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Pre Season 22/23

EBS1980

By EBS1980,
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coalman

coalman

Posted
Posted (edited)

So far.

Bazunu looks class. Has caught a couple of shots rather than palm them out, great distribution and commanded his area.

KWP is KWP. So glad we have kept him (so far)

Djenepo has got in some great positions. Had one wobble at the back but doesn't look bad.

Salisu has been solid.

Bednarek has been solid.

Bella-Kotchap has looked solid and made a couple of great interceptions.

Lavia started slow and gave the ball away a few times but has grown into it.

JWP has been tidy without doing much else.

StuArmstrong has made a coupe of darting runs

Aribo has showed good close control and a willingness to get into the box.

AdamArmstrong has looked anonymous. When he'd had the ball he's been knocked off it easily.

Neither side has really threatened but Saints finished the half stronger.

 

Edited by coalman
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InvictaSaint

InvictaSaint

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, coalman said:

So far.

Bazunu looks class. Has caught a couple of shots rather than palm them out, great distribution and commanded his area.

KWP is KWP. So glad we have kept him (so far)

Djenepo has got in some great positions. Had one wobble at the back but doesn't look bad.

Salisu has been solid.

Bednarek has been solid.

Bella-Kotchop has looked solid and made a couple of great interceptions.

Lavia started slow and gave the ball away a few times but has grown into it.

JWP has been tidy without doing much else.

StuArmstrong has made a coupe of darting runs

Aribo has showed good close control and a willingness to get into the box.

AdamArmstrong has looked anonymous. When he'd had the ball he's been knocked off it easily.

Neither side has really threatened but Saints finished the half stronger.

 

I’d say that’s a pretty fair summary of the first 45. Lavia has definitely grown into the game. Like how Aribo will chase back when he loses possession. Feel sorry for AA; not had a lot to go on. Keeper looks a significant upgrade. 

Edited by InvictaSaint
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SambaMaverick

SambaMaverick

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Missing piece is the striker.

All we've done so far is lump it up to AA9's feet, however. Still think we need someone with a bit of magic in their boots to go alongside a new ST - thinking Raphinha, Saint-Max, etc.

 

It's so one dimensional at the moment.

Edited by SambaMaverick
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Disco Stu

Disco Stu

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Posted
3 minutes ago, SambaMaverick said:

All we've done so far is lump it up to AA9's feet, however. Still think we need someone with a bit of magic in their boots to go alongside a new ST - thinking Raphinha, Saint-Max, etc.

 

It's so one dimensional at the moment.

With our style, which lets face it won't change under Ralph, requires a strong, athletic forward. Adam Armstrong is not it.

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Saint Matty 76

Saint Matty 76

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Posted
Just now, washsaint said:

Didn;t Monsieur Puel get pelters for playing with a style based on the constraints of squad quality?  Looks like a very dull season in store the long suffering Saints fans.  Zero creativity

Puel had just inherited a squad which came 6th in fairness.

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coalman

coalman

Posted
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8 minutes ago, SambaMaverick said:

All we've done so far is lump it up to AA9's feet, however. Still think we need someone with a bit of magic in their boots to go alongside a new ST - thinking Raphinha, Saint-Max, etc.

 

It's so one dimensional at the moment.

Balls into him do need to stick somehow. We can't player it in the air because he's not the tallest and he's not going to hold off with his back to goal so if he can spin into space he's not offering an out ball.

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SambaMaverick

SambaMaverick

Posted
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4 minutes ago, coalman said:

Balls into him do need to stick somehow. We can't player it in the air because he's not the tallest and he's not going to hold off with his back to goal so if he can spin into space he's not offering an out ball.

He just isn't good enough, is the long and short of it. Not quick, not a good finisher, not strong, not good in the air, not smart with his runs - a good striker needs to be good at at least two of those things.

Edited by SambaMaverick
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vectraman

vectraman

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

With our style, which lets face it won't change under Ralph, requires a strong, athletic forward. Adam Armstrong is not it.

Which in fairness to AA is not his fault!
We knew what we were buying last year - a forward who likes a quick through ball to run onto, outpace defence and score. Our turgid slow play doesn’t give that option to him. 
Surely you play a system to suit your players strengths, not their weaknesses….

Or not as the case may be…

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coalman

coalman

Posted
Posted
Just now, SambaMaverick said:

He just isn't good enough, is the long and short of it. Not quick, not a good finisher, not strong, not good in the air, not smart with his runs - a good striker needs to be good at at at least two of those things.

I still have hopes it's a confidence thing but fear you're right. With him playing there's no threat in behind so the defenders can get tight on him and completely nullify him and compress the space for our whole midfield.

Contrast that with Che at his best where he holds the ball and releases people running beyond him.

