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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.

I will say that my insight came from both the person involved and their parents on separate occasions relating several unsolicited initiatives and promotion by Cortese as a result of the person working closely with Cortese. I felt that Cortese certainly valued the person and knew how to demonstrate to the person that value. I would also say that the confidentiality of the person concerned who certainly knows a lot about the workings of the club is absolute. Not a word is spoken about anything to do with the club. The only general comment about Cortese that we knew already, he doesn't suffer fools and sets high standards.

Does it for me.

Pretty good summing up Frank.

I think that is exactly what Cortese is doing with Pardew at the moment. I think they do realise that the teams that hoof their way to the Premier come straight back down. Sadly so do some of the footballing promotions ie. Burnley/WBA as they just aren't strong enough. I think they are trying to build a Premier football team, not for this season and maybe next but for the end of their 5 year plan. A really good football team that maintains it's momentum can survive the early seasons in the Premier. I think that is their aim.

Well said Andy.

As if I care Duncan, I have a thick skin. If he stays, it will be on Cortese's terms, I personally hate some of the crappy long ball stuff we default to at times, if we do develop a passing style under Pardew I will be delighted. If we don't it won't matter because it will mean another manager is. I just think Cortese has it right. His autocratic thin skin may be a bit hard to handle but I do know from somebody who has worked closely with him that he does look after people he values.

Suggest you read Pardew's description if himself and his way of doing things, in his interview with the Guardian, which then drew the statement from Cortese which started all the doubt. I don't think Pardew shows up as a proponent of attacking, passing football. The fact we score goals has more to do with the talent available rather than the manager setting up an attacking team. The narrow long ball game we often resort to playing seems to be his default position. If he left tomorrow I wouldn't lose any sleep.

Do Cortese work together? Of course they do. Do they get on? If the last year tells us anything, disagreeing with Cortese isn't the way to get on at SFC. Last year Waigo was recruited from Italy unseen by Pardew, introduced by contacts of Cortese. Waigo was under utilised by Pardew despite changing games after coming on late. At the end of the season despite the speculation Cortese gave Pardew a vote of confidence, however there was a sting in the tail that seems to be ignored on here. Cortese stated catogorically that there was going to be a change in playing style to a more exciting style that would be the 'Southampton' style played throughout the club, after his discussions with Pardew. I thought at the time that Pardew will have a problem with that, as he isn't that type of manager, preferring safety first pragmatism. To date there appears to be no change of style. Waigo went back to Fiorentina despite the option to purchase. It wouldn't surprise me if he isn't a bone of contention between the two. Markus Leibherr and Nicola Cortese are Europeans and I suspect hate the lump it up to Lambert style that we often employ. As far as I am concerned Markus Leibherr and because of his trust in Cortese, together, are the most important factors in SFC. Whilst Pardew is the present manager, if he isn't providing what the owner wants and goes his own way, there will be only one inevitable outcome. If Pardew goes, it might in the short term make a difference on the playing side, but I somehow think Cortese has that base covered if the rumours are true. I would like to think that Pardew is striving to fulfill the aspirations of the owner however I have doubts that the two parties have much common ground. I might not like the autocratic style but is the chosen way and as long as the present owner is getting what he wants out of the club, thats fine by me, because it sure as hell is better than the debacle we put up with in recent years, before Leibherr bought the club.

Alpine is an easy target. It doesn't mean that in this instance he is wrong. He has voiced these concerns consistently over the last month and as yet hasn't been proved wrong. Unless there is a sea change and somebody throws a magic switch and as a lot of people think, we will suddenly perform despite a pretty unconvincing pre season. After next Saturday, there will be nowhere to hide, last season was the excuse season, this season, it's perform or else, no excuses. If Pardew hasn't got it right, and we don't hit the ground running, he won't be around too long.

What really worries me is Pulis, Wotton, Reeves, Doble, Tavizoli, Oxlade-Chamberlain as the backup in a first team friendly game.

I just hope you are right. I hope nobody else is injured against Eastleigh.

At the end of last season after he was given the dreaded vote of confidence from Cortese, Pardew made a pretty strong statement of intent. Wasn't it along the lines of I'm going to build a Championship winning standard team to go straight on up, so what happened to that? At the moment we are definitely short of cover in vital positions, no wide midfielders fit against four last year, hardly strengthening. As far as I am concerned we are better defensively but woefully weak in midfield.

I doubt it, if we play a midfield of Oxlade -Chamberlain, Wotton, Hammond and Dickson against Plymouth we won't be dominant and it will be Davis to Lambert all afternoon.

The trouble with injuries is the recovery time. Lallana looks like a problem, it's a knee not responding to treatment, injected this week, still not right, what's next, a scan followed by exploratory surgery? If that happens it's long term. Richardson already out for three months, Puncheon hasn't played for two weeks, Schneiderlin hasn't played much and without Lambert we struggle. Wotton in midfield isn't sustainable. Without Lallana and Puncheon it will be a left back in midfield with Wotton and Hammond and a 17 year old who is nowhere near ready on the right. Waigo and Antonio would have covered this but they haven't been replaced. The back four is strong, the strikers provided Lambert is fit will cope, but without Lallana, Puncheon and Schneiderlin the midield is sub standard, and when has a championship winning team had a sub standard midfield? If the injured players are ready and fit to play competitively next week, fine, but if not there needs to be at least two reinforcements next week to prevent weakness.

I don't disagree that our best team can hold it's own, but all this game showed, was given a few injuries we are back to sticking square pegs in round holes, eg Mills wide right, three left backs, two little forwards and Davis lumping everything up to Mills/Pearce. Unless the missing players show up soon and stay fit and we sign at least three more, midfield/striker, this squad is too thin to cover injuries and win the league. For the last twenty minutes there were five kids on the field plus Hammond up front with Wotton and Pulis in midfield, Butterfield and Dickson are good players but Reading showed that their changes were the equals of the players that went off and gave us a lesson. The fact we played so many kids and have done all pre season, says it all about the overall depth of the squad, especially as the kids are nowhere near ready yet.

Brian is good mates with my son, he has just moved into new house at Bartley, he commutes daily to Reading and shares transport with Gregor Raziak. He signed a new three year contract last season and is on more than we pay. I think he has also been made captain of Reading. He is quite open that he has unfinished business at Saints but doesn't want to play in div one, I know for a fact that he/his agent have been spoken to, but for him the time/price is not yet right.