trousers

It's only a planet, FFS

I'm just Googling for an accompanying picture as we speak. One sec....

Fair dos

Wotte was an intrinsic part of the "seamless team" that got us to where we were after 28 games, so to invite him to leave at the time of the initial march wasn't illogical. It's only since the protests and marches began that Wotte has made decent progress by instigating different tactics. So, no "confusion". Quite the opposite. HTH

Wotton. I always had an inkling we should swap an attacking midfielder for a defensive one against Brum. Fate could be dealing us an opportunistic hand here....or not as the case may be...

Surely there's no obligation to take up these extra cost benefits, is there?

Club statement: Saints boss Mark Wotte has issued the following statement in response to recent stories in press regarding Bradley Wright-Phillips and David McGoldrick. Wotte said: "I am aware of the allegations that have been made against my players. I have spoken to them both at length where they have explained to me what happened that night and I will support them 100%. "We are unable to comment any further at this time as the matter is under police investigation, however, I can assure our fans that everyone at the Club remains focused on the remainder of the season." http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/article.php?page_id=11461

..

Congrats to Saga - well deserved http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/articles/article.php?page_id=11459 Saganowski said: "I would like to thank all the Southampton fans who voted for me since January. It means a lot to me and I hope I can score even more goals before the end of the season. "Against Preston and Ipswich we fought harder than perhaps ever before. We played for each other more and we posed more of a threat in the last 16 yards of the pitch - Something you must do to score more goals. Most of all, though, we played with a better, more positive spirit. "If we were to repeat that kind of performance for the rest of the season, we'd win virtually all our remaining games because there are some very good players here."

Ffs

From the man who predicted Ipswich 0 - Saints 3..... Birmingham 1 Southampton 2

Fair play GreenTreeFrog. I'll step down from my provocative podium for now Agree we should all get behind the team and manager from here on in. I'm actually warming to Wotte and believe he could become a bit of a legend in due course....funnier things have happened.... COYR!!!

Count me in. Charge spectators a quid to spread the cost per player though....

Just for the record, it's not my "argument" it was a semi-hypothetical question. I actually agree with the supplementary "why Poortvliet?" question and indeed have asked it many times without any ITK replies...

You're forgetting that we're all owed a partial refund for the un-usability of the forum on match days.

Dodgy analogy alert... You contact a building firm to build you an extension. The building firm assigns you a project manager and a builder to complete the work. The project manager and builder both sit down with you to talk through the plans and convince you to try out a new revolutionary mortar that they are both very enthusiastic about. You agree, but with reservations as this type of mortar has only ever been proven to work on windmills before. The project manager leaves the builder to complete the work and you are happy with the finished extension, as it looks really good from the outside. However, over several weeks you start to see cracks appearing in the mortar. You repeatedly contact the builder who reassures you that the problems are superficial. After many weeks the extension shows signs of collapse. So, you give the building firm an ultimatum and, thus, they sack the builder and get the original project manager to come in and fix the problem for you. He looks at the mortar and says "hmmm, not sure that was the right thing to do in the first place, guvnor". We'll need to change that for you. So, he drills out 50% of the new revolutionary mortar and back-fills it with some good old fashioned mortar. You wait a few more weeks to see if this has done the trick and yes, it looks like the problem was resolved in the nick of time. Do you.... (a) congratulate the building firm and the project manager for his excellent patch up work and thank him for saving your extension from collapse or (b) acknowledge that they got it right in the end but insist on an explanation as to why the project manager went with the hair brained revolutionary mortar in the first place. :confused:

Cheers for that. So it sounds like the OS are being a smidgen over optimistic with their reporting, which isn't a bad thing I guess.

What does this succession plan now say about our next manager?

A supplementary location-based question from me.... Is there a stadium seating map anywhere online that shows the seat numbers at the end of each row (i.e. seats that are next to aisles)? I appreciate I can find out when booking tickets on the phone but would be handy to have this info to hand when booking seats online. cheers

Below is the first Wotte OS article just after he joined. This is what I mean when I say that I believe Wotte was a lot closer to influencing our first team strategy and performances during the first 28 games of the season than some others believe or suggest. There are several articles around this time that emphasise this. I know I'm guilty of dwelling on the (relatively recent) past here but, equally, we shouldn't be sweeping the whys and wherefores of this season's poor performances under the carpet either. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/search/?mode=movenav&page_id=10174 Mark Wotte is delighted to have made it to St Mary's two and a half years late! The Dutch coach was strongly tipped to succeed Harry Redknapp in December 2005 with the media presenting it as a done deal. But a sudden change of heart saw Saints opt for George Burley at the last minute. But now Wotte has been appointed as academy director working alongside Head Coach Jan Poortvliet, Reserve team boss Stewart Henderson and Under 18's coach Dave Hockaday. Wotte explained: "I was offered the job two and a half years ago and I was surprised I was not appointed but Rupert Lowe had a very good explanation. "It was a very difficult time for the club and it might have been too risky then. George Burley got the job - these things happen. "I kept in contact with Rupert Lowe by email and phone, even after he left the club. I like his ideas. "His not conservative but willing to do something else? He appointed Sir Clive Woodward - and I don't disagree with him because Clive has a lot of qualities which can help any professional club." When the call came a second time, Wotte had no hesitation in accepting the role alongside is fellow countryman. Although the pair have not worked together before, they share the same footballing philosophy and a strong belief in a passionate, attacking game founded on talented young players. He added: "A lot of coaches want to take all the decisions but Jan is very open-minded and we will discuss everything and work as a team with Stewart and Dave. "It is a very exciting challenge and one we are all looking forward to. this is a great club and now we need to get it back to the Premier League."

Cheers! Hic!

I've just spent over half hour reading back again through the OS articles published at the time that the "Dutch Duo" were installed and it's quite clear that Lowe and Wilde were promoting and endorsing the on pitch tactics as well as the overall infrastructure changes. IMHO of course

Lord Marland of Odstock would know....shame he doesn't post on here though......

By jove...I think I've got it.....is it celebrity chef James Martin?

Precisely. I've been posing the question "Who put Lowe onto Poortvliet?" for days now (or is that weeks?!) and no-one seems to have a Scooby....or maybe they do....?