Pardew and Coaching Staff Sacked.

[alpine_saint]

calm down everyone, I was disappointed by the sacking but the insane ranting on here has annoyed me more than the decision, boycotts, chants, hanging from a lampost??

Idiotic.

 

I saw Spurs this week sweep majestically into the Champions Lge proper, their fans were singing of eternal support - a few days later they were booing the players off like the fickle yobs they are.

Win together, lose together? Only when it suits them.

Managers and players come and go, you abuse them one week and adore them the next - so let's have a reality check on history for those spouting crap -

 

Hoddle has failed everywhere since The Dell - having him back would have changed nothing - let's bury that stupid fantasy once and for all.

Strachan was great for a short time for us, but his record pre and post-Saints is very average.

Pearson was great in a crisis, engineered a great escape and may develop into a very good manager, but he's not Alex Ferguson so we don't know what would have happened then.

Burley had a great record, but he failed here.

Redknapp is the man to get you out of a relegation crisis by wheeler-dealing....yeah, right.

For all we know Wotte could turn into Mourinho with some money but we will never know so let's not guess at the version of imaginary history we would like to fit our arguments.

Pardew has a pretty good record with us, okay at West Ham, horrendous at Charlton - we have no idea how the next six games would go let alone the season.

 

 

And most importantly

 

Rupert Lowe's main aim was to make money for Rupert Lowe.

Nicola Cortese' main aim is to honour his best mates' dying wish and to take us back to the Prem - Now the way he does that may be ruthless and ill-judged, his timing may be woeful, he may make mistakes - BUT

 

 

unlike Lowe he wants the same end result that we do, success for Saints - this decision today will be judged by the table in May, nothing else.

 

 

So chill, let's see what he has up his sleeve before getting all ranty, if he has nothing up his sleeve then we can rant.

 

This.

[derry]

Wilkins view -

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2139546,00.html

 

He doesn't seem to be shedding any tears.

[jamesfp1]

calm down everyone, I was disappointed by the sacking but the insane ranting on here has annoyed me more than the decision, boycotts, chants, hanging from a lampost??

Idiotic.

 

I saw Spurs this week sweep majestically into the Champions Lge proper, their fans were singing of eternal support - a few days later they were booing the players off like the fickle yobs they are.

Win together, lose together? Only when it suits them.

Managers and players come and go, you abuse them one week and adore them the next - so let's have a reality check on history for those spouting crap -

 

Hoddle has failed everywhere since The Dell - having him back would have changed nothing - let's bury that stupid fantasy once and for all.

Strachan was great for a short time for us, but his record pre and post-Saints is very average.

Pearson was great in a crisis, engineered a great escape and may develop into a very good manager, but he's not Alex Ferguson so we don't know what would have happened then.

Burley had a great record, but he failed here.

Redknapp is the man to get you out of a relegation crisis by wheeler-dealing....yeah, right.

For all we know Wotte could turn into Mourinho with some money but we will never know so let's not guess at the version of imaginary history we would like to fit our arguments.

Pardew has a pretty good record with us, okay at West Ham, horrendous at Charlton - we have no idea how the next six games would go let alone the season.

 

 

And most importantly

 

Rupert Lowe's main aim was to make money for Rupert Lowe.

Nicola Cortese' main aim is to honour his best mates' dying wish and to take us back to the Prem - Now the way he does that may be ruthless and ill-judged, his timing may be woeful, he may make mistakes - BUT

 

 

unlike Lowe he wants the same end result that we do, success for Saints - this decision today will be judged by the table in May, nothing else.

 

 

So chill, let's see what he has up his sleeve before getting all ranty, if he has nothing up his sleeve then we can rant.

 

That.

[funkymojo44]

Well i am absolutely disgusted with this decision. what the blue **** is Cortese thinking off? Alan Pardew is a very good manager and the only viable person who could get us into the CCC. I'm extremely fed up with this joke of a club right now.

[buctootim]

Alan Pardew is a very good manager and the only viable person who could get us into the CCC.

 

Really? wow.

[1976_Child]

calm down everyone, I was disappointed by the sacking but the insane ranting on here has annoyed me more than the decision, boycotts, chants, hanging from a lampost??

Idiotic.

