It is hard to dress up what was a woeful game of football as anything else, but there were positives to take and this is what we need to focus on.

Some Saints supporters leaving St Mary's on Saturday were bemoaning the performance and looking back nostalgically to what they perceived as the best football Saints have ever played last season, their memories were short though as only a year earlier in the opening home game of last year Saints had been woeful against a poor Sunderland side and needed a last minute equaliser from Jose Fonte to rescue a point and the following home game was a dissapointing 0-0 draw against West Ham, the point being that a year ago things looked just as bleak so there is hope.

The game itself saw Saints comfortable through out and only troubled once when Fraser Forster stood up strong and blocked a shot, the problem was that for all our possession and 58% was similar to last seasons stats, we rarely looked like troubling Foster in the visitors goal.

Saints looked like a team still coming to terms with their new manager new players and new system, that is understandable because thats exactly the situation we are in and perhaps we would be overly optimisitic if we thought that after the issues in the summer we could just start like an express train.

But the good news is we are solid we look a good unit, the issue is all about going forward, this being the case was surprised that Koeman didnt try other options, Taider or Isgrove might have offered something different off the bench.

We are clearly still coming to terms with the style of play, Pelle especially struggled to get into the game and received some unfair stick with some supporters seemingly decided after only 15 minutes of seeing him that he was this seasons scapegoat, but where these supporters being entirely fair, a centre forward is only as good as his service, when Pelle had the ball laid into him he mainly did his job and laid it off, when the ball was thumped at him above head height he didn't and this wasn't endearing him to the crowd, but they didn't consider what he was meant to do with the ball when played like that ? his only option to flick it on, but to who ? with no one behind him.

Saints need to come to terms with their now more direct style going forward and that means getting the balls into Pelle that he can use rather than throwing it up into the air for him to try and beat his marker who will always have the forward momentum.

This was a dire game to watch, but it wasn't a dire performance by Saints at least not in terms of the fact that we were not in disaray at any time, we were comfortable throughout and this is a good foundation to build on, however that does not mean we are not a work in progress, we were dire in terms of chances created and that is the main worry at the moment we don't seem to be sure how to play going forward, we need to find a system that can accommodate both Pelle and Long and we need to get some width, Ronald Koeman is still chasing a winger and of course we do have Jay Rodriguez to return from injury so it is not the end of the world.

The main thing to be taken from the game though should be the need for patience, we need to look back at our first two home games last season and the way we played in them and take note that even last season we took time to find our way, the crowd didnt get on the backs of the team last year and they found their feet and the rest as they say is history, now a year on Ronald Koeman an d his team need the patience of the fans who need to keep off the backs of certain players and give them a fair chance to prove themselves.

A dire game, a disappointing game, but not a disastrous game.

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 10:08 - Aug 24 I have to disagree with you analysis. I thought that, as the game progressed, Saints looked increasingly uncomfortable and lost the midfield due to defending too deep. It also struck me that both Pelle (who patently is going to take an age to find his best form) and Tajic faded and should have been replaced after the hour mark. They probably are not quite fit enough yet for the English game. Long was wasted on the wing and RK seemed not to have a plan B which surprised me given the Liverpool performance.

1

landsdownsaint added 10:15 - Aug 24 Our opening game last season was uncomparable to yesterday's ! Koran had no idea to break them down apArt from route one up to Pelle! ..MP had his system in place on show in the first game last season although the game may have been dire. Ronko never even got out of his seat! Very disappointing .
2

wazzosan added 10:46 - Aug 24 Nick, I absolutely agree with your opening comments. It was a woeful game of football and one that made me wishing I hadn't stayed up to till 2am to watch all of it (I'm in Sydney). On a positive note, our defence looked good. Yoshida was much better than in other games. I'm keen to see our new signing and how does he compare to Lovren. Despite being a footballing mercenary, he could defend well, was very comfortable on the ball (I've seen a few of his stepovers while charging up the pitch) and had a good shot. We will need Gardos to step up. In terms of left back, while Luke Shaw didn't play a killer ball in any of the games I saw, he could defend well and wasn't lightweight. Bertrand seems ok so far. Definitely an upgrade on Danny Fox but he goes to ground pretty easy. I thought Spider and Wanayama were good. I'm not convinced by Ward Prowse just yet. He needs to step up his game, perhaps put on some bulk so he doesn't get pushed out of the way so often. Mind you, Spider isn't exactly the terminator but he still does pretty well. Pelle was poor. His touch and layoff ability are good but had one shot off target the entire game. I guess he needs more time. Plus I was wondering who we had to put on in place of him. Long had already come on and I didn't see who we had on the bench. I agree with Nick in that Isgrove or Taider should have come on. Corky was lively when he did come on and it was good to see him get some game time.

