saint1977

So to summarise, we've got one SFC fan tweeting Blackmore about a break but no duration, one post on here, a fake Sky Sports Twitter and the Sun. Let's see what happens, If it is this bad, at least it's happened BEFORE the window shuts!

Much more positive today, got more players forward and more energy. Still a bit loose in possession at 2-0 but overall positive. The VVD scare should have stopped any complacency at not replacing Fonte, even if it's an interim on loan. JWP's best of the season, we've seen some improvements this season but today he brought them all together with Southgate in attendance. Full backs and Yoshida also excellent, OR superb. PEH great energy but needs time with MLT on the training ground to improve the offensive aspects of his play. J Rod definitely reviving his career and helped him having midfielders actually making the effort to link up.

Awful miss from PEH. Need MLT in to coach our midfielders on finishing. Don't mind JWP having another their try and at least it had some shape on it. Hopefully VVD is only precautionary ahead of the SF. Puel needs to grow a pair of balls and say afterwards that he expects Reed to sign a CB this week. Some decent performances - esp JWP - but poor game. Need to be much tidier in possession.

Thank you Jose for seven brilliant years. You are worth many times the likes of Les Reed, Puel, Eric Black and the other corporate hangers on running your hard work and that of the promotion teams down the drain. Let's hope the board see sense soon and the fans have something to look forward to again.

MLG ignored those because he knew you - and the majority of the fans - are right. Just read the club statement - very lukewarm and not appropriate. Starting to feel sorry for Puel - hate his style of play but having his legs cut from under him by Les 'read my lips, Fonte only goes if there's a replacement' Reed. If VVD gets injured, Championship next year and if we lose this weekend we are serious contenders for the drop anyway. Morale is going to be very low v Leicester amongst the fans, hope we get an early goal or crowd could seriously turn.

Anybody who boos Fonte is a moron and can FO down the M27 to Farton Rust Shed as far as I'm concerned. I've got a ticket for the West Ham game and I'm far more likely to be booing Les Reed who has told porkies yet again and club's Telegraph pet scriber priming us for yet more desperate cost scrapings by not replacing Fonte. I know Cortese tried the same stunt with Lambert but for Reed to do it without a replacement is game over for Les I'm afraid unless he pulls a couple of major signings out of the bag. The club appears to have low debts and strong assets in the richest league in the world yet desperately going after every penny like we did in the late 2000s when we were fighting administration. Something is majorly not adding up at SFC presently.

That is such a 'myth' of Portsmouth FC proportions (and after your last 'myth' claiming they were EU-funded) it has to be refuted. I've worked with the ESRC in the past and it is very independent. In fact, it's private poll a couple of days before the referendum predicted a 52/48 Brexit outcome. One of it's leading scholars it funds, John Curtiss also got the 2015 election result correct (hence the Ashdown hat-eating quote). Today's speech was not a surprise re: Single Market. However, if the UK is to have a chance to prosper as a fully developed, innovation and technology-driven economy, our science and R&D base (ranging from environmental technologies, manufacturing to social sciences and heritage) has to be helped to mitigate the worst impacts. Thankfully, with May's comments today on this, and Hammond's autumn statement. this appears to indeed be a priority.

IIRC it was before that - Branfoot wanted to swap MLT for Robert Fleck (their misfit big money striker from Norwich) plus a cash adjustment to Chelsea (if you can believe that!).

Yep me too. There is a lazy line of argument from some posters about 'players cost so much in January and it's a bad market'. However, that's irrelevant because it should have been sorted in the summer. The problem is that Les Reed has been given too much autonomy and power - Koeman kept him in check and before that Cortese. I think Reed is at the stage of his career where he can still oversee football governance and academy but needs to be on the golf course a bit more with Kreuger giving more responsibility to an overall Head of Recruitment. When allied to a more mild persona like Puel that can't/won't get his key messages across to the English media, it hasn't worked out. So if the club want to retain Puel, this is probably the way to do it.

Hope you are right but cannot see Reed having the dynamic transfer window we need to freshen up the midfield and forward areas and loan out the under-performers to the Championship e.g. JWP

I agree with some of that, expect for the fact that the lack of cutting edge has been a problem since Pelle and Mane were sold by Reed with no attempt whatsoever to replace them (Redmond replaced Juanmi). It's inexcusable from Reed and he's not being put under anywhere near enough pressure; from the fans, media, Puel or the players. About time the criticism started getting a lot more public! If Puel is under the thumb, maybe the players need to insist on new signings in their interviews? Hard to be too critical of Puel today, set up OK but lack of AMC/Strikers killing us and that's down to Les Reed. The DoF needs to change or Krueger needs to change the DoF. Best midfield options in the PL, yeah whatever Les. Bertrand put in a peach of a ball early on but no-one to attack it since Charlie injured.

