Saints Need To Find Consistency Wednesday, 25th Oct 2017 10:17 Last season's problems all stemmed from our failure to find consistency and if we are not careful we will follow the same path this term. A look at last seasons results shows that we could never find any sort of consistency, at the end of September we won two Premier League games in a row beating Swansea and West Ham, but we would only repeat this feat once more and that came in April with Crystal Palace and then West Brom despatched in quick succession. That was the story of the season, a good squad that was chopped and changed and could never find its rythym, whereas in previous seasons we could go on winning streaks, last year we could not manage even three Premier League wins in a row, let alone a decent run. That meant that we swam around in mid table never managing to pull away from the rest as Everton did, although come the final table we still managed 8th position. It is looking like the same type of season again, although this year we do not have the excuse of needing to rotate the squad due to the Europa League, in fact the opposite, in recent weeks the starting XI has stayed pretty much the same with only one change at most for the bulk of games, although Mauricio Pellegrino seems ready and able to use his subs fully and change things in the game, he seems unwilling to break up the core of the side, to try something different be it in his starting line up or even substitutions when it is mostly like for like. This would be fine if we were winning games and scoring goals, but we aren't and we have to start doing so otherwise we will stay in the same rut as last season, albeit without the constant rotation. So far the season seems to be mirroring last although last season we had already won two games in a row and now is the time to do that at least and build a platform to make it three in a row at home the following week. The game against Brighton is pivotal in our season, beat them and we surge away from them, beat Burnley the following week and we will see ourselves right up in the top 6/7 and pulling away from the rest of the pack. But it is a big IF, we have to find that consistency not just now but on more regular occasions, last seasons pattern cannot be repeated, nor can this seasons so far of wins surrounded by defeats and draws. Despite what some would have you say, it is not about the quality of the squad, it is about getting that squad to play to its potential week in week out, not just on odd occasions , at the moment we are not doing that for several reasons. One is we are not picking the best players in our best team, that means that although we are not losing many games, we are not winning enough, Stoke City and Newcastle are both games we should have taken more out of and didn't, we are still a work in progress, yet we should not be, we should be the finished article by now. The manager seems unwilling to make harsh decisions at present, he seems happy to let players stay in the side who are either underperforming or who are merely sufficient whilst letting those who are better sit on the bench, he seems to be waiting for something to happen that forces his hand rather than being proactive and canging things. The worry is therefore that we just keep doing the same things and getting the same results, that is a favourite phrase of mine, but it is true, the win against West Brom took something different to win it, that won't be repeated in every game, so we have to look to make other sides think about us, rather than being able to know our gameplan from the start and cope with it easily. I have been a little harsh on Pellegrino in this article and in fairness to him he has probably a little hampred by the side he has got, he has only widemen who can cross a ball, yet he wants to play a small forward in the European style and for that he needs someone who can pass a ball into the channels and he hasnt got that, the only man who can put in a defence splitting pass is James Ward Prowse and he is not exactly making himself undroppable with his performances. So like last season we are an unbalanced side, that is why I don't blame Tadic or Redmond, they have little to aim at to win a ball from a cross, hence the constant checking back rather than put in a ball that is eaten up by a big central defender. In this respect I have sympathy for Pellegrino, but he does have options, he could put in a big man in Charlie Austin or he could put in a passer like JWP, but he doesn't he continues with trying to use a style in midfield that is not complimentary to the style he is using up front and that is why we have not found consistency and why we are not gelling. Tadic and Redmond are proven, it is easy to blame them, but they are not complimentary to either Long or Gabbiadini who thrive on through balls rather than crosses. The fact that we are getting results despite this show that we have quality in the side, the manager just has to get the best out of his squad and get a run of wins in that breeds confidence and that then breeds consistency. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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