Smirking_Saint

Can't really see how that's les' fault though. He negotiated higher fee's for generally all of our players, getting 75m for VVD was daylight robbery. That said, I can't see how he can be overly criticised for this TW. Looking at the facts (and by facts i mean whats widely reported) Walcott was done, agent changed his mind at the last minute, looked for other options, walcott didn't fancy a relegation scrap Carrillo - Done, supported by the manager, likely a manager decision, lets see how it works out. 20m is last years 10m Promes - Assuming this is dead in the water, apparently fee agreed with player and club, Spartak wanted a replacement, or money all upfront, apparently club didn't have the equity. My real question is where is the money ? I really don't see that as Les' issue TBH. He is almost certainly set budgets and maximum values for players/wages etc. The money was there to splash on Ramirez/Osvaldo when we were under ML's tenure. There has obviously been a huge sea change since KL and Gao. We seem to have cut back, been more careful with our money. Thats the real worry for me. And personally I would suggest that Gao, KL and Krueger must be very comfortable with criticism aimed at Reed and not them

The whole situation is completely mental. Sacking Silva, having this new guy ready to rock and roll. Selling their best players to a rival...... and yet people think we have it bad

But this in essence doesn't actually change the situation that we are currently in ? We needed a striker that can hold the ball up, provide support from the front and weigh in with his weight in goals too. I know its lazy but there is a reason many of us say that we needed to replace Pelle, and I agree. I'm sure that there is a player in there somewhere, and I am very hopeful that Carillo can stuff all of our words down our throats. Realistically Saints have a decent scouting/analytical department, and I'm sure they have done far more research than we have. However, I need to echo what CB Fry said earlier, we needed a player to change the dynamic, to allow MoPe (who apparently we are sticking with) to get the most out of his stubbornness...hhhmmm.... chosen tactics. Long isn't the answer, he works hard but invariably this means he is never in the box when we need him Gabbiadinni isn't the answer, unfortunately it seem he doesn't work in a lone front man formation (though why he isn't played in AM like he did at Napoli and Italy I don't know) Austin isn't the answer, unfortunately he can't be relied upon, and although he is a goalscorer doesn't hold the technical ability to link up play. I'm hoping GC can hit the ground running, but as a player that hasn't played much, isn't used to the league or the system, history says this may take a while.

In his defence you are called Larry

Both Guido and Gabbi would be better options that Austin IMO Yeah he has scored some, but he has missed some absolute sitters for a guy that has probably had better service than any of our team put together this season

Why ? He has pretty much only got one major decision wrong in his tenure that I can see, and thats MoPe. Thats unless you are an over the top, bandwagoning pessimist with no idea how football business works........... oh

Nice to see you are still bat**** mental

-------------McCarthy------------------ Cedric -- Hoedt -- Yoshida -- Bertrand ---------------Romeu------------------- ---------Hoj----- ----Lemina--------------- -----------(tadic or boufal)---------------- --------Gabbi------Long----------------- 4312 for me, play either boufal in what I see as his best position driving through the middle or just play a lacklustre Tadic again behind two strikers. Gives both Long and Gabbi the help they will need upfront, hopefully will allow us to win a midfield battle that will be where IMO the game is won (Its where they beat us at home IMO) Width should come predominantly from the full backs, Romeu can drop in to the back 2 and operate as a 3rd CB in the attacking phase, Hoj and Lemina to provide the steal, the recycling of the ball and hopefully one will be able to push forward and make himself available when required. Realistically we will play the same way as he always has, have a great first 10 minutes, and then get overrun at which point you'll notice the players lose all faith in whats happening and we end up losing 2-0 Also expect one of two things, 3 like for like changes that effectively change zilch or some mental 5 upfront arrangement which further allows Watford to punish us. Posted this in the watford match thread, don't see any need to change the above really, and will probably post it next week too. Hopefully traffic is ok and weather isn't too bad sunday, unfortunately thats the only thing I think about going to St Marys right now, what a sad state of affairs being a fan is

If we move to HBA from Promes then I think i'll kindly donate my ST to Winchester councils bin collection agency

Brilliant player, will be more than happy with Promes.

Im hearing this too much to be honest, and I get it. I understand that there is a lack of reasonable managerial targets out there, unfortunately this list has dwindled down through our lack of any real action. But that said, we cannot carry on with MP. As this thread proves the atmosphere with all things Saints is now unfortunately completely toxic. From the forums, to the pubs, to the stands and social media we have fans arguing with fans and everyone bemoaning good ship Saints and all that sail with her. That can't be a situation that can carry on and has been caused almost completely by the lack of any action AT ALL from Saints, including a lack of any real communication (that isn't ill timed and ill perceived) The problem is that although there are no obvious replacements it is clear that the job he is doing is sub par. Im of course not a qualified manager but I have my coaching badges, have worked in football and played at a reasonable level so would like to think I know a bit about the game. The first thing that worries me is that he has not, from my memory, ever kept the same 11 at any point all year. His tactics, seem to almost everyone I speak to, to be at odds to what would get the best out of our playing staff and have clearly failed to work without a change all season. His substitutions are bemusing, reactive and often make no changes to the game whatsoever. And I feel I need to call into question his motivational techniques, due to our insistence to effectively roll over in the second half, or against any real pressure. As for replacements, there are a few out there, Im not saying how realistic they are, or how well they will do here but; Tuchel Bielsa Blanc Bilic Hughes Enrique All out of work And Wagner Jovanovic Johnson Rowett Are all I would expect to be able to prize away should we need to. (Rowett probably not due to his new contract)

