Match Day Thread West Brom vs Southampton K.O 3pm (28/02/2015)

Plus also giving us the option to play someone along side Pelle (ie Mane today). Given that we don't really have the options to play a wide right and wide left midfielder in a standard 4-4-2, the only real options available to us to play two up front are 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 diamond. But given how much Clyne and Bertrand like to push forward (and how vital that would be to us in a 4-4-2 diamond), the latter would no doubt leave us too exposed at the back at times.

 

I do, but I wouldn't call it a mark of respect or sign of our progression...teams did the same thing last year when we were hanging about in mid-table, not because they feared us but because they didn't.

 

Mm don't forget we started the season pretty high last year too and we were media darlings for a while then too.

I do believe though that other teams hold us in a slightly higher light than normal.

 

What I don't understand is why Pelle cant score anymore. I understand Tadic differing form, his strength is crosses but he can only hit them with his left and defenders know this, and if he's played on the right they just have to stop him cutting in. Pelle looks like a completely different player though.

 

He reminds me a bit of Beattie or Kevin Davies. He's massively a confidence player. Right now he's the Blackburn Kevin Davies rather than the Saints Davies Mk 1.

 

I think Pelle has stopped doing the simple things for a long time now. He always seems to be trying something special; a wonder strike, or a killer pass. Earlier in the season he was holding it up and laying it off in a simple way and that is what you need your striker to do. He hasn't scored for a while and so he now is trying too much all over the pitch. He needs to forget not scoring, forget the fancy flick or ball and concentrate on getting his body between the ball and the defender. Hold it up and lay it back... Slowly that will get him feeling good and a goal would do him wonders too.

 

I don't think they take us lightly, but I don't think that they're getting men behind the ball because we're striking fear into their hearts...when a team consistently struggles against a particular look, the only rational course is to keep throwing it at them until they demonstrate otherwise. The only way we'll get teams to open up, counter-intuitive though it may be, is to start banging goals in when they're defending deep.

 

Well, that's where you're wrong see because there were three og's so we only scored five in that game. The signs were there, we just didn't see them.

 

Yes it is, I've never seen a collective group of players blast the ball hopelessly over the bar so many times. I know we scored 8 against Sunderland, but most of us know that we haven't been as fluent as that going forward for a long time.

 

Just to clarify, I think we have had an incredible season, and of course the "If you had offered me this at the start of the season, i'd have snapped your hand off" cliche is most applicable. Things haven't been great the last few games, and it isn't being negative to say that we can't shoot at the moment or score a goal: that is clear for all to see. Things aren't a disaster at all, but people can be frustrated and disappointed with one game or a run of games in isolation if they want to.

I'm still hopeful we can get the win on Tuesday.

 

We had trouble scoring last year as well, but when things were going good early on this season I think it was easy to chalk it up to Koeman being better than Pochettino. And while I'd love to dump on MP, I think we are seeing it was not just down to his tactics.

It's just hard to find attackers with the quality to break down packed defenses, and they are very expensive as well. So it was always an uphill battle. I think we did well just to replace all the players we lost and keep our record. Really can't criticize any of the players or management too harshly. It's amazing what they pulled off.

It's depressing to think though, that we might have to pull off a similar coup this summer... and every season after... just to hang around in the top 10. Strange to say, but our hopes might ride on the Canadian Man of Mystery's money-generating skills.

I like Ings, maybe we can still sign him. Beefy seems fairly positive we can sign a couple of the Clasie, Vilhena, Van Beek, Kongolo crew. That would be enough for next season, and if we keep playing well and generate revenue maybe that will finally be the set of players we can hang on to for a bit.

 

Totally agree! RK will find the solution, I'm sure of that as before when we had the last 'wobble'. Let's face it, there has been a continuous disturbance in the team formation with injuries, suspensions etc. so it will take time to bed things down again. For some that may seem a little complacent but we human beings are not machines and we need to keep a realistic perspective, as the above post mentions (ie August and all that!!) After this week's efforts by PL clubs in the CL, let's remember, at least we are still very much in the competition with several games to go.After all MC/Arsenal should have done a lot better with their spending and 2/3 year preparation for the CL challenge this year. (I'll not add dignity to LFC/Spuds re their efforts). As Saints fans, we can be disappointed but we'll never be defeated! COYR!!!!!

 

or that having conceded the original gameplan is out of the window.

 

Well, seeing as Saints have been Pants for months weeks I decided to treat the boys and go see Lincoln City v Woking today.

90 minutes + injury time...........at home............0 shots on target..........possibly 1 shot attempted...........lost 2-0..........to a goal that was the most blatent offside ever and I mean yards.................which meant that I was the only Dad setting a good example in the family stand by not f'ing and blinding at the linesman..........The second goal was a great freekick from just outside the area, however it shouldn't have been a freekick. Their player tried to kick a lump out of the Lincoln player and missed meaning the leg he tried to kick with went into the air and he landed on his arse..........

Maybe I'll just take them to look around the Cathedral or Castle or something next weekend.

I take it Saints lost without trying again.

 

I'm watching a re-run of "The Southampton Way." It's the fourth time I've seen it, but it always cheers me up.

Mo Gimpel talking about how after games he used to go to the opposing locker room and look for unused bits of tape, water bottles, and scissors to reuse because the club was that broke... and look where we are now.

 

Needed!! A goalscoring striker, and creativity plus goalscorer in midfield!! Where to find them? Maybe a good look at the teams left in the Europa League, where perhaps a striker may not cost as much as one in a Champions League team!! Wonder how Podolski is doing at Inter?? I do like the look of Williams at Athletic Bilbao even if he is a little raw!!!

 

Needed!! A goalscoring striker, and creativity plus goalscorer in midfield!! Where to find them? Maybe a good look at the teams left in the Europa League, where perhaps a striker may not cost as much as one in a Champions League team!! Wonder how Podolski is doing at Inter?? I do like the look of Williams at Athletic Bilbao even if he is a little raw!!!

 

Is it just me that thinks Morgan's and Clyne's heads have been turn?

 

We need a scoring midfielder.

 

And look the fate of teams that have won the Championship and their subsequent appearance in the PL!!