Verbal Kint

It's too late. They will have already heard about Chelsea fans singing "your support is ****ing ****" on Saturday. The dream is over

Personally i'll be reserving judgement until TDD's Sunderland supporting friend gives his opinion on him

He said players would rather play for QPR because of Loftus Road. One of the most ridiculous comments he has come out with, and that's saying something. There are some legitimate reasons for preferring to play for QPR - notably wages, west london location and good old 'arry. Loftus Road is not one of them

Hilarious listening to Merson saying a player would rather go to QPR because they have a nicer stadium... They'll go to QPR only because the money would be much better. If we were in a battle with Villa for a player's signature there is no chance we would lose out due to finances. Have they not noticed what's been going on at Villa over the last 18 months?! They're having to drastically cut the wage bill after letting O'Neill run riot. But McInally was the best, questioning why good defenders would come to us. Well why did Gaston sign? Because the wages in England are significantly higher than the wages in Italy, with the exception of a couple of top clubs there. That's why there could be legs in the Astori rumour

Of the players involved in the game yesterday, the combined total of the Stoke players was 45 million, and ours was 20 million. Just because we spent a decent chunk of money in one window does not mean we should be beating sides away from home that have spent a lot more money than us over a period of time building a premier league squad

We understand you think we are ****. We understand you think Adkins isn't up to it. We understand you think we're going down. Repeating it ad infinitum isn't going to make the rest of us believe it. It's a bit dull

They are a complete nothing club. When they're failing to shift a full allocation for such a local premier league away game you know just how small time they are. As for the team, they simply aren't good enough. When they go down I doubt a single player of theirs will be snapped up by a Premier League club. That's why they're nailed on to finish bottom I think. McDermott has done wonders there and shouldn't lose his job. They have failed to invest in quality and no manager will get more out of that team

When you talk about what a player is 'worth' are you referring to what the selling club would be willing to sell at or what the buying club is willing to pay? Two very different figures in the case of Lallana i imagine A player's transfer value isn't just dependent on his ability. There are quite a few other factors that go into it

Who cares what his market value is? He's a Premier League player who recently signed a long term contract with us. I'd like to think we would value him on what he is worth to us, not in comparison to other players that have been sold recently. 15 million MINIMUM if in January in the middle of such an important season, and i couldn't give a **** what Jarvis is worth

Can you imagine Lambert's reaction if Adkins tells him he's resting him against Liverpool at Anfield? He might kill him!

Whilst i agree with that there is a concern when we come up against the better sides and don't see as much of the ball you need to be play on the counter attack. West Brom are showing this season how hard it is to play against a team that can hit you on the break so quickly and what a great weapon it is to have in your locker But give me the ability of Gaston, Lallana and Lambert over pace any day. A joy to watch when playing well

1) They had a very kind start to the season and as a result have managed to get some momentum going and confidence must be very high right now 2) Their manager knows how to organise his teams and grind out results 3) They probably underachieved last year and we overachieved Anyone that thought Carroll was anything other than a fantastic signing for the style that Sam is a bit silly IMO

Very easy to make inspired substitutions when you've got world class players on the bench, as quite a few managers do. NA looks to the bench and has very little that can change a game

Correct. And it is also correct to say he dived for the first two and you therefore can't blame the ref for not giving him a decision. Human nature. His card has been well and truly marked and he'll be lucky to get a decision any time soon, and quite rightly so with the way he deliberately tries to cheat and con the ref. Great player, and he needs to cut out the diving NOW

Absolutely this. Thedelldays and Alpine have shown the last few weeks just how soft and pathetic they really are. No balls whatsoever. A good performance ruined by individual error yet again. Players have to take responsibility in those situations

You've ruined another thread. Well done

Reading this board sometimes i really do wonder how many of the regular posters were going to the Dell on a consistent basis. That's not me having a go at them, i just get the feeling a lot of them can't relate to that spirit

