I'm not writing this article to shoot anyone down or start a pessimistic push for the removal of our manager or anything like that, so I need to be clear that this is written purely to present facts and to stimulate debate. I will be clear before anyone brings it up that I didn't believe the NA should've been removed, certainly at the time when he was; and I did say that MP needed to prove his credentials, which arguably he did last season. Ok, so to tackle this in order of it's title I'd like to just present a few facts, which alarmed me when I thought about them a little more: * We've only won one of our last nine league games - 1W, 5D, 3 L = 8 Points * Not won at home in last 4 * Last Home win was back in March * Of our last 9 league games, the only win was recorded as the result of a last minute RL penalty * Only 5 goals scored during that run of games * Only 9 goals conceded during that run of games This form is a little alarming to me, especially when you look at the opponents faced: West Ham, Swansea, West Brom (twice), Sunderland (twice), Tottenham, Stoke and Norwich. As shown above, the fact that the sole win also came as a result of a last minute penalty, concerns me too. This all seems very negative. If you go back a further three games however, things become a lot rosier as we recorded three back-to-back top flights wins against Liverpool, Chelsea and Reading, which I think perhaps made us slightly arrogant with how we were going to pull away from the relegation fight, and challenge for a top half finish instead. Prior to that run of results we had performed impressively drawing lots of plaudits for our way of pressing high up the field - I myself began to believe in our transition possibly being a good thing, although still very cautiously reminding people who I felt were handing out praise to MP a bit early as he inherited a side, which was much improving a demonstrating an ability to mix it with the best - we all remember how NA's last game was a 2-2 draw against Chelsea; coming at the back end of a run of just 2 defeats in 12 games - 4W, 6D, 2L. Our form seemed to continue under MP, but we seemed have adapted a slightly more attacking style, resulting in a few more goals, although this did mean that the defence we'd tightened up after our much publicised leaky start was breached slightly more again. Maybe it's this that has affected MP's thinking of style to take us into the run of form we are now experiencing? Comparison of MPs first 10 games v NA last 10 games: NA - 3W, 5D, 2L. GF12, GA10 Points - 14 MP - 4W, 3D, 3L. GF16, GA13 Points - 15 As I have felt from the start the jury is very much still out on whether our change of manager was the correct thing to do. That's where we are now and I am fully behind the team week in week out, both home and away; however my optimism coming into the season, especially after the opening day win, has been overshadowed with doubt once again, as all three performances have been lacklustered, similar to the final six games of last season. Another concern for me is that whilst no one game should be bigger than any other, it does seem that we raise our level for the games against bigger teams under MP, but deliver almost complacent performances when we're expecting to win - QPR, West Ham, Sunderland, Stoke. TRANSFER DEALINGS In the transfer market I really am not sure how much input our Manager's have had, but certainly I think we made some signings that shall we say didn't offer great value for £. Certainly Gaston still needs to deliver more consistently, Mayuka seems to have been a strange one and Vegard Forren possibly ranks up there as being possibly alongside Delgado and Dia as our worst signing ever when you take into account the fee. On the flip side of that Maya improved massively after a very shakey start, J-Rod was always a good signing and a player who potentially could be worth twice what we paid for him (even though we did pay probably £1/2m over what he was actually worth at the time), and Artur Boruc was again always a great acquisition on a free. Mauricio has followed this up with three signings of real quality this summer. I again think that we may have again paid over the odds for these guys, but they are all of undoubted quality. Loveren so far looks like he's been playing in the Premier for about five years, Wanyama has been excellent and I'm sure that Mr Osvaldo will when given some ammunition show us his finishing ability. I do think we've strengthen the team spine significantly, however I think I'm not alone in thinking that we've left ourselves a bit short out wide with injuries at both full backs, lack of an additional "pacey winger" to give us something different and then the subsequent departures of Mayuka (who is one of those with genuine pace) and of course Puncheon; which for me is a massive surprise and possibly a bad bit of business to strengthen a newly promoted side and not replace him in our squad. Questions over selections Wanyama's addition has also meant that Jack Cork being dropped. I'd have thought that he may have come in for Puncheon though instead of JWP, and would like to know people's thoughts on that, as JC's performance statistics actually eclipsed MS in the second half of last season under MP to make them one of the most formidable CM pairings in the league and even Europe, so for him to have only been used as a last minute sub against West Brom this year calls me to ask massive questions as to what is going on there? Also Chambers has looked impressive as a defender and definitely a prospect, but with no natural width down the right as we've opted fo three CM's I'm very suprised he was favoured to Clyne in last couple of games. On the left Fox was also played as opposed to Luke on the left, who was left on the bench. I can understand these if Clyne and Shaw weren't fit, but if they're not fit then surely they shouldn't have been on the bench. So.... at the end of this long article, I'm sure that most people are probably reading and thinking I'm talking all doom and gloom, but it's more about seeing other people's views on MP's job so far? My summary of him is that he initially annoyed me by stating that he'd been researching the project for months before his arrival (although that does show good successor planning, which I had previously criticized when Pards went), coupled with his inability to speak English or to acknowledge anything that NA had done. As fans we made the