Pellegrino 1 Puel 4 - Post match Meltdown

[sadoldgit]

Puel out!

[chi saint]

Just to clarify - Puel was sacked for doing a fairly poor job at Southampton Football Club. I don't much care what he subsequently does elsewhere.

 

Leaving the European Union is moronic on a scale I can't provide a footballing analogy for.

 

No Peul was sacked because numpties who haven't a clue considered him boring, in their view he was not a name. It's called style over substance. You got what you wished for so stop moaning and suck it up.

 

Most managers and fans would have been very satisfied in a first season for us to play in a final and finish

in the league where we did.

He should have been given another 8 games this season to show he could bring some flair to the proceedings, not sacked for being successful.

 

As for Brecit, yes indeed moron is the term for those who want to remain chattels of a dysfunctional, corrupt, self serving, undemocratic, ever more irrelevant superstate. Albeit they do nice pattiseries.

[John Boy Saint]

JWP trying be creative and falling on his arse while fluffing his shot.

A tad harsh, probably looked like that to you sat on your backside at home, but honestly he had no options that's why he went back and forth waiting for one of his fellow players to give him an option as they all just stood there like lemons with a Leicester player stuck to them like a Remora fish, having a lame shot was pretty much the best option.

 

I can't believe how we looked a bunch of strangers out there. It was as if Wesleys Gran had sent him over a bottle of Advocaat for Christmas and the lads decided to open it this afternoon someone else had googled how to make a Dirty Snowball and they all had a most delightful afternoon.

[corky morris]

No Peul was sacked because numpties who haven't a clue considered him boring, in their view he was not a name. It's called style over substance. You got what you wished for so stop moaning and suck it up.

 

Most managers and fans would have been very satisfied in a first season for us to play in a final and finish

in the league where we did.

He should have been given another 8 games this season to show he could bring some flair to the proceedings, not sacked for being successful.

 

As for Brecit, yes indeed moron is the term for those who want to remain chattels of a dysfunctional, corrupt, self serving, undemocratic, ever more irrelevant superstate. Albeit they do nice pattiseries.

 

 

End of last season was abysmal.

One goal in seven home games & we are supposed to be satisfied?

It's an entertainment business. He only looks good because the muppet bought in to replace him is worse.....and that is all down to Reed & Kruger, who remain very very silent!

[chi saint]

We got what we deserved. A thrashing. Delighted for Puel after the disgusting way our fans and club treated him.

 

I certainly endorse your second point about the treatment of Puel. I would caveat your first by saying if this debacle tonight leads to a reassessment and positive change by the manager and/or club then it may be beneficial to have suffered such an humiliation.

[scotty]

Well we were all screaming for Puel to bring exciting attacking football to St Marys - and he did!

 

 

Very good.

[Lord Duckhunter]

We were told by certain posters that the players wanted Puel out. What emerged tonight was what some of us believed all along, that with this bunch of ****ing dead beats he did a ****ing good job. Woeful , inept and damn right disgraceful tonight. They should be embarrassed , but doubt they will be. Bertrand (one of the alleged me or Puel gang) was terrible, VvD going through the motions AGAIN. I don't think I've seen Davo as poor. Tadic shocking even by his lowish standards. Boufal ineffective, Cedric didn't look fit to me, and OR average. Charlie Austin worked hard, but missed a sitter that may have changed the game and Lemina did ok .

 

It's too easy to blame the manager, the players out there should have done better. He went with experience and was let down badly. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon of wanting him out, because until tonight , the last 4 or 5 games he was showing promise. BUT, he really needs to start kicking a few arses, upsetting a few and bursting some egos. VvD waltzing back in was wrong, as was dropping Jack & PEH tonight. He needs to upset the old order and impose himself.

