Wrong thread maybe..? EDIT: Hang on, I get it. It's part of that sustainable system that's in place. Of course..!
OK not a Pessimist, but "Worried of St. Marys", I don't think I can offer any crumbs of comfort, as a life long Saints Supporter that has been through the mill, I have seen bad times and good times, I know what I prefer, but being a realist I know it won't be good forever so I have to make the most of what I have got, at the moment it looks good for the immediate future. I am enjoying the ride.
No, it was just a crumb of comfort to cheer Vic up! It is important to remind people of how good it is to be Saints fan and how bad it could be if it all gets fouled up.
And that is very much where MP's strength lies. He has a system and then spots the weakness and addresses it with good signings. This season we have seen variations to undo teams who have started to figure out our game plan. He'll never stand still. The team will constantly evolve to keep the edge. That can go on indefinitely
Did anyone else know that Mauricio's son is signed to AFC Totton? He's registered on their website, representing the club in the reserve matches so far. Sebastiano Pochettino.
I think the "what if it gets figured out" talk has merit. He suffered a drastic decrease in production over his time with Espanyol - in large part due to boardroom problems - but also possibly because his style was figured out. Still, we're a while on now and he's still very young, I'm hopeful he's matured as a manager and is able to adjust if it happens again. So far, so good, eh?
It don't think it due to his formations being figured out at all. I know it was largely due to boardroom problems that were financial. The club was hugely in debt, due to Spain's economic crisis, and MP had to sell off crucial players one by one in succession to keep Espanyol afloat. By the end he simply didn't have sufficient quality in the squad to play the system, because all he had left was youngsters and a few stalwarts. It is true that, when he left by mutual consent, his replacement came in and they started to improve, but we've seen that time and again, as the outgoing exhausted manager gives way to the new manager. MP's way of playing is not easy. Players have to be of supreme fitness and good enough technical ability and commitment or it simply doesn't work. We've all heard that he monitored the players for weeks beforehand before taking over. I think it's safe to assume that he was assessing the players on their strengths and weaknesses. This would account for there being a dramatic change in the way Saints played as soon as he took over. Little did we know that was just the start.
Even more, I don't think it was him selling crucial players one by one - a lot of it seemed to be that they were being sold out from underneath him. Of course, I think your explanation is correct, we've seen nothing so far to suggest otherwise, I just think it'd be naive to assume this style of play will be perfect forever. It could well bring us sustained success, but it could also need to be significantly adapted. I'm sure if adaptions are needed, Pochettino is up to the task... provided he's not making these adaptions at the Barcelona training facilites, then I don't care.
Well yes, yours is a much better way of putting it. I think the style can work for a long time depending on the quality of players you have. If they are simply as good, as fit, as strong, and as skilful as the opposition, then I think they will win. I think they can win even if they are inferior players with this system, providing they carry it out, but they have to be good enough. Below that and they struggle, and once that happens the system can fall apart. Notice last Saturday that Wanyama started to lose it. Huddlestone hadn't given him an easy game up until then [I've watched the 90 minutes 3 times through and Huddlestone was their best player] and he was not playing well by the time his mistake occurred. What happened..? He was replaced pronto..!
A lot depends on his relationship with Nicola. So far they are singing off the same hymn sheet...Mauricio name drops Nicola in most interviews. We are lucky to have Pochettino, but he must be pretty happy to have arrived at a club with the right sort of players and a Chairman who supports him and has a decent amount of cash.
Agree, but I think back to our one big defeat under Pochettino at Newcastle and I believe our system is vulnerable to the counter by quick and powerful players which the Toon have in abundance. Since that defeat which did include Hooiveld and Fox we've bought in the more aggressive and mobile Lovren along with the outhouse Wanyama, so I have a little more confidence against teams of that ilk. i feel the best way to play us is leaving two up top, but those strikers will have to put in a shift or you'll end up with a Fulham sized mess.
I would say the way to beat a high line, would to play diagonal long balls over the top of our defence with lightening quick strikers to run on to them. 4 - 2 - 4 long ball tactics. If a side doesn't try to play through us but rather miss out our pressing forwards and midfielders they may make our backline play deeper which would in turn increase the space between midfield and defence making it harder to press. I remember ABV playing a high line with Chelsea and Arsenal destroyed them, with Terry being left square on his arse on the half way line.
Yes, but that because Chelsea weren't being coached properly. Don't forget that Saints... are the best defensively coached team in the PL by a mile - Gary Neville. They know what to do with the ball that comes over the top.
Oh yeah, I'm sure we know how to defend against something so basic but teams playing it out from the back kind of play into our hands, going the opposite way may give us more to think about. It's just great having a playing style that even the best teams in the league don't seem to be able to work out at the moment.
There is a recognised way to beat the high press and it will work sometimes, but tolerable if we are only in danger a few times a season. Also means that the opposition (especially the better sides) will be forced to play a system that is not their natural style...not bad if Saints force top clubs to adapt to us rather than the other way round. Pochettino is good at using substitutes, but has been quoted as saying that we will play the same style every game.
