shurlock

....Or possibly, the old trusted VHS player - JP sung its praises enough times. Wonder what kind of salary our cyborg friend was on.

"We're still pursuing a scout for Ireland because we haven't even got the entire U.K covered, let alone overseas, but when I arrived here we had one scout doing match reports!" ...the old setup comes across as some nightmarish version of one man and his dog.

Of course, Pards and Coppell have a prior relationship - Pards played under Coppell at Palace and Coppell took over from Pards at Reading -presumably they get on. If Coppell is the man, would certainly minimise some of the difficulties people identify with a manager/DoF set-up.

Cant disagree more - Paterson isn't a target man - if he is, he's an extremely poor one with neither the presence nor the strength to do the job. He's an energetic, willing runner and so should thrive with the likes of Lambert. That he hasn't is because he isn't ready for a regular place in the first team. Stern John playing off Paterson - you're having a laugh.

Saga looked much better than Paterson - the ball went up, on the ground or in the air, and it stuck. I'm not bothered if Saga goes but I am concerned if we think we can rely on Paterson who's now started 4 of our 5 games as first choice striker.

Maybe they'll put pullis in an out-of-date keepers top for it. There's always one...

Yes i knew about the pre-game pep talks and the general meglomania but I always thought it was a roundabout caricuture, true but exaggerated. How wrong. I didnt realise Lowe had taken micromanagement to the point of picking apart players game such as Kelvin's handling ability - in what his best season for the club. Even managers defer to goalkeeping coaches and other specialists!

There were some good times -we outplayed Wolves and Brum for long periods; we had Reading and Derby chasing shadows; there was the comeback against Preston and we created chances galore. It was let down by alot of naievity - how many goals did we throw away in the last 5 mins (Reading, Sheff Wed, Cardiff etc)? How did we not bury those pens against Watford? Why did he think Lancashire could do a job? Why didn't he combine youth with more experience instead of bringing in one youngster on loan after another. Still, I would like to know what JP did to get the best out of Lallana etc and make us play a bit of football. Some of that wouldnt go amiss now.

Mills when fit

too true - here you've got Pards complaining how difficult it is to twist clubs arms and bring players in and there's a proven player saying come and get me. How hard can it be FFS.

And they had tyre-kickers harassing/asking them what they wanted for breakfast....eggs

Sounds good - nothing wrong with a youngish and oldish CB partnership - its defensive equivalent of little and large combo upfront. One wise-head to organise and read the game, the other with a bit of athleticism/pace to do the bidding and clean things up. That Blackburn and Derby (when they were in the Prem) were looking at him a few seasons ago and he recently turned down Millwall must say something. These are all clubs that have been able to spot a good brick sh*thouse in their time.

"Too lightweight for this division". mmm

I think you're right, though pace helps. The ability to overlap with fullbacks matters which gives you the extra man is one of the greatest assets a team can have but it requires intelligence and discipline. Marsden -not the paciest of players- was so effective because he knew when to bring in Bridge, always a willing runner and then provide a shield if Bridge got caught out of position. The same happened with different personnel for Bale. In such a team, fullbanks don't need to be the most defensively minded. And energy-levels matter more than raw pace. I think we will be OK on the left once Mills returns from injury. Both Harding and Mills have the energy to get up and down and bring the extra man in. Mills who is disciplined would be an easy pick over Lallana and Holmes to this extent. I'm more concerned about the right side. Murty no longer has the energy to get up and down. I would be inclined to play him on right midfield in a similar way to Marsden. Not only would he provide bit more bite in the middle (and is a composed passer of the ball) but he would also provide cover for somebody like Thompson at RB who would have explicit encouragement to get forward as much as possible.

Been saying it for almost a year now! http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2809

I might not have heard right but weren't some of our lot singing "Paul Wotton, Sex Offender"? If so, it was hilarious.

