Some great comments about us

[NickG]

http://www.kumb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=135707&start=960

 

liked this one;

 

"Oh and Richard Chaplow looked twice the player of our 50K a week captain."

 

and here from Darren Ferg reckons we are best side in division

 

http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/sports-breakfast/blog/2011-10-19/ferguson-southampton-are-best-team-ive-seen-championship?

[Saint_clark]

"When you speak to managers after the game and ask the who the best is they've seen this season, 90% of them say Southampton"

 

Wow.

[david in sweden]

that's obviously the 90% we've beaten in the last 2 seasons.

 

Wait a bit Ferguson, your turn will come !

[CFSFC]

Oh dear now were lose Saturday for sure

[shurlock]

Still a c**t

[Golden Balls]

"There is no doubt in my mind, we were playing the champions last night"

 

"...the Southampton support was superb...also putting our home support to shame. We could learn a thing or two of of them and I thought I would never say that!"

[The9]

I didn't think our support was up to much last night and thought theirs was alright, tbh.

[Dig Dig]

saw someone on that site saying something along the lines of "I never thought I'd see the day when we'd be worried about Southampton". Must have a short memory as it wasn't that long ago that they were involved in the Prem relegation dog fights we were involved in.

[Appy]

I didn't think our support was up to much last night and thought theirs was alright, tbh.

 

Home support was excellent last night, West Ham were very quiet.

[The9]

saw someone on that site saying something along the lines of "I never thought I'd see the day when we'd be worried about Southampton". Must have a short memory as it wasn't that long ago that they were involved in the Prem relegation dog fights we were involved in.

 

I suggest they look at the 2002/3 Premier League table when we finished 10 places ahead of them.

[The Kraken]

"We arguably have the best players in the division. The game last night showed we don't have the best "team" in the division. But that's no surprise to me, as it takes time to go from a collection of individual players to an established team, more time than Sam has currently had at West Ham. There is lots of room for improvement in terms of the "team", and I'd expect a slow and steady improvement throughout the season."

 

A degree of parallels between us and Brighton from the first half of last season.

[The9]

Home support was excellent last night, West Ham were very quiet.

 

As I said, I didn't think so. They were loud for the first 15 minutes or so, then tailed off into Bubbles over and over, then nothing, we weren't really that loud for very long. Though there were a few decent Red and White and Red Army chants, even one of the West Ham fans on there said he was surrounded by silence in the home stand, which is hardly unusual for 2/3rds of the stadium at the best of times.

Edited 19 October, 2011 by The9

[The9]

"We arguably have the best players in the division. The game last night showed we don't have the best "team" in the division. But that's no surprise to me, as it takes time to go from a collection of individual players to an established team, more time than Sam has currently had at West Ham. There is lots of room for improvement in terms of the "team", and I'd expect a slow and steady improvement throughout the season."

 

A degree of parallels between us and Brighton from the first half of last season.

 

Only if you think we actually were Dagenham & Redbridge-like as Poyet said. Or "West Ham-like", as it were.

 

The funny thing about that is that we're no more creative than we were last season, we're just fitter and able to do it more quickly and for a longer period.

[hypochondriac]

As I said, I didn't think so. They were loud for the first 15 minutes or so, then tailed off into Bubbles over and over, then nothing, we weren't really that loud for very long. Though there were a few decent Red and White and Red Army chants, even one of the West Ham fans on there said he was surrounded by silence in the home stand, which is hardly unusual for 2/3rds of the stadium at the best of times.

 

Where were you sat though?

[The9]

Where were you sat though?

 

Middle of Block 42.

[niceandfriendly]

Atmosphere sounded great on the radio last night, and West Ham fans on that thread seem to agree. Wish I could have been there.

[The Kraken]

Only if you think we actually were Dagenham & Redbridge-like as Poyet said. Or "West Ham-like", as it were.

 

The funny thing about that is that we're no more creative than we were last season, we're just fitter and able to do it more quickly and for a longer period.

 

I disagree actually; maybe it was that the standard of opposition last year didn't test us to the limit, but last season I would have described us as "functional" and "effective". This season we've carried on with the excellent form but I think we look so much better as a team and play much better, more flowing and more creative football. We were certainly getting there by the back half of the season, but this season is like night and day as far as I'm concerned.

[Sour Mash]

Middle of Block 42.

Same as me and agree, our support was nothing special at all.

[doddisalegend]

Same as me and agree, our support was nothing special at all.

 

Thought it was quite flat last night, both sets of supporters seemed nervous I think the chance to go/stay top made everyone a bit twitchy

[doddisalegend]

http://www.kumb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=135707&start=960

 

liked this one;

 

"Oh and Richard Chaplow looked twice the player of our 50K a week captain."

