Our correspondent from our former colony again brings us his view on all things Southampton FC and is a little disappointed in Claude Puel's selections of late.

This is the first time I have written a mainly negative article about the situation at Saints. Even now it is hard to criticise as only fans with very short memories won't remember the dark days of minus ten points in League One. However, Saints have come a long way since those days and Saints fans expectations have drastically risen and I feel some constructive criticism needs to be expressed.

The last two games, against Liverpool in the league, and Prague in Europe, have seen very disappointing performances on the field. Against Liverpool, I doubt few Saints fans have witnessed such a negative and defensive display, especially at home. Before the game, I felt with Liverpool's shaky defence, attack would have been the best form of defence.

Instead Saints ending up parking the bus and were very fortunate to come away with a point. Granted Liverpool are the one of the current form teams and at times have been awesome going forward, but Saints should have made a much better attempt at taking the game to them than they did.

Against Prague, thousands of Saints fans spent their hard earned cash to travel to eastern Europe in expectation that they had a realistic chance of coming away with three points. Instead, it looked like an unnecessary makeshift line-up who failed to gel and impose themselves on an ordinary Prague side.

Yes, they huffed and puffed and had the vast majority of possession, but it was all to little effect and they ended up being undone by one clever free kick. If I had been in Prague, I would have felt short changed. It's less painful to watch Saints lose when you feel all the players have put in a shift worthy of wearing the shirt, but this wasn't the case in Prague.

With hindsight, would Puel ever admit that Austin should have started instead of Rodriguez, and that Saints record signing should have also been in the starting eleven. The only positive is the fact Saints destiny in the competition is still in their own hands, and on paper are favourites to progress into the last 32.

Both of those games are in the past and now the immediate thoughts turn to Everton and the accompanying media attention that Koeman will bring. My view is that Koeman did a great job for Saints and though the full details of his departure remain shrouded in controversy, he should be afforded a warmer reception than the one he is likely to receive.

This season has seen a shaky start in the Premier League, followed by a mini revival and then some more disappointing results. The former League Cup has seen Saints progress nicely and now need Puel to view this cup as a major chance of a trip to Wembley and some silverware. I hope he shares the view from most Saints fans that he should not tinker with too many changes from his strongest line-up. The Europa League has seen a historic win against one of Europe's biggest teams, together with a disappointing performance and result away to Prague.

So what of the rest of the season? Realistically, I will be pleased with strong showings in the three cup competitions (a Wembley visit would be excellent) and at least a top ten finish in the league. These goals are very attainable with astute prioritisation of Puel's starting line-ups in the various competitions. As I've stated before, I want to see the strongest possible teams played in the cup competitions and I think most Saints fans would prefer visits to Wembley rather than a higher position, or two, in the Premier League.

To finish on a positive note, I still have every confidence in Puel, the club itself, and a very positive season.

Photo: Action Images

derbydog added 10:31 - Nov 27 I think the rotation is a means to an end. How would we keep fringe players happy, or indeed keep them at all, players who we need to fill in when injuries and suspensions bite if they don't get games? By judiciously introducing McCarthy, Martina, Yoshida, McQueen/Targett, Hoiberg/Classie, Ward Prowse, Reed, Rodriguez/Long to the first choice X1 and keep them match fit and used to our system, we keep the whole squad motivated. It isn't realistic to think the same 11-15 players can play 50plus club games a season and play a dozen or so internationals without occasional breaks. Identifying the weaker teams and playing some of the fringe players looks good to me. Trouble is Hull and Prague were two of those supposedly weaker teams!

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