Forester

I know Nick it is hard work getting it into thick skulls. As I trooped out today having shipped five goals, and contemplated the long journey coming up Saturday, I looked back longingly to the 4 goals at both Sunderland and Watford, the 3 goals at Wet Spam and Bournemouth, the wins at Boro and West Brom and, most enjoyable of all, the wins at Anfield and Emirates en route to Wembley. This season we have won on the road just once, 1-0 at Palace who at that time had yet to score a goal all season back then. Still, if the three dull May home games never to be repeated was too much for some of our headbangers to cope with, I guess it’s is all too much....

This is a very good post. I am dreading the long drive north on Saturday. Not sure how much came across on TV but the booing of Redmond was widespread, not just vocal minority, and the chant of “sacked in the morning” again had mass support. For those who travel to games we enjoyed good trips under Puel, 4 at Watford and Sunderland, 3 at Bournemouth and Wet Spam, wins at WBA, Boro, and of course fantastic wins in the League Cup at Arsenal and Liverpool. Previous season under RK wins at Chelsea, Spurs, Man Utd etc. This season we have one away win, and the away fans are absolutely low as a snakes belly. Putting money and time in and minimum expectation is commitment. Currently I don’t see that commitment from too many. Redmond backing out of tackles, Lamina a shadow of his former self. The historically poor decision to fire Puel was explained by some (albeit not those who know) as having lost the dressing room. So how are those precious wallflowers who didn’t like him getting on now? We are sleepwalking to relegation under MP and he needs to go tonight.

No they weren’t, but they did see the Leicester debacle

This is a very good post. We have won only one game away all season, against a Palace side that at that time had failed to score a goal this season. The other three wins at home were against 10 man Wet Spam (stoppage time penalty having been outplayed second half), 1-0 against WBA thanks to Boufal late magic and beating the most demotivated Everton side you could imagine. Throw in the humiliation to Wolves Reserves and it’s massive deterioration from the very competent Puel even if he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I will be amazed if we aren’t stuck on 19 points after 21 games and that is relegation form. A reminder that because of Wet Spam switch of venue we have majority of games away in second half of season. Time to pull the trigger on MP

I think that we will retain until the summer, unless there has been a big hissy fit behind the scenes which we wouldn’t know about

t I confess to once turning up wanting us to lose for this very reason, and it was Steve Wigley. Got my wish that he was sacked, but sadly we still went down! While we were in a worse position league table wise there are some uncomfortable parallels as that season we wasted a lot of very winnable home games before Xmas. While Harry had his faults for sure, the team he put together was much stronger after January but we had left things to late. So since then I vowed to be careful what you wish for!

For most of the first half I thought we blunted a below par Chelsea and gave them one real chance that Willian wasted. Will watch the free kick on tv but judging from reaction on here and elsewhere it sounds like a poor wall. But our approach in the second half until Boufal came on was woeful. I used to enjoy away trips under Puel, Koeman and MP, where we would dominate the ball and win, lose or draw be there giving it a go. Worrying performances in terms of attitude and stomach for the relegation battle from Redmond, Gabby and Lamina. They all look like they are hating life out there right now. Question marks still for me on concentration levels for Hoedt too. As I have said on the Manager thread we have only got Spurs to play for the first time and highly likely to see us lose that too. Then in second half of season we have extra away game because of Wet Spam Stadium shambles. Udders game is absolutely huge and if, god forbid, we lost that I could see us stuck on 18 points after 21 games with Liverpool, City, Spurs and Chelsea all to visit St Mary’s gunning for title or European football. I can see the argument for firing MP now. I can’t possibly imagine he could survive a failure to beat Udders. Finally what on earth was the fight between two Saints fans next to the food and drink bit in the concourse about? Embarrassing...

Spot on. I struggle with our less intelligent fans not understanding the difference between a 53 game season and what may be a 40 game one, a fully fit squad with Lamina and Hoedt versus last year, etc etc etc

I am not too sure you gave that much thought, did you? The rest of the post if you read it again seeks to help you answer the question you pose.

