[QUOTE="Schrodinger's Cat, post: 18679967, *Here's Shane just when we needed him [/QUOTE] Who was that utterly **** manager? Got us to Wembley where a truly awful decision cost us dear, then finished in top 10. Luckily we did the right thing and sacked him. Phew. Don’t want that sort of uppity behaviour, thank you. We’re crap and we know we are. No doubt will prove this on Tuesday on live TV. Oh joy
Who was that utterly **** manager? Got us to Wembley where a truly awful decision cost us dear, then finished in top 10. Luckily we did the right thing and sacked him. Phew. Don’t want that sort of uppity behaviour, thank you. We’re crap and we know we are. No doubt will prove this on Tuesday on live TV. Oh joy[/QUOTE] He knew how to set up a team to keep a clean sheet too. Good manager, just wrong time for us after Koeman's buccaneers ( who some wanted sacked at Xmas and we end up finished 6th - entitled bunch weren't we...)
Knew how to set a team up and look solid comfortable with Yoshida and an unknown Jack Stephens for half the season. It wasn't pretty at times, but I'd argue that's one of the last times we looked solid defensively for a sustained period of time.
I would like to see us focus on team building, but also might be time to rest Charles for one game. McCarthy Jelert Wood Stephens Manning Jander Downes Fellows Azaz Scienza Stewart
VERY word manager Will Still said before Southampton's Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool on Tuesday, September 23. How have you reflected on Southampton's season so far? WS: We knew that our market was going to be done quite late because it was a tricky market, and that was what happened. We got a lot of players in that last week of the window. We said to each other that we have to pick up as many points as we can in that first month of August. We probably could have picked up a few more points than we actually did. Then we knew that we'd have to restart and go again. We've changed the shape, we've changed a lot of players, and we knew it wasn't just going to happen overnight. Weren't just going to become a really good team because we've got good players in the building. But I think overall we have to learn, we have to learn quickly and we've got to start picking up points. We've got to defend better than we did last weekend. We're just trying to find the balance of what works for us, what doesn't work for us. I know it's frustrating, and trust me, it frustrates me more than probably anyone. But it's just where we're at, that's the reality of it. It's been a slow start, I'm fully aware of that, everyone's fully aware of that, and we just need to get on with things. You came to England to test yourself against the best, and now you face Liverpool. WS: Yeah, welcome to England. I think it's a good thing we're playing again, and we get an opportunity to sort of erase the mistakes that we made on Saturday. No one is stupid; nobody is blind to what the challenge is tomorrow night. They are the best team in England, probably one of the best teams in Europe. We have to go there with the belief that we can play football and that we're good at doing certain things in our repertoire. We expect it to be a challenge, we expect it to be tough. But it's a cup, it's a one-off, I think all cup games are, and I think we just have to show a bit of personality, a bit of bravery to stand back up. It will also present a few opportunities for other players. So yeah, just go for it and don't overthink it, don't overanalyse it and stand up and be counted for. Have you said to the players that this is a free hit? Upsets can happen in the cup. WS: Yeah, 100 per cent, I think Grimsby have done it in the previous rounds. Like I said, it's a one-off; there's always an opportunity there to win a game of football. We've actually done well in the two games that we've played, especially the last round. I thought at Norwich we did really well, it was probably one of our better games. And I just want us to have a go, I just want us to be brave, I just want us to show a bit of what we're about and not just go there and fold over and crumple. We need to be strong, we need to be good at what we do. So yeah, just go there and have a go. How do you approach selecting a team for this game? WS: We've got a massive squad and some players need to play, some players need an opportunity as well, so that's what will happen. We're never just going to completely disregard it and put a load of under-21s in. We've got a lot of good players and some good players that deserve this opportunity. But also some players that have done really well, considering the weaker results or the lesser results of the past few weeks. It's about getting the right mix between those players that need to play and the ones that probably deserve to play as well. But whatever team will start tomorrow will be the team that we think is the best team to play that game at this moment in time and have a right go. Liverpool will rotate. Does that make it harder for your preparations? WS: I think they've got a very clear identity and a pattern