austsaint

"Chubby little loser - funny little fat man who sold his soul, funny little fat man who sold his dream".

Fry...your Gloria Gaynor spoof was much better than this effort. Turkish...this is your finest hour; Ol' Blue Eyes surely penned this melancholy piece all those years ago with Saints in mind.

I don't think too many people are disputing your thesis and recommendations.

Yes, it probably is ...sorry; I am a Pom, but I've been living here a long time! You get my meaning though;)

Adrian, I don't think Shurlock is saying we have a rubbish squad - he's saying that it's been whittled down to a middle-of-the-road group now lacking the quality we had in crucial positions...ie CB, striker, attacking mid. Add in the two recent Managerial appointments, especially MP and you have the perfect storm for free fall.

Of course I hope I'm wrong, but Stoke now look a better prospect of staying up than we do! Somehow need Brighton or Huddersfield to drop their bundle.

Can't believe we were in for Wimmer at one stage. Doesn't look any better than Gardos, Forren or Bednarek.

This is yet another reason why Pellegrino should have been dumped weeks ago. You have to start your best players week in, week out, particularly given the absence of extra games - and Boufal, Lemina and Gabbiadini are in our best 11 every day of the week.

I read it was a heart attack. Very sad news - a brave trailblazer for black footballers and sportspeople in the 70s and 80s. The crap he must have put up with is shameful to look back on.

It felt like a defeat though didn't it?

Explain to me again why Boufal shouldn't be given a start?

Already diagnosable - clear case of cognitive disorder with delusional decision making deficit.

A few straws being tightly clutched there me-old-Lord.

Indeed, play both. More than ever Saints need their best players on the pitch - and that includes Hojbjerg, Lemina, Romeu and Boufal.

Probably the same reason Boufal wasn't chosen - our Manager can't see what most others do.

I wonder how Ralph will keep in touch with our little Club when he's back in Vancouver?

True what you say, yet Pellegrino could have made changes to address the Watford tactical changes. He could have played 3 CBs bringing on Bednarek and replacing one of the attacking players who faded out of the game ie Tadic or Ward-Prowse; he could have shored up the midfield much earlier by replacing Davis with Lemina and keeping Romeu higher up the pitch and finally he could have brought on Boufal to give Watford something to think about as our attackers had put the cue in the rack 2nd half. Yes, Watford responded and showed greater desire and work rate, but our Manager could have acted much earlier.

You've put it well. He must go now. Reactive and passive sum him up - the game was there for the taking but the Manager didn't have the guts to be proactive and tried to protect what he thought he had.

That was as "on your knees capitulation" in the second half as you'll ever see. Yes, their equaliser should have been disallowed, but why did our Manager wait so long to try and wrest the momentum and energy back? Lemina was the right change for Davis, but both Tadic and Ward-Prowse were completely uninvolved in the second half but our Manager waited until the 93rd minute to make those two attacking changes, even though we had completely retreated in the second half and handed the initiative to Watford. Pellegrino just has to be removed.

Touche. Hard to trump that.

Are you allowed to say our multiple goal scorer has faded out of the game - Boufal or Sims to turn the tide.

It's the type of positive change I would like to see - let's hope our Manager thinks the same way.

Wait until Glasgow hears the news from Carnoustie.

Enjoy it; pray we don't throw it away, but don't think we've suddenly become a complete, well managed team.

One of the differences has been Shane Long showing dash and control down the flanks and providing JWP with two side footed opportunities to score, the second via Tadic from Long. I hope this doesn't mean Pellegrino is off the hook.