 

I saw Spurs this week sweep majestically into the Champions Lge proper, their fans were singing of eternal support - a few days later they were booing the players off like the fickle yobs they are.

Win together, lose together? Only when it suits them.

Managers and players come and go, you abuse them one week and adore them the next - so let's have a reality check on history for those spouting crap -

 

Hoddle has failed everywhere since The Dell - having him back would have changed nothing - let's bury that stupid fantasy once and for all.

Strachan was great for a short time for us, but his record pre and post-Saints is very average.

Pearson was great in a crisis, engineered a great escape and may develop into a very good manager, but he's not Alex Ferguson so we don't know what would have happened then.

Burley had a great record, but he failed here.

Redknapp is the man to get you out of a relegation crisis by wheeler-dealing....yeah, right.

For all we know Wotte could turn into Mourinho with some money but we will never know so let's not guess at the version of imaginary history we would like to fit our arguments.

Pardew has a pretty good record with us, okay at West Ham, horrendous at Charlton - we have no idea how the next six games would go let alone the season.

 

 

And most importantly

 

Rupert Lowe's main aim was to make money for Rupert Lowe.

Nicola Cortese' main aim is to honour his best mates' dying wish and to take us back to the Prem - Now the way he does that may be ruthless and ill-judged, his timing may be woeful, he may make mistakes - BUT

 

 

unlike Lowe he wants the same end result that we do, success for Saints - this decision today will be judged by the table in May, nothing else.

 

 

So chill, let's see what he has up his sleeve before getting all ranty, if he has nothing up his sleeve then we can rant.

 

I think Pearson will turn out to be a brilliant manager. Especially in the lower leagues. He always had something about him.

[LostBoys]

There are a number of sub threads running about why this has happened. I am very surprised by the timing of this. I have just two further points

 

1. We will look back on this decision as inspired or the exact opposite if we go through a period of disruption which costs us points.

 

2. I detested Rupert Lowe. Having met him on a couple of occasions I concluded he was an arrogant little boy who would not listen to anybody and thought he was always right. Unfortunately for us he knew nothing about football and the results for the club were disastrous. A number of posters have been making comparisons between Lowe and this latest development. I am hesitant to do this but I have to agree that the timing of this is very like Mr Lowe.

 

I am very concerned about this after the 'high' of Saturdays result and I think the performances have been good this season but we have not be converting chances until the Rovers game when we should have had double the number of goals.

 

[funkymojo44]

Really? wow.

 

Give me a list of possible candidates and i honestly think none of them would be any better than Pardew, i think with this dramatic change the best we can hope for is playoffs which is no guarantee of anything.

 

We've ****ed up big time here.

[saintjinksie]

i was saying on saturday i cant think of many managers i wouldnt rather have over pardew. thanks nic. lets poach eddie howe off bournemouth

[SanFranciscoSaint]

I am stunned at this. We have been unlucky this season, and new we would kick some teams ass very soon (which we did). AP is one of the few managers that has experience of promotion from the lower Leagues, that has also managed in the Premier League as well. I am not sure who elsa is available that has that experience. Zola? Please; give me a break.

[Giordano]

Ive read every post to date on this subject...and heres my ten pence worth:

 

We support the team, the club, first and foremost. Some of us support the "ethic"- the spirit of "who we are and what we represent" of our club first and foremost. Those of us that do are getting killed off daily. I support saints on automatic pilot but I cannot think for a moment that there is a generation of kids out there who will LOVE this club and what is become.. Without that metaphysical relationship with the club SFC may as well be Starbucks or Tesco's - a retail outlet which you can use or not. Growing pains Cortese would probably say. the inevitability of progress in this mega money results orientated age, or bringing "the Southampton way" of playing football closer to reality..... But whilst he can justify it on numerous grounds it still does'nt make it feel right.

 

Whilst we are paying customers we can still influence how this "business" is being run though.

 

I helped form a small group called The Southampton Diplomats what seems decades ago. I wont go into the charter here but the summary is sporting fraternity and love of saints as the bonding element. I feel all the sleeping diplomats, embassy staff and consular agents should have a look at this as a possible action plan:

 

In Italy when the tifosi are unhappy with stuff they mount silent protests. The organisers enforce it. Noone is allowed to chant cheer or sing in order to show displeasure at the club for the first half or a prearranged point or period of time before or during the game. Perhaps during a five minute window 5 mins before half time at a home match. Flags and banners are placed upside down. Sometimes the supporters on the curva actually turn their backs on the match en masse.

