Professor

For most of the 1990s Saints did not feel like a 'proper' Prem side, struggling with gates of 15,000 at The Dell, expecting to do well every season and being disapointed year after year as we just avoided relegation. The SMS was the great hope, and we had the occasional flirtation with mid-table, but even the cup final seemed like a fraud as we got there from a run of easy draws and never really competed against the Gooners, whilst the SMS proved our downfall due to the costs once we dropped down to the Championship. The relegation in 2005 was almost inevitable. Although just one more goal to convert any home draw into a win in the 2004/05 season would have kept the team up, the drop was coming sooner or later. We did OK for a while in the CCC but the fact is that the debt was like a lead weight made even worse by the incompetent management under Wilde and Crouch. Even now, I cannot understand why Lowe came back, given the state the finances were in, and the personal villification that he always received from the fans. I don't blame him for the administration, or for trying to avoid it, because as we all know, many clubs in that state go out of business altogether. If Lowe had kept out of it, Wilde and Crouch would have taken the club down the plug hole anyway and there is absolutely no way of knowing if the club would have survived. As it was, we were incredibly lucky to catch Cortese's eye, and Marcus' money. We are now just below the level we should be at, but we are not a natural Prem side, despite all the years we were up there. The challange is to become that, not a yo-yo club but a real prem side, so for me the chip on the shoulder went a long time ago, if it was ever there. I'm proud of my team, and taking more pleasure in being a Saints fan than I have done for probably 20 years.

Pardew is a competent manager but with Leibherr's resources and Corteses' business skills, there may well be a lot of other managers who could have done as well, and some maybe better. AP's eye for a player is good, but for me he is too cautious given the quality of his squad.

Not true that Solent doesn't broadcast during internet commentary - of course it does. I wasn't at the game today and listened to the first half on Radio Solent on my car radio in Sussex on 96.1. Got home and listened to the 2nd half on Saints Player - with short breaks in sound as others have said. Not enough to ruin the listening but still not acceptable quality for a paid-for service. BTW, Dave Merrington doesn't approve of 4-5-1.

Tranmere and Brighton were the last must win games. Even if Saints win all the remaining 7, Huddersfield cannot be caught if they win 4 of their last 6, or win 3 and draw 2. As for Saints winning 7 games in a row, er, no. The last 7 league games were:- LWLWWDW. But never mind, rebuild in the summer, and lets have no prevarication from Pardew, the target next year is to win the Division with a team that can go straight on to make an impact in the n-power Champ. It could be a brilliant season.

I agreed with Cortese's comment a few weeks back that given the resources and the quality of players recruited, the team should have done better, however, not being propmoted this year could be a very good thing. It has been a season of massive change but one when fans have become accustomed to expect to win games, certainly at home as well as some good results away. Close season is an opportunity to reduce the squad by moving out a some older players who are in decline and some younger ones who will not reach the level Saints should now expect, whilst bringing in one or two more of established quality. The target next season should not be the playoffs, or even automatic promotion, but should unquestionably be the League One title. Thats not just to get another pot to go in the cabinet, nice as that would be, but because the promoted squad needs to be good enough to be the basis of a team that will go on to have a real impact in the n-power championship the following season. For a 5-year plan to return to the Prem next season's team shaping is crucial.

What a dumb post, maybe made by someone not at the games. Pardew has sometimes got good results when starting out 4-5-1 but usually when he's changed the formation during the game. Hes also got some bad ones where crucial points have been dropped because the team is having to play in its own half too much. With this squad we should be much closer to 6th place, or is that a dumb comment as well? Cortese certainly thinks so.

I like Seaborne in defence. He gets about and provides very wide cover. Jaidi is a rock, but rocks don't move a lot, and he risks giving away free kicks with his pushing and shoving, whereas Seaborne usually gets to the ball first. As for Pardew's tactics, taking off a creative midfielder, even if he wasn't playing at hsi best, and replacing him with a DM was a backwards step, compounded by taking off a striker and replacing with another midfielder. In effect he replaced Barnard with Wotton so its hardly suprising the 3rd goal didn't come and the Os had opportunities to pile on the pressure towards the end.

