Another genius thread LTL..., would love to see it recorded and played instead of that awful pre-match song they play now (anybody noticed how the team have dipped since they started playing it?) Anyway, here's what "Flash Gordon" Watson thinks of the situation... FORMER Saints man ‘Flash’ Gordon Watson believes Mauricio Pellegrino’s side could be sleep walking in to relegation and need a “wake up call” as soon as possible. The one-time Dell striker has watched on in disbelief as Saints, who he believes have the quality but aren’t showing enough fight, have struggled to find any kind of rhythm or momentum under Pellegrino. “Where do I start? There’s no tempo, there’s no drive – they’re not doing any of the obvious things a blind man could see,” he said. “Not one player is giving 100 per cent. There’s no belief and at this rate they’re setting themselves up for relegation. “If they don’t put their foot on the gas soon and wake up, they could be in trouble. They’re sleep walking in to relegation right now and need a wake up call. “At the moment the manager doesn’t know how to get the right blend – can’t get them to play together. “The quality of players is there but this has to come from the collective. I can guarantee none of them will be happy with their own performances.” “Romeu and Lemina that's a very strong partnership but both of their strong points are defensive. “It's too based around not conceding goals, at least go down fighting and find that belief.” The 46-year-old wants to see someone within the squad galvanise the players and get them up for the battle he believes they are not prepared to fight right now. He said: “Who is the leader? Please stand up! This all comes from the individuals in the team and at the moment they’re playing all too comfortably and more is needed,” he said. “If they don’t recognise it soon they’ll be in a fight. They need to fight right now to avoid relegation. “Take action now and find that belief.”
The only problem now is that, win, lose or draw We will not let you go Not 606 has a match thread set aside for you, For you For you (Brian May guitar) This OP guarantees we'll win 2-1.
Southampton are the first time I've ever heard of a team sleepwalking into relegation. Various people have used it I've noticed! Generally don't take to these new phrases that have come into the game in recent years but this one is remarkably apt I'm afraid
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/sa...are_not__naive__about_their_relegation_scrap/ Stephens denies that the team are unaware of the situation....says they know they are a good team, but the league is tough and we're not too good to go down. Adds (what we all know) that Saints aren't losing many games, but need to turn draws into wins....and a couple of wins can make a lot of difference.
If you start dreaming of Europe, I suggest you cut back on the dose. I see no reason that we couldn't beat Newcastle....losing isn't a certainty by any means, but I just can't remember what that feels like any more.
It just feels like the players and manager say the same thing after every game or during every press conference/interview. Yet nothing really seems to change. Yes we’ve lost less but we still can’t win and if we can’t turn it around then that will be our downfall.
Please can someone post some of Newcastle's bad news, I've not heard a single thing all week. Surely there is a bout of flu going round, or the team were caught stealing a bus in the town centre, or Rafa has been banging a few wives. Come on, anything!
TBF, we do the same...What else is there to say in public? We are desperate for some wins, but losing to our relegation rivals is even worse, so I understand why the team go for a sure point rather than a risky 0 or 3. And I don't think that is directly from the manager because he has talked of our lack of ambition.....I think the team is over trained (if you see what I mean) and we lack a player that grabs the bull by the horns. The big clubs are losing as well, so it is not a certainty that we'll get nothing from those teams, so possible (but risky) to keep in touch (preferably above 18th) and go for it near the end of the season. I don't think that is what is planned, but I think it is the way we are going.
In recent years our record against Newcastle is pretty good. Since November 2012, we have played them nine times and lost just once, 4-2 in February 2013. Since that defeat we have played them a further 7 times and have drawn 3 and won 4, unless I am mistaken. Sometimes you have to grasp at any straw, but I would hope that we can count this as a “lucky” ground and at least avoid defeat. Edit Our overall record against them is :- Won 37 Drawn 22 Lost 36.
From Chronicle Live re Benitez's options 'his two most potent attacking weapons – Jonjo Shelvey and Islam Slimani – being unavailable through injury. ' Potent attacking weapons? What are they?
Good for us that both of those are injured, Slimani more so as he is a big physical striker who would dominate our CBs.
Problem is they’ve had the cautious approach all season and it’s not worked. I’d rather go for it in games, winning one and losing one rather than drawing two. If you talk about what ifs, we could lose two, but then again we could win two. The time for being cautious is over and they have to go for it else it’s just not gonna happen.
I was at the 4-2 game - we shouldn`t have lost that one either - one offside goal, an OG and a pen were our downfall if I remember correctly.