Pardew expects Southampton board to keep their word

[Dig Dig]

Yep. And as long as we end up within 10pts of the playoffs, AP has a good argument and has won a moral victory.

 

But the manner in which we finish this league campaign will give a strong indicator of how the next will proceed. Finishing strongly is essential. So whilst I support giving AP until Xmas, if we finish this season limp-wristed with a squeak, I would not be surprised if NC wielded the axe over the summer.

 

yep, really hoping for a strong finish to the season, one which will hopefully see us within 10 points of play offs or better. If we finish poorly then summer may be a good time to make a change ( I would prefer that than to make a change mid season)

 

obviously a few results have been a little dissapointig but have to say that I've enjoyed his season, depending what happens in jpt final could rival 2003 as the best season for me since supporting saints.

[derry]

Weston and FF had heard previously about the pressure Pardew was under and posted pointers on here as I did.

 

A couple of weeks ago Pardew was widely quoted on the Sunday in the Observer/Guardian site regarding the pressure he was under and that he was going to do it his way.

 

On the Monday am BBC Solent Sports published a statement from Nicola Cortese stating the priority is the league and that the league results are not satisfactory.

 

Since then Pardew has made several comments which would have been best not said and now it looks to me that the remark about 18 months is a measure of his concern.

 

If a Chairman makes an appointment and lays down priorities that are not met, it then leads to repercussions. Clearly a Chairman, once he feels that the objectives are not being met has to decide if they will be met and if the answer is negative then a change is invariably made.

 

At the moment my feeling is that the jury is still out and that the Chairman is giving the rest of the season to come to a resolution.

 

IMO if we don't clearly demonstrate that we can win the league next year having not been promoted this year then there will be a change. I doubt that if there is any doubt about next season that it would be left until halfway through the season before changing which could waste another year.

 

That wouldn't be acceptable to Cortese who is probably on a multi million incentive to get us to the Premier League in a prescribed timescale.

[Window Cleaner]

yep, really hoping for a strong finish to the season, one which will hopefully see us within 10 points of play offs or better. If we finish poorly then summer may be a good time to make a change ( I would prefer that than to make a change mid season)

 

obviously a few results have been a little dissapointig but have to say that I've enjoyed his season, depending what happens in jpt final could rival 2003 as the best season for me since supporting saints.

 

although the real target may well be 10 points from automatic promotion.

[amsterdam]

Yep. And as long as we end up within 10pts of the playoffs, AP has a good argument and has won a moral victory.

 

But the manner in which we finish this league campaign will give a strong indicator of how the next will proceed. Finishing strongly is essential. So whilst I support giving AP until Xmas, if we finish this season limp-wristed with a squeak, I would not be surprised if NC wielded the axe over the summer.

 

I agree Alps.

 

Further - and I'll have to check the original NC comments - when I read it initially, I had the impression that it wasn't so much the actual results that disappointed NC, but the way we were playing. With the money the club has spent, and the obvious quality the team has, we should perhaps be doing better.

 

Wonder what he made of the game on Saturday?

[Badger]

Mr Pardew would do well to let his Manager skills on the pitch do his talking for him. To make a comment like he has to the media suggests he is a worried man but we do not know in what context the comment was made.

 

 

It occured to me that I would rather he did not conduct this debate via the media,as it indicates a bit of a collision course between AL and the board if both need to get their "positions" known in the public domain.

 

Hope I am wrong on this.

[John B]

It occured to me that I would rather he did not conduct this debate via the media,as it indicates a bit of a collision course between AL and the board if both need to get their "positions" known in the public domain.

 

Hope I am wrong on this.

 

He just seems to be an honest bloke and was probably answering a question

[Legod Third Coming]

Yes I agree - he deserves till next xmas. If we arent top of L1 (or within a few points) then maybe he needs to move on.

 

Feck me, I found a post of yours I agree 100% with. Are you feeling ok?

 

Tbh, if we're not top by October and well clear by Xmas he needs to have a serious think about his future, or we do...

[Legod Third Coming]

Yes we have improved since AP took over, but so we should with the cash input we have had. My worry at the moment is that we the improvment has tailed off; we were playing some realy good football for a while but recently we have resorted to being a bit of a hoof side. I wouldn't mind the hoof if it was winning games, we have to be more inventive again.

 

The reality is our first goal against MK Dons went like this...

