 | Your
Report | Liverpool v Southampton Your Report added at 10:56:25
Played well first half and should have put away our chances - Sulemana being the most culpable, however what does anyone expect when the guy hasn't played regular first team football. But I thought he was a real threat to Liverpool that's why they brought on the first teamer right centre-half, Konate, to stop him in the second half. Konate showed his Premiership class and did stop Sulemana but why didn't Martin play Sulemana in a different position on the other side or more centrally. Edozie was also a threat. At least Martin could have tried to swap them around. I thought Sulemana and Edozie had a great first half. More goal scoring prowess and we could easily have gone 3 up. The other strange thing about Martin's selection was that he selected two dangerous wingers but a poor centre forward - once again playing Mara from the start he looked out of his depth - missing a couple of sitters. Adams was the obvious choice for me. Chalk and cheese.
Don't start me on the suicidal knocking the ball around our box to find a non-existent solution. OK do then. Frankly if a manager persists with this strategy he doesn't deserve to be manager - just saying we're going to stick to something 1. shows a lack of reasoning 2. an inability to adapt 3. Extreme stubbornness and arrogance. Being 'brave' enough to take risky chance is absurd and stupid when a team consistently loses matches with these conceits. It might, and does, work against weak teams that give you too much respect but it ain't going to win any trophies or promotion. Try that against Ipswich or Hull in the play-offs!
Thought Bree played OK except for one or two mistakes. And thought Charles played well except for a couple of mistakes. Same for Manning , same for Smallbone. Do you see the pattern here? If you ask me Saints players are trying to play an unnatural and risky style of football that they aren't technically gifted enough to play and so it will always ultimately let them down against more prepared and/or better teams. It's failed Russ; go back to 4-4-2 and play two wingers and two forwards with proper left and right backs. I'd also be quite happy to give Lumley a run of games. |
| Your
Report | Coventry City v Southampton Your Report added at 11:05:49
Good news - it Looks as if our current squad, manager, ownership and results will keep us in the Championship! Probably not a bad thing but only if we can build from there. Looking ahead, hopefully, we'll do well enough to stay in this league. Going up or staying; either way we'll probably lose all our best players and will be in the 'do-do' whatever league we're in next year. So on that basis we'd better pull our socks up and get promoted for a season of slaughter in the Prem! But with Martin I just can't see promotion happening. Life will be even tougher in the championship next year - we'd better enjoy moderate success while we can! I can see us left only with a shell of a team if we stay in this division (players likely to leave: Bednarek, KWP, Harwood-Bellis, Stu Armstrong, A Armstrong, Adams, Downes possibly Alcarez). I'd say this is a critical season for the club - aren't they all? but more than most. Yet is the determination, urgency and flawless strategy there? Anything greater than any of the above will be a massive achievement, for example, keeping good players and developing a strong squad that can compete in the Prem - all in all that's the best we can hope for (but again, I just can't see this happening under our present management and ownership). |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Bristol City Your Report added at 10:41:33
Saints dominated and outclassed a poor, 'agricultural', Bristol, who defended with two narrow lines. Despite this they should have scored from two free headers at the far post and a break. Our defending down the wings, especially on the right-hand side is pitiful at times. KWP may be excellent in going forward but he's a poor defensive right-back and can leave us horribly exposed.
Bazunu also made two two terrific saves one from one of the headers and the second from a break. The latter was focus and braveness personified, reaching low to his left to whip the ball away from the attacker's foot. As someone else said, it was the best game I've seen Baz play, although, to be honest, he didn't have anything else to do.
KWP scored a great goal cutting in from the right, as he does, unleashing an accurate curling shot beyond a diving keeper into the left-hand side of the goal.
The two central defenders played well and were covering well for each other. Manning went off injured but his performance was uneventful. Sulemana also went off with what looked like a pulled achilles tendon, again up to this point he flattered to deceive. I thought there were good performances from Downes and especially Adam Armstrong - always running, trying to pierce the defence and he laid off the ball to KWP for the goal. Stuart Armstrong wasn't as threatening as in recent games and so it was left to Adam and Karl to be the creative inspirations. In fact, AA was my MOTM. |
| Your
Report | Stoke City v Southampton Your Report added at 10:22:29
Played well enough. No stupid mistakes although at times they looked tempted. What I can't believe is that Martin kept the same team in the same positions - when was the last time that happened to a Saints team. He kept the best players in the team and surprisingly that worked (sarcasm)!
The defence looked alright and - a favourite bugbear for Nick - Bednarek led it well. Manning had a 50/50 game though and I honestly believe Perraud was a much better player - I'd have him back and in the team immediately.
