Weston Saint

We are the new boys in the division having come from 2 leagues below in only 2 years. We have to earn Premier respect. Despite the reports from Managers saying it was the worse their teams have played they all gave credit to our outstanding play. We are no longer being mentioned as relegation fodder. Respect is coming and we are playing the right way.

Old Spice is one of the HNW individuals who has been putting money in to keep the club going. That stopped on 5th January

If the club goes into liquidation the parachute payments cease. If the FL say only the trust will get the Golden Share to play football then any other consortium will pull out. You do not buy a business that trades only as a football club and whose sole income is from football if you are not able to compete in the football league.

My take on it It is in the correct court. It is the Commercial Court. If the Administrators win then you cannot appeal just because you do not like the decision. You have to appeal on a point of law. If there are other issues they have to be in the pleadings. I have been there on both counts.

Its ok Bomber Harris has just been shot down by the Football League

Let us be clear, the Football League are not stopping the Administrators selling to the new consortium. They are just saying they will not transfer to them the golden share. Administators go to court and will say without the golden share the business cannot be sustained. If the court do not rule that the £3m offer by the trust for the ground is approved then the trust bid cannot proceed and liquidation is the only answer and that will prejudice the creditors.

Well well, so it is Trust or bust. Best of luck to them.......but on reflection Alphabetical position at start of League 2 might be their highest position for that season. I think the Football League know who is really behind todays bid. Good to see them have balls at last.

Forget this is PFC, it would have been interesting to see the Trust run the club. They would have received support from most areas. Their problem was always the ground and Chainrai’s charge/valuation I now believe the Trust bid is dead in the water. This new consortium will likely succeed now the creditors have approved and it gets the Administrator off the hook. It is now clear why the Judge was happy to adjourn the proceedings. One can feel sorry for the HNW individuals whose money kept the club alive. Crouch did the same for Southampton to the tune of £500,000. Like him I doubt they will be able to recover those costs. It is what happens if you back the wrong horse even if the other horse had not even arrived at the racecourse. However, the damage has been done. The window has closed and all that is available now is in the loan period. The minus 10 points will kick in soon. They will start 2013/14 season as a Division 2 side. If they cannot afford to pay for the ground now they must have limited investment. It will be a long and rocky road to recovery. For me they have not got away with it. Premier to Division 2 is a fine punishment. The trust has worked hard and after all they are only supporters like you and me. They may have supported a stinking regime in the past and perhaps the present consortium will be the stinking regime of the future. But credit where credit is due, the trust deserves some recognition. As for Mr Allen, the News journalist, perhaps he should enrole in a course of journalism at Southampton Solent University. That comment will not be lost on one of our contributors. The end looks in sight, for now………..

I have always believed a man with a chip on his shoulder damages no one but himself. Le Tissier should now let matters rest, keep his public comments to Southampton Football Club, not the Chairman. As someone famously said "Remember, a chip on the shoulder is a sure sign of wood higher up" I also agree with Apline Saints comment below

Forren has a slight muscle strain to add to his not being quite match fit due to his lay off.

So Adam's groin tweek he got in training is ok then or is he on the bench?

We sat high up to the right of the "stage" and the view was brilliant. I had never seen Cirque Du Soleil before and normally circuses and the like are not my cup of tea but I was enthralled with the whole thing.

To suggest Cortese was distracted by a change in Manager is a bit disingenuous. He has brought in what at first blush looks like an improvement to our centre back position. January is notorious for panic buying by clubs and very often they are failures. We were linked with Philippe Coutinho but here is what is being reported ““Andrea Ramazzotti, who covers Inter for Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport and has watched all Coutinho's 28 games for the club, told BBC Sport: "He just didn't show his potential in Milan. Coutinho played very well when he was on loan at Espanyol last season, and started well for Inter this season, but they were only brief spells really. "For the rest of the time he just showed flashes of his potential and I fear the way of playing in England, which can be very physical, will not suit him, because he has a slight frame." So he is one for the future not the present and does not strengthen our present team. I am comfortable and even said to others at the Everton game that we would not sign anyone. The summer is when we can buy and intergrate pre season, not upset the balance of the team that so far does not look like relegation in play or form.

A few pompey supporters views by way of conversation "Well, League Two won't be too painful, I don't think we'll be there long enough for that" "getting out of the conference could be hard though...only 2 spots" "Staying up in the conference could be hard the way we are going" "Short of sticking rusty nails in my eyes, nothing could be more painfull than what I have been watching down at the park recently. I did not think it could get much worse until I endured that 90 minutes yesterday" "One day, someone will actually pull the trigger - hopefully!"

Glad to see your sense of humour is intact Frank!

