derry

This is my preference. On reflection as he was such a private person it may be that his family would not want this, then again they might.

What a terrible shame at such a relatively young age. His legacy is the respect and regard that the supporters have for him. Maybe it is now time to give the stadium a new name in his memory. Condolences to his family, may he rest in peace.

It's his knob that needs snapping off. I don't want the arrogant tosser at this club, as if Cortese would sign him.

Sitting in the Itchen not far from the away supporters of which there were about 4000, two thirds of the Northam end. We couldn't hear the Northam except after we scored and the away suporters were quiet. It is like Liverpool giving giving up two thirds of the kop to the away supporters. It is probably less noticeable in the Kingsland as the home supporters at the Northam end are next to them. There is also the fact that the noisy Itchen North is no longer there. There is certainly a lot more the club itself could do to improve the home atmosphere. If the club are serious about trying to improve the atmosphere they should consider getting the Northam to move lock stock and barrell to the Chapel end because clearly the away supporters won't be moved. It would then mean playing towards the noisy end in the second half.

The lump it up the field must come from Pardew because he has been here a year now and Davis is doing nothing else. If the manager didn't want it, it wouldn't be done. Seaborne lost one header all night. The real problem for the centre backs was the outlet, two central midfielders who struggle to pass wind, Hammond's distribution is poor, one really good pass last night. Wotton invariably passes it backwards or unloads it often to players who are marked. Both wide midfielders were narrow most of the time, better to belt it forward than to be dropped in it by Wotton etc.

It's not the losing on Saturday that is annoying it's the manner in which we lost. We had the lions share of possession in the first half and apart from two poor headers from Hammond we hit a succession of high crosses at our two strikers that didn't cause Plymouth a problem. After we went behind and until Lallana came on and gave us a better tempo the players were guilty of retreating into their shells. When a team sticks most of their players in front of goal they have to be shifted around, we have no idea how to do this. Players continually coming inside only contributes to the congestion together with central midfielders whose instinct is to hold their positions. The way to beat the mass defence without the big target man is to get down the lines and round the back, but then we don't have the pace and play a left footer on the right who nearly always wants to come inside. As well as that, the central midfield players have to try and make runs up the middle through the strikers, whilst the two strikers fan out to take their markers out of the way, allowing the midfielders to overload the defenders. The central midfielders don't make these runs and the strikers are easily marked.

Cortese won't let this season pass without promotion, therefore the second he thinks Pardew isn't achieving the required results to bring this about he will replace him.

The players need to play full games, the 45 minute cameos of pre season is the problem. Make it flat out on Tuesday with the first team but Bart in goal. Lallana for as long as he can from the start.

We don't need anybody just sitting, that's part of the problem. If we are that better than everybody else and teams are parking the bus across their penalty area the back four should be able to cope.

Apart from the wide players, we have a problem in centre midfield. Hammond can't pass whilst Schneiderlin can, but his usual tempo is too slow and he often picks the safety square pass. We need a leader/ box to box passer plus schneiderlin coming out of his comfort zone and getting up in support of the front men.

We had a decent first half, thirty minutes of below par, slumped shoulders, this shouldn't be happening to us crap. Lallana came on and we gave it a go for the last 15 minutes. Two things come to mind, up to now in all the pre season matches hardly any player played more than 45 minutes, for most of them it was the first time they played a full game. It was a predictable start. We haven't won a starting game in twenty years FFS, but we always have the same sort of non competitive part matches against mediocre opposition. It's about time we tried something different, maybe setting up a 3/4 day 2/3 match tournament against decent opposition at SMS ending 7 days before the start of the season. Two little guys up front and the crosses all in the air. A lot of square balls and slow build up. Puncheon tended to drift into the centre of the pitch, leaving nobody wide right until Wally Downes reamed him a new one late in the second half. Allowed Plymouth to pile bodies in the box and block the final desperate shot. Nobody outside the back post at left side corners, Puncheon on the near post. So when the ball overshoots we have nobody picking it up. All this is elementary and the fans favourite manager isn't doing much about it. It should also be remembered that Lallana hasn't played in pre season and that his troublesome knee remains undiagnosed and is being given the chance to either break down properly or go away, so he could yet be out for a spell.

With due respect Mike if they lose every game it won't get us promoted. I'm bored with all the talk of Pompey and how good we are. It's time to walk the walk and no excuses. Pardew has had his free season and now it's time to deliver or go. The pre season was a joke and the false start yet again was entirely predictable.