 

 

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[captainchris]

This sums it up well for me. Puel used to cop flak for tinkering with a team playing Europa; Prem and Cup matches. Pellegrino chops and changes, on the basis of what? Hojbjerg and Stephens were great performers last weekend; you have to back them up. I was stunned to see Tadic left on the pitch for so long tonight; Boufal was much more industrious and involved, but hauled off on the hour....for Redmond?? There's a contagion around the team, and Pellegrino is at the heart of it.

 

Yes as for Tadic on the right again ????? Wtf isbthst about???

The similarities with last season are uncanny to the point where Black definitely picks the team...

The guy seems to bully his peers and get his own way....

The similarities are just to repetitive for Black not be pulling the strings ....

They both have to go....

[9-3]

So you weren't there then so see?

You should start a thread about it. Or about something.

[Halo Stickman]

In 50 years of supporting Saints it's hard to recall a more dismal home performance.

[RonManager]

We were told by certain posters that the players wanted Puel out. What emerged tonight was what some of us believed all along, that with this bunch of ****ing dead beats he did a ****ing good job. Woeful , inept and damn right disgraceful tonight. They should be embarrassed , but doubt they will be. Bertrand (one of the alleged me or Puel gang) was terrible, VvD going through the motions AGAIN. I don't think I've seen Davo as poor. Tadic shocking even by his lowish standards. Boufal ineffective, Cedric didn't look fit to me, and OR average. Charlie Austin worked hard, but missed a sitter that may have changed the game and Lemina did ok .

 

It's too easy to blame the manager, the players out there should have done better. He went with experience and was let down badly. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon of wanting him out, because until tonight , the last 4 or 5 games he was showing promise. BUT, he really needs to start kicking a few arses, upsetting a few and bursting some egos. VvD waltzing back in was wrong, as was dropping Jack & PEH tonight. He needs to upset the old order and impose himself.

 

 

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Good Evening/Morning M'Lord. I am mostly in agreement with what you have said. Suddenly we've gone from two very good performances to this, somewhat askew as to how we've been going recently. This was always a game that was going to be played 'in the head' ever since CP signed for them. The main thing that Claude took away with him after we parted company was that he knew about how we play, so he knew our weaknesses. As soon as I saw the teamsheets ( he was playing all 3 main strikers) it was obvious that they would come at us full pelt and try to knock us over early doors. I think MP should have seen this and acted accordingly, unfortunately it appears he didn't.

 

After half time CP did what he's done pretty much in every game with them when he's leading - sit back. If Austin had made it 2-3 then I could see us gaining momentum and then who knows.

 

That aside, something else was going on here tonight. Hoedt mysteriously left out and judging by his social media, not happy. Whether this had an effect on the team and affected tactics late on is conjecture, but it won't have helped.

 

We've been a hare's whisker away from two excellent results before tonight so I agree with you, MP is worth staying with for the moment.

 

I totally agree with you about VVD but maybe PEH was benched because after doing very little until the U23s game recently he's played 3 games in 9 days and as much as he was desperate to keep his place judging by his twitter posts, he probably was ailing somewhat.

 

 

 

Anyway, enough, except to say that now we have got the 'mind games' fixture out of the way, I still feel we are on an upward track as will be proved on Saturday when Chelsea receive the thrashing of their lives.

 

Goodnight and COYS.

[kyle04]

In 50 years of supporting Saints it's hard to recall a more dismal home performance.

 

Er perhaps Wolves and Watford this season....

[skintsaint]

I can't watch the midweek games live due to the time difference, but glad I missed this.

 

We shouldn't be losing 4-1 at home to a mid table side. MP needs to have a look at himself and if he isnt upto the job to walk. Only issue is who would replace him.

[shurlock]

Good Evening/Morning M'Lord. I am mostly in agreement with what you have said. Suddenly we've gone from two very good performances to this, somewhat askew as to how we've been going recently. This was always a game that was going to be played 'in the head' ever since CP signed for them. The main thing that Claude took away with him after we parted company was that he knew about how we play, so he knew our weaknesses. As soon as I saw the teamsheets ( he was playing all 3 main strikers) it was obvious that they would come at us full pelt and try to knock us over early doors. I think MP should have seen this and acted accordingly, unfortunately it appears he didn't.

