Arron Sanders gives his take on the current situation at Southampton Football Club, see if you agree with him.

There is a lot of negativity around the fans of Southampton football Club at the moment, with the side currently in it's worst position on the pitch for a number of years.

If the discontent stemmed largely from the younger supporters, then this may of been more understandable with those only ever really seeing the club on the up going through the leagues and then onto multiple top ten finishes in the Premier League.

However when you have supporters who have been through the clubs previous relegation battles in the 1990's, like TUI's Youtube favourite match reaction regular Mike compare things to the Ian Branfoot era then you really do have major causes for concern about the clubs future.

When you do a little bit of digging the facts do not make for great reading on behalf of our current Argentine boss either.

Currently his Win rate for the first 23 matches under his management stands a very unimpressive 17.4%, to put that into perspective that worse than the aforementioned Ian Branfoot and the likes of Stuart Gray who both over saw under performing Saints sides during their respective times at the helm.

Pellegrino's predecessor Claude Puel who was sacked by the board in the summer, as they were seemingly unhappy at the time at how things had gone under him left with a win rate of 37.7% from his 53 matches of stewardship.

So it certainly begs the question if that standard wasn't good enough for the board just some 6 months ago? Why are they persisting with worse now?

The excuse that seems to come out of the recent interviews with the local media by Ralph Kruger, is that Pellegrino has had to deal with the saga of Virgil Van Dijk hanging over him.

I would like to retort this comment with the fact that each of our last 3 managers in Puel, Koeman and Pochettino all had to deal with a saga regarding one of our players being heavily linked to the big six sides.

The likes of Dejan Lovern, Adam Lallana, Morgan Schneiderlin & Victor Wanyama all spat their dummies out to try and force moves away at one stage or another but standards on the pitch remained high.

When you look how Pellegrino has fared performing his managerial duties, which cannot be blamed on anything else than his own decisions the Van Dijk excuse really does become a non starter in my view.

The constant changes being made to the starting eleven for each game, which has become known amongst some fans as "Pellegrino's lottery" has never been good for consistency or chemistry for any side.

It also appears through the performances of the players, that the manager is struggling to get them motivated to play for him and show some fight and resilience on the pitch with only the performance at Old Trafford being an exception to this.

Again Old Trafford was the only time that Pellegrino has been able to show me any sense of tactical awareness, where I will give him credit where it's due he got it spot on in my opinion.

the second half collapse against Crystal Palace on Tuesday was a prime example of this where he failed to adapt to the substitutions made by Roy Hodgson, which in part lead to 3 points lost in a vital relegation 6 pointer.

The likes of West Ham, Everton & Leicester have already shown that a change of manager can be a positive thing this season and the time for a change has come for Saints.

Who would you like to see come in as manager if the club are to sack Pellegrino Saints fans? Do you agree with TUI's Clive from a previous Youtube video the Martin O'Neill could be a good option?

Photo: Action Images

kuningan added 11:35 - Jan 5 Out of his depth, must go agreed. But whether he will or not is another matter. Yes, long-term supporters realize what a relegation battle is like. For sure, Kat and Krueger don't. And Eric Black, who certainly does, has already jumped ship. Mr Reed needs to earn his no doubt generous salary.
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IWOZTHERE added 11:59 - Jan 5 Over half way through the season and he still doesn't know his best side. Hoedt gave an interview a few days ago saying effectively that he and Yosh had played a few together now,'he knows what I'm going to do and I know what he's going to do'. That's not 'rocket science' that's from page one of how to manage a football team. More than that, it's basic commonsense. As for his possession obsession, the sideways and backwards stuff takes any momentum we have away. He's trained this crap into (what were) good players. How can so many good players suddenly look so poor? Every day that passes now, is a day less for a new man to slot in, yet our venerable board, whose neglect in the summer contributed to this, still 'fiddle while the club burns'.

