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Saints’ best chance yet to get the goals flowing
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SAINTS have their best chance yet to end their ongoing troubles in front of goal at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The struggling Eagles are without a goal or a clean sheet in the top flight this term and could well be a soft target for Saints, who are in desperate need of scoring confidence after netting once from open play in five games in all competitions.
The reason for Saints’ woeful form in front of goal is hard to pinpoint exactly.
But the statistics offer a little insight in to what is going wrong for Mauricio Pellegrino’s side.
In all Saints have hit on average 14.5 shots per game, the seventh most in the Premier League.
The intent to attack is clearly there, then.
But, in a damming verdict of Saints’ capacity to finish a move with actual end product, they have mustered just nine shots on target from open play in four games.
In total, Pellegrino’s misfiring men have hit 11 shots on target, but two of those were penalties in the 3-2 win at St Mary’s against West Ham.
Meaning, away from the penalty spot, Saints have averaged a pitiful 2.3 shots on target per league game.
That is among the lowest totals in the top-flight, with only Everton and Swansea having recorded fewer.
It remains that Manolo Gabbiadini’s strike against West Ham is the only goal from open play in five games in all competitions for Saints this term - and four of those matches were at home!
With Saints well-stocked in defensive areas and having already recorded two clean sheets, Pellegrino knows that his main priority is to now get his team firing in attack.
It is a problem that he has inherited from last season and one that Claude Puel was unable to rectify - something that partly contributed to his departure from the club.
In the last 18 hours of football, Saints have scored five goals from open play, and have failed to score in nine of their last 12 league games.
Pellegrino is clearly trying to remedy the scoring problems by bringing a more attacking style to St Mary’s.
But shaking off this scoring issue has not been straightforward for the Argentine so far.
He has options in attack but is yet to find the right blend or balance to make Saints tick.
Perhaps, there is a theory that Pellegrino has too many options, meaning this process of experimenting with the right attacking line up will be a drawn out process as he figures out what works best.
Gabbiadini has been Pellegrino’s go-to lone striker in the opening weeks of the campaign, with Charlie Austin and Shane Long mainly used as substitutes.
The attacking midfield three behind the striker has also been played around with but to little success at this point.
It was often away trips last season that yielded the best results in front of goal, with the record at St Mary’s stretching to five games without a strike coming in to this term for Saints.
But they managed ten goals on the road in their final six away games of 2016/17.
Perhaps then a trip to stuttering Palace, who have hired former England boss Roy Hodgson as manager this week to replaced the sacked Frank de Boer, will be just the tonic Saints need to finally open the floodgates.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/09/2017 11:07:21
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...diligently given rise to by Optimus trousers...beta v1.9 - now with EXTRA pictures!| Southampton predicted lineup vs Crystal Palace: Tadic and Lemina return as Saints change systemHEREISTHECITY |
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After a difficult start to the season, how important is this game for Palace?
It is vital in the context of the run of fixtures that Palace have coming up. With trips to face the two Manchester clubs before the next international break, followed by a home game against champions Chelsea, it is imperative for Palace to get off the mark now. Having failed to register a point, or a goal, so far this season in the league, it is important they end that run this weekend.
What is the general consensus about the appointment of Roy Hodgson after Frank de Boer’s short reign?
This has divided opinion among the fans, although the consensus seems to be that they need to get behind him and the team after the difficult start. He may not have been everyone’s first choice, but he has got a good record in the Premier League with clubs of a similar stature, and if he can replicate what he did at Fulham and West Brom, the Palace supporters will be happy.
What sort of system and style of play do you think Roy Hodgson is likely to adopt?
Given that he will only have a few days to work with the players ahead of the game, and the improved performance of the side at Burnley on Sunday, it is unlikely he will make drastic changes to the system.
As such, I would expect him to continue with largely the same team that played at Turf Moor, with Palace performing better with a back four. However, he does need to get Palace scoring goals again. They have had chances in games this season, but haven’t been clinical enough in front of goal, and that will have to change.
But for his first game, I expect him to get the team organised and be hard to break down.
Who do you think the key players will be for Palace on Saturday?
With key man Wilfried Zaha still working his way back to fitness after injury, Palace need contributions from elsewhere and they really need to get Christian Benteke scoring goals again. I expect Roy Hodgson to get the team playing to his strengths and getting balls into the box for him, and players like Andros Townsend will be key to that.
But also, if he is fit, Ruben Loftus-Cheek has shown himself to be an important player already this season, and his return would be a welcome one for the Eagles on Saturday.
What sort of game are you expecting?
