washsaint

WTF! Taking off our most creative player!!!!!!!!!!!

Having watched the U23 game earlier this week - that was entertainment and a formation that looked threatening. This is the complete opposite.

I can see how playing the threaded balls through for a rapid striker might work - but Austin is not that player. Hopefully Boufal is

This diamond formation is utter sh**e. Every time we lose the ball/gain the ball there are gaping gaps on the flanks as we are not playing with width. Leaves us open all the time and this is not the French league where play is far slower and methodical.

Last 20 minutes has been awful. Unfortunately Romeu has been a liability and I don;t understand long balls up top when Redmond is the only one there. Surely Puel has to recognize that this formation has nothing going for it. FFS we are being battered by Sunderland at home!

Looked very good for 15 minutes or so but now look all over the place. Tadic was outstanding but we seem to be giving the ball away really cheaply. Fonte looks very slow and not the same Jose as last year. Looking toothless is nothing new - we have for the last 2-3 years except in purple patches. Hopefully Boufal and a striker will help solve this issue.

AR-10 certainly appears to have the info and the fact that you have clueless posters taking the mick, simply proves the point! All interesting stuff and this is not exactly the stuff of life and death and the hysteria on here is quite amusing.....if very sad. Glad Cedric has extended...but being a Euro winner and highly thought of in the game obviously doesn't fit with the 'experts' on this forum.

Nice - enjoy the new bike WSS. Over here, the nights are starting to draw in and the group rides are getting shorter as a result but speeds are going up as it gets cooler. Tonight was horrific - there was a terrible, terrible crash with a dad and his kid who should not have been on the group ride weaving all over the place trying to keep up. The kid then had a major spill, and went flying over the handlebars and landed on his face at about 20mph. It was awful and he was in a really bad way - ambulance took him away but several hours later I still feel sick to the stomach. Just hope he is an OK way.....

Or for the Europa League draw......

That is far too sensible and logical CB - wasted on here. This forum is full of the 'I want it now and it's not fair the club isn't spending a vast fortune' type these days. Thank god the board aren't as frivolous with the Liebherrs money as so many on here want them to be. 3 outstanding seasons in the Prem, group stages of Europa for the first time and 7 first team players tied down to extended contracts and yet still people aren't happy. Of course we will have 'blip' one season - and it may well be this season with the extra games. Of course we need another couple of players and I'm sure the club is working on this.

Oh for those halcyon days of the 80s and 90s eh? Surprised you were happy with a 2nd place finish as, being a winner, I would have thought that wouldn't have been enough for you. And how many cup triumphs or League winners/Euro competitions did we have in those glory days? If you cannot be happy finishing in the top 8 for 3 years in a row then that is sad. And heh, if you don;t like the way the club is being run you could always support Man City or some other ambitious club. But being a 'winner' I'm sure you've got enough money to buy the club. Yeah, the disgruntlement is so high that our first home game of the season sold out for the first time in years...........

Glad to hear things seem to be going OK VFTT: hope the treatment is not wiping you out too much and that you get back to full health soon. Look forward to seeing your insane rides appearing on Strava again soon!

Agree Ron.....I would be amazed if anyone (fans, Puel, club, etc) are truly happy with what we currently have. Sure the club is working around the clock to get things over the line but we don't seem to really publicize what we are doing which makes it frustrating for us fans and it easy assume nothing is happening. Plenty of concerns based on the 1st half Saturday but, conversely, plenty of positives to take from the 2nd half. Remember we got destroyed by Everton at home first game last season and the sky was falling in after that!!!

A voice of sanity amongst the panic, bedwetting and Football Manager fantasists. Bravo sir (or madam).

But Ron, I am sure Pied has not been brought in as first choice RB but as competition for Cedric. Same way Koeman brought in Martina as competition. I agree we are 2 attacking players light and possibly a CB (even if Fonte does not leave) but am keeping the fingers crossed that we will bring in these players before the end of the window. It seems most clubs are struggling to bring in reinforcements due to the stupid money sloshing around and everyone wanting a piece of it and the associated premiums. The club deserves are trust and goodwill - lord knows they have earnt it in recent years. I also think we might be surprised by at least 2 Academy players making a breakthrough this year. Now we have a manager that is interested in them this should act as a major boost to these younger players knowing they will be given every chance to make the breakthrough. Hesketh, the striker and possibly Valery all look very good amongst others.

FFS, what kind of alternate universe do you inhabit? So Everton kept Stones and other clubs keep hold of players wanted by the truly big clubs? Don't think so. Which lesser teams have won trophies over the last 20 years then (and you should really be looking at the last 10 years since the money really went obscene)? Very few - maybe 5 or 6 in total I would think. So we fail to reinvest in proven quality (whatever the hell that is, suppose you think Ramirez and Osvaldo were proven quality and Stoke supposedly have yet finish beneath us every season) yet somehow have managed to improve our league position consistently and have now qualified for Europe twice in a row. There really is no satisfying some people.

And that is what so many of the Football Manager fantasists just don't get FF. We are really, really fortunate to have such a good owner and we should be thankful we are living within our means to give us the greatest chance of financial stability and evolving success. We are never going to be able to compete financially with Man C, Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc. but as we showed last year (and the year before) it is not all about how deep your pockets are. All this drivel about us needing to spend more to show 'ambition' and whining about how unfair it is we don't spend more. Will temper that with saying it is a few 'fans' on message boards and so hopefully not a reflection of the majority of fans.

Most brutal ride I have ever done today. It was not particularly long (48 miles), steep (2.6K of climbing) or fast (16.6 mph) but it was a killer. Temperature got up to 100F (38C) and really humid with a heat index of 110+ (43C). Riding with the B group they decided to go out at an average pace of around 20mph+ (faster than the A group) and then 20 miles in most blew up and bailed. Truly not a pleasant experience today and am not in a hurry to repeat that!

Oh ffs, we have just secured 6 of our first team to new long term contracts with hopefully Cedric to follow. If Fonte wants to go, more fool him. Is he really going to get much playing time at United and how much goodwill will he have burnt with Saints once his career finishes? He signed a new improved contract only 9 months ago and now he wants to break it? Sod him, tell him he's going nowhere and let him rot on the bench as he will have no sellable value once his contract ends anyway.

CB was right. You really are not the brightest and come out with utter crap consistently. I'm glad we're run the right way - or have you forgotten what happened when your idol Mike Wilde took over? That ended really well didn't it? Unbelievable........

You'll love the Di2 system. A bike I rented in Oregon had this setup and it was bloody fantastic! You can simply keep your finger on the paddle and it automatically changes through the gears without having to take your finger off the paddle. Nice - proper jealous!

Romeu has been godawful - almost let them in again. If his name was JWP this forum would be in meltdown. Tadic outstanding

JWP playing very well - great run just now but there was noone to pull the ball back for. Been impressed with Targett too and Tadic in places. Rest, meh

Redmond very, very poor so far.

Really, really poor. Tadic looks so threateing out wide (great run just now) but even when we get the ball in the box there are no Saints players there to attack it. Romeu has had a mare and we keep trying to p;lay everything through a really congested midfield. Not pretty and very uninspiring so far.