I can't disagree with Saint Marco more. We were playing Stoke City! So we prepared by sending out a negative 4-2-3-1 formation. Sure he went for pace but only Sims listened in training. Tadic was drifting about and Redmond had no idea whether to stick or twist. We went into the match thinking "Must not lose" rather than "We must win this". If ever 2 up front was a requirement it was against a leaky Stoke Defence. After 60 mins he finally decides to change it and go aggressive. Gabbi was a breath of fresh air and we dominated. But for a boufal header (if you can call it that) and Butland doing what he does best we could have won it. BUT! 30 mins is not enough to terrify an opponent. If you can't give your team belief for 90 mins or set out to win then week after week the confidence drains. MP is a tactical dinosaur. The sooner he goes the better. Our black box is broken.

-2

A sense of inevitability and resignation has set in in my little spot at SMS. Not that we will definitely go down, I refuse to accept that until the last game of the season or when it becomes mathematically impossible to escape. I am just resigned to the fact that however many chances are created, our players won't take them. First half was pretty poor on both sides, we won lots of corners but did nothing with them, a trend that continued throughout the second half. In the second half we were much better and there were some good passes being made forward to the wings but Stoke crowded the box and we never really got any clear-cut chances apart from Boufal's header. I kind of forgive him as it was his first touch and heading is not really his forte. Gabbiadini was hugely disappointing when he came on, especially as for the whole season people have been complaining that he makes intelligent runs but never gets given the ball when he does so. Yesterday the ball was through to him a couple of times and he did nothing with it and topped it all with an air-shot in front of goal. I don't think we can really blame the manager for Cedric's inability to hit a barn, let alone its door from outside the box. The one time he did get a decent shot on target, Butland did well (although it was a regulation save made spectacular). A couple of positives: Sims up front with Carrillo was pacey and dangerous but he should have done better early in the second half when he broke free and shot straight at Butland. And Redmond looked dangerous too and scared the daylights out of the fullbacks. He seems to have regained a bit of belief in his ability to take the ball forward rather than constantly cut inside and pass backwards - I thought he was our man of the match, especially in the second half. Romeu was poor, constantly giving the ball away - perhaps a swap with Hojberg for the next game. Lemina shows unbelievable skill but can do a bit of a Boufal and try to do too much on occasion. The defence was pretty solid and even though Crouch was probably Stoke's most effective outfield player, he was largely snuffed out despite winning everything in the air. Strange and very irritating decision by the ref to award a free kick at the death and not let it be taken, especially as the added time had been largely taken up with the ball out of play. I bet he would have let one of the big six take it (I suspect Eddie Howe might have mixed feelings about it after what happened to Bournemouth yesterday).

2

I wonder how the fans will be blamed for this one? Failing to master the art of telekinesis?

I suspect this is the death knell for Pell. Too late though

13

Sack the clown now , 3 weeks till next league game , get someone in to at least try to keep us up or at least show us fans they do care

14

I feel like meeting the Team Coach.
Unacceptable onnEVERY level
Woeful doesn’t begin to describe it
We need a rocket up our backsides
What motivational tactics did Pellegrino employ exactly?
Pellegonow

11

I feel like meeting the Team Coach.
Unacceptable onnEVERY level
Woeful doesn’t begin to describe it
We need a rocket up our backsides
What motivational tactics did Pellegrino employ exactly?
Pellegonow

0

Frightingly poor performance by Saints today. I feel sorry for the fans who went to the game.
The last thing we needed. Pellegrino cannot inspire the team remotely enough. Tactical flexibility non existing. I can´t recall Saints having a meaningful finish at goal.
Something has to change. NOW.

12

Sack him now two weeks to next league game, get anybody in a change gives you a extra boost which may just save us keep this clown and we are gone

9

At least there were two situations that made me smile. First when I read the Teamsheet with Gabbi, our only goalscorer left, and Sims benched.
MP started four attacking Players who combined(!!!!!!) to score 6 Goals in 66 starts (83 appearances) in the PL this season. That's 1 Goal for every 11 starts. Or 1 in 14 appearances. Gabbi on the other Hand managed 1 in 2,5 starts and 1 in 6 appearences, as he had mostly cameos. You would have thought a Manager paid millions could work out that this could make a difference.
MP didn't Play Austin for months at the beginning of the season, even when he was not injured, cause "our" manager doesn't know a fcking thing about what is needed to score a Goal. He was forced and Austin saved his Job. But well, in these circumstances, he is not able to learn, as we see week in, week out...

So MP made me smile for a second time. He makes a double Substitution, desperately chasing the game and manages to again leave him out and bring on Long. Well, of course Long could have scored his one Goal for 2018 today. But MP got unlucky there...

14

Sorry 3 weeks

2