Lallana's Left Peg

Well I only get 3 posts a day so I may as well use one to cover everything. Was angry earlier in the day but now the dust has settled a bit I am thinking a bit more rationally. I'm absolutely gutted for Adkins - he deserved far better treatment. The journey he has led the team on for the past few years has been epic and a joy to be a part of. We're back in the Premier League far quicker than even Cortese planned to be and as a result he has seen the end of his tenure. We'll never know for how long Cortese planned to keep Adkins once we got back to the Premier League but I suspect the succession planning started the moment we got promoted. I doubt we'll ever hear from Adkins, I imagine he has a decent severance package and a part of that will be to keep his mouth shut. For what it is worth I think Pochettino seems a good appointment, and if you detach the way Adkins has gone, I think he has decent credentials for the club. He seems a good 'fit' however the massive concern in the short-term is the impact this has on our Premier League survival. If you consider he has in the past rejected Fiorentina and Valencia and been linked with the Real Madrid job, as well as rejecting several opportunities since November, it appears to be a bit of a coup for the club. A few other observations: 1. It feels disgusting for Adkins to be replaced instantly, but lets face it, we'd be up in arms if Adkins went and no-one was lined up. At least (scant consolation I know) the club knew who they wanted beforehand. 2. We've picked up some more points recently but there has definitely been a departure from the 'Southampton Way'. It seems quite clear that the Cortese Brief has Saints playing a certain style and a certain formation. Adkins has gone away from this (quite rightly) and now I would assume we're heading back to it. 3. Adkins will always be remembered and the way he has been replaced is pathetic but I don't think Cortese would do it if he thought it would harm our long-term prospects. Cortese may have some strange behaviours but he was proved right when he appointed Adkins and I hope he is proved right again. 4. I sincerely hope any frustration at Adkins going is done in a way that doesn't impact the new Manager or team as that is the last thing we can afford. 5. A Manager of Pochettino's stature won't want to manage in the Championship - would love to know what makes Cortese so sure we'll avoid relegation with the disruption of his appointment. 6. Considering Pochettino speaks pigeon English I thought he acquitted himself very well in his press conference and interview - and I am excited to see what impact he can have on the team. So on the one hand I am gutted and full of regret that Adkins didn't at least have the season, but on the other if you detach the fondness for Adkins and disrespectful way he has been replaced I think Pochettino is a potentially exciting appointment on the long-term. Now just for the nervous last 4 months of the season as we effectively start again. Survive and it will be a very interesting summer. Go down and all hell could break loose.

I don't think he is a bad player, I am just not sure where he fits in right now. Works very hard and respected by all the players but we're a young team with some verve and he operates at a slower pace. It wasn't always a given that Cork and Schneiderlin would step up so brilliantly therefore it will be interesting to see what happens in the summer if we stay up as Davis is at an age where he needs to be playing regularly - not least in part due to his experience and national team standing.

Think it is an early kick off in order to not clash with the final of the Capital One Cup that day.

Their goals seemed avoidable, though I'm told they did create some other chances so I won't grumble at all about that. Great comeback and superb to see two assists from the fullbacks being brave when it would be fair to accept they would be worried about bombing forward in other circumstances. Say what you want out the Adkins relentless positivity in public but he has never once derailed from that theme and it seems the players are well on board with him. Apparently Yoshida was on US TV before the game and when asked about Saints upturn in form since November he instantly said Adkins and his positivity. It's a bonus point both with respect to feelings before the game and then how the game panned out. But more importantly it adds to that momentum that we're hell bent on picking up points no matter what and we'll play a style and team on a game-by-game basis to get them. Looks like the 'Southampton Way' quickly changed from show horning players into a pre-meditated formation and playing one way to selecting the best men for the job to stop the opposition and keep a goal threat ourselves. Quite a dramatic change if we're honest. But no complaints from me, very happy with how quickly we've adapted to this league and the belief instilled into the players from the Management team. Feels like we can have a proper go at a good Everton team now and make it a very different game to earlier this season.

