saint1977

Mills is a good player but so are Dickson and Harding. We are over subscribed for good left backs but are desperately short of pacy wide players (Puncheon doesn't count), and central midfielders. If we can get say £250k in January for Mills (plus a healthy sell on clause), we can use that towards buying Ryan Harley from Exeter (out of contract at the end of the season) who is miles better than any of our midfielders bar Lallana. In fact having Harley and Lallana in the same XI is a mouthwatering prospect. Hammond and Gobern can go to Exeter as part-ex as well although we'd probably need to sub some of Hammond's wages although after yet another shocking performance by Hammond at Huddersfield it would be well worth it. PNE might let Chaplow go on a nominal as well so we'd have Chaplow, Morgan and Harley - nice.

I think WGS was great for us and we were great for him. He'll look back on his time with us with fond memories and he'll probably move back to the area post-Boro. 2002/3 was only behind the 1983/4 season which was my first ever as a Saints fan and possibly 1989/90 where we finished 7th I think under Nicholl and MLT/Shearer/Rod Wallace/Case were all firing. Michael Svensson and Niemi were brilliant, he got Beattie and Oakley properly fit and playing the best football of their careers after there were rumours that neither player was a fit as they could be and he built on Hoddle's work in getting the very best years out of Claus. There was decline in 03/04 but then the club had a difficult decision - spend the money and gamble or bloat the squad with average players (Kenton). Lowe to be fair to him only owned a fraction of the club and even he knew we needed investment badly but Askham and mates would have had to have co-operated in the club's best interests! So we stagnated and appointing Sturrock and then Wigley said it all really.

Dickson is a very handy player - people remember the run and cross for Cleveland Taylor's diving header equaliser last year at SMS but he was also superb at Griffin Park, gave Semi a torrid time in the second half as the match effectively became Brentford FC Vs Kelvin Davis with Kelvin producing a string of stunning saves. Dickson I think was bought along with Richardson (who sadly we haven't seen yet - does anyone know when he will be playing again?) to fit into a wing back system that alternated between a 3-5-2 and 5-3-2 away from home. Richardson's injury put paid to that. He hasn't played LM yet when Rickie has been fit I don't think as Dickson has a very decent cross. Give the lad a chance - I like Dan Harding but Harding needs competition to maintain last season's standards and Dickson is a very useful player off the bench at present and who's to say he won't become something more as he's a good athlete and the sort of player Adkins would probably rate.

Shilts's book had a lot about his time with Saints and how proud he was to be part of what was probably our best ever side. He was at his best for us around 83-85/6 and he probably moved to Derby at the right time. He still had an aura about him though, the first season he played for Derby on returning to the Dell Danny Wallace got out-psyched on a one-to-one and Shilts played really well. I know this has been said millions of times but if we'd had Shilton in that Keegan/Channon/Moran side we probably would have won the title. My old man has always wondered about that possiblity.

This sounds like good business sense to me and I've always had the impression that there was more to the buying of our club than just the football. SCC's finances are allegedly not in a good way and that's before the upcoming CSR and large areas of the heart of City need a major overhaul and regeneration. So if NC and the family have plans, I would imagine SCC would be well advised to do everything they can to support and facilitate. Of course, the plans must be in the city's best interests but jobs and regeneration are usually good for an area's wellbeing and economy!

I think we are playing much better under NA and the organisation is much better and some of the players already seem fitter. Due to Guly's emergence we also have something different to unpick teams with and it is pleasing to see a Saints player other than Lallana demanding the ball to feet and the movement around him is so much better than 6 games ago. It also means that we have more options off of the bench (ie Ox-C and Barnard) than we had if we need to change a game which were sorely missed at games like Swindon and Rochdale. What we need now is another wide player with pace, another striker (Connolly will be paid up and released around Xmas IMO) and see if Chaplow can be had for a nominal fee and we will have quite some squad for L1. If Guly keeps this up when the weather turns nastier, I'd definately want to extend his deal beyond January.

