Yes, and this is what we need more of. Players getting into dangerous areas even if they are marked just to pull the defense out of shape. IMO, Ings is doing all the dirty work so that even when he has a quiet game, his presence is felt. We’re not quite getting enough of this from Adams or Boufal yet, though tbf it takes time. Plus we Djenepo who has looked sharp and can likely do the job if the other two can’t. Agree with you that the press was effective early on, then Man U adjusted. Think Hasenhuttl got things straightened out at half time. It’s just a shame we got that red card so we couldn’t follow through. Things are looking better. You can see now what we’re trying to do. It just hasn’t come together yet, and as a result we’re just not consistent enough on either side of the ball.
A great point with some uncharacteristically excellent defending. Great team performance and my stand outs were vg, romeu and hojberg. Thought ings was poor actually. Impressed with danso. Boufal was a surprise...thought he was good.
Yep. My over-riding thought from today is that’d I’d be more worried if I was a united fan than a saints fan, in terms of expectations. I think a better team would have been 3-4 up at half time today.
Just a word for Cedric as I was one of his biggest critics last season after being a fan of his (apart from his crossing!). He took his opportunity well and it might be a while before we see Valery in the team if he continues like that.
Couple of mancs got ejected from Chapel for giving it all. These morons were standing and singing United songs prior to the goal.
I will happily take the point. Only watched the highlights but Their goal was the worst defending from Cedric I can remember, he literally ran away from him inside the box. Mata went wide but Cedric didn’t go with him or James just back toward the goal keeper. Bloody awful. Great to hear positive reviews of the defence for once but a shame Danso lost his head. At least it shows commitment I guess. 4 points from 4 hard games. We can be happy with that and we will be better and better as the season progresses.
In the end, this match seemed more like a victory than a draw. The Saints really dug in during the second half and the point was ultimately well-deserved. There are several points which stick out for me. I think this is Vestergaard's finest performance in a Saints shirt. Prior to today, I have never been that impressed with him. Our midfield lookeda bit ropey at times. JWP seemed absent and I have seen better games from PEH and Romeu. I liked Adams' spirited performance but i would have to admit to still being on the fence about Boufal. He was uninspiring in the first half yet looked to contribute more just beofre he was substituted. Given Armstrong's subsequent performance, he can feel hard done by. My main point, however, is about Man utd. I thought that they would be the surprise package this season. The new recruits looked to fit the bill and I think players who have been inconsistent have been shipped out. However, I had reservations about what I saw today. Daniel James looked a terrific acquisiton but the new style defence looked dodgy. Saints' pressing caused them major issues before the goal. I would also have to say that I cannot in the life of me understand why Mata was substituted as he was the best player on the pitch today. McTomminey looked good but I am getting the impression that OGS is out of his depth. With Valery and Redmond playing, we would have taken all three points. I cannot see Man utd getting anywhere near second place this season despite getting the impression that this would be their turn around season. They need a decent coach to bring out the best in these players.
I don't know if it has been mentioned earlier, but the free kick that led to the red card challenge, should have gone the other way for obstruction by Young in my opinion.
Cedric probably should not have let James cut inside to his right foot so easily. But fair play, that was a brilliant strike. Players will make mistakes, James took advantage. Overall, Cedric didn't make a convincing case to be in the lineup over Valery, but if we evaluate him as a backup, he did alright.
Have to say that the Daniel James signing was some masterwork stuff. Definitely didn't see him being a prominent player for Man Utd this season.
To be fair to Cedric, he was offered sod all help in the first half. Prowse was caught on his heels a couple of times.
Yeah, it was why i was asking about the formation earlier. Prowse did well offensively, starting a lot of our best moves, including the goal, and making runs into the box to open up space for the others, wouldnt have got anything from the game without him on the pitch. But when he's making runs into the center of the opposition box he's not going to be fast enough to cover right back. He needs to be playing AM and have one of the DM's move across to cover that side. There was a massive gap there most of the match. Boufal was hugging the touchline like a winger on the other side so didnt have the problem and both DMs were drawn to the left because of it.
Not sure I agree with that. He was ok, but at times ripped up by their young winger. He shouldn’t have backed off like he did for the goal either, overlapping run or not. He was 3-4m and backing away into the area. Poor defending, especially for an experienced pro.
Something went on there in January. He was at Leeds, medical done, all paperwork done and then Swansea stopped it. I think Utd made a call in the US.