decision to draw a line under it as we couldn't change it and backed the new man and to be fair to him our performances didn't slip and infact progressively improved for a short period. I felt he was probably given a little bit too much plaudits for this as the team was already in form and it was still such early days, but nevertheless performances were good and I was a happy Saints fan. They say the make of a good Manager is exposed when form takes a turn for the worse, and having convincingly disposed of bigger teams such as Liverpool and Chelsea and then following that up with what was no doubt billed as a "must not lose" game in our camp against Reading; we have now hit that slump in form in the last nine league games. This run of form coupled with MP's statements about getting up into Europe etc doesn't add up - same as his statements at the end of last season when he said we were looking to win our final four games, after draws against West Ham and Swansea; of course we went on to pick up just two points from those four games and score just two goals. Transfer dealings in, I've been happy although I'd like for us to have been a little more conservative with how much we're spending on these players so as not to rock the boat internally, sometimes to make a player available you have to go that extra mile, so happy there. Dealings out however I think we've definitely made a rick in letting Punch go. Style was initially very good, although as above placed on a team in form. This has been far less impressive in terms of taking the game to teams in our current run of poor form. Team selections were pretty much as expected during our good run and now come into question with Cork, Clyne, Shaw and even not using Billy as a sub to bring on for final 10 mins if we need a goal seems strange if we're not going to allow him to go on load or find a new permanent club. I hope that MP now takes us on a run whereby all doubts and concerns described in this piece can be dismissed as past concerns, however we need to turn this around sooner rather than later as form like that wont see us sitting in 6th, 3rd or 10th like the last few weeks, but much closer to the bottom end... Come on Mauricio time for you to really earn that song we sing for you - I don't want it to be an ironic song that Pompey fans can sing back to us. COYR
I hate it when people carry on "form" from the previous season. A run of games with a three month gap and a bunch of transfers in the middle is not a run of games.
Also, 4 games in and the best PL start in 14 seasons..? Win the next two home games and everyone feels better. Save this article for after Christmas.
Pointing out that a goal was in the last minute or in injury time or whatever is mot really helpful. There are typically about 95 or so minutes in a game. A team's job is to score in any of those minutes. If your team's fitness and, most importantly, desire to win is enough to keep them going in the 90th minute, then that isn't "lucky" as it's often implied; it's great preparation. No-one seems to level at Man U that they are lucky in any way to score at the end of games; why level that accusation at us? Then, comparing NA's last ten matches versus MPs first ten is to pick a very specific comparison. Why not pick NA's first ten games in the prem with MP's? Then you get 4 points versus 19. Be clear: I'm not saying that there's anything meaningful in that; I'm trying to point out that any arbitrary comparison doesn't really tell you much. As for team selection; I'll say what I always say, sorry if it's dull. Would I rather have the team selected by: 1. Me and my ilk with 90 minutes (some) weeks of watching Saints from row FF surrounded by a riot of biased shouting 2. A team of people who see the players for several hours six days a week, who have access to the players' medical data and the GPS tracks from every single training session? I'm sure that letting Punch go and not playing Jack Cork were not decisions made on a whim but to listen to fans, I sometimes think they suspect the management team toss a coin when they select players. As for your fear of being unduly negative? Possibly. We've had the best start to a season for years. We can't win every game. Vin
And how many more times does it have to be said... Jason Puncheon left for personal reasons because his terminally-ill mother needed him close to her. It wasn't for football or business reasons. As Joe and TSS have said, let's judge this season when we've had a bit more of it.
I presume you mean premier league season since the start to the season in the championship was a fair bit better.
Have to say I have a lot of sympathy with the OP's view. Pochettino has had good results against good teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and City, but has a frankly pretty dreadful record against the teams we should be beating. On paper we look an excellent and attractive side, but there's just something that hasn't quite clicked in our performances stretching back into last season. There are still question marks for me over Lambert's form, despite his good performances for England, which is a pretty big issue for us (maybe we're not tactically getting the best out of him?), and although Wanyama is clearly a good player, bringing him in and breaking up one of the most successful midfield partnerships in the league last season troubles me a bit. So there are a lot of challenges to overcome. I'm hopeful we will start to do that tomorrow but to be honest, although it is still early days, I'm not feeling as positive about things as I did last season, when in theory we should be looking to do much better.
I should add that I think Pochettino's an excellent manager and will show that in time, with someone else if not with us. He's certainly got the tools to do great things with us if he's given the chance and I wouldn't even dream of replacing him at this point.
I had very high expectations after the Everton game (the most exciting 0.0 you could wish for) and than later our wins against Liverpool, Chelsea and City...but we then seemed to give up on our exciting play and became more defensive. However, mission accomplished with a decent league position in our first year. My big disappointment this season was the home draw with Sunderland...willing to concede that Norwich are better than I thought. Can't judge a season after only 3 games...our team has been strengthened well, so I am sure we will improve.
