Show the Red Card to Cheating Bastards !!!
The day was finally here and it was time to take on Portsmouth in the 5th Round of the FA Cup. But for the High Court, in an act of sentimentality, allowing Pompey an extra 7 days to prove that they are not what we all know them to be…. Insolvent, then this game wouldn’t have taken place. This would have been a shame in some respects but not in others. To be honest, forgetting the fans for a minute, the people who have run Pompey for the last ten-ish years, deserve for the club to go bang and be liquidated.
So, it was with great irritation that I turned on the radio on my way to the match and heard yet another interview with Peter Sob Storrie, blah blah new investors, blah blah persecuted, blah blah out to get us, blah blah fucking blah. I’d like one of the radio interviewers to ask the following…. Peter, whose decision was it not to pay the taxman and spend it on players? Anyhow, my train of thought was interrupted by a Pompey fan with multiple tattoos trying to thumb a lift. I thought about driving past, stopping and then speeding off as he caught up but decided that would be lowering myself to their level which is a level you never want to be at.
We park up near Woolston station and it was a relief to find that the Police had learnt the lesson of five years ago and were not letting the Pompey fans off there. Quick stroll across the bridge and we’re in, fantastic crowd, atmosphere building nicely. Saints have selected the same team as the other night with only Perry coming in for the cup tied Fonte. I was surprised as I felt that Pards would play 5 in midfield. The Skates on the other hand looked really makeshift at the back with two midfielders at full backs and a full back at centre back. It’s going to be tough but I think with a bit of luck we can do it.
Text messages are flying about with insincere good luck messages from Blue mates but everyone’s sticking to banter and not giving it the large one which is nice. It was then time to hold up the card that was fixed to your seat with a rubber band to make a mosaic for the cameras – I had a white one. It did make me laugh that there were no cards on the seats in the sections next to the Skates. I think a rubber band fight would have been a good laugh, especially as we’d start with all the ammo.
The first thing I noticed once the game kicked off was Howard Webb the referee, who effortlessly seemed to control the opening exchanges of the game. What a pleasant change from the nomarks we have in League 1. Saints were looking the more dangerous side and really should have taken the lead on ten minutes as Sir Rickie found himself on the left wing and whipped in a perfect cross onto the head of Papa Waigo at the back stick but his soft header gave James the chance to save which he duly did.
Saints continued to press but were given a reminder of the quality of the opposition when O’Hara thumped a volley from 25 yards which Davis tipped over at full stretch. When Pompey got the ball down they looked good in midfield but their final ball up to the forwards was terrible, usually going straight off the pitch. However, kicking for touch is a batter bet than passing to John 80k Utaka who is shocking.
Meanwhile, down the other end, Lallana was running rings round them, especially big Papa Bouba Diop and Sir Rickie was taking corners again. James flapped one of these onto the head of Jaidi who couldn’t react in time and headed over. Following this came a further period of Saints dominance as James got to a ball just before Lallana and then made a brilliant instinctive block to keep out a Thomas header.
0-0 at half time and we really should have been in front. Aside from the one shot from O’Hara, they’d produced nothing and we’d had chances – “would we regret it?” was a question on a text I had from my mate Pompey Dave.
The second half started with a great run and cross from Antonio who had obviously had a kick up the arse at half time because he was wandering about like a little boy lost in the first half. The cross was met by Lallana but James (the bastard) pulled out another top drawer block.
On the hour mark, Avram Grant removed 47 year old waiter Basinas and replaced him with the ridiculously named, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. I’d seen Quincy play for Birmingham against us a while back and didn’t think he was much good so I wasn’t worried. Wrong! Five minutes later he found himself with the ball in the inside left channel and curled a lovely right footed shot into the far corner to give the Skates the lead. Quality finish it has to be said but I still called him a bastard. Half a second after it hit the net, the Skates realised and made some noise for the first time.
Back came the Saints and four minutes later got a free kick wide on the right. Sir Rickie stayed in the box and here’s why. Harding’s left footed kick was staright on his head and he nodded in powerfully past James who had in truth, kind of come for it and gone back again. SMS went mental in a way that makes you love a derby game – but only when you’ve scored. Pards - Sir Rickie is like a magnet for the ball when he’s in the box and he knows where the goal is and is much more likely to score from a header than anyone else in the team so get him in there and get Lallana and Schneiderlin to practice set piece delivery
Subs all round as Avram Grant decided that Roxanne had put on her red light and pulled off Utaka. If he pays me 80 grand a week, Avram can pull me off as well. John 80k was replaced with the winner of the Ballon D’Lead, Frederic Piquionne whilst Pards replaced Papa Waigo with Lee Barnard. Twenty to go and then it all went to shit.
