Weston Saint

Adkins is learning fast. Mr Cortese does not take it kindly when the Liebherr family are credited with anything Saints. Mr Cortese bought the money to the table, Mr Cortese makes all the decisions. What this club has achieved is down to him. I can live with that providing he gets us the success we crave.

1965/66 season - Webb scored on hisdebut, Channon scored on his debut, Kemp scored on his debut. And we were promoted to Div 1 for the first time in our history

No the prosecution "bottled" it

The same Wright Phillips who is top scorer in our league with 10 goals so far?

I spoke to Harry on the phone about that when Branfoot sacked. He said there was no chance as McMenemy was still living too near to the Chairman and influencing things at Southampton. He would have liked an opportunity.

I was and still am encouraged by Adkins appointment A new Manager coming it will have new ideas and that takes time. As you say, results have been OK in general. Any better or worse under Pardew, we will never know. My view is a similar outcome at this stage. Huddersfield and Carlisle were tough. In the former we, and I include Adkins, were naive. We had just previously completed a flowing game at home and thought we had arrived and that was the only style. A lesson we will learn well from. In the latter there was no problem with the formation or tactics. It was poor individual errors. Not the first time and changes in today’s team will likely reflect that. We got forward well, had more shots and possession and scored two goals, hardly negative. However, I was not at those away games so am basing my opinion on second hand reports. Adkins will be judged on whether he can get us promotion from this and the Championship, not on what money Cortese and the Liehberr family release. Whenever a new Manager arrives there are always some that are disturbed out of their comfort zone and may resent it. Good players can play under any Manager. Leaks from the training ground? What are they other than leftbacks revelations. I am not hearing any negative reports from my contacts but maybe they are not saying anything as it should be kept in house (or, in the words of Adkins, in the building) Is he getting the best out of our players. He is still assessing but I see no worse than Pardew. He has indicated on SaintsPlayer that Lambert has only just returned to full fitness. He has kept faith with him so far. Not sure Puncheon responded under Pardew either, other than the initial few weeks he signed. Fonte has occasionally struggled a bit this season but that was evident from the start, not since Adkins arrived. I agree he needs a steady reliable centre back he is happy with. Not sure what the story is with Martin. Initially injury. Perhaps he thinks he needs to ease him in. Seaborne is injured it leftback is correct. He seems to be first choice to accompany Fonte and I think he has a great future with us. Jaidi has the experience, reads the game well and a secure in the air. Age is slowing him down and if, as I suspect, he plays today he will be troubled by a speedy forward. I agree that zonal marking at corners is clearly is not working, but is that because our players are not doing what they are told in training? Worth a look today to see what happens. Shcneiderlin struggled last season as well. I put it down to the lack of width preventing him from releasing the ball but he is too much in his own comfort zone. Our movement off the ball is almost non existent. Perhaps that is the reason! Barnard has put his own future in doubt by his off the field activities. I do not see Adkins using him any different that Pardew! Do not agree Adkins is more cautious. He have widened our game, the team is beginning to defend further up field and the reason the goals are not flowing as much a slast year is an out of form/injured leading scorer and a lack of the same pace of last season. He inherited that from Pardew. As you say, a better communicator. Do not disagree with 6 out of 10 at present or your comments on the two big games this week.

I predict the team starting will be: Davis Richardson Fonte Jaidi Harding Chamberlain Chaplow Hammond Lallana Lambert Barnard

Echo suggests they are bigger and better than the previous development proposals. Put's paid to those rumours that there is no money available from the family?

I was teasing. I know he is talking about Frank Senior.

The 1980 cup one involving snr or 2009 jnr

Let's look at some punchy statistics: Games this season - 17 starts Goals - none Assists -two Shots 19 on 18 off Compare with Lallana Games - 12 plus 3 sub appearances Goals - five Assists - four Shots 17 on 12 off Chamberlain Games - 5 plus 4 sub appearances Goals - four Assists - one Shots 8 on 6 off

He has not signed the loan deal yet. Tomorrow if he wants to play for them on Saturday!

If Middlesbrough did contact the club and ask to approach Lambert and if the club said no why did they allegedly only offer an extension to the contract without more money. I think, like a number of other transfer rumours, it is wide of the mark. It has to be remembered that we allegedly doubled Lamberts wages to sign him so I suspect he is one of the highest paid Div 1 players. Cortese, knowing that the contract has time to run, might well have simply approached Lambert to ask if he wanted to extend. Nothing wrong with that. Lambert had a groin injury at the beginning of the season which took time to fully heal and it was clear he was overweight. May be this was because he was unable/unwilling to train on until it had cleared. He now looks fully fit and much trimmer. Much has been said about his lack of influence in the games. Think about it. That was the same for much of the previous season. However we tend to ignore it because he was scoring so many goals. He is, like any good striker, having a lean spell. He still has the ability but he needs good support. Class, if the previous two seasons were not a fluke, will win through. If it does not then he, like any other out of form player, needs a break from the pressures of expectation heaped on his shoulders. Give it a bit longer and don't look for fancy excuses. There probably are none.

