First game for a while and always happy to put across my views Lineup - A classic caretaker management team, set up not to lose. In many ways I am disappointed we didn't still have Redknapp in Charge as we would certainly have gone a bit more hell-for-leather, being his former club and all. What was suggested as a 4-4-2 on the pre-match screens at the ground was back to a 5-3-2, though it was interesting that Redknapp's 'specialists', Ferdinand and Isla, didnt make the lineup. On paper, Philips and Traore as wingbacks, Taarabt off Austin and a firm midfield pairing of Barton and Fer looked good, it being something we hadnt seen in a while looked great, though the underlaying fact that this wasnt a team put together by Redknapp was probably the most positive thing. Green - 7 His kicking wasn't his best, but having watched him for some time, he much prefers to release short and early, setting counter-attacks. I was shocked that Traore especially didnt anticipate this more, though Philips made two good breaks from quick green throws. Nothing he could do with the goal. Onuaha - 5 Disappointing. His career really seems to have stagnated. I wonder if it is a sign of the times, big bruising centre backs really dont seem to be the flavour of world football anymore. He didn't look unfit, just physically incapable of the movement on a sixpence that modern, ball-playing defenders need. Made one or two terrifying touches around his own box and was largely at fault for the winning goal as he just looked too cumbersome to deal with Mane (who was excellent throughout the game). Caulker - 5 Another career on hold presumably until he goes elsewhere and does wonders. I often thought it was very odd that AVB let him go from spurs, and to sign for Cardiff seemed odd. It makes more sense after seeing him more and more this season, he just isnt a quality premier league footballer. He isn't awful, and has pace, power, is good in the air and in the tackle, his awareness though is shocking and I think is a player who would benefit massively from a strong, tactical manager to drill him the art of defending. He should study Gary Cahill's games for Bolton when at the same age he developed massively into a very good defender of similar attributes. Hill - 6 Was a shocking state of our team when he lined up against Bolton when we were first promoted 3 and a half seasons ago.... and he is still here! He's got heart though, and he played pretty well today. Strong and commanding, his most impressive attribute was his fitness, he gets up and down the pitch all game supporting the left wing back and he was involved in the best little passing move of the first half which led to a chance. Dunne - 7 (Vargas 5) What you would expect. Solid, uncompromising. Wins absolutely every header, even against the much taller Pelle and made one or two great challenges around the area. Was left for dead by Elia in the first half and Mane in the second. He is a very limited defender, but you cant fault him for being past his best, we really should have got some cover in for these old timers and its criminal that they are all we have now. Traore - 4 Didnt look confident from the first whistle. Wasted possession time and time again, heavy touches and just looked like a beaten man. Has all the attributes of a great full back but I dont know if he really wants it. Got into some great positions though, looked fit and fast, but got the crowd on his back from about the 5th minute. Miss Kampala thought he was the worst player on the pitch. She's usually right. Philips - 6 Adds desire, confidence and effort to the Traore package, but cruicially still misses out on FINAL BALL! Some great positions for crosses hoofed out of play. What i did like though was his running and pace, wasnt afraid to take a man on and was the only player on the same wavelength as Green for quick distribution. Barton - 8 Best player in a hooped shirt, perhaps on the pitch. Was involved in everything and broke up a lot of Southampton attacks. This was one of the best games I have seen him have for us and he looked committed and up for it from the off. There were two nasty hollywood passes but both times, after following the play, he did win both balls back. Tenacious, and was involved in everything, he must have seen the most of the ball in the game. Solid effort from the captain. Fer - 5 Didn't really do anything and never got half a yard to explode a shot away, which he seemed to be waiting the whole game for. He will be the first player to leave in the summer I feel and we will probably get about what we paid for him. Looked good on the ball, quite neat and tidy, but unlike Barton alongside him, was very rarely actually involved, so its difficult to give him more than a five. Looked very annoyed when the final whistle went, so I think he does care, just not enough to put his body on the line. Taarabt - 7 (Zarate 6) I liked him. Football is an entertainment and he is fun to watch and it looked like he was enjoying himself again. Definitely lost 2 yards of pace, whether that is from putting on weight or just not being anywhere near match sharp we can only guess. Tried to make things happen, had a couple of decent efforts from range and it was a shame to see him go off. Highlight for me was him losing the ball (he DID lose possession three times in the final third) and then chasing back and winning it back with a great tackle. I've never seen a player waltz past opposition like him, such a talent and the nutmeg in the first half was sublime. We can only hope they can get him in a shape to deliver an end product again. Austin - 5 Very little service. he is a very limited player, you notice it when he is not scoring. It's not for the lack of effort, he runs, tracks, tackles, shouts, and blocks, but he can shoot and he can head, they are what he does better than anything else, we need him in the box and we need service to get to him. There isnt much he can do when Philips and Traore kick it out of play every time they get into a good position. (Isla 6 - I can't remember who he came on for) My thoughts from the game were disappointment that we couldnt hold on, but Southampton are a top 3 team on merit and a 1-0 isnt embarrassing. The thing is, 0-0 would have been a fairer result as there really were no great chances from either side. We set up not to lose the game, it was a bit worrying that we simply couldnt fashion a proper chance in 90 minutes though. I think we will probably go down, i targeted Southampton, Hull, Leicester, Newcastle, West Ham and Hull as wins for the remaining games to give us a great chance and I just cannot see us taking a big scalp and imagine we will lose more than we draw. I don't think of it as a terrible thing, I just hope we make the right managerial choice and get a proper team and identity back and build from there. I love the team and the badge, but I would be very hard pushed right now to say I love any of the players, except perhaps Austin who will certainly leave. It feels like a team of loan players and part timers and its hard to really cheer and get behind them. If we can change that one thing, then I dont think relegation will be so bad.