in what they do. Whoever's on the pitch, you know it's going to be an incredibly good team with very good individuals. We're just trying to focus on ourselves as well. We're fully aware of the quality that they have, whether that's the full squad and starting line-up or the players that have played a bit less, they're still incredibly good players. So we've obviously analysed them, we know what the strengths are, what the main qualities are. I think everyone's fully aware of that. But we've also not got to over-focus on it and just do what we can and what we're good at too. Is this a type of challenge you relish? WS: Yeah, it's brilliant. When I was back in France, it was when we played against PSG or Marseille. They're big games, they're exciting. You want to do well, you want to send off the right image of the football club and us as a group of players and a team. So that's what we'll do, that's what I've done. We'll keep doing. And I know results have been difficult and have probably been disappointing for a lot of people. It doesn't make me a bad person, it doesn't make me a bad coach, and it doesn't make the football players that we've got here bad football players. There are enough examples in other clubs. I think if you look now in the league, Ipswich have got the same number of points as us and have found it difficult as well. They've come down, they've kept the manager, they've kept quite a few of the players. It's just the way football works. I think when Klopp took over at Liverpool, where we're going tomorrow, it wasn't an instant fix, and it didn't just turn around easily. I've looked at a lot of them and tried to work out what works, how it works, why it works and what the right message is. Thomas Frank, when he took over at Brentford, it took a bit of time. It just takes a bit of time, and I'm not looking for an excuse because I know I've got to do better, and it's got to go quickly. But I'm Will, I'm just Will, and I'm going to keep looking for solutions and keep working on it and I'm sure we'll get it right in time. Can this game be a springboard for your season, regardless of the result? WS: Yeah, 100 per cent. I think any game is an opportunity to do that and this is a big one. There'll be a lot of people watching. It's on TV, it's everywhere. Like I said, any defeat is an opportunity to learn from and pick yourself back up and do it again by tweaking and correcting what wasn't right. It's the perfect time, perfect place to do something big and do something good for us. Are you getting closer to the identity you want, or have you had to start again since the window's shut? WS: We've changed the system, so we've had to tweak, adapt, change and try and get the best out of the players that we've got in those respective positions. We knew we were going to have to reset, not completely; there are values and triggers that we want to set that have stayed and that are the same whether you play five or four or six or whatever it is. But yeah, undoubtedly, Caspar [Jander] started at the weekend, a new player, Tom [Fellows], Finn [Azaz] and Damion [Downs] started for the first time in the league. Obviously, I knew it was not going to be perfect, I knew it was going to be tricky at times, and I knew how big the challenge was. You also look back, and I'm not constantly one to look back, but the record that was set in the Premier League last year was incredibly poor and harmed a lot of people. It has left a bit more than just a scar. That was difficult. It's a load of things that we knew were going to happen, and when you've got a group where there's trauma. When you bring in new players, you've just got to make sure that the new players don't fall into that trauma and get tangled up in it. So that's what we're working on. I know a lot of people would like us to win every game and be top of the league, so would I, trust me. But it's frustrating, I hate it. It's just where we're at and what we've got to get right and what we've got to fix. We are working on it, trust me. I'm trying my very best, but it just takes a bit of time and a bit of patience. Does that trauma come out in the moment of setbacks in games? If so, how do you get rid of that? WS: You start the game off well, we've got bags of possession and we're breaking lines and we're finding players in positions that we want to find them in. And then you make one mistake, you lose possession on the throw-in, you don't react well to the second ball, and then they literally lump a ball into the box that you don't get first contact on and concede. And it was almost as if we'd conceded two goals. That's how it felt. And you walk in at half-time thinking, how the hell are we losing this game? And that's when, like you say, that sort of buffer of trauma just gets bigger and bigger. That's where we've got to step in and wipe it away. But then you do it again in the second half, you start really strongly, and there are a lot of opportunities and situations where you're doing well. You make one mistake by losing possession on the halfway line when there's no real need