If we are going by results alone then Puel should absolutely not be sacked. He is only the third manager in the modern era to take us to a major cup final (presumably you were excited on that day) We should finish around about the top 10 again and he is only in his first season. I think he is suffering with the fans because the home performances haven't been as good as the away ones, maybe if our away games had been at SMS the perceptions of the fans would be different. This season is the worst atmosphere I can remember for many years and I think that is affecting the team's performances, the negativity in the stadium is palpable with every stray pass being berated, it's no wonder that players take the "safe" option first. The treatment of Fraser this season has been a disgrace and those jeerers should be ashamed.
Of course I was excited. And for what he achieved I'm very thankful of. It was a great performance on the day too. One that we've not seen often enough. 54. 59. 39 - These are the last three seasons GF stats. 3 games left admittedly. But if judging excitement purely on goals, then this season has been pretty sub standard. You're missing my primary point though. If a manager has lost the players and the fans then it's metaphorically called 'flogging a dead horse'. I'd love for him to prove me and the majority wrong, but I can't see it happening. I'm grumpy. I'm finally home. I'm whinging. I should probably go to bed.
I don't believe that he has lost the players and the fans change like the wind after a few positive results.
Mate, having missed the Palace game, I haven't seen us win a match since January. Like you, I travel down from London and I've probably covered about a 200 miles per goal witnessed at SMS this season. Unusualy for me, I 've been to a few away games this season, & we've won one of them, 1-0 at Anfield. I watched us lose 3-0 at Palace and never look like scoring. I'm as frustrated as anyone this season. I'm awake at 5.30 am because I'm so pissed off and wound up about last nighy. But I accept that frustrations like this are part and parcel of being a supporter. And I've seen enough this season to give me hope for next, if we can keep this group of players and yes, this manager together, with a few additions. We were excellent in the first half at Stamford Bridge last month, & unlucky not to get a point against a superb Spurs side at WHL. We were unlucky not to get a point last night. We were unlucky, in fact bloody robbed, in a Cup Final. Only the lack of a decent finisher, and one moment of brilliance from Inter, stopped us from winning at the San Siro. I just don't get the Puel Out crowd at all. No patience, no guts, no comprehension of how hard it is to win at this level. And possibly no understanding of the basic metaphor that football offers of life - sometimes it's tough but you have to hang in there. On the other hand, football isn't life and death so you do have the option of going and doing something else. In which case good luck to you,though naturally if you do take that option I hope you are regretting it this time next year
I'm ambivalent to Puel staying or not, but Sunderland or Boro are irrelevant in this context. People have the right to applaud or complain about what they pay to view and the right to not watch. Personally Id review the situation in Dec 17, give him a summer and some money, but I can see him gone by Nov if we don't perform. I also think he has lost large parts of the fans which the club will be concerned about and maybe some of the players, and that stems maybe from not understanding the tactics.
I just don't understand why the exact same unsuccessful subs are used each week. Why not at least try to mix it up a little?
I do believe many judge excitement purely on goals. I've walked away from many a good 0-0 and the default reaction from a lot of people is "that was ****" I think many are addicted to that rush of adrenaline when a goal is scored and you can lose your **** for a few seconds(not literally) All the criticisms about the play against this Puel team I heard under Koeman. People groaning at slow possession build up, at players not shooting or crossing when they have the chance. Of course it can be better and I understand the frustration, but I believe it's personnel and not Claude Puel
We had chances, but the same problem arose. Other teams can finish and we struggle to. I would be more concerned about Puel as manager if we made no chances. The team still work hard, but confidence is lacking....how different it would have been if chances went in earlier in the season when Puel arrived. We now have a striker (who was initially successful), but losing him for a few weeks seems to have put everyone back in their shell. We have good players in most positions, but we have lost our pzazz....I remember writing that before Christmas. In a fair world, Puel will be safe after a season with low and highlights played under difficult circumstances. All depends on this takeover (if it happens), but if he goes, it won't be because he is a bad manager....it will be because circumstances were against him.
