Just a quick note to say that if I am away from these pages for a while it`s simply because of the need to carry out some essential repairs and maintenance.

I hope it won`t take long and I look forward to returning back here when the job`s done.  Stay well - take care.

 

 

Which happens most weekends of course and despite my preoccupation with the FA Cup I must start my roundup with Gillingham, my neighbour`s heroes;  it is rumoured but unconfirmed that he made the journey to Priestfield Stadium yesterday only to see the Gills get hammered 4-0 by visiting Ipswich Town.  Worrying times for him and his fellow devotees, as this result firmly anchors the Gills in the relegation zone of League One.  I am there for him, of course, should he feel the need for counselling - a service he has offered me in the past given my own penchant for Southampton FC.

Elsewhere Brechin City made the journey to Pitmedden, a small village north of Aberdeen and the home of Formartine United.  City came out 1-0 losers to dent their hopes of a swift return to Scottish League Two.  They have now slumped to fifth in the Highland League, but then Formartine`s North Lodge Park is never an easy place to go to.  

No games for Fort William, Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC, Vale of Leithen or Truro City, whose game away at Salisbury City was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.  Maidstone United went to Billericay in Essex in the National League South but could only manage a 1-1 draw against the league`s bottom club - a disappointing result perhaps which sees the Stones drop to second in the table on goal difference from near neighbours Ebbsfleet.

As our street are now Ravens fans, we followed Bromley`s National League home game against Solihull Moors with renewed interest as it marked the home debut for Scott Wagstaff of this parish, who did not disappoint, scoring Bromley`s first goal in their 2-1 win.  I think they are due to play Aldershot soon, so it will be interesting to see what reaction Scott gets from the Shots crowd on his return to play against the club he has just recently left.  Maybe they will be charitable.

I have left Southampton to last partly because their gritty 3-2 win away at Swansea in the FA Cup has been perhaps under reported.  The Saints, despite suffering injuries and Covid cases, put out a strong side against their Championship opponents;  went 1-0 up after Nathan Redmond`s deft finish and then went down to ten men as a result of French defender Yan Valery being dismissed after 30 minutes for two `soft` yellow cards.   So, the game changed - went a bit topsy turvy with Swansea going ahead 2-1, Saints pulling it back to 2-2 and eventually winning 3-2 after extra time.  A performance of much character and endeavour to play with ten men for 90 minutes but one which may have taken its toll on the team`s fitness in advance of Tuesday evening`s Premier League game against Brentford.  We`ll see.

So, as the great man said, "You win some, you lose some."   Life`s rich pageant, I guess.

 

HERE IS THE NEWS.....

I see that the BBC have appointed a new head of BBC News and current affairs on a salary of £400,000 a year - an icrease of £60,000 from that paid to her predecessor who will be leaving at the end of the month.   The new incumbent is one Deborah Turness, previously of NBC and ITV and so brings a wealth of experience to her new role.

The BBC`s Director General, Tim Davie, was apparently keen to bring in someone from outside, perhaps to the chagrin of arguably more controversial internal candidates.  Even so, perhaps Mrs. Turness being married to the director of communications and intelligence at the Cabinet Office helps when the BBC`s issues around the licence fee are discussed?

I can just about visualise the interview process between Mr. Davie and Mrs. Turness. 

"So, Deborah - may I call you Deborah? - what do you see as the main issues facing BBC News at the moment?"

"Well, Tim - if I may call you Tim - I have noticed that issues such as impartiality in the corporation`s coverage is included in the job description, as well as finding replacements for Andrew Marr and Laura."

"And bringing your wealth of experience and insight, your first class editorial judgment and your strong track record will be a help to you in this new role?"

"Yes, Tim, I should hope so.  Especially as here in the UK and around the world there has never been a greater need for the BBC`s powerful brand of impartial, trusted journalism."

(Something else it would be difficult to make up; which I might have done but for the last bits shown in italics being taken from the BBC press release following the appointment.)

 

For over 70 decades I have witnessed the comings and goings of ownership and control of Southampton Football Club.   The incumbents have been many and varied and have ranged from  local businessmen and local worthies to chancers, foreign investors and at least one of genuine benevolence.  Of more recent times, the club has been in the majority ownership of a Chinese gentleman who, because of Chinee politics  and curbs on foreign investment, has been more than a little absent from the south coast and keen to release himself from his association with the club.  During his tenure, he didn`t put any money into the club and didn`t take any out and left the club`s highly competent management team to get on with running things.  To be fair to them, they have done a pretty good job of so doing.

And now it seems that we have new majority owners - I use the word deliberately as Katherina Liebherr has retained her 20% share in the club so as to protect the legacy of her late father, Markus, who was the one owner in recent times who demonstrated not only genuine benevolence but also a genuine `feel` for the club, the city of Southampton and what the club meant to the city.

With an unusually muted announcement yesterday the new majority owners were revealed as newly formed investment company Sports Republic..  The investment side of things is headed by one Dragan Solak, a Serbian born billionaire entrepreneur.  He is joined by Rasmus Ankersen who has been a director at both Brentford and FC Midtjyland in his native Denmark and by another Dane, London based investor Henrik Kraft.  The price paid for their controlling stake is reported at £100million, in other words the equivalent of buying one Jack Grealish.

