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7:00am Saturday 12th April 2008
CLAUS LUNDEKVAM's first choice, when it comes to his testimonial match, has always been to play against the mighty Glasgow Celtic.
Whilst there have been one or two functions already for Claus, he has put off the game itself because he wanted to see if a Celtic fixture was a possibility.
And Gordon Strachan, their manager, held Claus in such high esteem as a player and a man that he has promised to bring the team.
I can tell you from personal experience when we did a similar thing for dear old George Horsfell, one of our coaching staff in old days with Glasgow Rangers, how difficult it is to get these Scottish giants to play this sort of game.
Glasgow Celtic for instance are off to Asia at the end of the season to play games which will bring them in a massive amount of money such is their popularity all around the world.
The difficulty for Claus was that because of the Bon Jovi concert the groundstaff at St Mary's would not normally have the time they would normally want to prepare the pitch for a testimonial game ahead of the new season.
However, arrangements have now been put in place to make everything possible and a date has been fixed for pre-season and will be announced shortly.
I am so pleased for Claus who deserves to have a full house on the day and all credit to Gordon Strachan for making this possible.
Believe me as soon as the tickets go on sale I would recommend people to get them because the number of Scottish supporters that will follow Celtic down and those ex-patriots living in the area will want to be first in the queue.
Claus is the epitome of the one-club man who are so rare to find these days.
The sad bit of it all is of course after battling bravely to get over injuries this season he broke down just as he was nearly back to match fitness and needed an operation which has effectively finished his career.
I can tell you he is feeling very down at present and I don't think it has really struck home that he will not be able to pull on the shirt again so I would urge everyone to take the opportunity to thank Claus for everything he has done for the club on and off the field and Graeme Souness should be thanked as well for bringing him here in the first place.
To read all of Lawrie McMenemy's exclusive column, don't miss today's Daily Echo.
ossiesaint, at the bar says...
8:56am Sat 12 Apr 08
Kingsland Stan, Northam says...
9:10am Sat 12 Apr 08
ossiesaint wrote:Cynical git!
Claus has a yacht to look after and that big "pile" in Chilworth to keep up? How can he possibly share the money with charities?
Devon Saint, says...
9:12am Sat 12 Apr 08
Santa wrote:Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.
crew 657, new forest says...
10:00am Sat 12 Apr 08
Devon Saint wrote:bye bye scum player. glad to see you fleeced the scummers over the last few years, shame you couldnt make them bankrupt.
Santa wrote:Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.
Kingsland Stan, Northam says...
10:44am Sat 12 Apr 08
Devon Saint wrote:Claus is an employee of the club. If you had spent ten + years with your employer and had to retire through injury or ill health, would you give the employer back any compensation you received just because they were in financial difficulties?
Santa wrote: Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
skate haters, soton says...
10:45am Sat 12 Apr 08
crew 657 wrote:Big english club like skates,PMSL,YOUR NEVER BE BIG,and let alone be in the prem for a vast length of time so dont delude yourselves WE dont want sh** like yourselves within our ground,as for being bankrupt you soon will be when your inevertable poor season comes around and your struggling in the prem with losses of 23 million quid...TIME WILL COME AROUND AND BITE YOUR SWEATING RED ARSE...then bankrupt you will be....SCUM
Devon Saint wrote:bye bye scum player. glad to see you fleeced the scummers over the last few years, shame you couldnt make them bankrupt. The only reason a scottish team would come down is scum cant get a big english team like Pompey (Premiership) to play themSanta wrote: Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
Devon Saint, says...
10:53am Sat 12 Apr 08
crew 657 wrote:CREW 657 why dont you just get a life ? sorry I forgot you dont have one do you.
Devon Saint wrote:bye bye scum player. glad to see you fleeced the scummers over the last few years, shame you couldnt make them bankrupt. The only reason a scottish team would come down is scum cant get a big english team like Pompey (Premiership) to play themSanta wrote: Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
muse, says...
10:54am Sat 12 Apr 08
Devon saint, says...
11:10am Sat 12 Apr 08
Kingsland Stan wrote:Stan,
Devon Saint wrote:Claus is an employee of the club. If you had spent ten + years with your employer and had to retire through injury or ill health, would you give the employer back any compensation you received just because they were in financial difficulties? Of course not - so why expect Claus to do so. What he's earned whilst employed by Saints is irrelevant. At present I would suggest that he hasn't any employment lined up and certainly not at the salary level he's on at the moment. He is still a young man with a young family to support and educate. Claus is entitled to the testimonial and it will be his wish what he does with the proceeds. I don't remember calls for Matt Le Tissier to give his testimonial money to Charity. Things have certainly changed from the days when the likes of Mick Channon received a testimonial. In his Man City days, which was after he had the 1976 testimonial, he was the highest paid player in England. (see his book Man on the Run published in 1986) Also don't forget that Claus won't receive 100% of the gate money. He will have to pay for the stadium,stewarding, policing (it is Celtic after all), Celtic's fees and expenses as they won't do it for nothing plus insurance for players,match fees,etc., etc. It's not al bunce. Claus has ever been the highest paid player at Saints but he's been the most honest and loyal. What a good Saints supporter will do is turn up, pay the gate money, buy the program and thank Claus for being a true Saint. Oh yes - and welcome back WGS. It might be the last time he leads out a Celtic team.Santa wrote: Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
umaga, isle of samoa says...