Using my last post to agree with this What a ****ing mess

Leaders I agree with, I posted a long waffling twitter rant the other day that bemoans the lack of leaders throughout the club right now. I mean, who is accountable for this mess ? Gao and Kat are basically absent owners, we hear nothing we see little Krueger seems to be the PR mouthpiece with little actual understanding of whats going on, yet dodges any questions about whether he carries the can or not Reed is the footballing guy, who I actually think if you take everything as a whole has done a decent job, but now seems has the ability to make decisions as he see's fit with no repercussions. Like you say I can't see any leaders in the club from a playing perspective right now, Romeu maybe, but just doesn't seem the right type. Pellegrino seems to have the backbone of a flump. As far as the players are concerned, this is the same team, plus a new CB and DM and a full season of Gabbi that finished 8th, got to a cup final and had Europe to contend with. Theres no reason why they shouldn't be performing better than they are other than the fact that the manager seems to be inept and I would suggest, having watched every game this year the players seem to know that. It seems to me as soon as they come under pressure its as if they almost know it will only end one way.

I imagine MoPe's post match talk is going to be pretty heavy on the side of the fact it was a blatant handball, but in reality he handed the whole second half to them, YOU CANNOT SIT BACK FOR 45 MINUTES AND HOPE TO WIN I am completely lost at how he has not figured this out by now, I am usually a complete optimist but this guy is tactically inept, clearly unable to motivate the team, has little to zero game management, has proven how easily he is out manoeuvred by pretty much every other manager in the league. As I thought FF wasn't the problem, AM doesn't look any real improvement on him, I won't blame AM completely though, Dacoure was completely untracked despite having 3 DM's on the pitch. Why in the flying **** do we carry Tadic EVERY MATCH... I am not denying there is talent there, but he is pure luxury, he doesn't work at all, doesn't harry, doesn't track, doesn't tackle and right now doesn't really add anything creatively either so why leave him on IF he is planning to try to hold on ? The gap between our defence and attack in the second half was simply massive, so even when we did manage to nick the ball back from a Watford that were enabled (by us by the way, not necessarily by their changes) to camp in our half we have no where to go, our FBs are pushed back by their wingers and our DMs and attacking players are central, so relieving pressure is a near impossible task. We have no big man, Long works hard but look how easy it was for Watford and Palace to release pressure and build from Benteke/Okore/Deeney. Please for the love of god get rid of this clown, Im sure he is a lovely bloke but prem standard manager he very very much is not.

-------------McCarthy------------------ Cedric -- Hoedt -- Yoshida -- Bertrand ---------------Romeu------------------- ---------Hoj----- ----Lemina--------------- -----------(tadic or boufal)---------------- --------Gabbi------Long----------------- 4312 for me, play either boufal in what I see as his best position driving through the middle or just play a lacklustre Tadic again behind two strikers. Gives both Long and Gabbi the help they will need upfront, hopefully will allow us to win a midfield battle that will be where IMO the game is won (Its where they beat us at home IMO) Width should come predominantly from the full backs, Romeu can drop in to the back 2 and operate as a 3rd CB in the attacking phase, Hoj and Lemina to provide the steal, the recycling of the ball and hopefully one will be able to push forward and make himself available when required. Realistically we will play the same way as he always has, have a great first 10 minutes, and then get overrun at which point you'll notice the players lose all faith in whats happening and we end up losing 2-0 Also expect one of two things, 3 like for like changes that effectively change zilch or some mental 5 upfront arrangement which further allows Watford to punish us.

Realistically if Walcott wasn't originally a Saint, and we were not crying out for reinforcements would we really be screaming out to spunk 20-30m on him ? And pay him around 100k a week ? I wouldn't really, I can't see that he adds an awful lot more different than Boufal and Redmond offer us, put either in a better side and they probably wouldn't be a long way off of Walcott's contributions. Another thing is that signing him pretty much confirms we will carry on using a formation that just isn't working, as I can't see how you can squeeze him into a side that doesn't operate with wide men and strikers that the formation doesn't suit. I would say predominantly we need bigger striker that we can build attacks around, then we probably need another CB to replace VVD in some respect or another and only then, if we are still looking to spend look for a AM rather than a wide man, but thats just me. Walcott seems attractive from the outset, as I think most of us like the magic of a young player returning, personally I think we have more pressing needs. And I wouldn't blame him for buggering off to Everton for more money, a club in a better position and a manager that actually understands the game.

