CB Fry

I agree with this. I worry that Adkins could be our Mike Walker - did a phenomenal job at Norwich, those of us old enough to remember Jeremy Goss and Bayern Munich yadda yadda. But was at "his" club, and his comfort zone - stepping up to Everton really didn't work - away from "home" he was lost. So I worry that Adkins is Scunny through and through - he knows his club inside out, he was the flipping physio. Is he the man to walk into SFC and own the place. I think that is what we need - charisma and leadership on and off the pitch. That said, another manager came from a league below and is doing alright at Everton. But I am not sure Adkins is another Moyes and if he comes he really needs to win, quickly.

People said similar things when Hoddle joined Wolves and Tottenham. And he proved people wrong by being an utter, utter pathetic failure at both clubs. And a **** to boot as well.

I saw Emmanuel Adebayor at St Pancras station today. If I had spoken to him I am sure he would have said that that Eddie Atkins was set to be unveiled at St Mary's tomorrow morning.

I did and do support Pardew. I've expressed my views on Les Reed elsewhere today.

I think we should give him a minimum of five years before we can judge him, people these days are too quick to judge give him a chance people are so impatient etc etc etc blah blah blah. Oh. Sorry, this is someone you don't like. So all your usual pompous lecturing about how horribly judgemental people are start to sound a bit hollow don't they? Biggest hypocrite on the forum by a country mile.

I knew you'd be with me. Didn't Keegan play for us once?

Got to say I would love it, LOVE IT if we got Keegan. Was talking about this the other day and I honestly think that Kevin Keegan is the only guaranteed success from all the available candidates and I include MO'N in that. Keegan will get us promoted, this season, no question, without fail. I truly truly believe it. At this level, with the players we have, all we need is Keegan. We need his star quality, his inspiration, his personality, his passion and drive. Keegan and a couple of hand picked coaches. Organise them. Make them feel ten feet tall. Tell them they can and will win the division. I have doubt about every single candidate in the frame, except Kevin Keegan. Guaranteed, guaranteed promotion. And it's worth saying when he went back to Toon, I thought "he'll fail". I'm not some kind of Keegan worshipper. But I just think if he walked into St Mary's tomorrow, we'd win the league no problem come May. I'd love it.

I'd rather be remembered for winning the league than revolutionising the coaching/administration systems of british football.

Fair enough TDD, I did say I understand the theory. But it is proven not to work more often than proved to work - Spurs being a very good example when Harry came in on the understanding that the continental system was junked and he was undisputed top man. Billy Davies is banging his head against a wall at Forest as we speak. It's hard to think of really successful systems. If we have the cash to get a top draw manager, why don't we just do that. Just the very presence of the system is a problem perception wise from the off. Don't give the commentators, the gossips, and us the excuse to blame everything on 'the system'. Pick a manager, back him and let him stand or fall. Most managers in this country just want that and are happy to take it on their shoulders.

To be fair, first off, there won't be a press conference, just a press release. That is as likely to happen at 9:30pm as 9:30am. Lots of sackings/appointments/signings get announced at night. Being that Nicola has an interesting habit of releasing info at 'convenient' times for him (11:35pm, Bank Holiday Monday) it wouldn't surprise me if he dropped a press release during the middle of the second half of the England match.

Can I be first to coin the name Nicolowe Cortese please? If this is the structure the Chief Exec wants, then it may work, it may not work, but it this is precisely the blueprint Lowe had for the club, which some people need to remember before they viciously defend it because now it's Cortese's idea and therefore a masterstroke. For what it's worth I think, in theory it is pretty sound, and does in theory protect against the destabalising nature of managers coming and going and their assistants coming and going. The problem is that in practice, the presence of this kind of additional coaching team contributes to instability just by being there, and the usual muddying of who does what and who is responsible for what. It's overengineering to minimise a future problem, but at the same time creating a load of present problems anyway. When it comes to it, you're better off just accepting that managers come and go. Building a structure so in the event that is just unnessessary complexity. And of course you can have an academy director, fine, and the team manager can have little input into the academy, but that can only be through the choice of the first team manager. The academy director is not at the same level as the first team manager. I sincerely hope we don't go down this route.

Forum member slagging off the Echo for getting it wrong, when they, err, haven't got anything wrong, shock horror. Either that, or I've missed the Martin O'Neil unveilling press conference that you seem to have seen.

I have it on very good authority that SFC training kit with MON's initial's on them have been delivered to his house this morning.

That's rich coming from Mr "remember Lawrie Mac blah blah etc etc blah etc blah". But then that's you all over - pompous and a hypocrite time and time again. Pompous about "money doesn't win anything" one day, pompous about Cortese not spending enough money on the team the very next day. As long as you can be a smug git about it, you'll change your opinion with the wind. Pompous today, pompous tomorrow. ****.

Do you live in LA perchance? Would never have guessed were it not for the LOOK AT ME I LIVE IN AMERICA AND EVERYTHING threads you start twice a week, every week.

Great, great thread. I'm just pleased I'm one of the people that knows because it must be really frustrating for the rest of you.

You'll all be saying I'm right come wednesday.

+1.

Err - what, apart from being in and around the relegation zone for the entirity of Zola's only full season? Curbishley's win record at WHU 41%. Zola, clearly far better manager no doubt about it, had a win ratio of a stunning 29%. Sign him up. Curbishley may not be able to repeat his success at CAFC, but at least he has had some success in his career as opposed to getting a job on the strength of his name and then failing.

So Zola was better than Curbishley at WHU, despite Zola's only decent season was when he had the team and the foundations that Curbishley had left him. But you're upset that Steve Gritt doesn't get any credit for Charlton, despite Curbishley promoting them just the three years after Gritt had left and then establishing them as a Prem club in the following eight years without Gritt. Zola with a full season with his own team not quite as successful as Curbishley for a decade without Steve Gritt. Nice to see you being so consistent.

Sheesh. Consistent Prem mid-table finishes for several seasons on low budgets for two clubs. Time and time again Curbishley delivers. Zola leeched off the foundations Curbs had built - once Zola had a full season you could see how dreadful a manager he really was. Absolutely agree. Would be a great choice.

My favourite bits were the rants of unbelievable self righteous indignation when the current uber-ITK would furiously defend his honour and rant on about what a fantastic favour he was doing us all how dare you question me don't you know who I am blah blah blah etc etc. The same ITK would be proved to be a total bullshiner merely minutes/days later. Great, great days!!

Don't worry about it. It's the usual attention seeking plop-plops we've had on this forum and its predecessors since the dawn of time. Pointless "I know something you don't" posing is an irresistable urge to a certain type of attention seeker. Thankfully 99% of the time they turn out to be delusional or plain full of it so sleep easy.

Is ****shire anywhere near ****fosters?

Yes he did - FF said Pardew would get sacked before Christmas regardless of results, he got slated for it, and Pardew got sacked two days after a thumping 4-0 victory. If it was "common knowledge" FF wouldn't have got the slating he got when he passed on his info.