I agree that Saints are a very good side, a lot better than we were at the start of the season but my only criticism is impacts from the bench. Our first 11 are all of Premiership quality (counting Yoshida as one, hoping that Forren is better than both Yoshida and Fonte) but in quite a few areas I don't see us as having that strong back up: Shaw/Fox Boruc/Davis Lallana/Rodriguez (not that Rodriguez is bad on the wing, but he's not in the same league as Lallana and is better up front IMO, although I guess it would be good to have a player like Le Fondre to come off of the bench! Although saying that Rodriguez is improving every game, he set up both of our goals yesterday.) I believe that when things go right, they go very well and we can hold our own in most games. My only concerns are that we don't always take our chances (like against Wigan) and that when things aren't going so great, we don't have many players on the bench who can make a decent impact and change the game around.
JRod has obviously been good, but the one player that has impressed me no end in the last 3 games is Davis. Under NA he was a negative player that would cause attacks to break down by holding the ball or passing sideways, but he now seems a driving force when replacing Ramirez and his closing down and workrate is excellent as well. Agree that Punch has not been playing that well, JRod will hopefully replace him with Lallana back from the start against City
Agree with this. Davis was a super sub against Man City, but for many of the games after he wasnt that effective. Coincidence or not, since MP has taken charge Davis has picked his game up. I also like that MP has no qualms over subbing Ramirez off if he's not having the desired impact on the game.
Been saying this for a while now, I believe we are the best team in the bottom half of the league and the good thing is that we are improving all the time. Our high pressing game allows us good possession in the opponents half although we do need to learn not to concede cheap goals which have been costly this season. Being a young side (average age 24) the best years of this team are ahead and I believe that we have a central midfield pair that compare with the top teams in this league. I'm massively excited to see the team develop with occasional additions from the academy and transfers.
Not daft at all. At the moment I would say our games are often like a good movie with a poor ending that doesn't live up to the rest of the story. To me saying we're good doesn't mean we don't still have work to do, it just means we have the ability, and put in a good performance, but we do still have to work on the weak areas - defending set pieces!
Too frequently, we do not turn opportunities into goals; too frequently, our opponents do. With time and experience, the hope is that we'll learn to avoid those tendencies.
To be honest, I'd think that the hallmark of a "very very good side" was turning opportunities into goals. A side that turns two opportunities into two goals is a better side than one that turns ten chances into one goal. At least, that's if we simply follow that the more games you win, the better you are - and as the result is the only thing that matters, I see no reason not to.
Yeah that's what I'd say as well. Perhaps it's more accurate to say we're a good side to watch, or that we have the potential to be a very good side. I suppose it depends how you define 'good'...
No disagreement. I don't think that we're a 'very very good side' yet. I think that we're a side that has found ways to impose itself on its opposition, but as yet lacks the quality to turn that ability into wins. We're very good at attaining possession, fairly good at retaining possession, and getting better about preventing teams from getting a clear sight of goal. But beyond our much-discussed defensive lapses, we tend to dither too much in attack and thus fail to create clear-cut chances from good spells of possession; what separates us from the good teams is that they move the ball around far more decisively in the final third, and they make more runs off the ball. So, long story short, I think that we're a very good team box-to-box; whether we become a very good team overall will be dependent on better play in the chalky bits at either end of the pitch.
Or, how come when we are winning it always feels like we are going to conceed a last minute goal? This could be a new thread!
Yeah, but the only problem with that is, now I've got that tune in my head. How does it feel, how does it feel when your alone & cold inside...........
Well, I felt like **** on Saturday and felt much the same on Wednesday. I'm now back in (windy and wet) France and have been telling friends I feel like this and they don't get it. "But they play well at Manchester" they say. Yeah, but nil points, I reply. I will be happy if they play OK and win. Hell, I'll settle for playing crap and winning. Football fans, eh?
Only Man City when they beat Man Utd 6-1 had more attempts at goal against Utd at Old Trafford in the last 2 seasons. For years we are a poor finishing side but we do create alot of chances which is the most important thing, we will come good and hopefully it will be soon
could someone tell me why saints don't put men on the post's,when defending corners? The first goal could have been prevented,the second the man on the post wandered off, allowing the man to score very poor defending!
Read in a couple of papers that we should have had 7 points from the last three games (which is what we know, but good that others spot it). Hanson on MOTD said twice that we were terrific. We are a very hard team to beat, but need to put more goals away. I think that we are a good midtable team in quality of play. Next season will be exciting, but we must grind some results out this season. I think we have just had a cluster of games where things haven't gone our way, but playing like this we will get wins. We outplayed Man U, Arsenal and Evertonfor a large part of the game...no reason we can't beat Man City. A promising thing is that in 2 games under Poch we played better in the 2nd half...suggesting he has no problem communication in the dressing room.
