saintjay77

Not the signing that proves NC knows what he is doing IMO. Was expecting something bigger to be pulled out of the hat. But agree with some on here that he may be the right man for the job now and the future will wait and see. Might turn out to be like Pearson in that he turns out better than most expect. Shows how far we have fallen though when its a coup to take a manager from Scunithorpe!

Rafa's comments when talking about the agreement not to go after liverpool players suggest otherwise. When asked he said he was the 1st team coach and he had nothing to do with who those above him were trying to bring in. I dont think Capello had much to do with who the club brought in a real madrid either. The difference between these clubs and ours however is that those at the top were trying to bring in the worlds best players. Players that who ever was managing the 1st team would have loved to have in there squad. We are at the other end of that market so IMO the manager needs to be heavily involved in talks about who is needed for the level we are at. I also think that the slight twist on this format that our club want to adobt is that instead of buying the best players from elsewhere for mega bucks, we want to create the best players in the world and keep them at our club. So the Les Reed role is hugly important as its on his head to bring in the best kids and develop them into the best players for the manager to use. I dont know of any other clubs that do this to the extent our club wish to do it. Maybe Ajax a few years back was the closest example? For it to work Les Reed (or who ever replaces him in the future) needs to consistantly produce top class players playing the "Southampton Way" of football so they can slot into the managers 1st team when ever they are ready or called upon. The 1st team manager needs to buy into this logic 100% and instead of wasting his time looking for the best players everyone else has got to bring in, he needs to use the best talent from within. If it works then it could be fantastic IMO but will need a mamouth amount of things to work right or it will struggle for a long time.

All of the managers you mention are the more traditional managers that wouldnt work well in that situation. Maybe Wenger might in the past as he had David Dein?? I think but even then I think most of the power was with Wenger. There are some top class managers that can work well in this structure however, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and Cappello all can work well and succeed in this format.

I agree with that, but if NC wasnt happy with the results to date as he expected us to reach the play offs last year, and expected us to have a better return on our games this year, then his drive to make sure we get to the Prem ASAP resulted in the sacking of Pards and recruitment of someone that he believes will take us there quicker within the model of how he wants the club run then why shouldnt we give it a chance? I dont think the new model will be an instant success so prepared to be patient while it gets ironed out. I think it could be good for us in the long run if its a success. Im not sure Les Reed is the right man for the DoF as much as I wasnt sure Pards was right for us long term. Within that 5 Years I was half expecting a number of changes to happen until we get things right. I never expected us to sit still in that 5 years either and who ever we had here would have brought us success by our standards. What I think NC wants is for us to be one of the worlds best clubs and not just a club that holds its own in the prem with a few good cup runs. It sounds crazy to us as we have spent so long hoping we wouldnt get relegated that we never dreamed we would one day be a top club. Only way we will find out if NC can make us into that super club is to hang on and enjoy the ride. What other option do we have? I hope he knows what he is doing and I hope he can get 50% of the success that he dreams of. As that will be 50% more success than we have had since the 70's IMO.

Spot on TDD. We are so stuck in how things should be done the British way yet complain like mad when we need to change it up. I remember when the big issue was the diamond formation and how it will never work. How much did we miss it in south Africa?

Cause the reserve league is crap now we don't have a reserve team anymore. We have youth and under 21's. Pretty much the same setup as national level. IMO everyone involved in the playing squad should have some input on transfers. Les Reed heads up the scouting department so by chain of command or committee the manager should make it known that he needs a defender or winger or what ever and the scouts should go find the type of player they are after. They report back and the committee decide on the best options based on the club ethos and future. The manager will have a say and no doubt will have to agree. But that's where the relationship and trust between reed and manager has to be 100%, any less and there will be problems. The higher the cost of the transfer the more important the cahosion of the committee is. But I feel that most of the future signings will be younger and brought in for our club to turn into world class players rather than us going out to pay top dollor for the best players. This is still the beginning of our journey and it may take some time to get it right. The club doesn't need the fans whining and moaning about every decision hat doesn't make immediate sense. But could maybe do with a bit of patience to see where this path takes us.

My ole man reckoned Andrew lloyd webber was there for a game recently although I'm not sure he has done his coaching badges so may be a red herring!

