um pahars

And interestingly the last 8 performances have us third bottom in 22nd according to Football 365: Recent Form Pld W D L.F.A. GD GFA GAA PpG Pts Rank Last 8 Overall8...1.3.4.6.11.-5..0.75 1.37 0.75 6 22

How honest of him!!!!!!! Then again, he was joint MD of the Club last time around, pulling in over #300,000 a year at one point. That's not bad for someone who now say they're not up for the job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As runs go, that's pretty ordinary. Optimistic W 3 D 2 L 2 Points 11 Pessimistic W 2 D 2 L 3 Points 8 If we can't beat Forest and Donny then we will be struggling as games won't get much easier.

Not even Ajax achieve what some people think they do, and that is with all the resources, the reputation and position they have in the game. Here's something I read a while back on their site about youth players making the grade: The further you get, the harder it becomes to maintain your place and to reach the ultimate objective - to play in the Amsterdam Arena. Only one or two players make it to the first team each year. Ajax is partly dependant on players from its own youth academy. PS Comparing us with Ajax is as cringeable as comparing Jan with Wenger, Scolari et al

Have to agree with both of you. I think our Academy has been overhyped somewhat and in the past was often touted as the Holy Grail that would solve all our problems. It's no surprise that with Lowe back in charge, the line is being trotted out once again. There's no doubt that our Academy has been moderately successful and has provided us both with players to use in the team and also with players to sell, but so have many up and down the country. After all, where do all these players come from that ply their trade in the four divisions (even after allowing for foreign imports)??? But with regards producing a team of home grown talent, then I have to say that is a fairly naive pipedream. Firstly it's a numbers game and from each year group of scholars / trainees, it is ineviatble that many will not make the grade. Why will we be the only club who is able to turn this around? Secondly, playing in this division will mean it will be impossible to keep the better ones as (a) they will always aspire to play in the top flight, and (b) we will always be under pressure to sell to offset operating losses. I am 100% behind our Academy, both for footballing and financial reasons, but that doesn't mean I buy into the utopian idea that it will solve all of our problems (both on and off the pitch).

The changes Jan has made in games would appear mainly to be like for like e.g. Paterson on for Robertson, Cork into defence (for Pearce) and Wotton replacing him in midfield etc etc etc, as opposed to changing the shape of the team. For some maybe blinkered, maybe dogmatic, maybe naive reason he has almost universally stuck with his 4-3-3 total football approach, even though the return of less than a point a game is crying out for something different every now and then. In one interview he stated that he didn't think the players could adapt to a different style of play, but I think that is more of an acknowledgement of the deficiencies of him as a manager to be able to get them to try something different, than about the abilities of the players themselves. If 4-3-3 suits our players and we're achieving some good results, then fair play to him. But if we haven't got the personnel to fit this system and it is not producing results, then surely we have to try something else (particularly at home, where this system has produced the worst results in living memory!!!!). His inability to adapt to the CCC is becoming more apparent as each game passes. A good manager would adapt his teams style of play with reference to the players available, the opposition, current form, conditions etc etc etc. A poor manager just bumbles on regardless.

The BBC have got it as 90+5!!!!!!!!!!!! Was just about going to say, "Don't worry, it will just make Saturday even spicier", but will happily now change it to, "Hopefully that will knock the shyyt3 out of Charlton" My Derby supporting hours are now over.

or should I just hope for a draw???? With Derby 23rd in the current form table and Charlton 24th, should we be hoping for a draw which would drag Derby into the relegation battle, or do we just want Derby to thump them??? I think it's a Derby win isn't it???

A very interesting shout. I like the way Jan comes across and he seems a very honest fella, so would have no qualms about him being in charge of the youth/academy set up. (as long as that doesn't involve Hockaday or Henderson stepping up to take his place!!!).

Some valid points, but I do think you have been somewhat pessimistic when it suits your argument, yet optimistic on other occasions. I have to agree with the premise that things are certainly tight (then again I was saying as much about three years ago, but was abused as just spreading anti Lowe gossip LOL), but where I diifer form some of your points is the remedial action taking place under Lowe. Whilst I fully accept that our financial predicament may well constrain some of the footballing decisions, that is not the same as saying we have had no choices to make (i.e. we could have gone for a different manager, spent the Scheiderlin money differently, got in different loan players who might actually get a game etc etc etc).

In Lowe's defence I don't think he has said this anywhere. The only place I think it was mentioned was by Martin Tyler in an off the cuff soundbite halfway through his commentary and I wouldn't rely too heavily on that one. I would refer back to David Jones comment about cost reductions and asset sales still being required.

You were sort of OK until I got to points 5. and 6.!!!!!!

It's Ajax's legendary youth coaching strategy and stands for Technique, forgotten, personality and speed (just found that th the I is for insight!!!!). There was a really good documentary on Ajax a few years back, and there's also a great DVD set called Heroes of the Future (or something like that) that gives an insight into how Ajax work.

Don't worry, I'm not shooting you!!!!! Just laughing at the idea that we are the British Ajax and Jan, Wotte, Hockaday and Henderson are implementing the TIPS model.

