Saints make their shortest journey of the season looking to move into the top seven and make amends for last seasons debacle down in Boscombe.

Saints will feel that Bournemouth will offer a better chance to end the goal drought than any of our previous league games, the Cherries have scored a few goals themselves of late but in general they struggle to score and at the back they let in a few as well.

The style that Bournemouth employ though is not one that is aimed at keeping clean sheets but in taking the game to the opposition and wins such as their comeback against Liverpool have kept their heads above water, indeed without that win and their narrow victory over Leicester in midweek they would be firmly entrenched in a relegation battle rather than sitting in their highest ever league position in their history.

That says a lot about the difference between the two clubs, they are cock a hoop at being tenth on 21 points whereas Saints fans are up in arms about being ninth and ahead of them in goal difference.

That perhaps shows the progress that we have made over the past few seasons, but it should perhaps give us a sense of perspective.

The aim this afternoon is simple, we firstly want to see three points and secondly we want to see the side rediscover its goal touch.

We have players who are proven goal scorers, but it isn't working for us at the moment, scoring goals is like trying to pour bottle of Heinz Ketchup ( It has to be a decent brand to prove this point) sometimes you open the bottle and it just won't pour out, you bang and bang on the bottom but nothing happens ! Then all of a sudden a little bit comes out and that is followed by a massive deluge.

That is what is happening at the moment, we cannot buy a goal, but if we can get a couple suddenly that can all change and in a few weeks we will wonder what we where worried about.

After all that is exactly what happened last season at around this time.

So for Claude Puel it is a question of putting out his best side and getting it doing the right things, as I said there is not a lot wrong that a goal or two won't put right, we are getting nto the right areas, but the delivery and finish is just not there yet.

Of course there are those who say it will never be there unless we sign a striker in January, the next few weeks will show whether that is true, but the one thing we do know for sure is that we cannot do anything till January so until then there is no point in moaning about it and making the situation worse.

We need to get behind the team and make sure they can keep getting points even if we struggle, then if we do have to buy a striker in January the situation is not already terminal and a new man can come in and score goals that take us up into the top six not ensure that we finish mid table.

But meanwhile we go to Bournemouth with a job to do, if we do it we will be 7th and that should give us some perspective.

Photo: Action Images

vanmans added 10:27 - Dec 18 How can you say we want to see the side rediscover its goal touch? This sides never had one and probably wont have until the January window.
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smiffdub added 12:16 - Dec 18 The party line on this site is getting too absurd...it's Pravda in the height of Soviet communism. The fact is, it doesn't even matter that we don't have a single player who knows how to regularly put a round ball in a rectangular net. The fact is, the manager's tactics don't rely upon that feat and really don't even include it in calculations!! The manager plays for a 0-0 game every week, and he then gambles that some weeks we will get a break and score a winning goal. He's basically gambling correctly...a disciplined functioning team will draw most of its games and luck will decide whether it wins or loses the rest. So the record is pretty much what a gambler would expect...5 wins, 5 losses, 6 draws. Great for position high in the table. But total nightmare for football. I've been watching the Saints thru thick and thin for nearly 5 decades. I've never seen such calculating negativity. People on this site talk about personnel selection, but it really doesn't matter; what is operative is the negative calculation of the manager. Every now and then he loosens his grip, like against Everton...then you saw Hojberg and JWP look like Hazard, and McQueen was playing llke Cruyff, and VVD was marauding up front. It's not the players; they do whatt hey're told.. It's the coach. He doesn't let them play attacking football except on special occasions. The default mode is play for the 0-0 draw and see if you get lucky. That's what he'll set up for today with Bournemouth, basically gambling that our neighbours' attacking genes will lead to that one mistake that will allow some stupid lucky Saints goal. If Saints win it'll be 1-0, or by one goal, and a 33% chance of thatl. A draw is 33% likely. Bournemouth win by one or many more goals, 33%. Puel doesn't care which of those results happens because the odds are reset the next week. and over the course of the season we'll get 30 wins and 30 percent draws, and do quite well in the table...though we'll never win anything. But who wants to watch that shit anyway? Saints have become the most negatve and boring and tactically cynical team in the Premier. Every game, doesn't matter the opponent, the defafult desire is 0-0. It's a travesty, and the sooner that people like Nick start seeing what's really going on and objecting, the sooner fan power might mean something.

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aceofthebase added 12:45 - Dec 18 The teams are in! Wonder what smiffdub will make of our performance today!
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aceofthebase added 13:40 - Dec 18 Cedric asleep and allows Ake to score. Probably cost us another 3 points
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aceofthebase added 17:46 - Dec 18 Well Smiffdub let's have your post match report
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dirk_doone added 18:24 - Dec 18 "That is what is happening at the moment, we cannot buy a goal, but if we can get a couple suddenly that can all change and in a few weeks we will wonder what we where worried about. After all that is exactly what happened last season at around this time." Credit where it's due. Nick was right. Those 2 Rodriguez goals suddenly make our goal drought look a thing of the past.

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smiffdub added 08:37 - Dec 19 I can eat humble pie when necessary, but it's actually not all that necessary this time. I think it's true what I said about starting out with the aim of getting 0-0. That's been true every game this season and was true against B'mouth. Then serendipity comes in with a piece of individual brilliance from Bertrand..a goal completely unrelated to the way we set up and played. So, I think that at half-time you all out there surely must have been agreeing with me, no? Dismal, negative football with three defensive midfielders and no link from the back 7 to front 3. Sideways passing and 2nd gear movement. As per normal. The change at half time was a positive one, but it also shows the correctness of the other half of what I was saying, I think. It wasn't that Davis is such a great attacking player (have we ever thought of him as that?), but he had his instructions for the 2nd half. For some reason Puel decided it was ok to try to go forward and win the game. We've seen it now against Arsenal and Everton and now for a half against B'mouth. In some ways that's the most infuriating part about Puel's management...the players are capable of great attacking football, but 90% of the time he sets them up so that they are not allowed to. I can't explain why he pushed forward today. But I'll say one thing. If anyone (like dirk doone) thinks out goal problems are over, i bet you'll be nodding off in the next game just like in most of our attempts to scale the heights of the 0-0 draw.

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SaintPaulVW added 09:11 - Dec 19 3 goals a win and still Puel's fault. Classic.
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perazi added 10:14 - Dec 19 I'll say this about your report Smiffdub, there is something in your claim about the balance of our midfield in the first half v Bournmouth and the entire game v Stoke. Second half on Sunday we had Davis and Hojbjerg (who had an incredible 2nd stanza in contrast to his first 20 mins) given licence to push forward (while Clasie was doing well in the holding role) ; running with the ball, passing incisively and linking up well with Boufal, Rodriguez and Redmond. Against Stoke we had Davis given a more defensive role with Romeu and only JWP pushed forward; trouble being he can't or won't run and take on players with the ball and the majority of his passing is safe and recycled - I thought that was one of the big factors behind the win - we moved the ball quickly with intensity and a press for all but the first 10 - 15 minutes and we didn't have the likes of JWP to bog us down. It was a derby in the first half and a clinic in the second. Great game by Bertrand and Clasie, Yoshida, Boufal, VVD and of course the feel good story who is J-Rod made it a memorable game to watch. Redmond did some good things as well, without the silly expectation that he's a striker.

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arthurfane added 10:35 - Dec 19 So happy for JRod - very well deserved. Agree we're frustrating to watch sometimes, and fairly negative, but to say Claude actively looks for 0-0 is crazy Smiffdub. If the second half, where he broke from his negative dross, yielded such a positive result and performance, Claude would continue with that. He's a smart man.
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