Professor

One of the least successful Prem managers is...........wait for it.........Nigel Adkins.

To those who think Adkins should have been sacked before a new manager was interviewed and appointed, do you really believe that an interim manager for a few weeks, maybe Jason Dodd, would have been a good idea when we only have 16 games to avoid relegation? As for the new coaching staff, it is just possible that Pochettino, knowing he was coming to work in England and only has limited command of the language himself, might have considered whether any of his support staff could speak English or to what extent interpreters might be needed. On the other hand perhaps the players are all spending the weekend learning Spanish.

Sorry Hypo, but you can't know that. Many fans will be more concerned that the team starts winning games rather than worrying about what Nigel Adkins does next, which will probably be to work for another lower league club. Whatever he does, good luck to him, but it is also true that like the Chairman, some fans were not convinced by NA. Despite the two promotions he didn't actually win either L1 or the Championship on the way and last year's promotion almost slipped away towards the end. His record on transfers-in is not brilliant as several have been used only as substitutes. His record this season is not without blemishes, even with all the drawn games recently, because we are still just on course for 38 points and possible relegation. But like it or not, we have to move on and any fan who wants to see the Saints in the top half of the Prem or just comfortable mid-table, can play their part by supporting the team regardless of who is manager. It does look like MP is someone with all the right credentials so to adopt NA's own approach, we should draw a Blue Line and move on.

Probably because he only left Espanyol in November, just 2 months ago, there are no clubs in Spain with a managerial vacancy, he isn't Spanish and has said he wants to work in the Premier League because it is currently seen as the top League in Europe. Trying to undermine him with comments like that made by G_S is not in the interests of SFC, so lets get behind MP and wish him well.

As someone who just wants the best for our club, I believe you have to rise above sentiment and support decisions that are made in the best interests of having a successful team. I see the new manager as an exciting development and a statement of intent, because it will have cost the club a significant sum in NA's compensation. Having said that, I'm disapointed that the OS could not have been used by the Chairman to divert some of the criticism of the decision to sack Adkins, by including a positive appraisal of his time here and an explanation of why the decision was taken. That would have taken some of the steam out of the predictable outcry. Instead, the OS couldn't even get the date of the managerial change right by saying in the article on MP's appointment that his first game in charge would be on Mon 21st December! Be interesting to see if that mistake gets covered up.

Anyone who stages a protest should be ignored by real fans simply because protests can only help the opposing team. Any so called Saints' fan who wants to do that should examine their motives. As others have said, the decision has been taken and is irreversible therefore nothing can be achieved by protesting. The new manager played no part in the decision and his objectives are the same as the fans, to have a successful team. Only Saints' fans who are as stupid as some of the ignorant individuals amongst the Chelsea support should protest, so let the rest of us ignore them and support the team.

1. Fans of SFC will want the team to do well in The Prem, regardless of who is the manager; 2. Maurico Pochettino looks more like a football manager than Nigel Adkins; 3. We have signed a quality CB who I expect to see as a regular starter in the first team; 4. Football managers are more likely to be judged on results rather than on being a 'nice bloke'; 5. There are more important things in life than football, as long as you aren't in it for a living.

Does anyone seriously believe that Nigel Adkins is (or was) the best football manager in The Premier League? Every manager has his weaknesses and Nigel had his. Cortese and his advisers would have been better placed than most of us to know what they were, but even fans on here have questioned how the manager has used some of the players brought in, his team selections, formations and tactics. All of that is arguable, but if he's judged on results the fact is we are close to the relegation zone with some tough games coming up. It certainly wouldn't have made sense to wait until relegation was so close that a change of manager could not have helped. Pochettino may not be the best manager in Europe either for all we know, but he does seem to have a good reputation and I can imagine the players having more respect for his playing experience, which may have been one of Nigel's weaknesses. What does matter is that as fans we give our support to Southampton Football Club, not to individual players or managers who inevitably will always come and go. Sensible fans must want Pochettino to be a success because if he is, the Saints will do well. The reaction of some fans, who seem to put the interests of one manager above the interests of the team and the club looks rather immature. The last time we had a reaction against losing a manaager, prior to Pardew, was when Nigel Pearson left and although he's done OK since then and is doing very well at Leicester, NP has yet to prove himself at Prem level. COYS

Anything that keeps us up will justify Adkins' sacking as there is no guarantee that we would have stayed up if he had remained. Over 40 points would confirm it because based on Adkin's record of 22 points from 22 games he was on course to reach 38 points for the season. That would have been 2 points above the relegation zone last year but would have meant relegation the previous season. A point per game is not good enough and 2 wins in the last 10 games probably sealed Adkins' fate. Not losing isn't good enough if all you do is get draws as 38 points from 38 games will usually mean you go down.

Great news about the signing. Welcome to Southampton, Vegard, I hope you do as well as your Scandinavian predecessor, Michael Svensson of Sweden. Whilst its very sad for Nigel Adkins that he should have gone just as you have come in, it does mean there's more chance of you getting a start in the team, which has not been the case with some of the club's previous signings, who have mostly been used to warm the bench.

Managers come and Managers go. We still don't know why the close season was a failure as far as transfers went, it may have been down to Cortese rather than Adkins, but as a fan, its the future of the Club that matters, regardless of who is the owner or the manager. The personal ownership of what used to be locally based clubs is not a good thing, but we have to live with it. If anyone is seriously thinking of a protest, they need to ask if that will help us win the game against Everton. If it won't, then don't do it.

