Saint86

Is this about Tadic, Boufal or Redmond? But in all seriousness, Tadic has been poor for quite a while. He also hasn't helped himself by kicking off last season ("i'm the main man, stop subbing me"), despite being regularly knackered after 60min (doing what I don't know). He also has a terrible habit of waving his arms around like someone has shot a small child every time the ball to him isn't perfect... much like Pelle. All of this would be acceptable if his end product was good, but sadly it isn't at the moment and hasn't been for a while. He barely manages to score when he is given a gift from 12yards, he slows play down, he doesn't press, and he constantly wastes possession. I don't want to slate the guy, and will be even handed to him in praise and criticism when in the stands... but lately he has been on the poorer side of average. It would be fair to drop him for a few games and try something new (say Boufal, Davis/JWP/Redmond). Whatever we do, Boufal clearly has some talent and should be given a run of games given our current attacking line ups are misfiring. Like I said, I don't want to be harsh to Tadic, but he hasn't been great lately. Time to give others a chance unless he improves. Maybe a spell out of the team may give him a chance to refocus, and give the team a chance to find a more effective style?

What is the point of having a chinese mafia boss (who has had his rivals executed) in charge, if we're trapped by the same rules as everyone else?

This is top trolling

I never said they had, I'm just observing people saying that they are putting people on ignore for differing opinions. The only time I use ignore is for trolls (that don't offer amusement - Glasgow is therefore safe), or abusive posters. Also, as a response to your earlier post Fry, I don't want to berate the clubs management, I am merely pointing out that they could be better. If calling Les Reed a, "slightly better than average" director of football is berating him then PC has truly taken over :/ I merely voice my frustration that a lot of our fans want us to just be grateful we have a club. Whilst we should all be grateful for that (!), that doesn't mean we should be content to just exist. Everything that has happened since the takeover means we can be so much more, and we should always strive for that. I'd rather the club had the ambition to break into the champions league (and courageously but sadly missed it), than had the ambition to come mid table (and missed it repeatedly). Because, lets be honest, Saints routinely miss their ambitions (we love the club anyway)... I guess what I'm trying to say, by striving to be the best you can be and you'll achieve more than aiming low. Nothing ****es me off more than aiming for mediocrity when we all know as fans that Saints can be better. And also, if we have a fanbase that accepts mediocrity, it makes it a lot easier for the club management to deliver it and get away with it. Fortunately we put enough pressure in games to get a change from Puel. We all hate Scousers... But their mentality carries a certain weight. They haven't won the premier league in 25years, but their fans shouting about how massive they are still sees them viewed as one of the biggest 2-3 clubs in the country.

Very mature place this. If people don't like your opinion they put you on ignore Basically the hive mind echo chamber on a microscale.

The arguments in this thread are just hilarious. "We can't smash the glass ceiling" - Yet Tottenham and Leicester did and can... "Our fans should have tried to follow saints when we struggled under Lowe" - Then 4 Top 12 finishes, european qualification and a cup final" The simple fact of the matter is that we have much the same fans now as we did when we were in the premier league before. We followed the club down through the leagues, we followed them back up, we followed them to Wembley twice. Mental how fan's can't deal with other fan's views. The club could have achieved a fair amount more in the last few years. And whilst we've been blessed as fans lately, there is no point hiding from that fact that we could (and should) have done more. It doesn't make us "unhappy" as saints fans to look at the reality of the club and discuss it. But it does make you a head in the sand numpty if you think the board are the perfect business / sporting tacticians, whose backsides the sun doth shine out of.

We should have sold him, and invested the money in the 2 quality players to help our attack. More fool us if we think wasting a few months and selling January is of any benefit. The players would be just as content if we showed ambition on the field and actually looked like we could achieve something.

No point arguing with Fry mate, he is pure troll in chief on here. I agree with you, Boufal looks to be our best creative player and we should be using him. Tadic has been gash for 6 months and should just be dropped.

lol cheers fry, some usual snidey put downs from one of the multi account masters. Ta.

