david in sweden

I didn't say Mark Hughes was no good, but when you're at the top end of the Premiership the demands are even higher. Liverpool have sacked managers who only finished 4th in the Prem. Chelsea's owner sacked a manager who couldn't keep his team on top and it can't be easy owning " the other club" in Manchester. The Arab gentleman who took over MC wants quick results and has the money to get them. I'm sure he' ll be looking for an Italian alternative in the summer. I like Hughes, yes he has done well with Wales but he's the Man.City manager first ..so I stand by me comment - he's on this ice, with not even a Euro place to contest next season, whilst United will be Champions League contenders again regardless of Wednesdays result.

When I read this I agreed... 100% no chance, I thought.....but now I'm not so sure(?) Fairly obviously I thought, Shearer / Newcastle lad / England CF / legend etc, of course he'll stay next season...but after watching the BBC site / and interview with him ..I'm asking myself ..is there some chance he'd come to Saints next season ..and I can't convince myself that it's such a no-brainer. Apart from relegation, we know how difficult it is to get back up again - Newcastle have a HUGE debt problem, (our entire overdraft doen't cover Michael Owen's salary for one season,) and he's not even a first choice player. It's hard to find a team when looking at their expensive squad and I'm wondering if they are in free fall and they have much worse to come. Listening to Alan Shearer's answers, he doesn't sound so keen to stay remembering that it was only an 8 match assignment with Joe Kinnear recovering from a heart attack Like Lawrie Mac; Shearer's Geordie dialect doesn't sit easy on the ear in Hampshire (any more than Ruperts Uni. accent) but I've always thought that Shearer was shrewd and I think he's playing his cards close to his chest on this one. SO ....would he come to Saints? Mmm? Being here as a boy, he'll have vivid memories of So'ton ...isn't his wife a local girl?...Matt Le Tissier and he grew up alongside each other at The Dell, even his old coach Dave Merrington (another Scouse) is still around...and his assistant at Newcastle is Iain Dowie (no stranger to Saints) and perhaps League 1 would be a less stressful managerial start than trying to resurrect Newcastle overnight. There are a lot of IF' s here, starting with a successful Pinnacle offer, but if MLT could persuade AS to come here .......just now it maybe a Football Manager fantasy game, but I'm not SO sure as I was that the idea is a non-starter. NOTE; Look at the BBC site yourself and listen ..also take in the extra item about stress for football fans in relegated sides. Interesting !

the real facts are we need some tough, no nonsense midfielders and a back line which is like the Berlin Wall....and a couple of front men who can shake off defenders and take on a goalie one on one ..and score. Forget the pretty football ..we have to get out of League 1 ASAP.

It's just stats.in the report. I think it's incredible that so many don't succeed, but it's obviously tough - even starting at the bottom.

.....and... just for the record......the last time we played Goillingham in a LEAGUE match was .......in (wait for it) ...1957/58 in Div.3 South. They finished in the bottom 3 (no relegation in those days) but the following season turned up in the " newly-established " Division 4 -which eliminated the geographical factor of Div.3 South and North. With looming energy crisis etc, maybe an idea to revamp that; energy-saving shorter trips to away games ( not Carlisle again !)...and help the economy of smaller clubs (like us)! (think we've played Gills in some cup competition since (?) - unsure.)

As a keen student of history, I am continually reminded that history repeats itself. Looking at the post war period; Saints had a period of enormous success without ever quite achieving the ultimate target - promotion to Div.1 (the then Prem.level). Whilst older fans talked about the great disaster of season 1948/49 when we were 8 points clear at the top at Easter and went into free fall and finished 3rd (2up/down in those days). But in the previous seasons 47/48 we were 3rd, and in the season 49/50 were were one of THREE clubs to finish on 52 points (Sheff.Wed beating Sh.Utd AND Saints on goal average). Rarely has anyone come so close and failed. Two years later we were relegated to Div. 3 South. In this time we lost 3 managers in a short time...Bill Dodgin to Fulham, and took some ex-saints stars, then later Sid Cann and George Roughton ..before Ted Bates took over. From having " one foot on the ladder " in April 1949, we were relegated in April 1953. A sad tale when one considers, we were 8th in Premiership and Cup Finalists in May 2003, then relegated two years later ..and now once again. The sad parade of unsuccessful managers is also a sign of one of the root causes. It took a few seasons to recover in the 1950's..and whatever we do next season, starting with -10 pts, doesn't make us favourites for promotion. but I like to be optimistic ..so maybe in a couple of seasons..back to CCC..? and who knows. History often brings dramas, but rarely surprises...(at least not for those who study it).

