Tag Archives: Danny Fox

2012/2013 GWC.com End of Season Awards!

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
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As we approach the end of another season, it is time to highlight those who have stood out in what has been a rollercoaster first season back in the Premier League (hopefully the first of many)….

Who will win one of our coveted ‘Ali’s'?*

One of the coveted 'Ali's'. Who will get there hands on one?

One of the coveted ‘Ali’s’. Who will get there hands on one?

If you want to have your say on who should be honoured, just fill out the following form, all votes will be anonymous and collated with the winners revealed at the end of the season!

* – There is no actual physical trophy. This site is non-profit and always being sued by photographers. Sorry.

Chris

Saints & Toffees: Played For Both

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
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Apologies for the lack of a Saints/Chelsea team, I was beaten by time I’m afraid! Never mind that though, the result was more than most were hoping for so we can move on and not worry about it.

I started collating this Saints and Everton team last night, and as you will see, it is a little weak defensively as we don’t seem to have shared many players at all, and certainly not many defenders (at least that I could remember/find out) so if anyone knows of any let me know!

Here goes:-

Team

Goalkeeper

Richard Wright

After failing to force David Seaman out of the team at Arsenal, highly rated young keeper Wright signed for Everton in 2002. Although he looked to be first choice he was displaced by Nigel Martyn and suffered a series of injuries which meant he only made 60 appearances in 5 years and eventually released. He signed for West Ham for free but didn’t make play a single game for them and was soon loaned to Saints in the 2007/08 season. He was brilliant for Saints, putting in several fantastic performances in his 7 games.

Richard Wright

Richard Wright

Defender

Lee Molyneux

Full back Molyneux came through the youth system at Goodison Park but never quite made the grade. He signed for Saints in January 2009 but it seemed the Championship was still a couple of grades too high and made just 4 appearances for the club which included a game against Swansea where he was sent off. A reckless tackler, he was loaned to Port Vale and then released. He has since played for Plymouth and Accrington Stanley. Who are they? Exactly.

Lee Molyneux

Lee Molyneux

Defender

Danny Fox

Current Saints player Danny Fox was another product of the Everton Academy. The left back made the first team bench at the age of 18 but never made it on to the pitch for Everton and was loaned to Gateshead and Stranraer. He was released in 2005 and signed for Walsall where he attracted a lot of attention. He moved to Coventry, Celtic and then Burnley before joining Saints in August 2011. Has made 6 league appearances for the club this season.

Danny Fox

Danny Fox

Defender

Jimmy Gabriel

Scotsman Gabriel played a defensive midfield role for the Toffees between 1960 and 1967 having started his career at Dundee. He was sold by Everton to Saints in ’67 for £42,500 and stayed until 1972 playing as part of the team’s defence. He later played for Bournemouth, Swindon, Brentford and Seattle Sounders before moving into management, mainly in America but had two spells as caretaker boss at Goodison. League and cup winner with Everton.

Jimmy Gabriel

Jimmy Gabriel

Midfield

Mark Hughes

‘Sparky’ Hughes came to Saints in 1998 after an illustrious career as a striker with Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. We played him in midfield, he was pants. Scored 2 goals in well over fifty appearances and left for Everton in 2000, he is seemingly a lot more highly regarded by the Toffees fans and played 18 games before ending his career at Blackburn Rovers.

Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes

Midfield

Peter Reid

Chirpy Scouser Reid was born in Huyton, Merseyside but started his career with Bolton Wanderers. He signed for Everton in 1982 and won a plethora of honours and made his way in to the 1986 England world cup squad. He played 159 times for Everton before moving to QPR in 1989 before heading to Manchester City where he became player-manager. Bizarrely after being sacked as City manager he resumed his playing career at Saints, making 7 appearances in the 1993-94 season! Played for Bury and Notts County before retuning to management with Sunderland. Has since managed Leeds, Coventry, Thailand and Plymouth.

Peter Reid playing at the Dell 10 years before he would sign for Saints.

Peter Reid playing at the Dell 10 years before he would sign for Saints.

Midfield

Kevin Richardson

Geordie Richardson came through the youth ranks with Everton, signing for the club in 1978, and went on to make 109 appearances for them until 1986. He was a league and cup winner with the Toffees but fell behind Bracewell, Reed and Sheedy in the pecking order and eventually left the club for Watford. He had spells at Arsenal, Real Sociedad, Aston Villa and Coventry City before signing for Saints in 1997. Coming to the end of his career Richardson only played the one season at the Dell and moved to Barnsley the following summer before a spell at Blackpool and retirement.

