Spygate

A great outburst of moral indignation directed at Southampton this morning, admittedly some of it from Saints supporters.  I am yet to talk to a son-in-law who is a season ticket holder.

I do wonder what useful information one could get from watching Oxford United train, but at least they didn't bother with us.  Actually, Sparrows Lane is pretty secure unlike Boro's traing ground which seemed to be wide open.  (Coventry City placed big screens around their training ground some time ago.)   In days gone by one could walk into Sparrows Lane to watch a reserve match.

I don''t think Southampton will succeed in their appeal, but they might well feel inclined to challenge the authority and decision-making of the EFL in the public courts.   One thing is certain is that the lawyers will benefit.

In some ways the real losers are Hull who were preparing to face another club and are now uncertain whether the match will go ahead at all, disrupting the hotel and travel bookings made by their fans.

The fact of the matter is that football is now big business with large sums of money at stake for big financial players and various forms of cheating are inevitable.  They should be punished, but it is usually a club's fans that suffer most.

Richard Cawley has wryly observed that Nathan Jones will be pleased to face Southampton twice next season.

Richardson fit for Saints game

Former Addick Frazer Richardson has recovered his fitness for today's game at The Valley and will no doubt prove a threat down the right as he did for us. Both managers seem worried about the game and Saints fans don't seem to be too positive either: Saints

Many Saints fans say that they are not match fit for the game and that could apply some Addicks as well. This could be the last game at The Valley under the Murray regime. Unfortunately, I can't make it. Soph collected us for Christmas lunch rather than having me take the risk of getting the car up the long icy slope from our garage block and possibly leading to an an encounter with the brick wall that lines it.

Philippa Nicholson hopes to make it from Kent to provide the coverage for the game. She will be wearing a new coat in Addicks red and white boots.

No Charlton content, but I went to bed early last night so I could listen to the Test coverage this morning (Sky TV is banned by Warwick District Council). I was amazed to hear that Australia were all out for 98 and delighted when we secured a good lead at the end of the day without loss.

I have been to the MCG to see a Rules game and it is an amazing stadium. (Charlton, Victoria is elsewhere in the state: Charlton ) But apparently by the end of the game it looked like The Valley in terms of empty seats at the Walsall game.

I wish Geoff Boycott would disappear. However good the England performance he manages to find some negatives.

Joe the Saint writes

Joe the Saint looks forward to Sunday's game: Having only played one away game since the end of October, Saints away form going into Sundays game at the Valley is a bit difficult to summarize. Three wins one draw and four defeats have hardly made us away day specialists so far this season. Indeed our home form is equally inconsistent and hence the reason we currently occupy a position outside the play offs.

Last season's talisman Ricky Lambert has failed to emulate his goal scoring feats so far this season (but remains joint top scorer!) and the main goal scoring threat up front has come from Lee 'Wanted by Scotland Yard' Barnard who has scored in all three away wins, Adam Lallana, and the pacey Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, son of ex Portsmouth and England winger Mark Chamberlain who along with Lallana is rumoured to be on his way to any number of Premiership clubs come the January sales.

Ex Addick Frazer Richardson has been sidelined by injury for much of the season while Saints most consistent performer and ex Palace defender Jose Fonte is no doubt assured of an equally warm welcome on Boxing Day. The Valley has certainly not proved to be a happy hunting ground for Saints over the years and December 1977 was the last time three points returned to the South Coast. That season was also the last time Saints were promoted. Thirty three years without going up how many teams can match that !?

Prediction? Games between the sides are usually decided by the odd goal or end in a stalemate, so will go for 1-1.

Walking on water

Joe the Saint will be writing later today about the Boxing Day match from a Southampton perspective.

It's not often that I go to a Charlton match on a boat. On occasions I have got the boat from Westminster pier to Greenwich for the last match of the season. However, I accompanied Joe on the Hythe ferry for a Southampton v. Charlton game at St.Mary's.

Unfortunately this was before the Silver Fox was in charge at St.Mary's so were were not able to watch the Ego walking on water in the Solent as part of his pre-match preparations.

Saints aim to end Valley drought

Southampton have never won at The Valley since our return there in 1992. The 5-0 drubbing they received in our first game in the Premiership clearly still stings. Most of our contests have been close ones and a draw is certainly a possible outcome on Sunday: Saints

Some of the edge has been taken off the contest by the fact that the Addickted will no longer be able to welcome Super Alan Pardew and thank him for all he did for us.

The effects of the weather

I thought I would avoid a headline like 'Phil's Snow Hell'. The trains were so disrupted yesterday that I wasn't able to get to London for a meeting but we dealt with the business by conference call and a few E-mails, saving everyone time and hassle.

There are real doubts about the Boxing Day clash against Southampton. Parts of the Valley pitch are frozen, there is ice in the stands, but even more important some of the approaches to The Valley are treacherous, not least for anyone coming downhill. Although a thaw is forecast for Boxing Day, it may come too late.

Given the absence of any public transport on Boxing Day (something that doesn't happen elsewhere in Europe), it wouldn't be a match I could get to anyway. But it will also be difficult if it is moved to a weeknight.

A Google Ad on this page has been advertising 'four star hotels in Charlton' and I wasn't aware that there were any (occasionally I use the Holiday Inn Express in North Greenwich). When you click on the ad, you get a selection of hotels in Bristol.

The other event that must be in some doubt because of the weather is the announcement of the completion of the takeover on Christmas Eve. The Addickted may not be getting a Dennis Wise doll in their Christmas stockings, but may have to wait until New Year's Day.

No Charlton content, but if you have a condensing gas central heating boiler and have encountered problems you may be interested in my experiences: Breakdowns

Saints expect bumper crowd

Southampton are expecting a crowd of at least 25,000 for their clash against Charlton on Saturday. A win is vital to their campaign to secure a play-off place:
Saints

Spanner in the works

Spanner Rod Liddle makes a living as a controversial columnist - that is, he says things that are outrageous and provocative to gain attention and get a reaction.

His suggestion in this morning's Sunday Times that Portsmouth and Southampton should merge to form Solent United playing at St.Mary's is clearly a wind up. Joe the Saint contacted me to say that he had fallen about laughing.

The charming Liddle can not, however, resist getting in a dig at Charlton, a familiar theme in his columns. He claims that we are 'strapped for cash almost to the point of annihilation.' Given that we (or our holding company) have not gone into administration and that we have put together some working capital, this seems a bit rich.

Of course, it may be that Millwall will go up as we go down. If that does happen, it will be interesting to see if crowds at the New Den compare with crowds at Charlton during our Championship period.