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Comment | Southampton At West Ham United The Verdict
at 10:01:17
My Kingdom for a defence!!
A frustrating game, a frustrating watch and a frustrating season..
McCarthy for me, has to go. He looks lost, short of confidence and can't command his area. Redmond, without going in to all the usual stuff, could be seen 15 mins in standing still, hands on hips, ball watching and get's caught offside! Enough said!! Has to go.
Defending. It's all very well and good playing a diagonal ball out of defence or intricate passing at the back but you have to be able to defend first and foremost. All that tippy tappy stuff can follow if you get the basics right.. I'd prefer a defender who puts his foot in or doesn't mind getting a smash in the face for doing what he's supposed to do and stop a goal! The modern day defender seems to think they are all Messi's.
If we were to buy even 4 just average players, they are going to be at least 20 million each. That's 80 million. As we have to sell to buy, I don't even know if we'd get 80 million in our clear-out. Therefore, we are looking at young, inexperienced but hopefully, hungry and competent young players that can fit in with our core.
The club have a tough summer ahead I feel and the hard work starts now.
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Comment | Southampton V Leeds United The Verdict
at 10:30:48
First 45 mins was probably the best we've played all season. Sadly, with all the possession etc, our chances were limited and Leeds when they attacked looked more like scoring.. Sums up our season.
Stand out for me last night was Armstrong. He never gave up and we could do with more players with his attitude. All pretty much had a good game for the most part but I thought Walcott and Djenepo were quiet and ineffective for the most part. Redmond when he came on was the same..
For me, McCarthy was totally at fault for the first goal and his kicking wasn't impressive either.
The building blocks of a good team are there in the shadows but we really do need to strengthen. Hopefully we can and get the players and get them in early for a good pre-season to hit the ground running.
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Comment | Southampton V Fulham The Verdict
at 13:07:43
Two good wins and morale boosters for players and fans alike against what I would consider to be "sparring partners" with the real fights to come against Leeds & West Ham. This will tell where we really are currently. Good to see the subs having an impact also.
I always worry when I see Stephens on the team sheet. As noted above he is prone to an error every game. In the Premier league, you are punished more often than not. However, I have been encouraged by his last couple of displays and I was delighted to see him actually go forward with the ball on a few runs rather than the easy pass back option. These runs are not something that Bednarek seems to do.
I don't think Stephens or Salisu on the left of a back 4 works. To me it seems imbalanced and isn't our solution long term. A back 3 with Salisu on the left possibly. The last match against Leeds, Bielsa made an interesting tactical change / comment when he changed their attack down our left rather than right side as he noticed only KWP going forward. Neither Stephens or Salisu "bomb" forward when in this position so it will be interesting to see what happens during this upcoming game.
Delighted for Tella. Great to see how much scoring means to the young lad. Pity it was at an empty stadium..
Finally, a congratulations to Steven Davis on a title win with Rangers and also being voted Player of the Year by SFWA. Very tidy player.
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Comment | Southampton At Liverpool The Verdict
at 13:37:24
Overall a good performance compared to the last few weeks but admittedly against a currently poor Liverpool who lack confidence themselves. Agree with many of the above that Adams is a good workhorse but lacks finesse and composure in front of goal. To be fair, he was closed down very quickly by Alisson but he should have put away his chance in the second half. These are the match defining moments in any game Especially for a team like us that struggles for goals. We have to take the opportunity when presented like that.
Redmond played a better first half than normal, faded in the second. Again, when he has a chance at goal he snatches at it. As of Walcott, the only positive impact he had last night was walking off the pitch to be replaced.. I'm afraid his best days are long behind him.
I think our best signing for next season would be a psychologist... If we were able to hold on to even half the points we've thrown away from winning positions this season, we'd be well safe.