to do that. And then you concede another, and you've got the impression of a mountain to climb. It's all happening again when it's not. Can you keep changing the system until you find something that works? WS: Tomorrow's a one-off. I think it's a cup game, it's against the best team in England, and we need to be realistic and pragmatic about what we're doing by being brave and confident and having a right go. Especially in behaviours and attitudes, that's what we want to see. But away from that, the league situation is the way it is, and we need to build up a form of consistency and a form of regularity in what we're doing because you can't just keep changing and changing and changing. There were a few positives, not everything was terrible, and you need to keep building on that and injecting confidence into that and being aware of the other side of it that was really poor and that we need to get right. So it's a fine margin of error and balancing of trying to get those things right. But again, it's not an instant fix, and it does take the time that it takes. How do you get the best out of Finn Azaz? WS: By giving him regular playing time and by settling him into a new team for him and a new player for us. I thought on Saturday, pass he plays for Damion Downs is perfect. That's exactly what we want, but unfortunately, we didn't take the chance and we put it wide. But even in the second half, he did find a few interesting positions but we didn't we managed to find him. But again, it's like a work in progress from what we were doing. I think the improvement compared to the other lot, Pompey, was better in terms of occupation of space and possession. But we don't want possession just out of possession. I know what the stats are saying the opposite, but it's just keeping at it. We need to keep painting different pictures where players can identify themselves too. And that's where we're at. You must hate that you're team have a lot of possession but not the goals to show for it WS: I hate it. It's really frustrating, but it also shows how the league sees us. Teams are comfortable with giving us the ball and sitting back. They are almost waiting for us to make mistakes to pounce on. That's the sort of mistakes that we've made. Do we give the ball back to the opposition and just wait for them to make a mistake? That's not being proactive. That's not taking the game into our hands and doing things that we want to do. So yeah, I hate it. Oli McBurnie said Hull were happy to let you have the ball at the back. WS: We've reduced it [passive possession]. We have looked at the stats and the number of balls that we play in for the final third, which was incredibly high actually on Saturday. But yeah, ultimately we've conceded one transition that's ended in a cross on the first goal. We've conceded another transition that's ended in a cross on the second goal. And we've conceded a transition where we've made a foul and conceded a really poor goal on a set-piece. You walk away from there thinking that was terrible and frustrating. Are you in a position to tell the players, 'Play well tomorrow and you start all season'? WS: Read the room, read the situation, I think. No-one is blind to what's going on and how we're conceding goals. And like I said just then, it's an opportunity. It's another chance, so stand up, be counted and be a big person and a big personality and grasp that chance that comes your way. And that's just football, isn't it? You make a few mistakes, you probably go out of the team, come back in the team when the opportunity comes, and that's just the way that football works. So hopefully if a few players stand up, put their hand up and go I'm going to play and I'm going to stay in the team. So I think that's what any manager hopes for.
I'm going to start a game of Still or Martin. I'm going to pick pre/post game quotes and see if people can work out who they came from. Did he just find one of Martin's journals from last season? Martin strikes me as the sort of bloke to keep a journal. Anyhow if Liverpool fancy it 5-0, if they play their kids 3-0
Would be happy to see Quarshie start again, not just to see how he copes defensively but to see his long throw. With the long throw back in fashion and a couple of tall strikers, would like to see if we can make something work. Also would like to see if Quarshie or Wood could replace THB who at the moment is getting right on my nerves.
Striker Downes or the sicknote one? Downs is the striker? Actually doesn't matter they're both totally ****
Have to agree. They were both decent last time round the Championship, they have had PL experience but their development has gone backwards. Maybe a confidence thing but we can't afford to carry them both in such important positions. Certainly both should not be a given on the team sheet.
THB needs lengthy break from the team imo. Been completely dreadful this season and even his passing has been piss poor. Gives me a massive not wanting to be here/thinks he better than us vibe too, like he was expecting interest to materialise in the Summer.
