General thoughts & Ideas..

[SB]

Delete if necessary.. However since the end of last season everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, on paper there is no doubt that we have by far the strongest squad if everyone performed to their potential, however that's the problem, the players just aren't clued up, not that I want this to turn into a thread to speculate but I feel its a area that does need to be discussed.. Has something behind the sense gone wrong, has the departure of AP knocked the stuffing ( whats left) out of the players, why is ricke Lambert a shadow of the player from last season? Fitness has been mentioned however fitness wasn't an issue last season so why all of a sudden is it..

 

Another area is signings, this season although AP did sign a number of potentially good players we still have a few areas that need covering, the most obvious being up front, no goals in 3 games? something needs to be done and quick. the positive from this is that NA is known to have a good eye for a striker and therefore hopefully will bring in someone that will 'kick start' the season because it is rapidly falling apart and another year in league one is becoming more likely..

 

NC Is another person or topic that keeps appearing, with many supports slating him with myself even criticizing his decision ( sacking of AP), however since the 'meal of 14' my views and others have changed, with it appearing that NC has very poor communication skills BUT does however have a reason for everything and isn't Lowes long lost child.. e.g the ticketing system...

[doddisalegend]

Delete if necessary.. However since the end of last season everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, on paper there is no doubt that we have by far the strongest squad if everyone performed to their potential, however that's the problem, the players just aren't clued up, not that I want this to turn into a thread to speculate but I feel its a area that does need to be discussed.. Has something behind the sense gone wrong, has the departure of AP knocked the stuffing ( whats left) out of the players, why is ricke Lambert a shadow of the player from last season? Fitness has been mentioned however fitness wasn't an issue last season so why all of a sudden is it..

 

Another area is signings, this season although AP did sign a number of potentially good players we still have a few areas that need covering, the most obvious being up front, no goals in 3 games? something needs to be done and quick. the positive from this is that NA is known to have a good eye for a striker and therefore hopefully will bring in someone that will 'kick start' the season because it is rapidly falling apart and another year in league one is becoming more likely..

 

NC Is another person or topic that keeps appearing, with many supports slating him with myself even criticizing his decision ( sacking of AP), however since the 'meal of 14' my views and others have changed, with it appearing that NC has very poor communication skills BUT does however have a reason for everything and isn't Lowes long lost child.. e.g the ticketing system...

 

Everyone has a reason for doing stuff even Lowe had reasons. The real question is are those reasons well thought out and based on good judgement?

As for everything else god knows different people in charge same old saints. Last season was for me one of our best in years I was looking forward to this one being even better. Now I've got a sinking feeling last season will be rembered as a high point for some years to come.

[ladysaint]

I was wondering if there was a rift between the players as well, dont know why but they dont seem to like each other much lately.

[doddisalegend]

I was wondering if there was a rift between the players as well, dont know why but they dont seem to like each other much lately.

 

There where rumours (only rumours mind) that the players were divided over APs depature.

[chocco boxo]

Always rifts however big or small in most sports team, however they seem more evident when the team is playing badly or losing! I think with the club lacking positive leadership and having no Manager until 3 days ago those rifts have reared their ugly heads to the detriment of the team.

 

Adkins will have to re-gell the team.

[iansums]

Delete if necessary.. However since the end of last season everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, on paper there is no doubt that we have by far the strongest squad if everyone performed to their potential, however that's the problem, the players just aren't clued up, not that I want this to turn into a thread to speculate but I feel its a area that does need to be discussed.. Has something behind the sense gone wrong, has the departure of AP knocked the stuffing ( whats left) out of the players, why is ricke Lambert a shadow of the player from last season? Fitness has been mentioned however fitness wasn't an issue last season so why all of a sudden is it..

 

Another area is signings, this season although AP did sign a number of potentially good players we still have a few areas that need covering, the most obvious being up front, no goals in 3 games? something needs to be done and quick. the positive from this is that NA is known to have a good eye for a striker and therefore hopefully will bring in someone that will 'kick start' the season because it is rapidly falling apart and another year in league one is becoming more likely..

