Still buoyed up by that great performance yesterday but next week will be really tough away to a Newcastle team that are flying having won 5 of their last 6. Pardew seems to have really turned things round after their early season struggles. Some goodd news for us that Cabaye is suspended. Dont suppose we will get any injury updates until the end of the week but we are certain to be without Boruc and Victor. Hopefuuly Morgan and Clyne might be fit to return? If not the team almost picks itself after yesterday and I'll be surprised if we dont start with the same line up. I'm going for a close game and another draw 1-1.
They are playing well. I've noticed one or two teams have now started to make pressing the ball a bigger part of their game, and Newcastle did it to ManU. They didn't press as a whole unit, but in little groups, or even ones and twos, and that still worked for them against a side who seem to be out of confidence. Watching Toon's imitative yellow & blue, the crowd must have wondered... it's just like watching Southampton.
Impossible to be optimistic about this fixture, given our record at St James'. We never win there, but hopefully we can at least stop them from winning. Fortunately however, this Saints team does not appear to suffer the from fatalistic resignation that afflicts so many of our supporters, or at least the old gits like me.
Won't be an easy game, but fancy us to, as ever, put up a fight. I'd go with: Gazzaniga; Clyne, Fonte, Lovren, Shaw; Cork, S. Davis; Ward-Prowse, Lallana, Rodriguez; Osvaldo. Morgan on the bench if fit, I feel Cork and Davis have earned themselves at least another game.
Their loss of Cabaye is massive, they lack creators in midfield. Saying that they do have a lot of powerful midfielders so our loss of Wanyama (and possibly Morgan I'm not sure when he's back) will be just as bad.
I read an article on morg in le quipe and he said he hadn't had a muscular injury for 2 years due the conditioning and diet he has and I actually said to myself I be the gets injured next game and he did. Typical it's like tempted fate! This will be a roughy but if anyone can stop Newcastle then it's us.
Fair enough, but I'm not sure Clyne is going to be 100%. If it were me, I'd keep the line-up from yesterday - they all earned it [which means Chambers would stay at RB], and put any returning players on the bench.
And another thing with Chambers is that should-have-scored chance. I don't think it was anything like as nailed on as people and pundits seem to be making out. He was a couple of yards behind Korolev, who was making as much of his presence as he could, and Calum bravely stuck his neck out, as the ball fizzed by, and slightly misdirected his header. It was an easy one to miss, in my opinion.
Agree, it was fizzed at quite some speed and spun up off of a slick surface not long before it reached him.
So why do I hear or see reports that he should have scored..? If you do a published match report, I hope you're a little more forgiving, even if you've taken your Saints hat off.
The other thing about the Chambers chance was that one of the Saints strikers in the middle of the goal area should have got to it before it came to Calum!
Right on! Chambers is more than just cover he will go on to be a great RB. Should the unthinkable happen and clyne leave he will be a perfect replacement. Not as quick atm but lets not forget he is 18 and will get faster and stronger.
Pundits always prefer to use "should" rather "could". Makes for a more dramatic sentence. Dani really "could" of hat a hat trick. Should he hav done? It would be a bit harsh to say so, but pundits probably would, tho perhaps they shouldn't.
You say that as if its a bad thing. Personally, I find it a little annoying that people feel the need to comment about the manufacture of someone's equipment. It's like it's cool not to like a brand. I liken it to music snobbery and I'm going to all it gadget snobbery