1

SanMarco added 11:21 - Aug 24 I haven't actually seen a second of the match so cannot comment but have two fears for this season: 1. We are going to use up a lot of 'winnable' matches early on in the season while we are coming together as a team. 2. It will become a divisive debate between those who pine for the past (e.g. told you so, and what did you expect type comments) and those who are trying to stay positive. This is basically what happened at the end of the Lowe era and it didn't help anyone - the departed are not coming back, full stop - or is it 'end of' that the hip crowd sat nowadays?

-1

TreeHugger added 11:27 - Aug 24 Bad day at the office really. Positives are Fraser looks awesome, we didn't get beat, and didn't concede. We have to give the team time to gel and get some rhythm. We did see some of our best football last season, still not sure why this is hard for you to accept. However, it's a new team, manager and style so they need to be given time. As supporters we should get behind everyone and I can't believe pelle is receiving stick already. Disgraceful. Henry was rubbish in his first season, drogba took 9 games before getting a goal....let's just see how he does once he actually gets some chances. Sounds like a few signings are on the radar, will be interesting to see who comes in. Interesting to see savage tip us for relegation.....even in his prime I'm not sure he would get close to our reserves let alone first team. Roll on the next game...

3

Jesus_02 added 11:28 - Aug 24 Pelle was aweful. If we are centering our "new style" around him i am deeply concerned. We where not troubled defensivly because we played so deep. Pelle didn't come at recieved the ball and had no lateral movement at all. He strikes me as a player that is used to relying on his physical presence in a league that is much less physical than the premier league. There was good play in patches. Tadic looks like a good signing and Bertrand seems equaly good as shaw... Why did we pay 12m for long and then put him on the wing?

1

tiptop added 11:32 - Aug 24 I saw the first 70 mins (via live feed in Ireland). Agreed it is going to take time for players to adapt. Also agree I liked MoPos definite 'we aim to win every game' - not hearing that as clearly now. We look blunt up front. West Brom were more in control than us as I left the match. The regular long ball to try and hit Pelle frustrating to see. Passing in our own half even was not as assured looking as last season without Lovren. Second balls in the midfield were being lost too regularly. Morgan and Wanyama were solid enough but there was no dynamism in the transition from defence to attack, no one to carry the ball forwards with confidence.. and the overall passing was too slow and telegraphed. Pelle stalled the flow by taking too long to lay it off a couple of times. He looks like a box player/goalscorer..unlike his predecessor. Agree would like to see Long played closer to Pelle. Forward players in particular need to develop some partnerships and understanding with each others game - which takes some time. Clear contrast to the Liverpool away game. DEF work in progress.

1

margilamb added 11:44 - Aug 24 I have to disagree with your piece Nick as you seem to be afflicted with a serious case of hubris in your recent posts. Ugly is ugly and no self delusion on finding attractive points to cling on to can change the fact that the game was more shrek than Cinderella. Our entire front end had no bite or guile whatsoever and pelle looked very poor. On this evidence, he looked slow, cumbersome, obvious and possessed very little close control. Also troubling was the strange position Long was introduced into, giving the appearance of another striker lacking the ability we need up front. This is a 22million pound strike force , need I say anything more? We may have received vast sums inward in the ceramic chicken on the table, but with team Reed and Krueger in charge of acquisitions, I really feel that they will be unable to attract to this club the kind of heart and calibre required to push us forward. Collectively they have sold nearly all the goals from our side in the close season with the rest sat in the recovery suite and it will be just to much to ask for Jay to take the burden of goals in isolation. Our one goal this season has come from a right back with the majority of efforts coming from defensive midfielders in advanced positions which should tell you all you need to know. The only positive is that Koeman is no fool and must realise the problems and is capable of patching them over but it will not be easy with the men in the boardroom. Desertion and discontentment resulting in what happened over the close season does not occur without some good reason. I really fear for us in terms of an entertainment level too as the stands will not hold up serving what we saw yesterday week on week. We have a fantastic club with amazing supporters in a geographically favourable area that has brilliant potential to grow and do something really special in this league. For four years we have been on the front foot and I'm sure we have all felt the sense of pride and optimism as we have done so. It just feels of late that at best we are currently stalling and our tasty apple which has been ripening nicely on the tree has managed to pick up a couple of maggots at the core.

