The sacking of Frank De Boer who could well have been manager of Saints this season is a lesson to be learn't for Saints as they head to South London on Saturday.

Frank De Boer's downfall at Crystal Palace was that he tried to do too much too soon, although four games is hardly enough of a chance to give a manager whom you have employed to bring about a radical change the lesson is there to be learn't for Saints.

Palace have brought in Roy Hodgson and for the Eagles it is now going to be back to basics, get in a manager who knows the division and who will get the players playing in a way that they know.

This is what De Boer should have done, he should have set up the Palace side in a way familiar to them and then evolved their playing style rather than try to change it completely.

Mauricio Pellegrino is far from doing that and Saints are far from having the start that Palace have had, but our new manager needs to take a look at his own side and consider how best to set it up.

In truth it is not far different from last season, but we all know what the problem was then, too much chopping and changing upset the rythym of a side that was and still is pretty decent.

The Argentinian coach needs to decide what his best side is and stick with it, at the moment he doesn't seem to have decided that and hence we have looked lopsided and disjointed in most of the games especially going forward.

On Saturday against Watford he changed things and put out a side to attack but the reality was that just puttng in attcking players did not solve the problem, you have to play them in a way that suits their style.

As a goalscorer Manolo Gabbiadini has two main strengths, you either feed him through the channels, as was shown by his goal against West Ham, but has rarely been done before or since, or he is a poacher in the box, a style of play that involves two wide men putting crosses into the box, or being overlapped by two ull backs doing the same is never going to produce the goods.

Gabbiadini needs someone who can get the ball around the half way line and create an opening for him.

A latter day Steve Williams would be ideal, just about the only candidate we have for that role is James Ward Prowse but he has rarely shown this on a regular basis, that is not to say that is his fault, too often he is played out wide.

So for Crystal Palace on Saturday Mauricio Pellegrino has to put out a side that plays to its own strengths rather than to it's weaknesses.

Inherently there is nothing wrong that cant be put right, we just need to stop experimenting play to our own strengths and get it right.

That means for the moment at least a strong back four, two solid holding midfielders with someone creative in front of them and then two wide men who can offer pace and guile.

For me that means Romeu and Lemina in the centre and I would play Ward Prowse in front of them, stick with Redmond and Tadic wide and Gabbiadini up front, tell the midfielders what you want from them and that is through balls for the Italian striker.

If we are just going to try and get it wide and cross it into the box Gabbiadini is not big enough and is often too isolated to make much impression, he needs the ball played into his feet.

If we get back to these basics which is not far removed as to how we played under both Pochettino and Koeman then we can get results under our belt and then start to consider what we can do tactically from game to game, but the first task is to get the confidence flowing.

Both Pochettino & Koeman knew what their best formation was and in the main stuck with it, confident that it would come good and get more results than it would lose, that is what Pellegrino must now do, get some momentum in the team.

Last season momentum was in short supply we rarely won two gaes in a row in the League and never three, that cannot happen again, we need a good run of wins to propel us up the table.

In truth in the four games we have played so far none of the sies have been better than us, even Watford were nothing more than efficient who relied on two wonder strikes to get the points, but they knew their task and stuck with it and we didn't seem to know what formation we were playing.

So time to stop the experimenting, play what we know get the results going and then we can start the evolution of our own !

Photo: Action Images

perazi added 09:30 - Sep 13 But Nick, Nick, Nick...do you actually watch the games? You are advocating playing James Ward-Prowse in a central attacking position to hit killer passes to Gabbiadini?? What do you base this opinion on. Against Watford, JWP lined up for the first half in a central attacking role - he was completely without influence; had one or two touches and was rightly subbed at half-time. He has never shown the capacity to hold down or stand out in the 10 role; nor the wide right; nor the DM. "Stop experimenting and play what we know gets the results" -- you cannot be serious!!!

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SanMarco added 09:44 - Sep 13 Yes - as this season progresses the narrative will be about lack of quality in the JWP, Redmond, Boufal and Tadic parts of the pitch. Up to last season "How do they keep doing it" was heard with great regularity about Saints selling their best players and managing to replace them with just as good/better. We won't be hearing that this season. Our goalscoring problem is one of personnel and we have not addressed it in any way. If I were Gabbi I would take a chair, a table and a bottle of wine onto the pitch and make an afternoon of it, rather than run around on the off chance that JWP will provide a killer pass. In January we need to sell the four players mentioned above and use the (probably not much) cash to buy two players who can create chances regularly.

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skiptonsaint added 09:46 - Sep 13 Very tricky. We can work out our best 11 if they are all motivated and giving it their all and have a medium amount of confidence. But they don't. back 7 roughly picks itself but up front I think we must try something new and shake it up. Charlie up front with a 3 behind of Gabbi , Tadic and Redmond as the runners with Charlie more In the Pelle role ? Try long in the 3 behind if not looking better in the first half ?

