h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table

Monday, 8 December 2008:

1 Wolverhampton 21 18 47
2 Birmingham 21 12 44

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3 Reading 21 24 40
4 Burnley 21 5 36
5 Crystal Palace 22 8 33
6 Cardiff 21 7 33

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7 Sheff Utd 21 9 32
8 QPR 21 -1 32
9 Preston 21 1 31
10 Swansea 21 3 30
11 Plymouth 21 0 29
12 Sheff Wed 21 -9 29
13 Ipswich 21 6 28
14 Bristol City 21 -2 27
15 Blackpool 21 -6 27
16 Derby 21 -4 25
17 Coventry 21 -4 25
18 Barnsley 21 -5 24
19 Norwich 21 -5 23
20 Southampton 22 -13 22
21 Watford 21 -5 20

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22 Doncaster 21 -14 18
23 Nottm Forest 21 -12 17
24 Charlton 21 -13 17

Game 13/12/08


Burnley 3-2 Southampton
Burnley weathered a defiant second-half rearguard from Southampton to claim an important victory at Turf Moor.

The home side surged 3-0 up after just 11 minutes. They hit the bar before Chris Perry diverted Wade Elliott's cross into his own net for the opener.

Joey Gudjonsson nodded in a rebound and sidefooted Elliott's cross home.

Saints hit back after the break, Rudi Skacel fired in left-footed and Andrew Surman swept home a second, although Burnley might have added more late on.



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Burnley manager Owen Coyle:
"There's no doubt we deserved to win. There was an anxious 20 minutes after half-time but Brian Jensen never had a save to make.

"We could have had scored four or five and I think overall the scoreline flattered them.

"It's the boys' Christmas night out tonight and they can go and enjoy themselves before coming back in and working hard again next week."


Southampton boss Jan Poortvliet:
"In the second half we went for it and tried to get the players to believe that we could do what Burnley had done to us in the opening 11 minutes.
"It nearly worked but we gave two of the goals away and it was always going to be difficult.

"In the second half they were all motivated and they were all trying to do the impossible."



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Burnley: Jensen, Alexander, Carlisle, Caldwell, Jordan, Elliott, Gudjonsson, McCann, Eagles (Mahon 90), Paterson (Akinbiyi 90), Blake (Thompson 64).
Subs Not Used: Penny, MacDonald.

Booked: Carlisle, Thompson.

Goals: Perry 4 og, Gudjonsson 7, 11.

Southampton: Davis, James (Robertson 84), Perry, Cork, Skacel, Surman, Schneiderlin (Pearce 35), Lallana, Euell, McGoldrick, Wright-Phillips.
Subs Not Used: Forecast, Wotton, Gasmi.

Booked: James, Pearce, Skacel.

Goals: Skacel 49, Surman 61.

Att: 11,229

Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table
13 December 2008

1 Wolverhampton 23 23 53
2 Birmingham 23 12 47

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3 Reading 23 27 46
4 Burnley 23 6 40
5 Cardiff 23 8 37
6 Preston 23 3 37

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7 Sheff Utd 23 10 36
8 Crystal Palace 23 9 36
9 QPR 23 -2 33
10 Sheff Wed 23 -8 33
11 Swansea 23 3 32
12 Ipswich 23 7 31
13 Plymouth 23 -1 30
14 Coventry 23 -4 28
15 Bristol City 23 -4 28
16 Blackpool 23 -7 28
17 Watford 23 -3 26
18 Derby 22 -7 25
19 Barnsley 23 -7 25
20 Norwich 23 -8 23
21 Southampton 23 -14 22

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22 Nottm Forest 23 -13 18
23 Doncaster 23 -16 18
24 Charlton 22 -14 17

I had trouble finding this, it seemed to not be there! Wonder why

Southampton 0-2 Nott'm Forest
Nottingham Forest moved to within a point of safety in the Championship by beating nearest rivals Southampton.

Kelvin Davis saved expertly from Paul Anderson as Forest threatened, before Saints' Andrew Surman hit the post.

Forest took the lead when Chris Cohen swung over a free-kick and defender Wes Morgan headed home unmarked.

As Southampton struggled to create chances, Joe Garner headed over for the visitors, before he chipped in from 30 yards to win it in the second half.



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Southampton head coach Jan Poortvliet:
"You never walk away from this situation because once a winner, you are always a winner.
"It does not look great for us, but I am confident I have the players to turn things around, and we will soon start winning."


Nottingham Forest manager Colin Calderwood told BBC Radio Nottingham:
"It's a real crucial result for us. The psychology of it really lifts everyone at the club.

"We gradually got better as the game went on and the goal just before half-time was a reward for the improvement.

"I thought we played well in the second-half. We passed it a lot better and looked a lot sharper."



