Minty

Les Reed was undoubtedly a key advisor in this whole thing - which in itself I find interesting because his previous employer, England, do not appear to follow similar ethos. As for your points about everything else Turkish, that's all a matter of opinion and wasn't something I was intent on focusing on on this thread. I do agree that some things haven't been handled as I would want them to be, but I do acknowledge that the intentions behind it all are to make the club more sustainable and to aid it's progress.

I must admit I always assumed that older fans would perhaps remember SOME point in the past when they felt as positive as now, but it's interesting to know a 69 year old thinks the same!!

Millbrook Rec? Classy place to land, next to a sewage plant, container terminal and main road.

I don't think that's too dissimilar to be honest.

I think the point is that at least it is recognised that there are things to work on, even when winning. I've seen plenty of post-match comments where managers and players talk about the win and what they did well, but I think the single most important thing to acknowledge and look at is the things that still need work, and we're doing that. With some of the recent changes at the back and a few newish faces, it will take a bit of time for them to learn and improve but I have no doubt they are working on it.

I did chuckle at some of the Twitter posts going round last night too. Richard Chaplow is on there too now and he and Ryan Dickson were giving Jos a bit of banter: joshooiveld20: Great win and what a squat we have, 10 changes and such a performance. Great to be on the score sheet again too! Very happy saint today. Ryandickson23: Congratulations to cid on his first goal for club!#widestheadinfootball! yfrog.com/gzsn8uhj Rchap04: @joshooiveld20 which corner of your heed did it come off? #squareheed joshooiveld20: @Ryandickson23 you know what they say about haters.. They hate.. Wide heads are amazing!

Forgot to say, he interviews well also, well spoken, good English, and seems to have a smile on his face. Hopefully he continues to develop with us and maybe there's a permanent deal in the offing?

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2458726,00.html (watch the Saints Player interview for more - his mannerisms and demeanour emphasise what he says) We've had a few of these interviews this season, but it just underlines what is happening at our club and how positive things are, so I make no apologies for reposting a large chuck of it: He also talks about seeking improvement - just like Lallana did after the 4-1 Brum win - which highlights this permanent underlying ethos of striving to do/be better, no matter what the last result. This is exactly what is needed - complacency is the main enemy of a successful side, and to hear players and manager talk about this all the time is music to my ears. Hooiveld has been here barely a month but the terms in which he talks are a key reason for why we find ourselves where we are, and show how the manager's influence on a team is the singularly most important thing. I know I'm an optimistic person but I have genuinely never felt as optimistic as I do now under Nigel's leadership.

Nige has always struck me as someone who rarely lets his heart rule his head. In my opinion he will be a great manager, who will earn lots of success, hopefully with us for a long time yet, but he will have people taking notice. Lest we forget, it was reported that Les Reed was the one who recommended him to Cortese, and he has been involved at senior couching levels in this country for some time. I think Nigel will need some pretty big assurances about any potential new job, if and when offers come in. He knows he is part of a great set-up here with a LOT of potential, and any potential new job will have to offer him more potential than he has here. As Steve says above, any Premiership role would by definition be a 'step up' from us at present, BUT, in terms of potential I think there are very few clubs who can claim to be in the position we are in with so much to look forward to. Nigel knows he has work to do to realise that potential, but in such a supportive climate and club, with the fans backing and players clearly enjoying playing under you, I think Nigel is the kind of man who will recognise that he can probably achieve a huge amount here, and that to do so from League 1 will be far more rewarding than going to an established Premiership club. Things will change, who knows what will happen but my gut feeling for the foreseeble future is overwhelmingly positive and it all revolves around our Nige.

Just a hunch, but I'm guessing that his answer would be 'the controllables'...

Another inspired substitution from Adkins. Get in!

Server is noticeably quicker btw... virtually instant for me.

Brum are coming at us, it's to be expected, but they'll tire and we can pick them off. All about being professional now.

Get Adkins in...!

He has a house in Chandlers Ford, well documented on this site, bought a few months back, because it sparked one of those 'oh so original and never gets boring' threads about him possibly coming back to Saints.

It is possible to drive a hard bargain, and get the best for yourself, without causing bad feeling and 'ruffling feathers'. I'm not saying NC is or isn't doing the latter, I just hope that NC is able to do this, and both maintains and gets respect for/from others whilst doing his job.

I don't necessarily agree with all of that, but I do know what you mean. However, that has little or nothing to do with... We simply don't know what happened, and 'messed around' to one person is 'due diligence' to another. Our standards and processes are seemingly different to what many other clubs might expect now... we've had comments from agents saying that we're 'difficult to deal with' but that doesn't make it wrong. It just makes it our way. Football is notorious for it's 'old skool' views and opinions, and it takes a lot for new ways and people to be accepted. Were we to understand what has transpired we may well agree with Warnock, but that equally doesn't make it wrong. I've already disagreed with how the club have done various new things since Cortese came in but if the club succeeds and does so in an evolutionary rather than revolutionary way, then I feel we have to respect that. Judgement will ultimately come at the end of the season and be based largely on league position, and over the next few years. Not on one transfer deal.

Deduct us 20 more points and put us out of our misery... Can anyone remember a time when Hampshire AND Saints were relatively successful?!

Some would say our 'fate' would be trying to kill off a game in which we lead 1-0, but end up losing 2-1 in injury time. Or slipping from 3-0 to 3-2 and going on to lose the game. But that didn't happen. If you act like you expect something to happen, then you won't be disappointed when it does. We are acting in a completely different manner under Adkins, the overwhelming attitude and outlook is positive, something I've long advocated. Acknowledge the shortcomings and deal with them, but accentuate the positive, and believe in yourselves. Our fate is in our own hands, and Adkins is turning all of that around at the moment. There will be setbacks, defeats and poor performances along the way, but the MK Dons match alone showed us last season what we can achieve if we maintain that belief, and this season is continuing in that vein. So, like the team and the manager, we don't need to make predictions or look beyond the next game, but there's no harm in celebrating what has been achieved and believing you can do better.

Shoot me too if you like, but that actually sounds to me like the honest comments of someone who has nothing to hide or lose and so is just telling it as it was. None of it would surprise me at all.

That's generic commentary from either the Football League or the Player network, not sure which, so not something which Saints' own media department have much control over I believe. Same video is on the Millwall player. I'm looking forward to an All Angles Covered offering tomorrow.

Perform well and the ref's performance won't matter. Well, unless he awards them 6 dodgy penalties and/or rules out our 5 perfectly good efforts... But seriously, he may be **** but if we do a proper job then the ref shouldn't matter.

No one is asking for people to all agree with each other - Do you think I agree with everyone else? Given the breadth of views, that's impossible. I think washsaint simply meant it would be nice if people could respect different views and accept that we're all wrong from time to time.

Not trying to close anything down, sorry, just a light-hearted summary as I see it. And to be fair, you are right, it's one thing when fans make comments about it, but when the club themselves make these kind of amendments, that brings a slightly different level to it. Personally, I still couldn't care less, and I doubt *most* Brighton fans do either... in fact, had I been a Brighton fan I probably would've been a bit embarassed at the clubs reaction.

So, in summary, a few Brighton fans on their message board overreact about us, just like a few Saints fans on our message board overreact about them. Then more people (on both boards) discuss it, so it looks like the thread has more people on it who care than is actually the case, and it becomes a self-perpetuating load of old bo!!ocks. Glad that's sorted then.