Post-Match Reaction: SAINTS 3-0 Norwich City

Special mention for Martina though, who looks every bit non league standard. Is he related to George Weah?!

No, he's just black. Consider why you ask that question.

Glad we shook off some early nerves - could have been very different had Jerome buried that early chance. Great performances from Romeu and Tadic in particular. Looking forward, turning defenders and finding passes unlike Thursday.

Not sure why Mané was man of the match. He caused problems and did well for the goals but let a lot of simple passes go astray in the final third. Romeu for me.

Miles better albeit against a poor side who were down to 10 men for a long time (through their own stupidity).

JWP hasn't played that well for us before, not sure where the aggression and tenacity came from but he needs to keep it.

Pretty much everyone played well and it looked a lot more balanced.

When we play like that we are a good team, so need to resort to the hoofball of recent times!

League table looks much better ! Only 35 points until safety LOL !

After 9 years have you still not reached the point where these types of posts bore even yourself?

Koeman post match interview with BBC Radio Solent...

After 9 years have you still not reached the point where these types of posts bore even yourself?

Don't hold your breath.

Norwich got an RKO outta nowhere!!

Mané's English isn't very good I seem to recall. I doubt there's anything in him not doing the interview at all.

I'd hazard a guess Koeman didn't want him being unsettled by the type of questions that I'm sure sky were planning on asking.

such a good performance today, that first goal felt like a huge weight off everyone's shoulders and I believe we'd have won regardless of them being down to 10 men. Tadic was top class today, as was JWP, whom I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of. The key is of course getting them to play like that every week!

Lastly what was with all the early leavers today? The team worked their ******** off today and after all the negativity deserved their ovation at the end, instead there's people pouring out the exits on 82 minutes. Must have looked embarrassing on TV.

Koeman has suggested in his press conference that Victor speaks to Morgan and looks at what happened with Morgan and learns from it.

Koeman: "If he keeps going like this, then he is playing with his own future. That’s not good."

Great performance today. I think this shows that no matter who the personnel, you can cause any team problems when you play at a high tempo and intensity.

Impressed with Romeu today, bossed the midfield and hardly put a foot wrong. Tadic was lively and Cedric had a better game. Unsure how Mane got motm although he had a reasonable game. Still concerned with JWP, Davies, Targett and JRod is well below his best atm.

Much better than previous displays but still worried about games against better quality sides. But cannot complain as at least we have improved. Hope the transfer window is kind to us

Unsure how Mane got motm although he had a reasonable game.

You don't get how Man United Target ™ Mane got awarded SKY Man Of The Match? He could have had a 5 min cameo at the end and they would have given it to him, makes all the Man Utd fans happy, which keeps them betting with Sky Bet and buying another Sky subscription.

You don't get how Man United Target ™ Mane got awarded SKY Man Of The Match? He could have had a 5 min cameo at the end and they would have given it to him, makes all the Man Utd fans happy, which keeps them betting with Sky Bet and buying another Sky subscription.

Moronic

Remember Norwich haven't lost away since December last year and we are not exactly setting the world alight so a 3-0 is a good result for us St the moment regardless of the sending off

Moronic

Nice work mate, well reasoned argument.

Sunday drinking again is it?

Played well but the red card obviously helped. If we can get a decent centre half in and Wanyama sorts his head out things will begin to look a bit brighter.

Don't hold your breath.

I have been posting for about 14 years if you must know.

You don't get how Man United Target ™ Mane got awarded SKY Man Of The Match? He could have had a 5 min cameo at the end and they would have given it to him, makes all the Man Utd fans happy, which keeps them betting with Sky Bet and buying another Sky subscription.

Thats a bit far fetched don't you think?

Romeu looked quality today, as did Tadic! Ward Prowse had a decent game as well. Targett still a weak link atm but theres a good player in there!

Second half Targett actually looked like a full back , won a couple of good one on ones when I was convinced he was squared up and about to be skinned .

Right side was great today , Cedric having his best game and shows great promise , get RB in at left back and if Tadic plays like that , we will be dangerous down the flanks . Romeu looked the part , JWP had his best game I've seen . Pelle looks sharp and there's signs JRod is getting there. Jose best game of the season, although Maya is a worry . Things are looking up finally , but typically , we hit a bit of form and there's now no game for 2 weeks

Tadic my motm , turned them inside out first half and 2 goals .

Yoshida does lots of good things, some great interceptions second half but just always has an error in him. The indecision in the first half leading to him being robbed by Jerome could well have been punished by the league's better players.

Harsh on him but we aren't going to spend £10m ish on a defender to sit on the bench.

