OK, enough of this negativity - we've got a semi on. Err....
Match Day Thread West Brom v Southampton, Monday 12/04/21, 6pm, Sky Sports
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OK, enough of this negativity - we've got a semi on. Err....
Are we really that much more inconsistent this season than previous seasons?
Every season under Ralph, not to mention certain previous seasons (eg Ron's second year), I would suggest that we've gone on long runs of great results and long runs of horror results. If anything, we're consistent in that.
Maybe the difference this time is that our great run came first, thereby really highlighting our fall from grace. Whereas, for example, in 2015-16 we were the only team in the division to keep pace with Leicester in the second half of the season. Or last season, where we cruised through the final quarter post-lockdown period. Or the Hughes-Ralph season, when we looked down and out when Ralph walked through the door, only to survive with games to spare.
Wow so many people unwilling to even respond to a question if it doesn't follow a certain train of thought. A lot of people excusing a totally dire performance by saying it is just pre-semi caution, but I just want to know if we will be so forgiving if they put out something so abject in that semi. I didn't say they would.
If a performance like that is put in against Leicester, who are capable of playing way better than that awesome WBA performance, will you be as forgiving?
That is the question asked and I am sure we are mature enough to answer it without the need to get upset the question exists.
If a performance like that is put in against Leicester, who are capable of playing way better than that awesome WBA performance, will you be as forgiving?
That is the question asked and I am sure we are mature enough to answer it without the need to get upset the question exists.
Frankly, I'de be disappointed but always forgiving because that is the nature of being a Saints fan. I've forgiven Lowe, Puel, VVD, Lemina and Les Reed so why not (no need to comment on that - I know others will never forgive
).The style of football has, at times, been the best since the RK era but how players can go from geniuses to liabilities (and back again) in the space of a couple of games is beyond me. Ralph has consistently said he wants to improve the squad and his signings so far have been few but promising. He's also prepared to give youth a chance. But as yet he hasn't got a team that is capable of consistently playing the game how he sees it so more changes are required this summer. When it's his team, as opposed to one he's inherited, for a full season, we'll know for sure whether he's the right man for the job. Right now I think he is but that's just an instinct on my part from what I've seen over 2 years.
The thing that bothers me so much is how the team can go from putting in a very accomplished performance to abject ****e in the space of a week, and why there have been so many really poor performances this season. They have not just been poor performances, some of them have been absolutely atrocious, and to be truthful I can't see it getting any better. The recurring theme seems to be that we will be better next season, or we will be better next match when Ralph has had a full week to work with the players.
Are our players so dim witted that in the space of a week they completely forget how to play football? It does seem like it, and that points to there being a massive disconnect somewhere. Something is going badly wrong somewhere because I don't see any other PL team having the ability to play like we can, and then playing like we often do. The one thing I do sense is that there isn't anyone on the pitch that has the physical presence and authority to galvanise and motivate the players if things start to slip. I am not at all sure JWP is the right guy as team captain. Yes he is the most loyal and reliable of players we have but is he a captain capable of lifting the teams momentum during a match? I'm not so sure he is.
As loyal fans on here, it should be possible to talk openly about how bad things are without being made to feel like a negative moaner. I'll be honest and say that for perhaps the first time I am very concerned that Saints just keep on reverting to very poor performances time and time again. If it continues then one day there will be one bad result too many and we will be in serious trouble.
Are our players so dim witted that in the space of a week they completely forget how to play football? It does seem like it, and that points to there being a massive disconnect somewhere. Something is going badly wrong somewhere because I don't see any other PL team having the ability to play like we can, and then playing like we often do. The one thing I do sense is that there isn't anyone on the pitch that has the physical presence and authority to galvanise and motivate the players if things start to slip. I am not at all sure JWP is the right guy as team captain. Yes he is the most loyal and reliable of players we have but is he a captain capable of lifting the teams momentum during a match? I'm not so sure he is.
As loyal fans on here, it should be possible to talk openly about how bad things are without being made to feel like a negative moaner. I'll be honest and say that for perhaps the first time I am very concerned that Saints just keep on reverting to very poor performances time and time again. If it continues then one day there will be one bad result too many and we will be in serious trouble.
I'll judge the performance after the game, I'm not one for what ifs. How I react after the final whistle is often tempered by sobriety some time later.
I think we were a bag of complete ****e yesterday in order to lull Leicester into a false sense of security so that they're totally overwhelmed by us during the semi when we actually try.
The whole Leicester team will have a bonding session and 5 pints in Nandos the night before, so it ought to work.
