Post-Match Reaction: SAINTS 3-0 Norwich City

Only got to watch about 15 mins after we scored the third, but even that was better than anything else I've seen this season. Feeling a bit more positive this evening.

Hats of to JWP, best game I've seen from him... He now needs to stay at that level and I'll be very happy. Thought we looked back to where we need to be today-kept the ball down and sprayed some lovely balls to the wingmen. Seems like big Vic may find it hard to get back into that team...

Well that was brilliant.

 

Firstly special mention to Targett who kept Redmond at bay all game.

 

Romeu is like what Toby A was for the defence last year in midfield. What a signing.

 

The decision to bring on JRod paid off dividends.

 

Now to relax and see the window close and injured players return.

 

As someone mentioned earlier the season starts now. Proof we are still a top 9 team today.

Highly enjoyable. We looked like a team again rather than the bunch of directionless players we saw on Thursday.

 

Tadic was almost unplayable in the first half. Romeu was class throughout. Koeman must have been in his ear about diving in recklessly because he started doing what Morgan did so effectively, nicking the ball off players toes and making interceptions. His distribution was also a level above anything we've seen from him previously.

 

Only downside was us not getting another goal because I had a couple of quid on Pelle 4-0 at 150/1.

We were brilliant today. Romeu was a player Vic wants to be. He controlled the midfield and his distribution was immense. Vic will not go anywhere and he won't even walk back in to this team.

Firstly special mention to Targett who kept Redmond at bay all game.

 

Agreed - nice to see him do well and get forward a bit too. He was shakey on the ball to begin with, but so were others.

 

We were brilliant today. Romeu was a player Vic wants to be. He controlled the midfield and his distribution was immense. Vic will not go anywhere and he won't even walk back in to this team.

 

I was thinking about this earlier, what we'll do when Clasie's back. Romeu looks very good but raking passes or not, Wanyama is immense and needs to play I think. It might even be Clasie who has to wait.

 

I can't wait to see Romeu up against tougher opponents like Utd and Swansea, anyway.

Edited 30 August, 2015 by DuncanRG

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!

 

Did you have Twiggy on your shirt? Block 37? You've aged well!

Have to agree about JWP - he seems a player that just won't fit properly in the puzzle before today - perhaps having the right partner with him will help?

I thought Juanmi did OK in his little 10 minute cameo, but his chances of impressing are now slim with the lack of Europa.

 

Finally, I hope the two guys that came up the steps to sit down 10 minutes in, and then made subsequent movements at 43:00 (down), 50:00 (up) and 86:00 (down) get to see the first goal tonight - the chap behind remarked was it really worth them coming!

Excellent performance. Nice too see us pressing hard and passing the ball well.

 

Mane, Tadic and Pelle were very good. Jay Rod showing signs of his old form again.

 

VVD signing tomorrow, and maybe 1 other.

 

Wanyama should be feeling ashamed of himself. Fortunately, Romeu put in a fantastic shift today, Vic wasn't missed.

Agreed - nice to see him do well and get forward a bit too. He was shakey on the ball to begin with, but so were others.

 

I was thinking about this earlier, what we'll do when Clasie's back. Romeu looks very good but raking passes or not, Wanyama is immense and needs to play I think. It might even be Clasie who has to wait.

 

I can't wait to see Romeu up against tougher opponents like Utd and Swansea, anyway.

I agree with all this, but I am very curious to see how Clasie would perform as the second DM playing along Wanyama or Romeu type DM. This may be a transition/training year for Clasie, but with this being Wanyama's last season, Romeu and Clasie are our future DM pairing, which really excites me. Being:

 

Romeu is the more defensive of the DMs, rough and tumble, making the hard tackles; where Clasie is the more offensive DM, distributing, finding passing lanes, but also cutting out opponent's passes and being a general nuisance to opponents.

 

At least this is my aspiration. Jordy is on a 5 year contract, Romeu is on a 3 year. Time to look into extend Romeu's contract today? Lulz.

 

So that is DM

 

--

 

So now, the back 4.

 

I am feeling good about Cedric, he has good instincts. The defensive part of the game can be taught. Then, you have Fonte which really our only worries at this point is age. Assuming Van Dijk, I have to hope he is everything we are looking for. Bertrand, again. we know what we have there.

Cedric and Bertrand essentially on 4 year contracts, Van Dijk most likely at least 4 years, and Fonte has got 2 years left.

 

Attacking MF/Forwards

 

JRod on a 5 year, Tadic 3 years left, Mane is gone after this season. Juanmi is on a 4 year and I am betting is going to take Mane's place next season, not so much his role, but his place in the starting XI.