 

After half time CP did what he's done pretty much in every game with them when he's leading - sit back. If Austin had made it 2-3 then I could see us gaining momentum and then who knows.

 

That aside, something else was going on here tonight. Hoedt mysteriously left out and judging by his social media, not happy. Whether this had an effect on the team and affected tactics late on is conjecture, but it won't have helped.

 

We've been a hare's whisker away from two excellent results before tonight so I agree with you, MP is worth staying with for the moment.

 

I totally agree with you about VVD but maybe PEH was benched because after doing very little until the U23s game recently he's played 3 games in 9 days and as much as he was desperate to keep his place judging by his twitter posts, he probably was ailing somewhat.

 

 

 

Anyway, enough, except to say that now we have got the 'mind games' fixture out of the way, I still feel we are on an upward track as will be proved on Saturday when Chelsea receive the thrashing of their lives.

 

Goodnight and COYS.

 

Thought they could have easily added to their goal after halftime - even their CB was getting forward and making Forster work. Maya’s goal changed things and we were well on top for a spell which coincided with Austin’s chance. But it wasn’t a long spell as their fourth killed off the game.

[wessex saint]

Wow! Well I was one of the few who stayed until the end.

It’s a 3 hour round trip so seems a bit daft to leave at halftime ( although that’s what I wanted to do)

Good News first... I guessed the starting XI perfectly so won the sweepstake.

The bad news.. well where do I start?

MP was renowned for getting the odd result in Spain away against the big boys I.e. how we nearly did v Man City. When it comes to attacking football he’s absolutely clueless. The football at St Mary’s this season has been dreadful.

2. I correctly guessed the starting XI but it’s not the one I would have played. Hojberg and gabiadinni would have been in there for sure. Leicester have two of the slowest immobile central defenders in the league. Needed to give them a challenge that involved a bit more pace than Austin.

3. VVD Bertrand et al will no doubt look great on Saturday... it’ll be backs to the wall against a top side so they’ll make an effort ( we,ll still lose narrowly)

4. Home support is abysmal. I’ve never known such apathy in saints fans before. And I’ve been going since 1980.

5. When we got relegated before we didn’t have a very good squad. Player for player we do have a decent team now... it’s just we’re not seeing the best of them due to complete tactical ineptness.

 

Unless there’s a change I predict relegation. There’s an underlying bad vibe in the club right now and I can’t see how it’s gonna change.

 

I also predict VVD and Bertrand off in January, and if gabby’s got any sense he’ll go back to Italy and find a team that like quality attackers playing for them.

 

Sorry. Rant over [emoji6]

 

 

 

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[RonManager]

Thought they could have easily added to their goal after halftime - even their CB was getting forward and making Forster work. Maya’s goal changed things and we were well on top for a spell which coincided with Austin’s chance. But it wasn’t a long spell as their fourth killed off the game.

Yeah I understand what you're saying, but if (I know he didn't) CA had scored, how do you think it might have panned out then. We've all seen teams go on the wobble in these situations, look at Reading Monday night etc etc.

[striker]

Why can't we ever get a manager like Puel?

[PeteCampbell]

Terrible performance especially from Tadic and Davis. Neither should be starting.

[diggers]

Noticed Charman Geo sat between Les and Ralph. Must be wondering what the Fec he waisted his money on. (Or at least borrowed mmoney to waist)

[Pilchards]

Noticed Charman Geo sat between Les and Ralph. Must be wondering what the Fec he waisted his money on. (Or at least borrowed mmoney to waist)

 

Must of been some money belt he had for that amount?

[doddisalegend]

Well after a good nights sleep I can conclude that the best part of last nights game was my pre-match meat feast pizza.