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bstokesaint added 12:35 - Jan 5 Out of my large group of Southampton-supporting friends I've yet to speak to anyone who thinks we’ll survive under the current manager and with the team as it is. We need a new manager in ASAP with a proven track record and 3-4 signings. Given the increased television income now on offer and all of the money from our financial backers, Liverpool FC, there must be money to spend and we’ve had at least 4 months to highlight targets. Get it done Saints or we are Championship next season.

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bstokesaint added 12:36 - Jan 5 Out of my large group of Southampton-supporting friends I've yet to speak to anyone who thinks we’ll survive under the current manager and with the team as it is. We need a new manager in ASAP with a proven track record and 3-4 signings. Given the increased television income now on offer and all of the money from our financial backers, Liverpool FC, there must be money to spend and we’ve had at least 4 months to highlight targets. Get it done Saints or we are Championship next season.

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nysaint added 12:51 - Jan 5 he's absolutely clueless and clearly unprepared for the pace of the premiership .. and I think that's the problem here.. its a very different league we need proven PL experience.. and now we are after Carrillo a striker with 4 goals in 19 games and no international experience playing in a weaker league . for 17M transfer fee.. we are going to go down with this continued weak thinking.

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Toussaint added 13:04 - Jan 5 I was prepared to give him more time,but when i saw how negative we became after going up 1-0 v palace.just before haltime Bertrand was pointing at his wrist,the team think they can sit on a 1-0 lead yet palace were there for the taking but we backed off and gave them the confidence to beat us.after that ive had enough of him,he dosent know what hes doing
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SaintBrock added 13:18 - Jan 5 We don't need flipping' experts and long debates to tell us that Pellegrino should go, the bloke is effing useless and it beggars belief that our scouts ever saw enough in him to suggest he was the right man for Saints. The Club have a decision to make,it's Pellegrino or me! I will not be attending another game while he is the manager.
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blambo added 13:24 - Jan 5 We will be relegated i Pellegrino is not sacked. Sack him now, bring back Ronald K and give him the Virgil money....
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petedoors1 added 13:25 - Jan 5 Did anyone see Charlie Nicholas talking on Sky Sports where he predicted Pellegrino to go after we lose to Fulham on Sunday. http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/01/04/charlie-nicholas-predicts-fulham-vs-southam
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petedoors1 added 13:28 - Jan 5 Try this one http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/01/04/charlie-nicholas-predicts-fulham-vs-southam
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TygerUppercut added 14:07 - Jan 5 Finally some sense spoke by the ugly inside Nick must be out of the office today and unable to.edit his pro team kat liebherr spin into your piece
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Bar_Brother added 14:33 - Jan 5 I totally accept that MP has not won enough games with the squad he has inherited. I also agree that the approach to games has been generally quite negative and as a team we have lacked some forward drive.- I think adjusting to this league takes time - I appreciate Poch didnt have the same slow start but he inherited a team perfect for his high pressing style. I would like to see change yes- but at Boardroom level. Of course there is a real danger of falling through the trap door but the reason for this runs much deeper than the manager- the problems set in well before MP started- The latter half of last season under Puel was woeful. If we get some fresh faces above and they decide to change MP fair enough- but the responsibility for this situation rests on Ralph and Les. Sacking MP is simply a sticking plaster solution

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saintjf added 15:02 - Jan 5 This is all very sad. Just how bad have things got to get. Wait till we are right at the bottom? Where are the points going to come from? The Palace game was the decider. MP could not deal with changes than Roy H made. It also says something when Palace look to have a better forward line than Saints. It is not all to do with MP as Bar_Brother pointed out. Things were not right under Puel. Maybe Puel did the best job he could under the circumstances he found himself in.

