16 Oct 2017 00:36:44
Hi guys, watched the game live here in the states and there are a number of things that stand out. a) Our passing is poor, too many passes played into space and not to feet and Newcastle were profiting from it picking the ball up unopposed and attacking at pace again. b) No pace going forward, again too slow and laboured and when Newcastle attack we are too slow coming back leaving the defence exposed, c) both Redmond and Tadic stand on the touchline static waiting for the ball to come to them making it easy for the defenders to keep them out there. d) I believe that cedric and Bertrand look so nervous because they have no confidence that Redmond and Tadic will track back and not leave them exposed. e) I thought Boufane looked brighter than Redmond and should start, he is not perfect but at least he tries to take players on and make something happen and should
start against West Bromwich f) There were only 2 passages of play in each half when we looked good playing one touch, pacy, accurate football and resorted back to our ponderous, slow build up, both Lemina and Romeu were having to drop deep to get the ball and Newcastle were happy to sit back and soaking up the pressure g) We have to get used to teams coming to St Mary's playing 4 at the back with 2 holding midfielders protecting them as we do with Romeu and Lemina and then look to catch us on on the break. Look what a difference Matic has made at United happy to sit back and protect but also capable of rampaging forward. h) I am concerned at the teams overall fitness when Newcastle had a corner on 80 minutes I saw Van Dyck and others holding their sides waiting for the whistle. Remember the team under Pochettino playing the high tempo pressing game which other teams have very successfully adopted where players ran non stop from start to finish.
i) If Jonjo Shelvey is England calibre then we might as well give up, we gave him and all the Newcastle players too much time and space, Fortress St Marys is a myth, we are a soft touch and the sooner we wake up the better. I welcome your input. Regards VS.

1.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 12:35:38
Boufal looked OK in patches but on a positive note tracked back and tackled better than Redmond. He would get a starting position if we stay with the same set up.
Personally though with FF looking like a rabbit in headlights most of the time I would be playing a back three. We have the quality to do that.
Let the wingbacks push forward and supply the crosses to Gabbi and Austin up front with Lemina, Romeu and Tadic/ Davis/ JWP in the middle.

2.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 17:29:20
A great post .
There was one moment in the match that perfectly backs up your comments re Bertrand/ Redmond . Redmond lost the ball in the opponent's half, he chased their player for only a matter of yards and then gave up and stood there. The space that created was seized on by Newcastle and within seconds, that space between Bertrand and Redmond was filled with three Newcastle players up against Bertrand, while Redmond was stopped ball watching not 20 yards from the play!
Love or Hate Boufal, his work rate is very high and if he does lose the ball, immediately chases back and tackles .

To your post I would have added a couple of bright points .
Lemina -- absolutely superb,
Gabbi . first start in maybe 5 weeks?
why I would like to ask Mr Manager . superb goalscorer .

and finally .
Redmond was angered at being taken off . why? I really want to know what he thinks he brings to the party? an empty bottle of cheap plonk is my guess!

3.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 18:08:24
Independent today . couldn't have put it better myself .

There was little evidence of all of that good stuff during the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday, unless of course the ‘Southampton Way’ means toothless wingers, a lack of ingenuity in the middle and repeatedly dumping cross after cross onto the heads of the opposition’s centre-backs. In fact, eight games into the new season and there has been precious little to write him about at all.

Indeed, what’s most peculiar about the start Pellegrino has made to life at Southampton is how similar they are playing to the season before, under Puel.

4.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 23:00:36
OK, so another frustrating result but let’s find some context. Firstly, anyone who says it’s the same old thing week in week out doesn’t appear to be paying attention. The manager is making positive changes to try and help the team out of the rut that it’s in. Yesterday, we played a new formation which worked as a conventional 4-4-2. We played two strikers together. The team struggled to start with so the manager changed tactics during the game from our usual possession style of football to a more direct approach. Going forward, we looked more potent then we have for most of this season which was helped by the two goals we did score, but we left ourselves more open to the counter as we committed men forward. As I’ve said before, I’d much rather have a manager prepared to make changes when things aren’t working.

MP was clearly unhappy about the balance of the team after the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if the formation was scrapped as we were too open at times, but if he looks at the two goals we conceded, he may be convinced to give it another roll of the dice with a few defence-minded tweaks. I’d like to think that the goalkeeper for a side with aspirations of finishing in the top 8 would’ve saved both; certainly the second goal.

