We are a loyal bunch and I prefer it that way but clearly this cannot continue or we will be toast by xmas with a worse performance than the dire Derby side who beat us in the play offs.

Keep Adkins. Maintain stability. Retain the vision.

Get a loan defender in to see us through to January. Employ a defensive coach to support Adkins, like Steve Bould has at Arsenal.

Invest sensibly in January with two or three defenders - Michael Dawson would be a great start.

And for God's sake quash the media talk of Redknapp returning. The man is a mercenary and a pariah and has no place in our long term vision for the club.

Its not the fans backing that NA needs is it. Its the backing of NC. His millions that have been paid out yet as yet not alot or return for it.
Personally I hope NA can sort it out but his team selection and substitutions have cost us points so far, no doubt about that.

I think NA should be given a little longer to prove himself. The club needs stability. A change of manager doesn't always bring success (especially with our really unbalanced squad) and would be yet another embarrassment in the eyes of the footballing world. Fergies and Wengers only come along because they have had time under patient chairmen to prove themselves. The current English football climate with hirings and firings is ridiculous and smacks of desperation. God knows how much money is wasted in compensation.

Saints fans are a breed who in general didnt 'choose' to support the club. Support is not based on success - its due to family or other personal connections. We dont love the club because it wins things. To this end the integrity of the club is most important. It is because of this I think that most fans are 'behind' NA. It is also because of this that fans would be so anti Redknapp.

That being said - the club needs to 'prosper' and I am not convinced in the 5 year plan if we get relegated - I dont think relegation is in the plan and would be concerned on the Liebherr family funding another promotion push. I want to see improvements on the pitch to best ensure we dont get relegated. I honestly think there is a problem with the current mgt structure, not fixing clear weaknesses, strange formations, selections and subsitutions. I dont understand why Lambert is not playing at C Forward for example - he is the one person who deserves his place, and our better moments this season have been with him on the pitch and vice versa. I personally think NA is looking out of his depth, however if we replace him we need to do in the right way with the right person (which is not just a football record).

Until we find someone who fits the mark to take over the reigns then I and I hope all will support NA and his teams come matchday.

After 15 years of managerial instability - the last thing we want to do is get rid of Adkins. I agree with Terry Paine and give Adkins the season at least..Even if we go down, he'd be the right man to bring us back up again like he did with Scunthorpe..

I think we should all take a reality check! Before the season started we all knew what the Premier League has become. It is its own Monster.
It is never about football, it is only about scandal and media nonsense. Just check the headlines every day of the back pages. It is all very wrong and we have become part of it with this desire to discuss the sacking of our own great manager. I use the word great because he is a great man and has done great things at our club. This seasons results have not been great, but the entertainment has often been good.
So the alternative is to get a manager like say Alladyce? Get a huge set of players and win ugly? Well what the hell is the value in that? Many WHU fans hate the man and what he has done at their club. What are they going to win? Zilch is the answer.
We had great fun in the lower leagues. That has been shattered now that we have joined the 'Sky money' league. So let us continue with our youth policy and continue to try and emulate the success of other foreign teams by actually playing football the right way, by passing it around and not hoofing it into row ZZ or up to a 6'4" forward.
Because one day I truly believe NA will learn from his early premiership experiences and mistakes and prove that our way is the only right way. Even if we have to go back down to the much more honest Championship. So enjoy every game and do the right thing. Support our manager and his way and enjoy each game, but get real and lose the negativity.

Agree very much with NigD. I think this echoes most supporters viewpoint, I particulary agree about the media madness and the Sky money, It leaves a bad taste in my mouth but the criticism of NA and NC is due to our lack of quality defenders and our inability to do something about this in the pre season.We all want to see Saints play the right way but to think we could survive at this level with what was a slightly above average Championship defence plus a few additions with no Premier League experience was foolhardy. If we do go down I would love to think we would bounce back and be wiser for the experience but what has happened to Middlesborough, Birmingham, Burnley and Blackpool. We should be at least trying to shore things up defensively and fight to stay up.

rather get relegated with Nigel at the helm ...... than survive with some "name" and lose the sense of vision and togethness the club has built up. He will learn and he had the right values for our club

St Mary's has been wonderful for last 2 years ...... NA has led the group that achieved the success. He makes bold decisions - sometimes I may not agree with them and it's easy to point the finger when they "dont work" but I understand he needs to make them

Onwards and come on you saints - we wouldnt have it any other way

Those last three posts are spot on. Couldn't agree more.

This site can be so depressing reading all of the hindsight based accusations and finger pointing. It's pretty bloomin tricky to get back to back promotions and then not to struggle. Norwich were the exception, not the rule.
Wouldn't it be great if NC stuck with NA regardless of results (even relegation) because of his success to date and amazingly positive attitude. That would certainly make me more proud of being a SFC supporter than ditching him and compromising our new ethos with a Sam Allardyce type.

I hate to disagree with some of the posts above but I think Saints should do everything they can to stay in the top flight. After 27 years there, until 2005, I think it’s where we belong.
Nigel Adkins was the perfect manager for Saints and has done an astonishing job over the last two years. But all of his good work seemed to end in May this year. Since then it’s all gone very very wrong. The lack of correct re-enforcements, a system that doesn’t fit the players we have, an insistence to keep attacking when we have conceded a record number of goals, I could go on…
Accepting relegation with Adkins at the helm is ludicrous in my mind. There are no guarantees whatsoever that we’ll be able to bounce straight back. The Championship is an incredibly tough league and what we did last season was an amazing achievement. I would love for Adkins to stay in charge, sign the required players in January and turn things around. But I can’t see it happening.
Adkins definitely deserves a chance but the danger is that if we went down then Lallana, Ramirez, Schniederlin, Davis, Cork, probably Lambert and maybe even Clyne would all leave to stay in the Premiership. And even if some of them stayed, look at what’s happened at Bolton this year. They held on to a lot of players but are still struggling like hell in the Championship.
Now that we’re in the Premiership I think we should do everything to stay there. We can’t afford to lose the good players we have, and can’t take the gamble that we’ll bounce straight back. The killer blow so far has been not signing better defenders. If Cortese was at fault for this then maybe Adkins will be given the whole season and the chance to strengthen the squad in January. I would like to think this is the case and that Adkins will get a fair crack at the big time.
But if results don’t improve in the next couple of months, and Adkins is to blame for the lack of quality in defence, then Cortese will have to change the manager to give us the best chance of staying up.
If that did happen, whoever Cortese gets will need to fit in with the club ethos. No Redknapp, or Allardyce style manager. Someone like Hoddle who is committed to youth development, or someone like Rafa Benitez who uses a modern, European style of play.
I just hope that Adkins can turn it around soon. He’s done brilliantly for Saints but Cortese’s loyalty can only be stretched so far. And Cortese’s not exactly the type to shy away from making a tough business decision.