Frank's cousin

Perhaps, but its not based on an out pouring of collective Diana like grief which is what I am getting at - Dont get me wrong, I am glad that others have taken the time to comment and highlight teh inaccuracies - as should be done and that does begin to undermine the content and conclusions, but would much rather we had more of thsi sort of attempt at understanding than the public hanging and ***** fest that has been so 'dramatic' these last few days.

... the last part is the most hilarious and perhaps most insightful ... of your issues and misconceptions/ regression to WUM domain. But it's a free board (well apart form the £5 towards the annual curry night) so you are perfectly entitled to get your kicks form it as you wish.

Sorry, it is 'balanced' if not accurate - the point being its not a emotionally driven rant - but a calmer reflection - you can disagree with the content and conclusions, fair enough, but good to see some fans think about it in more depth.

Fair enough Steve, if there are inaccuracies, and the conclusions drawn may not fit with everyones own opinion, but the main point is someone actually took the time to try and understand the issues and rational behind the decision - tried to get a balanced perspective after the initial emotional recoil suffered. For that reason it's a great article, even with its flaws.

Find it strange this is even an issue - If anyone thinks that there would NOT be players confused or angered by Adkins departure then their are naive - THAT is NORMAL and to be expected - as is the new boss RECOGNISING this as a potential issue, taking the team away out of the spotlight and using the time to get to know them... its a non-story really as its nothing out of the ordinary.

Really - you know you love them fawning over you as their personal Mongking

This assumes though...and there are naturally a lot od assumption on here... that NC a 'non football' man is making all these decsions unilaterally based on his own experience alone - I would suggest that the plan/strategy long term goal is not something dreamed up alone, but a culmination of ideas from various footballing experts who will have had input. We know Strachan was consulted for example when they first arrived. You dont get where he got to in business by not seeking out thos ewith experience and seeking their advice - My guess is that because he looks to be following a continental model, different to what the establishment in the prem and media consider 'right' form the English game, he is getting more stick about it.

Respect for getting a Marvel Superhero in a post I just think about missed opportunity - how great and perhaps significantly more interseting and thought provoking it would be if someone in Matts position said something along the lines of: 'Of course this decision comes a shock to all at Southampton - and everyone knows I do not see eye to eye with NC - but I would urge caution before we jump to conclusions and start questionng the sanity of it - whatever I think of him as a person, and whatever strange little petty things have gone on between us, the fact remains he sacked Pards and appointed Nigel against many in footballs better judgemnet and that worked - overall the major strategic decisions have worked out so far, so that in itself means I have to grudgingly acknowledge that this could be a good one as well. We all know football has no room for sentiment anymore and even though on a personal level this is not good day for Nigel, nor does it present the club as caring and 'ethical', if I can use that word, we need to take time to assess this in the larger context of the ambition NC has for teh club. We may not agree with it, we may think its the wrong way, but I for one, want to see and understand a boit more about what is behind it before I jump to conclusions...' I suspect that as his opinion 'should carry more weight' than the likes of us, this would have a huge influence on the media, fans and perception of the club - not agreeing with NC, not hiding his obvious dislike, but seperating out the imporatnt stuff from the BS and emotional rhetoric - emotional rhetoric that has little substance or value apart form appealing to fans.

I cant blanme the guy for wanting to be at the helm, short of playing up front and scorring the cup final winner, it must be a fans dream to be in charge of teh club you support. I also dont blame him for stumping up the cash, he believed it was necessary and the club needed the cash to keep going for another month. I was just surprized that considering how easy it was for many on here to discover the means behind the bid, that neither Crouch nor Matt, both of whom had credibilty and in Crouch's case serous cash, to lose they seemed not to do that simple DD.

NO idea, but that is what they are there fore to support a resolution between their members and clubs in these cases - so it is still a valid point anyway - matters not who instigated the discussions, only taht both parties were willing and able to find a solution.

