The Round Ball Game

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Was that when Stockport were a division above City with Mr Megson in charge?

No, it was way back in the late 60's when the average gate was over 8,000.

[teamsaint]

Fine fine win, Sainty.

Convincing performance from the Foxes at Wednesday. Some good midweek action coming up.

Thanks Edgers for the Chelmsford results.

Yup, a couple of good wins , Alison.

Saints have worked out how to cut out rank bad defensive errors, kept faith in their style of play, and reaped the rewards.
Next thing you know they will have worked out Shostakovitch 4......

if the foxes keep getting 2 points a game average it will be plain sailing !!

I had Better keep out of BBM's way......

[EdgeleyRob]

Was that when Stockport were a division above City with Mr Megson in charge?

Ahh those were the days my friend.

Season 97/98 we finished 8th (our highest ever league finish) in what is now the championship with Gary Megson in charge.
The same season Man City were relegated from the very same division, so we were above them for one season.
How things have changed.

Southampton 2 Newcastle United 0 Pleased for ts but please spare a thought for bbm.
Chelsea 0 Man City 0

Also just heard the sad news that Dave Sexton has passed away. RIP.

[Lateralthinking1]

I was sorry to hear about the passing of Dave Sexton.

I think the first match I ever watched on TV was probably the Chelsea v Leeds replay, about a year before attending my first match - at Highbury. Much later - 1980s - I recall going to see Whyteleafe, a team very close to here, playing against a side called Chelsea 70. That Chelsea team with - what was it? - half a dozen players with surnames beginning with "H" will always be "proper Chelsea" to me. Of course, Houseman died tragically young and Hollins had an extraordinary career very late on at Arsenal.



"Proper QPR" was also a Sexton team. Who could ever forget that thrilling and ultimately disappointing final match in 1976? In fact, there were two key matches. Not sure how but I have the splendid programme of Wolves v Liverpool in my programme box. He was less successful at Manchester United but should, with hindsight, be criticised more for their playing style than results which were never terrific but hardly shocking. And then a reasonably successful spell with England and also Coventry. Pretty good overall.

[EdgeleyRob]

A gentleman.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/nov/25/dave-sexton-death-chelsea-fans

[teamsaint]

That great Chelsea side were certainly part of my introduction the the Beautiful Game .
They always seemed to play great football knee deep in mud !

RIP.

[eighthobstruction]

Well done Saints!!!! ....electric stuff, proper football...,.

[gurnemanz]

That great Chelsea side were certainly part of my introduction the the Beautiful Game .
They always seemed to play great football knee deep in mud !

RIP.

I echo that. I was at school in Wandsworth late 60s. My friends were either Chelsea, Fulham or Wimbledon fans. As a Palace fan I was something of a rarity. Even non-fans seemed to like Chelsea with such cult figures as Charlie Cook, Chopper Harris and Peter Osgood. "OSGOOD, IS GOOD" could often be found carved lovingly into the wooden desk tops. This would usually get changed to "Osgood was good". I went down the Fulham Road quite a few times with a friend of mine to see the Chelsea Aces. It was normal to glimpse someone famous up there - I can remember Marty Feldmann and Richard Attenborough. It was a big thing when the famous Bobby Tambling actually left Chelsea for Palace.

[aeolium]

But although Chelsea did have some wonderful footballers in the late 1960s/early 1970s (my favourite was Hudson), it wasn't all sweetness and light. Harris was just a disgrace as a player, and Webb and McCreadie could be pretty brutal at times. Those Chelsea v Leeds encounters were more like pitched battles than football matches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C.–Leeds_United_A.F.C._rivalry

"The [1970 FA Cup] replay at Old Trafford...is regarded as one of the dirtiest matches ever....Modern day referee David Elleray reviewed the match years later and concluded he would have issued six red cards and twenty yellow cards."

[John Shelton]

Interesting. Born in 1960, growing up in Fulham, then Putney it was either Chelsea or Fulham but it was always Fulham.

I can honestly say that with the exception of the Tigana promotion season and the Europa Cup run I have never had anything like the same pleasure I got from the game when we were in the lower leagues (except when we almost ceased to exist) or anything like the pride of getting to the 1975 Cup Final or when Malcolm Macdonald got us so close to promotion until Gordon Davies was injured in 1982 -83.

Being still somewhat incapacitated I watched Chelsea v Man City on my laptop yesterday; all that matched the tedium, the lack of guile even among the crazily expensive imports was the commentators' hype. Later I watched snatches of Levante v Barcelona. Barcelona ended up hammering Levante, but the preparedness of the crowd to accept a tactical approach and to applaud skill was markedly different.

If I followed a lower league team (as most of the time I have) it might be different, but I've fallen out of love with the game. Berbatov will get bored at Fulham, surrounded by lesser players. Jol will keep talking himself up.

Watching India v England I realised how much I love cricket. I barely shrugged at Fulham's loss to Stoke.

[amateur51]

Ah Marple,a hotbed of Manchester City support

Apologies to Am51,I missed Wrexham 5 Rushall Olympic 0.

Many thanks ER - I was away for the weekend in Hastings at their Herring Festival so I'm grateful for the update.

Second time in a week that Wrexham have scored 5, at home this time.

[cloughie]

I noted last week that Seb Coe is a Chelsea fan - for a sportsman brought up in Sheffield, I thought he might have had a more local allegiance - I wonder how long he has supported CFC?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

I noted last week that Seb Coe is a Chelsea fan - for a sportsman brought up in Sheffield, I thought he might have had a more local allegiance - I wonder how long he has supported CFC?

the really smart team to support is Fulham ... Hugh Grant etc ..... still Richard Attenburgh can keep Seb company and they can boo Rafa together ...

very impressed by the Saints teamsaint if you don't mind me saying so .... your No 10 and Goalie had a great game on Sunday

[teamsaint]

the really smart team to support is Fulham ... Hugh Grant etc ..... still Richard Attenburgh can keep Seb company and they can boo Rafa together ...

very impressed by the Saints teamsaint if you don't mind me saying so .... your No 10 and Goalie had a great game on Sunday

Jazzer..recently we have been relegated from the Championship, had the return of Rupert Lowe, at one point, and been in administration and facing extinction.
Having Chelsea fans say nice things about our team is not really such a problem.
Ramirez is a class act..£12m...but I bet we at least get our money back when he inevitably goes to a really big club.The keeper looks one for the future too..makes the odd misjudgement, but he'll improve, and has a bit of class. What about the 17 YO Left back...I understand Chelsea are very keen....looks absolute quality.
Lallana is making the step up nicely too. Oh, and thanks for letting us have Corky...if he could shoot he would be an England player...and so presumably not playing for us !

Re Fulham...never managed to get there yet, and i won't this year....sold out long since.
Boxing day blues.....

Edit..hard to believe how things have changed so quickly for us...just over 2 years ago, in the L1 relegation zone....

[antongould]

Well done Saints!!!! ....electric stuff, proper football...,.

Agree as a half Geordie it was bit upsetting - but any thoughts on Pardews 8 year contract?

Perhaps the toon will sack him and get that promising lad at Norwich.......

Funny game.......