CHAPEL END CHARLIE

1 - Many on here loved Nigel Pearson because he's a bloody good manager , as proven by our survival last season and the current League One table . 2 - If you really think Chris Perry is a 'useless journeyman' then you clearly know precious little about football - did you mean Paul Wotton ? 3 - Being 4th bottom at this time means sweet FA - being 4th bottom at the end of the season would be a 'commendable achievement' however . 4 - Yeah we're a bit better than Charlton - is that the limit of our ambitions for this football club

Plenty of football clubs are in for a nasty surprise next year IMO , as the worst recession in 70 years bites and more fans start to lose their jobs (or start fearing the loss of their jobs) the expensive annual Season Ticket will be the first thing to go for many . Couple that with SFC probably looking relegation right in the face and likely loss of our last few quality players such as Surman/Lallana ...etc and I reckon ST renewals could drop drastically - down to 5/6k maybe . As for my personal decision I'll probably just pay for the Saturday 3pm matches I want to actually go to - Saints v Hartlepool on a freezing Tuesday night in February just doesn't appeal anymore .

What you say is perfectly logical , a new coach/manager shouldn't make much difference , after-all the same players who got the old manager sacked remain in place and (IMO) most professional players always give of their best whoever is in charge . But look at what's happened at Spurs since Redknapp took over , or Sunderlands last 2 performances since Keane walked for that matter - a good manager does make a real difference . The longer I follow this game the more I realise you can't really use logic in football and expect to understand it - this is why you never see a Vulcan footballer in the Premier League .

More like - His contract was up and Rupert didn't want a Leon Crouch appointee anywhere near the club .

This is a bold statement , any evidence to back it up or are we just airing opinions here ?

The recent appointment of Dean Gorre suggests to me that Rupert has not the slightest intention of replacing Jan Poortvleit - a new manager would probably want his own backroom staff and cancelling contracts only just signed would be an expensive and wasteful business . Whether Poortvliet will walk at some stage is an entirely different question . On the broader point it suites the Chairman not having a strong manager/coach (WGS was a long time ago) . Were RL in the market for a established Billy Davies type manager then surly he had only to retain Nigel Pearson's services , if he had we'd be safely mid-table now - all just my opinion of course .

There're all worth the same 3 points and there's still half the season left to play but should we loss this one then we're odds-on favorites for relegation as far as I'm concerned , another draw would be equally useless .

Well said SW11 , couldn't agree more .

I see Nigel Pearson's Leicester City has another win today and they're sitting pretty in the lead of League One - despite no end of experts on here telling us how poor/average a manager he is and how we were lucky to see the back of him .

And they say satire is dead . Surman is one of those players who could play in the bottom half of the Premier League or the top half of the CCC and look at home in either . I hope those on here advocating his sale do actually realise the transfer fee generated will go straight to our creditors rather than on signing an player of equivalent quality .

I think our esteemed Chairman should consider prostituting himself down the docks , there's always money to be made from lonesome sailors - especially for high class totty .

I said before the season started we'd finish in the bottom 6 and I see no reason to change my mind . This should not be taken to infer that : A - I'm at all satisfied with this situation . B - I hold some great football insight , it was always perfectly obvious we'd struggle for any fan with half a brain in their head . Will we survive this season ? - who knows but it's going to be tight and those on here taking great comfort from the fact we're not quite in the relegation zone need to take a reality check , that means the square root of f*uck all in December .

I've discovered the upside to abject poverty ! Being unable to afford Sky Sports I've not actually seen any of the above TV defeats (the FA Cup Bristol City horror show on the BBC excepted) - so carrying on with this mind I now intend to donate all my cash to charity so that I can't afford a season ticket for next season either . Doubtless this will spare me further mental anguish and cure me of the chronic Saints related clinical depression I've suffered with ever since Steve Wigley first darkened our collective doorsteps .

