Saints 4 Dugout Pioneers 1 - Post Match

You can only beat what’s in front of you, and we did, very comfortably in the end. We look a different team running directly and passing quicky forward.

Lemina back great news and props to PEH. His best game in a Saints shirt.

Easy peasy in the end. Second half very good in particular.

If anyone fancies a laugh, here's the Everton forum matchthread...

https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/southampton-vs-everton-26-11-2017-ko-1-30pm-gmt.100604/page-28

Jesus Christ what a relief to see a quality performance AT LAST. So we've proven we can do it, now we have to keep doing it. Maybe this manager might have it in him after all.

Great result. Everton look a complete shambles.

Been a long time coming and first game I've enjoyed for ages

We’re in 10th!

I’m not sure what beating such an inept team 4-1 means for the future, but it has probably given Pellegrino breathing room.

Random stat from the commentators: Saints have scored as many goals in open play today, as the previous 12 games combined.

You can only beat what’s in front of you, and we did, very comfortably in the end. We look a different team running directly and passing quicky forward.

 

Lemina back great news and props to PEH. His best game in a Saints shirt.

Agree. What a difference it makes for somebody to head the ball into the net!!

You can only beat what’s in front of you, and we did, very comfortably in the end. We look a different team running directly and passing quicky forward.

 

Lemina back great news and props to PEH. His best game in a Saints shirt.

Agreed. Great performance...brilliant 2nd half and we actually went for it till the end.

No surprise that Austin starts at home, Austin scores...

Hoedt was good

Boufal was good

Bertrand was good

Davis and JwP were good

Austin obviously was very good

PeH my Man of the Match...covered every blade of grass and pressed very well. But it could have been any from about 8 players

that is more like it, at home to a non top 6 side.........great game and well done to MP

Happy to this thread moved Chalet. We've been starved of PMR threads this season so I thought I'd start one after a superb win.

Austin, Boufal, JWP, Hojberg, Tadic, Hoedt all brilliant.

I'd rather see Yoshida or Stephens in for VVD now I have to be honest.

Let's not have another false dawn - kick on from this please. It was a departure from Pellegrinos usual style, which is odd considering how adamant he was that we'd be sticking to it. Hopefully the penny's finally dropped.

One thing I don't like is bringing Yoshida on for an attacking player near the end - previous seasons we would have brought a youngster on for the last 10 minutes or so instead.

Would still sign a striker and a goalkeeper in January.

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Wish we were ambitious like Everton...... ha.

The best we have looked for a long time, hopefully it was us embarrassing them, rather then Everton making us look good. We really needed that result.

We’re in 10th!

 

I’m not sure what beating such an inept team 4-1 means for the future, but it has probably given Pellegrino breathing room.

 

Random stat from the commentators: Saints have scored as many goals in open play today, as the previous 12 games combined.

If that's how we play from now on then I'll be very happy to have Pellegrino stay. Sort of reminds me of the Leicester home game last season, where Puel was under a little bit of pressure and we turned in a superb display. But we never really kicked on after that. Hopefully we do kick on this time.

Ignore the Man City match, but the Bournemouth game will be the big test. Win there and that will set us up very nicely.

Best performance of the season by Saints. Lots of quick passing. Clearly everton are a mess but we needed to put them to the sword and we did so comfortably. Gives the manager some breathing room & takes the silly monkey over lack of goals off team as well somewhat. My MOM was Hojberg, such a different player in the one and a bit games i've seen him in this season than his appearances last season. Deserves a run in the team ahead of romeu who has been average this season. Not Austin's biggest fan usually but if he can do that in the box regularly i'll happily accept the lack of his all round game.

After reading all the so called fans at half time on the match thread berating the manager and the team just because Sigurdsson pulled off a worldy of a shot it was lovely to see the team show them up.

PEH was superb, absolutely brilliant performance. We were good all round, much more like it.

