Today's Observer

[mdetaylor]

Although I will probably get told that it is all lies they have got the back page and an inside page on City.

 

Back page is picture from training and article - De Souza etc signing along with a guy from QPR who will probably play on Saturday.

 

Also there is no clearance from the US FA for Challinor as yet.

 

Plus a squad run down.

[Rob_the_Saint]

From the horses's mouth, as it were...

 

Striker Hamid Barr, who has been on the books of Queens Park Rangers, has been training with Crystal Palace and Portsmouth pre-season but met up with the Saints on Tuesday (August 13) and looks set to start on Saturday.

 

One man who may not figure however is Jon Challinor. St Albans are still waiting to secure international clearance from America, where Challinor coached and played, which he needs before he is allowed to play.

 

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif" alt="" />

[Buzz]

Hi Rob. Challinor's clearance came through at 16.58 yesterday!

Can you please call me at the club on 01727 864296.

[AFF]

Hamid Barr? Bector Hollenbeck?

 

Anagrams, the three of them.

 

Oh, by the way. Good to have absolute confirmation from the most reliable source that De Souza has signed after all the ridiculous speculation on here that he did at Fisher on Saturday. Unfounded rumour has no place on this board.

 

Oi Rob.

 

How did they manage to spread those two paragraphs over two pages? Or have you censored the thoughts, aspirations and wisdom of The Dynamic Duo?

[Rob_the_Saint]

AFF, that was the early edition, they've updated the site with a lot more since then.

 

http://www.stalbansobserver.co.uk/sport/

 

Is that four internationals now?

[AFF]

Hmmnnn.

 

I'm not sure that "British University International" is likely to fulfil the strict qualification criteria, Rob, however laudable that particular honour.

 

Tony Roberts, Steve Blaney and Hector Cricketbat. Are there any more?

[Colin Zeal EFM]

We had an ex-Welsh Under-21 International play for EFM last season.

[AFF]

Hi Colin.

 

Was that a Welsh 'University' international or the full monty?

 

"British University International". Where do they get this stuff? It can't be that chap who does the team sheet one hour before kick-off and ghost writes the programme. He's reasonably well educated. Cogent. Well, coherent. Well. Most of the time.

 

"British University International". Dear me.

 

 

[Colin Zeal EFM]

Errr... don't know!

 

The bloke I'm referring to is, of course, our very own Gary Roberts (played in the Clarence Park match back in May).

 

Can someone tell Rob that I'm only six posts behind him now, by the way. Thanks.

[Rob_the_Saint]

I shall have to concede my lead to your verbosity, Mr Zeal.

 

Is it true GHA is doing this season's NLP reports? Have you been paid for last season yet?

[Colin Zeal EFM]

I've been paid for all but about two reports from last season now, which I have been assured I will receieve in due course (yeah, yeah, I work in Accounts too you know!)

 

I've also been reliably told that they went into administraion (or something - ?) in June, and any piece written for them since then will be fully paid by the administrators (it's the law or something!) And besides, I think they've sorted out the financial worries they had last season since their ex-chairman buggered off with half a million or whatever (allegedly)

 

Anyway, the money isn't the reason I quit - if that was the case, then I certainly wouldn't have recommended it to Tom as I wouldn't want to see him get ripped off. I've just got one or two extra commitments this season, which means I cannot guarantee I'll be at every St Albans home game.

 

Not sure what the situation with Tom is, because I recommended his name to the guy at NLP, and gave him Tom's phone number etc. The only problem is that Tom has been in South Africa for X amount of weeks, and has heard nothing from NLP (presumably they've been trying to get through, but to no avail).

 

Anyway, with just 47 hours til the start of the new season, I'm not sure whether there'll be a St Albans report in Sunday's paper.

 

Does anyone else know anything??

[mdetaylor]

Late on the thread but CHris Zorochich (sic) played for New Zealand

[AFF]

Brilliant Mde. Brilliant. I'll give that one some thought.

 

Colin.

 

I strongly suspect that Robbo is not a "Welsh Universities International". Nothing to do with his intellect but let me explain.

 

A "Welsh U.21 International" is a straitforward expression and needs no explanation from me.

 

The various Universities have sports teams, including football, notwithstanding that it's a faggot sport. In a number of sports there is a Representative side selected from all British Universities which will compete, shall we say, on the international stage. A player selected to play for the British Universities Reresentative side may well receive a cap, mobile phone, or some other memento of the occasion.

 

I'm not sure that "British University International" is the most appropriate description.

 

Pedantic? Moi?

 

Oh, by the way. GHA is back from the colonies.

 

 

[mdetaylor]

I hate throw another spanner in the works here Brian Stein played for England so that makes five

 

 

[Webbo MFI]

why read that when you get the latest up-to-date news at www.sacfc.co.uk (hint)

[Guest]

erm, Paul Price?

[Rob_the_Saint]

Surprised nobody's mentioned a certain M. Simba (3 games for France, circa 1946).

 

Anyway, the original point to all this was a comment by, I think, AFF, that we now have three ex-internationals in the squad but I can only think of two, Oakes and Hollyoakes, so if someone can enlighten me on the third........?

 

[Colin Zeal EFM]

Dominic Iorfa was in the Nigeria squad in the '94 World Cup, before turning out for a few games for us in about 1998. Seems the best thing he did at Clarence Park was, whilst at Aylesbury, he got himself sent off as he was coming on the pitch. (Still, there are laws against that sort of indecency!!)

 

Didn't Billy Minter play internationally??

 

[Woody]

Don't know how true it is but someone told me that a few years ago Dominic Iorfa was voted by their supporters the worst player ever to have played for QPR.

[herts blue]

Mr AFF having a go already. Nope, British University international wasn't me. Is there a University international team? Went to a Poly myself.