CB Fry

Don't worry. I know your stand point perfectly. Carlos Tevez anyone...?!

I rest my case. We didn't overachieve. Our chairman stated the aim in September for us "not only to get promoted but to go up as champions". Fact. Quote. On those terms we slightly underachieved. And 93% wages to turnover is not some footballing triumph of scrimping and scraping against all odds. So are we "cutting the team a little slack" or are we going balls-out for Champions League qualification? You make my point to utter perfection. The Frank's Cousin way of having it all ways. We simply must must must must aim for Champions League regulars you people have no ambition but oh haven't we done well to finish 17th again, you kids and your unrealistic expectations you people don't know you're born etc.

I'd ask why people are so hell bent on going on about the champion's league. Funny really, if we start the season badly and lose the first five in a row, the same people who are screaming like swivel eyed loons about "go for the champions league go for the champions league" will be the exact same people - the exact same people - wagging their fingers and tut-tuting at anyone daring to criticise the team and the manager, and droning on about how marvellous it will be to finish 17th. And the following season, say we have another shocker, and finish 17th again, the same people here giving it large about the champions league - the same people - will be tutting and wagging their fingers again at anyone that says that is not acceptable. The exact same people. If we finish 17th in the Prem every season for the next twelve consecutive years, Franks Cousin, Wes Tender and the rest of them will be on here berating anyone saying that isn't good enough. Which frankly makes this entire debate utterly futile.

The only way this scenario will play out is if Cortese follows you and your chums idiot plan of build it now now now now we desperately need 40,000 seats we're bigger than Everton and everything and did I mention our catchment area and something about Chelsea in 1984.

Utter garbage. Not one single person said anything of the sort. I remember saying quite the opposite, taking it as proof against the likes of you and your bunch of weirdos who are the first on here giving it the arse aching bore routine about "these kids with unrealistic expectations" at the start of last season.

Pie in the sky. Saints need a 60k stadium in the same way Darlington need a 25k stadium.

This is perfectly possible, and also completely different to challenging for the league title or qualifying for the Champions League.

Did Forest win the league? Or Ipswich? I think someone has won it in the old days. Ipswich under Whisky G finished fifth which must be highest in the nothing happened before 92 Sky sports era.

What, apart from Norwich City going from losing 7-1 in League one on their opening day and sacking their manager and the getting back to back etc etc etc. Or Blackpool, Burnley, Swansea, Reading, Swindon, Watford, Bradford, Barnsley all being Premier League clubs at one time or another. We've done very well, but let's not pretend it is some footballing miracle. It was, to use your word pretty "realistic". Swansea and Blackpool were both L1 not that long ago. And I would never say we can't ever achieve CL qualification. it is possible if we had a miracle season - Newcastle are having a go, Everton did it once. But it is very unlikely, and it still wouldn't make us a "Champions League" club in the way you are thinking - we are not going to be regular CL club or challenging for the title. We're just not. And my god, why would you want us to? Seriously, would much rather we stayed solid Prem and challenged for the occasional cup. Perfectly, perfectly, fine.

Aim for the Champions League and we might end up in administration again.

You're not in the Prem until you've signed a few Carlos Kickaballs. Bring em on.

I think if the plan is to pack in 45,000 people in the Cortesedome for a Tuesday game against Bolton then a parade for the whole city would actually be a good PR exercise for the tens of thousands of potential fans. Since when does a football team getting promoted require a dignified response? Have you ever met any football fans? It ain't Sadlers Wells mush.

I see my old chum Dalek quoted me above. Here's what I wrote at the time. Happy with it. My main worry was his lack of experience of walking into a new club and being "the man", rather than him not being a big name which I was not saying. Thought it was a big, big gamble at the time and I still do. Turns out we rolled a six.

Might not be a popular call but I think we need a Neimi to Davis's Paul Jones. We have a good keeper. Maybe we need a better one.

Blatantly fake photo.

To be fair there hasn't been any sensationalist newspaper reporting about Adkins leaving. None. That said, when there was some about Pardew it turned out to be true.

I bet if someone on this forum had started a "when will Adkins leave" thread at three o'clock on Saturday there would have been bedlam. Because it's a pretty nuts thing to raise right now. Of course "sometime in the future" he will leave but why even mention it. It would have been furthest thung from the interviewers and all fans' minds. Sorry, it was and is, strange. Probably nothing but still strange.

I think West Ham will do it - it's not like they have just dropped into third - they've been preparing for it for a while now. The Blackpool fairy-story has been done, they're not needed in the Premier League anymore - we've got enough no-mark clubs from the north west in the top flight as it is. Birmingham are just dull and probably will lose to Blackpool. Cardiff will lose to WH, serial, masterful chokers.

There would have been nothing like the media coverage we got, because the game would probably not been on BBC one. As a result would not have been in all the news reports as it was yesterday. Turned out well, and I was one of the ones wanted Leicester to do the business on Monday. I was wrong.

It's possible, but we can't waste time worrying about it. Cortese has done it before, and it worked. That's why the history books now say stuff like "Cortese appointed Nigel Adkins who took over th club in 18th place in league one and led them to two promotions" rather than "Cortese sacked the manager who reinvigorated the team and won a trophy and the club spiralled into chaos". Pardew got binned, big call, but the right call in the end. Cortese might do it again, and it might work again. Little point worrying about it because whoever he replaces him with will get the 95% backing of the fanbase anyway. As it stands I don't think it is on the chairman's mind, and I think Nigel will do enough to establish us as a low-mid level Prem team next season. So nowt to worry about.

He'll get all the time he needs from the fans. The fans won't hound Nigel out even if we do a Derby/Sunderland (McCarthy Era).

Not a surprise to me - you can see the headlines now - the dream team of Roy and Pearce, tactical nous/experience plus passion and patriotism. The FA, like most sane people in this country know the simple fact that Redknapp is an absolute c#@t.

..which would have been equally as odd. If you were at a christening and the father started talking about his child dying somewhere down the line it woukd be weird. By the same token, this is weird.

It was a bit odd to talk about "parting of the ways" today and to go on to go through his resume like he did. Sure it's nothing but still odd.

If don't go up today that will probably be it for me. Won't even bother with the play offs. No chance. About time I started supporting a Prem team. Don't want to be a glory hunter though. So I'm thinking Fulham, or maybe Villa. Any ideas from anyone else?