 

to be honest, I am not sure where Davis' or JWP's futures lie in this club.

 

Strikers,Pelle is in form, but he has 2 years left on his contract. I would be curious as to what the club has planned this summer with him. Long has 3 years left on his contract.

 

Goalkeeping - would be nice to sign Stek. Forster I think is quality and when fit is likely better than Stek, but no guarantees with Forster's knee at this point)

 

So,

 

Next summer will have about £50 million to use with the Wanyama and Mane selling. I think all in we are in pretty good shape.

 

It's been a rough start. we didn't handle Europa well. We lost some very key players, we have had key injuries, looks like we will have some late signing(s), but over all I think things are going to be fine.

Against a very poor 10 man side we looked good . The extra space in midfield made prowse look effective. Davis as usual offered nothing and we improved when he went off but there was space to spare .

Norwich losing a man took out their attack so our defence could push further forward .

The result flattered us .

Had Norwich not had the sending off I feel the result would have been very different. We are still a shadow of our team last season .

 

Juamni getting on was great but should have more time . Martina coming on made little sense when Norwich were showing no attacking threat .

 

Big plus was Romeu dominating but once again he had the space to do it

Tadic had a great game and when he has a great game the team has a great game. We need a big season from him, he's absolutely key.

 

Pelle looked sharp again, give him the service and he will score.

 

Good confidence boost after the Danish dross.

 

Also Wanyama needs to stop crying like a baby and roll his highly paid sleeves up.

Match report is now up on my blog: http://theitchenperspective.blogspot.co.uk/

Against a very poor 10 man side we looked good . The extra space in midfield made prowse look effective. Davis as usual offered nothing and we improved when he went off but there was space to spare .

Norwich losing a man took out their attack so our defence could push further forward .

The result flattered us .

Had Norwich not had the sending off I feel the result would have been very different. We are still a shadow of our team last season .

 

Juamni getting on was great but should have more time . Martina coming on made little sense when Norwich were showing no attacking threat .

 

Big plus was Romeu dominating but once again he had the space to do it

 

Blimey Charlie, Christmas must be bloody miserable in your house................. WBA playing a whole half against NINE man Stoke couldn't get more than one bloody goal and they sent on the big guns!!................. Jeez!

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

 

Have I hit a nerve?

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

 

 

I don't post often so don't be to worried

Did you have Twiggy on your shirt? Block 37? You've aged well!

 

Sadly no as the last shirt I owned has Pahars on the back of it!

Watched live TSN broadcast from Canada...we played well...back close to the "We are Southampton, we play on the ground" we know and love...Norwich didn't show today and we were the better side by far...helped they only had 10 but I believe we'd have beaten their 11 too... frustrating that the commentators focused on Mane at the end and the conversation was all about whether he and Wanyama had played their last game for us.

Koeman's reassuring words were timely and comforting...hopefully true. If we get VvD in and keep those two, with Bertrand and Clasie back we have the makings of a decent squad. Juanmi looked promising, JRod will sharpen with more games, Romeu was terrific today...

Well that was brilliant.

 

Firstly special mention to Targett who kept Redmond at bay all game.

 

Romeu is like what Toby A was for the defence last year in midfield. What a signing.

 

The decision to bring on JRod paid off dividends.

 

Now to relax and see the window close and injured players return.

 

As someone mentioned earlier the season starts now. Proof we are still a top 9 team today.

 

I agree with all of that, except the top 9 bit.

We certainly have improved, but our first team still isn't as good as last years, whereas Stoke, Palace, Newcastle, Everton, Swansea and West Ham have all strengthened.

I reckon 12th - 16th is more realistic.

I agree with all of that, except the top 9 bit.

We certainly have improved, but our first team still isn't as good as last years, whereas Stoke, Palace, Newcastle, Everton, Swansea and West Ham have all strengthened.

I reckon 12th - 16th is more realistic.

 

When this team clicks together it can certainly show that it can reach the top 6.

Reason being is the Man u's, Liverpool's and Spurs are more badly run these days.

Decent effort, back to playing some good stuff. You can only beat what's in front of you. Still mightily unhappy after Thursday, but a win at West Brom after the break will go a long way towards leaving that behind. 6th or 7th has to be the target this season. Big ask, but we wouldn't have needed it if we hadn't messed it up so badly last week.

An excellent result but to what extent was it our performance that was better or the opposition that was worse? Whatever, we seized the opportunity, but overnight the failings of our back four cannot have disappeared. Midfield, Prowsie was better, but again, how come we can suddenly up his game after years of not quite being there? Up front a suspect the players had a real opportunity to play to their skills, but they were given that much more time.

