It is now day 15 of the transfer window and Saints supporters are now starting to get impatient !

Day 15 of the transfer window has opened with plenty of rumour but still absolutely no signings, a situation that even the most patient of Saints supporters are getting a little worried about.

With money to spend and a situation that although not quite worsening is still very much a real code red scenario, most would have thought that at least one new name would be going on the back of the shirt by now.

But perhaps the biggest issue is now the manager, once again at Watford he failed to be pro active and failed to make substitutions at the right time, the fact that we went into injury time without using our second sub was incomprehensible, if he had made that change then perhaps it would have broken the game up and the result and indeed Saints League position would be far better this morning.

But he failed to make that change and break the game up and we paid a big price, one that could cost us dearly come May, it is little tactical decisions like this that are the difference between a manager failing or succeeding and at the moment the manager appears to be out of his depth and failing badly.

Most Saints fans I have spoken to do not dislike Pellegrino, they would love him to suddenly put a run of wins together and move us up the table and start to show that he is the man for the job, but week in week out he is failing to do that and more and more I am finding it difficult to find even one Saints supporters who has the faith in him to want him to stay.

Claude Puel came in for stick around this time last year, but there were still plenty of people willing to give him time and a chance to show he was the man, Pellegrino does not seem to have any support at all amongst the fan base.

So day 15 could be crucial and a turning point in Saints history, it could not only see a new face in, but could see one going out as surely Les Reed can see that things are not right, there are clearly issues in the dressing room and when your three record signings are on the bench and only one of them actually gets on the pitch for any meaningful time, something is going wrong somewhere.

Photo: Action Images

sholingred added 10:34 - Jan 15 The really annoying thing for me is the whole crisis was bought on by board room decisions,everything on the pitch was great and the fans were happy.Then they decided to sell every one and now we find ourselves staring at the championship and this is why I get annoyed when people keep saying what a great job Les is doing, what a sh1t job top 6 and a couple of players from challenging top4 to relegation outfit in two seasons its criminal really.

6

petedoors1 added 10:57 - Jan 15 What should happen to our manager? I think as the old Moody Blues song says he should GO NOW.
6

aceofthebase added 11:01 - Jan 15 Who has the board decided to sell? It strikes me as if all our ex-players decided they were leaving despite fan adoration or contract. We just haven't managed to find another Mane or Pelle and seem content to play a lightweight midfield and forward line. I haven't given up on MP, week in week out the players let him down,strengthening the squad is more important
0

dovif added 11:26 - Jan 15 Les Reed did not think van dyck needed selling in August. He also through we have one of the strongest midfield in the league and he did not think we needed any striker in August why would we think he would do any different this window. I think another defensive midfielder would be great
-2

dovif added 11:26 - Jan 15 Les Reed did not think van dyck needed selling in August. He also through we have one of the strongest midfield in the league and he did not think we needed any striker in August why would we think he would do any different this window. I think another defensive midfielder would be great
-1

SanMarco added 11:49 - Jan 15 So it is the 'ides' of the transfer window and Les and friends are not 'bewaring' anywhere near enough for most of us. We can apportion blame all we like but the current squad may well go down without reinforcements. We probably do need a new manager too but only if a quality one comes in at the same time as MP leaves. Perhaps Reed and Co's biggest sin is complacency - I fear they will decide that January prices are too high and, after all, we have had bad runs before.... Such thinking leaves us on a knife edge. Our attacking options are still virtually non-existent and the 'strength' that was supposed to keep us safe, our defence, is not particularly solid. It is going to be a real scrap for the rest of the season and is the current squad better equipped for that than our relegation rivals? Don't bet on it.

6

saintjf added 12:38 - Jan 15 Good point about MP as a person. I do like him and really wish he could succeed but the results are not getting any better. If we are going to keep the manager then at least give him a new forward and a defender so he has some chance of keeping us out of the championship.Not sure what is going on but it all seems too quiet at the moment.
6

LordDZLucan added 12:58 - Jan 15 We don’t have the athletes in the squad in terms of strength, pace and stamina that most other sides have. As a result when a side decides to press us high up the pitch, which most sides are doing to us now for the whole of the 2nd half, we just can’t get out of our own half. That happened against Watford on Saturday, against Palace, against Huddersfield etc. etc.. A couple of signings is not going to change that. Neither is a change of manager. Krueger and Reed have left us with a squad that is not fit for the Premier League and for that they should be sacked and not Pellegrino although I would agree that he could be more pro-active with his substitutions.

