OldNick

aintforever, that is an apt name. Being in the PL aintforever, beng in the CCC aintforever. We can of course go up ,down or stay in this league. To help not go down we had to avoid a -10 by not going into administration.Yes there was a choice of managers,but the choice of manager was reduced by having a person who could work with the very little resource left at the club.Why is that so hard to grasp, why do you think your choice would be anymore effective than mine or RL's? Some on here think that A and B was not required, others thought we didnt need to sell many and as for maangers we had many pie in the sky suggestions.

the last time we had a really good start to a season that I can remember was in 73-74. We got relegated under Lawrie at the end of that season

Ahhh Alpine.I asked a question of you yesterday regarding Andrew Davies move and you never replied. I suggest you do so. Again you give us the alternative route, your financial brain will be able to spew out a well thought out plan....or probably not as you will sidestep it.

I have for some time wished for religion of any denomination should not be taught until the person is 18. I have little knowledge of the bible but can somebody explain to me what happened after Adam and Eve. Did their offspring procreate with their close relatives/brothers /sisters? I do realise if this is the case the Garden of Eden would be Fratton Park.

and your alternative when RL was ousted was a success wasn't it?

Hypo take no notice, it was a valid thread and so no reason for you to get abuse.We might not agree on it all but keep the thoughts going.

UmP you often give us your financial opinions when others have put their thoughts up on here .How about instead of KK and massive transfer budgets, give us a proper alternative. In all seriousness the Wigley Hockaday thing was a non starter and do you not think that Dyer, Surman and Lallana were not for sale , but no realistic offers came in.Therefore that route was not open. In reality is the present way the most sensible , if not give us a well thought out alternative that would deal with massive weekly losses as well as putting out a competitive team.Taking into account that players coming in apart from completely free agents would cost the club serious money up front. I cant see a real alternative but would be interested in any clever plan. I agree the manager could be one of many but it is getting a squad together in these conditions I can't see a way around.

I wish I Knew where it was as Id hand it to you.

I wasnt against HR, and so accepted that decision as sound.

In that sense you are correct Hypo but apart from the managers being different do you think on the playing staff side it could have been any better?

Yes that is true, he could have sacked all the staff and taken the training himself. There always is other ways, but I meant credible ways to keep the club afloat as well as providing the chance to get out of the mess.Going the old way was only going to put off the inevitable. Time will tell if this is better.

I still wonder in this day and age how these events are said to have happened and nobody ever had a camera phone! I dont doubt he likes a drink but that his social time. A lot of us probably drink more than we should in our free time and still are able to work well the next day, bloody hell football is not played by nuns.

Can you tell us what choice he had? Im lost to know in the situation where else he could go.

He had a decision like his predecessor to do nothing and meakly go into administration,or take the bull by the horns and go the present way.Nobody has come forward with a credible plan other than RL's.

Whether you like it or not , when GB left we were well clear of the relegation scrap, G&D took us closer but we were still not anywhere near the bottom 3.It was under NP's tenure that we went bottom 3. He was in charge when we had gimme games away to Cardiff when they were going nowhere and thinking of the cup final and Burnley home.Getting points in either game would have made us easily safe. We then got a hard worked draw at WBA (some would say fortunate, but thats football) and then beat Sheff utd last day of the season in a great game. Skin of the teeth, and I did like NP but do not go all weak at the knees thinking about him. As for Leicester look at their squad, a lot of their players would make most teams in the CCC, and they should never have gone down, but like our primma donnas in our relegation season they thought they were too good to do so. At present Leicester look cets to go up,but it is a long season and Np should get them up.Had he been at any other club Id be rooting for him, but to have MM's smug face coming to SMS makes my blood turn to ice.

is that the Glyn Snodin behind Curbishley? Who was brave enough to pick Bale ,Baird (discarded by others) KJ (who many great judges on here who though he was rubbish) who bought complete garbage like Davies, John, Rasiak, Saga., Rudi, KD. Got good loan signings Potter ,Guthrie, etc etc.and there were more. Some will accept that no sooner than we had made a team that we were cut at the knees again and to start all over each time having to buy lesser quality as the money in was to go to the bank.Yes he made poor decisions but to lay it on his door is not correct.