 

Its futile but we can still be heard - by our silence. We are meaningless apart from our cash to NC. We are fickle and if a marquee manager like Shearer/MON/Pearce/Zola etc comes along we will all be excited again. If we win 5-0 next week we will forget Pardew....we can pretend we don't see what is going on but if we do nothing then we are co-conspirators in the assasination of our club history frankly.

 

I think we can sit silently for five minutes at a game shortly to show that WE do count though. That WE do have principles.

 

Right or wrong a decision theres a way to effect change in an organisation that still ensures goodwill and trust and respect is maintained. This action just sucks, and its NOT the "Southampton way" that created that intensely loyal fanbase of the last century.

Edited 30 August, 2010 by Giordano
sp+edit

[captainchris]

What a ****ing joke. Back to square one! What is it about our club that attracts these ****s to come in and destroy our club.

 

You have no idea of the reasons for AP sacking so your conjecture about jokes is your own ill informed emotion and nothing more!

[JonnyLove]

Not sure if anyone has read this but an interesting article from the BBC One Quote I Like. "I have been told that several support staff based at the club's training ground have recently resigned, claiming an inability to work with Pardew.

 

At first glance the decision to sack Pardew makes Saints look ridiculous, but if Pardew's dismissal is the consequence of off-the-field issues then that would at least partially explain why it comes just two days after a comprehensive 4-0 victory."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2010/08/pardew_sacking_at_saints_raise.html#248300

Edited 30 August, 2010 by JonnyLove

[Tony10]

calm down everyone, I was disappointed by the sacking but the insane ranting on here has annoyed me more than the decision, boycotts, chants, hanging from a lampost??

Idiotic.

 

I saw Spurs this week sweep majestically into the Champions Lge proper, their fans were singing of eternal support - a few days later they were booing the players off like the fickle yobs they are.

Win together, lose together? Only when it suits them.

Managers and players come and go, you abuse them one week and adore them the next - so let's have a reality check on history for those spouting crap -

 

Hoddle has failed everywhere since The Dell - having him back would have changed nothing - let's bury that stupid fantasy once and for all.

Strachan was great for a short time for us, but his record pre and post-Saints is very average.

Pearson was great in a crisis, engineered a great escape and may develop into a very good manager, but he's not Alex Ferguson so we don't know what would have happened then.

Burley had a great record, but he failed here.

Redknapp is the man to get you out of a relegation crisis by wheeler-dealing....yeah, right.

For all we know Wotte could turn into Mourinho with some money but we will never know so let's not guess at the version of imaginary history we would like to fit our arguments.

Pardew has a pretty good record with us, okay at West Ham, horrendous at Charlton - we have no idea how the next six games would go let alone the season.

 

 

And most importantly

 

Rupert Lowe's main aim was to make money for Rupert Lowe.

Nicola Cortese' main aim is to honour his best mates' dying wish and to take us back to the Prem - Now the way he does that may be ruthless and ill-judged, his timing may be woeful, he may make mistakes - BUT

 

 

unlike Lowe he wants the same end result that we do, success for Saints - this decision today will be judged by the table in May, nothing else.

 

 

So chill, let's see what he has up his sleeve before getting all ranty, if he has nothing up his sleeve then we can rant.

 

Common sense prevails.

[itchen_dan]

Hmm.. foreseeable future?

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/8361057.Wilkins_surprised_by_Pardew_sacking/?ref=rss

[Wes Tender]

Conjecture? We have no manager and the club state they have no one waiting in the wings... I'd define that as chaotic. It's all well and good quoting O'Neil as a possibility but you can't write off my view that this is a bad decision as conjecture and then back that up by what may be round the corner. We have no manager, the transfer window is two away from ending. I'd view this as being a poor decision. Sack him in May by all means but by the end of August with no manager in the wings? I'd say that wasn't the best decision...

