A good manager!

[Pilchards]

I'm trying to workout where I would add AP as a good manager.

 

I will refer to a couple of points, Paul Lambert of Norwich is taking his team to the top, he was in charge of Colchester who thumped Norwich 7-1.

Since he took over Norwich they have become a very good team, they even got revenge over Colchester by beaten them 5-0.

 

Another good manager is Owen Coyle and Sean O'Driskell (Doncaster manager)

These guys are great coaches that IMPROVE players.

 

So where does AP fit in?

Does he improve players or does he try to buy success?

I'm trying to work out which players are better now then when Pardew took over as I know that WGS improved each player throughout.

[NickG]

the last 6 months with WGS we got worse.

 

Lallana looks much better than under the previous 3 managers.

 

Schneiderlin has changed his game and improved.

 

Lambert says he has hugely improved his fitness and game under Pardew.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

I'm trying to workout where I would add AP as a good manager.

 

I will refer to a couple of points, Paul Lambert of Norwich is taking his team to the top, he was in charge of Colchester who thumped Norwich 7-1.

Since he took over Norwich they have become a very good team, they even got revenge over Colchester by beaten them 5-0.

 

Another good manager is Owen Coyle and Sean O'Driskell (Doncaster manager)

These guys are great coaches that IMPROVE players.

 

So where does AP fit in?

Does he improve players or does he try to buy success?

I'm trying to work out which players are better now then when Pardew took over as I know that WGS improved each player throughout.

 

I know where you are coming from with this post but I would argue WGS did have his blind spots with certain players - Kevin Davies, for instance. I still maintain had Kevin been "managed" better then he could have been a real asset to us in the post Strachan era.

[Turkish]

I know where you are coming from with this post but I would argue WGS did have his blind spots with certain players - Kevin Davies, for instance. I still maintain had Kevin been "managed" better then he could have been a real asset to us in the post Strachan era.

 

I heard from a very reliable source that Strachan didn't rate Davies because the thought he was thick! Apparantly Strachan would try to teach him various positional play, runs, movement and tactics and Davies just couldn't grasp it and he ran out of patience with him. Personally i always liked Davies, thought he was a decent player and as it has proven at Bolton. One thing Strachan did do was improve all the players fitness levels and work ethic which is automatically going to improve your game, not convinced he improved that many players technically though.

 

Pardew seems to be a very good coach from what i have seen, as mentioned Lambert, Schneiderlin & Llana all look better under him than previous managers, i would also include LLoyd James in this, people give him a lot of stick but he's a solid player every squad needs and think he looks better than last season.

[NickG]

I'm trying to workout where I would add AP as a good manager.

 

I will refer to a couple of points, Paul Lambert of Norwich is taking his team to the top, he was in charge of Colchester who thumped Norwich 7-1.

Since he took over Norwich they have become a very good team, they even got revenge over Colchester by beaten them 5-0.

 

Another good manager is Owen Coyle and Sean O'Driskell (Doncaster manager)

These guys are great coaches that IMPROVE players.

 

So where does AP fit in?

Does he improve players or does he try to buy success?

I'm trying to work out which players are better now then when Pardew took over as I know that WGS improved each player throughout.

 

all a bit random - WGS has killed form at M'borough!

[Pilchards]

all a bit random - WGS has killed form at M'borough!

 

Yeah that's a mystery why he can't get the boro playing at all.

 

Maybe it will take alittle more time to do so.

To prove my point on good managers today, if Paul Lambert went to Boro I bet you a good £100 that he would turn it around within a month, some have the knack.

 

Back to AP, with the amount of money we have spent you would of thought we would be ****ing it with the quailty of players we have. Why are we struggling in the last 6 games as we have only just managed to beat Tranmere/Wycombe and Luton.