The midfield played OK. Downes had his best games for Saints so far and was one of Saints best players. Stu A played well but him and Smallbone still lose too much possession in midfield. Even though he had a slightly shaky start, Charles came on and looked terrific in that role. If I'd make one change for the next game it would be Charles for Smallbone. Alcarez was OK but he can only improve once he gets his head sorted to come somewhere the form that he showed for us when he first came to the club. worth persevering with.
Sulemana is coming into his own and was a very good without the guile of the Leeds victory. The problem with seeing an exciting Saints player now is that you're constantly reminded that the longer he continues to look great, the closer the day when he'll disappear to another club. If you sign a contract, I'd like all players to play at least two years. That would really help teams like Saints out ie. all Championship teams and lower, but I won't hold my breath. Again A Armstrong was terrific with his running and effort and he didn't really have any chances. Chances were far and few between. Mara missed a decent chance and failed to pass to Aribo when Saints broke late on. Aribo - I thought - looked decent, that non-existant pass just had me wondering what would have happened had Mara laid it off. Mara really need to be finding his Mojo and playing in a first team somewhere, coming off the bench is a waste of time. |
| Your
Report | Sheffield Wednesday v Southampton Your Report added at 23:40:28
Apologies for being a bit of a curmudgeon here on a first victory in what seems like several years. But, RM keeps saying Saints have been asked to do something 'really, really different'. But what is this 'really, really different' thing? they looked exactly like they did last year - the match was like a poor Prem team against a League One team. So we won for a change but that changes nothing except defences are poorer in this division. Our defence still looks vulnerable, our attack could barely penetrate (except for the Tella and JWP/Adams moments of magic) and we still can't defend set pieces. It'll be really, really interesting to see whether we actually change at all. But in all honesty I can't see it because that's what RM means by 'really, really' changing. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v AFC Bournemouth Your Report added at 10:51:52
Led down a dark alley by the ownership for the last two years. Nobody's been good enough for the Premiership. Hopefully they'll knock their heads together and make some common sense decisions once the season finishes. Why not start by asking the most loyal fans what Saints need? |
| Your
Report | Arsenal v Southampton Your Report added at 09:55:29
Once you take off Alcarez, at half time, and Lavia (with ten minutes or more to spare), all your team pull back further and further and you're inviting Arsenal to play, constantly attack and eventually pick us apart. No amount of defenders are going to stop them scoring at least once. You're effectively ceding the game to an excellent attacking team like Arsenal. Unfortunately the Rubber Man hasn't got a clue despite all the blarney. i wish the owners had a clue from the day they took over. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Brentford Your Report added at 19:15:26
Getting paid £50,000 a week buck your ideas up or fehk off. Any body else earning this amount for what do do would be imprisoned by now let alone playing in the Premier League. What a joke. The owners haven't had a clue for the last two years. |
| Your
Report | Manchester United v Southampton Your Report added at 22:37:13
Saints looking like a tighter unit now and playing accordingly - fairly well - but still struggling to score. JWP came close with 2 free kicks and KWP hit the post - nobody else looked like scoring in a month of Sundays. Great games from Baz, KWP, Perraud, Bednarek and ABK. So the defence is performing better but there really has to be more delivery into the box and Big Paul has to be given an opportunity. Playing him with Adams from the start has to be our best chance. We desperately need to score more goals - relying on the odd goal nicked is not going to save us. Despite this Selles has had a good start and we're still in there fighting. |
| Your
Report | Newcastle United v Southampton Your Report added at 12:07:03
I thought we murdered them in the second half without the end product and Saints commentary didn't do us justice, they seem to spend most of the game not commentating on what was actually happening on the pitch - bring back Brian Moore.
So I'm not down hearted, in fact I'm proud of the lads for the second half performance. We just didn't have the midfield thrust especially in the first half. We grew into the game but after the two quick sloppy goals it was all over and Newcastle largely closed up shop - which they do tremendously well.
You do have to wonder how many brain cells NJ has, and whether he'll ever learn, after: beating man City but playing a consistently failing formation; putting Bree (for his first game) and Bednarek (who hasn't played a full Premiership game in months) in; and leaving out Perraud, Caleta Car and Lavia. NJ seems to have an arrogant, obstinate streak in him that says I always know best disregarding anything that has happened. Even with the new transfers this stupid attitude could lead to relegation.