Kevin Richardson

Kevin Richardson

Right Wing

Terry Curran

Considered by some as a bit of a journeyman, Curran was certainly a showman and a self titled ‘maverick’. Having started his career in his native Yorkshire with Doncaster Rovers he was signed by Brian Clough for Nottingham Forest, after a disagreement with the coaching staff Curran spent time on loan at Bury before moving to Derby County. Again his time was short at the Baseball Ground and he signed for Saints just a season later in 1978. It was another short stay of just a season, but he was part of the team that reached the ’79 league cup final. Oddly he took the decision to drop two divisions and sign for Sheffield Wednesday that summer, but became a legend at Hillsbrough and had his longest career spell there, playing in 138 games. Had spell in Sweden and for Sheffield United before moving to Everton in 1982 (initially on loan). He didn’t make much of an impact at Goodison and was soon off again. Playing for Huddersfield, Panionis, Hull, Sunderland, Grantham, Grimsby and Chesterfield before retiring in 1987.

Terry Curran

Terry Curran

Attacking Midfield

Alan Ball

It is difficult to find anyone in football that is fondly remembered at all their clubs, but Alan Ball certainly fits that bill. Ball’s career started in dramatic fashion. Having impressed for Blackpool (having been rejected as a youth by Bolton) he made the 1966 World Cup squad, and the rest as they say is history. Many argue that Ball was England’s best player in the successful final. This prompted a move to Everton and played his part in the ‘Holy Trinity’ with Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall. Ball was a league winner at Goodison in 1970 and played for the club over 200 times. He left for Arsenal in 1971 and stayed for five years before heading to the Dell in 1976. He was a member of the Saints promotion winning team of 1978 and league cup finalist alongside Curran in 1979. He played 132 times for Saint before heading to the emerging North American Soccer League. He returned to England in 1980 for second spells at Blackpool (player-manager) and then Saints, playing another 63 times before his career ended at Bristol Rovers. He returned to management at Portsmouth and went on to lead Stoke, Exeter, Saints, Man City and Pompey again. Sadly passed away in 2007. R.I.P.

Alan Ball

Alan Ball

Left Wing

Barry Horne

Welshman Horne was briefly part of the youth setup at Liverpool before making his professional debut with Wrexham in 1984, he was part of the Wrexham side that knocked Porto out of the Cup Winners Cup, Horne himself scoring in the second leg. He moved to Portsmouth in 1987 and stayed for two seasons before crossing the M27 divide and joining south coast rivals Saints. He played 112 times for Saints between 1989 and 1992 and was part of the team that was runners up in the ZDS final of ’92. He signed for his boyhood club Everton that summer and went on to be an FA cup winner in 1995. He scored for the Toffees in the controversial relegation decider against Wimbledon in 1994. He went on to play for Birmingham, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wednesday, Kidderminster and Walsall before retiring in 2002. Capped 59 times by his country.

Barry Horne

Barry Horne

Forward

James Beattie

Beattie was a revelation for Saints after an initial drought after signing from Blackburn in 1998. He would become an important part of a growing success at Saints as his goals (mostly in spells) made him a firm fan’s favourite. In a tail of two celebrations, he was lauded for his ear cupping of the Pompey fans who had disgracefully booed a minutes silence for Ted Bates, but then took a shine off of his own legendary status by celebrating a goal at St. Mary’s on his sift return to the club. Having left for Goodison in January 2005 with Saints on a slippery slope, Beattie had said pre-match that he wouldn’t celebrate a goal against Saints, but did. Played 76 times for Everton but never quite had the impact they had hoped. Went on to have a fruitful spell at Sheffield United before lean spells at Stoke, Rangers, Blackpool and back at Brammal Lane. Now playing for Accrington Stanley. Who are they? Exactly.

James Beattie. The good St. Mary's celebration.

James Beattie. The good St. Mary’s celebration.

So there we have it. An odd formation, and defensively it looks pretty poor, but not a bad midfield eh? Paul Rideout is the only other player I could think of and misses out, but would love to hear of any others that people know of?

Chris

As featured on NewsNow: Southampton FC news

Saints Get Their Man: Jay Rodriguez

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
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For me, as someone who was never his biggest fan, having Rory Delap as our record signing felt like a monkey on our back. How could we ever be taken seriously with a player of Delap’s quality holding such a prestigious title?

Finally, on Sunday that record was broken. In what was seemingly a long drawn out process, and after much journalist/supporter speculation Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez signed for the club for a fee believed to be in the region of £6-7 millon. Whether or not the club intended to announce it on that day is questionable, but after an eagle eyed hotel guest/member of staff took the snap below, the cat was out of the bag!

Transfer Window

Nigel Adkins has clearly been a long time admirer of “JRod” with the club being continuously linked with the England U21 international, and both staff and supporters alike will be glad to have got their man.