3

slynch added 11:55 - Aug 24 Bertrand and Tadic work well together and did that yesterday. But they're in a different team! Everybody else just passes it around uselessly. Clyne has no one to work with except the odd time when Tadic comes over, even Wanyama looked good when he found himself there. Davis, JWP, Cork, Spiderman all have no idea what to do when they get over the halfway line. There's a couple of young lads who can play right wing I think they've got to be used while Ramirez is injured. This team will get a lot of possession and no goals. I saw a lot of people leaving 5 mins before the end which is not right...they should have left 5 mins before the beginning.

0

kristianJ added 12:09 - Aug 24 On the whole a fair report (following a number of sensible balanced reports over the summer). It's not time to panic yet and I was also dismayed at people getting on Pelle's back in what was his home debut, whilst he had a poor game and seems to lack SRL's composure on the ball, it is simply ludicrous not to give him a few weeks to settle in. I think if Long is to work he has to play up front, he is clearly not a right winger, so we even sub Pelle (if he is not performing) or change to a 4-4-2 with Long feeding off Pelle's flick ons. I understand why Ron stuck with the same starting 11 from last week but I think in these types of games Cork has to play ahead of Wanyama. Big Vic is great in the tackle and at playing it simple to retain possession, but he was far too cautious yesterday and is simply unwilling or unable to play forward balls when a break is on, this cost us yesterday. On the plus side I think Forster looks great, Yoshida had a much better game yesterday, Tadic still looks lively and we now have a much deeper squad so if things don't work out or players pick up injuries or lose form we can change the side. I would like to have seen Taider come on yesterday and would also like to see more of our kids on the bench (Reed, McQueen, Targett) in the coming weeks - although I expect to see them against Millwall on Tuesday. It's still early doors let's stay positive.

1

REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 12:16 - Aug 24 At least Koeman was honest in his post match interviews and didn't try to gloss over a poor performance. He recognises that we need more flair and creativity and said we've got one or two more players to come in. Its really important that we sign a quality attacker or two. There's plenty of players in Holland like Depay and Fischer who fit the bill. The club need to go big and land one of them. Also, Koeman needs to develop a clear system at home to attack teams. If they go long to Pelle then he needs another striker to play off his flick ons and knock downs. Which would mean playing two up top with Long through the middle and not out wide. There needs to be more balance to the side when attacking at home. I'm sure Koeman recognises this.

1

ItchenNorth added 12:25 - Aug 24 A good summary Nick. Pelle will need time but some fans singling him out already was moronic. Show some bloody faith and patience. He's 8 million from the Dutch league not a 30 mil Costa from Spain ! Service into him was poor so he didn't have alot to work with. On the plus side we looked solid and well organized again. Missing Ramirez and that added creativity he'll also bring to the side.

0

darthvader added 13:49 - Aug 24 Looking from 2nd row from the front northam stand . Seemed to have 0-0 or a 0-1 written over this game from early doors so I'm pleased that we didn't lose this game as we would have done in the past , ala Cardiff Wigan and a few other games from years gone by. Vastly improved Yoshida impressed me and very pleased for him I hope he keeps his place at wet spam next week (and scores the winner) . Pelle needs time to adjust I just hope not too long as goals are what is required , perhaps when Gallagher is back in the reckoning he could come on and replace him and at least be a competitive option for his place . I was hoping to see isgrove on for 10 mins as he has pace and enthusiasm ,which seemed to be fading from our team the longer the game went on . Anyway like I said, at least we didn't lose it . Looking forward to the next game- coyr

0

BlackRod added 15:08 - Aug 24 "... when Pelle had the ball laid into him he mainly did his job and laid it off ..." Trouble was he laid it off to whoever was standing next to him, regardless of what colour shirt they were wearing. And if there was no-one near he stood and watched while the nearest West Brom player took the ball. While some of the balls aimed at him were too high he didn't seem to be able to win much in the air, despite his height. What are the crowd likely to do, cheer every ball he loses?. One own goal scored in the last three matches he has played means he does not live up to his billing as a goalscorer. He wouldn't be the first expensive import who did well in one of the European leagues who took time to adapt to the Premier League. Then again he wouldn't be the first to flop either.