 

Name me one available manager that excites you? Curbishley? Brown? Ignore whether or not they're available if their names were mentioned would you bat an eyelid? I wouldn't. Pardew is at the very least a good Championship manager and to better his credentials you need some with Championship/Premership experience and keeping a team there... Both men possibly but neither excite me and if you're honest, if their names were mentioned right after Wembley you wouldn't have given them the time of day...

 

We are at square one yet again, it's not hysterical it's point of fact and made all the more awkward by the fact that people talk and having a chairman that is viewed as "difficult" by the press may well put off some candidates. If you sack Pardew when he's viewed as doing a reasonably good job, what manager would be attracted to job that sets standards that high?

 

And again, where have I stated the season has been ruined???? Never is the answer. Now you're being hysterical...

 

OK you said the following:-

To sack Pardew pre season maybe, but to sack him with 3 league games on the clock is madness and it puts any chance of promotion into real jeopardy.

 

As we failed to gain promotion last season, it would indeed be judged as failure if we were to fail to go up this season, with no points deduction and taking into account the improvements in the team. And Pardew did not have just three games on the clock. He had the entire full last season too, plus cup matches.

 

I don't agree that it is madness, nor that the situation is chaotic, nor that any chance of promotion is put in real jeopardy. I regard those remarks as being hysterical and somebody who has followed football for as many years as you have ought to be able to recollect enough examples of similar situations which have produced positive results to make you a bit more ambivalent about it all.

 

Neither are we at square one again. Square one was when NC and ML took over the club. We have made considerable progress since then and the squad is significantly improved. It isn't the players who have gone, it is the manager. It might come to pass that we appoint a better one, so how are we back at square one?

 

I did name candidates who I would be happy with. I said Curbishley, but if it came to pass, O'Neill would be fantastic, but possibly beyond us. I pointed out that if we did get O'Neill, nearly everybody would then say what a good move it was, sacking Pardew.

 

But you along with others have condemned Cortese for sacking Pardew without any knowledge as to what the reason was, so naturally if you make known your guesses as to the reasons, that is pure conjecture and speculation. I reiterate, it might come to pass that either there are good reasons for his actions, or that we will appoint a replacement who will have have the fans drooling instead of dribbling.

 

I am happy to wait and see what transpires before making a knee-jerk reaction as to whether it is a good or a bad move. At this precise moment in time, nobody is able to make that judgment unless they know the background to it all. My suspicion is that there are very few people who know these things and that hardly any, or none of them have posted on this thread.

[Tony10]

Hmm.. foreseeable future?

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/8361057.Wilkins_surprised_by_Pardew_sacking/?ref=rss

 

Cheers for the link but typical Echo, that story means absolutely zilch. What else would we expect him to say?

[the_barmy_saints_army]

pardew's probably happy he's gone before he would have inevitably screwed it up

[hypochondriac]

After a strange old morning mulling all this over I can only suggest we get behind the team tomorrow and on Saturday no booing of the CEO or overt support for a manager we no longer have and wait and see what this week brings. I agree with many comments on timing etc but at least we now know in whose hands our future lies and on whose shoulders responsability lies also.

 

I disagree. Fans need to express their displeasure at this decision. JPT doesn't matter anyway and I would hope that as many people as possible make their feelings known.

[SaintBobby]

Here's my guess:

 

1. Pardew was nearly removed in the close season, but it was finally decided to give him a little longer on a sort of probationary basis.

 

2. Some things have gone badly since then - not necessarily visible visible things (although 4 points from 3 matches isn't great), but behind-the-scenes stuff (signings? dressing room unrest? poor training regime? evident lack of motivation?)

 

3. Cortese decided to act now rather than let things drag on. Having stuck with AP over the Summer, this transfer window is lost on a new manager (although just maybe an extra signing or two will happen with NC calling the shots)

 

4. There may have been a straw that broke the camel's back - some sort of blazing row in the last couple of days.

 

5. There isn't a new manager lined up just yet, but NC and others will have been thinking about possible replacements on-and-off for sometime, given that AP's position clearly hasn't been secure.

 

I am not appalled by what has happened if the above points are broadly true.

