as the well meaning effort of an amateur helping to run a website, but as we pay for access, it p! sses me off that our unpaid contributions to the site are subject to censorship. You sound like a traffic warden giving legal opinion at a high court case, FFS. Just a tip. No one cares about the opinions of a bunch of anonymous posters, with regard to anything that is posted about a third tier football club and NO ONE is going to be sued for the content of the posts that appear here. Until you and the rest realise that you will disappear up your own arses with this site, in the same way as Keith Legg did with S4E. Towards the end of that site, I posted this, in response to one from Mike Wilde: Shortly after this exchange, Legg PM'd me with a threat from Wilde that he was going take legal action for libel. I provided Legg with my lawyers name and address and told him to go ahead. A further period after this exchange, Southampton Leasure PLC went into administration, owing millions. More recently, Wildes' company Merlion Group went into liquidation. Grow some balls, guys. There is something not right about the club's higher management, in my opinion and definitely something not right about this site. Has Cortese got to you lot, like Wilde got to Legg. If so, this site is screwed...

Just to help... Update 2009: High Court ruling on bulletin board cases The High Court has ruled that defamation on internet bulletin boards is akin to slander rather than libel. Mr Justice Eady hearing a case regarding posts on an investors bulletin board (or forum) has said that such comments are not to be taken in the same context as a formal newspaper (etc) article and are more like slander due to the casual or conversational nature of them. Mr Justice Eady stated that posts on bulletin boards "are rather like contributions to a casual conversation (the analogy sometimes being drawn with people chatting in a bar) which people simply note before moving on; they are often uninhibited, casual and ill thought out...Those who participate know this and expect a certain amount of repartee or 'give and take'." As such "When considered in the context of defamation law, therefore, communications of this kind are much more akin to slanders (this cause of action being nowadays relatively rare) than to the usual, more permanent kind of communications found in libel actions...People do not often take a 'thread' and go through it as a whole like a newspaper article. They tend to read the remarks, make their own contributions if they feel inclined, and think no more about it." Full article [Reading Room].

I guess the fact that Franny Benali informed a good friend of mine that he was suing our chairman for £50K is one of the things I can't post about because of you strange and incorrect views on libel, then? I found the fact quite interesting and worth sharing, but then again...

Didn't realise we had that section as I never stray too far from this one and Saints... Anyway, I was really talking about good comedy movies, so "Okay you c**** let's see what you can do now."

Having a chat with a couple of barmen in the US last week and we ran through the best movies we have seen in the last year. Starting with comedies, we all agreed that there has been nothing to touch last years winner, The Hangover, one of the best movies of the last ten years. Heard good things about The Other Guys, Will Ferrell's latest movie with Mark Wahlberg but after seeing it, I was very disappointed. Given up seeing anything that made me laugh as much as the Hangover, until I happened to watch Kick Ass on the plane home. Not a movie I would have gone to see, but Jeez, how brilliant was that? As sad as I am, I pre-ordered the DVD which is out on the 6th September and all I can say is, buy it. By far the best dialogue and action sequence by a ten year old girl in any movie I have seen...funny as f*** Any movies that touched you guys this year?

Doing well at school, the influence of teachers over your future success and the importance of the school you went to, are all extremely overrated. Your character, your parents, your friends and lastly, your health, fitness and happiness as a child, define your future, together with a shedload of luck. Teachers? Lecturers? If they are so smart, why aren't they rich?

Forget the photographs of the action on the pitch. Prior to kick off and during the game, there are always a number of shots of the manager and the directors box. I am taking a wild guess that there will not be any photos of our leader and his guests in future. I wonder who our official photographer is. Leni Riefenstahl?

After the Johnson's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley, I really don't think anyone has the right to criticise our fans. Certainly not any mega-money, professional footballer/manager. Booing? Jeez, in Italy they would have been lobbing flares at 'em... "Mummy, the fans booed at me yesterday" "Never mind, son, ignore those nasty fans. You've got your Sunday roast to look forward to"

For those that care, the point is, that this forum is being overrun by posters that have nothing to do with the club. I got an infraction for "insulting" an anonymous poster on a Pompey website, who happens to share an anonymous identity with someone on here. FFS, guys, this site should be for Saints fans that share our values, not internet geeks that seek to destroy our morale. We proudly sponsor Danny Butterfield this season and for the attention of "The Rover", we sponsored Antonio last season. "Judging by Agform's past record I wouldn't trust you to pick a horse for me." W@ nker... That's me signing off. F*** the lot of you...

Turned up at the Sponsors dinner, suited and booted, at, may I add, £75 a head, with three guests....and.... .....never, in the history of Saints football club have I been prouder of the team I support, nor the manager that leads them. Assembled were some of the most modest young men you have ever met and, on our table, in addition to my guests, was the player I sponsor. Polite and personable, he has married his childhood sweetheart, his first priority is looking for a good local school for his two young children and when asked, "What was it about the deal, that made you come to Southampton?", he replied, "I didn't know what the deal was and it didn't matter. Every player knows what a great club Southampton is and what an honour it is to play for them. It didn't really matter what they were offering"....and believe me, he was telling the truth. Forget that the club phoned me up yesterday and reminded me that I have to pay the sponsorship invoice, before my company is featured on the screen tomorrow. At last we have a business man running the club. No money, no showey.. I love this club, the family values it demonstrates, the great young players that just want to play football and the city it represents. 2 points for calling a nameless ex-pat a "douche bag" when I should have said "sleaze bag". Worth, it every time...