Professor

Sorry Nick, not entirely accurate is it. We did have a RB at the end of last season, - Otsemobor, now playing for Sheff Wed. Having two RBs is great for cover - and just as well since Richardson is injured - but RBs are of less value than a better player in a first choice role. We have not lost our speedy impact sub. We have lost two speedy impact subs and now have a 17yr old to fill that role. Guly may, or may not prove to be useful competition at CM but whether he is better than Hamond and Morgan we don't know, and the 5 months loan trial suggests that Pardew doesn't know either. Seaborne and Martin may well do better as they mature - but when will that be. Will we already have let in too many goals by then? Others in the squad have yet to peak - so when will the peak come? After other teams have got the promotion spots? As for the behaving like Man City and throwing money at the squad, who in their right mind could claim that Saints have done that? But to categorise that calling for signings is behaving like that is a desparate tactic. Its time to acknowledge constructive criticism, Nick, because this Pardew right or wrong stuff just doesn't wash and you can guarantee it it won't be Cortese's line either. If the current strategy works, Pardew will get the credit, but if it doesn't he will also get what he deserves, so I hope he is acting on the critical issues that some posters are also discussing. Doing nothing is never a very good defence.

Dear Matron, We could all say that to people who express views we don't agree with and then there would no debate. If you don't like an opinion, just disregard it. Alpine is far from alone in being frustrated by the limited transfer activity. Three FBs signed and one MF on a trial loan is less than many people expected when we went into the close season. Pre-season did nothing to increase confidence and results since then have undermined it. Club and manager statements suggest they know that more needs to be done, and it may be that Markus' illness was a factor in limiting activity sooner, but there is fairly wide agreement that at least 2 more players are needed, some people would say 3 or even 4. It hasn't happened yet, and until it does, there are bound to be critical voices. There will be opposing views from management loyalists who say that whatever the club does is always right, whether its something or nothing, and that defeats are down to bad luck but having these argments is what makes the message board worthwhile.

There's often mention of Saints' traditionally making a slow start to the season, or having 'bogy' teams that tend to beat us. These sort of things have no place in discussing the result of any particular game. Superstition has no place in football, despite some managers never changing their underpants, and just makes you doubt the intellect of people who claim these past results as reason for a current result. If there was any logic to the slow start contention, it would be due to the managers, coaches or players at the time, and to the fixture list, but none of those factors have any relevance to the Saint's team in 2010. Maybe some people just grab any convenient excuse because it helps avoid criticising the club management when the team is under-performing, but perhaps someone will disagree otherwise this will be a short thread.

Is that the same Lee Molyneux who gave a solid performance for Plymouth, against Saints?

In some ways the Guly loan may be making it more difficult for Pardew. He's got a player who may be fantastic but hasn't played in English football and who is relatively unknown. That it's a gamble is indicated by the loan deal before the option to buy. So has this limited Pardew's ability to bring in another MF player who might be tried and tested with an English club? But by the time he's had a chance to try Guly out, the window will be closed.

This attitude that everything is absolutely OK until its mathematically impossible to catch the teams at the top has shades of Ostriches and Sand about it. Of course its early days, but these 5 lost points could already make all the diference next April. I do share some concerns about the long ball tactics and the timing of substitutions but the failure to strengthen enough is the big concern. I'm not ready to criticise AP over that since learning of Marcus's ilness and death as I don't know whether the inactivity was down to AP or whether ML's illness played a part in it, or NC's control of the finances. But none of that makes the present situation acceptable. We do have the Guly signing, and we have to wait and see how good he will prove to be and we have the indicatoons from AP that there is one, or possibly 2 more signings to come. This is later than it should have been, but as I say, what the cause of that is, I don't think any of us really know.

Jaidi is losing the battle with Father Time. Pardew sees Seaborne and Martin every week in training so he must be the better judge than fans who just get to see them when they get a game. Seaborne and Fonte seem an ideal pairing as Fonte is strong on the right, Seaborne on the left. But Seaborne was injured this week so we don't actually know who is Pardew's preference as the main competitor to Jaidi.

You are misleading your self, and others. There was no offer from Roma, only a rumour of interest months ago that did not come to anything. Err, No. But thats half the fun, isn't it?

If you can't cope with free speech and the opinions of others, what are you doing on a Forum?