I like Holmes but I'd play Dickson and Harding on Saturday as it will counter Sedgewick early on so Mellor and Tudgay don't enjoy an easy supply of crosses. Dickson can cross a decent ball but hasn't had many starts recently either so I'd bring Holmes on for him around the hour mark. Despite his stinking form, I'd keep Puncheon as we'll need him to track back early on as well but give him a different brief - support your full back,nothing flash but lots of running and tracking, get further forward where you can but play like a more conventional winger and get the ball in towards our front two as quick as possible. Morgan when possible needs to help out on the second balls off the strikers as the game goes on, Hammond or Wotton can sit in front of the back 4 and break up Wednesday pressure. Ox-C can replace him around 70 mins to give us a late injection of pace as Wednesday tire although if we are losing he'd come on earlier. We need to keep Wednesday and their crowd quite first half on Saturday, get a foothold on possession gradually and attack any set pieces aggressively. Our back 4 are going to be heading the ball plenty. After 60-70 minutes all being well, we'll then have a platform for the more offensive Holmes and Ox-C

Agree with VFTT and Trousers, Cable is a refreshing departure and if Gordon Brown had listened to him we might not be in quite the same level of mess now. I don't agree with everything Vince says and I wish his grasp of science and R&D was better but I suppose that's what David Willetts is there for. I really do agree with what Cable is saying though in this speech - capitalism can function perfectly well without some of the idiotic and unquantified risks that were taken in the last 10 years and people in the City can still make a packet without bringing the entire global markets down. The likes of the CBI need to pull their head in and support the Government's push towards regulation as we the taxpayer have had to clean up THEIR members' mess big time and they need to remember that Labour would probably have hit them far harder after having their fingers burned in office by being allegedly a bit too close to Fred the Shred and others. Not a fan of the RMT - I do think Trade Unions have a role in making employers follow their own procedures and behave professionally - but not the old-style activism that Crowe represents.

I think NA will have funds - after all why would he have dropped a division otherwise? He is probably just seeing exactly what he has available to him and working out what his loan/perm budget is and what positions he can strengthen with whom for that money. Good point on Brandy, has to be worth a trial at least. I also recall him saying that he was likely to strengthen once he'd assessed the squad and his options.

Had to miss the Orient game and was ill and couldn't travel for Bristol so last goal I saw was Ox-C v Bournemouth and whilst the finish was impressive we were handed that one by a mistake. The first goal was all about Lallana's magic. Otherwise, the team haven't looked like scoring full stop. Still, 2 or 3 loan players in today with express pace should sort it out and give our other players more time to hurt the opposition. They don't have to refined - Antonio proved that last year - but they must be fast. That will help us get back up the table until Lallana, our best player by far and the best in this division, gets fit. Still, if you look at how far Lallana improved last season there may be hope yet but time is running out for the team.

I have been critical of Hammond on here and yes he is far from the only player in the side in stinking form. However, remember that these lads are on, in some cases, many times more a week than their peers at this level and so being consistently outplayed and outfought really is not on. Hammond as the skipper ought to be at least showing some fight and leadership but he's been almost as insipid as Lambert and Puncheon. I agree with those that say putting Guly in at Wednesday is too risky but we need to strengthen with at least one new CM and probably two anyway as we only have Morgan, Hammond and Wotton really, Puncheon struggles in the middle. Put a new CM in there that is more pacey and dynamic along with a new pacy winger to replace Puncheon and a new striker so Lambert can the groin or hernia op he seems to need. Giving the armband to Fonte might help Jose get back to his form of last season.

Yeah, sums it up for me. Good subs by Adkins which got us ticking over in the second half and with decent, fit strikers (Barnard is decent but reportedly injured and is Rickie injured?) we'd have won today. Still, get Agyemang and A.N.Others with blistering pace and/or height and we might just make a game of it in West Yorkshire next week. With Antonio and Waigo, we were a very different and far superior team last year and went from top 10 side to top 2 form, let's hope Adkins can find some pacy gems for 2010/11.

The second half was a big improvement and well done Adkins for getting Harding and Puncheon off the pitch for ignoring his instructions and replacing them with Dickson and Holmes who were a breath of fresh air. Unlikely that Harding and Puncheon will read this but if they do - get to the effing byeline and put the ball in as quickly as possible. For me, we must start at Hillsborough with Dickson and Holmes on the left, what a shame Holmes never stays fit as he can cross a ball way better than anyone else in the squad. If we had a fit and interested target striker , we might even start scoring again. Sorry Rickie, you were great last year but your credit from that has expired. If you are carrying an injury, FFS get surgery because you are as mobile as a combination of Akinfenwa and Neil Shipperley circa 2010 at the moment. We've got 8 of a starting XI for Sheff Wed, just need to take Hammond, Harding and Puncheon out of the side. Still need 3-4 loans this week with pace, good shout whoever said Agyemang. I'd keep Lambert in but would arrange a 90 minute behind doors game midweek and assuming Rickie isn't injured play him for all of it and repeat every week for him and the others that are carrying weight to get sharpness. To those moaning about Puncheon and the crowd, whilst I'm not a fan of booing players, I do have sympathy with those that are fed up with him and I can't think that at any other club in England he'd still be getting a game given his lack of attention to the most basic aspects of his job. When you think he's probably on several times his peers, sorry, buck your ideas up Jason and show the fans they are wrong and display some spirit.