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Southampton: Davis, James, Pearce, Perry, Skacel, Holmes (Gasmi 74), Euell, Lallana, Cork, Surman, McGoldrick (Wright-Phillips 64).
Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Gillett, Lancashire.

Booked: Lallana, Cork, Skacel, Perry.

Nott'm Forest: Camp, Moloney (Chambers 83), Wilson, Morgan, Lynch, Anderson, Thornhill, Cohen, Davies (McCleary 74), Earnshaw (McGugan 81), Garner.
Subs Not Used: Bennett, Byrne.

Booked: Cohen, Moloney.

Goals: Morgan 42, Garner 75.

Att: 26,580.

Ref: Iain Williamson (Berkshire).

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table
20 December 2008

1 Wolverhampton 24 24 56
2 Reading 24 29 49

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3 Birmingham 24 10 47
4 Burnley 24 7 43
5 Cardiff 24 10 40
6 Sheff Utd 24 10 37

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7 Crystal Palace 24 9 37
8 Preston 24 2 37
9 QPR 24 -1 36
10 Swansea 24 3 33
11 Sheff Wed 24 -10 33
12 Ipswich 24 7 32
13 Plymouth 24 -3 30
14 Coventry 24 -4 29
15 Derby 24 -6 29
16 Blackpool 24 -7 29
17 Barnsley 24 -5 28
18 Bristol City 24 -5 28
19 Watford 24 -4 26
20 Norwich 24 -7 26
21 Southampton 24 -16 22

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22 Nottm Forest 24 -11 21
23 Charlton 24 -15 18
24 Doncaster 24 -17 18

There is going to be an AGM soon for Saints, should be interesting if I find out anything will post here.

Last game 26/12/08.

Plymouth 2 Saints 0.

League table:

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table
26 December 2008 17:06
P GD PTS
1 Wolverhampton 25 24 57
2 Reading 25 29 50

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3 Birmingham 25 11 50
4 Burnley 25 6 43
5 Cardiff 25 10 41
6 Crystal Palace 25 11 40

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7 Preston 25 4 40
8 Sheff Utd 25 10 38
9 QPR 25 -1 37
10 Swansea 25 3 34
11 Sheff Wed 25 -10 34
12 Plymouth 25 -1 33
13 Ipswich 25 6 32
14 Bristol City 25 -3 31
15 Barnsley 25 -4 31
16 Coventry 25 -4 30
17 Blackpool 25 -7 30
18 Derby 25 -8 29
19 Watford 25 -6 26
20 Norwich 25 -9 26
21 Southampton 25 -18 22

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22 Nottm Forest 25 -13 21
23 Doncaster 25 -15 21
24 Charlton 25 -15 19


Full Championship table

Here is some of what happened at the AGM!

Stormy ride for Rupert Lowe at Saints AGM
2:10pm Wednesday 24th December 2008

Comments (66) Have your say »

By Adam Leitch »

SOUTHAMPTON FootbalL club’s stormy AGM saw all the major players in the club, aside from absent football board director Michael Wilde, who was spending Christmas with his family in New York, have their say on the current problems.

Sat on the top table answering questions from the floor were PLC chairman Rupert Lowe, finance director David Jones and director Andrew Cowen. All three, along with Michael Wilde, were re-elected to their posts.

Echo reporter ADAM LEITCH was also there and here he brings you the highlights of an incredible meeting...

The AGM
Rupert Lowe: First I have two apologies to make. The first is that I’m losing my voice.

Cheers from the crowd.

Lowe: The second is for the date the meeting is being held. As the going concern note says it has taken this long to get all the various parties lending money to the club to agree and move forward.

Anybody with any degree of financial knowledge will see from the accounts that the club is not in good health. Anybody but a kindergarten child could see this… In the two years after my departure we had a big run at getting promoted and ran up an unsustainable level of debt through player transfer and wage bills that we couldn’t afford and the result is financially we are very weak.

The important thing is that we all pull together…The important thing is for everybody to unite… Unity brings success whereas division brings failure.

I’ve come back to resolve the financial difficulties and that’s what I’m intent on doing… I have received a letter that is sadly anonymous this morning. It says keep the faith in your head coach and his staff, keep the faith in your team and in your youth policy and yourself… Leon Crouch: Rubbish. It’s your handwriting!

Question from the floor: At last year’s AGM I invited the board to resign and I’m glad they took my advice. It’s clear from the heckling why we’re struggling – you’re an example of what’s wrong with this football club. We should get behind Mr Lowe. My question is…if we receive a sensible offer during the transfer window will you have to sell a player?

Lowe: It states in the accounts from our financial advisors that the club may need to raise money and that is something we are working on. In our current financial state it is very hard to hold together the squad of players.

As common sense dictates through the economy if one doesn’t run one’s affairs well the bank and loan note holders dictate.

