kitch

On the plus side, we've got no risk of Liverpool coming in for him....

I hope they do. Can't stand Wet Spam.

If by recently, you mean 1994, then yes

100% survival for me. The best years at this club were only 2-3 years ago, and I want to build on that. I LOVED the 2015 season.

He's a human being - sometimes you're just having a crap day, and you're not in the mood. I'm like that all the time. In fact, I hate people, generally. Maybe he's the same? One of our best players though. I've got plenty of time for him.

Hi Mauricio

PEH is probably my favourite player now. Love his attitude and his approach.

Think about it for a minute! Two scenarios: Scenario 1: The club continues to fall down the PL table (well, one more place). MP2 takes us down, we're back to 2011 again and lots of the good players leave. All the fans can rejoice in pointing the finger at the board, calling them a bunch of stupid s**t-c**ts, feel more validated that their opinions over the course of this season were proven to be correct and look forward to playing Brentford twice next season. The fans were right, the board was wrong - a victory for the fans. Scenario 2: MP2 suddenly gets his biscuits in order. We hit a purple patch, climb away to safety, and are clear enough by the end of the season that we can be allowed to blood in some youngsters in non-crucial games (the 'pathway'), who prove to be vital next season in our European push. The board are proven correct in their decision to not succumb to fan pressure by sticking with the seemingly hopeless manager who gets his s**t together and actually comes good, along with their decision to not reinforce the team over the January transfer window. The board have worked wonders in the past few years, but this would be their greatest victory (putting aside the fact we got this bad in the first place), and would prove that in future the fans need to have faith and pipe down when they get upset. The board was right, fans were wrong, but the board being spot-on would still be a victory for the fans, as it means the club is in very good hands. See? There's no bad outcome here, not if you look for the positives! Sure, relegation is normally considered a bad thing, but brush aside that little detail (and all the players who force their way out, having played at 1/3 capacity all season), and it's really a good thing that a team who were aiming for European football end up getting relegated the same season that they've twice broken their transfer record.

I was Puel 'in' until about a week before he was sacked. I rated him as a man, I thought he was intelligent, tactically aware and a good manager. I moved to the 'out' brigade because I was worried that, for whatever reason, he was failing to get results and showed no signs of turning it around. I lost faith in him a bit as the manager of Southampton, but I was still confident that he was a good manager. Ideally, he'd have had a strong run towards the end of the season like Koeman tended to do, and we'd have finished the season with more confidence about us. With MP2, it's different. I've never once had confidence in him. I was there for the first game against Swansea, and alarm bells rang that day for me. Puel was defensive, but knew when to try and kill a game off. MP2 doesn't go in for the kill - ever. The only reason we beat Everton so comprehensively is because they were so woeful, and we had an in-form Austin who was being allowed to score goals like it was a training drill. The only positive I've seen recently is the Spurs game, where the players did appear to be fighting for the manager. I'm sure he's a great guy, but I'm still waiting for him to make his case as manager of this club, because so far it just hasn't happened. In answer to the original question, I don't regret wanting Puel out. Nothing for me showed that the follow up season was going to be any better. The problem was in the appointment of his replacement. I do feel, however, that Puel was very poorly treated by the club, and that the negative press that surrounds the board regarding his sacking is justified.

To be fair, the manager knows him better than we do. He's worked with him before, probably knows he can be effective there.

I've got a GNVQ in IT, which makes it even worse that the fact even a complete lemming like me can see the problem, yet those paid an absolute fortune at the top, can't.

Because the rest of the squad have already played in a way that would benefit Gabbi in the past. It's the same team that made the most of Long in '15, by playing to his strengths. When they started playing to his feet last season, while he had his back to goal (presumably because that's how he'd been told to set up) he became hopeless. I don't think it's the striker's job to do everything (unless you want to fork out for an Aguero), it's the midfielders'. Tadic is capable of that killer pass, but is constantly played out on the right, where he is at his most ponderous. Davis was key in that style of play too, but recently he's out of sorts, and I suspect won't ever return to the '8/10 Davis' we saw a few years ago. We have proof that it worked, because that's the style we were playing with Gabbi arrived, and look what happened there. Ever since, we've been getting more and more reluctant to play a higher line, possibly because we don't have a Wanyama to mop up the mess, and haven't had a CB of VVD's quality since....well, VVD. All this does is leave Gabbi isolated on the front line, with no support at all. Last season, he was forever coming back into his own half looking for the ball, such was the defensive manner the team was set up. He, along with Austin, is a natural finisher. Add to that the fact that he's much more creative (2nd goal against Utd in the EFL Final proves that) and I really feel for the bloke. I don't even think he needs a 2nd striker there, he just needs some bloody support from the attacking midfielders behind him, who I'm guessing have the reins on them due to the manager's seemingly complete reluctance to attack the opposition.

I'd say that, in effect, we need to alter our game to adapt to the players we've got, who've proven what they can do when utilised. The treatment of Gabbiadini recently has been one of the bigger facepalms the club has made amongst supporters. Someone has said it further up - we're relying on Shane '6-goals-a-season-striker' Long to keep us up. It's going to end in tears. The squad is a decent squad, on the whole. Gabbiadini is one of the better parts of it, IMO. Not using him is madness.

PEH.

All the talk of Davis having a howler of a game, yet all the highlights I saw (admittedly only MoTD) showed him in the thick of it, and also being instrumental in the build up to the JWP goal?

I like him. Puts in a shift, and as others have said, it can't be easy being out for months at a time, and then just being thrown in and asked to handle it. Then factor in the injury etc. Never seems to complain, just acts like a professional and gets on with it. Certainly not the level we need for a starter, but a perfect backup RB in my opinion.

Completely agree. Something's not right at a deeper level than just the manager. That said, I also believe this manager is tactically inept, which is a lethal combo. Two weeks ago, I'd have said we won't get dragged into the bottom three mess. Now? I genuinely think we're in trouble. It's going to be just like the old days, only we've got no MLG!

My thoughts exactly!

I was gutted we didn't go in for him back in the summer. Class player.

Jesus! Glad I didn't get that last minute ticket after all!

I like Shearer too, especially with his insight from a forward's point of view. He's perfectly qualified to comment on practically any attacking move, by any team, as far as I'm concerned. I actually don't mind Keown from the defensive POV, but only to a point. I also like Henry, and would say Jenas is quite good on air and in the studio, but not so great in the commentary box. Souness talks sense, but just can't be dealing with hoddle. And yes, Sutton is a reason to switch off. Awful!

Spot on. It's like Henry said at half-time; If you want the penalty, you've got to let him trip you up! He would have tripped him up, it would have been a penalty, but he went down by himself. Smith committed a dive, before Boufal committed a foul. Ref got it spot on IMO.

How did PEH do? Was he playing a more advanced role, or was he back with Romeu?

I think Bertrand started to tail off in the last 15-20mins. Up to that point, brilliant, but the standard of his passing and the effort seemed to thin out a little bit. But then, complacency is a cruel mistress!

Eddie Howe? Bournemouth/Burnley?