Leslie Charteris

The timing of this is just baffling. How will this help the team on Monday Mr. Cortese?

That's a bit like saying Southampton and Portsmouth are close!

Perhaps Nigel refused to follow NC's commands to the letter and is paying the price now. Perhaps Pochettino has promised to be his poodle. Sadly, I suspect we will never know the real reason for Nige's departure (confidentiality clauses and all that).

"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it." So said Pitt the Elder and NC answers to no one but himself, it seems. This may be the correct decision, but it is going to take a long time to prove it. I wonder if he got a well done text from Abramovich. Thank you Nigel for all you have done for SFC. I am sure you will get the success you deserve soon enough elsewhere, I am just sad it will not be with us.

Mirror in sensible article shock horror...

It takes some cojones to respond like that to a question at a press conference Respect, NA, respect, it's a cut above the usual bland droning and that poem has been an inspiration to many. He didn't quote it exactly, but what the hell, well done Nigel. BTW, here's a link to a site showing the original: http://www.worldwideaddiction.com/articles/guy-in-the-glass.htm

Sacking Adkins would be just foolish. He deserves at least a season in this league before any changes are made. There are some ejaculators on here that need to go to the bathroom with a box of Kleenex to satisfy their need for instant gratification.

There is no way you could tell he was a young, inexperienced keeper today. The only downside is that I think he will be spending some time away on international duty in the future.

Perhaps the most important statistic is points gained per game. 0.5 puts us in joint 17th place. I suppose equal 17th at the end of the season would not be a disaster but it's going to have to be more than 1.0 for us to do that I think.

SRL was awesome today, if someone else hadn't nicked it, he should have the moniker The Boss. He will be a fully fledged Saints legend by the end of this season. But then nobody had a bad game unless they were substituted at half time.

Stop fretting, he's off to AC Milan according to this impeccable source... http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/120919/ac-milan-planning-shock-swoop-former-liverpool-boss-181303

Now do I find this more credible because it is more credible or because I want it to be true? I would like to think that Saints are looking to long term solutions, I know it's a cliché, but SAF, Wenger and Moyes were all given time. I hope NC resists a knee-jerk reaction just to satisfy some people's need for instant gratification.

NA mentioned they'd be watching the video in his post match interview. Lots to look at defensively, I think.

There has been uproar amongst Bluebirds fans, their new home kit is red! http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/901188-cardiff-city-fans-fume-over-red-shirt-rebranding

The new kit is just so anonymous, it could be anyone in the red or the white kit. Still, at least the club haven't done a Cardiff City on us - can you imagine playing in blue and white?

No, but opinions were! I am not old enough to have seen him play, but I do remember my dad going round chanting "Melia, Chivers jam. Melia, Chivers jam". I just thought he was mad!

For as long as there's been Interweb forums, there have been scapegoats. Get off Guly's back, he is not the problem. The team does not defend well enough as a unit. We looked shaky sometimes last year, but now we have been found out big time. No individual is totally to blame, it's just that the sum of the parts (currently) isn't quite up to the job. I hope Yoshida is up to the job or it will be a long wait for the January window.

I'm glad that we have faced the two Manchester teams so early in the season as our strengths and weaknesses have been vividly highlighted. A couple of draws against mediocre teams might have led to false confidence. Each player now knows where he stands in quality terms compared to two of the very best teams in the land. Attack - very good, midfield - excellent, but unfortunately the defence hasn't been good enough and there are no real options on the subs bench. NA explained what he was trying to do with his substitutions in the post match interview and put his hand up and admitted they didn't work. He'll learn, as will the rest of the squad. Things can only improve with the new arrivals, but will it be enough? I would like to think that a couple of the players we have recently been linked to in rumours will arrive soon as loans. We have come so close to winning two of the games that two decent defenders should see us alright.

Adkins is learning, the squad is learning - they will improve. Getting rid of NA would be futile as it would break the unity within the team and, thinking of realistic replacements, it would be the surest way of getting us relegated. Let's get the transfer window over with and a few more games out of the way before making judgement. I think a few of the ejaculations on here are a little premature.

More likely you'd be biting off some freshly cooked chicken...

Oh great oracle, your wise words enlighten us. In you we have the perfect replacement for Mark Lawrenson as your wisdom is even greater. N.B. Adkins is a smart cookie and a quick learner, he will come good soon enough, provided we improve in a couple of key areas and I think we can all see where they are, unless you are Guly fixated.

This, and maybe a bit more invention or drive in the midfield.

Too many wayward passes and shots IMO, although I can't find any stats to back that up. I always think "if only..." whenever I see him.

All true but his end product is no better than Championship standard. If we seem to have a problem at the moment, it's threatening the goal with all the build-up play. That can be the difference between success and relegation in the Premier League and too often Puncheon fails with his last touch. I know he's scored a couple but that worries me too, as our some of our recognised strikers have been a bit quiet. I'll just have to keep the faith and trust NA to make the right picks, after all, the first team squad is still over 25 strong without any further additions.