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Sanguin added 15:03 - Jan 5 I don’t think Everton or West Ham fans are enamoured with their new managers. It always winds me up when people attribute positive results to tactical acumen and negative results to tactical ineptitude. It’s incredibly lazy and demonstrates no actual analysis of tactics. You wouldn’t be saying he got his tactics spot on against Man Utd if Pogba hadn’t touched that ball and we’d lost 1-0. I thought we had our tactics spot on against Huddersfield, but Austin missed an open goal which would have made it 2 – 0. Yes, I agree it’s dire and SOMETHING has to change, it is so miserable watching Southampton currently. But we tried changing our manager at the end of last season and the problems scoring continued. I’m not convinced changing manager will result in a turnaround in our fortunes. I’m also worried that sacking two managers in around 6 months will send a negative message to the rest of the world on the stability of Southampton, why would any top or promising manager want to come here.

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NBSaint added 15:22 - Jan 5 Sacking MP is not the answer, unless there is somebody to turn to who we would be confident of bringing improvement. Allardyce and Moyes are already taken (and would anyone have been happy with either of them with their defensive approaches?); so is Hodgson (and I don’t imagine supporters would have been thrilled by him either). Meanwhile West Brom sacked Pulis (fair enough) but got Pardew (how is that an improvement?); and Swansea sacked Clement to end up with a manager who has moved clubs almost every year and who had just been sacked by Sheffield Wednesday (bizarre). Stoke are holding on to Hughes because they can’t see anybody better who could be available. Would RK want to come back? He clearly felt he was too big for Saints; and he didn’t give chances to home grown players. Oh and he failed badly at Everton. I suppose Frank de Boer is available.... During the summer, MP and Marco Silva were the hot young managers that clubs were apparently jostling to employ; and we got the one who hadn’t already failed at Hull. And who is now struggling with Watford. Puel was sacked because of too many tedious displays in which Saints failed to score. Yet he has now turned Leicester round. Surely that’s because he has Mahrez and Vardy, whereas at Saints he would have a pair of non-scoring forwards in Gabbiadini (repeating his history from Napoli) and Long (who couldn’t score for Ireland either) and an occasionally fit Austin. So the solution surely has to be to try to find a striker capable of scoring when presented with a chance. Saints do create chances: I think I saw a statistic that we’ve hit the woodwork more than any other club this season. We just need someone to put them away.

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Braveheart added 15:35 - Jan 5 I agree he should go, when they let Puel go they got in a like for like manager. Puel only looks better now because he has inherited a much higher standard of players. We do not have any players at the moment that are Premiership class. Pelligrino won't get sacked because Kruegar has given him the vote of confidence. If he sacks him now he will only look foolish. Also it would mean that Kelvin Davis being the first team coach will have to take over as team manager until a replacement arrives; does he have that experience? We should drop the pathetic cliche the "Southampton Way" because it means nothing. They should also stop playing that pathetic song at the start of every game because it is embarrassing. I would like to see a good, experienced manager come in and sort everything out and have some tactical nouce about him. I will be at Fulham tomorrow and personally I hope we lose, because we would benefit in two ways; It might be the final nail in the coffin for MP also we do not need a cup run this year. We haven't got the manager or the players to cope with the FA cup. We don't "March On" if we did, we wouldn't be where we are today.

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aceofthebase added 15:54 - Jan 5 It's so easy being a Saints player 'cos most fans blame the manager. The players should have the brains and skill not to sit back and invite the opposition to attack. I certainly saw no evidence of MP urging his players to play more deep, in fact quite the contrary. The First half against CP we played well and no supporter was screaming for MP to go. If only we had a strong forward line similar to CP

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BoondockSaint added 16:01 - Jan 5 How about a companion piece titled "Why Les and Ralph Must Go" ? For all his faults, Pellegrino is in the same boat as Puel: bog average players and a board that has no intention of bringing in any quality-i.e. spend the money needed. The saying goes "You are what your record says you are." If Puel and Pellegrino are to be judged on their records the last two years, and let go? Why are the Toxic Twins not judged on their record?