From another break up the pitch from Quincy, the ball found itself, via a despairing lunge from the previously immaculate Perry, at the feet of the previously anonymous Dindane whose cross shot was half blocked by Davis’ foot but still hobbled into the net. Again there was that horrible half a second before the Skate fans realised they’d scored but we were 2-1 down. The goal was very preventable for a couple of reasons – both Schneiderlin and Hammond were in front of the ball when we lost it which meant we had no one holding the midfield and also, Perry really should have cut it out. Fuck it.
The moment you know it is not going to be your day is when you think you’ve equalised again and it gets chalked off…. Lallana half hit a shot, James parried and Barnard bundled it in only for the flag to go up. It was offside and I have no problem with it being disallowed but wouldn’t have been nice if all that phase 1, phase 2 crap could have gone in our favour.
And that was it – we over-committed again and got done on the break as Belhadj ran through for 3-1 and then we did the same again and Quincy set up O’Hara to smash the 4th through Davis. Usually I’d say you may as well lose 4-1 as 2-1 in the Cup but not today. Getting beat 4-1 by Them is not good. If we’d lost 4-1 to Wolves or Bolton for example, I wouldn’t have given a shit, but Them…. THEM!!!
Fucking hell, talk about a flattering scoreline. The only good thing is that I think everybody recognises that fact. For 70 minutes I reckon we were the better side but as is the case with many of our league games, the last 20 was a different matter altogether. Is it a fitness issue, a concentration issue or what is it? I feel that today it was a tactical issue as well as we went all gung ho at 2-1 down and the killer 3rd goal came about when our whole midfield and a defender were in front of the ball when we lost it. Fair play to Pompey for building the attack and sticking it in the net but Jesus we looked naïve.
In a nutshell, they took their chances and we didn’t and James made a string of saves that kept them in it which is what he is supposed to do. The other side of that is that on many of the chances, he shouldn’t have had a prayer but the final effort on goal was weak and gave him a chance. They did a job on us really and we got mugged but I feel we really let them off the hook. The pace in their side was always going to be a problem for us and in the last 20 minutes when the game opened out a bit, it really told. The best outfield player on the pitch was O’Hara by a mile and he really bossed the game, especially in the 2nd half and deserved his goal, even if it did make the scoreline completely flattering.
The previous paragraph was the magnanimous paragraph when I give credit where credit is due. The next paragraph (or three) is the sour grapes paragraph (or three).
It sticks in my fucking craw losing to them at any time but even though we’re two divisions below them, it sticks even more that the result could just as easily be written Southampton 1 Premier League 4. The pathetic, limp wristed Premier League have done precisely the square root of fuck all to punish Pompey for cheating. Any points deductions for paying players late or falling behind on repayments to other clubs for players they’ve signed? Any penalty for stealing the VAT they should have paid to the taxman and spending it on players? They’re cheating, end of. The Premier League put a transfer embargo on them which lasted three weeks of the last transfer window. They only did that because they owed money to other football clubs – and then they lifted the embargo a) to maintain the integrity of the competition (don’t make me fucking laugh) and b) so Pompey could add more players to a wage bill that they can’t and could never afford.
I’m guessing that their highest paid player (aside from the truly shit John Utaka) is David James who was man of the match for me today. Also, two of the players they were allowed to sign in the recent transfer window, despite being insolvent, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Jamie O’Hara scored or had hand in three of their goals today. I bet a load of teams would like to have those three players as a reward for cheating if they were going to get away with it. They should not get away with it.
So, it was with great irritation that I turned on the radio on my way to the match and heard yet another interview with Peter Sob Storrie, blah blah new investors, blah blah persecuted, blah blah out to get us, blah blah fucking blah. I’d like one of the radio interviewers to ask the following…. Peter, whose decision was it not to pay the taxman and spend it on players? Anyhow, my train of thought was interrupted by a Pompey fan with multiple tattoos trying to thumb a lift. I thought about driving past, stopping and then speeding off as he caught up but decided that would be lowering myself to their level which is a level you never want to be at.
We park up near Woolston station and it was a relief to find that the Police had learnt the lesson of five years ago and were not letting the Pompey fans off there. Quick stroll across the bridge and we’re in, fantastic crowd, atmosphere building nicely. Saints have selected the same team as the other night with only Perry coming in for the cup tied Fonte. I was surprised as I felt that Pards would play 5 in midfield. The Skates on the other hand looked really makeshift at the back with two midfielders at full backs and a full back at centre back. It’s going to be tough but I think with a bit of luck we can do it.
