The one player we couldn't cope without....

[CFSFC]

Everyone said Lallana was the one.. 4 points against 3rd and 2nd have gone some way into disprooving this theoary.

 

For me without Lambert we'd be a midtable side... Not for his goals alone, just his general hold up play, and the option we have to go long also.

 

GREAT PLAYER

[Thedelldays]

lambert...he is gold dust

[Roger]

Everyone said Lallana was the one.. 4 points against 3rd and 2nd have gone some way into disprooving this theoary.

 

For me without Lambert we'd be a midtable side... Not for his goals alone, just his general hold up play, and the option we have to go long also.

 

GREAT PLAYER

 

Completely agree, our best player imo.

[dune]

Lallana. Our last 3 away performances in particular have lacked potency. When he plays we create the chances for Lambert to score. That said I do rate Rickie very highly as a player and like him as a person.

[um pahars]

I think you may well be right in that losing Lambert could have a very big impact on the side. Losing one of the centre halfs might prove costly as well, as at the moment we only have Martin to step in.

 

However, I don't think it was any coincidence that when Lallana was out for a month last season our performances and results dipped (W1 D2 L1). We were nowhere near as creative and threatening as we were with him in the side. Massive player for us, but as you say we have picked up a couple of good results without him.

[hamster]

Guly up front, a lot of his goals only he could have scored.Bart ultimately for me though, never overly concerned when he steps in.

[scotty]

We've got a really good squad at the moment. Arguably light of one striker, (and I'm not even convinced of that,) but having see us play without AL I dont think any single player being out would have a really major impact. Certainly not to the degree the OP suggests (ie "couldnt cope without".)

[up and away]

I think you may well be right in that losing Lambert could have a very big impact on the side. Losing one of the centre halfs might prove costly as well, as at the moment we only have Martin to step in.

 

However, I don't think it was any coincidence that when Lallana was out for a month last season our performances and results dipped (W1 D2 L1). We were nowhere near as creative and threatening as we were with him in the side. Massive player for us, but as you say we have picked up a couple of good results without him.

 

Lallana takes our passing game to another level. When he's on form and the team are playing well, we are unstoppable in this league. Ricky does not come near that.

 

That said, Ricky has upped his performances a lot of late. The West Ham game showed what could be done playing an alternative way without Lallana, which I thought was particularly professional and impressive. The champagne football requires Lallana, but Ricky has elevated his game such I now believe he is of equal importance. Several times in the past Ricky deserved to be dropped and at the start of this season he was not that special. His performances have now grown and grown that it is a testament to everyone involved, a very special player.

 

Really pleased for the player because he of all the players has always epitomised the "fan" in the team and clearly cares for the club.

[Roger]

Lallana takes our passing game to another level. When he's on form and the team are playing well, we are unstoppable in this league. Ricky does not come near that.

 

That said, Ricky has upped his performances a lot of late. The West Ham game showed what could be done playing an alternative way without Lallana, which I thought was particularly professional and impressive. The champagne football requires Lallana, but Ricky has elevated his game such I now believe he is of equal importance. Several times in the past Ricky deserved to be dropped and at the start of this season he was not that special. His performances have now grown and grown that it is a testament to everyone involved, a very special player.

 

Really pleased for the player because he of all the players has always epitomised the "fan" in the team and clearly cares for the club.

 

I disagree about rickie being dropped, 21 goals last season? Also, rickie has much more end product than lallana. Lallana has to work on his final ball but is a fab player.

[Willo]

Lallana. Our last 3 away performances in particular have lacked potency. When he plays we create the chances for Lambert to score. That said I do rate Rickie very highly as a player and like him as a person.

 

I know there are some people who don't care about the quality of the person and only care about their performance on the pitch, but i'm maybe slightly old fashioned and want people playing for us who are decent human beings, and people who appreciate and value the position they are in. Rickie seems like one of them (as do most of our players).

[Daren W]

Everyone said Lallana was the one.. 4 points against 3rd and 2nd have gone some way into disprooving this theoary.

 

For me without Lambert we'd be a midtable side... Not for his goals alone, just his general hold up play, and the option we have to go long also.