No, he's just black. Consider why you ask that question.

!!!

Because last time we had a new signing that looked that awful, he had conned his way into getting signed by us by claiming to be George Weah's cousin. Or haven't you heard of Ali Dia?

I would've made the same joke if he was White, Asian, Native American or Martian. The point I'm making is that we seem to have signed a proper dud.

Perhaps you should consider why you were so quick to assume the comment had anything to do with race!

Shout out to Yoshi who I thought had a great game today.

On a side note, first time seeing Saints in 13 years, good game to come back too!

Well done Saints - great result

Great to get the first win under our belts there were one or two outstanding performances today but it was a great all round team performance.

Yoshida does lots of good things, some great interceptions second half but just always has an error in him. The indecision in the first half leading to him being robbed by Jerome could well have been punished by the league's better players.

 

Harsh on him but we aren't going to spend £10m ish on a defender to sit on the bench.

Not harsh really, he isn't good enough to be starting for us every week.

Well, I wasn't panicking anyway but this result was very important. It is a funny year this year in the league, just look at chelsea, man u, liverpool, its only City that seem to have a flow so far. Palace and Swansea will both be easily top ten too.

As for the performance, solid, lucky to play only 10 men but they still did a pro job and thats not always easy.

Tadic was creative and offered creativity, Mane great again. Pelle was super (I thought he was our only good player on Thursday too). Although I would still love Morgan here, and this is just one game, it goes to show that every player can be replaced. Romeu was superb.

Let Big Vic go if he wants, as long as we get the money.

Was at the game and now watching it back on Sky+. Sky cannot get enough of these Wanyama and Mane stories. Almost as if they are willing them both to leave. Quite how they can operate a betting company and then spend all of their time peddling these transfer rumours is absolutely beyond me. Absolutely ridiculous that they spend so long talking about it.

Pelle man of the match for me great finish,some lovely flick ons especially the cushioned back heel to jay rod and close with another couple of efforts and also his header set up tadic second goal, feel like he's really on form so far this season and has arguably been our best player alongside mane

Mané, Pellè, and Tadic all superb. Romeu and Cedric also impressive. Massive improvement and on to WBA. Will beat them if we play like that.

Also on Rodriguez... he looks so much slower than he use to. Got in some great positions though.

Great result and more importantly performance today. We were well on top even before the sending off but of course that helped (though it doesn't always fall that way). First 30 minutes we were so much better organised than against Everton, bakc to having a solid defensive midfield with a more forward midfielder in front to stop their attacks forming in the centre. Without Wanyama, Romeu really showed that he was class today, perhaps because for the first time he wasn't playing second fiddle to a longer standing player. He has been very good in all games he has played so far, but today he was outstanding. He also didn't pick up an early yellow (none of which so far have really been warranted) and it allowed him to play his game for 90 minutes. Special praise today for JWP, I have been like many others one of his critics, which has been deserving, but today he was like a different player, aggressive, passing and moving with purpose and playing some good balls, was it his twin brother? Still a couple of poor passes put our defence in trouble, and his so-called dead ball expertise is still a myth to some extent, but well done, and it was good to see, perhaps this is his better position. Davis was not having his best day, nor his worst, and with Naarwich down to 10 Ronald had the luxury of bring JRod on, hopefully today will start to get rid of some of his rustiness, but he was getting into great positions, but still some way to go before he is really back. Mane was very good, and two assists says a lot. Finally Tadic back to the player we saw a year ago, and two well taken and deserved goals. Great first goal from Pelle, still not as sharp as he could be and still very wasteful but a great improvement. Cedric was excellent today going forward, some really very good crosses and made the third goal (though no assist of course). Going forward he really is excellent, OK defensively not on Clyne's level but getting better as he gets used to the PL pace. Jose was Jose, back to his calm and collected marshalling of the defence. Yoshida had one glaring error in the first half, but otherwise was very reliable again. Matt Targett played one of his best games, some good crosses (and some iffy ones) and defensively looked much more relaxed. Apparently we also had a goal keeper today, back to the Forster days when the midfield and defence really stopped any danger getting to him and so he had very little to do, but really makes you feel confident. Well done Ronald, for the first time in a few games got the tactics right again. Thought he was going to wave to the crowd with his stick, would have been good.

Feels a lot better going into the break with a comfortable win, just such a shame about what could have been.

MOTM Romeu by a mile, but as so often people will give it for people who score or assist rather than for the player that allows others to shine by his excellence. I can see Romeu being the new Matt Oakley :-)

All very good. Many positives.

