Village Saint

I know its difficult to judge sometimes but I don't think he was being serious. I think everyone is awareness of their limitations as coaches.

Puel was in fact (and it is a fact not an opinion) the most successful manager in Saints history. In every season he was our manager we finished 8th in the top division AND reached the Final of a major cup competition. No-one else comes close. I am betting that Pellegrino wont equal this.

This is a remark of such stunning absurdity that I felt I just had to respond. Les Reed seek publicity! Blimey he is barely more visible than the invisible man. I have never seen him do a weekly press conference. That is always left to the manager. He rarely gives interviews (I am not complaining here). The only time I can remember him is when they do those new signing or new contract splashes in the press - well he is the one who does the negotiations so difficult to see who else could do it - and even these seem to be fewer these days. I in fact am very happy that he seems content to do the excellent job he does barely noticed. More power to his elbow.

I am a betting man and I am willing to bet that he doesn't score 15 in the two seasons added together. He had his swansong season last season and fair play to him but from now on in the niggles get harder to throw off; Bournemouth aren't set up the way Sunderland were; etc etc.

As a player of course he knows about winning both European competitions - he even scored in the final - as well as winning a National Cup with a relatively small club. He is also a very well regarded coach (which is I believe what the club are employing him to be) and in his only real managerial job (I am discounting his brief spell at Motherwell who were falling apart at the time following a spell of 'management' by Billy Davies) was very popular with the fans because of the attractive style of play Coventry adopted under him.

This is dead right and why most people's suggestions don't qualify. However, as farawaysaint suggests Papa Waigo comes close, although surely his full name was Papa Waigo - Offside.

No he wasn't. He had an excellent first half when Baggies stood off him and let him play. Once they started pressing physically in the second half Clasie just disappeared. It would have been madness to have played him against Manchester City - he would have been murdered. Far from being treated badly by Puel, he was given more chances than his weak performances - other than that one 45 minutes - merited.

I think we would all rather you supported a team in the Championship - how about Aston Villa? They have a good trophy winning record.

Given his age its no great surprise that he has been patchy until this season but clearly he has proved the doubters wrong with a consistent season and recently a string of excellent performances. It will be no surprise if he makes the England squad nor even the team given the lack of alternatives in a midfield in which some people are even suggesting a Bournemouth reserve player should be included!

Blimey. You will get persecuted like hell for putting out a sensible opinion on here but you sum the facts up very succinctly.

I agree. Nobody in their right minds would have bought any of those you name. The only one who even comes close is Sakho and there really are such big question marks over him that the cost was too great to make it worth the risk. As for Fonte he has been clearly shot all season. You would have to be blind to have not noticed his inability to turn in tight spaces - quite important for a centre-half. I think it was largely this - sadly inevitable at some point with the onward march of age - rather than his partner although certainly Van Dijk and Romeu do make it easier for the other man in the centre. The squad are also clearly much happier now he has gone which tells its own story. It does leave us vulnerable but Yoshida has been better than Fonte this season for sure and Stephens and Gardos just have to step up to the plate. That's why they are here. We will learn by the end of this season - perhaps before - if they are up to the challenge.

You name 3 players with great promise which looks increasingly like it will never be fulfilled. Great shame

There are some unbelievably weird posts on here from time to time but I think this is the strangest yet. Point 1 is that our keepers have most emphatically not been getting worse. Forster remains an excellent keeper who had a couple of weird games in which his kicking was awful. Yesterday he didn't put a foot wrong. Our reserve keeper has improved immeasurably since joining us - recognized by his call up to the national squad. Similarly Lewis has made great strides forward which is why he has been being included more often. Whether or not this is down to Watson's excellent coaching; opportunity or in Lewis's case simply experience is anyone's guess.

Absolutely spot on.

He in fact doesn't - not over his career to date. As to blocking anyone's path I could suggest quite reasonably that having a decent reserve right back should mean we are more able to be flexible about other positions when other people are missing and that this might well improve the chances of Reed and certainly Hesketh getting chances in the first team.

Its only wild speculation but I would be surprised if your French is better than his English!

So you actually have no evidence whatsoever for any of your assertions. Why bother making them?

Don't get drawn in. He is clearly not serious. Puel would be a much better choice than any of the other alleged candidates. What I worry about is whether we will actually get him. He should have plenty of choice.

Really!!!! Our last two managers have been Pochettino and Koeman - both rated really highly by some. He has secured Fraser Forster, Ryan Bertrand, James Ward-Prowse and Virgil van Dijk on long term contracts; Morgan Schneiderlein was here for 7 or 8 seasons. etc etc etc. He seems to have had no trouble in doing exactly what you say he cant.

Nobody has posted anything that could remotely be called 'news'. Unless you define 'news' as a collection of tired old rumours; some of which are well beyond their sell-by date and some of which might just be reflected in what happens this Summer.

Jack Cork is an occasional Swansea player who chose to desert the Saints rather than sign an incredible generous contract. Victor Wanyama won us 3 points yesterday by first neutralising Payet and then by galvanising the rest of the team by his cunning unjust dismissal just when West Ham were threatening to get back in the game

No. It is the papers that are desperate. Once again there has been very little significant business within the January transfer window (only Townsend and Shelvey have attracted top dollar in the PL) and there probably wont be much more but 2 transfers in 28 days isn't going to attract a lot of attention so lets just speculate and see what we can cook up. Pelle to Leicester though - full marks for imagination!

Its no big issue. He is quite simply the best keeper in the PL. Of course he makes a difference. The best value buy we have made since we got back in th PL

Absolutely. He is an ideal replacement for Wanyama. He is not as tall of course but but very strong, good defensively and makes strong bursts through the middle or wide to get up and support the forwards. He has a good passing range and a fantastic attitude. He was the man of the match yesterday despite being on the losing side. Very very impressive. BTW Elia was also playing and was awful. He is going to be chased by umpteen clubs in the Summer but a bid now might just get him this month.

As someone who has actually watched Targett play regularly - yes he is ready to be given more pitch time in the first team but no he isn't the finished product but that's what giving players a chance to develop is all about. Targett is a regular for England Under 21s which shows that others also see his promise. Yes he definitely is the one that's closest but Hesketh, Slattery and Lewis are all fine prospects, they are just younger and less experienced. People on here have weirdly unrealistic expectations of how many any academy can produce at one time. Blimey if just 1 of those 5 becomes the player we hope foe the academy will have done its job.