| Interesting read... on 10:52 - May 25 with 1503 views | DorsetIan |
That's a great article written by someone who obviously knows the game. You can't really argue with any of the conclusions, including:
"Ralph Hasenhuttl must now take his fair share of the blame, too. His decision to take off Kyle Walker-Peters, the team’s best attacker on the day, midway through the second half embodied the state of confusion. He moved Ward-Prowse to right-back and to play ‘on the highest line.’ Instead, it turned out that Southampton would enter the final 25 minutes with a system that held no width, with two full backs that didn’t overlap."
I think that this is typical of his substitutions. He makes them thinking that one thing will happen and something else happens instead. Meanwhile those of us watching are thinking 'wtf?!'.
Ralph would do well to learn the 'Keep it simple stupid' adage. |  |
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| Interesting read... on 10:53 - May 25 with 1500 views | Butty101 |
| Interesting read... on 10:52 - May 25 by DorsetIan |
That's a great article written by someone who obviously knows the game. You can't really argue with any of the conclusions, including:
"Ralph Hasenhuttl must now take his fair share of the blame, too. His decision to take off Kyle Walker-Peters, the team’s best attacker on the day, midway through the second half embodied the state of confusion. He moved Ward-Prowse to right-back and to play ‘on the highest line.’ Instead, it turned out that Southampton would enter the final 25 minutes with a system that held no width, with two full backs that didn’t overlap."
I think that this is typical of his substitutions. He makes them thinking that one thing will happen and something else happens instead. Meanwhile those of us watching are thinking 'wtf?!'.
Ralph would do well to learn the 'Keep it simple stupid' adage. |
Great article spot on. |  |
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| Interesting read... on 11:11 - May 25 with 1480 views | dirk_doone |
He highlights the key central defensive issue:
"Sunday’s curtain closer was reflected in the central defender matchups between the two sides. Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek did their best aircraft Marshall impressions, waving West Ham’s attackers through every time they went near the goal.
The distances between the pair became staggering. Despite playing nearly 30 games together, both wore the look of two strangers.
If one went to apply pressure on the ball, often getting too close to Michail Antonio, the other suddenly felt compelled to drop 15 yards deeper. The whole backline became one great diagonal mess. Speaking post-match, Hasenhuttl called the lead-up to Pablo Fornals’ first goal “a farce.”
Meanwhile, in West Ham’s corner stood Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna, two players in their thirties and likely to have reached their limit of potential. Yet, they ensued to deliver a defensive masterclass on their counterparts. A lesson in the art of throwback defending, what it actually means to keep a clean sheet."
A lot of that is down to Vestergaard's lack of movement. Even Stephens tries his hardest to cover for his team mates; Vestergaard doesn't. He just strolls around in his own world. When the defensive line moves forward to play an opposition striker offside, Vestergaard just stands there and plays him onside.
Admittedly, when he is stolling forward with the ball he can look quite impressive but he is not a team player and that has a detrimental effect on team spirit. The players fight for each other more when he's not there as we saw against Leicester when he went off. Selling him this summer will be a very good bit of business. [Post edited 25 May 2021 11:21]
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| Interesting read... on 11:28 - May 25 with 1449 views | DorsetIan |
| Interesting read... on 11:11 - May 25 by dirk_doone |
He highlights the key central defensive issue:
"Sunday’s curtain closer was reflected in the central defender matchups between the two sides. Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek did their best aircraft Marshall impressions, waving West Ham’s attackers through every time they went near the goal.
The distances between the pair became staggering. Despite playing nearly 30 games together, both wore the look of two strangers.
If one went to apply pressure on the ball, often getting too close to Michail Antonio, the other suddenly felt compelled to drop 15 yards deeper. The whole backline became one great diagonal mess. Speaking post-match, Hasenhuttl called the lead-up to Pablo Fornals’ first goal “a farce.”
Meanwhile, in West Ham’s corner stood Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna, two players in their thirties and likely to have reached their limit of potential. Yet, they ensued to deliver a defensive masterclass on their counterparts. A lesson in the art of throwback defending, what it actually means to keep a clean sheet."
A lot of that is down to Vestergaard's lack of movement. Even Stephens tries his hardest to cover for his team mates; Vestergaard doesn't. He just strolls around in his own world. When the defensive line moves forward to play an opposition striker offside, Vestergaard just stands there and plays him onside.
Admittedly, when he is stolling forward with the ball he can look quite impressive but he is not a team player and that has a detrimental effect on team spirit. The players fight for each other more when he's not there as we saw against Leicester when he went off. Selling him this summer will be a very good bit of business. [Post edited 25 May 2021 11:21]
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This sounds like basic stuff. Do we not have a defensive coach, and how do you get to be a Premier League defender and not be hard-wired to do this? | |
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| Interesting read... on 11:32 - May 25 with 1445 views | Sadoldgit |
Vestergaard and Bednarek are both slow, so that is a big issue for starters. Having said that they did managed to play well together up to the end of the year. Yes, they have both been guilty of being positionally suspect, but so is Stephens. Losing Romeu was a big blow as him and JWP gave the defence a lot more protection. Salisu has the pace and awareness to provide cover at CH. There are plenty of old,slow CH’s still making a living in the EPL you just need to have the players around them to cover their weak spots. Vestergaard showed before his injury what a good player he can be. It’s no surprise that decent sides have shown an interest in him. |  | | |
| Interesting read... on 11:54 - May 25 with 1413 views | saint22 |
| Interesting read... on 11:11 - May 25 by dirk_doone |
He highlights the key central defensive issue:
"Sunday’s curtain closer was reflected in the central defender matchups between the two sides. Jannik Vestergaard and Jan Bednarek did their best aircraft Marshall impressions, waving West Ham’s attackers through every time they went near the goal.
