washsaint

Great performance and now they need to show that level of commitment week in week out. Really interested to see if the togetherness on show tonight was as a result of Fonte being exiled (media saying club and Puel want nothing to to do with him after a big falling out). Certainly they seemed far more together than for some time. We got a result at Arsenal and we can get a result at Anfield. A draw will be enough and we are capable of that if we play like tonight.

Indeed - and that's the worrying thing. We look very light and yet this is our best team. Really hope they prove me wring and we win 2-0!

Quite what the hell obscene and obnoxious chants from keyboard warriors have to do with the game I am not sure. The stuff mentioned on here (and stood up for by the likes of Dangermouth) have no place in civilised society. No place - and no need - for it.

Not sure where the goals will come from with that lineup. JRod to be isolated and Redmond and Tadic creating nothing would be my bet. Both are horribly out of form. Really hope to be proved wrong but feel like we could get a tonking tonight. C'mon Saints!

I will caveat this with the fact that I am not particularly happy with things right now but believe Puel should be given far more time to prove he is the right man for the job. Lots of discussion about rotation and how that is affecting us badly. Playing devils advocate I would say that 2 players have not really been rotated out much this season - VVD and Romeu. And I would say that both players performances have dropped off significantly in the last 3-4 weeks. VVD has made a number of mistakes at the back recently that he has not really made since joining us and my suspicion is that both players are probably fatigued. I really think most of our issues right now are down to a poor midfield who do not look like ever scoring and a pathetic front line that couldn't score in a brothel. If Puel is allowed to bring in a CB, AMC and striker this window I believe we will see a significant uptick in our performances, style and goals. Over to you Les....

get well soon wss.

Well this has turned into a proper witch hunt. While it is probably fair to say that there are serious reservations about Puel right now it sounds like today we played better and it is hardly Puels fault that Long couldn't hit a barn door and has the touch of an elephant. Everyone, I would imagine, agrees we need an AMC and a striker - our forward play is awful and our midfielders just don't score. With these additions I think things could turn for the better and I believe Puel needs some of his own players before we can give up on him entirely. We are at a low ebb right now but there is still time for it to turn around.

Batman - why don't you f**k off and support Swansea, Palace, Stoke or Everton....you know those teams you said we should be trying to emulate? When was the last time you had anything positive to say about Saints. Can you not see that this is not all down to Puel? He has been dealt a crap hand by having players who have reverted to crap (Long and JWP amongst them) and we badly, really badly, need attacking reinforcements that might actually be able to play better than Sunday League players. When he has some of his players in then we can judge Puel more fully. Yes this season has been dull as so far - but sounds like they played better (more attacking) than recently which is a positive.

Massive overhaul of midfield and attack needed. Just not good enough.......midfield doesn't score, strike force don't score. Only our defenders can put the ball in the net. We can blame Puel for a lot but he has been dealt a crap hand by having midfielders who can't score and strikers who can't score. Long is abysmal this year. And that is not his fault.

Good stuff....get a 3rd to finish the game off.

Forster must be injured....not even on the bench. Would also assume Fonte and Martina are gone as they could not even make the bench. Will be a tough game today with young Lewis in goal. Not sure he is anywhere close to being ready.

Ouch WSS - sounds painful. Good luck with the recovery from that fall.

Players confidence look completely shot.....also tired minds and legs (disgraceful fixture list for us). That being said, Puel's tactics of defending deep, being totally defensive minded and having 2 utterly useless 'attackers' in Redmond and Tadic mean we will struggle for the rest of the season. It has been an utter borefest for most of this season andfor me, playing for a 0-0 at home to Hapoel was when I started losing patience with Puel.

How on earth is that piece of s**t Redmond the first name on the teamsheet? He is utterly useless and Championship quality at best.

Why on earth did he not play Sims today? He has to be a better option than the utterly useless Redmond and Tadic. Puel really has to be on thin ice.....we seem to be going further and further backwards. Make no mistake, we could well be sleepwalking towards a relegation battle. Cannot see us finishing any higher than 15th this year as we are, quite simply, bloody awful. Puel has taken decent players and regressed them. Shocking.

You really are one aren't you? Redmond did play him onside and Redmond has been diabolical this afternoon - as was Tadic. With those 2 as attackers it's no wonder we struggle up front - both are absolutely useless.

Tadic and Redmond absolutely awful. Poor jay....having those 2 as his support he has no hope.

Much improved display. Even game between two pretty ordinary sides but much more commitment and energy today. Shout out to Stephens - not a RB but playing pretty well (certainly better than Cuco the Clown). We have looked pretty dangerous on the break but Redmond and Tadic have been poor. Contrary to what some have said, I think both Jay and JWP are playing well. Most of our incisive play is being directed by JWP and Jay looks threatening when running at defenders and almost had a great goal. Hopefully we can push on 2nd half. Would rather have had Sims over Redmond/Tadic.

As said above, the lad needs a run of games. You can see that the constant rotation is causing us to be disjointed and none of our midfield can seem to get into any kind of rhythm as they are constantly being rotated. He is also being played in so many different positions he probably does not know what he is meant to be doing. We need a settled team - not this constant rotation crap.

Watching this game makes me somewhat jealous. Looking at the way Spurs attack with numbers at pace and always seem to have 5+ players in the box when a cross comes in. Midfielders making runs and making space. Everything we are not under Puel. I wish Puel would watch this style of play and recognize this is what is needed (as we have done for the past 4 years) rather than the dull, negative, tripe he is serving up with a 'safety first' approach. As has been proven in the past we have the players that can make us successful. Is it really true that Puel defended only having 1 or 2 players in the box when a cross comes in as the midfield had to be set to prepare to defend a counter attack? If so, this just about sums up the reign of Puel. Losing games is OK - playing not to lose and losing is a different matter entirely. We are s***e - 2 shots on goal in 2 home games is unacceptable.

SO tell us, are you happy with the way things are going at Saints? Are you happy with the 'style' of play Puel has implemented? What do you see for the 2nd half of the season?

No doubt, large rotation but more of the same negative, dull, ponderous crap that we play with virtually no shots. I don't understand....at the start of the season we were creating loads and it was wasteful shooting causing us issues. But we were fast, attacking and good to watch for a number of games. All seems to have gone backwards since then. Doesn't matter who we have up front they will have no service and we will play so slowly that it will give Everton time to reorganize and stifle us. You look at WBA - they broke with pace when countering and looked dangerous. Us - we just looked s***e. Biggest miss will be Boufal. Tadic is awful right now and Martina should never play for us again.

Utter, utter, utter garbage and 2 shots on goal in 2 games. I voted for Puel to remain but seriously think he is not able to get us playing the way we should be playing or motivating this shower of s***e. We are devoid of ideas and seem obsessed with playing to the wings to put in crosses that we never win. We are predictable, slow, dull and crap. b

Yes because there are worse teams than us. But 15th or 16th is looking realistic this season unless something dramatic happens. This has been garbage - and symptomatic of our season. Defensive, negative rubbish. Puel has to go.

Why do we persist with this bloody tactic of always playing the ball out wide and trying to get bloody crosses in that we never ever win? We are so boring and predictable teams have us sussed out good and proper.