We are grateful for their support but it has taken a long time to hold this meeting.

We are playing a very young team, we’d like to hold that team together but it does need people’s support.

Question from Duncan Holley: When are you going to stand up and accept some of the blame for the position we are in today?

I’ve never heard you accept any responsibility for the situation of the club.

You mismanaged us into relegation and then mismanaged our parachute payment for the first year and mismanaged Harry Redknapp.

You are not welcome, you don’t unite the club and the sooner you are gone the better.

Lowe: Thank you for your observations.

I stepped down in June 06 to unite the club and took my share of responsibility but I wasn’t here for two years. I came in a (executive) box to support the team.

I’ve come back because the club is in a financially parlous state. I certainly take no responsibility for the way the club was managed during the two years I was not here.

That is the responsibility of a board promising new investment and new money who took a big roll on going up. When I left the club was financially stable, in rude financial health…I am proud of my time at the club, I’m proud of the stadium, of the academy of the training facilities, of the FA Cup final…It pains me to see the club in this state.

Question from Brian Marshall: I’ve been a season ticket holder for 35 years and I’m fed up with what’s going on – I’m sick with worry. What have you achieved since coming back and where did all the money go from recent years? Another thing, another man started the academy and that was Lawrie McMenemy.

Big cheer from the crowd.

Lowe: ...During the time I was out we sold Blackstock, Best, Martin Cranie, Chris Baird, Kenwyne Jones, cashed in on the trail payments on Theo Walcott and money has disappeared in four ways – player wages, player transfer fees, agent’s fees, paying off board members who have resigned. The club was financially mismanaged… On the academy I don’t agree with you.

When I arrived Graeme Souness had shut the academy down, the staff had been fired.

We set it up and set out with a plan to bring in the players and coaches and create the structure for them to flourish.

Brian Marshall: Lawrie McMenemy started the academy.

Crouch: Mr Chairman. I accept the figures in the accounts but I don’t accept who’s to blame.

Michael Wilde came into the club promising everything and delivered nothing.

The executives took over the club, including Dave Jones who was working with Jim Hone.

They knew we had to implement ‘plan B’ when we didn’t get promoted.

I was keen to do that but Jim Hone and Dave Jones weren’t there to cost cut.

They carried on spending money, bought six players…they said they had the SISU investment but Dave Jones knew we had to approve it. They didn’t care and carried on spending money.

For where we are I’m not taking responsibility.

The bit I will take responsibility for is when I got control of the club and I was appointed chairman.

I was working with the bank and our bond holders and appointed a good manager who was going to take us back to the Premiership.

The plan we are working on now is my plan but there is a difference.

I would have had experienced players, loan players and free transfers, but you bought young ones and they’re not strong enough.

You’re a disgrace.

You have appointed a manager who is out of his depth and who hasn’t a clue.

You’ve cocked it up.

Where is Nigel Pearson? Top of the league. He had the fans, the players, the board, the staff – they loved Nigel Pearson and they hate you.

You came back because of your big bloody ego but you’re not wanted here.

This club will go into relegation and administration and you know it… Lowe: We’ve had enough of this now.

Many people from the floor stand and shout at Rupert Lowe.

Lowe: We will adjourn this meeting unless we behave in a fitting fashion… (Speaking to Crouch) You acted as the king maker to Michael Wilde. You acted as the king maker. You listened to it all and Mr Trant made a promise to me to put money in and didn’t do it.

You are as much to blame.

The club you inherited and became a director of and are now abdicating all responsibility – you were on the board, you were chairman.

Crouch: When I was chairman I had control.

Lowe: I’m sure from your actions as the king maker you know these are the finances the club has and I had no part in that.

Nigel Pearson was given the opportunity to do the job but we couldn’t afford the salary you were paying him.

Dave Jones: I’ve been finance director for 11 years. My role is to provide the board with financial information to enable them to make decisions.

There have been opportunities I could have left – in June 06 Michael Wilde asked me to stay on. I’d been a supporter of Rupert and Andrew for the nine years previous.

I stayed to help the new board…they had expectations which weren’t there and became at loggerheads with each other and Michael departed after eight months.

Jim Hone and Ken Dulieu took up the trail for investment. They worked quite hard and saw lots of people.

At one point we thought Paul Allen was going to offer 65p a share but that was a false dawn and they spoke to several other parties and we received an offer from SISU.

The accounts we are looking at reflect a situation we can look back on in hindsight and say ‘how did we allow that to happen?’ O6-07 George Burley came close to getting promoted and that is the answer to our financial difficulties.

We finished sixth, got to the playoff semi-finals and we then had a situation where we did sell Gareth Bale for £5m plus another £5m, sold Chris Baird, Kenwyne Jones and Pele and had unexpected cash.

