vectraman

The time to judge him is next season Give him a full preseason, keep him fit and let's see how he does next season. He's clearly got talent, he has struggled with injury (I know we bought him crocked - always a slight risk), but he keeps getting crocked, so if he can keep injury free, if he can enjoy a decent preseason, then we will have a decent idea about him. But not after a 20 minute cameo against a quality team today... But I don't suppose there is much room for common sense in football...

Spot on. Big gulf in quality, big gulf in budgets, big gulf in expectations. Anything against the top 5 or 6 sides is a bonus, we will never compete with the true big boys over a season. Our place is between 7th and twelfth, I think any true Saints fan knows this, we'd just love a miracle sometimes .

Definitely. There is not a chance on earth that Bournemouth would have got that decision in the other box. Well done Boruc, very decent save, it wasn't a bad penalty.

Just back from Wembley. Saints, thank you for giving it everything, you made it a memorable day out for me and my two lads. I hope they'll remember their first Wembley final forever. Brilliant performance, made moneybags United look very ordinary. Without 'Z' we would have done them today. Hats off to him, he's a great player. But we had the better team! Next time... How can you have traffic jams on the M25 and M3 on a Sunday night? Mile after mile spent crawling along the M3, Christ knows why! I pity the poor saps who commute to that dump daily, but I'll happily pop up to Wembley once or twice a season - over to you Saints All in all, fab day, great support, and all the Manc fans I spoke to whilst queuing to get back to Gerard's Cross said we were far better, and they didn't deserve it. Ho hum

Brilliant stuff Gabbiadini. 2-0 up, great first half Saints

Forster Cedric VVD Yoshida Bertrand Boufal Romeo Hojbjerg Tadic Gabbiadini Long Yep, good old fashioned 442.

Mmm, here are my thoughts, but we all know we will go and do the unexpected, when least expected! For me - Sunderland - 0 Arse - 0 Watford - 0 Man U - 0 Spurs - 0 Bournemouth - 3 Palace - 1 WBA - 0 City - 0 Chelsea - 0 Hull - 3 Liverfool - 0 Midd - 0 Stoke - 1 By my reckoning 8 points, I'm sure somewhere we will get more...hopefully. We have a good side, just not playing to anywhere near our potential.

I believe Reed will happily try to convince everybody that Stephens is Fonte's replacement. This is all part of the Saints long term Puel plan of self sustainability. More academy players, cheaper wages, less 'names'. Already evident in young players being brought through, regardless of being good enough. We will stay up this season, no problem. We will then find that Gabbiadini is Jayrod or Longs replacement in the summer and one of them will be off. Our squad will become more and more mediocre, until we can stay up no more. No premier league team is self sustaining, and we will be no different. My opinion, but I think this season is showing our way forward. Depressingly below average... If the status quo remains - poor football, dull performances and below par results, I won't be renewing my season ticket next season. This year was a line in the sand season, the line has been drawn poorly League cup final is great - but early rounds were reserves v reserves and we lucked out. FA cup ditto. We just came unstuck early on. Versus Liverpool away we were very good, team can do it, but never ending changes is cocking up continuity and players confidence. Settled team = better results. But no, he can't stop ****ing about with the line up. Not impressed, nor happy.

What about Tadic?! Not even a squad player

repeat post - sorry.

Keep going Saints - you've been absolutely brilliant so far, let's get that goal we deserve

It is a non populist view, but I 100% agree with you. The only one of our current youngsters who looks up to it is McQueen. The rest are exactly as you say - underwhelming. Reed - a booking in waiting, plus too small, Targett, too slow, Sims, energy levels deceive a lack of talent. Stephens I reserve judgement on, too soon to say. If the youth are what our owners think are our future (cheap options) then I'm out. I don't get the "one of our own" obsession. Don't care where players come from, they've got to be good enough. Current youngsters are not good enough. If I wanted to watch the U23's I wouldn't buy a season ticket! But I do, and I don't get the excitement I'm afraid Willing to be proved wrong, but the premier league is too demanding for blooding avaerage (short*) players. * I'm not shortist, but our current crop are tiny. Premier league is all about pace and power, and I don't see either. Yet...willing to be proved wrong, but not hopeful...