Having scored 15 goals in the Championship last season, 21 in all competitions, the 22 year old proved to be hot property last season, with the likes of Everton, Sunderland and Fulham also believed to be interested.

Immediately, to me it looks like we have bought a player who would be ideal playing off Rickie Lambert, and certainly one who has bags of potential. Many have scoffed at the nature of the transfer fee, but effectively we have gone to Turf Moor and taken their Adam Lallana. How much would you want for him?

To know what we can really expect I sought out those who know him best, and got the opinions of Jamie Smith of Burnley blog NoNayNever and Tony Scholes, editor of Clarets Mad.

Losing Jay

Jamie - ”Burnley fans have known for at least a year that Jay Rodriguez would be a Premier League player. I think it’s fair to say – with no disrespect intended to Southampton – that many of us hoped he would get a move to an established side in the top division, but at least a move to the south coast means he’ll have his mate Jack Cork around and the chances are he’ll start most games.”

Tony -“I’m sorry to see Jay Rod go because we are, without doubt, losing our key player. But Southampton are now in the Premier League and Jay needs to go and play there to take his career onto the next step. I watched him come through the youth team via the reserves to the first team and even in our promotion season of 2008/09 he scored some vital and some stunning goals coming on as a substitute.”

Value for Money

Jamie – “A lot has been made of the fee Southampton have paid for Jay and from an outsider’s point of view, this is understandable. £6-7m is a lot of money. But there aren’t many young English strikers out there as good as Jay. I firmly believe it will look like a bargain in a couple of years.”

Tony – “You are getting a player who, in my view, will prove to be very good value for the money you’ve paid, I believe it to be £7 million. He’s a young player who has just got better and better since getting a place in the first team in September 2010.

I don’t think you’ve paid too much for him. It might seem that way right now with him having such little experience but more than one Championship manager last season described him as the best forward in the division.”

Rodriguez at Turf Moor.

Type of Player

Jamie – “It’s hard to describe exactly what sort of player he is. When he first came through into the squad he was seen as a bit of a specialist finisher, coming on to score the winner a few times in our Carling Cup run helped. But he had a bad injury at the start of our season in the Premier League and barely got a look in.

His appearances/goals ratio isn’t really fair to judge him on as he played a lot from the bench in his early days. But the last two seasons saw him secure a place in the side. Brian Laws put his faith in him and Jay repaid him well and last season he was even better, breaking 20 goals for the first time, even though he didn’t play after mid-March because of injury. His goal record in the last two years in the Championship is as good as anyone’s.

Jay can score all sorts of goals. He’s not afraid to have a pop from distance, but he’s far from the sort of player who just shoots whenever the ball comes. He’s intelligent and confident enough to play with his head up – and that’s rare. He’ll drop deep and link the play, his touch is excellent. He’ll run the channels, look to go in behind, get on the end of flick-ons. He’s not great with his back to goal against a big, strong defender, but should provide a good foil for Rickie Lambert. He’s very good in the air for his size, despite not looking like the sort of striker who’ll score headers.”

Tony – “In looking at his strengths and weaknesses I think it is fair to say he has a lot of attributes. He’s a player who doesn’t necessarily do all his work inside the penalty box although he definitely has an ability to get more than his fair share of goals. He scores different kinds of goals too. He’ll get the close range centre forward type goals, he’ll score with headers, he’s a clinical penalty taker (one spot kick apart) and has the ability to hit shots from distance. He’ll say he’s a central striker but I think he offers most when playing that bit deeper enabling him to pick up balls from deep and make runs. He’s strong, and getting stronger, he’s quick although we are not talking Theo Walcott type pace here.”

Future

Jamie – “It’s anyone’s guess how Jay will adapt to the top league and his first few games will shape that to some extent. If he gets off to a flier like Shane Long did last season, he could be in the England squad by Christmas. A slow start will test him. He is a player of huge, vast potential, but the fear for Burnley fans is that he doesn’t get enough service to impress and Southampton come straight back down. I’m sure the Saints survival next year is worth a few quid for us.

The recent transfers of Danny Fox and to a lesser extent Jack Cork haven’t endeared Southampton to Burnley fans, but we’ll certainly be looking out for you on Match of the Day next season to see how Jay gets on.”

Tony - “I personally think he can go all the way and play for England, although we’ll need to be quick because he does qualify for Spain through his dad. He’s English through and through though, a local lad who has lived his entire life to date in Burnley. During his time in the first team he’s become hugely popular with the Turf Moor crowd and there is no doubt he’ll be missed. Because he’s so highly thought of the reaction has been, in the main, one of wishing him the very best of luck. Nothing would please us more than to see Jay Rod become a top Premier League player and pull on an England shirt. You might just have got yourselves a bargain.”

