Clifford Nelson

David Jones is the proverbial Teflon Man. He must be special.

Leon has clearly been involved in Saints because he's a fan. He is also a successful business man in his own right. Being both a fan and running the club is not always a happy combination (see Newcastle, for instance) but the criticism he suffered for his time in charge I think was at least in part suspect and self-justifying for those who levied it. We are grateful, and he comes out with credit from the whole spectacle, but I think it is probably rather early doors for giving him some special status in the club. ML has made clear that he will not have any involvement with the past squabbles, so let's give the past a rest for a good while, should we? Lawrie Mac, after all the years he served with distinction, must reasonably be first in line for something like a ceremonial role, like vice president, for instance. The club has already said that freebies for directors and ex-directors are no longer on the agenda. Leon doesn't need it either.

There is a five year plan for returning to the Premiership. with money available as appropriate for the next manager, in stages to fit the plan. The full executive, including a Sporting Director/Director of Football will be appointed in August. The latest statement from the club re-iterates that new players will arrive within days, and the Solent Forum has been delayed until September to make sure all new appointments and players have arrived beforehand. What more would you want to know? Aren't you just struck with a tiny bit of panic? If so, remember: "If you keep your head when all those around you lose theirs..."

I couldn't believe that it hadn't become a talking point. It felt a bit like I was sitting on a secret. Well, panic's over then?

Much still to be revealed, I'm sure.

There is a pompey number to ring. I understand that they are rather desperate down there.

Don't forget that there is also a Five Year Plan (haven't heard about them since the end of the Soviet Union) to return to the Premiership. It was clearly said that capital would be made available "appropriately" at all stages. There will be injections of money, but clearly in a planned and not panic stricken way. In the meantime we can look forward to local derbies, if not next year, the year after, unless Poopey falls past us whilst we are on our way up. Schaden freude! - One of the german expressions, like schweinhund for the previous regime, I'm practising in honour of ML.

With such complete lack of news it might be worth quoting the club's statement about Stern John in the following respect: "Saints wish to make it clear that our new executive team and first team management are working hard to recruit the right players to help enhance the squad and we hope to be able to announce further additions in the coming days." With the further news that the Radio Solent Forum has been delayed until September to make sure that the new players and executives are in place beforehand, there is in my estimation no reason to panic. Maybe we will have to get used to that things are done in a different way from now on.

I'm following a team on the continent as well, where the website is authoritative and ahead of the rest of newsmedia. Seems like good management to me and I hope we can carry it on.

With Stern gone it means that the money we intended to pay him can be paid to somebody else. If Rasiak and Saga goes - remember, they are on thousands a week - we can afford to pay several new players or two or three rather better ones which no doubt AP already have in mind. It's no disaster.

Usually depends on what it is doing for the morale of the team. I'm not sure about Saga anymore, but Rasiak as out and out goalscorer is better than what else we've got. If playing him means we win games, then it's the right decision. If it p*sses the rest of the team off so we lose games, then it's the wrong one. Only AP can judge that.

He used us, first for training since nobody wanted him, then as a bargaining chip, and for that I hope his b*lls rot and fall off, but I'm sure I'll get over it. What is more to the point with regard a post I wrote what seems ages ago, during the takeover, is that OS was first with the news! That never used to be the case in the past, when the club's news and rumours alike leaked everywhere and the OS was the very last place to go for any authoritative statements. Mainly it was used for corporate chestbanging, trying to tell us the most inane nonsense, such as we hade "the fastest growing" radiostation in the south, or that the club was renowned for it's catering - (Of course it didn't mean the appalling fodder sold to fans on the concourse, which only claim to fame is that it is beaten in quality by burger vans and home brews, something of a world's first). This might mean that I will have to change my searches to start with OS, rather than to add it as an afterthought.

I think it was what appeared to be a positive comparison between ML and RL which got up a lot of goats, or possibly got a lot of goats up, on their hind legs braying wildly. In comparison with the arrogance with which RL treated the world, especially his customers and employees, his "good" points come up very short indeed. Let the man sink peacefully like a stone, settle on the bottom and never be mentioned again. His legacy, in part or in whole, cannot and should not be subject to any attempt of resurrection. Such arrogance is only worthy of contempt. Let's now move on to more interesting subjects.

"...to keep your head when all around you are losing theirs..." - we're just not used to anything but panic, arrogance, missed opportunities and creating of shareholder value. Let's calm down and remember that whilst the continental business approach created Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen, we created Rover. I'm sure some pretended it was the envy of the world as well.

Since the mortgage was in the region of £30M it's hard to believe that it was part of the purchase price, but we are, according to Cortese, "debt free". I guess that the Norwich Union/Aviva's arm was twisted quite ferociously, and since one wonders who else would like to buy a premiership stadium in Southampton, the price was probably reasonable. That means that all income goes towards the running costs of the club. It will, however, be a great difference in income if we have an average of 15000, 25000 or 30000. There is obviously a break-even figure. I wonder what that one is.

