derry

Every time I see Pellegrino I think the lights are on but nobody is at home. Then he proves it with his ridiculous substitutions. Romeu and Hojbjerg were controlling the midfield but Lamina should have replaced Davis not Hojbjerg. we then lost the midfield and were under the cosh for the last ten minutes. Redmond came on and proceeded to do nothing productive, get in the way and give the ball away time after time. Why not Sims? Never a better opportunity. Gabbiadini bottled the back heel from Lamina. Bednerek had a quiet but solid display at right back. The back four and McCarthy (except for the dropped cross) were solid as were Romeu and Hojbjerg. JWP worked hard and took his goal well, Long worked hard on his own all game supported by the milky Davis who flattered to deceive but certainly shouldn't have been playing where Gabbiadini should have been. In any event he should have been substituted after no more than an hour. The problem is the manager for picking players that aren't good enough and leaving players like Lamina and Gabbiadini out. We were hopeless up front with one striker plus Davis and sometimes JWP. He needs to get a grip. This display won't keep us up. Against a better side we would have conceded a couple in the last ten minutes after he weakened the midfield.

If the manager knew what we were doing wrong both with the players and the team selection then it would already be fixed. Unfortunately the manager is glib, when he was criticised earlier in the season for the 4-2-3-1 formation with one striker and three non scorers he justified his system by stating it was the way the better teams played. That was too simplistic and ignored the real problem that is still staring him in the face and not recognised. Going back to his justification of it's the way the better teams play, no it's not, there is no resemblance at all. The better teams pass the ball quickly and play with a high tempo. When they attack they quickly get forward in numbers. 6,7,8 players get forward into the last third and the remainder push up behind. The intention to quickly out manoeuvre and outnumber the defenders and create goals. We on the other hand play like the poorer teams keep more players back and commit few players in attack. Our possession excuse just strangles us by slowing the game so that the opponents are all goal side and block us out. It has been obvious since last season that JWP, Davis, Tadic and Redmond prefer to play in their comfort zone, sideways and backwards, because they don't want to put in the effort needed to get forward quickly. Two of those players are incapable of playing on the wrong side because they are one footed and can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. They are not forwards with goal scoring instincts so shouldn't be playing at all in attacking positions because they won't score enough goals. Behind them we have two more midfielders sitting in front of the back four, what for? A holding midfielder Romeu is enough, change the formation, move Hojbjerg and Lamina in front as box to box midfielders with Boufal left and Long right and Gabbiadini up front. That is with the existing squad, With both full backs pushing forward one attacking on the ball side the other to push up give the defence problems. It's chicken and egg the more attackers we have up in the last third the more opponents will have to defend. If the ball is lost the nearest players have to press hard to buy time for a rapid transition to get as many players goal side as possible to help the defenders. That is what the better teams do not sit back and play sideways and backwards.

Just watched Arsenal v Chelsea, what a difference in attitude. Plenty of passing but midfielders and defenders high tempo, pouring forward 6 or 7 attacking in and around the penalty area. Our midfielders rather than joining in just sit back and watch. Time to ship a few out and get Romeu, Hojbjerg and Lamina supporting at least three forwards not three ball recyclers. Two full backs scored, hardly ever happens for us. Our full backs cross and watch rather than playing like player that wants to get in and score Our excuse for a manager needs to grow a pair and get his players battering the opposition as a team instead of slow possession for possessions sake, no runners and outnumbered up front.

Maybe if some of the midfielders made some effort to get up front instead of indulging in their comfort zone sideways and backwards possession, whilst often just unloading the ball to avoid having to run with it, the crowd would wake up a bit rather than being bored stiff by the rubbish being served up.

So that's all right Ralph, we have an incompetent, clueless manager who fits in well and has a nice personality. I think you need to think the implications of that through, because it doesn't mean the same to us as it obviously does to you.