He was there the last time I went too. Mind blank and can't remember the game now but it was last season. My guess is he was looking at the under 21 players rather than sizing up a possible job opportunity.

ONly last week or so Benitez went on record to say that he is just the 1st team coach so what ever the above do when trying to recruit players from Liverpool has nothing to do with him. Ask a Real Madrid supporter who is in charge above Jose or a Barca fan about who is above Pep and they will know the answer. Ask a Barca fan who is our star striker and they will struggle to give you an answer let alone who the manager or DoF is.

Ive not seen anywhere any info suggesting that Reed or NC have been doing any of that TBH. And if they were and had any input then should they get some credit for helping stuff Bristol 4-0 away? There is a rumour about how NC text Pards to find out why Guly only got 5 mins. No rumour as to any reply or any facts to say it actually happened. I think interfearance from NC will always be a dangerour thing but if Reed and Manager work together to achieve the same goals then it can be a good thing. A 1st team manager will be brought into manage the team and they will be alloud to get on with it IMO. Reed will work on providing the best players and kids for the 1st team manager to utalise. If Reed produces dross that the Manager cant use then it will be Reeds head on the block.

Exactly, Both systems have merrits and there are many clubs on both sides that can be looked at to see each system working. Man U and Arsenal do it more the traditional way and let the manager have full control. Barcalona, Real Madrid and possibly Chelsea do it more the other way and all are thought of in the same way as Man U and Arsenal. Forcing the likes of Wenger or Ferguson to work along side a DoF would be a disaster but get the right people in the right places and things will quickly turn around if there is the correct support from above. NC needs to get the right people in place and then needs to sit back and let them do there job. Interfearing from him could damage any system that we try and put into place. I think Clive Woodward could have been excelent as a DoF in the right club as his skills are all about finding the right people to do the right jobs and tieing them all together. He doesnt have to know how to defend set pieces or take a penalty but he would have to find the right people that do know and put them in the right place. Les Reed does know these answers and while he has not proved he is any good at implimenting them in a live game he does have a track record of producing and coaching players to do these things at all levels. So he could provide the foundations for a 1st class manager to finish off resulting in a decent future. It could also all turn to crap but there is not much we can do about it so IMO we need to buy into what the club is trying to do and help in any way we can.

In actual management of teams then Pards is better but being involved in as many levels then Pards is way off. This role for Les Reed seems to fit him much better than the 1st team manager role. The 1st team manager needs to be a strong manager that knows the game inside out but has the same vision as Les Reed IMO. The 2 can benifit each other if they are both pushing in the same direction. A Puppet for Reed would be as much of a disaster as it would to let Reed manage the team himself. Who ever comes in needs to know exactly how things are going to run and must be 100% happy that this is something they can do and also have 100% belieff that this system will work. Anything less and it will struggle. The other problem with this system is that so many "British" people automatically think that as its not the "British" way it will automatically fail. The Press will badger and nag about titles and power struggles and ask questions that will make us lot question it even more. Look at the questions Redcrap got asked when Woodward came in. He was asked several times if he knew about it and was happy about it and each time he said everything was fine. The press kept asking the same question until he said something that they could grab hold of and build a rift. From then on that was all they focused on. Im not saying that had they been happy clappy about the whole idea it would have worked or anything and think the clive arry combo was not the best of ideas but the system can and does work in other countrys so there should really be no reason why it cant work here.

It's a system that could work but would need the 1st team manager and head of the development centre to know each other inside out IMO. if they don't think the same way about how to achieve success then there will be conflict and in the end, failure. If the centre can produce the very finest quality players and the 1st team manager can integrate them fluidly then we could be really strong for years to come without spending fortunes on stars that have been produced else where. In theory it sounds great but I think the chances of it working are incredibly slim. The more I think about it though, the more I think MON could be the man that could make it work, if he wanted too! His style of football is what we are after, he has brought youth through to the highest level and he is the kind of person to go against what everyone else expects him to do. If he and NC can agree on how the club should be run then stick to it then we could have the best chance of making it work.

Except that one you sent to me, or was I not meant to mention that one?

