Right I know the result, not seem the game and know nothing about it. On the face of it a 0-0 at An field looks a fan result. The 4th time we have played them this season without conceding a goal. Well done Saints F.C. However my suspicion is that will still not be good enough for some on here. Well done all and well done Puell
I kind of want to like this and the same time days refs get it right ( only because of the mantra over the last few years
For a more balanced view of Saint's performance this afternoon, the BBC report takes some beating. ("The worst 45 minutes in the Premier League this season, sympathy for anyone buying a season ticket at St Mary's if Puel is still manager, etc, etc,etc, etc ) . Worthwhile noting that Saints have managed one attempt on goal in two league matches against Liverpool. On the face of things, probably the most predictable result this weekend in the top light. A home team managed by a charismatic coach struggling to live up to his reputation in English football and failing to put middle of the table teams to the sword as expected by their fans up against a dogged away team who can't score. Some of the praise in favour of Claude Puel on this thread has been suggestive that he is some kind of tactical genius albeit I note many of the same voices making these comments have similarly criticised visitors to St. Mary's for the same! Putting 10 out field players behind the ball is not really tactical nous and the whole "park the bus" attitude is pretty much anti-football in my opinion, Seems that I am in the minority here who appreciate Puel's unadventurous and cautious tactics whilst berating Mourniho at the same time. In the past, a Saints team would have had a good go at an under-performing Liverpool team like this. With little to play for with the remainder of the season, I would have thought that we could have set caution aside and had a go at Liverpool. Maybe we could have nabbed the three points if we had played as against Crystal Palace, for example ? Wondered if the apologists would have been quite so chuffed had Milner converted the penalty. Sad to see that much of the coverage of the game has centred on Liverpool's failings and the likes of Stephens not rally getting the credit he deserves. His "arrival" as a first team player has been on the big pluses in a season where we appear to play better away from home albeit the lack of goals has become the signature of Puel's style of football. Intrigued by Puel's comment that the football would be better next season. Is this tacit recognition that what he has served up this season has, for the most part , been uninspiring. Personally, I am convinced that he will be gone as soon as the season is over.
Ian Please can I ask a very serious question. Did you support the Saints in the 1990's. We would often lose to Liverpool, Everton, Man utd, Tottenham and ship six or seven. Please, please do not belittle a coach who makes us tough to beat at these grounds, we have needed that for forty years. We are a work in progress with some promising shoots of growth, let's not be those thugs who stamp out those shoots because it is not in vogue
I have to day as a Saints fan did you not see Letiss, Beats, Lambert take pens.Between them they missed one pen - Damn that Letiss
Toss Been a supporter since mid 70's. There were some horrible results in the 1990's and I don't think anyone will ever make me feel as negative about Southampton as Ian Branfoot whose teams were frequently dreadful to watch. That was 25 years ago and the game as changed, not least in the fact that the long tenure of managers is something that has largely been confined to history. The results this season have been erratic and the fact that the best performances / resuts seem to be away from home whilst our home performances are frequently abject and devoid of goals makes Claude Puel's football difficult to appreciate. Just as Saints are now a far better team than they ever were on the 1990s, I think it is fair to say that Liverpool have been overtaken by the likes of Chelsea, Man City and Spurs. It is not too difficult to imagine Everton under Koeman to overtake Liverpool. I think , with nothing to lose, we should have given Liverpool a good going over. Granted, a point may seem like "success " to a lot of people on here who seem to have low expectations , but not to muster one attempt on goal is a shocking indictment of the style of football Puel is trying to install. I cannot get enthused watching his teams player football. The entertaining matches are just too few and far between. I will reiterate my earlier comment, this match could have been predicted as a 0-0 stalemate.
With him, Bale,Walcott , and numerous others we would have won the league by now, so tough ****e ****in luck
