CORTESE PUTS ON THE PRESSURE

According to the Echo Cortese is now putting Pardew under pressure to get results.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/4993892.Cortese_puts_Pardew_under_pressure/?ref=rss


Do you agree with Cortese's view or is it unreasonable to expect success in the league this season??

Do you think Pardew could be fired at the end of the season??

I certainly agree with Cortese that results are not good enough, especially considering the squad we've got. However, I hope he does not act too rashly in firing AP if we don't achieve promotion this season. We had the -10 deficit and a slow start, but since then we really took off only to start stuttering again.

When they started it was agreed 5 year plan, started slowly but got going and have started to look like a squad that should do better. Think the number of signings inside a couple of week has had a disruptive effect. We needed a CB, striker and midfield player and in Fonte and Bernard good signings. But was surprised we signed Seaborne he looks okay but could have got in summer, Otsemobor looks no better than James and Thomas to me is a better FB but now relegated to cup games only and we needed another Hammond a box to box player which I am Puncheon is, another player would have been worth waiting until the summer.

As such 5 players has probably unsettled the others who were in the team but we are where we are and need to stick with AP. We know what switching managers does.

Have to admit I'm more concerned about Nicola. His idea on the new shirt, white with red sash is not what the fans want, but seems he knows best, and now this, getting more like Rupert every day. Hopefully just the fact that now he's more a fan and this is just the frustration all fans normally feel every time we don't get the right result! Win tomorrow and will be more smiles around, beat the skates saturday and will be top of the world if not Div 1!

Good post Matty, thanks. If we still did Post of the Month it would be a contender.

I was concerned until I saw the way he and Markus stood grinning and applauding for the best part of 10 minutes on Tuesday night at the end.

AP has shown a tendency to buy cheap and quantity before quality. Though he has brought quality in. Lambert, Fonte and Hammond are excellent signings. Murty, Jaidi and Connolly would be if they could have stayed fit. Their ages have caught up with them unfortunately. Murty especially seems to be a forgotten man.
Barnard has yet to produce and Puncheon has only had one game. Seaborne is no better than what we already have and Otsemobor just does not instill a great deal of confidence in me.

Seaborne though does show promise and could do a job if given time but that is a commodity that we are short of at the moment.
We also brought in Aaron Martin who has shaped very well in the reserves and Racine is another who looks good for the future.
when the window opened AP himself said we needed a good midfield player and a CB. We have Fonte and Puncheon but I am still to see what Puncheon has to offer.
Plymouth a low standard CCC side didn't want him overly and MK Dons had him on loan. Not much of a reputation building scenario so I have my fingers crossed. Otsemobor I expect to leave at the end of the season.

With the limited number of games available for the reserves having such a large squad is possibly counter productive for match fitness. I do hope that I am wrong.

I hope he keeps faith in Pardew,I agree with Matty new players take time to bed in.I feel next season we will be much more consistent league wise,the squad will have had a full pre season together and the players out of contract and not part of things will have left.Sometimes people lose sight of things,this was as I understood it, a five year plan and I think we are on schedule,changing again would in my view be pointless.When you consider how far we have come this year with,admittedly,good backing from the owner,I think with a Wembley place assured and a money spinning derby match,things are looking very rosy for us.Why change.

I really think it will depend on the run in. I don't expect to get very close to the playoffs but I do expect to see the team improve with their performances. I keep banging on about it but it is the performance that draws the crowd. And, it is the crowd that pays the wages and bills. NC and ML will have seen in the two cup games how vociferous our support can be if given reason. They are not idiots and will have noticed the difference when watching poorer shows and how the crowd can go quiet.