The manager said he needed some and he wanted experienced players which he got in Marek Saganowski, Stern John, Jason Euell, Wayne Thomas, Youssef Safri and Andrew Davies. With those six players coming in, all experienced players all earning big money, some of the transfer funds had been used to fund player wages which explains why they went up.

At the same time we were speaking to investors.

To my thinking SISU would have injected substantial cash and that’s why I voted for it.

It was pretty clear from the start the shareholders didn’t want it and that’s all the board could do.

Once that happened and SISU disappeared, the executives all took a pay off and I was being encouraged to do the same.

I stayed and supported Leon Crouch, Patrick Trant and Lee Hoos to try and resolve the situation.

After not accepting the SISU bid we were in a dire financial state which we still are.

We do forward forecast and the player wage bill was 81 per cent in June 08 but, with Claus Lundekvam, Chris Makin, Alexander Ostlund, Inigo Idiakez, Mario Licka and Jermaine Wright out of contract, the player wage bill was an artificial blip… I’ve been here all the time as finance director and accept my share of responsibility.

It was a gamble to an extent but with the right intentions – to get back in the Premier League and the squad should have been good enough but it wasn’t.

Leon Crouch is not happy with the replies and shouts at the top table.

Andrew Cowen: At the EGM in May 08 we had a 4-1 vote for the return to the board.

Leon Crouch again shouts back.

Lowe: You’ve said enough, Leon.

Question from the Saints Trust: How much longer can we accept a tactically inept head coach?

Lowe: We appointed Jan at the beginning of the season because our young academy players have all been taught to play attacking 4- 3-3 football. He came in as part of a process where we looked at what was available.

We’ve cut the squad substantially because we had to – nobody would like to see the club strengthen more than me.

We are playing with a young team and have played some wonderful football.

Leon is right and we have been bullied out of some games but we are in the same position as the latter part of last season when we had a group of highly paid individuals which has resulted in the financial situation now.

I fail to see how anybody can say the football we are playing is unattractive.

The results, you are not expecting to shoot the lights out to start with with young kids… The board’s job is top keep the situation under review…I think those young boys have achieved a lot and they need people’s support, not criticism.

They have come up through the academy, they are Southampton players through and through and want to play for the club.

Lawrie.

Lawrie McMenemy: With respect, to the club that is, I’m pleased you know my name – you must recognise me from the picture!

Lowe: Do you have a question?

McMenemy: That thing in my arms in the picture was called the FA Cup. I’m trying to ask you man to man to ditch your natural pomposity, arrogance and ignorance of football and listen…

Lowe: I stand up and face people.

I don’t back off…

McMenemy: I don’t think you realise you’re talking down to people.

You’ve got a room full of people, not shareholders but loyal supporters.

The academy is just a new name for what we called the youth policy – you might have heard of Matt Le Tissier, Alan Shearer, the Wallace brothers, Steve Moran…You talked about the players sold in the last two years but you didn’t mention the players you sold in your time… They were sold for money that came in and there was £3.3m in the bank when you left but as I pointed out it was only money that was passing through like money for the radio station and insurance which were both losing fortunes and had to be got rid of… You didn’t mention Agustin Delgado, Kleber Chala and Jelle van Damme who were disasters financially to this club.In the ten years you had ten managers. Any business with ten managers is a failure. Your management is a failure.

Lowe: I’ve come back to sort out this situation…

McMenemy: I think Jan shouldn’t come here (to the meeting). He is a nice man, a football man, and I would never criticise him but he hasn’t got a cat in hell’s chance with you… Rupert, I’m sure you’ve got many strengths but not in football. You are not welcome here. When are you going to face the truth and resign?

Lowe: That’s very easy. I came back against the wishes of my wife to steady the club financially.

I’m not going until I finish the job I came back to do – to try and restore Southampton to financial health.

I might not achieve that. If you read the accounts that is an uphill task. It is disappointing to see so many people criticising somebody doing their best for the club.

I’m not resigning.

Edited question from the floor: Are the directors cutting their salaries to a sensible level?

Cowen: I earn £25,000 as a non-executive director.

I am a full board member and chair three committees. I think that is reasonable reward.

Questions from Brian Morant and Ted Sainty: Both call for Rupert Lowe to resign which he again insists he won’t do.

Following a question asking David Jones to stand down, Leon Crouch shouts from the crowd. Rupert Lowe asks him to quieten down.

Crouch storms to the front of the room and asks for a vote of no confidence in the chairman and for a show of hands in the room. A majority raise their hands. He sits down.

Richard Chorley then storms to the front and hurls a handful of silver coins towards Rupert Lowe while shouting at him. He is removed from the room by security.