Everton were, however, a complete and utter shambles. Worst team in the league by some distance.

Absolute dog**** opposition. Not a surprise they have the worst defensive record in the division.

Hard to extrapolate much from today’s performance. The Bournemouth game will be a better barometer of where we stack up.

Still will enjoy today. Three points is three points and that’s always a good thing.

Hopefully turned a corner, everton are poor but we played brilliantly, hopefull Pelligrino gets the credit where it's due today, set up well against a low in confidence team.

Great result. Everton look a complete shambles.

 

Been a long time coming and first game I've enjoyed for ages

We gave your boys a good doing today. How’s that glass ceiling?

Not bad huh ! At least the moaning minnies now know what an "out of his depth" manager looks like.

Unsworth could be the first Caretaker-Manager to get sacked at this rate!!!

Like a different team today, well done MP.

PEH my MOTM, but Boufal and Austin close behind.

Bertrand, Cedric, Hoedt, Tadic and dare I say it JWP had a very good game.

Played with much more intensity and dominated from start to finish. Trying not to be negative after a 4-1 win but Everton we’re truly awful. A dead cert for relegation if they continue to play like that.

Unsworth could be the first Caretaker-Manager to get sacked at this rate!!!

Doesn’t Uncle Les have that honour?

Glad to see Hoj run the show. Seems to have rehabilitated from his Puel experience. Pamplemouse probably still thinks he's not up to it

Miles better all round, more pressure, more intensity. Hoj, Austin and Redmond the keys for me but better everywhere on the pitch.

Much better performance - looked to have a much better shape today and thought PEH was immense and extremely strong. Only player I thought was poor was VVD.

JWP is so dangerous - not just from dead balls but his delivery and touch on the ball was excellent.

Only slight note of caution.......EVerton were the worst team to show up for many a year at St Marys.

Too many fans focus solely on pace. You need a team that can hit on all phases, one is putting the f***in ball in the net. The "thread" here that Austin is too slow is fallacy. He has scored in 50% of the PL matches he's played, and he was our leading scorer last season before getting hurt. If you're too slow you can't do that. Playing a "pacey" striker who never scores because he is "pacey" is nuts. Austin gives the team something it desperately needs. The players know it and seem to perk up the attack, and I hope MoPe sees that. Austin and Gabbi are the only two PL scorers we have. I would still like to see a 4-4-2, or something else with two upfront, where they can both play.

Well then.

Great performance. Played really well, albeit against poor opposition.

By a mile the best performance I have seen from us in ages. Fresh, positive, creative and well......a 'team'.

How has it taken so long to get a tune like this from the current team/manager? Is this a turning point? Is it a one-off? Is MoPe decent afterall?

#happilyconfused

What was all that about?

Unsworth could be the first Caretaker-Manager to get sacked at this rate!!!

What a pig's ear they've made of that situation. I mean Koeman couldn't have done any worse if he'd been left in charge and they're paying him anyway.

They were up for it today. Lots of players snapping into tackles and wanting the ball. I thought Højbjerg, Boufal and Bertrand all excelled.

So, as i was saying on the match thread, Charlie Austin is slow and fat, and PEH is far too lightweight...... [emoji850]

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I liked that , I liked it a lot ! Same team next match, imo they deserve it .

Great reward for long suffering fans. No matter how poor Everton are at the moment, Saints dominated throughout. Hojbjerg so good today and on that performance cannot be dropped. Bertrand and Boufal were a great combination down the left; I thought Boufal deserved the chance to play the full 90 minutes on that performance. Hoedt played well, so did Cedric, and Davis worked hard all day and capped it with a classy goal. Great credit to Austin for the two clinical headers. I still don't think this win should cement MP's position, but it probably buys him more time

Amazing what can happen when you move the ball forward into space quickly and keep on tryin JK he.

Everton look as close to being a relagated side as you can at this stage of the season so the 4-1 is probably flattering but far more positive play.

