So our first season back in the big time has finished and i think it has been a successful one. We had many up's and downs but that seems to be the Southampton way. After the game had finished yesterday i was with a few mates in the pub and we got chatting about NC and MP and how we thought they had done since MP had come in. Was it mission accomplished? or would NC be a little dissapointed with finishing 14th. My own personal view is that staying in the premier league this season was the only thing that mattered and anything better was a bonus. One of my mates however seemed to think that NC might take the view that we were technicaly safe on 37 points after the Reading game back on 6th April, (I believe that victory also took us to 11th in the table) So with 6 games remaining and one might say 5 of those were winnable fixtures, would NC be upset that the man he bought in to take us to the next level failed to do so when he had the perfect opportunity. How will it affect NC's mind set next season? does MP he have to hit the ground running, if we were to go 5 or 6 games at the start of the season without winning all of a sudden that 11/12 games without a win and we all know NC is not afraid to make changes. So the real question that came up was. Is MP the right man to take us on to challenge the top 6?
Are we really losing faith in him because the end of the season was dodgy? Keeping in mind we still played well and it was only poor finishing that cost us a couple more results, I think it's a bit early to start doubting whether he's the right man for the job. So far, all signs point to yes.
Jury is still out for me, although means bugga all what I think as Cortese would also replace Pochettino if he thought a replacement was better. Main question for me was, the wins against the top sides, was that canny tactics or simply our players raising their game to get a big scalp? We played alright in the last 6 games, but poorly against WBA and yesterday wasn't too good either. We are ok at getting to the edge of the opposition box, but it too often breaks down and the constant passing into the feet of the player with his back to goal on the edge of the area is pretty easily defended. Stoke lapped it up and we only got in behind them a couple of times (Clyne mostly). So, despite what everyone at the club says, perhaps still the language barrier is more of an issue than they make out, especially to raise the team or change tactics when Plan A isn't working.
I think NC would have been very disappointed in how it ended. But, it may well give us more direction in the transfer market, so might actually help us in the end. Still can't believe we didn't put a crap Sunderland to bed, then letting a poor Stoke team off the hook.....not a great finish, but after the first ten games, yeah, I'd have bitten your hand off!
I don't have any question marks over Pochettino's plan A, it would be good to see him combat direct teams better though. All in all he is very good tactically. I think our poor performances in our last 6 games can be attributed to a lack of creativity in midfield, with fatigue and Lambert's injury/poor form also meaning that we could barely create a chance. Bring in some creative midfielders and we won't have the same problem. Puncheon and Ramirez create chances but need to work on their decision making. Even so I would still pick them ahead of Davis and Lallana. This season I think our aims were to play good attacking football and finish mid table which we have more or less achieved. It's telling that we invested in younger players over experienced professionals, we were confident of staying up with an eye to progressing significantly the next season once the whole squad had accustomed itself to the rigours of a premier league season. Pochettino looks to be an excellent manager and could take us to the top imo
Wow. Didn't take long for the doubters to sow a few seeds of doubt. WBA game apart, we have played well for the last 6 games and the improvement needed is in finishing teams off. CBK's point about getting in behind is spot on, and under Nigel in the Prem, the full backs stopped when they reached a midfielder. Shaw and Clyne have at least pushed higher up the pitch since MP has arrived and I hope next season they push that bit further on to get in behind opponents full backs. We've done well. Could have done better. For me we need those new CB's and another couple of attacking players who can really get at teams. We are not far off and I'd expect us to survive comfortably next season. The first question for me, is not if MP is good enoughm but what does NC expect next season?
I must watch a different game to you. We weren't poor, WBA apart. Not finishing teams off is different to having a poor performance.
Not finishing teams off? in the last 6 games we spent a grand total of 7 minutes in the lead. I don't how you could think we have played good football over the last 6 games unless you don't care about scoring goals and winning.
West Ham care about scoring goals and winning. Do you really think we played badly in these 6 games? We played well in 5 off them. I'll change my wording slightly: we didn't finish moves off. We HAVE played well, and I am amazed that your statement said that we played poorly in the last 6 games. Of course I want us to score and win, my point if you read it again is that we played well, you said we played poorly.
I've just checked and in the last 6 games, we had more shots than each of the opposing teams, with the exception of Swansea away. This includes a 3 nil defeat to WBA and a 1 nil defeat to Spurs. I don't think stats always tell a good story, but it does suggest that we are creating more than our opponnents and therefore not "finishing" teams/chances off.
I agree with FLT about going to the byline. We have actually scored a few goals this when Rodriguez, Clyne, and even Puncheon have gone to the line and crossed or shot. Our first against Liverpool springs to mind, JRod being sent down the wing by Shaw, beating the fullback along the goal line and passing to the onrushing Schneiderlin. The problem is we still don't try this tactic often enough. Yesterday Clyne, Rodriguez, Shaw and Lallana were consistently beating their fullback but the number of chances created were minimal. To answer the question, Pochettino, because he is here, is the man to take us to the next level. He must be, or why would Adkins have been replaced just at the time he had the team playing well and holding their own against teams like Chelsea? Cortese had been put on to MP by no less than Jose Mourinho, if reports are to be believed. Certainly the way we started under him, with the 3 wins and 2 draws in February and March, set the stall out for what will hopefully come next season. With more depth in the squad, some improvements in key areas, and most importantly, a full preseason programme to work out tactics with the new squad, we will hopefully achieve more consistency, give away less stupid goals through defensive errors, and SCORE MORE!
Rabbitspectrum, Now I know this is sad and I realise the BBC is not the most reliable but it was all I had to go with, yet I have looked though our games since Pochettino started at the home game to Everton. We have had more shots in every game except Swansea away, including nearly twice United's shots at Old Trafford. Taking chances may seem to be an issue.
Fair point we have at times dominated our opposition recently which is why we have good possession and shot stats. If we had the same shots on target to goals ratio as Tottenham and West Brom we probably would have won all our games. It's not just bad finishing though, we haven't created good chances either which is why I think we have played poorly.
Even with the stats in my last post above yours? If you still think this, then you'll only think we have played well when we win a game. Teams can play badly and get a win or a result; they can also play well and lose or draw. I am just trying to look at our performances and can't understand why the team get stick if they have played well. I thought we played well yesterday. We certainly lacked in the final third, but still had enough chances to win the game.
I thought we played well against Tottenham and were unlucky to lose, we got what we deserved against the other teams. I wouldn't give stick for our honorable losses to the manchester sides. Drawing with Sunderland was dire in performance, the result was excellent. Against Stoke I thought we were average except for the start of both halves.
I think everyone is losing sight of what we actually wanted to achieve this season.., it was to survive and we did quite comfortably in the end!! Finishing 14th is not bad considering all the other teams finishing around the same position. We've played very well against most teams just been unlucky that quite a few teams GK's seem to put MOTD performances in when we play them, Or a couple of mistakes have costed us! Next season will be where we can really Judge our manager on being the right one.. But all in all i have complete faith he is the right man.. A damn sight better than NA - although i love him for what he did, was never gonna take us any further.
What about the lack of creativity you mentioned, and my post pointing out we "created" more shots in all games under Pochettino apart from Swansea game? Are they irrelevant? I thought we started second half poor against Stoke.... and that is why they scored.
This is an interesting debate which stats alone don't solve. For example, take the world of golf. When Montgomery was at his best he was still way down the stats on his putting. However, he claimed that he was a very good putter and the reason that he was so low down was because he would invariably get to the green quicker than others (ie from farther out) thereby giving him longer putts. So, are we not taking our chances or are we not creating good enough chances? Is it our finishing that is poor or is it our creativity? Over to you.
