Alain Perrin

You forget, Bennett was the worst player to ever pull on a Saints shirt. There were plenty of fans on here which swore blind they'd do a better job than him.

I'll believe it when I see it. Saying and doing are two very different things.

Incidentally that was a joke, yet strangely it doesn't seem out of place on this forum

Agree with the point about going to St Mary's again - we play good football. We've even lost and I've thought good game, hard luck. I rarely did that under GB or NP. It makes me laugh that fans are quick to beat Lowe with the 10 managers in 10 years stat, yet freely call for the manager's head after 3 defeats on the bounce. Maybe if the fans were more tolerant the chairmen would be also.

I assume he doesn't need all of that, why can't he put £2m of it into Saints.

What a pointless debate. FYI Pearson manages Leicester, JP manages Saints. But I think physics dictates if you reach a third page on this subject they'll switch, so post away wierdos!

Pearson, smearson. JP probably has now the same experience that Pearson has (had) of managing in the Championship and he didn't exactly set the world on light for us. Yes, giving him a contract was an option (allegedly a more expensive one) but he hasn't got a track record of working with youth. We've played better football under JP than under Pearson, with broadly the same results (forget the euphoria of Sheffield Utd and remember debacles like Hull away).

It doesn't make you fickle to be ****ed off - that's a natural fans reaction when we lose. However we all need a dose of reality. The situation we (Saints) are in doesn't allow us to have the best players in the league, or the most experienced players in the league. We have no money, we have youth and that is about it. People seem to think there are alternatives, I say step up with them. The 'get some journeymen in to steady the ship approach' is all well and good, but what happens when the journeymen just cement us in mid table (they ain't got resale value). The **** or bust approach that Lowe is taking is one of our few outs. Blood the youngsters, cut the costs, sell some of those in the shop window, pay off the debts - THEN build for the future. Unfortunately until the medicine is taken there will be plenty more defeats against opposition some fans think we should be beating. One day, yes, today the best we can hope for is survival (financially and in the Championship)

I don't disagree with this, but as a manager what can you do? If you don't have a better player in your squad, all you can do is play what you have and hope the adage form is temporary, class is permanent applies (i.e. they get through the bad patch). The manager / coaches are the only ones who see the players day in, day out - they're the only ones who can (and have to) make a judgement on it. The rest is just opinion (for all we know Bart may have been shocking (absolutely woeful) in training under GB, hence why a low on confidence KD was his only option). What irritates me is those fans who nail their colours so firmly to one mast that they can see nothing but fault in another player. e.g. stupid comments last season blaming KD for goals that not even Superman could have saved. There are none so blind as those that will not see.... etc.

I think the problem is endemic to all clubs unfortunately. Whether this results from the MTV generation's impatience or whether this has always been the case, I don't know. Perhaps some older and wiser heads can perhaps shed some light? To Kelvin Davis' name you can add many other names - some who have won the fans over, others who have proved themselves elsewhere, some who left without a trace. Recent history gives us zero to heroes like : Crouch, Fuller, Telfer, Delap, Wright, Paul Jones etc. What annoys me is the prejudice, not give them a chance mentality - we saw it recently with Holmes and in the past with Crouch and Fuller. I have never been more embarassed to be a Saints fan than with the booing of players when they're being subbed on, or when their name is read out (it has happened more than once in the last couple of seasons). People try to justify it - I've paid my money etc. etc. - but they don't seem to realise it MUST have an effect on the player's confidence. Kelvin Davis is an object lesson in how a bit of confidence can result in a fundamentally different performance. Currently he'd be the first name on my team sheet (because he's playing well, not just because he's number one )

Excellent I didn't go last night because a) it's a 3hr roundtrip and b) a young son. However I have a season ticket so I get counted whether or not I'm in my seat or not AND I lent someone else my ticket to go. Win for Saints him as he got a free seat, win for the team as they got more support, win for the club as he enjoyed himself and will pay next time - and as Saint won, a loss for me

Ouch, did that touch a nerve. Nothing wrong with the post in my opinion. I stayed away (and regretted it), but only because I couldn't be arsed with the journey. I take it though that you undertake not to use bad results to call for Lowe out then....

Yes, but you have to admit he's a negative meille feuille!

I think 'blindly' is a bit harsh. For whatever reason, JP favours some players over others but, as the person that sees them day in day out at training, you have to respect his opinion. Stern John has hardly set the world alight this season when he has played (remember the sitter of a header he missed against Birmingham which would have made it 2-0?). He also stated that he picked Lancashire ahead of Perry to counteract their pace. I'm all for having a settled team but equally you need to consider how to counteract the oppositions strengths (big man, little man, quick man, slow man etc.). These are things, along with form, that people promoting their 'fans favorites' often forget. Personally, although I like Stern John, he always strikes me as the kind of player that scores the spectacular, but quite often screws the easy ones into the Chapel.