I agree with the consensus that 5-3-2 could work for us. We’d have the attacking threat of two strikers without the defensive imbalance of overcommitting and leaving the midfield and defence short. But, we would still have two young wingers who can frustrate as much as create (Tadic is not a winger) and without a tall striker, we lack a target for crosses and direct balls so there’s no guarantee it would fix all our attacking woes. Oh, and FF would still be in goal so there would be extra pressure to score at least two goals every game. But if MP is game to give 4-4-2 a go, why not this? Surely we’ll see it employed at some point.

Lastly, there you go Rich with your Redmond bashing, but once again he was statistically effective against Newcastle. I still think a great deal is expected of this 23 year old without acknowledging the good things that he does do. He does create chances, his pace causes a headache for defences, he can beat people, his crossing is more accurate than Tadic’s and he is capable of scoring occasionally. His assists tally would be much higher if one of our strikers could actually score. No, he doesn’t do this all every game, yes his performances can be inconsistent but he’s 23. It’s very easy to pin frustrations on to one player (FF excluded because I’m with you on that one) but Tadic has been more wasteful and less creative, Gabbi when he has played has looked miles from scoring, Long might as well be a team mascot when he’s on, and Boufal is also inconsistent. The whole unit is dysfunctional but for some reason, Redmond carries the can for the most part. He’s knocked for not being direct and taking players on, but then he’s also criticised for trying to beat everyone and score a worldy every game. You would explode with him on one wing and Boufal on the other, surely!? Ha!

5.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 23:03:49
VS, thanks for the long post which gives me an excuse to respond at length. Any excuse to ramble. I think you’ve reached a number of sweeping conclusions about the players and the team based on the Newcastle game alone.
a) Our passing is not poor, nor inaccurate. We have a high possession retention rate and all of our starting players recorded passing accuracy of 80% or higher, save FF whose distribution was very poor and Shane Long. As an aside, I still don’t see why you all seem to rate Shane Long so highly, other than because he works hard. Given that he doesn’t score goals, doesn’t create chances and records a pass accuracy percentage below 70% (a pretty poor 61 % on Sunday) I presume you mean he chases lost causes and makes a nuisance of himself to the opposition, but does that really warrant a starting place ahead of someone else? OK, it was his chasing an over-hit pass yesterday which lead to the penalty, but that isn’t going to work every game or even regularly enough to be seen as a viable tactic for winning a match.
b) . I don’t think a ponderous attack was a real issue yesterday. We looked more dangerous in any event as we committed more men forward due to having two strikers. The down side to this was that in committing numbers forward, we were exposed at the back. This was due to the formation change and if you weren’t happy with the balance of defence and attack, then you are not alone.
c) . Our wide players were utilised as just that yesterday in a 4-4-2, overlaps from fullbacks were going to be reduced and they were needed on the touchline to provide the width. I don’t see how their attacking play would have been improved if they were constantly trying to run in behind their defender as the whole point of defending is not to let them do that. Usually, if a wide player is not running in to space, he will hold a static position to draw the full back out from the back four, then play a quick one-two with a team mate to get in behind that way. As for tracking back, I think there is a problem there, but perhaps this is one of the defensive tweaks to be made to make the formation work better.
d) . I’m not sure Cedric looks all that nervous. Bertrand is having a pretty stodgy start to the season form-wise which must be effecting his confidence level. If he’s not happy with the player in front of him, he is a senior player and should let him know.
e) . Boufal did look bright when he came on and I agree he deserves a run of starts to see how good he could be. I’m not sure I would drop Redmond for him though. Tadic has performed worse for me week in, week out.
f) . debateable. I felt our tempo was much better with one and two touch football for the most part.
g) . I’m not sure what this point is about. We are used to teams catching us on the counter as this is the most common tactic used by away sides. The formation created the defensive issue yesterday, not a lack of appreciating what Newcastle were going to do. We have two fine central midfielders who are very good at protecting our back four and roaming forward. How many other teams in the league can boast that?
h) . This was Van Dijk’s Second game of the season with a poor pre-season away from the team so he’s not at full pace yet. I’m not sure fitness is our issue. We’re not conceding late goals on a regular basis which would be more indicative then players catching their breath during a break in play. i) . Agree on Shelvey. Agree on our home form. let's hope the team can turn things around. It is still early days and the season at this stage is frequently interrupted by international breaks.