[Clifford Nelson]

There was really no surprise apart from the timing and the disclosure of disquiet amongst junior coaches (who are they?). The requirements for this season were very clear, and even AP expressed it in terms of "now excuses". Instead I've heard a series of excuses after every game we haven't won, and that includes what must reasonably be termed as a very disappointing preseason. Did this look like the management team which was to take us into the PL? And that is what NC is planning. So is it therefore any real surprise?

 

What would be a great surprise is if NC hasn't already made plans going back some time. Somebody, or some options, are already available and the details will be ironed out over the next few days. Where I will be very surprised is if we will see an inexperiences manager. Whatever their qualities, Paul Tisdale and Eddie Howe will not be in any frame. Neither will Kevin Blackwell or Ian Dowie. Whoever is coming will have the credentials to produce the goods from here to the PL.

[Saint Without a Halo]

calm down everyone, I was disappointed by the sacking but the insane ranting on here has annoyed me more than the decision, boycotts, chants, hanging from a lampost??

Idiotic.

 

I saw Spurs this week sweep majestically into the Champions Lge proper, their fans were singing of eternal support - a few days later they were booing the players off like the fickle yobs they are.

Win together, lose together? Only when it suits them.

Managers and players come and go, you abuse them one week and adore them the next - so let's have a reality check on history for those spouting crap -

 

Hoddle has failed everywhere since The Dell - having him back would have changed nothing - let's bury that stupid fantasy once and for all.

Strachan was great for a short time for us, but his record pre and post-Saints is very average.

Pearson was great in a crisis, engineered a great escape and may develop into a very good manager, but he's not Alex Ferguson so we don't know what would have happened then.

Burley had a great record, but he failed here.

Redknapp is the man to get you out of a relegation crisis by wheeler-dealing....yeah, right.

For all we know Wotte could turn into Mourinho with some money but we will never know so let's not guess at the version of imaginary history we would like to fit our arguments.

Pardew has a pretty good record with us, okay at West Ham, horrendous at Charlton - we have no idea how the next six games would go let alone the season.

 

 

And most importantly

 

Rupert Lowe's main aim was to make money for Rupert Lowe.

Nicola Cortese' main aim is to honour his best mates' dying wish and to take us back to the Prem - Now the way he does that may be ruthless and ill-judged, his timing may be woeful, he may make mistakes - BUT

 

 

unlike Lowe he wants the same end result that we do, success for Saints - this decision today will be judged by the table in May, nothing else.

 

 

So chill, let's see what he has up his sleeve before getting all ranty, if he has nothing up his sleeve then we can rant.

 

Calm and logical analysis! We have a chairman who wants success so do we! How many clubs have chairman who are happy to tread water whilst fans bay for success.

Let us see what NC has in mind and give him a chance to run with it before we sit in judgement!

[Saint Without a Halo]

I disagree. Fans need to express their displeasure at this decision. JPT doesn't matter anyway and I would hope that as many people as possible make their feelings known.

 

Give NC a chance to show what his plans are and run with them before expressing displeasure! the owners have sunk a lot into the team and indeed rescued it from oblivion they are entitled to be impatient and seek success their way! it is their money at risk. Surely we should be satisfied that we have the same aim even if we were each to plan a different journey there. This is neither the time or the place to express displeasure! It is time to get behind the team!

[ALWAYS_SFC]

I have one question for all..

 

Do you think the timing of the sacking is crazy or not..

 

If he wanted him out WHY do it 3 league games into a season?

Do it BEFORE season starts...

If he has based it on our 3 game start he clearly is a fool,if he hasnt then tell us WHY

Don`t give us some half truth?

If there has been a serious breakdown in relationships with players/chairman etc...tell us.

 

 

Several on here praise his business credentials and they are probably right to do so but football is

so,so unpredictable is cannot be compared to "normal" business.

 

Crazy for my vote...

Edited 30 August, 2010 by ALWAYS_SFC

[derry]

There was really no surprise apart from the timing and the disclosure of disquiet amongst junior coaches (who are they?). The requirements for this season were very clear, and even AP expressed it in terms of "now excuses". Instead I've heard a series of excuses after every game we haven't won, and that includes what must reasonably be termed as a very disappointing preseason. Did this look like the management team which was to take us into the PL? And that is what NC is planning. So is it therefore any real surprise?

