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Swansea 0-0 SAINTS // Post-Match Reaction

Saint-Armstrong

By Saint-Armstrong,
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Verbal Kint

Verbal Kint

Posted
Posted
A couple of posters mention that in their opinion this is a game that we would have lost under Adkins. And yet I'm not utterly convinced that Pochettino's tactics were spot on and the impression I gained was that Laudrup had employed the better tactics. For a team under Pochettino which has gained a reputation for the high pressing game, that wasn't much in evidence during the first twenty minutes, except from Swansea.

 

I totally disagree with that. We did press them early on but for the first time in a while we came up against a side capable of passing through that initial press. Sometimes you need to give the opposition credit and for the first 25 minutes Swansea were outstanding. After that we managed to get a grip of the game and it is to our credit we were still level after that initial spell

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LostBoys

LostBoys

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Posted
A couple of posters mention that in their opinion this is a game that we would have lost under Adkins. And yet I'm not utterly convinced that Pochettino's tactics were spot on and the impression I gained was that Laudrup had employed the better tactics. For a team under Pochettino which has gained a reputation for the high pressing game, that wasn't much in evidence during the first twenty minutes, except from Swansea. Most of their attacks were down their right wing, probably exploiting our weaker flank with Fox at LB and utilising the pace of Dyer, who ought to have got them a goal or two had his finishing been better. Results against the good passing teams have given an indication that our high pressing game is effective, whereas the hoofers and those who park the proverbial bus in front of their goal are much harder to break down. So because Swansea play decent passing football, why were we so ineffective against them and what became of our high pressing game?

 

I also harbour a niggling doubt about Pochettino's reputation for the hard regime of fitness preparation. It has become clear that the seemingly bizarre substitution of Lambert so early in the match was because he had taken a knock, but that he had been below par these past couple of weeks fitness wise. Also that Lallana had trouble shaking off a groin strain. I just have a sneaking suspicion that Adkins with his background as a physiopherapist might have gone a bit easier with players carrying injuries and that the current fitness regime could be detrimental to some players' recovery. Just an opinion.

 

As for anything else, I wonder why Fox gets the nod over Shaw? Isn't Shaw fully fit? Surely if he was, he would have been the much better option against the pace of Dyer? And I also have the feeling that there is no room in the team for playing Lallana and Ramirez together either.

 

This is a joke right :lol:

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The Kraken

The Kraken

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Wes has been harbouring a pro-Adkins, anti-Pochettino agenda from day one. As with most agendas, trying to interpretate a situation to best fit your agenda just makes people sound ridiculous in the most part.

Trying to do what now, Diggers?

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Jimmy_D

Jimmy_D

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Think this must be a leading question for most fans. Could be that the club want to sell fox and are putting him in the shop window in order to get a better price or maybe we're about to cash in on Shaw and Pochettino wants to see if Fox can cut the mustard or we need to spend to replace him too. Selling Shaw would be a disaster and send out all the wrong signals to other Academy players who we hope to develop long term.

 

For a start he was out with a virus last week, so entirely possible he hasn't got over that entirely yet.

 

For another, it's really easy to forget he's only 17, he's not going to have the fitness to play every minute of every game just yet. We're lucky he's been able to play at such a high level for as much of the season as he has.

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S-Clarke

S-Clarke

Posted
Posted
A couple of posters mention that in their opinion this is a game that we would have lost under Adkins. And yet I'm not utterly convinced that Pochettino's tactics were spot on and the impression I gained was that Laudrup had employed the better tactics. For a team under Pochettino which has gained a reputation for the high pressing game, that wasn't much in evidence during the first twenty minutes, except from Swansea. Most of their attacks were down their right wing, probably exploiting our weaker flank with Fox at LB and utilising the pace of Dyer, who ought to have got them a goal or two had his finishing been better. Results against the good passing teams have given an indication that our high pressing game is effective, whereas the hoofers and those who park the proverbial bus in front of their goal are much harder to break down. So because Swansea play decent passing football, why were we so ineffective against them and what became of our high pressing game?