I think he travels with the first team. Even if it was complete right now I would not be surprised to see it formally announced by the club tomorrow - just easier for everyone and if we were to lose tonight it would be a welcome shift in distraction.

Not adverse to him moving on if the bid was right however leaves us in an interesting situation at left back. How do you buy a good left back with him knowing he'll be second choice to a 17 year old? Then if you can't convince someone to come in with the required experience / quality how would you feel for Shaw's backup to be unproven? Then if we got relegated and Shaw left... All ifs and buts however is a difficult situation to manage.

A large part of the attraction with Forren is what he can do with the ball. The club have been desperate for a ball playing defender for a long time. His distribution is very good and a part of what we desperately need. Add the fact he is left footed to it and the attraction grows. If I am going to be balanced in this I would also add he isn't the quickest so lets hope he is good at reading the game and concentrating.

Bid accepted?

We have a very young team and physically we were up against it today. When that is the case I expect us to use the ball far better and the general quality of play today was terrible. Results don't matter too much at this level but performances do, and I thought Joe Curtis and Jake Sinclair will look back at the game with some regret (if they were senior players there may be a few expletives to describe their performance). On the other hand I thought Stephens was very good, Turnball decent, Targett ok. The rest showed effort but little quality when it mattered. But lets not be too downbeat, you only have to look at the names on the Liverpool teamsheet to know they sign them from around the world so its a good learning experience for the lads.

We have a decent shape off the ball, but Liverpool are bigger and more experienced than us and it shows at times. Just need a bit more belief and movement up front to grab something to hold onto.

Many Pompey fans have had doubts over the Trust bid over the past few weeks and via looking from afar it appears their questions have often been answered inadequately. At first it seemed anyone who questioned aspects of the bid was shot down and deemed not a proper fan. After this initial pathetic response meant the questions didn't subside I've seen a different tactic used recently - it now appears a default response is 'what alternative is there?'. As though the person who has a question of concern over an element of the bid has a point but the best way to answer them without directly harming the bid effort is to admit they may have a point but with no other option available they'll just have to deal with it - it is an almost ignorant response considering people are being asked to put £1000 into the bid. 'Yeah we know there are holes in the bid but as we're the only bid there is no option so please give me your £1000'. Pompey are too big not to exist in some form - if it is as a phoenix club then so be it. But it doesn't rest too easy that the cheerleading for pledges continues via not answering real concerns in the business plan. It doesn't seem too clever or moral. If ever there was a time to be up front and fair now is it. In many respects this article is a reflection of the new approach above: http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/portsmouth/fb_news.php?storyid=19100&title=sj_maskell:_players_have_their_part_to_play_in_not_killing_pompey These statements in particular: I would love for the values enshrined in the Trust movement to actually be visible during their bid and plea for pledges, because quite frankly it appears what they have written on paper and how they are addressing the real and fair concerns of their fans wondering whether or not to pledge is a world apart. You aren't any less of a fan if you don't pledge, and you certainly aren't wrong to question any aspect of the Trust bid. There is another option to the Trust bid, and that is to start again. Otherwise you might end up with a club based on a majority ownership from property developers with no interest in the true welfare of the club, and, I dare say, £1000 out of pocket in a situation you can't truly influence. The Pompey supporters who have real concerns are in a very unfortunate situation.

Today wasn't flashy or great by any means, but in many ways it shows how we have progressed this season. First half was solid and we played our football in the right areas while ensuring we wouldn't be caught on the break if we did lose the ball. A little more composure and we would have had a few goals in addition to the fortunate penalty. Second half was all about digging in as we didn't show the ability to keep the ball long enough to take the sting out of the game. As we dropped deeper and deeper I feared the worse and make no mistake Villa did have some good chances to equalise. But as the game wore on the players stood strong and did everything that was asked of them. We've come a long way in the last 5 months and todays performance showed that. It wasn't pretty but there was a lot of professionalism out there and hopefully that result gives the team some more belief as well.