[John B]

I heard from a very reliable source that Strachan didn't rate Davies because the thought he was thick! Apparantly Strachan would try to teach him various positional play, runs, movement and tactics and Davies just couldn't grasp it and he ran out of patience with him. Personally i always liked Davies, thought he was a decent player and as it has proven at Bolton. One thing Strachan did do was improve all the players fitness levels and work ethic which is automatically going to improve your game, not convinced he improved that many players technically though.

 

Pardew seems to be a very good coach from what i have seen, as mentioned Lambert, Schneiderlin & Llana all look better under him than previous managers, i would also include LLoyd James in this, people give him a lot of stick but he's a solid player every squad needs and think he looks better than last season.

 

I would have thought Schneiderlin Lallana and James would automatically improve as they got older.

 

I think Pardew is OK but nothing out of the ordinary if he was we would be playing better football

[lordswoodsaints]

Pardew is as good as our league position....slightly above average,but if you take the -10 points then he is bordering on being a very good manager.

[St_Tel49]

Pardew is as good as our league position....slightly above average,but if you take the -10 points then he is bordering on being a very good manager.

If you are going to assess Pardew then you have to ignore the -10

[Pilchards]

Pardew is as good as our league position....slightly above average,but if you take the -10 points then he is bordering on being a very good manager.

 

Some teams above us have spent 200k only.

Does that make there manager good too or would you say they are miracle workers compared to the millions we have spent.

 

I have been the most positive saints fan all season but in the last month I see the signs of a struggling team which is getting worse.

[John B]

Pardew is as good as our league position....slightly above average,but if you take the -10 points then he is bordering on being a very good manager.

 

But you need to factor in the quality of player he has available compared with other managers so he is just OK at the moment

 

That is why I think Bruce Moyes and McLeish are better managers than say Redknapp.

Edited 18 January, 2010 by John B

[brightspark]

Some teams above us have spent 200k only.

Does that make there manager good too or would you say they are miracle workers compared to the millions we have spent.

 

I have been the most positive saints fan all season but in the last month I see the signs of a struggling team which is getting worse.

 

I'm starting to see it that way as well but I keep telling myself that 1) Its all about next season and 2) as long as we finish 6th if we add 10 points to us at the end of the season, we can consider this season a success.

 

But man for man, I cannot see why this squad has amassed so little points in comparison to Charlton who have a weaker squad.

[derry]

Some teams above us have spent 200k only.

Does that make there manager good too or would you say they are miracle workers compared to the millions we have spent.

 

I have been the most positive saints fan all season but in the last month I see the signs of a struggling team which is getting worse.

 

It's the negativity that doesn't equate to a successful manager for me. He is probably a safe pair of hands but he doesn't inspire me with either his team selections or his tactics.

[The Incongruous Monk]

Some teams above us have spent 200k only.

Does that make there manager good too or would you say they are miracle workers compared to the millions we have spent.

 

I have been the most positive saints fan all season but in the last month I see the signs of a struggling team which is getting worse.

 

They've also been in L1 a lot longer and therefore didn't come into the squad with a crappy squad half of whom wanted out or wanted to sit on the bench. It's tough to make a genuine comparison.

[Big Ron fan]

I have seen nothing yet to make me change the opinion on him I posted on here when he took over - he's a pretty poor to average manager who had one very good season at WHU.

 

A bit like the reliance that Strachen had on Beattie, if you take away Ricky Lambert you've got a pretty poor side that would finish lower mid table at best, even without the 10 points deduction.

[Toomer]

I think if AP had a full pre-season we would have been in a better position than we are even with a -10 start.

[O_RLY]

They've also been in L1 a lot longer and therefore didn't come into the squad with a crappy squad half of whom wanted out or wanted to sit on the bench. It's tough to make a genuine comparison.

 

Agreed.

[.comsaint]

I think it's only a short matter of time before Paul Lambert at Norwich gets a job at one of the struggling lower-Premiership clubs. Very good manager indeed - and at 41-years old - a very bright future ahead.

[VectisSaint]

I have seen nothing yet to make me change the opinion on him I posted on here when he took over - he's a pretty poor to average manager who had one very good season at WHU.