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Comment | Ralph Hasenhuttl Reveals Strange Goalkeeper Rotation Strategy
at 14:56:18
Both keepers seem to be more prone to errors per game than other keepers out there. Admittedly, I watch our own more than others but they also seem to be "too quiet" You never see them giving the defence a rollicking over poor defending. The triangle of keeper + 2 centre halves communication is crucial. You have to have a leader or commander within that and sadly, we don't have that since Fonte / Van dijk. I'd be surprised if 2 out of our 3 main keepers were here next season. |
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Comment | Southampton V Leicester City The Verdict
at 10:05:12
The team and manager have come in for a lot of criticism in the last number of months. Some justified, some not. But credit has to go to them last night for the way they fought and hung in there. At this point in the season and way the way the performances have gone of late, it was easy to think of another 9-0 coming with a team collapsing. I certainly did at first.. But credit to them. If they put that effort into every game, then we would be where we started the season. Hopefully, we can build on this performance and use it as springboard for the last few games, using the summer to re-evaluate, add / strengthen the squad and kick on next season.
As for the Vestergaard sending off, I'm not too surprised. Many times this season and last, he has been lazy in ball distribution. Keeping it too long, getting closed down and invariably running into trouble resulting in passing it back to the keeper. and bring pressure on ourselves. Llast night he got found out. I hope he learns from this. Having said all that, I thought the sending off was harsh. He did play the ball but the follow -through caught Vardy. Vardy as we all know isn't the most honourable of players and wasn't going to stay on his feet.. The only saving grace was it wasn't a penalty.
On a final note, I'm delighted for Ralph we got a point from last night. He's had a tough number of months. Has he made mistakes? yes, but all managers do. For the limited money we have and the squad of players, we are punching above our weight most of the time but he is committed to the club and we as fans should be committed to a manger that has invested a lot of himself into the club. Unlike others in the past who just punch in / out in the day and take the pay cheque.. |
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Comment | Fraser Forster Set To Rejoin Celtic
at 13:18:28
Best of luck to Fraser. I always thought he was very good at reactionary saves or point blank saves but very dodgy on crosses or any shots outside the box..
Didn't seem like a "Prima Donna" either. |
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Comment | Van Dijk Hands In Transfer Request And Issues Statement
at 19:35:48
Looks like it might all be coming to a head now. Van D*ck trying to make out he is the victim in all of this. Hah! my heart weeps.
Have to applaud the club for standing firm. VVD is quickly becoming one of our most hated players of all time now. He's showing so much disrespect to all connected to SFC. All that is wrong with football these days sadly. I hope the club screw him!
C'mon Saints! |
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Comment | Le Tissier Says Tide Is Turning In Saints Favour !
at 18:51:07
VVD in my opinion, is a total disgrace and immature. He has gone from a fans hero to a zero because of his greed and secret meetings etc. I would love to throw him out the door for the disrespect he has shown to all at SFC.But that would be exactly what he and Liverpool want.
I would keep him in the club and have him respect his contract terms. Why? The club has to draw a line in the sand. Previous windows, we have had to sell as players had a year or so only left on their contracts and we were not in a strong enough position. this situation with VVD is different. We don't have to sell our "captain".
For me, the only solution would be we make a couple of centre back signings in the meantime (1 needed to replace Fonte anyway) VVD hands in a transfer request (losing him his bonus), we sell to someone (likely L'pool) at the last minute and we still make a profit on the deal. The only way the club can back down in any way is by VVD handing a transfer request. I don't want a guy around SFC that couldn't give two f's about our club but it has to be on our terms. |
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Comment | Saints V Arsenal The Verdict
at 19:11:34
I believe this game was always going to be a dud. It was a match too far for us. Puel was always going to put a reserve team out after injuries and the efforts mid-week. I wasn't expecting us to win this one and when I saw our line-up, I knew it. As soon as Arsenal went 1-0 it was game over.
We totally stood off Arsenal, never looked hungry, passing poor. Add to that we had no height !! What we really lacked was a leader on the pitch. Nobody was directing or organising with any authority. The back 5, Lewis, Cuco, Gardos, McQ, Stephens all too quiet. You always see VVD (and Fonte) and Bertrand directing the players around them. For me, nobody stood up last night in that role. Far too slack.