We played far better at Brighton on Thursday but there the loan striker meant that possession didn't turn into goals. Today, Saints seemed to have trouble keeping the ball, maybe the presence of Scowcroft in the Os midfield made a difference, but at least the two strikers gave the midfield something to aim at, and kept some of the game up field. I just hope this display doesn't make Pardew go back into his defensive shell. Three comments about Brighton losing today - (1) they were missing about 3 players who played against Saints last week; (2) If football was that predictable would any of us be as interested! (3) I wish we had the two points dropped at Brighton by playing 4-5-1 for 75 minutes.

I was also struck by how many Brighton 'fans' were leaving early last Thursday, when the game could still have gone either way and with 4 mins added time.

If people only go to a game to watch their team win, rather than watch the football, they'd be better off doing spending their money on something else, and certainly not going to Burnley games. Even when Saints were struggling in the Prem and only won a handful of matches in the relegation season there were still around 30,000 fans at home games.

My personal assessment of AP is that he instinctively wants to avoid defeat first and win second. His changes from defensive to more attacking formations are sometimes enforced by events during a game but often late in the game. He sometimes sticks to 4-4-2 for the next match when to change it would mean changing a winnning team but he reverts to 4-5-1 very regularly despite having 3 of the most talented strikers in this league, all capable of playing at the next level.

I doubt if the panel had more than the statistics to go by, which would be the WDL of the players clubs and for strikers the number of goals scored. Even if they had some video highlights it would not tell a true story. What makes Rickie so good is not just his phenominal strike rate but also his overall ability as a footballer. The way he holds the ball up, reads the game and lays off to team mates are all things the panel wouldn't be aware of unless they watched him regularly. Maybe they did watch the short-listed players but if so, not enough to make a real comparison. Having said all that, lets not have him attract attention of clubs who might make him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Surely personal reasions are good enough. It could be absolutely anything from a a bereavement to an illness or a problem for a relative. There is no reason for fans to be told about everything that goes on in players' lives, we don't own them and they are entitled to some privacy.

1. Just because people are critical of Pardew should not be taken as a call for him to be sacked. It may also be (a) hope that he might learn from his mistakes and (b) hope that the chairman will pressure him to change his cautious approach. 2. Pardew has assembled a good squad by spending Leibherr's money wisely, possibly spending more than Cortese wanted. The quality in the squad should deliver results, and often has done so, but when results go against them, there is often a tactical or selection issue to question, as well as performance by the team. 3. Pardew could use some help with PR as his comments on the OS after a win or a draw tend towards making excuses as if its nothing to do with him.

On the ref debate, I did think he had a poor game. He allowed too much foul play early on and I thought Jaidi was fortunate to stay on the pitch let alone avoid being booked. The booking of a Brighton player for a dive was a good decision but there were several occasions when he over-ruled the assistants to play advantage when there was no advantage.

Thanks County Saint - its good to know I wasn't alone. But I have been in the home section of 5 or 6 other grounds and have never seen it as bad as last night. Usually its fewer people behaving badly and mostly under 20s. I've also taken away fans with me to SMS and to The Dell and never felt they have been subjected to the degree of foul language that we had at Brighton. Actually the last time I went to Brighton to watch Saints, 2 or 3 years ago, it wasn't anything like as bad as last night, but my Brighton supporting pal, said there were people there at the evening game who he doesn't normally see on a Saturday. They embarrassed him.

Sorry John, the reason Brighton did not win was because the substitutes and the enforced switch to 4-4-2 rescued a late goal. The real question is why did Saints not win, and thats down to team selection and formation. If 4-4-2 had been used earlier, or better still from the outset, Saints could have won because they had control for more of the game but were a striker short in attack. Sitting where I was in the south stand it looked very clear. I'm worried about Pardew's response on the OS because he makes the point that Connolly wasn't available for personal reasons, as if he would have played two strikers if Connolly had been there - but he left Barnard out, who then made his point by scoring within 15 minutes of being on the field.

By the way, I would say that the Brighton crowd contains some of the most foul-mouthed ignorant individuals that I have ever been unfortunate enough to sit near at a football match. To see grown men losing all self-control and having temper tantrums that made them appear more like teenage thugs than adults, was truly sickening.