Agree with this - Adam Blackmore needs to be a damned sight more assertive with Puel tonight: 'When will the club be finalising signings in forward areas?' 'What is Les Reed doing to help you with this and what has he said to you?' 'Do you feel that the lack of transfer activity reflect the board supporting you etc?' and he needs to keep at it and not let Puel drift off into guff about possibilities. Does he think the current approach and entertainment value are good enough for SFC fans? Les Reed is getting far too easy a ride. If we can conceded early V Leicester - I don't care about midweek - I can see it being a very uncomfortable match. I've got tickets for W Ham and praying there's 2 or 3 new signings by then otherwise I'm in for one hell of a dull afternoon. We need 30k voices chanting 'attack, attack, attack' at KO, not chipping away at Forster's clearly glass-like confidence.

I think Les Reed has done a very good job for SFC overall - clearly not liked by all players (e.g. VMan's posts and probably other players too) but name me a senior manager in their organisation who is 100% popular? He's (with Cortese pre-2014) appointed some great managers - Pards, Nigel, MP, Ronald - time will tell with Claude. I just think so far that it hasn't appeared to quite gel with Claude - Claude doesn't quite have the profile and people around him - MP had Perez, Ron had Erwin - to be able to make his mark on the PL scene and Les seems to be in the spotlight a bit more IMO. Claude would certainly be ticking quite a few of Reed's boxes - giving academy players who are potentially good enough an opportunity (which had been by far his most popular aspect with the fans as well). I do think that sometimes you need that element of difference in the personalities though to push the club along - which RK and Reed had. Claude has been much too quiet on the striker issue - as a manager in my organisation, I'm always careful to build a shrewd case for when I do need really need resources but in Claude's shoes I'd have been really pressing and using the media. After all, the PL is pretty brutal if you don't get results, even at SFC, and it's being made much harder for Claude to do that with the sharp paucity of forward options.

Or alternatively, you can quote the vast majority of posters and fans attending SMS who are happy with the owner and the club overall but can clearly see that we were a striker light by 1 September and were astonished Reed didn't get another in. Moreover, those same people are getting restless (me included) with the toothless, and recently dull football which results. It cost us getting out of our EL Group when we were the best side, has cost us countless league points and may cost us V Liverpool in the LC. Be good if this could be recognised e.g. most people aren't in either the Alpine/Nordic/Glasgow 'it's all awful' camps nor the MLG/Pampelmoose 'everything is great' camps, but somewhere pragmatically in-between. Might make the forum a better read.

What a bundle of laughs you must be at games. Echo what Duncan RG posted below - you must have been one of the real Lowe zealots (although I was technically one as an STH at the time) during 08/09. You obviously aren't young enough to remember the Branfoot era because you wouldn't have posted like that if you had. The FANS got Branfoot out and whilst we are rightly and proudly considered one of the more fair minded sets of fans in English football, we won't put up with terrible, negative football without results and clearly watching very unhappy players. Branfoot was also sunk by rapidly falling gates which made the board act - I was at one game V Ipswich where it was claimed the gate was 9k but was clearly less and another FA Cup game with Port Vale where it couldn't have been much over 10k and the atmosphere was rank and hostile. Branfoot was quite open about the fact that his tactics were his tactics and he didn't care what the supporters thought. It cost him his job. Burley was heading the same way before the SFA's brainfart and he was a popular appointment to start with, Puel less so. We'll accept variable results as a fanbase but not variable effort and scared, negative insipid fare. Nowhere near this state of affairs yet mind, but it'll be interesting to hear some of the views at the next home match v Liverpool. I know quite a few STHs that are unlikely to renew if Puel and Black are still there and quite a few on here have posted to that end, moderate posters on the whole too.

Abbott has signed for 4 years - which is quite a coup - and Rilee Rossouw for 3 years, both on Kolpak deals. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38517892 Rossouw is an ODI player for SA - Looks like he might play across all formats given he was in several SA A squads but never quite broke into the Test team. Got Player of the series in the autumn ODI series V Aus. Can open but would he open in 4 day cricket given we have vacancies there? More here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/318845.html SA coach not happy though!: http://www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/story/1075704.html Well done Hampshire - although feel some sympathy for SA. Batting and squad looking much healthier for next year and we seem to have learned from our escape this time. Hope Saints can get the changes they need to make done quickly and some equally exciting signings to cheer up the main board a bit!

