S-Clarke

That was truly, truly bad. We were one-dimensional, lethargic, sloppy and lacking any real urgency. Last season we heavily relied on the ability of Lambert to hold up play and bring others into it, it wasn't just his goals, he also provided over 20 assists in all competitions. Lambert looks a totally different player this year, his touch is poor, he's laboring around the pitch and he keeps pulling up - something isn't right, and if he's playing with an injury then i'd urge us to sort it out, get a loan player in to cover his space because he's not helping us at the moment at all. He's hindering us if anything. It also doesn't help us playing so narrow. We have Puncheon and Oxc on the pitch - but they seem to cut inside all the time, clog up the play and surprise surprise - Rochdale are able to bring it away with ease. Gully looked ok when he came on, nothing special but he looked neat and tidy on the ball and his passing was sharp - i liked the way he pushed on into the box too....but it didn't help the fact that our game was still too narrow. Also - WTF is up with the pitch? Fonte almost screwed up because a great bit of grass popped up in front of him, Martin could have potentially screwed his knee as his studs were caught in a divot - that can't be helping... Rochdale weren't particularly good, they just took the 2 chances we gifted to them, but other than that when they did have the ball they promptly put it out of play most of the time. This result and performance totally rubbishes the ''staplewoodgate'' tosh. It doesn't take a genius to compare a 4-0 away win under pards, against 2-0 and 3-0 defeats at home after Pards' has left. The players clearly liked playing for him. We lacked direction and any idea, i'm surprised as i felt Wilkins would be able to carry it on slightly but the players just aren't responding for him. If the rumours are true about a new manager this week then it cannot come soon enough. Why are we even in this situation? It beggars belief. We had everything set to go and have a great year, but it's almost been blown away in a moment of madness by Mr Cortese. This week we're at a crossroads, if the decision is wrong then Cortese is in trouble.

I think we will all be very happy by mid-week, and it will show that NC does have the best interests at heart. It's just questionable about how he goes about it sometimes!

That's why i think we'll see a big name come in. That's no disrespect to adkins and howe who i believe are decent managers, but i cannot see them commanding instant respect and getting all fans on side at once.

But ultimately, we need a manager that can manage in the premiership. That is our target. I cannot see Cortese making an appointment based on just getting us out of this league, it will be a long-term appointment. Although nothing in football is every guaranteed. There are good premiership managers, who have also achieved football league promotions.

I think Cortese's options are split into two categories. The up and coming young mangers - Atkins, Howe, Tisdale, Zola. or the experienced, been there and done it managers: Curbs, MoN I honestly don't think the likes of Brown, Dowie or Magilton even feature in his mind IMO. Cortese is at a bit of a cross roads, we really need to get up this year - so do you risk going for an unproven but up and coming manager in the hope he'll grow with the club...Or do you go with someone who's had consistent success in varying leagues with their previous jobs? Personally i'd go for an experienced ''big'' name, someone that will get the fans on side straight away and should command instant respect from the players we have. I think the two names I've mentioned are the 2 names that could realistically go all the way with us. We've always spoke about having to replace the manager half way through the 5 - year plan so we can get someone good enough for the PL....so why not do it now? They're both clearly good enough.

Yep - you can buy tickets on the day. there are very rarely sell outs, so it's likely you'll have a good choice for where you want to sit. and it costs £2 extra if you book on the day.

He performed a miracle down there, there is the very real possibility that under another manager they could be a blue square club today. I think he's proven enough to suggest he's not just a flash in the pan imo.

Both Adkins and Tisdale would be better appointments than either Ince or Dowie, no doubts about that.

Do you think surgery may be the solution here as well?

i will assume that it's based on this article - http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/8363941.Davis__Always_some_players_unhappy/

The club seeked advise from a medical professional during pre-season, who said he could either find out what the problem was and operate on it there and then (6 weeks out) - or as he recommended by the doctor, let Adam carry on playing, nurse him through, and bring him back to me if he breaks down, which he did against B Rovers. It did seem to be clearing up slightly until the rovers game, but 6 weeks is nothing for a knee injury so i think he can count himself lucky with that.

We're good enough to win, but Rochdale are a dangerous side. They remind me somewhat of Brentford last season, kind of surprised everyone, but they play football the right way and have an excellent player in dawson - who is deemed premiership quality by WBA. so we'll have to be on our toes, we'll miss Barnard who i think has been excellent, so it's time for Connolly to come to the fore. Hope he can get back into the scoring grove, as i don't think he's scored for us since gillingham away last season. It'll be nice to get a win though, hopefully a comfortable win, as we'll then be looking upwards within distance of the top 2 which still has to be our target no matter what.

It's been nice knowing you alps.

are we being taken over by Paul Allen again?

Martin Samuels view -

I really wouldn't read anything into the odds tbh. was pardew even listed on the odds before he came here?

I believe they clarified it a little later to say that managers currently in jobs have applied, even some currently in the premiership. Blackmore does seem to have a close contact in the club, but whether the info is fed as spin - who knows.

interesting. KS's track record is pretty good fwiw.

tbf i wouldn't be suprised if he's one of the applicants, i bet he's dying to get away from boro before he's pushed. It just hasn't worked out for him there.

I agree with you. A manager should be left to pick the players, select the team, sort out the transfers and appoint the coaching staff around him that he see's fit. When we first got pardew and there was talk of him overhauling the scouting system etc i actually believed that he is being left to build the football side of the club, which is exactly how it should work. but recent events unfortunatley seem to suggest otherwise. Cortese has always indended to bring a european setup here and i think this will be the way we work now, and the manager we appoint will have to accept that. I think that will limit our options somewhat.

He has struggled since the back end of last season if im honest. He doesn't seem to have ever recovered from the injury he had. A real shame, because at the start of last season he was an utter beast and perfect for this league.

I've never understood why we keep playing Puncheon on the right. He is a left footed player, so why do we never use him there? He is dangerous on the right but it's often counteracted by the fact he has to cut inside.

I don't believe that as a fan base we should sit back and accept what we all feel are poor decisions. We're not just talking about the timing of sacking Pards, there are plenty of other decisions that have been made in the past few months that are seriously questionable to say the least. I have said before that i believe he has the interests of the club at heart, but he doesn't do things the right way and is a PR disaster. He has no experience of doing this and it's starting to show, as we all know - managing a football club is nothing like managing a bank.

We never will, he would have almost certainly been forced to sign an NDA.

I agree with alot of what you have to say Hypo. i'm also just stunned by it all, it's hard to really put it into words isn't it. All in the space of 3 weeks. It's the most surreal period in the history of this club, well for me it is anyway. The events of the last 3 weeks have just totally stunned me in many different ways.