PRINCES, PAUPERS AND CONSOLATION...

Queens Park Rangers came visiting yesterday. They have recently been bought by a combined trinity of Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Lakshmi Mittal. Together they have a combined wealth in excess of £400trazillion. As Mittal alone is the world`s fifth richest man, Rangers must now be richer than Chelsea.

So no surprise that they spent heavily in the recent transfer window and came to St. Mary`s yesterday to secure a 3-2 win over Southampton to avenge the 3-0 drubbing we handed out to them at Loftus Road back in September. Yesterday`s scoreline does not reflect the events of the afternoon, however. Saints scored in the first minute and again in the last. In between, Rangers were gifted each of their three goals by defensive blunders of almost heroic proportions. But, that said, Rangers were the better team and deserved their three points, so I can have no complaints on that score.

My real concern is the contrast between Rangers` fortunes and those of Saints. As things stand, we have no manager, we have no investment on the horizon, we have got rid of our best players to assuage the bank manager, crowd numbers are dwindling, we have now lost seven games at home - more than we have lost away - and there is the growing prospect of yet another relegation as we slip to 18th in the league. In short, someone needs to get a grip and soon otherwise the drift into obscurity, if not oblivion, will simply carry on.

Consolations? Another good day out in glorious sunshine, meeting with good friends, whose company I enjoy and value and visiting old haunts. There is, of course, always the wonder of seeing events like this:-

Yes, the Liberty of the Seas - just one of a growing number of cruise ships drifting in and out of Southampton docks - caught on camera just off Hythe Pier. You just don`t get scenes like this at Loftus Road.

But perhaps the greatest consolation is that it is now absolutely certain that Saints will not be promoted back to the Premier League, which has - thanks to Richard Scudamore - again shown its contempt for the game`s traditional supporters. The Premier League has become a caricature of itself - nothing more than a money-grabbing self-parody which more and more alienates the `true fans.` It calls them `customers` and talks in terms of `market,` `brand` and `product.` If it wants to strut the world stage, then maybe it should be allowed to do so and leave the rest of us to enjoy proper football played in our own backyards.