Hey all, missed the game as I stupidly made plans and forgot the football started this week Did lemina come on at all? Just wondering how he looks if so. Pleased that we look back to our old ways
The blogosphere have picked up on Saints fans moaning that we look the same as last season (based on one game). Most fans are far more positive than that....even on Saintsweb....but I guess that doesn't make headlines. I think people should draw a line under last season and judge on what they see....I see a team who worked very hard against a defensive one and showed considerable skill. A team that will win games if they carry on playing like that. There were more real chances than the 2 selected as on target. I can remember Pochettino's first game....we outplayed the opposition (Everton?) but failed to score....everyone seemed very positive after that game and we did go on to win some. I may be wrong and the negative people are right, but isn't it better to watch in hope rather than with a cloud sitting over your head.
He was on the bench, but didn't get on....wasn't really the game to play a defensive player....Swansea had cornered the market in those.
You forget that if you are from Southampton you have to moan and be insultingly rude about everyone and everything. It is in the local psyche.
Very enjoyable game to watch apart from the lack of finishing. Stephens was the stand out player for me yet again. Looking forward to next week now where we will get a better team and hopefully a more open game. You won't see many teams as negative and bereft of ideas as Swansea this season
Here are my rambling thoughts from the game: I thought we played well at times, but just couldn't put the ball in the net. Gabbiadini I think had a frustrating time as he was making he space, but no one saw it (except perhaps the fans, though from row HH is it a bit easier to see!). Boufal looked good when he came on - I really think he needs a run in the team. JWP had one of his best games for the club, I really think this is 'his' year. Forster looked more composed and calm. Stephens is growing as a player...very soon we'll be saying VD who? I love Yoshi Bertrand and Redmond are a nuisance to the opposition. Cedric played well. Romeu looks weird with hair. All in all quite positive. Really annoyed I missed you all at the pub. We got a cab from the station to the ground and my mate couldn't be bothered to walk to the old Farmhouse from there. To put it into perspective, we didn't get tot the train station until 5:45 after the game as he walks like a snail, so I suppose I would only of seen you all walking back if we had left the stadium at 1:15 to head to the Farmhouse PS LOVE THE KIT!!! LOVE IT!
And that made them defensive, though even then with a bit more luck/accuracy we could have scored. An early goal would have made all the difference. Better teams may have got behind us more, but would also give us more room. In the past...under MP1 and Koeman....we have done better against the top clubs. It was the absence of success against the top 6 that was notable under Puel. Only time will tell, but my optimism meter is full of positivity (except on matchdays obviously ).
Picking up on TIOON7 comments, I hope this will be JWP's year as well. Some fans seem to see only what JWP doesn't do rather than what he does do...one fan on Saintsweb even suggested he should be loaned to a League 1 club to gain experience. Seems to be a mystery to them that he is rated by successive managers and the England manager...must be the new Steven Davis. I love Maya too and Romeu
This post sums up my thoughts too. The away kit looks even better, to be honest. Picking up on Fran's comments about Saints fans feeling there was not change from last season, I thought that we played at a much quicker tempo. The only thing similar to last season was the lack of goals but we never created as many chances as we did back than as was the case yesterday afternoon. I think the first weekend of the season is throwing up some unexpected results and am not really too concerned about Southampton not winning yesterday. You can see progress is being made and I think that , with the departure of Jay-Rod, it is clear that we need more options up front. The problem with our attacking formation is that there is no one up front who seems to have a nailed-on right to start each match. I think you could swap any of the forwards around and play with every possible permutation of partnerships and the impact would be of marginal difference. It would be better if we had at least one forward who was guaranteed to be prolific!
Im not happy with the result no and thats evident but what pisses me off the most is people reactions on here saying " well theres plenty of positives". I agree to some degree, but at end of the day we drew a game that we totally dominated and failed to score with 25+ shots on goal. Thats shocking at any level of football. And this is against a team many on here fancy to be relegated! Swansea rarely threatend and yet we still couldnt put the game to bed. Chelsea scored 2 at home with 9 men yesterday to put our game into perspective. When we play the big boys we might only have 2 attempts all game not 20 , you can say our tempo was better all you like but the end result was the same as last season, fustrating. Big teams would of punished us yesterday we were lucky it was only swansea. We will unlikely boss a game like that again all season , so thats 2 points dropped already , but its alright because stephens had a good game, so all is dandy!
We are all disappointed with the result, but not suicidal. We all watched the same game...it's just that some see the positives and hope we will carry that through to the season and others only see the final result. If this was the last game of the season and we faced relegation or missing out on being 6th, I would be more upset, but it is early days. I think how we view the game is based on what kind of person we are.....I see a whole season stretching before us with a decent team of players and a promising manager.
Yes - and they currently cost £90m+ and only want to sign for the "top" teams. We have some excellent forwards who have proved their goal scoring mettle in the Prem. Working out how best to deploy them is clearly the key. If we can unearth another gem for a reasonable fee who wants to come play for us then great.....
I don't think anyone on here is happy we didn't score, or not worried about our apparent inability to hit the target. However, I don't go to football matches expecting to win, whoever the opposition is. Football doesn't work like that, ask Chelsea and Crystal Palace! Swansea may have been bereft of attacking ideas, although Abraham looks handy and was unlucky not to score in the first half when he outjumped Stephens. They were, on the other hand, very well-drilled in defence especially at set-pieces. JWP was unlucky he found Fabianski with our best first half shot, and Gabbiadini doesn't normally waste as many chances as he did. In hindsight, and please forgive me for banging on about him, I would have put Gallagher up top to occupy their CB's, which would have given our other forwards a lot more space. This was Pellegrino's first game in the PL for several years, and he'll get things working soon, don't worry.
All those 25+ attempts (years) of education and you still can't land simple grammar ("Big teams would have"). Pet hate of mine. Have a word with yourself and cheer up. We are all disappointed that we didn't win but the signs are really good. Surely you can see that?
Hmm. I've only watched highlights so far. It seems like our best chance was in the 4th minute and nothing fell to Gabbiadini or Austin in dangerous areas. A whole load of those 31 shots from outside 18 yards. Strangely I'd like to think that a player like Lemina could help fix that.
That outlook is not helped if the team you follow has players with weekly earnings greater than your annual income, show little passion and then run out, have 29 shots with only 2 on target. I am a supporter but not the kind who walks around wearing blinkers!
I can't agree with you that it's "shocking" to lose a game which we dominated. This is football we are talking about. I have seen Saints grab a point we scarcely deserved more times than I care to remember. That wasn't shocking. The unpredictability is part of what makes football worth going to. The freak goal off someone's arse, the comical own goals or indeed, the games where somehow they just won't go in. I want my team to win and I want them to do it in an entertaining manner. Are you seriously suggesting that we should all be raging inside this morning over 2 lost points? Sorry, I think you need to see the bigger picture here.
You're making out like every game is the same. Big teams may well not have punished us, because they wouldn't have set out with eleven bodies behind the ball. There'd be more space, other types of opportunity etc etc. Not scoring yesterday was a combination of bad luck and bad finishing. What would have been far more worrying would have been 70% possession with five shots.
I'm not having that....the players showed lots of passion. I had no reason to think they didn't want desperately to win. I'd be interested to know what you expect in a player showing passion...perhaps getting a red card or screaming abuse at each other. Passion doesn't put the ball in the net as far as I know.
