Young Saints fan and journalism student - Paddy Mustafa

[aussiesaint20]

Hi guys, one of our younger fans, who attends almost all of our 2am kick-offs has just started studying as a sports journalist in Melbourne. He plans to compile weekly articles related to Southampton and he/we would appreciate any feedback - both positive and negative that can help him improve in his chosen field. The following is copied from our Facebook page, where the online article was first published - if you, the esteemed readers of SaintsWeb are happy, I'll use this thread to feature and source feedback future articles. Thanks in advance for your help! The more Saints fans we can get into high media circles, the less sh*te we have to put up with.

 

****SAS JOURNO****

 

The following article was written by 18 year old Melbourne based Saints fan, Paddy Mustafa. Paddy is In his first year of a sports journalism course and will be writing guest articles for our social media pages and website. Feel free to share his work if you like the content and/or leave a comment to discuss what's written or offer feedback. Thanks SAS!

 

The Beauty of Southampton

 

Apologies in advance, this article was originally going to be called “Dani Osvaldo: The Conundrum”, but after watching the Gaffer’s press conference last night, I was reminded what an amazing club Southampton truly is.

 

To begin a quick re-cap over the last month, Cortese resigned; crisis at Southampton (media). Katharina Libherr takes over and scares us all, yet provides us with joy following her public commitment to the Club, new temporary chairman; all is well at Southampton (media). This is then followed by a training fight, loss of players due to suspension and injuries; crisis at Southampton (media). Finally, all is combined with some solid performances as well as some frustrating ones. It is fairly safe to say that January was not part of Mopo’s plan, yet somehow as Southampton supporters, we are not even surprised.

 

I was extremely interested in the Gaffers press conference last night because of all the speculation of transfer rumours. It was clear to see from Pochettinos responses’, that Dani Osvaldo is likely to go, joining Danny Fox, Tadanari Lee and Aaron Martin. To put this in perspective, it’s about 20 million Euros heading out, with nothing coming in. I was beginning to worry, but Poch seemed remarkably cool, calm and collected about the situation. At least three players of that four were on the Premier League list, leaving us three players short compared to other teams.

 

Then, out of the blue, Poch revealed a perfect hand, 4 aces, and a move which blew the poker table right open. To quote the man himself, when asked what players he was looking for, he smiled, and simply replied “they are already here”. It was at this point that I remembered why we all love Southampton; the ability to bring young players through the Academy and get them playing first team football. Poch explained that Sam Gallagher will now be getting regular runs; Matt Taggart will step into the Senior Squad, with two others accompanying him.

 

What club could boast such an Academy, that a 15 million world class striker (debatable for some I know) could be replaced by an 18 year old whom the rest of the Premier League have not heard of? Southampton, that’s who. I don’t feel the need to list our past stars from the Academy, but perhaps present a message to the Southampton supporters who feel we need signings.

 

Every club could use star signings; we are no different. However, to be able to use our Academy to generate quality footballers who can play in the Premier League and be successful, is a wonderful gift that no other club has access to in England. I’m sure you’ll all agree that it’s so exciting to see what the future holds for our talented youngsters as we continue to build as a Club.

 

And hey, perhaps with more youngsters, we can save money for transfers…as long as we spend it on the right players.

 

Patrick Marshall Mustafa

[saintchris23]

Incapsulating little article. Being a pedant for grammar, my only observation was the lack of consistency with the word 'gaffer'. With it being a slang word, it's purest form is unknown but worth looking into.

 

Other than that, I hope it's well received with positive reviews, after all, it's not aimed at the audience on here but an audience of less well informed.

 

Cracking name too, a pseudonym I assume?

[niceandfriendly]

Nice job Paddy

[No 2 to Maybush]

The second paragraph could do with some work; although capturing the essence of the timeline, it doesn't read very well. Otherwise, a good effort.

[farawaysaint]

 

****SAS JOURNO****

 

The following article was written by 18 year old Melbourne based Saints fan, Paddy Mustafa. Paddy is In his first year of a sports journalism course and will be writing guest articles for our social media pages and website. Feel free to share his work if you like the content and/or leave a comment to discuss what's written or offer feedback. Thanks SAS!

