Johns, McCarthy, Targett, Gape, Stephens (c), Turnbull, Sinclair, Reed, McQueen, Flannigan, Isgrove. Half time, it's 1-1
Not his best game but battled against some very technically gifted players. Biggest problem for Saints was link up play. McQueen worked hard for 70mins chasing their back 4 and the ball being lifted up to him rather than on the ground through the midfield Personally I think they'd do better with Sinclair in the hole rather than the wing. Rowe looked lively in the cameo he got even though he was announced as Hesketh! Patrick Vieira was their coach. He's lost some muscle. Looked more like a hill runner. Was surprised at the number of Saints supporters. Long drive home. Got back at 1AM.
Targett had a very good game. Two of his tackles/interventions were magic in the penalty box. Very consistent defender. Bit less consistent in passing down the wing or driving forward but getting better all the time.
Just watched very short highlights on Man City official site.. The winning goal was a very fine header. Of interest our esteemed coach Pochettino was in attendance. This suggests he is well on board with the 'Southampton Project', potentially adding weight to the Torygraph piece this morning.. Good news methinks.
Man City may have been the better side which isn't surprising. How would we have looked with JWP, Shaw, Chambers and big Sam? All of whom could have played.
True but all the top sides tend to have their better U21s out on loan so their U21 team is not as strong as it could be. Spurs are particularly like this. I was talking to one of the Spurs dads and he said the team Saints played were weaker by about 7 players.