SNSUN

He read my post! I'm the manager! OK JWP for Gabbiadini aside, but this is the first team that I've wanted to see for weeks. So on one hand, fair okay to Pellegrino for picking an attacking line up, but on the other hand, it should have been done weeks ago. At least he's given us a chance of winning today, which is more than we can hope for...

Just a little something for a debate: So the complete ineptitude of Pellegrino's continued reign (and a quiet night at work) was making me wonder whether a manager's playing position in their playing days made a difference to their managerial selves. This is the list of Saints managers since Ted Bates, bunched up into their playing day positions. (According to the gospel of Wikipedia) Goalkeeper: Adkins Defender: Chris Nicholl Ian Branfoot Dave Merrington Dave Jones George Burley Gorman + Dodd Pearson Poortvliet Wotte Pochettino Koeman (but let's be honest, he was more attacking than some strikers!) Midfield: Ball Souness Hoddle Gray Strachan Wigley Redknapp Bassett and Wise Pardew Wilkins Puel (though a defensive midfielder) Striker: None Hardly played football/went straight into coaching: McMenemy I think it's pretty interesting that we've never had a striker as a manager. We've had some goalscoring midfielders, Hoddle, Souness, Strachan, Ball and a goalscoring defender in Koeman, but that's about it. Do strikers just not make good managers? Ferguson was a striker and Klopp was a striker to name but two successful managers. What do you make of this? Or does playing position not come into how good a manager is?

Yes a loss would probably get rid of the manager, not that I'd put it past our board to stick by him, but for me, I really want to see a win against WBA. Even to the point that it buys Pellegrino time. Maybe we can lose 10-0 against Liverpool next week to get rid of him, but for this game I really want us to win. This is the round of fixtures where we could potentially get cut adrift, and we're running out of games. Certainly "winnable" games, if you can call ANY fixture winnable this season... It's hard to know what our best first team is because the manager himself doesn't have a clue, but I'd like to see an attacking as hell team against the Baggies, really go at them - if we're going down (which IMO we are under Pellegrino) at least we can do it fighting. I'd be playing something like: -----------------------McCarthy------------------------- Cedric----Stephens-------Hoedt-----------Bertrand--- ----------------Lemina-----Romeu---------------------- ----Gabbiadini--------Boufal-------------Tadic--------- ---------------------Carrillo----------------------------- SUBS: Forster, Yoshida, McQueen/Pied, Hojbjerg, JWP, Sims, Long. Sacrificing Davis for the more attacking Sims on the bench as Redmond seems to be massively out of favour. That, to me, looks like a good team. Which is why Pellegrino won't pick it. 4 points from the Brighton and WBA games was the very minimum we needed for survival IMO, although when I initially said that I'd had us winning the home game. That makes this match MASSIVE. This is probably the biggest game we've faced in years. Sturridge hattrick then...

My answer goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. REED OUT. Keeping faith in a manager that's clearly out of his depth, addressing our goalscoring issues with a low-scoring striker (though I hope for his sake he does well in Saints colours), selling our best centre back without replacement, and failing to bring in anyone else in our most important transfer window in years. I don't think our transfer business has been that bad over the last couple of years, I blame Pellegrino first and foremost for the crap league position we find ourselves in, but Reed needs to go for sticking by him, and procrastinating in the transfer market. We are being relegated this season, it will take a massive upturn in form, almost European qualification form, to keep us up now (Something a new manager could achieve but our current manager won't). Let's start next season with a clean slate so we can push straight back for promotion.