Mary Corbett: You have basically criticised Michael Wilde and I was a fool to have supported him when we knew you weren’t the man for the job. We supported him when Leon Crouch was of the view we shouldn’t support him.

Michael Wilde thrust upon us the names we didn’t know of the executives.

He arrived with this group and Dave Jones supported them on every single move.

I wasn’t a member of the PLC board, he was…

Question from the floor: I didn’t come here for history lessons…I’m not clear what your plans are…how are you going to get us out of the situation we are in?

Cowen: There’s very little we can do other then what we are doing.

Crouch: Put some money in the club.

Lowe: You’re making a fool of yourself.

Sit down.

Perry McMillan encourages Rupert Lowe to try and get kids to come back to the ground as they did at reduced prices for the Forest game and jokingly threatens to throw his shoe at him.

Anne McMenemy (wife of Lawrie): I would like to ask why the only photograph of my husband in the stadium that was in the boardroom with the FA Cup was removed and replaced by a painting of a train from Doncaster? ...after all he did for Southampton Football Club.

Lowe: Quite simply we were given a picture by Doncaster to commemorate their new stadium and had nowhere else to put it.

Mixture of laughter and anger from the floor.

After Anne McMenemy comes back again, Rupert Lowe wraps up the meeting – just before people from the back half of the hall stand up and walk out in protest. As Leon Crouch leaves, he shouts and points at Rupert Lowe ‘this man is not wanted at the club.’

Saints drop into bottom 3!



Southampton 1-1 Reading

Saints have not won a match since winning at Reading in November
Reading striker Shane Long headed an equaliser to keep his side second in the Championship table and push Southampton into the bottom three.

David McGoldrick, who had hit the bar in the first half, put Saints ahead on 74 minutes when he slotted home a pass from lively substitute Kayne McLaggon.

But Long levelled 10 minutes later with a header from Stephen Hunt's free-kick.

Kevin Doyle hit the bar with a header and the Saints had a strong penalty appeal rejected in a thrilling finish.



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Southampton manager Jan Poortvleit:
"I have got nothing but good words to say about how they came into the game and the way we matched Reading, who are a very good side.

"They have all done a really good job but I just wish we could have picked up all three points rather than just one.

"Hopefully, we can go on and win more games to get out of the relegation zone because we're better than that."

Reading manager Steve Coppell:

"At the end of the season this may prove an excellent point. We showed fortitude, determination and resilience to get back into it.

"It is not fortuitous that we win or draw games when we've gone behind in the last 10 minutes.

"We showed a huge amount of desire to get back into the game - I'm delighted with the way we approached it."



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Southampton: Davis, James, Cork, Perry, Skacel, Gobern, McGoldrick, Gillett, Smith (Wright-Phillips 46), Holmes (McLaggon 55), Paterson (Euell 64).

Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Lancashire.

Booked: Smith, Cork, McGoldrick, Gobern.

Goals: McGoldrick 74.

Reading: Federici, Rosenior, Duberry, Ingimarsson, Armstrong (Noel Hunt 79), Kebe, Matejovsky (Harper 71), Gunnarsson (Cisse 71), Stephen Hunt, Long, Doyle.

Subs Not Used: Kelly, Andersen.

Booked: Doyle, Matejovsky, Long.

Goals: Long 84.

Att: 20,142

Ref: P Crossley (Bromley).

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table
28 December 2008


1 Wolverhampton 25 24 57
2 Reading 26 29 51

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3 Birmingham 26 11 51
4 Cardiff 26 11 44
5 Burnley 26 5 43
6 Sheff Utd 26 12 41

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7 Preston 26 4 41
8 Crystal Palace 26 10 40
9 QPR 26 -1 38
10 Ipswich 26 7 35
11 Swansea 26 3 35
12 Bristol City 26 -2 34
13 Sheff Wed 26 -12 34
14 Coventry 26 -2 33
15 Plymouth 26 -2 33
16 Barnsley 26 -4 32
17 Blackpool 25 -7 30
18 Derby 26 -9 29
19 Watford 26 -6 27
20 Norwich 26 -10 26
21 Nottm Forest 26 -12 24

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22 Doncaster 26 -14 24
23 Southampton 26 -18 23
24 Charlton 26 -17 19

FA Cup 3rd round. Saints 0 Manchester United 3.

Found this article which sums up what is happening at Southampton FC these days.

Saints slump exposes crisis
By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at St Mary's


It was touted as a potential FA Cup fairytale but, much like the rest of their season, Southampton's third-round tie against Manchester United was more of a horror story.

The ease of United's 3-0 third-round victory at St Mary's may have been down in part to the 37th-minute red card shown to Saints striker Matt Paterson, which made a difficult task against the Premier League, European and Club World Cup champions almost impossible.