 

What would be a great surprise is if NC hasn't already made plans going back some time. Somebody, or some options, are already available and the details will be ironed out over the next few days. Where I will be very surprised is if we will see an inexperiences manager. Whatever their qualities, Paul Tisdale and Eddie Howe will not be in any frame. Neither will Kevin Blackwell or Ian Dowie. Whoever is coming will have the credentials to produce the goods from here to the PL.

 

I think you are right Bert. This manager will be the one to take the five year plan, Markus's dream and the Southampton style forward. There will be no short term appointment. I personally am comfortable that this decision has finally been taken, whatever the final reasons that made it necessary. I have never liked the narrow way we play or the incessant balls from the goalkeeper belted long. Until we change this we won't regularly defeat teams that set out to stymie us in defence.

[Saint Without a Halo]

I have one question for all..

 

Do you think the timing of the sacking is crazy or not..

 

If he wanted him out WHY do it 3 league games into a season?

Do it BEFORE season starts...

If he has based it on our 3 game start he clearly is a fool,if he hasnt then tell us WHY

Don`t give us some half truth?

If there has been a serious breakdown in relationships with players/chairman etc...tell us.

 

 

Several on here praise his business credentials and they are probably right to do so but football is

so,so unpredictable is cannot be compared to "normal" business.

 

Crazy for my vote...

 

Crazy when looking from the outside but from the inside and in full possession of the facts?

[Junction 9]

What an utterly sh*t decision by the club.

[greg_hill]

calm down everyone, I was disappointed by the sacking but the insane ranting on here has annoyed me more than the decision, boycotts, chants, hanging from a lampost??

Idiotic.

 

I saw Spurs this week sweep majestically into the Champions Lge proper, their fans were singing of eternal support - a few days later they were booing the players off like the fickle yobs they are.

Win together, lose together? Only when it suits them.

Managers and players come and go, you abuse them one week and adore them the next - so let's have a reality check on history for those spouting crap -

 

Hoddle has failed everywhere since The Dell - having him back would have changed nothing - let's bury that stupid fantasy once and for all.

Strachan was great for a short time for us, but his record pre and post-Saints is very average.

Pearson was great in a crisis, engineered a great escape and may develop into a very good manager, but he's not Alex Ferguson so we don't know what would have happened then.

Burley had a great record, but he failed here.

Redknapp is the man to get you out of a relegation crisis by wheeler-dealing....yeah, right.

For all we know Wotte could turn into Mourinho with some money but we will never know so let's not guess at the version of imaginary history we would like to fit our arguments.

Pardew has a pretty good record with us, okay at West Ham, horrendous at Charlton - we have no idea how the next six games would go let alone the season.

 

 

And most importantly

 

Rupert Lowe's main aim was to make money for Rupert Lowe.

Nicola Cortese' main aim is to honour his best mates' dying wish and to take us back to the Prem - Now the way he does that may be ruthless and ill-judged, his timing may be woeful, he may make mistakes - BUT

 

 

unlike Lowe he wants the same end result that we do, success for Saints - this decision today will be judged by the table in May, nothing else.

 

 

So chill, let's see what he has up his sleeve before getting all ranty, if he has nothing up his sleeve then we can rant.

 

Very well said, you've summed up my own feelings on this issue. It really bugs me when fellow Saints fans - whom I always consider as some of the best and smartest around - respond so foolishly.

[BigShadow]

The sacking is not surprising...the timing is.

 

The goal for last season was play-offs....irrespective of what was stated publicly....Pardew failed to achieve that. So why wasn't he let go in May? Maybe no better candidate was available and willing to take the job.

 

The decision was clearly made to allow Pardew to continue for this season - why else allow him to bring in new players? So, IMO, something has changed in the last 2 -3 weeks to force this decision. What?

 

1. We have new owners. They may have insisted a change was made to fulfil ML's wishes.

2. Off the field unrest. We, and the BBC, can speculate all day long and may never know the truth.

3. An outstanding managerial candidate has become available.

 

Personally, I hope its 3 (or combination of 1 & 3) and I hope its MON.