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AmericanSaint added 17:53 - Jan 5 Again everyone is entitled to their options but being a Saints fan for 15+ years , through the good and bad, I have to say that all the fans that are "experts" and calling for MP's head can see past their noses. What do you think it will look like to anyone who is a EPL experienced manager (and good) if we sack MP and then ask them to do the job. NOBODY will come of any quality, especially if we are regulated and they are sacked too. The Saints have an image problem right now when it comes to managers and that is just a reality. Puel has turned Leicester around and it is for one reason. They have goal scorers. We have never replaced our big man up front and have not invested in passing/creative midfielders for the attackers we have. SCORING has been our problem and nothing else. I agree that MP's rotation policy needs to change to provide stability, but anyone who says he plays to sit back after a lead did not watch him on the sidelines of the CP game. He was on his feet screaming at the players to move forward and press and the players didnt listen and we paid the price. Also, I think we need to play a 4-4-2 system with Gabs/Long up top and Boufal, Oriel, Hojb, and Tadic in the middle. Everyone is pasionate about the Saints on this forum and it seems everyone knows best, but the in my humble opinion is that our club has not been willing to pay for the right replacements or even try to get some of them. The average price for a quality player is $20M, so Saints better start excepting that and making those types of bids for people to help us out of the rut.

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saintpp added 19:36 - Jan 5 Mp is totally useless and its been evident for weeks even months he hasnt clue how to win games or get the best out of players. he has thrown away so many points in games we could and should have won. i saw someone posted that Puel is doing better at leicester as he has better players. How come then it was practically the same 22 players on the pitch for the leicester gane as played in both games last season. Puels won two and drawn one. Mp humiliated at home with 4-1 defeat. He has been outwitted by nearly every manager this season even that dinosaur Woy Gives me no pleasure in being right but i saw this coming months ago and if the board couldnt they need to go to specsavers..

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ChristchurchSaint added 22:01 - Jan 5 Having seen several relegation scrapes in my 55 years supporting SFC, I firmly believe that we are going down under the current regime. Pellegrino seems totally out of his depth, Krueger just spouts total c**p, and Reed seems totally oblivious to the problems, stating that we have one of the best squads in the PL. Where do we go from here? Sadly, I don’t know! Without a new manager and some decent new players in the next 3 weeks, I feel that we are doomed. Being negative?, No! Sorry, just being honest😥

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richardmdcooper added 02:51 - Jan 6 If MP stays, we will be relegated. No doubt about it. Graham Potter from ostersunds would be my choice. I’d take anyone at the moment though- why not give Kelvin a chance?
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underweststand added 07:58 - Jan 6 Clearly the author of this article isn't short of support, but is it a true picture of the problem? I agree with a lot of American Saints' observations. Our defence isn't the worst in the Prem. but 6 of our 10 defeats have been by a one goal margin. On egoal in each of those gams would have yielded Another 6 Points , and we'd nbe near top half. Quite a few players have had their share of criticism this season, but the facts are clear that the stats. of our missed chances on goal outweigh many others in this League. Strikers are always having bad periods in between spells where they score, but our present crop is amongst the poorest/unluckiest I've seen in almost 60 years as a fan. Of course, MP carries the can for poor results / wrong tactics , but in truth it's our strikers who have let the side down. Other clubs have got points out of us, both now and last season despite us having superior % possession and having majority goal chances. It maybe too late to call in Tony Pulis to pull us out of the mire, but sacking MP now would mean we wouldn't have too many "quality" applications from unemployed managers to choose from and sacking coaches on a regular basis would give the title of "Manager of the Month" an entirely different meaning .

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ConstantPaine added 06:52 - Jan 9 Get real Saints fans. Puel’s side created a very high number of chances but the strikers could not convert them. Same under Pell. But fans have been spoilt by a few years of success. Who would be the replacement? What would be the effects of more managerial turbulence when the problem actually is putting the ball in the net? The low win % is nearly all down to not scoring. Have a look at the Championship and how many of those cities are the same as us? We’ve had it so good for so long, some fans are behaving like it can’t happen to us.

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