I was impressed with his post-match comments. He didn't try to fob anyone off with Wilkins-type excuses, he knew the second half performance was a shocker but feels that he probably has about 7 or 8 Southampton calibre players from the first half display, esp Morgan and Chamberlain. Reading between the lines, he knows we lack pace and width so expect movement soon, possibly today or tomorrow on that. He'll have observed Hammond and one or two others need shipping out as their wages are too high to be back-up players (there are better free transfers available). Puncheon really must sort himself out, the reference to his set pieces from NA was very obvious and rightly so, Puncheon is very lazy and needs discipline. I think he'll bring in 6 or 7 new faces that can cope with playing with a club our size and history and hopefully that will disperse the negative vibes and we can ship a few of these losers out of the squad that NA doesn't want.

Forte is quick and would give us width and would score more at this level so that's a yes from me if it was a possibility (can't see NA raiding them though). Le Fondre would be a big lump of money to spend but if NA thought he was worth it and NC and the Liebherr's were happy to back him, why not? If NA thinks that he could be developed into a £10m player that we sold to say Villa in 2 years that's great value particularly if he gets 20 goals this year and gets us out of this division. It would also send a message to Lambert and Barnard - perform or the bench. Right now, a past-it Connolly isn't going to worry them much. Besides which, Le Fondre and Lallana (when fit again in 6 weeks or so) would tear teams at this level apart in movement.

I was thinking more in January if their attitude hasn't bucked up and then we have time to bring in reinforcements beyond loans and free agents. Adkins strikes me as the sort of man that will be patient in the time that players produce improvement for him but will not tolerate billy-big-boy apples in the barrel. Let's just say the unfit had better get fit quickly as I think NC will back his new manager with resources.

Top post and I'm sure NC would agree with it as well. NA is not daft, he'll know that there's no honeymoon period here and that a win is essential and expected at MK. If he doesn't get the right response, watch out, I can see the likes of Puncheon and Hammond playing in L2 out on loan and Lambert dropped until he gets his fitness at an acceptable level. We can't afford to lose any more than about three more games this season so the players are going to have to sort out their own mess. The pressure will still be there and rightly so, their performances and attitude have been abysmal. Apart from those out of contract, the rest can forget about a move if we don't go up (unless we want rid of them), they can stay and put it right as an apology to the fans. The fans feel lukewarm about this team, it's up to the players to change. Winning tomorrow night and V Colchester on Saturday would be a start.

Rushing about? Some of them this season have been waddling about and then leaning on their haunches blowing out of the backsides. The first thing Adkins may be advised to do is to get 4 loan players with raw pace in. Second is to get our existing players to an acceptable level of fitness. Third is to get Lallana to extend his deal. Fourth is to loan out one of the spare left backs. Fifth is to draw up our targets for January so that we can have another surge of wins like last season and to work out which players (hint Dean Hammond) we are going to move out of SMS.

The poster on 606 may be full of it but there could well be in truth in the suggesion nevertheless. Puncheon, Lambert and Jaidi look in horrible condition, Puncheon looks about 3 yards slower this season, I can't believe he was the same player that terrorised Leeds last season. Hammond looks a bit on the heavy side as well. I'd drop all of them bar Lambert who I'd play into fitness and get the new loan players in the side instead to inject some pace and urgency. Disgusted really that Saints just have not learned from the past, the only manager in recent times that has set up a decent pre-season programme was WGS and look at the results. I have a hunch that NA got the best of the Scunny lads by a big emphasis on fitness so the pie and chips members of the squad should be worried. Just watching Villa destroy Stoke. I know Villa have got superb quality players but look at the express pace ripping Stoke apart and that is an experienced Stoke backline too. We need 4 loan players with express pace for the Colchester game in midfield, wide and up front, MK is too soon. That has to be the main criteria for our new loan/perm deals, raw pace. We've got people that can work with the ball so speed is the key.

