The Southampton Way is the Problem not the Players/Coach - Discuss

I didn’t say for whom the victories toll!!

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Some very valid points Phil but you’ve just ruined my day off :lou_sad:

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Yeah. I can see how the possibility of me being in the EU would ruin anyones day

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Thanks for sharing @btripz , a good article in my opinion. I largely agree with its message to be fair.

There doesn’t really seem to be any direction or goals in mind at the moment. We just seem to be ambling along. There has to come a point where we accept that what is being produced isn’t working, in terms of results and performances.

Koeman got us out of a rut by going to a 3-5-2 so maybe that’s worth a go. The back end of his second season was very entertaining and we scored a shed load of goals playing a counter attacking system. Other than the semi finals last year I cannot recall many other instances where we’ve deliberately set up to play in that manner.

All I know is that it is all too damn slow and predictable at present. We haven’t got a target man up front in the squad yet we continue to throw crosses in to the box. Even against WBA’s giant back four we continued to try. Not entirely sure what they expected to happen.

We don’t move the ball quickly enough to counter attack so we are left with just keeping hold of the ball for as long as possible and hope the opposition make a mistake.

We need to get 2 up top, not in the modern 4-3-3 way, but 2 out and out centre forwards . Don’t care how he does it 3-5-2 , 4-4-2 , but we can’t go on like this. Personally I’d go 3-4-1-2 , with long & Gabby away from home or against top sides with Gabby and Austin when home or when a side parks the bus

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Cowman tried 3 at the back but IMHO that wasn’t what turned our slump under him around.

He still played the same tiki taka way. the DIFFERENCE was that we started to play “hoofball” -playing the ball quickly from the back into space for Long to chase down.

Maybe we only played that hoofball (or if you prefer “precision 40 yard cross field ball”) a few times each game, however the impact of that caused defences to be “unsure” and that uncertainty allowed our creative players the time and space to do something.

The last few games (since Hoedt’s debut and VVD’s return) we have seen the CB’s attempting those balls again. The problem has been, when he has played, Shane has been so out of touch that he simply hasn’t got on the end of them enough, and Gabbi really isn’t that type of player. A 40+ yard pass to Gabbi’s feet is something only MLT and Hoddle could have done regularly.

Watching clips of the youth teams, many of their golas seem to stem from acres of space for players to run onto and we seem to get many more into the 6 yards box. The first team NEVER seem to find that space - because our play is too slow.

Changing to the back 3 is a positive idea. The DOWN side is that it will mean the midfield becomes even more congested.

IMHO the formation isn’t the answer.

Moving the bloody ball quicker is.

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Thanks to @steveintheforest for reposting this article on twitter, explains it all really

From the [Daily Echo](http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/15634393.Southampton_would love_to_be_more_creative but_it_isn_t_that_simple/?ref=rss)

ORIOL Romeu admits Saints would “all love to be more creative” and it would make an “amazing difference” if they were – but it’s not that simple.

The 26-year-old believes Mauricio Pellegrino’s side fear being punished on the counterattack if they commit too much going forward.

Romeu speculates that this is why Saints have struggled to win convincingly and not capitalised after taking the lead this term.

“We’d love to all be more creative and make a difference in the last third, but that’s difficult,” said the Spanish midfielder.

“That’s the most difficult part in football and that will make an amazing difference.

“But we need to be quicker with the ball, make them (opponents) run and pull them out of place. That will give us a bigger chance to get to the box and get more chances.”

Romeu for manager!

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I upvoted you @fatso in my continued remorse for a fat finger downvote earlier… not because you said anything interesting or insightful …

Please keep all upvotes for brexit threads, regardless of whether I have said anything interesting or insightful.

Thanks.

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No

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You missed this bit Bob:

Saints also need to learn that scoring one goal is often not enough to win games, as they discovered to their cost in the 1-1 draw at Brighton last weekend.

_ “We thought one goal was enough but that’s not what you have to do,” he said. “We score one but we have to go for the second and keep going._

Thought one goal was enough ?? after 10 mins ??

The Saints I know over the past 7 or 8 years would of run riot if they were one up after 10 mins and so comfortably in control.

Brighton were playing shit so why the fuck is Romeu saying we’re scared of them hitting us on the counter ??? We’ve got 80 or 90 million quids worth of defenders on the pitch ffs and if they’re so worried by Brightons strikerforce that they try to shut up shop after 10 mins then somethings very wrong !!

I dont like this season so far :lou_angry:

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It’s MoPo MKII, he is seriously ingraining a defensive mentality into the squad, it’s been pretty much evident since the first games of the season.

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I think he’s scared of his job … or failing at it rather

Someone did point it out way back when he was first appointed

I dunno. I’m not convinced. Why was he stood on the sideline last weekend shouting “Forward!” and looking so frustrated if his main concern is not to lose and to be defensive?

Because we were sitting too deep and inviting pressure and would have conceded (another) soft goal had it continued in that vein.

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Hmmm, possibly. It didn’t look like that sort of frustration to me - it looked more like he wanted them to pass forward and attack, but I suppose you could be right.

MoPe sees Benitez as his mentor, and I suppose you could say that Benitez is first and foremost about organisation and controlling the game, so that kind of fits. I still think it’s a bit too early to tell what MoPe’s ‘style’ is going to be, so I’m willing to give him until xmas before judging him too harshly.

Another point: MoPe would be well aware that Puel basically got sacked for playing too defensively, despite finishing 8th and just losing out on a major cup. I don’t think MoPe is stupid, and as such I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to make the same ‘mistakes’ Puel did.

For me, the problem we’re having is that a lot of the players we have who are good enough (VVD, Bertrand, Cedric, Tadic) aren’t performing (because they don’t want to be here) and then we have some players who aren’t really good enough (Forster, JWP, Redmond, Austin).

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Can’t argue with this, just hope we haven’t got a “Leicester” situation…

I consider myself REALLY lucky that golf stuff got in the way yesterday.

Sure, I sat on stage waiting to give my training to the volunteers and was watching a feed on my phone for the 1st half when we huffed and puffed around the half way line, but I was spared the cost of being at the game or in the pub and the 2nd half.

Obviously the result has depressed me, but what is worse for me is that we will now have TWO WEEKS of bullshit tweets and comments, of media management course platitudes.

I’m pretty sure old Les has no idea how to issue a rallying cry and I expect MP is banned from saying what he thinks, yet right now the club NEED something other than turgid regurgitated “it was encouraging work harder shit”

The planet iis falling out of love with Saints, not just us fans. We have become corporate bullshit.

Time to shake the trees and get out the hairdryer, the ONLY person close to the club who is doing that atm is Adam Blackmore.

Les. We are supposed to be in the ENTERTAINMENT business not Fear Factor