0

Saintist added 15:30 - Aug 24 Cant help feeling even more depressed as the week edge closer to the end... Saints struggle to show any sort of impact and promise we anticipated yesterday, Spurs win convincingly, 3rd n the row...
1

montecristo added 17:03 - Aug 24 I didnt like anything about yesterdays game, gone was the entertaining style of last season, repaced by route one hoof it to Pelle, who was quite unable to do anything other than remain static, he couldnt turn. There was one instance when he received the ball cleanly, and then practically stood on it not knowing what to do next summed up his afternoon and ours Im afraid. What worries me most , having sold our best players for a pocketful of silver, is where are the goals going to come from. Apart from Tadic, who is not as good as Lallana for me anyway, theres no one. The only glimmer of hope is that Ramirez and J Rod have yet to return, and we need to see what Taider can do before passing judgement on our season. But I fear the worst if we make a habit of playing as badly as yesterday. Pass and move should be indelibly inscribed on the players brain as it was last season, but that is down to the management. So far I am not impressed by Koeman sadly. Second half at Liverpool I was pleased to see saints resort to the tactics that had been so successful for us last season under Poch, but they were not in evidence yesterday when all we got was route one, long passes which often went astray. Not good at all. I hope they sort themselves out next week, but having changed so much personnel I would have thought Saints would be better off sticking to the style they learnt so well last season, but what do I know. Just common sense to me.

0

SonicBoom added 17:08 - Aug 24 West brom at home? Do me a favour. We should have gone for them. Koeman played one up front with Davis, schneiderlin and wanyama behind that. Thats three essentially defensive midfielders on at home against poor opposition. He can't then bemoan the lack of offensive bite. What did he expect. Also going 'direct' to pelle when he's on his own seems plain stupid. Long high balls are virtually never productive in the premier. Is that his attacking master plan? To give pelle a chance we need to get crosses in and we didn't. Very few from the left and no one wide on the right at all. I'll say it again tho, we didn't look in trouble but we shouldn't with three defensive midfielders. And what did he do? Take off jwp and replace with cork. I really could not understand the plan yesterday.

0

abingdonsaint added 22:18 - Aug 24 I think we all need to just take a deep breath here and give Koeman a chance to put his stamp on the team. Yesterday was only the second time that eleven has played together, and one of the unavoidable consequences of selling the backbone of your team is not only in losing their individual quality, but also the understanding built up, in some cases over a period of years. That cannot be replaced overnight by any manager. The suggestion by some that Koeman's game plan will be going long and picking up knock ons fills me with dread to be honest, but I don't happen to think that will be the case with his pedigree. I don't believe anyone who has played for Barcelona would resort to that! I think yesterday was simply that we didn't have the cohesion or quality to create enough. I am at least encouraged by his comments afterwards, and he knows that performance was not good enough. One thing Is for sure. Whilst we do need patience, I do not understand this obsession with downplaying Poch and the football we played last season. We may have struggled to score in certain games, but invariably we had pretty much total control. I didn't see that yesterday, but let's hope that will come with time. As regards Poch himself, very early days, but nothing I have seen so far will dissuade me from my previous opinion that Spurs will unfortunately do very well this year. Don't think they can win the title, but Champions League would not surprise me in the least! Finally, have to agree that the rumblings in the crowd against Pelle were premature, ridiculous and frankly embarrassing. Let's give the guy a chance, and even if he is still struggling in a month or two's time, booing your own players has never done anyone any good. We all need to stick together at this difficult time!

0

thegeneral added 12:49 - Aug 26 If you sell your best players, the manager and complete coaching team leave, you bring in new players of which most haven't played in the premiership, what more can be expected ?, 0-0 against W.Brom at home could be looked upon as not too bad a result at this stage. Beats me how any supporter expected us to hit the ground running and pile on the points early season.

0

Blogs 32 bloggers

Preston North End Polls