Saints are gradually coming to terms with the new style of playing under Claude Puel and now they get the chance to test it in the Europa League.

Continental football has a different style of play than the more direct game we play in the Premier League, under Claude Puel Saints are playing a more possession style of play as favoured by the continental teams and although that has not quite had the results in the Premier League so far, the fact is with every game Saints are being more accustomed the system and when they get it right the wins will start to come.

Now with the arrival of Sparta Prague to St Mary's we have the chance to prove that it is not the system that is at fault, bt the fact that we have not yet quite mastered it, against Sparta it will be about playing in a more controlled and possession based style that that favoured by the majority of Premier League teams and Puel's system is just that.

Last season we went out against Midjytlland because of the system we played then was about plenty of rush and push, but not about keeping the ball and working up opportunities, that meant the Danish side played to their strengths and caught us on the break and took their chances.

On Thursday night we need to show that we can pass the ball, indeed as we have done in most of our Premier league games, but we need to add some clinical finishing and if we do so then the system will be a resounding success.

So I expect to see a good display from Saints, I expect them to build on the good display at Arsenal and I think that our new style will suit the Europa League.

Photo: Action Images

uaesaint added 15:00 - Sep 13 So relegated but will work in the Europa let's see ..... I think not you can have all the possession you want but if you can't put the ball in the back of the net then game over
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Horndeansaint added 17:15 - Sep 13 Where do these so called fans come from? I guess the heat is affecting your judgement in the UAE? I also guess that you don't actually get to see the games to make a reasoned and sensible judgement. The likes of you need to start to understand how the beautiful game works, it's not like FIFA 16.
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ericofarabia added 18:01 - Sep 13 Horndean .... The Home of my favourite beer of my youth, Gales HSB. Just for your info we get every minute of every Prem Game Live in The UAE, so we can actually see more than fans in UK!! Obviously being at a match is much more preferential, but beggars can't be choosers, but your statement is way off the mark.
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pintsizedsaint added 19:03 - Sep 13 I made the fatal mistake of going on the Daily Echo site today and seeing the comments being made on article about our European opponents. 90% of the comments just slagged off the manager, Les Reed - tipping us for relegation, meltdown blah blah. Even saw some thinly veiled mysogonistic abuse towards Katrina too. I had to comment on one idiotic comment saying that he expected us to be top 4 by now and that breaking the glass ceiling of the top 4 was simple! Trouble is, his strategy consisted of a "hard hat" a "little hammer" and some "gentle tapping"....! Of course! Why didn't SFC see this before?! Give this man a job! Won't do that again! But please let's not start that kind of stuff on here - I'll have nowhere to go!!

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ElSanto added 20:23 - Sep 13 I agree with pintsizedsaint. The lack of patience some supporters are showing towards this team/manager is ridiculous. We have signed 3 very good players in Holberg, Boufal and Redmond, and kept our club captain who wanted to leave knowing that we may have lost around £8million on his transfer. We are ONLY 4 games into the season and we have been playing well. We have played United and Arsenal away in 4 of those games. We also have some money to spend when we do find out where we really do need to improve. It really does grate me when people are so fickle these days. I believe it's due to a lack of intelligence - people aren't clever enough to see patterns before e.g. Koeman's starts to the season, where teams finish at the end of the season compared to their starts, how it only takes a winning streak of three games to jump right up the table again, allowing players to learn to play with each other and in new formations. As for slagging off Katarina, anyone who does that, in my eyes, is an embarrassment to the club.

