I am fed up writing the same comments week after week over the last year, we have the players, we need to be playing them in a way that allows their talents to flourish and not stifle them.

I have defended the likes of Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic over the past few weeks and i continue to do so despite their poor form, the reason I defend them is that they are playing in a formation that is totally unsuitable to their talents.

This has been evident for the past year, yet nothing changed under either Claude Puel or now Mauricio Pellegrino, I can understand what both were trying to do, they want to play in a more continental style where the fashion now is not to have a traditional central striker, but smaller nippy attackers who run the channels and thrive on taking on defenders.

That is exactly what Manolo Gabbiadini is yet we are completely square pegs in round holes, Gabbiadini needs a playmaker in midfield who can put through killer balls, he doesn't have one, but he does have wingers who can cross a ball.

But that is no good to him, he is 5ft 8 inches tall, likewise to a winger crossing to a small striker is not good, they are struggling to find the target who is marked as he was at Brighton by two 6ft 4 central defenders.

That means our wingers are constantly checking back as they have no one to cross to, the supporters complain about this as they think that Tadic or Redmond should be taking on players, but the fact is if they take a player on then they have no end ball, so they know there is no point in doing so and risk crossing to no one or losing the ball, so they check bak and keep possession. This becomes soul destroying and sets off a chain reaction that involves the fans getting on their backs and ultimately a loss in confidence, the check back the fans moan, they beat their man and cross to no one and the fans still moan at them.

That means something has to change, do we have anyone currently at the club who can command the centre of midfield and pass a ball regularly into the channels ? The answer is no, James Ward Prowse can do this, but has yet to do so with regularity.

This being the case it is silly to keep setting up the team in the same way, Mauricio Pellegrino has to look what he has got and accept that he has to put out a team to play to its strengths and not to try and play in the way he wants, but does not have the players to do, he has to evolve his squad in the January transfer window, but till then he has to utilise what they can do, not try and make them do what they can't.

If we again put out a team tomorrow that has essentially two wide men and a small striker then we will get the same results as the first part of this season and most of last, yes we will win the odd game here and there and will even score some goals, but the fact is we will never get consistency of any kind if we try and play in a way that does not play to our strengths.

So Mauricio Pellegrino needs to realise this and try and play more to the talents of the players he has rather than asking them to do things they are not good at.

He hasn't got the ball players he needs to supply Gabbiadini as a lone striker through the channels, so that means looking at continuing to play the wide players and giving something for them to aim at, Charlie Austin is the only player with the height so he would be the natural player to fit in this role, indeed Shane Long showed that things could improve when he played as the lone striker, but ultimately it is not his natural game either.

Playing Austin on his own up front might be two much to ask from a fitness level given his injury record but it is needed or we need to play someone alongside him.

We either need to revert to 4-4-2 or use Gabbiadini just behind him or even Shane Long to play a little deeper and run at defenders, we could even play three at the back and push the full backs on, none are ideal formations, but would play to our strengths and that is better than what we are doing.

The fact that we are 10th in the table despite not having truly played well in one game yet should be telling the manager it is not a proble with his squad's quality, but in how we are set up.

Mauricio Pellegrino's future at this club will be determined by whether he is now pro active or just sits back and hope it works, prior to his arrival his reputation was one of a coach who could be pro active and play different formations, but so far we have seen scant evidence of that, we seem to do the same things week out and we get the same results, that in turn breeds perception in the fan base of a poor team and certain players are hounded which makes the whole situation worse.

Pellegrino needs to be brave, put out a team that suits what he has to hand and tell them to go out and play without fear, if they do that it will get results, but more importantly at least there will be no excuses.