This really is a fantastic article which sums up where we are IMO

Not at all saying that this guy will be the player that changes things, I am sceptical, I don't think its unfair to comment on posters that may potentially be put off with spunking 20 million on this guy. His record hardly enthuses me with any real confidence. I have also seen him play a couple of times for Monaco, and never saw anything from him that made me excited in any way. That said, Ive been banging on in the stands about how we need a target man of sorts, Benteke didn't pose us too many problems in front of goal against CPFC but what he did do is act as an outlet, and a magnet for defenders. Not only that he made sure that the ball stuck in our half when they got there, something that we have lacked all year. Its not our retention that a massive problem, well, not until recently when Ive personally seen our movement dwindle. Its the fact that the ball comes back to us too quickly after poor passes and a lack of being able to hold it up in the final half. If Carillo can help with that aspect even a bit then it will help immeasurably. Pelle wasn't a world beater, but he was good at all the above, holding up, dragging defenders to him and winning headers, and that IMO is what we have missed over the last two seasons

I think thats more to do with the tactics MP employs which tends to see him everywhere except in the box where he is meant to be. There were a few times against Fulham (out of our very few attacks) that saw us break wide only to reach the box without a single other saints player anywhere near it, in fact I remember one where long was somewhere over on the Right wing

Pretty much spot on IMO We could of course try Gabbi in one of the AM slots behind long or Austin, personally I would play long as I think he offers more. I cant help but think however that removing our best striker from that position is daft though, the problem doesnt seem to be Gabbi's fault, he is making the right runs, just getting next to no service

Koeman? Pah. IMO Pochettino was the best manager we've had in the past decade - by a country mile. Now if we could have kept him... Both Poch and Koeman left for the same reason, the very same as Souness and Strachan under different boards. We are punching above our weight on a financial level. Hell, how can any sane fan actually moan at either Poch or Koeman leaving. Look at the opportunity they both have to build some sort of small legacy and build their own brand. Im sure we could afford a little more than what we have done over the past few seasons, but we have managed ourselves sensibly and sustainably. We could never afford to fund the ambitions that Poch/Koeman have to be honest even if we could afford the wages they believed they were worth

Ralph is very much in the 'Ill say what you want to hear' mould. So I remain to see whether our strategy changes significantly, and for that to happen then we would need to see a step change in spending to compliment what we have here already. We are still a selling club, in pretty much every sense of the word. Ive not got a massive problem with that, especially if we have actually found our backbone this year. If we keep showing improvements like we have been then theres no reason why we cant all be happy with that. Hoedt is exactly the sort of signing that is in keeping with that strategy though. Young, hungry, not too expensive, rough edges to smooth out. Of course long term the timescales and asking prices may have changed but ultimately its 'business as usual'

Get in the real world, we arent big enough to hold onto him any longer than another summer, and if we did it will likely damage our long term strategy. I know people arent a fan but our current model seems to be to allow ourselves to be a stepping stone for talented young players. That benefits us in the short to medium term, allowing us to progress under their talents and sell for reinvestible profits. Of course, we need to prove our back bone too, which hopefully we have in this instance. But you can only hold our nerve for so long. If he doesnt want to be here then you cant have a detrimental figure in the dressing room. Eventually the players that agree with Saints view point will gradually grow weary of the situation. Therefore our best bet is to have an informal agreement, so that we get the best of the player for another year, and he gets his way in the future. Theres nothing wrong with compromising here, its not a long term battle we can win. The important thing for me is to ensure that he remains here until next year, that strengthens our position, unless of course an astronomical bid is made late on, that we would be stupid to turn down. I do believe that situation is still very much on the horizon, hence our current crop of 6 CBs. Im also curious as to why Sakho is still at LFC, especially due to the relationship between him and Klopp. Expect a last minute scramble for VVD IMO, with Sakho being offered in some capacity.

Pretty much exactly how I read the situation. I firmly believe that VVD will stay, unless an offer comes in over and above our asking price. I fullu imagine the conversation has gone like this; "You arent being sold this window, settle in, help Hoedt get used to the prem and we will not stand in your way in Jan/summer" Id suggest that will still be subject to a reasonable bid being presented to us however. All in all very happy with the Hoedt signing. I think it spells the end of Gardos, but then thats been a long time coming, you may even see Bednerak move out on loan.

Hard to blame him for any of the goals at the weekend really, the first wasnt the best parry but he saw it late and his defence let him down badly. Other than that he had a good game. He is our best option for now, without spending rediculous money. He really isnt horrendous at the simple stuff, he looked a lot better thanhis englis counterpart for me this weekend, were you there ? Posting inflammatory threads/posts and massive knee jerks negatively against our players seems to be your go to thing