Professor

Some already have but others never will, because the club gave football performance reasons as justification for the decision and people are entitled to accept that at face value unless the club changes its story, which seems unlikely. If it is correct that it was non-football reasons then the club has lied to its supporters which would not have been a healthy thing to have done and is bound to cause resentment. None of this reflects on Nigel Adkins, but neither does it ensure that he is a better candidate as manager than was Pardew. Pardew had his failings, one of which was 85th minute substitions when players could not make any difference. Adkins brought on Holmes at 90 minutes at MK, so have we improved in that respect?

So maybe looks like 'No Manager Syndrome' - which Saints didn't have while Wilkins was covering the gap. After a 2-0 home defeat by Bristol City in Adkins last game in charge at Scunny, either you try to read something into that, such as their first team coach is a genius, or more likely you just have to accept that football is a funny old game.

I liked the indications he gave that he will be looking to improve the squad but when pressed he would not say where, which I thought was very astute as to be specific could have undermined the confidence of some the present players. He knows he has to get the best out of what he has got and we know that the team can perform if they give their best on the day. Also liked his instant response to the question about what do you expect to achieve against MK Dons, and he was unequivical in saying he expects a win. Pardew was often much more defensive, as if getting his excuses ready even before a game started. No team can win every game, but I like a manager who goes into every game expecting to win.

Seems a nice bloke. Its as simple as that. Think he can be tough when he needs to be. Its as simple as that. Like the mention of new players, because we do need to strengthen. Its as simple as that. Only one thing Nige, do try to drop the catch phrase........

What all three of them? OK, suppose its possible, but in that case a statement could have been made that said that the three had left because of a loss of confidence or some other such form of words. Instead if this rumour is true, the club statement lied by implying it was performance reasons. On the other hand if we take the statement as being true, the obvious question was asked, which was 'Why now, and why not in the summer?' It may well prove to be a good thing for the club to have a different man in charge, but its a shame things weren't handled differently, one way or the other, if only because we have lost 9 points that we might not have lost. The reality now is that there is a hard catch-up job to do, and automatic promotion is unlikely, not only because of the lost points but because the squad was not refreshed when it should have been.

Wilkins does seem to have had some involvement in player recruitment given his past relationships with Harding and Hammond. He is a very experienced coach and his tactics during the three games he was in charge seemed OK. Not sure about his substitutes, although the timing of subs was better than Pardew's. But can hardly blame Wilkins for the ball hitting the woodwork three times against Swindon instead of going in the goal! What the manager can do, which Wilkins couldn't, is start re-building confidence in the team, change the playing style and look for new recruits. Wilkins has said we need new blood in the squad and lets hope Adkins agrees.

Andy Crosby is reported to have made a great impact as a defender at Scunny when he went there in 2004, when he was already 31. He's known as 'Crozzer' and is said to be regarded as something of a club legend. Seems he did more than just play and was a great motivator for the team. He continues Saints' Brighton link (Wilkins, Harding, Hammond) as he was a Brighton player for 4 years. Adkins clearly has a high regard for Crosby, and whatever anyone says about Adkins he is certainly no fool.

This is becoming water under the bridge but lets not have history re-written. The club statement was that Pardew, Downes and Murdoch were to be replaced in order to achieve the aim of promotion this season and secure long term stability and progress for the football operations. All that Cortese has addded to that (it is reported) is 'that it had to be done'. Those reasons are performance issues, not conduct. Neither do you sack the coaching staff if there has been a transgression by the manager. I shared the doubts that some others had about Pardew's performance and although I'm not yet convinced that Adkins is the best replacement we could have got, I do think he will be an improvement on Pardew. I hope he proves to be a fantastic manager who stays with us for years but I would still like more frankness in the statements from the club and less of the spin. If Pardew had been sacked for a conduct matter, or on policy issues, it would have been easy to say something along the lines of 'relationships have broken down', 'no longer able to work together', or whatever it was, instead of blaming it on performance when we had just won an away game 4-0. But if we take the club statement at face value, and we should be able to, then it can't be right to make accusations that are not substantiated.

