I was one of the seemingly very few who thought he didn't have a great game yesterday (shows what I know about football), but he's definitely a talent. We desperately needed someone who is so confident on the ball after Mane left and while I don't think he's a striker, he's definitely going to be a key attacking addition to the team. Puel obviously sees something in him as a striker, so I'm gonna put my judgement on him there on hold until Christmas. If it's still not working out, get him back on the wing.
I think a few people in the Northam started chanting Charlie Austin's name. I just stood - in The Chapel - with my head in my hands and my jaw on the floor.
When Charlie came on he and Nathan both spent time on the left and in the centre. Key thing is Charlie gets into the centre at the right times to score. It took JRod ages to master the art of being a striker who played from the wing and needed to turn up in the centre at the right time. I don't think Shane is comfortable with it but it may depend on who we are playing. It does mean that the team need to be aware that if Charlie has gone inside that someone may need to be on the left to give Ryan options. But then again Ryan may have passes the ball backwards plenty of times but he rearely lost it and we made plenty of chances so maybe it doesn't matter. I've seen Bouffal, he was wearing a leather jacket and platform trainers I hope they made him take them off before they checked his height at the interview
In response, Austin hit the bar from under half the distance. This from a born finisher. Anyone is capable of missing.
Whatever his position, I think it's obvious that we have a real gem on our hands. His first touch, trickery and vision are a joy to behold at times. Couple that with his excellent work rate, I predict him to be a real success for us.
If we miss an open goal from 6 yards, that's bad luck. If we hoof it over from 25 yards, then that's a complete waste. I wouldn't worry too much about the "finishing" ability of Austin/Redmond/Long, just whether they are getting the right chances in the right part of the pitch. As long as they are, some of them will go in.
Agreed. Shane keeps getting into the danger area, but the guy desperately needs a goal. When one comes, more will follow, we know he's a confidence player (probably all strikers are really).
This is going to turn out to be the new 'one S in Clasie' thing isn't it? One 'F' in Boufal (actually, that could be his song).
I knew you'd jump on that Poch may be a better coach than Ron, but he wasn't a better manager for us.
You have to score the open goals. No matter what position you play. And strikers have to score. There are only so many gilt-edged chances the midfield can provide you a game. And the last 2-3 PL games they've been providing them. We do not have nearly enough goals to show for it, and that's a major reason we are 14th. Austin made it look pretty easy when he scored, and that won the game for us. Long has missed probably five or six better chances than that this season. I'm willing to cut Redmond some slack, because it was just one miss and he is also young and learning. But Long's inability to finish is a problem. Yes, he does enough other things well that he is still a decent player. But on a top side, he's a backup. I realize we are not in a position to sign Zlatan Ibrahmovic, but we should have brought some young talent in to challenge for his place.
This is a laughably superior comment. Expecting to win against one of the worst teams in the league is now a sense of entitlement? At home? Well, best not hope for anything more than the halcyon glory of the odd draw for the rest of the season. Sense of entitlement? Really! I suppose we should all keep the 90s mindset that staying up is the best we can hope for. Sense of entitlement? The most ludicrous thing I have seen typed on this board.
For me, the line gets crossed when expectation turns into demand. "Expectation" to me means the odds of something happening are above 50%. But it's not a guarantee. I accept that things don't always go according to expectations, and sometimes it is just bad luck. A top PL side probably beats a relegation side at home 6 or 7 times out of 10. Which means they will sometimes draw and even sometimes lose. Same with scoring chances. If it gets to the point that we no longer expect Redmond to convert goals where he should have an 90% chance of scoring, then would be a big problem. But asking him to convert 100% is illogical. He is going to miss 1 out every 10 so-called "sitters." **** happens.
Saints fans rightly expect to win these games. We also expect to play better than we did against Sunderland. That was a genuine horror show. My point is that reflects a positive change in mentality, rather than a sense of entitlement.
