Lambert signs a new 3 year deal

[the stain]

 

So you don't agree with anything in what i say,i'm sure i will cope.

My previous post has legitamate and valid points,get over it.

So unfortunate so many are slightly blinkered and set in there ways.

Every other opinion is wrong if it does not conform.

That is the reason this forum is below par.

 

Exactly, mate. You'll have the last laugh.

[Fowllyd]

It was never an 'amazing' job,what would have been amazing would be not gaining promotion with that squad and resources.

And reference the 'pressure'well that is going to be nothing compared to what he will have to deal with this coming season.It was league one,many state we have a championship side already,that points to the conclusion we should have gained promotion.Except we did not perform as one,we looked very ordinary mostly.The quality of the players,many who were already here,carried us through to the end of the season,not nessessarily superb managerial nous.The test will be this season when we play in a more competative league,with sides equally if not better than us.

Then Adkins will have to dig deep and get something extra out of the squad,only then can a judgment be made on his stature within the game.He has achieved very little thus far.Reallty check NickG please.

Nothing revolutionary in my beliefs at all.Just an legitimete and valid opinion.

 

He instilled some positive things in the squad,agreed,but he is not beyond reproach as you make out.

He had it easy last season and how you can base that on your assumption he is the golden boy,still amazes me.

But i don't think you are a fool,it's your opinion,just like tthe above is mine.

You carry on with the personal insults if you think it enhances your belief.

 

This is a regular refrain of yours, along with the complaint that we only ever played at all well for 45 minutes in any of our games. Yet I seem to remember you also bemoaning the fact that you hardly ever get to see any matches. How can you speak with such certainty about the level and quality of our performances, if you didn't actually see them?

 

As it so happens, I don't get to many games myself. But those I did see last season were, for the most part, comfortable wins. As for the ones I wasn't at, I don't have first-hand knowledge, so I don't consider myself qualified to comment.

 

Any chance of a reply?

 

Just think how brilliant it would be if Adkins did really badly this season and we got relegated. You'd be revered as a God on here for your prescience! Exciting! Fingers crossed.

 

 

So you don't agree with anything in what i say,i'm sure i will cope.

My previous post has legitamate and valid points,get over it.

So unfortunate so many are slightly blinkered and set in there ways.

Every other opinion is wrong if it does not conform.

That is the reason this forum is below par.

 

You've done the easy bit here - responding to a post which mocks you without asking questions. Why not have a go at answering mine? There are no insults in it, no belittling of your views, no suggestion that you're wrong because you say what you do. Surely answering a question asked in good faith is right up your street.

[saint lard]

Any chance of a reply?

 

 

 

You've done the easy bit here - responding to a post which mocks you without asking questions. Why not have a go at answering mine? There are no insults in it, no belittling of your views, no suggestion that you're wrong because you say what you do. Surely answering a question asked in good faith is right up your street.

 

Apologies for the delay in responding.

 

The games i went too last season,coupled with the ones i did not attend but were commented upon by fellow posters,often showed that we were unable to maintain a level of play which should've been achieved with the calibre of player we had at our disposal when compared too many of our opposition.

It almost became a standing joke that we became a side that were only capable of reaching those heights for one half of a game,be it 1st or 2nd.

This was commented upon on numerous occasions.

We succombe to hoof ball or playing into the hands of our opponents,coming down to their level if you so wish.

Now, i did'nt expect us to brush sides aside week in,week out,i assure you.

I know it is a results driven game,obviously,and yes thankfully we achieved the results required,but i truly felt our performances were not becoming of a side that was full of talent both individually and collectively.

This will need to be addressed this coming season when we will be severely punished if we don't fulfill our potential.

Last season we could get away with it,majority of the time,against a weaker opposition.

This why i struggle to come down on the side of the fence that Adkins is beyond reproach.

Stats indicate he was good at what was required,but it is doing something that little bit more than what is required which indicates how good the man at the helm is.

He was not tested,last seaon,this season will be the acid test,i sincerely hope he passes that test with flying colours,but proclaiming what he did was 'excellent' and 'i won't have it any other way' stance that some adopt is quite nieve at this early stage of his tenure.

He walked into a pretty comfortable situation,that many other managers would have loved,the squad the resources etc...lets make a judgment when he is out of his comfort zone.

 

I'm sure i will recieve the usual level of abuse/mockery,but i think this is a valid stance to take.

[S-Clarke]

Apologies for the delay in responding.

 

The games i went too last season,coupled with the ones i did not attend but were commented upon by fellow posters,often showed that we were unable to maintain a level of play which should've been achieved with the calibre of player we had at our disposal when compared too many of our opposition.