11:39am Sat 12 Apr 08
what a mess?, says...
12:06pm Sat 12 Apr 08
Dave Juson, Southampton says...
12:12pm Sat 12 Apr 08
Brian Robinson, Liverpool says...
12:29pm Sat 12 Apr 08
leedscelt, leeds says...
12:57pm Sat 12 Apr 08
skate haters, soton says...
2:24pm Sat 12 Apr 08
crew 657, new forest says...
2:43pm Sat 12 Apr 08
what a mess? wrote:boring..cant you say something original scummer
what is it with this crew 1234 or whatever his name is?
every time i come on here to read about SAINTS there's some completely moronic comments by this clown either looking for a fight and turning up in parks in the area late at night supposedly looking for a scrap , although i have my own ideas why a grown man would want to meet other men under cover of darkness in a local park . My question is just why bother? Yeah you're pompey fan but there are others on this site who don't stoop to your frankly childish level and when people do come back with a witty put down your response is to want a ruck? How thick are you? Do you really think we care that much about you that we would want to meet you? I think i speak for a majority of people on here when i say that we have wives,girlfriends or just in general LIVES that we would rather deal with as opposed to some jumped up urchin whose apparent sole purpose in life is to be as annoying as possible. Good god you make feel sick.
butty, hamble says...
3:10pm Sat 12 Apr 08
crew 657 wrote:657, 6= the toes you have
Devon Saint wrote:bye bye scum player. glad to see you fleeced the scummers over the last few years, shame you couldnt make them bankrupt.
Santa wrote:Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn't exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.
The only reason a scottish team would come down is scum cant get a big english team like Pompey (Premiership) to play them
what a mess?, says...
3:14pm Sat 12 Apr 08
Gerard Mcadam, GLASGOW says...
3:17pm Sat 12 Apr 08
crew 657, fratton park says...
3:26pm Sat 12 Apr 08
Gerard Mcadam wrote:hahahaha you must be having a laugh, Rangers kick your butt all round glasgow . Scots are nice people but as soft as velvet toilet paper. Ive stayed in Glasgow a few times in the Marriot by the flyover, all you get in the city is drunks, prossies and little else...certainly no hard men.
I'm sitting here reading the comments and smiling
as a Celtic Supporter we know the reason people want us as opposition is the fact that we travel in numbers and as stated in the article have a large fan base in England so we look forward to coming down to St Mary's having a beer and meeting true football fans, something Celtic fans have done all over the world unlike "crew xyz" who if he really wants to prove how tough he is should jump a train and come to Glasgow for the day, oh! buy a single ticket mate you'll not need a return ..........
Captain Swing, Southampton says...
4:18pm Sat 12 Apr 08
leedscelt, basra says...
4:34pm Sat 12 Apr 08
Ed, Taunton says...
4:37pm Sat 12 Apr 08
pfcmez, hayling island says...
12:51am Sun 13 Apr 08
crew 657, new forest says...
1:32am Sun 13 Apr 08
pfcmez wrote:shut it scum lover
Just ignore the **** he doesn`t represent us.
Tiree, Vancouver B.C. says...
2:22am Sun 13 Apr 08
Philip, Romsey says...
8:40am Sun 13 Apr 08
realist, says...
1:00pm Sun 13 Apr 08
realist, says...
1:05pm Sun 13 Apr 08
Brian Robinson wrote:thanks brian, you're dead right on both counts. Good man.
Claus has been one of our best ever players, not many clubs have a player as loyal as Claus has been. I wish him all the best. Oh and pompey fan crewman69boysex or whatever your name is, please get a life. bloody hell, how sad are you?
hardman, says...
1:08pm Sun 13 Apr 08
crew 657 wrote:tell me a##hole, what part of "f#ck off and die you sad moronic cretin" is it you're having trouble understanding?
Gerard Mcadam wrote: I'm sitting here reading the comments and smiling as a Celtic Supporter we know the reason people want us as opposition is the fact that we travel in numbers and as stated in the article have a large fan base in England so we look forward to coming down to St Mary's having a beer and meeting true football fans, something Celtic fans have done all over the world unlike "crew xyz" who if he really wants to prove how tough he is should jump a train and come to Glasgow for the day, oh! buy a single ticket mate you'll not need a return ..........hahahaha you must be having a laugh, Rangers kick your butt all round glasgow . Scots are nice people but as soft as velvet toilet paper. Ive stayed in Glasgow a few times in the Marriot by the flyover, all you get in the city is drunks, prossies and little else...certainly no hard men.