They have made all the right noises but then new owners invariably do and it remains to be seen whether this takeover - for that is what it is - turns out to be as beneficial as we fans hope it will.  What is encouraging is that the present management team have been quietly working away at this for months and months and Chief Executive Martin Semmens - who enjoys the confidence and support of the majority of the fan base - has declared that the new majority owners were by no means the only ones considered and that the `choice` to accept them was made in the best interests of the club`s future. This is perhaps confirmed by the speed by which the Premier League approved the takeover following the recent introduction of new criteria as a result of Tracey Crouch`s review into the `fit and proper person` qualifications for Premier club ownership.

As for me, I hope it all works out for the best, even if I still cling on to my share certificates from the good old days - when you could buy shares in Southampton Leisure Holdings plc - in the vain hope that one day I might get a dividend.    

 

Yes, it`s been another of those weekends as far as my football teams are concerned.  A number of games were called off for various reasons with Stoke Gabriel, Brechin City, Fort William, Vale of Leithen and Southampton not having a game.    The most disappointing postponement was Southampton`s home game against Newcastle which should have take place at St. Mary`s yesterday.

Newcastle, claiming the effects of Covid and injuries to their two best players, asked the Premier League to postpone the game which request was granted.  It seemed extraordinary that a club with 65 registered players could not `fulfill the fixture` and it led to suspicion on the part of the Saints fans and a complaint to the league officials by the Southampton club.  It won`t make any difference, of course, but it does give strength to the notion that clubs who had requested games to be postponed by the Premier League should not be allowed to play an newly signed players in the rearranged fixture now that the infernal transfer window has opened again.

Undoubtedly pride of place this week goes to Maidstone United who, in beating local rivals Tonbridge before a home crowd of 3,100. went top of the National League South table. Nice one. And it was encouraging to see Gillingham gain a valuable point away in a goalless draw at MK Dons; the score in that game being 0-0.

Now at this time of the year the various leagues try to arrange fixtures so as to reduce the amount of travelling time for both the clubs and their supporters - witness Maidstone against Tonbridge, for example, separated by a mere 14 miles.  But sometimes geography works against that idea and so we saw Truro City making the 300 miles round trip to Weston super Mare on New Year`s Day.   Tomorrow evening they travel to Wimborne in Dorset for another `local derby` which will involve another 325 miles on the road.

Lastly, a word or two about Aldershot Town.   After a more than shaky start to the season, they have managed to turn things around in recent weeks having lost just one game in the past couple of months and climbed well clear of any relegation worries.  Yesterday they pulled off an impressive 3-2 away win at near neighbours Woking in the National League so their excellent recent run continues. 

An unconfirmed rumour suggests that yesterday`s game was the last one for Aldershot for our street`s local hero Scott ("Fear the Beard") Wagstaff.  His contract with the Shots has come to an end and although the club are keen to keep his services, family and logistical considerations mean that he might feel the need to `move on.`   The rumours also suggests that he is likely to join the ranks of Bromley FC - also in the National League - which will be a much more agreeable arrangement for all concerned.  

So, whilst maintaining a close interest in the fortunes of Scott`s former clubs, including Forest Green Rovers, Bristol City, Wimbledon, Gillingham, Northwich Victoria, Leyton Orient, Bournemouth, Charlton and now Aldershot, it`s likely that our street will now become Bromley fans - at least for a while  Come on you Ravens!!

 

A TRIPLE WHAMMY ?

Once again the by now discredited honours system has brought the game into disrepute.  I have always been suspicious of it as a system and each year it throws up yet more examples of how out of touch it really is.

Now I`m the first to say that of course there are many, many examples of honours being bestowed on people who richly deserve them - the countless numbers who diligently perform their roles in the common good and - perhaps less so - those who bring a little comfort and joy into our lives through their excellence in representing the country in the field of entertainment or the world of sport.

And yet every time the honours are announced there are cases which really do defy belief.  The latest is, of course, the Knight of the Garterhood bestowed on Tony Blair.  I can only assume that it has been granted in recognition of his services to illegal military operations which caused the loss of life to so many and inflicted untold suffering on many many more.  You really couldn`t make it up.

But more than that, maybe he has also been `honoured` for his role in bestowing a knighthood on former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.  It came on the back of United`s famous success in winning three competitions in the same season and was encouraged by the belief in Downing Street at the time that it would be good news for Blair to be associated with United`s success, despite the fact that the reputation of their manager was founded on sour faced Caledonian aggression and an almost total disregard for the way the game should be played and represented.  Maybe there are parallels between the two?

It`s been interesting to witness the outpourings of homage to Ferguson in the last few days as he joins the ranks of us octogenarians.  Old Trafford has gone bonkers in its adulation for its former bruiser who seems to have become a permanent fixture in and around the club in the mistaken belief that his presence is in any way helpful. 

So, the honours system has delivered a triple whammy - the system itself of course coupled with the examples of Blair and Ferguson   which confirms that the system as it stands sinks deeper into irrelevance as time goes by.  It has reached the stage whereby I am heartily relieved not to have been recognised for doing anything out of the ordinary;  I`ll just settle for my deserved bronze life-saving medal, my refereeing medals and my lifelong membership of the Tufty Club.