hypochondriac

Fantastic result. Play like that more consistently and we will do well

He comes across as a nice bloke in interviews. No idea what he is like, it's a bit annoying with all the obvious PR nonsense but I expect most clubs do that.

They don't have a deal with the EU.

It's 16 groups of 3! Still **** but not quite as bad.

Thankfully the tide is turning and many more are seeing you for the annoying little turd that you undoubtedly are. When you only have soggy as a lone supporter (and even then it's only because he has an obsession with me) then you know you have problems. Hopefully the mods will do us all a favour and ban you

Genital herpes of the forum!

Hopefully everyone can agree that that is excellent news.

This conversation has got really strange. Can we avoid the willy waving about cash and the weirdly personal comments about mortgages, loans and business dealings in Asia? Thanks.

I think that's a realistic goal. I'd even take a lower finishing position if by the close of the season I could see progress, a settled 11 and a bit of attacking, exciting play.

I don't think thats true. There seems to be a consensus that people are generally happy with a mid table finish and I think everyone is realistic enough to be satisfied with that. For some people though (myself included) football is about more than solely league position. A lot of my income is spent on football and I want some entertainment as well. It's the style of play that is important as well as league position. Puel would have a hell of a lot of leeway right now if we had performed more stylishly over the season.

Or perhaps you have demonised opposing opinions in your head and posters are actually more reasonable than you assumed?

Yep this basically. I also want a bit of style in our play like we had under the likes of poch where you felt that on our day we were capable of beating anyone in the league. We no longer have that.

Excellent news. Could do with a win here to prolong interest in the season (along with he pool semi of course.)

Indeed and yet some are adamant its just down to the players. The system stinks.

A change of mentality would help. You won't convince me that under a different manager we wouldn't have played some more exciting football, created more chances and scored more goals. The chances created and goals scored has been pathetic this year and in my opinion that is largely down to the manager.

Nonsense. I haven't been thrilled with our style of play for the majority of the season, principally the lack of chances and the lack of goals we score (which are shown in the stats.) so it's simply untrue to say the turgid football only exists when we lose. Parts of last season were dull but it was also markedly better in style than this on the whole, particularly when koeman tried a number of different things and hit upon a good tactical way to play things. Perhaps I would be more willing to cut puel some slack if he even recognised that we had an issue, let alone trying anything new. It's complete rubbish to say that I didn't want puel and am desperate for him to be fail and to be honest does your side of this discussion no favours. I was fairly pleased when he came in from reports about him but unfortunately we got off to a poor start and the standard of football has largely been similar for much of the season. I simply have a difference of opinion from you and I have arrived at that opinion by going to the majority of games and being rather bored on an increasing number of occasions. It would be great if you could accept a difference of opinion without pretending that I or others like me do not want puel to do well. I'm not making up silly things about you just because I disagree with you.

Fine but please realise that for many this is not the case. Even if I were to accept that a win = entertainment then we aren't doing much of that recently either so puel's management would be questioned on that criteria alone.

Yep agree with that totally. Quibbling over the use of the word bomb is just semantics.

Err how? What I predicted has happened. Our squad is weaker than last year, coupled with a manager who has thus far displayed poor tactics overall and who has dished up a turgid style of football. It has little relevance to last season.

Seems that my prediction has been largely correct. The recruitment team must take their share of the blame for the summer but they are not responsible for this new system that we introduced that has resulted in so many terribly boring games, so few chances created, so few shots on target and such a lack of entertainment. Despite having poorer personnel than the last few years, the players we have are capable of better. I not also that I pointed out that Koeman had tried a few things that weren't working. I see no sign that Puel is prepared to try any radical changes to find some form (like the 3-5-2.) Unless Claude has something similar up his sleeve (which has not looked likely at any point this season.) Then I will continue to feel he is not the right fit for the club.

There was no need to change the system so radically at the start of the season. I disagree with the tactics of the manager which has seen us bomb out of Europe and has seen us play dull, uninspiring football that contrasts hugely with what we have become accustomed to over the past few seasons and really since Markus took us over. I think we obviously fecked up in the summer by not getting another attacking option but had Koeman stayed with this exact squad, there is no doubt in my mind that we would have created and scored more thus far (and I'm not even a huge fan of Ronald.)

No one is denying that there have not been some entertaining games this year, but on the whole they have been few and far between. We got a point against Liverpool for example and many people I spoke to after the match were not happy with our level of performance despite being happy with a point. The much vaunted "Southampton Way" has been evident over the past few years where we have played exciting football and taken the game to the opposition most weeks. It felt like we could beat any team in the league on our day (I believe we did just that last season) but this year for myself (and many others) we have lost that. What signs have we had that Puel looks like turning things around so radically? That is why people are losing or have lost patience with Puel and it is why most were prepared to give Koeman a lot more leeway to improve last season.

No that isn't what I said at all, that's a ludicrous point to make. I said it isn't SOLELY about league position, not that league position is not a factor. People are much much more likely to accept mid table or below if they see signs of improvement and exciting, attacking football where we make chances and score goals. Turgid, lifeless football where we have one (or less) shots on target and play to draw or hang on to a 1-0 is why people are discontented. For many, league position is less important than that.

Agree with that. It's about more than solely league position.

Because the football is incredibly boring and most people watch football to be entertained.