GALLERY: Saints leave it late - http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/gallery-saints-leave-it-late-1012969.aspx
I looks to me that Ramirez *wants* to play with him though. It's very much based on a feeling, but I really got that from both the pre-game and match itself today.
Getting on here for the first time since the game and I can't be bothered to read through it all, so I don't know what the general consensus about this game was, but I thought we played really well. Could have scored 3 or 4 with better finishing (or better luck with the finishing), and considering Sunderland always make it difficult for us to play how we'd like, I thought we adapted pretty well to a different style and our domination deserved more goals. Also I totally disagree with Jake that Dani needs a haircut and a shave. In fact I'm on my way to sporting an Osvaldo look myself. Getting a bit itchy but I'll power through.
Overall pretty happy, apart from some problems with creativity and finishing in front of goal the current squad is a quality outfit. Wanyama and Lovren have both been outstanding and i no longer get heart palpitations every time Fonte is called upon in the back. JWP was MOTM for me not just for his set pieces but his overall effort and physicality despite his youth and small frame. Like everyone else has said even if the offside call was correct the reffing was still dreadful and a mere 45 minutes into his career with us we've already seen the good and bad side of Osvaldo, some wonderful touches and creative ideas mixed with a massive temper. Still like others have pointed out marked improvements in just about every field from last year so im pretty happy. P.S Anyone else see Di Canio cover his mouth when he speaks to his staff? Because Southampton are clearly in the habit of hiring lip readers who probably need to be fluent in italian and hiding them in the crowd for a chance to discern his game changing ideas. That man is batshit crazy and i would love to see his antics behind closed doors.
I thought di Canio took the loss of two points well...would be obviously disappointed, but praised Saints both before and after the match. he has brought in a lot of players and these will take time to gel. Must have raised interest levels at Sunderland...I expect the fans are looking forward to this season.
Daily Mail stats demonstrated how overwhelming we were in everything except finishing. JWP was immense in the work he put in and in his accuracy. Di Canio in an interview said we were the best attack in the League !!...said ManU had verrrry good playerrrrs (imagine in an Italian accent) but nothing like the quantity we have. Some fans are saying we did not create enough chances...untrue...we made plenty of chances, but didn't put them away. Better that than not being creative...we will have games where the scoreline more accurately represents our play. JRod has had 2 goals not given because of offside (rightly or wrongly)....shows he can score.
If someone had offered Saints to be unbeaten after 2 games and on 4 points I would have taken that with a smile.
Sorry. I don't agree with this. I thought he was awful. I don't understand why he took Lallana off who I thought was having his best game since his injury last year. Having said that, I would have brought him on as well as Clyne and Osvaldo, I'm just surprised at the players who went off. I said after the West Brom game that Schneiderlin and Cork are better together than Schneiderlin and Wanyama and I'm sticking to it. However, Wanyama is so immense that it looks like he can play for both of them.
Really LFF? I thought Adam looked like he was just about to spark and was getting involved, so maybe bad timing to take him off, yet the first half he was awful. He gave the ball away so much and nearly each time he got it he was knocked off the ball. I worry for Adam based on the first half. I'd like nothing more than to see Adam rip this league up, but I'm not convinced. He did start to spark in that second half and maybe MP should have left him on. To say Gaston was awful suggests an opinion of the player not the performance. I am a big fan as you know, and he wasn't as good as some people are making out, but awful? Really? I think that's a bad choice of word. I felt he could have done more with the positions he got the ball in, but he was "ok" nothing more, nothing less.
LFF, forgot to mention that I agree with the Victor/Morgan comment based only on 45 minutes. Pochettino has some work to find the best way for them to play together. Lets not forget though, it's just one and a half games!
I'm convinced Gaston should start games for us because of what he brings to the team. He is a very direct player. While our other midfielders are often passing to the side, Gaston is always looking for a forward pass and i think it adds another dimension to our play.
From the sounds of it you're saying Ramirez was rubbish because Lallana shouldn't have been replaced? While I agree that it probably should have been Rodriguez coming off I think Ramirez did fairly well. He's intelligent with the ball, he's just a lightweight, but he certainly didn't make us weaker by coming on.
No, I really did think he was awful. Having said that I would agree that its the same old problem in that my expectations of him are probably higher than those I would have of a lesser mortal. By contrast I thought Clyne was excellent and really should start in his proper position (no reflection on Chambers just another attacking option), and Osvaldo looked pretty good.
I think Gaston plays better when teams are prepared to have a go.......His style and direction is such that teams that tend to "Park the Buses" tend to crowd out what he wants to do. Although to be fair it also depends on our lads thinking on the same wave length which often they are not when he is playing. He seemed to find Osvaldo but it was very tight in there today, Osvaldo should have done better perhaps with one particular effort for me. Glad we got a point though it would have been daylight robbery not to have finished with nothing!!!!!
All of our players seem to play better when teams are trying to play football no question. Its why we did so well against Man City, Chelsea etc. AND its why teams like Sunderland come and 'park the bus'. Who can blame them. Its a shame that our disallowed goal didn't stand, it would have been a very different game.
At risk if starting an old debate, can I ask what he did that was 'awful'. Please bear in mind that you have already mentioned 'expectations', so I'd really be interested to know what was awful if you remove your expectations. Please bear in mind that I'm not on my usual Gaston trip and that I said he was "ok" and certainly no more than that. I'd just like to try and understand why I couldn't see 'awful'.
I'm surprised Lallana is getting so many plaudits, I didn't think he was good at all, particularly in the first half.
