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Pre-Season 2019 Thread


SuperSAINT

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A front four of Redmond, Djenepro, Ings & Adams would be interesting to see using the style.

 

Gunn

 

Valery Bednarek Vestergaard Bertrand

 

Ward-Prowse Hojbjerg

 

Redmond Djenepro

 

Ings Adams

 

Looks a team set to flirt with a lower table struggle rather than building on last season.

 

How many 65 minute games will we get from Ings before he's out injured?

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We would get absolutely battered with that team. No pace at the back, ill-disciplined midfield and 4 forwards.

 

'No pace at the back'

 

Valery and Bertrand are not slow and I'm not including a centre back who hasn't signed.

 

'ill-disciplined midfield'

 

Not sure why you think that.

 

'4 forwards'

 

What is wrong with 4 attacking players in a team of 11 players? If I listed them in a 442 with Redmond and Djenepro as wingers would that make a difference?

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'No pace at the back'

 

Valery and Bertrand are not slow and I'm not including a centre back who hasn't signed.

 

'ill-disciplined midfield'

 

Not sure why you think that.

 

'4 forwards'

 

What is wrong with 4 attacking players in a team of 11 players? If I listed them in a 442 with Redmond and Djenepro as wingers would that make a difference?

 

Asking you again, do you think we can away with those four attacking players with JWP and Hoj as holding midfielders and protecting our current crop of CBs behind them.

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Just pointing out to you that it is impossible to infer anything from yesterday's team selections for the end of session kick-about.
Disagree entirely. Just because we didn't use a strongest team doesn't mean it was just a kick about. Looked more to me like an assessment of the skills of fringe players to see who gets really pushed over the summer and who gets sold/sent back to the youth teams. The fact Hoedt didn't get a run out probably implies he isn't in Ralph's plans as he has already made his mind up. FF and Mccarthy probably still have a chance to compete for the back up role therefore having both of them start was the obvious option.

 

Sent from my G3311 using Tapatalk

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Disagree entirely. Just because we didn't use a strongest team doesn't mean it was just a kick about. Looked more to me like an assessment of the skills of fringe players to see who gets really pushed over the summer and who gets sold/sent back to the youth teams. The fact Hoedt didn't get a run out probably implies he isn't in Ralph's plans as he has already made his mind up. FF and Mccarthy probably still have a chance to compete for the back up role therefore having both of them start was the obvious option.

 

Sent from my G3311 using Tapatalk

 

If you are right then it seems Cedric Soares passed whatever test was set in Ralph's mind which can only be a good thing. Surely 'though Stevens cannot be, yet he played? What's your reading of his situation?

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If you are right then it seems Cedric Soares passed whatever test was set in Ralph's mind which can only be a good thing. Surely 'though Stevens cannot be, yet he played? What's your reading of his situation?

 

I'm hoping he is in last chance saloon but maybe we rate him. He is able to play at RB as well and isn't on huge wages, maybe he is being kept as an option in case we can't sign another RB or CB as a 4th choice utility player.

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If you are right then it seems Cedric Soares passed whatever test was set in Ralph's mind which can only be a good thing. Surely 'though Stevens cannot be, yet he played? What's your reading of his situation?

 

Because Ralph wanted to play 2 different sets of 11. Therefore needed to play 4 out of 6 CBs. Yoshida, Vestergard, Bednarek plus one - I guess this means he rates Stephens higher than Hoedt and Klarer.

 

Not rocket science.

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'No pace at the back'

 

Valery and Bertrand are not slow and I'm not including a centre back who hasn't signed.

 

'ill-disciplined midfield'

 

Not sure why you think that.

 

'4 forwards'

 

What is wrong with 4 attacking players in a team of 11 players? If I listed them in a 442 with Redmond and Djenepro as wingers would that make a difference?

 

Even when we had Fonte / Alderweireld / VVD we didn't play 4 forwards very often, and when we did, we'd play Schneiderlin and Wanyama in midfield who shield the defence considerably better than JWP and Hojbjerg. I'm a big fan of Hojbjerg, but he's not the best at protecting the defence, and neither is JWP. There is a reason why our results massively improved with Romeu in the midfield. If we can get a CB who is better than the current lot, and potentially an upgrade on Romeu, there is a chance we could play 4 up front, but think we're kidding ourselves thinking our players are currently good enough to play that system. We'd always need 3 to win a game.

