Well, I said they don`t come around too often and I wasn`t wrong.  The celebrations of the last weekend have disappeared in a hail of disappointment for my neighbour, our street`s local hero`s family down the road and for myself.  We need help and counselling after each of our teams slipped up in the midweek fixtures.

First, Forest Green Rovers were on the brink of going top of the league at home to Morecambe on Tuesday evening;  they were leading 2-1 deep into added time when from nowhere the visitors grabbed an equaliser. Still, they didn`t lose.

Which is more than can be said for my neighbour`s Gillingham and my beloved Southampton.  The Gills were away at Fleetwood, hoping to cement their play-off hopes but sadly it was the Cod Army who came out on top with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to a second minute penalty awarded by a referee who did not please Gills boss Steve Evans that much. Following the Fleetwood defeat, Evans said: “We went away really disappointed, it was a big chance to go there and win, but it makes it a real uphill task when the referee does that to you. He’s running around calling the Fleetwood players by their first names and that’s not right..   "  Never mind, Steve - you have a good chance of repairing the damage on Saturday against struggling Swindon Town.

Now the Saints 5-2 defeat away at Manchester City last night was perhaps predictable. Ah, Manchester City.  There`s a world of difference between City and the Saints.  City are owned by Sheikh Mansour, one of football`s wealthiest owners with an estimated net worth of at least £17billion and a family fortune in excess of £1 trillion.  City could arguably be called the football club of the United Arab Emirates.  Southampton, on the other hand, are an entirely different proposition - a provincial club struggling to survive on and off the field of play and who, like most other clubs, stand little chance of competing on a level playing field with the size and resources that City have.

But last night the Saints did what they could, played well enough for Pep Guardiola to say they were the best team City have played against all season (which you might say when you`ve just won 5-2) but in the end some defensive blunders and the sheer quality of City produced the inevitable result (3-0 nett?)  Next up, Brighton on Sunday, televised live by the BBC so no doubt there will be pre-match warnings that viewers might find some of the scenes upsetting.....especially if you`re a Saints fan.