derry

Now Pardew has gone, could that open the door for Waigo to return.

I think you are right Bert. This manager will be the one to take the five year plan, Markus's dream and the Southampton style forward. There will be no short term appointment. I personally am comfortable that this decision has finally been taken, whatever the final reasons that made it necessary. I have never liked the narrow way we play or the incessant balls from the goalkeeper belted long. Until we change this we won't regularly defeat teams that set out to stymie us in defence.

Eddie Howe, Sean O'Driscoll, Lee Clarke, Nigel Adkins, Danny Wilson would all do a good job this year but I think Cortese is now looking for the manager for the rest of the five year plan so this may take a little while yet.

He doesn't seem to be shedding any tears.

At the end of last season there was speculation that Pardew was going to be sacked. Pardew even expressed doubts when asked about his future. There was a concerted campaign through the Echo not to sack the manager. There was obviously dialogue between Pardew and Cortes which led to Cortese issuing a statement not only confirming Pardew as the manager to take us forward but also announcing that in future we would be playing a more compelling and attractive style that would in time become known as the Southampton style which Pardew was going to take forward. Cortese appointed Les Reed to an influential post as head of development and proceeded to put in place a bottom up structure at Staplewood to take forward his plans. There was a committee formed to look at future signings, Pardew, Reed, Burke and Cortese. It would appear as time has gone on that there was a difference in opinion between the new structure and the first team set up. At the start of this season it was probably thought that there would be an attempt made to introduce the new style initially in pre season then in the season proper, however there has been no change and Pardew and his coaches continued to play as last season. I think this together with the poor pre season and a pedestrian start brought things to a head. Duncan at the beginning of the month talked about Waigo coming back but there was no way that was going to happen with Pardew as manager. If there was a row as reported over signings that would be no surprise. If as reported there were tactical resignations by the new development scouting regime this would have brought matters to a head. Pardew's relationship with Cortese was at best believed to be arms length and if the above scenario was true there really were only two decisions available. Sack the manager or accept the resignations of a very important part of the club. I think that Pardew was limited and safety first and was not the manager to take us forward. I like the idea of a more compelling style and feel that this was a big issue with Cortese and the people he had brought in but was possibly being undermined and ignored in the first team set up. I want to see a winning team but I don't like the way Pardew has his teams play. I also think that Markus and Cortese brought up watching, Swiss, German or Italian football weren't enthralled by the style on offer, hence the more compelling style remark. I am not surprised Pardew has gone but like others I don't think this was planned but brought to a head by a clash over style and recruitment this week. I look forward to a new manager that has demonstrated the ability to manage and motivate successfully together with the commitment to the style that the club require.

I think the doctors advice was that he couldn't see anything wrong with it. The next step was to have a look so definitely 4 weeks out. Alternatively give it a go and see if it breaks down, if it does, out about 6 weeks. The pain killing injections to play weren't mentioned to Weston. The decision taken to give it a go was the correct one, however I have talked to a lot of old professionals who bitterly regret having injections over injuries so they could play. They are now paying the price with arthritic knees etc.

Sums it up nicely.

That was before the Plymouth game. We were surprised to see him play. It took four games to break down. But I wonder if the pain killing injections just masked it and eventually the pain came through. It would be much better for him if he hadn't had the injections and found that he couldn't play because of the pain, then had the exploratory op. I hope that the original undiagnosed injury hasn't been made worse through playing with injections.

It would help if you could read. The post was about the low key pre season followed by four competitive games which has now got us going. The pressure we created was real, the so called clear chances were few and far between. There were a lot of blocked shots by a massed defence but we didn't overload any of the defences decisively to create clear chances.

Time will tell.

I knew his history at West Ham and Charlton, especially Charlton and as yet I've not seen anything I didn't expect. In a nutshell I don't rate him. I'm always willing to be proved wrong but despite today's result I think he is on borrowed time as the home form is vital for him to keep his job and he isn't sorting that end of things at the moment.

A lot of careers have been ruined by playing on using pain killer injections.

I don't think you can compare LM and AP. MacMenemy walked the walk, Pardew talks the talk and until he sorts us out against massed defences and in the winter on poor pitches he is still work in progress for me. I'm not convinced.

The surgeon said before the Plymouth game that he couldn't see anything wrong and that there were now only two options, open it up and look giving four weeks out or if if it breaks down about six weeks so see what happens.That's why he has been playing, it could well be that it has now finally broken down.

