Match Day Thread Norwich V Saints 2/1/2016 KO 15:00

The firepower may already be here... Anyone else see Gazza's finishing in the warm up yesterday? He was unbelievable! Some brilliant strikes so come on Ron, play Gazza up front

 

I agree we are having a dip in form, but relegation ? No not for me it will be 3 of villa,Sunderland ,Newcastle or Swansea.

 

You can't completely rule it out.

 

Oh I hate it on here when we lose. A read through the post-match posts suggest that Ron has lost the dressing room (but shouldn't be sacked), the board aren't interested in progressing anymore, the signings this summer which the majority of posters thought an upgrade are actually nowhere close to being good enough, Pochettino who was here so often criticised for not having a plan B and being found out was a tactical genius and players who were brilliant against the Arsenal are completely useless. Oh and that if a player takes the piss and for the second time is late for the pre-match meeting he should still be played at the earliest opportunity and that it is obvious and standard practice to sub any defensive midfielder who picks up a yellow card because they are quite incapable of using any common sense they might be blessed with. (I know what you are thinking, me too)
My opinion for what it's worth (possibly its weight in parrot droppings)

Discipline is more important than any player or game result. Ron was right to be consistent and not pick Sadio. The board has also shown that it will not be held to ransom and if Sadio and Victor are agitating for a move then that will happen when it suits the club.
The board have stated their philosophy many times and will not budge from a sound financial approach. Demanding that that they go for broke is futile, but if Ron feels that we need another striker (and who doesn't?) I am sure that if a player of the right profile is available then it would be considered. January is a bad time to do business though. I am not panicking. I would be more concerned if there was a lack of effort or no chances being created. Our recent losses have often been about fine margins.
And to those angry about us selling our best players and replacing with lesser stock, I have to ask, could you not sell Clyne in the last year of his contract? Or could you attract a "Clyne standard" player to Saints given the money bigger clubs would offer? I don't believe that we have given up on making top 6 but it's very unlikely this season. You can't expect constant improvement, year after year. 2015 was great, 2016 may be more difficult, but I can't get all desperate about this, remembering where we came from, and still believing in a better day, I wish you all a happy New Year.

Strange, I can here a gospel choir in my head

 

If Villa and Newcastle go, the profile of the Championship will be raised, as it was in the Saints promotion season in 2011/12 with West Ham's presence there.

 

I never disagreed that the club is lacking in direction - I agree fully. I just don't think that the board can be blamed this far into the season after losing to a dismal Norwich side. I feel like there is enough quality in our squad that we should be performing better than we are.
Even if we lose, it's the manner of the defeat. As soon as Vic went off, defeat was inevitable, there was no fight. Which IMO comes from the manager. As does the negative, defensive, boring football.

 

So don't think we will win 4/5 games out of the remaining 18?

 

Disagree. The finishing has been poor and the consistency lacking, but negative? Defensive? Boring? I think not.

 

I am amazed Osvalderamo, really. I don't think we've been playing negative boring football. You go to the games don't you? Yesterday wasn't the most exciting, but as the away team we spent most of it playing like the home team with Norwich trying to keep bodies behind the ball from the start.

When I defend the manager or my team I get accused of having an unhealthyove for them. I am beginning to think some, you maybe one, have an unhealthy or blinkered obsession that it is the manager.

Both of our last two games and the Villa game we should have won based on what happened on the pitch in the first 45 minutes. Villa - the whole game. Yesterday most of it. So where does the negative, defensive football bit come from? If we didn't have chances, then fair point but those three games in particular we could have won lots of games.

It really does seem that you've made your mind up to be Koeman. I think that's wrong. He must share some blame, but if (as nearly everyone says) we are starting games very well and are a "first half team" that can only point to the manager sending the right team out. Even if he gives a **** half time team talk and tells the lads to let up a bit and have a cigar, that means he's only getting it half wrong.

You stated yesterday, very loudly and very clearly that you think it is all Koeman's fault. I don't think you could be more wrong. He's the manager, so he always takes some responsibility.


Finally, as I'm not going to ruck with anyone over this, but did you see the man who was interviewed in our manager's chair yesterday after the game? Did he appear seething with anger ....and dare I say "fight" ???

If you saw that and still think the lack of fight comes from the manager, then there is no point me having this discussion with you. Ron is one angry man.

I'll underline again - I am not saying he has no responsibility, yet those slagging him off and lumping all or most the blame on him are so blinkered and short sighted.

 

Thanks Channon. I was really beginning to think I know absolutely nothing at all about football. The simple fact is, results haven't been good enough or what we want and fans are clouding their opinions with the results.

 

For the record, Vic went off on 73 minutes?
So what happens in the first 72?
They scored 4 minutes later? What happened after the goal? Did they camp in our half? No. They kept the ball in our corner for the final 3 minutes but apart from that we were still trying to drive forward with ten men.

 

Arsenal away, there's one win and Old Trafford, there's another

 

Accept*

 

I think you mean Vic Witless

 

Yes. He eats spaghetti you know. And he enjoys it.

 

Chelsea at home and that's it we will be safe

 

Can we have Liverpool too then please?

 

Thats twice you've said that this season, so it must be true

Anyway, I kind of agree but don't agree. We have been very defensive and boring at times this season; not generally but at times. For example, the second halves of the Leicester and Bournemouth games (but others too). Maybe we were forced into retreat but on both those occasions it seemed like we adopted a 'lets sit back and soak it up' approach.

 

Just had a look at the odds and even the bookies have 7 other teams to be relegated before us, and you will never meet a poor bookie.

https://m.oddschecker.com/t/football/english/premier-league/relegation

 

At the risk of taking flack from some on this board I ask you to consider one thing given Saint's current situation. Despite all the talk from Ralph and Les about ambition it's clear that there is a caveat to that statement that causes a problem in the dressing room among the - how shall I put it - technically gifted that there is no point in staying at St Mary's after a while as there is a mid-table wage ceiling and mentality they can never navigate. Every year since Kat came in we've had unrest due to wage restrictions and if you add in transfer purchase fee limits the departure of Poch is explained and hinted at by him recently and to some extent the departure of Cortese is also linked to the Board's mentality. The purchase fee limit also means replacements are poor copies of the departed players adding drag to any ambition.

Then ask yourself why clubs like Everton seem to hang on to their better players and manage (most years) to better Saints finishing position and have rarely been in a relegation battle over the last eight/ten years? Could it be that Everton's pay for their (better) players and Director mentality/ambition enables them to hang on to players like Stones? Meanwhile Saints struggle to hold a good group together for more than a year and stare down the barrel of relegation yet again this year after a promising previous year. Flip-flop management I call it.

Yesterday Ron mentioned a "pep" talk before the Norwich game from Ralph which seems to have back-fired, the players aren't stupid and can see through the hype and management gobbledegook. For all we know the senior Directors may earn more than the best paid players who have had enough of this mid-table ambition and hype?

Maybe it's the mid table ambition of the Directors that is causing the problem on the field? So Ron and the team have lost heart, have started arguing amongst themselves and can't see how the club can progress. This is an over-simplification of the current malaise but at least it's not just the players fault.