Verbal Kint

Awful at Arsenal, very average at Everton, abysmal against Fulham and his first half against Spurs was pretty terrible as well. Him and Fonte both improved second half when we played higher up the pitch, but if he wasn't a summer signing people wouldn't be so lenient with him. I've seen very little to suggest he's better than Fonte, and considering we needed centre halves substantially better than what we had, i think at the moment he looks a pretty poor signing. Hopefully he will significantly improve as the season progresses. I find it odd that just a few days before he signed, NA was asked about him and he said quite defiantly that we wouldn't be signing him. His signing stinks of a last minute panic buy having failed to acquire our preferred targets. Well done Les

This. Unfortunately we have some complete ****s for supporters. All we can do is try and drown out their negativity with some proper support. The players need it, and as long as they give 100% they should be getting it

It's pretty clear from the way the club is run that NA has little say over potential signings. He expected us to reinforce defensively over the summer and we didn't do as much as he expected, and he seemed to be in the dark about the majority of our signings. I doubt NC is suddenly going to give a new manager carte blanche over transfers. So i'd like to know why people think Redknapp is going to get our team defending any better than they are with NA, particularly as when he managed us before he was in a similar situation and failed to address that particular problem pretty spectacularly (our defending was woeful for the whole of that season)? He isn't a coach, despite what he thinks. He's a manager, a wheeler-dealer. That's surely the last thing a control freak like NC wants as his "head coach"

I didn't think we necessarily needed premier league experience. We needed premier league quality. There is a difference between the two IMO

Benitez. But i don't think we should be getting rid of Adkins. I think he's taking the blame when the responsibility lies with others in the club

Turkish we, as a club, were in a very similar situation last time he came to the one we are in now. Good attacking players but poor defenders. And he was absolutely hopeless. How is Harry going to suddenly get us defending better? How is he going to instill confidence in players when he has a track record of slagging them off in order to protect his own reputation?

Last time 'Arry managed us he came to a team with plenty of attacking quality but a poor defense, which he managed to actually make worse despite that seeming impossible. He destroyed the morale of the entire squad but publically slamming them at every opportunity. I'd say on that basis he shouldn't even be considered... He could be the last thing we need right now

