stthrobber

Well, when Strachan came in, it took several weeks for him to get the players fit and results to turn after a disastrous start to the season, so I wouldn't expect any improvement to be gradual rather than instant. I don't suppose you'd care to elaborate about your "not as rosy" comments? I'm not going to bandy round the ITK thingy, but I would be interested to know where you are coming from with that

You failed to mention your and you're, as well as my personal favourite would of instead of would have, different to instead of from, bored of instead of with. I guess you just have to accept that this is a football message board and not everyone is as clever as you and I (er, sorry, that should be me!)

I've never really had any major issues with the running of this board. As far as I know I've never received any infractions, but then I've not been a huge poster since the demise of the Lowe era. Having modded Saintslist for many years, even before S4E ever existed, I know how unpopular you get and how unappreciated you feel. I'm not sure I would want to go through all that again, as it is a thankless task. My main issues with some threads have been the way they descend into petty arguments, much of them already covered in other threads. I don't mind if people take the p1ss but I do mind when no respect is shown for the other person's view

Yes, I believe the club would have a case for him being in breach of contract, but I think maybe not so easy to actually prove. Either way Pardew will be seen as a success at Saints and won't be out of work very long.

I don't think it is laughable. I do think it's possibly part of a wider problem, essentially the players were ill prepared for the season ahead and for them to turn up at the start of the season not fit enough to play is unforgiveable. I heard rumours that Pardew wanted out and I think it's quite feasible that he did as little as possible with the team to ensure that he got the boot as opposed to tendering his resignation. It is all speculation of course, I'm not ITK but Adkins has made reference to fitness since his arrival, so I suspect there's a certain amount of truth there.

There are plenty of free options out there. You can drag your knuckles along the ground on the Ugly and 606 for starters. There's Plastic Saints and I think I'm registered on one called Saintsworld or similar. Whilst many of you might not think you should have to pay to post here, the guys that run it have to pay costs for the servers and for the number of people that use this forum to donate a fiver a year is nothing.I don't post much, but I'm happy to help them with a measly fiver each year. If you can't or won't spare a fiver, then really you either live by the constraints that free access here gives you, or you join the juveniles on the other free services. For all the whingers that moan about this site and its downtime, and the methods of moderation, well, even Facebook has downtime, and you have read the forum rules, so you shouldn't then moan about them if you come here.

Bit unfair Manji. Um and I sat on different sides of the fence on many issues, but he's a decent guy who was possibly swayed by Mike Wilde's lies about putting a fan on the board etc, but his aims were genuine and it was really only after Wilde's spin won the day that people realised the fan on the board was a carrot and no more. Sadly once Jim Hone had put the knife in on the fan issue, then the Trust was hamstrung. I don't know if this message board has degenerated or not. I stopped posting because every thread descended into a Lowe vs Wilde argument which always got acrimonious. Whilst the mods have to stop the board descending into anarchy, they still have a duty to the vast majority of posters who want to talk footy. That might water down the "hotties" as far as some threads are concerned, yes, it can lead to bland posting too. I left Saintslist because I felt it became bland and sterile, yet on the other hand people don't want to make a comment and be labelled a cu*t for making it, even if it's true. Basically I'm somewhere in between. I like the odd meltdown because occasionally, I too like to let both barrels go, but I also understand the need for restraint

You could have posted a lot less of the previous history to make your point but I don't agree with you regarding the false dawn bit anway Bern. We are where we are because the team was not properly prepared by the previous manager for the season ahead, and because he failed to address areas where the team is weak. Cortese made the decision to get rid, we accept he had no option or we don't, but Adkins is in a much better position than many other managers in our division and above. He can bring in loan players to fill the gaps, he shouldn't have needed to do this, the players should have been there from the off. Cortese is no mug and he realises that we need stability and if the manager is sacked once again at the end of the season, then that will severely dent our chance of attracting coaches of the required standard. Money can only buy a certain amount of things, but money doesn't blend a team and money doesn't choose the tactics employed. I worry that the Pardew business will cost us automatic promotion this season, and if that's the case that I won't blame Adkins, but I also think it's far too early for the "false dawn" argument

I beg your pardon, according to my iFooty thing or the BBC live update thing it said he replaced Connolly, but the OS says it was Mills, so I was mislead. That's a relief actually, since if Wotton makes appearances under Adkins, then my faith in him would have been misplaced. Yes he should be motivated as a professional, but we don't know what has gone on behind the scenes. Remember when Kevin Davies was in his last few months of his contract at Saints, yet his performances didn't justify another one, yet when he went to Bolton he was a different player. I would still like Pulis to do well, after all, I think he owes us that much....and I was just thinking what a great chant it would be when we are comfortably winning a game to be able to sing "and we've still got Pulis on the bench...."

I've never seen Pulis play and I've always thought that on the basis that Stoke City actually gave him a contract, irrespective of the manager, then he must have some ability. I wonder if those who have seen him play in the pre-season friendlies considered that he might have been completely demotivated by previous managers and therefore was trying less than the other players who weren't trying during those matches where we weren't doing well. I admit my heart sank when Wotton came on the other night against the MK Dons franchise, because when you need a goal, he's the wrong option. So for him to drop to the bench and Pulis to take his place shows that either Adkins has faith in him, or we had so many injuries that he had no other options, or it was a wind up with Adkins saying "had you going there" to Pulis at the end of the match. I would actually like to see him do well, but his track record suggests he won't.

Nicole? Papa?