 

A bit like the reliance that Strachen had on Beattie, if you take away Ricky Lambert you've got a pretty poor side that would finish lower mid table at best, even without the 10 points deduction.

Interesting because most people consider his best achievements to have been with Reading. He did have a good season at WHU as well. In fact really he only failed to deliver at Charlton, which was always a poison chalice following the departure of Curbs, after such a long tenure. Like many managers, a failure such as Charlton can be the best thing to happen, they learn from it, change their thinking a little and emerge as better managers, a la Strachan with Coventry/Saints.

 

I don't think AP is the greatest tactician, but what he has done at Saints, and this is no mean achievement, is to rid the club of the negative, losing mentality that had pervaded since the time of Burley, with a brief break while we had Pearson in charge. Difficult to say whether he has improved players, since very few have survived. James has clearly become a regular (though many claim he is rubbish, not me I hasten to add), Schneiderlin seems much more assertive, though still seems to lack the ability to score, and Lallana has looked terrific until recently (though he also had flashes of this under Pearson). All three should have improved anyway as they are young. AP seems to have a good idea of the areas to strengthen, although I beloeve he still needs an addition in MF and a backup striker to complete the picture, nevertheless bolstering the defence had to be #1 priority.

 

The other point is the backroom staff. George Burley was made to look reasonable for one season, purely by the presence of Glyn Snodin. Once Snodin departed Burley was shown up to be what many had previously thought, complete gash. Dean Wilkins may be in the same mould as Snodin, but as with so many managers it is the assistant who makes the difference. Clough and Taylor, Hoddle and Gorman, the sum of the parts is greater than the individuals, as Hoddle has clearly shown since he split with his right hand man.

 

There aren't many better in L1 at the moment than AP IMHO, perhaps 2 with one of those ably assisted by the aforementioned Snodin of course. Lambert does look to be a star in the making.

 

Someone made the point earlier why WGS was not turning things round at Boro, easy one really, lack of pre-season. WGS always relied on fitness. You cannot instill the type of fitness that he did mid-season, it comes from stamina training before the season kicks off, and something that would be counter-productive mid-season. It will be interesting to see if Boro improve a bit now that WGS has been able to bring in some of his own players from Celtic.

Edited 18 January, 2010 by VectisSaint
fat finger corrections

[NickG]

one job of the manager is to choose and recruit staff - including his asst.

[CWD]

Ignoring the -10, look at what AP has done.

 

He inherited a vastly depleted squad.

 

He has highlighted weaknesses and gone out to improve them.

 

Despite having very little pre-season and starting poorly, he has taken us into the top six (remember we're ignoring the -10)

 

Lallana and Schniederlin have grown into key players, and are twice the players they were last season.

 

We are into the 4th Round of the FA cup

 

We're one step away from the JPT final.

 

He doesnt talk **** - he tells it just as it is.

 

Conclusion = he is a good manager

 

(however, promotion next season is the minimum we should expect)

[david in sweden]

I know where you are coming from with this post but I would argue WGS did have his blind spots with certain players - Kevin Davies, for instance. I still maintain had Kevin been "managed" better then he could have been a real asset to us in the post Strachan era.

 

 

.and not forgetting Anders Svensson who was terribly mis-used during his time with WGS. AS had his best position which was playing " in the hole " behind the strikers. WGS couldn't /didn't want to ...use this talent and consequently Anders was often on the bench - or left out altogether.

 

I know Anders liked Saints and So'ton as a home but was very disappointed at his treatment. Back at Elfsborg,(his original club) he has masterminded their recovery, helped them get Euro football for the last 2 years ..and at 33, he passed his 100 caps for Sweden.

 

I greatly admire Strachan - still do - but he wasn't good at coaching players who didn't fit his beloved playing style which was unchanged in all his time at SMS.

[Scudamore]

In many ways i think Pardew would actually be better suited to the director of football role we're looking to fill

[St Landrew]

I think it's only a short matter of time before Paul Lambert at Norwich gets a job at one of the struggling lower-Premiership clubs. Very good manager indeed - and at 41-years old - a very bright future ahead.

