Man Utd v Saints Post Match Hmmmmm.....

Well that was interesting for the second game of the season.

Still asked more questions than it answered.

Need to score up front. Got suckered into a Penalty it seems.

Time ti whinge and melt down

Over to the usual suspect.

Positives to be taken. We will do OK this season.

Shaw tripped over his own leg. Never a penalty.

Positives to build on from the first half. Still not sure on the formation and we need a bit more firepower but my bed remains resolutely dry this evening.

Van Dijk and Højberg were good ,the rest very average .Clasie really dosent add anything .hopefully sparks the board into life in regards to transfers.

On to Sunderland we go

Zero threat up front. If we don't sign another striker it will be a big mistake.

Next week will be a better indication of how **** or good we are...

I guess.

Done ok to be honest but it was always men against boys.

We need a defensive mid though Hojberg deputised admirably but it restricts his other abilities when having to do so.

Signing an attacking midfielder won't solve our problems - it's the style of play and perhaps the understanding of it which means we only really create half chances. One player will not solve this and even if it does, what happens when that player is out?

Matt Targett was woefully out of position a few times tonight.

Quite easy to nullify Redmond... Show him into his left foot.

Body language didn't look great from some of the players too.

Just an observation.

Decent performance from us. Restricted Utd (probable league winners) to just a few chances. Never a penalty IMO. We're still lacking that killer instinct (as per last few seasons). More positives than negatives. We match on.

Never going to win this one, but slightly disappointing performance due to weak forward line. Hojberg good, VvD good, rest of the team not so much. Oh well.

Only watched text on BBC but I think we will do very well.

not a disaster , Tadic is trying to do it all , we were close to them and if we'd taken one of those chances who knows how we would've reacted

Heads dropped after the pen. Before that we were well in the game - indeed the better side at the start of the second half. Worked some good positions and openings; Redmond and Long just lacked that bit of class and composure to make them count. Apart from a 10 min spell after the pen, United were pretty average. Forster did not have a save of note to make.

Though we started well, played some nice stuff and on top until they scored.

VvD was god, thought Tadic was good and Hojbjerg was good.

sadly again, I cannot for the life of me see how this set up will work long term with this squad.

lots of pass pass pass, side to side backwards....in that time, the opposition get 9 men not only in defence but set with their men.

we looked incredibly lightweight in midfield, something we have not seen at saints for a few years.

United did not have to be any good to beat us.

as this set up (and going forward) you could see the players heads drop in the 2nd half and lose confidence. but lacked all sorts in the 2nd half.

seeing austin in the right and left back positions defending was just weird.

this whole redmond thing...after losing the goals we have and redmond is there to replace that? poor lad

I honestly feel that it is a countdown on what goes first, the Diamond set up (which is just odd with these players) all fart and little shyte

or the manager himself (who I think will do well to last till january)

we were excellent in the run-in last season and finished 3 points from the champions league. we look so weak and pretty toothless now.

seem odd that we are changing the set up pretty significantly that got us 3 points from the champions league

big game next week

Good performance - better team - two weak goals but plenty to look forward too. We march on

Toothless, and concerns that this weaker squad has to play in Europe as well. IMO I don't like Puels way he dealt with Long coming off, he seems like a hard manager but that is a luxury we cant afford with key players

I just get the feeling that some of the team are a little uncomfortable in their new roles. Maybe they need more time in the communal bath playing soap related games.

last week, I suggested that Redmond tried to too much on the ball, this week, nobody seemed to even want the ball......So it's probably my fault.....sorry.

A good few things to be positive about. Plenty of good possession & passing but too many players first thought is to pass back or sideways. Occasionally dispossessed as well. The real problem is the perennial one for Saints and that is the failure to turn possession into goals. Loads of play around the Man Utd penalty area in the 2nd half but there didn't seem to much idea about what to do with it. Early days though.

Pity we couldn't create something more clear cut, Targett's crossing in particular was poor. Shame Romeu had to go off so early as in lost us the attacking impetus provided by Hojberg.

We are NOT going down.

Throughout the game it was highly noticeable that our players were what seemed to be quite fractious between themselves.

