S-Clarke

Typical lazy analysis on us from the 'media' to be honest. They'll just look at the position in the table, there's more to it than that.

Would be a decent master plan if they didn't flog off the best ones....!

The worry for me is that if Ryan leaves, the club will try to stick with Mcqueen and Targett. Both aren't good enough to be regular first 11 players for where we 'aspire' to be - in my opinion. If we pocket £20-25m for Ryan and then promote those two, it's a recipe for regression. I could be totally wrong of course!!

I wish people would stop sighting 8th as an achievement and a reason why we should all be dancing around in our underwear. People need to look beyond that. 6 points from 17th, 15 points from 7th. I think that says it all. It's a very, very, poor 8th position. Nothing to celebrate.

It was very much a case of same old, same old for the large majority. I thought we started the game well, it was actually a pretty open start, a little end to end for the first 10mins. After that it kind of reverted to norm, Bertrand going on the overlap, Redmond hanging back and going inside, lack of movement and too much of a gap between the midfield and the attack. 2nd half it didn't really change, we had a few decent opportunities which Butland kept out - but you'd argue that they were straight at him, rather than to either side. For me, still not enough clear cut opportunities in the game. Too slow to build from the midfield to the attack, and a lack of options to open the game and spread the wide players. I think we play narrow as per a instructions, I don't see why else Redmond holds back as he does - makes no sense to me. There was a moment in the 2nd half where someone picked the ball up and ran, and ran and ran...got into the box, was tackled though. But that's what you need from the midfielders, notably the likes of Davis. Who was it that did that run though? Jack flaming Stephens. That said it all for me. So we've gone 19 home games and I'm still none the wiser as to what Claude is trying to implement. It's not a press, it's not a fast counter attacking style, it's not complete backs against the wall defending - I don't know what he's trying to do, I don't think the players do either. Maybe he's had the right idea's, but he's certainly not executed them correctly.

Fan of his as well. Posted this yesterday about him - http://theinsidechannel.com/guide-roger-schmidts-tactics-bayer-leverkusen/

Don't be silly.

If he thinks the answer is more strikers, then hopefully the board will tell him to do one.

Fair enough, knew it was one or the other! Think he's a good player personally.

To be fair, I didn't quite understand the booing towards that. I just feel some fans needed to boo at that point. As a sub, it made sense. Pied was/and can play as a right winger and did at times last season, but it's all pretty much immaterial as it was too late anyway.

Sunderland fans have been against Moyes since about September. The fact you're trying to compare us with them says it all really. **** poor year.

Southampton manager Claude Puel: "To finish eighth is good. The game was a little picture of the season - many opportunities and possibilities without scoring. "Sometimes there is disappointment because often there was good football without reward. I am satisfied for all this season." We didn't finish 8th because we were decent...! I'm truly concerned if he's satisfied, we have underachieved hugely in my eyes.

Feels like he's being suffocated in this team, I wouldn't get rid of him. Better man management and a better central midfield and he'd be a lot more effective.

An incredibly simplistic way of looking at it to be honest.

Can't see it have being anything other than his own doing, this in his experience was the best way to cope with the extra games. The club leaned on him for the experience of 'busy seasons'. Can't see that the club would get involved in those sort of things.

Predictable, as the game went on I said...this has got 0-1 to stoke written all over it. Fair enough, their keeper made a few good saves, but it's still the same old. Too slow, too sideways, too predictable and the attacking players too isolated. We've got to the final game of the season and I'm still not entirely sure what Claude Puel is trying to implement here, I don't think even he knows.

Rotation is all well and good if you have results at the end of it, but we didn't. We rotated the **** out of the side so we could stay competitive, but we still played **** most of the season. Reckon we'd have got more points had he stuck with the same team more often. Another stubborn Puel way which is what's pushed him out of the door.

How the **** did we manage to finish 8th, seriously. What a truly horrendous mid-table bunch of teams this year.

We got to 8th on the back of everyone else being equally ****, it really isn't an achievement to shout from the roof tops about this year. I'm not quite sure how we've done it though.

Another interesting option, currently out of a job - (Roger Schmidt) http://theinsidechannel.com/guide-roger-schmidts-tactics-bayer-leverkusen/

on a serious note, where JWP is playing at the moment is - in my opinion - where he needs to develop. Part of the 3, flexible and aware enough to drop back in deeper if needed. Don't have to rely on him to control the central area's and be 'physical', and you can get the extra bonus of delivery from the right side.

Liverpool Semi final, Wembley, the San Siro, West Ham away, City away. All big moments this year, but all away. Best home day was the Inter game by a mile, nothing else has come close at home. League wise the home season hasn't started.

Debatable. I'd like to see him in midfield.

Probably Jay, he has form for having a few hissy fits.

Our pressing is a bit half arsed at the moment, and more often than not we are happy for the opposition to play in front of us - as long as we keep the shape in front of them. All I've seen Puel and other's say this year is that we have to rotate, we can't play a pressing game etc. But has either benefited us? We've still had tons of injuries and we've dropped tons of points in the league, so it begs the question if we should have just gone with the best team more often than not. I'm sure we'd have seen Hojbjurg develop a lot more if that was the case - I'm a big fan of his. But I've said in other threads, I don't think we're far away. It doesn't need a complete reinvention of the wheel, we're a better bet to 'go again' than any of the sides in and around us. We need a few tweaks to how we play and some better suited players brought into the central midfield and wide area's. We need a lot more pace in my opinion.