Professor

Agree - If he stays, fine, but if he goes, the club would deal with it.

The excitement of finishing 7th should not hide the fact that the second half of the season contained too many disapointing performances amongst the good ones and raised questions about why some players were not used sufficiently. Based on where the team was in the table just before Christmas, and with the signings in January, Saints should have done better, but instead there were some very poor results against weak opposition. That does seem justification for the Chairman to ask the manager to account for why that happened and what he would do to ensure it does not happen next season. As for what if,... what if Pardew walked or was pushed? There are plenty of replacement managers available, not so many potential new owners. However much people like Pardew and respect him, he is replaceable, and if he went the club would still have Leibherr's resources behind it to attract a top class candidate. Norwich didn't do too badly despite changing their manager in August. First game in L1 they lost 7-1 but with the new manager (Paul Lambert) they only spent one season in this league.

I thought Rednapp did OK for Saints. In the relegation season he was given a reasonable budget for the January window to try to rescue the team from going down and I think he brought in 5 players. Limited by who was available but they did OK and ultimately only went down by 1 goal. If the team had scored one more goal to convert a draw into a win, we would have stayed in the Prem that year, which in turn might have changed Rednapp's attitude to staying at Saints, and he may not have returned to Pimpy.

This sounds like cheap Daily Mail rubbish, just recycling an old story that wasn't true then either. Cortese has put Pardew under pressure and so he should. As for whether AP stays or goes, I can't see that it matters. There are plenty of decent managers out there, and change does no harm if its for the better.

Could add Nathan Dyer to the criminal's team. And some of his crimes were on the pitch. By the way, if we're having pointless threads about players who we aren't going to sign wont that make for a rather boring summer. Emile Heskey - didn't start for Villa yesterday - not saying we could sign him, but HCDAJFU......

Hope this is not true. Managers should have a wider vison that just looking at players who they have managed before. Burley was very much in this mold. If Saints are to spend big on a midfield player there must be better available, and with more than a year left in the tyres.

Too many people pre-judged Dan Seaborne, even before he played a game and now try to justify their prejudice by picking on any occasion when he doesn't win the ball. How about Fonte's back pass against Carlisle that was nearly an own goal and led to a free kick on our 6-yard line. Did that make Fonte a poor signing? Or maybe it was Seaborne's fault all along.

Saints have scored 81 goals from 44 games and have a GD of 37. In L1 this is second only to Norwich who have scored 86 goals giving a GD of 41. In a lot of games, maybe the majority, Saints have started with just one striker. Rickie Lambert's contribution has been fantastic but with a one-up-front line up, a good number of goals have had to come from midfield. But we have also scored a lot of goals when Pardew has brough Barnard or Connolly on during the game, usually in the 2nd half. Could the strike rate be even better if more of the finishing was by specialist stikers? In the Prem, Chelsea have a GD of 93 from just 36 games, eight games less than Saints. Against Stoke, the press were saying that Chelsea started with three strikers, although you could argue it was two with Lampard in the hole. True, Chelsea have expensive players, but they play against expensive players in other sides. If Saints are to be the Chelsea of L1, don't we have to rise to a comparable level in this division? Should Saints be more confident next season, because the performance of the team this year justifies confidence, and start with at least two up front from the outset, not just in the occasional game but as a norm. This would mean the strikers having to come back to help in midfield occasionally but our three are all capable of that.

Seems to me that PFC gives Saints fans an added perspective on our own football. For years we were the top club in league position and we expect to be again, but you can't be top if there isn't a No.2. Fans enjoyed the local derby in the cup, but you can't have local derbies if there's no other local team. Sorry to say that people who allow sporting rivalry to degenerate into 'hate' say more about their own inadequacies than they do about their hate object. I'd rather have people like that supporting my rival than supporting my team. Just a shame we can't be choosers.

Why should Glasgow Saint be the only one to offer to help Pardew out with tactics, training etc?. There are loads of experts on here and in the ground who all know as much if not more about football than Pardew. We could do team selection by committee.

The present squad should be expected to compete in the top 3 or 4, but changes in the squad could affect that, in either direction - if the team is strengthened or weakened. Can't see any real threat of weakening, even if one or two key players were to be lost, experience this season suggests they would be adequately replaced. On the other hand club statements have been made that they intend to strengthen during the close season. That still doesn't guarantee a top spot finish as the other variable, is the strength of the other teams in the league, which will be unknown until the season begins. Top 4 is sufficiently wide a range to be a reasonable prediction based on what we know, including the likely promoted and relegated teams but in my view anything more precise would be subject to a margin of error that makes predicting 1st or 2nd unreliable. Doesn't mean we can't hope for it though, and as a hope, it is not unreasonable.

Can't see any reason to insult a radio commentator who is doing his job and asking questions that were clearly not stupid. Pardew should be sufficiently experienced to know that he will be asked to explain to the fans what is behind the decisions he makes. This was a poor result that has effectively ended Saint's season, although it wasn't just this game that did it, but the dropped points at Exeter and Wycombe as well as the defeat at Tranmere. Some people would like to know what Pardew thinks about his team seeming to struggle against clubs from the bottom half of the league, while performing well against others. The sub decisions were inexplicable, and a lot of people would like to know if Pardew would admit to a mistakes, such as playing Wotton, taking Barnard off, not bring Connolly on sooner, and what was going on over James. I’d have liked a longer interview and some straight answers. The public didn’t get them, but maybe Cortese will.

