Fitzhugh Fella

Appreciate what you are saying especially when comparing Saturday to some of the abyssmal away performances over the last few years but I think the fact remains we just weren't at the races v Town and that was despite being "up for it". As for Thomas I have heard some worrying things from people who would know about his mental strength. Although he a powerfully built defender there are stories than when the going gets tough he gets going and to me on Saturday that was increasingly evident as the game wore on. I would not be surprised to find him injured for tomorrow's game. I'd like to be proved wrong here because, for a team that is far too lightweight we desperately need his strength and power but we also need determination and a cool head. Tomorrow will be an interesting test of his and our bouncibility .

Robbie I beg to differ. IMO Pinnacle (MLT and perhaps TL apart) never were "interested" in saving Southampton. They were just a couple of men who intended to use leveraged debt to purchase the club and ultimately move it on for a profit. TL and MLT were used because of local connections and also Matt's profile. I think we have to be careful when we refer to Pinnacle because there is no doubt elements of the so called Pinnacle group were not being totally honest with each other. The FL issue was just an excuse. We came very close to losing ML because of Pinnacle (see Cortese'srecent interviews in the Echo) and to give them praise by saying they tried to save saints is wide of the mark. I think MLT was trying to "save the Saints" but he was unwittingly used by a bunch of glorified con artists.

Some interesting extracts from Saturday's interview which appeared in the Echo on Saturday. As it is no longer possible to purchase Saturday's Echo I hope I am not infringing on their copyright. There have been quite a few who live out of the area who have asked me what was said. Q - How are you settling into your new life in Southampton? NC - Me and my family are trying to settle. My wife is looking into finding a property where hopefully we will spend a lot of our future. Q - What about your role at the football club? NC - My official start was Aug 1 but I was running the business since July 8. I am at the point now where I am starting to learn the business - I am a quick learner. I can already see some decisions we took right at the beginning which need to be revised. We are starting to control the business and make it more efficient. Q - Does ML have any input on either transfers or in AP's appointment? NC - So far, no he doesn't Q - I take it then you are trying to run it as a self sufficient business not to have to phone him up and ask him to wire some money? NC - A successful football team has to be a business. What I discuss with Markus is the financial aspect, budgets and once I have his approval for that we just run. Decisions about the team are personal for me and on my judgement. Q - How are decisions made then - does AP come to you with a list of players? NC - We discuss a few times a day over the telephone and see each other every 2 days, we sit down, have a cup of tea and discuss what still needs to be done on the team. He listens to my view, I listen to his view and then we see and i'll start investigating and find possibilities in signing a player. The ultimate decision on who comes in and goes out relies on me and my decision. That last sentence to me is quite revealing and infers that NC and AP simply HAVE to have a good relationship or things will quickly fall apart. I don't know how "qualified" NC is to take footballing decisions - obviously ML is happy for him to do so - but the dynamics of the relationship between manager and executive chairman will be fundamental to our success. The interview is a lengthy one and he makes some further innuendos re Pinnacle and wasted time but maybe, mods permitting, I will post that at another time.

If the money is "right" players can usually be persuaded to drop a league.

Ah yes Yorkie, the "Grove" indeed was an excellent pub - 18 real ales and lagers to choose from. Unfortunately the driver of our car (Lets B Avenue) took us to the other "Grove" in Huddersfield first and shall we say it did not quite match up to expectations. It was in the middle of a rough council estate, full of pitbulls, abandoned cars, boarded up shops and roaming gangs. When we walked in and asked where the 18 real ales were the barman looked at us as if we had just landed from Jupiter. The moral of this story is make sure you "google map the right pub". Valuable drinking time was lost and I tell you that performance by Saints you needed a few pints inside you to make it bearable.

Bit of a strange post this, if you don't mind me saying Mornington. You seem to imply it was the Gods that were against us and therefore it was not really our fault. While I agree with you there was no lack of effort I thought we were woefully short of nous, class and organisation, not to mention skill, fitness and drive. The ref did hound Thomas a tad but he did committ a couple of brazen fouls right in front. Thomas was awful and got worse and you really can't blame the ref for that. The bloke next to me said he must have had a bar of Toblerone on his head because whenever he tried to head the ball it went all over the place. (Thats Thomas not the ref btw)

Had you been at Huddersfield you would never have made that statement DD. He was awful and got worse as the game went on.

Absolutely spot on post. Matt is the greatest Saints player of all time imo and a top notch bloke to boot but, he screwed up by not delving deep enough into a bogus consortium who wanted to use his popularity. And then he allowed the farce to continue far too long. Matt would never have made a good chairman. Icon yes, Legend yes, Hero to young and old, yes but he needs a kick up his arse for swallowing, without question, the Pinnacle Pill.

Sorry Cortese. His interview in the Echo was quite candid and very interesting. He talks openly and I like what he says. I will keep the piece and when I have more time will try and post some of the more revealing quotes......... unless someone beats me to it.

According to tonight's Echo he and his family are moving to the So'ton area. Shows more committment than Burley ever did.

