Match Day Thread Southampton v Leicester City Saturday 17th October 2015 KO 3pm

Just got back and I'm pretty sure that is the first ever time I've left St Mary's out of disgust. I would normally say fair play Leicester but to me there is difference between a team fighting and pressing and a team who basically says "**** it why don't we just stay back and lets see if you can score 2 goals? Oh and screw it we'll help out by not at all pushing forward and constantly passing the ball to you."

I mean what the hell were we thinking in that second half? A team who have a rep for coming back, what shall we do? Press high and try and kill the game? Or make 2 defending subs and try and see the game out, at home, 2-0 up, against Leicester?

And Kelvin Davis. I love ya for staying and wanting to retire here but holy **** he was so poor. He kicked it constantly to opposition, got no height or speed on said kicks and was at fault entirely with the equaliser. Mane was also anonymous and screwed up the best chance. Van Dijk was the only true standout performance, I shudder to think how we would have done without him that second half.

I can not believe we threw this away.

 

Would the people having a go at Kelvin been happier with Gazzaniga in goal? We lost as a team. Its the last minute score that is annoying.

 

Think you are doing leicester a diservice tbh

 

Swap the results over. Draw at Chelsea win against L'cester. Same number of points. Would have taken it.

 

Have to disagree a little with this. Davis's kicking isn't good, we all know that... but so should Saints. So they should be ready for a weak kick.

Yes, Davis should have done better than to kick it right to a Leicester player at midfield and without much height. But there is no way that a team should ever get the ball at midfield off a keeper's kick and just slice right through the defense like a hot knife through butter right down the middle of the pitch.

We had players back, we just totally screwed up. Fonte being gimpy might have been part of it. But they beat us 4 on 7. Or really more like 2 1/2 v 6 if you look at the players involved in the play. That shouldn't happen.

 

Yes. He can still make it, maybe. Kelvin can't.

 

He had a bad game. It wasn't that one moment, what he did for the goal he did a few times. Also a minute or 2 before the equaliser the ball came right through to him but he panicked and Van Diljk sorted it resulting in the goal kick resulting in the goal. He didn't deal with crosses and looked shaky all match. It's not like Davis had a great game and was let down by a mistake, from minute one he was poor. Gazzaniga would probably have done about the same.

 

They deserved their point. Not much else to say really; except if we're playing the blame game, I'm blaming the international break, which always seems to come at wrong right time for us.

On a positive note, Van Dyke was immense. No wonder Mary Poppins put such faith in him.

 

I didn't think Van Dijk was that good? He let Vardy get inside him on the second goal. And Dyer beat him pretty bad to get that cross in for the first goal.

Granted, the second goal was an overall team breakdown, and on the first goal it's a very tough task to ask a CB to hang with a player like Dyer. So I'm not saying he's was horrible, either.

But he was good in the first half, and part of the overall sloppy defense (along with sloppy ball retention and just sort of sloppy everything) like the rest of the team.

 

Leicester played well. Of course they did but it seemed like we were doing our absolute best to let them play that well. We gave it to them as in literally passed to their feet, yes they pressed and pressed very well at times but we also couldn't string a pass and backed off all second half.

I see where you're coming from but to me he had 11 players to choose from and he couldn't have picked out a better pass to their player. No team should expect their keepers goal kicks to be bad. He's a keeper he practises them. You are right the defending is bad but you can't excuse the basics of football which in this case was literally kicking a ball.

 

When we don't win I hate reading the comments on this site. So it's all Kelvins fault is it? I believe he made a stunning save to keep us in it first half. Leicester are bloody good! that's why they have more points than us!

 

You deserved the draw with ease. Second half we played into your hands. You played great the second half. Your subs at half time changed the game.

 

I've not seen the game, but you know I see the same people whinging and moaning, slagging the decisions off and everything is unacceptable.

My goodness, we've just drawn at home to an unbeaten team who are surprising people at the moment. Far from a disaster.

Some people really need to understand that football is an imperfect game.

Good point, but maybe earned badly.

 

Gazzaniga gave up 2 goals to Leicester as well. And that was last year's Leicester. I seem to also recall Gazzaniga slicing a clearance straight to Leicester that was way worse than the SKD kick you are so upset about.

 

Fair point FLT. Everything always seems worse when you have the lead and then lose it. We weren't on our level at all today - even in the first half. The second half was very poor, but Leicester worked their socks off, and Vardy is a lively bugger. They thoroughly deserved the point, and deserve to be where they are in the table. It's football.

Btw, we're up to 8th.

 

Not excusing him. It was bad. Just disagreeing that he was not ENTIRELY at fault for the goal though he contributed, without a doubt.

 

Still a **** result and they only have 3 more points, if we had won it would be the same. Yes Leicester are a good team and yes they played well. But we didn't turn up second half.

 

Thanks for the many gracious comments on here ... my only beef is that van Djik's goal WAS offside and I think that will be confirmed on MOTD ... you have a terrific side and we couldn't get to grips with you from about ten minutes in until half-time ... but a couple of you are being a little too critical about the second half - that's us - it's what we do ... relentless pressing, going at defences with pace and creating bucket loads of chances and converting a couple .. it's hard to defend against that for a full ninety and when we get our full momentum going we seem able to starve the opposition of any meaningful possession ...

On the plus side ... some of the inter-play between Mane and Pelle was genuine class ... good luck until the return ...

 

But you wasn't at the game so how would you know?

(Sorry had to say it)

 

As disappointed as I am not to win it really isn't the end of the world. We are 8th and we will get last gasp points we probably don't deserve later in the season. Was just one of those days. On to the next one! #wemarchon

P.s credit to leicester, they are annoyingly tenacious.