derry

The man is mad. Redmond, Tadic, Boufal, Davis, JWP and Hojbjerg will never be regular goalscorers. The whole team have managed only six from play in 12 games including Wolves second team. Each week he plays one striker and three from the above list that are not going to suddenly start scoring goals. None of the six make runs up with and beyond the strikers, all of the six are ball recyclers although Boufal and Hojbjerg have other talents. Playing the ultra cautious game demanded by this manager is ridiculous if he thinks we are going to move forward continuing to play that way with these players. He will have to play more goal scorers and a more attacking style, if he doesn't he has to go. The only caveat, he might be reprieved if this way of playing brings more points away than at home, however that isn't going to satisfy the home support. He must be on borrowed time because we just cannot survive with the inability to score and win regularly at home.

From conversations we had I think he may well have been.

Whatever we think of him, and I actually liked him, Jamie Redknapp selected him as his goalkeeper of the week. I think that one of the best managers around knew him and wanted him and then played him, says it all for me.

I see in the Echo obituary notices that Lee Marchant a fellow Saints supporter has sadly died of cancer aged only 46. If it is the same Lee Marchant that I knew in 2009. He was as far as I know and Steve Grant would be able to confirm this, one of the founders of Saints Web going under the name Saintlee. I knew Lee when along with Nick Illingsworth and Save our Saints when all looked lost before Marcus appeared, we were trying to save at least part of the Club meeting politicians, Council and Messrs Crouch and McMenemy and Mike Osman. Lee and Nick were involved in organising the events at St Mary's to try and raise money. I remember Lee as a really nice genuine man. He was taken long before his time. Rest in peace Lee mate.

For me we lack a cutting edge. Our own half possession obsession leads to a packed defence hence most shots or crosses get blocked. I'd like to see us stop playing the non scoring lightweights, give Long, Austin and Gabbiadini a go together with maybe Boufal behind in possibly a 4-3-3. The back four plus Romeu and Lamina make us pretty solid at the back. It's not even a gamble with the number of games we don't score in, but the manager will stick with the negative selections and own half possession crap until he is inevitably sacked. History says we will probably dither about that and leave it until it is too late. If we really wanted a big player up front we could do worse than give Yoshida a try. Doing nothing different is stupidity, doing the same thing and hoping the result will be different is insane.

"Even Gazza" was man of the match and saved Spurs from an embarrassing defeat against Palace. On today's performance a big upgrade on Forster.

We were passing the Central Station on the way in when the team was announced on Solent. I thought about telling the wife to turn around and go home. It is depressing, a manager who thinks he has it right, keeps picking the same attacking dross and anticipating a different outcome, madness. Now he says we controlled the game and will keep playing that way. 63% possession and lose again obviously the way to go. Get rid of the prat and get somebody in that believes in putting the players in their natural positions and playing enough forwards instead of five midfielders and a striker.

Ignorant sums you up.

I thought Leicester were playing 4-4-2 and won 2-0 pal. Everton 4-2-3-1 Davies and Gueye behind Lennon, Rooney and Mirallas with Calvert -Lewin as the striker. Leicester were in blue by the way pal.

Or alternatively a player that is totally disillusioned because he can see that the manage'rs selections just don't work and can see how to make the whole team better positionally.

The manager. Tadic left footed doesn't shoot quickly when he has the chance but takes an extra touch cannot play on the right and won't get many goals. Play left, probably not good enough to play centrally as he doesn't make runs. Redmond same as Tadic only on the right. Boufal Right or Central. JWP, luxury dead ball specialist, doesn't tackle, head and very slow doesn't make runs and score from play. Davis is a ball recycler and lightning struck twice with two goals. Hojbjerg needs games but can be aggressive and tackle. Because of the above playing Redmond and Tadic or Boufal on their wrong side neuters the attack and mostly results in the ball going sideways and backwards. Playing only one striker none of which are hold up players is a nonsense. The job of a manager is to select a team that is better than the sum of the parts. Our team is worse than the sum of the parts because of the lack of balance. The only reason to play players on the wrong side is to allow them to shoot with their strong foot having come inside. we don't do that, more likely to check out and pass back to the full back, hence no point in those individuals playing on the wrong side. The manager selects the team so he is at fault. If he can't see the shortcomings he is not up to the job.

I did, but I couldn't be bothered to say when as I thought it was irrelevant.

Puel playing 4-4-2!!!! No ****ing diamond, no 600 square and backward passes just plain old high tempo 4-4-2. One day it'll be back in fashion and then some **** will resurrect some formation out of history and be hailed a genius. 4-2-3-1 only exists because Brazil used it to accommodate Jairzinho, Pele and Rivellino behind Tostao winning the 1970 world cup final against Italy now everybody thinks it's the modern way.

Turned out against Wolves at the Dell wearing 9 instead of usual 10 completely nonplussed Wolves defence. Saints won 9-3 then signed Dave McLaren the Wolves goalkeeper.

A more realistic statistic would be how many goal attempts were made after winning back the ball rather than how many meaningless passes we made in our own half after winning the ball or how many passes we made in our own half after winning the ball in our opponents half. If we have 72% possession against Stoke and lose 2-1 with very few shots on target it means we probably won plenty of ball but did little or nothing of value with the possession etc. Pochettino's pressing didn't end up with 18 scoreless matches or nine out of ten scoreless at SMS.

Redmond and Tadic both suffer from being predominately one footed and playing on their wrong side. The only reason to play a player on the wrong side is to allow a strong shot tracking across the penalty area as Gabbiadini did against Newcastle. As neither Redmond or Tadic do this there is little point in playing them on their wrong side. They will only take on the defender on their good foot so in my opinion Tadic should be on the left and Redmond on the right if we are to get the best out of them.