2/10. I've just woken up after sleeping after a night shift and I'm not in the littlest bit surprised that we've had no incomings and the Promes deal is seemingly dead, leaving us scrabbling around for someone half decent who might actually want to join us. (Which will be nobody, if we do I'll name my first born after them!) Reed and Krueger et al will make out like it's a successful window because we broke our transfer record signing a striker to score the goals we've been missing all season, while bathing in a pile of cash they got for VVD. Utter ****ing ****. You can see for most of the season we've been heading for the drop, our manager is terrible, he doesn't know what our strongest team is, he's left talent on the bench for workhorses, makes subs too late, goes ultra defensive after going a goal up, and now it seems he's brought in a striker almost nobody thinks Is very good, and overlooked areas we really need strengthening in. It's demoralising being a Saints fan right now, not just because we're in a relegation battle, but because we can all see WHY we're in a relegation battle without anything being done to correct it, whilst the board are seemingly blind to it. Pellegrino should have gone in December (or even November after losing to Burnley), a new manager should have been brought in, and players should have been signed to give that manager a chance of giving us survival. We are going down, I don't think even a win tonight and against WBA will be enough judging our fixtures later in the season. It will not make pleasant viewing watching bigger teams pick and mix our better players. I really hope a miracle will happen and we stay up, but I can't see it.

We're struggled to score goals all season, signed a striker, and yet it doesn't feel like we've done nearly enough. We're in a relegation battle, we're second bottom, we've kept faith in a manager who for the most part has looked out of his depth all season, and we've signed one striker seemingly nobody thinks is good enough for our transfer record, whilst losing our best centre back in the process for a world-record fee without seemingly being willing to replace him. Not to mention loaning out a left back only to find ourselves short changed in that position. (But that's just bad luck:rolleyes:) We've not even been linked with many players recently . There was a brief link to Jullien, Fredericks and Walker-Peters, and the obvious putting-all-our-eggs-in-one-basket attempt at signing Promes, (which doesn't look like it will happen) but little else. I'm not holding my breath for deadline day, the Promes signing would at least instil a bit of faith and spirit in the fans though, so I really hope we can pull that one off. I don't like a match day on deadline day - it feels like a distraction!

Are we improving? So far this month we have been beaten by Palace, thrown away three points against Watford because our manager went defensive at 2-0 up, scraped through two cup ties in poor performances, and drawn at home against Spurs, perhaps the only reason you could say we're improving, but as we've seen this season we've drawn against big boys before and wasted the next game. We've not won a league game since Everton in November, and even they were in dire straits. I genuinely struggle to see much of an improvement under this manager and I fear for relegation. I really hope we can beat both Brighton and West Brom but even then we're far from safe, and I fear it just prolongs the inevitable. Not that I can see it happening... Unfortunately if we do get round to sacking our manager this season, it will be far too late.

The second time I'd seen Josh Sims play and he'd impressed me on both occasions. Great run and pass, (Something Redmond had failed to do in the 80 minutes previous...) and actually a decent touch and finish from Long. Always good to get one over on the Scousers.

This for me too, but with Boufal in for JWP and Tadic definitely rested for Sims or Hesketh. While I acknowledge and understand the sentiment about playing a strong team so they can gel, for me the FA Cup is an unnecessary distraction this season when we’re in a relegation battle. I’d rather rest the better players so they can avoid cards and injuries. I don’t mean throw the game and not look to win, the team above could still beat Watford on their day, just resting JWP, Tadic, Hojbjerg, Cedric, Bertrand, Hoedt and Romeu.

I got 19-1 in early November and laid just under £20 as a security bet. I never thought we'd be in the relegation zone in late January. I'm not cashing that out, my first born is due in June and as gutted as I'd be about Saints relegation, that money would come in handy! The Brighton game is massive for our season. IMO win and the confidence from the previous two games, and we could go on a run, however I still have us as being relegated - those last few fixtures could be our downfall. Hope I'm wrong.

A couple of sites/bookies had us linked with Bristol City's Bobby Reid at the start of the window. 14 goals this season, 24 years old. I wonder if this will gain legs now they're out of the league cup... Day 24 and still no signings. If we're sticking with Pellegrino, which is asking for trouble IMO, then he needs to be backed with signings in order for him to stand a shred of a chance. I can't believe we haven't brought anyone in yet. Getting the most interest for our £75 million from the bank! It'd be good for the fans to be able to applaud a new signing at St Mary's on Saturday.

