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Saints At Arsenal The Verdict Sunday, 11th Sep 2016 09:09
Saints put in a great performance at the Emirates only to see all the good work undone with two controversial goals.
Saints should really be looking back a a well earned point at the Emirates but are instead left with nothing for their efforts due to two controversial moments that both ended with the ball in our net.
Those that said Saints would not be able to compete and that the formation and tactics of Claude Puel are suspect are left eating their words this morning, Saints were well set up and matched the Gunners in every department with Oriol Romeu immense in the centre of midfield.
However sadly all we have taken from the game is the satisfaction of a good performance and the hope that we can now build on it due to the referee.
The first moment of controversy came with Arsenal's first shot on target, Saints at this time were leading one nil after a great free kick from Dusan Tadic came down of the bar and hit the keeper and went in and they looked good for their lead.
The controversy about this goal is due to the fact that in any other area of the pitch this would have seen a free kick for dangerous play, Koscielny's spectacular scissors kick saw his boot only inches from the head of Jordy Clasie, how this was not given as dangerous play baffles me, Clasie could not head the ball without having his head kicked off, for some reason referee's allow this in the penalty areas for attacking teams, but not for defenders and certainly not in the other areas of the pitch.
The second controversial moment came deep into stoppage time, Saints were defending despite an Arsenal player lying prone in the centre of the goal and impeding Fraser Forster's ability to move around his six yard box, when the ball was played in to the box the player was interfering with play due to his position, yet the referee did nothing except give a penalty.
After the benefit of watching it on TV yes you can see why he gave it, but you have to say that we have had far worse turned down at the other end, would Bobby Madley have given it at the other end ? I think we all know the answer to that question.
But as I said the performance was satisfying and there was a lot to take from it, again we were tight and did not get overawed or over run, Arsenal only had two shots on target, one from the penalty and Fraser Forster was othrwise little troubled.
The downside was that we are not taking our chances up at the other end, this is nothing to do with the system, its about finishing, Shane Long really should have scored from two glorious chances.
Also there is the fact that of the six goals we have conceded, three of them have been from penalties and all have been soft and should have been avoided, Jose Fonte was again the culprit and although it was harsh on him, he was holding Giroud's shirt and there was no need.
But there were more plusses from this game than minusses and that bodes well for the future, those Saints fans walking away from the Emirates that saw the game were angry with the referee not their team, Saints had done all that was asked of them and this was a far better performance than last season when we were absolutely over run, the irony is that we got point back then but this year nothing.
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Haveing watched the full game this is a fair summary of the game Things are starting to clic only thing missing is ability to score But that is a very very big part of the game Realy not sure REDMAN is a striker
If only Clasie was a couple of inches taller then he would have had his head kicked off and we 'might' have had a free kick. Why the referee chose to ignore the head injury to Kos. is disgraceful. Perhaps, on second thoughts if Clasie had had his head splattered then the referee would have ignored that too. PS I am really glad that Clasie was not injured.
It was indeed a cruel result for Saints - at the very least a point for should have been nailed on without some questionable decisions from the match day officials. What cannot be denied though is the weakness of our attacking group compared to last season; with Mane and even Pelle still with us we would have several more points including a win yesterday - they just haven't been adequately replaced..and Redmond at the very best is a winger with some potential; he is not and will never be a striker. Long's deficiencies as a finisher were highlighted yesterday and J-Rod provided further evidence that a return to his very best is a slim hope.
Agree with Nick, Romeu was very good in midfield, as was Hojbjerg. Bertrand's return was a successful one and VVD had many good moments. The team is noticeably weaker but supporters must keep the faith - we don't look like a relegation side.
Biased or incompetent refereeing, just like at Old Trafford. Agree with all the above plus if you watch the replay of the penalty award Giroud had hold of Fonte's shoulder and was pulling him over well before Fonte had a slight hold of his shirt. Jay looked good but Long's misses are costing us dear unfortunately. Hopefully will come good but Mane is still a massive miss for us.
Well put Nick. I have to admit there isn't much else to say. We are a decent team and we just need a win to pick up some confidence.
However, there are some serious question marks over up front. I get the vibe that Puel is still figuring out who should lead the line. I think when he came initially he thought it was Austin/Long. I think now he's pondering over Jay Rod.