 

But can't help but feel any attempt to play football on Thursday with a line up more like this and we'd be in the europa league.

That's the really frustrating thing. We lost to a team that would struggle to get out of the Championship, largely due to weird tactics and selection.

I can often be quick to criticise JWP, so credit where it's due - today was the best I've seen him play for some time. He was strong in the tackle and dictated play with some fine passing. Let's hope he keeps that kind of form up for the long-term!

Romeu also very impressive, didn't put a foot wrong and will only get better with a consistent run of games. Interested to see how his partnership develops with Clasie.

And a word for our forward players too - great to see Tadic, Mane, Rodriguez and Pelle all on the pitch. At times their link-up play was very good, and again this should only get better with time and as their understanding develops.

Even if you ignore the results so far this season, there hadn't been too much to be positive about in terms of our performances either. However, there were a lot of positive signs out there today and with a new centre-back on the way and with Bertrand, Clasie and Wanyama all to return, there are a number of reasons to be optimistic about the season ahead. Granted, it will take time and we may not reach the heights of last year, but we'll do just fine.

An excellent performance all round, even against 11 men we thoroughly dominated. Norwich looked poor and Jerome cut a very lonely and bored figure up front. Fonte and Yoshi had no trouble keeping him quiet.

I'm surprised at the praise for Mané, who didn't have his best game for us, giving away possession needlessly with some fairly straight forward passes going astray. He was always threatening though, always willing to run at their defence. Targett first half didn't really get forward enough to help Tadic but looked a lot better second. Tadic himself was excellent throughout, turning them inside out first half and scoring two decent goals second.

Romeu looked excellent, if he can play like that every game we wont miss the M word at all. J Rod... I think every touch was a shot apart from those keepy uppies he did before one effort. You can tell he is desperate to score but is still off the pace. There were a number of decent through balls he didn't quite anticipate quickly enough to get on to.

Cedric was very good first half, seemed to tire a bit second. If we can keep him and Mané on the right and Tadic and Bertrand on the left, we've got the makings of a very creative, wide team.

I can't imagine how poor Sunderland must have been when they lost at home to Norwich though.

Sigh of relief. Important win and very good performance across the whole team.

Tadic my MotM (mainly for his 1st performance rather than his 2 goals).

Only note of caution for me is that Norwich were beyond dire. Truly, utterly appalling team.

But you can only beat what's in front of you and we did that with ease and quite a bit of class.

j-rod and pelle need to sort their telepathy out as they just don't seem on the same wavelength.

targett and yoshi are easily the weak links at the back - once bertrand is back and we get vvd in, we will be pretty solid

good game, good day

Back to the Saints of last season I thought.

Fast, inventive, passionate, great work rate. God knows where the confidence has come from as some of the football today (even before the sending off) was brave and exciting.

Tadic was MOTM for me. Was on another level first half. Some of his skill in front of the Northam was just joyous. Had an end product today as well - however, it was really, really hard to pick out anybody.

Don't care about the sending off as we were miles better than them anyway. What it did do was give Romeu and JWP a lot of space to play their passes which is why they're not my MOTM - however both were exceptional today. Some of their long range passing was excellent and the tempo they both set meant both Mane and Tadic received the ball in space to take their man on. Its amazing how much difference passing quickly makes.

Targett was much improved, Mane was excellent, Pelle lead the line brilliantly and Jay Rod is getting stronger (if that little juggle goal has gone in at the end, wow...). Davies good first half, Jay's movement was excellent second half. That 2nd half formation could be great in some games but we'll have to sacrifice against the better ones.

Massively enjoyed it - not sure how it sounded on TV but the crowd seemed up for it today as well. Great backing from Itchen, Northam and Kingsland corner. Supportive and not on the players back.

Did not miss Big Vic at all. He needs to be careful here. He's not Morgan, he's not on that level. He has a strop, not sure he has the clout to be as easily forgiven. There's still Clasie to come back too...he could be frozen out here and not play for a while...

Overall excellent. That's the standard now...

That's more like it. We played with a tempo from the off and it kept Norwich on the back foot for the most of the game.

We were much more accurate with our passing, much more composed in and out of possession. We picked up and closed space well defensively, and also utilized space well when attacking - on both sides. I felt we did this from the off, even before the sending off of their RB.

This was the Tadic we all fell in love with at the start of last season, and I honestly prefer him on the left where he can naturally whip it in without having to cut in or switch feet. He may not be the quickest, but he has terrific technical ability and can tie most full backs up in knots on his day. It was great to see him back to that level.