Brilliant article, sums up everything I'm seeing and thinking about Saints at present. It's to the point and balanced but doesn't pull it's punches. Claude is on borrowed time. He just hasn't had any connection with the supporters from the start which I think left him vulnerable with the dour tactics when results started to falter. You could argue neither did MP have a connection with the fans - which is the only fault I could pick in that article - but he did have smart people around like Perez who could bring the supporters around plus he made the squad super-fit and great to watch at times with an identifiable style and approach. By contrast, Eric Black is coming under increasing scrutiny and the famed due diligence slipped. The only I can see Puel surviving long-term is to have a January window where 3 or 4 exciting players that can give everyone a lift come in but that would appear to run counter to the club's strategy. The other thing I wanted to question was about the club pushing the academy too hard. To be fair to the club, Koeman genuinely wasn't interested in it and McQueen's emergence has been Claude's big triumph, along with the Inter result, and has probably bought him quite a bit of credit with the Board. Sims too has been a delight to watch since his introduction and Stephens got his debut at Everton and was solid. For me, the bigger issues are CP's ongoing inability to cope with the media and supporter spotlight of the PL - and working all the hours of the day won't fix that. Black seems to be copping it from the ITKs and would appear to be on his way out shortly so a higher profile, media-savvy assistant who can lift sagging player morale and ease discontent seems key if the club want to stick with Puel. Reed had a stinker in the summer transfer window and the striker situation was staggering and Les should have challenged on that far more by both Claude but also the local media and fans. I'm glad Blackmore and Merrington are challenging far more at the moment.

Agreed unfortunately VFFT - club won't want to sack him before the SF but Cup exit at Carrow would leave him on the brink. Sad reading the article copied below on CP - and shame on Les Reed. Has a duty of care to his manager and clearly CP is struggling in a new country with a lonely wife and not having the time to take language courses which has meant he's made no connection to the fans. Vicious cycle that has built up. Why isn't one of those 340 staff helping Puel? Les Reed has left him reliant on him - no wonder he won't push Les for any signings. Who appointed Eric Black? If that's Les again, he's got some explaining to do with Ralph and KL. I don't think CP will work out - and the fans simply won't put up with his style of football - but Ralph has made a big move today with what he did pre-match today and do feel a bit sorry for CP as well, think he's been shafted a bit by the club.

I don't know but it's not normal and it suggests major problems at the club presently. I didn't think they'd sack CP unless we dropped near or into the bottom 3 but this could indicate concern and a willingness to act directly to halt a sharp decline. Would guess Ralph's had feedback from senior players and other key figures at the club. Whatever he said, this was designed to be a public act and puts CP under huge pressure and Reed needs a great transfer window here. Not the way I that manage people or would want to manage people but it's unusual for this regime too. We're clearly being primed for Eric Black's departure and possibly a significant turnover of players too.

CP has to go. He's clearly lost the dressing room judging by the last 3 displays - although the schedule hasn't helped - and when the big boss starts giving you and your employees a pep talk in public like that, it's a huge clue that the Board clearly think things are nose-diving. Defeat at Carrow and in the LC and he is probably one more defeat away from the sack. The ITKs are clearly priming us for Eric Black to go and perhaps a high profile assistant like Henry might prop Claude until the end of the season and take all the interview and PR work which CP seems terrified of. Mrs Puel also apparently unhappy though - parting of the ways would be best. Les Reed should also be under scrutiny here and the January business will be costly to get the 4-5 first players needed to stay up. Certain posters had a pop at me and others for saying the striker situation was a major problem in the summer - hope the humble pie is to your liking. One thing that needs to happen is for JWP to go out on loan to Championship - should have happened much earlier. Needs to take responsibility at somewhere like Wolves or Leeds and mature in football terms. He looks miles behind the likes of McQueen and Sims which is disturbing when he's played that many PL games. Garry Monk might be the manager at Leeds to sort the boy out and send him back a man.

Brilliant post and hits nail on head for me. Agree on idiots jeering Fraser, the guy is clearly short of confidence and fans don't want to appear unreasonable by turning on Puel so he's taking the brunt. Not fair - direct the bile at Puel and Les Reed instead. Fraser's confidence will pick up once we've got a new manager, which IMO will happen after a couple of hammerings by Everton/Liverpool and a cup exit at Carrow. Even Les Reed won't be so pig-headed, egotistical and arrogant that he could ignore that. Puel deserves what he gets for the negative tactics, no efforts to connect to fanbase and destroying Nathan Redmond's confidence with those moronic Henry references in the summer. He's a just a corporate nodding dog and will get his payoff, he doesn't give a toss about SFC. I'd rather have Rowett who would give a toss. Feel sorry for VVD. PEH has done OK but needs more bedding in time, Reed's comments in the summer about the best midfield options in the PL look on a par with Branfoot's delusions about Speedie and Dixon out-scoring Shearer. Agree that we won't go down - Sunderland, Hull and Swansea really are the pits, especially if Defoe goes to W Ham and Pickford injured. But this could be 2003/4 leading to another 2004/5 again next season without a major sort-out on and off the pitch in the summer.

