CanadaSaint

Exactly. I very much suspect that he's not desperate for signings because he knows that we have a cracking squad (for this division) and he fancies his chances of getting more out of it. I loved the fact that he changed our left side on Saturday not because we had bad players there but because they weren't playing how he wants and expects them to play. That one, simple message (I'll pull you off PDQ if you don't stay with the plan) will go through a squad like a dose of salts. There's nothing wrong here that won't be fixed by a few wins, crowds back above 20,000, and - especially for Cortese - a chorus of "There's only one Nigel Adkins" from the Northam! And then we're back on a five year plan that made sense fourteen months ago and still makes sense now.

This doesn't make sense to me. If this was in his mind, why fire Pardew rather than leave him in place as a "big name" manager? Who in the family would agree to cast Markus's wishes aside? Why would Cortese bother with the meeting with invited season ticket holders? And more.

I don't think it's a false dawn at all - just that the sun is taking longer to appear than we expected. My fear since last Spring was that Cortese would keep Pardew grudgingly and that we'd enter a "hollow twilight" - the funds were available but Cortese didn't have enough faith in the manager to spend them. That, I very much supect, is what happened - especially as Pardew was permitted to spend quite heavily in January (when we were on the cusp of the playoffs) and yet we still missed out. From what I understand, under Swiss inheritance rules the entire estate passes to the family at the point of death, so there's no time-consuming probate period. This would mean that "the money" Markus supposedly set aside to give life to his wishes is there now. "The money", I suspect, is a finite sum set aside to bring Markus's dreams of reaching the Premier League to reality. Before he passed away it wasn't necessarily a finite sum but it probably is now. If we spend some now, then that much less is available for strengthening the squad in preparation for the Championship and (eventually, hopefully) the Premiership. Spending it wisely is a joint commitment of both Nicola and the Liebherr family. We will not blow a big chunk of the money just trying to get out of this division. We already have a very expensive squad for our division, so don't expect any big transfers in. Some decent loans are the most likely route. As long as we are promoted this year, I'd be very surprised if we don't hold onto our best talent. If we miss out on promotion, those bets are off. I think Cortese is more than ready to give Adkins time because he really does believe that managerial stability is key in any business. He's also "learned some lessons" from the Pardew period and I don't think he'll make some of those mistakes again. As things progress over the next few years, we should expect to see more decisions - some of them highly controversial - aimed at making the Club self sufficient. That will be an ever present backdrop because that's how Cortese thinks and how he was trained to think. Least controversial is the build-up of the academy - that's a "no-brainer" at every club, especially those of our size. Cortese's structure underlines the importance of this in his eyes. At the other end of the scale, under Cortese's vision of a self-sustaining club it is going to become significantly more expensive to support Saints, and some current supporters will not be able to afford to go. He'll never admit that but I strongly suspect it's a reality. In some ways it's already started - and we're only in the third tier of English football.

This division is going to be as tight as hell all season long. We just need to get our sh*t together and we'll be right up there.

This post, from Dalek of all people, has made my day, and it's only 7:55 am!

Excellent. Just excellent.

It seems to me that you have made a strong case for the monikers to be dropped, and thank you for doing that. What I find very troubling is that the Echo is continuing to resist the very point being made - that the use of the monikers is misleading with regard to the "weight of opinion" standing behind the people it quotes. So, if the Echo is still resisting that point when the poll demonstrates its validity, the only conclusion I can draw is that the Echo is deliberately misleading its readers. What other alternative is there? That's not only disappointing to me (because I've defended the Echo in the past). It's bloody infuriating. It's also extremely dangerous when there's a somewhat impulsive guy like Cortese in the picture, when the links to our owners are somewhat tenuous, and when those owners are unlikely to appreciate nastiness and negativity aimed in their direction.

Mike, I probably don't need to reply to your response to my suggestion that we run a poll because others have done so, and because the results of the poll speak far more clearly than I ever could. However, I should point out that it's far more than "a couple of hundred Saints fans" (it's heading for 500) and that any suggestion that they are "fairly like-minded" is somewhat laughable if you've read this forum for any length of time; just using this forum doesn't make them like-minded regarding Club affairs. (Ironically the poll results show that the only way in which they are like-minded is in asserting that they are not like-minded. ) The frustration is that, by quoting them and attaching the name of an organization, the Echo is - inadvertently or deliberately - projecting the views of certain organizations as though they are representative. That can mislead outsiders, decision-makers and even the Club's owners in an embarrassing and possibly even dangerous way. The point behind the poll was to make it crystal clear to the Echo that these views are NOT necessarily representative and should not be held out to be so - even inadvertently. In my view it has done that, and the ball is now in the Echo's court.

I have defended the Echo in the past because I've felt they were only doing their job and because I feel that the argument that "they only do it (deliberately print inaccuracies) to sell more papers" is weak. However, that viewpoint will change completely if they are now saying that they will continue to include the SISA/Saints Trust monikers even though they now know them to be completely misleading. Here’s the nub of it: So, despite my past support for them, my question to the Echo would be this: Why are you willfully misleading readers with regard to the views of everyday fans?

No. It would be much better if the Mods made this a proper poll. Guys?

Very trying.

I'm sure he strongly supports the idea of a poll to establish whether he is or isn't normal. Don't you saint_mears?

You're right, of course, docker. But my point was that this is the largest accessible grouping of Saints fans out there, so the results of the poll would still be quite compelling. Once those results land on The Echo's desk, it's not as easy for them to refer to SISA as "the voice of the fans". It's either that or stand quietly by while Chorley and Co (and others) speak for us.

Why am I not surprised that you'd support a politician with as many brain cells as she has t*ts. Or possible less.

In fairness to you and in contradiction to my groin shot, here's one of my favourite quotes (from John Maynard Keynes): "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" I still liked the earlier DPS more!

I agree, Norm, and I feel like a turd for doing it because DPS is a good guy. And I'm sure I've also done some pretty good U-turns in my time! I'm just sick and tired of all this "I don't want Adkins", "Cortese, tell us what really happened", "I want Pardew back", "I'm boycotting the club", "Cortese's a bar steward", "We don't have any money", and so on crap. But then I'm old enough to believe in Rudyard Kipling's "If". Sorry, DPS.

DPS, you should take this guy's advice:

I agree - and they will continue with this until it's made abundantly clear to the Echo and other media that SISA don't speak for anyone but themselves. When it comes to groupings of Saints fans, this forum itself is as big as they get. It might be an idea to run a poll on here ("Does SISA speak for you?") and then send the inevitable the results to A) The Echo, and B) The Club. Once The Echo has received this, it's ethically obliged to point out in future articles that SISA certainly doesn't have widespread support.

Yes, physically and mentally. I'm sure Adkins can and will address both.

What scares me is this: the two most vital qualities at playoff time are heart and fitness, and I fear we lack both. Big time.

Was that another set piece goal?

Nige is going for it - pushing forwards in on their middle two at the back.

Altogether now: We're the Saints, try and understand it Make a noise and make it clear Oh-o-o-o, whoa-o-o-o! We're not gonna sit in silence, we're not gonna live in fear Oh-o-o-o, whoa-o-o-o! Lyrics by Paul McCARTney

'cept for Charlie Wayman.

Well, I always felt that we were consistently out-coached at half time under Pardew, so here's the first real chance to see an important difference.