 

Davis to Lallana to Papa to Lambert, goal.

 

That is why we appear to play 'hoof ball' in this league.

 

Because much as I hate it like you with a fecking passion, guess what?

 

In this league it often works.

[wightman35]

Yep. And as long as we end up within 10pts of the playoffs, AP has a good argument and has won a moral victory.

 

But the manner in which we finish this league campaign will give a strong indicator of how the next will proceed. Finishing strongly is essential. So whilst I support giving AP until Xmas, if we finish this season limp-wristed with a squeak, I would not be surprised if NC wielded the axe over the summer.

 

Well said.

[John B]

Well said.

 

It is going to be difficult to sack him if we win the JPT

[St Marco]

After going to both Man U and Pompey game it is crystal clear how far we have improved since then. The manager is 1 of the many reasons for that.

 

NC is doing a good job and obviously wants this club to succeed. As do we all. But i hope he takes a good look at this club and other clubs recent history and sees just how instant success is when you change your manager. Just ask Bolton, 1 win in 8.

 

clubs who do well build towards it. Man utd, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton,Villa etc.. Clubs who are doing well because they looked beyond the current season.

 

We all knew this season was a right off the momment we went into admin. But at that momment we would of all taken the -10 then go out of business.

 

Next season is our season and the one in which everything needs to go into. Next season i coud not give a monkies about the cups. In a way i hope we get knocked out of them all in the 1st round so we have no distractions from the league.

 

BUT

 

We now have nothing to lose. We will not reach the playoffs and we will not get relegated. We should go into our remaining league games playing positively like we did against the Skates. Every game now should be treated like that derby game and the players should put in the same work rate and desire. If they do that then we have a slim chance of reaching that final spot. we have 2 games in hand over 6th place and the others. If we win them we will be around 9th and 12 points behind with 16 games left.

We have in my opinion only 2 really tough games left that we would not be favourites to win against Norwich and Leeds. Those 2 games are going to be tough especially Norwich away but if we can get something from them then we have a good chance.

 

I just hope the players realise that.

[David Strover]

Hopefully everyone wants the club to be successful - but I think history has proved that sacking managers every 12 months or less rarely works.

 

I hope we are not heading back down this road we already have a terrible revolving door reputation as it is....

[doddisalegend]

I know some don't agree but I think NC has changed his objectives this year. There is the early season BBC interview with NC where he clearly states a five year plan and makes it known he wants silverware in the trophy cabinet.

 

Fast forward six months and AP has him within 180mins of saints first silverware since 76 NC starts saying the league is everything cups don't matter. A week latter AP says that he was told he had 18 months to achieve promotion. I think NC has changed the goal posts. Fair enough Saints is his (and ML) plaything now but I worry if NC is being realistic about things.

 

Intresting that on page 11 of the Pink there's an interview with Rickie Lambert where he says

"When I came here I was told what (we) wanted to happen, so it's going on course at the moment."

 

He then goes on to say that we've done better in the cups than expected but that league performances could be better.

 

That says to me that the players weren't expecting to go up this year if things are on course.

 

Personally I'm happy with AP we've lost seven games all season in all competitions and two of those games where against EPL opposition. As a team we're close to being there we just need to convert those draws into wins.

[John B]

I know some don't agree but I think NC has changed his objectives this year. There is the early season BBC interview with NC where he clearly states a five year plan and makes it known he wants silverware in the trophy cabinet.

 

Fast forward six months and AP has him within 180mins of saints first silverware since 76 NC starts saying the league is everything cups don't matter. A week latter AP says that he was told he had 18 months to achieve promotion. I think NC has changed the goal posts. Fair enough Saints is his (and ML) plaything now but I worry if NC is being realistic about things.

 

Intresting that on page 11 of the Pink there's an interview with Rickie Lambert where he says

"When I came here I was told what (we) wanted to happen, so it's going on course at the moment."

 

He then goes on to say that we've done better in the cups than expected but that league performances could be better.

 

That says to me that the players weren't expecting to go up this year if things are on course.

 

Personally I'm happy with AP we've lost seven games all season in all competitions and two of those games where against EPL opposition. As a team we're close to being there we just need to convert those draws into wins.

 

 

I think we have been lucky with the draws in the Cups and apart from Bristol Rovers away the results we achieved were to be expected.