 

The question for me is whether the performance yesterday is a foundation to build on, or a flash in the pan against weak ten man opposition? Can the players produce that form against a Swansea or Spurs, never mind an Arsenal or Man City? I remain to be convinced, but it certainly feels a better place to be after that match than it had after Thursday's.

Hugely relieved at that result.

 

Hats off to JWP. Never rated him but that was the first game I have seen him play to the level we need.

Great performances by Tadic, Romeu, Pelle, Mane (at last we see some of the original quality Tadic showed a year ago). Romeu REALLY impressive.

 

Still think our defenders look pretty low quality. Norwich were unbelievably poor and our defence had a day off apart from a few attacks when I still think they looked disjointed.

 

As for Wanyama... its time to get tough. If you are soft leader youre going to have rebellions. Just let him rot in the reserves for a season and make an example of what happens. Just as a reminder who is really boss.

Can anyone remember how many points and what our position was after 4 games last season. I can't seem to find an old league table via google just thought I'd compare with this season.

Hugely relieved at that result.

 

Hats off to JWP. Never rated him but that was the first game I have seen him play to the level we need.

Great performances by Tadic, Romeu, Pelle, Mane (at last we see some of the original quality Tadic showed a year ago). Romeu REALLY impressive.

 

Still think our defenders look pretty low quality. Norwich were unbelievably poor and our defence had a day off apart from a few attacks when I still think they looked disjointed.

 

As for Wanyama... its time to get tough. If you are soft leader youre going to have rebellions. Just let him rot in the reserves for a season and make an example of what happens. Just as a reminder who is really boss.

 

No player is going to sit out a whole season

It never happens

No player is going to sit out a whole season

It never happens

 

It's a lot of money to pay for someone who's not being used otherwise. Adebayor comes to mind of course but there have been plenty of others who have been 'overlooked', often when a new manager comes in.

No player is going to sit out a whole season

It never happens

 

Yeah I know. Just wishful thinking. But players need to know there are consequences for forgetting they are paid a lot of money for a contract and if they break that agreement there has to be consequences.

 

A player losing £1mill for an early release clause when they stand to make an extra £2mill over the next 2 years is hardly a deterrent.

 

Im all for people making more money, its what motivates people and its going to happen. I would do the same. But it needs to somehow be made more of a risk for the player to make the call.

Can anyone remember how many points and what our position was after 4 games last season. I can't seem to find an old league table via google just thought I'd compare with this season.

 

8th with 4 points. According to this site anyway: http://www.footstats.co.uk

No player is going to sit out a whole season

It never happens

 

Darren Bent was fully fit and sat out all season until he got his move.

Can anyone remember how many points and what our position was after 4 games last season. I can't seem to find an old league table via google just thought I'd compare with this season.

 

After 4 games last season we had 7 points (loss at Liverpool, draw at home to WBA, won at WHU, won at home to Newcastle. Not sure of our league position.

Romeu was solid - protected the back 4 very well, range of passing was unreal..

JWP and Tadic, back on form looked v good.

 

Mane played well, set up the first goal. But still think he could do better, he needs to be quicker with the final pass.

Ive lost count the amount of times, I've seen him shoot for an impossible angle - or worse again hold onto the ball for tooo long when on a counter attack.. Has the makings of a lethal player all the same.

 

Time for Victor to go, good solid player but always prone to a mistake while in possession, he doesn't suit our style.

He got away with it last year as Morgan was always a short ball option beside him..

Honestly think he will struggle to get a game if Clasie comes in and lives up to hype

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 has been solid and better than Fonte the last few games.

I thought Yoshida has been solid and better than Fonte the last few games.

 

He is prone to the odd moment where he steps up when he shouldn't and sometimes gets caught in possession, as he did yesterday. Other than that he was adequate but personally I wouldn't want to go through a whole season with him there.

Yoshida is better than Caulker, I'm sure.

8th with 4 points. According to this site anyway: www.footstats.co.uk

You need to try again :-) The site shows 4th with 7 points after 4 games (15 September)

8th with 4 points. According to this site anyway: http://www.footstats.co.uk

 

After 4 games last season we had 7 points (loss at Liverpool, draw at home to WBA, won at WHU, won at home to Newcastle. Not sure of our league position.

 

You need to try again :-) The site shows 4th with 7 points after 4 games (15 September)

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Cheers guys so slighty worse than last season then but not a million miles off. Hopefully yesterday will kick start our season.

We were brilliant today. Romeu was a player Vic wants to be. He controlled the midfield and his distribution was immense. Vic will not go anywhere and he won't even walk back in to this team.