Have to giggle whenever I see the Ajax comparison. People need to go and understand just how big Ajax's operation is (across the globe as well) because you will then see just how ridiculous such a comparison it is. It's up there with bracketing Poortvliet alongside Wenger, Scolari, Benitez and Mourinho just because he is a foreign football manager. I think the idea that we will continually churn out enough quality players to even play in this league is somewhat fanciful.

So much depends on where the others are going to go in my team. True right wingers would have to be Paine or Channon, but MLT also played wide right (especially under Nicholl). If I go for Paine, then MLT and Channon have to go up front, but that causs problems for including Keegan. Therefore Paine is my RM, Matty gets a CM free role and Channon up front with Keegan

And if the 8 game form continues then we will be down with Charlton and Derby;). However, I think the best form guide will be over 46 games, but as that involves 23 games not yet played, then people are entitled to hypothesise. My main concern is that a few of the teams might well get stronger as a result of the January window, whereas I fear we will get weaker.

I'm no headhunter!!!!!!! Have to agree with what you say, in that someone should be out there looking, but the problem is that those in charge didn't (and still don't) show the slightest inclination to look further than the stagnant gene pool of the major shareholders. Looking back to those Runnymede minutes, it was all about divvying up the jobs between the big boys, with no one (including Crouch) showing any nous to look outside and think about who would be best for the job as opposed to who can we shoe horn into each role!!!

Jan, what was the second half like??? As a few match reports I have read is that we were still fairly average (good in the odd patch), but did manage to score two goals.

I think you'll find that this little story has been doing the rounds for a while now and Berkhemstead is one of a few who has obviously been tapped up(or he has spoken to those who were fed this line) . I also understand that a certain manager in Leicestershire has got word of this story and is rather non plussed at the accusation. Of course, the originator of this story could always go public, but I very much doubt they would. They're just happy to spread unsubstantiated tittle tattle In a way it's actually a criticism of the current regime as it's actually a recognition of how poorly we are doing. As rather than being able to say we appointed Poortvliet as we thought he was a better option (and his results have justified that decision), they are trying to justify the appointment as having to be made because Pearson walked away. Pearson was a dead man walking the minute Wilde teamed up with Lowe.

I think we actually agree on quite a bit (at least in that we both accept there are alternatives out there), but we'll probably have to agree to disagree on what would be a better appointment, as I think your critique of Lowe as CEO is somewhat more generous than what mine would be!!!!! I don't think I hold him in as such high regard as you seem to, but we're all entitled to our own opinion. I don't think lowe would ever be convinced that someone could do a better job than him;). The case would have to be that those who support Lowe would need to change their position on whether he is the best man for the job!!!!!!

The stats site I use (Football 365) has current form over the last 8 games. On that one, Saints are ranked 22nd, with Donny and Forest at 15th and 16th respectively (Norwich are 18th and barnsley 19th). Charlton are bottom, with Derby at 23rd and being sucked in, which makes tomorrows game interesting!!!!!!! Watford who were in the mire a few weeks back are 10th, so it shows a string of results can lift you out of trouble. However, will we put that run together or will it be one of our rivals???? My worry is that although I think Donny and Forest will stay down this end of the table, two of our rivals, in Derby and Charlton, do have the parachute money which could be useful come January, whereas we are only likely to get weaker. To survive, I think we need a Barnsley, Norwich or Blackpool to get sucked back in.

Probably almost every league Club will have a CEO/MD running the show. They're as numerous as managers!!!!!! And just like managers, I presume there are some sat twiddling their thumbs who we could look at, there are probably some working in other roles who we could look at and of course there may be some currently employed who we could look at. There are probably other indidivuals working in related industries who could also do a decent job. They of course may end up doing a worse job (although I'm not sure just how worse!!), but there are alternatives out there. Going to an extreme, does this Club just fold when Lowe finally retires??? Totally agree, but saying that it looks very difficult to get a new man in is a totally different argument to saying that there is no alternative out there. If the will is there amongst some of the cabal for change, then change might happen, but until that point Lowe is in the boss seat. Whilst a shedload of money would undoubtedly improve the situation, I don't buy into the idea that without it any improvement is impossible (otherwise we might as well just give up right now). Even with our tight financial constraints there were (and still are) a number of different strategies we could have implemented. The most obvious would have been to retain Pearson. Whilst it would have been no guarantee of success, it is a perfectly valid example of how we may have done things differently.

Have you been fed that by Cowen by any chance (or by those who have chatted to him about it)?????? Pearson was acutely aware of the financial constraints he had to work under. He was aware of how the youngsters would have to play a bigger part in the coming season. He understood that many of the big earners would have to be offloaded and he also understood he would have to use a few loan players. He went away on holiday to Malta convinced he would be returning to rebuild for this close season. He wanted to stay and had no problem working under the obvious constraints. Lowe activated the break clause, not Pearson. The little story being peddled around that Pearson was not prepared to work under certain constraints is absolute nonsense (and if Mr Cowen reads this forum, I suggest he rings up Pearson and repeats that little story to him LOL). Many people (including the SOS bods) were aware that Pearson was a dead man walking months before Lowe got rid of him.

I totally concede that we are stuck with Lowe until one of the major shareholders in his cabal has a change of heart. I think it should be a case of going out and getting the right man, but it appears that the 42% gang think they already have their man, which is arguably all that matters!!!!!!