 

The Beauty of Southampton

 

Apologies in advance, this article was originally going to be called “Dani Osvaldo: The Conundrum”, but after watching the Gaffer’s press conference last night, I was reminded what an amazing club Southampton truly is.

 

To begin a quick re-cap over the last month, Cortese resigned; crisis at Southampton (media). Katharina Libherr] takes over and scares us all, yet provides us with joy following her public commitment to the Club, new temporary chairman; all is well at Southampton (media). This is then followed by a training fight, loss of players due to suspension and injuries; crisis at Southampton (media). Finally, all is combined with some solid performances as well as some frustrating ones. It is fairly safe to say that January was not part of Mopo’s plan, yet somehow as Southampton supporters, we are not even surprised.

 

I was extremely interested in the Gaffers press conference last night because of all the speculation of transfer rumours. It was clear to see from Pochettinos responses’, that Dani Osvaldo is likely to go, joining Danny Fox, Tadanari Lee and Aaron Martin. To put this in perspective, it’s about 20 million Euros heading out, with nothing coming in. I was beginning to worry, but Poch seemed remarkably cool, calm and collected about the situation. At least three players of that four were on the Premier League list, leaving us three players short compared to other teams.

 

Then, out of the blue, Poch revealed a perfect hand, 4 aces, and a move which blew the poker table right open. To quote the man himself, when asked what players he was looking for, he smiled, and simply replied “they are already here”. It was at this point that I remembered why we all love Southampton; the ability to bring young players through the Academy and get them playing first team football. Poch explained that Sam Gallagher will now be getting regular runs; Matt Taggart will step into the Senior Squad, with two others accompanying him.

 

What club could boast such an Academy, that a 15 million world class striker (debatable for some I know) could be replaced by an 18 year old whom the rest of the Premier League have not heard of? Southampton, that’s who. I don’t feel the need to list our past stars from the Academy, but perhaps present a message to the Southampton supporters who feel we need signings.

 

Every club could use star signings; we are no different. However, to be able to use our Academy to generate quality footballers who can play in the Premier League and be successful, is a wonderful gift that no other club has access to in England. I’m sure you’ll all agree that it’s so exciting to see what the future holds for our talented youngsters as we continue to build as a Club.

 

And hey, perhaps with more youngsters, we can save money for transfers…as long as we spend it on the right players.

 

Patrick Marshall Mustafa

 

I've highlighted a couple of names spelled wrong, some out of place capitals and a few missed or misplaced apostrophes, I won't attempt to judge your grammatical structure as frankly mine is fairly awful.

 

I enjoyed the article Paddy, post some others when you get the chance as I'd like to see your writing progress and it is always interesting to read a Southampton fan's view on the situation and see the world through another's eyes.

 

Best of luck with the course and try and convert some new fans down under

Edited 6 February, 2014 by farawaysaint

[Leicestersaint]

Good stuff - need to spell the names correctly (eg Liebherr!).

 

Can you get over the style of football we have been playing and the genius of players like Lallana? Good stuff - keep spreading the word!

[Charlie Wayman]

The word "gaffer" gets on my tits. This is 2014 and nobody uses the word 'gaffer' except foreign footballers learning the colloquial English favoured by such loveable out-of-touch personalities as "Big Sam" & "Our 'Arry" from a bygone age. People who say 'gaffer' should have sticky grey tape stuck over their mouths.

[Le Timmier]

The word "gaffer" gets on my tits. This is 2014 and nobody uses the word 'gaffer' except foreign footballers learning the colloquial English favoured by such loveable out-of-touch personalities as "Big Sam" & "Our 'Arry" from a bygone age. People who say 'gaffer' should have sticky grey tape stuck over their mouths.

 

+1

I'd respectfully suggest to Paddy that the use of 'gaffer' doesn't really fit the intelligent tone of the rest of his article, as Charlie says it's outdated and trite.

[Wirral saint]

The word "gaffer" gets on my tits. This is 2014 and nobody uses the word 'gaffer' except foreign footballers learning the colloquial English favoured by such loveable out-of-touch personalities as "Big Sam" & "Our 'Arry" from a bygone age. People who say 'gaffer' should have sticky grey tape stuck over their mouths.

Isn't that "Gaffer" tape????

[aussiesaint20]

I've highlighted a couple of names spelled wrong, some out of place capitals and a few missed or misplaced apostrophes, I won't attempt to judge your grammatical structure as frankly mine is fairly awful.

