CanadaSaint

That's pretty much how I feel, only I said in the game thread that it was the kind of game we lost under AP - a tight game on a heavy pitch against a bottom-third team playing above itself. And we heard another excellent Adkins interview - no meaningless platitudes, no crap excuses, just a very firm statement that this was "two points lost" and a commitment to change the things causing it.

Well, it could be argued that you're acting like a bit of a vagina, so why don't you and LTC get together and make up?

Well, I suspect you'd need another job alongside it because it doesn't strike me as being anything like a gold mine. I don't have a clue how to do this kind of thing, either - never mind find the time to do it. And that's precisely why I'm very reluctant to criticize. But then you're not helping to find a solution, are you? I don't mean to pick on you, Genk, but there are numerous people b*tching who haven't paid anything anyway.

LTC, that's precisely my point - and that of most other posters. On your own admission you cut AP slack even though you voiced your expectation of promotion almost all season long last year, and you cut him that slack because he started off at -10. On your own admission you're not cutting Adkins slack "because this team/squad is too good for tonight's result", and you're denying him that slack even though he just arrived and has an injury-hit squad. Tonight's result is not acceptable to anybody that I've seen, but the vast majority of us feel that your Pardew v Adkins point is premature and unfair. I think it's also inconsistent with your past attitudes. Well just have to differ, I guess.

I just don't frigging get it. People b*tch and complain even though their post counts are way up there, but most of them wouldn't even think about volunteering to help unless there was something in it for them. People whine and moan about the five quid for a whole year but happily sink their pints and p*ss far more than that against the wall every weekend. Yes, there's some fixing to do and they need to do it ASAP because many of us are a touch frustrated, but FFS people stop moaning about everything. Pay your fiver to play and offer constructive suggestions, or don't let the door hit your arse on the way out.

I'm trying to stop YOU from making a false argument. You're the one saying that the draw at Yeovil is unacceptable this year (after Adkins has been here five minutes and inherited a squad full of injuries) when one of the results you cited as a Pardew positive was a win at Yeovil in the third minute of injury time when he'd been here almost a full season and wasn't facing anything like the same challenges as Adkins. I didn't have you down as one of the hysterical over-staters but you've done that today. Adkins knows better than anyone that this form is unacceptable, and he knew the challenge when he took the job. He didn't come here to fail, and I don't think he will fail - and I'm not talking about the frigging Johnson's Paint Trophy. Adkins also knows that there's a sh*tload of football left to play - in a very tight division. LTC, you spent much of last season on here trying to convince people - with numbers and PPG averages - that we would be promoted but I don't remember you cutting loose on Pardew because we missed the playoffs. Cut Adkins some of the same slack.

No, it's not good enough, and I don't think anyone is pretending it is. The problem LTC is that you're using this to make a Pardew vs Adkins point that is both untimely and unwarranted. And before you get carried away with the "It's only Yeovil, FFS" angle, don't forget that we would have drawn there last year as well were it not for a late, late winner. And that was in April when Pardew had an established and stable squad that had been playing for him for weeks. With "impact" subs on the bench. I've normally got a lot of time for you posts but this one is crap IMO.

It's not that Adkins isn't getting a lot from Pardew's team - it's also the case that Pardew wasn't getting much from Pardew's team, results-wise, before he left (season and pre-season). A number of players hadn't found their last season's form, including the most crucial one - Ricky. Adkins isn't just going to stroll in here and get the players to adopt a different system and a different psyche overnight. That'll take some time and I don't expect us to really hit stride until late-October/early-November. Yes, we'll have ground to recover but the thing in our favour is that this is - and will probably remain - a very tight division this year.

It's going to be a tight division all year long.

It's quite a shocking turnaround really, isn't it?

Butterfield needs to stay back or else he'll get caught, as he has been before.

err, yes.

Welcome to the game, Mr. Hammond. Time for some leadership.

Now Dave's doing his Brillo Pad impression. That's not a good sign.

True, but only 11 points separating top from bottom. All is far from lost.

This is just the sort of game we were losing last year - or drawing, at best. Let's see how much progress we've made.

Christ, I remember playing there on a wet and windy day. What a frigging nightmare.

Well done. I'm sure that's where the problem lies.

You're right. And me too! With a whack of tabs.

Here we go, it's up now.

Yeah, freaky, eh? I didn't even know I'd left the Saintsplayer tab open until the voice started up and scared the sh*t out of me this morning.

Come on Solent, you prannies. Turn the goddam commentary on.

You could be right but I had left the browser tab open from Saturday's game, and they tested the connection several times an hour or more ago. It was the same voice/accent but he said "Testing, testing", so I think the "switch turner" is at Solent.

Why is it that supporters of other teams listen to the build up on their player while we only get tuned in at kick off? It p*sses me off royally because it wouldn't cost them anything to start the feed earlier. And it's always the same voice connecting us, and it sounds like a Southampton voice so the issue is probably at Solent, isn't it? Rant far from over.

Good point. I'll bet that Cortese had to "sell" us to Adkins as much as Adkins had to "sell" himself to Cortese, and I don't think Cortese would have bullsh*tted him about our finances.