Leo_ARG

HD stream for today's game http://streamm.eu/s2.html

Haven't seen anything on him, only a good acceleration to take on a man. That's nearly all he brings. No football IQ, no link-up play, poor finishing, you name it. Every manager seems to have his favourite player. Puel bet on this lad and he failed. Move on, Claude! He seems to rotate every position, but Redmond always starts. That's baffling since he has done nothing to deserve it. It's time to see Tadic and Boufal together, now that they are both healthy.

Actually, Wenger rotated the squad more than Puel. Everyone does it. I don't get the complaints. The defensive shape was excellent, the concentration, the intelligence to close down and press opponents at the right time were great. It resulted in a lot of interceptions and won tackles. Puel is proving to be an excellent coach. Hard to pick a MOM. Boufal, McQueen, Reed, Maya, Davis, even Clasie had a good game. But I give the nod to Ryan Bertrand who was nearly flawless.

He deserves some love after his best game yet as a Saint. He certainly played further forward yesterday. He tried a Tadic impersonation even, playing some clever passes to open space. I hope Puel encourages him to do that more often. He and JWP seem to be developing a good understanding on who goes forward and who stays back and when. That bodes well for the future. It's a shame that JWP can't finish. Clasie and Davis don't seem to work that well together. Clasie doesen't offer anything going forward. Anyway, great job by him on both sides of the ball.

Well, can you be proud of a tie? I am, certainly. The concentration shown, the commitment to the game plan, the intensity, it was excellent. Virgil was late to cover Iheanacho but other than that he showed why he is one the best centre-backs in the league right now. Redmond is getting better every day. Shame Dusan and Charlie weren't at the top of their game. I'm excited by McQueen's potential. He got beaten by Sane a few times but he was resilient. Many others would have crumbled down after that but he kept his composure right to the end. As all the team did. It's time to give credit to Puel, I think. He has used the assets available to him very well. The changes he made were spot on. A lot of character shown by our players, gutsy performance. Good point against a very strong side.

Virgil HAS to be on the top 5 of centrebacks on the League. He is just a monster. He seems to stand out every single game.

Agree he has potential but some give work rate too much importance I see. A lot of players can run fast and constantly, but to play a starter on the best league in the world you need to bring more to the table. If you don't score at least you have to be able to set up your teammates. I haven't seen him trying to do that. He either passes back or shoots (frecuently off target) In 10 games he has 1 goal and no assists. He has a good first touch and great pace, a lot of potential but potential can't earn you a place in the squad. With a fit Boufal I don't think he deserves a spot in the starting eleven yet.

While I haven't seen him that much I always wondered why people don't rate him. Seems very agile, good technique and good footy IQ. Maybe he is too weak/small?

Tadic head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch. Davis also having a good day. Roumeu is back to his last year's good form. Clasie not doing much as usual. Doesen't get the ball back, doesen't get forward... Give Reed a chance, Claude! We are not playing a diamond anymore, Tadic is playing on the right. The shape is very asymmetric right now. But it is what's creating chances, from that position Tadic can see the whole pitch and is showing he is a world class player. It'll be very interesting to see what happens with a fit Boufal.

This.

I still don't see anything special in Redmond. His movement off the ball is poor (just runs straight up, no diagonal movement), link up play just decent, and he can't dribble past people. He is a winger, plain and simple. And a right winger. He looks lost on the left. We badly need Boufal, somene who can take on the defence and get by them. No one on the team can do it right now. We miss Mane so badly. Not sure why Puel took Tadic out, didn't look tired to me and created so many chances today. Whike Cedric got better in the second half, I would like to see Cuco out there. Soares made too many mistakes and looked nervous with the ball. He missed some very easy passes. He can't even cross it righ now, he used to be good at it. He's been terrible since he came back from the Euros. The Saints got away from what made them succesful this game, the high pressure. They pressured very well when they did, good shape and good coordination. And they stopped doing that on the first half just before Arsenal's goal, so they can't say they were tired. So I don't understand why they got away from it. But it was good. That's a possitive to take out. Now they need to work on defending the dead ball. Too many headers allowed. Tadic the best player out there. Hojberg had a good game too. Oh, and this bald ref hates us.Worst ref in the Prem.

Great move for them. Would have been a good player for our diamond formation.

So he's a more physical version of Austin? He can't link up the play and hold the ball like Pelle did?

This. So far Redmond looks like either a winger or a striker to play on the shoulder, like Long. No wingers on the diamond, so I would bump him up. His link-up play isn't as good as what a Boufal-Tadic combo would provide. Tadic as 10 and Boufal-Redmond. Forget about the crossing, this set up is to work the ball inside the box. You could drop one to the bench and keep Long, too. Especially to counter-attack when teams play with a high-defensive line. That's when Long is more effective. That hasen't happened yet, neither Watford or United do that now. Many options for Puel. Moreso considering the Europa League football is coming. If Boufal comes I'm officially a believer of Katharina and Les. Jumping on the bandwagon for sure.

It's not real, it's simulation... pal.