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Even when we had Fonte / Alderweireld / VVD we didn't play 4 forwards very often, and when we did, we'd play Schneiderlin and Wanyama in midfield who shield the defence considerably better than JWP and Hojbjerg. I'm a big fan of Hojbjerg, but he's not the best at protecting the defence, and neither is JWP. There is a reason why our results massively improved with Romeu in the midfield. If we can get a CB who is better than the current lot, and potentially an upgrade on Romeu, there is a chance we could play 4 up front, but think we're kidding ourselves thinking our players are currently good enough to play that system. We'd always need 3 to win a game.

 

I don't think it's a case of playing 4 "up front" more like 2 lots of 2 who can work hard and rotate working in pairs to press the ball while the other 2 cut of the escape route the opposition are likely to use !?

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What I am really loving is all that anguish and pain on their faces during training in Austria and now back at Staplewood. As time goes on they look more and more knackered. Big thumby for Ralph and his team, slackers and ****-takers are not going to survive for long under this regime.

 

Bring it on say I and at least we might have one or two fit players who can last for 90mins at the end of it all.

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So long as he sorts the defence out. Will be gutted if we start the season continuing to leak goals like we have been.

 

I could take leaking goals, if only they weren’t always in sodding injury time. Honestly, Les and Gary from my Sunday league team could smash it into the car park for four minutes, I don’t know how we can get it so wrong.

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So long as he sorts the defence out. Will be gutted if we start the season continuing to leak goals like we have been.

 

We actually leaked one on Sunday against the Austrian side so better not to hold your breath. If you watch the highlights film again you'll see that it was a repeat of more or less every goal we leaked last year, right through the middle of our defence.

 

We need somebody in there desperately who can actually read the game and see these situations developing long before they become a problem but we just don't have any good readers of the game anywhere in defence right now. Be prepared to be gutted if nothing else changes before the end of the window.

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I could take leaking goals, if only they weren’t always in sodding injury time. Honestly, Les and Gary from my Sunday league team could smash it into the car park for four minutes, I don’t know how we can get it so wrong.

 

Fitness and mentality were obviously part of the issue last season, but when you're winning the other team naturally throw caution to the wind towards the end of the game which tends to put our defence under pressure (especially when our midfield has run out of puff). Our defenders, particularly our centre backs, aren't very good, so they struggle to restrict chances or not make mistakes when they are put under that level of scrutiny.

 

I'm sure the fitness and organisation improves and hopefully that makes a big difference (e.g. the midfield will be more effective at protecting the defence for longer), but don't think it's the full story.

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We actually leaked one on Sunday against the Austrian side so better not to hold your breath. If you watch the highlights film again you'll see that it was a repeat of more or less every goal we leaked last year, right through the middle of our defence.

 

We need somebody in there desperately who can actually read the game and see these situations developing long before they become a problem but we just don't have any good readers of the game anywhere in defence right now. Be prepared to be gutted if nothing else changes before the end of the window.

 

Footballers are ‘coached’ to follow the player and forget to close the ball down. It’s simple stuff and fundamental, however it is very rarely carried out.

You don’t need to be a ‘football’ person to see obvious flaws in coaching philosophies in this particular game.

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Footballers are ‘coached’ to follow the player and forget to close the ball down. It’s simple stuff and fundamental, however it is very rarely carried out.

You don’t need to be a ‘football’ person to see obvious flaws in coaching philosophies in this particular game.

 

You Sir, are a footballing genius. Absolutely wasted on a no-Mark internet football forum. Apart from “close him down” do you have any further insights? Maybe “get rid of it” or “get it in the box”??

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You Sir, are a footballing genius. Absolutely wasted on a no-Mark internet football forum. Apart from “close him down” do you have any further insights? Maybe “get rid of it” or “get it in the box”??

My personal favorite, 'Put your foot through it...'

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Footballers are ‘coached’ to follow the player and forget to close the ball down. It’s simple stuff and fundamental, however it is very rarely carried out.

You don’t need to be a ‘football’ person to see obvious flaws in coaching philosophies in this particular game.