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HarvSFC

HarvSFC

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, NewYorkSaint said:

Lots to like. Romeo and ariba both are going to be exciting. Great seeing more from Stu than last season. And djenepo... I think his time may yet come.  Mesmerizing body swerve to win the jwp free kick. 

One of the main problems with Djenepo is that just when he looks like he's getting going, he gets an injury and then he's back to square one and working to get back to where he was. Needs to stay fit now.

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AlexLaw76

AlexLaw76

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:

You mean staying up and enjoying cup runs with Championship players?

if we continue his inane setups, he wont last beyond the world cup with a normal Premier League side - which we now are, once again

Edited by AlexLaw76
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Turkish

Turkish

Posted
Posted
46 minutes ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Puel had just inherited a squad which came 6th in fairness.

No He didn’t. He inherited a a team that had had its two leading goal scorers and best midfielder sold and its captain wanting a move and got one and its best player injured for half of the season. So in fairness he had nothing like the team that finished 6th

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coalman

coalman

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Conclusions from today:

- Adam Armstrong shouldn't be playing without Che Adams alongside him. He needs service and isn't going to create something from nothing or link up play.

- We seemed to be set up not to concede rather than threaten. It never felt like we were going to let one in. Not sure we needed 3 centre backs on the field. None of the centre backs looked dodgy but by keeping so many players behind the ball we lacked threat and invited pressure. We really needed the extra man in midfield as an outlet.

- Bazunu did everything he had to well. Some good catches. Great distribution and mixture of short, long and chipped passes. Always available and so so calm.

- Bella-Kotchap looks tidy (and quick).

- Djenepo got in some great positions. Just hope he stays fit and builds on it.

- Aribo shows some good touches. Willing to hold the ball and take on his man.

- Lavia didn't look out of place and got stronger as the game went on. The more he plays the better I feel he's going to get. Really quick to spot a forward pass though took a few risks when he held onto it.

- KWP is our best outlet for stretching play.

- StuArmstrong was quiet but also had a few good moments. Will be great to start the season with him available.

Edited by coalman
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S-Clarke

S-Clarke

Posted
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Bazunu does seem to ooze class, just gives himself more time on the ball when it looks like he doesn't have it. For a GK that's quite weird to see, reminds me of Ederson and Alison, that modern type of high press/sweeper keeper. Feels like a bit of a missing piece in the jigsaw.

Aribo will add a lot of physicality to us in my opinion. Bella-Kotchap continues to impress me, the guy is a monster. I like how we've added strength and power through the first part of the spine. Lavia hasn't been bad, but a little more rusty today and has been caught a little too much.

It's obvious where our problems lie though, and the solution is certainly never going to be Adam Armstrong. The change in our game since Adam Armstrong went off was telling. He's clearly not good enough as a central striker, equally he struggles as part of a 2 as well. I think we need to give up and loan him out with an option to buy. I'd argue Elyonoussi isn't the solution either, way too weak on the ball and too slow. Not sure why there is chatter about a new contract.

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Toadhall Saint

Toadhall Saint

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8 minutes ago, Turkish said:

No He didn’t. He inherited a a team that had had its two leading goal scorers and best midfielder sold and its captain wanting a move and got one and its best player injured for half of the season. So in fairness he had nothing like the team that finished 6th

Was waiting for your response! 😉

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coalman

coalman

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I think if we're going to set up in that formation we need a striker (or strikers) who are able to spin into space so the defence can't push up on us too much. Much (as I hate to admit it) like Broja did at his best last season. Without that space to play in our midfield gets suffocated and winds up playing a lot of sideways and backwards stuff.

It's a shame we're waiting so late in the transfer window to bring someone in up front. But I think having different options up there will unlock a lot of the potential in this team. I don't think Ralph has had his strongest side all on the pitch together yet either.

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BARCELONASAINT

BARCELONASAINT

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having watched all three pre-seasons game one thing is glaringly obvious, it does not matter who we have up front, we could have harry Kane and he wouldn't have barely touched the ball. We totally lack any creativity for our strikers to feed off. Adam Armstrong did nothing wrong, he worked hard and irritated the hell out of Watfords defence. Che barely touched the ball and looked utterly pissed off with the lack of service despite the runs he kept making.

We really need to address the creativity area or we are in for another frustrating season. 

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coalman

coalman

Posted
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6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Bazunu does seem to ooze class, just gives himself more time on the ball when it looks like he doesn't have it. For a GK that's quite weird to see, reminds me of Ederson and Alison, that modern type of high press/sweeper keeper. Feels like a bit of a missing piece in the jigsaw.

He hit a couple of peachy through balls as well. That's something that's been missing from our game for a while.

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