mrfahaji

Another shot on target, another goal. Bl00dy hell.

Overall quite a few positives - it's not a surprise to me that with Tadic and Boufal on the pitch we look like creating more, and obviously Long getting a goal. We've passed the ball sideways a bit, of course, but it hasn't felt anywhere near as pedestrian as in previous games. West Brom are going to set their stall out and defend resolutely, so of course we're going to have to be a bit patient. Not getting enough men in the box comes from two sources - why don't the wingers come in on the back post? And perhaps more importantly, why don't we see the central midfielders making late runs? I think this is probably where Puel errs on the side of caution a little too much, and the players have instruction not to abandon the shape. Finally, another shot on target for the opposition and another goal. Once again there are (reasonable) claims that Forster should not be totally blamed for it, after all it was a decent shot into the corner. But surely he has to make a decent save at some point.

Blimey, whoever that one team is, they must be awful.

Yep, I think this is it. Just some statistics - going on the Premier League Fantasy Football stats on 'Saves', Forster has saved fewer shots than any other keeper that has played the majority of the season (Randolph & Hennessey, for example, have a similar number), with 28. Bravo & Lloris have 30 and 34 respectively, but then Spurs have only conceded 13. I know that stats can be misleading, and it's worth noting that a save could be from a speculative 30 yard effort that bounces towards the throat of the goal, but it still gives an indication that the reason we're keeping clean sheets is more to do with preventing shots on goal in the first place than any goalkeeping heroics.

In, albeit with some reservations. I feel we are 2 or 3 players short of having a good enough first XI, and that's too many. People complain about formations but I'm not sure there is an obvious alternative that we would all play if in charge for a match. I'm a little concerned that Tadic isn't featuring in what appears to be Puel's first team, as I'd have him down as one of or best players. I would also like to see us press more, but that requires a level of fitness we probably (as some have alluded to above) don't possess. We seem to be able to pull performances out the bag when most on here have written us off, and the faith being shown in youth is a key reason to be optimistic. The idea of playing in triangles and having a short passing game is decent and occasionally looks great. Unfortunately it too often becomes safe, sideways and boring but jury is still out for me whether that is a product of the players at Puel's disposal rather than his overriding strategy. Tottenham have such an athletic midfield compared to ours, it's no wonder they dominated us. Not sure that's Puel's fault, but if he fails to address it in Jan or in the summer it will be, as we can all see it. Same goes for goalscorers.

So many of the goals we concede seem to fall into the "can't really blame Forster for that, it would have had to be a great save to stop it", but eventually surely he has to save something? Otherwise we must be the unluckiest team in the world in that every one of our opponents shots on goal is unstoppable. When he came back last season, for me the big difference he made to our team was how much better the defence seemed to play, perhaps because of more confidence or because he does a good job of talking and organising them. He also has the odd game where his sheer size means he gets in the way of several goal bound shots (Arsenal away, QPR away spring to mind?) - of course that is an asset in itself, but for someone of his size he is not commanding at all in the air, and stays rooted to his line most of the time. I never thought his kicking was that bad, but it has been deteriorating and now he has a few dodgy kicks every game.

Ha, this one would actually work pretty well! Only thing is the third line doesn't scan so well, how about "We're Southampton, three leagues above you" instead?

Agree with this bit, but the last bit doesn't necessarily follow. It's the opportunity cost of bringing him back - £18m could be spent on someone who would do even more for the team than Schneiderlin would.

D'oh!

I doubt Gylfi Sigurdsson would come to us.

Something about being eye-level with Overmars, Anelka, Bergkamp & Vieira tearing towards you on an Arsenal break was quite terrifying.

Totally agree with this.

While I agree that we should probably be looking at other options than Morgan, especially for £18m and £120k pw, I've seen nothing from any of our midfielders except Romeu to suggest they are anywhere near as good as him, so he would at the very least be an upgrade to our best XI.