Tell me other clubs close to administration who have such a good youth system? RL has taken the bull by the horns and taken a brave decision. The romantic opinion people have of NP does astound me. I dont think he was a bad choice but he did flirt with relegation with us.He was helped by the fact we looked doomed after the D&G time and his first results.He made a couple of good loan signings ,something we cant afford now and then stayed up on the last day. Doing the same thing did that make Merrington,Ball, or Dave Jones great managers in our eyes? I dont think so. TRhe debate of course is not about NP, but I dont beleive he would have been a cost effective manager in the situation we are in.Leicester will no doubt walk their league but it wont be down to wheeling and dealing on a shoestring.

BRF, please answer the question I put to Hypo, tell us how you would have cut costs?

Yo umay think its rubbish and I dont a flying ###k if UmP does either. NP was contracted until the end of the season and the option on him was not taken up.He has the best squad in the Div 1 and most of the players are upper CCC quality. NP kept us up by the skin of our teeth, and how we got there is of differing op9inions, he did though employ a keeper and two centre backs( I do note we kept Perry) who were on wages we couldnt in the long run afford. Add to that we dont know what he required from the club to carry on and we also do not know what RL demanded of him. The fact is we were brassic and please tell me how you would have cut the costs and stem the 100-300k a week losses (depending who you take your figures from)

Again I can only point out to the financial costs and I assume that is the reason.The higher pauid 'stars' have performance fees etc and so perhaos that is why they are not turning out.I doubt it is anything more sinister than money that the club cant afford in those contract add ons.

I dont understand that comment Phil.My understanding is that the club still have him as the historian and RL or whoever has tried amke bygones be bygones.Only Duncan knows if that is the case now. I truly hope that RL has come back and tried to open a new page.LM and LC go to SMS still and LM still going is a surprise. Im delighted that is the case as in time perhaps all the old wounds will become faint scars.Too much to hope, but you never know

I notice some are saying if we go down he should take the lions share of the blame.I agree the manager he chose was a risk, but I have yet to see a plan by anyone that could be implimented with our financial predicament. In some ways if we make the PL or or go down, neither can be seen as a complete justification or a mistake.RL was forced to this by finances, although it was something he wanted to try a few seasons back. I will myself take it if we go down 20%will be RL's fault if we make it to the play offs 50% will be to his credit.

Not an unfair summary but the team that did get us to the play offs was ripped apart rather than being built upon.The real sickener for GB was KJ leaving on deadline day, he added so much to the team as well as scoring. Another thing that eroded fans confidence in him was the constant taking up of his alleged drinking, something that has never been proved and whilst I know he does like a drink I also know the nonsense on here was not true. We then had a campaign against certain players that didnt help the players or squads moral. I dont care what people say if the players feel wronged why should they care about giving it all for us. Last season we had JW, KD, JE, and others pilloried and that was always likely to upset the team. I know fans will say they are highly paid but some/a lot was unjust. KD for example played no differently last season than this but fans have seen he is a good keeper and their preducies have been swept away.It is a mindset that grew and became chapter and verse when really it was somewhere in the middle.He did ok under the circumstances, he was never the best manager Saints have had IMO but he is a long long way from the worst.

threads qabout GB always get this site running and so it is a blessing in disguise. GB has been sussed by the Jocks in the main they are wanting to give him time.The fans that travelled pre match were very much still behind him.They could see the injuries he had to deal with.

I have had my run ins with Duncan but know he is honourable. IMO he only posts info because he cares and wants to share with us so we can also have hope that things will indeed get better. Personally I believe he takes his run in with RL too seriously but we are all different. I also have had email contact with him and he was truly helpful in putting me in the right direction regarding some info I needed for here. He said he was stepping back for a time but gave me the impression he would come back on and bring his own style of posting back onto the forum.The sooner the better I say.