Whitey Grandad

So, who are these 'staff at Staplewood' that are more important than the players or the manager?

A womanager? Or even worse, a personager?

You'll forgive me if I don't sit around waiting. At my age you don't have too much time left. Incidentally, MLT was at a question-and-answer session at a referees' meeting a few years ago and he was specifically asked about Hoddle. He said that there were certainly some games that we had won because of his tactical knowledge, but the players used to say that if he were made of chocolate then he would eat himself.

There's a few on here: http://www.deteracat.co.uk/ Let me know how you get on. I've always fancied an automatic water cannon but the ones I've found all seem to be a bit underpowered.

Exactly. It will take the wind out of our sails for a litle while so the new one will have to hit the ground running.

Only crazy if a replacement is not already lined up. We have only seen one side of the coin. As usual, I shall sit on the fence and reserve judgement until Mr. Newman has a dozen games under his belt.

Colder than ever. What's your point?

Even my missus would not be safe. Still, if he got the results it might be a price worth paying.

The big question is... have our chances of making the top two been improved by the change of manager?

Having looked at all the names above, I hear that Alan Pardew's free. HCDAJFU

Oh God! Now all we are ever going to hear is how things would have been so much better if only we had signed Lambert, or Hoddle, or ....

He was the right man for qualifying but the wrong man for the tournament. By the same token, I believe that we need a different manager for League 1 than we shall for the Championship.

Hmmm, then it all points to a decision taken at short notice, something in the heat of the moment, something that has been brewing up for several months. I suppose the delay until the next appointment will give us some indication of the amount of premeditation.

I did not read that as referring to the Rovers result, rather the fact that we have lost all pre-season and probably any prospect of new transfers. Additionally, we have brought in players over the closed season that any new manager might not rate. If this was the correct decision then the end of last season was the correct time to take it.

This effect is normally short-lived, typically one game, although to be honest I can't remember this effect ever working with Saints when we had a new manager, and we've had a lot of them.

As Daren W has said, it's the timing of the decision that I cannot understand. If Cortese and Pardew couldn't work together then the end of last season was the correct time to do it. Doing it now, at the end of the transfer window and after a reasonable start invites the obvious conclusion that the sad death of Markus has enabled Cortese to get his way.

I think that's stretching things a bit too far.

Then why choose him to start with? If Cortese thinks that Pardew is the wrong man after less than one season, then how can anybody have confidence in his next choice?

Because he can. It's a difficult job with very few priveleges apart from this one.

Well it made me smile. Sometimes you just have to take things in the spirit that was intended.

It's like changing your tyres after 1 lap of a Formula One race because you don't like the way the car is handling.

Am I correct in assuming that Cortese chose Pardew in the first place?

This is all so depressing. Anyone who expects a new manager to have instant results is very likely to be disappointed. I agree with Weston that we shall need a different manager to get us out if this league than the one who takes us to the Premiership. The only name that I have read that I think might fit that bill is Poyet. I started this season full of optimism but at the moment I have a nasty sinking feeling.

I've just found out. Oh FFS here we go again, have we learnt nothing from the past? Another two seasons lost whilst the new manager gets in his own men and the players he doesn't rate languish in the reserves. There's only three days left of the transfer window so we shall be stuck with a bunch of disillusioned players who can only see promises that will be broken. This new manager had better be something special. I assume that somebody must be lined up. If not, then this proves my concerns that Cortese knows precious little about football in the lower divisions. Who chose Pardew in the first place?

We do seem to suffer a lot with injuries, and have done for as long as I can remember. How do we compare with otther clubs? Maybe we just buy a load of old crocks.