Photo: Action Images

montecristo added 09:44 - Nov 3 well well thats more like it Nick. Idont want to be too provocative but an englishman who understands how football should be played!!I completely agree with you for once. Unfortunately run of the mill managers tend to be just that, and totally inflexible. What I liked about Pochetino is that he was prepared to innovate when required. The guy we have now doesnt and nor does Puel.They get their teams to play one way and thats it. Dont believe me? go take a reading on Alaves performances last season you ll soon get the message. Except tha Alavesdid nnot have the talent we currently have at the club. But we do have players with considerable ability, Boufal in particular,s ffs can we please see a formaion that can accomodate that kind of abilty. You cant expect the boy to take on the entire opposition all the time, yet he has done it twice out of sheer . And pulled it off !!! that incidentally was what his touch line antics were all about and not as the papers would have it demonstrating against his manager. Just sheer frustration.if Saints dont pull their socks up he will be asking to leave , mark my words.If you want to keep a player as good as that you have to have a coach who is up to dealing with that kind of ability. Pelllegrino is not your boy.

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redwight added 09:46 - Nov 3 Spot on Nick.
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richardmdcooper added 10:56 - Nov 3 Absolutely. This rigid 4-2-3-1 of puel and pellegrino is maddening. No sign of it changing though i’m afraid. I can’t stand the constant firing of managers but our current guy is useless and the sooner we move on from him, the better off we’ll be.
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petedoors1 added 11:02 - Nov 3 AND TAKE BLACK WITH HIM.
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SaintNick added 11:08 - Nov 3 Montecristo, thanks for agreeing with me, however when Pochetino was here the big complaint about him was that he was rigid, that he had no plan B, that was also a complaint against him in his first season and possibly his second at Spurs. I wouldnt say Pochettino innovated, he just knew what players he had and played to their strengths, what we had at the time suited his way of playing, but we never changed style

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TimSaint added 11:37 - Nov 3 Gab is actually 1.81 m which equates to 5'9.3832'' and according to my missus, that extra 1.3832 inches makes all the difference !! Seriously though, as is the consensus, it is very much a case of rigidity, stick to the game plan of not losing - then maybe thinking about winning, asking players to play in roles they are not used to, not playing to players' strengths, creating little and taking even less of those chances. It is basically the same as under Puel. The problem is though, Pell was sold to us a manager who uses and adapts the squad to suit the teams we are playing against, can update the team in play, to change formations and tactics and was basically the next 'new school' dynamic manager. We have seen very little to demonstrate this so far !! Gab makes so many good runs per game, but nobody either sees his runs or is capable of finding him, resulting in him touching the ball about 20 times in the whole game - more often than not, in areas where he cannot shoot. He gets frustrated and so do the fans. Tadic was signed as the assist king, but only seems to do one or 2 good things in a match and somehow manages to do enough to get selected week in week out. He needs a rocket up his arse and needs to get into positions where he can start to feed the strikers again. He should look at that game from 3 years back when he destroyed Sunderland (8-0 game) with a goal, 4 assists and 2 key passes in a further 2 goals !! I guess he misses Pelle. Perhaps Puel was right to only use him as an impact sub for so long - before he went moaning about his lack of game time. Redmond - signed as an upcoming player who has pace, likes to take on players, put in good crosses and has an eye for goal. Now he tries to beat his man, turns back onto his right foot and either passes forwards or backwards. JWP - 6th season in the Prem and has yet to cement his place in the side, as he is too lightweight, inconsistent, lacks pace and is always sideways passing. Davis - plenty of effort, but lacks the ability to forward pass, tackle and shoot straight. I could go on about others, but until these players are played in positions where they can have more of an impact, then we will continue to have the same brand of boring football and the same results. It will be a long wait til January, but even then I'm not sure the new owners will look to invest - and even if they are willing to, then who will want to come here with such a boring and negative style of play. Perhaps now that they have recovered from injury, the likes of Hesketh and Sims should be given a chance - after all, they are both one of our own !!

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SaintNick added 12:05 - Nov 3 All have their plus points, JWP and Davis for instance, Tim is right this is JWP's sixth season, yes he started young and he has played plenty of games, but he is still not a nailed on starter week in week out and he really should be no. Davis is not a passer of the ball, but he has been a great player for Saints, he is probably not a week in week out started now not only because of age, but if we play both Romeu and Lemina we need a bit more creativity especially at home, but he is still a vital member of the squad and in many ways the most important because of the things he can do very well and versatility

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abingdonsaint added 12:07 - Nov 3 Pochettino was never rigid. He was just committed to certain basics of how he wants his teams to play. He was certainly never as passive as we are now, and is turning out to be the great manager I predicted at the time he left us. (Check the archives!) His teams play without fear, and in my opinion did more to change the mindset of our club than anyone. Sadly missed!