 

I enjoyed the article Paddy, post some others when you get the chance as I'd like to see your writing progress and it is always interesting to read a Southampton fan's view on the situation and see the world through another's eyes.

 

Best of luck with the course and try and convert some new fans down under

 

Thanks for the feedback! This is exactly the sort of thing we're after. I'll make sure Paddy jumps on here to have a look at all the comments - both positive and negative. Any other advise for an aspiring sports journo? I'm assuming having a presence on Twitter would be one..

[aussiesaint20]

Incapsulating little article. Being a pedant for grammar, my only observation was the lack of consistency with the word 'gaffer'. With it being a slang word, it's purest form is unknown but worth looking into.

 

Other than that, I hope it's well received with positive reviews, after all, it's not aimed at the audience on here but an audience of less well informed.

 

Cracking name too, a pseudonym I assume?

 

Thanks for the feedback! A great way for Paddy to learn and improve. As for the name, I can confirm it's all real. Some of us get lucky in the name pool - others don't. Richard Head for example. Anyway, I'll be sure to post up his next article when written.

[Dynamo Naive]

Incapsulating little article. Being a pedant for grammar, my only observation was the lack of consistency with the word 'gaffer'. With it being a slang word, it's purest form is unknown but worth looking into.

 

Other than that, I hope it's well received with positive reviews, after all, it's not aimed at the audience on here but an audience of less well informed.

 

Cracking name too, a pseudonym I assume?

 

Not such a pedant for spelling though - it's encapsulating.

[Window Cleaner]

Incapsulating little article. Being a pedant for grammar, my only observation was the lack of consistency with the word 'gaffer'. With it being a slang word, it's purest form is unknown but worth looking into.

 

Other than that, I hope it's well received with positive reviews, after all, it's not aimed at the audience on here but an audience of less well informed.

 

Cracking name too, a pseudonym I assume?

 

 

Gaffer is a word you find in novels by writers like Hardy, you also find it in Lord of the Rings, usually refers to a venerable elder, probably comes from a bastardisation of godfather or even grandfather. Used to be fairly common in colloquial English actually.

Edited 6 February, 2014 by Window Cleaner

[scotty]

Good stuff - need to spell the names correctly (eg Liebherr!).

 

Can you get over the style of football we have been playing and the genius of players like Lallana? Good stuff - keep spreading the word!

 

...and Targett

[lifeintheslowlane]

 

The Beauty of Southampton

 

Apologies in advance, this article was originally going to be called “Dani Osvaldo: The Conundrum”, but after watching the Gaffer’s press conference last night, I was reminded what an amazing club Southampton truly is.

 

To begin a quick re-cap over the last month, Cortese resigned; crisis at Southampton (media). Katharina Libherr takes over and scares us all, yet provides us with joy following her public commitment to the Club, new temporary chairman; all is well at Southampton (media). This is then followed by a training fight, loss of players due to suspension and injuries; crisis at Southampton (media). Finally, all is combined with some solid performances as well as some frustrating ones. It is fairly safe to say that January was not part of Mopo’s plan, yet somehow as Southampton supporters, we are not even surprised.

 

I was extremely interested in the Gaffers press conference last night because of all the speculation of transfer rumours. It was clear to see from Pochettinos responses’, that Dani Osvaldo is likely to go, joining Danny Fox, Tadanari Lee and Aaron Martin. To put this in perspective, it’s about 20 million Euros heading out, with nothing coming in. I was beginning to worry, but Poch seemed remarkably cool, calm and collected about the situation. At least three players of that four were on the Premier League list, leaving us three players short compared to other teams.

 

Then, out of the blue, Poch revealed a perfect hand, 4 aces, and a move which blew the poker table right open. To quote the man himself, when asked what players he was looking for, he smiled, and simply replied “they are already here”. It was at this point that I remembered why we all love Southampton; the ability to bring young players through the Academy and get them playing first team football. Poch explained that Sam Gallagher will now be getting regular runs; Matt Taggart will step into the Senior Squad, with two others accompanying him.