Agreed. Why not include Davies, Warnock, Mackay, Holloway. Nick's list wasn't well respected managers currently working in the top two divisions because it didn't suit him to come up with one. Never mind - Truce called.

And if he doesn't, we won't. As Fitzhugh Fella said, to predict he will be a massive success is just as mad as writing him off without giving him a chance, but then Nick goes off down the success road before we've kicked a ball under Adkins. Can't help feeling that if the club had appointed Kevin Dillon from Aldershot, NickG would be drooling over the appointment of someone who knows Hampshire football, on the basis that whoever runs SFC can do no wrong.

Sorry Nick, but thats a silly question. You have to know the full list of names to answer that, but the OS statement set itself up for people to ask why a candidate with more experience did not come to the top. Give people the list and I'm sure they will give you some names. The OS said the club had: "..a very high volume and quality of applications, the majority of which came from well respected managers currently working in the top two divisions of English football and abroad." It is widely understood that there were some 30 applicants, with two from clubs currently in the Prem. If the statement is honest, that implies that nearly half the managers in the Championship must have applied. I doubt if anyone believes that, but in trying to build up Adkins appointment, the OS has again gone over the top with spin. The result is people asking why one of these other more experienced, high quality candidates would not have been a better choice. What Adkins does have, that many managers do not, is a higher level of educational achievement and qualification. Maybe that is what impressed Cortese and maybe the appointment will turn out well, but lets remember that some top managers (Ferguson for example) are not renowned for their educational achievements. Sorry again, Nick, but your obsequious attitude to whoever runs the club or manages the team just doesn't add anything to a sensible debate. Good luck to Nigel Adkins, I hope Saints fans will get behind him and wish him well, because his success would be our success, so we are all in this together, but there are questions about how Cortese is running the club, and the OS propaganda, that leaves a little discomfort.

I'm expecting us to lose on Wednesday as I just cannot see what Adkins can do in 3 days to turn things around so quickly. If we win, I will expect to see him walking across the Itchen. Since it is Pardew's squad that Adkins has inherited I'd give him all of this season and up to Christmas next year to get into the top two of the Division. If the team performances do not improve over the next few weeks, I can see him off-loading and recruiting in January, but if he works some magic and gets them playing, maybe with a couple of astute loanees, then he may very quickly lay the grounds for a long stint as Saints manager, which is something we desparately need.

Remembering how we felt when Hoddle took Dean Richards to Tottenham I hope we do not do anything of the same as I can't imagine the Iron have any players we would want who they would be happy to lose. Given the integrity that Adkins has shown and his loyalty to his former club, I can't see him tryng to hijack any of their team. If a club is seeking the best players available if should look across the whole game and not focus on players the manager has previously managed. Burley seemed to take that line and bring in his 'old boys' which probably meant that some potential recruits were not properly considered. Can't see Adkins going down that road.

Sincere appreciation and thanks to Le God the Legend and Thorpie the Saint for spotting and reporting Nigel Adkins arriving at Southampton airport on Sunday. The fans' have eyes everywhere! Eat your heart out OS, the fanbase never sleeps!

Its done and we need to get on with it. The announcement of Pardew's sacking could have been handled better and would have made it easier to greet the new man, but as it is, Saints fans must want him to succeed because his success will be our success. Whether he will be a great manager, no one knows, but his weaknesses will not be Pardew's weaknesses so at the very least things will change, and at the best, they will change for the better.

Its necessary to know the true reasons for the sacking of AP/WD/SM in order to know whether Cortese has acted professionally or not. The bland statement on the OS was not a proper explanation. If the sacking was in prospect for weeks or months it should have been done in the summer and if it was not in prospect then the OS statement is questionable. Adkins appears to have done nothing wrong, but that does not mean that Saints fans should fall down in gratitude to him for taking the job, because many people are underwhelmed when there may have been stronger candidates available. Until Adkins has proved himself and Cortese has won back some of the trust of Saints fans which he has lost, its best not to be too obsequious in case things all go wrong.

A very helpful contribution. Few others could have expressed our gratude to our dear leader with such clarity.

