Match Day Thread Saints V Stoke City Sunday 21st May 3pm

Apparently Puel is great with playing the youth. Today was the last day of the season, at home to a Stoke side already on the beach.

Tadic was very poor, yet again. I don't think I have ever said he deserved to stay on. I was actually pleased to se Puel finally sub him - since Tadic's strop the other month, he's been almost un-sub-able.

 

what to say, not long been back, bloody M3.

probably already been said - lacking in every department - skill, confidence, ideas. We are going backwards. End of the season has come at the right time.

Time to re-group and come back stronger.

can understand fans frustration but a lap of appreciation to a half empty stadium - poor

 

. End of the season has come at the right time
------------------------------------------------------------

Never been more pleased with that.

 

When's the fixtures out?

 

Would have preferred February 27th!

 

The 'problem' (for a team finishing 8th and thereby punching above their weight) has been not scoring goals. But for an amazing goalkeeping display today we'd have had a hatful. Is Puel coaching them to miss chances? Obviously, yes according to some posters here. Our miraculous rise from Division 1 has been well, miraculous! It could not conceivably continue. Given everything that happened pre-season and the bad luck during the season it is frankly amazing that we did as well as we did.

 

anyway a positive - Jack Stephens looks like a VVD in the making. Very composed and good positioning and confident to bring the ball out.

Could be our pairing for next season.

 

Bit OTT IMHO. Can't see Stephens being anywhere near as good as VVD. And that's not due to Jack - I think he's done great but Virgil is one of the best in the world.

 

These past few weeks, he has been excellent. In fact, aside from maybe against Palace and Utd in the cup final, I'm not sure he has put a foot wrong. I'd be inclined to put him above Yoshida in the pecking order.

He could do with working on his shooting, but then he's not exactly alone in that in our squad!

 

Maybe a bit ott. VVD is pure class.

Stephens however has only played 24 times for us and came in under immense pressure and looks like he has been playing premier league football for seasons. If VVD stays Stephens will only get better learning from him.

 

If we can keep VVD, then they could form a partnership in which Stephens could learn a lot from VVD next season

 

I am assuming that the general consensus that Puel is gone is correct and I struggle to come to terms with it all. How did we come to this? How can we be so quick to pass judgement? In what way is he responsible for the penalty misses? In what way is he responsible for the injuries to our best players? I was always told that football is a results business and yet here we are discussing how Puel must go because the style is not pretty enough. The truth is I have witnessed the home form every game this season and it has not.been pretty enough at all.
I think that it's very sad. Next season might well have been very different under Puel.

 

I will be ironically amused next season (I probably won't, but bear with me) if we play the most amazing, entertaining football, score bags of goals, but lose all our away games and draw all our home ones and finish 20th.

 

Firstly, I've been drinking. Heavily.

Secondly, I probably should have started at 9am to obliterate (wow, I spelt that right first time) that dreadful end to the season.

Thirdly, I love you all

Fourththly, Heard yet more behind the scenes stuff today, none of it good. Won't bother sharing, it's probably all rubbish anyway. But, Les Reed is a rotter. He's going to make the sacking of Adkins look dignified.

 

To be fair, Maya had a great game too. A selection headache at the start of next season hopefully.

 

I had to leave as my son has scarlet fever. But tbh I wouldn't have stayed. No booing and the chants about puel were disgusting. However we should have thrashed stoke, they were poor.

Something has to change next season.

 

Eh?? HELLO!!! Sales, Injuries and distractions ARE a normal season for Saints. If anyone thinks we will be bringing in more players than we are selling, you incredibly deluded.

 

Based on a few fans in the stadium today. Les could send Claude on a Game of Thrones style naked walk of shame through Southampton and that wouldn't be enough

 

I was thinking they wouldnt be satisfied unless it was a naked walk back to France.

 

I once walked naked in France for 3 days. Very liberating.