 

NC Is another person or topic that keeps appearing, with many supports slating him with myself even criticizing his decision ( sacking of AP), however since the 'meal of 14' my views and others have changed, with it appearing that NC has very poor communication skills BUT does however have a reason for everything and isn't Lowes long lost child.. e.g the ticketing system...

 

I hear lot's of people say this but is this really the case. I don't know enough about all the other sides to say one way or the other.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

Whatever the players might feel about AP's departure, I 100% believe that NA will prove to be an excellent manager, and will in fairly short order get these players fit, united, organised and working hard.

 

I believe he will be the best manager we've had for a long time. And despite NCs mistakes, I think he and NA will start to work properly together. I don't think the necessary respect or trust was there between AP and NC. I never really thought AP would be what we needed, and I suspect NC may have learned some lessons and can now start with a clean sheet. He has to make this appointment work, or very serious questions will be asked about his approach.

[iansums]

I was wondering if there was a rift between the players as well, dont know why but they dont seem to like each other much lately.

 

They are meant to be playing for the same team FFS. Just like us lot on this forum, we all want the same thing and you never see us arguing!!

[doddisalegend]

I hear lot's of people say this but is this really the case. I don't know enough about all the other sides to say one way or the other.

 

Your right people often assume clubs in this league are good or crap based on thier name. Look at the Dons new manager and a whole load of new faces this season very different oppostion to last season. We had a strong squad last season this season not so much. Lloyd James was much more important than anyone knew;)

[iansums]

Your right people often assume clubs in this league are good or crap based on thier name. Look at the Dons new manager and a whole load of new faces this season very different oppostion to last season. We had a strong squad last season this season not so much. Lloyd James was much more important than anyone knew;)

 

Agreed, and if Hammond & Morgan are the best CM pairing in this league then I'm Henry Kissinger.

[beatlesaint]

I was wondering if there was a rift between the players as well, dont know why but they dont seem to like each other much lately.

 

Saw the goals on SSN. Did you notice when the first one went in how they all turned a looked at each other with headshaking and pointing to each other going on ?

[(not THE) Kevin Moore]

I hear lot's of people say this but is this really the case. I don't know enough about all the other sides to say one way or the other.

 

I think what people generally mean is 'we've spent more money than anyone else in the league' lots of headline signings but not all are performing to their best, Hammond and Puncheon to name but two.

[alpine_saint]

This season has been an accident waiting to happen.

 

NC should have fired Pardew for non-promotion in the summer after he promised it to get the January transfer activity authorised.

 

Then the fan base could have got the b*tching out of its system, the cry-baby players could have f**ked off leaving those committed to the cause, and the new manager time to get new players in.

 

Instead, the broken promise festered all summer, a moderating voice was sadly lost (or was he pushing for APs dismissal ?), the relationship between NC and Pardew turned even more sour, and none of the measures needed that some of us, even uneducated to the ins and outs of football as we are, were clamouring for, so obvious that they were.

 

In the words of Yoda - now matters worse they are.

[Dr Who?]

I can see this going one of two ways, the players make up and winning a few games this will probably happen, or we ship out the ones that do not want to play for us anymore and replace them. the problem with this is that we will have to go through the gelling process again and I really do not want another season in league 1. Also this means we will have to go up pretty much back to back promotions!!

[Dr Who?]

5 year plan and all that ********!

[SB]

Regarding the 'best team in the league' Southampton have 4 players from last years team of the year if that counts for anything..

[alpine_saint]

I can see this going one of two ways, the players make up and winning a few games this will probably happen, or we ship out the ones that do not want to play for us anymore and replace them. the problem with this is that we will have to go through the gelling process again and I really do not want another season in league 1. Also this means we will have to go up pretty much back to back promotions!!

 

This.

 

I can see this going one of two ways, the players make up and winning a few games this will probably happen, or we ship out the ones that do not want to play for us anymore and replace them. the problem with this is that we will have to go through the gelling process again and I really do not want another season in league 1. Also this means we will have to go up pretty much back to back promotions!!