[Legod Third Coming]

I think we have been lucky with the draws in the Cups and apart from Bristol Rovers away the results we achieved were to be expected.

 

I'm not sure about that...

 

We thumped Bristol Rovers away, beat Ipswich, beat Charlton and Norwich... these are very good results on balance.

[John B]

I'm not sure about that...

 

We thumped Bristol Rovers away, beat Ipswich, beat Charlton and Norwich... these are very good results on balance.

 

I thought we would beat both Charlton and Norwich at Home as were playing well at the time and had previously drew with them both.

 

Ipswich in reality were only a few places above us at the bottom of CCC with low confidence

 

 

So it was not that much of a surprise and all these ties were at St Mary's

 

I am not sure we thumped Bristol as we were hanging on at the end after a golden ten minutes or so but it was a good result one of the best of the season

[madsent]

I think we have been lucky with the draws in the Cups and apart from Bristol Rovers away the results we achieved were to be expected.

 

I think our season has been disrupted by the cup games which only seem to have caused home games to be postponed. Our poor form on the road has consequently seen us fall 18 points off the play-off zone. By the time we've played Norwich and Wycombe, we'll have played 7 of the last 9 league games on the road. So far we've got 3 points from the other 5 away games (all from 1-1 draws in games that we've had the lead in) and I can't see us winning at Norwich. I'd be disappointed with anything less than 3 points at Wycombe though.

[alpine_saint]

Hopefully everyone wants the club to be successful - but I think history has proved that sacking managers every 12 months or less rarely works.

 

I hope we are not heading back down this road we already have a terrible revolving door reputation as it is....

 

No, far better to stick with one that isnt working for too long - like Steve Wigley, eh ???

[Saint_clark]

The reality is our first goal against MK Dons went like this...

 

Davis to Lallana to Papa to Lambert, goal.

 

That is why we appear to play 'hoof ball' in this league.

 

Because much as I hate it like you with a fecking passion, guess what?

 

In this league it often works.

 

Actually it went,

Davis to Lambert flicked on to Lallana crossed in to Waigo layed off to Lambert, goal.

[Saint_clark]

No, far better to stick with one that isnt working for too long - like Steve Wigley, eh ???

 

Yeah, Pardew will undoubtedly go down as a failure on par with Wigley if we aren't clear at the top of League One by christmas.

[Fan The Flames]

The reality is our first goal against MK Dons went like this...

 

Davis to Lallana to Papa to Lambert, goal.

 

That is why we appear to play 'hoof ball' in this league.

 

Because much as I hate it like you with a fecking passion, guess what?

 

In this league it often works.

 

I don't mind the hoof as part of a suite of tactics, but when its the default or main tactic like it was at Brentford it hasn't been fruitful. We are meant to be building for the future so we should be better than this.

[doddisalegend]

I think our season has been disrupted by the cup games which only seem to have caused home games to be postponed. Our poor form on the road has consequently seen us fall 18 points off the play-off zone. By the time we've played Norwich and Wycombe, we'll have played 7 of the last 9 league games on the road. So far we've got 3 points from the other 5 away games (all from 1-1 draws in games that we've had the lead in) and I can't see us winning at Norwich. I'd be disappointed with anything less than 3 points at Wycombe though.

 

We've lost four games away from home all season I hardly call it poor form. At this date last season we had last nine away games. At this date the season before that we had lost nine away games. The season before that (our play off season) we had lost seven on the road by the middle of febuary. Our away form has improved drastically over the last few seasons.

[Thedelldays]

We've lost four games away from home all season I hardly call it poor form. At this date last season we had last nine away games. At this date the season before that we had lost nine away games. The season before that (our play off season) we had lost seven on the road by the middle of febuary. Our away form has improved drastically over the last few seasons.

the last few seasons mean nothing to me..different leagues..different oppositions..different times

 

right now..we have been OK on the road in league 1 with the players and staff we have....OK is not enough to go up it seems

[Saint_clark]

the last few seasons mean nothing to me..different leagues..different oppositions..different times

 

right now..we have been OK on the road in league 1 with the players and staff we have....OK is not enough to go up it seems

 

Good job nobody was expecting promotion then, isn't it....

[Legod Third Coming]

Actually it went,

Davis to Lambert flicked on to Lallana crossed in to Waigo layed off to Lambert, goal.

