Depressed of Shirley

He has put zero in.

When you are trying to sign a player, or sack a manager, how many phone calls to Hong Kong do you have to make, and does anyone pick up the phone when you ring?

Heres a clue Alpine, it is some Chinese bloke with no money.

Thanks for posting, very interesting and in my view, accurate picture of the club at present.

This

I am sure someone else has done this, but here are some player ratings from last night to give you an idea of what we were like. Forster - 5 kept the score down Cedric - 0 absolute rubbish both going forward and defensively Van Dijk - 4 kept trying but gave up after the 4th goal, pushed forward and seemed to actually care how bad we were Yoshida - 2 scored a goal, but generally crap Bertrand - 3 got forward at times, but crossing poor Romeu - 0 deservedly taken off at half time Lemina - 2 kept going, but with no end product, and failed to win most tackles he was involved with Boufal - 3 kept trying but had a poor night Davis - 0 awful Tadic - 0 embarassing Austin 5 kept trying had two shots on goal subs - Redmond made a difference with his pace in 2nd half until Cedric gift wrapped their third goal. Gabbi - must wonder what he has signed up for. Ward Prowse - not on for long enough. The whole team was crap, but the lack of fight and effort was really shocking.

Sorry mate absolute rubbish. It was an impossible shot to stop, much like LeTiss's goal against Blackburn all those years ago. Peoples obsession with having a go at Forster when we don't have a replacement is baffling.

I think that's my point. He has done/said nothing, not even acknowledged he actually owns the club!!

If I was going to spend that sort of money then I might have done a bit more due diligence on what I was buying. My fear is that Gao doesn't know what hes bought, but he just thought he ought to get one of those football clubs that have been so popular with other Chinese investors. I hope he understood what relegation means as well, as he wouldn't be the first new club owner not to have fully understood the implications. Nothing he has done so far fills me with any sort of confidence for the future.

The reason that there is a preferred formation is so that all age groups can play it. This then means that you can identify players for each position, and you can then either buy or promote and know what you are getting. If you change the formation each time you appoint a new coach, you end up with players who don't suit the system, and can be a drag on the wage bill. This is partly what went wrong at Palace where they hired a coach who played in a way that didn't suit the players they had. Luckily, they quickly reverted to Hodgson, who although hopeless at least sets up the same way as Pardew. Our problem isn't formation, its the players we have to play in it. Tadic and Boufal aren't trusted to play as a proper number 10, so they are shunted out wide. This reduces their effectiveness. I would agree that if we play two up front away at Anfield, we will probably lose, but there is no excuse for not trying it in home games against Watford or Burnley. In most of our home games this season, the opposition has put 10 men behind the ball from the start, because they know that we don't have the players to either pick out an incisive pass, or the players to head in a cross. After 70 mins, with our crowd getting agitated, they then come out and attack more, and in Burnley's case win easily. For me, I would play Gabbi in the no 10 role, similar to how he played for Italy last week, and then play Austin as the striker. Leave out Tadic or Boufal or Redmond, it really wont make much difference which, and when we get into the last 10 minute panic, push Virgil up front, and bring on JWP to hit free kicks and corners at him.

I voted out, but I am not sure that our third manager in 12 months will get anything different from the players. We will still lack height going forward, and we will still have creative players who dont create. The bigger issue is the ownership of the club. Whilst it is easy to blame Les for all the shortcomings, the prolonged takeover by someone who doesn't have any money will have severely hampered any transfer moves. It will also stop us getting a "big name" replacement as no proven coach will take over if he doesn't think he can change the playing squad, and has no idea whether the new owners want to asset strip or invest.

Back on with the I hate Les Reed stuff again. Let it go

According to the loud mouth skate idiot standing 5 yards behind me at the golf yesterday, the reason Cook is going is that the promised promotion bonuses and pay rise for him and his coaching staff are not going to be paid. Cook rightly taking offence and leaving as he doesn't think the club have the money. It never ends down there does it?

Fake News Alert, we have won at least two home games this year that I remembered in the two minutes since I thought "what kind of bellend puts in a post like that"

Although the Cleveland Browns are the 47th biggest sports franchise in the world according to Forbes Magazine.

I think Real Madrid had a 5 p.m. UK time kick off so they didn't clash.

£300 for the day. Divided by 7, with a tip roughly £50 each. Whats the train, £40?

We have hired a 7 seater taxi for the day. Will park by Marylebone station, free parking all day Sunday, pub, and then overground from there to Wembley. 10 mins on train.

I think the forum would be better balanced and less vindictive if people who don't put a single penny in to the club stopped asking our owner to spend all the money she has to try and get the team to 4th in the PL. I also think that if those that keep making accusations about "lining their pockets" etc, should read up on Sunderland, and how see how bad running a football club can get if you don't have any financial discipline when making transfers and appointing managers.

Jose has been an absolute star in his time with us, and the last two months aside deserves nothing but praise. However, to turn down the extra year, and an increase in salary to an eye watering level hints at something else. However, since October he has been stirring things behind the scenes, and will in all honesty not be remembered as well as he should have been by Saints fans.

Just catching up with the forum for the first time in a few days, and have been reading a few threads in the past 30 mins. I am not picking on you, but I have asked before, what is your massive problem with Les Read? I am not saying the man has been faultless, but you seem to bring every post back to him. Do you think that if Les Read were to retire, then everything would be massively better?, or are you just Paul Mitchell angling for a job. I am genuinely interested in why you hate the man so much, as its becoming as regular as dalek trying to big up Glenn Hoddle.

I work near Bournemouth with a couple of their fans, and they have been saying the same thing. Those with their noses pressed up against the window looking in from the Eastern end of the M27 are a different matter entirely!

As I think you have a problem with Les Reed, could you just enlighten us as to who you think should do his job instead, and why they would be better at it?

All this is true, but it is not Saints who want to sell him, the contract offer and extension show that, it is the player, and more probably his agent, would like him to move.