0

landerwal added 13:00 - Jan 15 I would be more worried if we had bought players early in January. If Saints can secure them that quickly begs the question why does their team want to sell them so quickly and not fight to keep the player or at least haggle longer for a better deal, because after all Saints have the money in the bank. We have a good squad, results against Man City, Man U and Arsenal have shown. Our failure has been against lesser teams who we let off the hook in the second half after out playing them in the first half and the need for a Pelle/Lambert type forward. As far as the manager is concerned, his tactics need improving in the last 45 minutes of a game but changing horses at this late stage of the season could be the final nail in our coffin for Premiership survival. I hope that we secure one class player, even if it is on the last day of the transfer window, rather than two or three who other clubs have offloaded on us.

3

bstokesaint added 13:07 - Jan 15 Neither MP with his tactics (or lack of) or the team have what it takes for a relegation fight. We are looking at PL suicide if we don’t recruit a new manager and some fresh faces by the end of the month. As I’ve said on a previous post I think we should make amends with the (tried and tested) Koemans or at least find a manager with a good track record. Absolutely nothing will change otherwise. It’s incredibly naïve to believe otherwise.

7

codge added 13:27 - Jan 15 Three record signings on the bench says it all.
7

BuyEastleighFC4aBtea added 14:04 - Jan 15 Don't worry guys, we've done this before remember when we had little faith in the board and they came up with the goods then and they will again.
0

DorsetIan added 14:18 - Jan 15 Be very surprised if we don't have a new striker or attacking midfielder by Sunday.
6

Wembley76 added 14:36 - Jan 15 If you want to buy a house or a quality motor, then it takes research & time. If the property is owned by somebody else then, firstly, you have to hope that they wish to sell. If not, you have to change your focus to another property....... and, what if that happens several time to you; do you buy 'any ol' house' just for the sake of it - No! Patience, they say, is a virtue. If memory serve me correctly, recent Saints 'last minute window' purchases were one Sadio Mane and VvD - i think that they were worth the wait. Morale of the tale, all is not lost....... still over 50% of Jan window to go.

1

SanMarco added 14:47 - Jan 15 I wish I could think like you Wembley76 - life would be so much nicer!!! I also, of course, hope you are right...
3

SaintBrock added 17:36 - Jan 15 Of all people Nick you are probably the one who'll get noticed up top so I like your countdown timer. Every bit of pressure on the club helps but I guess they know they've been rumbled anyway and don't give a t*ss. Let's just pray they haven't hired a fat lady to sing this Sunday
2

SaintBrock added 17:38 - Jan 15 Years ago some of us said upon the exit of Nicola Cortese, "be careful what you wish for" when they sided with the Kat. At least he wasn't into the asset stripping.
0

SaintBrock added 18:18 - Jan 15 DorsetIan, you won't be disappointed, our new striker on Sunday will be James Ward Prowse!
0

JimmyMeliaPhD added 18:40 - Jan 15 I agree with the article's sense urgency. Obviously timing the transfer market is hard because of price negotiations, interconnected transfers, players and agents, etc. But this is one window where Saints really need to show they're capable of responding to our parlous situation. It's quite possible that by the time we play Spurs next week we'll be in the drop zone at 18th or maybe even 19th. Imagine the sheer morale sapping effect of that. A sign that the brass are on the case is badly needed before then.

2

bstokesaint added 22:10 - Jan 15 Wembley76, normally I’d agree with you but we’ve had over 6 months to replace VVD. And our top scorer, in a very barren season is injured. We shouldn’t be selling players until we’ve brought new faces in, or at least be in the closing stages. Sometimes in life a little urgency when faced with a very precarious position works better than a patient, or as I prefer dithering approach. My opinion of this board (who historically I’ve often defended) is generally that they have done better in summer windows (discounting the last couple). We seem incapable of strengthening our position in winter windows like other clubs.

1

aceofthebase added 22:25 - Jan 15 Does anyone in the PL want any of our players?
0

SaintPaulVW added 02:48 - Jan 16 Agree with this. I don't actively dislike MP, I just want him to learn a lot quicker. The board and owners also need to play their part and back him with the right players to give his preferred style of play a chance to work. We need a CF, midfield playmaker and ideally a solid CB fast.
0

legineloc added 07:59 - Jan 16 I read that MP has asked the board for permanent signings & not loans, is this the reason that Walcott seems to be heading to Everton, Reed used to have a little black book on players & managers, I hope I’m wrong but I don’t think they want to use any of the 75 million, as head of recruitment Reed has let us of the last couple of seasons, last season we couldn’t score, so in the preseason we brought 2 CB & a DM & in fact by selling JRod we weakened the attacking options

1

Blogs 31 bloggers

Southampton Polls