I'm often asked these days to help out at fundraising events to enable the supporters to erect a statue to dear old Ted Bates.

Like most supporters, I've been more than a bit interested in the shenanigans between Pompey and Saints over the last couple of weeks.

It struck me that with a massive amount of money floating around from betting, libel damages and compensation etc, how sad it is for people to have to go cap in hand to honour Ted.

Incidentally, I need to put the record straight.

I like, as I often say, to look at parts of papers which refer to past events.

Each week in the Pink a game from a bygone time is remembered. Last week, before we played Burnley, a previous encounter was recalled from 1973-74 season, when I had arrived at The Dell.

The impression was given that Ted was more or less still co-manager. The fact is that when I arrived in the summer of 73, Ted's last duty on the football side was to welcome the players back to pre-season training and introduce me as the new boss.

From that day on, the only time Ted had a tracksuit on was when he came down a couple of afternoons a week to either jog around the pitch on his own, or go in the gym with me where we had one against one sessions when everyone else had gone home.

Whilst Ted had had a loyal and long serving staff such as Jimmy Gallagher, the physio, George Horsfall and Bill Ellerington, the board had also allowed him over the years to have assistants such as Stuart Williams and John Mortimer, who possibly had expected to take over.

Neither had had previous managerial experience whilst I arrived having had five years managing Doncaster and Grimsby - winning championships at each one.

In addition Ted, like lots of the pros of his era, was going to retire at 55 because that was when his football pensions became available.

The board were still cautious, having had only one manager for 18 years, and gave me the wonderful title of team manager designate.

Whilst I was in complete charge from the July onwards, I think the designate bit was only dropped off in December when we were fifth.

Ted was always there for me to let off steam to. He accompanied me on many scouting trips which was good for both of us.

I also gave him some admin jobs. For instance, I extended the scouting system and we began to sign more schoolboys.

I asked Ted to handle the form signing. It appeared to be going well until after a year or so a parent asked for his son to be released. I told him he was tied to our club, to which he replied he had checked with the FA and we had not registered his son.

I went to see Ted who said 'I'm sure we got him fixed up,' pulled open a huge drawer which, to my horror, I saw was full of blue schoolboy forms which should have been sent to the FA and schools FA.

Ted's reason for not sending them was that each form had to be accompanied by a fee of £5!

Ted was never one for throwing the cash around and it was one occasion when his effort to save the club money rebounded on him.

When we were scouting together, I could let off steam and he could still enjoy the patter and slight involvement which I personally miss so much nowadays.

It was not always a good thing to let Ted share in the driving. I may have related in the past how his single-mindedness when it came to football transferred itself to when he got behind the wheel. He didn't seem to notice anyone else on the road.

My two best, or possibly worst, recollections are after a long trip to Blackpool for a midweek scouting mission. He took a turn behind the wheel coming down the M6, suddenly braked hard, realise he had missed a turn and proceeded to reverse up the motorway!

Another time we were going to Wembley to watch an international. Being new to the south, Ted was showing me a shortcut he knew.

He missed his way in a built-up area and did a three point turn which in itself may have got him through a driving test the way he performed it. Unfortunately, we were on a zebra crossing!

I still recall my feelings as I waited for him to introduce me on that first summer's day in the dressing room.

He stood there complete with his bunch of notes which he must have used year after year in his long term as manager, explaining that pre-season was an important time and the players should expect to work hard, morning and afternoon.

Just before handing over to me, he added a new footnote, saying he hoped this year some of the players would not come back for the afternoon session with alcohol on their breath. He then handed over to me.

I started by saying I thought it was a good joke, but nobody had laughed.

Little did I realise, of course, he was serious.

Some members of that squad certainly had different ideas for their preparation than Ted and I.

However, that's another story for some other time.

But surely the well deserved statue could have been erected by now.

Apart from the elusive Fernandes fines - is he still out doing community service, I wonder? - and with a reported £17m having been expended in the last two weeks on the 'will he, won't he join Pompey?' saga, it makes a mockery of the begging bowl having to be extended so often.