They really didn't seem to be playing with a smile on their faces.

Couple that with the way Puel completely blanked Long when substituting him.

I wonder if there is tension in the ranks.......compared to the obvious,even boasted about,team spirit of recent seasons.

All very pretty until we get to the final 3rd then it goes backwards,sideways or cheaply given away.

We've lost any 'swagger' and 'verve' we used to have.

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Tidy performance but we are very easy to defend against. Quality of crossing very poor and midfield just to lightweight We need a few more players, and good enough to go straight into starting line up. Don't blame the manager but board need to replace quality with quality.

This formation is totally sterile. Whilst the stats will show we had loads of possession and completed passes it was all in areas where Utd were quite happy to let us have the ball. We looked toothless and did not even win a single corner or force their keeper to make one decent save. Too many small players and not enough pace and power - as soon as they turned the ball over they went for us and with better finishing they could have scored a couple more. It's not acceptable to just pass for the sake of it with no cutting edge or threat. Will be a difficult season unless we bring in 2-3 quality players. Oh and Redmond is no Thierry Henry that's for sure.

I thought we played OK certainly not much difference between the sides, apart from the goals!!

I thought we played all right, lost to the key moments, two very soft goals, and Shane missed two really good chances he seems to need 4 or 5 to put one away.

Clasie was truly awful, passes back, can't tackle or shoot! need Ryan back quick, no surprise goals have all come down his side.

Hojberg is good though, hope Oriol is OK. Need some height and muscle in the team, rather have Cuco.

Was browsing the match thread without being logged in...

...God, I forgot what all these **** jockeys I normally have on my ignore list are like. You might be Saints and I'll fight for you til my last, but you are a bunch of whinging d!cks. Now I'm logged in you are all back on ignore.

Gutted about the result, but we looked more than alright. Liked the new pasa heavy system, players seemed happy with it. We will win a lot of games this season playing like that. Okay, yeah, another attacking outlet would do the confidence the world of good.

Our Travelling Fans in fine voice as ever. Well done to them too. Our online fans should take note.

Pity we couldn't create something more clear cut, Targett's crossing in particular was poor. Shame Romeu had to go off so early as in lost us the attacking impetus provided by Hojberg.

 

We are NOT going down.

Zero threat up front. If we don't sign another striker it will be a big mistake.

It will. We are missing a main man, no pun intended. Otherwise I think we are well set.

What formation did we go to when Austin came on?

What formation did we go to when Austin came on?

same as we did through out pretty much

Forster - Could do little about the goals, little to do otherwise.

Targett - Tried hard, but wasteful with the ball going forward and struggled for pace at times.

Fonte - Could have perhaps made a better effort to contest Ibra for the first.

VVD - Did well

Cedric - Fairly average

Hojbjerg - Played well, looks a good player

Romeu - Wasn't involved long enough to judge

Davis - Some poor passing and woeful defending for the first

Tadic - In and out of the game. Looks like the only creative player in the squad right now.

Long - Ran hard, but another average game.

Redmond - some nice touches first half, but faded. Reluctance to shoot could hinder his conversion to CF

Subs:

Clasie - neat and tidy but little more. Penalty was harsh

Austin - Did nothing of note

Rodriguez - nearly got in on goal at the death

What formation did we go to when Austin came on?

Austin was on the right then left not where he should be played puel is a stubborn twa. T

Neat, tidy, toothless.

Little movement or options up front.

No panic yet......who remembers Midgitland last season?

Nice to see J-Rod come on a show a burst of pace.

Onto the next one.

What formation did we go to when Austin came on?

10th rate Barca knockoff

Selling mane was madness. We need another player capable of hurting teams

Wasn't very impressed with Redmond or clasie.

Hoijberg the only positive from that. Looks class.

Worrying times. This is what happens when you sell and buy on the cheap

Katarina is using us as a business

Que the happy clappers with the old "remember we are a small club who were in league one a few years ago"

Time to show some ambition or lots will lose interest...

Selling mane was madness. We need another player capable of hurting teams

 

Wasn't very impressed with Redmond or clasie.

 

Hoijberg the only positive from that. Looks class.