I agree - the more support, the better. I'm against this sanctimonious 'better than thou' boll**ks, especially since individual circumstances vary. Given the fact that the team is hardly returning the love at the moment, all support is valuable. I'm just reporting what my mate said -FWIW he was talking about how different fans express their support. Specifically, he meant that there were alot of fans in the Stratton who were probably louder and younger than your average week-in, week-out tea-and-flask away supporter but quicker to turn when things started to go badly, not least by the lack of noise in the stand (but that's because of the lack of a roof). On some days when the team is playing well, that way of expressing support is what makes the difference - and is f**King Herculean; on other days, less so. But ultimately we all follow and care about Southampton FFS.

Captains also lead by example and a few aren't doing that. Obvious exception is Kelvin but I'm not a massive fan of goalkeeper captains - seem too removed from the action to influence and encourage.

Mate i was there last night like Huddersfield on saturday and haven't missed a home or away game for ages. All I know is that the rot runs deep and many of the players -mostly inherited- are doing exactly the same things they were last season. The idea that pards can change things around, both on and off the pitch, in less than a month is risible. Should he have brought a sub on yesterday? Yes Would it have made a difference? Probably not. IF Saga or Rasiak had come on, we would have gone even more direct and lost even more shape. We might have got a point out of the game but things need to change in midfield and we have fewer options there (yes I am a fan of Gillett). At the same time Pards possibly wanted to give his side the vote of confidence, get them used to playing together, especially since the Poles want out. Was that more important than bringing subs on? For me, no. But can I understand why he did it? Emphatically, yes. And currently that's good enough for me.

Loud enough where I was in the Arkells but it had a roof. Most of the long distance, week-in week-out away fans were in the Arkells at any rate- not surprsing given that's where Swindon allocated their first batch of tickets. My mate was in the Stratton - said it was filled mostly by n*bs. Supposedly, a sizeable bunch didnt even come for the football it seems. Spent the first half queing at the only food and drink stand in operation oblivious to the fact there was a match going on.

In Pards I trust - I had the misfortune of seeing every saints game last season -every one of our inglorious 46 league games; and I don't think people on the forum -while they ***** and moan- truly appreciate just how deep the rot runs (quite apart from all the off-field shenanigans). If they did, they would hold their fire and suspend doubts. At least for now... For me an important turning point was the new year when Wotte took over from JP and decided to sacrifice shape and go route one. It never felt like a sustainable ploy -and indeed it probably wasn't intended to be- but Wotte banked on it bigtime. As long as we had a bit of pace and power (Euell, BWP etc) and nous (Surman, DMG), we were able to nick points and grind out results with it. But apart from Ipswich away, I can't remember a game, even when we won where we truly delivered a team performance as we did under JP. And ultimately it caught up with us. I think we are still living under the influence of Wotte's diminishing-returns, kitchen-sink approach (absent the aforementioned players) and we won't shrug off that influence until we start winning and getting confidence from doing the simple things, passing and moving, in a winning team. The more we lose, the more the albatross of minus points hangs around players shoulders, the more route one will be the default comfort blanket for a team that's sh*t scared and reluctant to take responsibility. I don't how we can break this cycle but I do think that as long as the instinct is to go route one, we could take a pragmatic leaf out of Wotte's book and drop Lallana and Schneiderlin. Wotte experimented with them but realised that they were ineffective in a more direct setup. I'm not saying we should go long as a matter of choice, as a first-best solution (christ no!) but if that's what we're doing as a matter of habit, team selections should work with rather than against the grain in the short-term. Hopefullly, with results (however ugly) players would begin to loosen up and undoubted talents like Lallana and Schneiderlin could be reintroduced to a setup that truly allowed them to thrive.

Temporarily disabled - the invading hordes have arrived:smt117

As long as you dont have gerrard and lampard in there together, we'll walk this league:D

Excellent news. Given the distinct lack of news until everything is signed, sealed and delivered (something which I dont have a problem with), this is quite a change in comms policy. Is the club already out doing to a goodwill tour, eager to reassure the fans?

And those teams -Fulham and Wigan- went marching straight up to the Premiership or -Cardiff- are flying high in the Championship. Christ I wonder what £2m is worth in today's monopoly money. £10m? Even £1.2m in 2002 isn't far off what seemed like big money spent on Mark Draper at the time.