 

and here from Darren Ferg reckons we are best side in division

 

http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/sports-breakfast/blog/2011-10-19/ferguson-southampton-are-best-team-ive-seen-championship?

 

 

it's not all nice

 

They thoroughly deserve to be where they are right now, and fecking good luck to them. But I don't believe that it will last. I hope they go up with us (don't care in what order that is, as long as we're in the top two), but I don't think they will. And I still believe that we WILL finish top two, and probably as champions.

 

 

I think they will make the play-offs but I suspect their squad is not strong enough to maintain the level of performance they have right now when they get a few injuries

 

But we are 2nd .Saints, who are top weren't great last night

 

Subdued? You should have tried sitting in with the Home fans like I did, barely uttered a word all night

[Jimmy_D]

Heh, a few of them thinking we'll drop off when injuries and suspensions kick in...

 

They seem to have forgotten, or not even realised, that our best player was out for the game...

 

Not to mention Barnard, Seabourne, Jaidi, Harding only just back in the last few minutes last night...

[sfc4prem]

Same as me and agree, our support was nothing special at all.

 

I was sat in the chapel and the atmosphere was good, but not amazing. Understandable really considering it was a very tense and nervy top of the table clash.

[Legod Third Coming]

I wish people would stop moaning about the atmosphere.

 

It's like jockeys who come in after the race and moan that there 'was no pace'.

 

If you are in the stadium, YOU are the answer.

[Wes Tender]

Having had a good read of several of the contributions from the Hammers forum, I must say that they seem to be quite a balanced and reaonable bunch.

[The9]

I disagree actually; maybe it was that the standard of opposition last year didn't test us to the limit, but last season I would have described us as "functional" and "effective". This season we've carried on with the excellent form but I think we look so much better as a team and play much better, more flowing and more creative football. We were certainly getting there by the back half of the season, but this season is like night and day as far as I'm concerned.

 

I know what you mean in terms of Lallana and the passing and movement actually - before the last few games I thought Cork was the key as he could receive the ball in the middle and switch play quickly, whilst last year we tended to bypass midfield to Lambert and then spread it wide, so we've cut out a longer pass in the middle (generally), but seeing Hammond and Schneiderlin, no Cork and Lallana last night I think we were very much back to last season's style, and the starting front 6 were even last season's players, so that's not a surprise.

 

So I guess what I think is that mostly we've been passing less directly and through midfield more (using Lallana and Cork more), but without them, we're the same as we were, like last night. A noticeable difference, but one that can still be put down to increased fitness and more mobility of players (especially Richardson's linking and overlapping which is directly linked to his having a pre-season).

[The9]

Same as me and agree, our support was nothing special at all.

 

Come to think of it, I'm actually mid-41, but same difference.

[The9]

I wish people would stop moaning about the atmosphere.

 

It's like jockeys who come in after the race and moan that there 'was no pace'.

 

If you are in the stadium, YOU are the answer.

 

I'm pretty sure I can't make the noise of 29,000 people no matter how much the wife moans about me "singing too loudly".

[doddisalegend]

I wish people would stop moaning about the atmosphere.

 

It's like jockeys who come in after the race and moan that there 'was no pace'.

 

If you are in the stadium, YOU are the answer.

 

Actually I think what's going on the pitch has more to do with it. Best atmosphere in recent times MK Dons last season? but we can't come from 2-0 down every week. Last night at 1-0 I don't think a lot of the home crowd felt comfortable that impacted on the atmosphere if we'd been four up place would have been rocking.

[The9]

Thought it was quite flat last night, both sets of supporters seemed nervous I think the chance to go/stay top made everyone a bit twitchy

 

I'd hope the West Ham fans were thinking "why would we want to support this hoofing crap?". For a side with a reputation for decent football they're remarkably calm about Big Sam ruining them so far.

[doddisalegend]

Having had a good read of several of the contributions from the Hammers forum, I must say that they seem to be quite a balanced and reaonable bunch.

 

Just like us lot then:)

[doddisalegend]

I'd hope the West Ham fans were thinking "why would we want to support this hoofing crap?". For a side with a reputation for decent football they're remarkably calm about Big Sam ruining them so far.

 

50-50 on their forum it seems half horrified at what big sam is doing the other half seem happy as long as they get back to where they belong (league 1?)

[doddisalegend]

They don't know our squad though. They still think they have underperforming but better players. They don't, they just have more famous, expensive players. They don't know how big our squad is, probably don't realise we have 4 quality, in-form central midfielders to pick from, several good players out injured and like other clubs, they don't know just how good Lallana is...yet.

 

There aren't many West Ham players I'd want. Even the decent experienced ones you have to question their motivation and commitment. Nolan has a good record but I wouldn't want him. Noble, Collison, Lansbury have looked good in spells in their careers, but never shown consistency and I'm not convinced they'd improve on Cork, Schneiderlin, Hammond, Chaplow at all.