Last year Romeu was at Wanyama levels. He was also highly regarded by his teammates, many of them said he was even stronger and Vic and a better tackler. He has started slowly this year but he is a great player. I would wait and see. It's much more pressing to add depth up front.

I'm also bringing up Football Manager, sorry. Last year I used the 5-3-2 of Koeman but with one of the midfielders as no 10, as an advanced playmaker. So I got Tadic playing there because I always saw him as a playmaker. And I got Fekir as the deep lying forward, with Long/JRod/Mane as the poacher. Fekir is an excellent fit for the diamond because he can pass, dribble past players and finish. So you make a good point. I still don't get the idea of Tadic being purely a winger. Tadic game isn't really suited for the wings, he is perfect for the center of the pitch. He lacks the speed to play wide, and it's a complete waste of talent not playing him centrally were he can control the pace of the game and be the brain of the team, given his vision and intelligence. Also, he has the best killer ball of the squad. If you put him on the wings you don't take advantage of his strenghts. What does worry me a bit is that he can't put a 90 minute effort without getting tired and losing effectiveness late in the match.

Ghezzal/Boufal/Fekir ... all three would be a perfect fit in the diamond system, playing behind Long or Redmond. But it's not going to happen. Remember what happened to RK, he left for a reason. Do you think Koeman was a fool? That he was just after more money for himself? He clealry didn't have the green light to pull the trigger on this high-profile players. Now Koeman is doing well in Everton and we are lagging behind, everyone else is strengthening their squad. I hope they do get one of this players or it's going to be a very ordinary season, and a step backwards from where we were last year.

It was only his first game but there are no reason whatsoever to rave about him. He lost the ball countles times, never found Long. They never connected. I think Redmond and Long are better suited for a counter-attack style with Tadic playing the ball into open space. That may be the scenario againt Man U. But yeah, media will hype because he is young and elgish. Truth is he had an OK second half and a very poor first. The best from him was his finishing, when he played inside the penalty area. Time will tell if he can be more of a creative force unders Puel's diamond shape.

It seems to me that the goal Redmond had made him look better than he was. Especially in the first half, he was poor. He need to take decitions quicker when he is centrally because the holding midfielders are so quick and strong there. He lost too many balls. He did look much better when he played inside the penalty area, he grew with the team. Maybe the goal gave him some confidence. But I still don't see him linking up with Tadic on the passing game, he is either a winger or the same type of player Long is, more of a poacher. So no suprises, we still need a creative forward who can pass and dribble with more ease through the opposition. That is if we stick with this diamond shape. Tadic was my MOM, great vision and intelligence as always. But hey, Hojberg may have been MOM if he played 90 minutes. I don't know what happens behind the scenes but JWP in the starting 11 doesen't make sense. Hojberg was superb, the thing that impressed me the most was his determination, a strong charachter that was out there to prove a point. Way to go, lad. Pied did OK, promising. One last thing, it pains me to say it but Romeu was awful, probably his worst game as a Saint.

This. Hojberg not playing is unexplainable. Liked Tadic and Matty Targett, who (unlike JWP) is showing some potential. Redmond has been poor. Long isn't playing on the shoulder of CBs, so he isn't effective. Plus, he is uncomfortable playing on the left, maybe he needs to switch more with Redmond.

Very good post. Agree 90%. I'm not sold on Redmon playing as no 10. Only see Tadic in that role. Clearly another forward is needed, someone who can start from the center but go wide and cross when is needed but also with good first touch and creativity to play centrally in the final third (this is what Redmond lacks a bit as of yet from what I have seen), so you are not so dependent on Tadic's through ball. As of today, my eleven would be: ----------Forster---------- Cedric Jose VVD Bertrand ---------Romeu------------ Højbjerg---------Davis---- ---------Tadic--------------- ----Redmond----Long------

Tadic is a no 10, that's the best position for him. He lacks the speed required for the wings. He has the vision, intelligence and passing ability to play there. He knows when to switch flanks, when to pass to the fullbacks and when to go with the killer pass and is the only player on the team that can do it consistently. Puel playing him there is an excellent idea. What he needs is somenone like Boufal to associate with him in the final third. That's why Boufal would be such a brilliant signing. I would certainly run the risk of signing him even if he isn't fully fit. We did that with Austin. I see Redmond more suited for the poacher role, a backup for Long. But it all could change, maybe the 4-1-2-1-2 is just one look and Puel could give us another one in the future.

Looks like Puel doesen't play with wingers. So I doubt it's us. I am a bit worried. We REALLY need Boufal. If we are going with the narrow 4-1-2-1-2 we are heavily relying on Tadic to create chances for us. I am one of his biggest supporters here but another creative force is needed. Unless Højbjerg proves to be class right away and shows something of a offensive threat, or Clasie steps us his game massively, it's going to be tough to create. Also, this formation suits Cedric, since there is going to be a lot of space on the wings to exploit. At the other hand, it will need a lot of tactical work to be cohesioned though, it could leave the team exposed to counter-attacks if it's not done right. It is a good idea to bring another right-back to have competition and let Cuco go.

Tadic playing as no 10. Redmond and Austin as strikers. 4-3-1-2 maybe the shape.