Carlsberg don't do Saturdays ..................

..............But if they did England cricket would go top of the world, Southampton would go top of the league, Pompey would lose at home after missing a last minute penalty and I would win the lottery.

Clearly Carlsberg can only influence sporting events.

Take Me Down To The Ball Park

This year, thanks to receiving ESPN America and excellent coverage on the internet via MLB   I have finally got to understand the game of baseball. At the start of the season I picked a team to follow at random and went for the Seattle Mariners . A team that as I later found out , have never really done anything , being one of only two teams never to have reached a (over inflated ego style titled ) World Series.
Following the games has been easy . The time difference means most are played whilst I sleep but a quick check on my phone every morning tells me all I need to know. The statistics give a comprehensive indication of how the game went ( more like cricket than football in that respect )  with video highlights of all the major incidents . Game by game the rules and tactics all started to make sense.
Just like Southampton my football team always seem to do, they started the season badly. A good recovery saw them challenging for a play off place untill suddenly things went off the rails . Now 100 games into the 162 game season they are currently on an unwanted team equaling  record of 14 defeats in a row . I'd imagine that they will be going into todays game with some trepidation.
I'll follow the rest of the season with interest. The question is, having absolutely no connection with Seattle do I stick with them forever or pick a new team to follow next year. After all I entered their free ticket competition on Twitter explaining that I deserved 2 free tickets to a game because they were my newly adopted team in a new sport and a real life game would only help me appreciate them and the sport even more, but travel expenses would need to be included. I didn't win - maybe another team would appreciate my support a bit more.

My All Time XI

I was recently asked by the editor of the excellent Southampton FC blog georgeweahscousin ( a name only Saints fans and Graemme Souness are likely to understand), to provide a list of my all time best (and worst) Saints XI. The point of the request was to prove a point that the answer will vary depending on age , and he needed an old man's selection (although I was pleased to see he managed to find one older than me.) The article appears HERE and proves the point nicely. Although there are a few recurring picks, the all-time best XI clearly does depend on your age and the era you feel was the best period during your life as a fan. 

It's all opinion of course, there's no way of physically comparing a player from the 70s with a player today. Statistics can only tell us so much, and also hide a lot more, and will continue to be the subject of pub (or blog) conversations for years to come. And that, more than anything else is what makes football, and any other sport for that matter, such a favourite pass time and talking point.

For the record my selection is as below, (at least at the time of writing any way) Spoiler Alert: Small clue appears on the left.  Chances are if I was asked to pick it again tomorrow I may make a couple of changes. It's was quite a shock realising how many superb players I had had to leave out. Why not have a go at picking yours, but do it before you read mine.

GK Peter Shilton – “Didn’t have to do a lot, he was so dominant the defence was scared to make a mistake. When they did he was like another one man defensive line all on his own. Still England’s record cap holder (125) should have been much higher but for a job-share arrangement with Ray Clemence. Booze, birds but still simply the best. Crap on Strictly Come Dancing.”

RB Ivan Golac – “First of the modern day foreign imports after we finally got round work permit problems, and possibly still the best value for money foreigner to this day. Took no prisoners in defence, and was even better going forwards . Scored a thunderbolt against WBA from at least 75 yards that their keeper never even saw. Used feigned lack of English to keep himself out of trouble with the ref, was the first foreigner to play in a Wembley final.”

CH Mark Wright – “A very good youngster who got better and better thanks to being paired with and learning from some experienced greats. Looked too frail to be a centre half but had great positional play and perfect timing. Reminiscent of Bobby Moore as, with head up, he would bring the ball out of defence and always look to pass, never hoof . Can still hear the sound his (frail looking) leg made as it snapped in the 86 semi final. Sadly ginger.”

LB Steve Mills – “England international in the making (he played for the Under 23s), it was clear we had unearthed a new star before his career was cruelly cut short after only 60 appearances first by injuries sustained in a car crash and then later developing (and sadly passing away from) leukaemia. Fast, tough tackling, intelligent passer and capable of a quick overlap and getting back again in no time. For younger fans imagine Wayne Bridge but twice as good. Maybe three times.”

LBRBCHRMLMCMRWLWCFS Nick Holmes - ”I’d play him just in front of the CH behind the Midfield, put as the positional initials show he played virtually every position for Saints except keeper and never ever let us down. Never received the international recognition he deserved, possibly due to his beard. Seemed a quiet character on the pitch, he simply got on with his job and done it well, very well. It was often said that you only really noticed him if, through injury, he wasn’t there, and you’d be looking for the three players we seemed to be missing. For me this jack-of-all-trades-master-of-all would be the first on every team sheet.”

RW Terry Paine - ”Still holds the record for most appearances for the club. Tirelessly hogging the touchline, one of, if not the best crosser of a ball I’ve ever seen. Played in the 66 World Cup squad but picked up an injury so never made the final. Unlike most modern wingers, not afraid to stick a boot, or elbow, in when needed, dropped back into a deeper midfield role as age and differing tactics caught up with him.”

