Now I know this might be a little early to say after 2 games, but I honestly feel watching Saints right now that already we seem a LOT less 'fragile' than previously. I think Poch's tactics are working beautifully with the players and to see them dominate United at Old Trafford tonight was an absolute joy. Substitutions spot on, tactics on the nose too. But most of all, as I say, that feeling that we might get walloped 4 or 5 through naivety, well, it just wasn't there tonight. At all. For 38 years I've supported Saints, and right now I'm genuinely excited because, for the first time in those 38 years, it doesn't actually feel like watching Saints. That nervousness that we'll cock it up somehow. We don't need to worry about Reading equalising as, with this style of play, we need to be looking up the table only.
A draw & a defeat is what I'd have predicted even without the change, but on Saturday night we'll have a better understanding of how fragile we are. Massive game.
Really? I think the results are as expected (possibly better with the draw against a strong Everton) but the performance has felt and looked a lot more solid. As I said though, I may just be getting over-excited and it's too early to say in reality, but I'm feeling confident and not nervous about those teams below us.
I'm not as convinced we'd have gone for it as much or made the subs as early as we did tonight, but to a large extent - I agree.
I tend to agree that our pressing game was far quicker and gave Utd absolutely no time. The defence was pushed up higher up the pitch. The subs at half time were inspired and MP didn't wait until 70 minutes to make sure Ramirez and Punch were not up for the game and what a diffence the change made. Good start from MP
I think we've attacked with naivety previously whereas we didn't this evening. It's more a *feeling* I get about us now than anything solid. I just hope it bears out now across the season.
Great substitutions today, and our tactics were brilliant. We are clearly pressing higher up the park and pressing with more intensity, I don't know enough about tactics to see any great positional differences but feel we have been working very well together over the last 2 months, pochettino has perhaps only changed things slightly so far but we have a highler line and more pressing, perhaps less width not sure. In both games games we have gone in with out a cb on the bench which seems silly when we have just signed forren who needs to get up to match fitness. Even if Forren isn't fully fit I would rather see him come on then have Richardson play cb. Not starting Shaw when he has been close to our best player for 10 games was a very poor decision imo. We should play our best team every game.
The results may have been what we expected from these games, but the performance has stepped up. I can understand it, but, after our terrible start, we concentrated on not letting goals in. Poch likes his teams to press and go for it and people were saying that with our defence it wouldn't work because we'd be caught out, but it can unsettle the other team. Ferguson said that in the second half Saints won every second ball. We will win games playing like this. Two matches may be a bit soon to judge, but I like what I'm seeing.
I liked the earlier bold substitutions. We have never hassled and pressed so far up the pitch in the 2nd half before. We didn't let their players have time on the ball anywhere on the pitch. I agree our tactics on the ball haven't changed, but then I wouldn't really expect them to, with the ball we are a great team. It's what we are doing without the ball that has changed.
Could just be new manager syndrome. Even we looked fairly decent in Paul Hart's first couple of games as manager.
It could be, but I don't think so. There is, as I say, a different feel to how we're playing. Tough to put into solid words. But it's a solidity and decisiveness that I always felt was lacking a little bit previously. We shall see though.
Generally new manager syndrome applies to teams who have been on poor runs and turn it round after a new manager is appointed. In this case we were on a great run when Adkins was sacked and the general consensus among fans, experts and journos was this confidence would be decimated by replacing Adkins. As someone else mentioned its what we are doing without the ball that has dramatically changed. Of course it could be argued that the players are trying to impress the new man as well so that would explain the 2 good performances.
Indeed, that was something they actually mentioned on MOTD [falls over in fainting fit]. In fact, I think I heard that Southampton were totally different tactically, or words to that effect. Which kind of makes a lie of the observation from one or two here that... there isn't much difference.
When we 1st switched to 4-2-3-1 in the summer friendlies my biggest concern was how deep we defended. It seemed difficult for us to switch from defence to attack as we would often regain possession in our own penalty box and play would be so congested that our only out ball would be a long ball which would often cough up possession and we would be on the back foot. The players have definitely improved on this over the past 6 months and we look much more comfortable.
Another thing I noticed which MP did that NA didn't was start Lambert. Add the high pressing style to NA's tactics and Lambert (according to the theory) would've been ****ed by half time. Didn't notice it much today, admittedly we had the ball a lot in the 2nd half and the pressing was mainly done by the midfield in the 2nd half, but Lambert still put a shift in.
