derry

My son is a mate of a senior Reading first team player, I got him to ask about Bignall. 'He's good, really quick and strong, a bit raw at times, but has got a great strike on his left foot, can play wide, but is better up the middle'. He sounds like a good signing if only for the short term.

My son is a mate of a senior Reading first team player, so I got him to ask about Bignall. The answer, 'he's good, really quick and strong, a bit raw at times but has got a great strike on his left foot, he can play wide but is better up the middle'. It sounds like a good signing but only short term.

I think they have to repay a total of £287m ish by 15th October. Most of it to RBS plus about £60m to another bank.

Nigel Adkins was my no1 choice after seeing how his team played three years ago against Saints. Ever since then I have been following his performances along with Sean O'Driscoll, Lee Clarke and latterly Eddie Howe. I hated the way Pardew played and excused some dire performances and abject tactics by blaming pitches. FFS nobody forced him to play narrow up the muddy bits. Adkins won't be doing this, on the bad pitches he'll have the team playing right out on the touchlines. Since he has arrived he has addressed all the issues I had with Pardew's battering ram aerial bombardment. Width, possession, insisting that the ball isn't given back to the opposition, playing out from the back, leaving two players up defending corners, attacking corners with movement and starting outside the penalty area instead of just standing in the six yard box, Kelvin Davis trying to help out with crosses. Adkins is a breath of fresh air and the football the team are trying to play will get better, slicker and quicker as they get more used to it. I'm delighted we have got rid of Pardew because I thought from early on in his tenure that he was a bull****ter that didn't have much depth or talent as a manager, unlike Nigel Adkins, and really wasn't going to take us where the management wanted to go. I personally think the major issue that the management had with Pardew, was that they hated the way he had the team playing. Markus Liebherr and Nicola Cortese were brought up watching European teams passing the ball and retaining possession and found the Davis to Lambert difficult to understand and just didn't want their team to play that way. Hence the statement in May about a more compelling style of football. It was obvious that Pardew either couldn't, wouldn't, or didn't have a clue how to deliver the passing game they wanted, which is the way Nigel Adkin's teams play and why Pardew was sacked and Adkins brought in.

He paid our taxes to HMRC.

There should be qualifying criteria to receive any state benefits. Namely, you can only take out to the limit already paid in. I suspect to do that we would (not before time) have to come out of Europe.

We probably won't play them again at SMS for another 50 years. One more match and we can forget all about them again.

Personal abuse and a lack of respect for others views should be stamped out. It is easy to hold a constructive discussion with people that are willing to disagree and argue intelligently and constructively. There are quite a few that now refuse to put arguments forward because of the abuse they receive. In the main they are much more knowledgeable, constructive and interesting than the abusers who trot out the same old rubbish.

It was in this mornings Echo that David Jones had left the club.

It was nice to see a Saints team actually look like a football team. The team had decent shape and passed the ball well. Importantly it is good to see the confidence coming back. Nearly all the players are getting back to normal but Lamberts mobility is still a bit lacking. It was nice to see us leaving two up at defensive corners and at attacking corners creating movement from the edge of the box and running in rather than just standing in the box. Kelvin Davis now trying hard to pass the ball at the back. The new manager is swiftly sorting out the previously woeful pattern and we are beginning to look like a real football team. If Lambert can pick up the pace we will be a real threat. Today Bournemouth looked like a decent team, with a bit of pace and good passing, but not a powerful one. On the other hand we looked like a strong team.

Are Bournemouth still in the Carling Cup?

I suspect that the biggest issue is the lack of confidentiality by the Bournemouth Chairman during the ongoing negotiations with S****horpe. Due to the timescale alone, Nigel Atkins was offered the job and agreed terms which was the easy bit, it was the compensation negotiations that took the time. It is highly likely that alternatives were explored should the employment of Adkins be impossible. There is no doubt that Howe was interviewed by Saints with the blessing of Bournemouth. It would also be likely that Howe was contacted to see if he was interested in the job if the negotiations broke down. It may well be that Howe then ruled himself out. That doesn't mean that he was offered the job, apart from his real intentions being ascertained as contingency planning. Neither Howe or Mitchell needed to comment at that stage as Howe had ruled himself out and delicate negotiations were ongoing elsewhere. The fact that Mitchell chose to go public and announce that Howe had turned down Southampton, had more to do with trying to get one over Southampton, an inferiority complex, ego, spite over the bar bill/hospitality issues, etc than letting his own supporters know the good news. It is behaviour that reflects badly on the barrow boy mentality rather than on the confidentiality that is adhered to in all the business dealings of SFC.