Here we go again. The pre season was a collection of low key mixed up teams with meaningless results that are supposedly designed to have us flying out of the blocks in the first league game. Wrong, the best teams who stay the best teams, initially play a few easy fixtures then play a series of difficult competitive games to get ready. Not us, every year it is the same and surprise surprise here we are again scratching our heads, how did this happen again to the best team in the league. We are short of another good centre back, a box to box leader, pace on the flanks and a big striker to challenge Lambert. After leaving Lambert out last season Pardew stated catagorically that we needed a target man up front to cover Lambert, four months ago FFS, what happened today was incompetence, no Lambert and two little forwards and no pace. This team is the basis and needs strengthening. I bet Cortese and Leibherr are going home impressed by today's result. It won't take many more results like today for the changes to be rung. So if Pardew wants to see Christmas in Southampton, he'd better get on his bike and sort out the weaknesses. It's all very well talking about missing excellent players unless we wait, if he waits too long and the results fail to improve he won't get to wait.

Not strictly true. You have to be paid the transfer fees in full. Staged payments will cause a deficit this year.

Some of the papers plus the Echo have been quite anti Cortese. He doesn't need them and is just giving them the bird. Southampton don't sell national newspapers, so who cares except the nationals, who don't cover us anyway, because it is a restriction they don't want.

If one looked at all the Sunday and Monday nationals, we hardly get a mention, never mind a photo from the match we've just played. More often than not the Echo just shows an old picture of a player they are mentioning in the Pink and Monday's Echo. A total non event for me.

Flybe certainly used to fly to Perpignan from Southampton I haven't seen that it's been discontinued but possible. Not a long drive/train from Perpignan.

I think a lot of people are underestimating Cortese's ambition and the rewards available to him for our success. If we do not at the very least continue the results sequence from the latter half of last season and certainly win most of our home games from the start I personally expect Pardew to be replaced long before Christmas shopping even starts. I hope for three things, firstly we start well, secondly we bring in the necessary reinforcements, thirdly we play a decent standard of football that reflects the quality of the squad. If that happens the likelyhood of Pardew going, aside from a fallout with Cortese will recede.

The weakness has to be measured against the stated ambition of winning the league. There can be no obvious weaknesses in any side with this ambition. This squad would be difficult to beat, but with forward injuries, would find it difficult to win games against determined opposition, especially perceiving us as favourites to be brought down and raising their game.

Wotton isn't and never was the answer. Beating a poor Carlisle side on that day still doesn't make him an answer. Neither is playing Mills who uses his right foot to stand on at right midfield, although if there was no alternative, he would be a better starter than Oxlade-Chamberlain. But the mere fact we are discussing these options shows the current weakness of the squad. Apart from the defence we are weaker than the end of last season.

That may well be so, but the three are a doubt. The injection solution was used last week on Lallana but he still is ruled out. Dickson and Harding on the left are compact and won't leave us unbalanced. The lack of replacements for the versatile Waigo and Antonio is the real worry. There is no doubt in my mind that the very minimum we need is a pacy player similar to Waigo that can cover three positions, plus a central midfielder and a pacy wide midfielder. Unless we cover these positions we are not going to be able to sustain a run of injuries that can happen at any time as we have just found out. To allow a comfort zone a couple of useful loans would not come amiss.

How anybody can make the statement that Butterfield can play anywhere, as a solution to any of our problems, is pure delusion, as we would have to bring in another right back until Richardson is fit sometime in October at the earliest, so he could be released to cover elsewhere. Butterfield will have to play right back until there is an alternative. As for the midfield, we are down to the bare bones. We have four starting quality midfielders and no compareable cover unless we play one of two left backs wide left. Before anyone mentions Holmes, the question I have to ask is, where is he and why isn't he playing in the friendlies. As for wide right we have a barely 17 year old potentially useful youngster as the only cover. The middle is also a worry as there is no adequate cover for either Schneiderlin or Hammond. As it stands there is no replacement for Lambert leaving Barnard and the fragile Connolly as our only proper striking options. Defensively we are fairly strong.

The comment is refers to the squad that finished the season. One week after the transfer window closes, the loan window opens. Therefore players can be brought in until that closes. In addition players out of contract can be signed at any time.

It is however almost certain that we will have a left back at left midfield and possibly a 17 year old at right midfield and maybe Wotton in central midfield. Lallana won't start, Lambert, Schneiderlin and Puncheon may not be fit. (source- Pardew quoted in the Echo). Last year Waigo and Antonio would have played. The midfield cover is weak.

Interestingly Bert, Ron, Duncan, Andy and Frank have all come on today and said he same thing.