I wonder if the clubs much vaunted academy system is partly to blame . Our youngsters seem to be selected and coached almost exclusively with a view to develop their technical ability . Now that's fine and it works brilliantly for Arsenal in the Premier League - but we're not in the Premier League and to succeed in this division you could argue we need more than a seamless conveyor belt of pretty 'ball polishers' emerging from the Academy , we need players with big hearts not just good feet . Please don't get me wrong on this , I love watching players like Adam Lallana or Fish Mills play and I'd always find space in the team for talent but there's more to the game than just ball skills . A few big strong lads who will sweat blood for the cause and who are not afraid to put themselves about a bit or take a shot would come in very handy .

Paul Smith - he could have been a contender .

Amenhotep IV better known as Akhenaten - history is repeating itself .

All of the above is perfectly reasonable and well argued . This thread is about why we're not scoring enough goals and what we can do about it . You believe we should keep going as we are in the belief that this young team can develop (in time) into a more effective goal scoring machine . If I were in charge (and I can assure you it's a good job I'm not) I'd try changing the system back to 4-4-2 and see if it produced better results - at St Marys anyway . I fear there are some grounds for believing we may not improve in coming months - especialy if important players leave the club in January , I guess we'll just have to wait and see . I'm sure we can both agree we do need to improve one way or another and that it would be a welcome development if SFC started to win a few home games every now and then .

Oh I do bother to listen to JP and it's perfectly true our academy players have utilised variations on the 4-3-3 system (and more conventional formations) during their training under Georges Prost . But playing at reserve team level and playing in the CCC are totally different beasts , IMO the system we are employing demands players of the very highest physical and mental ability , ideally seasoned professionals - to ask youngsters still learning their trade to fit into this system is a 'bridge to far' IMO . You ask for more time for the team to develop - that's perfectly reasonable except for the fact that we are most definitely in a relegation fight now and with the season nearly half over we may not have the time - tempus fugit . As for my personal financial contribution to the cause the club will just have to get by on my season ticket income and SLH share holding , naturally I would sell my house and its entire contents to support Southampton Football Club but 'She who must be obeyed' might object .

The answer to that question DD lies deep in the recesses of Jan Poortvliet mind . This is how he wants us to play and we're sticking with it despite it's repeated failure at St Marys - the players just have to fit into his system rather than the other way round .

Good post Derry , you talk sense

Paul Sturrock - Blameless as he was not given a proper chance . Steve Wigley - Useless and should never have been given the chance . Harry Redknapp - Great manager - but only when he has money to spend and a supportive Chairman . George Burley - Got us to the play-offs but must be judged a failure here overall . Jason Dodd/John Gorman - Appalling - massivly out of their depth . :mad: Nigel Pearson - Easily the winner here and going to be a top manager one day - but not for us unfortunatly . Jan Poortvleit - The jurys still out but it's not looking good is it .

Driving home from the game listening to 'The Third Half' phone-in David Armstrong skillfully managed to agree with every call made to him . If you thought we were a rubbish side deep in a relegation fight dave would concur , if you thought we've a talented young team on the verge of greatness dave will agree with that too - he really should consider a career in politics as he's wasted in football .

The move that led to BWP's goal started with a superb example of Adam Lallana close ball control deep in our half , he a pure pleasure to watch at times but I'm not sure he's quite ready for the Premier League - yet .

If there's anybody left on this forum who still thinks we're not in a relegation fight they really really need to have a word with themselves . Unless we find some type of reasonable home form soon we will be playing in L1 next season , it's as simple as that . Again today we played like a team of 'ball polishers' , pretty to watch but out of touch with the need to meet the more prosaic requirements required to amass sufficient points to survive in this tough division . The road to relegation is paved with rubbish results just like this , I know because I've seen it all before . I admire a man who sticks to his principles - but crucially he has ultimately to have been proven to be right . One home win since the start of the season proves Jan Poortvliet is not right when we play with a lone striker up front at home , it just doesn't work . He displays all the tactical fexibilty of a World War I General - we keep playing the same way and we keep failing in the same way and nothing changes , except that more vital points are thrown away down the pan. This team is the mirror image of it's head coach - full of good principles , entertaining company and completely out of its depth .