 

I was also going to suggest Simon Grayson, but I suspect he'll stay at Leeds until they sack him. Which could be next mid-season, or it could be after many successful seasons in the Championship/Premiership.

[RedAndWhite91]

But you need to factor in the quality of player he has available compared with other managers so he is just OK at the moment

 

That is why I think Bruce Moyes and McLeish are better managers than say Redknapp.

 

Who does Bruce Moyes manage then?

 

[up and away]

Originally Posted by lordswoodsaints

Pardew is as good as our league position....slightly above average,but if you take the -10 points then he is bordering on being a very good manager.

Some teams above us have spent 200k only.

Does that make there manager good too or would you say they are miracle workers compared to the millions we have spent.

 

I have been the most positive saints fan all season but in the last month I see the signs of a struggling team which is getting worse.

 

You have to take both aspects into account, the -10 points and the humongous budget that has been made available to him. At the present he just about scrapes into the top 25% in this league but at the end of the day, it's all about the play off's. Make that target and all can be forgiven, fail and it's up to Cortese. Pardew has done several good things and made several errors this season, so I can see the points either way.

[Liquidshokk]

Ignoring the -10, look at what AP has done.

 

He inherited a vastly depleted squad.

 

He has highlighted weaknesses and gone out to improve them.

 

Despite having very little pre-season and starting poorly, he has taken us into the top six (remember we're ignoring the -10)

 

Lallana and Schniederlin have grown into key players, and are twice the players they were last season.

 

We are into the 4th Round of the FA cup

 

We're one step away from the JPT final.

 

He doesnt talk **** - he tells it just as it is.

 

Conclusion = he is a good manager

 

(however, promotion next season is the minimum we should expect)

 

Exactly where Im at. Good post imo.

[RonManager]

Who does Bruce Moyes manage then?

 

 

Everland Thistle or Sunderton albion.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Can't believe some of the comments on here.

 

The guys hardly put a foot wrong in the transfer window, has made us hard to beat (after years of being a soft touch) and we now look like a proper football team.OK we throw it away Saturday, but we would have been at least 3 down by that stage in the past 3 years. Would Lambert, SoD (who took 2 years to win over the Donny fans) or any of the others mentioned done any better under the circumstances that Pards faced in Aug 09? I dont think so.

 

Promotion has never been achieved by a team with a points deduction (or if so I can't recall it), that tells you something about the drain that it has on morale, and hope.

 

He will lead us back to the Premiership, I'm convinced of that. No matter what people on here say, but then again some of them prefered Mark Wotte to Billy Davis.

[RedAndWhite91]

Everland Thistle or Sunderton albion.

 

Ah cool, thanks for clearing that one up.

[RonManager]

Ah cool, thanks for clearing that one up.

 

At your service.

[Turkish]

I would have thought Schneiderlin Lallana and James would automatically improve as they got older.

 

I think Pardew is OK but nothing out of the ordinary if he was we would be playing better football

 

Not always the case though is it, how player players burst onto the seen in a blaze of glory and disappear. There have been so many over the years who have been brilliant for half a season, raved about then disppeared. Age doesn't automatically guarentee improvement, attitude of the individual and coaching & training are probably the two most important factors.

[Hamilton Saint]

Ignoring the -10, look at what AP has done.

 

He inherited a vastly depleted squad.

 

He has highlighted weaknesses and gone out to improve them.

 

Despite having very little pre-season and starting poorly, he has taken us into the top six (remember we're ignoring the -10)

 

Lallana and Schniederlin have grown into key players, and are twice the players they were last season.

 

We are into the 4th Round of the FA cup

 

We're one step away from the JPT final.

 

He doesnt talk **** - he tells it just as it is.

 

Conclusion = he is a good manager

 

(however, promotion next season is the minimum we should expect)

 

 

Good summary.

