Match Day Thread Burnley v Saints Saturday 10th August 3pm

Puel had VVD for half a season the same as Pellegrino did.
Nothing will ever convince me other than Pellegrino was a complete disaster for us and we are only just getting over his shambolic tenure.
Leganes is probably his level which i'm happy for him about. I blame Reed's arrogance for the folly of Puel's sacking and his appointment not him personally. He had to take the opportunity that was offered to him, it should never have been in the first place.
I still think that our "trash team" will return to the top ten this season.
I was incredibly frustrated with the fans over Puel's sacking which is well documented on this forum.

Just add that we have beaten Arsenal, Spuds, Wolves, Everton, Leicester, drew at Chelsea and narrowly lost at OT scoring twice and even gave the Scousers a fright since Ralph took over. We are really not that bad.
Sort out the central defence and we could be a pretty useful outfit.

 

We also lost to Newcastle and Cardiff last season.

No, we’re not THAT bad. That’s my point. We’re also not that good. Just because we got smoked by Burnley doesn’t mean that we are doomed. It also doesn’t mean that Hasenhuttl is bad, or that something has gone horribly wrong. People had unrealistic expectations and then when they were not met, suddenly the world is ending.

We are just one of maybe 8 sides that could finish as high as tenth if things go our way or get relegated if they don’t. The margins are thin, but I would class us in the upper half of those teams. That’s as good as can be expected given the hole we have to work out of.

Getting into the top ten means you are good. IMO, we are not good. We’re just not awful. And if that is how this season plays out I would be fine with that.

 

Ralph got "Colined" against Cardiff ( i'm not counting the first match) and it was a culture shock. Don't think it would happen if we played Cardiff again IMO.
Burnley the first game where we got undone in tricky conditions by the long ball and our CBs did not deal with it well. I doubt if we will see the same back line again.

I think that we have proved to have the potential of finishing in the top ten by beating most of them in the second half of last season.

 

Erm…..it did, just a few months later.

 

Keep up Tom, i'm talking about the second match....

 

[QUOTE="Saints_Alive, post: 13061438, member: 1008070"I think that we have proved to have the potential of finishing in the top ten by beating most of them in the second half of last season.[/QUOTE]

We also lost or drew to most of the worst teams in the league. Does that mean we are getting relegated?

It is what it is. We are capable of beating some good teams, especially if they get cocky and don’t reckon with our press. And we will lose to some bad teams, especially those that tend to lump the ball upfield quickly anyway so they do not care about a press.

And we will lose some games against comparable sides because our press isn’t actually that great so if you prepare for it and keep your wits, you can defeat it.

 

If we still had Van Snake and Mane, we would be talking seriously about Europa qualification, no doubt.

We don't, though.

 

[/QUOTE]

I thought our record after Ralph joined meant we would finish top ten....forget what happened before he joined it is irrelevant.

 

....forget what happened before he joined it is irrelevant.[/QUOTE]

No, no.... this is an elephant

 

No, no.... this is an elephant

View attachment 125321 [/QUOTE]

And it never forgets....

 

And it never forgets....[/QUOTE]


And a female elephant...definitely never forgets.

 

Why do African elephants have big ears?






















Because Noddy won't pay the ransom.

Eyethangyoop.

Vin

 

Need to be an archaeologist rather than a comedian to dig up that joke

 

Ralph's mindset means that we will gain many more wins than Pellegrino or Hughes did but will probably lose a few too by going for the extra two points (that's what happened against Cardiff).

That should translate into a higher overall points tally in the table too.

 

I mean, that’s fair. I’m not as optimistic, but I see the logic. But if that is the case, then people should not be too bothered by yesterday’s result or the transfer window. If we had a top ten side based on Ralph’s record last year, then we still do. We lost no one of great significance.

We lost to Burnley just like we lost to Cardiff. **** happens.

I’m only talking about people who felt like we were going to be good this year and suddenly feel like the team sucks and we blew it.

Whatever you think is the base talent level of our team last year is what you should think is our level this year, plus a potential bonus if the transfers work out. When you look at it that way, then there is no reason to be so worried about yesterday’s result.

 

Yes. I think we will be better this year as well. I just don’t expect a night-and-day difference. I would expect us to not be that great at first and have a few nerve-y moments like what just happened and then improve as the year goes on. Somewhere in January we will be maybe 14th in a big pack separated by a few points and then during the rest of the season we will pull away from the bottom and finish like 11th or 12th. It wouldn’t be a huge shock if we finished 9th or tenth, I just wouldn’t expect it. It also unfortunately, wouldn’t be a huge shock if we were relegated though I don’t expect that either.

 

And a female elephant...definitely never forgets.[/QUOTE]

Or forgives

 

And a female elephant...definitely never forgets.

Or forgives[/QUOTE]

And never tell a female she look likes an elephant.....

 

Deal, I will use some of my lottery winnings

 

And the rest I propose you invest in buying yourself a Dutch CB, Argentinian striker, Portuguese RB, midfielder from Gabon, a not so young English CB, an English keeper and stand them in your back garden to scare away the Herons.