david in sweden

..in the African Cup of Nations. Just finished watching Nigeria v. Zambia , played on a bone-hard, badly laid pitch which did nothing for football skill with both sides playing at 100 mph. Big muscle challenges and the big boot were the order of the day. Few chances to either side and very competent goal-keeping. Nigeria (John Obi Mikel) had a penalty saved by the Zambian keeper (Kennedy Mweene) before HT, but eventually Nigeria scored and led 1-0 until the 85th minute. Mayuka looked to be the only Zambian likley to score, and won an incredible penalty when he was challenged on the edge of the box ...and didn't even go down but the ref. awarded the kick. Enter Mweene (penalty-saving hero) from the first half, and converted the most amazing penalty when he calmly trotted up to the ball, watched for his opposite number dive one way...and calmly lobbed the ball under the bar into the roof of the net. FT 1-1. Difficult to say who should have won, but a really amazing game to watch and see that Mayuka can win free-kicks without trying too hard.

what an amazing OP for anyone to start their Web career with .........about a player who left us 7 years ago ? Anders was dubbed (by media) "the Swedish David Beckham" (when said player had some sort of a top footballing career)... and Anders was certainly one of the star players in the Swedish game. His junior career was quite outstanding and he started kicking a football at the age of 4..(yes 4) and was already one for the future at the age of 9...as a teenager he broke every goal-scoring record that his junior club had and they named a stand after him...or was it the arena (?). Elfsborg had been his only senior club in Sweden until his move to Saints in 2001 (a good deal at 700K)..and he later re-signed for them upon his return to Sweden (2005) and has played 340 games for them. He has played for Sweden ...136 times, and is likely to become the top all-time Swedish international ....if he gets a few more caps, and Sweden get as far as reaching the next World Cup. His Saints' career (127 games) has been endlessly discussed on here, and there are vastly differing opinions. IMO.he was a good player, often played out of position by a succession of managers. However, there is a great clip of him scoring a solo goal from his own half (see on UTube) ....v Spurs in the 4-0 FA Cup win.....around 2002/3. Good team performance that day. He is still incredibly fit and was 36 last July, and helped Elfsborg win the Swedish title last year, when one of his goals was up for goal of the season over here. He has a love-hate relationship with the Swedish media who have been trying to replace him (as too old) ..ever since 2006, but he has seen off allcomers and still gets on the pitch in most matches, and there is still no designated replacement for him in the national side. I have met him briefly several times, and he is open and friendly, and enjoys his popularity and will always chat with fans and sign autographs. He has one topic of conversation - Football. As for your " rather strange " OP...... I'd go for the first choice, though in his (then) situation he was bound to meet lots of smart women - don't you think?...but I wouldn't have called him a playboy. The pic. on OP was taken long time back when he was with Saints, and that particular lady is history now.... After he moved back to Sweden, he met up with an old girlfriend in his home town and they were married some years ago and he became a Dad ...last year I think ? Nice guy, good player, team captain who ..." knows his football".... and is good on TV sports progs. Not much more to say really. Sweden will miss him when he eventually retires ..and so too will Elfsborg.

I think we may be missing the bigger picture here. Of course the "idea " of a 45K arena sounds impressive, but we might only get close to that on rare occasions even if we were top four . and we gained an extra 50% new fans - and most unlikely. Example. Say an average seat price is £30..... a 30K gate would bring in around £1 million per game. Now only 19 league games per season (23 last season) and no guarantee of home ties in Cups ! poss.income. c.£20 million? .....maybe the majority of one years' salaries ? (guess work)? If prices were to be increased .say 20%...the net increase would only be approx. £4 million ..perhaps less if some people couldn't afford the higher prices. So still only upto £24 million. The real income is coming from the TV revenues. I've read vastly ranging figures from £60-£90 million....but in any case it's where the big money comes from... Several of the London clubs get much over 35 K gates, maybe we could stick with SMS as it is ?

to be fair, the majority of jobs have a very fixed vocabulary. Standard set phrases and variable adjectives. Several hundred words and clear instructions. Can't believe that football is so different. It's not the vocabulary that's a problem, but knowing what to say ...and how to say it with conviction.

..but alot of the players didn't !