 

What club could boast such an Academy, that a 15 million world class striker (debatable for some I know) could be replaced by an 18 year old whom the rest of the Premier League have not heard of? Southampton, that’s who. I don’t feel the need to list our past stars from the Academy, but perhaps present a message to the Southampton supporters who feel we need signings.

 

Every club could use star signings; we are no different. However, to be able to use our Academy to generate quality footballers who can play in the Premier League and be successful, is a wonderful gift that no other club has access to in England. I’m sure you’ll all agree that it’s so exciting to see what the future holds for our talented youngsters as we continue to build as a Club.

 

And hey, perhaps with more youngsters, we can save money for transfers…as long as we spend it on the right players.

 

Patrick Marshall Mustafa

 

Yep, good article. Personal peeves....apostrophes (double check...one proof read isn't enough...a couple still missing) and nicknames like "Poch", "MoPo"...we Saints fans are familiar with them but you're writing to educate others who probably won't be familiar with them. Also a journalist using nicknames isn't very professional, unless they are writing for the Daily Star or the Portsmouth News.

[saintchris23]

Not such a pedant for spelling though - it's encapsulating.

 

Damn, 4am is not my prettiest time of day!

[saintsmike25]

As someone who has studied sports journalism and is a journalist for my sins I'll give him a few pointers.

 

Check, check and check again, accuracy is always more vital than speed, and in this article it is an unforgivable mistake to spell a name wrong, especially that of the Saints owner. There's google, and if you're unsure you have to double check, when you're out in the field always make sure people spell out their name to you as it's a lazy mistake to make and makes people look stupid.

 

Secondly, the structure of the article, he needs a stronger introduction..

 

"Apologies in advance, this article was originally going to be called “Dani Osvaldo: The Conundrum”, but after watching the Gaffer’s press conference last night, I was reminded what an amazing club Southampton truly is.

 

To begin a quick re-cap over the last month, Cortese resigned; crisis at Southampton (media). Katharina Libherr takes over and scares us all, yet provides us with joy following her public commitment to the Club, new temporary chairman; all is well at Southampton (media). This is then followed by a training fight, loss of players due to suspension and injuries; crisis at Southampton (media). Finally, all is combined with some solid performances as well as some frustrating ones. It is fairly safe to say that January was not part of Mopo’s plan, yet somehow as Southampton supporters, we are not even surprised. "

 

So the introduction is saying apologies in advance? Seriously? and does it matter what the original article was going to be called is that relevant? It's all a little pointless and redundant in that sense.

 

What is needed is a strong introduction or a drop introduction to bring people into reading it, it's like the article wasn't really thought through.

 

Secondly, if the second paragraph is a bit long winded and putting in (media) is a bit, well bizarre.

 

Again I don't need to mention when to use capital letters and when not, but the article does improve and gets shorter and snappier, but when writing anything just remember you have to draw readers in with a hook - if he works on that and the introduction then he'll be well away.

[Hamilton Saint]

The Beauty of Southampton

 

Apologies in advance, this article was originally going to be called “Dani Osvaldo: The Conundrum”, but after watching the Gaffer’s press conference last night, I was reminded what an amazing club Southampton truly is.

 

To begin a quick re-cap over the last month, Cortese resigned; crisis at Southampton (media). Katharina Libherr takes over and scares us all, yet provides us with joy following her public commitment to the Club, new temporary chairman; all is well at Southampton (media). This is then followed by a training fight, loss of players due to suspension and injuries; crisis at Southampton (media). Finally, all is combined with some solid performances as well as some frustrating ones. It is fairly safe to say that January was not part of Mopo’s plan, yet somehow as Southampton supporters, we are not even surprised.

 

I was extremely interested in the Gaffers press conference last night because of all the speculation of transfer rumours. It was clear to see from Pochettinos responses’, that Dani Osvaldo is likely to go, joining Danny Fox, Tadanari Lee and Aaron Martin. To put this in perspective, it’s about 20 million Euros heading out, with nothing coming in. I was beginning to worry, but Poch seemed remarkably cool, calm and collected about the situation. At least three players of that four were on the Premier League list, leaving us three players short compared to other teams.

 

Then, out of the blue, Poch revealed a perfect hand, 4 aces, and a move which blew the poker table right open. To quote the man himself, when asked what players he was looking for, he smiled, and simply replied “they are already here”. It was at this point that I remembered why we all love Southampton; the ability to bring young players through the Academy and get them playing first team football. Poch explained that Sam Gallagher will now be getting regular runs; Matt Taggart will step into the Senior Squad, with two others accompanying him.

