Alright I very much liked Ralph already, put him firmly into the manlove levels now after that. Let 'em know Ralph. Please.
I thought Valery coped really well with Zaha, apart from maybe not getting tight enough for the goal. But JWP was brilliant at RWB when he moved there...that position seems to suit him. Less convinced by Targett tonight, and I was surprised it was Valery rather than him who made way; but then Targett got the assist for the goal so wtf do I know?
And while Vestergaard/Bednarek are probably our two most consistently competent (or at least competent-adjacent) CBs, they'd lose a relay race to a slow-motion replay of a glacier, which isn't ideal as a pairing.
Generally disappointed with last night's performance but ultimately did well to salvage a point against a well-organised Palace. We played really well for the last 15-20 minutes and I think might have snatched the three points is the changes had been made 10 minutes earlier. It was a fair result at the end of the day. Hope we bring someone in to stiffen up the central defence who has a bit of bark about them. Some of the casual passing and errors made me worry.
Good luck with that Ralph... I’m now waiting for someone to email ralph and tell him it’s not just his opinion that matters and everyone’s entitled to an opinion
"As for Marriner, words fail me. Saints should have finisged that with eight men, red card fouls consustently ignored, and Wilf looks at him the wrong way and he sends him off. If anyone else did their job as badly as that they'd be sacked on the spot. An absolute travesty and a dusgrace to the game." haha behave. The ref didn't have a good game, but think he was bad for both sides. The CP fans losing their **** about the ref from last night and that we didn't have anyone sent off. Tbf I'd be frustrated as CP fan too, they really should have won fairly comfortably last night. They had the beating of us all over the pitch, just couldn't finish us off.
You answered your own question in the last sentence. Targett has an end result when he has the space to cross. Valery gets into decent positions but needs too much time to weigh up what he is going to do with the ball when he gets it. I picked up on that when he was in the U23s as well. I think Ralph realised that he needed someone wide right who would use the ball effectively when opportunity arose. Not condemning Valery but he really needs to work on his attacking game.
6-10 I did chew my fingers off last night to ignore the poster who said all we were doing was working hard with no creativity (or similar) #patiencewiththeplayersespeciallythecreativeones
Just watched our match on MOTD...recorded it rather than wait up until they got round to us. Highlights only so can't really judge, but looked like it was a good point to win for us....though predicted goals suggested we should have won (whatever that means). Bednarek did a great save off the line; Stephens lucky not to get sent off (though Ralph pointed out a nasty foul on Targett....about all he could say as he couldn't defend Stephen's tackle); Zaha idiot to applaud referee after first yellow. JWP has been swapped for someone else...not only has he become a better player, but has also developed a nasty side. Our little James on the wind up
I was going to quote someone but I can make the point generally. No names, no pack drill... I find it rather sad that at least one member popped in to post doom and gloom at half time but didn't say a word after we scraped back for a draw. (They have been on since but have chosen not to comment on our second half perfomance. Odd) What a tragic attitude. Vin
The highlights really flattered us. Our passing was shocking. We looked so slow in the build up, ponderous in attack, and nervous at the back with some desperate last gasp tackles. Last 20 mins aside, it was a very poor showing. Good point indeed.
I have often felt we had little luck at all over the past few seasons...dropped points in games we should have won or drawn and never got undeserved points. I am aware that is through Saints-coloured glasses, but it seemed that way. Wouldn't go as far as to say this point was undeserved, but it was hard earned...points like this can make all the difference. Pack the point in our pot and move on. COYR
Highlights from OS: https://southamptonfc.com/news/2019-01-31/highlights-southampton-crystal-palace-premier-league-1819
Fran. Totally agree on the luck front. We have had some appalling luck over the last couple of seasons. Nice to get a little bit back, but still want a hand of god winner at Watford!