We face a serious battle to stay up and this struggle is underestimated in my opinion. Consider the following: - ignore the Udders match coming up as that is actually the first time we have played the same team twice. So the true halfway point is after the Chelsea and Spurs games. Then we have played all 19 teams once, and I don’t see a point in either game. So we will be stuck on 18 points, double it and you get to 36 which is relegation in all likelihood. - because of the Wet Spam switch we face extra away game in second half of season. And our home matches are tougher with Chelsea, Spurs, City and Liverpool all to come down here all chasing title or Champions League football - we have had a virtually injury free squad, stronger than under Puel, and because of Wolves Reserves fiasco have had no European or League Cup distractions. Again much easier than under Puel. We must assume that injuries and suspension will increase after Xmas - there isn’t any evidence that we are any better now than we were in Aug. He has week in, week out, uninterrupted coaching time. Where is the progress? I would never have sacked Puel, but this guy feels a downgrade and I don’t see a reason to sit and gamble given all of the above that he will suddenly come good. I think we have a good squad, a tall striker apart. He isn’t getting anything like maximum from them.

Enjoyed that, and by the way parking in AFC Bournemouth car park for just one pound!!! Close enough to kick a ball to the stadium too! Back to the football thought it was an excellent game with unusually high number of clear cut chances for both teams. I thought Forster, Bertrand, VVD and Romeo were all excellent. Well done Pied after an understandably shaky first ten minutes. I was very critical of MP before the Everton game. Irrespective of the results, these last three games show some evidence of a coaching pattern and coherent tactics which I wasn’t seeing earlier in the season. Let’s hope we have turned a corner.

You are thinking of stopping going to games because this guy got the book thrown at him for homophonic chants? Crikey. That is some sacrifice...

Spot on. Wenger used to moan that away teams didn’t open up at the Emirates. Why the hell should they?

Granted that was as poor an Everton side as we will probably ever see, however you still have to dispatch teams like that and we did so with some style. As others have said we get good crosses in most game but there is rarely anyone hungry to get towards six yard box to finish. Cue Austin! I thought both fullbacks, JWP, PEH and Boufal were excellent too throughout. Been critical of MP, deservedly so, but well done to the manager too. Let’s hope he has learned something from today, and it will do wonders to confidence.

Armstrong and Horne both terrific players, albeit Horne more of a Romeo player than a modern number10

I am disappointed that he hasn’t been fired this week, but will put all that to one side come kick off time as this is a very significant fixture. The echo showed a scary comparison with our home results in our last PL relegation campaign, and many will remember that we squandered winnable fixtures under Wigley. Although we finished bottom we were a much better team in my opinion under Arry with better players signed and he got Crouch scoring. But the home fixture list was much tougher after Xmas. It is hard to see us being above 20 points come halfway stage if we don’t win this one. If we don’t, and performance again is poor, I will vent my feelings at the final whistle but not before

Very sensible and balanced, and I agree with your conclusion

I would make change s in personnel and formation for this. Would play a diamond midfield four with two strikers upfront,so... McCarthy Cedric, Yoshida, VVD, Bertrand Lamina, Davis, JWP, Boufal Gabbi, Austin This formation would give us domination of the ball in midfield but would demand full backs get forward. Ironically it’s the formation Puel favoured in first half of last season

A good post, albeit I think Keegan is past it and I think Dyche could be tempted. Everton seemed not to want him. One other punt couldn’t be Martin O’Neil and Roy Keane. Certainly wouldn’t tolerate any thing less than 100%! My preference would be either Howe or Dyche. Surely our potential is great person than their current clubs. Or Rodgers?

