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Comment | Saints V Chelsea The Verdict
at 09:45:51
“Yoshida never likely to get a challenge inâ€. Ha ha. Get a grip of your awful, biased anti-Yoshida reporting. It was a Gunn error plain and simple.
Yet again saints are carrying players. We effectively played 3 slow midfielders against Chelsea’s 5 and were cut open because of it. Long and Redmond are in luxury positions but the former is clearly not up to the task so it’s like playing with 10, or actually worse as you feel obliged to give him the ball at times and he gives it away.
Boufal has been our best player in recent weeks. Why is he not playing and suddenly Long appear? Did we expect him to be super creative from a wide area? Poor tactics. Again. |
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Comment | Saints At Manchester City The Verdict
at 14:34:54
I am genuinely staggered that Yoshida isn't playing centre back for Saints. He does make the odd error but he's quick, competitive and simply not the flat footed oaf that currently gifts chances and goals to fleet footed opposition week in, week out. If you look at the goals City scored, 3 or maybe 4 are Hoedt mistakes (another was an OG that I don't even really blame him for but it is classic Hoedt to not find a way to do anything other than put it in his own net).
The game is fast, mobile, alert. Hoedt is none of these. Against lower standard players he will look a world beater (big, strong, good passer) but very simply he doesn't move his feet fast enough to play at the top level. The jury is out on Vestergaard but I have a feeling he exhibits many of the same characteristics. That much fabled black box is clearly broken..
Hughes to go. Get Yoshi and Stephens back as a pair in defence, get the squad truly fit and let's go again. All is not lost yet but the path we are on is so obviously wrong.
As for a manager... it is very tricky but I would love us to make Eddie Howe a very rich man and do everything we can to bring him down the road from Bournemouth. There will be many wondering "why would he come" and they could be right on that, but big club offers are few and far between and the club setup at Saints is ideal for a man like Howe. With a bit of money and some schmoozing, I believe it could happen. |
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Comment | Saints At Liverpool The Verdict
at 15:15:44
The way we defend for corners is shocking. It's truly laughable and for that you have to blame the manager and / or coaching staff. Watch Matip's goal again...
- 5 liverpool players in the box
- 11 saints players in the box
- no-one on either post
- no-one anywhere near 6'5" centre half Matip
- no attempt to block his run
Vestergaard made a fair effort to make up the ground and challenge but this is an accident waiting to happen. You give people free headers or a run on you at any level then you will likely concede if the delivery is right. When the free player in question is a giant it's even more likely.
Hughes must carry the blame for that. It wasn't just Saturday. It was the same with the equaliser against Brighton albeit then our smallest player was tasked with blocking the run of their biggest (absurd again). Tactically inept and we will continue to concede soft goals until it's fixed.
and don't get me started on Hoedt. How we don't play Yoshida is beyond me. |
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Comment | Saints At Liverpool The Verdict
at 12:16:11
Picked a team to lose. Did lose with a whimper. Only happy I didn't go. Fans deserve better.
Hughes is tactically appalling and we are sleep walking into another relegation battle. The only happy news is there are at least 3 other useless teams in this league too so (somehow) we just need to keep our noses ahead of them. |
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Comment | Is Mark Hughes The Right Man For The Job ?
at 14:30:11
I firmly believe that the manager known as "Anyone But Pellegrino" allied to a hopeless Swansea run of form kept us up.
Hughes brought a new voice and some passion to the dressing room which had an effect on many of the players who clearly were at odds with whatever Pellegrino was trying to make them do. This said, Hughes got it badly wrong away at West Ham in what appeared to be a must win (certainly must not lose) game and we followed that up with some fragile performances despite playing 5 at the back and at least 2 holding midfielders.
Select your best XI from the 22 on the pitch for the 2 games we won and I would expect everyone will have at least 8 saints players, probably more! I'm not saying I'm not pleased we won, or grateful to Hughes, or happy that we handled the pressure but these are games WE SHOULD WIN. The Bournemouth at home game we had 20% less possession and less shots. against Bournemouth. at home. With better individual talent. We shouldn't be in awe of this achievement. Thankful, perhaps, but impressed? not so much.. (I was more impressed by Arsenal and Chelsea games as it happened but then the collapses ruined it all)
For what it's worth, I WOULD give Hughes the job as much as anything for his previous ties with the club, his attitude and that generally he has the backing of the fans. Let's not get carried away though. We weren't great the last 8 games of the season..