I don’t expect there to be too many goals! Both sides have been struggling in front of goal, and it would be a surprise if that was to change drastically on Saturday.
Both will be looking to bounce back from disappointing results at the weekend, and it could be a case of cancelling each other out. I think you will see a pragmatic approach from Roy Hodgson in his first game in charge and he will know the importance of getting something out of it.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/09/2017 12:07:36
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The Ugly Inside News for Southampton
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Virgil Van Dijk would improve Liverpool but their mentality has to be better - Lee Dixon
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That’s the verdict of player-turned-pundit Lee Dixon in the wake of the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Sevilla.
Liverpool were desperate to sign Van Dijk this summer and a switch appeared to be a formality until they were accused of tapping him up by Southampton.
Jurgen Klopp is expected to make a fresh move for the 26-year-old in 2018 as he looks to bolster his defence.
Liverpool’s frailty at the back was exposed on Wednesday night when they were held by Champions League group stage opponents Sevilla.
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Liverpool could pay for failed Virgil van Dijk move
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It was on June 7 that Liverpool released their startling statement apologising to Southampton for speculation surrounding Virgil van Dijk and ending ‘any interest in the player’.
Reading between the lines, Liverpool may have harboured hopes that ultimately a deal for Van Dijk could be reprised later in the window. But taken at face value, it left 85 days for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s recruitment team to pinpoint and pursue an alternative option to reinforce central defence.
Clearly it was an area of the team identified as in need of strengthening. Klopp had by widespread belief met Van Dijk, convincing the Dutchman of Anfield’s allure, and Liverpool were ready to commit £60million at a stage in the summer before money lost all meaning. A move appeared imminent. That was until Southampton got wind and stood firm in a conviction Van Dijk would no be sold.
Liverpool went to that significant trouble because Van Dijk is a very good player of strong mentality who would elevate Klopp’s side at a stroke. Yet it cannot be that it was Van Dijk or nothing, Dutch or bust.
Having realised Southampton were in no mood to do business in early June, Liverpool still had two and a half months to switch targets, to look at who else might slot into a backline in need of upgrading.
Michael Keane did not sign for Everton until the start of July, for example. Liverpool had weighed up a bid before going for Van Dijk and though Manchester United looked in the driving seat in early June, Victor Lindelof’s arrival to Old Trafford changed the landscape. It was Everton though, who pushed hard for Keane and got their man.
Antonio Rudiger joined Chelsea on July 9, Manchester City signed three full-backs in the middle of that month, and Tottenham even found time to bring in Davinson Sanchez in August. Not all these players would have been right for Liverpool. None perhaps.
But the point is that there was ample room for them to address an area that has been crying out for proper authority ever since Klopp took the reins in October 2015.
On Liverpool’s Champions League return against Sevilla, that undeniable truth was again in evidence. Liverpool ought to have won the game and would have done but for the concession of two goals that could have been avoided.
For the first, Dejan Lovren erred gravely when trying to clear Sergio Escudero’s cross, allowing Wissam Ben Yedder a tap-in. Mistakes can be made by anyone, but this is not the first offence by Lovren and it was a glaring moment of mistiming.
For Sevilla’s second, Liverpool failed to react to a quick throw-in and though the ensuing move was slick, Joaquin Correa benefitted from Alberto Moreno making an odd movement backwards to guard an imagined threat and allow space in the middle of the area.
Liverpool’s attack is devastating because of its unpredictability but that same quality makes for a porous defence. It was the same at Watford, when some scrambled set-piece organisation created chaos and a 3-3 draw, while at Manchester City the 5-0 scoreline cannot easily be explained away as due to Sadio Mane’s first-half red card.
Yes, Pep Guardiola’s side are the worst possible team to face with only 10 men. But as an attacker Mane’s absence only limited Liverpool’s offensive capacity, mainly through counters. The general defensive shape should not have been altered to an extent that justified such a collapse at the Etihad. Midfield and defence should have been more compact to limit the opportunities for City to run in behind.
Klopp takes ultimate responsibility for that. The way he sends out his team to attack with verve is bold and thrilling, but is enough work done on the more mundane aspects of the game?
The German’s selections are open to scrutiny on that basis also. Ragnar Klavan replaced Lovren at City and failed to impress, struggling to deal with Gabriel Jesus in particular. Klavan is a 31-year-old who spent four years at Augsburg before joining Liverpool last summer for a modest £4.2m. The price-tag and career history suggested back-up player, but instead he is vying with Joel Matip and Lovren for a starting berth.