 

I think Cortese has made himself unpopular with some strange and unnecessary decisions regarding ticketing and the media, BUT I absolutely believe he is singularly focussed on fulfilling Markus' Legacy and I am prepared to have faith that he will take the club forward towards the PL. I cannot believe that he has decided to remove AP only to replace him with some untried Italian Div 2 manager or an up and coming lower league English manager. Therefore, I fully expect to be excited about the new appointment that will leave the club in an even better position than it was yesterday.

 

Thanks Alan for the last 12 months, but I won't be shedding any tears over your departure.

 

The Saints Go Marchin' ON, ON, ON!!

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Crazy when looking from the outside but from the inside and in full possession of the facts?

 

So let`s hear the truth from both sides of the fence AP and NC...

Doubt that it will happen, the nda`s put a stop to that...

[Whitey Grandad]

Crazy when looking from the outside but from the inside and in full possession of the facts?

 

Only crazy if a replacement is not already lined up. We have only seen one side of the coin. As usual, I shall sit on the fence and reserve judgement until Mr. Newman has a dozen games under his belt.

[trousers]

Like everyone, I was initially shocked by the announcement on the SSN ticker-tape, but then after a few minutes and particularly after reading the whole statement, it all made a bit more sense.

It's a pragmatic, business decision, made with the future structure and success of SFC in mind and it is in line with the 5 year plan.

Are we any closer to promotion than last season...no

Do we look like champions...no

Is there a distinct style of football being played that separates us from others in the league ...no

Can I see the influence of AP on the team, making tactical changes when the game is going against us ....no

Would I be confident that if we were promoted, he'd have the nous to manage a promotion out of the championship ....no

What we do have is an expensively assembled ( L1 stds) squad that should win games, playing well most of the time, but then again I can't help but feel that it's because of the individual players and not the management of those players.

AP is a nice guy, a good manager at this level, but not the guy to take SFC to the levels that ML/NC envisaged.

Forget the media ( SSN / Talks**t ) phrases perpetuated by ex pros and look at this from a cold hard pragmatic basis. Forget all of the normal football management/ownership standards and models. There is a plan. It's not on track.

Taking the emotions out of it, I'm happy that we have someone that determined to achieve something that they are prepared to make decisions regardless of how they might personally be perceived.

I might be wrong, but I'm prepared to buy into this different way of doing things.

The appointment will tell us so much about the immediate and mid term future of this great club. AP is a good manager, but not a great manager. I thank him for the day out at Wembly, but I feel that he was appointed through necessity, when the takeover was ( thank Markus ) completed at the 11th hour.

 

One very positive thing that everyone should take from this, is that AP would still be in place if the plan was no longer viable and therefore we should assume that future financing is secure.

With all that in mind, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the new man isn't MON or an overseas coach used to the proposed structure.

Whatever the decision, I love this club and will still be there at every home game ( as I have done for the last 35 years )

COYS

WIFM

 

Why did we have to wait until post #406 for a well thought out, non-hysterical post?

[Dalek2003]

Very well said, you've summed up my own feelings on this issue. It really bugs me when fellow Saints fans - whom I always consider as some of the best and smartest around - respond so foolishly.

 

When some of the fans played their part in blocking the appointment of Glenn Hoddle in 2004, do you think they were acting in the best interests of the club ? Of course not, they were acting on a misguided vendetta. So why are you surprised now ?

[trousers]

Keegan would be great

 

I'm keeping one eye on the SFC car park CCTV as we speak..... ;-)

[Dalek2003]

I'm keeping one eye on the SFC car park CCTV as we speak..... ;-)

 

Hod on his way ?

[trousers]

I am most concerned about the effect this decision will have on the players. it is well known that a number of them turned down offers from higher levels this Summer in the hope that they can achieve with Saints. If we are not gunning for promotion come January you can rest assured that a number of players will desert the crazy ship I feel we could become.

 

I'm sure the players are professional enough to cope with the change...

[1976_Child]

Would Keegan be good? I dunno.

[captainchris]

Why did we have to wait until post #406 for a well thought out, non-hysterical post?

 

Very well constructed summary..

[1976_Child]

I'm going to get some rubber bracelets made up in the style of 'What would Jesus do'

 

Mine will say 'WWLD'. What would Lowe do?

