Chez

Look how good Adkins looks now. If we are going for a player manager from within then Wotton would be your man.

it's not Adkins' fault that Palace were blindsided by Burleys Scottish lilt. Scunny just thrashed Palace 3-0 by the way and are midtable in the Championship with two wins and two defeats. People underestimate Adkins. Management is not about being a name, its about being good at what you do. He clearly is good at what he does. The only question is can he transcribe that technique to a bigger club with more money available? Some manage it (think David Moyes) and some don't (think Luggy).

a very good point, but I am one of those fans that does care what other fans from other clubs think of Southampton, so i'd like a manager that represents us the club well, oh and win a few games too...obviously. There is room for both.

simply outstanding. A day brightened.

good bloody question. Personally I don't like how he comes across when talking on the TV and the incident with the jumper polarised his personality. However, I respect the promotion he got with `ull and wonder if he can do the same again. Is he a busted flush though? I'm not so sure how'd I feel. Slightly dissapointed I guess then I'd look at all the positive points and get behind him until the negatives started outweighing the positives.

hard to argue with those facts but there was a slightly different starting point in terms of inherited squad quality if you ask me.

people seem to have very much made their minds up about Pardew, but I do want to point out that he made some decent substitutions that changed games to go along with his frustrating ones. There were several games where this had a direct impact on the game positively for Saints such as the Franchise FC game at SMS that saw us 0-1 down to a Puncheon goal and then Pardew brought on Antonio and Connelly just after half time and we scored five minutes later and went on to win 3-1. The Stockport game was another. It was 0-0 and he brings on Waigo after an hour and a minute later we score. Reading this back to myself it looks weak, as it could have been just luck and coincidence, but these subs were just at the right time and for the the right players and they did make a difference. They stuck in my mind as I can't think of many games over the years where the manager makes the right moves at the right time. Just offering a little balance here.

Premiership managers don't apply for League 1 jobs. Premiership caretakers perhaps.

with barmy MON talk on here some of the fans certainly aren't going to see him as a name, but maybe they should do. He certainly looks good compared to Wilkins.

Seeeing as Adkins is a Championship manager and our players are League 1 standard I think he might have a chance. Reminds me of the Grayson signing, stepping down a division to take charge of a big club. Will it feel like a step down for the players?

I'd take several of those and be pretty happy. I think people underestimate the jobs some of these guys have done. Adkins and Pearson especially.

Hill has been an absolute revelation at Rochdale and no less of a candidate than Howe for example. He kept them up when things were looking bad when he took over and then was unlucky not get them promotion the following season. Amazing turnaround and without spending. They should have won the league at a canter last season but the wheels came off a little at the end in a similar vein to Leeds. Chris O'Grady, who we saw yesterday was an inspired signing. Him and Dagnell were sensational all season. Considering they lost Dagnall and Kennedy in the summer they have made brilliant start. As with Adkins at Scunny he's at a small club where the expactations are much lower, so if he came to us it would be a whole different kettle of fish. We expect promotion, well certainly before Saturday we did, so the pressure would be on from the start. I'd also be a little woried about the egos of our players. Having the respect of the players is paramount. Adkins has the advantage in comign down a division, but Hill might struggle a little. At Dale he came through the ranks (Youth team coach etc) so he had the players on side, will ours follow him as quickly?

Adkins is younger than Mobrey

are we talking about Paul Jewell's long term assistant who when thrust into the managerial position after Jewell leaves failed every time? Hmmmmm.

they play decent stuff IMO. I remember the match at their place when Pearson took over and they played us off the park. Two promotions from this league in three years is impressive. Slightly different sense of expacation from the two sets of fans, but he knows how to win games. Yep he was their physio.

don't tell me we have our very own Gabriella Benson?

Take the rough with the smooth like a proper supporter. Experience these tricky times now and then wins down the line will feel that much sweeter.

you are not seriously suggesting Holmes is a better option? Football really is a game if differing opinions.

speak for yourself, I'd of swapped the JPT trophy for just a play off place without a second thought. Tin pot trophy that I almost felt embaessed to admit that we had won. I just wonder if we had put a little less effort into that competition the maybe we would have won the games we needed. I still see Saints as bigger than that. Perhaps that won't last too much longer.

Acronym misuse won't be a problem for long with you keeping watch.

So a friend of Ian Dennis rates him. Wow, he must be brilliant then.

There was one exampke when he had it in nthe first half right next to the edge of the pitch, he had a player on him right in front of him, he turned back but there was no easy pass, he turned back again and then shielded the ball, he turned once more and still no pass, he shielded it agasin and then finally he found a player with a niced deft pass with the outside of his boot. Whilst all this is haplening fans are moaning at him for taling too many touches. The fact is there was no easy pass and Hammond just stood there doing absolutey **** all to help him. On this occasion his great first touch and close control meant he kept the ball. That should be applauded To balance this out there was an opportunity in the first half right in front of Itchen for him to cross the ball on his left foot but rather than do so, he stopped and brought it onto his right. Ok, so if he then goes to the byeline and delivers from a better angle thats great, but he's never going to do that it and he didn't. He checks back again and the opportunity on his left foot goes. The whole ground saw that the opportunity was lost. The fact is no matter what he did he would not have created an easier and better opportunity to cross it on his favoured left - so why take the extra ****ing touches? This is a art of his game that ****s people off. Fans that hate him need to identify the good parts in his game as descrived in the first incident, fans that can see no wrong need to realise its the overplaying that gets on other fans nerves. Whatever your opinion of him he will have good and bad games, flair players always have bad games when things don't come off, but getting on his back almost immediately after the game has started and to continue to moan at him no matter what he does is not going to improve his game.

whatever fans think of Puncheon there should not be several thousand off their seats moaning at him after just three minutes just because he was slightly indecisive in their box. I have no problem with players getting stick, especially if they are not trying, but not just after the game has started. He is the new wipping boy. I wonder about our fans sometimes.

Dawson had him in his pocket. He's not the first centre back to do so. Really top class centre backs that are decent in the air kept him quiet last year as well. The difference this sezason is when he does get an easy flick on it is going to an oponent not a Saint. He must have flicked the ball on about 30 times and every sinlge time it went to a Dale shirt. Nothing to do with Connellys runs, everything to do with poor heading by Lambert. Because we rely on him t start most moves that is why we looked so poor yesterday. Improvement from Lambert and we'll get an iimprovement from the side as a whole. By the way he didn't look like he was injured and the fact he played in the JPT game suggests he is not injured.

What a talent we have on our hands. Not quite as pacey as Theo but a better touch and much more of an idea what he wants to do with the ball. He looks full of confidence too. Lets hope we can get into winning ways soon so none of that is lost. Our youth system seems to have done its job perfectly.