 

Despite his career, I'd choose Lambert over Carew every time. Their defence doesn't look great, I wouldn't want Green or Almunia, and Matt Taylor can fck right off.

 

I agree alot of them seem to having trouble adjusting to the fact they're not in the PL anymore. I can't believe they play hoofball like that every week they surely can't have got to second in the league playing like that all the time.

[The9]

50-50 on their forum it seems half horrified at what big sam is doing the other half seem happy as long as they get back to where they belong (league 1?)

 

I honestly have never, ever seen a side play like that before at this level. Even in the 80s there was some kind of logic to the long ball stuff and the target man was supported, last night West Ham played 4-5-1 and Baldock's runs for the (mostly successfully won) flick-ons of Carew were coming from 20 yards away, giving him no chance to get near the ball. And their defenders weren't even looking for him from the clearances, just wanging it as far and as quick as they could.

 

I saw Carew play for Stoke v Brighton in the FA Cup last season and he looked a class apart, best player on the park by a mile - winning the usual headers but also able to pull deep, kill the ball, turn, link wide men and get into the box for the return - the difficulty he posed to the defence was in sometimes coming out of the back lineand making the defenders make decisions, not just being easy to mark up with the defenders with no support.

 

I know he's not even their first choice, but to use him as a target for hoofs hugely underutilises him.

[Wes Tender]

Just like us lot then:)

 

Mostly they seemed better than our lot.

 

But as on here, there is always one who lets the side down; like this bloke:-

 

Re: Southampton v West Ham Utd: match thread

by Sauce! on Wed Oct 19, 2011 1:52 pm

 

Put it down to a bad day at the office. We had enough chances to get at least a point, but it weren't pretty. When did Kelvin Davies become a top-drawer keeper, several good saves but Nolan should have scored with his 1 on 1 early 2nd half.

 

"Were coming for you, we're coming for you..." wtf was that all about, considering they were nowhere to be seen after the game.

[Chin Strain]

They don't know our squad though. They still think they have underperforming but better players. They don't, they just have more famous, expensive players. They don't know how big our squad is, probably don't realise we have 4 quality, in-form central midfielders to pick from, several good players out injured and like other clubs, they don't know just how good Lallana is...yet.

 

There aren't many West Ham players I'd want. Even the decent experienced ones you have to question their motivation and commitment. Nolan has a good record but I wouldn't want him. Noble, Collison, Lansbury have looked good in spells in their careers, but never shown consistency and I'm not convinced they'd improve on Cork, Schneiderlin, Hammond, Chaplow at all.

 

Despite his career, I'd choose Lambert over Carew every time. Their defence doesn't look great, I wouldn't want Green or Almunia, and Matt Taylor can fck right off.

 

This.

 

I honestly think fans that have been too used to the PL forget that you don't have to have heard of players for them to be good. I think we're generally a lot more knowledgeable about lower division players now, having experienced a few seasons down in the NPC/L1. They basically have no idea about the quality of our squad because they've never heard of them. Funnily enough there is a whole world outside of the PL....and that world has some good players.

 

WHU are doing a Pompey. Big players on big wage packets, with nothing left to prove. Big Sam believing that the player has to be a 'name' or from a PL club to be any good. Interesting that their best player last night was probably Baldock...and I suspect they only went for him as he was cheap and thought he'd fill a squad place - 'worth a punt' if Carew or Cole gets injured. I bet Baldock would have loved to be in our side instead.

[Sour Mash]

I was sat in the chapel and the atmosphere was good, but not amazing. Understandable really considering it was a very tense and nervy top of the table clash.

What a load of rubbish. It's games like last night that fans are meant to make the difference. Or are you telling me the Chapel & Kingsland are waiting for a more 'relaxed' game before they start making some noise ha ha! I look forward to hearing them at Barnsley at home etc!

[Chin Strain]

I agree alot of them seem to having trouble adjusting to the fact they're not in the PL anymore. I can't believe they play hoofball like that every week they surely can't have got to second in the league playing like that all the time.

 

Some of their more reasoned posters seemed to suggest that they can bully teams with their style, but when they play a team who can play around them they struggle. I hope they don't come up as that brand of football simply isn't what the game should be about. I suspect they'll fund a way into the top 6 though, but if results start going against them, the Big Sam style will become a big issue. They're second in the table and are split 50/50 on his playing style. What happens if they lose a few, especially at home? I'm guessing that they'll quickly run out of ideas against the better teams.

 

I don't think anyone told the wingers / full backs that Carew had gone off last night....they still kept launching it into the box 30 yards from the byeline.

[Sour Mash]

I honestly have never, ever seen a side play like that before at this level. Even in the 80s there was some kind of logic to the long ball stuff and the target man was supported, last night West Ham played 4-5-1 and Baldock's runs for the (mostly successfully won) flick-ons of Carew were coming from 20 yards away, giving him no chance to get near the ball. And their defenders weren't even looking for him from the clearances, just wanging it as far and as quick as they could.