Probably posted elsewhere, but Adkins was saying yesterday at 5pm that he was hoping the compensation would be settled last night (Sat) or today (Sun). Scunny have a game on Tues evening, while we have MK Dons on Wed. Adkins must want to know which game he should be preparing for on Monday morning. The longer this goes on today without an announcement the more depressing it gets.

Can't answer that without knowing who applied, but we are told that there were something like 30 names. That was within about 7 days of Pardew's departure, and if it had been known the process to recruit would take longer, there may have been more.

Its impossible to pre-judge how Adkins will do, but its surprising that the vacancy isn't being filled by someone with more of a proven track record to fit Saints requirements. Based on Cortese's stated ambitions, this club aspires to be back in the Prem within 4 years, and surely the objective should be to do that with the same man in charge for the whole period. Adkins has made the best of what his club could afford and may have got players to perform above their level but he hasn't set the world alight. A Div 1 championship when he first took over at Scunny built a reputation but then a relegation squeezed in between the two promotions, and the second promotion by the play-off lottery after finishing 6th. Last season a struggle just ending above the relegation zone. SFC is believed to have the resources to bring in good players by transfer and loans, which may be an area where Adkins has less experience, having worked for a club with a limited budget and low attendances of around 5 or 6,000. If his appointment is confirmed, the majority of Saints' fans will wish him well because his success would be our success, but its hard to get excited about it and the on-off selection process has been less than satisfactory. I can't see this team suddenly performing better unless new players are brought in. We have some who are certainly good enough, but we also have some gaps that need plugging urgently, so for me the test for Adkins will be whether he brings in loans straightaway or whether he just relies on trying to get what we have play better. The latter approach may get to mid table but that isn't the plan.

Really????? What about the 21 teams above us in the table? Yesterday, we even managed to lose to a team below us. Other teams score, we can't. Other teams can keep a clean sheet, we can't..........

This idea that we have a great squad has been bandied about for too long. Last season's great squad was strengthened in the January window but managed to lose or draw against some of the poorest teams in the Division so that the pre-Xmas prospect of a top six finish faded in the second half of the season. The close season signings were one first choice FB (who happened to get injured) and 2 second choice FBs. When some of us were complaining about the lack of signings in June, the club loyalists were saying, just wait until July, until August, until the loan window....... But was this entirely Pardew's fault? Was the Chairman asking about team strengthening? Was Cortese saying he expected a side that would not just do well this year, but one that would literally walk this league so that it could go onto compete next year? If so, its hard to see how last year's team could be expected to do that, since the older ones had got older,and some had gone. I'm glad Pardew has gone for all the reasons that others have given on selection, tactics and use of subs, but the change should have been made in the summer, not when it became 'unavoidable' after the season had begun. Seems to me that this is the question that Cortese shpould be answering. Not, "why did you sack, Pardew?" (although we'd all like to know) but "Why didn't you sack Pardew in May or June?" That looks like one of the biggest failings of the close season, and thats down to the Chairman.

Wonder What Guly Is Thinking Right Now? At 11.20pm on Saturday night, he's probably thinking........She's fit......wonder if she's going to come across?.........

The team today was largely the same team that ended last season, but without a doubt it is not playing as well. This team had a 20-yr old CB instead of Jaidi. Not arguing that Jaidi should be playing as he is slowing down with age, but it does look as if the two CBs now are not as reliable as the two at the end of last year. Then we have a 17yr old at wide MF. Getting good reviews, but is that because at 17 he's brilliant, or do the rest of the MF make him look good? A new full-back in Butterfield, instead of Otsemobor, but he wasn't supposed to be the first choice RB. That was supposed to be the injured Richardson. And Connolly up front, who looked great when he played last year, especially early season, but 12 months later, are the years catching up with him, or is he just not trying so hard? Before the season began, fans were saying we had the best squad in the division. It now looks like we might have a below average squad. Pardew was praised for his signings, but today, Dickson didn't play, nor did Seaborne, and there is still no doubt that role played by Waigo and Antonio is badly missed. When the manager is on board, its to be hoped that he gets active in the loan window very quickly, because it needs more than 'hard work' by these players, we need better ones in several places. My guess is three, or even four.