I'm not going to go down the road with you of ST holder and away games....but I assume you will be giving Anfield a miss??? I thought I got the clever bit right.
I think you are right. I am just prepared to allow him this as I think he has come in and decided for various reasons (number of games, him being new, etc) to be conservative and be more defensive. It certainly isn't what we've been used to, but I don't think it is the end of the world. We've just been spoiled. Taking a season to establish himself is ok by me. I believe we need to be patient fans and allow Les to be confident we don't go down and then make sure we set things up right for next season. Things don't get put right overnight. Man Utd were dull for two whole seasons and it's taken Mourhino 5 months to get things right for them.
It's all about options. Last year we had pace & unpredictability with Mane & Pelle gave height & hold up play & importantly brought Long into the game. We're very flat with any combo of Long / JRod & Redmond hasn't progressed enough. We sold quality & haven't replaced.
I generally agree with Beefy about cups. For fans it's a day out but winning a Cup is not a great achievement and it doesn't mean you're a good team - in recent years Birmingham, Wigan, Pompey, Swansea and Middlesbrough have all won cups and Stoke, Hull, Villa, Palace, Sunderland, Cardiff and even Bradford have reached finals. League position is a sign of progress and team quality. The exact quote doesn't apply to us but Wenger had it right when he said that prospective new signings don't ask whether you've won the League Cup recently; they ask whether you're in the Champions League. Having said all that, we're a goal up going into the second leg and it would only mean one extra match so I'd probably play a strong team. Given we've been drawn against Arsenal in the next round I'd probably play a weakened team in the FA Cup replay.
I haven't got a ticket nope, again I am not saying I don't want us to win it. I am saying the cups, don't excite me as much as they did. If I was clever I would save some cash, instead of watching the amount of games I do.
If calling out a petulant attacking player who can't pass, cross or shoot properly is daft in your eyes Archers, then I'll gladly accept the moniker. He is, in my humble opinion, way below the standard of player we should be fielding.
Ah... if those two had progressed (which presumably Puel and he club thought they would) then all may be good. **** happens.
Or he's not had enough time with them on the training pitch to get them doing what he wants. And our strikers are goal shy and lacking in confidence. And we don't have a PL quality Right Back.
I was lucky to see us win FA Cup and the JPT which was just as exciting....just can't believe what he said when we're so close to winning silverware. I'll be watching us play Norwich on Wednesday, nothing to get too excited about but christ if we get to the Semi's I'll be buzzing, like all our supporters will...except Beefy!!
and that's fair enough Beefy. In previous seasons I remember you and I being amongst those defending managers for focusing on the league when we were in good positions. Right now, I have switched. Semi-final is sooooooooooo close, I can almost touch the final. I can certainly smell it.
I don't agree with your original statement, but I understand where you're coming from. Without wanting to come across as biased by rating my team as better than they are, I do believe that Redmond should be nothing more than a squad player for us, certainly at this stage of his career anyway. He performs about one in four. That's the sort of ratio that gets you regularly into a side who are happy to finish 14th, but it shouldn't regularly get you into a side who have finished in the top eight for three seasons running. Even in games where he does play well, he's still neither a Mane replacement, nor someone who you can see being of interest to the big boys. If he was, he'd have scored more than one against Liverpool (when he had one of those good games).
This is an interesting test of the fans and who is wanting to stand by their team. I told my wife "for better or for worse" at the aisle. She just didn't realise that I was linking that to Saints.
It will be interesting IF we lose the next 2/3 league games,the pressure will certainly be on Uncle Les. Cup runs are ok but if the league is suffering then I don't see the point. My opinion is if Puel loses the next 3 league games his a gonna
well at least one of those threads will cheer up a bit on Wednesday! (no forget that it's Arsenal next)
Not a great achievement? Can't agree with that mate. At the end of the day people want us to challenge the big boys and become a big club. Well big clubs win trophies. For me, the Premiership comes and goes for clubs like Saints, so would be nice to win something while there. We spent 27 years in the top flight last time, but what did we win? In fact as you mentioned Wigan, in their short top flight stay they managed to match our major honour haul in both clubs history... When my two year old grows up, I want to be able to tell the story of us lifting a pot at Wembley. Not the story of the year we finished 6th.
After Virgil and Romeu, I'd suggest that Cedric has been our best player this season. I've gave him MOTM against Liverpool, and in another recent-ish home game (Everton maybe?).