But at least we'll all know he'll be to blame because I don't think we can now not doubt the owners after their excellent efforts albeit a year too late. Time's running out because we have to win matches. NB. Unfortunately Charley went AWOL last night and Orsic stayed sat on the bench. Looking for to seeing all the new lads get game time only wish there was a decent reserve team and league for them to get purposeful practice. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Manchester United Your Report added at 07:23:50
Saints all over Utd. Cheated out of the game with Ref and VAR ignoring a blatant penalty. Have to remember small clubs always play against 13 now when they're playing the money monsters. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Manchester City Your Report added at 09:01:54
Saints held the Saudi billionaire picked world X1 for 70minutes but after this, when a team can bring on two world class players as subs, what do you expect? They both scored world class goals. Good games from KWP, JWP and Tino Livramento. Not sure why Stephens played instead of our usual first choice Bednarek and why both Long and A Armstrong played up front. I think both Bednarek and Adams would have been better choices but - considering the opposition - we're probably splitting hairs. Saints gave the Saudi World X1 an easy two goals: Stephens made an awful gaff of a clearance, Salisu thoughtlessly stuck out his arms and hands barely touching Jesus who produced an Oscar winning dive that nobody was going to question - of course. And that's the game 4-1. However, we possibly needed that game to regain some league form although we have to wait two weeks, during the International break to face a battling Leeds team at Elland Road. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Everton Your Report added at 10:28:26
Saints are looking an exciting and all-round assured team presently - long may it continue. Romeu, JWP masterful in the centre of midfield. Armstrong probably played his best game so far this season and seemed to have learnt from wasting too many opportunities against Utd last week by targeting the minutest of spaces to score after a another great Saints move. KWP was a constant threat down the left and Adams and Broja caused no end of trouble allowing our attacking midfield to fill the spaces and create the chances. The defence was solid but didn't really have much to do. Pickford was Their best player and that really illustrates Saints dominance of the game. To see Longy pop up and score a superbly timed and placed header sealed a determinedly confident contest. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Brentford Your Report added at 09:25:04
Let's be honest that was unexpected. The players needed to impress the new owners/management team? And they certainly did. JWP, Romeu, Salisu, Lyanco, Bednarek, Diallo and Forster were all outstanding each deserving 8 points in the ratings (when has that been the case this year?). All the others played well although Redmond had one of his less assured games. Big Broja was terrific up front, racing onto to a direct 40 yard through ball from Romeu. And it was a fillip for both Adams and the fans when he came on and scored a very well taken fourth goal - sprinting 40 yards from a ball hammered forward from the centre of defence and lashing his leg out and the ball semi-looping in to the side of the advancing keeper from a well-directed shin-shot. Tella played well except for his lack of defensive marking - on the wrong side and not getting a challenge in against the Brentford goal scorer. (that was a strange and unfamiliar position for Tella - one of those bewildering Ralph tactical decisions). But Saints weren't to be denied and were on a rollercoaster to a well-deserved 4-1 victory. |
| Your
Report | Swansea City v Southampton Your Report added at 08:24:56
At first it looked as though Saints would walk it with a neat goal setting up Redmond to poke in. But then the 'Curse of the Saints': Valery chased Obafemi and barely touched his back but it was of enough for a pathetic referee to send him off - it was Southampton FC so they're apparently allowed to do that at will. A now familiar refereeing decision but Saints are used to this now under the rule of Ralph. However however, Ralph is also now used to this and so Saints now know how to set up under the familiar disaster. 4-4-1 Prowsy goes to right back and Mr Long one of his rare appearances (replacing Broja). So Saints persevered with Prowsy and Long playing heroically and the rest of the team doing a little better than just enough scoring two more through Mo and Shane, showing enough class to engineer to goals to win it. Of the other players: Forster did his stoppers job although he did push the ball out into dangerous areas a couple of times that would be punished in the Prem; Stephens looked a bit out of place at first but improved; Romeu looked sluggish and in need of a capable understudy; and Stuart Armstrong didn't look match fit which is unsurprising. The others huffed and puffed, just having enough quality to see out the game. Must say it was excruciating, and added to the frustration and tension, having to listen to the all-Welsh commentary who choose to ignore the blindingly obvious when it was to Saints advantage - thanks BBC! |
| Your
Report | Chelsea v Southampton Your Report added at 07:54:01
I can't understand why some Saints fans go along with the official decisions when, to me at least, the evidence is 'clear and obvious'. As someone that's played and watched football for more than 50 years I refuse to accept that going for a tackle and not connecting with the man can be deemed a bookable or sending off offence. OK, under the cover of pathetic modern day rules, bookable by an overthinking rule change but that doesn't make it any more sensible. They could easily change the rules by a rash, idiotic decision - the football authorities are quite capable of that. A rash attempt at a tackle should not be a sending-off offence to me. And this comes after a clear penalty and sending-off that were retracted against Saints two weeks ago. The refs made their decisions, which seemed sensible and fair, but were made to retract them in favour of two of the biggest teams in world football. Smell fishy? It does to me. That 4 points could well be decisive for Saints at the end of the year and I'm sick of this corporate mindset cheating, wrecking the futures of the less influential clubs. |
