redkeith

I think Les Reed was by and large doing a good job, until the two seasons. All clubs and DOF's are a bit hot and miss in the tranfer market but there have been some glaring errors in recruitement 1 - Buying Classie when we already had Davis, JWP and Reed on the books. Four mudget midfielders is too much for anyone other than Barcelona to get away with, and Davis is no Ineista. Either he should have signed someone taller, or sold one of the others to make room in the squad. 2 - Not replacing Mane and Pelle. 30 odd goals to be provided bu JayRod, Austin and Redmond ? 3 - Not singing a proper no 10. Reeds 433 philopsophy is built around a sigursdson/Eriksen type of player, but all we had was Davis. Boufal had played their at Lille and Ramirez was sometimes good in that position, but playing for 4 seasons with a slightly attacking CM such as Davis does not fit with his chosen style of play. 4 - Not Replacing Fonte in the Jan 2017 window. 5 - Not replacing VVD in the Jan 2018 window. 6 - Signing a young CB Bendarek when we already had a young CB in Stephens in the squad, does not seem like one for the future unless they think he will look good in the championship. 7 - Buying Carrillo and not aiming the balll at his head. I have spoken to Monaco fans who say he is fantastic in the air but other than against WBA and the equaliser at Burnley we have never tried it on a consistent basis. Some of the other flops have been gambles, but with a logic to them. For instance Forren was signed in a January window when our only CB's were Yoshida and Fonte ) see points 5 and 6 above). A chairmen who knew anything about football would have had Reed on an improvement plan after Jan 2017 , and had him sacked by xmas.

The prices are ridiculous. I am off to see PSG v Monaco for the League Cup Final in Bordeaux on Saturday. It cost me €35 to sit in the corner, moe expensive if you get nearer the half-way line. The ends, which are kept for the two cluns are €25 a ticket. This is for a FINAL not a semi-final. Interestingly Monaco have sold out their allocation, but PSG haven't ( about 12,000 for each club). Just need to find a bar with Soccer Saturday on so I can keep an eye on the West Ham game.

Totally leaderless, on and off the pitch. We have had it if we don't sack him by Monday. We should have gone for the Fulham manager, who is a perfect fit, in playing style and promoting young players. Now he is going to go past us, and probably take Matt Targett with him.

I have given up watching this one, so poor. At least he has changed it to go for goals, by brining on ............. Long ??????? FFS We are going down unless he goes, although I know that there is noone decent who would take the job. Also, if JWP is on for his set peices, but contributes nothing else, we would be better of bringing LeTiss back instead .

I have given up watching this one, so poor. At least he has changed it to go for goals, by brining on ............. Long ??????? FFS We are going down unless he goes, although I know that there is noone decent who would take the job. Also, if JWP is on for his set peices, but contributes nothing else, we would be better of bringing LeTiss back instead .

Having watched Stoke at Leciester, they were very organised, held a deep defensive line to give Vardy no space behind them, and most of their threat came from Shaquiri. Based on this, I would put Manny Andrewzewski on Shaquiri, but as we don't have anyone like that, decide whether Romeu's defensive positioning or PEH mobility is the best way to keep an eye on him. Up front it a pairing of Carillo and Gabbi seems best. Carillo to challenge for crosses if they sit deep again, and Gabbi to try to get in behind if they push up. On the flanks I would go for Redmond on the right to sttart and Tadic left. JWP turns backwards too many times, which take Cedric out of the game and Redmond did well last week, but doesn't interact welll with Bertrand this year. Sims to come on a sub as, if he starts, Stoke will go full Stoke on him and destroy him. Better to come on when they are a bit more leggy, and with a few yellow cards on board.

Terrible game, crappy goal from Barnes as usual, but then the subs changed it for us. We need to work out some way of playing Gabbi and Carrillo without surrendering the midfield. Lemina is good, but playing him as a one man midfield for the last 15 was pushing it a bit. Sims should play more, but Stoke are very good at blocking out players like that, so maybe bench him next week and move Tadic or Redmond to the right, as JWP just won't turn forwards. MAdley was terrible, apart from the assist for the goal and Mc Carthy decision. If he thought that McCarthy had the ball in is hands, then it should have been a free kick anyway for Lennon trying to kick the ball out of them. Also, the contact on Bertrand in the first half was a;most identical to the contact he gave Ali a pen for last week .

