Cabrone

Hilarious revisionist stuff being spouted on here about Puel. Somehow he seems to have become a half decent manager because he's better than the current guy (and I do agree that he was better than this bloke), like eating half a **** sandwich is better than eating a whole one. He bored the pants off everyone and if he was here right now we'd be in the same position as we are, next to no goals and failing to get points. Oh, and like the current guy I don't subscribe to the excuse that he had a bad set of players - he just didn't manage them particularly well - chopping and changing and being overly cautious. Our 6 of our last 7 home games without a goal, yeah inspired leadership. If he goes to Leicester at least their insomniacs will be able to come off their meds I guess.

Disagree, I don't think it is that bad a bunch of players. Sure they aren't top 4 but with a decent manager they are mid/upper mid table standard. The whole 'players aren't up to it' is just an excuse for **** poor management. We have a striker in Gabbi who - on form - would be sniffing around the Azzuri IMO, another striker in Austin who is lethal in the box given the service - and it's up to the manager to work out how to give him that service. A midfielder from Juve who we all agree looks class, another DM who last season was great for us, a LEFT winger (not right or central) in Tadic who has the skill to make things happen, another skilful AM in Boufal and a defensive unit that is at least solid and at best fairly stingy. We have decent players - what we don't have is a manager that knows who the underperformers are and how to make them work together as a team with the end product of goals. Maybe he's too rooted in a Spanish style of play and simply can't change.

Eddie Howe Or If you want to take a bit more of a punt then ex Saints trainee Chris Wilder who replaced Nigel Atkins at Sheff Utd

I think he's on track to be removed by Xmas but frankly I think we'd be better off getting rid of him now. It just isn't working, his stubborn insistence on 1 up front and sticking with players who cannot score has really corroded confidence and I don't see any attempt to try out other formations and alternative players. Austin has been all but discarded which is crazy when we hardly ever score. He's out of his depth, we are sinking, players confidence is shot and crucially I see no attempt at change...........so why wait?

If this was ever going to take off I wonder if Barca, Rangers and Celtic would have to start in league 2 and work their way up? Also if you are going to go full international how about a Dublin team, pretty sure they'd get huge support. Pompey vs Barca would be worth a trip for a giggle (obviously in the Barca end)..........20 nil to Barca?

Couldn't agree more. Give him a run with Gabbi, provide some service and that goal drought will end. Couldn't care less if he doesn't run like a headless chicken, he scores goals. He must be so hacked off right now watching our inept striking performances. I'd also play Long TBH but out wide where he can use his pace to run hard at defences and disrupt, that's what he's good at - not goal scoring.

If he keeps on his current trajectory MP will be gone before Xmas IMO. The new board will want a new man for the window. I don't buy the 'we have bad players' line, they may not be world beaters but they are still hugely underperforming. Heads have dropped because the manager refuses to take any chances on forward selection and the players go on to the pitch believing they won't score. Gabbi is a good striker, Charlie know how to score and Long makes a very good pest - picked together and given some decent service they could be a useful combination but the manager refuses to deviate from his ultra defensive 1 up front comfort zone. Puel wasn't a particularly inspiring manager and I wasn't bothered when he went but he looks like a world beater against this guy.

Loads of possession but with 1 up front it's groundhog day. Whether he's stubborn or a rabbit caught in the headlights the clock is definitely ticking for MP. Can see him getting the boot before Xmas if he refuses to shake it up and get those goals flowing. I may sound like a broken record but play 2 up front and instruct the midfield to provide service they need. Austin and Gabbi will score if you service them. If you want your 5 man mid then reduce the defense to 3 CBs but for pete's sake try something else.

Lively performance which is positive but bottom line is still no goals and again no points. Don't know if the manager is stubborn or scared but it's groundhog day again. To play 1 up front when this has constantly failed to deliver and the 1 up front is a player that hardly scores, a goalless performance almost guaranteed. Defence looks solid whilst attack looks powder puff so how about playing 3 CBs, 2 up front and 5 in mid? Austin gets stick on here about looking sluggish but if you hardly play the guy how does anyone expect him to get match fit? MP's fear\intransigence is going to cost him and us unless he shakes it up.

