Professor

No, Bridgey. No comfort there I'm afraid. Tables used to be printed after 3 matches played. So current table does not lie. We are 2 places above where we were this time last year, 22nd instead of 24th. I suppose, on that basis, we should make 5th by the end of the season!

I'd love to play cards against you Nick, you'd be such a pushover. LOL

Looks like Cortese may have met his match in Steve Wharton. Wharton did not want to lose his manager and knew him well enough to be confident that Adkins would not be disloyal to his present club, despite seeing the Saints job as good career move. Now we hear from the Echo (which seems to have reported all the stages accurately so far), that Cortese had gone to CH for the weekend but has had to return quickly to finalise the deal with Wharton. If so, TG if it will soon be over, but you can't help thinking this should have been settled on Wednesday to avoid the bad impression that has been created. Wharton knew what he wanted, which was to keep his manager if possible and if not, to get the best price he could for his club. This is just how Cortese would have felt if it had been the other way round so maybe he should have recognised that from the beginning, but if he gets his man today or tomorrow, it will be good to put all this behind us..

Although this is an interesting and entertaining thread, the statement that started it is simply wrong, and can't go unchallenged. Wharton the Scunny chairman is entitled to ask for the maximum compensation that he can get. He is also entitled to make it as hard as possible for Adkins to walk out on his contract, and in fact Adkins doesn't want to do that, instead he wants to leave on good terms. It is not 'ransom' to fight your corner and negotiate for the best deal you can get. If SFC don't want Adkins badly enough to pay the price, Scunny get to keep a manager who they respect and don't want to lose. And, BTW, there are reports that the compensation could be as little as £50K and is unlikely to be more than the £100K that was paid by Sheff Wed for Brian Laws in 2006. Its hard to believe that this sort of money would have frightened Cortese off and sent him after Howe instead but it seems it did.

After the fiasco of Hoddle and Rednapp leaving for other clubs, Rupert Lowe took a position that he would not poach another club's manager. Whether you agreed with that or not, this week has shown that there is a lot to be said for limiting the appointment to someone not currently in a manager's chair, or at least someone who is free to take up the job if offered, and there are plenty of them. Maybe that should have been the first question:- "if we were to offer you the job, would you accept and would there be any issue over your resignation from your current job?

"A number of candidates" could have been two when the piece was first written yesterday, and it seems that Adkins refusal to resign from Scunny which put more pressure on SFC to agree the compensation figure resulted in the offer being made to Howe, which he turned down. Knowing he was second choice could have played a part in that. The "number of candidates" today might be just the one and it seems likely the pressure is on now to agree the compensation. Wharton is doing absolutely the right thing in trying firstly to keep his manager and if he can't, to get the best deal for his club, but reports of what he has said today look a little more defeatist and mention of a 'modest' sum in compensation possibly as low as £50k. Although Adkins took training at Sc u nthorpe this morning there seems a strong probability that an announcement will be made today. If we hear nothing, the next test will be whether Adkins is in the Iron dugout tomorrow for the home game against Bristol City.

There is no pleasure in following Saints at the moment. I was at the Plymouth and Orient games and came away with no enthusiasm to watch another game until the team began playing better. I'm just glad I don't have a ST and don't feel obliged to go to every home game. End of last season, I expected automatic promotion this year, probably as champions. By the first game I had downgraded that to top six because of the limited transfer activity and the poor pre-season. Now we have already dropped 9 points and could easily drop another 3 on Saturday. If the manager is appointed within a week, I still think top six, but not top 2. If no one is in post in 2 weeks time, which I just don't believe will happen, then I'd start to worry about making top six. Just to state the obvious - top six is NOT promotion. The play-offs are a lottery and we could just as easily be in this division next year after this dreadful start to the season.

So we know that Cortese said that Pardew had to be dismissed, it 'had to be done'. But we don't know from that whether that was due to team performance, management issues, or personal matters, so we are no nearer knowing the rights and wrongs. Until fans do, there will be unhealthy speculation. We know that the photographer ban continues - something that is exceptional, if not unique to this club. That will not win the club any friends in the media, and like it or not, thats where most fans get their Saints information from. We don't know how the manager search is going, but should not expect to. Such matters do need to be conducted in private, as far as that is possible. Phil Brown ruled out is probably good news to most fans but whether Adkins is the only name on the List remains a possibility. That does not, of course, mean that there is no other name, or that others could not be added if the Adkins move does not come about.

