captainchris

Totally disagree with this comment. As the Saint86 says Harding was a good energy player who would have stepped up no problem. Indeed he looked good in pre season and in typical fashion we discard him in favour of a player who is either blind and I mean that literally or just unable to follow the game - I refer of course to Fox - a total waste of 1.5 m......

I'm so sure about this....some of our signings have been very suspect indeed...some of the team selections have been also very suspect indeed.... The persistence with players who are clearly not good enough is very suspect. For me NA is showing too many alarming flaws plus last year we were promoted despite playing some very average football second half of the season and only crept over the line. I am beginning to think NA has been punching above his weight for a while now and it is beginning to show....Too many mistakes - its time to shake his hand and thank him for everything NA will not take this club to its destination.....

There is a grain of truth in this post....

Hoddle

His international appearances were rubbish so what the hell are you on about ! Also he has been nothing short of rubbish for us this year. He can shut up and face facts he's not good enough!!!

Why does every one think Fox is worthy of a place......?????? If we don't know by now that he's not up to it we never will - WHU will destroy him......

Your sarcastic analogy is completely out of context. Any professional footballer should be able to kick with both feet, you cannot play football one footed....unless you six and haven't yet learnt to kick with both feet! If you find yourself in the fortunate position of being a professional footballer and one footed you should practice, practice, practice until you can do it.....

The best roll for Fox would indeed be in another position - as shown last night for Scotland he is way off the pace for a place in our team...It's all been said before - not intelligent enough or quick enough, by quite a margin..'position suggestions' - tea lady, ticket sales desk, car park barrier operator, orange juice monitor, half time divet replacer, Staplewood Refurb Contracts Manager, Defensive transfer policy coordinator, Ticket sales promotion (by not playing) lol......

Precisely-we press early on and dominate then stop doing that a play deeper and deeper why do we persist in doing this. The only time we don't do this is when we don't press at all which is often! Subs were pathetic - no other way to describe them....I think there will come a time when these rather strange decisions are called into question by those who pay the wages......The people who were responsible for the lack of attention to our defence personnel over the summer should equally take a look at their CV. That lack Of attention was nothing short of incompetent! We have heard so much about 'we will analyse the game' after matches but I see very little evidence that this much lauded action actually takes place!! Perhaps it's just s talking shop! Management of the bus needs to learn lessons much quicker and be much sharper - we are far too slow to the chase management wise and this now becoming a theme...

What the hell is going through Adkins mind?

From what i have heard today the theme of not paying for work done on sometimes rather spurious reasons is not uncommon at St Mary's and indeed rather more 'normal' than this thread suggests. I have been told today that there are other cases pending from the hospitality refurb - not fact you understand just people from the companies concerned telling me some details today........where bills may not have been paid in full resulting in arbitration which came out in favour of the contractor......OK - if, the work was shoddy fine but ........sometimes it's very difficult to deal with certain companies who never pay up........Some companies are determined not to pay the full bill and search for the slightest detail to withhold. I would not suggest that the people I have spoken to today would lay that at the door of St Mary's though! Call it good business - call it bad business - my call is not good but maybe I am not hard enough and maybe some builders are not god enough but I'd say on the balance of probability that it's a shame that some building projects at St Mary's seem to have gone wrong and with a dilligent and fastidious Chairman you would be surprised of any hickups......if there are any of course.......!!!!

Fox is a 'bad' player !!!! Of that there is no doubt!

Good luck Dennis - top guy....

Plus you have to know some sort of code or number for your name......??? Too many barriers......The last tickets left are always in the Chapel and no one wants to sit there! Chapel is such an apt name ....shooosh or you will upset the natives....

Great sense if humour - like it....

Very well spotted and very true. This is exaggerated Even more when we drop deeper which we always do usually after we score!

That is a losing mentality - we have a winning one now ...........!

I am bored with us playing players iether out of position who have proved time and again that it isn't working and playing players (Fox) game after game who are not up to it.....Ok he didn't play today but my point is NA seems intent on repeating the mistakes indefinately.....Also when things go well, as in last week we change things quite radically the next game. I know we had injuries but is there any need to compound this burden by making lots of other changes to tactics and not like for like replacements to personnel....There is an element of repeated poor decision making developing which is slightly concerning to me.....and then repeated several times before the lesson is learnt...

No actually not partly because he carrying an injury unless he's been carrying it all this season and last! He is nowhere near being good enough - has no awareness or peripheral vision apart from being caught out of position all the time, not closing down etc etc. Think Mark Denis and you realise how bad Fox is - there is a universe between them!

If Fox is dropped I'll put a bet on us to win it..............

We will get a hiding if fox plays!

Please please please let that that be the end for Fox who is NOT GOOD ENOUGH....!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE.....

We need to make some changes that is for sure. We are conceding goals - too many and too easily - changes are needed not only in defense but midfiels where Schniderlin is doing what he always does. Nowhere near agressive enough - the standing off and watching opoosition players on the ball ala Fox (Don't start me on him!) is catching. Too much praising and passive management NA will come and bight you - you may have noticed it is happening. Time to be decisive and bold - poor performances should be dealt with - that's why we have a squad. The top teams start by closing down and winning the ball back - we don't do that...........We rush back goal side and become statues in straight lines - except for Fox who plays a roving free role as a left back - a new concept I believe!! You have to engage the guy on the ball - can we not get this basic part of coaching across to our coaches because they are clearly not coaching this to the players and I would like to know why! Against Villa we will have to start being agressive when we lose the ball or we WILL be murdered again. I know Chappers is not a fancy dan like the others we have in the squad but at least he does know how to close down and make runs past our forward line. This is just an example of what we are missing. Sometimes we dismiss the Hammonds and Chaplows of this world too quickly. I can see Cork featuring very soon but he is only a clone Schniderlin and will not add positive energy and bight to the midfield....Message for Saturday - if you haven't got the ball go and close down and engage with the Villa player who has it - hunt in packs of twos and threes same as Barcelona do, give the player on the ball no space or time to pick a pass - if you want to watch a game buy a ticket like we do!

Not only his mind but many others too......Hoddle is a master at ensuring his teams are tight in midfield and at the back - a necessity in this league....A very good manager who went off to his boyhood favourite team which doesn't make him a bad manager......As people have said on here, you have to make big decisions for the team and not be strangled by sentiment or decisions made on principle - Cortese will do the right thing whether it's stick or twist....

You can't help but fully agree with this post........Why on earth do our management continue to ignore the facts though - why is this??? Why would you continue to play players who are most definitely not good enough - it defies logic?