 

GREAT PLAYER

It's no coincidence that Lallana is having such a great time, Lambert gives people so much space, his hold up play is exceptional...

A million quid? ****ing bargain....

[Weston Saint]

Lallana takes our passing game to another level. When he's on form and the team are playing well, we are unstoppable in this league. Ricky does not come near that.

 

That said, Ricky has upped his performances a lot of late. The West Ham game showed what could be done playing an alternative way without Lallana, which I thought was particularly professional and impressive. The champagne football requires Lallana, but Ricky has elevated his game such I now believe he is of equal importance. Several times in the past Ricky deserved to be dropped and at the start of this season he was not that special. His performances have now grown and grown that it is a testament to everyone involved, a very special player.

 

Really pleased for the player because he of all the players has always epitomised the "fan" in the team and clearly cares for the club.

I agree with your assessment.

[ericofarabia]

We haven't really be the same since Pulis and Forecast have gone out on loan.

[up and away]

I disagree about rickie being dropped, 21 goals last season? Also, rickie has much more end product than lallana. Lallana has to work on his final ball but is a fab player.

 

Without doubt he should have been dropped away from home, he obviously was not fit. Something he and everybody else agrees with. Of all those goals Lambert scored last season, how many were from open play 15, good, but not Holt? The biggest issue with Ricky has been his ability to take a game by the scruff of the neck and determine it's outcome alone. When Ricky scored that goal against Huddersfield at the end of last year, it was special in many ways, primarily as he did it all himself. That sort of goal was the exception but this season he has come on in leaps and bounds after a slow start and you only have to look back to the Derby game for a repeat. For Lallana, that sort of game changer is not the exception. Against WHU, Chaplow was the main reason we put in such a performance, going neck and neck with the Hoover for MOM, with other players including Ricky playing a significant part.

 

Ricky has raised his game this season and is now the player you have been trying to elevate without merit. I think he will get even better the way he is going and I will not be in the slightet shy in heaping praise upon him, but that does not make me blind to everything that happened when he was not fit. I can't over praise the staff enough for how they have constantly improved all the players, with Ricky being the star pupil. And in Hoover, I believe we have found someone who actually organises our defence.

[SNSUN]

We don't have anyone to replace Lambert should he drop out, nobody in his mold, which is why he's indispensible. Lambert is a quality player, other teams in this league this season that we've played have picked up on how much better they'd be with Lambert up front - there's a thread about it currently on the Derby forum, but we'd feel his absence less if we had decent back up.

 

To me, Lallana is our key player because he can make stuff out of nothing, he can keep possession when it's needed, and is a goalscoring midfielder, something every successful team needs.

[NY Saint]

The games I've seen with Lallana we look more dangerous, get forward better and create scoring opportunities and generally make the opposition panic a little more at the back. Without him we've looked a little lacking in inspiration as the attacks have broken down and we've then tried the same type of attack only to be thwarted again. Lambert has become a better target, his hold up and release play has improved since he joined and his passing and reading of the game has also become better.

 

Found a few stats that prove nothing but make football geeks; This season our assists are again coming from multiple sources with Lallana currently leading with 6 and Richardson has 5. 8 players have provided more than one assist this season. Lallana led our assists last season with 13 scoring 11 in all competitions, Lambert had 12 assists 21 goals, 11 goals Do Prado 6 assists and Hammond had 6 assists with Oxo assisting 8 times. Previous season 2009/2010 Lambert contributed 20 assists and 36 goals with Lallana offering 5 assists 20 goals. Papa Waigo scored 10 and assisted with 8. We had a lot more assists from other midfielders that season.

 

Source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/squad/_/id/376/league/all/southampton?cc=5901

[Dellman]

Regards the thread title, there is no one that is indispensible. the clever thing is that NA has built a multi purpose squad which was proved on Tuesday when AL was covered so well in the most unexpected way. If we lose Ricky somebody will crop up, maybe Guly who loves the central role and never gets the chance. I think the biggest loss would be Fonte but Martin has never let us down, so what's the worry?

[NY Saint]

so what's the worry?

We're Saints fans we're conditioned to worry and expect something terrible to happen.

[um pahars]

Lallana takes our passing game to another level. When he's on form and the team are playing well, we are unstoppable in this league. Ricky does not come near that.