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Consigliere added 21:26 - Sep 13 El Santo, I have just logged in for the sole purpose of reversing whoever was rude and foolish enough to disagree with you. The pompous, outrageous, sexist and stupid remarks I have in the past seen in the Echo about the club's female owner are enough to make you gag.
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uaesaint added 06:24 - Sep 14 horndeansaint .... We're do you get off I am from southampton ( not Portsmouth horndeansaint ) and have been a saints fan all my life had season tickets at dell and a box in staintmarys Sponsored the club so get of your high horse.... The style of play not suite us and we can't close a sh...t house door right now with goals ...my coment was it may suit eroupa but not the premier but let's see on Thursday by the way I will be there as flying in for game will you ????? And as another guy said we get to see every game live on bein sports

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uaesaint added 06:32 - Sep 14 Ps I do belive that we will finnish in top ten but need to find the goal and change to different formation for some teams as any good manager would do .... Just concerned that this guy will play one system fits all
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Horndeansaint added 08:58 - Sep 14 UAE, no insult intended and I apologise for any offence. As for my location, I am now in my 49th year of following the Saints as a season ticket holder except when finances dictated otherwise so geography is not an issue as far as my allegiance is concerned. Good on you for making the effort and yes, of course I will be there. As far as your somewhat premature appraisal of our season, you only have to read the comments above from the likes of pintesizedsaint and el santo to understand where I am coming from. I have seen more than enough bad seasons in my time to be absolutely sure that this won't be one of them. The players that we have are way too good for that. After last season, we all have massive expectations but the likelihood is that we won't finish as high as we did last time but look at the positives, Europa cup group stage and what I believe to be 3 quality signings. Lets look at things again when 10 or 12 games have been played and the league table takes on some meaning.

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uaesaint added 09:18 - Sep 14 Lol horndean did get a little p...sd off .... Hear what you are saying and as I say don't think we will have a bad season but at best top ten .... And unlike a lot of others think we have a squad of good players and yes 3 very to new guys just have my reservations about new managers style of play .... But let's see as they say the night is young ... On a last note why do you think not as good finnish as last year squad or manager or other teams that sould have done better getting it right this year of or some of the lesser teams catching us up ????

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pintsizedsaint added 10:16 - Sep 14 Guys, I don't think we need to compare season tickets to come to conclusion that everybody has a right to an opinion! Uaesaint, indeed people are worried about the diamond. But it really is early days. Nick's article makes a very good point that RK last year failed to flex the formation we used in the premier league, which resulted in us crashing out of the Europa before it began. It might be the case that Puel is making sure we don't fall down the same trap again. The word coming out of SFC is that Puel is not wedded to the diamond, but believes that it better suits an extended campaign in Europa. In order to get players accustomed to it, it was necessary to apply it to the premier league. I don't think it's been that bad and, as players get used to it, it actually makes SFC harder to read for opposition (lots of teams knew last year what RK would do and planned accordingly - I particularly recall the first Villa game where this happened). As such it appears we have a manager who is not only taking the Europa league seriously, but is also providing us with more tactical flex than before. Maybe it is a gamble, but only time will tell.

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Horndeansaint added 13:57 - Sep 14 UAE thanks for that and glad peace has broken out! I too was a bit taken aback by your initial forecast of relegation which, given the early part of the season we are in, I felt was way wide of the mark. As far as my comment about not finishing as high this season, my view is that Chelsea now that the charming physio and the less than charming manager are no longer a distraction and Manure, even though they have said less than charming manager in charge won't be as bad as last season (even though United finished above us). Add to that the ridiculous level of luck and dodgy refereeing that is helping the big boys on their way (as if they needed it) Like Citeh in the last minute with an own goal off of the nose. Chelsea in the last minute when Costa shouldn't have been on the pitch and the disgraceful decision on Saturday makes finishing above the 2 Mancs, Chelsea and thearse a very tall order indeed. Add to that and much as it grieves me to admit, Liverpool, Spuds and worst of all Everton will all be strong. I don't see a wild card at the moment and I think we will come good very soon, especially if Boufal lives up to expectations so all in all 7th would be very good indeed, 6th and above would be excellent. We are possibly a bit short on squad given the demands of the Europa cup and home competitions and a few injuries could stretch us. Anyway, that's my view and I am sure we are all looking forward to tomorrow evening. Have a safe flight and don't be late -:)

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kingolaf added 15:45 - Sep 14 I think you're clutching at straws Nick. We'll find out if the formation works, but it hasn't against Watford and Sunderland, who both sat deep and tried to hit us on the counter. Much like Sparta probably will.
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