0 voters
Opinions are like arseholes, so justify your possession of one and tell me why…
Didn’t want him back in January when the first rumbling of Mope going started to emerge. Glad we got him when we did.
He created a bit of siege mentality which was perfect for getting us out of the shit in a short space of time. Whether he can motivate the squad to perform that way for the whole season remains to be seen.
However, rather him than BFS
Yes but why isn’t the 
emoji working for me??
I saw your message but looked and it was there for me.
Is it visible on this thread?
I’m an optimist. Clearly.
sorted now
Ctrl-F5 you know
Chrome on Android?
Chrome on windows…
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Why did I vote the way I voted, I believe the players are better than last years position suggested, Puel and Pelligrino sucked the life out of the team. I think Sparky will put the life back in.
Odd.
You, not the problem.
I reckon Hughes is more than capable of identifying an effective style of play which will suit the players we have. And by doing so getting more out of them.
He demonstrated this already by reverting to 3 at the back. The previous incumbents simply persevered with the same old shit every week and then scratched their heads when the wins continued to allude us.
Before we sold VVD, there were a lot of fans pining for a back 3 of Yoshida/Stephens, VVD & Hoedt. We had the players for it but MP never once tried it (with the possible exception of Wolves in the cup perhaps? Not sure. If he did then it was not with the above personnel). Instead he dropped and pissed off Hoedt and stunted his adaptation to the Premier League, which was a fairly shit idea on the basis that he must have had an inkling that he would be needed once they sold VVD before the window had even opened. If VVD was as disruptive as Ralph later suggested then he should have known and acted accordingly.
In my opinion, both Puel and Pellegrino were guilty of trying to force square pegs in to round holes and failing to deviate from their ‘plan A’ at any point. The system was seemingly more important to them than having the right players to carry it out. By way of example, Puel’s chopping and changing meant that Shane Long ended up playing in games where we were at home to boring ass shit teams who sat deep and camped inside their own half. Leaving zero space in behind for Long to run in to. He is pretty useless when he has to play with his back to goal.
Basically, I don’t see Hughes making such mistakes. His brief was clearly come in and do what the fuck you want to keep us up. You’d imagine a relaxing of the ‘Southampton Way’ style of play was discussed during the permanent contract negotiations.
@Barry-Sanchez has long claimed Puel and MP to be ‘yes’ men. And to an extent I probably agree, as per the above.
I think we will be about 10th next year. That is dependent on the right moves in the transfer window though. Central defence needs strengthening, big time.
Under Hughes we remembered where the goal was, he even got goal shy fucks like Cedric, Hoj-boj and Redmond to chip in, even Bednarek who couldn’t get a look in before Hughes arrived showed he can be a threat in his very first start. Also I agree he instilled a siege mentality*, this can also be very beneficial when challenging higher up the table, being able to dig in and grind out a 1-0 which would normally turn into a 1-1 or 1-2. That is why we will be finishing top half this season.
*maybe not in the Chelsea game but I’m speaking in general terms.
Pushing for Europe(nothing to do with Brexshit), because it’s not much different from the top ten option and we have made a couple of decent early signings, with a couple more to come(hopefully).
Sort out the defence and i think top ten is very achievable, but start scoring more at the same time, which i believe we will and fighting for Europe is definitely within aim.
At the moment i think we’ll be 13/14th. We still have some defensive frailties and probably a goal scoring problem but we’ll be better than before. Not sure Hughes will ever be able to take us back to 6-8th but as long as we show some attacking intent, score some goals and stay up I’ll be happy.
Hughes will do alright. When he was appointed, I said two things. The players needed someone to shout at them. The other thing that I think genuinely came through was the notion that Hughes had the air of a man who’d slipped on a dogshit in Stoke, only to fall face first into a relative goldpile in Southampton.
Alright, we ain’t Man City, and let’s be honest; other managers have made a bit of a better fist of it there. That said, did anyone before him ever manage to make Stoke City look more attractive, and still do well until the inevitable end?
Yes, yes, I know his time fell apart at the end, but that’s something anyone that’s been four years in a job might understand, especially if nothing is changing.
I think he’s raring to go here, and he’ll have clout here that he couldn’t have cashed in on at City.
He has won trophies, was one of the most celebrated footballers nationally during his prime. has managed big clubs and trotted his arse out there in a Saints shirt.
I’m not overplaying that. He put on the shirt when his Man Utd career was over; he was downsizing, and he certainly didn’t deliver for us every week.
I’m not underplaying it either. He has worn the shirt, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s the first manager we’ve had since Alan Ball to have worn the shirt and been given that job permanently on his own.
Doddy had a go, but he had to share the throne with his gormless mate John.
I back him to do alright.
I voted for mid table as we have the remnants of a squad who should be able to play in a way to do it themselves. Sparky gives the impression that he would, like in his playing days, kick the players AND Les in the bollocks if he felt that’s what’s needed. This is a match made for each other right here, right now