 

Start preparing yourself now.

[VectisSaint]

...on paper there is no doubt that we have by far the strongest squad if everyone performed to their potential, however that's the problem, the players just aren't clued up, not that I want this to turn into a thread to speculate but I feel its a area that does need to be discussed.. Has something behind the sense gone wrong, has the departure of AP knocked the stuffing ( whats left) out of the players, why is ricke Lambert a shadow of the player from last season? Fitness has been mentioned however fitness wasn't an issue last season so why all of a sudden is it..

I think your assessment is slightly wrong. We do not have the strongest SQUAD in the League, patently. I think I could argue we have the strongest 1st XI, but the squad lacks depth, especially in creativity in midfield and also up front. This weakness has been cruelly exposed so far this season with the loss of Richardson and Lallana, the suspension of Barnard and the clear fitness issues with Lambert, he seems still to be suffering from the groin injury, or the after effects. We have players to replace most of the above (except Lambert) but they are not of the same quality (of course that would be difficult). I don't subscribe to the idea that Antonio and Waigo are such big losses but have to admit that both could come off the bench and make a big difference.

 

The other major issue for me is player fitness. Clearly our preseason planning went awry and, rather in the same way that Burley misunderstood about preseason fitness conditioning, stamina training and so on, it now seems Pardew was almost as inept in this area. I have misgivings in this area that Adkins can put this right, since stamina training is almost impossible to add once the playing season is in full swing. Stamina training makes players tired/heavy legged and they would not be able to perform as well as they should if this sort of training was introduced now. This was not so much of a problem last season for the simple reason that nearly all of our outfield players went through preseason at other clubs. Even so I was not over impressed by the fitness levels last season among some players, we mostly got by because we were technically superior to most teams, but came unstuck on heavy pitches when stamina was required.

 

I don't think AP leaving has knocked the stuffing out of the players, sadly the Rovers result may have been a fluke, we got early goals and by the time fatigue set in in the 2nd half we were already out of sight.

 

Adkins can only address things in my opinion by bringing in a couple of new players on loan (or free agents), preferably ones who are fully fit and have had a proper preseason.

Edited 16 September, 2010 by VectisSaint
Typos, trying to use Notebook keyboard with fat fingers

[alpine_saint]

I think your assessment is slightly wrong. We do not have the strongest SQUAD in the League, patently. I think I could argue we have the strongest 1st XI, but the squad lacks depth, especially in creativity in midfiled and also up front. This weakness has been cruelly exposed so far this season with the loss of Richardson and Lallana, the suspension of Barnard and the clear fitness issues with Lambert, he seems still to be suffering from the groin injury, or the after effects. We have players to replace most of the above (except Lambert) but they are not of the same quality (of course that would be difficult). I don't subscribe to the idea that Antonio and Waigo are such big losses but have to admit that both could come off the bench and make a big difference.

 

The other major issue for me is player fitness. Clearly our preseason planning went awry and, rather in the same way that Burley misunderstood about preseasn fitness conditioning, stamina traing and so on, it now seems Pardew was almost as inept in this area. I have misgivings in this area that Adkins can put this right, since stamina training is almost impossible to add once the playing season is in full swing. Stamina training makes players tired/heavy legged and they would not be able to perform as wel as they should if this sort of training was introduced now. This was not so much of a problem last season for the simple reason that nearly all of our outfield players went through preseason at other clubs. Even so I was not over impressed by the fitness levels last season among some players, we mostly got by because we were technically superior to most teams, but came unstuck on heavy pitches when stamina was required.

 

I don't think AP leaving has nocked the stuffing out of the players, sadly the Rovers result may have been a fluke, we got early goals and by the time fatigue set in in the 2nd half we were already out of sight.

 

Adkins can only address things in my opinion by bringing in a couple of new players on loan (or free agents), preferably ones who are fully fit and have had a proper preseason.