This goes in the same box as that other stupid statement - "That if it just saves one life its worth doing." Lets stop children climbing trees - if it just .......... Lets make all cars incapable of travelling above 15 mph - If it just ..........

Hate to pour cold water on your pre-conceived approach that everything the management do is fantastic - err, no I don't, I'm happy to do it..... His club have off-loaded him on being promoted to Serie A, so he's not a Serie A player. There were rumours that Lazio and Roma were interested earlier in the summer but either they were just rumours or they decided against him. A 4min video clip can make any player look good, even Delgado and the club aren't sure they have got the right player, which is why he's on a 5 months loan before they decide whether to offer him a permanent deal or not. The idea that no other player could have been brought into this role at any time in the past 4 months and that Guly is uniquely right is plainly stupid. I doubt if there is anyone on here who doesn't want Guly to prove to be a great signing. He fits the bill for a stronger midfield presence and MF attack so now we have to see if he performs as well as we all hope. Better to praise him after you've seen him play, rather than wet yourself over a player none of us know, but it does show intention and commitment by Cortese and Pardew, for which they deserve the credit. Good for them for taking the risk and for the loan arrangment as insurance.

Did Guly really say, "I'm delighted that everything has now been agreed..." or did he say "Chi è questo strano uomo mi teneva la mano ..." or even, "Se a sua esta frio aqui no verão, o que ele gosta em janeiro ..." Very Good Move. Just what we needed and if he holds a regular starting place instead of Hammond or Puncheon, my prediction of where we will be in the next 2 months is higher than where we would be without him. There are downsides - that its only a loan at present, and does that suggest they aren't sure he is good enough, and it has come very late after we've already dropped 5 points, but maybe that was necessary to convince the management that the squad needed strengthening.

On the basis of Colinjb's astute prediction, very few of us will be posting on here by November, and I'd better go off and put my affairs in order....but hell, its only football.. My prediction, mid October, mid-table, not looking like promotion favourites, having played 12, won 4, drawn 4, lost 4. No permanent signings were acheived but two loan signings proving cover for CMF and wide MF. Starting 11 not changed but a lot being said about how things will improve when Richardson is fit. Alex O-C doing OK as sub, but rarely starting. Playing 4-5-1 with Barnard and Connolly mainly used as subs. Pardew explaining that we should have won a lot more games because we are playing well and there are a lot of positives to take from the performances. Cortese determined on promotion, preparing behind the scenes for a managerial change ahead of the January window.

I do think that against LO the players did let the manager down. I only heard the Solent Commentary but that came over in the commentary and it was the theme from Merrington and Co. Pardew played 4-4-2 which at home to a relegation candidate seemed the right formation but he is often too cautious and this week to send on 2 subs at 80 minutes seemed too late in the game for them to have an effect.

Don't flatter yourself my friend, you were not on my list of sychophants, but you seem to have added yourself! If Do Pedro's signing is announced, I'll be there with the rest praising it, and I recognise that there may have been a valid reason for no signings in the past few weeks, but if the response to a poor start is not genuine team strengthening, then licking the manager's boots and saying well done we tried hard, will not be good enough for many of the fans.

In a previous post SOG talked about people getting too depressed after just 3 games and said that if we are struggling after 10 games that would be the time to worry. But the club doesn't have the luxury of waiting 10 games because by then the season could be a write-off if results did not improve. NC and AP won't wait 10 games but what will they do? Genuine team strengthening with quality to improve the first choice 11? Impact subs, rather than first choice players? Cover against injury for established players? The only certainty on the forum is that some posters will applaud whatever they do, or if they do nothing. No names, you know who you are.

On the debate re Jaidi, the Solent commentary was also critical of him. Its true he did make a difference at the beginning of last season, but he was fading towards the end and he's another year older now. He'll be 35 later this month so sadly, but realistically, he must be nearing the end of his career.

Its in our interests to help the police, since they are acting for the law-abiding majority of us, but it seems rather stupid for the police to alienate the very people whose help they need and who they are working for, by using heavy handed tactics. Unfortunately its all too common for the police to treat members of the public as potential criminals which if it causes offence, as this seems to have done, public co-operation is lost.

Last season, this squad looked good enough, and now in pre-season and in the first few games its looking average, despite the FB signings. Can't see that changing the manager would improve the team, and its the team that needs improving.