To be honest though, I haven't been this nervous about a semi since I watched Broke back Mountain
The whole Leicester team will have a bonding session and 5 pints in Nandos the night before, so it ought to work.
To be honest though, I haven't been this nervous about a semi since I watched Broke back Mountain
I'm not for one second suggesting Ralph has lost the dressing room (this usually gets leaked to the press first anyhow) but I get the impression that the 1st 11 don't really give a ****. They know that our squad is so thin that they don't really need to put in a shift. They know RH isn't going to go in on them for a poor performance, so why does it matter?
Even the team in 04/05 had a bit more ****ing grit about them. These lot are so sodding fragile, it's pathetic
One swallow doesn't make a summer.
They are mentally fragile. Been saying it for a few seasons.
Let's not forget wins against Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal the 3-4 win away at Aston Villa plus other less than fragile results.
Even the Chelsea game at home where we conceded early in the 2nd half but didn't fold and got a very good point. Also away when we came from behind twice.
Can somebody please explain to me how we have gone from a decent defensive team at the end of last season and the first 12 games of this season to a very bad one? Is it all about teams understanding how we play and come up with tactics to counter it or what?
I agree to an extent. But I'd add that we desperately need (and have done for aaaages) a Fonte/VVD style leader in the team. I love JWP, but a 'drive the team' captain he ain't.
That has been the case for a while, unfortunately not many of are players are attractive to potential buyers at the sell price we want so we end up loaning them out. That might save on some wages and possibly a bit more, but it doesn't really fill the coffers so that we can significantly rebuild
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https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/12274206/ref-watch-no-conclusive-angle-for-offside-diagne-goal
This is total cobblers, keeps mentioning Bednarek when it is Vestergaard that is the player concerned, or do I need that visit to Specsavers after all?
This is total cobblers, keeps mentioning Bednarek when it is Vestergaard that is the player concerned, or do I need that visit to Specsavers after all?
I don’t really understand all the whoha about Monday’s game. There was a strong chance that was going to happen. We were poor. They were fighting for their lives and up for it.
Anybody who didn’t see that as a possibility really doesn’t understand football, or hasn’t played in that type of situation. That’s ok, but it’s just a fans view from the outside. It’s happened countless times. It will happen again. Doesn’t make it right, but people should by now know that it is likely to happen. From the moment Prowsey passed that ball in to touch after 10-15 minutes I thought “Uh oh” one of those nights.
Loading asked earlier how we’d feel if they play like that against Leicester. I’d be very disappointed. I’d hope they’d put up a fight. I hope they play with a press. I hope they have enough energy in the tank to play with a good press.
Leicester are a better team than Saints, let’s not kid ourselves anything different. We need to be at our best (or at a closer % to our best than Leicester are to theirs) to win and I hope we get the win by any manner. There is a strong possibility that they play their game well and good enough to beat us. So be it, but for 90 minutes I’ll be excited and screaming at the television, dreaming of a cup final, not whinging about how sh1t we are or what a wasted opportunity.
Leicester are better than us, but we can still win this.
Anyone wants to spend the game moaning and groaning at our mistakes and how crap we are, good luck to them. Miserable bastards. I don’t even feel sorry for the them. I’ll just be backing the team.
Up the Saints !!
Anybody who didn’t see that as a possibility really doesn’t understand football, or hasn’t played in that type of situation. That’s ok, but it’s just a fans view from the outside. It’s happened countless times. It will happen again. Doesn’t make it right, but people should by now know that it is likely to happen. From the moment Prowsey passed that ball in to touch after 10-15 minutes I thought “Uh oh” one of those nights.
Loading asked earlier how we’d feel if they play like that against Leicester. I’d be very disappointed. I’d hope they’d put up a fight. I hope they play with a press. I hope they have enough energy in the tank to play with a good press.
Leicester are a better team than Saints, let’s not kid ourselves anything different. We need to be at our best (or at a closer % to our best than Leicester are to theirs) to win and I hope we get the win by any manner. There is a strong possibility that they play their game well and good enough to beat us. So be it, but for 90 minutes I’ll be excited and screaming at the television, dreaming of a cup final, not whinging about how sh1t we are or what a wasted opportunity.
Leicester are better than us, but we can still win this.
Anyone wants to spend the game moaning and groaning at our mistakes and how crap we are, good luck to them. Miserable bastards. I don’t even feel sorry for the them. I’ll just be backing the team.
Up the Saints !!
It's where having an Academy brimming with talent is really valuable, because even if the senior squad isn't overflowing, you know there's someone always sniffing a place. Unfortunately, bar a couple players, the Academy kids aren't really threatening anyone's job as yet. Or threatening to compete against their own age cohort.