 

Very good post.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

I can see this going one of two ways, the players make up and winning a few games this will probably happen, or we ship out the ones that do not want to play for us anymore and replace them. the problem with this is that we will have to go through the gelling process again and I really do not want another season in league 1. Also this means we will have to go up pretty much back to back promotions!!

 

The new manager will get them wanting to play. Hammond isn't really good enough IMO, Morgan at The Franchise may just have started doing what he ought to have been doing (getting forward and posing a threat), Puncheon also will prove to be too inconsistent IMO, so someone with pace with a nose for goal (like Antonio started to show) is needed. With better fitness and a game plan, we'll start turning up in the second half and play some football. I have confidence in NA to get this sorted out.

Edited 16 September, 2010 by hughieslastminutegoal

[SaintRichmond]

Agreed, and if Hammond & Morgan are the best CM pairing in this league then I'm Henry Kissinger.

 

Ah yes, now re Israel ....... run it by me again, what are your thoughts about Palestinian Hod carriers ???

[VectisSaint]

Very good post.

Must be the Alpine air, currently in northern Italy :-)

[hughieslastminutegoal]

I think your assessment is slightly wrong. We do not have the strongest SQUAD in the League, patently. I think I could argue we have the strongest 1st XI, but the squad lacks depth, especially in creativity in midfield and also up front. This weakness has been cruelly exposed so far this season with the loss of Richardson and Lallana, the suspension of Barnard and the clear fitness issues with Lambert, he seems still to be suffering from the groin injury, or the after effects. We have players to replace most of the above (except Lambert) but they are not of the same quality (of course that would be difficult). I don't subscribe to the idea that Antonio and Waigo are such big losses but have to admit that both could come off the bench and make a big difference.

 

The other major issue for me is player fitness. Clearly our preseason planning went awry and, rather in the same way that Burley misunderstood about preseason fitness conditioning, stamina training and so on, it now seems Pardew was almost as inept in this area. I have misgivings in this area that Adkins can put this right, since stamina training is almost impossible to add once the playing season is in full swing. Stamina training makes players tired/heavy legged and they would not be able to perform as well as they should if this sort of training was introduced now. This was not so much of a problem last season for the simple reason that nearly all of our outfield players went through preseason at other clubs. Even so I was not over impressed by the fitness levels last season among some players, we mostly got by because we were technically superior to most teams, but came unstuck on heavy pitches when stamina was required.

 

I don't think AP leaving has knocked the stuffing out of the players, sadly the Rovers result may have been a fluke, we got early goals and by the time fatigue set in in the 2nd half we were already out of sight.

 

Adkins can only address things in my opinion by bringing in a couple of new players on loan (or free agents), preferably ones who are fully fit and have had a proper preseason.

 

Not so sure about the difficulty of getting the players fit. If I remember correctly Wee GS proved you could come in after the start of the season and get fitness levels up. Otherwise I pretty much agree with you especially the bold bits. I also think there was a bit of an attitude that "we are the best footballers and can't be arsed on this mud-heap".

[St_Tel49]

I think your assessment is slightly wrong. We do not have the strongest SQUAD in the League, patently. I think I could argue we have the strongest 1st XI, but the squad lacks depth, especially in creativity in midfield and also up front. This weakness has been cruelly exposed so far this season with the loss of Richardson and Lallana, the suspension of Barnard and the clear fitness issues with Lambert, he seems still to be suffering from the groin injury, or the after effects. We have players to replace most of the above (except Lambert) but they are not of the same quality (of course that would be difficult). I don't subscribe to the idea that Antonio and Waigo are such big losses but have to admit that both could come off the bench and make a big difference.

 

The other major issue for me is player fitness. Clearly our preseason planning went awry and, rather in the same way that Burley misunderstood about preseason fitness conditioning, stamina training and so on, it now seems Pardew was almost as inept in this area. I have misgivings in this area that Adkins can put this right, since stamina training is almost impossible to add once the playing season is in full swing. Stamina training makes players tired/heavy legged and they would not be able to perform as well as they should if this sort of training was introduced now. This was not so much of a problem last season for the simple reason that nearly all of our outfield players went through preseason at other clubs. Even so I was not over impressed by the fitness levels last season among some players, we mostly got by because we were technically superior to most teams, but came unstuck on heavy pitches when stamina was required.

