James

We are only 3 days into the window but it is ridiculous that other sides have already started signing players (Hudds have made a very decent loan signing already) whilst we dither as usual. We knew the money was coming in and so we should have had deals lined up. That said, I'm not sure I want Pellegrino around to have any input into who we signed or to apply his "coaching" to any new players. Would have given the fans a big lift if we'd immediately brought someone in but as usual we sell our players ASAP at the start of the window and then dither about getting players in. I'm all for getting the best price and that would be fine in normal circumstances but we are at the stage where every game counts and having players come in and hit the ground running would give us a big lift.

Yes - I genuinely think the most responsible thing we can do at this point is use £5-6m to pay up MP and get someone else. If the worst happens and we are relegated then at least we’ve got some in reserve to mount a serious challenge next year. I fail to see who we could get in that will make the immediate impact we need in any case. Some off the wall Reed signings are all we will get anyway (talk of Sturridge and Walcott is just fantasy IMO) so I’d rather leave those if it meant a competent coaching staff.

Will be decent in the Championship which is about our level at the moment.

Looked like he'd been crying I thought...put the poor man out of his misery.

Even Hughes would be a better bet than Pellegrino to be fair. We could do a lot worse at this point.

This will be the one time he's proven correct just to ultimately con the fans.

Can't really see how placing a bet to cover the cost of next season's season ticket to soften the blow that we've feared has been coming makes you any less of a fan to be honest....will still be there at Fulham on Saturday, as I was tonight and as I will be at Watford.

Not even a question in mind. If he is still in charge at the Brighton game we are gone. Will probably finish bottom as well.

I'm going - will be taking a banner if he hasn't been sacked. Got to do something to try and get him out (not that it'll make any difference to our stubborn board).

I've had money on it since we started the season so slowly, ****ed away our winnable games and still couldn't score against completely sh*t teams. At least it'll pay for the ticket next year.

Who the hell is going to want to join our shower at the moment? Putting names like Walcott and Sturridge out into the press to appease the fan base is completely disingenuous.

You couldn't make it up. What a muppet.

Correct. The way he has handled things since RK left has been nothing short of a shambles.

Not since George Burley have I witnessed a manager so tactically inept as MP - it is utterly frustrating. But as long as he puts on entertaining training sessions that'll be enough for Les and Ralph and the rest of the clueless crew at the top. We are literally repeating the cycle - universally praised for how we are run as a club and a cup final in 2003 - management get complacent and hang onto a clown manager as they think its a good idea and bang we are down in 2005. Literally the same thing happening here. Time for Les to get his head out of his arse and hire a manager capable of saving us.

Sadly this is right. Can't believe that we've got ourselves into this state.

Well clearly no one wished for a manager as Pellegrino to be inflicted on us.

Shambles. That clueless, spineless Kruger interview and then an equally gutless performance orchestrated but the worst manager I can remember in my time supporting Saints (and I include Poorvilet and Wotte in that). Fans need to be vocal at Fulham - he needs to go whilst we still have time to sort this out. If he’s still here at the end of January we are toast. Well done Big Les and Kruger for well and truly screwing it up.

Completely agree. Fans need to be vocal to oust Pell against Fulham.

Hate to say it but can’t see us surviving this season.

Paid the price for sitting back as we’ve done all season.

What was that from Long?

Surprised to see Long starting again given he's played the last two (oh and given he hasn't scored for almost an entire season's worth of matches).

I don't understand why he thinks that no blame can be attached to a manager who took over a side that had finished 8th last year (although MP mentions the gap between 8th and 17th being small in almost every interview, to basically equate our current position with last year) which is, on paper, better in certain areas than it was last year (Gabbiadini, Hoedt and Lemina although minus VVD). If Puel was sacked for what he achieved last year then it is completely unfathomable that Pellegrino is under no pressure despite leading us into a relegation battle. I guess we just have to hope that we somehow survive by the skin of our teeth this season and then undergo drastic change in the summer.

I just don't see how a member of SFC senior management can credibly say that, after a decision was made to remove the manager, we had a good season last year. Just makes them look a bit silly.

Completely agree - in a bizarre interview the point re 8th and a Cup Final being used as a positive for how we haven't gone downhill was utterly ridiculous. Maybe there was more behind Puel's sacking than we first thought, the comment about "Mauricio fully buying into the way we do things" says to me that he is far happier being dictated to by the management than Puel was (probably adds more credence to the theory that he was asked to change his ways and refused).