Get 28 days adjournment

After a positive start with Saints Puncheon never looked the same after. He had a bit of pace and skill BUT his thinking was too slow. He got past players but whilst he thought about what to do next the defenders blocked him time and time again. There was clearly a problem with his attitude and general work rate. One poster who appears to have an inside track says there was a problem with him and our Assistant Manager. From that moment his time with Saints was limited. Could be, of course, that it gives him an opportunity of reigniting his form with a fresh challenge and a time to heal wounds but I suspect he no longer features in our plans. Chamberlain has been far far more successful. Lets look forward. Puncheon was ineffective most games. His skill flattered to deceive.

With alacrity

leftback, I am not sure of your motive but your posts of late give too much private information away, unless of course Lambert and Schneiderlin have said it can go in the public domain. Some of this is personal HR information. You appear to lack the judgement of what to disclose and what should be kept off the forum. Someone is likely to get found out soon.

http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/greg-my-troops-stormed-past-future-league-one-champions-1.780209?referrerPath=sport/carlisle_utd

As a Manager you can prepare a team and tactics. You can work all week and then pick your best eleven. Once 3pm comes alll you can do is watch what they do, offer advice at half time and modify the tactics if the other team have changed the formation/tactics you expected them to play. You cannot go out there and play for them. The players in defence did not do what was fundamentally expected of decend defenders. It was not about tactics. Adkins can be questioned about players, particularly those that failed in defence. Harding has been a decent left back. He is not performing badly every game. Schneiderlin shold know how to defend. He is suposed to have a little bit of class but he is lazy. We scored two goals away going forward. It was defensive mistakes, not tactics. Five in Midfield when the opposition has the ball away from home is sound. When we have the ball it should immediately become 3 up front with 2 midfield holding high up the pitch and the other forcing the game forward.

Agree. He is not being given the ball enough playing out wide. Frustrating waste of his talent.

For supporters who thought Pardew was the Manager to take us forward and had a record of reasonable success then I suppose they will be underwhealmed, as you put it, with Adkins Management so far. For those who felt that Pardew was too negative and narrow with a lack of a tactical change during games, Adkins represents an improvement. Pardew was a "dead man walking". Cortese had seen to that in Pardew's eyes. From then in change was inevitable. Just like supporters, players and staff would have the same differing opinions. Adkins has to prove he can do the job. So far he is doing a decent job but soon he is going to have to crank it up. January will be an interesting time.

leftback, whoever he is or wants to be, has posted twice on this thread and I have to say his comments are worrying and to a certain extent he may have put the finger on why we are not flying with the team we have. Has Adkins won ALL the dressing room?. Why do some players not seem to want to play whilst others give 110%? I am not unduly worried by a defeat at Carlisle. They are a better side than the one we played last season. However, add that to the Huddersfield loss away and doubt begins to creep in. Then look at some of our recent home games were we have won but not really performed as a team and it says to me that we are not as good as we think we are. Fortunately it is still early enough in our season to put it right. We are up there with the rest and on the basis that we are unlikely to get any worse a playoff slot should be well within our grasp. I have doubts on automatic promotion and playoffs bring the risk of failure and the loss of some of our better players. Not a disaster but as leftback says, sort it out Mr Adkins. So far so good but not yet good enough for success of our 5 year plan.

There is no point taking a young player on loan if he is not going to be used, especially as there is no chance of a permanent deal if he is any good. We have Lambert, Barnard, Guly and Connolly. Surely Doble is the lad we should be giving a chance rather than blood a loan player from somewhere else without signing prospect.

Ormerod 1995–1997 Accrington Stanley 54 (32) 1997–2001 Blackpool 128 (46) 2001–2006 Southampton 98 (11) 2004 → Leeds United (loan) 6 (0) 2005 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 6 (2) 2006–2009 Preston North End 62 (13) 2008 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 13 (2) 2008 → Oldham Athletic (loan) 5 (0) 2009– Blackpool 57 (13) Barnard 2002–2008 Tottenham Hotspur 3 (0) 2002 → Exeter City (loan) 3 (0) 2004 → Stevenage Borough (loan) 4 (1) 2004–2005 → Leyton Orient (loan) 10 (0) 2005 → Northampton Town (loan) 3 (0) 2007–2008 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 10 (3) 2008–2010 Southend United 75 (35) 2010– Southampton 32 (13)

Look at Ormerod's goal scoring record for Blackpool at this level. Look at Barnards goal scoring record for Southend at this level. Very similar. Ormerod could not reproduce at a higher level but had a good work rate. Barnard has a good work rate. Can he do it at a higher level? Untried as yet but as Ormerod did not and Barnard might, I will take Barnard for now.