Hey every one!I was just thinking today about the play-offs and I started to think about Swansea and the way they play their football,I think they play marvellous football for a championship side even better than 60% of prem teams and this is great for English football.Anyway ,as Cortese has said before he wants the club to play the "Southampton way","total football" in other words.At present we normally use the 4-4-2 formation that I think as passed its sell by date and it's just not fluid and cohesive,we should use 4-3-3 as we did against man utd and we played lovely football that day that's we look to achieve week in week out,you might argue that it doesn't give us any width.I don't agree, we've got full backs to run up and cros,s plus we've got lallana and oxo and schneiderlin as anchor man when our full backs cross balls into box. Viva Total Football, only this way will we improve as a club and as a country.COYR
We played a diamond formation against United, they tried to match us in the first half and failed.They won because they changed the tactics(in the 2nd half) and went with more width in Nani and put Giggs in who changed the game by himself. We play effective Football which wins us games, sometimes it has been scintillating to watch, the Blackpool and Tranmere home games especially come to mind where we tore both to shreds with the way we played. Playing with just one formation does not work. The 4-3-3 is one Rodgers has taken up and has worked with him particularly well at Swansea because he has the right players to implement it, at Reading it completely failed and his naivety to change tactics meant they were just above the drop zone with it. I'm not knocking you and this article because it's a nice idea and I like to watch us played the 'Southampton way' as much as anyone else, but Adkins knows which formation his team can play and the diamond/4-4-2 suits us. He is much more tactically 'on the ball' than Pardew ever was.
Please don't mention the term total football...I get a shiver down my spine and start jibbering (no change there then). Having never played football (far too tiring and muddy), I know little about formations (something you won't hear a man admit), but we played good attractive football mainly against the better sides (for example Man U). We all hope we can play better football in the Championship but who knows. The good thing is that NA is flexible. We often played better in the 2nd half, which means we have an astute manager who can see whats happening and change things.
Don't think there is really a "Southampton Way". NA is pragmatic in what he does and that's probably the best way to go if we don't want teams working us out. We've played very nice stuff at times, but mixed it up with more direct football when the passing game hasn't really worked for us. If there is a Southampton way, I'd imagine its more about Cortese running the club responsibly and letting Adkins manage the football team, unlike a certain former Chairman.
The only thing I associate with the "Swansea way" is downing 9 pints of lager, getting into a fight and ending the night in the arms of a 18 stone welsh "beauty" on Mumbles beach.
Now we no why you look so sheepish CBK............Sorry couldn't resist. On another note.......Southampton were always known as a footballing side at one stage. An attacking team without being overly open and we did OK. As time went by we had to be more and more defensive. As we struggled so often at the bottom of the heap of the premier. We relied on players like Le tiss to get us out of trouble, he alone kept Saints up almost single handed one year. most of you know that any way. So yes there was a Southampton way once........and yes I would like to see us play good open football but with out the folly of the Blackpool gung ho type game.
Lets be honest, what we all want to see above all is WINNING football. Of course we love watching fast, flowing, attacking football but we would soon grow fed up of losing matches by the odd goal in 7! Nigel Adkins produced that winning football especially in the final third of the season, and he did it by NOT sticking to one formation. Ok so Saints usually started the game with 4-4-2 but NA has the tactical awareness to change things when needed. That is why a top-class bench is so important, and three or so quality signings will go a long way to ensure a very enjoyable experience for us Saints fans next season. If the Southampton way is the Winning way then BRING IT ON!!!
TBF in the last few weeks that 442 was pretty darn fluid. Guly and Lallana both kept cutting inside, so a lot of the time it was pretty close to a 433 with the full backs providing the width. Personally I've always thought using the wings was the way to go, so prefer a 442 to just about anything. You have to be a very good side (or a long ball team) to beat teams by playing through the centre.
Total football never won that much even when it was done properly. The great Cruyff Holland team never won a World Cup. It could win by a cricket score one week and get turned over by an inferior, but very disciplined side the next. They got to the 2010 final by playing 'tackle hard and hope no-one gets sent off' football. Not saying either is the way forward, the best teams mix it up just as we have done towards the end of the season.
Tim Vickery has always said that Football is one language spoken in different accents, and no accent is universally wrong or right.
Whatever SFC played during the final 10 games - 27 points out of 30 possible - is the "Southampton way" in my book. Against MK Dons I couldn't figure out what the formation was...if I saw one, it was gone a few minutes later. Perhaps they were playing a number of dynamic formations and kept switching it up to confuse the Dons... I don't know but we won that game and 8 of the next 9. Based on the latest results, NA knows what he's doing, and that's the Southampton way. Also, I'm pretty sure the Southampton Way involves a bus of some kind.