[Thedelldays]

lallana and morgan have become good League 1 players...

 

nothing to rave about IMO

[kpturner]

He says "...if I am honest" in every interview. Fortunately most of the time it does indeed follow a very honest statement - unlike some of his predecessors.

[lordswoodsaints]

Some teams above us have spent 200k only.

Does that make there manager good too or would you say they are miracle workers compared to the millions we have spent.

 

I have been the most positive saints fan all season but in the last month I see the signs of a struggling team which is getting worse.

 

What I am saying is a manager is only as good as the league position of the team he manages......

I'm not a fan of pardew but he has done a better job than I expected,I think he has made baffling mistakes here especially with team selections and substitutions (Swindon away being a prime example) but on the whole he has done a decent enough job especially in the transfer Market.

 

Would he have been a success without money to spend?..... I'm not so sure.

 

A manager like redknapp needs money to do his job,although he did ok at Bournemouth without money.

A manager like moyes does well at everton without a big budget but could the likes of ferguson or wenger do a job at a lower league club?

 

When a manager has no money to spend they have to rely on luck,instinct and a good network of friends and scouts......sometimes this works out and the manager catches the eye, but most of the time it doesn't work out and the manager becomes a nobody....for every success story there are 20 who are not.

 

The question is would pardew have taken the job here if it was made clear to him that he wouldn't have any money?.......my answer would be that he probably wouldn't have touched it with a bargpole.

 

IMO this season is all about planting the seeds,it is next season we will reap the fruits,if we get a few early fruits in the form of a cup or even a late charge for a playoff place then it will be a bonus.

 

Overall I'm happy with what's been achieved this season,although it could be better....if I had to give pardew a mark out of 10 then it would be a 7.

[Alain Perrin]

I think it is interesting how fans, so quick to blame Lowe for getting through 10 managers in 10 years, would quite happily get through 10 in 10 games.

 

Pardew is a good manager. A proven manager. He has strengths and weaknesses. Let him do his job (and by that I mean over a couple of seasons), rather than deciding after a couple of dodgy games.

 

Hoddle was (IMHO) a great tactician, but he couldn't sign a player for toffee. Strachan was a good motivator, but rubbish tactician ("65mins, time to sub Fernandez" was his stock move). Burley couldn't be trusted to spend money except in a pub.

 

Everyone's got flaws.

[The9]

Yeah that's a mystery why he can't get the boro playing at all..

 

I'd be pretty confident that it would be because they have a glut of players who can't really be bothered now they're not in the Prem, and that other sides see them as a scalp and raise their game accordingly.

 

Strachan didn't "get worse" in his last 6 months either, Saints were FOURTH in the Premiership on Boxing Day only 2 months before he left (13th Feb 2004), and we went downhill from Boxing Day '03 (we were diabolical at Loftus Rd against Fulham) until he left because the players knew he was going - from the immediate plummet in form and performances after we beat the Skates compared to I'd also be pretty confident the players found out he was leaving the week of Xmas 2003.

 

English League Cup Southampton 2-0 Portsmouth 02-12-2003

English Premier Southampton 3-2 Charlton 07-12-2003

English Premier Liverpool 1-2 Southampton 13-12-2003

English League Cup Bolton 1-0 Southampton 16-12-2003

English Premier Southampton 3-0 Portsmouth 21-12-2003

FORM starts to go...

English Premier Fulham 2-0 Southampton 26-12-2003

English Premier Southampton 0-1 Arsenal 29-12-2003

English FA Cup Southampton 0-3 Newcastle 03-01-2004

English Premier Southampton 0-0 Leicester 07-01-2004

STRACHAN departure becomes public knowledge : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2370975/Strachan-puts-family-first.html

English Premier Birmingham 2-1 Southampton 10-01-2004

English Premier Southampton 2-1 Leeds 17-01-2004

English Premier Man Utd 3-2 Southampton 31-01-2004

English Premier Southampton 0-0 Fulham 07-02-2004

English Premier Arsenal 2-0 Southampton 10-02-2004

STRACHAN GOES (three months early): http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/3485633.stm

 

Bewildering that anyone thinks any different really.

