x

Why The Saints Board Must Sack Mauricio Pellegrino Now Before It Is Too Late!

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?

What to read next:

TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Tamworth
Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – is back for Tuesday’s Vanarama National League fixture against Tamworth.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Tamworth
Dale’s home game versus Tamworth on Tuesday will be refereed by the familiar figure of DARREN DRYSDALE.
Refwatch - Dagenham & Redbridge v Rochdale
Dale’s first return fixture of the season at Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday will be refereed by the superbly named ALAN DALE.
Refwatch - Leamington v Rochdale - FA Trophy
Dale’s FA Trophy tie at Leamington on Saturday will be refereed by WAYNE CARTMEL.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Manchester United U21s - Daft National League Cup Thing
Dale’s second group game in the National League Cup on Tuesday against Manchester United U21 will be refereed by JOHN MULLIGAN.
Refwatch - Gateshead v Rochdale
Dale’s trip to the Gateshead International Stadium on Tuesday night will be refereed by PAUL MARSDEN.
TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Oldham Athletic
Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – is back for Saturday’s Vanarama National League fixture against Oldham Athletic.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Oldham Athletic
Dale’s lunchtime local derby against Oldham Athletic on Saturday will be refereed by GREG ROLLASON.
Dale Drawn Against Leamington In FA Trophy
The draw for the 3rd round of the FA Trophy took place on Monday and Dale have been drawn away from home.
Refwatch - Wealdstone v Rochdale
Dale’s trip to Grosvenor Vale to take on Wealdstone on Saturday will be refereed by STEPHEN PARKINSON.