 

What club could boast such an Academy, that a 15 million world class striker (debatable for some I know) could be replaced by an 18 year old whom the rest of the Premier League have not heard of? Southampton, that’s who. I don’t feel the need to list our past stars from the Academy, but perhaps present a message to the Southampton supporters who feel we need signings.

 

Every club could use star signings; we are no different. However, to be able to use our Academy to generate quality footballers who can play in the Premier League and be successful, is a wonderful gift that no other club has access to in England. I’m sure you’ll all agree that it’s so exciting to see what the future holds for our talented youngsters as we continue to build as a Club.

 

And hey, perhaps with more youngsters, we can save money for transfers…as long as we spend it on the right players.

 

Patrick Marshall Mustafa

 

 

Lots of technical problems with this article.

 

Beginning the whole thing with an apology is very weak stylistically.

 

Most journalism (unless it's supposed to be an opinion piece, like the work of a columnist) avoids personal asides like "I was reminded", "I was extremely interested", "I'm sure you'll all agree", etc. It would sound more emphatic and authoritative, if you avoided that sort of self-referential thing.

 

The second paragraph is a complete mess. The punctuation is all over the place. You need to review the proper use of the semi-colon and the comma.

 

There are some redundancies: "speculation of transfer rumours", and "to quote the man himself" (no need to announce it - just do it), for example.

 

The fourth paragraph begins with a mixed metaphor; and the second part of it ("which blew the poker table right open"), doesn't sound right anyway.

 

Avoid using cliches like "cool, calm and collected".

 

With names of people, avoid nicknames and chummy references. Give the manager's name in full at the first mention - Mauricio Pochettino - after that call him Mr. Pochettino, or Pochettino (depending on the outlet's style manual).

 

Your use of "Pochettinos responses' " contains two errors (errors which illustrate two of my pet peeves): there should be an apostrophe between the o and s at the end of "Pochettinos" (to show possession); and there should not be an apostrophe at the end of "responses" (the plural form just takes an s at the end - no apostrophes needed anywhere).

 

The gist of your article is good, but the delivery of it is undermined by lots of technical flaws. When you submit a piece of journalism to a paper, magazine, etc. (especially if it is done freelance), it should be virtually free of errors. Certain grammatical or punctuation issues might be debatable, but spelling people's names incorrectly (easily checked via the internet) is inexcusable. You shouldn't expect an editor, or sub-editor, to go through it and fix all the mistakes. They don't have the time or inclination.

 

I would recommend reading and studying several good books about style, grammar and punctuation. The Lynn Truss book, Eats, Shoot and Leaves, is a good example. Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is excellent. And William Zinnser's On Writing Well is especially good for aspiring journalists - it is focused on non-fiction writing. Reading works such as this - written by highly-experienced writers and journalists - is a wonderful shortcut. You don't have to be in the business for decades in order to pick up a lot of this basic stuff.

 

Good luck!

Edited 6 February, 2014 by Hamilton Saint

[scotty]

ahem.

[aussiesaint20]

In relation to the opening people have mentioned above: "Apologies in advance, this article was originally going to be called “Dani Osvaldo: The Conundrum”, but after watching the Gaffer’s press conference last night, I was reminded what an amazing club Southampton truly is."

 

The 'article' was originally meant to appear just on our Aussie Saints Facebook page. So I probably should have removed the explanation/intro before posting his work on here as it was more an informal explanation of the topic choice, rather than an actual introduction. Thanks again for all the feedback

[Window Cleaner]

Lots of technical problems with this article.

 

Beginning the whole thing with an apology is very weak stylistically.

 

Most journalism (unless it's supposed to be an opinion piece, like the work of a columnist) avoids personal asides like "I was reminded", "I was extremely interested", "I'm sure you'll all agree", etc. It would sound more emphatic and authoritative, if you avoided that sort of self-referential thing.

 

The second paragraph is a complete mess. The punctuation is all over the place. You need to review the proper use of the semi-colon and the comma.

 

There are some redundancies: "speculation of transfer rumours", and "to quote the man himself" (no need to announce it - just do it), for example.