My main concern is that none of our strikers (apart from Jay Rod) have scored this season or demonstrated the level of finishing required against better opposition. We should have brought in another striker--even if it was on loan--to shake things up.
If I was manager I would drop Long from the team for that kind of finishing as a punishment to make him better. When you consider he's paid to score goals those missed opportunities were pathetic to say the least.
Just so people don't think I'm being too harsh on Long. Look at what the Arsenal supporters had to say (watch the first 40 seconds, the rest is gooner nonsense)
Well put Nick. I have to admit there isn't much else to say. We are a decent team and we just need a win to pick up some confidence.
However, there are some serious question marks over up front. I get the vibe that Puel is still figuring out who should lead the line. I think when he came initially he thought it was Austin/Long. I think now he's pondering over Jay Rod.
My main concern is that none of our strikers (apart from Jay Rod) have scored this season or demonstrated the level of finishing required against better opposition. We should have brought in another striker--even if it was on loan--to shake things up.
If I was manager I would drop Long from the team for that kind of finishing as a punishment to make him better. When you consider he's paid to score goals those missed opportunities were pathetic to say the least.
Just so people don't think I'm being too harsh on Long. Look at what the Arsenal supporters had to say (watch the first 40 seconds, the rest is gooner nonsense)
Decent performance undone by another poor refereeing decision.
That said, I still have concerns over our strikeforce. If Long had put his chances away then the penalty decision either wouldn't have mattered or would have been the difference between us winning and drawing.
Great effort from our boys,dont think he would have give us the penalty if it was at the other end,i think clasie needs to get more smart if he rolls around holding his head the goal is disallowed .
Overall, I thought we played well and put in a decent performance and really restricted Arsenal who looked poor. It just shows you how quickly a game can turn. Had Long taken 1 of his 2 chances, it surely would have been 3 points for us as Arsenal really just huffed and puffed with little effect.
For me, for the 1st Arsenal goal, was there not an Arsenal player in front of Forster, obstructing his view? Would he not be classed as interfering with play? For the 2nd, such a soft penalty! Again, an Arsenal player down in the box. Should play not have been stopped as it was a head injury? Play continued and for me, Giroud just took advantage of Fonte's legs, played for a penalty and got it from the "homer" of a ref. Rewind back further and it was a foul on Long in the first place before their attack!
My main concern is that whilst winning becomes a habit, so does losing.. We really need to start keeping clean sheets as we're not getting the goals currently. The longer this run continues, the more the fear sets in amongst the players and winning a match becomes harder. We're not too far off from things clicking in to place for us, we just need a bit of luck for once.
i havent seen the game so i cannot comment on it but looking at the team that was picked i would say we have 2-3 players that can play at this level the rest of the players are only championship players trying to play above themselves each week. in fairness to the new manager he has no forwards who can score goals , they can go home and say i should have put that chance away still never mind im on a 5 year contract / 60 000 pounds per week i will try next week. you can understand why rk left knowing 2 forwards were going to be sold plus he must have known through his agent that everton were going to offer him 120 000 pounds per week so what do saints do they do what they allways do sell him & get another cheap charlie IN this club has no VISION THATS THE SOUTHAMPTON WAY
Shane Long isn't an impact player. He wears opposition defences down with his constant harrying. He's done it for us before and will so again. He makes chances for others. The trouble this time round is that those others are no longer at Southampton. As for Bobby Madley, he is one of many examples of EPL referees who simply aren't up to it. Until that problem is addressed there will be many injustices, mainly in favour of the bigger clubs. I agree with CorkCitySaint, morale must be pretty low now and a reverse on Thursday will only compound the worrying.