Uhm... depends on what he knew or did not know - he stumped up the £500k for exclusivity, something that would not have been necessary had he beleived they were the only game in town. I believe Crouch felt it was the best game in town, and I just wonder how much of that had to do with the creibilty extended to the pinnacle bid by Matty's involvement - many of us thought the same when he became involved - it elevated a rumour to something we placed hope in, only for it to be quite quickly and cruely exposed has having no substance.

First up Bobby Charlton is on the MU board and had been long before the Glaziers came in - and to my knowledge he has not slagged the Glaziers in public, whatever his personal thoughts may be. In additional Matt took a media role not associated with club so he has a platform to express his opinion, and as such he is also judged in that MEDIA role as to whether his public comments are based on personnal or professional opinion, both or sour grapes - as we tend to do with most journos and pundits who express a view - and we have the right to reply and disagree - so a slightly different scenario to BC at Manchester. See above, I am more than happy to applaud Matt for doing something, anything when he thought it would help - but still feel he was naive in not at least trying to find out what he was heading up. Especially as Crouch then agreed to stump up and lose £500k... ... this has NOTHING to do with your asseertation 'such is their desperation to back their hero and get a sniff of the champions league' which is BS anyway, and completely irrelevent to discussing whether Matt is overstepping the mark as a media figure - he is not being criticised as a footballer or a 'saints hero' but as a media pundit.

So in your eyes he should be entitled to say an do whatever he wants because of his past? Where does it stop? What would Matty need to say or do, before you yourself would be critical of him?

I am just surprized he managed to crawl past Hypo, extract himself long enough from within your bowels to actually read posts and reply... must be getting a bit crowded in there Turks, suggest you take something for it.

Please do, you are adding nothing anyway if you cant see the difference...its not a difficult concept, but you are free to have your own opinion naturally. Just wish you took some time to think about it first. Which is kind of nice as it comes full circle - it is what I wish MLT would do.

I will humour you and repsond as everyone else ignored you which must bruise your fragile ego. This way your post may get noticed again and some may even be amazed by its relevance and sophistication, or maybe not. It is quite comical how you so often fail to grasp the meaning of so many posts and make yourself look such a **** by replying in haste... READ carefully, take some time to digest the concept and form a reasonsed response - would greatly enhanse teh credibilty of your posts darling.

Indeed someone will need to post the flight ticket stubs and we need to see a photo of the side standing next to Messi with one of the guys holding up the days paper

Any remember how it ended? - Punch and NC resolved it - behind closed doors. Fallings out happen all the time - and with footballers its mostly about contracts and egos - to me this is clear 'evidence' that NC can seek resolution and knows how to go about it when it is important to do so. MLT hating NC is probably water of a ducks back to him - it is ultimately not important to the success of the club, even if as fans we would prefer a resolution.

I have also spoken albeit briefly with Matt - who hasn't - and yes he was down to earth and decent - and to be fair to him, I dont hold it against him that he was at least willing to front the pinnacle bid as he saw it as one way to do something when we were at our lowest ebb - and DESERVES credit for that rather than scorn. However, it was surprizing that he did not at least do SOME due diligence as to the validity of the bid and teh characters behind it - think the nutjobs on here discovered MFs background in 5 minutes, so I am not talking full scale DD. That seems naive at best and potentially damaging at worst, as I am sure his figurehead status to taht bid would have lent credibilty to it in Crouch's eys who stumped up the £500k for exclusivity, as well as in the eyes of the administrator. I dont belive it really had any impact on the Liebherr bid - the swiss rumour was there from the start and they had the patience to do things right and in confidence - other than perhaps pish them off. But Pinnacle would not have needed 'Exclusivity' if they did not know about the Swiss bid and its should have been clear as day that in comparison the swiss bid was by the better for the club - Matt could and perhaps should in hindsight persuded those involved with Pinnacle that the Swiss bid was the way to go as a result - who knows NC and MLT could then have been friends...