I don't set out to be contraversial, however I wasn't impressed by Pardew's appointment because of his recent record especially at Charlton. Having sat through every game at SMS since his arrival and been forced to watch some horrendous dross, even if the end result justified the means, I personally want to see more than that. I certainly am delighted that Pardew has gone, as he has done nothing in the time he was here that could persuade me that he was in any way the manager to take us forward. I am delighted by the appointment of Nigel Atkins and have often named him along with Sean O'Driscoll and Lee Clarke as the sort of football manager I would like to see here. I have criticised the narrow way we played and the reversion to hoofball under Pardew which is being dispensed with under the new management. It is significant that Adkins was critical about the reversion to the long ball at Yeovil and the fact he looks for his teams to be balanced, play the full width of the pitch and picks players on their strongest side. All things that I have consistently criticised Pardew for ignoring. In a short time this team will be unrecognisable and much more enjoyable to watch under Nigel Adkins.

Adkins big problem is to get rid of the ingrained Kelvin boots it up to Lambert, but mostly to the centre backs hoofball and narrow crap, favoured by Pardew. Getting rid of Pardew was the best bit of news since Markus Liebherr came as far as I am concerned. As for Nigel Adkins he has certainly over achieved in his last four seasons on 6k crowds.

Pardew has been fired from his last three jobs and is pretty much damaged goods. If there is fall out from his time at SMS, it will soon be common knowledge in the small world of football. He may get a rescue job somewhere desperate, but it would be a surprise if he picked up another desirable job soon.

One thing that can be put down to a lack of match fitness, is the pattern the early season games followed, we played well for about half an hour and dominated, then let the opposition back in the game, followed after half time by the opposition dominating the second half.

The pre season should have been initial fitness work, followed by two or three matches with the first team squad playing together, followed by three or four progressively more intensive matches with the basic first team playing most of the matches working on teamwork, set pieces etc, with a final first team match against good opposition. The playing of mixed development and first team games against poor opposition where most of the players played no more than 45 mins each with nearly half a team that will never play in the first team this year was rediculous. The two early matches were out of sequence and wasted. The first team didn't play as a team until the first league game which again was rediculous. The conspiracy theory is that Pardew wanted out but wanted the compensation. That together with a deteriorating relationship with the chairman led to the team not being prepared in a proper manner. The question has to be asked, the players are allegedly professionals who should know how fit they were, how match fit they were, and how ready they were for the league. If the players felt they weren't individually fit enough, it would have been easy to carry out their own private regime to guarantee they were fit despite the club's regime. I can't believe they didn't know they weren't fit nor can I understand why they didn't do something themselves. Lee Barnard trained himself during the pre season and came back very fit and strong, which has been shown by his performances. Why didn't the others?

1989, Kuala Lumpur, Saints beat Liverpool 4-0 with youngsters brought in. 2002, Easter Island, Lima, Guayaquil (Saints live beating Liverpool. Riise own goal), Phomn Penh, Ayers Rock, Agra, Goa. Otherwise all over the world and whilst airborne on BBC world service on the a/c HF radio any Saturday etc that Saints were playing.

I thought the reason for being out was the surgery.

Thanks Duncan. It does seem to be doing the rounds including the UI. I think along the same lines as yourself, Canada, Teddy and Clifford. However as Colin implied logic isn't much use in football. I'm relaxed about NC, happy about the owners, pleased that Pardew is no more and look forward to the sort of football Nigel Adkins believes in. I think he is one of the very best outside the Premier.

Various rumours, plus it's on the ugly inside, but that appears coincidental.

Worryingly my information had nothing to do with the UI rumour and was told to me on Tuesday morning. I would think Duncan's hint was from a similar source. I'm pretty sure that Cortese and the Liebherr family have been disappointed with the reaction regarding Pardew's demise. I hope though that it isn't true because we could be bought by chancers and placed heavily in debt to finance it. I am happy that Pardew is gone and whilst I think Cortese could have done several things differently I fully support him and like his integrity.

Firstly it was a question, secondly worryingly, I have heard from somebody who knows a lot of people connected with the club at the top end, that it is rumoured the club is for sale. Thirdly Duncan is likely to know these same people, fourthly I was looking for a confirmation whether he had the same information. Logic says it isn't true but since when has logic been any use in football. Finally when you own or run the forum you can make sanctimonious posts and instruct members what they can, or can't post, until then STFU, or post on the subject like most people on here.

We are prime candidates for a leveraged buyout by opportunists on borrowed money guaranteed against the assets. Before you know it, we will be £50m in debt.

Ron, I get the feeling that they have had enough of the criticism.