The next month or so is absolutely huge and we just have to hope we can be in touch come January when some major work needs doing in the transfer window. Despite the numerous threads discussing it, i don’t believe our problems have anything to do with the 4-3-3. In fact, the one game i’ve seen us try to adopt a 4-4-2 (or at least a variation of it) away to Everton we were completely overrun in midfield, which is one of the principal reasons given for 4-4-2 dying out in the Premier League, and i think that has some truth to it. Ironically away to Everton i thought the back four did ok, and the main reason for the first half collapse as i say was our midfield getting swamped and Davis, Ward-Prowse, Lallana and Gaston simply not tracking runners well enough. We badly missed Morgan that day. The 4-3-3 gives us a chance to at least compete in midfield, but it will come at a price as it leaves the front man a little too isolated, be it Lambert or Jay. Whether Lambert starts or not is a bit of a red herring IMO. Leaving him on the bench worked against City and it certainly wasn’t the reason we got smashed on Saturday. The back four need to get together this week and sort themselves out. The number of basic errors being made is unforgiveable and the first 3 West Ham goals were comical. A direct ball in the box that saw everyone stand and watch rather than attack, and Yoshida and Jos for the second were both at fault. Even then we get back in the game and look as if we could go on and get something and then Fonte decides to punch the ball in the box for some reason and the game is then dead. Too many individual errors are costing us and i don’t see how anyone can blame Adkins for that. The whole of the back 4 need to stop feeling sorry for themselves and realise at the very least their pride is at stake now. If this carries on they will go down as the worst premier league defence in history. If that doesn’t motivate them then I don’t think anything will. Moving forward, i think i would go with Jos and Fonte. As bad as Jos has been i don’t think Yoshida has been any better (although he has been out of position i accept) but at the very least Jos and Fonte have an understanding together form last year. Clyne at left back and if Cork is fit then play him at right back. We don’t have any other option i don’t think. Fox is just getting destroyed every game and if he is up against Bale next week it could totally decimate any of what little confidence he has left. Yoshida at full back has been even worse than Fox. With Richardson out there is nobody else except Cork, who has at least played a few games in there before for us. Morgan and Davis have been doing ok and should remain as the holding players. With Gaston out we should keep Lallana in the number 10 position, his most natural role, and that takes the responsibility of covering his full back out of the equation. Puncheon i think has been better then Adam at protecting the full back so he stays in the side, and i’d bring in Chaplow the other side. He may not be a premier league player technically, but at least we know he will track back and give us a more solid shape. Needs must at the moment when we’re conceding 3 a game on average. Once we start keeping the goals out a bit more regularly we can phase back in the likes of Guly etc. And Lambert should start. I can see the logic in having him on the bench in some games but with a more defensive looking team we will be creating fewer chances, and we need them falling to Lambert, out best finisher by a mile without takng into account the other things he has in in his game. As for Cortese and Reed, it is THEIR responsibility for us having a championship back four this season. Adkins targetted the defence at the beginning of the summer as where we needed strengthening, and specifically stated he wanted two centre halves. He only got one and even that stinks of a panic buy on deadline day. Reed and NC need to man up, accept their responsibility for the cock ups in the summer transfer business, show some support for the manager publically and get on with finding him two centre halves and a left back who are capable of playing in the Premier League from January onwards, because all this speculation about NA’s job is not helping anything, it’s making things ten times worse for him and is adding pressure that he doesn’t need right now. Rant over

The formation isn't why we're getting hammered though. It may be representative of a bigger problem in NA being undermined but the reason we're getting dicked most weeks is because we have a championship back four playing in the Premier League. That isn't NA's fault. Reed and Cortese have a lot to answer for...

What do you think the problem is?

I still don't think it's experience we're lacking, it's ability. Danny Fox isn't a good enough left back at this level. Same for Richardson. And Jos. And even Fonte looks very shaky despite his goals and much improved performance today. Clyne has been one of the bright sparks so far and he has no premier league experience. We just need better players and we need midfielders who understand we are short of ability at the back and to start doing a better job of tracking runners and making us a bit more solid. Davis and Morgan did that better today but it still wasn't enough. We attempted to sign a left back over the summer but it fell through, we bought a goalkeeper in on a free as a last resort, a right back and eventually got a center back in at the last minute when the manager said he wanted to bring in TWO at the start of the summer. The chairman has failed to give the manager the appropriate tools for the job, and i feel a bit sick for NA that it's going to cost him his job in all likelihood. His demeanor at the moment suggests he's a dead man walking

I'll have a go then. When we were last in the Prem we sold out the big games and generally speaking got near to sell out for the less glamorous games. I don't see that changing this season. Surely the relevant question is whether we could sell 40k for the following games: Utd Chelsea City Liverpool Spurs Arsenal Everton Newcastle and if we did that would it generate enough extra revenue over time to make it worthwhile? I think in general we probably could, and it's whether or not the numbers then add up to make it feasible, of which i have not got a clue and i doubt many on here do. I don't think anyone can realistically expect us to sell 40k out for the other teams for the forseeable future (we'd have to be a top 6 side i expect to be generating that sort of interest for west brom at home for example). I'm probably talking ******** though and have MLG come along soon and pick that to pieces...

I actually met him a few times years ago as i knew his then girlfriend. To say he came across as an arrogant ****wit would be an understatement. At that time he was a reserve player at United and struggling to even get a carling cup game. Unfortunately being at a club like that gives some of the younger players a bit of an ego when they've done nothing to warrant having one. Getting paid thousands of pounds a week when they've achieved NOTHING doesn't help that either

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/two-games-sell-out-339280.aspx

James Chester...?