This one is of players that I have actually seen play live, rather than on TV. Buffon Kaltz Costacurta B Moore Maldini De Bruyne Vierra Rui Costa Del Piero Battistuta Marradona Bobby Moore is only in there on reputation, as I saw him playing for Fulham.

Thought we counter atttacked very well all game, but the final pass was not quite there, particularly when Cedric was crossing in from the left. Good reactions from McCarthy made 2 saves that FF would have missed. Ref was awful though, only seemed to give us a free kick if the tackle was so bad that he had to book a baggies player.

First have not bad, apart from the 2 defensive errors. 2nd half dreadful. Nothing going forward at all, although it did answer the question of why we don't play 2 up front, because WE DON'T SEE THE BALL AT ALL if we do. Romeou gets caught every now and then not following the danger man, like on the 2nd goal . That is probably why he is still here. Never mind, after this weekends results, I am hoping that life without hope will be more relaxing .

I once asked a copper at the Dell "Can you arrest Lee Bowyer for behaviour likely to make you say the word c@nt" . He laughed, but I'm not sure I'd try it again at St Mary's.

Not sure, as I had a bein sports feed, so I wasn't paying much attention to the Arabic commentary. Whoever it was needs to keep their hands of his shirt and go shoulder to shoulder instead. PS Why wasn't Barry given a second yellow for the 3rd goal free kick ?

Great performance from everyone . What a difference it makes to have the ball stick up front. Only criticism would be Hoedt's marking for the first goal, and Cedric's crossing in the first half. Lemina Mom by a nose from JWP. That looked like a team out there, and the way we kept the ball in the corners at the end to run the clock down was great.

If we go down, the squad we will be left with will be something like this : - Forster, McCarthy McQueen, Targett Bednarek, maybe Yoshida or Stephens Davis Hesketh, Sims Gallagher How does that compare to the backbone of the promotion squad ? We would stuggle to get mid table in the Championship. I know that the EPL now consists of 6 teams at the top, one or two teams that make a good start to the season and flirt with 7th and the rest. It's not good, but what are the alternatives. Add to that, the fact that there is nothing in the acadamy Gallagher

I was pleased when he siad in the interview afterwards that he should have hit it with his left foot instead. Long is forever hitting balls like that with his right instep and then looking suprised when the ball curls wide of the far post.

When a manager gets sacked, there seems to be a long delay whilst their legal teams agrees compensation with his old club. Even if MP gets sacked tomorrow, Silva will not be available for a while, as Watford would not pay much compensation if his is already back in employment. I think Silva will "take time to consider his options" which will mean scouting players for a few months until BFS gets the bullet at Goodison.

I was one of the first SISA committe members, and gave up a lot of drinking time to hand out leaflets outside the Dell. Initially we got a meeeting with the board, but that didn't really change much. The protests continued and at some point the board got worried eneough about the disconnect between the supporters and the club that they brought in McMenemy as DOF. However, I think that it was the Port Vale 3rd round FA Cup attendance that forced the change, not the protests themselves. At the moment it feels like everything needs an overhaul, the Academy and U23's are bare, and the first team squad is unbalanced. The 433 system set out in the five year plan is requires a forward who can hold the ball up and link play and a no 10 behind him. We have neither. The five year plan for now should be not to rely on the academy for now, but to concentrate resources on keeping the club in the premiership, so that the money is there to reboot the academy next season.

Sat back too much 2nd half. The lack of a trusted centre half on the bench cost us too, as we should have gone 3 at the back once Deeny came on. That would also have resulted in Davis being substituted and so he wouldn't have been on the pitch to give the ball away for the first Watford goal. If any pundit says "these things even themselves out" about the equaliser, I will fly back to England just too stalk and punch them. Great first half though.

