Saints vs Gooners - Cup Run mk 2

Southampton Football Club
161

Claude’s defence of the team he put out (for which he takes responsibility).

BTW 6.9% of the words attributed to him here are " important".

This is the highest score I’ve seen.

I’d like to refer to this metric as a Bletch Scale for something or other but I can’t come up with a witty acronym.

Originally posted by @Optimus-trousers

Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Puel: I had to protect my players

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Saints were beaten 5-0 at home by the Gunners, with the manager making ten changes from the side that triumphed against Liverpool in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.

Puel said he had to make such sweeping alterations due to a lengthy injury list and the fact they have two big Premier League games coming up this week, against Swansea and West Ham United.

“We have a lot of injured players and I tried to protect all the players who are important for the next games,” said Puel.

“Before the game, we had nine players not available. Other players have been playing every three days, and it’s not possible for us to play the same team every three days against a great team. They can recover, because they didn’t play.

“I am responsible, of course, for this defeat. For me, it was important to protect some players and to keep good chances for the next game, and to protect against injuries also.

"Of course, it was important for us to recover, because we have got to have two strong games in the Premier League – very important games for us, and it’s important to give a good answer and prepare for the next game.”

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162

The Mirror’s player ratings…

Originally posted by @Optimus-trousers

Sourced from Mirror.co.uk article

Southampton 0-5 Arsenal player ratings

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Arsenal eased into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable win against a dismal Southampton team that looked a shadow of the side that beat Liverpool to reach the EFL Cup final three days ago.

That was perhaps not surprising given that Claude Puel made ten changes to his starting lineup, but Arsenal also named a young and much-changed side - yet looked hungry from the off as Arsene Wenger watched from the stands.

Danny Welbeck’s first start in 265 days saw the England striker show Gunners fans just what they have been missing during his lengthy layoff.

The mobile forward lead a dynamic Arsenal front-line and was rewarded for his enthusiastic running with two goals in seven minutes early on, before Theo Walcott put the game beyond doubt with just 35 minutes played and then added a fourth and a fifth to confirm his hat-trick.

Which of the goalscorers were our choice for Man of the Match and how did the other players at St Mary’s stack up?

Lewis 4 - Poor positioning on Welbeck’s second, beat too easily for Walcott’s third.

Martina 4 - Let Welbeck run riot, disappeared on the fifth goal.

Gardos 5 - Just couldn’t cope with Arsenal’s pace and movement.

Stephens 4 - Not given any help from his midfielders in the second half.

McQueen 3 - Left chasing shadows for large parts of the evening.

Clasie 5 - Failed to influence the game, except for a couple of snatched shots.

Hojbjerg 5 - Went close with a free-kick but the jury’s still out on whether he has what it takes.

Sims 6 - Southampton’s best player. Smart on the ball, but couldn’t do it all on his own.

Isgrove 4 - Played in the middle but well off the pace.

Long 5 - Had some half chances, but made little impact as Saints’ senior-most starter.

Ospina 7 - Showed how good he is with his feet, pulled out saves when called upon.

Mustafi 7 - Yet to lose with Arsenal, dealt with everything in the air.

Holding 7 - Assured at the back on a rare start.

Bellerin 7 - Offers so much in attack, got back when needed.

Gibbs 6 - Didn’t do too much wrong, but could offer more going forward.

Oxlade-Chamberlain 8 - Ran the show in the middle, but can he do it against better sides?

Maitland-Niles 8 - Has a big future. Looks better every time he plays.

Walcott 8 - Picked up where he left off, with a hat-trick on his first game back from injury, but some frustrating moments too.

Reine-Adelaide 7 - Another with a huge future. Quick feet and some smart passes in the danger area.

Lucas 8 - Made a strong case to start in the Premier League, some great passes including an assist even if he’s not the flashiest player.

Welbeck 9 - Back with a bang. Two goals on his first start in nearly a year. Saints couldn’t cope with his movement.

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163

The academy should be in tandem with quality additions, I admire playing youngsters but it has to help not hinder, the players yesterday have got nothing from this, Lewis especially.

4 Likes
164

they got experience

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165

On reflection, the most worrying aspect is that players like Clasie, Hojberg, Long, Reed, Stephens and McQueen could make no positive contribution to the evening.

Ditto Tadic and Redmond when they came on, even though the game was gone.

166

It really did look like men against boys out there last night. That must be the smallest team ever fielded by a premier league side (height and physical stature).

The fact that no first teamers got injured yesterday justifies the selection for me, but then again I didn’t pay a lot of money or spend a lot of time traveling to go there in person.

