Fitzhugh Fella

I do think it about time SISA disbanded. I do think it about time the Echo realiase they speak for no one anymore. There was a time in the 90s when they fulfilled a useful function and had an element of democracy about them but that was then. Do we need an organisation to represent supporter's views anymore? I really don't know, but one thing I do know Nicola Cortesa is under no obligation to listen to anyone if he doesn't want to.

I have got no gripes against NC - he is the boss whether we like the way he does things or not. It could be a lot worse as we could have a chairman who doesn't care and doesn't invest. We now have a new manager and now we are going to have to sit back and give him 6 months to get settled. Unfortunately this means promotion is a long shot and the 5-year plan is under threat but we really have had too much instability at Southampton FC and whatever we all think our only choice is to put all the politics behind us and hope that Nigel Adkins with Nicola Cortese's support can finally stop the rot. There are no other options.

Must admit last night was sobering. I was looking forward to some improvement with the "new manager" syndrome kicking in but it was more of the same a la Swindon. By the end we were almost a rabble and only Chamberlain last night came up to par. Bringing on Mills for Connolly at 0-0 was Adkins first mistake - Connolly was doing nothing but Mills is very limited going forward. We were talking last night about how incredible it is that we should go from firm favourites to also rans in one month - something went very wrong in the summer. Not pointing any fingers because it seems the truth is wrapped up in mystery but in the close season this club lost all the impetus built up last season. Last night it was quite shocking to see the decline in the players who served us so well. Schneiderlin and Hammond are so one dimensional, Hammond is now a hoofer, Connolly looks like he's never played at the highest level, Puncheon was shocking, his shooting wayward and his judgement non-existant. Lambert was a shadow, Seaborne raw and out-of-his-depth while Davis (shot stopping aside) unable to come of his line for crosses. Well-beaten by an ordinary side. The ref was one of those you thought would make a terrible decision against us any minute - awful and so was the ginger linesman who irritatingly only put his flag up after the ref had made the decision. Nigel Adkins really has his work cut out and when I looked at the bench to see the options it was almost unbeleivable how few we had. Something has gone wrong, it means no promotion this year which is making the original 5-year plan look wildly optimistic imo.

Must admit last night was sobering. I was looking forward to some improvement with the "new manager" syndrome kicking in but it was more of the same a la Swindon. By the end we were almost a rabble and only Chamberlain last night came up to par. Bringing on Mills for Connolly at 0-0 was Adkins first mistake - Connolly was doing nothing but Mills is very limited going forward. We were talking last night about how incredible it is that we should go from firm favourites to also rans in one month - something went very wrong in the summer. Not pointing any fingers because it seems the truth is wrapped up in mystery but in the close season this club lost all the impetus built up last season. Last night it was quite shocking to see the decline in the players who served us so well. Schneiderlin and Hammond are so one dimensional, Hammond is now a hoofer, Connolly looks like he's never played at the highest level, Puncheon was shocking, his shooting wayward and his judgement non-existant. Lambert was a shadow, Seaborne raw and out-of-his-depth while Davis (shot stopping aside) unable to come of his line for crosses. Well-beaten by an ordinary side. Nigel Adkins really has his work cut out and when I looked at the bench to see the options it was almost unbeleivable how few we had. Something has gone wrong, it means no promotion this year which is making the original 5-year plan look wildly optimistic imo.

Went to the Kevin Moore charity evening in Otterbourne last night and thought it was very successful and well organised. It was good to se some folk from Fulham FC down and along with Grimsby they provided items to auction. Kevin's family were also there. Good to see Jimmy Case and a couple of Hants cricketeers (Dimi and Nic Pothas) in attendance. Matt and L Mac were on form and there was a lot of interesting chat both football related (Dia, Kevin Keegan, Bally, Tim Flowers) and inevitably some hard-hitting, controversial, political stuff too, which is best if it stays between the 4 walls it was spoken in. I know L Mac - understandably - gets lots of flak for his ego etc etc but I have got to say the guy still loves the club as much as anyone, follows it avidly, and gives a helluva lot of his spare time up doing charitable events which at his age must be quite draining. Ditto Mike Osman who compered and told some genuinely funny jokes, especially about Millbrook. Seeing all the effort and dedication put in to help an ex-Saint was gratifying and occasions such as this reminded me why I fell under the club's spell in the first place. Matt is as comfortable behind the microphone as he was with the ball. Enough said! Kevin is not really in "a good place" right now but he has a loving family and last night proved many people care about him still.

At Swindon on Saturday someone normally reliable told me that he (AP) has lodged a tribunal.