After our latest distractions I think there will be a few more twists and turns to come down the road. I dont see how getting a naff replacement in will do NC any good so I am trusting the decission will be a good one and we will quickly be moving back in the right direction. The longer Pompy flick the V's the more chance there will be someone to put a stop to it. When that happens I think they will be hit hard and it could be really bad news for them. I cant imagine many other clubs in the Championship being happy at how Pompy are wrighting off so much debt while trying to build a side that most other clubs in that league would love to afford so I doubt they will get much in the way of support should the league look to its members for opinions on how the league is run. So quiet for now but wont be long before the fun will return.

Not sure Sir Alex is wanting to stay in the game long enough to get us back in the prem.

I like the presumption that the club will offer the new guy a reason as to why pards got the boot. They say they presume it will happen but also talk like it will be part of the process of taking someone on. Unlike a paper to be vague in it's reporting...

That's how I found out. Very Wow indeed!

PM from Patred by any chance? Or can you not name names?

This is more like my view on the picture ban thingy. Only explained much better. The decissions seem daft now as the rags can take the P and make a thing of it. If we get things right on the pitch over the next couple of seasons the rags will be more inclined to play ball. I doubt we are asking for a kings Ransom for the pics so it's all about principle on both sides. As long as we do rubbish the rags will laugh or ignore. Make the step up a few times to be a decent prem team and they will laugh or ignore no more. In the mean time what the team achieve on the pitch is far more important than what tomorrows chip paper print. I noticed exit2 pointed out that a current and ex player he has asked laughed at the rumour of why pards has gone but there is still a fair bit that just doesn't fit. NC has obviously spoken to Wilkins about the plan going forward as he has told him he wants him in it. So it sounds like it may have been more pre-meditated. So why is there no replacement lined up? Half of what we think we know suggests it's a spur of the moment thing due to a decisive incident but the other half suggests it's been coming for quite a while. I just don't get either way as there either isn't enough of a contingency or there has been smoke for this fire for some time. It's one or the other but I can't work out which way.

Good point, I was trying to think of an example where a player or someone in footy walked away worse off and couldnt think. The rumours around whats happened are just rumours so in reality we have no idea. I doubt very much however that proper process would not have been followed so we prob wont hear any more about it. NC will keep his mouth shut as it seems he only wants Saints to be talked about in positive ways so he is not going to add fuel to the fire. Pards prob wont say anything either as he didnt when leaving Wham and Charlton. Old news is just that and he seems to look forward.

As someone else has just said, Weston Saint broke the news so it must have been him knee sitting. Not me gov. Honest.

Of course. I think the knee jerk reaction of fireing someone on the spot is always followed up with correct procedure. The rumours in this case suggest that the incodent could have happened almost 3 weeks ago and correct procedure has been followed ending up with Pards and co out of the door. The rumours also suggest its an incodent that has just happened and he was given the boot quick smart without thought of a replacement or what to do next. If thats the case then he will officially be on gardening leave until proper process has been taken care of. If NC knows the end result of that will be Pards and co are officially sacked then stating that now wont make a difference to the end result. It all comes down to whats in Pards contract though. Football people seem to get contracts that mean they are paid the hole contract if its terminated early. I know my contract wouldnt be paid the same if my work got rid of me. I dont know how or if footballing contracts have guidlines on what happens due to gross misconduct though. What if Barnard punched NC in the face? Would he get the boot but fully paid up or contract null and viod?

Just seen a Twiter update from Official saints. Wilkins confirms Lallana will be out for 6 weeks after having an Op on his knee.

Violent conduct wouldnt leave him anything to fight through the tribunals. So if the rumour of a fight has any truth in it then he could be out on his ear getting only what his contract says he can get. If it states that its fully paid up no matter what the reasons for the departure then thats what he will get. If its paid up to the date he gets sacked plus holiday owed then thats all he will get. NC will not pay him a shed load of money for him to keep quiet if Pards is guilty of gross misconduct. If Pards speaks out to cash in then the dirt will come out and it will be him that looks bad. This is all of course if there is any truth in that rumour. Pards would be the one that would want it kept quiet and NC would be acting professionally if he deals with it in house and moves on. If either go blabbing about how wronged they have been it will turn into a farce and no-one will gain. My money is on no matter what has happened, we wont hear much about it and will have to make do with rumours. If NC makes a good appointment for the manager job then we will quickly forget about Pards as we steam up the league. If we dont it will be the talking point for the next couple of years.