There was plenty of things to be pleased about in this performance, but we still couldn't score and that was worrying.

The stats for this match accurately reflect the way the match went, 60% possession, 29 shots for with only 4 against, 13 corners with 0 against, but the one stat that really matters is the goals and that was again 0.

Saints dominated the game from start to finish and the visitors only threatened on two occasions , once in the first half when Abraham was left unmarked but luckily put his header wide and then in a 30 second period early in the second half when they had a brief flurry of shots.

Apart from that it was all Saints, but with 29 attempts at goal only 2 of them on target was not good enough.

We came close on a number of occasions, Manolo Gabbiadini slotted a cross an inch wide, James Ward Prowse had a shot that hit a defender with the keeper beaten and Yoshida really should have won the game late on when he was left unmarked 5 yards out for a free header that he should have at least ht the target with.

The fact was we never worked the keeper, Dusan Tadic's long range effore being just about the only save he had to make.

But the good news was that apart from our finishing we looked a solid unit with plenty of options, we just need to get those goals coming.

But we should not get too excited, this was a Swansea side that looked poor, it is really a case of two points dropped that could cost us dearly later in the season, although we were rarely tested at the back, we still went to sleep on two occasions and were lucky not to find ourself a goal down both times, we will not keep getting away with that to better sides.

The team looked motivated it was good to see the likes of Dusan Tadic in the side and on form and he looked like he wanted to play for the club, Nathan Redmond and Ryan Bertrand foraged down the wing and both created chances for others that should have been finished, overall no one had a bad game, but the goalscoring problem is still there.

Hopefully though this is just now a confidence thing and with a bit of luck the floodgates will open.

Many things to be positive about from this game and indeed the rest of the season.

Photo: Action Images

SaintPaulVW added 10:00 - Aug 13 It 'felt' a better more linked up attacking display but still not being able to hit the target is costing us dear, yet again. As with last season it's the wasteful ineffective attack that's the problem not a porous defence Swansea barely attacked so difficult to say too much about our defence. Regarding Gabbiadini and Austin, albeit only briefly on at at the end, bit puzzled as to why they were both participating in the attacking moves rather than being the fulcrum for them. If any two players are going to get goals it's those two and we need goals from those two not assists for misses! Better style but still no end product. Need a fast start this season or it will catch up on us.

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davepid added 10:09 - Aug 13 Like watching eunuchs in a brothel.
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redandwhitedee added 10:17 - Aug 13 And yet another excellent clean sheet for the Stephens/Yoshida partnership.
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IWOZTHERE added 10:26 - Aug 13 Anyone know if the 'saints-player' live streaming has been shut down? (not the OS), Can't make contact to renew. Last season for a modest subscription I got every game 'live'. Handy cos I've got mobility issues at the moment so can't get to many games. Anybody know? Cheers.
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SaintBrock added 10:28 - Aug 13 Entertaining stuff even if the damn ball just wouldn't go in! If this is foretaste of things to come we are in for a terrific season. Fine start for Pellegrino's first game. He and the team are clearly on a learning curve so we can expect things to become better match-by-match with a few team changes along the way. He'll work out his most effective XI over the next few weeks. Obviously we are miles ahead of Swansea who sadly for them look relegation fodder along with Bournemouth and Brighton who were woeful yesterday.

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aceofthebase added 10:41 - Aug 13 We had so many games like this last season and not a surprise with the same team. Defence were solid and I expected goals after the first few minutes. We then reverted to the same slow build up as per last season. Ok we pressed some of the time but we also sat back and let them come onto us. Watching this slow build up you can clearly see the opposition taking up their places and if Forster is kicking up field they have time for a sandwich. It's ok to say we had lots of shots but only a few were good goal chances. Tadic blasting over the bar. Yoshida heading over the bar and JWP giving the goalkeeper catching practice. Why didn't Lemuni get a run out instead of Mcqueen. A bit like Cancer as situation

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steve73 added 11:00 - Aug 13 I thought we played great. I can't understand why I heard people moaning and saying 'same old rubbish' etc there was a marked difference to last year. Far more intent and enthusiasm. Better use of full backs. More dynamic movement. The team looked a lot more together. I definitely like the manager, seems like a proper fit for us. Be nice to see Lemina next time and push Davis forward in place of Tadic maybe.