More can be found from Jamie at:- http://nonaynever.net/9709/one-of-our-own-jay-rodriguez/ and Tony:- http://www.clarets-mad.co.uk/feat/edb4/jay_rod__hes_still_one_of_our_own_746850/index.shtml, both worth a read to see how Jay became a terrace favourite at Turf Moor. Thanks to Jamie and Tony for their thoughts.

It is great to see the confidence in him from the fans of his former club, and my reference to Lallana at the start of this article was no coincidence, he is “one of their own” and they are rightly proud of him and confident in his abilities, like we are with Adam. I for one am delighted with this signing.

Welcome to Southampton Jay Rodriguez.

Saint Jay.

Chris

p.s. If you have enjoyed reading the blog over the past year, why not vote for us in the “Club Specific” category at the Football Blogging Awards? Either via Facebook here. Or, tweet the following:- @TheFBAs @crstig #Club

Where do Saints need to strengthen for the Premier League?

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
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I decided to ask the question on twitter as to which positions Saints needed to strenghten for the coming Premier League season….

I used Storify to compile the answers:-

Click on the image to read the rest of the responses!

Chris

p.s. If you have enjoyed reading the blog over the past year, why not vote for us in the “Club Specific” category at the Football Blogging Awards? Either via Facebook here. Or, tweet the following:- @TheFBAs @crstig #Club

2011/2012 GWC.com Awards results…

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
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The phone lines are closed, the votes are in and a team of highly dedicated professionals have been counting them round the clock. georgeweahscousin.com is proud to announce the winners of  the inaugural 2011/2012 end of season awards!

Player of the Year

Received Votes:- Morgan Schneiderlin, Jack Cork, Frazer Richardson, Danny Fox, Kelvin Davis, Aaron Martin.

3rd:- Jos Hooiveld.

2nd:- Adam Lallana.

And the winner, capping off an amazing season, the Championship top goalscorer Rickie Lambert!

2011/12 gwc.com Player of the Year – Rickie Lambert

Most Improved Player

Received Votes:- Adam Lallana, Jos Hooiveld, Billy Sharp, Rickie Lambert, Danny Fox, Kelvin Davis, Danny Butterfield, Guly Do Prado, Dean Hammond, Aaron Martin, Jose Fonte, Richard Chaplow.

3rd Place:- Jack Cork.

2nd Place:- Frazer Richardson.

And the winner, whose importance to the side was shown when he was out injured for a while Morgan Schneiderlin!

2011/12 gwc.com Most Improved Player – Morgan Schneiderlin

Unsung Hero

Received Votes:- Jos Hooiveld, Billy Sharp, Frazer Richardson, Andy Crosby, Kelvin Davis, Danny Butterfield, Tadanari Lee, Guly Do Prado, Dean Hammond, Richard Chaplow, Jose Fonte, Nigel Adkins, Radhi Jaidi.

3rd Place:- Danny Fox.

2nd Place:- Morgan Schneiderlin.

And the winner, filling in all over the middle of the park and back four Jack Cork!

2011/12 gwc.com Unsung Hero – Jack Cork.

Signing of the Season

Received Votes:- Danny Fox, Tadanari Lee.

3rd Place:- Jack Cork.

2nd Place:- Billy Sharp.

And the winner is, the man who instantly became a cult hero on and off the pitch, with battling defensive displays and some midweek winners Jos Hooiveld!

2011/12 gwc.com Signing of the Season – Jos Hooiveld.

 Performance of the Season

Received Votes:- Leeds Away (Team), Fonte v Coventry (Home), Birmingham Home (Team), P’Boro Away (Team), Millwall Away (Team), Coventry Home (Team), Forest Away (Team), West Ham Away (Team), West Ham Home (Team), Guly Do Prado v Coventry (Away), Rickie Lambert v Watford.

3rd Place:- Ipswich Town Away (Team).

2nd Place (Joint):- Leeds Home (Team), Middlesbrough Home (Team).

And the winner, one of the most ridiculous clean sheets in football history, making save after save Kelvin Davis v Leeds (Away)!

2011/12 gwc.com Performance of the Season – Kelvin Davis

The Ali Dia Award for Comedy Moment

Received Votes:- Performance against Leicester at home, Fonte Penalty v Brighton, Guly tripping over on TV, Dean Hammond F-Bomb on BBC, Lallana dive v Pompey, Billy Sharp Open Goal v West Ham, Jos Injuring himself celebrating, Leeds Attack v Davis, Billy Sharp celebrating v Pompey, Jos Boxhead campaign, Defending v Pompey, STEEEEEVE, Matt Taylor sending off v West Ham, Nigel’s Arousal Speech, Tadanari Lee goal celebration, Aaron Martin Open Goal v Forest, John Pantsil falling over trying to defend against Lallana, Jos Celebration v Coventry, Fat Sam Allardyce.

