Today was very much a day of two halves The first was utterly dire, Southampton playing us at our own game and being more than successful, fluent and confident in their play The second we showed a bit fight and determination and battled for the point Player ratings i would say Mannone - 6 Made some good saves, however obviously let two goals in, admittedly neither really his fault Bardo - 6 Made some good runs, some of which johnson should of took advantage of, however played his heart out O'Shea - 6 Did a job, little cover but improved throughout the game Brown - 4 Made a fair few mistakes that led to some seriously dangerous moments. Looked far too relaxed and on another day, Southampton could of capitalised Alonso - 5 Caught out a few times defensively but made some good attacking runs and helped support Borini Cattermole - 2 Terrible, looked completely lost, had no composure and looked as if he had no idea what was going on around him Larsson - 0 Dont actually think he did anything right the entire game, didnt close down, didnt battle for free balls, no really passing, little in terms of any effort at all really and also a SERIOUS lack of anticipation Ki - 6 Very little impact in the game, admittedly started the play for our second but was rarely ever on the ball Borini - 6 Good, made some good runs and also made himself available, however tired badly towards the end Johnson - 8 Made some good runs and caused trouble for Southampton most of the game, looked the most composed player on the side Altidore - 6 Battled for most aerial battles and won most however no player anticipating the header, also held onto the ball well Subs: Gardner - 7 Pleasantly surprised, he and Colback made the difference in the midfield battle, made some pressing runs and closed down well Colback - 9 the real difference in the game, came on and closed down and hurried the Southampton players and helped break up their play Fletcher - 7 Was on his own however managed to control that ball and was very unlucky with a few touches All in all Southampton are on of the better sides ive seen at the SOL for a long time, passed the ball around well and made some devastating runs Hopefully what Poyet plans to have us playing ASAP!
We could, I have yet to see a replay of the offside goal However, in my honest opinion we deserved nothing from that game
agree with that except i was very frustrated with fletchers fancy flicks they look nice if they come off but to be honest he completes about 1 in 10 when a easier pass is on. i think our starting line up reflects how much gus wants to go to wembley as i think giacch, colback amd fletcher will all start on wednesday
If that's Larssons way of saying play me or I'm off then personally, I'll drive him wherever he wishes to go. I'd prefer to see Ba given a run out.
Agree with most bar O, Shoite, the guy needs about 2seconds more than he has, every time he,s got the ball at the back it looks like he,ll get his pocket picked, him and Brown need to go soon, Larsson I can,t see how he gets his place, Catts was shocking, only good thing he did was take 1 for the team and trip guy breaking through up
Think you've been harsh on Borini mate. He gave us a full 90 minutes, the only one the did and was impressive for the duration.
Borini was our Motm, with Johnson equal or a very very bee's-dick-close second. Saints did good with Johnno, they kept crowding him when he got the ball, and only on a couple of occasions did he manage to get a one on one with Shaw, who he always went past. Johnson is staking his claim for a Brazil spot, and if he keeps it up, he will be on that plane. Gus's style seems to be suiting him... and it's about time. He is a class player, we need to play to his strengths. Would love if our summer business included buying Ki and Borini. I would wet myself.
Borini was our Motm, with Johnson equal or a very very bee's-dick-close second. Saints did good with Johnno, they kept crowding him when he got the ball, and only on a couple of occasions did he manage to get a one on one with Shaw, who he always went past. Johnson is staking his claim for a Brazil spot, and if he keeps it up, he will be on that plane. Gus's style seems to be suiting him... and it's about time. He is a class player, we need to play to his strengths. Would love if our summer business included buying Ki and Borini. I would wet myself.
