Whitey Grandad

‘A deal worth up to...’ can mean all sorts of things but it sure as hell ain’t all that money up front.

Quick, bank the money before the cheque bounces. That is ridiculous money.

Whatever the problem, JWP is not normally the answer.

I don’t hate him at all. It’s just that he’s not very good at defending.

I expected 4 or 5 against us but this is painful. It’s like watch a loved one fade away.

Kane v Yoshida is blatant cruelty. There should be laws against it.

No. Just one part of it.

If VVD is not playing to his best then selling him for big bucks and buying a committed replacement makes sense. Only a clueless idiot would play Stephens at right back.

Don’t be such a wally.

Er.. that’s why it went into the net. A well-placed shot low down always has the best chance. Just the sort of shot that we don’t take.

It was an easy decision to take, knowing that he’s out injured for a while.

So was Austin

A ban would go on his disciplinary record. Other than that, pointless.

Oh goodee, a bidding war

Quite a common CV for a football manager I would expect.

He’s got three centre halves in front of him. Their job is to mark attackers and win headers from crosses into the box, or at the very least make it difficult for attackers. A good defence needs a settled set of personnel playing to a well-drilled system but what we had yesterday was a complete muddlefook. Forster would not have got to the ball. He was, quite rightly, on his line.

That’s a fair point. Having watched it again on MOTD I agree with you. There was a bloody great gap between Stephens and Yoshida that Depoitre couldn’t resist. At the time I thought it was Yoshida who should have covered him. All part of the big muddle that comes from having three centre halves and telling one of them to play out of position.

Give it a rest. That goal was down to Yoshida. Him and failing to cut out the cross.

6 to 8 weeks for a hamstring, which is what he was clutching.

I’ve not managed to get to many games but that today was an unmitigated muddled mess. Not for the first time there was no shape to the team and there didn’t seem to be any plan of action. What the hell was Stephens doing at right back? Once again we concede from a header from an unmarked player from an uncontested cross. Yoshida is too polite to try and put the striker off his jump. This is not fun any more. Pellegrino has to go but I hope to hell that the problem lies with him or we really are in trouble.

'discovered Toby Alderweireld for Spurs'? He didn't have to look very far.

Exactly.

I must admit that I had never heard of Pellegrino before his appointment but now that I have seen his record it does give cause for concern. This from today's Times: A look at Pellegrino’s previous record makes you wonder where Southampton saw those qualities in him. At Alavés, his previous club, they averaged 1.15 goals a game, and although the team finished ninth in La Liga, no side in the top 16 scored fewer. At Estudiantes, where he spent two years in Argentina, the club averaged 1.04 goals a game. In Pellegrino’s first managerial job, at Valencia, he lasted 14 league games, during which time the team netted 18 goals; in the remaining 24 games of that season, they racked up 49. All of which does not make Pellegrino an obvious choice for a club seeking a manager to take the handbrake off. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pressure-grows-on-southamptons-mauricio-pellegrino-in-pursuit-of-exciting-brand-zdmtsdt86 (paywall)

Watching Saints can drive you to booze.