Worrying if that's what he thinks, pretty close minded. I'd agree with him if I we had some support players that could actually score a goal but it looks like we don't. Charlie should be the spearhead with Gabbi in a free role just behind. Maybe 3 CBs and put 5 in the mid if you want your numbers in the middle but we desperately need more firepower up front. If MP sticks with this it looks like the goal drought will continue, we'll be in trouble and he'll be gone by Xmas.

We'll get rinsed 3-2 just like March. Lemina will boss it though.

Double the northam capacity by extending it back, lower ticket prices to £10 for 18 and under, leave 5k seats available to buy a week before the game, put the away fans in the kingsland\chapel corner.

He looked a real midfield general yesterday, yes it was against Palace but even so he still looked a class act. If he gives that kind of performance 20+ times this season we will have a seriously good player on our hands. Makes you wonder why Juve sold him for £14M, could turn out to be a very shrewd piece of business on SFC's part.

Let's not kid ourselves, we are still powder puff going forward and against someone less dismal than Palace we'd have had a very tough afternoon. That said, it's 3 very welcome points, we scored from open play, kept a clean sheet and Lemina + Hoedt looked good. Still got a lot of work to do on our goalscoring but it's something to build on. Way better than last week.

Bad news. Down to 1 proper goal scorer who isn't even being picked apparently. Goals are so overrated anyway. Probably win 6-5 now and Shane will get a hat-trick Nothing would make me happier BTW.

I'm sure it can but it isn't for us with these players, we are in a hole. Too many non scorers in our team, get our 2 match winners up front and instruct the midfield to provide some direct service. Get those goals happening first, points will follow.

I want to see the manager change the system to something more attacking and maybe a goal or two. Ideally 2 up front and some kind of threat. Can't see much in the way of points out of this one but first things first, let's start scoring then we can concentrate on getting some points. We are in a rut at the moment.

We've scored 1 goal from open play in the last 10 home games, that's a serious issue. Whilst most of us are giving MP some slack because he inherited this situation he's got to make some serious changes. If he sticks to 1 up front I don't think things will change, we'll be staring down the barrel and he'll be gone by Christmas. Time to break free of his comfort zone, play our 2 best goalscorers up front, dump the underperformers, instruct the mid to quit the tippy tappy stuff, get more direct and give them time to gel together. A few goals from Charlie and Gabbi would do wonder for confidence and tails would be up. They are not a bad set of players and should be good enough for a mid table finish but current tactics - which don't seem to have changed much from last season - are strangling us. A pair of balls are required.

Personally I don't think we have as bad a set of players as many on here think we do. However we do have a manager who hasn't figured out how to play them and has also inherited a confidence issue. I hope he doesn't stubbornly stick to 1 up front because IMO the goal drought will continue, we'll be in big trouble by Xmas and he'll probably get the push. Everything must be focussed on scoring, I'll take shipping a few as long as we can get the goals flowing. We have (IMO) a potential international striker in Gabbi and a potential match winner (almost 20 goals for QPR) in Charlie so play them, not for a few minutes at the end of the game but for 6+ matches. They can't get match fit and figure each other out unless you play them. The mid needs to be set up to the forwards' strengths, drop the underperformers and use Tadic (in his correct position!!)\Long on the flanks to provide power, pace and guile. Plenty of service into the box and crosses. Also dump the prima donnas, no one is too big a 'name' to drop. Bring in hungry players and send a message to the underperformers. Trouble is does this manager have the balls and imagination to rip up this failied setup?