Safety first for me - I hate Liverpool more than any other team but the sooner the relegation spots get filled up the better. I'm not going to say I want Liverpool to win tonight, more that I want Swansea to lose. (Nothing against Swansea of course!) If Swansea do win then what's done is done, then I can laugh about Liverpool's crapness. A draw would be OK too I suppose.

If we play like that against Brighton, and take our chances, we will win, and this point becomes even more important. We Need new signings though as we should have taken our chances and you can see how thin on the ground we are, especially up top. Need to strengthen the backbone: CB, AM, Str, but even just a striker would do. Good game. Decent point but only if we beat Brighton. Thought Tadic and Romeu had good games. FA Cup is a free game, 2 weeks to get new players in and settled. Make it so Reed.

Yep. It'll be gutting watching the team get ripped apart in the summer following relegation. This is one reason why I've turned against our manager more quickly than any since I supported Saints - we have a decent team, top 10 easy, but we're bang out of confidence due to odd tactics, players getting dropped after good performances, odd subs that usually appear too late, and constant rotation with players having no time to gel. We need a manager to come in, pick the best XI available and simply play them together as much as possible. Annoyingly we're looking good in attack this game, but the defence looks like it's crapping itself every time the ball goes near Kane. The second half will make for uncomfortable viewing, whatever happens!

I said that, got to take those chances. And Lemina's tame shot just now. We're Playing well but you know a Spurs goal next and we'll capitulate. Need to get our noses back in front. Attack is the best form of defence.

I said it on another thread earlier in the week - it's irrelevant who we appoint after sacking Pellegrino - the simple act of sacking him should be enough to kick the team up the arse.

The only way we will stay up is by 3 teams being crapper than us, and this season there is a lot of crapness in the Premier League. The only problem is nobody is SO crap that they're being cut adrift. It's ironic that for all the talk of relegation (and yes I still think we will be a third of the teams to go down unless the regime changes), a couple of wins, even a couple of crappy 1-0 back-to-the-wall-lucky-as-hell-other-team-on-an-off-day consecutive wins would see us up there in mid-table. It's hard to see that happening though! After throwing away the 2-0 against Watford, I'm now in the Dalek camp of taking 17th this season and building anew for next season. Any better than that would now be a remarkable achievement.

Looking for reasonable bets for this game to win a bit of money. Have settled on 5/2 odds for Spurs to score 3 or more goals. I think I'm in with a shout there! Quite simply if Spurs score first, then it's game over. We need to score first and then hope Pellegrino's patented "defend the lead" style holds out. I can't see it happening. 3-1 Spurs, and yes I would take a point now if it was offered. (I used to be so positive. Damn this season. Damn it to hell!)

The sacking alone will do the team good, his successor is irrelevant.

You can still get 11/2 on Saints getting relegated. I already have a bet on from earlier in the season as insurance, but that's still decent bearing in mind the fixtures we have left...

The Mickey Evans/ Marian Pahars equivalent signing that helps keep us up this season. He gets it. Hopefully. Currently slim pickings. (Not the Blazing Saddles actor.) Austin I guess.

Bingo. My reasons for wanting Pellegrino out more than any. Workhorses over talent. I'm all for rotation, but 25 games into the season and I still don't think he knows what his strongest team is.

Theo will tear up the Championship fo' sho'.

