Blackpool 3-0 Saints Reaction

[Window Cleaner]

"

 

 

 

Topped off by my mate buying a gollywog in the gift shop a moment ago. Aren't they banned?!?!!?!

 

probably not in Blackpool

[Charlie Wayman]

Let's face it we've had bad performances away from home like this all season but most opposition were not good enough to exploit it - look no further than Leeds a few weeks ago. It was inevitable that we'd be found out and done over by a sassy team sooner eventually and Ian Holloway had us sussed out from ko. Now it remains for us to pick ourselves up and get a good result i the next match. What worried me most was that we kept doing the same old thing all match even 'though it was obvious to everyone that we were getting nowhere, unable to get through or around their defensive set-up. No imagination and no leadership and even Adkins & Co looked clueless. Can we pick ourselves up? I hope so but we looked fragile and raises many doubts. If we lose the next one this could be the 1948 slide all over again.

 

Not one player deserves credit and the back four were simply pathetic, Butterfield looked totally panic stricken thorughout and his posiional play was clueless, Fox not much better and Fonte all at sea. The mid-field was as poor as we've seen it all season, only Cork having anything like a half decent game. Morgan and Chaplow were all over the place whilst Lallana had yet another awful game, does he ever have any good ones? No service to the strikers meant they had a day off but at least Guly tried to compensate with a bit of clumsy defending but Sharpe did bugger all and one was left with the impression hat he might yet turn out to be just another in our long list of failed strikers of recent seasons. Steve de Ridder? Let's not even go there!

 

One man team? Two, if you count the goalie so let's just pray that Rickie Lambert makes it for the next game and where or where is Tadanari Lee when we need him?

[Amazing Hangover]

Your life must be a sad and lonely place. JC,FFS

 

This

 

And the fact that TopGear is on in 10 mins.

 

feel better already

[beatlesaint]

whilst Lallana had yet another awful game, does he ever have any good ones?

 

you are really something very special aren't you ?

 

If you haven't just said that as a wind up then you have absolutely no place watching football, try another sport, bowls maybe.

 

Pathetic statement.

[Professor]

It wouldn't be right to say the result doesn't matter but the fact is that no team can be expected to win every game and an away defeat to a side in the play-off zone is not especially surprising. It is still the case that for both West Ham and Reading to get above us is very unlikely and its also unlikely that both of them will win all their remaining games. The home game against Reading could be a title decider and it is looking fairly certain that it will be Saints and Reading who go up automatically even though we can't both get maximum points from that match.

 

One thing that is a worry though, is that despite some excellent results in the last few weeks, there have already been indications that the team is not as good as it should be. Even when we have won it has sometimes had too much element of fortune about it and we have seen lower sides dominate us for long periods, such as Doncaster in the first half at St Mary's. We may well have done enough for promotion, if not for the title and should get the required points for a top-two place from the last 6 games, but as one door closes so another opens. We do have some obvious candidates for the Prem side but my impression is that to be secure next year this team is not good enough overall and will need significant strengthening.

[shurlock]

Look at league results without Lambert: P4 W1 L3 (not to mention the result at Brighton).

Admittedly, a small sample but that's relegation form in anyone's book. Worse, none of those results were flukes - Donny, Leics, B'pool- hard to think of worse performances this season, including the games in which Lambert was part of a losing side.

I certainly dont think he's irreplaceable; a good target man would go along way to compensating for his loss or absence. But its the one area in which we have no back-up -odd since our game is so reliant on direct, hold-up play -and the rest of a very talented team feeds off such a player.

The good news obviously is that Lambert will be back; but its a shame we've never really addressed this problem -by bringing in back-up or devising a plan B- and needlessly pi $$ed away points.

[Nexstar]

http://www.backhenrystreet.co.uk/Thread-Southampton-fans-today

 

Well done to those who went!

[VectisSaint]

Look at league results without Lambert: P4 W1 L3 (not to mention the result at Brighton).

It was 0-0 when he went off against Donny last week and we won.

[Saints foreva]

So I wonder what made Adkins say last weekend that Lambert was never a doubt for this game and now it is that he could be back for Pompey.

 

Will be worried about the duration of the injury if Lambert doesn't play next weekend.

[S-Clarke]

So I wonder what made Adkins say last weekend that Lambert was never a doubt for this game and now it is that he could be back for Pompey.

 

Will be worried about the duration of the injury if Lambert doesn't play next weekend.

 

He tweaked it in training on Thursday, and from that moment he was out for the weekend.

[derry]

Holloway was interviewed before the match, he said along the lines of, they have two systems, I have a good idea which one they are going to use so I've selected a team to counter it. So out we came with the diamond, nearly scored, missed a penalty then were well and truly sorted out. Blackpool played two wide and a spoiler up front with Dobbie in the hole, we left acres of space wide and the full backs exposed so consequently the centre backs were under pressure. The ball was played into the wide space and we were cut to bits.

