Here`s one. He`s an experienced player now, but where has he ever pulled up trees ?. Our last season in League 1, he started the season as a regular until displaced by Oxo - then he went in the huff. As an attacking midfield player, he hadn`t scored in 15 games or so - in comes Oxo, and startes conributing goals. I hope he proves me wrong, and is a big success - but he just isn`t very good. Leeds away last season ? - that won`t do this season.
Personally, I have no problem with Puncheon's attitude or his fitness. I'm just not sure he's good enough. Remember that he spent a lot of a Premiership season on loan at Blackpool who eventually got relegated and for a lot of those games he was only a sub.
Team vs Leeds, 3rd March 2012 Saints: Davis, Richardson, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox (Harding 55), Chaplow, Schneiderlin, Cork, Puncheon (Hammond 46), Lambert, Lee (Guly 46). Subs (not used): Martin, Sharp. http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10280~57765,00.html
He did, but it's easy to forgive forgetting that he did. He was abysmal. Awful. Didn't feature after that.
How dare you state your opinion!!!!!!!! Ditto!! Makes me sick all these people with their opinions!! Put your rose-tinted specs back on now, the both of you.
Negative? What are you on? Schneiderlin, Cork, Lallana, Davis, Guly, Chaplow, Hammond, Ward-Prowse. There you are, that's eight. Who do you disagree with? In actual fact I also would prefer De Ridder, and potentially Chambers. So, that's ten. Not being negative, that's simply the way I see our squad. Please tell, who out of these would you place behind Puncheon??? That is massively detrimental to Chappers. He was our most important player for half a dozen games last season, during which period we established ourselves as the best team in the league, so arguably, it was the most important vein of form throughout the entire campaign. When he got injured, it took us ages to get over his loss. We didn't recover fully for months. He was only shoddy towards the end because of the injury, that is obvious. What the **** did Puncheon ever do for us? Absolutely nothing. Crap tackling, crap distribution, god-awful at shooting and crossing. I was one of the people saying to take him back in January. But he did nothing. In the Premier League? Quite simply, you're having a laugh.
Puncheon's best three games for us were in the 2009-10 season against Walsall, Huddersfield and Bristol Rovers. We won 15-2, Puncheon scored 3 and set up about 7 (ok not sure about that one). He had ability, as much as anyone in that squad and when he showed it we won games. Then he started the next season badly, the crowd wanted Oxo in and got pretty hostile, and it all went completely wrong. After the Twitter thing I was saying get him out, ban Twitter forever etc as well but I got it wrong and Nigel brought him back, and happily it seemed like he got a generally good reception from the stands. He's a certainty to be in the 25 man squad now and I think he could play a lot of games.
Bit harsh on puncheon though I like you was happy for him to come back into the side in January and he did under deliver. As for Chaplow - a while back I looked at the win ratios with and without him last season and his positive influence on the team was plain to see. I reckon there's a lot to come from him this season.
I wonder, if Punch hadn't been impressive this pre-season (which is being blown over the top by some people), people would still be arguing to get him in the first team. I'm not even going to get into a debate on his ability - I just don't understand how somebody who we haven't needed at all to get into the Prem, can now be considered a first teamer.
Does seem strange that he wasn't deemed consitant enough for us in the lower leagues but is now being talked up as a starter in the Prem. It maybe that his speed is more suited to the Premier League and we are maybe looking at a more counter attacking style but I can't really see it.
True, we can only beat what they put in front of us, I suspect Ajax may be a little more difficult, being a bit negative here myself, but we should be putting a first choice XI out and only tweak it where it is not performing rather than give every one a chance.
Puncheon said that it had not been easy to find his way into a winning team last season, but wants to knuckle down and start again. I noticed that when asked questions that he could have answered as directed only at himself he replied saying 'we' which to me showed a team ethos. He has the potential to be a good player if he works harder and becomes more consistent. Adkins mentioned, with a smile, that Morgan had told him that the Evian players were saying that they didn't know what to do against us.