 

Dross from start to finish. Leicester showed what attacking with pace and directness can achieve we showed how bad possession football can be if you don't play it properly. Leicester turn defence into attack with one or two passes we slowly lumber up the pitch taking fifteen passes to achieve what we could do in three.

[Toomer]

Was the wife"s birthday yesterday and we all went out for a family meal and I let my mate have my ticket so he could take his daughter not sorry I missed that by all accounts. What beats me is the performance against Arsenal was good to this dont't know what the answer is has Les got to much power.

Edited 14 December, 2017 by Toomer

[doddisalegend]

Was the wife"s birthday yesterday and we all went out for a family meal and I let my mate have my ticket so he could take his daughter not sorry I missed that by all accounts. What beats me is the performance against Arsenal was good to this dont't know what the answer is has Les got to much power.

 

None of our players want a transfer to Leicester so no need to put on a display?

[S-Clarke]

We've had a couple of games at home this season on-par with this, which is worrying. Go back to pre-season, 0-4 Ausburg, 0-2 Wolves. Games which we simply don't turn up in.

 

It's rare for us not to turn up at all, but we simply weren't there yesterday. Cedric looked as if he has been rushed back, well off the pace. Lemina looked like someone who has been in and out of the side all season. And as much as it pains me to say, it looks like Davis' legs are gone. He was horrifically bad. Looked like a lower league player.

 

The problem we have is we have too many similar players in our squad, which tempts the manager to rotate too much. We look like a completley unballanced squad, bloated in certain area's and not enough depth in others. I'm not entirley sure what our recuirtment team have been doing over the last 18 months, but the main summer for me was the one Morgan was sold. We focused too much that year on bulking the squad up with players like McCarthy, Martina, Clasie - and not enough first team replacements. This summer we went out and bought Hoedt and Lemina - both look good for starting births, but as with PEH...they need games, they need to build up a level. They're not getting the chance. Given that we have bulked the squad up with average players, it's unballanced and tempts the manager into changing things around too often to keep everyone happy.

 

There's no denying that we have a big squad, probably our biggest since we've been in the PL, but if that depth is full of average players then what's the point? Gardos, Bedranek, McCarthy, Peid, Clasie, Long.

 

We need two things.

1) A manager to understand and pick a best 11, stop all this rotation crap to try and keep everyone happy. Play the best 11.

2) If there are any gaps which mean the best 11 is unballacned, such as pace on the break or another CM...then use January to buy them, and proven players at that.

 

This squad has smatterings of real quality, it shouldn't be struggling as it is. It just needs a manager to understand how to get the best out of it and a recruitment team who stop focusing on squad filling bargains and believing in their own hype.

[DT]

Has he gone yet? No? Why not?

 

 

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[DuncanRG]

Fair play to puel who got it spot on tactically whilst pellegrino at 3-0 down didn't appear to change anything.

 

He brought on Gabbiadini at half time and Redmond shortly afterwards.

 

It’s hard to assess our tactics when we had so many individual errors and a lack of quality across the whole team. It’s hard to explain performances like that, but as mentioned above they’re becoming a little more common. The mentality isn’t always there, as it has been in every other year since promotion.

Edited 14 December, 2017 by DuncanRG

[Bad Wolf]

We got what we deserved. A thrashing. Delighted for Puel after the disgusting way our fans and club treated him.

 

This post was me being passive aggressive and not meant to be taken seriously.

[DuncanRG]

Was the wife"s birthday yesterday and we all went out for a family meal and I let my mate have my ticket so he could take his daughter not sorry I missed that by all accounts. What beats me is the performance against Arsenal was good to this dont't know what the answer is has Les got to much power.

 

Whatever the answer is, I’d be amazed if it’s ‘Les Reed has too much power’.

[Norm]

Has he gone yet? No? Why not?

 

 

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for that news! He will be here a a good while as the club won’t want to lose face. We will receive an email from the club today telling us to prepare for the players to bonce back and our next opponents to catch a hammering.