 

You Sir, are a footballing genius. Absolutely wasted on a no-Mark internet football forum. Apart from “close him down” do you have any further insights? Maybe “get rid of it” or “get it in the box”??

 

 

Perhaps Ralph should get captain on the coaching staff.... :rolleyes:

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I personally think we leaked last minute goals because the players weren't hard and ruthless enough. How often did Stephens for example trying to play like Beckenbauer tried a clever pass, straight to the opposition Cardiff, or Vestergaard back pass Cardiff again, Somebody block off Crouch a la John Terry against Burnley. Fall on their arse like Shane Long, trying to buy a free kick lose the ball, 20 secs later in our net. The first two instances instantly cured by sticking the ball into the back of the stand in the opponents half, Long was clear just needed to take it into the corner and then put it in the back of the stand. Bertrand v Everton pass it upfield in the fifth minute of injury time, back of the stand again, game over. Hojbjerg v Chelsea leave the ball to the opposition who moved it forward then scored. Keep the effin ball or give it to an opponent back forty yards away. Redmond v City, foul given by Moss, left the ball to City, keep the ball or put it in the stand, sod the yellow card.

 

Many more like this. It shows a very poor level of intelligence. All these players need to wise up and make life impossible for opponents. It might sound like gamesmanship, it isn't it is just ruthless, hard application of the rules. I want us to be the team that nobody wants to play against not the soft touch we had become.

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We concede goals because: we give the ball away cheaply, we have centre backs who switch off, we have central midfielders who struggle to live with powerful runners.

 

I don't see any of that changing much unless we upgrade our players.

 

Doesn't mean we will do as badly next season. I think 10th - 14th is realistic. But teams which finish 10th - 14th have deficiencies.

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I personally think we leaked last minute goals because the players weren't hard and ruthless enough. How often did Stephens for example trying to play like Beckenbauer tried a clever pass, straight to the opposition Cardiff, or Vestergaard back pass Cardiff again, Somebody block off Crouch a la John Terry against Burnley. Fall on their arse like Shane Long, trying to buy a free kick lose the ball, 20 secs later in our net. The first two instances instantly cured by sticking the ball into the back of the stand in the opponents half, Long was clear just needed to take it into the corner and then put it in the back of the stand. Bertrand v Everton pass it upfield in the fifth minute of injury time, back of the stand again, game over. Hojbjerg v Chelsea leave the ball to the opposition who moved it forward then scored. Keep the effin ball or give it to an opponent back forty yards away. Redmond v City, foul given by Moss, left the ball to City, keep the ball or put it in the stand, sod the yellow card.

 

Many more like this. It shows a very poor level of intelligence. All these players need to wise up and make life impossible for opponents. It might sound like gamesmanship, it isn't it is just ruthless, hard application of the rules. I want us to be the team that nobody wants to play against not the soft touch we had become.

 

It’s not even toughness, it’s basic professionalism that we haven’t seen since Koeman, Poch and Nigel. Fortunately we now have the calibre of manager who is intent on re-installing that professionalism in his own style. Good on Ralph and will enjoy him whilst we have him.

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It’s not even toughness, it’s basic professionalism that we haven’t seen since Koeman, Poch and Nigel. Fortunately we now have the calibre of manager who is intent on re-installing that professionalism in his own style. Good on Ralph and will enjoy him whilst we have him.

 

When I mentioned hard and ruthless it was more the attitude of mind rather than physical toughness. That's what lets us down. I think it's going to change and over time so are the culprits going to disappear.

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that team shows how inactive we have been in the market

 

9th is a pipe dream

 

Why have you decided to ignore many 1st team players are not in the squad because pre-season is about building fitness for the entire squad including youngsters. Saints have a game in Macau in a few days, some of those missing will be travellingvfircthat and many if not all from today won't fly to Macau.

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My guess is a 3412.

 

Danny Ings to play centre attacking mid perhaps? can understand why- played that role well against Wolves when he made those defence splitting passes through to Redmond.

 

Good luck to Smallbone as well.

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Tom O'Connor on the bench - one of our better u23s, I think.

 

Neat and tidy, lovely left peg, could potentially be a modern ball-playing holding midfielder.

 

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

He's a decent prospect but not sure he's quite prem standard. Deserves a chance though.

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