RobM

It's a results orientated game we play, so I'd agree. That said, I can see JP being ranked quite highly if he carries on the way he has. Not necessarily remembered for the same reasons as WGS (league position, FA Cup, Europe) but for getting a decent performance from an enforced youth team with little investment. That deserves respect.

Translated, means you have made the whole 'deal' between the Echo and RL up based purely upon.... nothing? The Echo stop giving RL so much abuse and you jump to that conclusion? Have you considered it was because he left the club and since coming back, hasn't actually done too much wrong? Usual for this forum though, desperate attempt to sound like your 'ITK'

I was going to say something similar about Drew Surman! The amount of shots he had that went wide, over or generally nowhere near the goal when he had a team mate in a better position drove me mad! Very selfish performance yesterday that looked like all he wanted was to be a hero.

I think you'll find he has scored more than one goal this season. And whoever claims the goal, the fact we were in a goalscoring position means the formation and tactics were working. We were in an attacking position, we gained a goal, we won. In my book, that's a success. We were all crying out for some consistency under GB, which we now have.

It could well do, but since this formation works and we've won the last two games, why change it? McG has worked well in this position and has scored from it, so I'm happy to see it continuing.

Things like this annoy me more than anything else in the press. I can deal with the press putting their own slant on things, I can even deal with twisting peoples words, but at least try and get your facts correct. If you can't be bothered to do that, it makes any other words you write lack any form of credibility and simply cannot be taken seriously.

By the sounds of it, keeping Cork seems more of a priority at the moment!

4-4-2 tonight then it seems, very happy to see JP is able to change things to suit the best players available I think it might work, could be a good game tonight

Funny how that changes when we lose. If we win it's because of JP. If we lose it's Lowes fault. Go figure.

What happened to the days where football and winning games was the most important thing? Krusty the clown can be chairman for all I care, so long as we play good football.

I should shorten my ignore list then

Where is he? Not even a peep out of the OS or JP about him, no talk on here, nothing, nadda. Despite a less than impressive start, he really came good at the end of the season under NP and showed his class during pre-season with JP too. In fact, he played a lot and was one of our best and most consistent performers in pre-season. So, what happened?

Let's chat in the other thread, hey?

Just posted this in a new thread, but it would be better off in here.... Is youth the problem.... or is it talent and ability? If we say our problem is the young squad we have, we're saying that youth cannot compete with more senior players. So why did Arsenal's youth team do so well the other night? Obvious answer.. their youth players are better than ours. So perhaps we're all too focused on the fact that we're fielding a youth team in the CCC. Perhaps the actual problem is these players simply aren't good enough. The old adage 'if you're good enough you're old enough' has a lot of truth in it. Sadly, we have no choice. After all the criticism our beloved previous manager got for not 'giving youth a chance' it does strike me that perhaps, just perhaps, he got it right.... these players are not good enough to play at this level. Some are of course, mainly those we are afraid of losing.

Forgive me, this could have been added to this thread: http://saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2265 Mods... please delete

....or is it talent and ability? If we say our problem is the young squad we have, we're saying that youth cannot compete with more senior players. So why did Arsenal's youth team do so well the other night? Obvious answer.. their youth players are better than ours. So perhaps we're all too focused on the fact that we're fielding a youth team in the CCC. Perhaps the actual problem is these players simply aren't good enough. The old adage 'if you're good enough you're old enough' has a lot of truth in it. Sadly, we have no choice. After all the criticism our beloved previous manager got for not 'giving youth a chance' it does strike me that perhaps, just perhaps, he got it right.... these players are not good enough to play at this level. Some are of course, mainly those we are afraid of losing.

Third times a charm?

Gives him experience, gives us our safety net, but with no risk. I like it

I didn't twist anything you plank! Lowe's mug appeared on TV, people commented 'why the hell is he there'. After the game, people commented on him being at the game 'looking smug'. I've not twisted that at all. Read through the threads if you're that lonely

Translation: Lowe has other things he'd rather be doing and Saints are a low priority in his life. Wilde is a tax dodger who has to keep up his paper round in Jersy to keep his tax-free status. Thanks for the clarification Scooby. Shame Lowe doesn't see Southampton FC as important enough to spend a few hours supporting once or twice a week.

Yup, in the pre match build up he was spotted on TV and comments were made. There were also comments in some of the post match threads.

When we played QPR, people here were complaining that Lowe was at the game with the team. I agree with you, I think a Chairman should be at the club to see what's going on and what he has created. Ultimately it's their responsibility, so they should see first hand what's going on.

Confidence is temporay, experience is permanent. I agree entirely that a bad experience can damage your confidence and self belief. But I also firmly believe that any human will be stronger for it. You learn from all things in life, not just the good things. And confidence can be re-gained over time, it's not a permanent loss. How many times have you heard of professional footballers, strikers particularly, suffering from a lack of confidence that's affecting their game. And how many of those players decide to stop playing and quite the game alltogether? Granted, it may put these young players off the idea of playing for Southampton. But if they move on, they will be stronger for it having been through the good and the bad and having learnt how to deal with it.

It's too late for BD now. We know we don't have the money to go out and buy a new squad so we have to find somebody who can work with what we have. We also know that Lowe sees the youth as the future, so will only appoint somebody who plays nicely with that game plan. I don't see BD fitting that description. And I don't see many managers in our price range being able to do a better job than JP with our squad and budget. At the end of last season, with the squad we had, then I can see it working. But not now.

Confidence and experience are two different things, but can be related and very closely tied. I agree entirely that this isn't ideal, but you learn from everything in life and these young players will be more experienced at the end of this season. That much can't be denied. The more you play, the more you learn. Same as anyone in any job. The confidence thing is harder to justify though. The young players may gain confidence from having played a full season in the CCC... how many would have thought that would be possible 6 months ago? They may also have more faith in themselves, knowing the experience and lessons learnt in the CCC will serve them well next season. The only way I can see this being bad for them is if they get to the end of the season and think 'I'll be buggered if I'm going through that again' and scarper. Experience, good or bad, always makes you stronger one way or another.