LuckyNumber7

Agree with all of that, great post. I also stayed to the end last night, it was atrocious but no way would I want Puel back, last season drained me of my enthusiasm and I have no doubt we would be in a similar situation if he was still here. Going to St Mary's the last 18 months has been a joyless experience. Apathy reigns.

Forster at RB

My brother struggling to get out of Northampton to get down for the game. Could be quite a few people who don't make it which is a shame. Just wet and windy down here.

Can't believe anyone who saw all our home games last season would now be wishing we didn't sack Puel. Granted we had a few better away games but at home we were not only very poor but also excruciatingly dull, and most importantly we were getting worse not better He has made a decent start at Leicester, nothing more nothing less, but he has far better and pacier attackers to play his defensive safety first tactics knowing there is a good chance the likes of Vardy and Mahrez will nick a goal on the break. His crime here was employing negative team selection and tactics when we already had relatively weak attacking options and trouble scoring and it made for grim viewing. You have to adjust how you play to suit the personnel you have at your disposal. I'm far from convinced MP is any better or the right man for us but I'm so glad we don't have to endure Puel's cure for insomnia anymore which stopped some people near me from renewing their ST's in the summer. Still wish him well though, was just the wrong fit for us.

You need to watch him play then Seriously though, aside from a 1/2 month purple patch last season when he was called up to the England squad he has been woeful. Can't shoot, can't dribble, dubious passing ability and his anticipation/movement off the ball is non-existant, not to mention his constant berating of team-mates for his own shortcomings. I would love him to prove me wrong but let's be honest, it's not like he hasn't been given plenty of opportunities under both the previous and current managers. Anyway great news about Sims, hopefully the injury hasn't affected him too much as I think he has a very bright future. Look forward to seeing him in matchday squads soon.

Tough job but delighted for him to be back in management, hope he does well.

Agree, he also has a bit of charisma about him which I think is good for the dressing room, he is one of the few players whose interviews I actually enjoy listening to. He may not be the most mobile but a striker's main job is to score goals and Austin does that. The only games I would leave him out for are the likes of City away where we need a bit more pace up top t hit n the break, otherwise he has to start most games for me.

Absolutely pathetic but sadly not surprising, the world has gone mad. If they banned everyone who sang that chant there would hardly be anyone left so why don't they just be done with it and play all games in an empty stadium, that way no-one can be offended by anything and there will be no atmosphere, just how the authorities want it.

Ironically, that was arguably our best home performance of the season at least up until around the hour mark when we just seemed to either run out of ideas or give up. I'm Redmond's biggest critic but he was ok yesterday and at least showed a bit more willingness to run at defenders. Ultimately though it's the same old issues that did for us, the manager's negativity and complete lack of balls to try two up front in search of the win combined with a statue in goal who the oppo just need one chance to score past. I feel so sorry for Gabbiadini right now as he gets zero service and then is taken off as if it's his fault we haven't created anything. I would like to see him and Austin together as a two feeding off each other as given the chance they are both natural goalscorers, but Gabbi is usually so isolated he looks seriously ****ed off and who can blame him? I actually thought apart from the usual early leavers the support was pretty decent yesterday, particularly earlier in the second half, but the team didn't respond at all. That for me is one of the biggest problems, I have never felt so disconnected from a Saints team as I do now. Apart from 2 or 3 players I am developing a real dislike for a majority of our squad and couldn't care less if they buggered off in January. I'm disappointed McQueen hasn't been given a go too. Hate sacking managers especially this early in the season, but I'm now in the MP out camp as there are just no signs of improvement or hope and we are only heading in one direction with him in charge. Change is needed.

Same thing happened at a few other grounds as well. There are so many minute's applause these days that people seem to have forgotten what a minute's silence is.

Exactly this. Of course there were some highlights last season, but they were rare jewels in a sea of turd. Last season for the first time I actually dreaded going to games rather than looking forward to it. Yes part of the problem was down to us having a weaker squad, but mostly it was down to Puel's negative, safety first tactics. That Hull game was a particular lowlight but there were too many like that. Having said that, as glad as I am he is gone, he came across as a very decent bloke and I wish him well.

Yes I too feel sorry for Jan and Erwin. I'd probably have him back, perhaps this experience will have humbled him a little.

Hindsight? Most on here have been saying for weeks that Boufal should be given a chance ahead of Redmond. Until Saturday Redmond had played almost every minute of every game, two assists is hardly anything to write home about and despite having all those shots he has failed to score, as most of them have been crap. Meanwhile Boufal has had a few minutes here and there at the end of a few games. It's patently obvious to anyone with half a brain that Boufal is a far more talented player than Redmond, I think the booing was aimed at the decision rather than Redmond himself, it's just people's frustration coming out and tbh I think it's perfectly understandable. The sarcastic cheers for Forster are well out of order though.