Couldn't go today and had to listen on Saints Player. Commentary suggested we were best side in 1st half but not in the second. Five points dropped out of 6 will not be what Pardew expected. Merrington was commenting on lack of attacks down the wings and that crosses were diaganol from too far back andf thaat we weren't troubling their back four. That sounds like a need for more quality on the pitch rather than anything wrong with tactics. If your players can't get past the defenders enough times during the game you have to question whether your players are good enough. Maybe with Lallana, its still fitness but did other weaknesses show? Be interested when people who were there start posting. My hope is that this will strengthen Pardew's hand in talking to Cortese about the transfer budget.

I know we've been through this before, but if anything, there is even more need to hit the promotion target. The playoffs are a lottery, so this does mean an automatic spot, and even second isn't really adequate as everyone will be concious that dropping one place below second puts you into the lottery. In a 5-year plan, to wait another year migfht not look disasterous, after all it took Leeds three years, but we need to keep the interest of the Swiss owners which may mean that it is even more important to deliver on stage one of the plan. There's no reason for such pressure to be unwelcome to the Chairman or the Manager, and it may prove to be a motivation for team strengthening if that looks necessary. Signings this month still seem likely and if not, then loans next month. No matter how good people feel the squad is, logic suggests a need to insure against the unexpected if the promotion target has become even more crucial in the club's new situation. Wir warten mit Interesse

Behind the justified praise for Markus and the shock of his passing, its worth remembering that it was Cortese who took the Saints' project to ML in the first place. Not sure we know what Cortese's motivation was, but it was said that Markus agreed to spend the money, as long as Nicola ran the club. This may well be more Cortese's project than it was Markus' although impossible to carry out without ML's backing, and clearly Markus had an initial interest and we are told, a growing interest. Some people may buy football clubs for power or status, some for sentimental attachment and some for other motivations, but business investment doesn't seem to be high on the list of reasons as debt is often more common than profit. Maybe we won't know until its all past history, as to why Cortese and Leibherr took on the Saints, but it does seem that we still have the prime mover sitting in the Chairman's office. If as appears to be the case, the finances are secure for the next few years this is the key factor, although presumably Nicola will be answerable in some way to the new owners of Mali (Markus' group of companies). It could be even more important to Cortese now, that the team are successful, as he will want to justify the project to the Leibherr family, whereas with Markus, that stage was already passed and they probably both saw the job as a joint project. If Cortese is a little more on his own now, one thing he will want is wholehearted support from the fans.

You are entitled to your opinion, but its difficult to debate on the basis of facts that are capable of being adapted to suit the argument. For example, many of the people who died in London on 7/7 were not British citizens but were simply tourists or visitors, and it is arguable that had the British army not been in Iraq, the bombers would not have been motivated to carry out the London atrocity in the first place. Whilst there were British casualties from 9/11, the attack was not against this country, it was against the USA, and many other non-Americans were also killed. However, since then Britain has lost some 330 soldiers in Afganistan since the US invasion in 2001, more than any other NATO country other than the US. That may be seen as grounds for giving troops free tickets to football matches, but there clearly is a lot of concern at our troops being sent to fight a war that some people would say has more to do with the USA and its foreign policies in the middle east than it does with the defence of Britain. Of course we all support the soldiers as individuals and we are proud of our army, but are these charity schemes also intended to reduce opposition to the political decisions that sent our troops out there in the first place?

Much as this sentiment is understandable, it is unrealistic to riskthe season being a failure because of a tragic event in August. The league competition hasn't stopped because of what has happened to Markus so the club has to do both things at once, pay its respects, whilst at the same time getting on with the job. If we were to miss out on promotion next April it would be little compensation to note that it happened because we didn't strengthen during the August transfer window, or because we missed out on a particular player.

..... the mourning for his passing to disadvantage the team? Maybe NC and AP are still active in the transfer market, but don't feel any announcements can be made this week. That would be entirely reasonable. We've had the reassurance about the security of Markus' vision for the club and that the funding is secure. At the same time, fresh in the mind is AP's statement that he sees a need to strengthen the squad. While we may be on pause, the game goes on for the other clubs in League 1 and we won't get any consideration from them beyond MK Don's agreement to postponing this weekend's game. But perhaps we aren't on pause at all, and no news doesn't mean nothing is happening.