Paterson's dismissal typified a disappointing afternoon for Southampton against Man Utd
But the young Southampton team - with an average age of only 23 - that offered so little resistance to Sir Alex Ferguson's side is faring little better in the Championship, where they are second from bottom with only five wins from 26 games.

The harsh reality for Saints fans is that their club is in crisis, despite protestations to the contrary from Dutch head coach Jan Poortvliet and chairman Rupert Lowe, who returned for a second spell at the helm of the club in May 2008.

There is trouble off the pitch, with Lowe coming under fire at a stormy AGM in December after debts of £27.5m were revealed.

And things are no better on it, with only one home win all season and a paltry 22 goals scored in 26 games.

Lowe insisted at the AGM that Saints play some of the best football in the Championship and, at times against United, Poortvliet's side showed what they are capable of on the ball.

But the Saints' pretty passing belies an inability to score that has seen them slump to second-bottom in the table, with 20 games left to save themselves.

Poortvliet, 52, a member of the Netherlands side that lost the 1978 World Cup final to Argentina, promised 'total football' when he arrived at the club in May but his approach has so far been ill-suited to the hustle and bustle of the second tier of English football.

And his appointment looks like another gamble by Lowe, who has made surprise appointments in the past - notably bringing in England's rugby World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward as performance director for an ill-fated spell in 2005.

Fans have made their feelings clear about the current regime, with Sunday's sell-out crowd of over 31,000 merely emphasizing the drop in attendances the club has suffered; Saints' average in the league this season is less than 17,000 - their lowest since they left The Dell for St Mary's in 2001. 606: DEBATE
What has gone wrong at St Mary's - and can anything, or anyone, save the Saints?

BBC Sport's Chris Bevan

There are many reasons for that, including the current economic climate, but some supporters on the BBC 606 message boards insist they will not step foot inside the stadium while Lowe remains in charge.

To their credit, those that do show up have not turned on Poortvliet or his players, who are mainly products of the youth team, although against United there were regular chants of 'sack the board' .

The fans probably realise there is little point in haranguing a team that is trying its best but falling short and Poortvliet has adopted a similar approach of only saying encouraging things about his players, however badly results are going.

Unsurprisingly he was upbeat about his side's Cup exit, laying the blame at the feet of referee Mike Riley and insisting the experience of playing United will benefit his team in the long run.

"The first goal was offside and the red card was just a normal tackle," the Dutchman told BBC Sport afterwards. "The penalty was a cheap one and then we were trailing 2-0 with 10 men. It is difficult enough with 11 against United.

"But I think we will learn from playing them. The players saw how to circulate the ball, how to be free, how to lose markers with movement at corners and everywhere on the pitch.

"The positive thing is that the boys never gave up and fought until the end. That is what they had to do and next week (against Barnsley) we will start again and fight to stay in the league. We have to work hard now."

The days of around a decade ago when not only were United regular visitors to the south coast but were also regularly beaten, occasionally heavily, are long gone now

It is only six years ago that Saints finished in the top 10 of the Premier League and came close to winning the Cup - they lost the 2003 final to Arsenal - but a battle to avoid falling into League One is all that is on the horizon now.

The days of around a decade ago when not only were United regular visitors to the south coast but were also regularly beaten, occasionally heavily, are long gone now.

Southampton used to put United in their place - but their latest meeting only showed how far Saints have fallen and, sadly for their fans, things could get worse before they get better.

Their only consolation is that the £500,000 or so that the club pocketed because Sunday's game was televised live may mean the likes of Adam Lallana and Andrew Surman do not have to be sold this month.

"I think everyone will stay," Poortvliet said afterwards.

If Southampton are to avoid falling out of the top two divisions for the first time since 1960, he needs to be right.

Shock horror, Saints Win!


Barnsley 0 Saints 1

Barnsley 0-1 Southampton
David McGoldrick's late header gave Southampton a crucial away victory after Barnsley had dominated much of the match at Oakwell.

The hosts missed a series of first-half chances to take the lead, with Jamie Cureton wasting the best opportunities.

Jon Macken's swivel and shot also went just over the bar before half time.

But McGoldrick nodded in a Lee Holmes cross 14 minutes from time to seal the Saints' first league win in nine games, though they remain third from bottom.



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Barnsley manager Simon Davey:

"I have got a few irons in the fire and hopefully we will have a face [new signing] in the building by Wednesday. I need to get one striker in, possibly two.

"We have had endless amounts of chances and possession but we couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. When we did breach them, their goalkeeper made saves.

"Teams will always get one chance and they took it, unfortunately we had 10 chances and did not take any."


Southampton boss Jan Poortvliet:
"If it is deserved, I don't know... the win is the most important thing. We got the goal at the right moment, with only 14 minutes left to play.
"I am satisfied by the result, I think the boys worked hard. They looked like a team today, it's important to get the first win of the year.