[Norm]

Bounce back, although on last nights ‘performance ‘, bonce is probably correct.

[Wes Tender]

I have also waited to see whether the ire had abated in any way having slept on it. When I got in last night, I decided to watch The Apprentice which I had recorded and then Match of the Day.

 

Watching the Apprentice, I could visualise Pellegrino's performance as manager being dissected cruelly before being told that he has had his chance and blown it, so Pellegrino, you're fired.

 

There was one good thing to come from the match against Leicester though, we were featured as the second match on Match of the Day.

 

So to last night; I still believe that it was the worst performance from a Saints team that I have witnessed all this season and all last season too. Had we been the away team, I would have expected a refund to our supporters from the board. But the time has come for them to sack Pellegrino before we sink even further towards the relegation zone. He has been given ample opportunity to turn things around, but results against Everton, Bournemouth, Manchester City, Arsenal were a false dawn.

 

On the face of it, the team selection was a better one than that against Arsenal, but for whatever reason the players' attitude stank. After a frenetic 10 minute start when it looked as if we were all over them, things changed to complete control for Leicester and it continued on like that for the rest of the match, with misplaced passes, always second to the ball, lack of movement, little closing down of players or space, a complete lack of desire or conviction.

 

There were only two players who appeared to care and gained some credit, Bertrand and Lemina, although even Lemina became more sloppy later in the match. Forster was also generally OK, not at fault for any of their goals and making some good saves that would otherwise have increased the agony. As for the others, Boufal and Tadic on the pitch at the same time always worries me. Neither shone last night and both were in trick pony mode losing possession as a result. Cedric had his worst match for a long time. Usually so reliable, his lack of movement up the wing lost us that width and outlet. The defence has usually been strong this season, but Yoshida's poor positioning and lack of closing down cost us dearly.

 

Tactically, Pellegrino cannot countenance having two strikers up front unless we are chasing the game and it is too late. We have four centre backs who can do a job for us, but playing any three of them as part of a five across the back with our best three strongest midfielders in front of them and two strikers is not something that he has tried as far as I can see.

 

Last night, we were being overrun in midfield, so he takes of Romeu and makes us even weaker there. He was tactically inept and needs to go as soon a possible. I'd rather watch Bournemouth or even Brighton at the moment. At least their matches provide entertainment instead of the dross that we are serving up.

[mrfahaji]

I have also waited to see whether the ire had abated in any way having slept on it. When I got in last night, I decided to watch The Apprentice which I had recorded and then Match of the Day.

 

Watching the Apprentice, I could visualise Pellegrino's performance as manager being dissected cruelly before being told that he has had his chance and blown it, so Pellegrino, you're fired.

 

There was one good thing to come from the match against Leicester though, we were featured as the second match on Match of the Day.

 

So to last night; I still believe that it was the worst performance from a Saints team that I have witnessed all this season and all last season too. Had we been the away team, I would have expected a refund to our supporters from the board. But the time has come for them to sack Pellegrino before we sink even further towards the relegation zone. He has been given ample opportunity to turn things around, but results against Everton, Bournemouth, Manchester City, Arsenal were a false dawn.

 

On the face of it, the team selection was a better one than that against Arsenal, but for whatever reason the players' attitude stank. After a frenetic 10 minute start when it looked as if we were all over them, things changed to complete control for Leicester and it continued on like that for the rest of the match, with misplaced passes, always second to the ball, lack of movement, little closing down of players or space, a complete lack of desire or conviction.

 

There were only two players who appeared to care and gained some credit, Bertrand and Lemina, although even Lemina became more sloppy later in the match. Forster was also generally OK, not at fault for any of their goals and making some good saves that would otherwise have increased the agony. As for the others, Boufal and Tadic on the pitch at the same time always worries me. Neither shone last night and both were in trick pony mode losing possession as a result. Cedric had his worst match for a long time. Usually so reliable, his lack of movement up the wing lost us that width and outlet. The defence has usually been strong this season, but Yoshida's poor positioning and lack of closing down cost us dearly.