 

I can see Romeu and Classie forming the central midfield duo (with Davs as the "breaking midfielder) for some time to come. Vic who?

An excellent result but to what extent was it our performance that was better or the opposition that was worse?

 

Our performance was far better than recently because there were far fewer unforced errors, we moved the ball more crisply and with more imagination, and reduced the long ball stuff. However if 11 Norwich players had stayed on then that might have been 2:1 rather than 3:0.

Great to see Tadic back playing on the left and playing the way we know he can. Not really sure why we ever started playing him on the right last season as he just looks so much more comfortable on the left? Hopefully he will stay there now for a run of games.

 

JWP also showed people what he can do - think a deeper lying midfield role where he can get on the ball, pass it and have more of an influence suits him well, but he needs to get more aggression and power in his game if he is going to be affective there against the better teams.

Interesting thoughts here from Koeman.

 

 

Particularly interested by what he said at the end about JWP. Seems he thinks that he has finally found JWPs role in the side.

An entertaining moment from yesterday's game - this defender, on the goal line (with his keeper), calling for an offside decision from the linesman. I think he needs to be reminded of the rules...

An entertaining moment from yesterday's game - this defender, on the goal line (with his keeper), calling for an offside decision from the linesman. I think he needs to be reminded of the rules... [ATTACH=CONFIG]1823[/ATTACH]

 

Tadic was onside anyway without him but I thought it was a bit of a laugh. As I'm sure you know, any defender who steps off the pitch to play an opponent offside is deemed to be standing on the goal line.

They know the rules perfectly well. They were hoping to get the goal disallowed anyway. They don't care what the rules are in that situation.

They know the rules perfectly well. They were hoping to get the goal disallowed anyway. They don't care what the rules are in that situation.

 

can't see what difference it would make to them anyway, they were already 2 nil down and playing like a pub team with no hope of scoring themselves.

They know the rules perfectly well. They were hoping to get the goal disallowed anyway. They don't care what the rules are in that situation.

 

You might be surprised by how many players do not know the laws of the game.

You might be surprised by how many players do not know the laws of the game.

Many of them are even so-called pundits on TV :-)

Interesting thoughts here from Koeman.

 

 

Particularly interested by what he said at the end about JWP. Seems he thinks that he has finally found JWPs role in the side.

 

Cheers for that as i'd forgotten to check his interview, sounds like it made a big impression on Ronald playing JWP in that position (and further away from goalscoring opportunities ).

 

What do we think Clasie/JWP (the artisan DM) Romeu/Wanyama (the destroyer DM)

Blimey Charlie, Christmas must be bloody miserable in your house................. WBA playing a whole half against NINE man Stoke couldn't get more than one bloody goal and they sent on the big guns!!................. Jeez!

How is a different game relevant here ?

I assume you watched the game yet choose to not offer any comment contrary to my opinion ?

 

Unless it seems that you didn't watch the game so your opinion is based on nothing .

 

The happy clappy section of this forum want to believe we have turned a corner but the only reason we were able to dominate to this extent was due to the extra space . Norwich didn't know how to react at losing a player so early and pretty much played with no game plan .

 

A better test will be West Brom . We have improved a touch but our defence ( our weakest since promotion ) was untested by Norwich.

Tadic was effective because Norwich stood off him , same as Prowse . JRod could shoot on sight because Norwich were poor and stood off him .

 

Its way too early to think we have turned any corner or the ridiculous statement of ' our season starts now ' . Lets just see what happens in the next game and go from there .

How is a different game relevant here ?

I assume you watched the game yet choose to not offer any comment contrary to my opinion ?

 

Unless it seems that you didn't watch the game so your opinion is based on nothing .

 

The happy clappy section of this forum want to believe we have turned a corner but the only reason we were able to dominate to this extent was due to the extra space . Norwich didn't know how to react at losing a player so early and pretty much played with no game plan .

 

A better test will be West Brom . We have improved a touch but our defence ( our weakest since promotion ) was untested by Norwich.

Tadic was effective because Norwich stood off him , same as Prowse . JRod could shoot on sight because Norwich were poor and stood off him .

 

Its way too early to think we have turned any corner or the ridiculous statement of ' our season starts now ' . Lets just see what happens in the next game and go from there .

 

Except I was at the game and it was one way traffic even before the sending off we were much better than Norwich.

Except I was at the game and it was one way traffic even before the sending off we were much better than Norwich.

 

Yeah, that I agree with. We started at a high tempo right from the off, not many clear cut chances, but we dominating the midfield from the start. Was only a matter of time until we scored at that stage.