 

I don't think AP leaving has knocked the stuffing out of the players, sadly the Rovers result may have been a fluke, we got early goals and by the time fatigue set in in the 2nd half we were already out of sight.

 

Adkins can only address things in my opinion by bringing in a couple of new players on loan (or free agents), preferably ones who are fully fit and have had a proper preseason.

 

Here I would beg to differ. Both were capable of scaring opposition defenders witless with their pace and both were perfectly capable of scoring goals - often at crucial stages of a match - and that IS what we have been missing.

[West End Saint]

How have we gone from the optimism before the season started to this 3rd bottom 4 straight defeats ? It beggars belief

 

Lallana is going to be a big miss we have no creativity in the team with him injured Barnard is also proving to be a big miss I thought he started the season full of running looking sharp and was very unlucky against Orient.

 

The rest of the side do not look at it a massive lack of confidence and not firing on all cylinders as others have pointed out we dont look fit.

 

Last season we moved the ball quickly and created chance after chance and looked like scoring at the moment the build up is slow and ponderous hopefull crosses pass pass pass hoof what is that all about.

 

I do think we miss Antonio and Papa not that they were the be all & end all but they were plan b when it didnt happen we have no depth & nothing different to bring on from the bench to change the game.

 

We need as a urgently a centre midfielder to complement Morgan Hammond isnt doing it we need a pacey wide player that knows where the by line is and has the ability to get there and put a decent cross in & we need a striker and we need them now the team needs shacking up.

 

Lambo has gone from the best in the league to a shadow of himself we need to provide him with chances I feel sure if he starts scoring he will start playing better and we will see the Lambo of last season.

 

We have the starting 11 to win this league yes we need some additions but the team are UNDERPERFORMING it is time they got a kick up the arse and started showing they are as good as they think they are time they showed some fight some passion and gave us something to shout about.

 

Come Nigel sort them out !

[Wes Tender]

Last season was for me one of our best in years I was looking forward to this one being even better. Now I've got a sinking feeling last season will be rembered as a high point for some years to come.

 

Some people have very selective memories and perhaps need reminding of certain things so that they can gain some perspective. This last season that you enjoyed so much; how did it begin?

 

I'll remind you.

 

Draw against Millwall 1-1. Beaten 3-1 by Huddersfield. Beaten by Swindon 1-0. Drew against Brentford 1-1. Drew against Stockport 1-1. Drew against Colchester 1-1. Drew against Charlton 1-1. Best Yeovil 2-0. Draw against Carlisle 1-1. Beaten by Bristol Rovers 3-2.

 

Now, being as how we had the season before only just been relegated, with a respected manager beyond what might have been expected for the third division, are you honestly telling me that you were happy with that start? Charlton were perhaps the only team amongst those who we might have reasonably expected to give us a game, but wouldn't you expect us to have beaten most of the others? That sequence took us right up to the end on September before we started to function properly and string together some wins. I seem to recall some very dark mutterings on this forum about how many felt that Pardew wasn't much cop.

[S-Clarke]

How have we gone from the optimism before the season started to this 3rd bottom 4 straight defeats ? It beggars belief

 

Lallana is going to be a big miss we have no creativity in the team with him injured Barnard is also proving to be a big miss I thought he started the season full of running looking sharp and was very unlucky against Orient.

 

The rest of the side do not look at it a massive lack of confidence and not firing on all cylinders as others have pointed out we dont look fit.

 

Last season we moved the ball quickly and created chance after chance and looked like scoring at the moment the build up is slow and ponderous hopefull crosses pass pass pass hoof what is that all about.

 

I do think we miss Antonio and Papa not that they were the be all & end all but they were plan b when it didnt happen we have no depth & nothing different to bring on from the bench to change the game.

