Well played Saints, dug in, worked really hard, defended well and still managed to play football. Wern't firing up front, probably should have been more clinical around the area. As for West Ham.... HOOF !!!!!!!!! Was really shocked to the extent they just lumped it forward from the first minute to the last.
I hate Hoofball,great night for Saints and for football fans in general(except West Ham fans) Viva football!
sounds like Sam Alladyces style of play (potential england manager) i dont think so. well done Nigel, tactics right again
Apparently at the Boleyn gound, there is a sign that says 'Welcome To The Academy'. And I'm thinking, WTF? Those days are long gone. The academy has moved South.
WHU and Big Sam...not a match made in heaven. Think he'll still get you promoted but will diminish a lot of the football values that have been associated with your club for decades!! Don't think The Hammers fans will tolerate that too long. Saints deserved winners tonight playing entertaining football against a team aguably with better quality players
I went to this game not expecting to see us win to be honest. I did expect to see a West Ham side just a little superior in most positions and I would imagine so did the gobby, cocky WHU fans I met in the pub before the game. What they actually saw must have come as a bit of a shock, as it was for me. The shock for me wasn't that we play good passing football, as we have all witnessed this type of display many times already this season. No, it was more to do with the fact that WHU didn't play any good football. They weren't even the best side I've seen us play this season. The only thing that saved their hoofball team from total embarrassment was our inability to make more of our undoubted superiority. 5 points clear and counting.
All I can say is to the Saints fans, West Ham may have not played as well as some may thought but I still thought they were a very good team and I think they will be pushing us the whole way, I think from what I have seen both teams stand out this year, great for the saints, unlucky hammers, I am on saints fan thanking we only have to play you once more this season!
I have lots of hammers mates and I can't take the mickey as I feel so sorry for them. I was brought up admiring west hams football philosophy. Big Sam is a disgrace and he epitomises all that is wrong with England. Someone take away his coaching license.
Tactics were all wrong for West Ham, they need to get the ball down in ping it about more. With all the quality on display, you would have thought they'd do more than just lump the ball up for Carew everytime. For a side that used to pride themselves on free flowing attacking football, Allardyce has ruined them. Did the same at Newcastle and the same at Blackburn in my opinion. Hoofball may have worked well 30 years ago but it doesn't work well anymore!
Was this a surprise? I don't think it was. I spoke to a couple of West Ham fans before the game, they said away from home their tactic has been long ball all season. It might work against poor sides but was never going to work against Southampton.
First of, congrats it's good to see Southampton recovering from the financial woes of the past few years, a precipce we find ourselves leaning over. At times like these you need big personalities that know what they're doing rather than the characterless and impuissant Grant or the out of his depth zola, who both spent the last 3 season battling, and finally losing, relegation battles by trying to play 'good football' with roughly the same players minus the ones that actually could play that way. Personally I think Allardyce gets far too much 'hoofball' stick, as I remember the Bolton team that included Okocha, Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo, a good attractive side built by Allardyce. West Ham just don't have the players to play really good football all the time, especially when it gets in the final third. I don't expect West Ham to go up this season as, usually, we spend 2 seasons in the championship (div2) before we go up. We need to rebuild the team first and steady the financial boat, I'm sure you Saints fans can understand that. No doubt if the styles had been reversed and the result the same you'd be just as happy and praising Adkins 'tactical brilliance' and slating Allardyces ineptness at getting team to play good football, c'est la vie, I know if the score was reversed we'd be doing the same. Nature of the beast.
West Ham are a great team when they actually play football! However last night - West Ham didnt turn up, so we were quite fortunate! If West Ham did play Football think it would be different story. All the same ...Good Luck Hammers for the season!!
No, no, no. I'm not having that one again. I've had enough years of teams seemingly not turning up to play Saints, because they've been beaten. No, that simply won't do. Saints beat WHU fair and square. West Ham did turn up with their Away game tactic, and it didn't work against a bloody good side. It may against lesser teams, but not Saints. Let's not have any of that talk again.