 

Pardew has done well so far but we've plateau'd a bit in the last 6 weeks - fortunately we've made some signings that given a bit of practise together should push us on further.

Edited 18 January, 2010 by The9

[Alain Perrin]

I think he has made baffling mistakes here especially with team selections and substitutions (Swindon away being a prime example)

 

I disagree with Swindon. I was there and everyone could see that substitutions were necessary (he had Rasiak on the bench for example).

 

Pardew knew that. But he didn't do it, why?

 

I think he was playing the long game, playing the players in a real match scenario to get to know his team. Bringing on Rasiak (who was going) would have taught him nothing.

 

I think it was deliberate for the greater good.

[eurosaint]

This whole discussion is extremely subjective and many people quote todays successful managers and seem to imagine that they are the ones to emulate !

Yes, Paul Lambert is the flavour of the month at the moment but only recently you could have said that about Phil Brown, Roy Hodgson has total respect at Fulham yet was vilified after a short period at Blackburn ! Burley was rated as good before coming to us and Strachan was rated as poor but the general concensus is that WGS did much better !

IMHO the only real test of a manager's ability is to judge over a period of years, not weeks or months and this certainly applies in the case of Pardew as he had to start from ground zero !!

[The9]

I disagree with Swindon. I was there and everyone could see that substitutions were necessary (he had Rasiak on the bench for example).

 

Pardew knew that. But he didn't do it, why?

 

I think he was playing the long game, playing the players in a real match scenario to get to know his team. Bringing on Rasiak (who was going) would have taught him nothing.

 

I think it was deliberate for the greater good.

 

With hindsight (though some suspected it at the time) he was quite clearly hanging the players out to dry that night. Saying "what have you got?" and knowing if they didn't do it he'd have grounds to buy people to replace them - but at the same time, look at the subs and how few games they've played since. There are few players in that team that Pardew has confidence in.

 

Harding, Mellis and Lambert had only just arrived, but as for the others... only 7 of the 18 are still going to be regularly involved now, and that includes Bart and Oscar Gobern.

 

This is that side :

Saints: Davis, James, Thomas, Lancashire (Rasiak 90), Harding, Schneiderlin, Wotton (Gobern 81), Mellis, Lallana, Paterson (Saganowski 81), Lambert. Subs: Bialkowski, Perry, Gillett, Thomson.

[SFC Forever]

I cannot believe any manager worth his salt would deliberately throw away 3 points to check out a teams players.

[Hamilton Saint]

I cannot believe any manager worth his salt would deliberately throw away 3 points to check out a teams players.

 

"Deliberately throw away".

 

[Window Cleaner]

I disagree with Swindon. I was there and everyone could see that substitutions were necessary (he had Rasiak on the bench for example).

 

Pardew knew that. But he didn't do it, why?

 

I think he was playing the long game, playing the players in a real match scenario to get to know his team. Bringing on Rasiak (who was going) would have taught him nothing.

 

I think it was deliberate for the greater good.

 

How would you explain Huddersfield away then?

Taking of James and Morgan and replacing them with Mellis and Thomson at 54 minutes thus making a powder puff midfield for Huddersfield to stroll through.Pardew threw a point away there

[Turkish]

How would you explain Huddersfield away then?

Taking of James and Morgan and replacing them with Mellis and Thomson at 54 minutes thus making a powder puff midfield for Huddersfield to stroll through.Pardew threw a point away there

 

I thought everyone thinks James is **** and Morgan overrated? Anyway, he was clearly assessing the squad as he'd only been here a matter of weeks, we were doing our preseason during the first 6 or 7 games, agree with the guy who said he was asking the players playing to show him what they had. cant speak for Huddersfield but i was at Swindon and we were truely awful, telling that as has been pointed out, not a lot of the team that played then have made much of a contribution since. Lets face it, the team that was here at the start of the season would have been in a serious relegation battle.

