um pahars

That was probably to do with the fact that he inherited a side that was falling apart and realised we were in a real battle to stay in this division. I think times like that call for experience, grit and mettle (our current experience of a point a game is testament to the problems of throwing kids in at the deep end). Quite frankly, that part of the season was a one off where it was a case of needs must, with the priority being surviving relegation as opposed to building for the future. pearson said as much not long after he took over: "A lot of my background is working with youngsters. I worked with the England youth teams for three years and I see the Academy as a massive part of the club. "It cannot be my priority at the moment, but it will get my total support in terms of fitting in with the philosphy of the Club". As has been said above he inherited a mess that needed a short term solution. He probably recognised that for a 12 game run where we had to battle to stay up, it wasn't the best idea to start blooding youngsters such as Mills, Lancashire, James and giving debuts to more than the odd player. That was not his long term aim though, as he also said the following not long after taking over: "A lot of my background is working with youngsters. I worked with the England youth teams for three years and I see the Academy as a massive part of the club. I have worked at clubs where the academy and first-team are separate entities and not integrated at all and those clubs are the poorer for it. If you put the right effort into recruiting and developing the right players then it can save the club a lot of money on transfer fees."

Juat a couple of quick points about some issues I majr issues with: Firstly, I really do not buy into this at all. Just because you are shareholders and have a financial interest in a company (or club) does in no way mean you are therefore the best person to run such an enterprise. Of course you have a vested interest and a desire for the Club to do well, but there is simply no rationale for saying that you will therefore you will be the best person to deliver this. Quite simply the best CEO should be appointed to run the Club. Pearson has great experience of working with youngsters and throughout his career has always spoken positively of the need and his desire to ue youngsters. I have often put a number of quotes up here showing how much Pearson believed in the youth team players coming through the ranks.

I find it rather patronising, and also somewhat naive, to be continually told we are playing exciting and attacking football, only to look at the table to see we're in a relegation battle and a point a game!!!! For every win we have managed (and there's only been 5!!!), we have lost double that amount. In some ways, if people really believe this then they have lost sight of how much trouble we are in. As Lowe himself would say, watch what the hands are doing and this is a results driven business. And for those that compare it to last season, well two facts stand out for me: 1. At the same date in last season we were 10th. 2. In the second half of last season, which I think all sides agree was poor, our points tally was comparable to the start of this season. There's a time for the best football we have ever had and there's a time for getting results.

After 22 games you start to get a feel for where you should be, and we are involved in a relegation battle having only earned a point a game so far. The full season is the time when teams are judged, so we still have some way to go, but I wouldn't call it reactionary to review our position and base your view on how we have performed at the halfway point of the season.

I agree, and just imagine how much losing 3-1 to Rotherham would hurt!!!!!

Take the money, take the spanking and forget about it. Getting thumped by Rotherham should be more worrying than being thumped by the best team in the land.

Even Barnsley got pegged back right at the end. Only Coventry just above us won, which is no bad thing considering they beat Charlton. Draw tomorrow or Norwich win I suppose.

I don't doubt that he has some talent, after all he has shown glimpses on a number of occasions and he scored shedloads in the youth team. However, like many youngsters, the big question is can he replicate that form in the first team on a regular basis (and it is that conversion failure rate that worries me in this revolutionary coaching total dutch football attacking and exciting set up).

Think positive. It is this type of negative comment that will take us down:smt069

Stop being so negative:rolleyes:

So far, so good. Charlton losing 1-0 at home to Coventry. Forest losing 1-0 at home to Sheffield Utd Doncaster 0-0 away to Preston. Watford at home to Norwich tomorrow (maybe a draw would be best there).

From about this time last year until the end of the season we managed about a point a game, and only stayed up because last seasons start was pretty good with 30 pts from 21 games and sitting 10th. I think a point a game from here on in will not be enough. (so arguably the latter part of last season was as good/bad as the first half this season!!!)

He will soon be at the stage where he can really no longer be called a youngster. He's made almost 60 league appearances and another 20 as a substitute since his Notts County debut over 4 years ago. He's had decent spells when out on loan and this season he has been almost ever present. I would argue he has been given his chance this season, but IMHO he has not proved himself. He still might turn it around, but I just can't help but think that if you're that good, then you should be doing it by the time you're 21 (after all, Shearer left us at the same age).

he is 21 actually and made his debut for Notts County over 4 years ago and his debut for us over 3 years ago.

Being a huge egomaniac, I might well do almost all of the above, but I would not be on the pitch 15 minutes before fccukcing kick off. There's a time and a place for sticking your nose in, but that's not one of them. As Pearson said in a forum once, the time just before kick off on and off the pitch is the most crucial time with regards preparing your players for the game ahead.

And you can't even blame the twaat who writes the usual rubbish on the OS as that came straight from Jan's mouth. Please spare us the references to Total Football, the Dutch way, attacking & exciting football, Cruyff, etc etc etc and just start delivering as I'm beginning to find it all a tiny bit patronising.

Leaving him out was a big faux pas, as was omitting Perry earlier in the season). My worries about Jan have not gone away.

Please don't be fooled by the recent draws. Plymouth at home was poor, Charlton first half was poor and Sheff Weds was another story of pretty football before falling apart in the second half. We have lost twice as many as we have won, which probably means our wins are more out of the blue!!!! Jan is a big boy and should be able to look after himself. He's also been just as guilty of promising much, yet failing to deliver and if you have look back he has also trotted out the standard managerial rubbish (i.e. the target is six wins from ten, we are aiming for the play offs, we will soon thump someone / we will turn the corner etc etc etc). Ultimately this is a results driven business and IMHO after almost half a season i don't think a point a game anything to be proud of.

The story is now on the OS and Surman is included there as one of those named as being motivated, but Rudi isn't. I'm sure on the interview I heard hi say Rudi, but may have missed him saying Surman.

Because when I looked at the squads last season I really did think that we were better than Scunny, Colchester, Leicester, Coventry, Blackpool & Barnsley. As it turned out four of those did finish below us. This season I think Donny and Forest are definitely poorer than us, but am not at all sure we are better than Watford or Charlton, and why I want Barnsley, Blackpool et al to be dragged back down.

Nope, this is a results driven business. You get the same number of points for a gritty win as you do for a pretty win, or in our case you get zilch points regardless of whether we play pretty or poor.

Well, we have lost 9 out of the 10 games where we have conceded first!!!!!

I wasn't saying what if Watford or Charlton improve in the way you are intimating. Instead I was saying that IMHO they are underperforming and could well bounce back from this as their squad is arguably stronger than their league position says (they both also have the parachute payment to play with). Whereas I actually think we have reached our zenith and the current form is about as good as it gets, as I really can't see how we can improve (we may even get weaker as a result of the transfer window and our poor finances). I am looking at the "whole siutation", hence my caveats and rationale to some of my thoughts.

Sorry, but I just don't buy that. Mr Wu is very technically able, but he is not a good footballer. The current lot re flatteringn to deceive, results don't lie.

On Radio Hampshire and fair play to the interviewer (I think Cope) as he stuck it to him and didn't pull any punches. Jan seemed very shell shocked (and I've said he always seemed so compsed in the past) and pretty angry with some players.