Good report but I have to disagree on one point. To me there was nothing wrong with Koscielny's goal. Yes the referee was a "homer " and should have stopped play because of the head injury which was long before the ball even got into our penalty area. We deserved at least a draw from that game
The 'Southampton way hasn't done us bad over the last 7 years. Perhaps help I need somebody should question his / her support. Are West Ham , Stoke & even Leicester questioning there manager & fabric of the club after 4 games ? Things aren't perfect but were never going to be after the summer of change , again last season we had 6 points after 6 games
Said all along we needed a new striker we are going to suffer until Jan now. Nick was saying not long ago we were ok with our strike force (eating your words now) Austin & j rod going to struggle to hit form, long has never been a prolific goal scorer and Redmond Is not a striker. Regarding our owner who is running our club as a business not a football club Sell high buy cheap policy ( remind u of Rupert Lowe anybody) Anyway good performance yesterday spoils by ref looking after the elite
Long is a great number 10, like Peter Beardsley who ran & ran & made most of Linekers goals, Long hasn't got that anymore, he hasn't got that target man, yes he should have scored, I don't see Redman as a striker, but he could pass as a no10, does our manager know who the best front two are?, but against a poor decent team we did well & if long had taken one of his two guilt chances we could of won it, but would have taken a point that we deserved, we looked more solid at the back, only worry that if we don't start taking our chances we could end up in a dog fight at the bottom
It is funny how much in agreement so much of us are at the moment. We fear the lack of goal-scoring options may come back to haunt us. Long will get us a few but he will also have days like yesterday. As for the two big talking points: 1. About 18 months ago, under Koeman, we were desparate to give away a penalty - we tried everything and never succeeded. Now - player falls down in the area and the ref is straight there. I though yesterday's was wrong, give that and you have to give 20 pens per match. I do wonder if Fonte has been identified as a serial offender by the ref's committee. Yes bad ref mistake but WHY give him the chance to give it? 2. I have always been totally confused as to why you can be sent off for dangerous play if you kick at head height except if you connect with an overhead kick. It is total nonsense. It is either dangerous or it isn't, full stop.
My one note of caution after yesterday is that our two away defeats may have come at 'big' sides but I am not sure how good Manure and Bumnal really are. Watford got 4 at our next away opponents - anyone fancy us to do that?
Comparing the liebherr family with Rupert Lowe â“ Ridiculous comment. We can't compete with the bigger clubs financially & therefore have to find a different way,once again some have short memories
My word, you'd think we played rubbish and were doomed to relegation when you hear some of the comments from fans on social media!
True, Long missed some gilt-edged chances. But the margins are tiny for centre forwards. long really needs confidence, which was battered in a distinctly average Euro campaign. But somehow that allows fans to have a go at Jay Rod and Austin?! I think we've forgotten we were playing Arsenal at the Emirates and so chances would be at a minimum. long got the scraps and admittedly he didn't take them.
Overall - a fine performance. That built on the performance at Man Utd. We've now played two of the 4/5 top teams at home - right at the start of the season - and we were certainly not swept away in either game. Not many teams will do well at these places. I strongly believe we will soon have a great performance, scoring goals, and we will kick on from there.
Come on fellow Saints fans. Refs decisions come and go and in the past Fonte has been lucky to get away with a good few penalty appeals against him. Who was the Man City player he nearly cut in half the season before last. Decisions usually even out over a season.
We lost yesterday because of the attacking problems which have been plain to see since the end of last season. To be frank Jayrod has had enough chances to prove himself again and the same applies to Austin.To me they both appear to have long term fitness problems. Add in the fact that Redmond could not regularly get into a very poor Norwich team last term and everybody accept the management can see why we can not score goals.
Put simply our buy cheap,sell for a profit and do the same again policy has finally caught up with us. Are there three teams in the league worse than us over a season? Because I think we are going to need them.
Trouble is we can't even compete with palace Everton Watford Leicester who are all about the same size clubs Watford spent around 47m. Apologies for comparing liebherr with Lowe with all that they have done for us. Silly comment
But anyway, some of the comments on here are incredible given our unbroken recent success. Try to understand. The so-called 'Southampton Way' is a defined strategy which is different to any other club. We don't spend huge amounts like some others do because that is not how we do things, simple as that. We trust our scouting and recruitment to bring in players with the potential to improve, not big club 'rejects'. We are basically trying to compete by producing players that are better than the big clubs have, which is why they want to buy them from us. Once they become high profile they are aware that they can triple their wages elsewhere, as with Mane, so it is then virtually impossible to get them to extend their contract. We are then left with the choice of maximising the fee or holding on, as with Wanyama. I have actually seen comments about not getting enough for Wanyama, but afraid you can't have it both ways! The cycle then begins again, and I trust us to get it right, as previous evidence suggests we will.
Talk of relegation battles is frankly nonsense. We tend to start slowly, probably because of the annual changes, but the club is fundamentally strong both on and off the pitch. Far stronger than the 'big spenders' previously mentioned. A bit of patience please......
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