I see your point, but both at Saints and Sunderland he lacked the service and midfield support. Spurs are a stronger side in midfield and with Lennon on the wing , KJ could get a hatful next season, besides which HR likes to buy back his "old " players from other clubs, and he may recall KJs time at Saints.

yes you got my drift london saint1604, ....perhaps I did wax lyrical a bit there, it was just a bit ironic to look at a " not-so-old " fixture list and see that we weren't alone in the relegated teams. In my many years as a fan, I think that Charlton were rarely ever much better than a CCC side, although Curbishley did hold them together for a long time and Norwich and Saints spent a lot of seasons together firstly in the Div.3 South, later in the early 1960's in old Div.2, (CCC) and again later in the70's and laterly some seasons in the Prem. Now we end up in League 1 and going to play each other AGAIN next season.(who'd believe it ?)

Nice phrasing, SFC Forever! your comment reminded me of the famous Lawrie Mc Menemy quote; (at a time when we had our great period in early 1980's) "..... as a manager you can never win. If we win, everyone says... the team played well, If we lose... it's my fault 'cos I picked them ! " ..........Never a truer word LM.

I was actually quoting an overview of the report to the League Managers Association - It isn't rocket science but I'm surprised that it didn't come up with something we DIDN'T know! Of course experience counts, but looking at the English game ..the number of managers who seem to come direct from player to manager and succeed are definitely in the minority. I sure Guordiola is doing OK but look at the team he's got...the survey however, was highlighting English Clubs/managers. Now all we have to do is wait for the " new owners" to chooses their manager (sorry MW ) back to the Academy 4U (if you're lucky). WHO will " they " choose......an inexperienced Former Prem/ International player or a hard slogger from the lower divisions .....with a bit of form. Either way the fans will have their own opinions.

Hi Patrik, I remember the English criminal charge as : " Driving whilst under the influence of drink (or drugs) " ...unless they've re-worded it since. the other part of the charge is probably; " failing to report an accident " or " leaving the scene of an accident "

....apparantly - it's EXPERIENCE. A survey carried out by the League Managers Association shows that the key factor to being a successful manager (which presumably means they don't get sacked so often) is...... Experience. The win % of 4 managerial groups appears like this; former internationals 35.2% former Prem. players 34.5% ex F. League players 34.7% not played professionally 34.1% ( the variation is almost NOTHING) . but the difference is that many of the "survivors" have; - played the game at some level, not necessarily at the top. - They have served as assistant manager to someone else. - They started off in the lower leagues. Looking at this in practice we see; Ferguson played in Scots.(Prem) over a longer period no real international exp. Allardyce - long time defender with ..Bolton ? no int.exp. Moyes - Played in Scotland - internationals ? ..not that I know of. H.R. club player with West ham, no internationals - but has saved Spuds. Three managed to save their clubs from certain relegation -at least for now. Roy Hodgson - no star in england but managed 16 clubs in 7 diff.countries. Tony Pulis - former lower league player. Has good team at Stoke now. Paul Hart - (ex Leeds def.) did a better job that T.A. at Pompey. there are many more examples but famous internationals with good careers fall by the wayside like weeds; Southgate, Brian Robson, Paul Ince, Tony Adams..and Alan Shearer (may at least keep his job another year.) Roy Keane's spell at Sunderland was limited and Mark Hughes is on thin ice at Man. City. The average " sacking time " for the not-so-successful is.. 1½ years, while impatient Premiership teams give 'em the boot after 6 months. 49% of " first-time managers " who fail never get a second chance! It's tough life...even for a well-paid manager.

well spotted, but it's still worth a mention - don't you think ?

.......and statistically speaking ..32 is below average age for good goalies. Names don't come to mind just now but there are a number of very good keepers around in both CCC and Prem.who are well over 35 and doing well. There should be quite a bit of mileage in Kev. yet Somebody with better knowledge than me can name them I'm sure. I know van de Saar was around 35 when he left Fulham and thats a few years back.

item published recently on OS pointing out that both Michael Poke AND Ian Turner (1976) both kept a clean sheet in a Wembley final. However, in the strictest sense of the word, there is another. In the 2002 Cup Final, Antti Niemi was goalie from the start and between the posts when Arsenal scored their goal. Niemi later suffered a pulled muscle in his leg and was subbed for the rest of the game by ..Paul Jones...who kept a clean sheet. So in fact the list is THREE...not two. ALSO leads into the now legendary pub quiz question ; Which goalkeeper kept a clean sheet in an FA Cup Final, but only got a losers medal ? Answer: Paul Jones !

