Saints' Style

An alternative could be something like:

...................Davis....................
Butterfield...Fonte...Jaidi...Harding
.........Hammond...Chaplow..........
.................Lallana....................
Chamberlain.................N'guessan
................Lambert...................

With Hammond and Chaplow doing the simple stuff and let Lallana move the ball around. Chaplow can make runs so long as Hamond is covering. I think Lallana's best position is on the wing, but he's not much good out there if the ball doesn't get to him out there.

 

Trouble with that is players that can turn the match are playing perhaps a shade too deep, Lallana and Chaplow. Once again you are waiting for midfielders to break. Although that is similar to how he would set it up with Spider playing. A very defensive set up for me but we are going to need something like that for Saturday.

 

Doesn't have to be defensive. Lallana would probably get into the final third less, but we get him in positions where he can play the ball through or out wide. On the wing, he won't often be available for the simple ball, at least not in positions where he can make it count.

A 4312 with Lallana in front of the midfield could also work, although we could suffer from a lack of width if we dd that.

 

Which is what happened when we last played like that. Somehow I think we need an Antonio or a Waigo that are so unpredictable in the side. Have we become too predictable? that is worth a thought too.

 

Waigo wasn't actually that good. He was at times, but very inconsistent. You could say much the same about N'Guessan and Forte. Chamberlain is way better than Antonio.

If we are too predictable, its nothing to do with wide players.

For a passing style to work, there needs to be a creative player in the middle and the most plausible option is Lallana. No use having individual talents if the team dynamic is flawed.