Match Day Thread Southampton v Swansea Saturday 26th September 2015

He's one of my fondly remembered Saints too. I thought he was not having a good game though. I don't know if it was what he was told to do but he spent too much time as a CB. Maybe he didn't fancy it against Vic

 

And neither is it meant to be telling us anything. Koeman is gradually giving Jay more and more opportunities. He's being very careful with him, and one day, when Jay sprints down the pitch with the ball with defenders unable to catch him, before he slots the ball into the back of the net, and then repeats that kind of form from 18 months back, we'll all appreciate what Koeman is doing.

And Juanmi is getting the same sort of exposure but for different reasons. Koeman is not overwhelming him but introducing him to the PL gradually, because that's the kind of introduction he clearly needs.

 

Like he did on Wednesday at MK

 

What a complete load of bollocking good sense that post makes to me! Well said TSS

 

Yes, I did have that in mind, but I was thinking Premier League and consistently doing that kind of stuff. He's nearly there, based from what I've seen recently.

 

I think you are missing my point. I don't disagree with what you are saying about Rodriguez but my point wasn't really about him. It was meant to highlight that, despite a relatively easy win, we are still pretty much a one-dimensional team playing everything through Pelle. What I was suggesting was that at the point that the game was as good as won, Koeman could have tried out different tactics up-front (that didn't involve Pelle). It could just as easily be Long and Juanmi as Rodriguez.

 

Obviously I was a great supporter of Cork and I still think we were a better team when he played. But, I for one, have never said that we shouldn't have let him go for the simple reason that we didn't. He decided that he wanted to go. End of (as they say).

 

Did you notice how he kept himself alongside their CBs, incase Vic owned him....

*runs and hides*

 

I'm not sure whether you approve o

Whatever you may think of Graziano, he and the formation that is set up to work around him, is the best chance of scoring goals and winning games, against the majority of opponents. If it wasn't Koeman would change it. Koeman rests an awful lot of responsibility and trust on Pelle's shoulders, in terms of leading the line and scoring goals, and on the whole, he repays that trust. Pelle's presence means that other players, such as Mane, get an easier time of it. Which is why Koeman rarely takes off Pelle unless he is wiped out or injured. When Saints are 3 goals up with little chance of loosing, then Koeman decides to give other options a run out. And so would anyone else if their job depended upon it.

 

Did anyone else think that our back four were running scared of passing back to Stek if they could possibly avoid it? I felt they thought about it for a second more than once, remembered the wrath of Ron and changed their mind.

Vin

 

I think they should think twice. It's an easy removal of responsibility shoving it to the guy who pings [not lumps, he's fairly accurate] it upfield in the hope that Pelle will kill it and distribute it well.
Thing is, Morgan isn't there, and Victor can't always be there to come deep, plus JWP doesn't quite have it in him yet, I think. The Lads are playing around the absence of Morgan, at the moment. They'll crack it eventually.

 

The papers have been reading our threads again.!

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo...ars-in-dressing-room-despite-win-over-Swansea

Van Dijk's 11th minute headed opener from James Ward-Prowse's corner was as impressive as his marking of Swansea danger-man Bafetimbi Gomis. The £11m former Celtic star shares his name with a Thunderbirds character and reckons playing under fellow countryman Koeman is just F.A.B.

 

Ron said after united game that he hates a player passing it to the goal keeper. He went nuts a couple of times in the first half.

 

I think Lff's point was that at 3-0 up, Ron didn't try another style option. He kept the same style but changed personnel. Seemed to me Lff was saying 3-0 up was the time to try something different to see what it looked like and we didn't.

I think. Lff???

 

Lff has a perfect right to suggest it. I didn't miss his point. I'm suggesting Ron did what did for the reason's I suggested. We could of course, be completely wrong. We probably are.

 

The bit that annoys me, and I did see it happen on Saturday is when we won a free kick (no really, the ref did give us one) and the ball was played backwards.

 

Brian Clough banned his Forest team from passing back to the keeper and punched Roy Keens lights out at half time when he gave away a goal when a back pass was intercepted.
Mind you he also blamed his midfield and forwards for defenders having to contemplate a back pass because they should be making themselves available for a pass from their defenders to make a simpler pass

 

So Kurt Zouma got into Crook's team of the week and not Van Dijk. Does he even watch the games?

 

No, impossible to watch every game, but usually a goal is enough to get you in it.
As Chelsea was the late game he would have been able to watch it in full.

I didn't see that game personally, but Zouma must have been unbelievable as the mistake he made for the first goal was absolutely shocking

 

To be fair, he did a great bit of defending for Newcastle's first goal, when he just stood there and watched the ball go over his head to Perez.

*sarcasm*