Davis is gash. FACT!

If you had 2 points for a draw football would be dull (no incentive to attack), precisely why they made it three point for a win. Pearson was no tactical genius, remember the defensive tour de force we saw at Hull..... probably not, because it screws up your argument!

rubbish! we will walk this league

Sorry completely disagree. Burley's post match interviews were ramblings, barely making any useful comment. The post match interview with Tom P****y on Radio Hampshire was a joke. Of the interviews I have read from JP, he at least has identified the things I (as a fan) see as wrong (overplaying etc.). Whether he has the where with all to fix it is a another question

I think based on early performances we all (well most of us) got carried away. We played Brum and Derby off the park after all. I would suggest however that in the cold light of day nobody at St Marys thought the playoffs were likely before (or as it turns out after) those promising results. I don't agree that letting Dyer go would have been a good idea. He's an asset (on the books at least) and provided that we eventually sell him for more than the wages we pay him, that'll be a good bit of business. Yes you can argue as to whether the wages you pay him could pay a cart horse for a year but we need to think about tomorrow as well as today - it is a balance. Skacel I do agree should have gone, by whatever means. However Scheiderlin, Holmes and Cork have shown that they can contribute. Forecast is just the third choice keeper (about the same contribution as Poke).

Except it isn't that is it. 5000 fans probably half of which are concessions (kids, students, OAPs) so it is only probably about £1.5m. That also doesn't include signing on fees, agent fees, getting the right players for the right positions, your experienced manager who will need paying, plus his staff, contracts that need paying off (both to get him and get rid of our existing). It's nice to think it is easy to do the maths, but it isn't. I believe kids were the only viable option that we had and I don't blame Lowe for pursuing it.

I'd like to apologise (specifically to Um Pahars) for suggesting that defeat doesn't hurt some of those with more negative (realistic?) attitudes as much. I just get that impression from some people's posts but we wouldn't be logging on here if we all didn't want the same thing. Unfortunately the only thread I can cling to after last nights debacle is that a loss to a Div 2 side should leave no one in any doubt as to what our real target is this year.

It doesn't suit my agenda, any more than being able to afford to sign Ronaldo would. Perhaps I am naive, but I accept the fact that we have no money and are on the brink of administration. I believe administration is not a pleasant option and we should try to avoid it. I am certain you could change who the experienced heads are (trade Rasiak for Thomas + Perry for example) but I think ultimately the mix of youth and experience we have is driven by an unchangeable budget. I don't agree with Um Pahar's that Pearson's squad mix would be (could be) much different to be honest. I am yet to see any alternative approaches coming from you which will change my opinion but I am happy to listen to them.

On that we should all agree.

Youth was/is one option; yes there were others, just not viable ones. Pray tell then, if you know, what were the options? Let me guess.... 1) A mix of youth and experience. Ermm, isn't that what we have? It might be heavier on the youth than the experience, but Wooton, Perry, John, Svensson are no spring chickens (so you could argue that, when fit, we have a experienced spine. 2) 11 Old lags / Journeymen. Come ye, come ye, watch the OAPs run around for 90 minutes. Marvel at their injury records, just don't mention the war! The problem with this solution is that we've tried it before (ask George Burley about journeymen when you're at it). Youth will always cost less in wages than an established player and we're out to reduce our debts as much as possible. 3) Sell some players to buy some players. Ask Skacel why he didn't move to Ipswich or Euell why he injured his shoulder (then count how much money we have). 4) (My favorite) Get some investment Find a friendly billionaire (Marc Jackson is working on it) or spend a lifetime reading threads about where Paul Allen's boat is moored. It's fair to say this isn't really an option (but it might be by Friday). 5) Go into administration Return to go, do not collect 200 pounds (instead collect a points deduction). Say hello to Luton as you pass. 6) Keep Pearson See option 1, with more shouting, higher wages (allegedly) and no experience. 7) Errmm that's it. Unless you have any others....

Any football manager manages with what he has. Give JP the chance of Terry and he'd quickly ditch Perry. Fact is JP knew that, when he came in, he'd be managing youth. Every news conference, press release or interview mentioned that. However to suggest he only wanted to play youth is wrong. Even early on he talked about the right mix (see his comments around the signing of Wotton and the return of Svensson). You have an opinion, but it has little to no basis - other than the motivation of having a go at Lowe. Role titles are un-important as long as people understand what jobs need to be done and who is responsible for them. How Lowe and Wilde split their responsibilities is frankly irrelevant in how JP coaches and how the team performs. Unless of course you are suggesting Lowe picks the team (in which case please offer up the evidence).