I expect the board would act if we were at risk (as I said), but I don't think we will be....I expect us to be safe this season under MP2.
It's a bit embarrassing after so few games. It's not what you expect from Saints we're not Crystal Palace you know, swapping managers every 5 minutes!
I remember the days that our fans would support the team, rather than hurl abuse at the smallest mistake. I don't think the fans are entirely blameless with some of the abuse dished out in the last year or so. No wonder they play it safe, petrified of making a mistake I bet!!!!!!
Everyone says this about Ron, but it's not like he was a stranger to playing 3 at the back as we played it in our first season at times too. Back to back European qualification and best league finishes in 30 years are the facts and they speak for themselves. He was certainly a better manager than Claude anyway. As for MP, I'm not fully convinced yet and agree with others who say we don't seem to have an identity which is a concern but it's still early days and lets see what he can do.
Not sure I totally agree. If this was largely the case we would be dominating in the European competitions yet the opposite is true. I would say that we don't seem to have let the shackles off, and maybe MP will learn how to do this effectively whilst maintaining his slightly cautious approach to make us more threatening attack wise. It isn't due to him not recognising the issue, he is maybe slightly adjusting it to the point of satisfaction. I'd suggest the Last 3 or 4 games are evidence of that.
It's been a while since anyone laughed at Man U for giving SAF time. And I'm quite glad we gave Lawrie McMenemy time.
I still have some confidence that we will be fine, though I retain the right to change my position on a match by match basis.
When the PL was not as competitive our Champions League teams would play their reserve teams in matches against the "lower" teams. We did dominate Europe in that period. Now the PL is much more competitive and the top teams can't do that anymore. Our teams are competing with European teams that still do have that luxury and rest players a lot more than we do. I think it is too much of a straight line correlation to say "we aren't doing well in Europe so it means X. Remember the days when we would have 2 or 3 in the QF/SF of the Champions league? 2 in the final? In those days all the top 4 (as was) would be fielding their reserves every fortnight in the PL. Wenger often used to put a team out with 10 or 11 changes. Ferguson used to do nearly the same.
Still baffles me slightly that after Pellegrino had a good look at his attacking options he didn't bring in another. Can't really see it being an issue with the board as we bought in Lemina and Hoedt when we thought we wouldn't unless they were replacing someone. Seems to me he was ok with what he had at his disposal..
Weren't we trying to get Vietto from Atletico? Perhaps we couldn't make it happen; in real life you can't always get what you want, and you can't always pick up an alternative in John Lewis' either.
Indeed. He should have a clear idea what he wants to do and how our players fit into that. Yet the impression I have so far is that, as with Puel, there is no clear plan/identity/call it what you will. I also wasn't suggesting we should hire Pulis or Allardyce, I'm just using them as examples because they're managers whose style of play would not suit our players. Examples from a different time. Almost a different world. The financial implications of relegation are far, far different now to 40 years ago. Ferguson in particular isn't that relevant to a discussion of Pellegrino because he was given time after achieving some success and while instituting massive changes at Manchester United, changes he was making precisely because he had clear ideas and plans for the club - altering the (drinking) culture at the club, overhauling the squad, focusing on youth development etc.
Yeah I can see that and they are good points you made. That time was a good few seasons back from memory and lately they have been playing full squads in both competitions. I think generally the quality has risen as the top 4-6 now have much better players and better managers to play better systems. For me the Eu way has evolved from pioneering managers and that is having the effect. Our Eu style of play seems to be an early 90's Italian style.
The odds of us getting Vietto in the summer were effectively nil. Atletico wasn't going to move him without a replacement, and they were under a transfer embargo, leaving them virtually no chance of getting such (their one big summer signing, Vitolo, was immediately loaned out for six months to skirt the ban on new registrants). All of this was known going in: the ban was upheld at the start of June, at which point we'd have had a full three months to seek other options. We instead hoped that an already shorthanded team would sell a player whose contribution they were relying on, or we simply didn't think it'd matter if we waited six months to get him.
It may be as Schad said that we hoped we were strong enough....buying a player who doesn't work out can be an expensive mistake. We've done it and so has every other team. But it is also possible that we tried to sign other players and didn't get them. In fact, Mauricio mentioned this before the season started. How low do you go down your list before you stop....especially if you hope to get your first choice in January or next summer. It's not as if we have no players. Like us, the board must have hoped we'd do better in the first half of the season with the way the fixtures worked out. The board cannot be infallible. Romeu says the team is unhappy but not worried. He is possibly/probably right to feel that way....after all we want the team to know they have to work, but also to feel confident that they can turn it round.
Well I can't speak for all fans but my expectations relate to how we play not where we finish in the league. We are simply playing very poorly indeed under the current and previous manager and it isn't rocket science to see why. If I were MP's agent I'd already be looking for his next job. Southampton way my arse.
'Very poorly' is comparative. Middling in the EPL is actually a reasonably high standard in the football world. Disappointing is the term I would use. Saints fans want and deserve entertainment.