I was in the Brighton South Stand on a borrowed ST and had a great view. Saints had by far most of the play but Brighton got their 2 goals, each during a short period when they got a bit more possession, and scored by attacking down the flanks and making good crosses. They could also have scored at least two more on breaks or from free kicks, caused by Jaidi being too slow and resorting to fouls. I thought he was lucky not to get sent off. When Saints had the ball they rarely looked like turning possession into goals. But they bossed the midfield for most of the game and Lambert was outstanding, holding the ball, laying it off, but never with enough support. Same with the wings, that when Antonio or Lallana got the ball down the wing, they had to hold up before crossing because there wasn't anyone to cross to, and by the time Saints had some people in the centre, Brighton had packed the defence. We had two chances from free kicks that came to nothing, but shouldn't have needed free kicks to win with that much control of the game. Then came the subs, very late on, but transformed the match. Seaborne was really impressive at the back. Fast, reliable, providing wide cover and then playing the ball instead of just hoofing it. He effectively replaced Jaidi and Wotton by his speed and he can get to the ball without having to climb all over the player in front of him. Two strikers made all the difference up front and turned the midfield possession into genuine goal scoring chances but Pardew had simply not given them enough time, just 15 mins - plus 4 mins added. He should have made at least two changes at half time to dump the 4-5-1 but the truth is that he should never have played so negatively. It might work against a weak side like Carlisle, but not against stronger teams like Brighton who get an easy ride from it.

Interesting thought following a comment, I think by AlfredKO. If France win the World Cup, will all the talk be about how they got there by cheating? Much as fans would still enjoy the outcome, there would be a sour taste in a lot of French mouths, and it wouldn't just be the garlic.

Tuned to Talksport by accident a couple of weeks ago. Kept it on for about 15 minutes and decided it wasn't for me. Won't make that mistake again.

Anybody wonder about the patch of sunlight contrasting with the deep shadows out of the patch of sun? Must surely affect the players.

I wonder if the penalty and the sending off are too harsh as punishments, giving such an advantage to the other team that players play for these outcomes, while refs are sometimes reluctant to act in case it 'spoils' a game. If the punishment for a foul was a free kick from further out unless a goal scoring opportunity was prevented, players would have less incentive to dive. And if instead of sending off, there was an enforced substitution, the game would not be spoilt for the fans and refs would be more readily prepared to apply the punishment. The game could be saved from cheating but it needs strong action by FIFA. It really doesn't make sense to say that cheating is OK if our team benefits, but not if the other team does. I agree with the idea of extra officials - that could be used at all levels of football - whereas TV replays may not always be available at every ground, even at the lower levels of the professional game, and they would slow the game down.

If its a matter of apportioning 'blame' for not being closer to the playoffs, there may be fault on both sides - chairman and manager. Pardew may have underestimated how much rebuilding was needed - but the new owners could also have been faster in making the funds available and recruiting the backroom team. To be fair to all of them, it was a massive job on both sides and it wasn't until the January window that the squad was completed. But it would make no sense for Cortese to blame Pardew. Both of them are good at what they do, so lets hope they will stick together.

Re the handball that gave Rickie his penalty for the first goal in the JPT final. It seemed a foolish decision by the defender, Murphy, as he could have been sent off under the rules of the game. Even if Rickie had scored anyway, that would have been better for Carlisle than playing for 80 minutes with 10 men - but Murphy hoped to get away with it, took the risk and he did stay on the pitch. FA advice to referees is that "deliberately handling the ball is normally punished only by a direct free kick, or penalty kick if the offence occurred inside the penalty area." The advice says that a caution or dismissal is not normally required, - which makes sense because even if the offence occurs in the penalty area it may not have prevented a goal being scored. - But the advice goes on:- "a player is sent off, however, if he prevents a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball. This punishment in Law arises not from the act of the player deliberately handling the ball but from the unacceptable and unfair intervention which prevented a goal being scored." That suggests that Murphy should have been shown a red card. But earlier there had been a scramble in Saints' area. Two Carlisle defenders were clearly being held back with arms round their bodies by Jaidi and Harding. Then one of them, Kavanagh made a theatrical 'dive'. The ref did nothing either for the holding offences, or for the dive, maybe he thought one cancelled the other out, but probably Carlisle should have had a penalty. My questions are:- does cheating matter as long as your team wins, and if it does, how can referees be made to apply the rules more throughly? If it doesn't matter, why bother with rules at all? PS - A great result and a fair one! Even if Carlisle had got the first goal there was no way they would have won such a one-sided game, but it would be nice if football was a more honest game.