3rd Place:- Pompey’s Season/Relegation.

2nd Place:- Nigel Adkins tripping over the water bottles v Blackpool.

And the winner, something I’m sure he won’t be happy about, doing his best Massimo Taibi impression v Blackpool Bartosz Bialkowski!

2011/12 gwc.com Ali Dia Comedy Moment Winner – Bart Bialkowski

Best Opposition Player at St. Mary’s

Recieved Votes:-  Kevin Nolan, Billy Sharp, Ricardo Vaz Te, Robert Koren, Kevin Phillips, Stephan Dobbie, Nicky Maynard, Kasper Schmeichal, David Nugent, Chris Maguire, Robert Snodgrass, Scott Allen, Jamie Ashdown, Neill Danns, Liam Trotter, Wilfred Zaha, Darius Henderson, Joshua King, Jason Scotland, Peter Whittingham, Robert Green, Ian Harte.

3rd Place (Joint):- Adam Le Fondre, Adam Federici, Albert Adomah.

2nd Place:- Matt Phillips.

And the winner, very much part of Reading’s relentless pursuit of the Championship summit, and at his devastating best at St. Mary’s Jason Roberts!

2011/12 gwc.com Best Opposition Player at St. Mary’s Winner – Jason Roberts.

Best Opposition Team at St. Mary’s

Received Votes:- Bristol City, Hull City, West Ham, Forest, Cardiff.

3rd Place:- Blackpool.

2nd Place:- Leicester City.

And the winners, taking all three points with a ruthless lesson for Saints in taking chances  Reading!

2011/12 gwc.com Best Opposition Team at St. Mary’s Winner – Reading.

Best Opposition Fans at St. Mary’s

Received Votes:- Leeds, Reading, Hull City, Millwall, Ipswich Town, Bristol City, Cardiff, Forest.

3rd Place:- West Ham United.

2nd Place:- Portsmouth.

And the winners, loudly supporting their team to the bitter end on final day and staying behind to enjoy the Saints celebrations Coventry City!

2011/12 gwc.com Best Opposition Fans at St. Mary’s Winners – Coventry City.

So that concludes the first gwc.com end of season awards! I shall look forward to compiling them again this time next season in what will be the first Premier League Edition!

Watch out on the site over the coming weeks for a Season review and a Premier League preparation special!

Thanks,

Chris

One Man Team…

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
12

After a rather stunning victory at the weekend, where in fairness we probably didn’t deserve to win the game, a Rickie Lambert hat trick saw all three points head back to St. Mary’s.

What came with those three points though were a few accusations, mainly from West Ham fans, but also on a lesser scale from Reading and our South Coast friends from Portsmouth and Brighton.

Firstly that we are cheats, and that we were given two “dodgy” penalties to convert a defeat into a win. This point I’m not going to discuss. Watch the replays.

Secondly, that we are a “One Man Team”. This isn’t new territory for us. For years in the nineties Matthew Le Tissier’s heroics seemingly kept us in the Premier League, and it is hard to argue with that, and I won’t even try. This time it is a little different. Rickie Lambert now wears Le Tissier’s number seven shirt and is undoubtedly a talisman for Nigel Adkins’ side, hitting 24 league goals so far. But. To call this team a “One Man Team” is a little facetious. This team is top of the Championship on merit, and the goals have come from every aspect of the side.

So exactly how important is Rickie Lambert to our season? In truth. Very.

If we erase his goals from history, instantly wins against Forest and Millwall become defeats, while victories over Brighton, Watford and Leeds all become draws and draws with Derby, Blackpool, Pompey and Ipswich all convert to losses. In all, this is a loss of 17 points and sees Saints four points outside of the play off places.

This only tells half the story of course. Lambert takes our penalties, of which there have been nine awarded this season, and of which he has converted all nine. Had he not been playing, someone else would have taken them, and quite possibly scored them too, which would again completely change the outcome of those games.

Arguably, without Lambert we would have gained at least a point at Brighton too. Sent off with the scores at 0-0 in a game Saints were dominating!

All by myself. Lambert reels away after beating another team on his own...

Another factor is that while West Ham and Reading’s top scorers sit on nine and seven goals respectively, our joint second top scorers sit on ten each! So what if we didn’t have those players either?

Guly do Prado. For me, still one of our most consistent and impressive performers, to other Saints fans the devil incarnate. But in terms of dropped points, he becomes the second most important player. Without Guly’s goals wins over Millwall, Hull and Palace become draws and Saints drop to fourth place on 66 points.