Tell me about Mayuka then Alpine? What are his strengths/weaknesses? Why do you think he can only play as a central striker? Why isn't he capable of playing in a 3 the way NA wants to play? And, more importantly considering i'm willing to bet you've never seen the bloke play, why do you instantly write him off as 'another striker' before actually seeing him play and then make a judgement? And you wonder why peaople get bored of your knee jerk reactions.... Signing Mayuka does not mean we won't sign a defender. You're an adult so start acting like one and show some patience. You come across as a child constantly banging on to their parents "are we there yet?" The window closes on Friday night so why don't you judge our transfer dealings as a whole on saturday morning like most normal people will? We need an injection of pace in our forward play, hopefully this lad will give us that

Adkins has repeatedly talked about Lallana's new position in the team and he wouldn't have spent the whole of pre season playing him in the middle if he was then going to move him back out wide once we signed Ramirez. He'll stay central and Ramirez will play in one of the wide roles (if he signs)

I disagree. He was outstanding against Ajax and has always looked as if playing centrally in a 3 with a license to roam would suit him perfectly. Pace out wide (being able to support the lone striker) is still a problem, but i don't see the central midfield area as being weak. With Morgan, Cork, Davis, Hammond and the promising emergence of Ward-Prowse to compliment Lallana i think we're well stocked there

Not for me. He has definitely got ability but i doubt he would be interested. He's on mega money at Liverpool (reportedly 90k a week), will only join Cardiff as it's his boyhood club and there is always a very big chance that he will pick up a serious injury, as his injury record has shown. He's averaged about 20 games a season for the last 10 or so years...

Agreed mine went very smoothly. Rang up this morning to get my password reset, linked a few other seasons to mine over the phone and spent about 5 mins in the online queue before booking tickets and having a confirmation email sent. All very easy

whoooooooooooosh

I'm not saying Clyne and Rodriguez are proven, i'm saying the opposite. They aren't proven, but in my opinion neither are the Reading signings. All of them are big gambles in different ways. I think you're overestimating the ability of Guthrie. If i had the choice between him and Schneiderlin, i'd pick Morgan every time. And i'd probably pick Davis ahead of him as well

I seem to remember the heartbeat of the Newcastle team last year was Tiote and Cabaye in the middle of the park. Guthrie was nothing more than a back up squad player, hence them happy to let him go. Pog is a gamble. 28 years old on a 4 year contract with a total wage packet in excess of 50k a week is a gamble. It might work out, it could be a disaster. West Brom wouldn't have released Shorey if he was that solid for them, and there were only 4 points between them and Wigan in 15th. I've not been saying we should be aiming higher, i'm saying clubs in our position and Reading's have to take a few risks as the costs involved in signing players of "proven quality" are out of financial reach at the moment. They've done it with Guthrie and Pog, we're doing it with Rodriguez and Clyne

I don't disagree with scouting there, i have faith in Adkins to bring in the right players. But Celtic and Rangers have players that have played champions league football in front of 40-50k crowds every week. It doesn't mean they're all good enough to play in the Premier League. We aren't being linked with regular dutch internationals because, surprise surprise, the top dutch players move to big clubs for big money. Money we can't afford. Players like Lens are the best we can hope for. A player on the very fringes of the national team and who would be at the top end of our budget in terms of transfer fees and wages. And even then he would still be a gamble. As is Danny Guthrie for Reading (unproven in the prem), Pogrebnyak (12 games in the premier league is not proven) or Nicky Shorey who is so proven that West Brom released him. I think a reality check is needed on where we are as a club

But surely they aren't proven players at the highest level if they're playing in the Eredivisie? I don't think it's possible to buy proven premier league quality without spending huge amounts on wages, so we need to take a few risks to establish ourselves and enable us to get to a point where we can afford to spend that bit more