 

Lol, ok but the point was well made right

[Saint_clark]

Lol, ok but the point was well made right

 

Indeed. The thing that was good for me was how involved Lambert was, he started the move off and he finished it.

[John B]

Although performances have not been good recently we have not lost many in the League recently but the Main reason we may not get to the play offs is the very poor start that we had not that we are not winning away games at the moment

 

 

 

.

[Legod Third Coming]

I don't mind the hoof as part of a suite of tactics, but when its the default or main tactic like it was at Brentford it hasn't been fruitful. We are meant to be building for the future so we should be better than this.

 

Come on, Barnard should have put us 2-0 up game over...

 

He'll come good but he missed a sitter and we hit the woodwork twice.

 

The team gets frustrated when they keep missing chances.

 

Result, they go back to front too often.

 

Having Hammond back will help that. He has been a big miss linking the defence with attack.

[Legod Third Coming]

Indeed. The thing that was good for me was how involved Lambert was, he started the move off and he finished it.

 

I think Davis started it with one of those hopeless 'hoof balls'....

[doddisalegend]

the last few seasons mean nothing to me..different leagues..different oppositions..different times

 

right now..we have been OK on the road in league 1 with the players and staff we have....OK is not enough to go up it seems

 

Sorry I don't agree I think it shows things have improved. How can people claim things have not improved under AP when it's apparent they have is beyond me. Only Leeds(3), Charlton(2) and Swindon(3) have lost less games on their travels than us. Our problem is draws if we can just turn a few of our draws into wins will be right up there next year.

[Thedelldays]

Sorry I don't agree I think it shows things have improved. How can people claim things have not improved under AP when it's apparent they have is beyond me. Only Leeds(3), Charlton(2) and Swindon(3) have lost less games on their travels than us. Our problem is draws if we can just turn a few of our draws into wins will be right up there next year.

the away form is clearly nothing more than OK..it has to be very good to go up....

 

those teams are all above us...swindons team probably cost less than lambert..and have the great manager called danny wilson in charge..lol

 

if we want to go up next season in the top 2..we have to be more than mediocre saints..we have to be the best in the league

 

I think only once very briefly this season have we been within 10 points of the playoffs...that itself says its own story..and it seems, the pressure is really on pardew in that sense

[doddisalegend]

the away form is clearly nothing more than OK..it has to be very good to go up....

 

those teams are all above us...swindons team probably cost less than lambert..and have the great manager called danny wilson in charge..lol

 

if we want to go up next season in the top 2..we have to be more than mediocre saints..we have to be the best in the league

 

I think only once very briefly this season have we been within 10 points of the playoffs...that itself says its own story..and it seems, the pressure is really on pardew in that sense

 

If we had turned two home draws and three away draws into wins we would have the almost same number of away/home wins and draws as Norwhich (remembering Norwhich have played three more games than us). We would have lost one more game at home than Norwhich though. So that means if we can convert five draws into wins next season we would be around three points below where Norwhich are right now. I reckon with a more settled team that is easily achievable next season.

[Thedelldays]

if if if.......the real world infact...............................

[Dr Who?]

Chrismas 2010 we need to be in the top 6 at least, or serous questions need to be answered. I have every faith in AP getting the team to the top by this point.

[Legod Third Coming]

Chrismas 2010 we need to be in the top 6 at least, or serous questions need to be answered. I have every faith in AP getting the team to the top by this point.

 

TOP, not top six. TOP.

 

We are the Real Madrid of League One.

 

Your club is the TENTH HIGHEST SPENDER in ENGLAND.

 

That is not top six after 18 months, it is top by ten.

 

End of.

[doddisalegend]

if if if.......the real world infact...............................

 

Hey can't change whats already happened we've had to many draws this season end of. To me however this season has been encouraging, I assume talking to other fans plus the increasing numbers at St Mary's this season some agree with me. For you it has been another year of abject faliure fair enough enjoy the misery thats your right.

 

We have lost less games so far this year, than we have at the same time in the last three seasons this is a fact it shows we're are improving there is reason for optimism, however you don't care about that becuase it doesn't fit your out look on saints. Again fair enough we all have the right to support saints in any way we like, although I feel you may enjoy supporting Man U or Chelsea more.