Adam Lallana may be shocked to find he plays in a “One Man Team” after being voted in the top three players in the Championship this season. He has also won points for Saints this season, victories against Hull and Barnsley becoming draws without his goals, dropping Saints to second with 68 points.

Frazer Richardson and Danny Fox should also get a mention here. The full backs are often the unsung heros, both in the top ten players in the Championship for assists with Lallana and Guly not to far behind.

And what about Kelvin Davis? How many points would we have taken from Elland Road recently and plenty of other games without him in goal?

This “One Man Team” image becomes more of a myth, the more you look at the stats. Another angle to approach it is which player have we missed the most when they haven’t played? And that is clearly Richard Chaplow. Saints have lost seven league games this season, five of which have come when Chaplow wasn’t involved. In fact we have dropped a staggering 25 points without the energetic midfielder in the side. We have dropped six when Lambert hasn’t played, seven without Lallana and two without Guly. It is no coincidence that our most lacklustre performance, the 0-2 home defeat by Leicester came when Lambert, Lallana and Chaplow were all missing.

So in conclusion we aren’t a “One Man Team”. We have several stand out men, playing amongst what is a very good team. Take away the assists of Fox, Richardson, Guly and Lallana and how many goals would Lambert have?

I would also urge the accusers to go and check their own sides stats before they point the finger again, I wonder how many points West Ham would have without the goals of Kevin Nolan or Mark Noble’s penalties…

Chris

Saints To Call On Spirit Of 78?

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
1

The England Manager has walked out, Liverpool are heading to the League Cup Final, Portsmouth are facing the possibility of relegation after financial woes, Saints have been knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round but occupy a promotion spot, chasing Sam Allardyce’s side to the top flight as they face Burnley on a February Saturday….

Sound familiar? Well all that happened in the 1977/78 season, the last time Saints secured promotion to the top division.

Ok, some of them maybe rather tenuous coincidences, but in the eyes of the superstitious any parallels can and will be drawn!

New Striker Boyer formed a lethal partnership with Ted MacDougall to fire Saints to Division One.

Pulling the strings at the Dell in the late seventies was Alan Ball and once they had entered the promotion spots in early January they were never to leave them.

Goals from new boy Phil Boyer and strike partner Ted MacDougall were key as they eventually finished second to a Bolton side containing now West Ham manager Sam Allardyce. They almost nicked top spot, drawing their last two games to see them fall a point short, but Lawrie McMenemy’s men were good value for their promotion and it would bring top flight football to the Hampshire coast for twenty seven consecutive seasons.

Saints beat Burnley yesterday in an impressive showing and the fans will be hoping that the recent shaky home form has been put behind them. Perhaps now the 2011/12 side can emulate that of the boys of 78 and lose just one more game between the 12th of February and the end of the season…..

The 1977/78 Saints Promotion Season Remake

Directed by

Nicola Cortese

Starring

Nigel Adkins as Lawrie McMenemy

Rickie Lambert as Ted MacDougall

Adam Lallana as Alan Ball

Kelvin Davis as Peter Wells

Jos Hooiveld as Chris Nicholl

and introducing

Billy Sharp as Phil Boyer

Also Starring (in order of appearance)

St. Mary’s Stadium……………….The Dell

Bartosz Bialkowski……………Ian Turner

Frazer Richardson……………Manny Andruszewski

Danny Fox………………….David Peach

Jack Cork…………………Steve Williams

Jose Fonte………………..Mick Pickering

Jason Puncheon……………Austin Hayes

Dean Hammond…………….Nick Holmes

Aaron Martin………….Malcolm Waldron

Danny Butterfield…………….John Sharpe

Guly do Prado…………………Tony Funnell

Morgan Schneiderlin……………Trevor Hebbard

David Connolly……………….Steve Neville

Richard Chaplow……………Peter Osgood

Dan Harding…………………….Tim Coak

Dan Seaborne……………………Mel Blyth

Ben Reeves…………Forbes Phillipson-Masters

Tadanari Lee…………………..Tony Sealy

Andy Crosby……………………Don Taylor

Jason Dodd…………………John McGrath

Chris

All Over Bar The Shouting…..

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
1

Well that was that then.

After a long and highly anticipated wait the now ridiculously pre-titled “El Clasicoast” left much to be desired on the pitch.

But the atmosphere and for want of a better word “banter” off the pitch, coupled with a successful (I know it was frustrating for many) police operation made it still the most nerve wracking and tense game of the season without making the usual violent headlines.

It is of course sod’s law that having prided ourselves on the pretty and effective football we play all season, that with the country watching live on BBC1, we were 50% responsible for one of the scrappiest and least pretty games of football you will ever see. It isn’t uncommon for derby games to be lacking in quality, no one wants to lose these games, so often style is replaced by substance, and nothing could be truer about this game.