Could yet happen with the start Grant has made

Well Eddie came close

wasn't there a sweepstake thread about how long Pardew would get started about a year ago? Must go and see if I can find it. I will give Adkins longer mainly because he seems to have no baggage whereas Pardew arrived with many fans at his previous clubs not exactly singing his praises. Adkins should get this and next season to get us up. We have to be patient now - we simply cannot afford to chop and change any more as we are all a bit punch drunk

I think the whole episode exposed Strachan's achilles heal as a manager. Yes Davies had issues and yes he had not been playing well but a good manager gets those sort of things sorted because deep down we all knew "he had it". Strachan got careless and thought he was a bit too clever and as a consequence we lost an excellent player for nothing.

To write someone off without giving them a chance is madness. To predict he will be a massive success again madness. He will need time to settle and get to know the players unfortunately, which will mean promotion is nothing like as assured as it was (even if it was). My big fear is that he turns out to be really good and then is poached by a Prem club before we get a chance to once more challenge for a place amid the elite. I like the sound of him, he is obviously intelligent, I like it that his teams play football and as long as he is allowed to manage without undue interferance then maybe we can once and for all put this ridiculous managerial merry-go-round to bed.

Kevin Davies - Strachan's worse mistake by far and the biggest reason I am now glad he is not coming back to manage!

Pravda journalism at its finest

Obviously you are not wrong with what you say but yesterday they looked so disorganised the sort of thing that should come with a decent manager and some leadership

The think we lacked most yesterday was guile and organisation. It is in midfield where that problem is most apparent.

Pleased to see some positives stuff emerging about NC. We need more of these type of events so Nicola can overcome the growing nos of doubters but this is a start in the right direction. Please note Fitzhugh Fella in positive post shock

mid-table will be a result the farce that is ongoing has probably put paid to any chance of promotion like to be proved wrong just my opinion

Just seen Brian Rix with his trousers around his ankles crossing the Avenue!

Mrs Shearer wanted compensation

Indeed perhaps we should treat life the same - just focus on the bits we like, trouble is I would be down the pub 24/7. Talking of Kate Bush, I was reading Mark Radcliffe's (DJ Radio 2) biography the other day and he was saying she was one of the nicest, down-to-earth people he had ever met so perhaps you had better not stop dreaming.

Got to stick up for Exit 2 here Buccotim. He was in a very good place to make a judgement on Pinnacle (he had seen the original letter from Pinnacle to the club) and like Matt and many others was swallowed in by the bull. But he was equally as quick (unlike Matt, unfortunately) to see it was a load of old cobblers, indeed he and I got into hot water for exposing Pinnacle on here the Saturday before their bid collapsed. Exit 2 was the first one to come up with Liebherr's name too. If we didn't run with our sources and post stuff we believe to be legit this forum would be incredibly boring.

That's a fair post Buccotim. But in mitigation I thought a forum was where you sort of let off a bit of steam or had a bit of a whinge when things weren't going too well? I accept I am quick to snipe however, I guess I am going to have to get used to the fact things aren't ever going back to the days of "Goal" magazine and Sam Leitch on a Saturday's "Football Focus" on BBC1. Growing up in the halcyon 60s with Ron as my idol and the same manager for 18 years it is little wonder in weaker moments I yearn for my youth.

I accept that in a perfect world the S****horpe chap should not conduct his business in the media, but he has a club to run and his own fans to placate. He also seems frustrated at being unable to contact NC. I think Ron that I am finally "falling out of love with a) the game - little decency left and b) my club - don't feel the pride I used to. Something has died, not saying that has been directly caused by NC - because he is perfectly entitled to do what he wishes and he did save the club. Liebherr's buying us out was almost too good to be true because in one fell swoop it removed all the baggage of the last 10 years, but even the week it happened I realised we were now very much at the behest of one man. I have no agenda these days, smply because I know we have to lump it or leave it or at least until the Liebherr family decide to sell. But one thing I find it hard to accept is being fed claptrap. I know some of this forum will accept everything this club does and says without question. I suppose the club are lucky to have such loyal fans bu that is not for me. While I will always follow Saints whatever league we are in, I will not "buy" what I consider to be spin. Why oh why - did Guy Askham turn us into a PLC - we might not have survived in the top flight or even the Championship as we were but for me that surely was "the day the music died". Perhaps that will explain to Buccotim why I have found it hard to be positive about the way the club has been run.

Me premature? Bloody hell, Ron only this morning you started a thread that our new manager was Adkins!!!! I am sorry, at present I am more inclined to take the S****horpe chairman's comments on face value. His reasons for spin are less obvious than ours. If you think our statement is satisfactory and everything is OK then you are - no offence - naivier that I had you down for, Ron. Perhaps you should re-read the "Pardew is staying" press release of last May and then compare that up against what you know happened just a few months later.

This latest statement has echoes of May's "Pardew is going nowhere" press release.