 

The fourth paragraph begins with a mixed metaphor; and the second part of it ("which blew the poker table right open"), doesn't sound right anyway.

 

Avoid using cliches like "cool, calm and collected".

 

With names of people, avoid nicknames and chummy references. Give the manager's name in full at the first mention - Mauricio Pochettino - after that call him Mr. Pochettino, or Pochettino (depending on the outlet's style manual).

 

Your use of "Pochettinos responses' " contains two errors (errors which illustrate two of my pet peeves): there should be an apostrophe between the o and s at the end of "Pochettinos" (to show possession); and there should not be an apostrophe at the end of "responses" (the plural form just takes an s at the end - no apostrophes needed anywhere).

 

The gist of your article is good, but the delivery of it is undermined by lots of technical flaws. When you submit a piece of journalism to a paper, magazine, etc. (especially if it is done freelance), it should be virtually free of errors. Certain grammatical or punctuation issues might be debatable, but spelling people's names incorrectly (easily checked via the internet) is inexcusable. You shouldn't expect an editor, or sub-editor, to go through it and fix all the mistakes. They don't have the time or inclination.

 

I would recommend reading and studying several good books about style, grammar and punctuation. The Lynn Truss book, Eats, Shoot and Leaves, is a good example. Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is excellent. And William Zinnser's On Writing Well is especially good for aspiring journalists - it is focused on non-fiction writing. Reading works such as this - written by highly-experienced writers and journalists - is a wonderful shortcut. You don't have to be in the business for decades in order to pick up a lot of this basic stuff.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Hmmm, just needs a bit of Waterman's finest carmine red ink and that would closely resemble a Harry Spooner destruction of one of my finest 3rd form bike shed essays.:uhoh:

Edited 7 February, 2014 by Window Cleaner

[aussiesaint20]

ARTICLE #2 from OZ - as published on our Aussie SaintsFC Facebook page.

 

Pochettino Shows His Class

 

As the 90 minutes drew to a close at Craven Cottage, two mangers; the England manager alongside the Southampton boss, were smiling. The other was resigned to defeat. The game had not gone according to Rene Meulensteen’s plan; it was not what he had envisioned the night before. Roy Hodgson would have been impressed again, while Mauricio Pochettino stood proud of his player’s performance. It is true that his starting eleven was not his best; however there was still an abundance of class on the field. Darren Bent is a proven Premier League striker; Scott Parker, Steve Sidwell and Damien Duff are all players with a wealth of Premier League experience. Combined with the solidarity of Brede Hangeland and the energy of Lewis Hotlby, this team allowed Fulham fans to be quietly confident of a first Premier League home win since the start of the New Year.

 

The first half would have encouraged the home support, with only Artur Boruc preventing Fulham taking a first half lead. Saints on the other hand, dominated possession in the middle of the park yet could not find the killer ball through, something Saints fans are far too used to. Victor Wanyama, a surprise inclusion for many, looked off the pace and sloppy with cheap turn overs. It wasn’t clicking for Southampton, so what changed?

 

Well, most would point to the substitution of Jack Cork for Wanyama and would be right to do so, but the tactical tweaks from the manager made all the difference as Southampton ran away easy winners. To begin with, Jack Cork began controlling the midfield by himself, allowing Morgan Schniederlin to provide an extra body forward (note the bicycle attempt). The next tactical tweak was the formation of the front 4, Jay Rodriguez played in his favoured number 9 role, with Lambert dropping into a modern day number 10 position. Adam Lallana and Steven Davis flanked Lambert either side with continuous interchange.

 

This structural change allowed Southampton to apply more pressure on the hosts, nicking the ball back quicker and finding spaces in between the defensive lines of Fulham. All three goals were created through pressuring Fulham to give the ball away, combined with swift counter attacks and some wonderful passing. Each goal had a distinct home-bred English feel to them (enjoy that, Roy?). The build-up to this game was all about the Meulensteen era at Fulham; however, Pochettino took all the plaudits with his tactical changes winning Southampton the game. More games like this for the Argentine and Real Madrid’s interest will continue to grow.

