CHAPEL END CHARLIE

My memory tells me that Jackanory was a story telling programe aimed at young children. But if Gaston truly is 'genuinely one of the biggest talents in European football' - rather than just another good player - then I take it we can expect to see some match winning performances delivered by this special player before very long .... today would seem to be as a good time to start as any. Based on what we have seen here thus far, I must say I'm not completely convinced he really is 'all that' but time will tell.

Spot on. While the election of State Prosecutors, Police Chiefs, and even the Judiciary has long been a part of the US constitutional system, elections of this type are most certainly not a part of our historical tradition. If this poll is any guide, then the British public apparently posses little or no desire to import it and would prefer to minimize (as far as possible) the role of party politics in the running of this nation. 'Here is wisdom' to quote the Book of Revelation. This ill conceived election does however give the lie to the fallacious idea that our (unwritten) constitution is utterly incapable of change, and that we must thus become another republic in order for any type of constitutional reform to take place. Far from it.

We're a bit like one of those ordinary Ford or Vauxhall repmobiles, but a top of the range Ghia or SRI version. I say this because we cost more than you'd think and we harbour grand ambitions of giving more expensive motors a run for their money. Unfortunately as soon as the road gets a bit difficult we go all wobbly and crash into a tree ......

The last time I was accused of having a 'agenda' on here was when someone dared to imply - but lacked the guts to state it unambiguously - that I must be some sort of vicious racist because I don't happen to rate Guly! Back on planet Earth I don't think I have any set agenda aside from the desire to get my point of view across. Now I may be right or I may be wrong, but I call each issue as I see it without fear or favour to anyone. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

If any piece of important defence equipment doesn't perform to the specification set for it, then that is a problem. If that piece of equipment employs a nuclear reactor, and it subsequently turns out that this safety critical component has been shoddily made, than that's more than a problem - that's damn right alarming. One can only hope the concerns raised in this story have been exaggerated. One also hopes that the costs involved in correcting any design and construction flaws are carried by BAE for once, not the long suffering tax payer.

Aye. It reminds me of the wildly OTT praise lavished on young Ward-Prowse not so long ago.

Naturally I went straight from Imperium to Lustrum and loved that too - I wonder if it is possible to read one without wanting to get hold of the other? As Cicero's story ends so very badly, I kinda hope Harris leaves the great man alone now as I don't think I could bare reading of his 'decline and fall' as it were. Still on my Robert Harris fix, I've just finished 'Archangel' where the action moves from the late Roman Republic to Soviet/contemporary Russia. The drama of the concluding chapters seems a bit too 'Hollywood' perhaps, but another great (and brilliantly researched) novel nevertheless.

I have it on good authority that the reason he's been sidelined is because he displays a insufficient level of positivity towards all things SFC related. As we know this is the one 'thoughtcrime' that Nigel just can't tolerate, so he's been sent away to our equililent of Siberia (Portswood) for a spot of re-education. Expect him back any day now spouting bullsh1t like all the rest .....

You may well be right on both counts. However if we must seek out a positive in all the gloom that surrounds St Mary's, then I must say that despite the battering we are receiving Adkins still apparently retains the trust of his players. Judging by the effort the team are putting in I see no evidence at all that he has 'lost the dressing room' as the saying has it. If that day ever did come then he really would have to go.

Interesting theory that would certainly explain a lot - it might even be true.

I would say Duncan that few accidents have but a single cause, and both keeper and defender must share the in the blame for this calamitous goal. But I'd personalty place the larger percentage of the blame on Yoshida's failure to control the ball. It may be an excessively obvious thing to say, but it seems to me that for at least two season now our keepers - starting with Kelvin - have been specifically instructed to routinely play the ball out to the nearest free defender, rather than the time honored 'hoof' many of us grew up with. Yes Gazzinga should clearly have booted it upfield, but sometimes it's hard to break the habits that have been drilled into you. I'm sure he'll learn in time.

Well while I'd never suggest that any Saints fan goes way and supports another team, everything else here is spot on. Yesterday he should have had at least one pen award and a incompetent ref got it hopelessly wrong. The opportunity many on here are taking to slate Adam Lallana is shameful. Having followed his progress since he was a mere teenager, I have not the slightest hesitation in stating that I have never seen Adam 'take a dive' and it seems to me that not only is he easily our best player, but also an exceptionally honest one too. The splendid effort this lad is putting in to salvage something from this 'train wreck' of a season is truly exemplary. We are lucky to still have him. If we were to look for any criticism, then you could say that his lack of bulk allows opposition players to knock him off the ball more easily than I'd like ideally. But as for Adam Lallana being some kind of cheat? Not in my book.

Well shipmate they all make mistakes and to err is Human and all that, but I expect an experienced defender and the captain of a decent international side to be able to trap and control a football adequately, or alternatively, be sufficiently aware of the opposition players around him to at least avert the danger by putting the ball out of play. He did neither. You obviously have different standards.

Do try to read it more carefully in future - from the OS 'MATCH REPORT'

I agree all three ex Saints players did nothing remotely 'wrong' and all showed the proper level of respect towards their old club with minimal goal celebrations. Surman is nailed on certainty to score against us I suppose, but following the managers example and always looking for the 'positives', then perhaps we should be grateful Chris Baird hasn't joined in - yet.