 

Worrying times. This is what happens when you sell and buy on the cheap

 

Katarina is using us as a business

 

Que the happy clappers with the old "remember we are a small club who were in league one a few years ago"

 

Time to show some ambition or lots will lose interest...

against my better judgement, I'll feed the troll.......pr1ck your boil, Spooner style!

Austin was on the right then left not where he should be played puel is a stubborn twa. T

Jose saying the closed diamond system didn't cause them any problems and we never troubled them.

I don't think the players buy the diamond, and I don't think it fits our team. Why does Puel push it? I'd like to see us start the next game with the team we ended with (except Long for JRod). We seemed more offensive and our offensive scorers are on the field at least. Still not clear on Puels fasination with Redmond as a striker. He looks good wide, in space, but weak around the goal. Should be a mid. We are ridiculous in this formation trying to cross to Long and Redmond. It takes a major part of any teams offense out.

Played well until we got near their box, which is a slight issue.

Positives to be taken. We will do OK this season.

I agree with the first part of what you said and if we get a quality wide player and a striker in for the Sunderland game I'll agree with the second part. Decent in midfield tonight, more than decent at times, standout performers PEH, VVD and Tadic. Targett struggled a bit but did OK last week. Hope Romeu injury only a pull and back after international break.

Obvious the attack lacks a focal point and the OS guff about Redmond as a striker needs the volume of fans contempt it deserves - he's a decent winger who cuts in. Reed needs to get busy now - striker and winger please asap. Either that, or change the formation to suit Austin better.

Not a big fan of this formation so far. Tadic doesn't convince me down the middle, Davis looks lost on the left.

Positives to be taken.

Think we've picked up a few skate trolls on here over the summer judging from the match thread.

Jose saying the closed diamond system didn't cause them any problems and we never troubled them.

He really doesn't like us after last season

Jose saying the closed diamond system didn't cause them any problems and we never troubled them.

Sounded defensive to me. Forster had no more real saves to make than De Gea.

Nice in possesion but you just felt we were never going to score. We really need another creative outlet. Long had a great chance in the first half, but it was a **** poor finish.

United look a different prospect this season; they were expected to win comfortably. There's no need for a meltdown yet, but 1 September that might be different.

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against my better judgement, I'll feed the troll.......pr1ck your boil, Spooner style!

What constitutes me being a "troll"? A different opinion to you? All I've seen you post is fluffed up rubbish with no substance. This is a football forum for opinions mate. Get used to it or give your own opinion instead of insulting others

Think we've picked up a few skate trolls on here over the summer judging from the match thread.

Trolling. Finally, something a skate might be good at!

I thought we were decent, the better team for chunks of the game.

Our full backs a bit of a weak link currently.

Hojbjerg looked class.

Man Utd will thrash a fair few teams at home this season.

Not nearly enough goals in the team or the formation. Either need some very canny signings ASAP or it's going to be a very sh_it season.

The diamond is a cop out for me. It makes us look half decent with lots of passing and possession in easy, non-threatening areas but that just hides our short-comings overall. We will struggle to score goals home and away this season. Unfortunately I think we're stuck with the diamond because Puel obviously believes in it and he comes across as someone who has a stubborn streak and not open to change.

That is one point out of a possible six, not the best of starts. Obviously did not expect Saints to win especially against a star studded line up but the performance left so much to be desired given the result against Watford , Romeu didn't spend so much time on the pitch so it's hard to know exactly what Puel's original gameplan was, His replacement, Clasie had a very poor game...perhaps one of the poorest I have seen in a saints shirt in a while, I figured he'd be the one to play at the base of midfield in a more playmaking role but Puel opted for PEH who while gifted on the ball and tenacious in the tackle is not exemplary at protecting the center backs. I am also really concerned about Puel's inability to change approach and aversion to playing through the middle, this also happened at Watford and I am starting to think this is exactly how Puel wants to play. Hopefully this friday match gives the manager a chance to re-evaluate his approach and perhaps focus on establishing a more solid defensive approach. I never was one of those calling for more transfers but the manager's options from the bench look rather limited and so work needs to be done to secure players that can give us an alternate approach. Disappointing performance but it's still very early in the season and we can still be better