 

So onto Stoke, a team Southampton have yet to beat since returning to the Premier League. They are certainly a different team under Mark Hughes rather than the long ball tactics of Tony Pulis, so what can Southampton expect? While the long balls have disappeared to an extent, Stoke’s physicality has not changed, just watch the way they out muscled Manchester United last week. The ball is played on the floor, with players such as Marko Arnautovic and Oussama Assaidi (both scored famous winning goals against Man United and Chelsea respectively), alongside new signing Peter Odemwingie providing the width. Former Saint Peter Crouch will again lead the line for the Potters with two goal hero Charlie Adam playing in behind.

 

Pochettino will have to choose between Jack Cork and Victor Wanyama to start alongside Schniederlin, with the former most likely to start. Calum Chambers will be assessed after limping off at Craven Cottage, with a very impressive Nathaniel Clyne in line to start due to his absence. Sam Gallagher will be unavailable due to personal reasons (my condolences Sam), other than that Southampton will line up the same; the game coming too soon for the returning Dejan Lovren and Gaston Ramirez.

 

With poor weather expected, Southampton needs to remain patient; keep the ball on the deck and hustle Stoke without the ball. The deeper we can push Stoke, the harder it will be for them to get out and up the pitch. Beware the returning Crouch; it’s no coincidence that players score against old clubs. Expect Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw to have solid games, with the previously mentioned Stoke wingers not strong defensively. This could be one of those games were a single goal wins, a free kick from Lambert, something special from Lallana even. Let’s hope it is Southampton’s day, with a great chance to move above Newcastle as they play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

 

Patrick Marshall Mustafa

P.S

Thanks for all the support SAS, it really does mean a great deal and it gives me the confidence to keep writing. All comments I have taken into consideration, positive, negative and neutral comments. Please keep them coming, even if they are negative! More articles coming soon!

[Deano6]

ARTICLE #2 from OZ - as published on our Aussie SaintsFC Facebook page.

 

Pochettino Shows His Class

 

As the 90 minutes drew to a close at Craven Cottage, two mangers; the England manager alongside the Southampton boss, were smiling. The other was resigned to defeat. The game had not gone according to Rene Meulensteen’s plan; it was not what he had envisioned the night before. Roy Hodgson would have been impressed again, while Mauricio Pochettino stood proud of his player’s performance. It is true that his starting eleven was not his best; however there was still an abundance of class on the field. Darren Bent is a proven Premier League striker; Scott Parker, Steve Sidwell and Damien Duff are all players with a wealth of Premier League experience. Combined with the solidarity of Brede Hangeland and the energy of Lewis Hotlby, this team allowed Fulham fans to be quietly confident of a first Premier League home win since the start of the New Year.

 

The first half would have encouraged the home support, with only Artur Boruc preventing Fulham taking a first half lead. Saints on the other hand, dominated possession in the middle of the park yet could not find the killer ball through, something Saints fans are far too used to. Victor Wanyama, a surprise inclusion for many, looked off the pace and sloppy with cheap turn overs. It wasn’t clicking for Southampton, so what changed?

 

Well, most would point to the substitution of Jack Cork for Wanyama and would be right to do so, but the tactical tweaks from the manager made all the difference as Southampton ran away easy winners. To begin with, Jack Cork began controlling the midfield by himself, allowing Morgan Schniederlin to provide an extra body forward (note the bicycle attempt). The next tactical tweak was the formation of the front 4, Jay Rodriguez played in his favoured number 9 role, with Lambert dropping into a modern day number 10 position. Adam Lallana and Steven Davis flanked Lambert either side with continuous interchange.

 

This structural change allowed Southampton to apply more pressure on the hosts, nicking the ball back quicker and finding spaces in between the defensive lines of Fulham. All three goals were created through pressuring Fulham to give the ball away, combined with swift counter attacks and some wonderful passing. Each goal had a distinct home-bred English feel to them (enjoy that, Roy?). The build-up to this game was all about the Meulensteen era at Fulham; however, Pochettino took all the plaudits with his tactical changes winning Southampton the game. More games like this for the Argentine and Real Madrid’s interest will continue to grow.

