Wanyama is definitely useful in the more physical games, against the likes of West Ham, West Brom and Stoke. Yes his passing is sometimes sloppy, but he normally manages to win it back with his strength. I was amazed in the game against West Brom, I never thought I'd see a player who could hold both Yacob and Mulumbu off the ball by themselves. Obviously Wanyama and Lovren have made a difference for the better as we seem much harder to beat now.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1782420-liverpool-vs-southampton-6-things-we-learned/page/4 I agree with this. Wanyama is what we have been missing for ages. Yes I like Cork and feel sorry that he has to miss out. But Wanyama adds what we have needed in midfield.
I'm sure most people already know, but the match in full is on LFC TV (Sky channel 429) tonight at 10pm
I understand that Cropper was on the bus (someone has to help with the bags as Fox is injured), yet the U21 game yesterday Gazza was not playing which I find somewhat strange. Good that the boys are back winning.
Yes, there's that other goalkeeper we have, whose name I can't remember but reminds me of biscuit. Very good apparently.
Don't know if this has been mentioned by anyone previously, because I can't be bothered to look back through the other pages in the thread, but I thought the substitution by Poch was a really terrific decision. Taking Rickie off is a big call to make but he wasn't having his best game, and perhaps was carrying something, so it seemed logical. Steve Davis was, to some maybe, a surprising replacement. The expectation was that maybe Gaston or JWP would replace Rickie in an attacking sense, but putting on Steve Davis was the perfect call to make. He has that tenacity that, especially in a short 25 minute spell, can cause the opposition a lot of problems - by getting stuck in. I know I have said this before about Davis, I think he is such a valuable player to have in the squad. I am sure he would chip in with a lot more goals if he had that license to roam forward like he did yesterday and for a spell last season. Honestly thought he didn't put a foot wrong. Of course, everyone else, especially the defence, were outstanding.
Completely agree with this, I feel sad to mention it but I have to say we seemed to look a lot more cohesive going forward when Davis replaced Lambert. This could be because Liverpool were affording us more space, but the system seemed to work better with only one out and out striker.
I observed the same thing during the match. As you say, the system seems to work better with one striker. I think we need a creative player with great vision to play behind the striker. The way we play, things get rather messy, hectic, with with four to six players (Osvaldo, Lallana, Rodriguez, Schneiderlin, full backs) running in all kind of directions. So i think what we really need is a player who will recieve the ball high up the pitch and spot a right pass in all those movements. I think this is exactly what's missing in our game. Lambert can do that, he showed that on numerous occasions, but it's not working for him this season. Anyway, i'm not for dropping Lambert, just want to say we might do better with a creative offensive midfielder behind the striker instead of two strikers.
Davis is the perfect player for those situations. He won't create something out of nothing, but when the game is stretched he does an excellent job of finding space, collecting the ball, and building moves. And I do agree: we need to consider having one of Lambert/Osvaldo starting and the other coming off the bench. Not dropping them on form, but rather to rationalize our tactics.
It is fair to say that Lambert's goalscoring threat from open play has been minimal recently, but he offers so much in collaborative and individual build-up play and chance creation for others. However, sometimes I feel that teams manage to find a way to comprehensively mark him out of the game. As others have said, I think we'd look more balanced with a more natural midfielder in there behind Dani Osvaldo. Maybe Davis, maybe Gaston, maybe JWP. You could suggest moving Morgan forward and trying Victor and Jack together also I imagine. However, I'd be starting with Lambert on the bench fairly soon. Two of his last ten have come from open play, and at times himself and Dani seem to be getting under each other's feet. As Schad has put forward, it's more about rationalising the tactics than 'dropping' Rickie Lambert. Horses for courses.
The one single thing that Lambert lacks, and what colours the whole Saints attack, is pace. Saints can't attack quickly because Rickie can't get there or keep up. People ask why Saints build attacks so slowly. Isn't it obvious..? I don't like to answer this question because the last thing I want is Rickie out of the starting 11, but maybe, just maybe, the time is coming. Perhaps some variation at least, with Rickie starting some games and coming off, or coming on later. I see no problem with that at all. Plus, he'll get to Brazil, which has become rather important to me.