 

I also harbour a niggling doubt about Pochettino's reputation for the hard regime of fitness preparation. It has become clear that the seemingly bizarre substitution of Lambert so early in the match was because he had taken a knock, but that he had been below par these past couple of weeks fitness wise. Also that Lallana had trouble shaking off a groin strain. I just have a sneaking suspicion that Adkins with his background as a physiopherapist might have gone a bit easier with players carrying injuries and that the current fitness regime could be detrimental to some players' recovery. Just an opinion.

 

As for anything else, I wonder why Fox gets the nod over Shaw? Isn't Shaw fully fit? Surely if he was, he would have been the much better option against the pace of Dyer? And I also have the feeling that there is no room in the team for playing Lallana and Ramirez together either.

 

I don't think there's room in the team for Ramirez full stop tbh.

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Chez

Chez

Posted
Posted (edited)

just back after a stay over in the 1970's concrete jungle that is cwmbran. Enjoyed the trip to sunny Swansea. Nice ground, decent fans and interesting game. I have to say for the first 20 minutes I thought Swansea were absolutely outstanding and I simply couldn't see how we'd get anything from the game. They dominated posession, moved the ball from left to right and left us with nothing. Thankfully I underestimated our guys. We stepped it up, really got in their faces and forced a few mistakes that got us on to then ball. We also kept it well outselves under great pressure. I thought Cork, Davis and Lallana were especially brave on the ball. I've not seen MOTD, so not sure about the dissallowed goal or the handball, but the decent chances were about even and Swansea certainy threatened a lot in the second half as our tireless effort in midfield eventually saw us run out od steam a bit. In the end it felt like a decent point, but also I came away thinking we have a few options of the bench as Mayuka looked a real threat and made me question why he has made the bench or been used more.

 

Boruc 7 Not that much to do, again. One poor pass out all game shows great decison making. One very good save.

Clyne 10 tremendous game. Our best attacking player in the first half. Got forward brilliantly, often with little in front of him to work with as Lallana ticked inside at lot. Could not fault him.

Jos 7 another decent game keeping Michu relatively in check, although he got above him and nearly scored in the second half. I'm sure he would have been slated if that had happened, but players need to be judged on entire 90 minutes. I thought some of his long angled balls were first class. I think this part of his game is very underated. He did almost dive in near the end. He half went to ground but stopped and let it go off for a corner. I'm not sure if that showed his reckless side or that he has learned from recent mistakes. I notice Caldwell got mugged against Carroll yesterday. Easy marking him aint it?

Yoshida 7 The partnership with Jos continues to bear fruit, although the great midfield in front of them has a lot to do with how tight we are. Corks tireless running makes life so much easier for them. I havbe to say that Yoshida gave the ball away so often its not true. His distributed is supposed to be his strong point but I've lost count of the games where he has been the one who has given the ball away more than anyone else. Defensively he was good though and that is what he is paid to do.

Fox 7 First of all he was left exposed a lot. When one on one he won the battle and that is all he can be asked to do. He nipped in and won a lot and had a good game defensively. There were a few times when he shirked responsibility IMO. He stayed inside and let Cork or Lallana run miles to close the winger down when he should have done it himself. Not often though. Best game for a long time. One annoying thing was him keep stretching his calfs as though he was injured or suffering from cramp. This led to us dilly dallying on the sub. Both left back seem to suffer. They need toi get their fitness right as we don't want to be taking left backs off.

Lallana 7 great first half offensively, Real sharp and willing. Left Fox exposed though. Actually its our formation that leaves our fullbacks exposed, but Lallana needs to do more to help Fox than he did. Thought he faded in the second half badly.

Cork 8 ran and ran and ran. Amazing effort that helped us get a foothold in the game. Needs to have more confidence and hit the thing now and then.

Morgan 8 also worked his socks off and showed real class. He just seems to get better every week. I woulodn't swap him for Carrick thats for sure.

David 7 another good game although it took a while before he got into the game. Busy, neat and tidy. Did give the ball away a few times. Very very consitent player.

Lambert 6 In Williams pocket most of the game. Hard to argue with him being subbed, but we got worse after we did as Rodriguez was having a poor game. Not entirely his fault. Not enough good ball to him and we all know he can be nullified by a huge centre back.