A question many people would like answered is why the sacking of Pardew, Downes and Murdoch was not better explained. It should have been clear whether it was a dismissal or a parting by mutual agreement. If it was a sacking for performance reasons, which is what the official statment implied, there should have been clarification of why performance was not regarded as good enough and an explanation for the timing. In other words, a statement based on the reasons given to Pardew himself. If it was not for performance reasons, it should not have been implied that it was, since the fans are entitled to expect honesty from the club, even if there are things that cannot be said. If it was for misconduct, or for complaints by players, a form of words should have been used to say that the parties had agreed that they could no longer work together. If it was Pardew objecting to restrictions on the way he could do his job, then mutual agreement or no longer able to work together would have done it. If an answer to this was provided at the dinner I'm sure it will be given to the press by either the club, or by someone who was there, but if we hear nothing it would seem reasonable to assume that no explanation was given.

WE know several things that have not been mentioned on the OS at all. Some from reports in the media, such as Phil Brown's interview, Sc u nthorpe's chairman fighting his corner and Nigel Adkin's position at his press conference. It can be difficult to separate the facts from the spin, but that can also be said about information on the OS.

The Howe story is also supported by the statement from the Club today "SFC wishes to make it clear that it is continuing its discussions with a number of potential candidates for the post of First Team Manager." Its up to NickG what he chooses to believe, but people with an agenda sometimes mislead themselves.

Whether Cortese is a chump or not over this manager change really depends on the reason for the sacking of Pardew and his coaches. If there was good reason other than performance, Cortese may have had little control over the action and the timing, but the Club Statement implied performance so its not surprising that the 'chump' charge is sticking. The Club could dispell that by clarifying the reasons, which could be done without breeching any confidence.

Why shouldn't S c u n thorpe ask for maximum compensation? Its not trying to do SFC down to do so, its to try to keep their manager by making it as difficult as possible for him to leave, and if does go to get the best deal for their club. Common sense, surely? But S c u n thorpe will also know that if Adkins leaves without agreement having been reached, the figure will be decided by a Tribunal. That's a gamble for them, as the amount could be less than what SFC are offering. They might also have calculated that by making it clear to Adkins how much they value him, that he might decide to stay. If its true that he won't resign without agreement, then he is giving Scunny the final say. If its also true that an offer was made to Howe and refused, things are beginning to look desparate. Anyone got Phil Brown's number?

Its great fun speculating, but what is not such fun is that the future of the club depends on the decisions being taken. We have already dropped 3 points since Pardew was sacked, that we may not have dropped had he remained in place. We may now drop another 3 on Saturday while the players operate without a proper manager in place. We are also losing time to strengthen the side with loans. It appears that Nigel Adkins is the best candidate but the unknown factors seem to be (a) how badly he wants the job, and (b) how far Cortese is going to try to minimise the compensation payment. Neither Adkins or Cortese can force S****horpe to agree a compensastion figure, and if they will not, then a Tribunal figure is the expected outcome. If Cortese could avoid a Tribunal by paying S****horpe's price and has refused, maybe he doesn't want Adkins badly enough and is willing to take second or third best. If Adkins is not willing to come on the basis of a Tribunal compensation that would suggest he doesn't want the job badly enough as it allows Scunny to block the deal. This all looks a huge mess and it may leave a shadow over Adkins even if he comes here. Not knowing, or not believing, why Pardew was sacked is a poison that is affecting the fan base and will cost the club money through the turnstiles unless Cortese sorts this out very very quickly and provides an honest explanation.

I'd love to work for Cortese, wouldn't you....?

Of course Cortese has acted entirely correctly, the statement on the OS makes that absolutely clear. It's just a shame that his past actions make the opposite believeable. In the meantime, Saints don't have a manager, the club we love is becoming a laughing stock and there is a danger that it may become an embarrassment to admit to being a Saints supporter. None of this seems to accord with the original club statement on 30th August that "New First Team Football Manager and Coaches (were) to be appointed".

Only 6 managers in 10 years in the 1990s (if you include Dave Jones in both decades) almost looks like stability compared to the last 10 years! It would be a relief in some ways if the Pardew dismissal wasn't down to performance, although performance is the reason given by the club. Sacking managers hasn't improved things in the past for SFC and it always results in resources being wasted. The best we can hope for now is that Adkins is here for the next 5 or 10 years, but I wouldn't bank on it. If he gets us up, and starts to do well in the Champ, he'll be poached by a Prem club anyway.