Just don't equate St Markus, the glorious one, with the schweinhund RL.

What strikes me more than anything is the complete lack of rumours coming out of SMS. Everyone in there or at Staplewood has learnt to keep their mouths shut. If there is no transfer activity either for players or for backroom staff there isn't even rumours about the inactivity! It's strangely infuriating after years of leaks and rumours. This is what it must feel like for a dog to be without a bone until dinner time. It looks like AP is keeping his powder dry until he knows what is happening in the striking department. If they all go we have one situation and if they all stay we have another. Rasiak and Saga would also attract fees, however modest, especially in the case of Saga. It was made clear that there would be funds available for progress, although proportionate to the task. I can't see that AP would have arrived here knowing that there was no money, since he must have thought the same as we did before the Hearts game, that the team didn't have a hope even to survive in L1.

I think we agree in the mains. The thought about a midfielder inside him is an interesting one. Maybe a variety would be an experienced RB who could cover the right flank when AL is off elsewhere. His position, for now, is on the right, and he has got some work to do to be rightfully compared with a young MLT. However, he is, as far as I can see, the only genuinely creative player in the squad, possibly apart from Schneiderlin, but I haven't seen enough of him to make a judgement.

If you read the posts above you will see how many is trying to fit Lallana into a system. He hasn't got the maturity for a central domineering role yet, nor is he a striker, and incidentally Stern looks better playing off a targetman like Paterson than carrying the role himself. The same can be said for Rasiak. Play Lallana on the right, but expect him do to other things than a traditional winger, and then occasionally he will be a bit frustrating when things don't come off. In a season or two he might be right for a central role, but in the proverbial "hole" with a midfield three, I guess. I'm sure that Pardew knows that he has got a real talent on his hands. One who needs guidance and playing time.

If yesterdays performance wasn't a flash in the pan and with some quality additions to provide strength in depth, then promotion suddenly doesn't look out of the question. I am amazed that this team can play football like they did yesterday, I didn't think they had it in them. Usually confidence is built over a longer period than a week with the boss mainly on the phone.

As I said, I don't at all mind the system. You need very skilful and experienced players to play 4-3-3, or variations thereof, which we haven't got at the moment. We were much more comfortable yesterday. I don't think I agree about Lallana, though. If we are going to stick so rigidly to the formula then we are sacrificing what AL could bring to us, and if we're not going to play him he won't improve. Then we could as well sell him now. Remember what Lawrie Mac said about roadworkers and violinists, There should always be at least one violinist, even if a budding one, in a team. We shouldn't have this national hang-up about formation. That was what was forcing MLT to play wide right long after he had become very capable of playing a more dominant role in the team. Branfoot even kept him on the bench because he didn't fit handily into his 4-4-2. I don't know what had motivated them yesterday, but I strongly believe it had more to do with AP than the system. By the way, ought to mention Matt Paterson, who had a very good game. Much more of a target man than Stern or Rasiak, who both seem to thrive playing off somebody else.

I don't object to the system, but I don't think that was the major reason for the uplift in morale of the team from the waving of white flags against Ajax to the willingness to play we saw yesterday. Whatever AP has done behind the scenes, and not of a technical nature, has had a massive effect on the players. 4-4-2 as a system is causing a problem for a player like Lallana, who isn't a linehugging winger by nature. On other threads here you can read him being criticised for his performance! He is, just like MLT in his pomp, a natural for a 4-3-1-2 formation, but firstly we haven't got the 3 who can play it, and secondly AL isn't probably mature enough for that role yet. In the meantime we will have to accept that he is assigned right of midfield, and he will, just like Matty did, have to live with criticism for not being a right winger.

I'm prepared to retract some of what I've written on this thread. I thought it was going to take a long time to instil a bit of fighting spirit and doubted that some of the players had it in them. I was wrong! This was great! Perry is a quality CB, Matt P can lead the line, but numero uno again was Gillet IMO. I actually didn't think anybody had a bad game. Even Wotton did well.

Lallana poses the same problem as there was with MLT (AL is no MLT, I hasten to add, at least not yet). Alan Ball is the only one who got it right by playing Matty in the middle, behind the strikers, and tell the rest to give him the ball. But that was when Matty was a mature player. Lallana isn't yet. You will have to sacrifice something if you play AL, but watching the game today I accepted that. If we want an out and out rightwinger, why not acquire one. With AL you get something different, so let's not try to make him into what he isn't. The alternative is to play a 4-3-1-2 formation which probably will sacrifice width and antagonise people. I don't think he is ready for that responsibility yet.