Poll added. I’ve ommitted Forster in the basis he had even less to do than Yoshida.

Boufal is really starting to take responsibility for driving us forward, but Hoj was the revelation today. Not just a strong defensive presence, but there was a moment early in the second half where we were looking a bit listless and he stepped up and started demanding the ball and kept us moving forward. Shame the next game is against City, as he really deserves to keep his place and build on that performance.

Boufal and Bertrand wer fantastic on the left and they should probalby be the first names on the team sheet now.

Austin should have had a hat-trick with the crosses that were coming in today.

MOM for me though was PEH fopr his strength, workrate, tackling and crucially, moving the ball q lot quicker than Romeu has been lately .

Cedric, Bertrand, Hoedt, Davis, PEH, Boufal, JWP, Tadic and Austin were excellent today.

VVD not hitting his high standards but wasn’t tested. Forster is just ****e and I cringe every time I see him in goal.

Voted Austin MOTM for his goals.

Plenty of runners, high tempo, early forward passes, plenty of pressing and a player that picks out the space in the box. So Pellegrino was wrong all along. PEH outstanding hard working display but the MOM for me was Charlie Austin scoring goals. The way Austin spotted the pockets and lost the defenders was brilliant. Good team display, all the players played well but it was getting forward in numbers that made the difference.

If Pellegrino has learnt his lesson, and I really can't see that he hasn't been well leant on, amazed it took this long.

Hojbjerg was a huge positive today. Looked good in the tackle, made some excellent passes and crucially battled back when needed, showed great fighting qualities something badly lacking in the team generally. Still can't shoot, but not going to knock him for that on today's performance, MOTM for me. Boufal also much better today, actually attacking rather than going backwards. Charlie's two goals were excellent old-school strikers goals. Only real down side for me was that we were playing probably the worst team seen at SMS in recent years (or even ever).

As has been said by many of us on here ad nauseum - play a proven goalscorer in Charlie Austin and guess what - you score goals. Cannot for the life of me understand why it's taken this manager so long to figure this out.

I'd also like to see Gabbi positioned in a free role just behind Charlie - I really think they could click.

We don't have a bad set of players, just a manager that has thwarted our attack for too long. Today shows it.

As for Everton you'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh. We play them in the 2nd to last match - would love it if we relegated them.

Boy, did we need that. Big response after Anfield with some lovely play, albeit helped from start to finish by Everton. Couldn’t believe how bad they were.

Hojbjerg did very well with the freedom that he was given. Romeu will need to up his game to be sure of his place.

I feel for Austin because he was never gonna start against City and is still the wrong option for that game, but I’m really pleased he could make the most of his chance today.

As has been said by many of us on here ad nauseum - play a proven goalscorer in Charlie Austin and guess what - you score goals. Cannot for the life of me understand why it's taken this manager so long to figure this out.

 

I'd also like to see Gabbi positioned in a free role just behind Charlie - I really think they could click.

 

We don't have a bad set of players, just a manager that has thwarted our attack for too long. Today shows it.

 

As for Everton you'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh. We play them in the 2nd to last match - would love it if we relegated them.

It'll be interesting what they do in January.

They essentially need a new team. And every team will rip them off if they come calling for one of their players.

If we relegate them, that would be very, very, very, very funny.

Everton fans should have ticket refunds and expenses reimbursed. Can't stand the dugout kings, but you can't help but feel for them a bit. PEH had a great game, and nice to see him not over complicating things. Onwards and upwards let's hope.

Everton fans should have ticket refunds and expenses reimbursed. Can't stand the dugout kings, but you can't help but feel for them a bit. PEH had a great game, and nice to see him not over complicating things. Onwards and upwards let's hope.

nah hope they go down and stay there.

Glad to see Hoj run the show. Seems to have rehabilitated from his Puel experience. Pamplemouse probably still thinks he's not up to it

 

Miles better all round, more pressure, more intensity. Hoj, Austin and Redmond the keys for me but better everywhere on the pitch.