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codge added 12:17 - Nov 3 Totally agree, finally an article that absolutely nails it, why is it so obvious to us the fans but the supposed pro's never seem to get it until it's too late, great job Nick.
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A1079 added 12:58 - Nov 3 Spot on Nick. I was thinking to myself, Burnley this weekend, Brighton last and unlike not so many seasons ago, there isn't a single game that I now go into expecting us to win. It is almost just a relief if we have not lost. I would not even be optimistic if we were drawn at home in the FA Cup to a non-league side.
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wessexman added 13:14 - Nov 3 Like Puel, MP knows we get 2 points for 2 draws. Neither seem to realise, or ignore the fact, that 1 win and 1 loss will give them 3 points.
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TimSaint added 13:55 - Nov 3 My Crystal Ball says we will spend long periods of the match tomorrow, camped in that area between the edge of the Burnley penalty area and an imaginary line approximately 40 yards out. We will be passing it back and forth for sometimes minutes at a time, before someone actually bothers to take the responsibility of putting in a weak cross or shooting from distance. We need to work on opening up defences, trying something different, getting players into positions where they can be most affective and actually playing to players' strengths !! Let's be honest, we need far more than the 6 chances created last week and more than one solitary effort needs to be on target as well !!

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SaintBrock added 14:16 - Nov 3 We ARE playing to our strengths, we are very strong in defence and concede few goals - we have lost only 3 from 10 - so from that point of view we are playing very well to our strengths but that in itself is not the key to winning matches. We have no strengths in attack worth talking about, perm any 4 from 9 but the answer is still zero.
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BaselSaint added 15:09 - Nov 3 Really well explained Nick. I feel kinda bad for Tadic and Redmond, if this is the case it is all down to Pellegrino and whether he will adapt.
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SonicBoom added 15:29 - Nov 3 We can see that the system doesn't work. It doesn't even look like it "should" work on paper. so I would hope that a manager who's getting paid a fortune should be able to see it too. Right now I think he is just going to do the same thing over and over.....
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Frontwheeler added 15:33 - Nov 3 Very good article Nic You have to go back to when Mr Hoddle was at the helm. He could change tactics in the middle of a half of a game if things were failing, not wait to half time We need a bit more imagination from players Not Hollywood passes but attempt a little spark of ingenuity
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SaintPaulVW added 16:25 - Nov 3 Agree. Either need to change the formation or change the personnel. With EPL managers getting the sack so quick, I can understand why MP is not making drastic changes now though. Think he's probably waiting to see if the January Window cavalry will show up. If that's the case, then we're just treading water which is disappointing.
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Number_58 added 17:39 - Nov 3 SaintPaulVW is right. If a club can sack a manager who got them to eighth in the league and to their first major cup final in decades, then he probably thinks that the same club could quite conceivably sack a manager if the team goes gung-ho and gets hammered 5-0. Perhaps therein lies our problem.
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amsterdamsaint added 18:48 - Nov 3 Davies is our best passer of the ball, Nick
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aceofthebase added 22:02 - Nov 3 Rubbish Nick. Tadic and Redmond cut inside to get the ball on their favourite foot, it's not about wasteful crosses. They could so easily take the ball forward and use cut back low crosses. Gabby would love to receive a few balls like that as would any forward or midfielder following up. The question is does the manager instruct his players to keep cutting back or do the players do it because it is a natural move for them as they are playing on their 'wrong'wings. Is Bertrand scared of advancing? Most passes to him are returned to our deep defence. Passes generally are played behind the player and naturally that slows down any chance of a fast build up.

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NewburySaint added 10:44 - Nov 4 What are Redmond’s strengths then because they’ve tried him as a striker & they’ve tried him as a winger, both without any success-I wonder what he’s like with gloves on?! I wonder, Nick, when you’ll get it that Redmond is just an average player, no more, no less.
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