 

We need as a urgently a centre midfielder to complement Morgan Hammond isnt doing it we need a pacey wide player that knows where the by line is and has the ability to get there and put a decent cross in & we need a striker and we need them now the team needs shacking up.

 

Lambo has gone from the best in the league to a shadow of himself we need to provide him with chances I feel sure if he starts scoring he will start playing better and we will see the Lambo of last season.

 

We have the starting 11 to win this league yes we need some additions but the team are UNDERPERFORMING it is time they got a kick up the arse and started showing they are as good as they think they are time they showed some fight some passion and gave us something to shout about.

 

Come Nigel sort them out !

 

Great post, agree with everything you've said.

 

It does beggar belief how everything has imploded within 4/5 weeks, not just on the football side but we even lost our owner. I've never known a start to the season like it, totally shell shocked by it all.

[Pat from Poole]

Some people have very selective memories and perhaps need reminding of certain things so that they can gain some perspective. This last season that you enjoyed so much; how did it begin?

 

I'll remind you.

 

Draw against Millwall 1-1. Beaten 3-1 by Huddersfield. Beaten by Swindon 1-0. Drew against Brentford 1-1. Drew against Stockport 1-1. Drew against Colchester 1-1. Drew against Charlton 1-1. Best Yeovil 2-0. Draw against Carlisle 1-1. Beaten by Bristol Rovers 3-2.

 

Now, being as how we had the season before only just been relegated, with a respected manager beyond what might have been expected for the third division, are you honestly telling me that you were happy with that start? Charlton were perhaps the only team amongst those who we might have reasonably expected to give us a game, but wouldn't you expect us to have beaten most of the others? That sequence took us right up to the end on September before we started to function properly and string together some wins. I seem to recall some very dark mutterings on this forum about how many felt that Pardew wasn't much cop.

 

The teams we lost to in that run of games last season all ultimately finished in the top half of the League. I'll be very surprised if Rochdale and Plymouth end up in the top half. There were admittedly a couple of silly draws in that run of games but we were starting to look a decent team by the end of it.

[Wes Tender]

The teams we lost to in that run of games last season all ultimately finished in the top half of the League. I'll be very surprised if Rochdale and Plymouth end up in the top half. There were admittedly a couple of silly draws in that run of games but we were starting to look a decent team by the end of it.

Plymouth were demoted last season, much as we had been the year before. Rochdale had been promoted and seem to have some impetus so far. But my point was that our expectations on relegation were that we were still capable of beating teams like those. This beginning of the season isn't that much different to last although some seem to have forgotten that.

[Foxstone]

I still think that Pardew failed to prepare the squad fully and propoerly over the summer and perhaps most importantly, failed to motivate and lead them correctly.

 

Draw from Blackpool's example if you like - Their summer was filled with woe: Boardroom upheavel, inability to sign or even retain some of the players they wanted.

But why then have they started the season so well - In short the influence of the manager Ian Holloway!

 

I firmly beleive that how a team turns up for the start of any season is a reflection of the job the manager has done pre-season.

What Holloway has done at Blackpool seems very different to what Pardew did at Saints.

[croydonsaint]

Could it be that not getting promoted last season knocked the stuffing out of the players more than we think. Some of the players i am sure came in the belief that we would be in the nationwide league this season.Has reality bitten that to get out of this league takes a hell of a lot of commitment and hard graft. I am not saying our players are lazy or not committed but psychologically are they finding it hard to make themselves go that extra, extra mile week in and week out. Particularly with us being a scalp that gets a lot of teams raising there game against us.

I firmly believe the problem is mainly in the players head. It all seems so hard at the moment. Mark my words 3 wins on the spin and suddenly the players will have that swagger, that feeling that if they do what they can do they will not get beaten.

Atkins biggest short term job is to get that feeling back into the players, and if necessary [hopefully not] get out any one that doesnt believe.