Apparently Milan have rejected a 10m Euro bid for Abate from Zenit and have instead demanded 15m Euros. It was suggested that moving out Abate was the deal that would give Milan the finances to fund purchasing Astori. So potentially sounds positive for us and for Cortese playing the waiting game...

Hard to work out where we're going with Rodriguez. I have a little suspicion that the club had doubts about Lambert in the summer and Jay Rod was purchased to be his replacement. But as it turns out Lambert has done well and Jay Rod as shown he needs some refinement to be a starter in the league as a lone striker. The trouble with Jay Rod is that he has a lot of tools and I am not sure any single one stands out as what defines him as a player. But at the same time I think his movement is brilliant and it will definitely come together in time - however it won't come if he doesn't play (so a bit of a Catch 22 situation). If he can keep his composure in the final third he will score lots of goals - in fact I think he'd have another half dozen by now if he relaxed and didn't tense up a bit when opportunities come. Whether that is because he is trying too hard because he is in and out of the team or whether that is something down to his age and lack of experience at the level we'll have to see. The finish against Chelsea was certainly very composed so maybe he can push on now. Overall I am happy that we've got him at the club and very happy he isn't playing left wing any more. In terms of the interview, he said he was frustrated but I think it was said in a way that every footballer who doesn't play is frustrated, not that any promises were broken nor that he can't understand why he isn't playing.

At least he is back doing some light training - and that doesn't look like straight line training either so progress from the Echo report that anything other than jogging in a line caused discomfort.

He has indeed - Matt Targett getting a run of games for the u21's gave Nehemie a chance to start several U18 games. I saw him first hand in Manchester at the Trafford Training Centre and he didn't look out of place. Has a long way to go but with Shaw now a staple of the first team and Targett taking his opportunity for the u21's this is a good opportunity for Nehemie.

Well I can't see this one being sorted any time soon but if I attempted to summarise the last few weeks of activity with Saints glasses on I would say: 1. Cagliari are in financial trouble and seem forced to sell their most valuable asset (Astori) 2. Saints, Liverpool, Napoli, and AC Milan are credited with serious interest 3. Napoli's interest was born out of having two defenders suspended for 6 months - although in the meantime they have signed a winger on loan from Udinese. 3. Liverpool's interest appeared to be at a value far lower than Cagliari wish to sell for regardless of their financial state 4. AC Milan would like the player but they have financial problems themselves - much of their activity will depend on selling Robinho (deal fell through) and Abate (in talks with Zenit) 5. Saints are credited with having made a bid that Cagliari haven't rejected out of hand and also that Astori has agreed personal terms. So from a Saints perspective we must feel confident that neither Napoli or AC Milan will be in a position to bid more than our initial bid, hopefully leaving us in a position in a few weeks to be the only serious bidder about and chance to get the player for less than Cagliari are demanding right now? The risk is of course that Napoli and / or AC Milan do make a bid better than ours and that in the meantime we do not pick up points in the league that Astori may otherwise help us if we stumped up the extra cash. I am all for playing the long game but would be interesting to see how long Saints are going to hold out for on this one. Although perhaps if I was being negative after Villa we've got Chelsea, Everton, and then Man Utd before the transfer window closes and whether Astori would make a real difference in those fixtures could be debatable.

Ah yes, so it was.

We were linked with this guy back in the summer. Someone who can play central defence or left back from memory.