MP, land far far away says...
1:44pm Sun 13 Apr 08
crew 657 wrote:Oh those sweet memories of the hard men in the armed forces; regular golden showers and being at the reciving end of the MP`s ASP
Gerard Mcadam wrote: I\'m sitting here reading the comments and smiling as a Celtic Supporter we know the reason people want us as opposition is the fact that we travel in numbers and as stated in the article have a large fan base in England so we look forward to coming down to St Mary\'s having a beer and meeting true football fans, something Celtic fans have done all over the world unlike \"crew xyz\" who if he really wants to prove how tough he is should jump a train and come to Glasgow for the day, oh! buy a single ticket mate you\'ll not need a return ..........hahahaha you must be having a laugh, Rangers kick your butt all round glasgow . Scots are nice people but as soft as velvet toilet paper. Ive stayed in Glasgow a few times in the Marriot by the flyover, all you get in the city is drunks, prossies and little else...certainly no hard men.
Dazzer, soton says...
2:00pm Sun 13 Apr 08
crew 657 wrote:Get a life you pathetic excuse for a man.
Devon Saint wrote:bye bye scum player. glad to see you fleeced the scummers over the last few years, shame you couldnt make them bankrupt. The only reason a scottish team would come down is scum cant get a big english team like Pompey (Premiership) to play themSanta wrote: Good luck to Claus, hope he has a great testimonial. I also hope the money raised from the match is given to charity. Perhaps more fans would turn out if that was the case instead of it all going to Claus, who hasn\'t exactly been poorly paid in comparison to most of us over the years.Giving the money to charity is a great idea so why not just hand it back to Saints who have paid him a fortune in wages since he has been injured,I know this is not his fault its just the way of football but the club have supported him 100% when many clubs would of ditched him, so Claus why not as a parting token help the club ????
Dennis Butler, says...
2:47pm Sun 13 Apr 08
sailor sam, portsmouth says...
6:00pm Sun 13 Apr 08
Dennis Butler wrote:Well written Dennis Butler, a school teacher's pet could not have phrased it better!
Having skipped through endless pages of spiteful & ungrammatical (often read "childish") rubbish on this website from certain correspondents who would seem unable to differentiate between the game of football & verbose flatulence, I would hope that Claus Lundekvam's deserved testimonial game against Celtic is well-supported. His retirement-dictating injury certainly wasn't self-inflicted; and whatever salary he continues to draw will surely be in strict accordance with the terms of his Contract of Employment with the club. So can he - as an acknowledged & respected former club captain - please be allowed to retire with dignity instead of being harangued with narrow-minded & vitriolic spitefulness from some ill-informed contributors to this website?
Pony Runner, FOREST SAINT says...
7:11pm Sun 13 Apr 08
Soton4Life, southampton says...
8:57pm Sun 13 Apr 08
Ray, Eastleigh says...
9:22pm Sun 13 Apr 08
leedscelt wrote:Cant yopu see that by responding to the tw@ you are lowering youself to its level
so crew 567, you went all the way to glasgow to look for "hard men"?? could you not just have made the much shorter trip to hampstead heath? looks like you missed the letters s, e and r off the end of your name. pompey = the new fulham
crew 657, new forest says...
11:26pm Sun 13 Apr 08
Ray wrote:agree Ray this leedscelt bloke really is a lowlife
leedscelt wrote:Cant yopu see that by responding to the tw@ you are lowering youself to its level
so crew 567, you went all the way to glasgow to look for \\\"hard men\\\"?? could you not just have made the much shorter trip to hampstead heath? looks like you missed the letters s, e and r off the end of your name. pompey = the new fulham
Dan Lowe, Southampton says...
7:58am Mon 14 Apr 08
Soton4Life wrote:get real, he was begging WGS to take him to Celtic at one point
You are all so out of order! Claus was a brilliant player and put Saints first, he saved us so many times and he deserves any money he gets from the testimonial! He has been a Saints player through and through! Best of luck to him!
Saint Red And White, says...
11:07am Mon 14 Apr 08
Dan Lowe wrote:dont be an idiot, he's been doing well for us for so long, you would never do a better job
Soton4Life wrote: You are all so out of order! Claus was a brilliant player and put Saints first, he saved us so many times and he deserves any money he gets from the testimonial! He has been a Saints player through and through! Best of luck to him!get real, he was begging WGS to take him to Celtic at one point he doesnt deserve a testimonial he has been paid very well during his time with Saints and that should be enough for him
Kate, Andover says...
11:29am Mon 14 Apr 08
KING BOOKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAA, william regals bedroom says...
1:33am Tue 15 Apr 08
Santa, says...
7:35am Sat 12 Apr 08