The manager has the timidity of a mouse and his team desperate to hear the final whistle at the start of the second half drop off and play the same way. Pellegrino is probably a very nice man but his timidity and stupidity and stubbornness will get us relegated. We need a firebrand full of aggression and with the courage to get the team playing aggressively and importantly ditch the non scoring passers whose sole aim is to pass the ball get it back and pass it again. Those players who freeze in the last third who only look to pass the responsibility to someone else. It's not pass the parcel. Davis, JWP, Tadic, Redmond and to some extent Boufal are never going to get us the goals we need and never were. Boufal has ability but needs runners and support. Our approach play is too slow and just neuters any forward runs, usually only Long, Austin or Gabbiadini make the runs and have to stop because the ball doesn't come and they are offside. Passing for the sake of it just allows the defences to get back and form up. Stop playing just one striker and three passers plus two holding midfielders. The three passers have to be ditched. 4-2-3-1 just plays into these players hands and feeds their comfort. Time to go for it. Play one holding player, 4-1-4-1. Romeu holding, Lamina and Hojbjerg box to box, Boufal and Long wide and Gabbiadini up front. Stop the possession based play and get the ball forward quickly, not necessarily back to front but stop playing keep ball it doesn't work. In the meantime get in three or four players, a centre back, aggressive attacking midfielders or strikers with a good scoring record, a quick big strong centre forward. everybody must have pace no slow coaches.

That was just about the most incompetent management of substitutions I've ever seen. Hodgson got his changes in and put us under pressure. Pellegrino taking Hojbjerg off was just stupid what did he think the lightweight Davis was going to do. Lamina should have been brought on but wasn't and Redmond FFS. Gabbiadini should have been on earlier for Tadic. I'm afraid this manager is just negative, score a goal and hope to win. He has no idea how to win games again we surrendered to Palace and dropped off, how many games is that?

The forecast is awful tonight I'm going to watch it on ManiaHD. It's not the match so much as the walk after in heavy rain and storm force winds. After the results this season I just don't fancy being ****ed off and soaked. They might actually do better if I'm not there as I missed the WBA and Everton games through sickness, probably clutching at straws.

It was about 1955/6 when we sold the penny on the ball tickets because during that season we won a match ball which was orange plastic coated which we used for kick abouts .

No, in the middle fifties, I used to sell penny on the ball tickets and there were balls around all plastic coated whilst the balls we used were the old brown leather or lighter coloured panelled balls but uncoated and very heavy when wet.

That's factually correct in comparison with the current light balls. In reality the leather ball was replaced in professional football in the fifties with the plastic coated much lighter ball as it didn't absorb water as with the original leather uncoated and probably laced ball. It then didn't become heavy especially as a new ball was used every match.

Don Roper?

The defensive coaching is ridiculous. Salah, Mahrez, and Alli were allowed to cut across the box on their shooting foot and hit the goal. Why weren't they pressed onto their weak foot and made to go outside. Romeu showed Alli the inside line today FFS, that is just stupidity, just like thinking challenging behind an attacker at a free kick and unable to reach the ball is defending. Defenders have to attack the ball not stand off. We need the defenders coached to win the header not let the attacker get in front of them. Kane today and the equaliser against Arsenal and Huddersfield. There is a lack of direction from the coaches. Winning the ball is more important than zonal stand watching as the ball hits the back of the net with the spectating goalkeeper showing no leadership.

Even the commentators were talking about how passive we were. A team plays in the character of its manager. Standing off the ball and not pressing hard has cost us dearly this season. We need a manager that believes in attacking the ball not passing it around until the opponents press takes it back. As soon as we got on the front foot and got the ball up front quickly and attacking the ball we were so much better. Forster has lost his way he is so hesitant he is a liability. Redmond's thoughtless back pass that opened us up was awful, We need to get rid of Pellegrino for starters, change the goal keeping coach and apart from strengthening the side, play the strongest team all the time. I thought Romeu and Hojbjerg were better together but Lamina could be an attacking midfielder. For me add Long, Boufal and Gabbiadini and we have the makings of a competitive team.

