Is it only me that thinks Puncheon pulls out of tackles too readily and gives the ball away cheaply in mid field? I stopped counting at six last night.
He looked like he was lacking match fitness still. We seemed to ignore the left flank a lot in the first half so he kept wandering out of position to get the ball but his first touch let him down badly. Not the worst performance ever but we know he can do better.
He tries to take people on and the truth is he just can't. It annoyed me yesterday how much Sky were going on about what a player Puncheon is (simply coz he played a few games in the Premier League)
RLGB, I always turn the sound off, and use the Solent commentary from Saints player - At least Dave and co know what they are talking about. Plus i always like to have a little bet with myself on when Dave M will say 'what Saints don't want to do now is....'
I think he was brilliant when he first came back into the team but since he has been dropped he has lost match fitness. Maybe in a few more games he will be back to full fitness but by then Adam will be back.
He didn't look 100% yesterday. Seemed to have some problem with his boots which was strange. No worries, still an important player for us.
You could have made the accusation across all the midfield, save Morgan, and Deano, when he came on. Jack Cork always seemed to be running into trouble, for instance. Things weren't coming off for Chaplow, etc... The Lads simply weren't given time to play their normal game, because Leeds were pressing them very hard indeed, and their tackles were bloody tigerish. I can just imagine Neil Warnock telling his team, that to throw Saints off their stride, they have to be in super quick and hard. The tactics they used yesterday could have unsettled a Premier League side, if they weren't prepared for it, and Saints, for all that Adkins said they knew they'd get a game like that, weren't quite. Did anyone notice that there was a period of about 2-3 minutes, in the second half, when Saints started to ping the ball about..? Leeds had backed off maybe a yard, and the passes started. As soon as Leeds pressed up again, Saints were forced to pass back to Kelvin, who hoofed it upfield and Leeds got the ball back. It's difficult to play against that kind of tactic, but we managed it.
Bloody tigerish the tackles were I agree. Staight out of the Warnock manual " Win ugly - or get a card trying"
Puncheon was shocking last night,he didn't take people on or pass the ball pack to one of his team mates,he got caught in between.
Bit harsh to write him off based on one game. As others have said, yes, he was poor in this respect, but so was everyone else!
He has been immense since he came back. Sure he had an off game yesterday, but he is still quality, and we won regardless.
back his off get (please re-arrange into a well known phrase)! He is going to be a big player in the run in.