 

That said, Ricky has upped his performances a lot of late. The West Ham game showed what could be done playing an alternative way without Lallana, which I thought was particularly professional and impressive. The champagne football requires Lallana, but Ricky has elevated his game such I now believe he is of equal importance. Several times in the past Ricky deserved to be dropped and at the start of this season he was not that special. His performances have now grown and grown that it is a testament to everyone involved, a very special player.

 

Really pleased for the player because he of all the players has always epitomised the "fan" in the team and clearly cares for the club.

 

And talking of unstoppable, champagne and another level, reminds me of the ding dong we had a few years back regarding funding wages & clubs in the lower leagues and I suggested it could be possible if the average players were paid a lower wedge and the team's "superstars" paid more.

 

Remember trying to explain that by "superstars" I did not mean Tevez, Gerrard or Torres dropping down to the third of fourth tier, but instead recognising that clubs at a lower level still have their relative "superstar" players (eg Lambert, Lallana, Craig Mackail-Smith, Glenn Murray, Ashley Barnes, Peter Clarke etc). Perhaps a stint in the third division might have helped to explain that supporters can have relative "superstars" in their teams, irrespective of what division they are in!!!

[Lord Duckhunter]

We couldn't cope without Lambert at present, but that's mainly down to the lack of a replacement up front. Would also worry if one of the two centre halfs were injured. I think we can rotate around other injuries (as proved by managing ok without AL). We really do need another target man to bring in as cover for RL, and Martin doesn't totally convince me.

[SB]

As he's our only decent striker agreed. Need to look for someone come January..

[hutch]

Keep going as we are & they'll come looking for us

[corsacar saint]

Lallana is the jewel in the crown,Rickie is our talisman,its spin a coin for me at present. W

[Guan 2.0]

AL is in some regards, a luxury player. Not tall or big enough to provide bite in the midfield, unlike RC/JC/RH/MS/GDP, unless he is scoring or setting up assists, we are effectively playing with 10 and a half men. It's also quite insulting to the rest of the team to bang on about him coming straight back in when we go 5 points clear at the top without him.

 

For me, Lambert is now at the top of his game, his link up and hold up play is excellent, and provides a danger from all ove rthe final third (his crossing has been remarkable at times).

[Cestrian Saint]

Lallana

[teamsaint]

AL is in some regards, a luxury player. Not tall or big enough to provide bite in the midfield, unlike RC/JC/RH/MS/GDP, unless he is scoring or setting up assists, we are effectively playing with 10 and a half men. It's also quite insulting to the rest of the team to bang on about him coming straight back in when we go 5 points clear at the top without him.

 

For me, Lambert is now at the top of his game, his link up and hold up play is excellent, and provides a danger from all ove rthe final third (his crossing has been remarkable at times).

 

well this post made me laugh, which is good.

[The Kraken]

AL is in some regards, a luxury player. Not tall or big enough to provide bite in the midfield, unlike RC/JC/RH/MS/GDP, unless he is scoring or setting up assists, we are effectively playing with 10 and a half men. It's also quite insulting to the rest of the team to bang on about him coming straight back in when we go 5 points clear at the top without him.

 

For me, Lambert is now at the top of his game, his link up and hold up play is excellent, and provides a danger from all ove rthe final third (his crossing has been remarkable at times).

 

Wow. Just, wow.

 

Lallana is half a player. Unless he's scoring, or setting up goals. Good one, bellend.

[dune]

well this post made me laugh, which is good.

 

It's little gems like that that keeps drawing us back.

[Guan 2.0]

Wow. Just, wow.

 

Lallana is half a player. Unless he's scoring, or setting up goals. Good one, bellend.

 

Yes, as in if he isn't on form, he doesn't provide a physical presence to trouble the opposition. So if he's not on top of his game going forward in a tight match, he can't really provide a scrappy, combative edge (unlike say Cork or Chaplow) and sometimes fails to track back leaving large gaps . Which is what you sometimes need in a packed midfield, where players may be scrapping for every ball. It's not a slant against his undoubted silky skills, just pointing out that his talent is innefecual against certain styles of play.

 

Not that difficult a concept to grasp, and no need for the insults really.