For me this is waht it is all about - there will be plenty who poor scorn and mock 'delusions' of grandeur and the 'unrealistic' nature of some the alleged 'plans' Cortese has, but why should it be accepatble to simply see survival year on year in the prem as some sort of success? What is the point of supporting a side whose ambition is merely srvival when teh whole purpose of sport is to compete, improve and eventually win? Sure money has made it difficult to the point of impossibility from a logical perspective, but IF we have someone at the helm who is prepared to do whatever is necessary to TRY and break that mould - then should it not at the very least be acknowledged as the 'ambition' so many complained was lacking unde Lowe, is a positive sign? (with the caveat that its not done whilst risking the financial integrity of the club and creating a legacy of debt for the future) 'Laughing stock' - bruised egos as a result of how that ambition is portrayed in the media is ridiculous, if the the very ethos of sport is to be the best you can, then those laughing in the media and amongst the fan base are really laughing at the principles of sport... I dont know whether MP will be able to do what NC hopes he can, we dont even know whether MP is merely the next in line to do a job and that he would be replaced if and when we achieve that phase, but I would rather we have someone in charge who has a plan in the first place that does not involve setting a budget for 17th every season - many complaining right now need to ask themselves if they were in that group who saw that 'goal' as something to beat Lowe with.

Jeez... I suspect you are being over sensitive here to make a point - there are Countless other posters who have said exactly the same thing, have you comented on them all? Go back and read the exact quote again, i'll repeat it here for you; 'he does not always present himself as the brightest' I would argue that this is quite different form questioning his intelligence, but commenting on the fact that IMHO, his comments do not ALWAYS seem to be well reasoned or thought out... to most its obvious, but as always on here most are quick to repsond in anger before they READ a full post and reflect on what it actually being said....

Pretty much spot on - IMHO the only way to deal with that inner turmoil is to stand back a moment and reliase that although everyone likes to attach teh hugest significance to being fan and thus demonstrate their superior uberfaness - emotionally and physically entwined with the club, the reality is we are talking about a sport, game, football and a football club. We are talking about people who earn Millions BECAUSE it is a business and the ruthlessness and lack of sentimentality within the game go hand in hand with that. Nigel is not now destitute like some Dickensian Pauper, forced into the workhouse by some evil top hatted Scrooge... he has earned good money for a good job and improved his status as a result - It naturally appear harsh by our standards, and made worse by the fact he is such a decent guy within a monster of a business - a sharp contrast to most - but lets not kid ourselves that we are witnessnessing some sort of tragedy in human terms - there are plenty of those that happen everyday and get little of the media's time. Sometimes these things DO need to be put in a more realistic perspective.

Questioning the intelligence of decisions is eaxctly what most on here, the media etc are doing about NC... what is the difference?

Classis case though of it being difficult to diffrentiate between 'multiple' issues in this case - which kind of makes it difficult. You have: 1) Was he right to replace Adkins? 2) Was the method appropriate? 3) was the timing appropriate? 4) Is the choice of MP appropriate? 5) Is MP better for implementation of the plan? 6) Is the 'plan' achievable/realisitic as we do not have any idea as to whether the finances are there to implement? I think this is why it's hard to make a black or white decision. Whatever he is like as a person, the fact remains the club has progressed from day one - and in no small part to the decisions he has made - I guess most fans WANT to trust hiim and applaud him for that, but find it difficult to reconcile that success if the price for it is some of the apparently 'ruthless' decsions that have been made to get there. Not an easy one to figure out. At the end of the day, will depend on what individuals want from their club and how accepting they are of the need for difficult decisions in football - which do happen all the time. Big prolem also with the way the media portray it - they are not wrong in describing the decision as they have done, cold calculating ruthless etc - but it irks me that they are such hypocrits - as they switch seemlessly to the ads for bookies sack race odds...

Care to explain the logic behind this? Had you said Einstein, Ghandi, Proust, Socretes (the greek one, not the 1982 Brazilian World Cup team star), I would agree, but a footballer has played football, kicked a ball around albeit with some skill, as such he he is entitled to an opinion as are the rest of us, and on actual football I would bow to his superior knowledge, but not in other matters.