Jimmy_D

Hm, Scunny chairman is spinning that I reckon. Notice it says that compensation wasn't agreed, NOT that we didn't offer any. I reckon we tried to come to an agreement, Scunny wanted a silly amount of compensation ("difficult to work with") and THEN we (stupidly) tried to get him to resign.

Something along the lines of 'well we triiiiied to get rid of him, so can we not count him in the 20? OKTHXBYE!'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_wed/8980290.stm So still on 10 points. Good. That means they'll have no excuse when we overtake them. I wonder how different things might have been if we'd been with CoOp instead of Barclays...

Saints stopped being more leaky than a sieve just over a year ago for some strange reason. Since then, the rumours that we used to be able to rely(!) on so confidently remain just that. Rumours. We might be one of the few clubs where the OS is actually the first place we're likely to hear news.

It occurs to me that since he left, no one has said anything official at all about Pardew being sacked. Not from Cortese or from Pardew. No goodbye, no explaination, no 'me and the chairman didn't get on,' no 'he was a nightmare to work with'. Maybe there is something in the gross misconduct rumours after all, and Cortese gave him the option of leaving quietly to protect the 'victim' of the gross misconduct, if there was one, or maybe the club itself, depending on what he might have done, as much as to protect Pardew. Given the timing, I can't make anything else sit with me that fits, Cortese is a rich businessman, he's probably had to work with people he doesn't like before to get where he is, it doesn't seem 'right' to me that he would just sack him because he doesn't get on with him. Dunno, just thinking out loud here, can't see how else it makes sense.

back out to 3's with SkyBet now

If we knew whether he'll ever be in the reckoning for a top job we'd probably try and find some way of making money out of that knowledge. If he can take Scvnthorpe into the Championship he must have some talent as a manager, how far that goes remains to be seen. Hence 'up and coming'.

4's with VC now.

Zola MON Adkins

ok, letting myself dream and be optimistic for a bit... If we get MON, we'll have the manager I consider to be the very best in the country... Possibly SAF is the better manager currently, but that's because he's been there and done it all already, he can't have many seasons left to give, hence given a choice between the two, I'd pick MON. Literally, if I had the pick of any manager in the country to manage a team, I'd pick MON.

Not that I think it's MON, but if the reports are on the mark about our manager being announced tomorrow, it's because the contract's already been agreed.

Damn you. Well played. You've completely thrown off any possiblility of me knowing whether to take you seriously or not.

http://justcantbeatthat.com/2010/fringer-to-southampton/

Yes they have. http://www.oddschecker.com/football/football-specials/southampton-specials/next-permanent-manager/bet-history/martin-oneill Oddschecker being slow to update the main page of odds for some reason.

Hm, they've got nothing.

Probably nothing more than hopeful Saints fans that have heard the reports of a new manager being appointed tomorrow that are bringing MON's odds shorter. (He says, all the while hoping it's going to be the biggest coup for Saints since Keegan)

They've covered themselves on the reporting front by saying it's from an unnamed source, so nothing to go on there. And the odds on him with Skybet probably came down naturally with people betting, so nothing to go on there. Sky are a bookmaker, so unless they're reporting something solid, sourced properly and verifiable, I take no notice whatsoever, as they have a lot to gain from unsubstantiated rumours.

Oh FFS. It's not Paul Hart. If Sky are so sure it will be him from their 'sources' why are they still offering odds on him on SKYbet? Think about it! Sky make a rank outsider the favourite by dropping a rumour from 'sources', make that person the favourite on their own betting site to add a little bit of authority to the rumour, and then sit back and watch punters throw their money away!

FL still has to ratify them. They haven't actually finally signed them yet.

That would certainly explain the poor timing and lack of a replacement lined up.

So not Paul Hart... So do we think we'll get MON or Zola?

aaaaaaaaaaand relax...

To be fair, if it is just for the youth team, Paul Hart would be an awesome appointment, he has a good record.

Are the 'sources from Sky' then?

Paul Hart high on our hitlist for manager? From Sky Sources... Skate on a wind up surely?