That would be the same Les Reed that has helped guide the club to four consecutive top ten finishes, a league cup final and two lots of European football. Yep, why should anyone be taking in by him? As for losing the final because we didnt buy a CB. Sorry I dont get that. Yes we would have had a better chance of winning if Van Dijk had been fit but if a replacement for Fonte had been bought there is no guarantee that we would have made the final, let alone won it. We bought Lemina to strengthen our midfield. I assume he didnt play on Saturday because he had a long and convoluted journey back home and there were other players who were considered fresher. You seem to think that we are the only team with issues. Look at those below us (yes, Leicester are one such club). Look at Palace. Look at West Ham. If winning Premiership matches was easy all clubs would be competing for the title every year. It isnt just a question of finding players, it is finding the right players. The more you have to spend the more likely you are to find the players who will make a difference, Given our budget we have done well to compete at the level we have so far. It doesnt always work. Having said that players like Redmond, Tadic and Boufel have shown what they are capable of but arent getting it right at the moment. Tadic in particular is a quality Premiership player who is not playing to his capabilities. Is that Les Reed’s fault? Over on Fiverweb at the moment there are a group of people who have decided that the problems are all down to Eric Black. What they think he does that has stopped us from scoring I am not sure, but hey, some people need a scapegoat when things arent working (having said that some people need a scapegoat when things are going well too). Think back to certain games under Poch and Koeman. Even then we were capable of crap performances. If Les Reed is to blame for the goal draught, how come he doesnt get credit for finding the likes of Pelle, Mane and Tadic and the time we were scoring for fun? Unearthing gems is not easy but at least we have found some. Some do not always sparkle as you would like but is that the fault of the finder? Potential is not nailed on and guaranteed. Look how Mane was slagged off by a section of our supporters when he first arrived. There were high hopes for Boufel and he did show flashes of quality at first, but is it Les Reed’s fault that he hasnt turned into another Mane? Some players find it hard to make the transition to Premiership football not matter how good they are and how well they are coached. It would appear that the club did have a look at some strikers in the summer but for one reason or another, didnt sign one. Would you rather they signed a target or just bought in someone for the sake of it? Some things work, some things dont. On the law of averages so far this club has been well run since its climb from Division 1. But if you expect everyone at the club to get things right 100% of the time, you are always going to be disappointed.
One other thing I would like to point out :-
When we make other, “better” teams look ordinary it is because they are having an off day, not because we closed them down, harried and hassled and MADE them play badly.
Saturday Watford did exactly the same to us, they closed us down (very quickly), they harried and they hassled. Our players didn’t like it.
So, did we play badly because we are a bad team or did we play play badly because we weren’t allowed to play well?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this squad is the best but there were more than 11 men on the pitch on Saturday!
I think Watford played extremely well on Saturday as you say BTripz. Stifled us and two superb goals and before anyone says that we let them score can I say we would be calling them fantastic shots if it had been us that scored.
Saying that I was yelling at Stephens (??) to close down Janmaat before he scored!!
I cant see Les Reed getting any credit at all for Pele and Tadic! Very clearly these were Koeman buys. Mane maybe but as he was already on strike for a move im not so sure. The fact he got Koeman was his real success. Poch was nothing to do with him
As for unearthing gems being very tricky. I agree it is, but as Watford prooved on Saterday its not that tricky.
I think Les is really good at making his job seem harder than it is. Any talk about getting us up from Leauge 1 is irrelvent usnless it is a suggestion that he should go back to Charlton. We are in the Premier League. If we want European football we need to up our game in executive management and the players we get in. At this early stage it seems too many mistakes are being made.
Sympathy upvote you spanner…
But the worrying thing is both shots were outside of the area and Forster wasn’t able to react quickly enough. Seems to me he is slow to get down* fast enough these days. His Achilles heel, that Watford took advantage or just luck on the day?
*Not as in strutting his stuff on the dance floor - though that may be an issue too, but we haven’t been told…
I have a feeling that The Monster Mash is his number.
I agree with the slow getting down and faster keepers may and I mean may have reached those ball but I’d have been fkn impressed if he’d saved them, him or any other keeper come to that.
Don’t know @cellone , the first goal didn’t seem to be hit with any power, yeah it was wide of him but he just didn’t seem to react to it. It was right in front of me too as I was in the Chapel (but I’m not going to get married!!).
And there is the rub. As with Rupert Lowe as I remember, anything that goes wrong is down to Reed, anything that goes right is down to someone else. I read elsewhere that Reed was responsible for all signings. Perhaps he is, perhaps he isnt, but if he signs them off then he has a part to play in the process (as I assume he also says no to some). All the way through our journey from Division 1 I have read about all the mistakes we have made, and yet we are where we are. Amazing for a club riddled with poor decision making. Funny how people outside the club, without an axe to grind, talk about us an example of a well run football club. Considering that we do not have the clout of the likes of the Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool we have done amazingly well over the last few years (despite with the apparently crap Les Reed on board). We are never going to compete with the top clubs but I dont see as trying to best of the rest is such a bad thing. I can certainly live with 8th and good cup runs. I have been a Saints supporter since 1966 and this is the best period I can remember apart from the McMenemy years. It is by no means perfect, it never has been, even under McMenemy, but I really dont see why the club (and Reed) get so much stick.
If Reed gets credit for buying he surely must get the blame for not buying enough quality as well as we’re weaker than last year with options up front, spent nothing in premiership terms, and our manager saying Redmond and JWP could help the England cause really says an awful lot, they’re poor first team players in the premier league and that is all there is to it.
One reason that immediatly comes to mind as to why the club and Reed deserve stick is because they invite it on themselves. There is a false arrogence and there is straight up lies and delusion. I dont believe either Potch or Koeman would have left to Spurs and Everton if we has been true to our words on ambition. Both managers would have left for top CL league clubs I know but they wouldnt have gone to Spurs and Everton if we had showed them we were going to grow into a European club.
I have said before I dont mind really what league we are in as long as we win. If we are in the Premier league we need to grow if we dont want to grow lets get in the championship and have a roller coaster of 2 games a week and fight for the top.
Mid table football is shit. Its worse than relagation battles.
I totally agree, the ceiling was reached, where the fuck has the headline of attempting to get into the champions league gone? Next to the trophy attempts with a weakened squad I suppose, people believe their shit, they’re all comical Ali’s.
Good cup runs when we don’t take them seriously and get knocked out by Wolves at home, at you smoking crack?
Short memory? Do you expect a final every year? And we still have the FA cup to go. But let’s just slit our wrists now eh?
I expect a trophy once every say 40 odd years yes, name a major club with less trophies?
Newcastle?
and are we a “major club”?
True but they have won things, we’re a major club in the sense we’re the largest I can think of with the emptiest cabinet.
Sunderland?
Haven’t won anything since the fa Cup in 73 and their only other success came in the same comp in 37. They did come second in division 2 in 64 if that counts(not sure what they they put in the trophy cabinet).
They’re a bigger club and although shit, haven’t had the problems we’ve had.
You’re such a modern day sky kind of fan. Get a grip.