Saints 0-2 Arsenal - Reaction

[tajjuk]

47 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think you can work with Bednerek - he just needs more quality around him, he's our most capable CB without question. Jacks' come on leaps and bounds, but he's still below the level we were used to. If we want to hover around relegation and bottom half of the league, then yeah...he's perfectly adequate. But if we want to improve and push up, we need a much much better starting player than Jack.

New RB, New CB, New CM. That's what I'd see as the 3 main priorities for us. We've been prone to leaving an obvious hole every window and just 'getting on with it' with a below adequate option, but let's hope we actually capture our major issues this time - first main window without Ross too, so I'm much more optimistic. I hope all his 'advise' has been long deleted!

Those are definitely the priorities no doubt.

I think in an ideal situation then for Ralph's system you'd see an upgrade at GK, an upgrade on Bednerak (though I agree he is definitely our best centre-back, at least for actual defending, Stephens is a better ball player) and a mobile target man type player to replace Long, basically a Shane Long that is better at football, even if that sounds a bit harsh. Ralph's success at Leipzig was built around a front two of Werner and Poulsen, who is still doing that role at Leipzig and is a 6' 4" very mobile forward. 

[derry]

3 hours ago, stevegrant said:

But we can only do what teams will allow us to do with their own systems - there are two teams on the pitch, and the opposition are allowed to have tactics to negate our strengths. It's only teams who are either so much better than us that they don't need to worry about it or teams who are very stupid who come to St Mary's and play a high line and allow us to play balls into the channels for the likes of Long and Redmond to run onto.

If we play more direct, Long might win a few flick-ons, but because the opposition defence is so deep, more often than not the second ball ends in the keeper's hands or out for a goal kick. It's easy to defend against. In my opinion, the faster and more direct passes need to be horizontally rather than vertically - switching the direction of play quickly (in the way that Liverpool seem to have pretty much perfected) opens up much more space in attacking areas than playing a quick out ball to the centre forward.

In the heat of Thursday evening, it's far better for us to maintain possession even if that involves a pass backwards from where it can then be moved across to a less-populated area of the pitch - there's no benefit to having to do all the running in 30+ degree heat, it's a fast track to knackering yourself out very quickly. The high pressing game that Ralph wants us to employ is obviously much more difficult in this sort of heat, and I think there's a natural necessity to slow the game down at times when we're in possession in "sterile" areas in order to allow us to have enough energy to press properly in the final third.

Above is the reason we are winning so few games at SMS. It's the whole season we are talking about. The worst set of statistics of any team at home in the Premier League and you are trying to justify it. Ralph is talking about us playing too slow at home The conditions on Thursday are an excuse set against the previous seven months of dire performances with the same slow pattern time after time. Thursday was no different. The attacking players are making the same runs home and away. At home the defence is ignoring them, away the ball is moved quickly forward and the midfield links with the front.

We were better in the second half but the damage was done. We should be looking to get the ball quickly to Redmond, Armstrong, Ings and Long supported by a full back and at least one central midfielder. The defence and midfield two seem to think slow one dimensional sideways and backwards often ending with McCarthy hitting a poor clearance under increasing pressure is copying the top possession teams which is nothing like it and nonsense. As for Liverpool they probably play more long balls cross field to runners and up to the strikers none of whom are tall. They use the balls manoeuvering at the back to set up for the long pass or open up a couple of runners wide from deep.

All the defence does at home is pass it sideways and backwards aimlessly, eventually getting into trouble or making desperate clearances to nobody, either putting the ball out of play or giving possession away anyway. I'd prefer us to play high tempo passing and movement, I don't want to see us playing Kamikaze passing at the back. If that's all that is on offer I'll take the big up and under out of our defence any day of the week which won't end up with Valery, McCarthy etc giving away stupid goals.

The total passes are the possession statistics. We get some of our best results with possession in the forties or lower. against Arsenal we had 52%. Most of our poorer results have higher possession figures. For me the amount of wasted passing around at the back inflating the possession percentage.

Edited 27 June, 2020 by derry

[suewhistle]

9 hours ago, stevegrant said:

If we play more directng in 30+ degree heat, it's a fast track to knackering yourself out very quickly. The high pressing game that Ralph wants us to employ is obviously much more difficult in this sort of heat, and I think there's a natural necessity to slow the game down at times when we're in possession in "sterile" areas in order to allow us to have enough energy to press properly in the final third.

Fair enough, but I think the issue is that there aren't any "sterile" areas with our defence. There's a palpable lack of confidence and rather than do anything they just shift the responsibility to  somebody else who is probably in a worse position. Decision making seems to be delayed and/or telegraphed as well leading to the sort of incidents you shouldn't see from highly paid professionals.

As for PEH, I'm sure he's not trying to put other teams off or even trying to reduce Saint's asking price, (and I remember you, Andy Townsend, back in the day..) but I don't think he is as good as his own opinion of himself. His inability to turn and offer another way out of awkward situations other than a back pass hasn't just been observed by Saints fans!

[Noodles34]

15 hours ago, derry said:

Above is the reason we are winning so few games at SMS. It's the whole season we are talking about. The worst set of statistics of any team at home in the Premier League and you are trying to justify it. Ralph is talking about us playing too slow at home The conditions on Thursday are an excuse set against the previous seven months of dire performances with the same slow pattern time after time. Thursday was no different. The attacking players are making the same runs home and away. At home the defence is ignoring them, away the ball is moved quickly forward and the midfield links with the front.

We were better in the second half but the damage was done. We should be looking to get the ball quickly to Redmond, Armstrong, Ings and Long supported by a full back and at least one central midfielder. The defence and midfield two seem to think slow one dimensional sideways and backwards often ending with McCarthy hitting a poor clearance under increasing pressure is copying the top possession teams which is nothing like it and nonsense. As for Liverpool they probably play more long balls cross field to runners and up to the strikers none of whom are tall. They use the balls manoeuvering at the back to set up for the long pass or open up a couple of runners wide from deep.

All the defence does at home is pass it sideways and backwards aimlessly, eventually getting into trouble or making desperate clearances to nobody, either putting the ball out of play or giving possession away anyway. I'd prefer us to play high tempo passing and movement, I don't want to see us playing Kamikaze passing at the back. If that's all that is on offer I'll take the big up and under out of our defence any day of the week which won't end up with Valery, McCarthy etc giving away stupid goals.

The total passes are the possession statistics. We get some of our best results with possession in the forties or lower. against Arsenal we had 52%. Most of our poorer results have higher possession figures. For me the amount of wasted passing around at the back inflating the possession percentage.

This is all spot on. I’m no football tactician but on Thursday it just looked so easy for Arsenal after they’d scored. 
Arteta must have known that two banks of four or a five and a three in front of us would produce little opportunity for us, and hopefully if we did one, it would fall to Long.