Saint Charlie

Rein it in Dig Dig - debate sensibly or not at all big fella. Bet you aren't so macho at West Ham away?

But you will draw and lose some games to lower teams. The teams that win them all challenge for Europe...to stay up you need 10 wins probably - means you can draw and lose games along the way.

See the point but equally have only lost one of those games, and that was when we didn't have Gaston, Cork, Yoshida. At the end of the day if a team won all the games against bottom half teams they would be a top half side themselves - it just doesn't happen, each team has dangerous players and are not mugs.

If he doesn't play on Sat then perhaps there is some credence to the OP?

Agree - we have had a decent run, just need 4/6 points from these and we will be in a much better position than many thought after say the Spurs game.

After 8 points from the last 5 and two good home games coming up is Adkins job still untenable?

I am pretty sure that when NA said he went to watch Mayuka last season that he actually did, and wasn't just saying it to make me feel better when I listened to the Saints Player interview.

It would if we lost, see J Rod (who played quite well) in for Lambert at West Ham. Mayuka is also away in Jan - lets see what he is like after that. He certainly looks like he has a lot of potential.

If he played Mayuka instead of Lambert then the Forum would go mad....he can't win sometimes. The Prem is a hard league to play in, the pace, intensity etc - players need time to settle, and Mayuka is young. Yoshida he would have prefferred to allow to settle but Jos was so poor he had no choice.

Yep - good sterotyping. NA is naive to any European or Worldwide players

Yeah - he said this in the Saints Player interviews after they signed.

He definitely siad he had been out to Switzerland to watch Mayuka, and said he had watched Yoshida in the Olympics and the Scouts had watched him last season, unsure if NA did.

You said in the OP "For me it goes like this" and then listed Committee Signings and Non Adkins Signings. The Committe discusses everyone! Thats the whole point of it. Obviously Cortese sanctions the financials so he has a big say but if you remember Adkins said he watched Mayuka lots of times last season...its a team effort. Adkins is part of the Committee but there is a whole Recruitment Team, plus NC that makes that up - NA has an equal view, probably no more but the fatc he has watched some of the 'non Adkins' players last year makes it unlikely he was not involved in any of the discussions.

It is strange, but Rhys Williams got injured that weekend...

It does. There is zero chance that Adkins signed Clyne, Gazzaniga or Rodriguez without the backing of the other committee members. The whole point of a committee is that everyone is involved. Quite likely that NA wanted these players, and also likely the Committee also did. As others have said most prem teams recruit in this way, to split them out like that is so naive. Please explain how NA can sign players without the backing of the committee. You won't be able to to therefore all the signings, as Chez said, should be labelled Committee. By all means slag off the Committee, but put to bed this idea that some signings are Adkins or Cortese and some are the Committee - it doesn't work like that.

Quality pen too

Hopefully he will be back for Reading, he is the type of player who has made the difference in these games.

Not sure why anyone is surprised, we have heard his interviews for 2 years! He obviously doesn't speak the same way to the players so I'm sure he let them know we weren't good enough.

He doesn't need any advice from us, he has delivered back to back promotions and knows what he is doing. If anyone would advise him to strengthen the defence....do you really think NA didn't want to in the Summer? He isn't stupid...

Chelsea in for him in January according to the Mail, need to get him signed on a long term contract, anyone know his current contract length?

Agree he really looks superb. We need to get him tied down to a long contract like with JWP. Certainly doesn't look like Buttner was much of a miss. If he does need to come off while he adjusts to the pace of the Prem then FOx is capable for 10mins per game but I felt sorry for Reeves having to come on with so little Prem experience and not in his current position that he plays for the U21s. Shaw is definitely ready to be a regular. We have two really good young fullbacks.

Yeah Hoolahan is decent and Snodgrass not bad. Will be a tough game like all in this league, no complacency welcome!

Bit suprised so many are saying Mayuka out. Could understand if he looked crap in his few cameos so far but I have thought he looks a very exciting player, who with his age will only get better. Seems a bit silly to 'bin off' a player who has probably played 40mins in the Prem so far. To be you can only really say that Boruc seems an odd signing, and as others have said we could possibly have done better than S Davis but seeing as he was basically on a free and has a lot of experience it would have cost a lot more to get Biglia for example (at least 5+m) which might have meant we didn't get Gaston. If we are paying 2m for Yoshida then suggesting Dawson who QPR nearly paid 9m for doesn't seem that realistic - surely the suggestions are pointless unless they are in the same price bracket? Likewise Friedel - Spurs only signed Lloris on the last day of the window so they would never have sold us their no 1 keeper! Why would they? For me a player like Claudio Yacob is better than Davis and was also a free. Also in hindsight I wonder if the bedwetters are still annoyed that Reading's signings all seem way better than ours? I remember the threads saying we majorly missed out on Guthrie, Mariappa, MCCleary etc - laughable at the time, and even better now!

DPS knows that I havent bullied him - it is debate and a bit of banter about Saints FC but I never throw personal insults around to anyone on the board.

He has been class this season - the number of crucial interceptions he makes is also key and he has scored twice.