GGalpin

I can tolerate him losing the ball or making wrong decisions in trying to win games for moments like Saturday when he turns a 0-0 into a win; he's the only player in the squad other than Gabbiadini who can do that in my opinion. He came over injured, didn't have a preseason and perhaps we will see a much more consistent player this year. Having said that, I don't think that Pellegrino will as he strikes me as a conservative manager who won't take that risk until the last ten minutes like he has the past nine or so games.

One of my proudest days as a Saints fan. Walking up loads of stairs to see the iconic ground open out in front of me from the concourse, a stadium I never thought I'd see Saints play in, and then hear OWTSGMI echo round the San Siro. Didn't really matter to me that we lost; of course I wanted us to win but it meant a lot even without the win. Hell of a noise when Inter scored though!

It's crazy. My better half is a Villan and when we went to Bristol City away this season, we got to Ashton Gate just as the City and Villa players were arriving. City players walked through the car park, taking time to have photos etc; Villa were straight off the coach with no player stopping (not surprising when Terry was booed mind); however, Steve Bruce waited for a good ten minutes for photos and autographs which was decent of him.

Same as me, nice alternative but shouldn't be more than second choice. Never got why players like Mane and Pelle get constant flak and others don't simply because they run around.

I get that, but I'd rather singing Tadic's name than having a go at one of our few players capable of being a matchwinner.

Villa have the players car park all fenced off with them having to have stuff passed through bars for them to sign; no wonder there's a disconnect.

If Saints fans supported every player like they do with Long, we'd have a brilliant support. Had a standing ovation against United despite not really having much effect.

in fairness, Monk I believe I'm right in saying is a coach of some sort and does have connections in coaching. Even if he doesn't know himself, he may know others who do. I'm not sure how much influence Eric Black would have (if anything going from assistant to coach would surely diminish his influence) but he may know better.

I'd agree with that. Strikes me how after five years of playing 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 and most of the age groups from u23s down playing it, a lot of the fans seem to clamour for 442 clearing it to Shane Long to chase it for Austin to goalhang. Even in League One we played far more attractive football than that.

If the line of thinking was after the players complained about Puel, that a new manager would be able to get a tune of them, then clearly it hasn't worked. I don't blame either Puel or Pellegrino for the lack of goals as I don't think our attacking options are good enough, and they don't seem to be link together in the same way Tadic/Pelle/Mane or Rodriguez/Lambert/Lallana could. I feel that they need to buy another forward, but I don't really see how that would improve it unless we sign 2-3; do we sign a striker to play off like Lambert, or a forward to come from wide positions to score goals like Mane or Rodriguez? Even then that may not work.

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Yep, Gabbiadini against West Ham.

He's a good player for me but frustratingly inconsistent. Thing is for him a lot of our attacks go through him; when he's good he looks great, when he's not on it he looks awful. If he wasn't the star man in that attack and had one or two other players who were the main guys, with him chipping 7-8 goals a season to support them, I think he'd be regarded better, but because he's one of the few decent attackers we have he looks worse. He seems to be one of those players who become better with better players around him, rather than being the big fish in a smaller pond.

No problem. My subscription ran out and searched Twitter for the new code- didn't see it on here so thought it'd be helpful!

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Valid point. None of them are remotely strong enough for the Premiership, although I suppose Redmond would make a decent winger due to his pace. As the Worcester Warriors and Leicester Tigers are bottom of the Premiership perhaps they could do with him. In terms of the Premier League, what the English top flight in terms of football has been called for the past ten years, I'd think all four would get in the majority of the teams outside the top six.

It's nothing new, he is in charge of set pieces so that's presumably what he's telling them and he's done since arriving at Saints. He's even done it for England before ( 01:39 in the video below if you don't believe that) so your theory of suddenly getting involved is nothing new. [video=youtube;-KuQ-J4_b44] Oh, and I'm sure Eric Black has little influence considering he is just a coach. But, you know, agendas and all that.

I'm not saying Les Reed has got every decision right, but considering the circumstances he's done a very good job. Nor am I saying Cortese was all bad; we got promoted twice so he must have done something right. But I don't think he was Mr Perfect and Les is Mr Can't Do Right, either.

You might not care about the off-field stuff, but it affects what happens on the pitch. Why did we have to sell players? To service large debts. Who accrued that debt? Oh, and that squad "that was at no risk of being dismantled until his departure" rather ignores Rickie Lambert almost being sold to West Ham before Les "Sell Everything" Reed, er, pulled the plug on it and didn't sell him in that window. That's before you get to this football chairman deity agreeing to sell Morgan Schneiderlin for £10m in summer 2014, before Les stopped that and sold him a year later for £25m. The only times big clubs came in for players, one left (AOC) and one had a deal agreed for a silly price considering he was one of our top players (MS). If those big clubs had come in whilst Nicola was in charge, don't you think they wouldn't still want to go just because he was chairman?

I'd quite like to see Tadic wide left and Redmond wide right for a game. Tadić, as ADutchSaint, seems to be far better on the left linking with Bertrand and Redmond keeps running into cul-de-sacs on the left before either passing back or losing the ball. It feels like he has too much responsibility on his shoulders in attack at the moment and when he doesn't play well, we don't play well.

The Vietto links seem to be coming from one of the Forest Echo News 'reporters', who let's just say... https://www.sportsjoe.ie/football/forest-echo-news-simon-rowntree-twitter-50275

We need someone with end product. Adama Traore is a headless chicken who has a poor injury record- the reason he was at Villa and now Boro is because that is his level and until he develops an ability to cross a ball or at least learn not to keep running into cul-de-sacs, that will be his peak. People give Redmond stick, but he is twice the player.

Ex-Ajax and now Feyenoord goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer would suggest otherwise.

Oh Wesley Hoedt to the tune of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes