hughieslastminutegoal

I'm not taking any side in this debate, but you have done exactly what you criticise others for doing, for example by interpreting the following statement to support your case. The statement reported said "Following a review of the current status in and around the First Team, the Club has decided that, to achieve its well known targets, it is essential to make changes to the First Team management and coaching". Now to me that does NOT EXCLUDE the possibility that around means/includes Les Reed & co, and that the solution is to change the first team coaching because it refuses to or cannot fit in with that. You however have ignored an important word in order to interpret the statement as purely a first team driven issue. When official statements are made, the exact wording is often arrived at very very carefully, and you have to be just as careful when analysing them. I can see just as much room in the statement for TC's interpretation as there is for yours.

I agree, you idiot. Another example. Just a joke! Smiley doo-dah.

I don't always (or very often) agree with Hypochondriac but I can't for the life of me see how his post you quoted can be called hysterical. Don't you think that's why this forum is in decline, that people slate a post because of who the poster is, not because of what was actually said? At this rate there will be 5 of you left, repeating the same point of view ad nauseam.

You missed out twirling your rattle and wearing a rosette with Terry Paine's photo in the middle! One isn't a real fan now unless you have the club crest tattooed on your todger and/or have 3500 posts on a forum.

If people are so keen to have genuine football threads, why don't they start one? Is it the £5 fee you have to pay to be a "thread starter" such a disincentive? The trouble on here is that if you say "we need a goal scoring centre midfielder" (prettymuch football related) you get called tiresome by someone who thinks the garden is rosy, or called negative because it is taken to be criticism of the manager, or the chairman, or "The Family". I think its true to say people talk football on match days or in the pub. On web forums they tend to talk more of "the politics" in general of their clubs. On here though, the level of discussion is just plain poor. Go to Barcelona, people in the parks read proper newspapers and discuss stuff. Go to a Southampton park, people have bought The Sun and are holding it upside down because they don't even understand what "red top" means.

Even the good old days had the standard over-reaction of frustrated football fans. I can remember regular slow handclapping if we weren't 2-0 up at half time, and on occasions after a run of 3 defeats the "Bates out" chanting was taken up just as enthusiastically by the old farts in the centre west stand. Its just the tails side of the coin where heads is "We're the best side in the league" after 3 consecutive 1-0 wins. Anyone buying a football club must realise that. And if NC and "The Family" didn't already understand that, where on earth must they have been? Switzerland? Oh.

What? Are they not thin-skinned shrinking violets who burst into tears at the first sign of criticism and are suddenly distraught at finding out football fans are impatient and inherently contradictory? The world of banking and mega-business is so much more genteel; no one tries to out-do anyone else, and a helping hand is extended whenever that sad tear trickles down a needy face... I can see exactly why Saints Web forum with all its dozen regular posters would have upset them so much.

...or that Cortese eventually decided to lose AP and following a crap pre-season and possibly poor training as well, wasn't going to get any more players in until a new manager got the side sorted out and identified the requirement.

We showed last year that when things are going well the attendance is considerably higher, so the potential is more than 20k. A lot of players have gone and new players will probably not yet have used up that saving. Unfortunately Pardew's sacking will probably have cost a contract settlement amount. So financially things are probably on balance pretty sound. Adkins will (and there's no doubt in my mind about it) start getting results, and when players come back from injury we'll be stronger. I think we need to improve centre midfield, and if we do that and if Holmes can keep fit, we could have a well balanced side with enough cover for this season. Some good wins will get the fans back into the stadium. I'm quite optimistic about the rest of the season.

.. who I think it was honestly reported was on the verge of becoming our manager........

...which could be realized in the next 7-8 years if we just give him the time. After all he is only 26.

We could all see Hammond wasn't at his best yesterday, we don't need you telling us this. How about trying to understand why? a) this is a forum, which last time I looked was a place for discussion, WHICH REQUIRES varying opinion. b) how about you explaining to us scum why he wasn't at his best, as I assume you have more insight that anyone else In my opinion he is an average player, who makes little impact on a game, but occasionally, like every player, has a good game. He is rarely incisive, and misses the majority of chances that come his way.

Yes, it's called midfield.

We seem to have come into this season with players carrying injuries that could and should have been operated on in the close season. Why Lalana's injury which he had at the end of last season wasn't dealt with is unfathomable.

Not so sure about the difficulty of getting the players fit. If I remember correctly Wee GS proved you could come in after the start of the season and get fitness levels up. Otherwise I pretty much agree with you especially the bold bits. I also think there was a bit of an attitude that "we are the best footballers and can't be arsed on this mud-heap".

The new manager will get them wanting to play. Hammond isn't really good enough IMO, Morgan at The Franchise may just have started doing what he ought to have been doing (getting forward and posing a threat), Puncheon also will prove to be too inconsistent IMO, so someone with pace with a nose for goal (like Antonio started to show) is needed. With better fitness and a game plan, we'll start turning up in the second half and play some football. I have confidence in NA to get this sorted out.

Whatever the players might feel about AP's departure, I 100% believe that NA will prove to be an excellent manager, and will in fairly short order get these players fit, united, organised and working hard. I believe he will be the best manager we've had for a long time. And despite NCs mistakes, I think he and NA will start to work properly together. I don't think the necessary respect or trust was there between AP and NC. I never really thought AP would be what we needed, and I suspect NC may have learned some lessons and can now start with a clean sheet. He has to make this appointment work, or very serious questions will be asked about his approach.

Hmm. It was a charity event. I assume anyone could have turned up. If it was said to the whole audience then it can't be private & confidential, can it? So my question would be "If it was said to the whole audience who could have walked in off the street, and it can be reported without being libellous, why keep it secret if, deep down, you really want to share it?"

Can anyone actually say exactly what "didn't fit with the new system" actually means? Exactly what is the new system, and how didn't they fit? ...Bearing in mind it has been reported that LR isn't to have any role in relation to the first team, where and how exactly is the first team coaching set up expected to fit? This cannot be explained simply by repeating generalities about "seamless integration" or some other similar bits of management speak, but real detail about how things were being done and what the expectations are about how it is supposed to work.

Not the end of the world if the Administrator comes up with a creditor's voluntary agreement that shafts the taxman, a la poopy.

A fair enough assessment. However, doesn't some of what you say imply criticism of Cortese? But in my opinion it suggests more that Cortese knew he was going to get rid as soon as the Window shut, whatever.

Could this thread be renamed to "Welcome to the Deppo Depot" please. Does he get a discount for posting in bulk?

Ah, I see what you did there. The inference in an explicit post should have been more implicit. Very witty piece of sarcasm. You are a card.

How many do you know personally? Remember now, stick to the facts.

"You people"! Ah, the old racist reverse-racism trick! And the "We"? A forward on loan from Italy now, are you? Confused about your identity, by any chance?