Make it up as you go why don't you! I didn't say favourite game but it was a brilliant turning point, with perfect tactics helped by that spectacular bender from Martina. Favourite might be 3rd div Saints 5-1 third round cup win v 1st div Man City, Fight back v Forest followed by the replay, Celtic winning the European Cup, Real Madrid beating Eintracht 7-3 and Saints winning the cup as just a few.

Mane was seen by Koeman in a big Salzburg win in a EUFA cup, Pelle played for him at Feyenord, Tadic was described as the best player in Holland. Seems more to do with Koeman than Reed.

Redmond, Tadic, Davis, JWP will not score goals or even control games as their only aim in life is to unload the responsibility to someone else, hence the rabbit in the headlights reaction when in sight of goal. Boufal is a luxury we can afford because of a solid back four and Romeu/Lamina. Play Boufal plus at least two strikers or even all three and at the most only one of the others. It has to be better attack wise than where we are at the moment. I was impressed by the boy's composure after a lung bursting 50 yards and finishing in the only place he could without being blocked. Ok I'm sold at the moment and open to see whether he can give us that extra dimension that the others never will. The over cautious MP probably will not as he won't get his 60 meaningless passes out of Boufal.

I was sorry for Nigel Adkins as he did a great job getting us into the PL and was turning the season around. MP was a great coach but he walked out on his contract and not only left us in the lurch I'd like to know if he was an unsettling influence on those players that walked out and Rodriguez and Schneiderlin who were blocked. Koeman came in and was a good manager for us. It couldn't have been easy and we could easily have collapsed. He brought in decent players and rebuilt a team that finished well. Although the early part of his second season wasn't that great he and the team went on a fabulous run until the end of the season finishing sixth. I'll always remember beating Arsenal 4-0 which could have been eight with Long and Mane tearing Arsenal apart on the break, what a feeling that was. Then came Puel, unnecessarily changing everything and imposing possession above all else and at home gave us a season that made a lot of us question whether we would renew our season tickets. I'm pleased he is gone, what he represents isn't what I want to see. Along came Pellegrino and lo and behold more obsessive possession. If Gabbiadini and Boufal had made a couple of passes instead of scoring three cracking individual goals we may have been sitting where Everton are now. For me either he changes and sets us up as an attacking team and drops the obsessive possession or he can go sooner than later. Stoke 28% possession beat us 2-1 FFS. Possession statistics should only be counted in the opponents half. As far as I am concerned Koeman is in a different class to Puel and Pellegrino and I'd have him as manager in a heartbeat over the other two. Having said that I think he is an arrogant *****.

We yet again played close to 600 passes and created no end product. It's not possession it's an obsession. The goals this season have come from players individual brilliance and running with the ball, Boufal, Gabbiadini with a one two with Redmond against WHU and against Newcastle. Two of the goals from runs on the break from our half. Surely that should tell the management something, somehow I think not.

I really have little confidence in the manager because of his stubbornness in making the same mistakes time after time and expects things to change. Listen, you chump, pick at least two strikers one of which has to be Long because he has pace and challenges for balls in the air. Gabbiadini and Austin without Long won't work. If you pick Redmond or Tadic, play them on their natural sides and absolutely insist on players making runs through the strikers into the box even if it hurts. Football is an easy game. Play a team that works together not pick a system and put players in to play your way not their way. Pellegrino and Puel are theoretical coaches not practical managers there lies the problem.

No wondering about it at all. It isn't. Take City as an example, how often do they overload defences and take easy tap ins. That is their end result through getting plenty of runners into the box. Tadic, Redmond, Davis, Boufale, JWP etc spectating thirty plus yds out from goal with one or two in the box won't ever do that. Passing back to full backs and centre backs ten yds inside our own half after breaking half way into the opponents half as Redmond and Tadic both did many times on Saturday because they can't go by players on their wrong side won't either.

Back to the football match. Another manager that is obsessed by possession even if nearly all of it is in our half. What impressed me about Newcastle was their ability to break quickly and get runners up in support causing the defence problems. Redmond, Tadic were hopeless and made no effort to make runs just waited around to receive the ball. Long was the only one to make runs, Gabbiadini drifted into space as expected nobody else made any effort to get numbers into the box because whenever Redmond and Tadic received the ball they were on their wrong foot so just turned and played the ball back to the full backs then to the centre backs for another pointless pass it around while Newcastle got their team goal side. I know that it's the vogue to play off the wrong side but that is to achieve what Gabbiadini did when he was cornered on the right pulled away across the box and hit a reverse shot into the bottom corner with his natural left foot. Neither Tadic or Redmond who are pretty one footed ever make that move to open up a shot on their strong foot so there is absolutely no point in playing them on their weak sides. Boufal might but doesn't, so in my opinion we would get more out of those players on their natural sides. The one thing we have to get is full backs and forwards/midfielders making runs and getting the ball up to the runners quickly before they run offside. We are painfully slow and 72% possession across the back four losing 2-1 is a bloody nonsense as at Stoke. Winning is all, the manager needs to get real and forget about this control the game by possession crap, It is the opponents that are really controlling the game by letting us make 500 plus passes sideways and backwards in our own half. You are only controlling the game if you are making opponents uncomfortable and overloading their defence.

I watched Spurs v Bournemouth on ManiaHD, worked fine no buffering. I use ExpressVPN. Didn't try without.