Just saw that stat above of 39 goals and didn't even realise. That is a Wow statement to me. I think this forum is a little bit head in the sand to be honest and a lot of people who used to voice their concerns don't bother anymore because of the constant clappers defending anything Saints. You cannot compare the current Saints to the old Saints. We are in a different position than we were back then. You cannot compare the current Saints to Sunderland or any other mismanaged club. You can't compare Saints to Middlesboro who have only just come up. Compare the first season back with Middlesboro and we did better than they did in that season by a margin. As on many thread on here there seems a determination to quite literally ignore what people are saying and answer a different question than is asked. You cannot continually ignore that people's problem is the style of play and general performance in a high percentage of our games. You can;t then ignore what people are saying and start going on about results or points. If people are moaning about Puel's style of play then the reply "it was a good point" is not relevant to their "gripe." I don;t go to Saints games as you know but on TV you can hear (or not) that the fans are not singing anymore. You can hear the shouts, hear the moans and groans and on this forum you can if you haven;t already noticed that many people just do not post anything at all negative anymore because it is a waste of time. If you are negative you are wrong because the clappers are in the right. Our style of play is poor and not the Southampton way. Our tactics are poor and not the Southampton Way. We may be getting some "good away points" but that does not answer any questions about the way we are playing or the style we are playing. Koeman gave us a great points haul but in that there were spells of dire hoofball. We have spent a few years moaning about West Brom, Stoke and West Ham etc parking the bus and playing anti-football yet here we are and it is tactical nous. I'm not saying Puel has to go but if he serves up a first 10 games in the same STYLE as this season he will be out the door way before the Jan window. And the constant clapper response of "they are not real fans" or denigrating fans as knowing nothing or wanting instant success or "goal gratification" 39 goals!!! 39 goals!!!! I was one of those who wanted Koeman out. The league finish masked the fact that bar a few games we were not attractive to watch. We were spoiled with Adkins attacking football an Pochettino's possession football and Koeman's "hit it to the corners or the big man" approach was not great to watch bar a couple of short runs of games in each season. Puel has gone the other way and turned us into a European "no risks" unit. I think many on this forum need to read their posts (yes maybe me as well) and realise just how pompous they seem when they start saying other fans are not real fans or don;t know anything while presenting the happy clapper sentiment as if it was fact rather than opinion. The football is boring. No matter how much you love a tough fought 0-0 our football is boring and the occasional good games whether at Wembley or not do not make up for the fact that our football is boring.
Imps, the thing that the 'moaners' seem to be missing is that the 'clappers' such as myself aren't happy about our style of football, the lack of goals or the current situation. We're just trying to provide some kind of context as to the 'why' and how that might not all lie at the feet of Maya/Boufal/Puel/Reed/Forster (delete as appropriate dependent upon preconception). That's all. I'd be amazed if you could find anyone thinking "this is all fine and dandy".
Agreed, we can't sub on players we don't have! Although I would have liked to have seen more of Sims at this stage of the season. The more game time he gets the better, and it's not as if the likes of Long/Rodriguez/redmond/boufal have had a huge impact off the bench in recent weeks.
The reality is most on here have been looking for the reasons for the way we are playing at the moment. Anything from injuries to selling our best players seems to be the general consensus. I am doubtful if there is anyone that would disagree with the statement we are not playing the Southampton way. So the reality still remains that it falls on Puels shoulders to play the hand he is dealt. We as fans can only try to see what he is trying to achieve. Sadly I am more and more being convinced on a match by match basis that the players do not have the confidence to play his style or just do not have the confidence in him. I'm not sure which but this currently is not the Saints of old that to me is sure.