 

I now await your usual tired arguments about money, not excepting second best or telling NC. All of which will be pointless I care not. I haven't enjoyed supporting saints this much for years this has been the best season we've had for some time IMO. I excpect next season to be better I'm very happy being a saints fan you aren't that's your right just like it's mine to look at the if if if and feel there are good things ahead.

[John B]

Hey can't change whats already happened we've had to many draws this season end of. To me however this season has been encouraging, I assume talking to other fans plus the increasing numbers at St Mary's this season some agree with me. For you it has been another year of abject faliure fair enough enjoy the misery thats your right.

 

We have lost less games so far this year, than we have at the same time in the last three seasons this is a fact it shows we're are improving there is reason for optimism, however you don't care about that becuase it doesn't fit your out look on saints. Again fair enough we all have the right to support saints in any way we like, although I feel you may enjoy supporting Man U or Chelsea more.

 

I now await your usual tired arguments about money, not excepting second best or telling NC. All of which will be pointless I care not. I haven't enjoyed supporting saints this much for years this has been the best season we've had for some time IMO. I excpect next season to be better I'm very happy being a saints fan you aren't that's your right just like it's mine to look at the if if if and feel there are good things ahead.

 

 

I agree 2003 and 2010 have been the best two seasons in the last twenty for me that is apart from Pardew's first few games

[doddisalegend]

I agree 2003 and 2010 have been the best two seasons in the last twenty for me that is apart from Pardew's first few games

 

Well yeah 2003 was probably the best, our playoff year wasn't bad either. but good years have been few and far between for saints fans so we might as well enjoy them when we get one. Regardless of what happens for the rest of the season, this season has far out done the expectations I had back in August.

[John B]

Well yeah 2003 was probably the best, our playoff year wasn't bad either. but good years have been few and far between for saints fans so we might as well enjoy them when we get one. Regardless of what happens for the rest of the season, this season has far out done the expectations I had back in August.

 

The play off season was as let down for me as I was expecting more as we only luckily scraped into them

[Big Ron fan]

He has come out with a few comments that indicate pressure is not far away. The major issue is his statement in the programme notes prioritising the cup competitions, whereas Cortese has been banging out consistently that the league must be the priority. Then looking back at some JPT games, it is clear that the subsequent league games showed no sign of favour but the opposite.

 

Any normal chief executive would fire any operating officer who went against a directive in such a manner. Personally I believe this to be just a poor exuse under pressure, factoring in the win over MK Dons on the Tuesday, otherwise I doubt this would ever have come out. Pardew has done nothing more than average so far, when you look at all the results, factor in all the variables then compare this with his peers. The big question Cortese must be asking himself, can I trust this guy when he has done the opposite to his directions?

 

Automatic promotion has to be the objective for next season, not one of the cups if we find ourselves having a lucky run, but poor form in the league. Cortese will be asking himself, what would be the outcome of such a situation be again? Then after all this time, what indication is there that Pardew has the capability of achieving that task? because we have seen no difinitive as yet. If it was me, Pardew would have the rest of this season to prove he can deliver next season, otherwise it makes more sense to get rid of him so not to hamstring someone who can get the job done. The biggest problem and maybe Pardew's saving grace, is being able to get a sufficiently high profile manager that will give you the confidence of automatic promotion.

 

Agree with this. I have seen nothing so far to alter my original opinion, when he was appointed, that he is at best a moderate manager.

 

I think he'll be out of the door if we don't show a huge improvement in league form for the remainder of the season, enough to at least get us very close to the play-offs.

 

If he is here next season, he will be gone by the end of September, not Xmas, if we are not looking very likely to get automatic promotion.

 

he definitely seems to be feeling the pressure - I think the next 3 months will be very interesting!

[EastleighSoulBoy]

I agree but with no Norwich and Leeds hopefully it should be easier than this Season

 

There will still be more than one from Swindon, Colchester etc. Also, in support of AP, we will have had a year of bonding, a decent cloes and pre-season and stability.

 

I think next season is the one to do it.

[Badger]

Agree with this. I have seen nothing so far to alter my original opinion, when he was appointed, that he is at best a moderate manager.

 

This however is where the crux of the matter lies.I thought AP a good appointment as he had a good track record -for a team in our league and position - and was/is still young enough to have potential to grow into the job and make a success of it.This is in stark contrast to Burley whose best days were behind him when he came to Saints and was just seeking a further payday.