This manager is an idiot. We are playing Huddersfield and really need to play our strongest team and compete. When I heard the team, I just couldn't believe it. Stephens and Targett were necessary, Davis, Tadic, Redmond and JWP was self inflicted. Romeu, Hojbjerg, Boufal and Gabbiadini or Long would have given us more of a fighting chance. FFS if it doesn't fit 4-2-3-1 then play something else like 4-3-3 with Hojbjerg alongside Romeu and Lamina to get forward and help the forwards. For a season and a half we have seen Davis, Redmond, Tadic and JWP are incapable of making the runs behind defenders and getting into the box yet this clown still picks them. The longer the club leave it before they sack him the deeper in the mire we will be. We should really be replacing those four permanently, selling VVD and bringing in a striker and attacking midfielder plus some genuine pace and another CB (DeVryj? to be sold by Napoli.

Does he know what he is doing or is he just shuffling the pack on a weekly basis? For me he hasn't a clue. We have hired a talker who has been found out.

How long before the Chinese hit the panic button. It doesn't matter what Krueger, Reed etc think, sooner rather than later the owners are going to see through the bull****.

I had a perfect match Tv wise from Mania HD using Express VPN.

If this team doesn't win today it needs to be slaughtered and hopefully that will see the panic button pressed. CP3 LC0 I think we are sleep walking into trouble. I still think this manager is clueless. His changes formations and substitution are bizarre.

Anybody want to give some odds on Vardy getting horribly clattered early on. For me he's got it coming after injuring VVD, I suspect that's not been forgotten.

But we hit long cross field passes to the full backs and got to the bye lines. We made more passes in the opponents half and a lot less passing around the back four and midfield going nowhere. PEH made more passes than anybody else, 96 with better accuracy and more tackles than anybody else on the field. We also played with a higher tempo.

It's probably still not dawned on Pellegrino, he's far too clever. Some kids are naturals, no matter who they play for put them in the box with the ball and they invariably score. How do they keep doing that, they don't even know most of the time but they just do it. Charlie Austin is one of those unique kids. You want to mark up, use somebody else, you want to hold the ball up and wait, use somebody else, you want somebody to get crosses in and get to the bye line, use somebody else. Charlie Austin in the box, four chances, one missed hit the post and stuck two away. He's not the fastest, fittest, strongest but just watch his instinct it is brilliant. He doesn't do ordinary but just let him play his way and he will get a bucket load of goals if the ball is put in to him. He has done it at every level, the way we have treated him was just stupid given his ability and our inability to score. The way we played on Sunday was the way to play to Charlie Austin not the 600 pass dross being put forward by Pellegrino in thirteen matches as the way to play

Looking at the stats PEH made more passes, 96, than any Saints player with better accuracy and made more tackles than any other player on the field. In ordinary circumstances MOM but only goals win matches and Austin's two headers were the match winners without them Everton were still in the game. We have found it so hard to score from play but Austin showed that three yards of intelligent positioning trumps everything else.

Plenty of runners, high tempo, early forward passes, plenty of pressing and a player that picks out the space in the box. So Pellegrino was wrong all along. PEH outstanding hard working display but the MOM for me was Charlie Austin scoring goals. The way Austin spotted the pockets and lost the defenders was brilliant. Good team display, all the players played well but it was getting forward in numbers that made the difference. If Pellegrino has learnt his lesson, and I really can't see that he hasn't been well leant on, amazed it took this long.

One thing that is really ****ing me off is the club's PR machine wheeling out random players and the manager week after week pronouncing on the next game's anticipated success story, how the players know what they are about and a weekly lecture from the manager how we are going in the right direction and doing things right keeping possession. Week after week same crap equals same result or rather lack of result. Somebody should tell those ****s to shut up, most of the people they are addressing are far cleverer than they will ever be and see right through their bull ****. Don't insult our intelligence with the sort of garbage that is worthless.