This season has been very frustrating in that we cannot seem to find any sort of momentum and this has to be down to the rotation policy.

Claude Puel has what it takes to be the manager of this football club for a long time, however he has made mistakes especially regarding the chopping and changing of the team and this has lead to a loss of momentum in the Premier League, which has all come to a head in the last few weeks since Xmas.

There are those that say our problems are all down to our failure to replace the goals of Pelle and Mane, but this is not strictly true, people fail to take on board that Charlie Austin was signed last January as a direct replacement for Pelle who had already told the club he wished to leave at the end of the season and Redmond although not a direct replacement for Mane has exactly the same number of league goals that Mane had last season right up to March.

So the scoring issue is not replacing the goals of Pelle and Mane but our failure to score goals from other members of the squad, not least Shane Long and Tadic.

This time last year both had notched 5 Premier League goals each, this term they have a solitary goal to each of their totals in the League.

That is 8 goals less than last season and that is a big chunk to make up, last season at this stage we had scored 28 goals, this year it is 19, so the facts are that it is not the goals of Pelle and Mane we are missing but the goals of Long and Tadic.

Given that we are only 3 points behind where we were after 21 games last season, you have to surmise that if either had just a couple of goals more eac then our position would probably be better than last years and almost certainly would have seen us 8th or 9th.

Of course that is all ifs and buts, but it does emphasise that even playing badly and with no momentum we are still a side that is capable of finishing well inside the top 10.

The staggering fact is that only once have we managed to win two league games in a row, that being back in September and that is just not good enough, against that up until this appalling 4 game run of defeats we had only been beaten twice in a row once as well.

So why have we stopped scoring goals ?

The answer is easy, it s a loss of momentum caused by the rotation policy of Claude Puel.

No one is questioning that he has to rotate, but the harsh fact is that at times it has had no rythme or reason, players at any level like to get in a vein of form and when they hit that form keep it going, but Puel's rotation has not factored form in at all, players who have had a great game one week find themselves rested the next and that is not good.

Puel needed to keep the core of his side intact from week to week and make changes subtly and take into account the form of a player.

This especially applies to forwards, both Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez are proven goal scorers, they have the track record, but they will tell you that strikers need games, both have been injured and need to get back their sharpness and that leads to scoring goals, again most strikers score in bursts, they get one and they get several in quick succession.

That being the case the question has to be asked as to why they are not getting those games.

When Rodriguez scored a brace against Bournemouth you hoped that he might find his form again, yet although he held his place against Spurs , for the following game he was dropped to the bench and in came Shane Long.

Long scored in that game against West Brom, yet for the following game at Everton he found himself on the bench with Rodriguez restored to the attack.

The Irishman had every right to be miffed about being dropped, he had come in and done his job and in normal circustances would be entitled to think he was the man in possession of the shirt.

Here lies the problem and not just in attack, we have lost momentum and players haven't got a clue whether they will be playing one week to the next, the rotation policy takes no account of form, it is almost as if the manager draws up the rota at the start of the month and sticks to it come hell or high water.

There are perhaps now only three outfield players who can consider themselves set in stone in the starting line up, the first is of course Virgil Van Dijk and the second Oriol Romeu, the third is Nathan Redmond, these three have started every Premier League game they have been available for.

After that only Jose Fonte is the only player to have played over 15 of the 21 league games and he doesnt look likely to add to that total of 17 at time of writing.

You can make stats tell you anything, but the fact that so few players have started over 3/4 of the games tells you something.

As I said right at the beginning, I still think that Claude Puel could be a great manager for this club, if he can get us to the position we are in at the moment with the side in such chaos selection wise, then I would like to see what he could do when he gets it right.

The future is in the hands of Claude Puel, he needs to get it right with his selections, get the core of the side playing together week in week out and make subtle changes, players want to know if they play well they stay in, its part of the incentive that spurs them on, once you take that incentive away it detracts something involuntary from their performance, in any occupation it is all about performance related incentives.

Those screaming for the head of Claude Puel would do well to have some patience, you cannot sack the manager after every run of losses, you need momentum in those in charge off the pitch as well as on it, look at Swansea, since sacking Gary Monk they have made poor appointments and chopped and changed and it hasn't helped.

The time to assess Puel will be at the end of the season, not while we are still in touching distance of not only the top 8 in the league but a Wembley final.

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 11:44 - Jan 17 Good article Nick. I agree that we’re not in crisis and fans need to be patient. I worry that linking the lack of goals to the rotation policy is case of post hoc ergo propter hoc. But, like most fans I’d like to see a bit more consistency in the team selection to see if it does improve things. Either that, or we should sign a world class striker like Costa. He’s a steal at £80m and £500k per week.

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dixiefrog added 11:44 - Jan 17 Good article which makes a lot of sense, for me the Manager had to rotate due to the tight premier league schedule and numerous cup competitions. However, to rotate a player who's obviously in form seems a bit strange, in my day the Boss would simply sit down with you and ask how you're feeling, if you were genuinely knackered due to too many games he'd give you a break or drop you to the bench and only use you if the team was in trouble. It's all about talking to one another and having a sensible conversation. I'm NOT in the sack Puel camp, yes I can see he's made some bad decisions regarding rotation and dropping in-form players, but it has to be remembered that this is not his squad, other than Pied he's not brought in any of his own players. During the early summer he lost a number of key players and inherited a number which had already been arranged and not his choice. Regarding the premiership I think this season is over for us and a disappointing mid-table finish is assured. The manager should be given the time and opportunity to create his own team, if the results and more importantly the performances haven't improved, then in the summer perhaps the Board should take a good look at the situation.