| Your
Report | AFC Bournemouth v Southampton Your Report added at 08:26:38
After a few bouts of Bournemouth attacking at the beginning of both halves, it was a bit of a stroll in the park. FF was positioned himself well with about three direct shots on target. The defence looked solid enough although Vesters and Bedders both got bookings and at the end Ralph replaced them with Stephens and Salisu, just in case worse was incurred. Salisu was very lucky not to incur a serious injury when he was laid out with a vicious body charge from behind by Surridge - the Ref bottled sending the thug off. I was pleased to see Redmond attacking the Bournemouth defence and it was terrific to get the two excellent goals but he now has to continue that with decent Premier performances and get back to the kind of form he was showing a year ago. To be honest Bournemouth gave Saints far too much room in midfield allowing Redmond and Armstrong to run freely and create havoc - that doesn't happen in the Prem. Talking of the middle, Saints really miss a strong, tough general, like Romeu, where, without that, Saints are going to struggle to pick up points as all Premier teams will exploit the weakness. As well as a Saints win today, I was almost as equally glad that Fulham and Newcastle lost. |
| Your
Report | Southampton v Brighton and Hove Albion Your Report added at 19:56:55
Saints are missing Romeu, his strength and solid tackling, and we haven't got anybody to replace him. This allows clever midfielders, like Llana today, to run into spaces and create easy pickings between our cumbersome centre halves. It also means Saints haven't got any impetus moving the ball through and beyond the midfield. The Stephens experiment was a failure at City (Ralph's strategy for that game was a failure). I think we have to bring back Lemina and have Jankewitz as a back up. Times are getting desperate not only because of our losing, largely winless run, but because we're playing just as poorly as we did before we hit form last year and this time I don't think we have the battlers, or players to bring in, to grind out the points. Seven plus points away from safety seems a long way at the moment. Managers can't always get a result because players make mistakes on the pitch, that's understandable, but managers can put players in their most effective positions so that we compete at an optimum level. Premier League Managers also have to have keen judgement make the right changes when they're needed and try to force a beneficial result - just like Potter today who managed an almost perfect game. Unfortunately, Ralph has been failing in both these areas for most of the last 15 matches. In the first half we played fairly well with a 4-4-2 formation but for some reason in the second Ralph only had Adams up front with the sub, a bewildered Redmond, ghosting around from side to side and a snubbed-out Djenepo. Brighton stopped any creation from Armstrong or runs from Tella or Minamino. The worst mistake for me were leaving Bertrand to mark Dunk on the edge of the area from a corner - allowing him to score and then do again although Saints were lucky to escape on the second occasion. No excuses for school boyish mistake. That Saints could have at least got a point even though they were mastered in the second half. |
| Your
Report | Manchester City v Southampton Your Report added at 00:34:22
Another Hassenhutl brainstorm: Bertrand right-back, Salisu - left-back, Stephens in midfield, Redmond a central striker and McCarthy undeservedly returning (Forster had done nothing wrong in his previous two games). If you mess around with a winning team and play people in the wrong positions, or play people that don't deserve their place, against anybody in the Premier League - let alone a world class side like City - you're going to get hammered. And that's what happened, in fact Saints were very lucky just to get away with 5 against. A predictable result. Saints played some neat football for the first 25 minutes but with Redmond as a central forward, Saints were never going to threaten the net much. After a deserved reply (albeit a dubious penalty for Saints) to a 20th minute goal by City, the Saints defence and midfield, were pretty much all at sea and City dominated for the rest of the match. It was only when two players that should have been on the pitch in the first place - Tella and Diallo - came on that Saints looked to have a framework and purpose. Of course by then it was too late. I've had more pain with Hassenhutl than boredom with Puel and that's very painful. |
| Your
Report | Sheffield United v Southampton Your Report added at 09:22:20
Tella added what Saints have been missing for a long time - genuine speed up front. He murdered the full backs and effectively won the match for Saints. Bet Liverpool and Tottenham are lining up their sights already. Saints pretty much controlled the game. Eventually Diallo deputised well for Romeu although he had a dodgy first half an hour, presumably a bit rusty after his return. The defence were solid and the central pairing of Bednarek and Vestergaard were especially good, covering each other, playing long balls from defence with Bednarek also having several forays up the right-hand side. Ward -Prowse played a deeper role but that seemed to suit him - reminded me of Bobby Moore - directing the show. Minamino played a full 90 minutes and it was an all round performance often tracking back and helping out the defence. The only disappointment was Ings going off after 15 minutes, however, he hasn't been playing well and this gave Adams a chance to show what he could do - and he did with a thunderbolt half volley from 22 yards. Important and excellent win, hopefully Saints can carrying on in this vein without any more debillitating injury losses. Fingers crosssed. |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 9 | | Comment Votes: | 69 | | Prediction League: | 1 | | TOTAL: | 79 |
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