The players need to forget the next game in terms of having to win it, and concentrate on doing the things they did last season when they were having there great run, try and enjoy the challenge and fight as if there life depended on it. Forget the blame game we are in this war together. I reckon we all need to be helping each other out at the moment.C.O.Y.R

[lethallee]

Even last season there were many games which we only played well in one half but difference being to this season is that we were still putting chances away.

 

Personally I think the pressure of being favourites to win league has affected the players confidence and decision making. Going a goal down in a game requires a certain mental strength to get back into game. This mental strength is obviously lacking at present.

 

The general fitness of squad may be an issue but it would of been no different to last season except for the amount of second string games being played.

 

Being bottom of league but club still expecting promotion means pressure on players is even more intense.

 

I believe Adkins will be able to sort the mentality of the players but will not be quick fix.

[saintant]

He has only just arrived but I fear Nigel Adkins isn't going to get the luxury of a honeymoon period. He needs to sit the players down and read the riot act to them. This just isn't good enough - they are professional, paid a lot of money and they are currently cheating the fans who's hard earned pays those huge salaries. If that upsets a few eggshell egos then tough - you take the big money and with that goes responsibility. Too many of them are in some sort of comfort zone and need a harsh wake-up call. ML came in and saved this proud club from near extinction but this group of players can't even be bothered to put in a shift once they cross the white let alone in training. They are lazy, unfit and don't appear to give a toss. NA must sort out those who do want to play for the club and replace the rest. He can't afford to be Mr Nice Guy I'm afraid because this lot will just take advantage. Show us you've got a pair Nige and wade into this bunch of under-achievers. Oh and can we get someone on loan with some leadership qualities quick so that Hammond can be relieved of the captaincy cos this guy doesn't lead by example and shouldn't even be in the team on current form. Better still, if Jay DeMerit is still a free agent try getting him to sign, make him skipper and we just might see some passion on the pitch.

[a1ex2001]

I hear lot's of people say this but is this really the case. I don't know enough about all the other sides to say one way or the other.

 

While it's difficult to say if we have THE best squad in the league it is certainly true to say we have ONE OF THE best squads in the league and certainly one which on paper should be nearer the top that the bottom. The lack of quality in the team certainly isn't the main reason we are almost propping up the table!

[david in sweden]

There where rumours (only rumours mind) that the players were divided over APs depature.

 

.....wouldn't surprise me in the slightest..I'd guess most of them were as shocked as I was ..whether you liked AP or not.

and those who shouted PARDEW OUT ! ....... got their way.

[SaintRichmond]

Pardew has gone and we should move on .........

 

Oh if it were that simple

 

It is no use in saying "move on" Why ??? Because, for a myriad of reasons, no one else has moved on

 

It's like a lead weight hanging over St Mary's

 

The Players have not moved on, and are continuing to play as if they did not care one little bit (Bristol was a fluke IMHO)

 

Cortese has done very little to difuse the situation, and, I'm sorry Nicola, the "situation" aint gonna go away

 

We do NOT know what was told to the Players (if anything), and nothing of any substance has been said to us Supporters

 

That means, quite simply, there is "No Closure" on the matter, and it is festering Big Time throughout St Mary's

 

And into this turbulent atmosphere comes Nigel Adkins, IMHO, potentially, a very good Saints Manager in the making

 

Unfortunately, with all that's going on, He does NOT stand a chance. For a start, no amount of Wallpaper can cover up the almighty

 

cracks that show, quite clearly, that most of the Players are NOT happy that Pardew has gone

 

And the reason for that is very simple. THEY, like US, do not know WHY he was sacked, and the longer you go on without knowing

 

reasons behind decisions, the WORSE the atmosphere becomes

 

Sad but True IMHO. It seems that Cortese is between a Rock and a Hard place, and I can't see a way out.

 

( Cue The News Of The World with a two page colour spread )

[doddisalegend]

Some people have very selective memories and perhaps need reminding of certain things so that they can gain some perspective. This last season that you enjoyed so much; how did it begin?

 

I'll remind you.

