Chez

not today they aint.

Aye?

hard to criticise a guy with 20 goals, but he could have 30.

my point being, the two wingers have done almost nothing, not a dribble, not beaten a man (Brooks did it once) not go behind them, not got to the byeline, not got a cross in...petty much nothing. Sulemena would do all of those things, but then get slated for not also smashing one in the top corner. These two do fuck all, yet I don't see similar abuse.

Basically, we have dominated as normal and we'd be purring as fans if AA had done his job of tapping in from 8 yards.

and people moan non stop about Sulemana having no end product.

that's all he has done mind. Got to say that Fraser has done far less, but he's a fans favourite, so doesn't get called out.

Stephens having his shirt pulled off with half a chance there.

what position is Russell playing?

you missed the great run earlier when he beat the full back, got to the byeline and caused them huge problems? Thats what he can do.

Blackburn pressing hard and we crumble. A change of plan (not overpassing in our own box) might be needed (temporary) or we might get caught here.

AA can't hold the ball up. Lucky deflection, but Fraser can't control the ball or he would have been in. Both have to do better.

my word they are five on three here. Two Rovers unmarked in the six yard box. Bloody hell. Good job THB cuts the cross out.

we have created two great chances. AA misses a tap in and Aribo hits the bar. That said, could easily be one down there. Great chance for Blackburn to lob Baz.

https://poscitesch.com/southampton-vs-blackburn/

great move from one end to the other and Aribo almost scoring. I get bored of people moaning about our overpassing, but that is exactly what the point of it is.

he may have his failings, but Baz really is good coming off his line and using his box to cover our back four.

in the prem that might br the only chance you get. i'd like to think he'll get a few today. Blackburn are tosh, but they still get an easy (unchallenged) opportunity to maraud down our right hand side. If the winger could pick a man out we might be behind. It's that kind of defending that keeps fucking us.

I'd argue Charles has been poor. £15m isn't buttons either. However, both are young and still developing their game so cutting both some slack might be an idea.

not having Bree on the pitch did impact the third goal a little. We were stretched, the ball went wide, there was no one near enough to stop the cross and then the rest you know - basically Brooks flinching rather than reacting to the guy falling over his own feet, which meant he got two bites at the cherry. Funnily enough though, after Bree got sent off, we were possibly marginally the better side and created a couple of chances. We weren't massively under the cosh, the game was still end to end.

Not in mine. Mvadidi continues to run rings round opponents. The next Zaha (championship talent that does it in the Prem too).

I chose to say it in 30 words, you chose a few more, but we basically agree. Not enough players in the squad that do the ugly things well. Smallbone doesn't and nor does Charles (holds a DCM position pretty well, but far too casual). The wide players are wingers/attackers, not midfielders. There simply is not enough hussle without the ball. The balance is not right. Lots of good passers, not enough workrate and bite when we don't have the ball. Charles is the answer by the way (he has the physical traits and the ball skills), but only if his game progresses quickly. There needs to be much more sharpness both when on the ball and when defending.

who you leaving out, Winks? Is the EFL team of the year voted for by the players

So you think a good coach could turn Smallbone into a ferocious tackler like Barry Horne then? It's not coaching that's needed there, it's hypnosis. Players are all different. Just as some have it in them to beat five men, tackle or bust a gut towards their own goal, some just don't. You need all sorts, but you need the correct blend. Perhaps we just don't have the right blend. Coaches obviously have value, but they are not magicians. They are not looking to turn a dribbler into a tackler or vise versa. They are helping players hone their established skillset, understand the nuisances of their position and motivate them. But even with motivation, I don't believe any coach is going to change Brooks into a guy that tracks his runner back hard every time. It's just not in him.

no I don't. Players either have that in them or they don't. Smallbone is 24. He ain't suddenly going to become Barry Horne in the tackle because we have a change in manager.