It almost became a standing joke that we became a side that were only capable of reaching those heights for one half of a game,be it 1st or 2nd.

This was commented upon on numerous occasions.

We succombe to hoof ball or playing into the hands of our opponents,coming down to their level if you so wish.

Now, i did'nt expect us to brush sides aside week in,week out,i assure you.

I know it is a results driven game,obviously,and yes thankfully we achieved the results required,but i truly felt our performances were not becoming of a side that was full of talent both individually and collectively.

This will need to be addressed this coming season when we will be severely punished if we don't fulfill our potential.

Last season we could get away with it,majority of the time,against a weaker opposition.

This why i struggle to come down on the side of the fence that Adkins is beyond reproach.

Stats indicate he was good at what was required,but it is doing something that little bit more than what is required which indicates how good the man at the helm is.

He was not tested,last seaon,this season will be the acid test,i sincerely hope he passes that test with flying colours,but proclaiming what he did was 'excellent' and 'i won't have it any other way' stance that some adopt is quite nieve at this early stage of his tenure.

He walked into a pretty comfortable situation,that many other managers would have loved,the squad the resources etc...lets make a judgment when he is out of his comfort zone.

 

I'm sure i will recieve the usual level of abuse/mockery,but i think this is a valid stance to take.

 

I have to disagree with a couple of these points. You're never going to get a professional football team playing at the same tempo for 90mins, it's impossible. What you find we did most of the time was tactical and was a way to manage the fitness of the squad. For example it's absoloutley pointless to overexert yourselves when you're 2-0 up on 60mins if you have another game mid-week, that's the stage of the game you calm down and become professional.

 

Alot of posters also fail to understand a professional side. It's really not all about sparkling performances every week, it's about getting the job done at the times that is required and we did that. I also have to say it was a tough job for anyone to manage the expectations of this side, and getting us to 92 points after the start we had was a very good achievement.

 

92 points at any level equals a great season and the squad has obviously been doing something consistently right to reach that point total.

[saint lard]

Don't expect us to play at high level for 90 mins.Never said that.

Don't expect 'sparkling' performances every week.Never said that.

As stated,we got the points tally and stats look good..but that does not put the meat on the bones.

Sorry if abrupt in answering,but off to work

[Saint Fan CaM]

Don't expect us to play at high level for 90 mins.Never said that.

Don't expect 'sparkling' performances every week.Never said that.

As stated,we got the points tally and stats look good..but that does not put the meat on the bones.

Sorry if abrupt in answering,but off to work

 

I understand what you're trying to say SL - Adkins will be tested this season. But then so will the entire squad (inc. coaches) surely as they - as a team - have not performed at NPC level before? Your arguement also does not take into account some of the positives we take from last season - look at the number of games won/lost over the last 10 games of the season...look at the fact that team spirit will be as high as a kite just from actually winning promotion...Adkins got a lesser Scunny side into the NPC and kept them there.

 

What exactly are your expectations for this season? What would constitute a good season for Adkins? For me - worst case, a mid-table finish would not be a complete disaster and not necessarily a reflection on Adkins ability for example...more a case of not a strong enough squad.

[NickG]

Buck stops with manager.

If, over time we had less points than rivals manager would get stick, if did as well as top clubs with good squads would be good, he bettered them.

But all starts again...

[Stepgar]

What has any of the direct posts above got to do with Lambert signing his new deal? Nothing! moderation -yeah right. You are pathetic it mods. You shut the Cork thread because it went off topic but only after 6 pages of nonsense.

 

Lambert signing. Is a bloody good thing and I am delighted by it. Next season is going to be tough but very exciting. Roll on te start of the new season.

[Fowllyd]

Apologies for the delay in responding.

 

The games i went too last season,coupled with the ones i did not attend but were commented upon by fellow posters,often showed that we were unable to maintain a level of play which should've been achieved with the calibre of player we had at our disposal when compared too many of our opposition.

It almost became a standing joke that we became a side that were only capable of reaching those heights for one half of a game,be it 1st or 2nd.

This was commented upon on numerous occasions.

We succombe to hoof ball or playing into the hands of our opponents,coming down to their level if you so wish.

Now, i did'nt expect us to brush sides aside week in,week out,i assure you.

I know it is a results driven game,obviously,and yes thankfully we achieved the results required,but i truly felt our performances were not becoming of a side that was full of talent both individually and collectively.

This will need to be addressed this coming season when we will be severely punished if we don't fulfill our potential.

