Southampton are trying to play a particular brand of football and have been since Nigel Adkins was in charge. When Poch came in the genral style of play remained the same but he added a new dimension that Adkins unfortunately was not capable of. Now Koeman has tweaked this system again slightly but the tactical approach overall is largely the same Koeman has more experience and Saints are now better in the second half of games whereas it was the opposite under Pochettino.
Koeman currently looks a good fit for the saints but remember Laudrup (swansea)? we all thought that was a good fit and that is what happens when little clubs get unexpected success with managers, one good season and such managers are viewed as being better then they actually are. Koeman may well be able to maintain saints as a mid table side but there will be no threat of finishing 4th (like last season) and thats the challenge for Koeman, once the luck fades away, how good is he as a manager? Not good enough for us anyway. But I have to agree regarding Pochettino (unfortunately)There is no chance of us finishing 4th while Pochettino is manager, simply won't happen and that has been my view from day one. Still at least you goons stand no chance of winning the title while Wenger remains your manager.
Wenger has already won the title though, three times I agree it's been tough over the last decade, but I think he'll do it again with Arsenal before he retires. Spurs should have given AVB longer imo. He struggled a bit initially but overall looked like he was going to be a decent manager for you. I think Pochettino is a step down.
Thanks for reminding me Piskie I'm talking about now and the future, not the past as Wenger has had his time as a manager capable of winning league titles but before he retires he won't win the premier league or the champions league, but still a manager I respect for the way he plays football. Avb was out of his depth, not a great man manager and far too many issues and negativity within the squad so that was never going to work long term.
Any time mate Personally I think Wenger will win the league again with Arsenal before he retires. Although the last decade has been lean, over the last couple of seasons we've gradually started to look like genuine contenders again, but there are still flaws that need ironing out. AVB was a grumpy bastard, but his time was cut short. My personal opinion is that Daniel Levy is your problem at Spurs, or him and a combination of Baldini making decisions over transfers that should really be left to the manager. The trouble is, no manager lasts long enough to build any consistency.
I pretty much agree with all your saying, especially about how second season syndrome is no myth and the very real possibility that there could be a sour Laudrup esque end to the Southampton-Koeman era which I of course hope does not happen. I do however disagree with the idea that Saints were lucky last year. Yes Saints were fortunate at times last year but this had a marginal impact at best on our best ever PL finish. Koeman came in and got to grips with how the PL works extraordinarily quickly and integrated his players (limited compared to the standard we went toe to toe with) abilities into an extremely effective system that was both results based and easy on the eye. Last season he got his tactics spot most of the time and there was no luck involved in that. I think he would be a resounding success at spurs considering all this and his recruitment abilities, an area that has been holding spurs back for a few years now.
Being fair, you're right regarding Koeman and his tactics and team setup, calling it luck is a little off! but regarding that part in bold, we have heard this all before about managers coming to spurs, bringing qualities that we need, the only recent example of that (which worked) was when Levy sacked Ramos, scrapped the DOF system and gave control to Redknapp and the rest is history. Jol before was also a success but that was more of a surprise really and he wasn't talked up as being the man to sort the club out, other then by Arnesen. I have a feeling that we will end up with a similar situation once Poch is fired, in that the job will be handed to an experienced manager to fix issues and take control but I don't view Koeman as being that type of manager and maybe he is the perfect fit for saints? I'm sure you would rather then, then lose another manager to us!
"AVB was out of his depth" Just sums up the typical yid mentality of thinking they are bigger than they actually are.
Spurs are a big club. AVB did reasonably well in terms of points per match but was perhaps too inexperienced to know what to do with the players at his disposal and lacked the gravitas for the role, as was the case at Chelsea. He seems to do well in less competitive leagues.
Plus I never liked the guy from his first interview which seemed like he was bitter about his Chelsea exit and I felt he took the job with us wanting to prove then wrong. Anyway I'm sure Lee will remember the game at Upton Park, West ham the better team, our usual **** football under Avb, then final minutes Bale scores a wonder goal and we take the points. Avb was fortunate to have Bale in world class form to hide the flaws of his management and like you say, he's better staying in weak leagues so he can win Russian titles every year.
I see those Arsenal fans seem to think she is a physio. Just how many Club Doctors does a club need. I presume you have one already?
"But we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title. It is the same as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham - all the big teams." (Pellegrini, talking to the press, ahead of City's home clash with Chelsea) Pellegrini thinks that Spurs are a "big" team, and that we have a shot at the title. Yes, I agree that we are a big club, but I remain undecided about our chances at winning the title.
The 'Shrewd Genius' Levy has just taken a massive financial hit on Soldado who has joined Villareal. Reports a while back were that he would be sold for around £11m. That's a £15m slap in the face for the 'shrewd one'. ****ing genius
On the face of it, it does look like bad business. However, Levy will rightly believe that it was worth the risk. It didn't pay off, but Bale, Carrick, Modric, Berbatov, etc all did. It's swings and roundabouts at this level, PISKIE, and Levy has won more on the swings than he has lost on the roundabouts. It takes great courage to admit that you made a mistake, and to cut ones losses early. Levy is courageous, and he's cutting his losses early with Soldado. I suspect that he is doing this because he has a new striker lined up for us.
Poor show HIAG. Levy has lost every time. Even the players you mention being sold meant more years of mediocrity. And the money? Well that was pi55ed away in the next transfer window every time. When you look at all your transfers, whether it be Soldado or Bale...there was nothing won mate, just different degrees of losing.