Text messages are flying about with insincere good luck messages from Blue mates but everyone’s sticking to banter and not giving it the large one which is nice. It was then time to hold up the card that was fixed to your seat with a rubber band to make a mosaic for the cameras – I had a white one. It did make me laugh that there were no cards on the seats in the sections next to the Skates. I think a rubber band fight would have been a good laugh, especially as we’d start with all the ammo.
The first thing I noticed once the game kicked off was Howard Webb the referee, who effortlessly seemed to control the opening exchanges of the game. What a pleasant change from the nomarks we have in League 1. Saints were looking the more dangerous side and really should have taken the lead on ten minutes as Sir Rickie found himself on the left wing and whipped in a perfect cross onto the head of Papa Waigo at the back stick but his soft header gave James the chance to save which he duly did.
Saints continued to press but were given a reminder of the quality of the opposition when O’Hara thumped a volley from 25 yards which Davis tipped over at full stretch. When Pompey got the ball down they looked good in midfield but their final ball up to the forwards was terrible, usually going straight off the pitch. However, kicking for touch is a batter bet than passing to John 80k Utaka who is shocking.
Meanwhile, down the other end, Lallana was running rings round them, especially big Papa Bouba Diop and Sir Rickie was taking corners again. James flapped one of these onto the head of Jaidi who couldn’t react in time and headed over. Following this came a further period of Saints dominance as James got to a ball just before Lallana and then made a brilliant instinctive block to keep out a Thomas header.
0-0 at half time and we really should have been in front. Aside from the one shot from O’Hara, they’d produced nothing and we’d had chances – “would we regret it?” was a question on a text I had from my mate Pompey Dave.
The second half started with a great run and cross from Antonio who had obviously had a kick up the arse at half time because he was wandering about like a little boy lost in the first half. The cross was met by Lallana but James (the bastard) pulled out another top drawer block.
On the hour mark, Avram Grant removed 47 year old waiter Basinas and replaced him with the ridiculously named, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. I’d seen Quincy play for Birmingham against us a while back and didn’t think he was much good so I wasn’t worried. Wrong! Five minutes later he found himself with the ball in the inside left channel and curled a lovely right footed shot into the far corner to give the Skates the lead. Quality finish it has to be said but I still called him a bastard. Half a second after it hit the net, the Skates realised and made some noise for the first time.
Back came the Saints and four minutes later got a free kick wide on the right. Sir Rickie stayed in the box and here’s why. Harding’s left footed kick was staright on his head and he nodded in powerfully past James who had in truth, kind of come for it and gone back again. SMS went mental in a way that makes you love a derby game – but only when you’ve scored. Pards - Sir Rickie is like a magnet for the ball when he’s in the box and he knows where the goal is and is much more likely to score from a header than anyone else in the team so get him in there and get Lallana and Schneiderlin to practice set piece delivery
Subs all round as Avram Grant decided that Roxanne had put on her red light and pulled off Utaka. If he pays me 80 grand a week, Avram can pull me off as well. John 80k was replaced with the winner of the Ballon D’Lead, Frederic Piquionne whilst Pards replaced Papa Waigo with Lee Barnard. Twenty to go and then it all went to shit.
From another break up the pitch from Quincy, the ball found itself, via a despairing lunge from the previously immaculate Perry, at the feet of the previously anonymous Dindane whose cross shot was half blocked by Davis’ foot but still hobbled into the net. Again there was that horrible half a second before the Skate fans realised they’d scored but we were 2-1 down. The goal was very preventable for a couple of reasons – both Schneiderlin and Hammond were in front of the ball when we lost it which meant we had no one holding the midfield and also, Perry really should have cut it out. Fuck it.
The moment you know it is not going to be your day is when you think you’ve equalised again and it gets chalked off…. Lallana half hit a shot, James parried and Barnard bundled it in only for the flag to go up. It was offside and I have no problem with it being disallowed but wouldn’t have been nice if all that phase 1, phase 2 crap could have gone in our favour.
And that was it – we over-committed again and got done on the break as Belhadj ran through for 3-1 and then we did the same again and Quincy set up O’Hara to smash the 4th through Davis. Usually I’d say you may as well lose 4-1 as 2-1 in the Cup but not today. Getting beat 4-1 by Them is not good. If we’d lost 4-1 to Wolves or Bolton for example, I wouldn’t have given a shit, but Them…. THEM!!!