If the OS concedes that the goal was the result of a Yoshida slip up, then would it seem rather churlish of me to disagree no? The keeper probably shouldn't have passed it to him and he failed to control the ball at all satisfactorily - with disastrous results. But if you have some different interpretation sonny Jim why don't you enlighten us with it.

A pretty even first 45 minutes followed by a second half where we were clearly the better footballing team I thought. Jack Cork's welcome return for the (terminally ordinary) Davis improved the midfield significantly - we have missed this classy player more than some on here have realized. In addition the other unfamiliar face in the team, Luke Shaw, (in for the struggling Danny Fox at LB) did more than okay I thought. If he did make the odd error (as all youngsters do) he at least had the recovery pace to win the ball back. So after a lot of hard graft against a stubborn Swans defence Schneiderlin scored a (rare) header and we had worked ourself into a precious winning position. For a brief moment it looked as if we might even take all 3 points if only we could avoid our habitual defensive **** up. But our shocking defending is a harder habit to break than Crack Cocaine it would seem, and the inevitable happened courtesy of a disastrous Yoshida howler. The status of being captain of Japan means the square root of ferk all in the crucible of the Premier League I'm afraid. So we drew a game we desperately needed to win and questions over the managers future, and more importantly, our PL survival remain unanswered. For my money a single point is no good at all in our situation, and should we lose the critical away game v QPR next week then the chances of our surviving this season would look very bleak indeed - if they don't already that is.

The manager can't run the club as a business or set the transfer budget and negotiate player wages. The manager should also be far too busy with the running of the first team to scout world football looking for players. These are the proper responsibilities of the Chairman and his supporting staff to deal with. But if you give a man a football team to run, then it seems to me that he should have the final say on what players come and go, and he should have the 'loudest voice in the room' when decisions are made re which area of the squad we should invest in. Naturally questions of team selection and formation should be entirely a matter for the manager alone to decide upon. Is that how SFC is currently being run? I don't know is the answer, but this forum is not a court of law and I strongly suspect that rumours to the effect that the Chairman is unduly interfering in the running of team may not be entirely without foundation in fact. All experience shows that when the Chairman of any football club starts to believe that he knows more about the game than his manager does, then that is almost bound to lead to disaster.

Naturally I take notice of what others think, but as I take the trouble to go to games and see for myself how we are performing, I don't actually need the opinions of outside pundits to form my own judgment. For what it's worth I believe most fans on here pay our team performance a hell of a lot more attention than some ex pro, or Essex based MUFC fan, on Talksport/5Live ever will. Now if some 'expert' on here, or in the media, wants to spout the tired old perceived wisdom that retaining the services of struggling managers is the sure route to success, then good for them. That claim however might sound more convincing if there were some/any solid evidence to support it. The frustratingly illusive truth is that sometimes sticking with failing managers results in long term success, and sometimes it doesn't. Examples of clubs successfully changing managers midseason are legion - but as we well know that doesn't always work either. So in the final analysis it all comes down to a matter of judgement. I suspect the jury will deliver its verdict in the case of Adkins v The Premier League before very long.

I saw 'DCI Banks' (ITV Wednesday) for the first time recently, and while I found Stephen Tompkinson's performance in the lead role to be about as riveting as watching paint dry - indeed the whole show seemed nothing more than a routine 'by the numbers' crime drama - I was intrigued to see our prime suspect being driven away in a Police car with a 'Surrey Crimestoppers' sticker clearly emblazoned on the its side ... ... this series is set in Yorkshire.

I too will be supporting the Saints from the Chapel on Saturday as per usual. But it seems to me that some on this forum have confused supporting the manager, with supporting the club, almost as if this one man has become the personification of Southampton Football Club in their fevered imaginations. I'm no teenager my friends, and five decades spent clinging to the surface of this crazy planet has taught me that hero worshiping any mere Human Being is a exercise in futility that is almost bound to lead to disappointment. Nevertheless, I do (of course) genuinely hope we beat Swansea on Saturday and that this manager then goes on to successfully secure our PL status. But let's be absolutely clear on this - I support the club not any one individual. This old football club existed long before Nigel Adkins came here, and it will continue long after he's gone. So to my way of thinking no one man be they Owner, Chairman, Manager or player is bigger than the club, and if Nigel Adkins can't get this team to perform properly then rest assured another manager will be along shortly to take on the challenge. After all, managers are like buses ..... there be another one along in a minute.

6 Points on offer - we got 2

You what ? Considering the appalling state they have been in ever since he got the job, he's worked bloody miracles with them Id say - including taking 4 points off us I might add. Now that he has shown the good sense the abandon that shambles of a club, I'll even wish him the best of British luck with his new Chairman - he might need it.

I'll tell you what supporting the Saints this Saturday is going to mean to me. It will mean me desperately hoping that this team doesn't fail miserably yet again and break the heart of my much loved 6 year old Godson as he see his first ever Premier League match. You might argue that if he wants to grow up to be a real footy fan - as opposed to just another plastic - then he better get used to seeing his team lose I suppose - and there's some truth there. But please Southampton Football Club, if for no other reason than the childish hopes of this one little Saints fan, can we manage to get it right for once.