James

Bielsa?

Don't understand the rationale in these striker selections at all. Austin goes from unused sub in a game where we need a goal to starting and JRod goes from starter, to first used sub to not in the squad. Just bizarre.

Good god I hope we wouldn't go anywhere near Moyes.

So its the players fault that we lose games and it is Silva's fault that Hull lose games? Got it. Also, to try and claim that the HBS game was anything other than bad tactics by Puel is a little silly. We played for a draw at home to effectively a League One standard team and we got punished for it. Celtic put 5 past them.

Given that he came in, they sold their two best players within 2 weeks of him arriving and he had to build a new team in the January transfer window I'd say he did pretty well to get anywhere close to survival. To judge him on 2 important games that he lost is a short sighted as some of the criticism of Puel and could equally be put on Puel. Arguably Puel failed in three of our most important games of the season: Milan away (incredibly important to the fans), HBS at home (to get out of the group) and the League Cup final.

If we are to get rid (and I'm no real fan of Claude's) then I hope that the ownership deliberations don't delay our next appointment. The time it took us to appoint Puel in the summer set us back a bit I think.

Looks excellent - so nice to see how he's progressed from being subbed on v Leicester. Is better than Yoshida now IMO.

You raise a decent point in that actually Puel is fighting against "recycled criticism". The slow play thing has become the buzz word of the Puel detractors but agreed can't really be used to describe tonight. Bottom line is 17 goals at home isn't good enough and the majority of the people who phone into Solent only go to home games.

I'm not saying that but you can't tell me that it's all down to the players. Just look at Gabbi, came in and was scoring out of nothing and given a couple of weeks of SFC coaching and he also can't hit a cows arse. But sure, it's all down to the players and nothing to do with the coaching they receive 5 days a week...

You realise it's the Manager that has to sort the "abject finishing" right? If we hadn't been saying this all season it wouldn't be an issue but fact is we've tried endless combinations since day 1 of the season and our finishing has been consistently crap. Even Gabbi seems to have had his confidence drained. Only constant is Puel.

Poch took us from a newly promoted team with a squad that included players like Hooiveld and Danny Fox to 8th in the table. Puel has taken a very good squad of players and finished in the same position but we are closer to the relegation places than to the place immediately above. In any other season our points tally would be good enough for about 13th which, considering we finished 6th last year, isn't good enough. Problem for me is that we've had the same problems since August and have continually been making excuses for Puel but he just cannot rectify it. That, for me, means he's got to go. I saw a stat on Sky Sports the other day that, bar Boro, every team that has changed their manager has done so for the better points wise. I'm not sure consistency is all it's cracked up to be and that m convinced Puel should be getting more out of the squad we have.

We'd have been more likely to win if you'd have predicted 25-0 Stoke.

Pamplemousse certainly doesn't as if he did there's no way he'd be as staunch a Puel supporter.

Heisenberg would be proud of this wind up.

If Stoke score they will win.

Spot on. Clueless subs.

Exactly. We've been making the same excuses since August and CP can't change it. We've also seemingly neutered a top striker. Time to go Claude.

Not convinced. Stoke are no slouches at the back.

But, unfortunately, you can't win if you can't score.

Bringing on Rodriguez over Austin and taking of JWP in one of his better games are both objectively poor decisions.

No, you've predicted that we'd beat a lot of teams on the basis of performances where we haven't gotten results. Appreciate the positivity but we can't continue to make excuses for our lack of goals. It's been the same excuse since August.

If I could count the number of times you've said that this season...!

Boufal on!?! You've got to be kidding.

Good to see the rotation policy continue to the final week of the season! Shame for Clasie - has been decent in his last two games. Is better than Davis as a DM for me.