Fact isLTL, I have an even handed approach to the board. I do criticise (privately with pals/colleagues etc.) and praise where credit is due. On balance Ms. Liebherr, I believe, has taken the club to a higher level than was originally expected. Many thought she would sell up in her first year. Instead, she (& that board) have taken the club further up the Prem. than ever before, got to Europe in successive seasons, got to a major Wembley final. Lest you forget, they have also cleared the (Cortese) existing debt, mended press relations, re-connected with their former players, vastly improved the sponsorship(s) incomes etc. Yes we're having a sh☆t season but no-one (yet) has come up with a rationale to prove that moaning, bleating, booing and jeering players, team, management et al has EVER secured more goals/points.
It's a mixture of the board making errors and just being unlucky. No malevolence is involved....they were tied up with a sale of the club at a time they believed we were at least a nice safe middle of the road club. Over confident that we were too good to be relegated and probably believing honestly that things would turn round....we had too many draws....a few more losses would probably have got MP2 sacked earlier. The board could be accused of being too nice and not discovering their inner Cortese. And don't forget that sacking and hiring managers costs money. I don't see the board (including Les Reed) as devils incarnate....their luck ran out and bad decisions were made. Whatever happens....this season needs a serious review....where did it go wrong and who made these decisions (remember we are not privy to that).
Agree absolutely on the moaning and bleating not helping. Hence I only really do it on here, never at the games. We have a slightly different perspective on the board and the reasons behind our relative successes, but that’s fine, opinions make the world go round!
Fair comment Fran. The key issue, in my mind, has always been that you review things at the end of the season. Sadly, the somewhat toxic atmosphere that has prevailed this season (particularly) may well cost our beloved Saints the status in the Prem. A few have commented about the vibe at Palace....... and, maybe, that'll be the difference ~ roared onto survival versus the St. Mary's mausoleum of mediocrity. With luck, Saturday there will be no let up in support for the team. Let's do it!
Oh come on. The atmosphere is not what is going to cost us our status in the Premier League. It's the appointment and subsequently glacial like reaction to the foibles of Mr Pellegrino which is going to do that (and which led to the atmosphere being as it is).
I'm sorry but although some sections of the support might've influenced the unfair and myopic decision to sack Puel at end of last season, it played no part in the decision to replace him with an inexperienced manager with only one year in Europe at a small club in Spain. It also played no part in deciding to keep employing him (later than all the rivals) until the relegation rot had firmly set in and it was not consulted when the vast amount of not budgeted for windfall VVD money was not exploited to ensure that we had the best chance possible to avoid relegation. Putting all the blame for what is frankly a shambolic decline this season down to a poor atmosphere is a major cop out as far as i'm concerned and i've also been critical of the non support at SMS.
That might be a good base line but if things are going tits-up, good management will review & make changes before the real **** storm hits! In my mind, that’s obvious.
Must agree to disagree. Yes, thought that CP, in the main, was undone by circumstances outside of his control. e.g. Fonte hissy fit / CA injury / VvD injury / debilitating loss at Wembley. The subsequent change of manager was a puzzle, clouded (I'm sure) by the subsequent club sale and unusal pre-season activity - VvD in the main! No excuse though for the apparent lack of support for him / the team after the first few games became a struggle. Trying to create Fortress St. Mary's, with opponents seemingly entering the lions den never quite happened did it. Maybe tomorrow will be different............ certainly hope so!
C'mon Laces, given a choice what would you wish to do....... Play your football in a cauldron of noise and support. Or Play in a stadia with your crowd giving you sporadic jeers & groaning.
Saints away record this season...PL 17 W 2 D7 L 8 PTS 13 GF 15 GA 29. Our away support, as ususal has backed the team superbly, how do you account for that poor return then?
Several things have contributed to the mess we are in. The fans are not one of them. To try to excuse the incompetence of the board, the management and the players by blaming the fans is ridiculous
The atmosphere hasn't helped though, it really hasn't. And it's the rotten atmosphere, far more than the poor football, that has me going to St Marys with a heavy heart.
Excuse me. VVD is responsible for: the Brexit mess; the **** weather; the Windrush scandal; the election of Donald Trump. And that's me letting him off lightly!
Nobody is saying that the fans have been good this season, I have hated the atmosphere at SMS, but Dell doesn't want to acknowledge that vast majority of blame for our predicament must be placed at the door of the people that make the football decisions at the club.
Yes we do but so do most other clubs. That is modern football. And plenty of them are not in the bottom three.
I have never praised our home fans this season but it has been nowhere near as toxic as it was during the Branfoot years.