The distances between the pair became staggering. Despite playing nearly 30 games together, both wore the look of two strangers.
If one went to apply pressure on the ball, often getting too close to Michail Antonio, the other suddenly felt compelled to drop 15 yards deeper. The whole backline became one great diagonal mess. Speaking post-match, Hasenhuttl called the lead-up to Pablo Fornals’ first goal “a farce.”
Meanwhile, in West Ham’s corner stood Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna, two players in their thirties and likely to have reached their limit of potential. Yet, they ensued to deliver a defensive masterclass on their counterparts. A lesson in the art of throwback defending, what it actually means to keep a clean sheet."
A lot of that is down to Vestergaard's lack of movement. Even Stephens tries his hardest to cover for his team mates; Vestergaard doesn't. He just strolls around in his own world. When the defensive line moves forward to play an opposition striker offside, Vestergaard just stands there and plays him onside.
Admittedly, when he is stolling forward with the ball he can look quite impressive but he is not a team player and that has a detrimental effect on team spirit. The players fight for each other more when he's not there as we saw against Leicester when he went off. Selling him this summer will be a very good bit of business. [Post edited 25 May 2021 11:21]
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We lack pace and experience back there, hopefully Salisu solves one but how we could have done with a Dawson, Cahill or Evans type there
How our defence has become shambolic is troubling, plus the removal of KWP as the article state and we all know was a big error
Ralphs subs have done more harm than good across the season i would say | | | |
| Interesting read... on 12:31 - May 25 with 1372 views | Ron11 |
Still a mystery why Ralph decided to rotate the keepers and then kept Mccarthy in when he clearly isn't up to the job for some reason. | | | |
| Interesting read... on 13:03 - May 25 with 1326 views | dirk_doone |
| Interesting read... on 12:31 - May 25 by Ron11 |
Still a mystery why Ralph decided to rotate the keepers and then kept Mccarthy in when he clearly isn't up to the job for some reason. |
Until the West Ham game, I had never questioned Ralph's decisions but playing McCarthy for the 3rd game running, instead of Forster, and subbing Walker-Peters, instead of Diallo, with Romeu, were two of the worst decisions I have seen him make all season. You could almost call them suicidally bad, as every man and his dog could see it was as good as throwing the game away, so you have to wonder why couldn't he?
Some things seem so obvious that you wonder how he can miss them. Our last six clean sheets have all been with Forster in goal. [Post edited 25 May 2021 13:07]
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| Interesting read... on 13:12 - May 25 with 1299 views | kernow |
Ralph needs to take a break from all this. | | | |
| Interesting read... on 13:36 - May 25 with 1280 views | saint22 |
| Interesting read... on 12:31 - May 25 by Ron11 |
Still a mystery why Ralph decided to rotate the keepers and then kept Mccarthy in when he clearly isn't up to the job for some reason. |
Accordin to a piece I read somewhere he intends to let them duke it out in pre season for the number one spot!
Therein lies Ralphs issue as he clearly doesn't know what his best team is or who to pick
Is that because they are all below average or is it because he just know? | | | |
| Interesting read... on 13:42 - May 25 with 1277 views | SonicBoom |
The one that puzzled me was why he decided to take off Ings and replace him with Obafemi with 6 minutes to go when we were 3-0 down.
Last game of the season so he wasn't protecting Ings and I don't understand the point of giving Obafemi 6 minutes. Obviously it made no difference but it just seemed completely odd. |  | | |
| Interesting read... on 15:03 - May 25 with 1242 views | Newdawn2014 |
ouch ! well written and probably nail on the head . | | | |
| Interesting read... on 15:25 - May 25 with 1230 views | Sadoldgit |
| Interesting read... on 13:36 - May 25 by saint22 |
Accordin to a piece I read somewhere he intends to let them duke it out in pre season for the number one spot!
Therein lies Ralphs issue as he clearly doesn't know what his best team is or who to pick
Is that because they are all below average or is it because he just know? |
There doesn’t seem to be much between them and they both have strong and weak points, but different ones. Forster seemed to finish the season the better of the two though didn’t he? It looks like they will both be here next season (I’m guessing) but I would imagine that Gunn will be moved on and we will pick up and up and coming keeper from somewhere in the cheap. | | | |
| Interesting read... on 15:38 - May 25 with 1215 views | PaleRider |
| Interesting read... on 15:25 - May 25 by Sadoldgit |
There doesn’t seem to be much between them and they both have strong and weak points, but different ones. Forster seemed to finish the season the better of the two though didn’t he? It looks like they will both be here next season (I’m guessing) but I would imagine that Gunn will be moved on and we will pick up and up and coming keeper from somewhere in the cheap. |
I was very sceptical about Forster after his meltdown a couple of seasons ago but this season I think he has earned the number 1 spot - the defence seem more comfortable with him than with McCarthy.