On SFR sport the french previewed the game with a 10 minute montage of Mourinho going into gradual meltdown over the past few weeks and now they will have another clip to add to it before their game at Goodison, home of the dugout. I thought everyone played their part, although the centre backs need to stop letting team get one free header per game. Hoedt won everything, was composed in possesion but crucially, would row z it if required. Stephens had a much better game than at Wembley, perhaps he needs JWP in front of him like in the Arsenal game. McQueen had a good game, aside from that one run uo field in the first half , when he kept his head down so much he ended up surrounded by 5 red shirts. Mc Carthy looked more composed in goal, and actually came for a few crosses. On one of the podcasts earlier this season, a pundit said that we needed to get Tadic closer to whoever was up front, and after yesterday you can see his point. The whole attack was much better. Man of the match though was Hojdberg . He is the real leader in midfield that we need. He was everywhere, and put in loads of good tackles, even after a silly early boooking. Starting to remind me of a certain mr Williams from the 80's. . It will be interesting to see if any action is taken on Ashley Young, but I'm not holding my breath on that one, the PL's Review of Dangerous Play by Teams Outside the Big Six has a bit of previous .

Greaty defender, apart from the odd lapse in concentration and looks good because he can carry the ball out of defense well. Toby on the other hand reads the game better than any centre half I have ever seen, always in the right place. Toby also has a £25 million release cluase in his contract this summer, so £75 million for VVD is a great deal for Saints.

God knows why we ditched 5 at the back for a tough away game, clueless. At least the team kept going, unlike the fannys on here. PEH , Boufal and Targett were ok, Gabbi and Tadic were also up for it when they came on. Long was Long. The more touches he had on the run at Lloris, the less confident he got, and he really should be moving towards that Gabbi cross, not waiting for it. We need a 2nd choice right back Stephens is not up to it, and Managla on loan if VVD goes to city. Redmond needs to be sold, his attitude stinks at the moment, and that pass for the 4th goal was disgraceful. He could have knocked it either dside of the defender and attacked it, but passed it instead stright into Spur's counter attack zone.

For me, Davis and JWP should never start in the same team, as they are too lightweight and take too long on the ball to make a decision. Next time he plays, just count the number of touches that Davis takes, only to make a pass that was on in the first place. Our first choice midfield should be from PEH, Romeu and Lemina, with JWP playing if there is no-one else fit who can take corners. With Austin out for a while, we definitely need a striker in in January, but I can't think who ? Sturridge in PX for VVD ? We played OK after we scored, but sat back too deep, and narrow as the game wore on.

Personally, I thought the game went to plan for the most part, keep it tight, restrict them to long shots and try to hit them on the break. Austin would not have lasted 90 minutes having to cover the ground that Gabbi did, so bring him on for the last half hour. We had 3 good half chances, plus a few scrambles in their box, minfd you they had a fair few scrambles in our box too. Whatever genius came up with the idea of keepers showing the wall side of the goal at free-kick needs shooting . It is a terrible starting position, unless you are Lloris or De Gea.

The French commentators kept calling Redmond our most dangerous player, he was better than he has been, but still makes odd decisions. We really should have been 2 or 3 up in the first 10 minutes, if Charlie would watch the line a bit more. Also , once Betrand got on the end of that Tadic throughball, I thought that was in. Great team shape, very well organsied, just a shame that our wide defenders tuck in too much near the end of games. The same thing happened at Man City. That was one of the few times that Sanchez got a cross in the whole game.

Davis had plenty of space to turn in, but took the safe imediate options to play it backwards, which resulted in the fullbacks being caught high up the field when Bournemouth tachled Hoeth. JWP was doing the same on the right wing all 1st half, both players need to be braver. Phil Neville would be happy with them though, as they are consistent and don't give the ball away. Couldn't believe Nevilles rant about Boufal on MOTD2. He had an up and down game, and needs to learn quickly where not to make a sliding tackle, but we are so much more dangerous when he plays together with Bertand on the left. Thought we played ok, and created lots ogf chances, but we could have conceded more as well .