CB Fry

Zola was only passable at WHU because he had one of the best regarded asssistants in British football with him. God help us with a Clarke-less Zola.

Errr - yes, I am perplexed and didn't want Pardew to go. So despite me putting "before anyone has kittens" and saying Pardew has delivered that instant success I described, someone immediately replies and has said kittens bleating on about why Pardew shouldn't have been sacked. Christ, this forum is berr-rilliant. Why do so many read what I write about this subject as "every manager must be sacked after 18 months"? Pardew had delivered the instant success that is common - the same as Moyes, Wenger, Davies, Ian Holloway etc etc - and had earnt the stability. The fact he didn't get it is Cortese's lookout. Pardew has fallen the same fate as, say, Martin Jol at Spurs - brilliantly successful, but sacked anyway.

MLT can say whatever the hell he likes about Saints. He's earnt that right. To be fair his quotes are pretty anodyne really, and nothing in them says "feud" with Cortese, even the Echo article has no feud angle. I think people have to accept that sacking Pardew is a pretty strange decision. You can't expect commentators to just parrot the party line of "Cortese did it, so it must be correct". He's saying what most of us think - what the hell is going on?

Err, no they're not. The Media - Solent, and the BBC nationally - both made reference to Pardew nearly being let go at the end of the season, and in the summer. No media outlet I have seen has made any explicit reference to any "things that have happened after [FF] posted [his] prediction". What are these "things" that have happened since FF's prediction because I've heard or read nothing from any "media" apparently "reporting" it.

Absolutely. It's also true that in the modern era if a manager is going to be successful he will be within a full season/eighteen months. That is long enough. It was long enough for Moyes, Wenger, O Neil, Mourinho, Hodgson at Fulham, Mark Hughes at Blackburn, Strachan with us, in fact any successful manager you can mention, with Alex Ferguson being the tedious exception. And, before anyone has kittens, it was true for Pardew - he had delivered success within a season, just like all the rest. Pardew didn't need three years to build a team like the bores on here make out is required. He'd done it in a season, easy. Stability after that, fine. Earnt stability. Moyes. Wenger. But not a three year licence to be a failure "because that's how Lawrie Mac did it". It won't stop people bleating on about "every manager needs three years of being unsackable look at fergie/Lawrie blah blah blah etc etc" but it's the truth. Deliver in eighteen months/first full season or on your bike. And lord knows that will be the case for the next Saints boss.

I've just had a look on reliable old Wiki for some more info on Pearce, and I was reminded that under Pearce City scored 10 goals at home all season in his second woeful season there, and not a single goal at home after new years day. So much for his fire and passion and all that other guff that gets attributed to him. City weren't billionaires but they had comparable resources to Wigan, Charlton, Fulham, Bolton , Blackburn and West Ham who all finished above them. I remember what division we are in. League One. Stuart Pearce has never managed at this level, and has had zero success at club level for any club he has worked for. It's not about "we're too big for Pearce" as you seem to be implying. Stuart Pearce is simply not very good at club management and we could do a hell of a lot better.

When were these decent seasons at City then? They were absolutely dreadful under him and lurched towards relegation - I think they went more than half a season without a home win in his last season. Pearce as a manager is very comparable to Bryan Robson and David Platt. Bloody awful. Pearce would be a shocking appointment.

Well, if you go back to the beginning of this flipping thread, you'll see very little evidence for your idea that "we all knew". If "we all knew" how come pretty much every single contributor to this thread called FF a liar/attention seeker/bullshiner etc etc. "We all knew" jack sh i t.

Stuck your neck out there FF and you were bang on. Hats off. A "Told you so" that is richly deserved.

Absolutely legendary.

I'm with you, although has to be a Keegan/Shearer double header. Shearer alone would be a bit underwhelming for the task in hand.

I have read plenty, plenty of "happy now" lectures from you about Burley being forced out. You can cover it up now but some of us have longer memories.

The usual trolling from this forum's pet dinlow.

Leicester weren't in L1 with a nutjob chairman. Those two things came after MON had departed the club, funnily enough.

