Adkins' Bus

Completely agree with all of that. Have tried to give him time and benefit of the doubt but he just doesn't bring enough to the team IMO. Nothing more than a squad filler which could be provided by an academy player. Obviously a Koeman signing, who should have done the decent thing and taken him with him!

Try to get some money back on clasie and replace with an athletic midfielder. Probably a long shot, but Sissoko perhaps if spurs would let him go for half what they paid. Someone in that mould anyway. Cash in on j rod and replace with a more physical option that might get on the end of some of our loopy crosses. New black box special at cb. Basically, improve our squad balance and options a bit. Especially in centre mid, they are all too similar.

I was also thinking the same although I suspect redmond would be preferred to j rod as the left sided forward

Really disappointed with that. I haven't moaned about the rotation policy but that wasn't rotation, it was called throwing the towel in. I was bang up for tonight, as most people probably were with the buzz from Wednesday night. I thought the club would have been too. Could have been a great atmosphere and could have had a real go at them, but it was well and truly thrown with the selection. You cant say forster needs a rest. I doubt Lewis would even have expected to get any games this season. Isgrove has been out of his depth even when we have played him against lower league opposition, why would we think that has suddenly changed. Bizarre. Waste of time and money, club should be ashamed about that.

This! I actually think we were better with the Diamond at the start of the season!

He is in a very bad patch of form and I actually think this pretty much coincides with him being played as more of an out and out winger. When the ball is given to him in a wide position in space, he just doesn't seem to know what to do. Too much time to think, too many different options for him to process. I think he looks better in a central position where he has less time on the ball and has to play on instinct a bit more. That's not to say I would play him as a striker, but perhaps behind one. We need to figure out what we are doing with him because he is really hampering us at the moment.

Pretty much this! A few people bemoaning Yoshidas missed chance and Van Dijks in previous games, but we really shouldn't be relying on our centre halves to get the goals!

Very good performance. They played like they'd had a rocket up them. I thought much improved performances from Hojbjerg (MOTM) and Ward-Prowse made the difference today. They were tenacious and far more positive with the ball. Van dijk, Soares and Romeu were brilliant again and an excellent debut from Sims. Only annoying things were long not coming on a bit earlier to run the channels and stekelenberg making saves that he would never have made for us!

A woeful performance. I am certain that our problem is midfield rather than up front. We play 3 defensive midfielders in every game who aren't willing to move ahead of the ball or move the ball forwards enough. We therefore struggle to bridge the gap between midfield and attack and it all falls apart before we get near the box. Romeu is the most progressive of the lot and he is meant to be the most defensive! We just aren't creating decent chances. Our system is also very reliant on good attacking full backs so playing Martina really does hinder us.

I still feel angered that we somehow conspired to lose to such a woeful side, especially having lead. We really should have put them to the sword in the first half but we didn’t take enough risks to make this happen. This isn’t a new thing, but quite often we can rely on our excellent defence to take the 1-0 or at least get a point, for example Leicester and Man City away games. I don’t think there is a singular reason but rather a combination of things that mean we often struggle to kill off such games: - We really only have 1 natural finisher in Austin. We seem pretty reliant on him and he really could do with his fellow attackers and midfielders chipping in every now and then, even if it’s just getting in the box so that he is harder to mark. - Our final ball, mainly our crossing, is as big a problem as the finishing. This includes our free kicks and corners. They seem to either hit the first man or sail out for a throw on the opposite side. For all of our talents we don’t seem to have anyone with a ‘wand’ of a left/right foot. For example, Snodgrass has his limitations but the accuracy of his left foot was the difference yesterday – his finish for the first and delivery for the second. Tadic does some brilliant stuff but often his striking of the ball, whether crossing or shooting lets him down. But then if he had that in his locker as well then he probably wouldn’t be with us! - We aren’t brave or quick enough in possession a lot of the time. I think this is partly the way Puel wants us to play and partly the midfield personnel. Clasie in particular is far too happy to play it safe. I really don’t like him and Davis in the same side. Too similar and too lightweight. Although that may be a little harsh on Davis, as I do like him as a player. My other frustration when chasing a game is the like for like changes. Why Boufal for Tadic? It would be nice to see them get more minutes together on the pitch. And then J Rod for Redmond, did we really need 3 possession recycling midfielders on the pitch in the last 10 minutes of the match? Very frustrating yesterday but all in all we are a good side and I’m sure we will end up having another good season. We will get results like this from time to time. A club of our size is always going to have some weaknesses I suppose.

I guess it depends what your average score is? I would say 5. Also, as you alluded to above, despite our excellence, Burnley were poor. I would be more generous if the performance was repeated against a better side!

Wanyama on his day could absolutely boss things but this was usually only against the 'big sides' when he was trying to sell himself. He was an excellent physical presence to have in the team sometimes but was also pretty pointless in games like yesterdays when we are dominating and trying to break down teams with their backs to the wall. Romeu is a far better all round midfielder and far more consistent. He was harshly treated last season when he was always immediately dropped as soon as Wanyama was back from his latest ban/sulk. It didn't set the right example.

A good solid win. The injury to Targett seemed to disrupt our rhythm in the first half but we really went at them again in the second half with some lovely football. Forster - 6 - had little to do. Martina - 6 - Solid display, supported our attacks well. Fonte - 6 - As solid as ever but him and van dijk were a little lucky to get away with their mix up which should have lead to a burnley penalty Van Dijk - 7 - Another comfortable and commanding display. Targett - 6 - Was doing well before his injury Romeu - 9 - Another superlative display. He doesn’t just do the simple things, he shows great skill and awareness in tight areas to often take opponents out of the game, before producing effective forward passes to set us on the attack. Clasie - 7 - One of the best games he has had for saints. Some effective first time passes to set us on the counter. Davis - 7 - Good display with forward bursts, accurate passing and quick feet. Redmond - 8 - Has bags of energy, he was popping up all over the place causing problems for Burnley. Has great technique and showed it for his goal. Tadic - 8 - Playing more on the right hand side now and looks far more comfortable there than central. Terrorised the opposition full back at times. Austin - 7 - Mixed game all round but stuck the ball in the net twice so can't argue with that! Has the positional instinct that can't be taught. McQueen - 8 - He was excellent going forward and provided some great crosses. Couldn’t really judge him defensively today. Rodriguez - 6 - A lively display, shame he couldn't add the 4th goal.