I bet his reply would be interesting though

Great reply. The whole reason a forum exists. Express your opinion, respect others differing opinions ✅

You'll have to refresh my ageing memory - who bought Le tiss from us then? My dim old brain thought he retired ��

I saw a couple of minutes of Udinese v Roma earlier. Edin Dzeko up front for Roma - now he would tick the right boxes. Experienced proven premier league goal scorer, tall (whoever we get has got to be tall, we desperately lack height upfront), can hold the ball up, scores with feet and head and certainly would be a presence. Now, how do we persuade title chasing Roma to sell him....☹️️

My thoughts exactly. Good luck Jose, wherever your new adventure takes you.

Now that is a good idea ✅

Well every cloud has a silver lining and all that... Once we've let VVD, Fonte and Bertrand out the exit door in the summer, the queue will have gone! The rest of them are, umm "average" at best currently, and no one will want any of them! We will have then peaked. Got to the point that the remainder is so average, that other premier league teams will finally not want to come shopping at Saints. Good, but in a bad way if you catch my drift...

We are in a rich vein of ****e form. Our best player is now suspended, can't shoot on target, and can't hit a barn door with our crosses. 1-0 Saints written all over it!

Dire today ��. Boys v men all over the pitch. We are so physically small as a team, that Puel's system is doomed to fail. We ponce about at the back/midfield going sideways, that teams just close us down, ball goes back to Fraser, he plays it long, the ball comes straight back at us because we have nobody of any size to win and then hold the ball up. Our midfield is slow to get forward in support when we do get in good positions, usually leaving us 2 or 3 v 8 in the area. It is just so painful to watch. Claude, this is an entertainment industry, please start the team doing this. Boos at the end justified, we were terrible. One shot on target in 90 mins against West Brom at home. ������ Subs - �� Jrod comes on - methinks finally, we are going to get two strikers up front. No. He pushes Long back. Jrod ploughs a lonely and fruitless furrow. We are losing 2-1 at home you end of a bell, and you continue to play one up front? ☹️️ Then, in a master stroke of brilliance, we take our adequate right back off and replace him with the pacy wingmeister JWP ����. Genius. Not. Surely, against WBA at home we should have played our strongest 11, rested players at Everton. I seriously believe Claude has not got the hang of the P League. West Brom are a decent, difficult to beat side, so you go and underestimate them by playing 3 back up defenders! ����. No no no. I hate this dull, slow, boring, defensive ****e we are serving up. Change it or go Claude. Please. If this continues, I certainly will not be renewing mine and the kids season tickets. Sort it out.

I'm 100% with you on this, go for a traditional 442 with two forwards playing off each other. I might even go wild and play Long and VVD together up front, to give us a bit of aerial menace. Yoshi can take his place at the back.

I would love us to play a traditional 4-4-2 with Long and JRod up front playing off each other. Tadic left, boufal right, Romeu and clasie in the centre. Strongest back 4 plus Fraser. Won't happen, but I believe two proper forwards playing together would alleviate our scoring problems...

Just got back from the game, my thoughts... Dire first half, better second half, fantastic goal, three points, great!! I thought Boufal was very good, apart from the goal, he showed some real glimpses of hopefully what is to come regularly. Classie did well, fonte looked good, Redmond improved the attack when he came on. I'm sorry, I didn't see j rod do much at all today, he was pretty much a passenger imo. Missed a sitter too. We are desperately lacking a striker who can strike! Austin out for 3-4 months is a mega blow. Hate our sluggish forward play in the first half. So slow that 'boro got everyone behind the ball whilst we bored everyone going sideways and backwards. Horrible, boring trash to watch. Better in second half, even saw a couple of quick breaks! We can do it, just need to do it more often! Atmosphere was very flat (unsurprisingly). Nothing to lift it first half, just a continuation of the trash served up on Thursday. So much for a team response! I genuinely feel I am seeing some of the most boring football at St Mary's I have seen for a long time. Yes last season there were some epic sh1t games - Stoke and Villa spring to mind, but there are far more this season. Puel may grind out results, but it is not pretty. Hopefully he'll realise he needs to play the players we have in their proper roles, not square pegs in round holes to suit a system. E.g. Today, we should never have Romeu, Classie, jwp in the same team, just so limiting going forward. Anyway, my views, from the match.

When you're sat here watching this total bore fest I believe you're entitled to voice your opinion as you've splashed the cash. Nothing to get excited about at all. Horrible on the eye, my 8 and 6 year olds want to go home - dad this is boring, can we go now? I'm going to get done for child abuse by making them watch the 2nd half ? Total boring football. Fix it or depart Mr Puel. Please.