I must have missed the 'Our one goal is survival' statement from the club. When was that? I thought they had told fans that the objective was European football and that SFC would not be a YoYo club. Alpine's criticism of the 2012 summer transfer activity is well made and with staying up still a battle, it seems reasonable if we do survive, to expect the club to do better in 2013. In hindsight, Clyne was a good signing and has been a success. Yoshida, after a stuttering start has been a regular in the side but was only one CB when Adkins wanted 2 and was signed too late to affect the poor start to the season. Gazzaniga wasn't able to hold the GK slot and the signing of the second CB has been delayed until the Jan window. The most expensive summer signing, Ramirez, can't hold a regular starting place in the team, and neither can Mayuka. Even Rodriguez, has tended to play off the bench rather than from the start. For the money spent you might have expected more players brought in who were unquestionably better than what we had.

Accounts for why he wasn't selected for the u-19s

The loan out of Seaborne shows that Forren is a done deal so that we will still have 3 fit CBs for the Everton game. The Everton game being on Monday has meant that the signing is not as urgent as it would have been if the team were playing on Saturday. I'm sure we can forget about the speculation and simply wait for the announcement on the OS.

Why is Luke Shaw not in the squad? Maybe there are age limits that prevent his selection, otherwise as a regular first choice LB for a Prem side, surely he would be a strong candidate unless his selection is blocked by a qualification rule?

Alain, with your name I wonder if you also speak French. As with Norweigan, translating from French requires a reworking of sentences. You cannot just apply an English meaning to each word. My French is quite good and I can understand what people are saying but the more difficult part is often finding the appropriate English words to create the same meaning. It will be the same with Norweigan which is why the translation software has to be treated with caution.

When the whole squad is available there are probably two line-ups to consider as our "best 11", these are 4-5-1 and 4-4-2. Of these, obviously the 5-man midfield is the more negative one that Adkins tends to use away to top sides. My 2 'best 11's', if that's not illogical would be: 4-4-2:- Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Cork, Lallana, Lambert, Rodriguez. 4-5-1:- Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Cork, Ramirez, Lallana, Lambert. I see AL in the best 11 in both line-ups with J-Rod and Ramirez as next in line.

BBC annoying again this morning on Breakfast, by saying Chelsea 'threw away' a 2 goal lead as if it was an accident that Saints scored two brilliant goals, while Ba's first goal only went in because of a deflection off Yashida. No mention of that at all. Then the reporter said that Saints offered nothing in the first half which is entirely inaccurate.

A point is great but you have to ask why our top goal scorer was on the bench until the 55th minute when he came on and scored within 2 minutes. Surely Adkins can';t rate Guly above Rickie, and above Ramires come to that. Given how well they played and the possession football, the extra class that was available could have made this 3 points instead of 1, so my report would be 'Done Well - Could have Done Better'. Having said that, my brother who has a season ticket at Chelsea was at the game and I'm looking forward to our next football chat because he thought the moneybags team had 3 points in the bag and would start to get away from Spurs in the table.

Commentators on the TV stream have just spoken about Lambert being left on the bench tonight and the negative message that Adkins has given his team by doing that. How on Earth can Guly be a better choice than Rickie?

Logically, the manager should identify his targets with an understanding of what budget is available but ultimately it must be the Chairman who decides simply because the manager is judged on team performance, not on budgetary control. It follows that a manager would be willing to spend unlimited amounts if he had the freedom to do so. Communication between the Chairman and the Manager would seem to be the key.

It was interesting to hear about Liverpool fans finding it hard to take that Southampton had out-manouvered them in the signing of a quality player. A club's 'history' has no bearing on its future and Liverpool fans old enough to remember when their team was consistenly winning league titles must already be noticing that they have to look further down the table for their club now. If the signing goes ahead it will be nice to have put one over on a club that relies more on past and fading glory than it does on current performance. Having looked at Forren's background and what has been written about him, I'm very surpised that Liverpool didn't get him signed up before they alerted other clubs to his availability, and probably insulted him, by demanding a 'trial'. Forren was discovered by Molde FK in 2008 when they met KIL/Hemne in the first round of the Norwegian football cup with Forren and two other young players impressing highly in a 3-1 victory. The three were invited to trial for Molde in a junior tournament following which Forren signed a 5 year deal with Molde. It is reported that he took the top Norweigen league by with storm and that European clubs, A.C. Milan, Newcastle, Liverpool and Hoffenheim have all watched him play. But Forren said that he was still young and had a long career in front of him so he would stay at Molde for a while, before moving to a bigger European league. He said that . He has also been l.inked with Lazio and F.C. Copenhagen and after winning the Norwegian league with Molde in 2011, the club rejected two offers from Club Brugge in December 2011. Forren made his debut for Norway U21 in 2008, playing a total of 14 matches for the under-21 team and scoring three goals. He was later capped twice for the under-23 team. He made his full debut for Norway in January 2012 as a substitute, but since October 2012 he has been first choice alongside Brede Hangeland in Norway's central defence.

The Echo report is very positive and when did they last get anything Saints-related, wrong? Looks like he'll be signed today or tomorrow. The cancelled trial with Liverpool because of SFC's bid being accepted puts us in the driving seat and even if QPR threw more cash into the ring, why go to a club that looks more likely than us to be relegated. True, the player admits that the Premier League is faster than what he's used to but he points to his Europa League experience. Can see him needing a few games to acclimatise but with Jose out for six weeks he's going to get that! An international CB, just what we needed.

Sorry Whitey. An attempted foul is also a foul but what a shame that your politeness deserted you in making you use sarcasm to correct a fellow Saints' fan. It remains my opinion that the ref gave the penalty for the dive, not J-Rod, but the GK's dive on Puncheon.

Watched the game on a computer link and felt for the first time this season we appeared to be playing with a goalkeeper.