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Saints Need Key Players To Have BIG Games !
Friday, 24th Feb 2017 08:37

Cup Finals are won when your key players pull out the game of their lives, Sunday will be no different for Saints when they take on Manchester United.

It cannot be denied that on the surface man for man Manchester United would appear to have better players than Southampton and for that matter most of the Premier League, however games are won by firstly team effort and then outstanding performance by individuals and that is especially true for cup finals.

If you think of any of the classic games where an upset has been caused then usually behind it at least one f not several players have pulled out monumental performances.

Indeed back in 1976 Saints victory over United was built on Mel Blythe and Jim Steele in the centre of defence playing not only their best game for the club, but almost certainly their lives.

Conversely in the 1979 League Cup final against Nottingham Forest, although we did not play that badly as a team and indeed went into half time leading and in command, in the second half we capitulated too easily and no one seemed to be stepping up to the plate and pulling out a truly spectacular performance, in fact it was the opposite with several players freezing under pressure.

So what is needed on Sunday is not only the team to work hard and subdue United, but there needs to be a hero or heroes emerge, those for whom this final truly coms to define their career as it did for several of the legends of 1976.

The key as 41 years ago will be in the centre of defence, it is not leaking any secrets that this is our problem area, in fact at present the only advantage we have is that it is unclear who will play there.

It looks likely to be a straight choice between Jack Stephens and Martin Caceres to partner Yoshida and whatever two are picked it needs them to play out of their skin.

If the two central defenders chosen dig in and have the game of their lives then that will go a big way to building the foundation that can see us win this game of football.

But it is not just them, the central midfield trio need also o be remembered in this final for their work rate and tenacity, they have to take command of the centre and stop United getting the ball to their attackers.

This is not rocket science in fact it is exactly what Saints success of the past few years has been built on, we just need to find it again on Saturday in a way that we have not done on enough occasions this season.

But there have been enough victories this season to suggest that it is still there !

If key players in these positions have these big games, then all that is left is for a hero to emerge to win the game, the money would be Manolo Gabbiadini, but that is the thing about cup finals, it is often the unlikely source.

So it is as simple as that lol, our team just need to have the mindset that chances like this do not come along very often, the chance to win a major final, for United's players it will not be the case and that could be their undoing, our players will hopefully have that passion and desire to win the game that deep down none of the cossetted superstars of Old Trafford have for a game like this.

For them it is a trophy way down their pecking order, for us it is a big deal and that could be the key factor, that was the case when we won games in our relegation battles in the 1990's, we werent a great side, but when the chips were down we had that desire and to pull out the stops and beat sides who were so much better than us.

Manchester United were well aware of that as the two defeats they suffered at the Dell in 1996 showed, for all their superstars they could not live with a Saints side who went out and played with a passion and desire to win that they could not find for what they had seen as a run of the mill game and by the time they realised it wasn't it was too late.

Hopefully by 6.20pm on Sunday another Southampton hero will have emerged and will go down in legend as did Bobby Stokes, Matt Le Tissier and a plethora of names before him.

Photo: Action Images



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SanMarco added 09:51 - Feb 24
Stephens would fit more into the mould of surprise hero playing out of his skin than Cacares! Perhaps Hojburg or Claisie will be the man to be the surprise hero or Cedric hitting the target with one of those 30 yarders. Whoever plays as long as they give it 100% I think we have a reasonable chance. Manure are a better side than they were last year and the loss of VVD is a big problem but they aint that much better than us if we play well. The only thing I would say with certainty is we need Romeu to have a big day.

The mention of that second half in 79: my abiding memory is how good Forest were (after Nicholl gifted them the equaliser). We were certainly shell shocked but that Forest side was better than the one we are playing on Sunday. They also had Clough rather than a Clough wannabe like Morinho as manager. I also remember Terry Gennoe's party trick of letting the ball through his legs and allowing it to run gently along the goal line! Let's hope Fraser doesn't try that one!
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bstokesaint added 12:49 - Feb 24
I don't want to put the curses on us, but in terms of great Man U sides over the past couple of decades this really isn't one of them. They are beatable. If we are at our best, keep it tight as a unit, like we did away to Liverpool, then we will be difficult to break down and I can see us coming away with a 0-1 or a 0-2. This is only if our big players pull their weight and we play as the team we can be. If we show them too much respect we will be thumped.
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perazi added 21:59 - Feb 24
I think central midfield will be the deciding factor. Given Davis will almost certainly be picked to accompany Romeu, the potential for our CM to be exposed defensively looms large. That's why I hope it's either Hojbjerg or Clasie getting the other spot. Not that JWP hasn't done some good things in recent times, but his defensive game is way short of the mark, despite his energy and work rate. The importance of Puel's decision in midfield has a big bearing on how much pressure Yoshida and Stephens will come under.
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