A simple question. I have read some odd things lately - particularly in light of the Liverpool game. I remember the Premier League well and as such never expected anything from Liverpool. It is a fixture you look at and think "Oh, that would be amazing!" not "There's a point minimum!". Reading some comments on here it is as if newly promoted teams are expected to beat these guys. It is as if we used to do it. Not bleedin' likely. Also, some people don't check their facts about the teams they criticise. Liverpool are back on the up and have won three of four at home. They will finish top 8 easily. We won't. We will hopefully get to 16th by four clear points so I can relax on the final day of the season. That's a nice dream. My point is to remember what it was like last time. It was hard. We loved the odd win. We were outplayed very often. We scrapped and stayed up. We had an experienced premier league team. Yes, now we have money - but we also need to be realistic. A flat performance against one of Europe's big teams away from home can never really be a point missed. A point gained, on the other hand, would be something to celebrate... but I am happy enough beating the teams at the bottom end. We never even used to do that!
I'm not sure too many people were moaning about the Liverpool result, but perhaps we expected more of a performance. After the previous four games, we were probably expecting the team to have better ball retention and give a better impression of themselves, even though they were likely to get beaten. We've had performances to be proud of against United and City, despite losing both games, but we couldn't really say the same about yesterday's match. On the plus side, we're conceding fewer goals and keeping ourselves in with a chance right until the final whistle, even when we're playing poorly.
Some people have got too used to winning recently, and panic at the drop of a hat. That's why I've been spending less and less time here lately.
Fair comment spacedsaint. Us football supporters are an odd bunch, and Saints fans are as odd as they come ! To read some things on this + other supporters websites you would think that the world was coming to an end. We have lots to be happy about, and i am just made up to be travelling around the country supporting Saints in the Prem. It was great at Loftus Road and afterwards, but we are not going to win like that every away day in this league. I had a great day out in Liverpool yesterday and it would have been good to get something out of the game, but it wasnt to be and i am still happy. I certainly havnt forgotten what the prem league used to be like !
I haven't read many posts on here, but from those I've spoken to and of the posts that I've read, I think you're over-exaggerating what most Saints fans expectations were for the Liverpool game. Let's move on and get some points against Reading!
Liverpool aren't the same team they were when we were last in the premier league. Getting a point or even winning at Anfield is not as seemingly impossible as travelling to Manchester, Chelsea or Arsenal in recent seasons and especially on recent form. I think we played Liverpool at a time when we had the best opportunity to come away with something and so from that point of view I'm a little disappointed. Saying all that I predicted we would loose, but I had hope that we could realistically take something away. However I do agree that many Saints fans expectations are too high coming into this season, a mixture of recent success and summer spending have warped the reality of the situation we are now in.
We were extremely poor. Liverpool have been awful this season and we were unbeaten in four going into the game. It wasn't unreasonable at all to think we could get something out the game. It's called being positive and optimistic. We deserved to lose by 3-4 goals the way we played. Perhaps the players are just as pessimistic as you because against the top half and the big name teams we have picked up no points.
We were not too dissimilar last season following our back to back promotions, perhaps not quite as expectant but believed we should be beating a certain level of team on their performances to date. The same applies this season although we are still cautious about our expectations. As someone suggested, the frequent (most weeks) wins of the previous two seasons is still in the system and it bloody well hurts when that constant winning comes to a sudden halt in the PL. Liverpool were nothing special before we played them and believed 3 points were there to be taken, but they still turned us over quite easily as on their day they can still destroy any team in the league, they just don't do it consistently to be in the mix at the top. From what I have seen in the last few weeks, Southampton have enough about them to stay in the PL but if they were as poor as some of you suggest then a consistency needs to found to be certain. Might be tight but looking at the other teams around you then QPR, Reading and Villa are who I would tip for the drop as of today
Sorry to see you say that pieking....you are right of course but alternate views are necessary. Just as positive or negative are accepted. The only way a negative person can be persuaded different is by debate. If you do not counter an argument the persn will always assume he is right!! (I can almost hear you say we have enough on here that consider they are always right )
When we were in the PL before, we had a few seasons where we were in today's league position. We would be moaning, but hopeful that we could pull ourselves out as we had before. That was why 2005 was such a shock to us. The difference this season is that we don't know if the team are capable of grinding out those results. When we win we are back to last season in our mind, but that raises expectation that we can win most games. Fans sense that we are improving and most have belief in Adkins. I think most were realistic about Liverpool...probably lose but not impossible to get a point/points.