Didn't play, or do you mean the fact he didn't play was key?

Boufal and Bertrand wer fantastic on the left and they should probalby be the first names on the team sheet now.

 

Austin should have had a hat-trick with the crosses that were coming in today.

 

MOM for me though was PEH fopr his strength, workrate, tackling and crucially, moving the ball q lot quicker than Romeu has been lately .

To be fair, Aaron Lennon was very unlucky in having to play out of position Right Back which flattered Boufal and Bertrand and later Tadic and Long.

Overall, very positive performance though!

When I heard the team selection before the match, I thought here we go again. Another wasted opportunity to change the formation to allow two strikers up front. At least Austin for Long was a small step in the right direction. We were playing a totally disheartened team low on confidence at home, so why not go for their jugular?

But then what transpired was a great performance from us with total domination for virtually the entire match, and a good helping of that rarest of commodities, home goals from open play. Also in the plus column, we carried on trying to score right up the the last whistle. With better finishing from some half chances and from Long, it could have 6 or 7.

So it begs the question; was our superb performance down to Everton's poor play, or were we actually really quite good. Maybe a bit of both, perhaps. There were several factors that might have played a part in our win, despite us playing a similar formation to our usual Pellegrino set-up.

Hojbjerg certainly had a commanding presence alongside Davis in midfield and the two of them were constantly looking to pass and move forward. Hojbjerg made some superb long diagonal cross field passes to Cedric, giving us some good forward impetus behind Everton's lines. The left flank was also good with Bertrand and Boufal. We didn't miss Redmond at all. Boufal and Tadic provide plenty enough flair and Ward-Prowse offered more in terms of effort and dead ball threat than Redmond, as well as the three of them being quicker and more direct in getting the ball into forward positions. Instead of the lone striker isolated up front, we had a succession of balls into the box from incisive passes as well as well-directed corners, the sort of service that a striker like Austin thrives on.

The only criticism I have is that we shouldn't have conceded the goal. We allowed Sigurdsson far too much space to get the shot away and he should have been closed down immediately. A minor niggle is that Tadic and Bouffal were trying to outdo each other with poncey back heels which mostly gave away possession. I do wish they would cut them out. Long as usual got himself into scoring positions twice and then being Long, totally messed them up.

Pellegrino earned himself a stay of execution. Even if we almost inevitably lose against Man City, there won't be too much moaning provided that we put in maximum effort, as we did today. He has a dilemma with his selection for that match, whether to give Hojbjerg another outing, or to bring back Romeu. Also Lemina must surely be back in contention if 100% fit. The real test will be the Bournemouth and Leicester matches.

Absolute dog**** opposition. Not a surprise they have the worst defensive record in the division.

 

 

 

Hard to extrapolate much from today’s performance. The Bournemouth game will be a better barometer of where we stack up.

 

 

 

Still will enjoy today. Three points is three points and that’s always a good thing.

Pretty much this is was a fun game to watch but Everton made it ****ing easy at times. Still winning and scoring goals might provide some much needed confidence to the players.

Best I've seen Hoj play I've not been a fan but he impressed me to do so fair play to him.

Austin might be slow, slightly rotund and seemingly unfit but he knows how to score if he gets the chance.

Also a rare as hens teeth moment today Forster came off his line at a corner and actually....caught the ball

Generally good performances all round but Everton were so **** its hard to read much in to it.

Cedric, Bertrand, Hoedt, Davis, PEH, Boufal, JWP, Tadic and Austin were excellent today.

 

VVD not hitting his high standards but wasn’t tested. Forster is just ****e and I cringe every time I see him in goal.

Bit harsh on FF that. Didn't do anything wrong today - even caught a cross cleanly!!

Much much better although against a hapless Everton side. PEH MotM.

Great result and performance albeit against a shocking Everton side. I'd read much more into the Bournemouth game next Sunday.