I think Bletch said something similar above but it did show how some of the younger players can do a job when slotting in to an experienced team but collectively, not so much.

Some of those lads have been on the scene for quite some time now and are yet to fully establish themselves. It may be unfair to compare them with the likes of Shaw and Chambers but sadly it is inevitable.

Reed - I’m sorry but I just don’t see what others and the club see in him. Doesn’t have a presence about him. I don’t recall him successfully making a tackle last night. Doesn’t move with the ball well or pass forwards.

Isgrove - I am flabbergasted that he is still there to be honest. He is 24 now. The same age as Sadio Mane. 2 years older than Redmond. 2 years older than JWP. 3 years older than PEH. These players are not world beaters by any stretch of the imagination but they are well established at least at a significantly younger age.

I could probably go on but I don’t want you to think that I’m overly bothered because I’m not!

We have got some important winnable games coming up but cannot take them lightly. The Fonte connection makes the Wham game even more important so we can shove it in his money grabbing face that we are a better side and are off to Wembley!

That leads me nicely on to the fact that we have our cup final to look forward to. The FA Cup therefore isn’t a priority and is more of a distraction and a hindrance THIS season. Especially after our European exploits. Being out will provide a bit of respite for a threadbare squad and will give Claude that extra time on the training ground to prepare and instil his philosophy. Or so Les says.

Time to get back in the top half now lads!

6 Likes
167

Every time we get a new European manager in, who’s experiencing their first year in the Premier League, I always think around this period, they must think we’re completely and utterly nuts.

I think the team Puel played, was just him saying ‘zut alors’ !

2 Likes
168

Originally posted by @lifeintheslowlane

Puel gambled…we lost.

talking of gambling I think if you have made a bet before the teams are annouced and then the manager puts out a weakened side your wager should be null and void and the stake returned.

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You know, that’s really thoughtful of you. We could use the money to buy the kids a new XBox to take their minds of the disappointment.

Oh, and an Arsenal kit each so they can proudly walk around representing their new, favourite team…

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170

Gardos didn’t look like someone who had been out for ages.

He looked like a man who had only just been introduced to the concept of a ball and how it reacts on grass.

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171

Ask your bookie, see what they say :lou_facepalm_2:

I always wait for the team sheet now. Guessing the line up is a bigger gamble than guessing the score.

1 Like
172

For balance, I think he did well when he was set and defending*, but when they were running at us (80% of the game) he looked lost.

That could be the partnership, though. I also thought he looked pretty fit and committed considering he’s been out for a long while.

*You can Google that if you want to expand your football knowledge

EDIT: Saved you the bother…

Defending - What others do whilst you stand still by the opposition goal waiting for the ball.

173

Having carried you in a few games you now want me to do your fucking job as well?

1 Like
174

I think that Yoshi was carrying a bit of a knock yesterday and I expect that is why Gardos played alongside Stephens. As for complacency, it looks like the club have been working hard to bring a couple of new signings in. I’d rather we fought hard to bring in those we want rather than adopt the West Hm scatter gun approach and buy everyone they can. No one could have forseen the amount of injuries we have at the moment and the fixture list is a joke, we shouldnt have to play again so soon, even Wednesday would have been better. Oh, well, we wanted a good cup run and we still have that, so I wont be joining the bedwetters just yet.

175

But back in the day players were happy to do 42 games a season - why can’t we just pump our current squad full of cortisone and steroids like the olden days?

Today we have namby-pamby overpaid players who expect to be able to walk when they retire - its just political correctness gone mad.

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They should be able to play 90 mins twice a week easily.

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Did I miss anything?

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Yep…

…but not 2 in 3 days, that’s 4.66 games/week.

Or 3 in 6 days, that’s 3.50 games/week.

Or 4 in 10 days, that’s 2.80 games/week.

Or 5 in 14 days, that’s 2.50 games/week.

Or 6 in 17 days, that’s 2.47 games/week.

Or 7 in 21 days, that’s 3.00 games/week.

28th January, 25th January, 22nd January, 18th January, 14th January, 11th January, 7th January.

Oh, and over the Xmas and New Year period we played 3 games in 6 days, that’s 3.5 games/week.

Add the 9 injuries and the sale of Fonte and you can see what Claude was being asked to balance.

Hope I got my stats correct.

8 Likes
179

Not week in week out. We’ve been playing twice a week more or less all season. We’ve already played as many games as they played in a whole season back in the day, and it’s only January

2 Likes
180

And the ball is lighter now, so their feet should be rested.

1 Like