09 Feb 2019 19:04:55
Brighton not doing us any favours then.

1.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 19:43:55
Ralph is still our best bet but he needs to control the negative comments. We have enjoyed the new manager bounce and now it is now down to trench warfare till the end of the season. Comments about unbelievable stupidity won't help and a spell in the second tier is now looking likely. Big test of Ralph's temperment over the next month.

2.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 20:58:18
I think the comments about unbelievable stupidity are totally fair and probably needed. After Burnley and now Cardiff they are needed, the team, the defence, need a MAJOR kick up the arse. Teams who concede as many late goals as we concede get relegated.

The comments about "not wanting to play my team, we're on fire" those are the stupid comments that shouldn't be made. All Warnock had to do in his team talk was show his players that, and tell them to do it for sala. Job done.

Maybe, we can take some points off of teams that we're not expected to beat. can we go to arsenal and get something,? . the problem is we really needed to be taking points off of those around us. Palace was ok, Burnley disappointing, but today is straight up worrying. Conceding two weeks running in the last minute against teams we needed to beat.

There's no point in moaning about us not spending. Who was available that would have improved us? Clubs didn't want to sell. Nothing you can do. All we can do now is pull the finger out, not make the same mistakes again, the crowd has to step up too. The stadium did against arsenal and were probably a big part of us getting the win. Against palace atmosphere was crap. I don't know what it was like today I wasn't there. But was it bouncing? I doubt it.

We are in a massive battle, and an uphill struggle from now on, when we should have had a 4 or 5 point cushion and some breathing space.

3.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 21:35:35
It was a strange performance. WE started sharply, inter-passing . moving the ball quickly, controlling the game. BUT they just didn;t know how to break down a team that was just sitting back defending. We have three 'leaders' in Midfield . Romeo . Hoej and JWP (much more so recently) . but up front we had no one to drive the team, make the runs, find the spaces. WE simply ground to a halt as soon as we were faced with a wall of players .

4.) 09 Feb 2019
09 Feb 2019 22:45:31
Fulham is now absolutely must win. MUST. WIN. At least Brighton are falling like a stone and there are plenty of teams within striking distance.

5.) 10 Feb 2019
10 Feb 2019 08:30:43
Good review rich. I guess that's the thing now with playing at home, especially against teams like Cardiff and palace. They know we play decent football but lack a bit of the killer instinct to unlock and break them down. So they defend deep, compact and probably know they will get a chance against our defence late on or from set pieces.
Agreed that Fulham is now must must must win. Their defence is worse than ours so no excuses. Maybe go to 4-2-2-2 and really take the game to them?

6.) 10 Feb 2019
10 Feb 2019 14:28:28
I also think the unbelievably stupid comment was justified.
Romeo not for the first time this season, lost his man; the opponent attacked the ball and Romeo watched! As for Jack S's pass out of defence straight to their player . was beyond stupid; it was naive, poor, unprofessional and resulted in their goal. Bednarek and Vestergaard have learnt very quickly when to put it into touch, kick it as far as possible, but Stephens still has the Hoedt habit of passing and dribbling at the wrong time. Time for Yoshida!

7.) 10 Feb 2019
10 Feb 2019 15:20:55
I think after venting following the initial disappointment of losing, this thread has taken a slightly more balanced lean which is good.

Look, we have a new manager who is still working with the squad to improve them. The professional view is that whilst a new manager can have an initial impact if man management is good, it can take 6 months or a full season for a manager to get the team playing the way he wants. This is of course not accounting for bringing in new players and having to start from scratch with them. Statistically speaking we are so much improved under RH its not funny. This article on Football365 gives you some insight: football365.com/news/what-exactly-has-hasenhuttl-changed-at-southampton

RH wants us to play a low possession high press, classic counter attacking with pace and penetration. It has worked well against the big boys who want to come and have possession and dominate us. But in recent weeks, it has been less effective against teams like Palace, Burnley and Cardiff because they are happy to cede possession to us and invite us to break them down. As already pointed out by you guys, we and every other team in the league, Man City and Liverpool included, find it very difficult to break Premier League opposition down this way.

So I’m sure RH will be looking on ways to get the team to be patient and wait for their moment against such a defensive wall, just as Man City have to do. As fans, we need to acknowledge this as well and not get on the team’s back if, like yesterday, we’re totally dominating the game but unable to score the goal that will open the game up and work more in our favour.

I’m perfectly happy with RH’s comments about us dropping points as a result of stupidity. These are mental errors leading to sloppy, complacent play or poor decision making and it has cost us 3 points in the last two games. A team is often at its most vulnerable after scoring, as the old adage goes, and so it proved yesterday. The way Stephens and Bednarek celebrated the goal, relief aside, suggested job done. A goal in injury time often goes unanswered as time slips away. But for those last few minutes, our defence had to be switched on, hyper-alert. Make sure of the point we had to battle so hard for.

Instead, Stephens was complacent on the ball, misplaced an easy pass and the result was a Cardiff counter and a winning goal for the opposition. Romeu was at fault for Cardiff’s first goal yesterday, as per usual switching off at the key moment and letting his man drift away from him and, in this instance, being in the clear to stab the ball home.

These are professional footballers and so whilst I think we must be patient with our playing style against deep-defending opposition, we can still expect our players to make better choices and concentrate during the key moments of the game. RH will coach them to make them able to make better choices with the ball, but this will come with time.

He can also give coaching and instructions about complacency in matches which will hopefully eradicate these silly errors from our matches. RH is passionate and it often goes both ways; if the players can bask in his happy moments, they must also appreciate when silly errors are creeping into the game and at this crucial stage, he will let them know about it. The errors were stupid and I’d rather hear him say so than try to blame the referee or luck.

8.) 10 Feb 2019
10 Feb 2019 20:36:42
I think he was saying in a roundabout, slightly unsubtle, angry way . what's the point of my hours of coaching, technically and tactically . if one, Romeu decides to just sit back and watch his man . and two, Stephens for absolutely no reason (he was under no pressure) passes straight to their player!
these are the same players we have applauded recently, that were defensively brilliant against Leicester . that beat Arsenal . and yes it is frustrating to see Romeu one again watch the opponent . but we are soooooooooo much more exciting to watch, the interplay at times is breathtaking .
so COYR! and please Romeu mark your man,