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Fordy added 09:53 - Sep 13 Part of the problem is that Tadic and Redmond can't finish. We'd be lucky to get 5 goals each from them this season. Add to that a midfield that contributes hardly any goals and you have a huge amount of pressure on Gabbi or Austin. As this is the case I would like to see Austin and Gabbi played together. I just can't see where the goals are going to come from otherwise.

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helpineedsomebody added 10:01 - Sep 13 THIS NEW SYSTEM THEY ARE PLAYING IS DREADFUL they have lost the fans + are the players just going through the motion the new manager is in a right muddle his excuses are not very intellegent but what do you expect when the new owner is 10 000 clicks away
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pete_boggs added 10:02 - Sep 13 Can I have a pair of your rose-tinted specs Nick they're working a treat? Our problem is we are short of quality players because our Great Supremo failed yet again in the window. 16th by Xmas. REED OUT!
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GeordieSaint added 10:24 - Sep 13 Long to start for start for me with Gabbiadini on for the last 20. Shane offers something very different and Gabbi can exploit those tired legs at the end. The set up away from home probably suits saints style better but from what I have seen which is admittedly only Huddesfield game in full the full backs need to be encouraged to bomb on more. That is the way to fully utilise this system and one of the things both Koeman and Pochetino did well. It is still early days and could be a lot worse of a start so lets try and stick together and support the team and manager as he gets to grips with the league.

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LondonSaint added 10:57 - Sep 13 I agree with a lot of this. Though I would be tempted to drop Tadic/Boufal unless played as a number 10. And JWP does need to be dropped for a spell to give others a chance. What happened to Sims and Hesketh? Not saying they are world-beaters but both showed promise and would bring pace and energy to the side. Redmond is no Mane either but pace on both sides might be a good start in my opinion.

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redwight added 11:00 - Sep 13 Pete Boggs is right - up to a point. We are short of quality players, but this is not entirely Reed's fault. Strength in depth has been the aim for some time and, according to Nick, this has now been achieved. However, because of our limited budget, this means we can now put out two sides of average ability that over a season would both finish in the lower half of the table. The alternative, which we had until recently, was a team of better quality, which largely picked itself, with academy products plus a few squad players of more limited ability, to plug the gaps when injuries and suspensions occurred. Given the choice I know which of the two I prefer.

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steve73 added 11:12 - Sep 13 We really needed to bank a good amount of points from this 'easy' start. It's too early to get on the manager's back though, I'd say ten games minimum before you can even think about deciding whether he's up to it or not. We've definitely rolled the dice too many times when it comes to selling though; the current squad is dull at best. Is there a single player who gets people up on their feet for the right reasons? No entertainment is acceptable if you're getting results. But we aren't and I think we're looking at a dreary, miserable slog of a season. Again.

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saintmark1976 added 11:21 - Sep 13 Absolutely brilliant post from SanMarco which makes you realise that at the end of the day football is probably only just " the most important-least important thing in the world".The thought of the players frantically trying to avoid Gabbiadini and his table, chair and bottle of wine has really brightened my day. On a more serious note Nick I think that the result on Saturday will in the main be decided by the players themselves whoever the manager picks.Our top quality players have all gone to pastures new or in the case of VVD don't want to be here. What is left is a squad of average footballers by the current standard of the Premiership. It's now down to how much they want to win.The days when certain players were able to just turn up and look for others to do it for them are over. Put simply it's time to stop "sand dancing"and to "get stuck in".

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legod7 added 11:22 - Sep 13 I would go with Nick's team but instead of JWP have Shane Long in the number 10 role behind Gabbiadini (not alongside him in a 4-4-2 ) but behind him in a 4-2 -3-1. Team .....Forster, Cedric, Hoedt ,Stephens, Bertrand,Romeu Lemina , Tadic, Long, Redmond Gabbiadini.
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SonicBoom added 12:18 - Sep 13 I'd like to see more from Gabbiadini. I know he relies on service but Long seems to see more of the ball when he's on than Gabbi does. If he's not getting the ball he needs to go looking more rather than just keep trying the same things. He's a total passenger otherwise. I agree with Fordy, Tadic and Redmond need to deliver more. Tadic seems to have tailed off and Redmond flatters to deceive. He really needs to actually produce something rather than just look like he might produce something. I see no improvement in the last 12 months. MP needs to be more decisive - quite why he thought that JWP should play behind the strikers and Boufal play wide is anyone's guess. It's almost like he's never seen them play.

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richardmdcooper added 12:39 - Sep 13 I completely disagree with the main premise of this article - i.e. getting back to a more consistent line-up and we'll be fine. The problem is that we've been sticking way too rigidly as a club to the 4-2-3-1 formation which clearly isn't working (this season and last season). Plus, has anyone else noticed, our u23s and younger teams all seem to be struggling using this formation also. Why not try something different - two up front with Austin and Gabb?! Why not give Long a chance (as one of the wide players) - he couldn't be less effective than Tadic or Redmond. Do the same things, and we'll continue to get the same results with plenty of 0's in the scoreline.