CM Kevin Keegan -  ”The signing that shocked the football world, it came as big a shock as if we signed Messi today. He didn’t stay long (a couple of seasons) but gave 110% every minute he was on the pitch. Total live-wire, his amazing enthusiasm rubbed off on other players who wouldn’t or couldn’t let their standards drop in his presence. He always struck me as a short player who was a giant on the pitch (the afro may have helped there) Scored the world’s best ever disallowed goal (search YouTube for it) not to mention the goal that took Saints to the top of the league – not our division, THE league. Hard to believe nowadays with not just Saints but football changing so much since then but yes, with him in our team we really were the best side in the country for a while.”

CM David Armstrong - ”Just 3 England caps for a player that would walk into today’s national team, he was unfortunate to play in an era when our country had a dearth of mid-fielders. Fantastic box to box player, great at bringing others into the game, making goal after goal for our forwards whilst contributing better than 1 goal in every 4 games himself (a ratio many forwards would be proud of). Added bonus of his head dazzling the opposition under floodlights.”

LW Danny Wallace - ”To be fair not a winger as such but was always prepared to hang out wide before bursting inside on a run and terrifying defenders who never knew if he would take the ball past them to their right, left or through their legs. Often utilised in Chris Nicols (unheard of nowadays) 4-2-4 formation he scored a MotD goal of the season with an overhead kick against Liverpool, which I missed, still the one and only time I’ve been for a pee during a game. Added advantage of being able to swap him for brothers Rodney or Ray if he gets tired and no-one will notice.”

CF Ron Davies -  ”The best header of a ball. Ever. Anywhere. Any time. Benefited from the accuracy of Paine’s crosses but I’m sure he would still have got his head to most balls if it had been my Gran crossing them for him. He scored four headed goals away at Old Trafford. I don’t mean in his career I mean in ONE game and ended up as top scorer in the top division. He, like Ryan Giggs, had the footballing misfortune of being Welsh, depriving him of what would have been a well deserved place on the world stage.”

S Mike Channon -  ”A striker capable of scoring from anywhere, whether playing through the middle or starting out on the wing* and cutting in. An England regular he played the game with a smile, not least as he “stumbled” over a defenders leg to gain yet another penalty. Scorer of the Greatest Goal Ever® (search YouTube for Greatest Goal Ever®) when against Liverpool he finished off a move consisting of over a thousand passes without them touching the ball before wheeling away giving his trademark windmill arm goal celebration. *Wing positions were often taken up in order to get the racing results , another advantage of the Dell crowds close proximity to the pitch.”

Sub: Matthew Le Tissier -  ”Famed for his one club loyalty he has probably more individual talent than any of the above but in my opinion all of the above are better team players. Capable of scoring from virtually anywhere in the opponents half, lethal with free kicks and penalties, but starts on the bench as he was prone to disappear for long spells (sometimes as long as 90 minutes especially if it was cold and raining) Selection as sub possibly clouded by my love of being controversial but hey, this is MY team.”

Worst XI:-

“I refuse to pick a worst XI. After all, good bad or indifferent, they are all Saints and therefore worthy of our support and respect.

Except for David Speedie &Kerry Dixon. They were s***e.”

Anything happens in Grand Prix racing, and it usually does

The above is a quote from the voice of Formula One, Murray Walker.  A man with infinitely more enthusiasm for the sport (a term use loosely) than I have, his quote to me seeming to be a total contradiction in how I viewed F1. For me the whole lack of appeal centred around the fact that nothing ever did happen. The driver in the fastest car would qualify in pole position and unless his car broke down he would then lead the rest of the field around the circuit for a couple of meaningless hours till the chequered flag would put me out of my misery.

Recent rule changes have made races slightly more competitive but still not enough to ignite a spark of interest in me. But now a rabbit has succeeded where Bernie Ecclestone and co. failed and got me, whilst maybe not planning my sleep schedule around races from the other side of the world, interested enough to now at least know the name of more than 3 current drivers .

The rabbit concerned is none other than the Grand Prix Bunny . I originally thought this was a training school for future lures at the greyhound track, it is in fact a website  designed and run  by a mate of mine which has put a degree of fun into F1. It is written with a humorous style and features pod-cast discussions with fans - not experts - talking in everyday language that non aficionados like myself can understand. In a sport dominated by billionaires, this website written by, and for, "normal" fans of the sport has got me interested enough to enter into  it's F1 Fantasy game. Hopefully this will give me a sustained interest throughout the summer. In the same way that a fantasy football team has got me interested in the welfare of Wigan's first team squad and the form of foreign imports I'd never previously heard of, words such as monocoque, KERS and shakedown are now entering my vocabulary. 

With the first race due to commence in less than 24 hours, by this time tomorrow I'll either find myself in a competitive season long attempt to try and beat the experts at their own game, or writing it off as a pointless exercise and looking for another summer sporting interest.  Now if only I could remember what my fantasy team selection was.