Rodriguez 5 poor game by his recent high standards. I thought he looked unfit or maybe not recovered from an illness perhaps? Just not sharp and strong enough against a very high quality opposition.

 

Puncheon 8 thought he had a positive impact on the game. Kept the ball very well indeed. Just what we needed. Tough joining the game off the bench but doid a great job.

Mayuka 8 tremendous impact. Pacey, sharp, neat and tidy and a real threat. Should have come on earlier.

Ramriz looked right on the money. Touch was right and he caused a few problems. Should have come on earlier.

Edited by Chez
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Wes Tender

Wes Tender

Posted
Posted
Nice bit of Poch bashing. Especially like the made up bit about fitness and injuries. As if you would have even the slghtest clue about how we manage training when players have a knock. Subbing Lambert, resting Shaw and not starting Rodriguez last week kind of shows that he'll manage a players fitness mostly the same as anyone else, physio degree or not.

 

Not at all. I expressed the opinion that on the face of it, Laudrup had employed the better tactics for the match. The comment about the players' fitness regime was conjecture. The use of the phrases about "niggling doubts" and "sneaking suspicions" should have given you a clue there. But if you want to have your own little conspiracy theory about me having an anti-Pochettino agenda, then feel free if it makes you feel good.

 

Wes has been harbouring a pro-Adkins, anti-Pochettino agenda from day one. As with most agendas, trying to interpretate a situation to best fit your agenda just makes people sound ridiculous in the most part.

 

Wrong again, making you look the ridiculous one. My position, clearly stated more than once, is that I will wait and see how the season finishes for us before deciding whether Pochettino is the better manager than Adkins. That seems to me to be an eminently reasonable position to hold, but if you've already made up your own mind, then good for you. I've been impressed at our ability to outplay the top teams, but a bit flummoxed that we haven't been able to beat the likes of QPR, Norwich, Wigan, Newcastle and West Ham. Do you have any thoughts as to why that is, or are you wary of debating it, in case somebody might think that you have an agenda against Pocchettino?

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Sour Mash

Sour Mash

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Posted
Sure somebody else will have numbers for you, all I know is our allocation sold out, tried and failed to get hold of a couple of tickets.
Annoying for you to hear, but there were tons of empty seats, nearly half a block in the upper section behind the goal.
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UpweySaint

UpweySaint

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Annoying for you to hear, but there were tons of empty seats, nearly half a block in the upper section behind the goal.

 

Any idea why? The club website had them as sold out. Were these home tickets, purposefully segregated ones, held back for some reason? Bizarre ...

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sandwichsaint

sandwichsaint

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Posted

Watch the disallowed goal, Swansea's defender 5m away and with the best view in the ground puts his head in his hands when Vorm drops it and we bundle it in. Likewise several other defenders turn away - not one appeal bar the goalie (who always appeal in these situations). Memo to refs and linespeople, if defenders have their heads in their hands it's because they've just conceded a goal.

 

**** poor decision from the lino who was just 'guessing' on a handball.

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Sour Mash

Sour Mash

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Posted
Any idea why? The club website had them as sold out. Were these home tickets, purposefully segregated ones, held back for some reason? Bizarre ...
No, half a block right in the middle of our end, upper tier, directly behind the goal. Filled up a bit as the game went on and people moved to stand with mates/get a better view or weren't able to stand where they were, but even then there were plenty of empty seats. No idea why, could be complimentary tickets not taken up, but we're talking at least a hundred here, club should have made sure they made it back onto sale.
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sammysaint

sammysaint

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Posted
No, half a block right in the middle of our end, upper tier, directly behind the goal. Filled up a bit as the game went on and people moved to stand with mates/get a better view or weren't able to stand where they were, but even then there were plenty of empty seats. No idea why, could be complimentary tickets not taken up, but we're talking at least a hundred here, club should have made sure they made it back onto sale.

 

I did notice this, people moving so i knew there was a few empty seats, but half a block.

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Appy

Appy

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Posted
I asked this somewhere else but had no reply, but as quite a few on here were there: did my ears deceive me or did I hear a chant of "it's a lovely day for watching the Swans" coming from their fans?

 

"You're only here, to watch the Swans"

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