 

Draw against Millwall 1-1. Beaten 3-1 by Huddersfield. Beaten by Swindon 1-0. Drew against Brentford 1-1. Drew against Stockport 1-1. Drew against Colchester 1-1. Drew against Charlton 1-1. Best Yeovil 2-0. Draw against Carlisle 1-1. Beaten by Bristol Rovers 3-2.

 

Now, being as how we had the season before only just been relegated, with a respected manager beyond what might have been expected for the third division, are you honestly telling me that you were happy with that start? Charlton were perhaps the only team amongst those who we might have reasonably expected to give us a game, but wouldn't you expect us to have beaten most of the others? That sequence took us right up to the end on September before we started to function properly and string together some wins. I seem to recall some very dark mutterings on this forum about how many felt that Pardew wasn't much cop.

 

Yep and I wasn't one of them. I had very low expectations for last season there where plenty on here talking about being out of minus points after four matches I felt they were deluded and I was right. You still see it on here now people think "we're the might southampton" thus automatically better than all the other teams in league one most of the time they know nothing about the oppositation team other than the team name.

 

Despite not getting to the play offs I still rate last season as one of the best becuase I got to see southampton actually win something for the trophy cabinet and I saw lots of good matches were we actually won games. Yes the start of last season was poor but I was realistic enough to expect nothing less given the circumstances. This year I expected a lot more from my club and so far haven't got it.

[Thedelldays]

General thoughts.....Rachel Reilly is look FIT..!!!!

[Pancake]

I thought you had been run over by a train?

[Viking Saint]

Adkins out!!!!!

[VectisSaint]

I don't think we'll know who has the strongest squad until the end of the season and who finishes top.

 

The original statement was about having the best squad NOW, whether we will have the best squad end of season is irrelevant to that discussion (though clearly very relevant to what we achieve at season end). Clearly we didn't have the best squad start of last season either, but with some good signings we certainly did by the end of the season, with several options on the bench available to change games. As things stand now we are hard pressed to name 18 players for a Saturday game. We were alo fortunate with injuries, only Murty was out for any serious length of time. Also we had a good squad because the players brought in during the season were committed, technically good, enthusiastic and fit (at least fitter than the ones we already had in general).

 

Agree with much of what you say otherwise, but I would question whether the 11 on the pitch so far this season have been good enought, taking out Richardson, Lallana, Barnard & arguably Lambert who is clearly not playing the way he did last season, almost certainly due to injury, means we have had arguably only 7 of our first chocie players. Not everything is down to the manager, but in our case a lot is, as I said before from the fitness side of things. Even WGS could not instill stamina into a team mid-season, it has to be done pre-season thus why I have concerns whether NA can turn this around, he has many talented players (over-talented for this level perhaps) but it is difficult to get this change of attitude and mental sharpness once a season is underway. Hence the need for the manager to freshen things up with a couple of inspired loans/fre agents to bring competition, fresh enthusiasm and motivation.

[Wes Tender]

Yep and I wasn't one of them. I had very low expectations for last season there where plenty on here talking about being out of minus points after four matches I felt they were deluded and I was right. You still see it on here now people think "we're the might southampton" thus automatically better than all the other teams in league one most of the time they know nothing about the oppositation team other than the team name.

 

Despite not getting to the play offs I still rate last season as one of the best becuase I got to see southampton actually win something for the trophy cabinet and I saw lots of good matches were we actually won games. Yes the start of last season was poor but I was realistic enough to expect nothing less given the circumstances. This year I expected a lot more from my club and so far haven't got it.

 

Yes, likewise I also expected more from the start of the season and was fairly confident that we ought for once to get off to a flyer. But then playing these inconsequential pre-season games that were presumably meant to instill confidence and didn't and the apparent lack of fitness of the players and the poor start against Plymouth and Leyton Orient, began to ring alarm bells. Even during the match against Bournemouth they shaded large parts of the match. It didn't look like a team hitting the ground running, firing on all cylinders.

 

But we had a poor start under Pardew last season and it got better. We have plenty of time to turn this season around too.