It was a heavy defeat regardless of the side out and a blow to morale really. Having said that, I would prefer a performance like that in the FA cup (having now reached a final) than it happening against Swansea. Hopefully, we will be back on course mid week.
After our recent poor run of form, had we put on a performance as we did yesterday with not having won during the week, I feel 99% of fans would be calling for Puels head on a guillotine today. He now needs to get it right against Swansea.
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Comment | Saints At Liverpool The Verdict !
at 19:30:27
Miracles can and do happen !! We had 11 + heroes running around the pitch last night.Have been strutting around like a peacock today! To beat the 'pool on their own turf in a semi is an amazing feat giving our form this season.
Our fans were in fantastic voice last night and I don't think I've seen Anfield empty so quickly in years. A special mention to Romeau, Stephens and Yoshida who I thought were a strong core last night. Tactically, I thought it was spot on. We defended so well when we had to, maybe fortunate at times, but on the counter we were quick and always gave them something to think about that they may get caught out. As our goal showed.
I must admit my heart was in my mouth a few times and I think I aged a bit too. Especially with Forster flapping.. he did react well to be fair. Credit to the ref too who didn't cave under pressure to give L'pool something. Maybe a weaker one would have awarded a penalty feeling under pressure.
I'm really happy for those players that didn't desert us and stuck with us over the last few seasons. Who didn't throw their toys out the pram, just head down and got on with it.
Wouldn't it be great if we could now go 1 step further !! C'mon Saints. |
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Comment | Saints V Liverpool The Verdict
at 19:14:47
Can only agree with most of the comments above. Great (surprise) win, great performance, great atmosphere in the SMS, great midfield 3, great defensive unit,great performance by Redmond, great to get one over Herr Klopp. Hopefully, we'll have a ref that isn't a "homer" up at Anfield.
Only regret is we just scored the 1 goal but that's been the story of our season. I now have 2 weeks for my nails to grow back before being munched again for 90 + mins!!
Cmon Saints!! |
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Comment | Fonte Not In Squad For Liverpool Game
at 19:00:11
It might sound a bit pessimistic but come the start of next season, we could have a very different line up at the back - no Fonte, no VVD and it wouldn't surprise me if no Bertrand or even Cedric !! I hope we have enough cheques in the cheque in the summer.
I think what's really cheesed Fonte off is not playing any Europa league matches. For a Euro winner that must have been a kick in the nuts!! Still, football clubs are just a revolving door these days. Especially ours and I am used to it now, let's move on. Be nice if we got a big bid in from China for him. Does anyone have Pelle's number..?? |
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Comment | Saints At Norwich City The Verdict
at 11:53:49
I didn't see the match, only `Match of the Day highlights but I can't agree e that the result or performance yesterday " got our team spirt or confidence back" had we won, yes but to concede as we did so poorly in the 2nd minute of added on time must be a blow surely or are we now in such a bad state that a draw away to a lower league side is a good result?
Goalkeeper and maybe ``Stephens aside, it was still a strong enough line-up. Regardless of the team we put out, i wasn't expecting us to run rampant but the fact we have to rely on our centre backs to score is a worry. Cracking header by Yosh to be fair but of late, it's been Bertrand, VVD and now Yosh scoring. Should we go for the ultimate rotation and play our defensive line-up up front and put the forwards back ?!
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Comment | Time For Puel To Stop Trying To Be Clever And Get Back To Basics
at 10:33:49
We need to keep to as consistent an 11 as possible for the next run of games. 1 or 2 changes are fair enough but not 6! Also, not only is it the team selection but it is the attitude and mentality on the pitch. The players need to know what they are doing and show some fight, spirit and creativity. Even if they did that it would help our morale. The displays recently have been limp to say the least. Time to stand up and be counted! |
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Comment | Saints At Everton The Verdict
at 10:05:16
What frustrates me is the players / club saying how we need to "re-act" after the last defeat and prepare well for our next game etc etc. What a load of tosh! Another abysmal performance. So much for keeping the side "fresh" with the squad rotation! I can understand 1 or 2 changes given the period yes, but the rotation policy clearly isn't working if we lose so many in a row. I agree we need a consistent team at the moment to get out of this rut. What kept us strong was our defence and now that's crumbling.