 

So onto Stoke, a team Southampton have yet to beat since returning to the Premier League. They are certainly a different team under Mark Hughes rather than the long ball tactics of Tony Pulis, so what can Southampton expect? While the long balls have disappeared to an extent, Stoke’s physicality has not changed, just watch the way they out muscled Manchester United last week. The ball is played on the floor, with players such as Marko Arnautovic and Oussama Assaidi (both scored famous winning goals against Man United and Chelsea respectively), alongside new signing Peter Odemwingie providing the width. Former Saint Peter Crouch will again lead the line for the Potters with two goal hero Charlie Adam playing in behind.

 

Pochettino will have to choose between Jack Cork and Victor Wanyama to start alongside Schniederlin, with the former most likely to start. Calum Chambers will be assessed after limping off at Craven Cottage, with a very impressive Nathaniel Clyne in line to start due to his absence. Sam Gallagher will be unavailable due to personal reasons (my condolences Sam), other than that Southampton will line up the same; the game coming too soon for the returning Dejan Lovren and Gaston Ramirez.

 

With poor weather expected, Southampton needs to remain patient; keep the ball on the deck and hustle Stoke without the ball. The deeper we can push Stoke, the harder it will be for them to get out and up the pitch. Beware the returning Crouch; it’s no coincidence that players score against old clubs. Expect Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw to have solid games, with the previously mentioned Stoke wingers not strong defensively. This could be one of those games were a single goal wins, a free kick from Lambert, something special from Lallana even. Let’s hope it is Southampton’s day, with a great chance to move above Newcastle as they play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

 

Patrick Marshall Mustafa

P.S

Thanks for all the support SAS, it really does mean a great deal and it gives me the confidence to keep writing. All comments I have taken into consideration, positive, negative and neutral comments. Please keep them coming, even if they are negative! More articles coming soon!

 

 

Goody - I get to have a go at this one!

 

 

Players' names spelt wrong:

• Lewis Holtby
  
• Morgan Schneiderlin
  

 

That first sentence is appalling grammatically. I can't even put my finger on where to start with it to correct it. I think getting rid of the semi-colon would the a start. Maybe replacing the semi-colon and the subsequent comma with dashes would make it read a bit better but I still don't like it.

 

You introduce every other player with a full name, except Lambert whose first name is never revealed.

 

Third sentence I don't like your parenthetical "note the bicycle kick". How am I meant to note it? I either saw it or I didn't. Tell me what he did and I'll remember if I saw it and learn from you if I didn't.

 

"flanked Lambert either side" - tautologous

 

"finding spaces in between the defensive lines of Fulham" - this is clunky, better to say "Fulham's defensive lines"

 

 

"Each goal had a distinct home-bred English feel to them (enjoy that, Roy?)." - awkwardly passive aggressive, unnecessary and...awkward (enjoy that, Paddy?)

 

"So onto Stoke, a team Southampton have yet to beat" "With poor weather expected, Southampton needs to remain patient" - singluar/plural inconsistency (I think plural sounds more natural).

 

 

Finally, and I say this with the greatest of respect intended, there's something I don't like about your sentence construction. I'm not exactly sure what it is and someone far smarter than me will be able to identify where you're going wrong, but there's something fundamentally flawed about what you're doing. I'm sure it can be fixed, so I'll advise you to heed advice of others who will pop up below this post.

 

 

I leave you with the following pertinent advice from Kurt Vonnegut:

 

Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.

[david in sweden]

Hey Paddy,

I hope that you haven't been totally disallusioned by the raft of criticism / comments - so far. Some of the earlier contributors have highlighted most of the errors that I spotted on first reading.

 

I assume that you are writing for an interested readership who aren't so well-informed as the regular fans in the UK, because most of the content is fairly common knowledge.

 

You need to be a bit thick-skinned if you are putting out articles regularly, as there are always people who will criticise your style, grammar ...and just about everything else they don't like.

 

Don't worry too much. We're all entitled to an opinion, but just don't expect everyone else to agree with you if you proffer one. Always check stats. properly and the spelling of names.

 

My comments. You don't actually mention Jesus in the second article... but there are two mangers in the first sentence.

 

Also, I'm not overly fond of the word " gaffer " which may have originated in the industrial north of England but never seems appropriate, although Tolkien even used the word in Lord of the Rings.

If you dare to look it up on Wikipedia..... the actual source, and its current usage becomes even more un-clear.

 

Nevetheless. Nice try. Keep going and re-read everything half-a dozen times before publishing articles in future. There's nearly always something you'll have missed. Good luck.