alpine_saint

Mental. Any self-respecting Saints fan can see that he doesnt want to play for us, doesnt want to bleed for us. He can f**k right off to Milwall as far as I am concerned, preening little prima-donna. See how soon Milwall get fed up with his all-fart no-sh*t contribution too.

hypochondriac for being the biggest WUM by a long, long way. SOGGY is so mind-numbingly boring and repetitive that his persistence is almost endearing

Well personally, I reckon it was the best its been for a good few years. Dealt with traditional British and Christian values, and ignored political correctness (in all except the kids doing the reading were all non-white) and right-on Blairite modernness.

My main hope against a Falklands 2 is actually more to do with intelligence coverage, than forces in-situ, which imo are inadequate. I am 1000% certain our signal intelligence, political intelligence and recon sat inteliigence is much, much better than last time, which should have been good enough then as well if the Government had paid attention. If we got intelligence of an Argie build-up, and the government paid no attention, Cameron, Osborne and Fox's political careers would be over in a matter of weeks. We can easily triple the number of Typhoons within 6-10hrs, and we can probably have a second hunter-killer on station within a week to ten days.

RIP Brian. You gave me one of my strongest memories of my childhood. How bizarre that his life ended the same week as the Harrier retired... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12037973

U what ???

TBF I am surprised we are that close... This was the season of NO EXCUSES. NC really blew it not getting rid of Pardew in close season.

Ultimately the time to discuss this is the end of the season. However, to quote DellDays from the Burley play-off season "we havent been in the top2 all season and not exactly threatening it now either". It doesnt matter we are only 5pts off 2nd place. Psychologically, we are incapable of closing the gap. Our club is the Tim Henman / Andy Murray of football.

The OP makes it clear that we should not expect miracles in the January window. So yes, the team is not up to the job and is not improving, so this season is going nowhere fast. However, NC has said a few times apparently that promotion this season is essential for "The Plan". Something doesnt add up. Seems he is hoping that the current squad suddenly wake up and go on a 20-game unbeaten streak...

So this season should be considered a write-off, then. Not sure NC sees it that way.

The problem I have with the feedback like this is that we are seeing so little of "The Plan" unveiling itself over a week-by-week period... The current squad is making little progress, imo.

Pathetic.

The similarity is so uncanny you have to question WTF Brennan was up to...

I have a fairly straightforward view on this. NA has failed to impress, imo. Yes, we've won quite a few games, but not many against the quality opposition in this division, so I am left underwhelmed and doubting out ability to compete for the play offs (auto promotion is gone, imo). HOWEVER.... He took over a squad that had been really shoddily treated and ran into the ground over the summer break, full of injuries, and very demotivated due to an number of factors, not least the usual "we're not going to rush things about appointing a new manager" temporary appointment of a clueless d*ckhead on a par with Dodd and Gorman. He has so far had extremely limited opportunity to put his mark on this squad with his own signings, and the same extremely limited opportunity to clear out underachieving p*ss-taking dead wood, in fact the two headline things he has done, shipping out "all fart and no sh*t" Puncheon and bringing back Chaplow have been spot-on. So, before solidifying my opinion for or against his stewardship, I am going to sit quietly and observe the activity of the next transfer window. IF he makes the changes we so badly need, then he will have my approval. If he doesnt (and I see this as a big "IF" considering his statements 2 weeks about funds being available), I will think he is not up to the job.

A question for all those advocating sticking by Ricky : at what point will you conclude that his level of performance is seriously affecting our promotion chances and something needs to be done ?

My main reaction is that we (including NC) had better get used to the idea of another season in League 1. Everything has gone totally pear-shaped since November last year, IMO. It became clear last season that we couldnt sustain the form to overcome the 10pt deduction, and just like with Burley's play-off season, it has become clear we had a window of oportunity and have missed it - again.

Yep.

And he'll be doing that afternoon. We've lost this. Time to forget promotion.

Man, you talk b*ll*cks

Always feels like a knife in my guts to see sick kids - well done lads.

I wonder if Ashley asked him "Why did you leave Saints ?".....

Can someone explain to me how an experienced manager so managed to f**k up a pre-season - unless it was deliberate ???

5.5 years ? Jammy bastard (unless there are some interesting clauses inserted). Pardew underachieved, just like Burley before him, considering the huge resources put at his disposal. A tin pot trophy is scant reward for being in the top 5 spenders in England last year (or whatever the figure is...) And some of the performances, such as Wycombe away, were a complete f**king disgrace. And now it seems he crocked this season over the summer. F**k him, Toon and Pardew deserve each other.

Its not rumours about the chairman, its rumours about the ownership of the club and was a few months ago about the management of the club, both of which can have a huge impact on the targets and ambition of the club. So if I were a player, it would make a huge difference to me. Take Fonte for example, it was clear he was expecting there to be Championship football at SMS this season.

What if you found out that the managers job of refinforcing the squad with high-profile quality players was being made difficult because of publically perceived insecurity/instability in the running of the club because of such gossip-mongering ?