 

Tactically, Pellegrino cannot countenance having two strikers up front unless we are chasing the game and it is too late. We have four centre backs who can do a job for us, but playing any three of them as part of a five across the back with our best three strongest midfielders in front of them and two strikers is not something that he has tried as far as I can see.

 

Last night, we were being overrun in midfield, so he takes of Romeu and makes us even weaker there. He was tactically inept and needs to go as soon a possible. I'd rather watch Bournemouth or even Brighton at the moment. At least their matches provide entertainment instead of the dross that we are serving up.

 

Worse than Watford? Wow, that was the worst PL game I can remember for many a year, so to top (or bottom) that...

[Depressed of Shirley]

Missed this one (after missing Everton and first 10 minutes of Arsenal, it seems as though this time at least this was a good one to miss...)

 

Anyone give a recap of what went wrong? I thought the team looked good - arguably our strongest lineup, though would have been nice to see Hojbjerg instead of Davis.

 

It seems like those championing MP and calling out the "morons" for wanting him sacked are now silent, while the "Pellegrino Out" and "new manager" threads are out in full force! Predictable...

 

I'd almost be pleased for Claude if it wasn't so worrying for Saints. I thought this game would be a good marker of where we are, given we have seen signs of improvement recently without picking up the points we've deserved. That marker is now not looking very encouraging!

 

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.

[doddisalegend]

Worse than Watford? Wow, that was the worst PL game I can remember for many a year, so to top (or bottom) that...

 

way, way, way worse no fight, little effort as soon as the first Leicester goal (which was an embarrassment of riches on how not to defend) went in the lads in red and white pretty much gave up.

[doddisalegend]

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.

 

did my head in that did of all the teams you don't want your CBs ranging off up the pitch against its a Leicester side with Vardy up front.

[mrfahaji]

Kinda funny how quickly people forget the stuffings we got last season under Puel (west ham, arsenal, spurs, palace etc)

 

In regards to this game that's up there with the worst 45mins we have played. We have some very average players. We set up with too many defense minded players. Lets see what MoPo does because if we come out with the same team and the same formation it could be 5 or 6. Thank god Lemina got that one off the line and Forster saved a couple.

 

Sorry for replying to an old post, but was reading through the match thread and no-one else had picked up on these matches. No doubt the Arsenal result was awful, but 3 days prior to that game we had reached a cup final. Sure, it was awful watching, but it was a cup game, and anyone moaning that we didn't take the cup seriously 3 days after reaching a cup final is a moron. The West Ham wasn't nearly as bad as some made out, we had chances and they barely had any, but were either unlucky or victims of having a turd goalkeeper, depending on your viewpoint. Palace we started well but lost it once Forster made his horror swipe. We also played pretty well in the first half against Spurs, we had Redmond sent off on 57 mins and they scored 2 goals in the last 5 minutes.

 

I'm not a revisionist, Puel's tenure was not a success and there were plenty of matches which left you feeling despondent, but actually there weren't that many individual league games you can point to and say "that was an all round terrible display" - away in Prague was the worst we played all season in my opinion. When I look back at last season's fixtures I'm amazed at how many games I think "poor result, but" and can remember something positive or unlucky about the match. What did for Puel was that we were consistently underwhelming, always looking over our shoulder at the relegation battle, and always waiting for that "shackles off" performance that should have made an appearance once or twice post-cup final but never did.

 

Pellegrino is also suffering from this feeling of things never quite clicking, but now we only seem to be good for the odd 15 minute spell, and the general boundaries seem to have been shifted down - our best performances aren't as good, and our worst performances are taking it to whole new depths.

[mrfahaji]

What sort of reaction did Puel get btw? Didn't see any mention of it anywhere.

[Wes Tender]

Worse than Watford? Wow, that was the worst PL game I can remember for many a year, so to top (or bottom) that...