To be quite honest I don;t really undestand the whole "Puel has no personality" bit because I don;t watch any of this media rubbish to hear managers and players say what you could have predicted they will say. You may as well wheel out the same person for every game and club because they are all media trained and it is just repetition of well worn words and cliches. I did watch Adkins' interviews but not for analysis on what had happened or would happen because there it was just his version of the same cliches, management speak and media trained repitition as all the others but he came out with some good one liners (and 50 liners.) Puel as a person - who cares. I don;t care if he jumps around on the touchline or conveys more enthusiasm in interviews. I just assess what I see on the pitch (or screen) and it is quite obvious that his style of play is an extreme no risk policy. I'm not asking for a Keeganesque or Ferguson 90s "we will score more than the opposition" but I expect more than "we will try not to concede and then hope we can score 1 with the rest of the game not taking any risks at all." 39 goals in 35 games when of course we will score 2 or 3 in some games means a lot of games where we end up with 0 and that lends itself to other teams not needing to play that well to get a win or draw." It is the style of play, not the performance itself that I have problems with. No doubt our players are doing as well as they can performance wise and doing what they are told to do. So for me Puel's days are numbered. This just looks like it is his style and if we see the same next season (if he is still here) the crowd will turn on him almost wholesale yet we will still get posters on here that then say they aren't proper fans and are free to stay away. I just do not understand the statements on here about other fans and their aptitude or knowledge or expectations. They pay the same money as those on here that berate them and are entitled to their opinion. They are not lesser fans. I think some on here would prefer St Marys to have a test of happy clappiness with signed declaration not to moan, booing banned and any negativity to be outlawed in preference for media garble. Hurrah for crowds of 20k (or less) in the Prem if that happened!! On the Arsenal thread Ides (I think it is Ides) even suggests that it is because he is French. This is nothing to do with his nationality. Poch is Argentinian who we have had rivalry with yet we embraced him quickly BECAUSE his style was good. Koeman will be remembered forever as the cheating Dutchman that fouled Platt and should have been sent off let alone score the free kick later on but people liked him. People don't dislike Puel because he is French they dislike Puel because his style of play is boring to watch. I don't dislike Mark Hughes as a manager because he is Welsh. I dislike him because his teams are always dirty. I don't dislike Pulis as a manager because he is #Welsh. I dislike him because his teams play anti-football. Sam Allardyce is English and I don;t like him (because of his football) and I don't like Harry Redknapp because he's a w*nk*r (although his football style is quite good.) Maybe there should also be a "Brexit" test at St Marys so that it can be a crowd of remainers "echoing" away in there with polite applause constantly for 90 minutes. This has nothing to do with nationality or the way the guy comes across in interviews or because he doesn't jump up and down on the sideline. His style of play is boring to watch. He is the Saints equivalent to Houllier at Liverpool in turning Saints from an attractive to watch team into a dull no risk continental style of play. It is his football that is rank. you could argue that Koeman started the change into a boring to watch team but at least Koeman's side put a higher percentage of good performances in as Puels (ignoring the points differences.) I didn't watch last night's game, so haven't commented on it. I watched a documentary on the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa instead......and it was interesting
Supporter definition: A person that "supports" the team. Fan definition: Short for "fanatic". Precious little supporting of the team or fanatiism this season except against Inter at home and Liverpool and Wembley. (i don't include our away support in that as it has been excellent) We have often taken the piss out of the Skates for their lack of numbers but at least the ones that go are passionate and make lots of noise.
I find it fascinating that the talk about our style of play being boring seems to have been amplified since last night's game. We lost but in no way were we boring. Vin
Is not paying the several hundreds for season tickets supporting a team? You can;t define a football supporter by thinking they must clap everything and never voice their disapproval. And when people are paying Saints prices to watch the "elite" players they might want to see a bit better quality than they are seeing. At Lincoln I wouldn't expect to see perfect football but then my family season ticket for me and the 2 boys is only £289 in total for next season. £12 a game you aren;t expecting as much. So by your "definition" anybody that has a moan is not a supporter?
I didn't watch last night like I said. However it is good to see CBK back and hopefully many more of those that had not bothered posting because of the response to any negativity will return too.
That is like saying all those that don't sing throughout are not supporting. Everybody is equal. They are all supporters. If they weren't they would not be there. Are all the "Wenger out" Arsenal fans not supporters?