Robbie, You may well be right about potential relegation to L2 but don't imagine Barclays had any interests in the outcome for the club. The bank's only duty was to its shareholders and it decided to pull the plug in order to get its money back, which they could have done earlier in the seasion when they approved Lowe's business plan in replacing Crouch, or they could have done it later. The bank had no interest in what happened after the administration and that Leibherr and Cortese came along was fantastic luck for us, it could have been anyone, or no one, as we well know from the administrator's comments at the time. It has certainly worked out for the best, but that was luck, whereas we could have become an Aldershot or an Accrington.

Its not just the goals a player scores, but who he scores against. In top level football, strikers have less time and are against better defenders, better goalkeepers. Rickie is great in L1, and may well be good in the Champ, but how would he do against Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea, and the likes against whom Matty scored his goals.

It would be lunatic to take a football club into administration if you don't have to. The outcome could just as easily be complete winding up of the club. If every club chairman whom is depending on a bank to remain in business were to do that more than half the teams in the Premier League would be in administration. As for congratulating Barclays because the club was rescued is like thanking the U-Boat that sank your ship, just because you washed up on a pleasant desert island.

I almost feel sorry for Pardew, or any manager, because football is so far away from being an exact science. Fortunately they get well enough paid for my sympathy to be limited. But looking at the decision on formation and strikers - Saints have arguably the best 3 strikers in this league and there must be strong case to start each game with at least two of them. Often when Pardew starts with one striker, the goals only come after he switches to two during the game. But then you get the incredible result at Bristol Rovers, that turns that theory on its head, followed by the same team failing to score at Yeovil until the last minute, by which time there are 3 strikers on the pitch! On the other hand, if the header from Fonte or Seaborne (depends which report you read) from Puncheon's corner after 5 minutes, had not been cleared off the line, the game may have been totally different. How can Pardew possibly predict what the outcome will be from any formation that he plays?

I'm critical of Pardew at times, and obviously there are other managers who could do the job, but I don't understand why fans immediately turn to 'sack the manager' as the only option if results are not going well, or even, are less than perfect. Any other manager would have his own set of weaknesses, because the perfect manager doesn't exist and the manager is not the only factor in how well the team plays. Seems that NC has already used the alternative approach, which is to give the manager a hard time if results need to improve. Carrot and stick motivation, with the stick used when necessary, but not uncoupling the donkey from the cart.

Just had another look at the video of the Bristol Rovers game. Interesting 'advantage' played by ref just before the 5th goal - or was it incompetant refereeing? Hughes, the Rovers No.11 seemed to have a red mist, bundling Antonio over as he tried to get to his feet, then knocking him down again and then when Antonio still got to the ball, fouling him a third time so that he went down, this time with the Assistant flagging madly for the foul. All of this was outside the area and well to the right, where there was no indication that the attack could lead to a goal, but the Ref took no action. The referee was saved by Puncheon, who took on the ball as Antonio fell, but Punch had to beat one man and go past another on a run along the edge of the penalty area before getting in a shot that managed to go past two other defenders and the GK to squeeze in by the post. Ironic this, but Puncheon should never have had that chance, as Saints should have been given a free kick just outside the area, and Rovers should have been down to 10 men. See what you think. Its at 2.10 into the clip: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8620991.stm

Shouldn't get too carried away. Pardew has assembled a great squad and in that respect he's been excellent but his teams have not performed as well away from home as they should have done and there is a question as to whether that was preparation, team selection or tactics. Based on where we were just before Xmas, we shouldn't be hoping Huddersfield or Colchester lose games to let us into the top six, it should already be a done deal. Pardew is still in the 'acceptable' box for me, even if we make 6th place, as that will be down to the failure of others, but if Saints win the final 7 games of the season I will give Pardew the credit for that on the basis that he has learned from the mid-season slip-ups.

If we were to go up, it would be to the nPC next season, not the CCC. Doesn't trip off the toungue so well, does it?

Huddersfield have to lose one and draw one. On their current form that should be a reasonable prospect. Saints have to win every game which would mean a run of 7 straight wins. That would be an amazing achievement and the head still says its asking too much, but after 5-1 away to BR................

You won't find many commentators that agree with you, but obviously they have less footballing knowledge than you. Even Pardew knows it, because he brings on another striker when things aren't going well, but sometimes too late.

FFS bring on Barnard or Connolly. Two miracle goals from Lambo doesn't hide the fact that Pardew lacks confidence in his own players and puts them under unnecessary pressure by playing defensive formations.

At Brighton, Jaidi was a real worry. True he got a good average of headers, but he tended to do it by climbing on the back of the forward. He could have been booked twice and sent off within the first half hour. When the ball came on the ground he was usually second to it, and had no chance chasing back, whereas Seaborne has genuine speed. If DS and Fonte complement each other thats not one getting the other out of trouble, that is a CB partnership.

Prefering Seaborne to Jaidi. DS plays the ball well, covers a lot of ground and is far less likely to give away free kicks in dangerous positions. No disrespect to RD who did a great job for us in the autumn but regretfully he is getting too slow and is having to play the man rather than the ball a bit too often.