Saints V Sparta Prague The Verdict
Friday, 25th Nov 2016 10:05

This performance was unacceptable, but we only have ourselves to blame.

I have been very supportive of Claude Puel and I remain so, however the blame for this defeat has to be placed very firmly at his door.

I said in the build up to the game that we needed to put out our full strength side or at least something approaching it, but the manager made seven changes and they were not for the better.

The fans in Prague were very angry and to be blunt felt let down by the manager, I was certainly one of them !

The issue was that the back four was makeshift and to be blunt not good enough, Sparta caught us cold early doors and we never recovered, if you have a system that relies on getting full backs forward then you have to have players that can play that system well, to be blunt (again) Martina is not good enough going forward, he had a lot of the ball and plenty of opportunity to use it but did not put one telling ball into the box that asked questions of the Sparta defence.

The stats showed that we had 71% possession, more shots etc etc, but we rarely looked like scoring, some would say we lacked forwards, that wasn't the issue, the issue was we didn't get the ball to the forwards and create opening for them, we could have had Messi, Drogba or anyone that you care to name up front, they would not have scored as they would not have got the ball.

So 2,000 Saints supporters went to Prague and were let down by this team selection, as I said at the beginning I am firmly behind Claude Puel, but he has to take the blame for this one, yes he was let down by his players, but if he had picked at least the base of the side he put out against Liverpool then we would have been tight and organised instead of a team that lacked direction which is understandable given the number of changes.

Luckily this defeat is not terminal, but it is damaging, our fate is completely in our own hands, we keep a clean sheet against Happoel Be'er Sheva we go through simple.

I don't like to say "I told you so" but I did and I was proved right, managers making selection errors is not new, every manager does so, this is not a crime, but if we don't learn from our mistakes then that is a crime, we did not learn from the defeat at Milan and repeated it again in Prague, enough is enough.

Photo: Action Images

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BoondockSaint added 19:06 - Nov 25

Agree with the majority. But you can't really blame Puel (or tell if he is good or bad) because he can only do so much with these players. This is why we couldn't get a bigger name manager to even consider us in the summer.

Corkcity is absolutely right: I never, ever expect us to score on set piece, and the commentators always rave about JWP's delivery. What are they basing that on? Maybe he is their milkman?

Cjay80 added 22:33 - Nov 25 Matt Richie or Daniel Sturridge appear to be our only options in January
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TeamCortese added 07:04 - Nov 26 Nick this is what our best player had to say about the board. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3972858/Southampton-players-sh Enough said really...
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TimSaint added 10:46 - Nov 26

The team picked should have been good enough to beat a very average Sparta team. We had 2 great chances to score early on, but didn't take them,then Sparta scored with their only chance of the first half and the confidence drained from players and the performance deteriorated.
Yes it was a poor goal to concede and yes Clasie or Marina should not have given him the freedom of the 18 yard box, but OK we conceded, but it is all about how we react.
We simply continued to pass the ball around the back 4 and the 3 defensive midfielders and played and odd ball or 2 into the front 3 and hoped they would create something. Sometimes we would play it out wide and McQueen would put a cross in or have a good shot, but if it went out to Martina, he would always take a touch or 2, so the chance of an early cross was missed and he would end up going backwards.
There was just no urgency in the team. Why play 3 holding midfielder, especially when losing ? JWP only made 1 run into the box all game and was very nearly found with a chipped bll over the top, but other than that we were so flat and predictable. The front 3 swapped over from left to right, but all took up similar positions - so never actually stretched their defence.
In Boufal, Redmond, Clasie, Austin and JWP, we have perhaps some of the Laziest players in the Prem. Nobody seemed bothered about the result or seemed to want to win. They seemed content to play it around and protect the 1-0 loss like it was a draw or a 1-0 win.
My Pal in Prague text me at half time (he was in home end) saying we got mugged for the goal but hoped we won. I text back saying we we have no drive, passion, creativity or desire to move the ball quickly so I think we will lose 1-0. I saw that at half time along with 2,000 others, so why couldn't Puel ?
The longer the game went on the worse it got. As time slowly ran down, the fans became restless and started to vent their anger. At least we had passion, but the performance didn't pick up. We waited to the 85th minute before showing some urgency but it was too late by then. VvD didn't go up front like he normally does when we need a goal and that was that.
The players were rightfully booed at the end it was that woeful. The fans had put in the time effort and money - shame the players didn't. Don't know why Long was annoyed at the booing - did he think the team had put a shift in ? You could tell they all knew it was bad as only a few players came close when clapping the fans. Sparta got a big cheer though and a pseudo Viking chant and it was good that their fans applauded us.

Special mention to those great quadrangle outdoor porta pissers - superb when you need a piss outside the ground - although 1 guy was asking where the women's version was !!
That result cost the Prague economy a small fortune - the atmosphere was so subdued after the game - but oh what it could have been if we won

Hopefully the performance on Sunday will go a long way to rectifying Thurs

vanmans added 12:32 - Nov 26 Well said TimSaint I couldnt agree more. Cant wait for January and the Deadwood stage to come and clear out the dead wood.
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fubsy added 23:02 - Nov 26

From what I saw against Sparta on tv on Thursday and Liverpool at St Mary's last Saturday, we have a problem creating chances. Our strikers can"t score if we don't create chances!
We have a really good squad and the team selected played poorly on Thursday. Purl is in the same place as every other manager, as summed up by the late, great Sir Bobby Robson - "it's up to the players when they cross the white line".