Mowgli

****. Forgot the quote thingy (again). This was the post I was responding to....

I thought sarcasm rather than a joke (which would be inappropriate at this time). I suspect he is just illustrating how some people seem to find the excuse to be negativty about everything that comes out of the club. As has been said, we need to take a deep breath, count to 50 and realise that despite losing our owner (who was an unusually modest and kind man) we are as a club in a very fortunate position. We can't afford to be arrogant and assume we will walk this league but if we are going to be fans fit enough to support a club as good as Southampton then we have to stop the bickering and focus on the common interst we all have; our love of Saints. If we can't disagree with fellow fans without being rude or *****y, we probably deserve to stay in League one for a long long time. The analogy long held on this forum was that this forum is like having a chat down the pub with a few friends. You get all sorts of different opinions and some quite ridiculous ones. The most I hear though is laughter - I rarely hear people saying F*** off or a fight breaking out...

Try telling that to a bournemouth fan

Try telling that to a Bournemouth fan.

Good grief. People do have short memories. In his last few months with Saints the fan base were VERY divided about WGS and whether he had taken us 'as far as he could'. NC was roundly booed (undeservedly so in my view) when cameras focused on him at Wembley because of his alleged plan to oust AP (never substantiated by the mischevious Echo). So one game into the season people are predicting sackings and disaster when we had our star striker injured, against a team tipped for a top 5 place, and we lose despite a good first half.... .... sorry but I think we need a bit of perspective here.

Does anyone care? I'm a Saints fan and I go to support my team on a Saturday. I have no interest in the Plymouth Herald and really couldn't care less. The only impact this has on me is (maybe) some more income for the club which may mean better players. If there is no income, we are no worse off than we were before.

Honestly, do we really want them to go under? Surely part of the fun is having a team down the road that we can have a fierce rivalry with. Some of my very best memories as a Saints fan have involved Pompey.

Gillett for me is a re-incernated Billy Bremner and, personally I would build the team around him. Fair play to Pardew tho - he has the same thoughts about Lallana so Gillett will have to work harder and prove himself to the new boss. Temporary set back. The guy has a big future and this will help build the right character through hard work.

There were plenty of clues well ahead of game. Close stands, reduce staff, keep costs down.

I think it probably is a different play on words to what he said the other day. That is, Jaidi is the number one target but if it does not come off there are others targets who will fit in the same role. Having said that, I'm sure he has a list of strikers to look at too but a signing is probably not imminent

First half looked the best back line for while and Murty helped achieve that image.

If he there to support saints, why not. Surely we are bigger than this?

Agreed. Did he not go into the Leeds dressing room once and call them a load of w***** and said he could not care less whether they stayed up or not cos he would be there next year and they would not be. Why anyone would want that sort of mentality I really do not know.

Having read SCW's autobiography, I have to say that he does have leadership skills that could have been useful to Saints. His desire to step out of his comfort zone and experiement in a totally new environment impressed me (I know - we don't want people to 'experiment' with our club, but if we do not try new things we will surely slide backward). In the final analysis, his decision to about turn and try yet another 'new environment' in the BOA suggests his commitment was a tad superficial. What we need is people who are committed in the long term and not ones who will jump ship at the first sign of trouble or the first sign of a better offer.

i don't think perarson is messiah. He is a martyr - a casualty of Lowe's return and that is why people want to see him back. Not because of his track record at SMS (very ordinary) or his success at Leicester (Milan's millions) but because its one in the eye for old Rupert. At the end of the day only Pearson and Lowe know what happened around his departure but I suspect that Pearson was not impressed by the required youth policy. However, even Crouch said that would have been his policy too had he stayed in charge so I'm not convinced that his departure was not an inevitability.

Branfoot was first brought to Southmapton under McMenemy as the long term replacement. He was being groomed in the Saints style of play. For added experience they allowed him to join Coppell at Palace (89 I think). Branfoot was introduced to the long ball game by Coppell for the first time and thought it was brilliant. Despite it not being the Saints style of play, he tried to introduce it here when he was finally appointed manager (at the expense of MLT). The rest is history.

The problem with Strachan is that he has stated he will never overstay his welcome (as he did at Coventry) so would only stay here 3 years at tops. We need someone for the long haul. Also, he was very reluctant to use young players from the academy. He did well here but knew he had taken us as far as he could and frankyl I seem to remember quite a few fans suggesting it was time for a change. Keegan would give us a good attacking football and entertaining to watch but again he does not have a record of staying anywhere long. Hoddle actually addresses most of these concerns but seems set up now with his own academy. Personally, I would go for Tisdale or Coppell (watch out for thw long ball game though - he was Branfoots mentor!!) but the European coach idea has legs too.

Crikey. Are you a reporter? That really is clipping the quote to suit your own needs. Actually Wotte was referring to his injury last year and said although he was in full training his head was not right in the sense that he did not feel ready for a full competitive game. He went on to say they respected his decision - if a player plays without confidence in the healing process that is when you are likely to suffer a nasty injury. Wotte did say he hoped Adam would feel more confident toward the end of the week and be available for the Bournemouth game. Apart from the Talksport rumour, I don't think he has really shown any disrespect. He may well feel, like Surman, that his short term future is best served elsewhere but he has not shown any attitude. That myth has developed legs of its own here thanks to the usual kneed jerk reactions. Of course if he is daft enough to read this web site, we will probably have made his mind up for him!

Where's the fun in that? You might as well support Chelsea...!

Well said. The rivalry is great but lets not forget that they have some 60 years above us overall.

I have to say I'd prefer not to see obscene amounts of money pumped into the club. Part of the joy of supporting Saints over the years has been their ability to punch above their weight. Expectations created by mega bucks are rarely met.

To be fair (to BWP and Euell) I think their commitment is to their families and securing the best deal they can. Plymouth are in a higher division than us so they will have done well if they get a contract. Besides, why should they show commitment when all they get here is abuse? Maybe it is us that should be 'regretting'.

Very best of luck. Never really stood much of a chance here and I hope this new role will give him a chance to prove the doubters wrong.

Exactly my thoughts. This would be a typical Lowe appointment - a promising young british manager with a very limited track record. A real gamble which would be great if it came off but.....

Way off the mark apparently.