So Pompey roll the dice again and mess it up. After all that happened up until the summer, someone somewhere determined the most appropriate thing for them to do as an organisation in Administration was bring in experienced players with nothing to prove and by doing so paying them wages other solvent clubs could not afford. Crazy. The consequence is the club only existing due to HNW individuals funding the pensions of players who don't really care and Pompey (with the 10pt deduction) finding themselves rock bottom of League 1. It's quite pathetic when you think of it, even moreso when you consider what seemed to be their entire fanbase not questioning a thing until this thing all fell apart in the past month or so. The very least they could do while in Administration is behave with some sort of responsibility given the somewhat lenient punishments they have endured during the past three years. Anyway, be interesting to see the Trusts response to this as on one hand it is behaving with fiscal sensibility but on the other it is another big step to League 2 where the business plan and thus credibility of their takeover takes a hammering. League 2 football is not in the projections for any cash income and if they dare suggest it'll result in the same income it will be a complete joke. Plus this news may well result in even less pledges being converted than any revised target set since Christmas and then the focus shifts towards the fans being nowhere near major shareholders in the club and it just being a land bank exercise for property developers. I don't wish any ill-will on the Trusts bid, but I am surprised at the lack of transparency over some aspects of it given the whole thrust behind the supporters having a major role to play in running the club is....transparency.

Our set piece delivery the past two seasons has been the best I've known it since Le Tissier retired. Quite like the pace and whip on the corners, don't mind hitting the first man frequently considering when we do get it right we look very dangerous. Better than just floating one into the box inviting the keeper to collect or giving the defence plenty of time for someone to get into position to clear.

No idea if true or not but I always assumed it was a loan deal as we were hedging our bets as to what to do with him next summer when we see what division we'll be in next summer. Very valuable player in the Championship however I do understand why he is one of the promotion team / squad not given a chance in the Premier League given the sort of player he is and what we might need this season. Although that said if the club bombed him out to get Mayuka in then it was a pointless exercise. If he has left for £4m then we've at least flipped a good profit on him and if the deal is confirmed in this transfer window then it may point to some decent activity from ourselves.

0.5% of transfers would happen if anyone adopted that policy. Very few deals are clean cut and quickly concluded, that is why the last few days of every transfer window are bat**** mental as that is when people are forced to make decisions. For the calibre of player we need, there are very few clubs out there who would be in a position to accept an offer straight away without having to line someone up to replace them beforehand. If we had a great offer for an existing first team member who played for us we'd be mad to accept without first understanding who could replace them and then going through the process of learning if they were available etc. All of the transfers that have occurred at the start of this transfer windows have involved players unwanted / unneeded by their existing clubs. By and large those players aren't usually too much in demand and I would be far happier the club didn't panic sign and worked to sign the right player in the right deal for long term benefit. Saints have developed a big scouting network and the number of players they keep track on are staggering (as do all Premier League clubs). But there does have to be a very particular set of circumstances for a deal to happen. If we were to profile the sort of player the club are after with respect to spending decent money on them it could be broadly described as: 1. Best years ahead of them 2. Will retain value 3. Will grow with the club 4. Saints will be a step up for them (or at most a sideways step) so they retain hunger and ambition (and wages aren't too extravagant) 5. Must not have a greedy agent Then add on top of that the complexities of actually completing a deal even if the player was interested and met the criteria it is no wonder nothing happens too quickly.

Never understand why people get so frustrated with the lack of public information from the club over transfers. It doesn't do us any good whatsoever to share any piece of information publicly - there is literally no good that can come from it. Adkins has alluded that there may be some activity in the first few days of the window and then some at the end of the window, I think that is the best we will get from the club. But I am confident that there is no lack of effort - it takes a lot of work to get a transfer sorted and there are a lot of things that can change during the course of a deal.

Our last away game at Walsall was a Tuesday night. We battered them but lost 1-0. Remember the massive over reaction on here after the game as those at the match said it was 'one of those days' (it was) and others who just saw the result and wrote off any chance we had of automatic promotion. But you are right - the supporters club (a few quid to get in) did run out of food and they had about 2 people serving and all the food on a few trays and kept having to cook more. Then once you finally got your food after 45mins of queuing you'd turn around to see there wasn't a spare seat anywhere to be able to eat your food and instead had to eat standing up for yet more ballache.