Well, I spent a large part of last season worrying about what would happen were either JC or MS to be injured. One of the less palatable aspects of building towards higher things is having back-up players. How many times have you heard people say that Man U's second team could pretty much hold its own in the prem, certainly in the Championship? There's a price to pay for that strength in depth that you need, and it's great players like JC on the bench. I suspect also that we may begin to see a little rotation, which should cut injuries and keep people fresh and fighting for places. I hope so. Vin
Very good OP. Well-informed and raises valid questions. For what it's worth, my own opinion is that the jury is still very much out on MP. So far, I'm not entirely convinced that he's been a significant improvement on NA. One of the main positives of MP has been in attracting big names, although we can't be sure whether that's down to MP, the backroom team, or our growing status as a club. Moreover, MP's significance is limited in this respect insofar as he wasn't able to persuade Damiao or Banega to join. In terms of results, as the OP mentioned, there hasn't been a huge improvement, if any, since NA left us. The only big change seems to be in our high-pressing playing style. Too many times under NA we would try to just absorb the pressure, and this often harmed us later on in matches (the games against the 2 Manchester teams at the beginning of last season for example). However, while we've certainly been improving defensively as the whole team presses high up the pitch, I'm unconvinced that there's been any improvement when we're on the ball. We are very good at winning the ball, but once we have it, we seem short of ideas, there's a lack of movement and a lack of creativity. This wasn't always the case under NA; we were known for our free-flowing football and ability to unlock defences. As the other posters have noted though, this is too early for any sweeping statements. So far, as I say, I'm not entirely convinced that we are a wholly better team under MP than with NA at the helm. However, as TSS said, our situation at Christmas should give us a better idea of where the club is headed.
I have no complaints over our transfer business. I'd sooner spend money on 2 or 3 1st team players than 6 or 7 squad players. This policy is even more agreeable after seeing the recent comments from Mr. Dyke & others on young players getting 1st team opportunities blocked by average imports.
I suppose it depends upon the expectations for the team. I was never as optimistic as some, but I did have some hopes for a top eight finish. I haven't given up on those hopes after just three games, but it's clear to me it won't be easy and the team will have to improve (although with the addition of Osvaldo and players gaining experience that's certainly a possibility). I do think the team is improved from last year and just needs a little time to integrate players. And I'm still reasonably confident we will stay up and that's the main thing for me. At worst, I feel like maybe Osvaldo won't work out, Ramirez remains an enigma, and we end up selling both at a small loss. Which is really not so bad. Wanyama may want to leave but the way he is playing we can sell him at a big profit and we still have Cork. In the meantime, players like Shaw, Chambers, and JWP should continue to improve, along with some other young players. In that situation, this year will prove to be the year where Saints' drive to the top finally stalls out a bit but after three straight years of improvement with the going getting tougher at each step that's not at all unexpected. I agree that looking at "continuous" form over two seasons is problematic. But still, supposing we DO view the team that way and discount summer improvements... the MP + last 10 games of NA has us with 29 points out of 20 games. That's 55 points in a season. So if we don't improve at all from this base-level, that's still not too shabby.
Unfortunately I can only judge MP based upon what he has done for us. If I'm to base it purely on this season then again despite it being "our best ever start" I still find myself a little underwhelmed by the way we've played. We were the better side against Sunderland, but not so much as to really deserve to win I don't think as we didn't test Westwood enough, and lets have it right Sunderland are very poor. Norwich have bought well and I did think that we would be up against it there, but hoped we could nick a point. I dont begrudge getting beat there, but it has to be about the longer run of form and quite frankly since pretty much securing our Premier League status against Reading, we've been distinctly average in performance levels and our points tally for that period is worse than average. We are expected to win tomorrow in the eyes of the bookies, pundits and us as fans and I hope that tomorrow is the start of an upturn in performances. If it isn't however and we fail to win, are we still going to consider this "our best start"? Yeah thatâs fair enough â I have mentioned the good form before, so this isnât all negative. Iâm not looking for a change of manager, just questioning whether why everyone seems to rate him as highly as they do given some of the facts. Given that I feel we gave up on a manager who was taking us in the right direction I would like his replacement to improve us further than I feel NA would have done, and apart from the transfer dealings(for which nobody seems too sure how much the manager plays a part) I am so far not sure whether our direction of travel is forwards, backwards the same course as we were already on.
I'd agree over the transfer business, signed 3 quality players but loaning out punch seemed absurd especially with no replacements.
If we had lost our opening game, drawn our second and won our third (rather that reversing that), then I don't think we would be seeing any of this negative thought. If you leave fans on a loss for a couple of weeks then suddenly that is all we do and everything is a disaster. I love the way we keep possession. I enjoy the probing (even if it is a little blunt) because I remember spending most of every game trying to get the ball and hit on the counter - or simply survive. I hated that. Possession all the way baby, even if it comes at the cost of a little flair.
It's getting a bit boring lads... Punch went for personal and family reasons. We tried to get a winger in in loan and he was coming, but he got injured the day before deadline day.