I can’t say i agree with that to be honest, in fact i almost think the opposite. I started going with my Dad in the early to mid nineties as a young kid and at the time it was all about watching Le Tiss. I just used to love the anticipation of not just hoping, but EXPECTING him to do something incredible, and he nearly always did. As i grew older i started to appreciate other things more: The atmosphere for a night game at the Dell under the lights, the team spirit we had in such abundance under Ball and one or two others, the fight and determination of the Dodds and Benalis, seeing academy players coming through and making a name for themselves. Through all of this the result was never the most important thing for me. It was a bonding thing for me and my Dad (and later on the whole family) first and foremost, and secondly it was to be part of the backs against the wall mentality of being ‘little Southampton’ at such a small and unglamorous ground like the Dell. The last day relegation escapes when we had been written off by all and sundry, nearly always having to get results at home towards the end of the season and nearly always getting them. I saw Alpine on another thread complaining about the bias of Mark Lawrenson and how he’s always hated us and always predicted us to go down. That’s part of what i loved about being a Saints fan. Being able to ram it back down their throats when we did stay up and we did compete and nearly every season we took some big scalps along the way. We struggled, we battled and we never ever threw in the towel and we always backed the team, knowing full well where our place was in the football pyramid and being happy enough with our lot. That’s how i remember it growing up. Some people can slag it off as having “Dell sized mentality” or whatever else they want to call it. I, and about 14,000 others, call it “the spirit of Southampton”. And for the first time in years i started to feel it a little bit on Monday night at West Brom. That’s not to say the last couple of years haven’t been great. Going to some cracking grounds with fantastic character, proper atmospheres and having a drink in pubs mixing with other great supporters. None of this home/away fan pub segregation ********. And we’ve got used to winning. But that isn’t the norm for this club and it’s only the last couple of weeks that fans have started to remember what it’s really like to follow the Saints. “2 nil down, who gives a ****? We are the Saints and we’re staying up”. I have no idea who started that chant on Monday, but he/they get it. The unequivocal support of our manager, who has done wonders for this club, added to that feeling for me. The moaning and scapegoating and constant blame game that happens on here should stay on here. There were groans in the first half against Spurs and the booing of Boruc was horrible to witness. It’s time to support the team, the manager and play our part in keeping this club up. And if we do it with Adkins in charge, it will feel so much sweeter

Spot on Adrian, and thankfully supporters at the games feel similarly to you. The support for the team and Adkins last night was FANTASTIC. It's just the internet mongs that don't get it

His complete silence for the last few weeks whilst Adkins has had to field constant questions on his future and look increasingly pressured in the process speaks volumes

He is allowed to make mistakes. No issue with that. I take issue when he blames NA for HIS mistakes

This. It's worrying others don't see it

1)The defence is awful because we have a team of championship defenders. NA clearly stated at the beginning of the summer that defence was a priority for strengthening and the recruitment team quite clearly failed to deliver. 2)Starting without Lambert worked at City and there is quite clearly some logic in why he starts him from the bench in some games. Scoring goals hasn't been a problem this season, so i don't think this has contributed to our poor start 3)He had no choice but to play Yoshida at full back when Fox has been out injured. Who else was there? 4)Kelvin deserved a chance after what he's done for us the last few years. He isn't up to it so was replaced 5)'toe to toe' against who? How else will this team win games with such a woeful back four? 6)Strange substitutions or players who had run themselves into the ground and couldn't give any more? 7)You're blaming NA for our transfer policy despite Les Reed being 'Head of Recruitment' Our poor start is down to our poor recruitment over the summer. I'd say the Head of Recruitment should shoulder the blame myself

Why don't you explain to me what it is NA has got so badly wrong so far this season and we'll go from there

Exactly. People calling for Hoddle or Redknapp are just knee jerkers who think changing a manager will solve everything, when in fact it will solve very little. There is a reason Hoddle has been out of the game for so long and why some people think Redknapp will wave a magic wand and get us defending better i have no idea. Didn't do it last time did he? The only manager i can even begin to understand replacing Adkins with is Benitez, as he always gets his sides well drilled and organised which is probably what the team could do with right now. But is he realistic...? The lack of appreciation and respect for Adkins from some posters on here is an embarrassment. Thankfully when you actually go to games and see the support NA has from the fans that matter (the ones who actually go to St Mary's and support the team) you realise there are still some reasonable fans left out there