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BathSaint added 11:55 - Jan 17 No one is failing to realise that Austin was meant to be Pelle's replacement. The same people who want an extra striker now were saying we needed an extra striker when we just had Pelle as our single out and out goalscorer. Pelle went through patches of bad form in both seasons under Koeman, and because there was no one else to take up the slack he couldn't be rested or given time to get his confidence back - the teams fate was directly tied to his form and when he had a bad patch the team inevitably went on a loosing streak. Last season it was Nov/Dec, and in 2014/15 it was in January, where we dropped from 2nd (and challenging for 1st in the table) down and out of the champions league spots before he regained his form. Back then the fans were screaming out for the club to sign a second striker in that January window to provide another option, and though Les Reed boasted in the summer that "we didn't panic buy an extra striker and we kept calm etc..." the club quite clearly threw away and incredibly good shot at champions league football just because they weren't prepared to splash out a little extra of the transfer profits to get the one single player the team clearly needed. Yes shane Long had half a season last year where out of the blue he bacame a regular goalscorer, but that has never been his game and it was never something he could be relied on to repeat. He is a creater of chances and someone to tire the defense out. Leaving this season with the pressure on injury prone Austin instead of on Pelle was always a mistake. Its not Austins fault just like it wasn't Pelles fault when he had bad patches - the team should not be forced to rely so much one one single player.

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SanMarco added 12:09 - Jan 17 Yes - the 'rotation' nonsense is one cause of our rather unimpressive season on the attacking front. Clasie had his best game for the club vs Liverpool and was rewarded by being dropped for Burnley. Re Pelle, Mane and Wanyama - I think there is often a confusion between whether we had to sell them (answer probably yes) and whether we have adequately replaced them (answer definitely no). We scored more goals when we had those players than we have since they left. Mane was a player fast improving to very good and he was why we came 6th and not 10th. Him and Pelle created room, space and chances for others. Long in particular has suffered and his treatment by Puel has essentially finished him off as a player for us. No wonder he is not scoring. Tadic is not a goalscorer and nor is Redmond. Austin is always injured and it was an enormous, in fact reckless, gamble to say that JRod was going to be scoring loads. At the start of the season 90%+ of Saints fans thought we would be light up front and wondered where the goals would come from. They were right to be concerned. Yes 'rotation' is part of the problem but a lack of real quality in areas where we had quality last season is also an issue. We could have coped with last summer's departures if we had bought wisely. We didn't and the results are there in front of us on the pitch. It is not a 'disaster' but it certainly aint progress.

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SanMarco added 12:09 - Jan 17 Yes - the 'rotation' nonsense is one cause of our rather unimpressive season on the attacking front. Clasie had his best game for the club vs Liverpool and was rewarded by being dropped for Burnley. Re Pelle, Mane and Wanyama - I think there is often a confusion between whether we had to sell them (answer probably yes) and whether we have adequately replaced them (answer definitely no). We scored more goals when we had those players than we have since they left. Mane was a player fast improving to very good and he was why we came 6th and not 10th. Him and Pelle created room, space and chances for others. Long in particular has suffered and his treatment by Puel has essentially finished him off as a player for us. No wonder he is not scoring. Tadic is not a goalscorer and nor is Redmond. Austin is always injured and it was an enormous, in fact reckless, gamble to say that JRod was going to be scoring loads. At the start of the season 90%+ of Saints fans thought we would be light up front and wondered where the goals would come from. They were right to be concerned. Yes 'rotation' is part of the problem but a lack of real quality in areas where we had quality last season is also an issue. We could have coped with last summer's departures if we had bought wisely. We didn't and the results are there in front of us on the pitch. It is not a 'disaster' but it certainly aint progress.

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SonicBoom added 12:54 - Jan 17 I don't expect perfection but I want to see progress. Puel has rotated and frankly the idea is to bring in fresh players yet more often than not we have lost the game. So what was the advantage in doing it? I hope to see Puel learning and changing but so far he seems determined to rigidly stick to a plan that doesn't appear to bear fruit. He's risking everything that it will all suddenly come together rather than adapting. In a way I admire that - but I hope hes right.....

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BoondockSaint added 13:50 - Jan 17 Agree with San Marco. If Mane wasn't scoring, he was creating space for other to. Notice how goal production is up at Scoushampton since he arrived? Rotation is for rich clubs who have high quality on the bench champing at the bit. That's not us-after all the selling, our first team would be lucky to be subs at a rich team. So lets stop the rotation farce and just play the best 11. If they have a chance to play together regularly they will get used to each others style of play and hopefully score more goals.

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bstokesaint added 14:02 - Jan 17 As SanMarco says I'm generally happy to make progress, even if it's 9 steps backwards to go 10 forwards. That's still progress. However this season feels like the first in a long time when we've gone backwards, and not just by a little bit. I think we're over-rotating, especially as we're no longer in Europe. It feels unnecessary. It must be disruptive for the players too. Maybe it is part of a European culture that we will come to appreciate, but I'd still love to know what our first XI is. Rotation aside, we're definitely down on quality this season. Whether it was a considered gamble or an attempt to try and cut wage costs only the board will know. I still think Redmond and Hojbjerg can be decent for us, but in attack we are completely toothless. There won't be a defence in the PL who fear us. And you couldn't have said that in recent seasons. As I said on the corresponding article I would like to see Saints be transparent and admit they got this season wrong and show some real intent in getting the show back on the road and proving we are still progressing. It's difficult seeing it right now and there is plenty of ammunition for the doubters with ex players and managers doing well elsewhere.

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SaintNick added 15:37 - Jan 17 I dont think any club let alone Saints would admit they got something wrong, what you hope they do is put things right and then they can say they saw what the problems where and addressed them. Thats the case in any business you can never admit a weakness
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SanMarco added 17:52 - Jan 17 Yes - we need actions not words. I hope we see some action before the end of the month.
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