"The goalkeeper [Kelvin Davies] has been good all year. He is there to make saves and he was outstanding. You know he is there and he will save you a couple of times."


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Barnsley: Muller, Foster, Moore, Guedes, Van Homoet, Campbell-Ryce, Hassell, El Haimour (Butterfield 66), Cureton, Macken, Rigters (Odejayi 78).
Subs Not Used: Steele, Potter, Heslop.

Southampton: Davis, Perry, Saganowski (Wotton 81), Saeijs, Molyneux, Holmes, Schneiderlin, James, Surman, McGoldrick, Wright-Phillips (McLaggon 90).
Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Gillett, Gobern.

Booked: Molyneux, James.

Goals: McGoldrick 76.

Att: 11,789

Ref: Tony Bates (Staffordshire)

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table

10 January 2009

1 Wolverhampton 27 22 58
2 Reading 27 33 54

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3 Birmingham 26 11 51
4 Sheff Utd 27 13 44
5 Cardiff 26 11 44
6 Preston 27 6 44

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7 Burnley 27 3 43
8 Crystal Palace 26 10 40
9 QPR 27 -1 39
10 Swansea 27 5 38
11 Ipswich 27 7 36
12 Sheff Wed 27 -12 35
13 Bristol City 26 -2 34
14 Coventry 27 -2 34
15 Plymouth 26 -2 33
16 Barnsley 27 -5 32
17 Blackpool 26 -7 31
18 Derby 26 -9 29
19 Watford 27 -10 27
20 Nottm Forest 27 -10 27
21 Norwich 27 -11 26

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22 Southampton 27 -17 26
23 Doncaster 26 -14 24
24 Charlton 27 -19 19

Southampton 1-2 Doncaster
Goals from Martin Woods and James Coppinger handed Doncaster a crucial away win at Southampton in the Championship relegation battle.

Rovers opened the scoring straight after the interval when Coppinger played in Woods, who slotted past Kelvin Davis in the home goal.

The hard-working Coppinger tapped in his effort from Richard Wellens' cross-shot from inside the six-yard box.

Marek Saganowski sidefooted in a late consolation for Southampton.



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Saints coach Jan Poortvliet on angry fans who chanted "Lowe out" at chairman Rupert Lowe:

"I can understand their frustration.

"They paid to see the team and they have every right to be angry.

"All I can say is that we train every day to make the team better and it does not help if they criticise the players and put pressure on them."


Doncaster manager Sean O'Driscoll:

"That is three back-to-back wins and is promotion form at any other stage in the season.

"It was a tremendous match and (Saints keeper) Kelvin Davis looked in the sort of mood where we were never going to get the ball past him.

"This was a massively important result and it means we are unbeaten in 2009."



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Southampton: Davis, James, Perry (Lallana 57), Saeijs, Molyneux, Wright-Phillips, Schneiderlin, Surman, Holmes (Smith 57), McGoldrick, Saganowski.
Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Wotton, Gillett.

Booked: Surman, Saeijs, Wright-Phillips.

Goals: Saganowski 90.

Doncaster: Sullivan, O'Connor, Hird, Mills, Chambers, Spicer (Van Nieuwstadt 88), Wellens, Stock, Woods, Coppinger (Wilson 85), Guy (Taylor 70).
Subs Not Used: Lockwood, Roberts.

Booked: Chambers, Woods.

Goals: Woods 46, Coppinger 81.

Att: 15,837

Ref: Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire).

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table

17 January 2009

1 Wolverhampton 28 22 59
2 Reading 28 31 54

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3 Birmingham 27 11 52
4 Sheff Utd 28 15 47
5 Preston 28 7 47
6 Cardiff 27 11 45

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7 Burnley 28 2 43
8 QPR 28 1 42
9 Swansea 28 7 41
10 Crystal Palace 27 7 40
11 Ipswich 28 10 39
12 Sheff Wed 28 -9 38
13 Coventry 28 -1 37
14 Bristol City 27 -2 35
15 Plymouth 27 -4 33
16 Barnsley 28 -9 32
17 Blackpool 27 -8 31
18 Nottm Forest 28 -8 30
19 Norwich 28 -7 29
20 Derby 27 -11 29
21 Watford 28 -12 27

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22 Doncaster 27 -13 27
23 Southampton 28 -18 26
24 Charlton 28 -22 19

Norwich V Saints

A game that I actually attended, the first this season for me. We left home at around 14:30, arrived at Norwich at around 17:00 the game kicked off 19:45. By the time I had found somwhere to parkit was around 17;30 or so. Carrow Road is near Norwich Railway Station, and there is a l;arge multi stroy car park within easy walking distance. We went to Morrisons supermarket, as they did a very nice cheap cup of coffee. whilst there we spoke to a Steward at the game who told us the ground would allow admissions from 18:30. We did a little shopping and returned to the car. After this we walked slowly to the ground, and waited for a while before being allowed in.