Just got back and have to say in common with others who went I cannot find anything positive to say. Normally there is one or two players who do OK but it was simply dreadful in every dept. I am more worried tonight than I was prior to the Millwall game because we were inadequate all over the pitch. The defence were all over the place - Thomas was particularly embarrassing and got worse as the game went on, the midfield were shocking. I am a fan of Lallana but totally ineffectual today and fancy dan tricks don't get you far in Yorkshire. Lloyd James looked lost out wide right and Schneiderlin just not suited to this league. Wotton well I think you all know his weaknesses. Lambert did his best and you could see Rasiak's class but we threatened little. The new lad from Chelsea made a few intelligent runs into the area after he came on but no one had the nous to anticipate these runs - once he ran into acres of space as Murty shaped to take a free kick but the former Reading man wasn't even looking. Even Davis was Jekyll and Hyde - he made some great one on one saves but he didn't properly deal with all the corners (and they had loads) which put our defence under continual pressure. Also a shame he palmed a terrible pen kick back into the path of the taker. Bit churlish to criticise him however because of the dreadful organisation of the defence. I just wish he had a greater command of his box. If I was AP tonight I would be worried. I like his post match comments - it sounds like he is aware of the problems but I have to say, based on that performance, I would take an ultimately successful battle against relegation right now. My sights have been considerable lowered after today and I realise just how lowe we have sunk.

Just got back and have to say I cannot find anything positive to say. Normally there is one or two players who do OK but it was simply dreadful in every dept. The defence were all over the place - Thomas was particularly embarrassing and got worse as the game went on, the midfield were shocking. I am a fan of Lallana but totally ineffectual today and fancy dan tricks don't get you far in Yorkshire. Lloyd James looked lost and Schneiderlin just not suited to this league. Wotton well I think you all know his weaknesses. Lambert did his best and you could see Rasiak's class but we threatened little. The new lad from Chelsea made a few intelligent runs into the area after he came on but no one had the nous to anticipate these runs - once he ran into acres of space as Murty shaped to take a free kick but the former Reading man wasn't even looking. Even Davis was poor - he made some great one on one saves but he didn't properly deal with all the corners (and they had loads) which put our defence under continual pressure. Also a shame he palmed a terrible pen kick back into the path of the taker. Bit churlish to criticise him however because of the dreadful organisation of the defence. If I was AP tonight I would be worried. I like his post match comments - it sounds like he is aware of the problems but I have to say, based on that performance, I would take a successful battle against relegation right now.

I think there needs to be a link between Pardew and Cortese and providing no one steps out of their boundaries there should be no problem. Pardew must have the last say on player selection, tactics and other on field activities however. We have had a little too much board room dabbling to last us all a lifetime.

I hear there is no chance of that happening.

Phil do you think anyone has ever heard Rupert say Sorry! Ah well he is gone but you are right to say it is worthwhile filling in all the gaps in the whole sorry saga. My only surprise is that Rupert never made himself manager - I think it would have happened had he stayed! Off to darkest Yorkshire now - 3 points would be nice but it's more about having a football team to support than anything else! Last time I was in Yorkshire I was almost sitting next to Rupert but that's a long story.

I understand where you are coming from CB but why the hell did Lowe give him the job if he was so obviously unsuited or ill-equiped? Was it because Lowe knew he could manipulate him vis a vis team selections etc? I think the answer to that is almost certainly yes. (My big grudge against Lowe coming back was based around his desire to make footballing decisions instead of financial decisions). JP was a patsy - a Lowe patsy and now the patsy has found his tongue. As for Wotte - he was always going to be the fall back man - the sinister shadow in the background, mainly because he had been SCW's (Lowe's guru) "choice" a few years before. As Dubai Phil has said - it was all rotten and hopefully better days await but the recent history cannot just be whitewashed by those now embarrassed by so enthusiastically beating the Lowe drum 12 months ago. Neither should we forget those who thought SCW was the greatest thing ever to arrive in English football, along with his autobiography which told the world how it should be done!

Again, very fair comment

Fair comment

Good question - didn't Dave Jones get sacked after a win?

A few got stick on this forum this time last year for daring to suggest all was not OK. We have moved on thank God but last season was an utter shambles from start to finish and those that promoted the return of the very much discredited Lowe should hang their heads in shame. Me? I have my enthusiasm back now we have a proper manager etc etc and am even off to Huddersfield in the morning.

thought everyone had to pay for their own seats these days

I agree - the time when we were arrogant hopefully has passed. Feel sorry for Rovers fans, they have lost a hero and although dog eats dog these days let's at least have a bit of humility.

I think the penny dropped last week - in the Echo today AP talks how frustrating Nicola Cortese had found last week trying to sign players and I reckon ML freed up a bit of cash over the weekend. Considering we are doubling his wages and we have paid over a million that shows renewed committment.

About 6 I gather

Absolutely Beatlesaint, there is no doubt in my mind his intentions were honourable and I was right behind him at the time - its just that when everyone else began to smell a rat Matt stuck his head in the sand a little. I just wish the whole Pinnacle fiasco had never happened as I am sure he does too. We are lucky that ML hung around = it would have been dreadful if he had taken his euros elsewhere.