I think thats one job he'd want to avoid ....especially after last night's performance.

Honestly?..I think most of us on this site, can't get our head around the idea that Saints might become a force in English football - (as they were in the McMenemy era)... Cortese obviously can. Those with longer memories (especially in my generation) can remember a lot of bad times, as well as SOME good. Some exciting games, some legendary players, but never a lot of success. Nicola Cortese despite his (apparant) cold-hearted approach to running things may be disliked by some, but he obviously has plans that few of us can comprehend...and has the money to carry it through. There seem to be some parallels between the "sacking " of Dave Jones and subsequently importing Hoddle..... and the happenings last week. I think it's fair to say that Dave Jones never received the adoration that Nigel Adkins has enjoyed in the last 2 years, when many people thought him to be a miracle worker by getting us out of L1 ..but then doubted that Rickie Lambert could make it as a striker in the Championship ! (it didn't take long to put that fear to bed)....last season's record speaks for itself. Only time will tell if MP will be accepted in the same way as NA was, but securing safety and getting a few shock results will go a long way to winning over the doubtful fans. The key factor will be if Cortese's ideas will work ....whereas David Cameron doesn't dare to accept the challenge of Europe with the same enthusiasm.. Cortese is more confident of a future in Europe, but some people on here seem to be " afraid " (or maybe I should say - apprehensive).. of what might happen IF...it all goes pear-shaped. Only will tell, and the first measure of that will be on 20th May. Meanwhile, we look forward to a new managerial regime and some attractive football .....and a lot more points. COYR!!

I was thinking the same thing.but putting together all the tips and rumours that have been around - since Friday....it wouldn't surprise me if he came back from Spain with a couple of new signings .. My only query is; how many Argentinians are we allowed to play at one time?

Bradford manager is Phil Parkinson.. .......a Saints youth player (in Dave Merrington's time as coach) . in the mid 1980's played 60+ reserve games, but who never got to make a first team app. and moved onto lower league football is now managing a Cup Final side.....talk about fairy tales. Said in an interview in first leg that his team cost ...less than £10,000 in transfer fees. I wonder what their salaries are ...compared to Villa players ?

You see...... I can agree with you delldays. I really expected to see him in the line-up from the first day. OK maybe he wasn't totally fit, and needed some fitness training, but we waited a long time before he got into the side. The West Ham and Tottenham games were very poor defensively and it 's hard to blame him for all those goals. Then we reverted to Gazzaniga.who may become " one for the future " but (IMHO is no better than KD)...and his mistakes cost us at least 4 points in games that we were winning at the time. I hate to " speak ill ..of the departed " but several articles wrote that NA refused to buy in an experienced goalie pre-season... despite Cortese's wishes..and that started the rift between them. Now that we have Boruc, I hope he proves his worth. Some people say he's a bit "weird " but for goodness sake, we had two seasons of Bruce Grobbelaar...that was weird enough.

I checked on Wikipedia for the others in the "new coaching team " but JP doesn't have a page (but apparently has previously worked as a football analyst for MP).

For someone who's had two new managers in less than 6 months, I think he's beginning to settle well. Look forward to seeing him perform against United and City.....if he continues to play well against them, I'd say he's a great buy (except he was free, of course).

I am glad you understand me Rickie, because no-one else seems to .......

sad, but true.

..perhaps out in Europe tying up new deals before Jan.31st. ?