The atmosphere was as expected. Electric. Both sets of fans coming through loud and clear on the television coverage (I was, after failed attempts at getting press access on the edge of my living room seat). Pompey pride themselves on their support, and I would never argue that when they are in full flow they are very loud, but equally the travelling Saints support were making themselves heard.

It is difficult to describe the feelings that you go through watching such a match. No matter how confident you are that you are supporting the “better” team, as is so often the case, derbies pay little respect to either the league table or the formbook, and frankly after our last two derby experiences  and the recent turn in form for both clubs I was more than a little apprehensive.

Michael Appleton, who I personally thought was a very intelligent appointment for Pompey at the time got his tactics spot on. Saints were reverted very early to playing a rushed and less precise game than they are used to. While the Pompey fans I know were disappointed to see only one up front, their packed midfield did a good job of stifling Saints creativity and George Thorne particularly impressed.

I think if he was honest, Appleton’s gameplan was to secure a point, with anything else a bonus. If you take the derby emotions out of it, it is a league game, and a point off of the league leaders and extending the unbeaten revival is nothing to scoff at.

When Saints did play some football though, the reasons for the gap in league position became clear. Lallana in particular showing his ability on the ball as he helped himself to a portion of roasted skate on the wing, but in reality both sides rarely looked like troubling the keepers.

As the cameras panned the Fratton End, I was briefly worried that the wife had sneakily flicked over to “Big Fat Gypsy Weddings” and as both sides resorted to sending the ball long at every given opportunity, the legend that was the South Coast derby was being created in the stands.

In the second half I felt we started to edge the game, unlocking the Pompey back four more often, though still not as often as we would like, and it was almost inevitable that the man with more goals than all the other forwards on the pitch put together would be the one to bring the game as a spectacle alive. Rickie Lambert’s header past the stationary Henderson from Fox’s perfectly weighted free kick was satisfying to say the least. Not only did it make this grown man jump around his own living room screaming and fist pumping, with only a bemused wife and petrified cat looking on, but perhaps even more pleasurable was the ensuing twenty one minutes of silence from the home crowd.

Lambert does it again....

Did anybodies nerves settle when Lambert notched his second derby goal in as many games? No of course not, in fact part of me was sure it was setting us up for a fall, but the next period actually saw Saints as in control as anybody could be in such a game, in fact Guly should have sealed it, Henderson making up for his earlier static goalkeeping to deny him bravely.

This period of control meant that Pompey’s equaliser was even more of a sickener. Saints lacklustre defending at the eighty fourth minute corner meant that the ball dropped between a Brazilian forward and a local boy in front of the Fratton end. Desire won the moment and the spoils would be shared.

A draw was probably the fairest result. Neither team covered themselves in glory in terms of how they played, with some stand out performers being Lallana, Hooiveld and Lambert for Saints and Thorne, Mattock and Rocha for Pompey. Both teams will play much better than that and neither will play much worse, but most importantly the spirit of the derby was as fierce as ever without the need for violence. An honourable mention should go to Mark Halsey too, so often criticised it is a nice change to highlight a highly accomplished refereeing performance, on the other hand it also highlighted how bad some of the usual Football League officials are in comparison to this Premier League man.

I love the South Coast derby. I know I am biased but you don’t see the vitriol in any other derby in this country that you do in this one. For that ninety minutes the healthy rivalry of people from two nearby cities turns to unbridled hatred. I have friends who are Pompey fans, but during this game I don’t want to be in their presence. Before and after? Fine. I like to think I can take and dish out the required level of “banter” off the back of victory or defeat and come Monday I think no more or less of them than I did before. Nobody is perfect, some of them were even inflicted by support of Pompey from their parents, not choice. A sad tale in itself. It seems crazy that in our recent outings against Bournemouth and Brighton people had even dared suggest that they were derby games. Not even close.

Saints and Pompey. Scummers and Skates. Cats and Dogs. Tories and Labourites. Yin and Yang. Capulets and Montagues……

I leave you with two messages. Have a Happy Christmas, and please don’t die. We need this.

Roll on April…..

Chris

A Saint Amongst Them: Coventry City

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
3

Saints head to the Ricoh Arena tomorrow to face struggling Coventry City.

The midlands side find themselves in the relegation zone, and Saints will be looking to avenge the last time they travelled to the Ricoh which resulted in a 4-1 defeat in October 2008. Ex-Saint Leon Best was the chief tormenter that day and netted the third Sky Blues goal, getting on the end of current Saint Danny Fox’s cross.