 

Yes. That was indeed how low we have sunk. How can we go from a team that held City to a draw right up to the end of extra time *****il the referee found some extra "Fergie" time) do much the same against Arsenal, and then suddenly collapse defensively so badly against Leicester? Speaking of extra time, how with all the substitutions and Leicester's extreme time-wasting, was there only 3 minutes added on? OK, the whistle couldn't have come soon enough, or they might have scored another, but 3 minutes was farcical and had we been chasing points, then we would have been justified in being very angry about it. Three minutes would have seen us ending Man City's run of wins, even with an additional added 2 minutes. Where is the consistency?

[Graffito]

way, way, way worse no fight, little effort as soon as the first Leicester goal (which was an embarrassment of riches on how not to defend) went in the lads in red and white pretty much gave up.

 

Heads dropped after the first goal, no question. The team lacks character, leadership and belief. I defy anyone who was there last night to say after the first goal went in they believed the players would turn it around. If the players don't believe they can beat Leicester at home why should we.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

When all said and done we can argue the merits of Puel and Pellegrino all night but the truth is evident that Puel has inherited far better players at Leicester. You only have to look at Schmeichel's distribution that led to their 2nd to realise he is a class above FF. You only have to look at Mahrez's direct run and finish to realise he is twice the player Redmond is and then look at Vardy's mobility and compare it to dear old Charlie's impression of a cart horse.

[OldNick]

When all said and done we can argue the merits of Puel and Pellegrino all night but the truth is evident that Puel has inherited far better players at Leicester. You only have to look at Schmeichel's distribution that led to their 2nd to realise he is a class above FF. You only have to look at Mahrez's direct run and finish to realise he is twice the player Redmond is and then look at Vardy's mobility and compare it to dear old Charlie's impression of a cart horse.

yes that's after Puel has instilled some confidence back in the players. There have been times where those players have been a shadow of what they are now. The football we played against Liverpool, and Man U in the cup was better than most teams could put up. Puel inherited our team that had been stripped of Pelle and Mane

[Shroppie]

Pellegrino was totally outthough tactically by Puel. Of course Puel had the advantage of knowing most of the Saints team and their strengths and weaknesses but he showed what he can do with the right players. Remember that most of his season with Saints he had no effective fit strikers and half a season of injured/disruptive VVD. And he had to work with Eric Black who, amazingly is still at the club.

 

And, in his post- match comments he acknowledged that he had needed to learn things in his first PL season, he had made mistakes but is now better for it. Shame we declined the benefit of that learning year and chose to take on a new untried apprentice.

 

Pellegrino picked what he thought was his strongest side but it wasn't effective against quick, incisive midfield play. And his subs seem nearly always to be pre-planned like for like rather than tactical response.

 

I didn't see the need to rotate PEH and Stephens. They are young, fit and hungry for their places and both had excellent games on Sunday.

 

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[Shroppie]

When all said and done we can argue the merits of Puel and Pellegrino all night but the truth is evident that Puel has inherited far better players at Leicester. You only have to look at Schmeichel's distribution that led to their 2nd to realise he is a class above FF. You only have to look at Mahrez's direct run and finish to realise he is twice the player Redmond is and then look at Vardy's mobility and compare it to dear old Charlie's impression of a cart horse.

Very true. And he doesn't have the hindrance of Eric Black at Leicester.

 

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[Graffito]

When all said and done we can argue the merits of Puel and Pellegrino all night but the truth is evident that Puel has inherited far better players at Leicester. You only have to look at Schmeichel's distribution that led to their 2nd to realise he is a class above FF. You only have to look at Mahrez's direct run and finish to realise he is twice the player Redmond is and then look at Vardy's mobility and compare it to dear old Charlie's impression of a cart horse.

 

Agree they have much better, pacy clinical forwards. Was looking at the stats last night and they got something like 70% of shots on target. Saints got about 1 in 3 on target.