Fucking hell, talk about a flattering scoreline. The only good thing is that I think everybody recognises that fact. For 70 minutes I reckon we were the better side but as is the case with many of our league games, the last 20 was a different matter altogether. Is it a fitness issue, a concentration issue or what is it? I feel that today it was a tactical issue as well as we went all gung ho at 2-1 down and the killer 3rd goal came about when our whole midfield and a defender were in front of the ball when we lost it. Fair play to Pompey for building the attack and sticking it in the net but Jesus we looked naïve.
In a nutshell, they took their chances and we didn’t and James made a string of saves that kept them in it which is what he is supposed to do. The other side of that is that on many of the chances, he shouldn’t have had a prayer but the final effort on goal was weak and gave him a chance. They did a job on us really and we got mugged but I feel we really let them off the hook. The pace in their side was always going to be a problem for us and in the last 20 minutes when the game opened out a bit, it really told. The best outfield player on the pitch was O’Hara by a mile and he really bossed the game, especially in the 2nd half and deserved his goal, even if it did make the scoreline completely flattering.
The previous paragraph was the magnanimous paragraph when I give credit where credit is due. The next paragraph (or three) is the sour grapes paragraph (or three).
It sticks in my fucking craw losing to them at any time but even though we’re two divisions below them, it sticks even more that the result could just as easily be written Southampton 1 Premier League 4. The pathetic, limp wristed Premier League have done precisely the square root of fuck all to punish Pompey for cheating. Any points deductions for paying players late or falling behind on repayments to other clubs for players they’ve signed? Any penalty for stealing the VAT they should have paid to the taxman and spending it on players? They’re cheating, end of. The Premier League put a transfer embargo on them which lasted three weeks of the last transfer window. They only did that because they owed money to other football clubs – and then they lifted the embargo a) to maintain the integrity of the competition (don’t make me fucking laugh) and b) so Pompey could add more players to a wage bill that they can’t and could never afford.
I’m guessing that their highest paid player (aside from the truly shit John Utaka) is David James who was man of the match for me today. Also, two of the players they were allowed to sign in the recent transfer window, despite being insolvent, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Jamie O’Hara scored or had hand in three of their goals today. I bet a load of teams would like to have those three players as a reward for cheating if they were going to get away with it. They should not get away with it.
The most incredible thing is about a guy who didn’t even get on the pitch today. After being told last week that a Judge ‘suspected they were insolvent’ … and HMRC declared the opinion that they were insolvent… and being given 7 days to prove they haven’t been insolvent and can pay every future bill…. they signed another player (Tosic) and therefore, added to the list of outgoings. Am I the only one who thinks it is completely fucking staggering that they are allowed to do this? If I was the Judge, I’d be thinking that this lot are just taking the piss and have them put to sleep. I have no beef with a vast majority of Pompey fans but it would be a good day for football if this all catches up with them – them being the cartel of crooks and Peter Tell me a Fucking Storrie. Just because it’s sour grapes (which it is), doesn’t mean it isn’t fucking true. I would be saying this if we hadn’t lost to them today but maybe with a bit less venom.
Saints for their part have got to put this behind them and take the positives from it, the positives being that for 70 minutes we were the better side and that not many sides we’ll be playing against for a while have a goalkeeper that good or forwards that quick. There were some good individual performances as well with Lallana, Lambert, Antonio (2nd half) and Schneiderlin (who really got stuck in today) being the pick. We now have a month and a load of fixtures to try and make a dent in what is now an 18 point deficit between us and the playoffs before the JPT final on March 28th. If we can get that gap down to under ten in that time then we may still have a chance.
It was a disappointing day but I’m proud to be a Saint and I really would not swap our future for theirs.
Saints for their part have got to put this behind them and take the positives from it, the positives being that for 70 minutes we were the better side and that not many sides we’ll be playing against for a while have a goalkeeper that good or forwards that quick. There were some good individual performances as well with Lallana, Lambert, Antonio (2nd half) and Schneiderlin (who really got stuck in today) being the pick. We now have a month and a load of fixtures to try and make a dent in what is now an 18 point deficit between us and the playoffs before the JPT final on March 28th. If we can get that gap down to under ten in that time then we may still have a chance.
It was a disappointing day but I’m proud to be a Saint and I really would not swap our future for theirs.
Agreed, now can someone from the shop PLEASE give Marcus a scarf!!
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