 

Anyone want one? £2. All proceeds to the Saints Trust

[trousers]

I don't think Cortese has another manager lined up, we will soon see on that one. I would not mind betting this has sprung up after the Bolton game and Cortese can no longer trust Pardews word to prioritise the league. When Cortese laid it out that the league was the top, top priority and that he did not spend all that money in last seasons window for the cups, that is very clear. This season the league would have been the top, top, top, top, priority, considering how much failing to gain promotion cost last season and the further amount we will be spending this season.

 

I really cannot believe how dumb Pardew has been. In the elation of the win over MK Dons to get to the JPT final he stated in the programme notes that he had prioritised the cup (something the Ehco picked up on and quoted). This was then probed by Solent in their interview with Cortese the following Saturday in which he laid it out very plainly without getting into a direct slanging match with his manager.

 

To then hear you manager after the Bolton game to say, this was not a priority game but we treated it as such, has to be dumb beyond belief for everything that has gone before. It will be over some aspect of this point which found Cortese's boot sliding up Pardew's arse. Although the poor start against poor teams never helped, I doubt Cortese would have not let Pardew continue, unless he felt their working relationship was irretrieveable. Pardew only has himself to blame here!

 

Re: "I really cannot believe how dumb Pardew has been"

 

or perhaps Pardew has been clever by wanting out and engineering his own downfall to his financial advantage? (i.e. he'll get a pay off by getting the sack rather than by walking of his own accord)

 

Perhaps....

[IronCitySaint]

Wonder if we are destined for a revolutionary new coaching setup. Seems like Cortese might be angling for a more 'European' type structure but my main worry with this is that I cannot think of any examples in English football where this has really worked but can think of several similar experiments that have failed, us included. Let's see, but I doubt that some of the names mentioned (O'Neil for example) would be interested in managing a club where emphasis is put on a development committee where he would not be making the bulk of the key decisions.

 

Good luck to Alan Pardew. He rebuilt the team from total dross to a decent side in a short space of time and for that I am grateful for him.

[Victor]

Surely there should be no question of why the timing.

 

Cortese clearly wanted AP out last season but did not because of pressure. The naive say it was fans pressure, but when did NC give a toss about the fans?

 

Surely the more likely is that the pressure to keep AP was from ML who wanted to conduct matters in a respectable manner.

 

Now ML is dead, public respect has been made with a grand gesture; now it is His club and He can do what he likes.

[trousers]

OMGWTF. And the silliest, most badly timed manager sacking award of the decade award goes to....

 

Cortese ruthlessly sacking Wotte last year?

[Seaside Saint 2]

Apologies if someone has already mention this, but what if Liebherr's family want to be a bit more hand on than Markus was? It's possible they've indicated something which meant Cortese felt now was the time to act. Just a thought......

[S-Clarke]

They're quite clearly trying to portray to us that it's business as usual and the players are ''happy''

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/Gallery/0,,10280~2139716,00.html

[trousers]

Am I the only one who's actually got a bit of faith in the mad b4stard that is cortese???

 

No, I still have faith in what he, and posthumously Markus, are trying to achieve, albeit tinged with a modicom of waryness.

 

As several have already astutely pointed out, this decisive move (whether people like it or not) IS a sign that "the Liebherr/Cortese plan" is still very much active. If it wasn't then things would have just chugged along until a buyer was found (IMHO)

[Saint]

Don't really understand the gallery that's been put up on the OS of todays training session. I think the policy for the photos was, "put photos up where people are smiling so it looks like everything is hunky dory."

 

Nice bit of propaganda.

[trousers]

Hmm.. foreseeable future?

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/8361057.Wilkins_surprised_by_Pardew_sacking/?ref=rss

 

"Foreseeable future" could be anything from hours, days to months or years. I wouldn't read too much into Wilkins' words as his "foreseeable future" seems to be in the 'minutes' category given he didn't see this coming it would seem

[trousers]

Don't really understand the gallery that's been put up on the OS of todays training session. I think the policy for the photos was, "put photos up where people are smiling so it looks like everything is hunky dory."

 

Nice bit of propaganda.

 

Nice conspiracy theory to go with it.... ;-)

[1976_Child]

Nice conspiracy theory to go with it.... ;-)

 

I don't see rickie lambert in those photos. This can only mean he has left with Pardew.