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Comment | Saints V Chelsea The Semi Final Verdict
at 10:59:04
Reminded a me of lot of the FA Cup Final versus Arsenal in Cardiff all those years ago... Saints had a great opportunity but played to contain rather than to win and pretty much got what they deserved. Is very frustrating as a fan. Maybe it's the "professional way" to try and hang on and stay in it but I really don't think is what we believe is the Southampton Way.
A back 5, 3 defensive midfielders and 2 forwards who wouldn't score many in the Championship... fire another blank. pretty obvious. pretty sad.
It should have been different though. Long's big chance just has to be a goal. Every other team in this league that is a goal.
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Comment | Saints V Brighton The Verdict
at 15:07:50
It's beyond ridiculous that Pellegrino is still our manager. So truly absurd that it has me wondering whether those in power at SMS have secret affinities with our neighbours down the road.
Once again this is a "must win" game and we pick a team that wouldn't score in a pub match. Saints carry 3 or 4 players every single match. Admittedly not all of them are actually useless but they don't impose themselves on the game and so we're not a threat.
Everybody I know - whether saints fans or not - thought the bench yesterday would win a match versus the starting XI and that's with 4 players missing!
The manager as evident by his selections, tactics and general depressed demeanour of every one of our players, clearly hasn't got a clue. It's just extraordinary we burned the whole transfer window without making the glaringly obvious decision to call time on his reign.
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Comment | Saints V Watford The Verdict
at 15:55:51
I took my son to his first ever match for this one to see Saints, comfortably the better side against desperately poor opposition, go from cruising along in 3rd gear to suddenly crunching back down into 1st and almost lurching to a standstill all because of the decisions from the manager.
My son summed it up perfectly when he said "Dad - why have we taken off a forward and brought on a defender when we are easily the better team?". "Absolutely no idea, son, good question!"
The saddest thing about it all is that the nervy holding on for a win against the poorest opposition I can remember seeing will be seen as a success! if Pellegrino stays, Saints will go down. I really don't see another possible outcome. He's just utterly clueless. This method of small club scrapping, time wasting and hanging on might have got results for Alaves against the lesser sides in La Liga but is this really the "Southampton Way". Is this really what the board want for our club, our "brand". It's pathetic.
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Comment | Saints Linked With Tottenham Defender
at 15:37:53
I think this lad is a top class player but agreed.. surely not a priority position! The only caveat to that is it depends how bad the injury to Bertrand is as Walkers-Peters could ofter cover either side of the defence. |
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Comment | Saints Keen On A Raid On Puel Harbour
at 13:31:05
rumour hjas it that Iheanacho gets paid 115 a week at Leicester and still has 5 years to run on that contract. Assuming that's true, no chance of signing him permanently. Maybe a loan deal could work for both sides though as Leicester are unlikely to recoup their investment with him sitting on the bench (when he even makes the squad!). 5 good months at SMS with both clubs paying half the wages might be a win-win for all concerned.
Is a bit sad we are hoping to sign Leicester's rejects though.
(ps whether Mahrez stays or goes will be a factor too as he'll get more game time in a Leicester team that doesn't have Mahrez in it as their goals will dry up...) |
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Comment | Southampton Make £17.5 Million Attacker Bid.
at 14:45:46
tactics tactics tactics! If you have players who will get behind defences down the flanks and cross early then Gabbi will get you 20 goals a season as his movement is excellent. But he's not big or physical so if your wingers constantly cut inside and put loopy crosses into the box then you need to outmuscle, or out jump, the centre half more often than not. Gabbi will never score those goals.
This is why we end up playing Long who can mix it up a bit yet can't hit a barn door. It's just compensating for the inadequacies of messrs Tadic, Redmond and Boufal. Fix those 3 - and by that I think I mean buy replacemeants or perhaps just a bit of "hit the byline and cross" hairdryer action might work - and play Gabbi or Austin and saints will be ok.
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Comment | Are Saints Going Blind In The Transfer Market ?
at 12:21:11
Blind is a good footballer but we've nowhere for him to fit in. He's not big enough to be a centre back nor physical enough to be a holding midfielder, not creative enough to be an attacking midfielder and not quick enough to be a full back!