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The game:

The first half was dire for us Saints fans, and but for Kelvin Davies we would have been down by more, as it were the half time score was Norwich 2 Saints 0. I remarked to the person I was with that normally SAints dont come back from that far behind. Aslo had a chance to speak to a fellow Saints supporter who had not come very far. He often goes on web sites to 'wind people up'!

Second Half

Lot better from the Saints we looked like a team, played like a team, and then scored a goal Norwich 2 Saints 1.

We continued in the same way, and soon scored another. Norwich 2 Saints 2. Then the end came, and we had to go home.

Final Score 2 2.

I got home around 12:00 midnight.

Next game V Swansea at SMS, where there is going to be a protest march against Rupert Lowe.

Saints V Swansea

Here is a report:

Southampton 2-2 Swansea

Jordi Gomez is on a season long loan spell from Spanish side Espanyol
A Marek Saganowski double saved 10-man Southampton a point against play-off contenders Swansea City at St Mary's.

Ex-Saints trainee Garry Monk gifted his old team the lead as his poor back-pass was pounced on by Saganowski who scored in his third successive game.

The Swans equalised when Spaniard Jordi Gomez smashed home from 25 yards before Southampton were reduced to ten men after Lee Molyneux was dismissed.

Gorka Pintado's struck the Swans ahead before Saganowski's late leveller.



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Southampton manager Paul Wotte said:

"I am pleased we fought our way back into the game against a team like Swansea, who are one of the best in the division at the moment.

"But we want to be about three points at St Mary's.

"We need home wins to get ourselves up the table and at the start of the game I expected us to get the victory but it was not to be.

"Marek Saganowski took his goals very well, the first he perhaps took too much time and I was shouting 'shoot' at him from the touchline but the second he was much quicker and it was a great finish."


Swansea City manager Roberto Martinez said: "The environment was quite difficult and we know we can play a lot better.

"Their two goals were very sloppy on our part but we have taken another two points towards our tally.

"The level of performance was good but not very, very good like we expect.

"But we have to be realistic, at the beginning of the season we would have been delighted to have come to St Mary's and be disappointed with a point - it shows how far we have come."



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Southampton: Davis, James, Saeijs, Perry, Molyneux, Lallana (Euell 58), Wotton, Surman, Gillett, McGoldrick (McLaggon 71), Saganowski (Schneiderlin 90).
Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Lancashire.

Sent Off: Molyneux (53).

Booked: Molyneux, Surman, Saganowski.

Goals: Saganowski 17, 76.

Swansea: De Vries, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Tate, Britton, Gomez, Allen (Butler 71), Orlandi, Scotland, Gower (Pintado 61).
Subs Not Used: Tudur-Jones, Bauza, Serran.

Booked: Gomez.

Goals: Gomez 33, Pintado 65.

Att: 17,623

Ref: Steve Tanner (Somerset).

Had lots of trouble logging in here tonight. BBC seem to have changed everything, and it's just luck I kept a link!

Southampton 1-2 Sheff Utd
Jamie Ward's late winner gave Sheffield United all three points at Southampton.

Ward's low strike in the dying seconds stunned the Saints just moments after Andrew Surman's fierce shot appeared to have given the hosts a deserved point.

The Blades had taken the lead in the first half through Greg Halford, who headed home Nick Montgomery's cross.

The Saints dominated after United's Darius Henderson saw red for a clash with Jan Paul Saeijs but were unable to break through until the late drama.



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Southampton boss Mark Wotte:
"A point does nothing for us and we needed three points so I had to push people forward and we got caught out.

"We have not lost the war tonight, we have only lost a battle and we have to keep on fighting.

"Every game is massive for us from now on and we need to win them all."

Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell:
"Jamie took his goal superbly well and we were delighted to see the ball fly in off the post.

"There was a lot of competition to sign him (from Chesterfield) in January but we are pleased to have got him.

"My lads showed tremendous spirit and I thought we deserved it."



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Southampton: Davis, James, Saeijs, Perry, Surman, Lallana, Wotton (Schneiderlin 77), Gillett (Wright-Phillips 46), McLaggon (Euell 67), Saganowski, McGoldrick.
Subs Not Used: Forecast, Lancashire.

Booked: Saeijs, Perry, Schneiderlin.

Goals: Surman 90.

Sheff Utd: Kenny, Halford, Bromby, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Howard, Montgomery, Naughton, Quinn, Henderson, Webber (Ward 86).
Subs Not Used: Cotterill, Hendrie, Jihai, Sharp.

Sent Off: Henderson (40).

Goals: Halford 35, Ward 90.

Att: 13,257

Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).