I do admit I did have a few chuckles at people saying the Norwich game was a good result and then targeting the Liverpool game as 3 points. As a whole though I think most people were just seeing it as a game where we might be able to nick a draw or win, with Liverpool being so up and down, but in reality it was always most likely it would be a loss. I think people (admittedly including myself sometimes) take such joy in Liverpool's recent shortcomings that they get over the top and think they are a bad team, when in reality on their day and at home they can still beat anyone at any time.
Correct Mikey - on Saturday Liverpool looked a pretty good team, they just left their shooting boots on the coach thankfully.
I agree with this. Haven't been on over the weekend, so not seen or made any comments, but it is seriously not outside the realm of possibility that we could have got a 0-0. We only lost 1-0, after all. Or at least have scored. Could have got a 1-1; or two, as we have done at the City Ground, for example. In which case we could have won. I expected us to lose, of course, but was holding out some serious hope. Certainly wasn't sitting at home tugging (don't go there!) my forelock against a Liverpool side that wouldn't be far off relegation fodder if Suarez was out. I know it was at home, but West Ham beat Chelsea; and Swansea, Blackpool, and Hull all took big scalps on their first Premiership seasons - and all those top teams were in way better form than they are this season. If we only play to form, we are likely to go down, so I would go as far as to say we need to learn to take points of these teams. Other teams are doing it, so beating those around us won't be good enough. On the flipside of this, I personally have a bad feeling we are going to lose to Reading - think they are the kind of team we struggle to handle, as they never give up chasing a lost cause, and arguably need a win more than anyone bar QPR. But I certainly believe we CAN beat them. This board confuses me - people leaving it because it's too negative; people leaving it because it's too positive!
Never mind this board, your post confuses me ! Liverpool are far from relegation fodder even without Suarez - they had injured players back on Sat and looked much better for it. Their midfield and defence were very good against us and i think that they will climb up the table now. If Saints play like they have over the past few games prior to Anfield then they can certainly beat Reading, but it is a football match so who knows !!
Well, they were pre-game only four points above us, and two points above Wigan and Villa, who are considered relegation fodder. And that's with Suarez. So remove his goals and adjust the results, and they would be below us. They are an average-performing side at that point, and given their position in the table, still are for now - though not more average results-wise than us, I concede - and though I know they will not be relegated in a million years, what I am getting at is that it really is far from dreamland to have scrapped for a draw. I don't refer to their future results, now that Lucas etc. are back, but doesn't take away from my point. I have no doubt that Saints playing as they have pre-Saturday can dominate possession, score goals, and draw praise from pundits; but can we get results where we couldn't against Fulham, Swansea, and Norwich? Against a desperate team who know how to go a season without dropping any points to us? Saying that, we dropped no points to West Ham last season, and got well beaten this time. And we undoubtedly have a better team now than Reading. In Nigel I trust, of course, though - but I still need a boost of hope that we can translate our beautiful play into points.
Also, talking of Reading, was wondering if there is a conflict of interest when they play Norwich, due to Delia Smith's Waitrose connection. A middle-England Calciopoli scandal in waiting? Let's keep an eye on that game, for our own sake...
Last season we battered Reading at SMS and still lost. I felt like we'd been muggged. I do feel there is a pattern emerging against clubs like Fulham and Norwich. In the 1st half in those games we dominated, played some lovely football, but they defended like Tigers and we were unable to kill them off. Even against Newcastle where I thought we played the best football this season, we had pundits complaining that we only won by two goals and not the five or six goals we deserved. We simply do not kill teams, but instead let them back in the game. I am not feeling comfortable about Reading as they will be organised, quick in attack, and are certainly are not demoralised like QPR or decimated like Newcastle. I hope we kill them off early but I think a disappointing result like we had against Fulam, Norwich and Swansea.
No doubt be accused of being negative - but I think you are right to be concerned as there are no easy fixtures in this league and we do lack the killer instinct to see-off teams; as evidenced by the number of games we have led this season and ultimately lost. Our achilles heals are the defence and Adkins match-day strategies (substitutions and adapting to opposition changes in tactics/formation/players). With regard to Liverpool - they are an improving side and getting used to a new manager and his style of playing. Their finishing has been terrible this season and it was no surprise that they missed so many chnaces against us.
I thought 3 points at Liverpool were possible as I would at most grounds and I am disappointed we played well below our best. Anfield over many years has been a fortress and a big reason for that has been the noise and support but on Saturday many times throughout the game you could hear players shouting, the dugout shouting, the tannoy announcer echoing around the ground and dare I say it, a dog barking. The Saints fans were in good voice but obviously not the full 90 mins. My point is that even their own fans don't believe they are watching a good side and are beatable.