We are in a goal crisis so put out your goal scorers and drop those who aren't doing their jobs. Then make sure you service your goal scorers. No favouritism or picking based on reputation - either players perform or they are out. Boufal is too lightweight, maybe good in France but being found out in the Prem - out. Redmond has talent but doesn't produce it consistently, poor decision making - out. Davies + JWP out, not creative or tough enough. Play 442 with Austin and Gabbi up front. Why? Because they are proven goalscorers. Charlie is the spearhead, likes to operate in the 6 yard box so get the supply in there. He's also decent in the air so get crossing. Gabbi operates just behind in a free role, a goal scoring mischief maker that should be able to create mayhem and offer Charlie opportunities. Tired of hearing that Charlie doesn't run, so what? We have plenty of runners - he's paid to score. In the last few minutes of the Huddersfield game Bertrand got the ball infront of goal and fluffed it - had Charlie been there it may have been 3 points instead of 1, that's what he's paid for but he can't do it if you don't play him. The others have had their chance and failed, time for change. Midfield = Tadic on one side, Romeu + Lemina in the middle and Long on the other side. Tadic can infuriate but does have game turning capability, needs to start producing more regularly. Romeu is the steel, Lemina the box to box man and Long a wide runner that runs hard causing problems. Let Tadic\Long push inwards in a high tempo attack. Defence = Cedric, VVD, Hoedt\Yosh and Bertrand. Fairly stable setup - full backs to provide decent wing support. I'd like to see McQueen played a few times too. GK = whoever is showing the best form, forget reputation. Fraser should be constantly looking over his shoulder. We need big changes, this goal drought is serious now. Snap out of it or else heads will drop and we'll be on a serious slide.

So after 5 games we have scored in 1. In fact in our last 9 home games we have scored in just 1. Outside of the West Ham game the last home goal was scored on 5th April. Pathetic. I'd be a bit more accepting if I thought we were improving, creating chances and looking lively but we aren't. Today we managed 1 shot on target against a mid table (at best) outfit at home. Whilst it's not MP's fault he has inherited a lot of frustration from the dismal fare served up last season the fans patience is already running thin now. He must get those goals flowing or face the chop. As I posted in a previous thread when you only have 2 real goal scorers (forget Shane 'but he runs a lot' Long) and one of them (i.e. Charlie Austin) isn't even picked then it's hardly surprising the goals are ball achingly rare. Gabbi and Charlie are top class finishers but the manager doesn't appear to want us to score for some reason. Someone needs to remind him that football is entertainment and that fans want to see some goals. I don't give a toss if Charlie doesn't run enough - we need goals and he scores if given a bloody chance. Change the damn system if you have to, this midfield has proven time after time that it cannot score so give our front 2 the service that they are crying out for and let them get on with it. 4-4-2 with Austin\Gabbi up front please. I'd even put Long behind them, anything to get the damn goals flowing.

So the scoop is that VVD has left the training ground? What a balloon head.

If I thought I could make a few quid out of a football club and had no emotion or connection for it I'd do as many on here have suggested and take out a loan at a lower rate than what I think I could make out of it. I'd then sit and wait for the club to pay me off, eventually ending up with a club and no debt. That's not a bad return. I'd also invest the minimum to keep the club in the PL, the holy cash cow that SFC must be in. As a fan I hope Gao has something different in mind.

If Theo were to come here I think he'd fit in well with Gabbi, could be a decent partnership there. That said I'd just flog VVD to the highest bidder, Theo isn't the decider in this one for me. Pretty sure we could get someone as good if it comes to it. I don't get why VVD so adamant to go to Pool? They aren't going to win the league, maybe top 4 if they have a good season, I'd have thought Chelski would have a better shot at the title and I presume he's interested in silverware?? Or maybe he really is in it for just the money?

When you only have 2 real goal scorers (forget Shane 'but he runs a lot' Long) and one of them (i.e. Charlie Austin) isn't even picked then it's hardly surprising the goals are ball achingly rare. Gabbi and Charlie are top class finishers but the manager doesn't appear to want us to score for some reason. Someone needs to remind him that football is entertainment and that fans want to see some goals. 4-4-2 with Austin\Gabbi up front please.