I'm fully expecting relegation until we sack Pellegrino, so on a Saturday night lull at work yesterday, I've been working out what our squad could look like in the Championship next season. You know what, it's not actually too bad and with a few incomings we stand a chance of bouncing back up! At the very least we could linger around the play-offs like Aston Villa have. I think, unlike 2005, we have a much stronger foundation, are stronger financially and have a better core group of players, and are more likely to bounce back up than we were back then. Of course cluster**** after cluster**** is still a possibility and we could do a Blackburn, but I just can't see it. The biggest downside would be missing out on the Premier League TV money from next season, and of course not attracting the better class of players to the club. Let's start with saleable assets, the players we are likely to lose because clubs will pounce on us like vultures: Cedric, Hoedt, Lemina, Boufal, Gabbiadini, Bertrand, Tadic and Redmond. Of those, I reckon we are likely to still have Hoedt and Redmond; Hoedt because he's not been a staple for us this season thus far, and Redmond because, well, no-one will want him! (Although as we proved, there was someone that wanted him from Norwich...) I also think there is a question mark over whether we'd still have Tadic or not, but I think he'd have a right grump on next season in the Championship, so I'm selling him if a decent offer comes in. Question marks also over Romeu, Hojbjerg, JWP, Stephens and Austin, but I think we'd keep those 5 otherwise we might as well build a new team up from scratch. That leaves the squad looking like: GK: Forster/McCarthy/Lewis The dream is that someone comes in for Forster and we can make money for him, use McCarthy in the Championship with Lewis as back up, with the extra spot opened up for a top keeper if we make it back to the Premier League. However I don't see it, and for the Championship at least, our goalkeeper choices are very strong. Release Taylor. RB: Valery Right back is where we'll need major surgery. Pied will be released IMO, leaving young Valery as the only potential inclusion as a back up right back. We'd need a first choice. LB: McQueen, Targett. I'd expect Targett will become first choice left back in the Championship, but would largely rotate with McQueen depending on opposition. It's another position that would need strengthening if we made it back to the Prem, but for the Championship those two would be decent. CB: Yoshida, Hoedt, Stephens, Bednarek. Are those four enough? Could another youth teamer come in? I can't see Gardos staying (although ironically he could probably do a decent job in the Championship fitness pending). Question marks over the saleability of both Hoedt and Stephens - keep both and I'd say we don't need another centre back - lose one or both and we definitely need strengthening here. DM: Romeu, Hojbjerg, Clasie, JWP, Davis, Reed I think we're fairly strong here in Championship terms, even if we don't bring Clasie back, who some may say is too lightweight for the rough and tumble of the Championship - but it depends if anyone wants him, he still has two years left on his contract. Romeu, JWP and Hojbjerg are all possible saleable assets as I said, but we need to keep those three IMO for the Championship, as they'd be a good nucleus for a side looking to get back into the Premier League at the first attempt. Reed will have a season of experience in the Championship behind him, where he's largely been first choice and done well up until his recent injury. Davis? Well he'll still be here, the experienced captain, and he'll still have something to offer us next season. Attacking midfield: Redmond, Sims, Hesketh OK, major surgery needed here, more so if someone actually wants Redmond. Will Tadic or Boufal stay? I can't see it. It's our attack that will need to be drastically worked on next season - something that of course can be said about our attack this season...a recurring theme. Strikers: Austin, Long, Gallagher, Olumola, Seager. Ok, one of the youngsters will possibly be loaned out/released, and somebody may take a punt on Austin, although I think he'll stay put, so there is some talent there for Championship level. That creates a possible 4-3-2-1 of: ------------Forster------- New RB Stephens Hoedt Targett ----JWP---Hojbjerg----Romeu--- -------New AM ---Redmond--------- ------------Austin------------- With a back up 4-3-2-1 of: ----------McCarthy------------ Valery---Yoshida---Bednarek-----McQueen ------Davis---Reed-----Clasie------- -------Sims-----------Hesketh--------- ---------------Long---------------- Anyway this is just my thoughts about what the team could look like. It’s largely dependent on who the vultures fancy, then of course who we are able to sign at Championship level.

It’s a change of manager we need more. 3 of our most expensive (and talented) players started on the bench today in favour of workhorses. Even if we sign more expensive players, under the current manager they’ll only end up on the bench anyway. Sack the manager, and I mean now, and bring in the new manager this week (anyone could do a better job surely) and give the new man the money to spend. (His players, not Reed’s or the Black box’s.)