There is no creativity whatsoever currently. When a player receives the ball, the first instinct is to see who is beside or behind him to pass it to. There is no probing run or defence splitting pass, no one getting to the by-line for cut backs. I feel sometimes we want to walk the ball into the net.
I see CP says he is happy with the squad and is unlikely to purchase in this window then may God help us! I now fear the Norwich game.
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Comment | Redmond To Serve Ban After Spurs Red Card
at 11:26:38
To be fair to Redmond, I thought he had a very good pre-season. However, I don't think he's found his place or role in the side since the first few games in the league. To me, he is not a striker. He doesn't seem to have that natural instinct. He seems to be most effective when he is out on the left and cuts in on his right. But this doesn't seem to happen enough. Overall, I think he looks lost. A man without a defined role. I would like to see how it would work with him as a winger as part of a 4-4-2 formation with Long & Jrod upfront. I can't see that happening though. |
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Comment | Saints V Tottenham Hotspur The Verdict
at 12:44:04
A Southampton side showing two faces last night. First 20 mins or so I thought we were excellent. Quick tempo, neat passing and inter-play whilst moving the ball forward.. Closing down, cutting off the options for Spurs. Excellent, more of that please.
We were like an excited puppy! Then we got smacked on our nose by our master and cowered back into our kennel.. Spurs were very fortunate with the deflection off Redmond. Again, 1st attack by the opponent and they score! After that, we did not a lot. found it difficult to retain possession, Jrod was isolated. Boufal didn't contribute much in attack or defence. I thought once Spurs missed the penalty we might muster and counter some type of offense but it wasn't to be.
1-4 in my opinion was ultimately lucky.. As for the sending off, I thought at first it was for Redmond mouthing off to the referee as he is a bit of a mouthy character.. To me, it looked like it happened outside the box and he fell over himself inside the box. In any case, it made no difference to the outcome. We were outclassed again.
Match against West Brom will now tell a lot I feel... |
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Comment | Saints Head Into Christmas In Par Position !
at 10:31:50
I think overall looking at the season so far, we have done very well. We had a difficult pre-season due to absentees from the euros, we changed manager again and we had the usual outgoings. Had we won against Hull and beaten 10 man Stoke things would be even better. Conversely, we did well to hold on against Liverpool. So if's, but's and maybe's we are where we are, 7th.
For me, the biggest disappointment has been our style of play which is mostly pretty dull. Yes, points count most but you want to watch on the edge of your seat and be a part of the match. The ooh's the aah's.. I now find myself drifting..
Another disappointment has been our limp display in the Europa league. We started well but dropped off big time. I think being knocked our so early and more so in the manner that we did, casts a gloom over the season for many fans. Only a win against Liverpool to see us get to the final will ease that pain.
For a club of our fanbase and finances, 7th is very respectable. Of course as fans, we always want more. And why not? It's ambition that drives us forward. We should never settle for what we have. We now need to consolidate a regular European spot and add some silverware..
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Comment | Saints At Stoke City The Verdict
at 14:35:02
A case of deja vu again last night. Dominated possession, lots of passes but not going anywhere resulting in either (a) a cross from either wing being easily defended, (b) shoot aimlessly high and or wide from outside the box, (c) get a series of corner kicks which do nothing and (d) free kicks - see point c.
We badly need passes that split a defence for Long to run on to. That's when he is at his best. he's not a poacher like a Defoe. We need height in the box if we are going to put crosses in and we need midfielders making runs into the box. At the moment, it is all in front of the opponent and too easy to defend.
Thank goodness we have a strong defence (currently). |
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