Its hard for fans to assess the performance of an assistant manager but Dean Wilkins seemed to have an influence in bringing players here, given his past associations with the early signings of Harding and Hammond. His two games in charge haven't done him any favours but it was hardly his fault that players couldn't find the net, given the chances they had against Rochdale, whilst the Swindon cup game came in the immediate aftermath of the sacking bombshell. Since Andy Crosby is coming as Nigel Adkins assistant, Dean has not unexpectedly lost his position, but he did say that Cortese had promised him a job with the club. What chance is there of that promise being kept, and if so, what role could Wilkins be offered that would justify anything like his current pay? Or is there likely to be a payoff?

Sorry Ian, but unless you know this for a fact it is close to libellous. If it were unequivitably true, there would nothing to be gained by the club in failing to make a public statement. That statement would also have to explain how all three sacked employees were implicated. As it stand we have the official announcement and no response from the sacked coaches, whose careers must be seriously damaged by the doubt and speculation. As things stand, it is reasonable for the speculation to include the possibility that substantial pay-offs may have been made to buy silence. The speculation could, of course, be ended by a factual explanation from the club.

Bit insulting to the club's medical and physio staff to imply that they are incapable of recognising an injury and need the manager to point it out to them.

I wasn't saying that Pardew was a 'Wow!" but that as an ex-Prem manager he had more about him when his appointment was announced last summer, than Nigel Adkins has now. That is no reflection on Adkins, but it doesn't meet the implications of the club saying we would all understand why Cortese had made the change when we saw the new name.

Of course fans should get behind the new manager. The circumstances that have brought him here are not of his making. He is less of a Wow, than Pardew was last year and fans will be worried about showing ingratitude to Pardew if they applaud Adkins appointment too loudly but he will win the fans round if he delivers. Supporters will cheer loudly enough if Adkins gets the team performing again and if he can strengthen the squad, assuming Cortese supports him with the money and Reed does not act as a block. It would help if there was honesty from the club over why Pardew and the other two were sacked, because it is the uncertainty and speculation over that which has got in the way of welcoming a new manager. Mind you, we have had plenty of practice at welcoming new managers.

Excluding people who would still applaud every move even if the club was sold to the Russian Mafia or it appointed David Blunkett as manager, there is a lot for concerned fans to keep watch on. In 10 years since 2000, the club has had 12 managers, Adkins will be number 13. That excludes caretakers. Just to confirm, the full list is:- Dave Jones, Glenn Hoddle, Stuart Gray, Gordon Strachan, Paul Sturrock, Steve Wigley,Harry Redknapp, George Burley, Nigel Pearson, Jan Poortvleit, Mark Wotte, Alan Pardew. We are currently one point above bottom place in the Third Division, and have been knocked out of the two cup competitions we were in. With a 4-0 away win and the manager planning new signings, albeit late in the day, the Chairman decides to sack the manager and coaches and instead of taking an available manager goes for one where the club must pay compensation to his current employers (it will be more than £47.52, NickG but maybe you think money doesn't matter). Will Adkins be any better than Pardew? We will never know, because we will never know how well Pardew would have done this year, but both men have the same win ratio. What is certain is that Adkins starts with a worse situation than when Pardew was sacked so he has more ground to make up. Just to be clear, the new manager should be warmly welcomed, and fans will want him to succeed because no one wants anything other than promotion this year, but the club ownership and board has a mountain to climb to win back the trust that people had in Markus.

And does it matter? Can't put a sum on the cost of the manager change but maybe some people could have a stab at it. Will Pardew's contract have been paid up in full? And the same for Downes and Murdoch. Will that include the 'hush' money that presumably is stopping them from going off to the NoW? Then there is the compensation to the club from whom we are taking the new manager, who we have induced to break his contract. Add to that the need to bring in new coaches to replace the other two. This looks like a tidy sum, that could have been spent on improving the squad. The outcome is that we should have a capable manager, but not a WOW. Whereas when Pardew was appointed last year there was a bit more of a WOW factor about him. So will Adkins be so much better than Pardew that this will be money better spent on management than on the team?

If Adkins comes here, Phil Brown is likely to announce to the media that S****horpe has always been his spiritual home and that his only true ambition in football has been to manage the Iron.