Totally disagree Duck. We came 8th and were far far closer to the relegation zone than europe. We managed 46 points ffs - Any other season and we'd have been ****ting the bed from Christmas onwards. Saints have gone backwards in recent years and it's hard to argue differently surely? And in comparison, Liverpool will mount a title challenge with 50% of our team plus Coutinho (who we failed to sign despite having his favourite manager at the club - see also Toby and his staggeringly unaffordable 60k per week wages at tottenham). I called Les Reed a slightly better than average DoF, and to be blunt, if we'd had a better DoF we'd have achieved (or got closer to) our potential in recent years. Sadly those opportunities has been missed, and have been and gone. Our potential has changed accordingly and we are now aiming to achieve a top 10 finish only. Its a shame to refer to that oft used expression of old, but it is very much a "dell sized mentality" to think that settling for top 10 ambitions is good enough given where the club was at 2-4years ago. We had a great chance to achieve something, we didn't... and now liverpool will achieve it instead, but with our players. I'm sorry if that grates with some people and seems crazy, but likewise I do not understand people who set such low ambitions themselves. It just breeds mediocrity. And anyone who thinks saints have pushed on and achieved the potential that was on offer after Poch, or after Koeman is kidding themselves in my eyes. We have had two of the Country's best managers, a fantastic crop of players, and huge tv monies - and used all that to achieve 46 points last year. That is categorically **** poor management and why on earth do people want to argue differently? Anyway, its just a point of view and there is no point arguing about it. The only people who can change things are those at the top level of the club. And on their recent track record, I see nothing that dispels my belief that the last few seasons (pre Puel) were the best saints fan's will get for a generation. What a wasted opportunity.

What we achieved is to keep a disruptive and expensive asset at the club for the sake of pride. Instead we could have sold him and bertrand for circa £85-90m and got in some genuine quality players. Waisted window.

I think this is fair. He has been a mildly better than average director of football. Strange though, this is yet another post which highlights the delusions of saints web.... Les Reed has been pivotal in the past 6years at sms and behind all our key signings and appointments... Except any failures like Ramirez or Osvaldo ofc. It really is laughable logic. Les Reed took control when Cortese left. And since then the clubs momentum has stalled and now started to decline. How much of that is down to Les Reed is as always debatable, and he could of course have done worse. But lets not pretend we've had a world class leader in Les Reed. We've lost manger teams, coaches, scouts all to bigger clubs. But Les Reed has never been poached or even approached.

People still struggling to accept that Davis is one of the first names on the teamsheet?

In Les we trust!! Although we have weaker attacking options this year than last year... Bit of a poor joke if it remains that way. Can't wait till Gabbi and Austin inevitably get injured...

Have Liverpool been tapping up the Ox then... How else would he know about their interest and what they will offer him. Imagine both Arsenal and Chelsea are both pretty annoyed right now!

Shouldnt take 15 months for the blindingly obvious to happen though should it.

Les Reed. Sign some bloody good attackers or get your bag and leave?

"Utter codswallop!" Please read before you flame others on a forum . Where do I say that we signed those players in the championship!! GAH, you're as bad as fry! I was merely stating that the fact we had good championship players was a significant factor behind our prem successes. And that is the case. Which you agree with at least

That isn't what I am saying Fry, I am saying that in the premier league, we basically had the majority of the championship team of the season, all of which have now been sold for a very tidy sum, and all of which were integral to our best seasons. Yet we no longer sign players from the championship team of the year. That is directly where we should be looking imho. *I am not saying that we signed those players to get promoted, not sure whether you misread what I put or are misquoting me on purpose?

Its honestly really bad irony. The year the club decide to end their "selling club image", is the year we really should bin off VVD and Bertrand... We'd get lots of money, ditch two trouble makers who both CBA, and refresh the squad with change to spare. I would sell to anyone but Liverpool, unless they do offer circa £75-80m.

Its not that, our model has become very risk averse. We came up and immediately signed players so our squad was the best of the championship - Morgan, Clyne, Lallana, Lambert, Fonte etc etc. That is directly what all our success stemmed from. But we have thrown it out the window and gone already are the days where we used to have a core of talented, driven and energetic players used to english football. We aren't even linked with championship players, when the simple fact is we should be all over players like Ryan Sessegnon, Cariney, knockaert, brown etc. Its actually very poor from the club and we have completley lost our "way". Even Poch played gallagher, and will finish better than both Puel and Pellegrino... And whilst you need the addition of some foreign class (Wanyama, Mane, VVD etc.), the core should remain as a progressive and energetic squad, who are used to the tempo and aggression of english footy. Right now, saints have zero identity. And that is why we are struggling.

Davis is a great player for Saints and frankly anyone who singles him out for criticism over most of the squad knows jack schitt about football. He has been ever present since Adkins... That tells you all you need to know.

I have it as 25%, but there or there abouts.

As fans, we are being taken for a ride. Sadly the majority are a bit slow on the uptake and it takes us circa 3 years to get with the times.

Really?