I think that is a sound assessment Dibden, I'm concerned that our affection for Nigel Adkins and his almost unique achievement with back to back promotions had blinded us to some of the shortcomings that we have seen this season. AfterScunny, he did well when we were in L1, and to everyone's surprise last season's promotion but it takes a certain mindset to cope with rapid responsibility. Almost all of our squad were new to the Prem. (as was NA himself)...and Rickie Lambert echoed the reaction of many players when he admitted that they were " shell-shocked " by the seasons start- even if it was hard with those first few fixtures. There were obviously some mistakes, and it was apparant that not every " buy " was his choice but a Cortese / Read choice. However, Nigel's " loyalty " to some players outweighed his judgement in some situations. I made the point on many occasions last year ...even before promotion, that almost every Prem.side had at least ONE international keeper on the books and some even had TWO..whereas we continued with KD (someone I respect for staying with us when things were at their worst)... but he is not Prem. standard, and nor is Fox, Hooiveld or Davis. It comes hard to criticise a man who has provided so much success and entertainment for fans in the last 3 years, and I'm sure some other clubs may have stuck with him to the bitter end.. Cortese obviously saw beyond the possibility of losing the last game and being relegated. Sadly, his misunderstanding of fan reaction /good PR ..has soured the managerial changeover. Cortese (in his own way) has a greater vision for the club - even if most fans don't seem to share it...and speaking as a fan of over 50 years standing, I have to say that one FA Cup win 36 years ago and a couple of promotions leading to a survival struggle nearly every season for over 20 years - doesn't exactly reek of success in this League. Perhaps our perception of " success " (as Dave Jones said) after the last game in " the Great Escape season " is ..merely to survive. Maybe..British managers aren't suited to winning Euro titles?. Nicola Cortese seems to think otherwise. Of course Man.U is an exception, but the number of British managers in the Prem. can almost be counted on the fingers of one hand - and is one less since Friday. Foreign managers seem to dominate.. and have most success. Most Prem.sides struggle to field half a side of " home-grown " players and we will see a few more " imports " before the end of the window. I expect to see some " experience " swiftly introduced into the squad to stabilise / encourage our younger talents, but because we don't happen to know the merits of foreign personnel, doesn't mean they are a bad investment, whether they be coaches or players. I hope /expect Saints to survive this season, and if it's with Pochettino in charge, then it can be no worse than we might have expected with NA.

oooooo

not a problem if he's going to leave in May anyway, and as long as they don't get relegated, ánd they'll save their budget for their new manager - whoever that is.

Nigel is such a likeable guy, and I think most fans would have been content to keep him on - even if we had been relegated...but Nicola Cortese is a man with a vision (as quoted) and he doesn't want a well-meaning, half-hearted approach that might need a relegation and another promotion to achieve it. Now he's in the Prem. he intends to stay....only time will tell if he's made the correct decision. However, it has to be said that the " shock " of moving from L1 to the Prem. in only 2 seasons surprised fans ..and players, and that we weren't prepared. I certainly wanted a new keeper in pre-season. It may have sounded " crude / rude / impolite " as reported , but indeed we have seen that Cortese's summer comments about " not good enough for the Prem " seem to be about right. We started with out a very young side, and without a single player with real Prem experience and although a handful have acquited themselves well..but how many would be considered good enough for a move to ANOTHER Prem side (except Shaw of course)....not many. The idea of having a 25 squad is ridiculous, as not much more than half a dozen are anywhere near good enough...the rest are only there to make up the numbers. I'm still disappointed at the manner of Adkins' dismissal, but in the long run - Cortese may be right - AGAIN !

....according to one article ...he was the longest-serving manager in La Liga ..(almost 3 years) at the time he left Espanyol.....(Spanish chairmen must be more impatient than English ones )

perhaps NOT.....Newcastle Chairman Mike Ashley (?)..reputedly gave Alan Pardew an EIGHT YEAR CONTRACT extension after the summer.

Who are the backroom staff....? well....there's the guy who cleans out the showers and the woman who washes and irons the shirts.....and a lad who cleans their boots. At least they speak English, and wiill probably pick the team for Monday ...

how do you know he didn't ?...he commented on the weather (in English)....and then said he'd take the footballing questions in Spanish ......most Prem. managers have trouble making sense even when they answer in Englsih.

Honestly ?.....I think Nigel was such a likeable guy and his past successes meant I had more faith in HIM as a person, than some of the players we started the season with ....(my fault / his fault / NC ?) A) There's rarely a good time getting rid of someone, but if you've decided to do it, then the sooner the better and take the flak when it comes.... I think NA's openness and honesty has been his downfall and ours (as fans) for accepting everything that came after. B) .as for the new manager.(I won't insult him by mispronouncing his name) .....maybe unknown to us in UK but has good reputation in Spain...can't judge until w've e seen him in action after a few games. However, having made the decision to sack Adkins.....it was right to introduce the new man NOW !....means no delay and put him in the public eye from Day 1..