Kingsbridge Saint

Lots of Internationals now for a couple of weeks. Let's hope someone picks up a knock or a pull that forces a change of line up.

Apparently scoring goals is the hardest thing in football according to our genius Manager. Well it isn't so hard to score against us. He is making it all so much harder for himself by persisting with his ideology and relying on Redmond and Tadic to deliver it. He MUST change personnel or tactics or he will be on the way out soon. 4-5-1 WITH TADIC AND REDMOND IS NOT WORKING.

UEFA Coaching Manual says it can't be done. Apparently, controlling the game with possession is the only way. Need to sack off Puellegrino sooner rather than later. He has no ideas of his own. Tadic and Redmond are killing us every week. No end product from the former, nothing at all from the latter, yet picked every week in the Groundhog Day Formation. If you lived say 100-200 miles from SMS and you weren't a ST holder, would you be shelling out for the travel, visiting the club shop, paying for tickets, programme and food, and bringing the kids to watch this turgid sh_it? Puellegrino needs to change it or ship out. Expected so much more from him, he has been a huge disappointment so far.

We either have to go with 2 up front or the midfielders must go past the single forward and get into the box. And not just one of them - two or three of them, and often. Pellegrino looks like he is betting the farm on 1 up front so it's up to the selected midfielders (other than Rom) to make it work. If we don't start scoring soon the points will dry up, and the fans will lose interest again, just like under Puel.

Forster Cedric Yoshida VVD Hoedt Bertrand Romeu Lemina JWP PEH Davis We will control the game all day long. Stoke are very physical, so will need a strong midfield five in front of a solid back 5. Thing is, would you be surprised?

Remember when he fizzed down the wing, left a couple of players for dead, cut inside and smashed it home from 25 yards? No? it was against us in a Norwich shirt. Where has that player gone?

Groundhog Day. Applies to the manager and tactics as well. Something needs to change so we carry more of a goal threat. Controlled that nicely to a 0-1. Relegation strategy.

Having read Pellegrinos comments in the Echo I am pretty sure it will be Southampton Nil. Again. But we will pass the ball nicely in triangles.

Disappointing statement from Pellegrino. Same obsession with 'controlling the game' - ie UEFA Coaching Manual templated slow possession based recycling football - that's what got Puel sacked. He is on borrowed time for me. Not scoring goals and playing tedious slow paced football - but controlling the game. Gee. Bring back the Eighties, all is forgiven.

Forster Cedric Hoedt VVD Bertrand Romeu Lemina JWP Davis Gabbi Long Tadic needs a rest - Lemina found him with great balls several times with the freedom of Croydon in front of him, but as usual there was bugger all end product. The goal came from a weak shot the keeper should have done better with. Can't see him making any sort of impact against United, waste of a shirt. Redmond needs to be given the day off to go shopping for some longer studs. At least JWP hits a decent corner and with VVD back in the mix that could be where we nick it.

Well, our new guy has been here long enough to impose his style, and in response to Watford we get a change of personnel but no change of system, or philosophy. For my liking I would prefer two up front, but like Puel he stubbornly persists with just the one. I could live with that if he played Gabbi as an advanced midfielder supporting Austin or Long - Gabbi is a top class player, Italian international - he might as well leave the way he is being mis-used. Then there is the pace of play - so often when we have the opportunity to break quickly we play possession first recycling the ball backwards and slowing things down. I thought Puel was sacked so we could move to a more attacking style? I have seen no evidence of any improvement in the way we play and it just looks like the same unimaginative possession based game straight out of the UEFA Coaching Manual. We have had an easy start to this season, sit mid-table, which is OK, but still look largely impotent. Is he capable of getting us playing entertaining winning football? Worried, but still patient is where I am at.

Great post - pretty much nails all the points I would have made. Tadic and Redmond concede possession so often it's getting ridiculous. Lemina had a blinder today. Good to win the first 6 pointer of the season.

We have to change the team and/or the set up. If it's just the same selection in the same positions with the same tactics and hope for the best, Pellegrino can **** off straight after the inevitable defeat as far as I am concerned. Brisbane Saints gathering in Brisbane's football pub for the early kick -off. Hoping for a much better performance and outcome, but my blood will run cold if the exactly the same bunch of useless ****s are named before kick off.

Our academy has fallen a long way based on recent results. The first team is currently dishing up some absolute garbage and can't score. Nothing seems to be changing tactically and the coaching personnel (apart from the 1st team manager) have not changed. Pellegrino needs to sort this all out - it's his job. His job to get the right coaching team around him, his job to get the first team winning again (for which they will need to score a goal sometime), his job to oversee the development of players that can be introduced into the first team. So far I have seen no evidence he is willing to change anything. Patience already running thin. Watford was an absolute disgrace.

Change the system or change the manager. I am not watching another season of this tactical rubbish.

The new manager is going to have to grow some balls and ditch the Puel template. A good start would be studying the other 19 teams in the Premier League as they all seem to be capable of creating chances. Well, maybe not Palace.

Pellegrino on borrowed time and under serious pressure now to show he has the ability to bring anything new to the team to reverse the regression under Puel. His failure to change the system and play at least 2 up front is the first worry. The second is that the players seem to have even less idea of how to play in Claude's system than they did last year. Because it IS still Claude's system. Pellegrino needs to change it - at the moment he is showing signs of being as stubborn as Puel. Good luck with that.

If we want to score, we need to play two up top. Tadic is a waste of a shirt. I am sick of Tadic, and one up front.

You are getting confused with table football.

Nice for him and he deserves it. Means sod all in terms of whether he stays with us 3 years, or half a season though. Contracts are pretty worthless for clubs.

This for me. With Cedric and Bertrand able to push up and get service to the two strikers, and Long using his pace from deep to move defenders around, the front two will be more engaged than we have seen all season and the goals will flow.

Very disappointing to go out of a very winnable competition so soon. Shades of Koeman with the careless selection and set up rubbing off on the players who weren't fully committed. Shocking to ask supporters to pay for tickets if that's the clubs attitude to the EFL Cup. Will be a different side and attitude Saturday for certain. It is time to bench Tadic though - I feel like I have been scapegoating him all season already - but watch the guy - so many of our attacking moves break down with him as he dithers, loses possession or hits yet another intercepted pass or woeful cross. Don't get me started on his shooting or penalties. He is the anchor on this side. He is the main reason we don't score many goals.

I am afraid I can't agree with all the tactical geniuses who explain playing 1 up front as the footballing equivalent of Alchemy. I think we got Lemina in to stiffen up the midfield so Pellegrino can play 4-4-2. Lemina just needs to get his full match fitness then I reckon we will see a great Gabbi-Austin partnership begin to develop. Until then no way am I having an isolated Gabbi in my Fantasy Premier team.

Might go to penalties so Tadic can have the evening off for starters.

Nobles challenge was more of a red than Tadics was a yellow. So much angst from the Taters about Tadics challenge - he just ran into the challenge a bit full on but never really made contact - and stayed on his feet.