It's not all about stats though. 'Chances created' is probably more meaningful if you are going to look at that, and Tadic is high on the list. By the same token, Redmond has created a fair few and probably shouldn't be criticised using his statistics. I'm a bit worried that Tadic is heading for his usual winter slump, but in general the reason I prefer Tadic to Redmond is that Tadic is always looking to create something and demonstrates quality when he is on the pitch (subjective I know). Redmond has potential but for me plays too safe and is less likely to 'unlock' the defence compared to Dusan. Redmond is marginally more of a goal threat, but I'd rather have the (much, in my eyes) better creator on rather than a marginally better shooter. Either way it could be a moot point over xmas as surely they and Boufal will all be sharing game time, possibly with Sims as well.

Ok sure, my example was a bit extreme to demonstrate a point. But football is usually decided at the margins. The players are quite capable of playing 3 games in 6 days, but it's also entirely plausible that they might not be 100% mentally, and having lots of money doesn't make them immune to that.

It's not just mental preparation, it's also about time on the training ground to prepare. Footballers but might be privileged, overpaid human beings, but they are human beings nonetheless and are still susceptible to mental factors in the same way as you or I. It could even be argued that due to their privileged lifestyle they are more susceptible to them. Using the money someone earns as a reason why they should be immune to any sort of feeling or mental weakness is well wide of the mark. If work dropped it on me today that something has come up and I have to work over Christmas, then I guess I'd do it, but I wouldn't be happy about it. If they turned round and said "with your salary, you've got no complaints - oh and by the way, you need to be in extra early", I wouldn't think "fair enough, I'll make an extra effort next week".

Fair enough, my comment was more of a suggestion than statement. To be honest I think Tadic is a fantastic player and find Redmond a hugely frustrating one, so I know who I'd prefer to play - but thinking there must be a good reason for Puel to think otherwise...!

Pretty sure we only had financial problems once we were in the Championship and started chucking money at getting back to the Prem. I think a realistic aim for us would be to get to where Spurs and maybe Everton were a few seasons ago. We're never going to be in the top group of clubs unless our owners (this one or new ones) start throwing hundreds of millions at players - which I for one wouldn't even want. However, I believe it is possible for us to eventually work our way into a "better than the rest" position, whereby players would leave the likes of Stoke and Crystal Palace to sign for us. At the moment, we probably do have a bit more pulling power than those clubs for new signings, but not sure their players would see coming to us as a significant step up. A few years ago, players would leave Swansea and Sunderland to join Spurs or Everton, even though those clubs were not in the 'perennial Champions League' bracket. If we reach that level then we will find it easier to replace our top players. At the moment the main danger is that we are still having to look for diamonds in the rough to replace our brilliant players, which is hard to do without ever getting it wrong and setting our team back a few steps.

Well, there is that... But regardless of what happens to the money, would prefer to see him go abroad than to another Premier League team.

As much as I'll be gutted to see him leave, it seems inevitable and £60m in the summer to PSG wouldn't be as bitter a pill to swallow!

True, but the problem is we're not on a level playing field. We might rotate well but ultimately West Brom have 2 extra days to prepare/rest than us, and Everton have an extra day. I'm hoping that mentally it might suit the players better to spend Christmas with their families and then have a "football only" week rather than juggling the two. Might be clutching at straws with that line of thinking though...!

Tradition aside, I find it more outrageous that we can be allowed to have 3 games in 6 days when some teams have 3 games in 10 days.

I'm still not convinced Redmond is particularly tricky or pacey. However, he might be considerably better at tracking back and doing his defensive duties than the others. I think this may be the reason he is preferred at times.

any penalties, or any shots full stop?

Don't normally go on other teams' forums but did today. The thread title refers to Bertrand as a chav but the majority (probably) of posts actually say his reaction was fair enough, or just a bit of fun. Their post-match reaction was also pretty reasonable, nearly everyone having a reasoned discussion about tactics etc. Quite a few people even chimed in with "why are we trying to make them our rivals when they've helped us out over the years?" type comments.