De Boer - could be scarred from his time at Inter but that club is a car crash at present anyway. Rowett - would be my choice, can at least communicate like a normal human being, I get the impression Puel sounds like Ian Branfoot on Prozac even in his native language. Is available and would be cheap which is the main criteria. Did well at Birmingham and a victim of internal politics. Watson - would still be a short-term improvement and seems close to the players. Might restore Fraser's confidence. He's carrying the Northam Stand can for a useless manager and feel sorry for him. Jaidi - respected and again, might get us a couple of wins to get us over the 30 point margin whilst we take a medium-term look for the right candidate Pardew - doubt it, damaged goods and didn't have a good 2016 to put it mildly. Shame as good in the transfer market which is an area Les Reed is failing in. Hodgson - not my favourite but would get us to safety on a deal until June and an improvement on this joker No chance of attracting Howe and Hughton failed with negative football at Norwich although working miracles at Brighton.

/? How do you know Puel isn't under review? Bit desperate (and very defensive, a bit like the non-entity of a manager) to jump to Claude and Les's defence, anyone would think you worked for them... The majority of our fans were willing to give Puel a chance, as reflected by this poll to date, but the last two performances at home have been pathetic, bar the first twenty minutes v Spurs, a game I was at. This is a good set of players but someone with the tactical awareness of George Burley and the persona of Ian Branfoot would struggle to get Barcelona playing good stuff. Sorry Les, you've done a great deal for SFC but you've got this appointment wrong and time to put your hands up. Gary Rowett is available and apparently well thought of by Les. We are very unlikely to be in Europe next season - barring a huge upset first v Liverpool over 2 legs and then Man U - so we don't need Puel and would give Rowett a couple of seasons to rebuild after VVD is sold. Puel isn't going to cut it - it's not just the results but also the approach to games and the personality of a breeze block that is turning the fans off. He's made horrible selection errors in the last 2 games and you can't see him being able to make a connection to the fanbase, nor Reed giving him the strikers and other new signings he badly needs but is so weak he won't press for. The only positive is Hull, Sunderland and Swansea being so dire that we'll finish 15th or so at worst. Not good enough with that group of players so time for a new manager and a new strategy from Les.

Although I've just been scathing on the Spurs post-match thread, jury is out for me. I'm not sure RK would have done much better at this stage although probably not quite as dire to watch. He's not managed upwards well with Reed, we so obviously needed another striker in August but he just came across as a yes man and his comments on Redmond were very unfair on the player. He's had some good tactical games and some shockers like RK did. Mane has been a huge loss to be fair to the bloke and Boufal is only really match fit now and then off to ACON. On the plus side, he's introduced McQueen well and found us a new signing in effect. He's got J Rod going again and got his injury-free quota from Austin. Sims wouldn't have featured under RK. What he needs to win round a sceptical fanbase is more positive football but also a mentor that can help him with the scrutiny and focus on the PL so he can build an identity and some presence. It feels like the cleaner could be in charge for all the impact his media style has.

Not an enjoyable game last night bar the first 15 minutes which were excellent. I hope we'd turned a corner after Bournemouth and that Puel had been encouraged by the result and his good substitutions to have abandoned the dire negative style of play he seems to love but back to normal, dull as dishwater service, a performance in Puel's own dour image. Has to be the least charismatic and interesting manager we've had since Burley and well before that Branfoot. He's not disliked in the way those two were but there is a widespread sense of apathy in the wider fanbase on and off of this site about him. I switch over the radio as soon as he is interviewed. He's being a good boy in terms of showcasing the young players and I agree with those who say Koeman had gone too far down the ready-made route. However, I'd like to see the young players blooded into a Saints side that is proactive and playing in a positive, although flexible where needed, way. I wanted to make a couple of points on JWP and Redmond, who I think are both getting stick on here, slightly unfairly. JWP: I thought he did OK last night but Claude messed up badly on the team selection, JWP and Davis were always going to be bullied by the bulk of Victor and Sissoko. He's shown more physically this season and would have been a better selection for WBA. Redmond: I see him as a victim of poor man-management - those buffoon comments by the manager in August about comparing him to Henry really set him up to fail and he's clearly a confidence manager. He's a winger and when used as such as a squad player which he originally should have been if the club had a better transfer window in the summer should be effective as he has rough edges coached away. Can't believe some of the comments about Fraser after only a couple of bad games - he's much better keeper than many say on here. He and the back 4 were undone last night by bad selections, Clasie's injury and strange decisions in the transfer window which led us to having several of the same types of midfielder. One hopes Les Reed has learned from this and we get some power and strength in that area, a CB and at least one striker, if not two.