 

Who would we want who would come here ?AP was a better option than some of the names mentioned.I was one of those keen on Tisdale,but realistically it is doubtful that he would be able to attract the name players to drop a division as AP has.(Yes,I'll also accept that it is our position to offer a few £ as much as AP that will bring players in,but having a manager who has had a higher profile must help).

[alpine_saint]

Yeah, Pardew will undoubtedly go down as a failure on par with Wigley if we aren't clear at the top of League One by christmas.

 

Thats not what I wrote - and you know it.

 

Tell me, why must you throw a hissy fit every time someone posts something you dont agree with ?

[sussexsaint]

What NC was saying was common sense our League form has not been good and it needs to improve - whats wrong with that.

 

exactly and by coming out with his statement he was effectively taking pressure off of the cup games.

 

I honestly don't think his comments were meant o mean AP was about to lose his job

[John B]

exactly and by coming out with his statement he was effectively taking pressure off of the cup games.

 

I honestly don't think his comments were meant o mean AP was about to lose his job

 

However there seem to be some ITKs who think that AP is under pressure from NC anyway

[Fan The Flames]

Come on, Barnard should have put us 2-0 up game over...

 

He'll come good but he missed a sitter and we hit the woodwork twice.

 

The team gets frustrated when they keep missing chances.

 

Result, they go back to front too often.

 

Having Hammond back will help that. He has been a big miss linking the defence with attack.

 

The long ball produced one effort that game and Barnard missed. Brentford played us of the pitch, they played like us in the mid part of the season. We were great going forward, getting the ball wide, playing down channels, Antonio taking people on along with the quick ball over the top. Recently we seem to have reverted to the ball over the top all the time and results were better in the mid part of the season. At Brentford we started composed and scored and then hit the bar, then the long ball came, maybe because the pitch was so poor, but our chances dried up, imo we were lucky not to lose that night.

 

Hopefully AP we build a team to do it next season.

[saintmonkey1979]

If NC wasn't putting pressure on AP he wouldn't be doing his job. Pressure comes with management positions no matter how favourable or adverse results are. There is always scope for improvement.

 

I find it strange that NC does business behind closed doors and then comes out with this comment. I think it was designed to take pressure off the cup games but also saying that the league is as important as ever rather than a public warning.

 

Its difficult to guage APs comment and its context as it came from a vague article.

[Capel Saint]

I would hope that NC's comments was just a little reminder to Pards that the priority will be promotion next season.

 

To be fair to Pards, he is currently fine tuning the team and the new players bought in January are still bedding in. Due to the cup games, we have yet to see what attcking support Puncheon can provide and whether Otsemobor can settle down in the right back position, to cover for Murty.

 

If you look at the league table, we will have played three more away games than home games after this weekend (of which we have played all the top six away). So the league table might look a lot better when we have played these extra home games.

 

Like most fans that have commented already, Pards will be looking to consolidate the squad for the remainder of the season. With the benefit of a proper pre-season, perhaps one ot two more additions and a trimming of the deadwood in the squad in the summer, there should be no reason why Saints can't be in the top two by Xmas 2010.

 

I hope NC will now keep quiet and let Pards get on with it.

[rooney]

I think we were lucky to get AP as manager. Many good managers would not be prepared to "lower" themselves into the 3rd division. Thank goodness he could think outside the box and see the bigger picture. He inherited a terrible team with hardly any pre-season who could not defend set pieces, had no pace and could not score goals. There is still some dead wood to clear out but look how far we have come. Judging by the crowds we get most Saints supporters agree.

 

I like what he says and how we now play. It will always be a struggle to get out of this division primarily due to the state of the pitches and the direct style of play of some teams. Let us therefore get behind him and hope we can get promoted next season when we can play good football on better pitches as we do at St Marys.

[paris]

Hold on guys and girls have just seen this in the current bun could be that we re enter the FA Cup....

>>

FA CHIEFS have made no contingency plans for Portsmouth going bust before their FA Cup quarter-final with Birmingham.

Pompey face a winding-up order over unpaid bills of £12m.

That is five days ahead of the Brum clash and an FA source said: "There is no precedent for this situation."Hopefully, they will survive.

 

((( If they don't the FA Cup committee must decide whether to give Birmingham a bye or re-admit Southampton as the last side beaten by Portsmouth.")))