CanadaSaint

So who's a "somebody" in your eyes? It needs to be someone who's likely to be A) available, and B) interested in coming here.

I like his comments very much - clearly not a media statement fashioned by a PR firm. Well, if he can transform our lot from category A to category B (because we have looked clueless and disinterested at times), the £200,000 compensation should effectively buy us a whole new first team squad. That's a hell of a deal.

Well, name them then. Don't just say "a bigger name". For example, if you would have hired Holloway or Grant (the two reputed applicants) over Adkins, then say so.

Some people have been readying their "I told you so" positions for several days now. I just wish they'd do something now that most of them have failed to do thus far - instead of just b*tching and sneering about Adkins, tell us who they would hire. Today. Right now. And "a bigger name" doesn't cut the mustard. Nor does anyone who is almost certainly either unavailable or uninterested.

Most of us, judging by this forum.

Oh, great. Let's get Cortese and Wharton negotiating something right away.

IMO we have a number of on-pitch problems to go with our off-pitch problems. I agree with what derry says on the tactical front, but two others are proving critical. Firstly, I have grave doubts about our fitness levels. It's no coincidence that we seem to dominate early and lose (relatively) late, seemingly unable to "find another gear" when we need to rescue the game. Secondly, there's a huge leadership void. When things go pear-shaped they stay pear-shaped, because there's nobody on the pitch capable of pulling us back together. We look like a team without character and lacking in intestinal fortitude. What I wouldn't give for a Bally-type or a Jimmy Case - someone who will rollock players if they fall short in effort level or start departing from the tactical script. Much to my disappointment, it's clear that Hammond is not that guy. These two issues are really hurting us now but they'll kill us later on if we don't finish in the top two. Lacking fitness and lacking character are terminal failings when the playoffs roll around.

All this kid has done is work his way up from non-league, fight for a place in the team, get there, and start scoring goals. Does he have "an attitude"? Yes, most of the good ones do. It's a pity that we're so short of players who lay it on the line every game, like he does. It was shameful to me to see so many of our fans rejoicing at his injury, but you've outdone them all, Colbury. Pathetic.

Good post. He's a rock solid manager and we can grow together. It won't please those who feel they're entitled to Premier League football but it'll work for most of us. Another one. People conveniently forget that Cortese had very little time to hire a manager and not too much from which to choose. I have concerns about his timing on the AP firing but maybe that was forced upon him as well.

I don't get this "He'll have to deal with the pressure and he's not used to it" argument. I could make a damn good case that there's far more pressure attached to the task of punching above your weight against teams with far greater resources - week in and week out. It'll be challenging for whoever comes here - O'Neill, Hoddle, Keegan, Adkins or even the late J. Christ of Bethlehem. But I fancy Adkins' chances of getting far more out of this squad, and playing much more attractive football. After the start we've had, he can hardly do any worse.

I'm with you on that, Phil. All sorts of stupid, obnoxious and even libelous sh*t is posted on here by people who then try to excuse themselves by saying "It's only an internet forum - nobody takes any notice of it, and nobody from the club even reads it". Utter bullsh*t. In this day and age it is THE medium for communication and everyone with any interest taps into forums like this - players, agents, managers and yes, even chairmen. Reading what some of the idiots on here post I wouldn't just be "wary" - I'd be walking rapidly in the other direction. I hope to God that Adkins can look past it and see the opportunity because I think he's right for us. Cortese doesn't want this dragging out, he wants to resolve it ASAP, but I think his hands might have been tied - possibly by probate issues, or executor issues, or maybe even family issues. But by the same token I think Cortese needs to be a little more forthcoming - yet without feeling the need to explain everything he does, especially in regard to confidential or potentially legal issues.

That's precisely the suggestion I made earlier in this thread.

Sure. These are people with strong experience and valid opinions. Likewise, the academy head has valuable perspectives to offer - and something to learn, because signings become necessary if the academy fails to develop the required talent. I don't see it as a power struggle but a cooperative exercise - unless someone resents or resists that kind of balanced, team approach, which might have been one of the problems with AP.

Without anything to back this up, I'd suggest that transfer committees are far from abnormal in today's game. I don't think there are too many managers in the Premier League or any other division who can just make their own (often multi-million pound) decisions in isolation and then ask for the money. And, frankly, I think it makes sense to include other perspectives.

I wouldn't bet on that - certainly until it's specifically stated. I suspect the clarification related to selection and tactics. Or else Cortese - possibly based on feedback from potential manager candidates - has backed down completely in his structure philosophy, which I can't see happening.

If that happened as speculated (not reported, but speculated) I would view it as a clear indication that the chairman had lost faith in the manager's ability and/or willingness to properly implement the corporate philosophy. Of course it's not an ideal situation but you're looking at a single alleged event and jumping to conclusions that you're in no position to reach - because you weren't there to see the relationship unravel. And when that relationship unravels, when the chairman loses faith in the manager, there's only one winner. Cortese has his flaws but I think he reached the correct decision, as time (defined as more than two weeks) will tell.

Me too. Big time. A manager's job to get the best out of the available resources, and he has proven that he can do that. Pardew didn't. I'm so sick of reading the infantile pleas for "a big name" as though that, in itself, is the cure for all our ills. It sure as hell isn't. I can't wait for Adkins to get here.

Damn right it's common. Successful chairmen/presidents hire the right people and then get the hell out of their way so that they can do their job. However, they also reserve the right to ask questions and even intervene if they have reservations or if they feel the corporate philosophy is not being properly implemented. That's their job.

We need a new coaching broom desperately. And we're going to get one.

We clearly have a fitness problem. Dominating early and losing (relatively) late this often is not a coincidence.

You could be right. When we score first we've tended to become dominant. When they score first after we've dominated, we've tended to lose our shape badly. You can sense that we're on that knife edge right now.

Alps, it wasn't intended as a criticism so much as a suggestion that they don't know or trust him as Markus did. Perhaps I should have put a "yet" in there. But it might have raised some concerns if there might be a hefty price attached to the managerial changes. Like I said, a stab in the dark because the last week was all rather bemusing.

Dead right. The failure to score when we're on top has been the story of our season so far.

It's a welcome clarification and it confirms the situation defined originally, before legend overtook fact. As I understood it, the required reporting structure holds the player development/academy side in balance with - not subordinate to - first team affairs, and there will be a committee approach to the transfer area. Against that backdrop, there is a desire to develop a "Southampton style" - which is a combined and cooperative effort involving all player contact staff, youth and senior. Beyond that, as Ron said, first team selection and tactics are the purview of the first team manager.

I’m going to take a speculative stab in the dark here in an attempt to understand the past week. It's possible, perhaps likely, that Cortese is on a tighter leash - maybe because much of the money that Markus assigned to the Club is still tied up in the Swiss equivalent of probate, or because Markus's family don't hold Cortese in the same regard that Markus did, or because the potential costs incurred in the past two weeks (plus the compensation cost for Adkins) exceed those that Cortese is empowered and able to pay. If Cortese's decision to fire Pardew and his coaches was somewhat impulsive (he has “previous” on that front), and subsequent legal advice suggests that there could be substantial termination costs, his trip may have been related to bringing the family "up to speed" and securing approval for those potential expenditures. That approval may not have been immediately or easily forthcoming – especially if the family felt that it should have been consulted in advance. Any delay here would tie Cortese’s hands on the Adkins front. If that scenario is reasonably accurate, and Cortese eventually secured the necessary approval, we’re ready to move ahead – which is what The Echo suggested was about to happen.