Impressive! Saints are usually the youth team you want to beat! Good to see Ryben and Vadis getting a good amount of game time aswell!
Expect a few Southampton fans to come on here and claim their U-21 team was full of 12 year olds, because Southampton fans (some of them) lack humility and can't stand to recognise the success of other teams when it is at their expense
I speak from experience! Some Southampton fans are genuinely really nice people, some are arrogant as ****
There are some very encouraging comments in the match coverage: "Odjidja-Ofoe then came to the fore, demonstrating the midfield verve which Canaries fans had been expecting from the summer signing from Club Brugges before he injured knee ligaments in October. The central midfielder displayed plenty of energy, commanding directions, nice touches and varied passing to set the tone for the match." "Andreu then stole the spotlight early in the second half, twice forcing decent saves from Gazzaniga and playing Murphy through, who was also thwarted by the Argentinian keeper." "Odjidja-Ofoe let fly with a cracking effort from 25 yards in the 63rd minute, forcing another good save as his left-footed effort flew towards the top-left corner. Loza followed suit in the 70th minute, Gazzaniga diving to his right to tip a low shot around his post. Odjidja-Ofoe then had another chance to get the goal his performance deserved in the 86th minute, when Morris challenged Gazzaniga for a header from a Sam Kelly cross from the left, to see the ball drop to the Belgian unmarked on the edge of the box, but his lob was headed off the line." Could Odjidja-Ofoe and Andreu provide the extra impetus for the final run-in?
Thanks RER. Without wanting to put a downer on things, I said when Andreu came in that I was neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed. I suppose you might say I was just whelmed... Anyway, nothing I've seen of him changes that. He's come off the bench a couple of times but I don't think he has justified any more. But he's not looked terrible by any means and I don't mean to say he'll never come good. Vadis, on the other hand, has looked very classy on the occasions that I've seen. I'm delighted that he's (finally) fit and hopefully he proves he is worth the c.£5m we shelled out on him. If he shows half that promise I can definitely see him being that last little boost we need to get promotion. Fingers crossed
As has been said before though, there is so little integration from players who perform well at this level to the actual first team that you do question the real value in such results. I am not trying to be negative but having made a similar remark specifically with reference to the FA Youth Cup win, you can see where I am coming from.
Starting with Andreu, AN must have brought him here for a reason in that he has qualities our other mid-fielders don't have. Obviously, it's a big adjustment for him, but he's working with a management team that knows him and his game and he knows them and what they want from him. My hope is that his role will be as a two footed AM who sets up goals and also scores them himself. That's not a role you can just walk into, but those qualities could be very important with Grabban out. He also offers another option in wide positions. Odjidja-Ofoe has been here longer and has more time with the other players. It's just a pity that injuries have hampered his season so far but he may well prove a key factor for the run-in. Thurnby's right, of course, in that we can't take too much from an U21 game, but at least the signs are there.
I expect we'll see one of Vadis or Andreu start against Huddersfield. Howson and Johnson have played a lot of games recently and are the players you would want against Derby and Forest. Plus we'll have Tettey back, which I think gives us a much stronger base and means we can play with a much higher midfield, something Vadis and Andreu will probably benefit form.
