SaintCox

I would say a good season would have been the best of the rest but an average season/esp given the changes in manger and players is 12-8th. A decent cup run which we have had with a semi is okay. Being knocked out of the Europa at group is below par and we wait to see in the FA Cup. The reason for the Puel out comments is the style of play and the unrest around the club. I do not think the unrest is all Puel, I think a particular head has clearly become too big for the club since winning the Euro's. However the sleep inducing performances with little excitement are the biggest issue for me.

Ok so Instagram, somewhat pedantic

Off to Liverpool why else would Louvren post on Twitter?

Didn't watch it but having read the posts here it sound as though we played sleep inducing football again hoping to sneak a 1-0. Problem is we have no ability to get a goal once we conceed as we have no ability to adjust, much like the Spurs game. Re Puel out, I think it is the insipid performances that are a worry rather than where we are in the league. It is simple money is starting to break the league into 6 teams who have commercial revenue, gate receipts, etc and can pay huge wages. Those 4 teams who struggle having either come up or spent years in decline and the rest. Every other team will go through poor spells and can only hope that they do not get drawn into a relegation battle. We are simply mid table mediocrity and we need to start another 5 year plan building a team from youth. This will not sit well with VVD, Fonte, Betrand, Forster as that would be building during the potentially best/final years of their careers. This is potentially the problem in the squad right now. Can Puel build for 5years is really the question to ask. Not where we finish his season so long as we are not dragged into relegation.

Interesting that you mention Swansea because under Laudrup they played some very good football. They won a cup and went out of the Europa league quite late to Napoli. They had a managerial change, sold players and have been moving backwards ever since. My comment re Stoke and Bournemouth was in relation to an earlier comment about WBA. I think all three teams have a certain style of play and seem to be progressing. Now Puel has to find a style and fit players in around it. As Benali said earlier maybe we have been unable to do that because of rotation, but only time will tell. We will undoubtedly lose players again in the summer so we may end up taking a step back to move two forward soon. But to be clear I would like to see a team with dynamism that is able to excite he crowd and I do not think we have seen much of that this year.

So do Stoke and Bournemouth. The difference is that they have been building a better team each year and not replacing 3-4 players. Perhaps we need to take a step back and blood a new breed of long term committed players. Puel maybe the man for the job although I am worried that he is way too defensive.

Absolutely gutted but we got what we deserved. We just seem to lack any dynamism and cohesion. If we score early we are normally okay but as a team (not just the strikers) we are utterly toothless. I really do not want to be negative after a bad game but I do feel we maybe on the verge of a step back. Whether this is long term good or not remains to be seen.

And if we do start holding players to their contracts it would be highly likely that many of these names would simply sign elsewhere in the 1st place or not sign longer extensions. We want to be seen as a successful club where you can play at a good level, sometimes in Europe and achieve National team recognition rather than go to a "big" club and sit on the bench. It really is a good model, bring in good young players, bring some thought the academy and sign those good "bench warmers" to become the 250 game stability players. whilst it would be amazing for a club like ours to become a "big" club it isn't really realistic. We are seeing some of the best football we have played for years and are being viewed in the right way for this to hopefully continue. When Puel says enjoy VVD that is exactly what we should do

I agree, another top half finish is not to be scoffed at. It is frustrating that on out day we can beat anyone but also lose to anyone. However the days of being considered an easy 3 points are long gone and others know they are always in for a tough game. Even though one or two are bound to leave in the summer it is good to see that we have recruited and bedded replacements. Something that we were not able to do when Poch left. I do not agree with those that think this season will be our best shot at the top 7 places. There is so much money in the league. Gone are the days where only the big clubs can have a good solid squad. Many clubs in the top ten and even below are stocked full of international quality and that isn't going to change, if anything it will become more the norm. The big clubs need all stars to perform to beat the mid table ones (Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea) It is more likely the league gets tighter than we see 2 teams dominate like the 90s again. This can only be exacerbated by the constant managerial changes and squad culling. Maybe it will not be Leics or Spurs (both of which have had good recruitment, not much player turnover and a lack of injury to key players) but West Ham or us. We need to keep building the corporate cash flow, have good signings in advance of expected departures and maintain momentum. Signing Ronald for longer in the summer will be a good start.

Problem for Pelle now is that he and everyone know that Austin has been brought in as the main striker, probably signalling his time is up at the club. The hope is that he plays for his Italy place over the coming months. But he has been excellent for us, a great signing and I think, a true professional. Yesterday his performance was not dictated by a lack of effort but slightly strange tactics. Playing a 5-2-3 system did not play to our forwards strengths. It made it very difficult to build play as we were always outnumbered in central midfield. Neither Sadio or Shane is a proper link between the midfield and forward line. So I think it would have been very hard for any forward to have a big impact even prior to the sending off.

I think something from Austin Powers might be apt, specifically Goldmember. He's got the Midas touch That's why we love him so much Charlie Austin Charlie Austin He's gold, he's gold, he's gold Charlie Austin Charlie Austin Just after he scores a "yeah baby yeah" or even "groovy baby"