I have a feeling whoever scores first will come out the winners. Neither team are scoring machines, so I want Saints to score first, Sims to do the business and then park a couple of buses. Not going to happen, either the score first or hold out. Goalless draw it is then.
Here's a link to the video https://southamptonfc.com/news/2018...w-pre-newcastle-vs-saints-premier-league-1718
Can’t be bothered with that atm. I shall go to the grave ignorant as to the source of Ryan Bertrands confidence.
There's are a few telling moments in there: At 3:30. He concedes that, yes, after throwing on Gabbiadini, we were dominating...but we also surrendered a couple counter-attacks that could have lost us the game, and imagines a scenario where he is raked over the coals for not defending the counter-attack. At 4:10, he takes umbrage at the idea that he hasn't changed the team, because he has swapped so many players in and out. That seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of what people want in "change", and also might explain the otherwise inexplicable entrances and departures to our lineup. For Pellegrino, the system of slow, rigidly-structured possession football is a given; the only thing you can change are the players asked to execute it. When Blackmore clarifies that, Pellegrino talks about our rate of possession in the final third. He then immediately dismisses the idea of changing the approach. At 6:40, in response to a question about scoring goals, he instead talks about being solid and keeping the ball. At 8:30, he talks about the last 10 minutes being when you manage for the result. Before then, it's about process...defending well, attacking, being balanced and managing the ball. It's really not difficult to figure out what Pellegrino is about: he's happy to tell you.
I don't have a problem with any of that, personally. Apart, obviously, from the fact that it's not getting us results. But he has a philosophy, and there's nothing wrong with it in my opinion. Except that it's not working. He's right to say that he doesn't make his decisions based on the emotions of our supporters. That's as it should be, and most of our supporters, in all honesty, have never managed a whelk stall. And he's right on around 4.10 to say he has made changes, and he is right when he says he has tried different things. But - you can't argue with the results, and he'll stand or fall on that in the end. Until he does, I don't have a problem with the way he wants us to control the game. Most of our supporters would have us playing kick and rush, like Jack Charlton's Ireland. And then they'd still find plenty to complain about if we lost at home to Stoke.
"Except that it's not working" is a caveat large enough to exert its own gravitational pull. If it's not working, and is showing no evidence that it will start working, it ceases to be laudable that he remains inflexible. With the personnel. He has chopped and changed, but all within the same framework. There's no question that our personnel is lacking; that's more reason to be a bit creative. We should well know what a rote approach with this group with produce. I don't want him to kick and rush, either. There's is an endless number of variations between "kick and rush" and "hold and pass sideways".
Yeah, I realise the significance of it not working. That's why I said it more than once. As for "hold and pass sideways", that was last season. This season it's "pass forward and lose the ball", due to mediocre passing and limited movement in front of the ball. And due to the passing and movement being too slow to pull opposition players out of position. As I have said before, I don't necessarily think MP2 is the solution to our problems; but I don't think he's the cause of them either. He is nowhere near as poor a manager as he is held to be by many of our fans, and most importantly, the players are still playing for him. When that stops happening, I'll get my pitchfork out and meet the rest of you at the castle gates.
There's no question that it is too slow to pull anyone out of position. But we're in the top 7 in possession and pass completion (while being far lower in goals scored) for a reason...we still make, and complete, an awfully large number of safe, short passes some distance from the goal. I'd rather we tried quicker passes up to our attackers before the defense was set, but alas.
It is catch 22 on the quicker passes to our forwards. Yes, that is often the way to break down an opposing team, however it is also the quickest way to give the ball to the opponents (if done poorly). Most teams these days manage possession of the ball very well and most of them are capable of doing something to you when they have it. It is about confidence and bravery. I was at the Brighton game and with 5 minutes the crowd was groaning because two forward passes had been mishit and Brighton had the ball and came back at us. The one thing I’d change is the number of bodies forward, so that could be a formation change or it could be a personnel change. Have either the central CAM or the wide players staying further forward, or the CAM ditched for another striker or a striker playing CAM as he’s more likely likely to play forward.