Yes, every one of them, with three generations of the family, along with 16 away league games and memorable cup trips. The entertainment in those three MAY, repeat, MAY fixtures, a bizarre schedule never to be repeated at the end of a 50 odd match season, was poor. I guess the big difference is that, recognising the completely different challenge that Puel had , including the great cup run, and losing Pelle, Wanyama, Mane and then Austin and VVD for half a season my expectations of the fag end of the season games were low. And also, I recognise that there is something between a standing ovation and firing someone. Still, we reap what we sow

Nothing has changed since my last assessment a fortnight ago. And the clueless bunch that hounded out Puel will doubtless reflect that we have conceded more goals today than the four matches we played against Liverpool last season combined, where we kept four clean sheets with the same personnel available plus VVD today. I also pose the same question, which if it wasn’t about points, or entertainment, but was allegedly the dressing room, then why aren’t the presumably jubilant cabal of players playing with boosted motivation? We have made a historically poor decision in the summer. I repeat, look at the next seven games, add up the points at the end of it and double it. Do you get to 40? Zero shots on target today....

I a man not saying that we WILL be relegated, but I genuinely think we will be involved in that part of the table in the spring. My worry is that there is only one team I am very confident of finishing above, and that is Swansea. I still think Palace will finish strongly under Woy. Investment in a tall target man in January I think should see us clear of drop zone, but in absence of this I think we are in some trouble with fixture list before we reach the halfway point. Don’t forget we have extra away game in second half of season because of Wet Spam shambles

Whitey you seem to focus on the result of the final. What about the glorious away wins at Arsenal and Liverpool, five clean sheets against PL opposition, in getting to Wembley in the first place. Any crumbles of credit for that?

As a consistent critic of the decision to sack Puel, following a season where some of our less intelligent fans didn’t seem to be able to factor in that: - we played over 50 games with European travel - went on a glorious run to Wembley (where we were robbed) failing to concede a goal against all PL opposition and winnin away at Liverpool and Arsenal - finished comfortably below three teams who, unusually for them, didn’t have European football (Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea) - sold Pelle and Mane - missed VVD for half the season - brought through McQueen, Sims, Hesketh, Stephens and developed Romeo, Redmond and JWP (the latter two earning England call up) - bizarrely faced three home games in the fag end of a tired May I hope people can now stare at what a mess we are in. Following the humiliation to Wolves Reserves, MP has week in, week out, coaching on the training pitch with no distractions. The entertainment BOTH home and away is lower than last season. We have wasted many winnable games, and we are now staring at being in the drop zone once our horrific fixture list plays out over the coming weeks. And, with Wet Spam game rearranged, we will have to play more away game soon than home in the new year. It is good to see that one or to are honest enough to say that they were too hasty calling for Puel to be fired. But many would rather eat glass than say it. The biggest irony, and to be fair if tru is the most compelling reason to have sacked Puel, is that allegedly some players were unhappy. Well those same players must be truly delighted right now then. I assume the are performing highly and must always be listened and pandered to. I have only ever called for Branfoot, Gray and Wigley to go. I really that unless we act quickly and fire MP we will be relegated. With a considerably easier hand to play than Puel, he isn’t failing miserably. Of the remaining eight teams we are yet to play, six are against last season’s top seven. Add the points you expect from them, plus Bournemouth away and, yes, Puel’s Leicester, add it to 13 and double it. Do you get to more than 40?

We have fired a good coach, who took us to Wembley, faced 50 games and European travel, had three dead end May home fixtures but was either too boring or, according to some, lost trust of key players. Well the latter is laughable as I assume they are now excelling? In 30 years and 20 odd managers I have only ever called for three to be fired: Branfoot, Gray and Wigley. I didn’t even want Portfleet sacked as he was just given a bunch of kids. However this guy is taking us backwards. We have wasted many winnable home games (shades of our last relegation), the entertainment for BOTH home and away games is lower than last season with fewer distractions following the Wolves Reserves fiasco and, most worryingly, there is only one team I am genuinely confident of finishing above, and that is Swansea. So make that another happy clapper that wants him out now, while we have international break