Anyone else fear the worst when they saw up line up today. No Mackie - our hardest working player. No Adel - our most talented and most obvious matchwinnet. No Townsend - our most impactful new signing. And we won. Proving that we all no sh@t. All hail Harry
Well, tis the season for Madness and March hares! Still the Ides to come on the 15th too. please log in to view this image
As you all probably know by now, I'm not a Mackie lover, and I think we had more of a threat without him tbh
TBH I did think WTF? But I kept my views to myself as I pondered the possible formation and tactics. To be fair, I think Harry got it right in selecting a team that worked hard and had pace out wide to catch them on the break.
We looked more of a threat without him and Taarabt. Not great players but they're handy to have to spring off the bench as impact subs. I was concerned when I saw Park and Bothroyd in there I must admit. Also I didn't get why Townsend was left out. But there you go, that's why we're not Managers I guess. 'Arry obviously knew what he was doing. It'll be interesting to see what way he sets us up at home to Sunderland next week.
Whilst I'm loathe to change a winning side, I wouldn't mind seeing Tarbs being slipped back in behind Remy. Who would make way? I don't know. Time will tell.
That's what I'd do too, as Taarabt should be able to provide Remy with some decent service. It is hard to fit Adel into a 4-4-2 though, unless he's the 2nd striker. Everyone knows I favour 4-2-3-1 with Taarabt in the centre of the 3 behind Remy, but I don't think Harry will play that. Having said that, it was virtually that set up today, with Granero behind Betty and Granero was awful, so Taarabt could play in his place.
Ditto. Granero didn't show up at all. Perfect place to put Adel in and let him run alongside Park, who had a tremendous game he covered so much ground, hassled, hustled and harried all game. That should free up Adel with more space with Park doing the hassle work for him. And with Hoilett on the outside of Adel to the left, we've got some nice movement. But we shall have to see. I saw it more as a morphing 4-1-3-2 with Mbia sitting in front of the back, but with Park roaming all over it really helped Betty and Remy run the channels. A great result today. I also have to commend Rob Green on his 2 saves within a space of 30 seconds that helped us win it.
Nice to see Remy acknowledging Hoilett, who set up his goal with a great lofted pass - thought he had a great game with some mazy runs. Glad he is fit and has been given his opportunity to show what he can do. please log in to view this image Bothroyd also played his part. please log in to view this image
I did read somewhere in the build up, maybe a Soton fan in the match thread, that they were worried about their wings.
Agree on the stand out performances from Park; Green did amazing off the bench; Hoillet showed what he can do and had some good runs; our centre backs are becoming a "wall" - Samba is a monster. Most positive of all was the team performance. Still a way to go - but much more positive. Agree on Granero / AT switch (as long as AT is prepared to work hard and track back too).
In spite of that good teamplay we did yesterday we have to remember, that southampton outplayed us big part of the match. So dont get carried away yet........
I'm not sure when is a good time to dispense with Granero; I said when the team was announced that he had a habit of going AWOL quite early into matches, and we saw this again yesterday. I'm pretty frustrated with the lad. He obviously has bags of talent but lacks the backbone and aptitude for the PL. We have seen players come into the PL before and really struggle to make an impression in their first season. Perhaps this is the case with Granero, but right here, right now, you'd have to say that he'll likely be moving on come the summer. On the other hand, I'd be tempted to stick with Bothroyd. Of course, with Zamora and Johnson not fit and every man Jack out on loan, there's little alternative if you want to play a two up front with your quicker and/or more creative guys feeding them. Bothroyd was somewhat erratic in the opening exchanges, as evidenced by the booking, but what I saw from him was desire and commitment. He is another one of those confidence players, I feel, that plays so much the better by being 'bigged up' by the manager, perhaps even fired up by a certain Mr Jordan. I dearly want Bothroyd to win us all over and be one of the heroes of the run-in. I recall the severe criticism of Helgusson in his early time with us, and that all changed, didn't it? Perhaps there's an unlikely strike partnership there somewhere with Remy? Remy looks great to me, perhaps needing a little more time to get fully fit, but you can see the opposition defenders are scared of him already. He knows where that net is. I agree with the comments about replacing Granero with Taarabt, but the latter has to be told to "create, create, create" and not look to win the game singlehandedly. Keep him behind the front two and tell him to be the commanding midfielder he has the ability to become. Receive the ball, shake off the attention, create space for yourself and feed either the Hoilett or the front two. I like Mbia as a man and generally as a footballer. He plays with real heart, but boy is he prone to clumsiness! But could Diakite be more effective in that position? I don't know. The Bosingwa versus Fabio debate will rage on for weeks no doubt. I thought the latter was reasonably OK yesterday but then Fabio had been showing great form before his ineligibility for the United game. Difficult one.
Southampton have outplayed quite a few teams this season but they are fragile at the back and that can affect their confidence. Yesterday's defeat could be a critical psychological moment for both teams, and Pochettino's honeymoon could be short-lived if they lose again next week...
