Aha..! Gonna beat Chilco to it..! [video=youtube;89qWe-C8sHk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89qWe-C8sHk&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Very honest man...said players have to give 100% because we don't have the quality to win playing only 80%.
Asked Koeman about Barcelona, shirt swapping, is Messi better than Ronaldo...spent so long on that no one even asked if we had any injuries Koeman said there is great spirit in dressing room...this is important because they spend time together without the manager present. He said that it is easy to be like this when you are winning, but team spirit is needed the most if you lose 2-3 games. When asked if teams would approach our matches differently because of our success...he said they may not play such open football, but it is up to the opposition. We play the same way whether home or away. Saints practice divided into groups...forwards, defenders and midfield, but together to stop dead ball situations. He thinks this is Stoke's strength...notably because of Crouch who is apparently long. He added that he wasn't a good defender himself...he was more attacking which meant he wasn't the best defender. Dirk Kuyt not on our list of desired players.
I think I'll be there before the game this week.... funnily enough, bringing a Leeds fan with me (well, funnily enough to Dave and Saintalona anyway)
Don't think we have any. Pelle or Long had a bad scrape down the front of the shin when taken off on Saturday. I could only see a leg behind a grinning Koeman. Biggest non-surprise this week.
Without meaning to be overly pessimistic there is a risk of this game turning out like the wba game with them sitting 3 in midfield and having 2 big defenders crowd out Pelle. Additionally they probably have a better counterattacking threat than wba did that day. Hopefully our improved performances and cohesion since that frustrating day will prevent a repeat
I'll be there from around 1. They do some nice pub food, so will grab something to eat there, rather than at the stadium.
I'll aim to get there a bit before 1.30 then (last week I was there on me tod) - I'll probably head outside to the tented bit. I'll have a Saints shirt from the last season in the Championship plus a grey fleece. I know FLT and Saintalona, so we should be able to hook-up somehow!
I think this is a fair assessment. Mind you, I thought we were going to struggle to break down Sunderland so what do I know? I see Stoke as very well organised in defence and pretty handy in attack, so should be quite a handful. Their form though is a bit patchy, getting a great away win at Man City but losing to Villa,Leicester and Sunderland. Any type of win will be a great result in my opinion but anything less than 8-0 will show a shocking lack of ambition.
Good to see at around 2.15 Shane Long is giving himself a good check out as all us fellows are being encouraged to do at the moment!
@SouthamptonFC: Look who joined us to watch training today! Good to see you, @mattletiss7. #saintsfc please log in to view this image
I like the way he says "Stoke have the best defensive record outside the top 3". Yes, Mark, so did Sunderland before last Saturday!