As a squad player, for sure, he has merit but he's a jack of all trades.... and not what saints require! |
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Comment | Saints V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 16:31:33
There are elements to what you say schatfield that I do agree with there. His front 3 have proved all season they can't hit a barn door - which is a worry and something he can't have not noticed - but given the squad we have, the starting XI and subs were probably ok. But we got yet another poor result, at home, versus a poor side.
So either the players are not up to it or there's something wrong with the management of those players. On an individual level, I think saints are too good to go down. Collectively, we are clearly not. For that, responsibility must lie with the manager. That is what they get paid to do.
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Comment | Saints V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 13:35:40
I really don't get the "it's all Les Reed's fault" viewpoint. That just seems odd to me. Saints' problem is the 11 players we put out on the pitch and the in-game tactical changes we make in the following 90+ minutes. Ofcourse the players on that pitch are also at fault but the blame lies in there.
In the past decade, Saints have done remarkably well as a football club. We bought well on the whole and where we've sold, it's been mostly orchestrated by the player himself and his agent. This is more symptomatic of the greed culture that permeates football than any fault of the board. Only twice have we held our ground. Wanyama who we then had to sell from a fraction of his worth due to contract running down and then VVD who has totally destabilised the club this season by acting disgracefully - especially considering he was captain. What are the board to do?
I definitely accept that sacking Puel was harsh but we weren't playing great football and rumours were abound that he'd lost the dressing room so it can be understood.
What the board / directors do have to be man enough to do is admit when they made a mistake and Pellegrino has looked for some time like being a mistake. I definitely agree that Krueger's comments in interview were very poor (constant references to being a small club is just weird in my view) but he needs to swallow his pride now and accept that MP needs to go.
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Comment | Saints V Crystal Palace The Verdict
at 12:23:44
What is abundantly clear is that the combination of manager and players does not work so something has to give.
Can Saints attract the right quality players in the transfer window to allow the current manager to dig us out of the hole? Do Saints risk paying big transfer fees and exorbitant wages for players who's best days are behind them (or never quite made it) and are likely to spend more time on the treatment table than the pitch anyway? I fear for the club's future if we make the kind of signings I keep reading about.
As for the performance.. Nick's article is another obvious thinly veiled dig at Yoshida but let's be fair.. teams do concede goals, every goal ever conceded by anyone could have been defended better, and the equaliser and winner yesterday was nothing to do with him (JWP, who I like, switched off for the first. He'll know, we know it, and we must move on).
The big concern with the players and management is we pick 3 "luxury" players every week. 2 wingers and a centre forward. Their job is (presumably) to win us games. They have 4 goals between them from open play this season. Look no further than that for the reason for our struggles. The miss from Long after 10 seconds last night beggars belief. Every other forward in this league at least makes the keeper save that and 9/10 that's a goal. He hit Row Z and no-one was surprised.
The fault is partly the players but we've also been seeing the same lack of creativity, invention, end product and finishing all season from these guys. Don't they say madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. I think Pellegrino is mad.....
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Comment | Saints V Everton The Verdict
at 17:47:33
@halftimeorange! - please stop with the Forster witch hunt. no keeper on the planet would have saved that. You need to be 8 feet tall to have a chance!!! Was a remarkable strike - and a bit of luck too. |
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Comment | Saints Squad Had A Clear The Air Meeting !
at 17:00:38
For Man City... win the midfield by force. That's priority 1. make man city beat us rather than give them spaces to play in. Then, if they over commit or we get a set piece in a good area, try to make it count.
Forster
Cedric VVD Hoedt Bertrand
Romeu Hojberg
Lemina
JWP Boufal
Austin
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Comment | Saints At Liverpool The Verdict
at 12:23:04
From the moment the teamsheet came out, the result was inevitable and for that (once again) you have to be looking at the manager.
Liverpool play with 4 10s. They will look to exploit that gap in between defence and midfield. Closing it down has to be a priority when you play them. Yet, once again, we pick a team with 3 show ponies who offer zero (Boufal, Tadic, Redmond), a centre forward who's willing but no real cutting edge and just Romeu and the ineffective Davis to try and cover the whole of the midfield.
There just seems to be absolutely no thought about how we might win a game (or try not to lose it) nor do we learn anything from previous games where we've done exactly the same thing as Saturday.
The manager HAS to go or else we are in real relegation trouble and we aren't that bad a squad if we had a few tactics and brains.
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