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Jesus_02 added 12:43 - Sep 13 @Sonic Boom. The potential of JWP playing number 10 and Gabbi going looking for the ball seems to suggest that Gabbi would play a centre half
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BoondockSaint added 13:17 - Sep 13 The lesson Pellegrino can learn from De Boer is: "You inherit a team of bog-average players, your front office does nothing to help you, the team is still cr@p, you get the blame."
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highfield49 added 13:50 - Sep 13 Tend to agree with many of the points made on this topic, but switching several players in the hope of a better outcome doesn't make too much sense either. My choice would be to play Austin up front with Gabbi looking to make runs into the spaces created by Austin attracting defenders. Tadic and Redmond HAVE to learn how to play a quick, even speculative, ball into the box rather than hold it up and allow defenders to regroup. If I was Gabbi or Charlie I'd be verbally demanding better service from these guys!

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redandwhitedee added 14:08 - Sep 13 Whilst struggling to get past your opening paragraph with 'learnt' written with an apostrophe.. I do agree with those calling for Long instead of Tadic. I do agree with Austin playing as Centre forward.. he was scoring goals in pre-season then got left out.. A front 4 of Austin and 3 behind Gabbi/Long/Redmond to make runs and drag defenders away from him sounds great in dreamland, until you then look at how much running Romeu and Lemina would have to do across the midfield. However, the 4-2-4 worked very well for Chris Nichol in the Le Tiss/Wallace/Shearer/Rideout days (i recall thumping liverpool 4-1 using only 2 midfielders - swap Cockeril and Case for Romeu & Lemina if you like), but it will take a brave manager to do it now. But then to be fair, the current tactics are not working anyway, so why not try it ?

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jshane53 added 15:51 - Sep 13 Give Sims left forward Gabbi right forward McQueen on left wing role Austin up middle front back back 3 of hoedt yoshida Stephen's Remou lemina Cedric right wing Chuck out old system and start playing hungry players who want to play
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whitty added 16:09 - Sep 13 Try Boufal in the middle closer to Gabbi to feed the balls in or through. Try 2 upfront stick with lemina and Oriel behind and have sims and hesketh on the bench to mix it up. Anything to score some goals and become less predictable. Not sure why we have o traditional no 9 in the squad but we are where we are and need to get behind the team and manager
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SaintBrock added 16:30 - Sep 13 So exactly what does "getting back to basics" mean Nick? You can't just keep chucking cliches around like confetti without context and explanation. Otherwise it is gibberish mumbo jumbo.
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kingolaf added 17:17 - Sep 13 By back to basics, you mean selecting the same players who have been poor all season (Tadic, JWP and Redmond). Long has shown more attacking prowess than those 3 put together. He has to start for me.
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abingdonsaint added 18:51 - Sep 13 For what it's worth, the comparison between us and Palace with De Boer just illustrates how our approach is far more coherent than pretty much any other club. The fault there is not De Boer's, it lies entirely with those who appointed him not having any sort of long term plan or objective. Their stated intention was to introduce a more attractive, sophisticated style of play after Allardyce, but that takes more than 4 games. A coach brought up at Ajax was never going to 'stick to basics', especially when he was hired specifically to not do that! I watched the game against Burnley on Sunday, and they should have won. If they had, he would probably still be there, which is nonsensical. Palace just live hand to mouth, with their primary motive staying in the Prem, so simply panicked. If I was a Palace fan, the appointment of Woy would hardly set the pulse racing. The difference with us is that we have an established structure which Managers fit into, and whilst the playing style may differ slightly, it is not as drastic as Allardyce to De Boer. We need a bit more patience. As Pellegrino said on Saturday, if everything was perfect he would still be in Argentina! Finally, I think you do Watford a disservice Nick. Yes, they scored long range goals, but they still count as far as I'm aware. They were better organised, quicker and stronger than us all over the pitch, and it was obvious that we had our hands full after the first 10 minutes....

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sidsaint added 20:57 - Sep 13 I agree with Pete_Boggs. De Boer lasted 76 days. Les Reed 33 at Charlton.,and now we learn Cortese wanted to buy Coutinho in 2012, I wonder who stopped him. Not confident about Saturday.
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ItchenNorth added 20:59 - Sep 13 I'd start Austin at the top with Gabbiadini left and Redmond right, at least they will all be in their favoured positions ! 1. Gabbiadini never played the main central striker at Napoli, he always played off the wing / wide position. 2. Redmond is right footed yet we persist on playing him on the left. He rarely will have go round the outside of his left foot and cross. Defenders are reading him like a book therefore. Play him on the right, drive forward and deliver some crosses ! 3. Austin is a poacher, a goal getter however ugly they come. He needs balls into the box (see point two for a solution !). If we are going to play a number 10, it has to be Boufal for me, just behind Gabbi (if we persist playing him as a number 9 that is). What's happened to Sims btw, he's got pace ?!

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