Match Day Thread Southampton v Manchester City - The Final Chapter - Sunday 13th May 15:00

I think we should fill the team with pace and energy and try and press them high for 15 minute periods or so.

 

really felt sorry for Pep when he said the squad had no depth

 

Huddersfield parked the bus, and City, for all their pressure, made very few opportunities against them. We need to be `pragmatic` maybe, with Redmond and Long countering. I hope Pep`s pep talk to Redmond at their place pays off !

 

Heh. I see.

I think I have lower expectations for Hoedt. I think he is too slow and heavy-footed to ever be very good. He's always going to get caught where if he stays back he is yielding too much time and space and if he goes for it he will arrive too late and get passed. My hope is just that he can be adequate as a substitute defender if paired up with a more skilled and faster player where he is only asked to play the role of keeping guys in front, winning some headers and being a big lump in the middle for us.

I cut him some slack on the positioning because I don't think Pellegrino organized the defense very well. When everyone was complaining about the attack and lack of goals I've always felt like the defense was the problem. I don't think tactics are going to fix the fundamental flaws of Redmond or Long. They just aren't scorers. But defensively to leave people unmarked so often and not defend basic set pieces effectively was something that was fixable.

I'm not saying Hoedt was good. Just that to me, he appeared to be good for his standard in a tough game where he did not have the semi-cultured Yoshida to pair up with to handle some of the quicker players and to help move the ball around. Basically, I've seen him worse.

We really need to bring in a CB though. I'd put that as maybe our biggest priority. Yes, we need other positions as well and definitely our attack stinks. But you build from the back, and CB's are cheaper and easily obtainable and will keep us up. Have to get that right because we're not going to sign Hazard. My complaint about the board was not that they signed Boufal and Redmond, but that those two were all we signed. We should have brought in more attacking players, even if they were just for the academy. Maybe we get lucky with another Mane or Sims brings the goods and if so we can maybe finish top ten again. But if not, a strong CB and better defensive coaching will at least keep us up and maybe mid-table to give us something to build on.

 

Have to agree with you.
There was no way Wes was going to get to the ball from where he was stood, behind the striker.
His starting position was so wrong and he should have been alongside the striker so that even if the striker still brought the ball down on his chest, Wes would have had the chance to get to the ball as it dropped or, failing that, been in a position to block a shot. He could also have leant into the player, shoulder to shoulder, and make it difficult for him.
A more accomplished striker would have buried that chance, or at least have worked McCarthy.
That was our “Get out of jail free” moment.

 

I am hoping that the team feel the freedom to express themselves with the weight of relegation basically gone ( I threw salt over my shoulder before typing this)

 

Passed St Mary's today and smiled.....you can bet I wouldn't have done that if we'd lost Tuesday. The world is now a much better place.

 

Yep, I'm now allowing WC Russia news to seep in.

 

Does he remind anyone of hoiveld? Younger obviously. Or is it just his nationality and name?

 

Well he didn’t score on Tuesday

 

And his head isn't a cardboard box

 

You need to post more on here mate, definitely won't shred your nerves.

 

Who says men can't multitask

 

That's not the reason our strikers haven't had a chance - they haven't had the service, in large part because they haven't been mobile enough and they haven't got in position to receive the ball in those areas. Charlie, however, has got shots off in similar circumstancess - it's what he does.

Watch it again; Abraham does use his strength, and his agility. Wed has no choice but to remain goal side and get tight, which he does. The striker did well to chest it down and hit it on the volley. The defender made it hard enough that he couldn't control the shot when he connected.

 

If Hughes does stay on and he continues with 3 at the back I'd be happy if Bednarek was one of them.

 

I thought when Swansea came to SMS at the start of the season that Abraham was probably their best player and Jack Stephens couldn’t cope with him in the air. Wes did well to limit his chances on Tuesday.

 

People said the same things about Yoshida and Fonte when they had their first season in the PL. Not going against the fact that Hoedt has been poor this season, just think some people are being a little too harsh on him.

 

It is more that Abraham shouldn't have been able to get into that position ahead of the centre back. Once the ball arrived and Hoedt is behind him then, yes, he couldn't have done much more, but it was poor by Wes to let him get into that position.

 

Maybe Abraham read the cross better - or maybe whoever played the ball in did well to pick him out. But the striker didn't get his shot on target, so the defender did his job.

 

So reading between the lines we are doomed!