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aceofthebase added 11:34 - Aug 13 Last season the moaners were saying it was deadly dull because we couldn't score. This season we still cannot score and suddenly it's exciting. Very strange perhaps it's the post match interviews that are more exciting cos nothing much else has changed.
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helpineedsomebody added 12:07 - Aug 13 positives= did not lose next wk west ham tweedle dee & tweedle dum marking air again after carrol & co get to them again.
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legod7 added 12:29 - Aug 13 Obviously ace you didn't actually go to the game . Probably 5 minutes on MOTD and a 0-0 score line on which to base your post. I thought yesterday we were completely different than last season. Ok we didn't score but the style of play was far better. If we keep playing like that then I feel sure the goals will come.
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aceofthebase added 13:15 - Aug 13 I did see all the game legod7( I fell asleep before Saints were on MOTD) and you have seen the emperors new clothes. We said goals would come last season until we eventually realised they were never going to score. The style of the first 5 minutes has to be encouraged and not that sideways slow build up, pretty as it may be
0

petedoors1 added 14:15 - Aug 13 It was good to see Tadic playing well again. He was my man of the match. Good job Swansea were so poor or we may have lost because both Stephens and Yoshida made silly mistakes that could have cost us. Looking forward to us buying at least one central defender and maybe a good striker.
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halftimeorange added 15:49 - Aug 13 There were some positives. Fraser Forster came off his line when necessary. Tadic looked up for it. Cedric showed how to cross with both feet. Boufal demonstrated that he thinks more quickly than most of the team. Sadly, we wasted too many dead balls from around the Swansea box and, what was glaringly obvious is, we don't have much height in attack. It was a game Saints should have won and Pelligrino will want more from the players next match as will most reasonable supporters.

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FaroSaint added 17:28 - Aug 13 In my opinion the lack of goals is caused because we dont have an attacking focus . someone who can have hold the ball up and distribute it wisely in the opponents half . In the recent past we had SRL AND Pelle but this team has noone of that character or ability. The strikers seem unsure of where they need to be and quality chances are few , There is enough talent to create those opportunities but I feel with a tall strong CF the goals would flow not just fom him but he would act as a catalyst for the other strikers.

5

sambat added 17:51 - Aug 13 We were more entertaining and lethal when we used to press hard when we didn't have possession, often scoring scoring when the opposition lost the ball. We have some fast attackers so this seems the logical way to progress. I thought Redmond and Cedric were great throughout, and Yoshi had control 99% of the time. It might be good to get one of the youngsters on for 20 mins to see how they cope. A reminder to VVD, you too can go from being captain of a team, to sitting on the bench in 7 months time, just ask Fonte......

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mitch1346 added 18:33 - Aug 13 As IWOZTHERE says the fans' site "saints player" was excellent but if you try to go to the website (saintsplayer.com) now you get a message saying this hidden site has been seized by US Immigration and Customs as part of a joint operation with Europol. Guess this is part of the clampdown on streaming. I have emailed them to see if they are still there but I guess this site has gone. Pity. As for the match, as others have said - much livelier and more positive than at the end of last year but still can't score. Some grounds for hope though.

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Consigliere added 19:46 - Aug 13 Much of the ground has already been tilled by other posters but in the sprit of "three positives for each negative" my thoughts are these: 1. A strong, attacking performance, much more entertaining than we have been used to 2. A solid back line which looked in little danger of being pierced 3. A happy crowd who applauded the players off even though (the one negative, which we all know) we couldn't get the damn ball in the back of the net no matter how hard we tried. PS. Song of the day from some of those around me - "We've got Yoshida - who needs Van Dyke!"

