IMPROPER CONDUCT

This was the scene in stoppage time at the end of last Saturday`s encounter with Charlton Athletic, which ended in a 3-2 defeat for Saints. There were lots of verbals flying around between Saints Head Coach, Mark Wotte (in shirtsleeves) and his Charlton counterpart Phil Parkinson, himself a former Saints apprentice.

The referee had little choice but to send the two malcontents to the stands and I see today that both have been charged by the Football Association with improper conduct. Now, given that Charlton seem doomed to relegation, despite Parkinson apparently clinging on to the improbable notion that they might still survive, and given that Saints go into this afternoon`s televised match away at table topping Wolves having failed to win any of their previous six games, it somehow seems unneccesary for the FA to level such charges, for the respective performances of both teams this season must surely take the term `improper conduct` to another level. I won`t be watching this afternoon. Quite apart from it being too nice a day to be indoors, such tv exposure should really only be allowed after the watershed.