[Useful Idiot]

Heads dropped after the first goal, no question. The team lacks character, leadership and belief. I defy anyone who was there last night to say after the first goal went in they believed the players would turn it around. If the players don't believe they can beat Leicester at home why should we.

 

Exactly this. We're fine when we hold the initiative, but terrible when we lose it. We're so lacking in confidence that any setback seems to completely deflate us. The home atmosphere doesn't help, but a lot of the blame has to be put on our recruitment, which seems to have looked for 'nice' characters rather than driven personalities, Van Dijk aside. He's still our best defender but he's not as focused as he was before the summer and so his impact on team morale seems far lower than it was last year.

 

The whole squad is mentally fragile and I can't see how we're going to fix it, the only solution might be to get in some back room staff who can inspire the players and instill some self belief, Black seems an expert in grinding it down.

[trousers]

I couldn't make the game yesterday due to seeing Jon Richardson's stand up show at Glive in Guildford which, given the result, was a blessing in disguise! At least Saints got a mention by Jon Richardson during his show.... he read out a tweet from another Saints fan who was also there instead of the game!

 

Anyhow.... so what the f*** happened last night? How can a team that holds its own against Man City and Arsenal - where we were so close to coming away with 4 points from - then capitulate against a fellow mid-table side?

 

Having recently swung between both the "Pelegrino must go" and "Give him more time" camps, I've now no idea what the best way forward is. Somewhat perversly, I'm thinking it might work in our favour that we've got Chelsea, Man Utd and Spurs coming up in our next 4 games, as I feel more confident getting a result and/or good performance out of those games than if we had more mediocre opponents lined up. There again, a couple of good results vs either of those 3 'top 6' sides might only serve to defer the inevitable.

 

Good job football is only a game otherwise I might be inclined to become slightly depressed by the whole thing

[Ken Tone]

Well I'm inclined to give Pelegrino more time, I'm the same way as I was with puel.

 

As to last night, several usually reliable players, eg Davis and Lemina, had awful games, and we looked really poor defensively.

 

Leicester played really well. I was particularly struck by Schmeichel'sdistribution. Time after time they had a strong attack following a kick or throw from the keeper.

 

Isn't that their 7th win in 8 games or something? They're really on a roll. We just need to put this game behind us and pretend it never happened!

[supersonic]

Puel still demotivating our players I see...

[Cabrone]

His selection of Charlie Austin has bought him a bit of time - despite the fact that he had to have his arm twisted so hard it almost snapped - but he's on thin ice.

 

Clueless chopping and changing of players must be peeing them off, it certainly is for me - also continuously playing players out of position is just looking plain dumb. Oh and he doesn't appear to have one iota of positivity in his head, religiously sticking to 1 up front despite a chronic lack of goals.

 

If he was half decent he'd know his best team by now. The squad is a lot lot better than he is capable of delivering.

 

Think we'll scrape through this season - as long as CA stays fit - but the thought of him around for next season will be a bit much for many ST holders. It's supposed to be entertainment right?

[Wes Tender]

I see no point criticising individual players right now, they're all in atrocious form so the manager is badly failing his job, as he has all season.

 

Don't you? They are supposed to be professional footballers, paid more than most of us could ever dream of earning. I can accept that some of them might be better than others, but all I ask for is that they give maximum effort and commitment for the 90 minutes in the week that is crucial to the success of the club and the fans. I would rather have a player with less ability but more fire in his belly than a prima-donna with great natural skills and ability who sometimes can't be arsed to make the effort. We have too many of the latter and not enough of the former. Burnley epitomise the team of lesser known players, mostly of British stock, and an unfashionable manager who is able to get them playing as a unit, a team that is capable of punching above its weight because they play for each other. Who would have thought a couple of years ago that Burnley would be where they are now? Their success perhaps suggests that we ought to go back to basics and build back up from there. At the moment we are nowhere near the Southampton Way that the club likes to crow about; we have lost our way.