trousers

Well, that's one then. I'll keep a tally chart here. :-)

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many people fit in that bracket? Double figures? In the hundreds? I'm not suggesting that the lower the figure the less these people should feel disenfranchised, but just curious as to how many people we're actually talking about here who didn't (couldn't) renew because of the withdrawal of the payment scheme

Not forgetting that we didn't get permission to speak to Adkins until Tuesday this week (I believe)

Good news... http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2148880,00.html

Canard?

Thinking out loud, and the more I think about it, I'm wondering if Cortese's somewhat hermit like approach to running the club over the last 6 - 9 months was directly connected to him knowing something about Markus's health condition way before the inevitable happened and that he became understandably pre-occupied on getting everything in place before Markus's sad departure. His communication finesse to fans, the press, etc, would have been the last thing on his mind and I can now see signs that he is starting to come out of this self imposed tunnel that would have been a combination of grief for his friend and his single-mindedness in making sure that Saints were set up for the future. All obviously reading between the lines but what with the recent meeting with fans and The Sun I can see signs that Cortese is starting to find the time and will to focus on the non-business elements of running a football club again. Just some thoughts.

I still believe we will win automatic promotion

It gets a bear from me

Love him or hate him, when Redknapp singles out a relatively low profile manager for praise then you know he's got something. I'm actually beginning to think that we'd be losing out on a great catch if Adkins doesn't join us now.

Just read that too....only £50k...typo maybe?

Having read that I think it's now clearer why Cortese hasn't communicated more overtly to 'the fans' over the last 6 months or so. 'We' appear to have been caught up in his 'obsession' (and I don't mean that in a bad way) to suppress the media intrusion into club affairs. In other words, by blocking out the press he, by default, blocks us out too. He needs to find a middle ground whereby the fans can be given clarity in communication about events without giving too much rope to the media. These 'invitation only' Q&A also sound like a good idea to me. It shows a willingness to hear the views of a cross section of the 'fan base rather than just those who choose to put themselves in the fan spotlight. I think Cortese is a subtle shift in public relations management away from being a superb chairman for this club...

If only he'd said that at the time....

Even though it's Thursday today? (quite possibly a "whooooosh" moment for me there....?)

Any recommendations on the best 'new manager saga' thread to follow?

You mean he was up late at night reading the views on this forum....? ;-)

I did nothing of the sort

Southampton Football Club ("the Club") wishes to make clear that it is continuing its discussions with a number of potential candidates for the post of First Team Manager. Contrary to some highly misleading comments published this morning, the Club has made no ultimatums, has not made any approaches without appropriate permissions, and is fully aware that appropriate compensation payments become due where the candidate managers are currently under contract. The Club has acted in an entirely professional manner and will continue to do so. No further comment will be made on this matter until the Club has appointed a new First Team Manager.

This. Up until today I was in the "I'm prepared to give Cortese the benefit of the doubt" camp but my allegence is being severely tested at the moment....

Holy Mackeral

"Announcement" about Adkins or 'someone else'....?

New manager thread no.27 Great

Are candidates still being interviewed because Cortese doesn't have his man yet or is Cortese interviewing everyone who made the shortlist as a matter of course and courtesy to the applicants, even if he's pretty much made up his mind that he's giving the job to one of the earlier interviewees? Thanks