Welcome to Saints Nigel. Now we've got this out of the way at last a quick viewing of this season's matches (bar Bristol Rovers where I was ill and couldn't go...) will reveal that we are lost without Lallana and that Jaidi, Lambert and Puncheon need to be put on a diet and that the captain is probably the worst midfielder that he's ever seen (unless he's seen Paul Wotton). Hopefully he'll get on the phone to all of these Premier League and NPC managers that all say they admire him and produce four loan players with pace, steel and a will to win (sadly lacking this season). I want him to remind our overpaid failures that they are lucky to be at our club and this honuor now has to be earned along with the fans respect. A ban on player comment bar Fonte as first team captain on the OS would be helpful, all comment is to be in goals and wins. "Unlucky" is a banned word. Forget the favourites tag, the players have to show NA and the fans they deserve to be here and once they do that, the season will start proper.

No, but NA can bring in quick loan and forward players so that we can release Connolly (who at other clubs has allegedly not been a positive influence when out of the side) and bench Lambert and if he is not fit, get him a series of reserve friendlies to sharpen up and lose a stone or two. The midfield is the biggest problem, the only Southampton calibre one we have is Lallana although Chamberlain is getting there at a young age and will only get better. Hammond and Morgan were a joke yet again, neither of them move to seek possession and what does Hammond actually offer? He doesn't screen the back 4, he can't really tackle without getting booked, has no pace and has little attacking threat or leadership qualities. Two new CMs please that will actually pass, move and get the team moving. Puncheon is Saganowski MkII, brilliant at times last year for us and MK but seems happiest on loan so let's see if another club can shift his huge bulk of fat and then try and get his motivation back so he comes back to us looking like he gives a toss.

I, like CB Fry and others have my doubts about NA as this is not a job for the timid and is a big, big challenge. He's going to have to bring in at least 4 loan signings with pace straight away and probably prepare to get rid of quite a few faces in January (Hammond etc). He also has the problem of by far our best player and the best player at this level, Adam Lallana being injured and out of contract at the end of the season. We will lose games and stay in the bottom four until we get some pace and steel in the side. Without that and Lallana, we are a very, very poor League 1 side. We need to loan out one of the surplus left backs. Once Richardson is fit, Butterfield can cover across the back four so probably don't need to reinforce there with Martin's impressive emergence. Hammond and Morgan both need dropping as they are not Southampton calibre although Morgan shows flashes, we need two pacey box to box players, one wide player with blistering pace and at least one striker to put a rocket up Lambert and Barnard's backsides. Connolly - pay him up and go on a free, miles past it, poor error by Pardew keeping him on. I still think we lack leadership but getting Hammond out of the side will help. NA has to throw down the gauntlet and forget the favourites tag, these players have to justify that they deserve to represent Saints first, only 5-6 of them have so far constently earned this. I'm away for the next two games so hopefully when I am back NA will have brought an iron rod from his old club and really shaken up our lazy, overpaid flops and brought in lots of pacy, motivated new signings and booted the likes of Puncheon out of the squad.

Unlikely as Phil Brown has spoken to the media two or three times already which NC won't like. I think it has opened the door for Shearer who may have just shown the same timing and opportunism that he displayed as a player. South Today reported his interest last night and it makes me wonder if it has made NC think "do I want to pay £500k for a NPC manager on a 12 month contract" - assuming that is an accurate figure. NC perhaps expected NA to make his decision for him by doing a Paul Lambert but Adkins seems loyal and perhaps this coupled with the comments of his opposite number in Lincolnshire has changed his mind. I wouldn't be surprised if Keegan acts as an ad hoc football consultant between Shearer and Les Reed as Keegan and Reed go back years. Keegan and Shearer are both media savvy as well and might help NC clear up his media difficulties.

Good post this and has made me re-think my initial feelings on this. The players can help Nigel out by doing their job and getting the three points that they should be taking if they can be bothered at Swindon on Saturday. A win would give us all such a boost and give Nigel real forward momentum. In fact, I would say Swindon is our biggest game in the club's recent history - win and then win the game in hand and we are right back on track for automatic promotion. Lose and we are on the verge of being out of it. If the players can't show some effort and application for a new manager, it might be time to use the 5 loans up and for Nigel to get rid of a few that couldn't do it consistently for Pardew either. I'm sure the first thing Nigel will spot is the chronic absence of pace and that one or two players (Puncheon and Jaidi esp) are carrying a few too many pounds.