Also Jack Stephens, for all his faults, has been a loyal servant and is a good squad player. For my mind he should stay and be appreciated for what he does deliver.
To me the major faults are:
1) We have no leader on the pitch and are mentally very weak. I worry that Ralph sees a senior leader as a threat;
2) Ralph's insistence on a small squad may work in Germany, where there is a mid-season break, is a less intensive league and only one cup competition. However, it does not work in England;
3) The issues all stem from the lack of direction or even apparent interest from the owners. This has translated into poor decision making across the board.
Solutions:
1) Buy an experienced player with leadership credentials (defence or midfield);
2) Utilise the squad players more. Unfortunately this may be at the expense of the B team and the under-18's but must be worth a go in the absence of significant new purchases over the summer;
3) Either find better owners or actually get involved. Review feedback from the fans and have a comprehensive strategy that encompasses the whole of Southampton FC.
This is going to be unpopular but the bright light this season has been the women's team. Whenever I watch the highlights I am impressed by how they play with energy and enthusiasm as a team - the senior men's team could learn from this. | | | |
| Interesting read... on 15:56 - May 25 with 1197 views | I_would |
| Interesting read... on 10:52 - May 25 by DorsetIan |
That's a great article written by someone who obviously knows the game. You can't really argue with any of the conclusions, including:
"Ralph Hasenhuttl must now take his fair share of the blame, too. His decision to take off Kyle Walker-Peters, the team’s best attacker on the day, midway through the second half embodied the state of confusion. He moved Ward-Prowse to right-back and to play ‘on the highest line.’ Instead, it turned out that Southampton would enter the final 25 minutes with a system that held no width, with two full backs that didn’t overlap."
I think that this is typical of his substitutions. He makes them thinking that one thing will happen and something else happens instead. Meanwhile those of us watching are thinking 'wtf?!'.
Ralph would do well to learn the 'Keep it simple stupid' adage. |
If you figure that his subs decisions not only didn't work, but everyone watching knew it wouldn't in advance then the only conclusion that you can come to is that everybody knows better than Ralph. This, of course is a known, proven fact especially since Xmas. So why's he still in the job? | |
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| Interesting read... on 17:42 - May 25 with 1126 views | Sadoldgit |
| Interesting read... on 15:56 - May 25 by I_would |
If you figure that his subs decisions not only didn't work, but everyone watching knew it wouldn't in advance then the only conclusion that you can come to is that everybody knows better than Ralph. This, of course is a known, proven fact especially since Xmas. So why's he still in the job? |
As you seem to think you know more than an experienced EPL manager, can you please show us the stats that prove that the vast majority of substitutions “work” by which I assume you mean change the game in the favour of the team making the subs. | | | |
| Interesting read... on 19:31 - May 25 with 1036 views | DorsetIan |
| Interesting read... on 17:42 - May 25 by Sadoldgit |
As you seem to think you know more than an experienced EPL manager, can you please show us the stats that prove that the vast majority of substitutions “work” by which I assume you mean change the game in the favour of the team making the subs. |
Come on Sogs, Ralphs subs have been appalling recently. It's bad enough that the bench is so weak to start with but he doesn't do himself any favours at all with his mad/too clever by half swaps.
Game winning subs are clearly pretty rare but so are subs which positively screw things up and there were far too many of these this season. | |
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| Interesting read... on 21:06 - May 25 with 957 views | Sadoldgit |
| Interesting read... on 19:31 - May 25 by DorsetIan |
Come on Sogs, Ralphs subs have been appalling recently. It's bad enough that the bench is so weak to start with but he doesn't do himself any favours at all with his mad/too clever by half swaps.
Game winning subs are clearly pretty rare but so are subs which positively screw things up and there were far too many of these this season. |
I don’t disagree Ian (apart from the spectacularly effective introduction of Tella and Walcott against Palace) but my point still stands - substituations rarely change the outcome of a match in your favour. He is clearly frustrated about the substitutions as he has mentioned how the introduction of them rarely enables us to step up a gear against tiring teams. As you say, the fact that we don’t have much quality in depth does not help the cause. Like everyone else I do often wonder why he has done what he has done. When you hear him talk about it afterwards there is always a logic to his decisions, even if they fail. I’ll give his due, he does try to play attacking football and he doesn’t believe in parking the bus when we go one up. | | | |
| Interesting read... on 21:28 - May 25 with 943 views | grumpy |
I don't understand Ralphs thinking behind the progress of Obafemi and Nlundulu they rarely get a decent run in the team, I know Obafemi has been injured, but when he has been fit he's had very little time in the team.
They may or may not be Premiership quality but give the lads a decent go, when they do get a chance to me they look enthusiastic and willing to get stuck in. |  | | |
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