 

I saw Carew play for Stoke v Brighton in the FA Cup last season and he looked a class apart, best player on the park by a mile - winning the usual headers but also able to pull deep, kill the ball, turn, link wide men and get into the box for the return - the difficulty he posed to the defence was in sometimes coming out of the back lineand making the defenders make decisions, not just being easy to mark up with the defenders with no support.

 

I know he's not even their first choice, but to use him as a target for hoofs hugely underutilises him.

Genuinely have never seen a team play as direct and one dimensional as West Ham did last night. They've got some quality players going to waste there at the moment.

[stevegrant]

I honestly think fans that have been too used to the PL forget that you don't have to have heard of players for them to be good.

It's the Alan "we don't really know much about Hatem Ben Arfa" Shearer disease

[sfc4prem]

What a load of rubbish. It's games like last night that fans are meant to make the difference. Or are you telling me the Chapel & Kingsland are waiting for a more 'relaxed' game before they start making some noise ha ha! I look forward to hearing them at Barnsley at home etc!

 

F*cking hell mate, it wasn't that bad. Go to other club's home games and you'll see that we are actually quite good at making an atmosphere. Oh, and I suggest you get your ears cleaned out.

[Sour Mash]

F*cking hell mate, it wasn't that bad. Go to other club's home games and you'll see that we are actually quite good at making an atmosphere. Oh, and I suggest you get your ears cleaned out.

I've been pretty much everywhere home and abroad, so I know what other clubs are like thanks. Just cracks me up when mincers say it was 'too tense' to make any noise.

[Jimmy Gabriel's Halo]

Back on topic.

On the train home to God's Waiting Room last night there were a few disillusioned 'Ammers fans talking about the game. Amongst the comments I managed to earwig were "The best side won" and "Southampton played some sh1t hot football tonight" which I especially liked.

They were strong but one dimensional as has been suggested above but they were the best side we've seen at SM's so far (which isn't saying much, I know) and despite some detractors on here, should we finish above WHU then we will be champions because they will push us. I would not write them off at all at this stage especially if they spend money they haven't got in January.

But overall, very satisfying.

[Wes Tender]

What a load of rubbish. It's games like last night that fans are meant to make the difference. Or are you telling me the Chapel & Kingsland are waiting for a more 'relaxed' game before they start making some noise ha ha! I look forward to hearing them at Barnsley at home etc!

 

It isn't a load of rubbish at all. It's human nature that when people are nervous or apprehensive, they tend to be more withdrawn. It's one thing extolling the benefit of having the fans making a lot of noise in support of their team, quite another putting it into effect. As the match wore on and it became clear that we had no reason to be overawed by them, we became more relaxed and made more noise. When WH put more pressure on us towards the end, the noise levels cranked up quite a bit as the fans urged the players on to keep the clean sheet or score another.

[Jimmy_D]

"So do people think that Southampton are a good team ??

 

I didn't see it personally...

 

Leeds and Ipswich were better."

 

I particularly like this one considering our results against said teams

[doddisalegend]

Genuinely have never seen a team play as direct and one dimensional as West Ham did last night. They've got some quality players going to waste there at the moment.

 

Try watching tyro under 11s on a sunday morning WHU would fit right in...................

[Dig Dig]

"So do people think that Southampton are a good team ??

 

I didn't see it personally...

 

Leeds and Ipswich were better."

 

I particularly like this one considering our results against said teams

 

Football is a game of opinions. Unfortunatly, most of them are ignorant

[Dr Who?]

West Ham will go up, I have no doubt about it, but not playing the football their fans expect. Shows how fickle fans are, that was their first away defeat off the back of a 4-0 home win and the fans or some of them on a forum (so less than 0.5% of the fans) are getting on his back......sounding familiar??

[scotty]

Still a c**t

 

This.

[hypochondriac]

West Ham will go up, I have no doubt about it, but not playing the football their fans expect. Shows how fickle fans are, that was their first away defeat off the back of a 4-0 home win and the fans or some of them on a forum (so less than 0.5% of the fans) are getting on his back......sounding familiar??

 

Not really. Don't think saints fans have got on a managers back when we have been second. Pretty stupid to do so.

[The Cat]

Atmosphere in the Kingsland corner was better than normal. Couldn't really hear West Ham much from there either.

 

From my experience of 60+ away grounds I'd say the volume of our singing is average. Sometimes we can be very loud, at other times (even when we're winning and playing well) it's pretty silent. What we don't seem to do at home anymore is get a chant going for longer than a minute. It wasn't that long ago that we'd get right behind the team and bang out "red army" or something for 5 minutes or so.