Match Day Thread Southampton vs Swansea 18/09/16 2:15pm KO

Jose, Virgil, and Ryan at CB, with Mattie and Cuco at WB? And don't forget Maya, or that Florin is back in full training.

 

Welcome back!

 

Forgot Ryan had a few games at cb last year!!

 

I like the idea of that, with Romeu and Hojbjerg in CM.

Then Tadic and Redmond behind Austin.

3-4-2-1

 

They could even stand in a diamond shape before the kickoff, just to keep Claude happy!

 

I quite liked it when we set up that way last season, with Bertrand in the back 3 and Targett pushed up on the left.

 

I believe it was that formation more than anything that turned our season around after Dismal December, creating Brilliant Boxing Day. True, once the confidence was back we reverted to 4-2-3-1, but the defensive solidity of 3-5-2 gave us 6 clean sheets on the spin.

 

And we didn't keep another one until yesterday!!

I agree about how it turned our season round and one thing I really liked about Ron was his flexibility around formations etc. I hope Claude can be the same once we're used to the diamond (I'm not one calling for it to be dropped), think it's so important these days.

I wouldn't fancy the diamond for example, away to Man City

 

Might be wrong, but I thought on the boxing day game we played the diamond?

 

Ron played the diamond a few times while here. Pretty sure the first 1-0 at Old Trafford we started the game with it.

I can't remember what we played on Boxing day, it certainly wasn't 3-5-2 though. That started with the back to back home games to WBA & Watford.

 

Fair enough. Definitely used it against Watford and WBA.

 

I did like Ron's flexibility. He fitted the system round the players, pragmatically. But I also like Poch's belief in his own way of doing things. You can go a long way if you have a plan you believe in, if you can persuade others to believe in it to.

Now if only we could find a coach with a mix of both these qualities - belief in his own ideas, but also a willingness to watch, to listen and to adapt. Oh hang on...I wonder?

 

I don't fancy Man City away, regardless of what formation we play!

 

That's 3 days after Inter away. Probably put that down as a defeat.

 

I was loudly asking the same question when seemingly everyone in the Northam started that. Idiots. Hopefully he has a thick skin.

Then again, I regularly point out after "You don't know what you're doing"* that it might not be the best way to get the ref on our side. Doesn't make a blind bit of difference.

Vin

* Though the chorus of that song at half time when the marriage proposal on the big screen happened had me giggling.