Last season we could get away with it,majority of the time,against a weaker opposition.

This why i struggle to come down on the side of the fence that Adkins is beyond reproach.

Stats indicate he was good at what was required,but it is doing something that little bit more than what is required which indicates how good the man at the helm is.

He was not tested,last seaon,this season will be the acid test,i sincerely hope he passes that test with flying colours,but proclaiming what he did was 'excellent' and 'i won't have it any other way' stance that some adopt is quite nieve at this early stage of his tenure.

He walked into a pretty comfortable situation,that many other managers would have loved,the squad the resources etc...lets make a judgment when he is out of his comfort zone.

 

I'm sure i will recieve the usual level of abuse/mockery,but i think this is a valid stance to take.

 

It's as valid a stance as it can be, based as it is on a severe lack of first-hand knowledge. There are three major weaknesses in your argument: first, your initial disappointment at Adkins' appointment informs your view and influences what you regard as accurate comment; second, a great deal of your opinion is based on what's posted on here, much of it by others who weren't at games either (some will have been from attendees, of course, but by no means all of it); third, you introduce a straw man to assist you, in the form of the apparent view (which I've seen no-one on here express) that Adkins is a football messiah who can do no wrong.

 

As a result of the first part, you accept as fact any criticisms of our play that you read on here, while ignoring or playing down anything else. From what I've seen of your posts, you do this a great deal. It's something that we all do to a greater or lesser extent (there is, after all, no such thing as true objectivity). But you go further and make sweeping generalisations - we resorted to hoofball, were dragged down to other teams' levels, only maintained a level of performance for parts of games, and so forth - and state them as fact. Yet they are, for the most part, based on the comments of others, not your own experience.

 

If I told you that a particular film was rubbish, you'd probably assume that I'd seen it. If I went on to give more detail, saying that the lead actors were well below par in it, the dialogue was clunky and the characters one-dimensional, you'd be certain that I must have seen it. If I then told you that I had formed this opinion having read a few reviews, spoken to other people who'd read the same reviews (and maybe some others), plus I'd spoken to one person who'd actually seen the film, you'd laugh at me - and rightly so.

 

This, it seems to me, is the reason you get disparaged on here. It's not because you hold different views to some, it's because your views are based on not much more than thin air - that and your seemingly relentless pursuit of anything to hit Adkins with. For example, I don't agree that he wasn't tested last season, or that he walked into a nice, easy set-up. He took over a team in the doldrums, which had recently lost its manager and was sitting near the bottom of the table. A position which a good squad such as ours shouldn't have been in, but there we were nonetheless. Add to that a highly ambitious and demanding boss and that doesn't look too easy to me. Having good players guarantees you nothing - if you doubt that, ask Felipe Scolari. Next season will certainly be a tougher test than last, but to describe last season as if it were a walk in the park is frankly risible.

 

Unlike some others, I don't think that you want us to fail with Adkins in charge; however, you do appear to be desperate to justify your initial response to his appointment, to the extent that you continue to look for all the negatives you can find. Assuming we progress well next season and thereafter, I'll be interested to see the point at which you overcome your aversion to Adkins.

 

And apologies for participating in the off-topic direction of this thread! On topic, I'm delighted that Rickie has signed a new contract. I'd be amazed if anyone isn't.

[Stepgar]

****ng grow up

[saintscottofthenortham]

Really good interview up on Saints Player with Rickie, speaking about The Championship, His new contract, Pre-Season, His ambitions & Transfers.

 

He said the lads have all come back from their holidays in really good shape, which he says is a sign the lads knowing just how big next season is going to be.

 

He knows NC is trying to bring players in but confident that even without aditions to the squad, he is confident that this squad could hold it's own in the Championship. Emphasis on just how good the team spirit is and how important that is. As NA said, "You can't buy it."

 

Says how he wants to finish his career at southampton and can't wait to prove himself in the Championship and wants to prove to himself that he can play in the Premier League. Seems delighted to have signed a new contract.

 

Said that when he saw the fixture list, he was "smiling for three days, every game is just massive."

 

Delighted to be going back to Switzerland. Said last year 10 days was too much, this 7 day break should be just right. Sounds like they are going to be staying at the same, but improved base. "Credit to Nicola, the facilities out there are top drawer, he tells me this time they have got even better."

 

Really reassuring to see. Top bloke, great player and can't wait to see him kick off in the Championship.

[Glasgow_Saint]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14029206.stm?

 

"It will be harder as there are better teams, but it will suit us more as we haven't got the added pressure of having to win every game.

 

"We're just another team in the Championship and we'll thrive on that."