It is a shallow pool of not great quality, it must be said. Mamadou Sakho, probably Liverpool’s best defender at the time, was not considered since falling out with Klopp last summer and subsequently sold to Crystal Palace. Joe Gomez is a huge talent and natural centre-back but he is only 20 and currently operating at right-back.
Klopp’s approach to goalkeepers has been equally at odds with convention. Simon Mignolet was ‘rested’ in place of Loris Karius for the Arsenal game won 4-0, then restored for the trip to City. Karius though will be Liverpool’s European goalkeeper. Danny Ward, who was kept from going back out on loan, is expected to get games in the domestic cup competitions.
Neither Mignolet nor Karius have particularly convinced and the constant juggling seems unlikely to foster the kind of belief required between the man between the sticks and those immediately in front. A commanding No 1 might well have been a priority too this summer.
Instead Liverpool signed Mo Salah to increase an already vibrant frontline and while he has started superbly there remains the nagging doubt about the team’s capacity for clean sheets that will ultimately be the measure of them as title contenders or Champions League runners.
Signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was like getting a new carpet when the pipes are leaking. He is a good squad addition but primarily in central midfield, a congested area already. And if anything, a player to destroy and hold seemed necessary, rather than one capable of bursting forwards from deep.
Oxlade-Chamberlain ended the Sevilla game covering for Gomez at right-back, and while enforced by the red card made it another game where the backline shuffled. Klopp has also used Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson and though exploring options is understandable, the best defences are settled, forming an intuitive understanding of positions, distances, and reactions in certain circumstances. Liverpool do not have that appearance.
If ambitions are for a genuine push to win the Premier League title and Champions League progress, it is an issue that needs remedying. Before dipping into the market that opens again 108 days from now.
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Davis reflects ahead of 200th appearance
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The next time the midfielder takes to the pitch for Saints, it will mark his 200th appearance for the club – another reminder of just how successful his move to St Mary’s has proved to be for both parties.
Davis could reach the landmark as soon as Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace, and it will be a special moment for him when he does.
“It’s obviously a nice milestone to reach,” he says. “It doesn’t seem like so long ago that I was signing for the club, but there’s been a lot of good memories in that time and a lot of progression in the club as well, so it’s a nice milestone, but hopefully there will be many more to come.
“There’s a lot of highlights in my time here. It’s been a real level of progression and even from a few years before I joined there was a real upward trend, with back-to-back promotions and getting into the Premier League.
“I think, first and foremost, it was about staying in the league that year and then trying to build upon that, but I think we believed from our performances in that first season back that we could go on and achieve a lot more.”
Davis’s first appearance in a Saints shirt proved to be a particularly memorable one, as he fired the team into a 2-1 lead away to champions Manchester City on the opening day of the 2012/13 season.
Nigel Adkins’ team would end up being edged out 3-2, but the performance was an indicator of what was to come from both Davis and the rest of the squad.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start,” he explains, smiling. “I came to the club off the back of a double hernia operation and it took me a little while to get going in pre-season and I came into the first game in the Premier League – Man City away – and it was obviously a real highlight for everyone to go there on the first day of the season.
“We put in a good performance and were disappointed at the end not to come away with something from the game, but that gave us a good platform.”
Saints would finish 14th in that first season back in the top-flight, before going on to secure eighth, seventh, sixth and eighth again in the next four campaigns.
“I think it’s a club that demands progression and gives you a platform – the foundations are there to enable you to better yourself and I think I’ve made that transition with the club as well,” says Davis.
“I think it’s been a good move for both parties. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here and it’s hard to believe I’m into my sixth season now.”
There have been plenty of highlights along the way for Davis, with Saints’ league success also twice securing them European football.
But perhaps the proudest moment came when, after being named club captain last season, he led the team out at Wembley in the 2017 EFL Cup final, against Manchester United.
“To beat Liverpool over the two legs, and Longy getting the winning goal up there, it was a massive night for everybody,” he says, thinking back to the famous semi-final success.
“To be able to lead the team out there [at Wembley] – of course, we all came away from it disappointed – but to put in a performance like we did said a lot about the quality we’ve got and it’s left us wanting more definitely, and left us with that bit between our teeth that we want to go and achieve something special.
“I was hugely proud to be given the captaincy of the club and to lead the team out I’ll look back on it with great memories, and hopefully we can go on and achieve a lot more.”
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/09/2017 15:08:04
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The Ugly Inside News for Southampton
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| Virgil Van Dijk Could Be In The Squad For The Trip To Palace | Saints manager Mauricio Pellegrino has confirmed that Virgil Van Dijk might be included in the squad to visit … 14-09-2017 |
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