There was little to take from the game that was positive but the absence of Armstrong was hugely significant. For a long time he has been our best player and to have him absent from an organized team like Palace was a major blow. I am not convinced this is indicative of how the season will progress although it is typical of how we usually start seasons. I think that the two most obvious things this season will be that the squad selected yesterday is likely to be very different from the one that will finish the season and the other is that until fans are allowed to attend matches, I think we can anticipate some unlikely results.
Another season, another 1st game defeat. It is almost a tradition. It was a poor game. Neither side looked good. Hodgson played to Palace's strengths, well organised defence and fast counter attack against a team pressing high. It was like Saints were the home team. A draw would have been a fair result but Palace scored one of their chances and Saints didn't. Saints need to stop the sloppy passing and lack of movement when in possession. Saints played well for only about 20 minutes. Fair dos to Vestegaard. He did alright. Just a couple of bsd moments but he did stop a goal and looked better than normal.
Not judging anything from this game. Win would have excited me, but I’m not taking a 1-0 loss as any sign at all. Just one of those things.
We have only won 2 from the last 22 opening Premier League matches, apparently, so now that is out of the way, we need to get back to playing how we ended the last season. The importance of players like Armstrong, really show up against teams that sit back. You need players like him who will try to beat a player and draw other midfielders/defenders out of position, freeing up space for teammates. Yesterday he was sorely missed and Redmond, who also usually has a similar impact as Armstrong, didn’t seem capable of beating the first man with any regularity, if at all. Add that to the flat footed manner, in which we played the first half, we were always up against it, once we conceded. I wasn’t a fan of the water intervals, but maybe if we had had one yesterday, Ralph could have got into the team earlier than half time.
I've never read anything in opening day results, they are unreliable indicators of how the season will pan out. It would be nice to get the hat-trick of home wins against Spuds on Sunday though.
Last season, opening day we played no more than ok away to a fairly poor bit well organised team in claret and blue. We pushed high, got done a few times with a long ball in behind and lost 3-0. Yesterday wasn’t much different and could easily have been 3 again. Neither game worth panicking about, although a little frustrating we get done like that. I blame the opposing teams colours.
I think this all just shows what a slightly above average team we have. A really good coach (like Ralph) can get the best out of them and get us to the top half of the table easily. But as soon as the players start to believe they are really good, they get complacent and put in a performance like yesterday. We will get better and reach our post lockdown form again. I'm sure of that (though Ralph may need to crack a few heads along the way). This is why I support Saints. I love to see a modestly priced team punching above their weight. I love the way we develop young players and give academy graduates the break they need. I love seeing a team dominated by British players. Long may it continue.
I was out with my family during the match and only saw bits of the second half where we didn’t seem to be too bad. Needed to to better in the final 3rd but that’s been the story for years now. How bad was the first half?
We were slow to the point of being tedious to watch and the ball rarely reached the front 2. They were very defensive. From a neutral perspective Zaha was the only bright point of the game. Too many missing on the Palace side and too many asleep on the Saints side.
It's a compliment to saints how defensive palace set up, IMO. They were clearly set up to disrupt us and counter instead of going toe to toe.
True. I did laugh at the cameras zooming in on Hodgson and Lewington who were silent spectators as Ralph yelled non stop at his players. All their work, as the commentator said, was done during the week.
I would agree with that if Palace had adopted those tactics specifically for us. But that's generally how they play. I think only Norwich scored less than them last season. One of the most annoying things about it working against us is that those three points might help to keep their style in the PL next season.
It's a Roy Hodgson thing. Never, ever bet on a Hodgson team to go down. For all his faults as England manager, he is still a very astute tactician that always gets the best out of his players.
Oh for sure, it absolutely works. Roy, Dyche, Sam, Pulis. There are some managers who almost guarantee survival. I still maintain that with the right manager, Norwich would have stayed up last season. 35 points was hardly the toughest of targets. Farke was a huge reason for them going down. I wouldn't be sorry to lose that style from the PL. But equally, unlike someone like Pep, I fully acknowledge that football doesn't just have to be played in one way only.
