Saint Without a Halo

Normally yes, but Stoke have actually taken more points away than home this year and now boast some good ball players as Hughes attempts to slowly change their style, and Villa took a point off Man C with their new manager, so we need to be at our best for both. I think we are good enough to get points of some if not all of Spurs Manc Arsenal and Palace particularly if we stay clear of injuries and suspensions and play to our strengths.

And some were worried about Ron having selected a somewhat diminutive midfield? Doesn't matter really if the ball by passes them all the time when the opposition have it. In such circumstances where Big Sam tactics are used by the opposition the main task of our Midfield is to set up our attacks rather than break up theirs!

I think they have complained also that the Royal Mail uses Red Signage and according to them it should be blue!

Maybe the goals were bigger?

Big Sam's teams by pass midfield so no problems there

Tadic poor miss there

Mane booked already

Bournemouth Playing very well but no bite so far

Another 8 pts this year would have seen us as joint top with Arsenal and Man C

Alps makes a good point re Fonte he is an important player that we need going forward no need to risk him v Sunderland if a risk exists I guess it depends on the extent of the injury

Good thing we were knocked out of Europe as we don't seem able to play two games in a week even with a few changes! is it fitness?

We are **** poor this half terrible

We need to get hold of the damn ball a bit more possession is now 70% Bmth

He is still looking for some of the brown paper envelopes he stashed away!

So if the 38 games were a premiership season We are in a comfortable top 6 position on 67 points and they are down in 17th/18th on a relegation threatening 37 points sounds about right to me!

Chelsea arsenal and Everton all losing

Short Concise and spot on

Really? I have my doubts about that statement He was of course chosen by Markus for the job also it is worth remembering the contribution of others such as Reed et al it was after all a team effort that turned Saints around but there were too many bad management practices from the past that needed single minded ruthlessness to change and Nicola was the right man to bring that change whether he was the right man for the steady state after the changes were made and imbedded is of course a very different question There have been plenty of clubs with money who have failed and continue to fail unlike us who have gone from L1 to an established premier place in 4 seasons yes we had the right managers and the right players but you also need good leadership for that to happen and flourish There may have been discontent in areas of the club during his leadership as some of the changes were resisted but he certainly got it right on the pitch where it counts with his teams mangers and the team working ethos as well as managing transitions between managers with minimum effect on team moral and results ( not that easy to do)

So it's easy to do what we did and anyone can do it? I'd love to hear the views of Leeds wolves Sheffield clubs Nottingham forest and countless others who have struggled for years in the lower leagues with and without money Whatever you may think cortese with all his faults and like everyone he had many was the right man in the right place and with the help of others too oversaw a remarkable change around in the way the club was managed brought huge success and left a legacy of good management practice that remains there today I disagree that what he did was either easy or achievable without the vision and single minded ruthlessness he brought to the club . His approach and methodology and single minded determination to impose change is why we are where we are today and to think otherwise is naive in the extreme I am glad we are now more respectful of our old players history and the community but without the changes made non of what we are doing now would be possible

he was not running a country but a bankrupt company on its knees most successful CEO s in business are dictators Trouble was he was running a club not just a company however it was a club that needed a vision and a man strong enough and ruthless enough to deliver it and that he did If he had pandered to the fans in a democratic style would he have changed Adkins? I like many on here thought at the time this was a mistake However with the benefit of hindsight most of his decisions were right and in line with his plan and vision We needed someone like that or we would still be lurking about in league 1 or the championship even with money How many of the changes he brought in have been reversed since . Not many I think and that is the sign of the successful legacy he left behind Yes it's good to have the respect of the players and our past back and on that he was wrong however a lot of those same players didn't understand the vision and were critical of his goal orientated decision making So I guess he thought he was better of without them

Plenty of clubs have had owners with money and failed some like Leeds are much bigger thanu us To say it is all down to money shows a complete misunderstanding of what was done If success by spending was all he wanted why buy young untried players and why spend on the academy he created a vision a goal and a plan to get there and it gave us the best four years ever as supporters the legacy and vision lives on thankfully Yes of course he wasn't perfect but he was the right man in the right place at the right time

So is he still going to improve the games of lallana lovren and Clyne with his excellent coaching

I do hate him with a vengeance though for being a smug git

He could have waited till we played them