Given our present situation, any potential new manager wouldn't have a lot of money to play with and certainly would have to sell someone, but if you're making out a team sheet, then Kelvin would be the first name - and not just because he's the keeper. I'd be glad if he stays, my concern would be which of the other THREE goes ?

Yes that was my thoughts too, Alanh It seemed at the time that the two deals weren't dependent on each other. It certainly would have been the most sensible thing to do. Did anyone do it ?

Absolutely Colin, I remember it well. I used to shelter under the West ..near the half way line (a good view of the whole pitch) but when the crowd in the stand above were roused - they stamped their feet like crazy. You usually got a shower of rust filings down your neck and it always felt like something was going to come down on your head. The noise was deafening. I don't know what it did to the opposition, but it nearly frightened the life out of me !

It seems to be clear that for all his (many) faults, Rupert Lowe had a tight hand on the purse strings. I'm sure his Board wouldn't have sanctioned these deals if only because he'd already established a salary policy - and even reduced players salaries after relgation from the Prem. I don't believe he would have sanctioned a £6 million overdraft. If we'd taken them on board they should have been used properly and others sold to cover the cost. I'm sure it looked impressive at the time but Euell rarely showed much in the early days, though we should be grateful to Stern John for his 19 goal (?) contribution during his best season. The interim Board had no capacity to control cash flow, and clearly didn't understand the " value " of money, and were playing Russian Roulette with the clubs finances. By the time RL returned, the next bullet in the gun was due to fire. Bang ! - now were all dead.

I don't suppose that footballers are any different to anyone else when it comes to addictions (alcohol or substance abuse), they just get more publicity and media coverage over such incidents. The fact that ikons like George Best and Gazza succumb isn't good PR for football...or any other profession. Pop stars, judges, MP's and even police, but big drinkers who start early, and those who can't control the habit are on a downward road without brakes. Sooner or later - something happens. The fact that they may / may not be wealthy, or have time on their hands is hardly relevant. Some alcoholics would sell the kitchen table to get a drink. Joe Bloggs may work in a factory, or shop and be relatively anonymous in society, sadly those who have known fame and recognition have a greater distance to fall in the eyes of the public. I'm pleased to say that we had a few remarkable seasons with partnerships like ; Lunderkvam / Monkou, Lunderkvam / Richards and Lunderkvam / Svensson. Any of which were a joy to watch and the equal of almost any defensive pair in the last 30 years. He was a brave player, and frequently bled for the cause..was severely injured on several occasions, even played in a "Phantom" mask for a month when we were short at the back and had no other cover. In the end he never recovered from his last injury..and I guess the rest we know. I'm sorry for Claus, though I think he must stand up for his mistake, but the writing was on the wall (IMHO) even in the 2002 Cup Final. He had a real stinker trying to mark Thierry Henry (who wouldn't) but I think that took his confidence as he wasn't the same player afterwards. Tough world Claus, be glad you didn't injure anyone and take it like a man!

....looks to be the latest target for HR at Spuds, now that they have been priced out of the market for Tevez, BUT the big question is : ..Was there one of the famous Rupert Lowe type " sell-on " clauses in KJ's move to Sunderland ? If so ... ...what is the % of a deal that might be £10-15 million ? He was sold for £6m. ...thats always assuming that there is still an SFC around to collect the fee !

seem to recall reading a quote about a bid for Dyer from ...Ajax in Holland.

You're right about the design. The design of the DELL presented a " wall of sound " that was amazing. The home side were used to it but visiting teams were terrified. Several famous players have said (TV interviews) that visiting the DELL was a challenge in itself, the volume and intensity of the crowds cheering / singing was frightening. Don't know if the crowd were a help to the Saints..or a hindrance to the opposition. A bit of both - maybe . SMS is a lovely stadium but doesn't have the acoustics that the DELL had.

maybe ..he's just loyal to the club ! No ! can't possibly be that sort of oldfashioned service went out with Terry Paine, and MLt didn't it ?

I think that many of us have only heard one side (RL) of that story. Seems to me that Souness was promised money for transfers but Lowe reneged on his promise of funding. I know that it was enough to force Lawrie Mac to resign (as director) in protest. His sudden departure did upset a lot, but there maybe more to it .