[david in sweden]

What I am saying is a manager is only as good as the league position of the team he manages......

I'm not a fan of pardew but he has done a better job than I expected,I think he has made baffling mistakes here especially with team selections and substitutions (Swindon away being a prime example) but on the whole he has done a decent enough job especially in the transfer Market.

 

Would he have been a success without money to spend?..... I'm not so sure.

QUOTE]

 

Success for many Prem. clubs means surviving another season. Look at the bottom half of the Prem.today, and there is barely 6 points covering those from the middle to the relegation zone.

 

It's only the "top six" who buy and sell BIG, who are obsessed with Europe and "winning things" as the others don't have the money for better players. Clubs like Sunderland are in the same position that Saints were always in.

Sell your star player (in their case K. Jones ) to survive or you have no transfer budget. The top clubs have huge debts because they buy and sell for £10/£20 million and then leave the player on the bench but their owners are willing to lay out the money.

 

Few managers can ever bring in ONE player who improves a side single-handedly. Saints have a few times. Ron Davies, Channon, Peter Rodrigues in the 76 Cup Final side) MLT... and later maybe Dean Richards and Mi.Svensson in defence.

Lambert might well come into that category in a year or so.

 

Many big money signings in the last 20 years have been a waste of space. Alan McLoughlin, Dixon and Speedie in the Shearer deal, Mark Hughes, McCann,etc. Phillips was good but hardly worth the £3 millon we paid, and certainly not Delgado.

Delap was better than many say (IMO) as he was asked to play many roles to cover injuries rather than having his own regular spot. Unfortunately, both Beresford and Hirst were injured early on and only K.Davies and Beattie did well only because they had a season or so to " play themselves in ".

 

In short, buying one player doesn't make a team unless you have a good team to start with, McMenemy did that several times. Managers who buy internationals to put " the icing on the cake " will eventually succeed, but not overnight.

 

Pardew (like McMenemy) is team-building. Aside from the goalies, less than half the current squad were even here 6 months ago, but signing experience like Lambert and Jaidi (and now Fonte) provides good support for players like Seabourne, Harding, Schneiderlin, James and Lallana who haven't had a full season even at any real level. YES, we still have gaps to fill,(and players to release) but it's early to start condemning AP / or players who haven't even had one season here.

Edited 19 January, 2010 by david in sweden

[Master Bates]

Talking about transfers, how much did we get for this one?

 

[BridgnorthSaint]

Ignoring the -10, look at what AP has done.

 

He inherited a vastly depleted squad.

 

He has highlighted weaknesses and gone out to improve them.

 

Despite having very little pre-season and starting poorly, he has taken us into the top six (remember we're ignoring the -10)

 

Lallana and Schniederlin have grown into key players, and are twice the players they were last season.

 

We are into the 4th Round of the FA cup

 

We're one step away from the JPT final.

 

He doesnt talk **** - he tells it just as it is.

 

Conclusion = he is a good manager

 

(however, promotion next season is the minimum we should expect)

 

I agree with this pretty much

[John B]

Ignoring the -10, look at what AP has done.

 

He inherited a vastly depleted squad.

 

He has highlighted weaknesses and gone out to improve them.

 

Despite having very little pre-season and starting poorly, he has taken us into the top six (remember we're ignoring the -10)

 

Lallana and Schniederlin have grown into key players, and are twice the players they were last season.

 

We are into the 4th Round of the FA cup

 

We're one step away from the JPT final.

 

He doesnt talk **** - he tells it just as it is.

 

Conclusion = he is a good manager

 

(however, promotion next season is the minimum we should expect)

 

Lets face it most managers with the money provided could have done that but AP is still a reasonable manager

[Pedro]

A squad player I spoke to at length recently reckons AP is a very good manager, very honest and Southampton is a great club. Also said that we would do MK over two legs, looking forward to everyone having a great day out at Wembley.

 

Hope he's right.