I think it's dangerous relying so heavily on stats as they rarely tell the whole story. As the home team we should be expected to take the initiative and attack but I don't recall many games where we were peppering the opposition's goal and missing loads of good chances. Think we'll have to agree to disagree. I prefer to rely on what I'm seeing with my own eyes and imo the football was every bit as boring and negative as most of the scorelines suggest.

Some did yes, the trouble is so did we a lot of the time. Sideways, backward passing and when we did finally go forward usually only Gabbi anywhere near the penalty box. It was painful to watch. That Hull game in particular was worse than anything we've seen this season performance wise. Of course there were bright spots, I went to the Arsenal QF and yes we played very well that night, but you can't deny we were largely playing Arsenal's reserve team and they couldn't have looked more disinterested. The bad far outweighed the good under Puel.

Yes a lot of revisionism going on, bar a handful of good performances, last season was a real grind. Puel isn't a terrible manager but he's certainly nothing special and I've never been so bored watching Saints as I was last season.

I agree on the face of it 8th place is an acceptable finish and of course I don't expect us to challenge the big clubs. However our points tally would, the vast majority of the time, have had us finishing lower mid-table and what isn't acceptable was (and still is) the complete lack of entertainment, attacking intent and as a result goals. Failing to score in our last five home games was a damning indictment of Puel's negativity as although our squad was weaker than under Koeman, our attacking players are still capable of much better than what we have seen this calender year if coached properly and used in a system that plays to their strengths. Finishing 8th last season papered over some pretty big cracks.

No we shouldn't have. Sacking Puel was the right decision, I was dreading another season of having to sit through the dross he served up and have no doubt that if he were still here we would be in a similar position. Unfortunately it looks so far like Pellegrino is much of the same but if he does turn out to be a poor appointment it doesn't suddenly make sacking Puel a mistake, it just means we've made another poor appointment. I agree with what others have said about our squad not being that bad, whilst not world-beaters I don't think Puel and now MP have got the best out of what they have. However eight games into his reign is too early to make a proper judgement so although I agree the signs so far aren't good, it's not time to be calling for his head...yet.

That article is spot on, could have easily been written by someone on here.

I'm not really one for wanting managers sacked without being given a fair crack, but have to admit MP is looking horrifically out of his depth and as others have said, worryingly there is no sign of improvement. The fact that some are pining for Puel shows how bad it is. My main concern is who to get in if we did sack him as there's hardly an abundance of inspiring names out there who would be willing to come here. I would give him a few more games but if we are still plodding along in the same way with the same stubborn team selections then it probably becomes time to act.

So given we can't sign anyone until January, is sticking with the proven failures Redmond/Tadic the answer to our non-goal scoring problems? I couldn't give a damn about stats, Boufal has looked far more likely to make something happen in his cameos than Redmond has playing almost every minute of every game. Redmond is a complete waste of a shirt. I do agree with you regarding McQueen though, I'm disappointed he hasn't had more game time this season and it's also a shame Sims hasn't been available.

This! I'll be tearing my hair out if I see Redmond in the starting lineup again tomorrow, he is one of the most ineffective players I've ever seen in a Saints shirt. We have two options, either stick with the same tactics and personnel which has seen us fail to score in nine of our last ten home games, or try something different. Bomb Redmond out and get Boufal in Gabbi into the starting eleven and see what they can do, it literally can't get any worse!

Damn, hearing this has almost brought a grown man to tears. 24 years a Saints fan and he's only behind MLT in the legend stakes for me. Was delighted when we signed him but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would be that huge a success. Seeing him score on his debut in the League Cup against Northampton seems like only yesterday, what memories he gave us. That debut goal for England I think we all celebrated as if it was a Saints goal, truly the stuff of fairytales. Thanks for the happy memories Rickie and enjoy your retirement, would love to see you back at the club in some capacity one day!

Yes I remember Boufal and McQueen being excellent that night. He needs to be given a proper run of games to see if he can cut the mustard, Redmond and Tadic have had plenty of game time and failed miserably, what have we got to lose? He may end up a big flop but we won't know unless we play him, even in his cameos he looks far more likely to create something than Redmond has all season.

MP looking just as stubborn and negative as Puel. It's madness to keep persisting with this shape and personnel when it has already proved so ineffective. Can't believe Gabbi is again left on the bench while the chocolate teapot Redmond plays AGAIN. Honestly where are the goals coming from?