Hoping to be fit to face his old club this time round will be Best’s former Saints teammate Martin Cranie, although having suffered a rib injury against Barnsley at the start of October he hasn’t featured for the Sky Blues in the last five games.

Cranie. A young Saint.

Martin Cranie

Cranie never set the world alight in his brief spell in the first team at St. Mary’s, but he could be considered an unfortunate victim of circumstance.

The Somerset youngster joined the Saints Academy in 2003, and was part of the successful youth team that reached the 2005 FA Youth Cup Final but it couldn’t have been a worse time to get your chance with the first team…

Cranie had already had a disastrous start to his first team life at St. Mary’s, putting through his own net in a 4-0 defeat at Chelsea in 2004, but worse experiences were to come for the defender in the 2004/05 season. Having initially been loaned to Bournemouth the youngster was given a chance at Saints under new boss Harry Redknapp, but as Redknapp’s side meandered hopelessly towards Premier League relegation Cranie looked lightweight and out of his depth.

It may be harsh to judge the likes of Cranie, Best and Dexter Blackstock on that terrible season, young players very much thrown in at the worst possible time.

Things didn’t get much better for Cranie, as Saints started life in the Championship, Cranie was used sparingly in 2005/06 and then in the 2006/07 season he spent two spells on loan at hometown club Yeovil.

On the expiry of his contract in the summer of 2007, the eyebrows of most Saints fans were raised when he was signed by former boss Redknapp for Premier League Portsmouth.

Cranie never quite made the grade with the blue few either, and spent most of his time at Fratton Park on loan with Championship side QPR, and then in League One with Charlton Athletic before settling at the Ricoh in 2009 and becoming a regular in the Coventry side.

Cranie. Now shooting for Saints.

Chris

And What You Give Is What You Get…

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
1

It is an unusual position for a Saints fan to be looking down on the rest of the league after the opening two games. Notoriously slow starters, it is the first time Saints have won their opening two games for twenty three years.

But should we be surprised? Nigel Adkins’ tireless enthusiasm for the job, our relentless end to last season and the additions of some quality players in the transfer window screams of a professional and assured approach to the new campaign. On top of that Adkins focus on fitness, somewhere we seriously failed at the start of last season has clearly paid off, as our lean first team squad look sharp and hungry.

There will be a lot of talk about “momentum” and it definitely plays a part. Steve Grant pointed out on twitter today that Saints have dropped just four points from the last available fifty one, which is phenomenal form. Couple this with the fact that our promoted chums Brighton are keeping up so far, also winning both their games.

What we have at St. Mary’s though, that I believe to be the most important part is a “team” in the truest sense of the word. While Leicester spend big, buying lots of new players, Adkins approach has been to keep the core of last seasons successful side and add to it gradually. Jack Cork has come straight in, and his quality is clear for all to see, while the other new boys Steve de Ridder and Danny Fox look like they will have to be patient to break into what is, a so far this season, an excelling group. The loss of Alex Chamberlain to Arsenal, in the least shocking transfer move of the summer (although perhaps gazumped by Mr. Fabregas and Barca today) hasn’t had any negative effect whatsoever yet, and with de Ridder looking like a shrewd bit of business, there is a fair chance it won’t at all.

Jack Cork - Settling into his second St. Mary's spell.

There is much talk of new Strikers and Centre halves that don’t look like dying down anytime soon, but with the assured performances of Aaron Martin against Leeds, and Dan Seaborne at Barnsley, coupled with the resurgence of David Connolly up front, I am not sure we are “desperate” for players in any position.

While we can enjoy our 100% start, it is natural as a Saints fan to look for the catch. We simply aren’t used to a good start, and I for one have already scanned the fixture list for the first “back to earth with a bump” outing, and actually tomorrow night’s trip to Portman Road could be it. They are my outside tip for promotion and it will no doubt be a tough place to go. Paul Jewell is no mug at this level, and the acquisitions of Lee Bowyer and Michael Chopra make them an exciting looking team.

The opening two game winning side of 1988, did go on and win their third match to, so we aren’t incapable, but if we are looking for omens, Chris Nicholl’s class of 1988/89, Neil Ruddock, Barry Horne and co finished up 13th in Division One, and I would like to think we are aiming slightly higher than that. In better news, that season, of our current opponents, only Forest, Derby, Coventry and Millwall finished above us.

1988/89:-

West Ham United (h) 4-0

Queens Park Rangers (a) 0-1

Luton Town (h) 2-1

2011/12

Leeds United (h) 3-1

Barnsley (a) 0-1

Ipswich Town (a) ?

Whatever happens, we have already sent a message to the Championship old guard, that we haven’t come here to make up the numbers, and our destination is up.

If I never ever see you . Again….

Chris