shurlock

U21s in action against Lithuania in Colchester tonight

At least, he's used to being one italian's b itch.

Thats the spirit

Shearer fits with being young and english but doesn't have success on the CV.

KK looked totally f**ked during the WC coverage on ITV. Grizzly, pale, withdrawn as if he had a medical affliction.

Nutshell

Will be interested to know what happens when either Ferguson or Wenger leaves: such a personality cult may have built up at those clubs that they'll suffer some decline. Just look at Forest after Clough. Their dominance is so widespread and unwavering that succession becomes a problem. By contrast, it is interesting that anybody who has come and gone at Chelski has done a relatively good job e.g. Grant. Transitions seem much smoother under an integrated structure. But as somebody as pointed out, you need to get the right personalities for it to work - otherwise the solution can be worse than the problem it is seeking to address.

Nothing to do with fans unwilling to put their heads above the parapet - its a problem with the media. just reflects the fact no fresh-faced radio or TV producer gives a f**k about Southampton 99.9% of the time and is not interested in developing a ground-up network; its simply about the last minute need to fill a slot with a talking head which tends towards the same bland set of interviewees. NI wasn't terrible but he wasn't fantastic - still can't his brain around the demands and politics of being a spokesman. the whole installment plan/transaction discussion, meanwhile, must have sounded surreal and anoraky to an outside listener. No wonder the presenter hurried him on and wanted to know about football-related matters.

Good Keith Hill put Illingsworth back in his box - "oh Nigel Adkins can only handle young players, not L1 superstars".. idiot.

Orange Smirking Monkey - to lighten Phil Brown's workload.

Orangemen supremacist militia? (though O'Neill is Catholic, so maybe not)

Agree entirely. Surprised to read Adkins bio and the players that have emerged under or been given a first break by him: Andy Keogh, Billy Sharp, Jermaine Beckford, Martin Paterson, Jack Hobbs, Jack Cork, Gary Hooper just to name a few. Some managers have worked hard to get a proper shot at the big time; yet it is so easy to be blindsided by billy-big balls and ex-pros cross-dressing as managers.

Excellent profile here (from 2008) http://soccerlens.com/nigel-adkins-profile/6223/ Andy Keogh, Billy Sharp, Jermaine Beckford, Martin Paterson, Jack Hobbs, Jack Cork, Gary Hooper - are some of the players to have exploded onto scene under Adkins (either as loans or permanents), a veritable conveyor-belt of forwards among them.

True - and remember both games well. Stockport as much highlighted how far Papa could change a game and there were many other examples where he was introduced far too late or not at all.

Here we go. People usually with the argument that AP had an eye for a player - yes we signed some decent players but arguably anyone with a copy of Football Manager or a pot to p i $$ in on a HCDAJFU thread would have also identified them: Lambert, Fonte, Barnard, Puncheon - these were all established players that required a large purse not amazing superpowers to spot a diamond in the rough (for that see Pearson's record at Leicester). Of course, ot saying that's true across the board - Harding was a good find to the extent he was less well-known, though he had a decent CV at some big clubs. Antonio was definitely an excellent find. But where AP used his "discretion" or "knowledge", the jury is still out -Hammond, Seaborne, Otsemebor, Trotman. And just as important, there are the omissions - areas in the team -CM, a target-man, extra pace- that were crying out for reinforcement -as far back as Jan- but were ignored. Pardew was not a terrible man manager - he seemed pretty adept at handling young English players like AL and keeping their feet on the ground; his impact on other young players is less certain - people say that Schneiderlin came on leaps and bounds under Pardew. I disagree - he was allowed to play more and more in his comfort zone and people may have confused improvement with dropping down a division; like Morgan, James, Wotton, Hammond and to a lesser extent Puncheon should have faced more competition and not be given such an easy run. Pardew was too passive and laissez-faire at times (just consider the timing of substitutions). Puncheon is interesting because it shows the Lallana effect in reverese: bigging up young English players can also blind you to poor performance and the need to take a grip. How well Pardew did with other types of players -say foreign players like Papa- also needs to be asked - again the record is more mixed. Finally, and most important, is our playing style under Pardew (won't bang on about it again) but it has left us dangerously unbalanced and hostage to the form of Lambert -fantastic when he's fit and in form but a proverbial albatross when he's not. It needed only a dip in form or an injury (or two with Lallana) for this particular chicken to come home to roost. Saturday was only the culmination of a long-festering problem. In hindsight, it was wishful thinking to assume that none of the above would have happened sooner or later and makes it even more puzzling why appropriate measures earlier. All in all, Pardew did a solid job but given the cash at his disposal and the weaknesses in our set-up, it was very much a case of diminishing returns. I appreciate some of what he's done, especially for steadying the ship but that may say as much about the neuroses of saints fans inured to expecting and fearing the worst. But Pardew was never indispensible. As others say, now time to move on and focus on a season that's still there for the taking.

Yep remember those days well - had another Brazilian Rai in the middle, Weah at top. Regularly fought it out with Nantes for the title. But Leonardo was the star man...

There wasn't one at that time.

Mowbray out of those 4 - has done his managerial penance and ready to get back into the saddle.

Stuart Pearce - knows how to be an Italian's bi t ch to boot.

No need for false modesty, little man - you know exactly how I like it. Only a PM away.

You still have 4 hours to make a £100, my little friend.

One thing for sure is that most people here are ITD = in the dark.

Or Paul Merson....

Breaking Bad - underrated US show (though it picked up a few emmies) - about an uptight high-school chemistry teacher who is dying of cancer and wants to pass on a decent inheritance to family. To do so, decides to cook crystal meth and go into the drugs trade. 3 series and counting - and if you like the sopranos and wire but have watched them over and over, definitely worth checking out.

£100 straight up if you correctly name the new appointment - PM me or otherwise - easy money that'd make Utaka envious. P.S. You've only got till the end of the day - at your own pace now....