Was having this discussion with my old man and a few other Saints fans on the train back from Bournemouth Uni yesterday. They felt that once Dani had found his feet and started scoring, our play would increasingly favour him, causing Rickie to drop to the bench. We have a lot of mobility going forward in the form of Rodriguez, Lallana, Osvaldo, Gaston, Clyne and Shaw, and Morgan's runs from deep. But Lambert does at times prove to be the pivot. At others, as you say, he slows up the play and allows the opposition to get back. But if we are going to play 4-2-3-1 with just one 'striker', you'd have to fancy it to be Dani alone before too long. He looks smart. Quick feet, good movement, and he's clearly a good finisher. He's shown in the Sunderland, West Ham and Liverpool games that he is more than capable of dropping off and playing the passes, executing the flicks into space or leading the line with runs in behind. He's a clever player, but sometimes he does try to do too much or try to be too clever. That's one of the things you have to deal with, when you sign a maverick such as Osvaldo though. I think he can play that role, whilst bringing a new dimension to it. I guess our answer will come before long. I'd be surprised if our £15m Italian international didn't end up leading...
Yeah, it's the one thing to which we need to adjust: we have enough players of quality -- and with differing skillsets -- that we can build our tactics with certain things in mind. Certain players are likely to play better together; JWP is a great option in games where we may have to rely on something of a brute-force attack, thanks to his crosses and set pieces, as is Rickie. And Rickie is a better option for games in which possession is paramount, while Osvaldo adds a bit more dynamism at the occasional cost of losing the ball, as does Ramirez (and Lallana, for that matter). Agreed, and I made mention of this a couple weeks back. With the signings we have made and those we attempted to make, we look to be building a somewhat different side...one that aims to win possession aggressively, but also wastes no time putting it to use. We just need to figure out the right combinations to make that happen.
I think that Lambert is best in a 4-4-2 with an appropriate strike partner. Barnard, Connolly and Sharp were all poachers and got into spaces and did a fair bit of running. This was whilst Lambert held up the ball, but was up front with a partner, not behind, meaning that he was still his most clinical position and the main focal point for goals. The problem is that 4-4-2 doesn't really work at this level, and it only worked against Liverpool as it was very fluid. If you play Lambert up front on his own, then, as he comes deep often, there's no-one in front of him. He also doesn't shoot as much as he can and is a bit too unselfish at times, and we need someone to play up top who's going to give the goalie a lot of problems. If we play both Lambert and Osvaldo, they get in each other's way. Playing Lambert in the number ten role is good for his creativity but limits his goalscoring opportunities, allowing Osvaldo to get more chances at goal. We could do with some quicker service to Osvaldo for when we counter, and for someone to take on players with a bit more pace (Gaston). That did, however, leave us a bit open last season so I think that should only be used at home. Away from home we should be a bit more careful and to have a more defensive player in instead of Ramirez. Defence and the keeper pick themselves. At home: Cork Schneiderlin Rodriguez Ramirez Lallana Osvaldo Away from home: Cork Schneiderlin Rodriguez Wanyama Lallana Osvaldo I also think that if we are to beat the big teams (like Liverpool), we have to go at them from the start. We did that yesterday by having the full-backs, wingers and strikers all causing problems, whilst the centre midfielders pressed Liverpool high up the pitch. Liverpool, like most top teams, will be most vulnerable from the start and will get better as the game goes on. As they improved, we needed to chuck all our centre midfielders on and to take off our more offensive players. Against the teams around our level, I think we need to be careful not to be too open in case we get caught on the counter. When they begin to tire (as seen against Sunderland and WBA), they'll be at their most vulnerable and bringing on some attacking subs (Lambert and co.) would help us get a late goal.