The midfield had control of the game for the majority of it. I was very impressed with James today, his use of the ball and reading of positions in that slightly deeper CM role was perfect. He was tenacious, and whilst he's not the strongest or biggest lad, he put himself about to the best he could. We all know he has terrific technical ability, so if he can tie that up by adding a bit of tenacity to his game then he really can go far. I was worried he was drifting into a bit of a no-mans role, not really knowing where he fits, but he put himself right back into the frame today.

I've been impressed with Romeu from his first game. Very composed on the ball, uses it very well, shields well, picks up space well. He is pretty much everything you would want in a sitting defensive midfielder.

It was critical we went into the international break with a win, it just makes the entire picture a little better and calms a lot of nerves. It'll be interesting to see how we setup when Clasie is back, but the future certainly does look rosey. It's amazing what a win does, although it will still take a fair bit to make up for our throw away in Europe!

Now I guess the focus swings to Tuesday. I think we know what we want and what we're doing. Neither player will leave and we'll be getting VVD.

After 9 years have you still not reached the point where these types of posts bore even yourself?

As soon as you post MLG I stop reading the thread, you're boring

This was the Tadic we all fell in love with at the start of last season, and I honestly prefer him on the left where he can naturally whip it in without having to cut in or switch feet. He may not be the quickest, but he has terrific technical ability and can tie most full backs up in knots on his day. It was great to see him back to that level.

 

The midfield had control of the game for the majority of it. I was very impressed with James today, his use of the ball and reading of positions in that slightly deeper CM role was perfect. He was tenacious, and whilst he's not the strongest or biggest lad, he put himself about to the best he could. We all know he has terrific technical ability, so if he can tie that up by adding a bit of tenacity to his game then he really can go far. I was worried he was drifting into a bit of a no-mans role, not really knowing where he fits, but he put himself right back into the frame today.

This. Mane will get most of the plaudits but Tadic was another level I thought. He's so unselfish and seems to pick the right pass - some of his link up and creativity today were outstanding. No wonder their right back got sent off. After 30mins of that, I would want off as well. Didn't have a clue what to do with him.

As much as I love Big Vic, his passing game (though improved) is woeful. He does slow us down. He's needed against the stronger sides, however - but only if he's up for it.

Today, the tempo was excellent and it needed to be. JWP and Romeu were excellent at that today - they switched the play a number of times, quickly and accurately. Whether or not they can do it when they have less space in their will be interesting. No idea where Koeman see's Clasie playing either.

Interestingly, last couple of league games, we've limited those shots on target again. Much easier game when we do that..

Poor old Alpine. All we need is for Virgil to sign tomorrow and a if to stay and he will throw himself off the nearest alp

Poor old Alpine. All we need is for Virgil to sign tomorrow and a if to stay and he will throw himself off the nearest alp

Leave the poor chap alone. If he's "happy to be wrong in hindsight" all the time then that's his prerogative

Leave the poor chap alone. If he's "happy to be wrong in hindsight" all the time then that's his prerogative

He was even at it in the match thread...apparently we couldn't even score against ten men...

He was even at it in the match thread...apparently we couldn't even score against ten men...

He has since posted zilch. what a weirdo.

Result the most important thing; excellent for confidence going into the international break.

 

Won't get too high or too low about the performance (esp the midfield), given its one game against an average side and the sending off changed things; but good to see us reverting back to a more balanced side, without too many attacking-minded players (Newcastle, Everton) or excessively cautious (Watford, Midtjylland).

 

Still, in no way, makes up for Thursday; but it's a start.

Don't think the sending off changed too much, think we'd have won regardless.

Agree with the rest, re previous tactics and Thursday's game.

As soon as you post MLG I stop reading the thread, you're boring

That's spooky. As soon as you post about other people posting I get bored too. Small world.

Thats a bit far fetched don't you think?

It is, but I don't see how/why Mane was our motm.

As soon as you post MLG I stop reading the thread, you're boring

With a forum name like yours says it all about you and what you are

j-rod and pelle need to sort their telepathy out as they just don't seem on the same wavelength.

 

targett and yoshi are easily the weak links at the back - once bertrand is back and we get vvd in, we will be pretty solid

 

good game, good day

I thought Yoshida had a good game. He's good level as defensive back up.

I thought Romeu and Pellè were both very good.

j-rod and pelle need to sort their telepathy out as they just don't seem on the same wavelength.

 

targett and yoshi are easily the weak links at the back - once bertrand is back and we get vvd in, we will be pretty solid

 

good game, good day

I thought Yoshida had a good game. He's good level as defensive back up.

I thought Romeu and Pellè were both very good.