I'm delighted we've won well. I've seen all the games at SMS and I'm not going to be convinced by an away win, away from the expectations at SMS. The bedrock of any season is the home results and Pardew hasn't yet worked out how to break down massed defences at SMS. Today I was chatting to one of the 1976 FA Cup players who has hundreds of first division appearances, he was critical of the team not seeming to have the belief in itself and thought they were fragile and some of that had to be down to the manager, he felt that playing so narrow played into the hands of the opponents defending their space, that Davis really needs to help out his defence at corners into the goalmouth and that he should be taking charge and punching. He went on to say that tactics are all very well but most importantly the manager has to lead the way. He told me about coming in at half time at the Dell when we weren't playing too well, Lawrie MacMenemy said 'Don't look at me, your the ones playing poorly and messing it up, you sort it out' Immediately Mick Channon suggested something, other players came in and the team decided how to play, then went out in the second half and won easily. He thought that demonstrated great man management and the confidence of the team was sky high by deciding themselves how they were going to play, going out totally positive knowing what they were going to do.

It's a good win away from home with the alleged pressure off. One swallow doesn't make a summer and until this team puts it's inhibitions behind it at home, there will be no satisfaction here. As for Pardew I've never rated him and up to now he has done precious little to prove me wrong given the resources he has at his disposal.

About bloody time too. The season started three weeks ago. It's the preparation FFS, now after four hard games we get it together. I hope this is the last time we see silly mixture teams playing 45 mins at a time in meaningless matches. Barnet, Sutton, Eastleigh etc a total waste of preparation time. Plymouth, Leyton Orient, Bournemouth and Bolton and now we are finally competitive.

I think Pardew is now taking flak because of the way our pre season preparations, which looked weak and haphazard, leading to the first time the first team squad, actually played together in a full match v Plymouth and leading to a poor start. We have now had four competitive matches and are now beginning to get it right. August 7th was the target date to get it right after six weeks pre season preparation not August 28th. Played a whole host of youth players in our preparation matches who we will never see in the first team this year if ever, leading to each match comprising 45 minutes for a mix up team right through the pre season. Thats why he is getting flak from me, especially as every year we have the same type of low key preparation followed by the same dire start. I thought Pardew would have the wit to change that, but he carried on the usual preparation accompanied by the usual 'the matches don't count' bull.

They are not Pardew's players. Whilst he obviously has a big say it is committee of Les Reed, David Burke plus Cortese and Pardew who make the final decision on any player.

As for that leader on the pitch, whilst he was hard on his own team, he was demoralising to play against because he was such a high class player. Then again there was a high proportion of 'in your face' characters. He now sits next to me at SMS having bought his first season ticket. It is a long time since we had a leader or leaders on the pitch. The wearing of an armband doesn't make a leader. When Cloughie went to Derby he brought in Dave Mackay to be the leader, at Notts Forest, John McGovern but all his teams were full of difficult, hard nosed players, Burns, O'Neill, Lloyd etc. Shankly's teams were the same. Nowadays Chelsea and Man Utd reflect their managers images. The players we bring in really need to be less fragile and more hard nosed. I think the players reflect the managers fragility.

Hi Bill, you sound more like your old self. Your right but as we demonstrated years ago, that reputations counted for nowt if the team played without fear or inhibitions often beating comprehensively, teams that were more talented but also fragile. It was always the hard nosed cussedness, sheer belligerence and the we'll show these buggers attitude that often won games we should have struggled to win. That sort of character always shines through and all the best teams have it.

Honestly Frank, I think it is the way Pardew sets up and hamstrings his teams. I think the players are much better than the performances and managed by a manager that gives them the room to play, I'm sure we would see how good they are. For me the disappointment is the falling short of the potential they are capable of, rather than the safety first approach. We have a collection of the best players in the league, yet instead of going for the jugular with confidence, we set up like a team that is frightened of it's own shadow. I really think that Pardew is affected by the demands of his second season, where no excuses will be entertained, as such he is communicating this nervousness to the players, hence the excuses regarding feeling the pressure etc. I think it is Pardew who is feeling the pressure and consequently transmitting his inhibitions to the players. His comment this week that he and the players are relieved to be getting away from SMS is indicative. A team that doesn't want to play at home because of the pressure FFS. With the players we have playing with confidence and freedom, we could be pulverising teams at SMS rather than behaving like timid losers. It is the managers job to get the players believing that they are unbeatable, rather than this timidity.

We might even get him for nothing at the end of January.

Frank, Ron and I watch this all the time and if the players weren't carrying out the plan, Pardew who is most of the time standing passively making the odd note, even when the play stops for an injury, he makes no attempt to get the players attention. It seems to us that they are playing the way he wants. That Davis lumping it up front whoever is there is standard procedure, that the two wide men tucked in and the flat static midfield together with 11 back in defence at corners and no movement at attacking corners or covering outside the back post. With free kicks in range we shoot, we have no clever moves at anything it's all basic.

I think we may end up needing all of them at some point.