Mauricio do you want to talk in English?" MP: "I understand English, but I still need to work on my vocabulary and confidence. Okay, lets talk in Spanish."

This was not going to be an easy game even if Adkins was managing the team. From reports we appear to have a good Manager who may well take us to the next level but for now he knows very little of the Premier League, the teams, the tactics, the weaknesses and strengths. He is also disadvantaged by not having much grasp of the English language. All that will take a time. He says he has studied our players for weeks so he should at least know our players strengths and weaknesses If we can pick up a point I will be very satisfied. That will give us 15 games to secure 17points to reach the magic 40 points. 5 wins and 2 draws! Survival this year by which time he should be able to communicate and have learned what the Premier League and the Teams are all about.

Sure Mr Cortese has major flaws and, in my opinion, lacks humility. However, let us not forget he is the person who has come to our club with the ambition, motivation and obsession in taking this club forward to new heights. So far he is “achieving” that dream. His ruthlessness may not endear him to many supporters or the media but at least we know what we have got Mr Adkins was managing a small time club and Cortese offered him a chance to use his undoubted talent to develop into a Manager many think could be a future England Coach. He would not have got that recognition managing his previous club. Adkins leaves with a much enhanced CV, decent money in his pocket and in many eyes a successful Premier League Manager. His reputation is still on the up. He did not fail. Adkins has all the qualities Cortese lacks and I am sure he will be the first to wish Southampton Football Club and the players every success for the future. He can look back with pride at what he has achieved and the way he achieved it. He would certainly not want supporters who he” loved” start anti chants that might affect the chances of winning the next game. That is just not in his nature. Fans will do well to consider that before their knee jerk reactions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20097300

I am so disappointed that Adkins had to go. I liked him as a person and a football manager. It has all come as a bit of a shock However, Cortese looks to have appointed an exciting replacement, if you listen to comments from Spain. He appears exactly what Cortese is looking for. His style is fast pressing football playing out from the back. Adkins bought into that plan and whilst I have no doubt he would have kept us in the Premier, Coretese obviously thought that next step in the vision/business plan might need a new face. I had hoped Cortese would hold his nerve but that appears not in his character. The man is obsessive. Let's hope he has made the right decision for Southampton FC. Failure is no longer an option although I doubt it was ever an option in Cortese's book!

I think he has grown up thanks to Cortese refusing to sell him unless the price was right and no club rating him highly enough to pay the price. Then came Puncheon's spat on twitter, the meeting with the Chairman and the second chance. This linked with Adkins and his coaching team developing his maturity into his football skills. He will never be good enough for International duty but there is no reason why he cannot continue to ply his trade in the Premier. As for a contract, he is being coy. I suspect Cortese has spoken to him and told him not to worry about a contract (that will come) but continue to apply himself. This is the way Cortese operates. He did the same to Adam Lallana a while back. Adam was happy to wait after the "chat"

The words were mine but as I am not on Twitter MLG is welcome to pass it on with my blessing.

LLLLDDDLLLLLLL No not a bad spelling of Lidl the supermarket but a well know football club recent league form!!!!

It has been reported that the clubs long term plan is to compete in Europe, particularly the Champions League. We have a wealthy owner but I doubt there will be a glut of new investment long term. Mr Cortese suggests investment in the Academy will bring through future players meaning transfer costs will reduce. But what about player salaries? Everton reported another loss yesterday. Their turnover for 2011-12 season was £80.5m. Their player salary bill was £63.4m. That is 75% of turnover. They are not one of the big 5 (if you include Spurs) It is all well and good bringing great players through the Academy but you are then going to have to pay competitive salaries to avoid their heads turning to the big 5 or even overseas. Will the owners keep their nerve and continue to invest in the hope of rich spoils when we eventually break into the “top group” or will we continue to be a selling club in the lower tier of the Premier or a good Championship side because we cannot afford to pay the sort of salaries needed? Obviously our priority this season is to retain or Premier League status. There is promise that our stadium capacity will increase if we do but that will hardly dent the sort of salary bill we will need to progress at the speed the Owners and Mr Cortese wishes. We have said we are not a selling club and have reportedly rejected an approach from West Ham for Lambert. If they are offering him substantially more in Salary then that must demotivate a player who is reaching the last period of his playing career. It must make Shaw wonder now he is establishing himself as a world class left back. Is it all about money? Massive salary bills out of proportion with turnover suggest it is. In my opinion the dream of future Champions League participation at Southampton is just that, a dream. I will settle for regular mid table with the occasional big wins against the top five.

When Cortese became involved we were a busted club. When Adkins came in we were near the botton of Div 1. Since then we have been promoted to Championship and then Premier in 2 seasons having had Cortese stabilize the club in his first year. I think I will trust their judgement on decision making/transfer strategy