4

TeamCortese added 21:08 - Aug 13 I agree with FaroSaint. We need a physical target man who can act as a focal point for our attack. Why we didn't go in for Iheanacho is beyond me? Especially now that we've learned that Leicester got him for £25 million and we brought Lemina for £20 million. Surely replacing Jay Rod would have been a priority over a midfielder. I also don't understand why people believe Davis further up field would be better than Tadic? He doesn't make as many assist as Tadic and didn't score a single goal last season. For me that doesn't make sense--not to mention he's on his last legs. The coaching staff just need to have a sit down with Tadic and make it clear he's on the bench the next time his finishing is that woeful. The important thing is he had a major influence in the attacking third. I've made it very clear from previous posts but I can't see why Davis and JWP make the starting eleven? They're not Top 7 EPL standard imo. They both lack strength and trickery. They both don't chip in anywhere near enough assists or goals. I think they should both make way next week for Lemina and Boufal. I'd also like to see Clasie or PEH on the bench. It's ridiculous that we signed PEH for £13 million and he doesn't make the bench. Clasie for me didn't do too much wrong last season. He just wasn't given enough game time. Lastly we need to get a defender (possibly two) and a striker and we need to do it fast! I don't think this squad currently is strong enough to mount a top 7 finish let alone top 10!

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Flipo added 22:50 - Aug 13 Great Match with out result
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BoondockSaint added 00:21 - Aug 14 TeamCortese- If we sit down every player that has woeful finishing, we'd only have Gabbiadini and the mascots on the field! Terrible dead ball play drives me crazy! That's something that gets better with drills on the practice pitch, if they are bad at it, just make them stay late and do it over and over until they get it right. There is no excuse for a professional team to be that bad at it and for so long! I don't think we have had a proper dead ball threat since Lambert left.

3

AmericanSaint added 08:34 - Aug 14 I like your thinking TeamCortese. We did not need another midfielder. I like Davis, but he should only be used against teams where we need to control the ball more. This game was one where we needed speed and guile in midfield. I personally think we should have not let JRod go and sent Long on his way. I like Long, but way to inconsistent for me. His speed and work ethic are great but he doesnt take chances. I watched JRod and except for a good point blank save, he would have scored in his game. I think Classie and PEH should be played alongside Oriel to have a good match. Also, we need to go get Wimmer or that guy from Lazio before the window closes. I hear we are looking at "Wingers" from other clubs. WHY? We dont need anymore of those style players. We created some good chances with what we have and if Tadic starts pouting again, bench his ass and play Boufal in his slot. It's simple. We have a decent/solid team from the midfield forward, but our Central Defense needs more strength. WHU are going to be hungry next week after getting slammed by MU and we need the right team and some scoring if we are going to come away with points.

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TeamCortese added 13:13 - Aug 14 JayRod was a difficult one. Personally I liked the guy but he was injured on too many occassions and it wasn't his fault. It just didn't workout after the ACL injury. I really wanted him to succeed and Long as well but they weren't good enough unfortunately. Long is the most frustrating of the two. No one will question his work rate and pace but he's not a natural finisher. If he was we probably would have already sold him. For me he has enough quality to be a Vardy but he just can't finish! When you're playing in a ruthless league like the EPL you have to take your chances. His finishing was getting better playing alongside Mane and Pelle (a couple of seasons ago) but we sold them both and essentially screwed him over coupled with RoKo's departure. I think he should cut his losses and move to a team that wants him to lead the line. I don't know who we should get in but I personally would love Benteke. Cedric, Bertrand and JWP would double their assists with someone like that in the team. Problem is Palace will want at least £40-50 million for him at this stage of the window, not to mention will they have enough time to replace him? 17 goals is hard to replace for a relegation standard club. Gallagher seems like a good long-term solution but he needs to prove himself more. He needs to get in the habit of scoring goals to build his confidence and to toughen up. He has the ability but needs the experience. We should send him out on loan to a Championship club looking to break into the play-offs that will give him real game time.

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AmericanSaint added 13:50 - Aug 14 I can see your point about Long TeamCortese. Yeah a BIG strong CF that could play the one-two or hold it like Pelle did would be a fantastic addition. I just dont see us paying taht kind of money. I like Gallagher and I agree another year with every day playing could make him a real solid threat. Well 2 weeks to go to see if anything happens in or out of the window.

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