Harsh result. Ref was pretty dodgy again! Still played better than I expected and would have won on another day of we'd been more clinical. Formation didn't look as suspect as previous, hope the players are getting used to it and we'll get better week in week. Be good to get a win against Swansea next though, don't like being in the drop zone even if it is early days!
We can be despondent about the result....but the positive we must take is that we could have had more points than we have....so not the hopeless case that some fans seem to think. Onwards and upwards.
Well said Fran, I didn't see the game but by most accounts the diamond was much more effective than what it has been. Players getting used to it?
Finally got round to watching MOTD this morning. Thought (from the little they showed) that we looked better - awful decision by the ref (Shearer got it right), especially as the play should have been stopped immediately because of a player down with a head injury - and clearly in an offside decision. Can't see how you can defend that one, Tom. I can see how they missed the one on Shane (very cynical in my opinion - you can always tell by the way the player who did it puts his arms in the air and says "not me, ref"), but not anything else. If that was a pen, then all the "big" teams should be giving 2 or 3 away every game. Good points - seems that Clasie and Romeu did well. Davis seemed anonymous and Shane didn't have his shooting boots on. Hopefully Claude will be giving them all training on how to find the goal before Thursday and then we won't be tired out for Sunday ............ Need a win under our belts, that's for sure!
Just looked back at the highlights from the Watford game, and the incident when Hojbjerg was taken down from a "coming together", to give the ref the benefit of the doubt. It was more a penalty than the Fonte/Giroud incident. Just saying.
Of course, but I didn't exactly say that as the chance that won it for them was given to them by the ref who I don't want to cooperate just be competent. But I understand what you're saying and I'm not 100% saying we wuz robbed, merely responding to any suggestions that we are doomed. We weren't great finishers sometimes last season either but we are going to need replacement goals for the loss of Pelle & Mane. On the other hand Mane was wasteful earlier on and Pelle was sometimes ineffective. The goals question for me rests on Shane getting enough chances which he did last year, Redmond improving like Mane did, JRod & Charlie mucking in as they are undoubtably capable of and Pierre getting a few and he looks like he's got more goals in him than any of our midfielders last year. So that's the optimistic view maybe
Which is why I was wanting us to sign a decent goalscorer last season too. Even if Pelle and Mane were still Saints players now, I'd be ruing the transfer window in that respect. But the fact that they have gone really makes it ten times worse. I don't know too much about Boufal, but I think it's expecting a little bit too much to hope that he's Payet, Mahrez, Vardy and Lukaku all rolled into one.
The worrying thing is we're relying on Boufal to be a brilliant player and to supply 10 goals and 10 assists or something. Otherwise we're going to struggle for goals.
Agree with Tom and Brendy we seem to have taken a couple of huge gambles in terms of oyr forwards this year. Let's hope they pay off
If he can get a decent run in the team - and stay fit - it's quite possible that Austin could start banging them in. Although for that to happen, a good place to start would be to stop asking him to track opposition left-backs three-quarters of the way back down the pitch. (I don't have much faith in any of Jay, Long or Austin being that top goalscorer that we require, but if any of them are going to prove me wrong, I think Austin is most likely)
So we're worrying now about new signings not being good signings and delivering what we need? Maybe we shouldn't sign anyone. Why can't we just give it a few months and see how things unravel? Fans look at things in such a short term view.
Yes of course we have, but we can either carry on lamenting it, or just sit back and see what happens over the next few months. Let's just give Puel and the players a chance, just for a few weeks or months.
Who said we're not giving them a chance? Just stating some concerns which you admit yourself are justified. Also for the record I like to say my concerns now as if it does apply in the future I don't want to be told that it's easy to say in hindsight
I think everyone has concerns (I know I do), which is fine, as long as they're tempered with a little bit of patience and understanding.