As this is SOG's personal thread, here's the best place to remind him now that Pardew has been sacked by Cortese, not forced out by the fans. Worth pinning this down now because in the weeks to come no doubt SOG will try his tried-and-tested "happy now" routine where he will blame Alpine Saint and other fans for sacking Pardew/forcing Pardew out, etc etc. Of course he did this with his beloved Burley, who in SOG's world was not poached away to manage his country but forced out by fans. Don't try that stunt again SOG. I'm watching you.....

Come on then spoonfeeders. Turns out the corporate waffle Cortese came out with over the summer about how he wouldn't ever dream of sacking Pardew turned out to be a great big pile of stinking plop plops. So you've spent the summer with your infantile belief that everyone's, like, got an agenda except of course the official site or the chief exec who has no agenda whatsoever and the Echo was, like, making up stuff and everything. Come on then spoonfeeders, post up your Cortese quotes about how wrong the Echo is with their unfounded speculation and stuff. Tell us again how Matthew Le Tissier has no right to say Pardew shouldn't be sacked. Tell us how Matthew Le Tissier isn't allowed to comment on our football club because it's being run so brilliantly. Come on then spoonfeeders. Post it up again, or I'll do it for you.

This just in. Bottom of the league.

My guess would be they don't. We're the biggest spenders, transfers and wages, by a mile. By an absolute mile.

Meanwhile, the crowd is also expected to be low for the visit of Cardiff. Craig Bellamy and his team-mates visit Fratton Park on Saturday. The visitors have already sold their allocation of 2,200 tickets. At close of play yesterday, Pompey themselves had sold 1,600 seats in addition to their 9,200 season ticket holders. In total, 13,000 are at present pencilled in to attend the second home Championship fixture of the campaign. ...... "I will never forget you, the loyal fans of Pompey who, without a doubt, helped me protect the team under such complex circumstances. There are very few teams in the world that have fans as passionate and devoted as you are. It has been a great experience to be part of one of the most wonderful occurrences that has happened in the history of British football and also shows that even in the most desperate times loyalty, devotion, professionalism and passion can be demonstrated. I wish you all the possible success which you genuinely deserve." Avram's got it in one there. There is no questioning the loyalty of those loyal super duper Pompey loyalists.

Early 2000s under Glenn Hoddle. The greatest Saints team of all time managed by the greatest football manager that ever lived.

It just looks like a clumsy translation. He'll need a new work permit if he joins Saints. Work permits are issued per job, not per person, so you need a new one each time you move jobs. Should be a formality, but it is still a process to go through. I think that is the jist of the quote.

Look, I'm with you. There are some good things happening, clearly, and I think we will get promoted and Cortese and Pardew are the architects of that. But I am not comfortable with the attitude on some on here that every single decision he takes is correct and unquestionable. The Luvviest Lowe Luvvie never got anywhere near some of the messiah worship on here. He's made some stonking and pointless errors which will be of no benefit and are a waste of energy when we're supposed to be getting promoted. I share your Annnnywayyyyyyy. Move on!

While at the same time he is doing all he can to stop the media reporting anything, or speaking to anyone at the club anymore by controlling photographer access and press conference attendance. Obviously because the rumours were just made up by the media on the bus into work.

Not sure where you are getting this "folklore" from, but it isn't anything I've said. Nice try though. I refer you back to my previous statement - if Cortese can't hack the gnats p*s* of scrunity from managing a league one club without releasing bleating statements about "his baby" and how horrid people are being simply frightful then god help him in the Premier League.

What about it. It doesn't say anything we don't already know, and there is a hell of a lot more to that story than the GCSE interpretation you and NickG have swallowed whole - Echo wrong, Cortese right. I know you are a big fan of the official site, but some of us are looking for a wider perspective than some video interview with the kitman, and anodyne corporate guff press releases. Anyway, there is nothing in NickG's post above that says what you say, which is that Matt Le Tissier shouldn't be able to comment any issue he sees fit to comment on regarding SFC. MLT, and anyone for that matter, can say what the hell they like about SFC. And Matt Le Tissier has earned that right.