St Mary's looked and sounded good under lights. The starting line up was more confusing than a jonny hasen shuttle post. Ralph changed things up and I'm sure learnt a big lesson from the game. I think if Bournemouth are honest they will be relieved that the game ended as it did as they were under constant pressure. Disappointing but down to an old simple footballing equation- Bournemouth took their chances.
Danso? Nah. Romeu let his man go. One of the pundits said at HT that he didn’t have a chance. Neville I think.
The fans created a great atmosphere last night. Romeu, redders and Boufal were decent again and Che Long tried hard.....again. Romeu lost his man, vestegaard missed his tackle and the end was almost comedy. Also playing wing backs that can't cross or beat a man helps no one. McCarthy, Bertie and Ings in for next game please.
Got to say that this match was lost by Ralph's team selection. Bertrand needs to start each match. We were terrible in the first half and Bournemouth should have wrapped the game up by half time. The substitution switched things around and I thought we dominated the second period but JWP's woeful finishing meant that we did nit take advantage of some positive football. There were a few positives. Bertrand showed why he has to be name of the first names on the sheet. Romeu had a good game and Boufal put in a display which truly warranted the faith some have shown in him. I was really surprised just how effective he was. Bednarek also looked good and I felt Cedric played brilliant in the second half. Vestergaard looked shaky and I felt that Danso, although played out of position, will not be the panacea some have hope for in our defence. The likes of PEH did not turn up last night. I would have to say we will need a reaction on Tuesday and I feel that Portsmouth will be capable of beating us on the night. Play like we did for the first 45 on Tuesday and I think the blue half of Portsmouth can expect a very comfortable win.
Thought Danso looked ok against Utd, and nice cross for Vestergaard goal. However, as FLT says, we have not seen him in his favoured position. I just want that Cedric/Valery, bedders, yoshi and Berty back four. Has to be the best surely.
Ian, you were doing so well with that post and then ruined it !!! Agreed with all except we will perform against poopy. A result is never a given but I expect our boys to at least play with passion for this one.
Look, I am from the IOW ghetto, Italian isn't my first language, nor is proper English. I was trying to be clever, with a bottled water reference?. Should just stick to clear 4 letter words in future.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned (though i only skimmed last night when I got back) was the goal kicks. We took the short ones and within milliseconds Bournemouth had closed us down, they did it and practically got to the halfway line before we closed them (ok I am exaggerating). We do not have the personnel to play out from the back like that, we really don't.
It was strange to experience the lack of atmosphere at the derby last night. The crowed seemed bored by the first half and there was no passions or belief until Bertrand came on and the team started to click. I hope we continue from the second half performance on Tuesday but I would worried about the likes of Vestergaard in a confrontational Fratton Park environment. I had expected Saints to win comfortably last night and envisaged a testy 2-1 win for us at Fratton Park. I think this is a potential banana skin although on paper we should sweep them aside.
More importantly....who is doing the thread! Just remember whoever does it, the result will be on their head for years.....
Got shot down for saying it last week and now look... Ralph got it wrong today. Luckily against Sheffield Utd he changed it and we got the win - most teams in this league however wont let you off the hook. Just play Bertrand!!! Although for what its worth, Ralph has still done a lot for us so I get why people jump to defend him. You can make stupid mistakes and still be a good manager.
worth noting, although we didnt play well that first half, they did only manage 2 shots total, as well as the third that was disallowed. just every time they shot it went into the back of the bloody net!