Well, Howe was offered the job and turned it down according to what the Echo says, whilst Adkins wants to manage Saints but wants to do it in the right way. I warm to Adkins more and more because the guy has integrity, but the deal is still on. I ain't gonna slag you off for making a bold statement, but you are jumping the gun a bit. On the face of it the whole saga appears to be a massive fark up and a PR disaster, but that isn't the fault of Cortese. He appears to have acted with the utmost dignity throughout this process

This is exactly the feeling I get these days. I remember being sat in the Chapel one year, first match of the season against Birmingham City and wondering what I was doing there. I never get that same buzz that I used to get when we played at The Dell. I remember us playing Fulham in 1977 when Marsh and Best played for them and the place was packed. We were crammed under the West Stand p!ssed as farts and watching those two w@nkers get sent off. Staggering back to the bus stop by the old Merchant Navy hotel and catching the 14 back to the Bitterne Park to get even more p!ssed. In those days it was more than likely that the players would be equally as drunk as us I've heard it said that it is the crowd that makes the atmosphere, yet there have been very few occasions since we moved that I can recall an atmosphere as electric as the last match at the Dell, the 3:3 against Liverpool when Marian scored the equaliser, Franny's goal against Leicester. I would try to recall some 70's matches, but to be honest, I was too drunk to remember much about them

Not often I laugh out loud these days. So thanks

You ain't wrong there Deeps. Everything I've read about NA suggests we would be lucky to have him yet too many fans think we're too big for him. Too many fans think we shouldn't appoint him because he's currently at little old Scunny. Some people need a reality check on our current situation.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/8374982.Reed_to_be_kingmaker/ Quite illuminating. I'm surprised no-one has commented on this unless it's hidden in a 50 page thread somewhere. I can't see someone like O'Neill standing for this kind of nonsense. Does anyone know of a continental club that has this kind of system? It sounds like a recipe for failure to me

Fair do's you brought a smile to my face. Not easily done I can tell you

Great rant Daren. Could have summed your opinion of Alpine in one word though Whatever mistakes he may have made, there is no doubt in my mind that in our recent history, Pardew was one of the best things to happen to this club. Off the field, Liebherr was the best thing to happen to us, but unfortunately, there are still side effects from that

I know what you say here, but to be honest, we were a team of losers with a losing mentality when he arrived. He changed the mentality so that the players believed they were winners and didn't take to the field expecting to lose. He certainly had the resources that other clubs could only look at and envy If his brief was to get into the play offs and win, then he failed, and should have been sacked then. From my point of view, whilst not the be all and end all of football managers that we've had, I will look back on his tenure with fondness and with a positive view. However, he has gone now and imo it is pointless debating the pros and cons endlessly because whatever I say, I will not change anyone's opinion if they have made their mind up that he was a poor manager Other clubs can rightly say that his time there was a disaster etc, but I don't think that would be fair of his time with us

....and possibly didn't get the transfers he wanted, since there would appear to be a transfer committee that Pardew wasn't on. The biggest criticism appears to be the lack of a plan b when things aren't going well. I read all the time of teams that come to SMS and park the bus and we fail to find a way to overcome that problem. I think as much as anything, it's the lack of game changing players in the squad that has caused this. If he was as bad as some people think (Richmond's lack of even a plan A for instance), then his win ratio would be poor, so overall he was getting things mostly right. If he has a way of playing but can't bring the players in he wants because someone else decides who joins the club, then any manager will be slightly hamstrung in that respect.

I don't know so much about power going to his head as he is the Chief Exec anyway, but there is no doubt in my mind that the last 2 results are directly the result of his decision to sack Pardew. I was listening to Scott Minto on Sky Sports this afternoon who made mention of Cortese beginning to interfere in team matters. It does make me wonder if he suddenly thinks he's a football man. I don't know whether it's true or not, but something is obviously seriously wrong and has been for some weeks/months. What worries me now is that the disruption is putting us back where we were a year ago. I firmly believe that sacking Pardew cost us our place in the JPT and it most definitely cost 3 points today. With respect to Rochdale, he have the resources and the players to beat them comfortably. Nice one Nic

Yes, I have seen plenty of people on this very forum tell others that NC saved the club and we shouldn't criticise. I seem to remember Docker-p replying to one such person the other day. I notice that you completely ignore the points I mentioned about the ST installment plan and 3 quid ticket tax before asking for evidence. The evidence is out there, you just have to want to see it. Even when I gave a few salient facts you seem to ignore it. I suppose you aren't by any chance Nicola Cortese yourself are you?

It may well be, but the fact is that without a pre-season to prepare last year and inheriting a team of losers, he turned things around, brought in better players and instilled a winning mentality. Even ignoring a day out at Wembley and the club's first silverware etc, we were where we were after all the turmoils surrounding relegation and administration. Pardew took the step down and could have fallen flat on his backside. After all, Brian Little and Peter Taylor haven't exactly prospered since leaving top clubs and going lower league have they? However, his win ratio suggests that we were on the right track whatever division we are in and I'm sorry he was sacked, even though he wasn't my first choice for the job in the first place.

No, just an opinion. I don't do rhetoric, I ain't Saddam Hussain y'know.

I think in all fairness the Echo have called Brown and asked whether he'd be interested, rather than Brown making an open statement expressing his interest. The telling part of the interview was "so of course I would be interested..." ie that is something you offer in reply to a question. Phil Brown would be a good choice to get us out of League 1 and the Championship, but I'm not sure he's good enough to keep us in the Prem if we get back there.