Your summing up comments sound as though they may have been written a couple of years ago when Harry kept setting us up not to lose and and our team was hard to really cheer and get behind. A sad indictment of two totally wasted years...
I also think we'll go down as just didn't strengthen when we needed to. What concerns me most is what happens if we do go down as with the likelihood of numerous players leaving, potential FFP fine/transfer embargo we may be left with very little next season & then will be a long way back.
Phillips did well on the right side. He got in a few good crosses, one Traore came close from. Where was Austin when he did. He's gone right off the boil.
Sorry mate, but that wasn't in any way a 3-5-2 formation today. Phillips and Traore weren't wing backs as they had Ned and Hill behind them. Dunne and Caulker were the two CBs. It was 4-4-1-1. Totally agree with your comments on Traore, although I would give him a 3.
Couple of observations; 1. The setup was definitely a 4-4-1-1 with Adel in the 'hole' behind Austin. 2. We picked 4 (yes 4) CBs which was always going to restrict out attacking options but CR probably felt it allowed all those ahead of them to attack. 3. We played with NO recognised DCM. 4. CR picked Traore and Philips as wingers to give us pace and width. It was worth a gamble but backfired spectacularly as both were very poor.Traore is NOT a footballer. I'll say that again. He is NOT a footballer at all. Philips is not good enough at this level. 5. Our wide men touched the sideline throughout which was meant to stretch the saints defence. We played almost everything to Adels feet. Adel huffed and puffed but Wanyama was MOM and shackled him superbly. 6. With Adel in his pocket, our wide men offering NOTHING, Austin was totally isolated. 7. Austin has NO pace. I mean none. 8. Fer continuously disappears for long periods of the game. As an ACM he is not influential enough. A bit lightweight too. 9. I HATE Barton but have to acknowledge he was very good yesterday and IMO by far and away our best player. 10. Coleman changed the game after 23 minutes when the saints changed to a 4-3-3. We never countered this. 11. Dunne is by far out best defender which is worrying. He's superb when facing the ball but is a liability when turned. 12. Onouha can't play RB. CANT. CANT. He's not cutting it at all. 14. Caulker needs to wise up quickly. Stupid amateurish mistake yesterday. 15. In 90 minutes with every attacking player we had on the pitch at some stage, we created one chance. FFS. 16. We're going down for one reason. We're not good enough. There's no attacking threat in this team. We're not creating enough chances and therefore NOT scoring enough goals to give us s chance. 17. HQ was very very quiet and subdued yesterday. Green 7 Onouha 5 Hill 6 Dunne 7 Caulker 6 Barton 8 MOM Philips 5 Traore 3 Adel 6 Fer 6 Austin 6
A very realistic assessment Nuts. I can't disagree with any of that. We are simply not good enough and whilst we have spirit the players are not on the same wavelength so that they are effective together.
Well dont often do this but will today as I didnt share the same view on many this time. Green 3. Many bad judgements in his area positioning could easily have cost us 2 or 3 goals. Ned 4 Solid enough and our quickest at the back. But nothing more. Dunne 4. Good in the air. Torn apart by their quick strikers. Caulker 3. As Dunne but made the bad judgement to dribble in their area with 2 to go and the appalling pass that cost us the goal. Hill 4. Occasionally worked well forward with Adel, but was torn apart for speed at the back. Phillips 6. Our biggest threat when he was on the right. Some excellent crosses which should have been better handled by our front men. Why put him on the left? Barton 7. MOM for me again. Fer 4. A poor game. Hard to disappear in his position but he almost managed it. Traore 4. Some good runs, one notable one his effort nearly gave us a goal from a Phillips cross. But error strewn. Adel 6.Lots of skill, passing and football that was lovely to watch. He still looks a bit too slow to make it count for enough, partly as his colleagues are even slower. He should have kept closer to Charlie further forward. Charlie 3. Where was he when crosses did come in. Looks slow. Lost the ball a lot, got beat in the air a lot. Got angry with his colleagues not Saints. Isla and Vargas looked ok when they came on but nothing more 4 each. Zarate looked lively 5. Ramsey 6. Liked his aggression and plan. Think he should have played Henry rather than 2 wide men. We were overrun in central midfield. Our General performance was a 4 at most. Relegation form. But if Adel and Zarate can kick on there is some hope. We desperately need to sort the defence...
Completely agree with all of this. And from the OP, I can't see how you gave Caulker 5 and Taarabt 7. Taarabt had no influence on the game whatsoever and I got sick and tired of his little flicks that failed time after time to find a team mate.
I stopped reading the OP after the Traore rating. This is how it was for me: Traore = waste of space Philips = Not good enough Caulker = gone backwards Ned = looks nervous and gets pushed about too much Adel = needs to go and play with better players as he is one step ahead of ours. Barton = Did well Austin = lots of running Green = keeps kicking the ball to other team and doesn't come off his line at right times. Hill = looking slower but will play for team Fer = Thought he had a better game but still needs to up it. Dunne = thought he did good again Subs of Zerate/Isla/Vargas all had energy and would rather have seen Vargas/Isla on before Philips and Traore. We wasn't bad yesterday but once again got undone at a crucial time. This is, and will be our downfall. We turn off at wrong times and it costs us.
So many last minute/late goals this season. Swansea, Liverpool, Stoke, Man U, Soton that I can think of.