 

We conceded a questionable penalty, a route one from the goalkeeper ineptly defended and a corner that left the scorer totally unmarked whilst Marie Antoinette on the line flinched and ducked like a girl.

 

Adkins didn't react until half time but by then we were out of it. It's a waste of time playing SDR as the central midfield and right backs are so incompetent he rarely gets a pass. It's all very well having 70% possession in your own half if all it achieves is to allow 11 opponents in their own half and our attackers saturated. Schneiderlin is not a playmaker, he could be but he isn't and rarely shows any inclination to play forward. Yesterday we had two shots on target, a free kick and a penalty FFS.

 

The missed penalty was the turning point, score that and we might have pulled it off. We have been asking for this sort of beating for a few months, our central midfield is hopeless and lacks attacking inclination. We have to get central midfielders through the strikers but because we never do there is now really no movement up front, just waiting for the ball up the line or the big boot from the goalkeeper. Lallana is the only spark and when he gets crowded out not a lot happens.

[shurlock]

So I wonder what made Adkins say last weekend that Lambert was never a doubt for this game and now it is that he could be back for Pompey.

 

Will be worried about the duration of the injury if Lambert doesn't play next weekend.

 

Yeh a bit of weird one, though Adkins was also pretty curt/defensive with the press after the Donny game when he was asked about Lambert's substitution/injury.

[shurlock]

It was 0-0 when he went off against Donny last week and we won.

 

Its also the performances - we've looked poor with Lambert in the team usually because he hasn't won his aerial battles; but our worst performances have still coincided with his absence. Nothing compares with Donny away.

[Thedelldays]

Its also the performances - we've looked poor with Lambert in the team usually because he hasn't won his aerial battles; but our worst performances have still coincided with his absence. Nothing compares with Donny away.

he is a huge player for us, no doubt...then again, he is the best player in this league and any game without that would be that much harder

 

hope he is back next week

[southamptonbairn]

One word - ROCHDALE

 

Last season 7 games to go and we had an almighty blip where we just didn't turn up. The same bottling comments were posted on here and in the remaining 6 games we were undefeated The rest is history. Let's pick ourselves up and move on.

[S-Clarke]

One word - ROCHDALE

 

Last season 7 games to go and we had an almighty blip where we just didn't turn up. The same bottling comments were posted on here and in the remaining 6 games we were undefeated The rest is history. Let's pick ourselves up and move on.

 

This stage last season

 

 

and the infamous thread:

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?29466-Rochdale-2-0-Southampton-Post-Match-Reaction&highlight=Rochdale

[shurlock]

One word - ROCHDALE

 

Last season 7 games to go and we had an almighty blip where we just didn't turn up. The same bottling comments were posted on here and in the remaining 6 games we were undefeated The rest is history. Let's pick ourselves up and move on.

 

Rochdale was slightly different. Like yesterday, we were down at HT; but unlike yesterday's spineless performance, we absolutely battered them 2nd half and left the game with a bit of dignity and in decent spirits for the next game.

[Avenue Saint]

nice one, here's another, lets see how quick you are this time?

 

Listen you weirdo give me and address il come round today and teach how to behave and then you'll give it less of the large one behind your computer screen being the Internet warrior you're so desperate to be?

 

Feckin stalking weirdo...

 

Go shove your stalking mug up Ian branfoot's ass. Poodles! Run along....

 

Stupid wa.nkerrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Smirking_Saint]

Let's face it we've had bad performances away from home like this all season but most opposition were not good enough to exploit it - look no further than Leeds a few weeks ago. It was inevitable that we'd be found out and done over by a sassy team sooner eventually and Ian Holloway had us sussed out from ko. Now it remains for us to pick ourselves up and get a good result i the next match. What worried me most was that we kept doing the same old thing all match even 'though it was obvious to everyone that we were getting nowhere, unable to get through or around their defensive set-up. No imagination and no leadership and even Adkins & Co looked clueless. Can we pick ourselves up? I hope so but we looked fragile and raises many doubts. If we lose the next one this could be the 1948 slide all over again.

 

Not one player deserves credit and the back four were simply pathetic, Butterfield looked totally panic stricken thorughout and his posiional play was clueless, Fox not much better and Fonte all at sea. The mid-field was as poor as we've seen it all season, only Cork having anything like a half decent game. Morgan and Chaplow were all over the place whilst Lallana had yet another awful game, does he ever have any good ones? No service to the strikers meant they had a day off but at least Guly tried to compensate with a bit of clumsy defending but Sharpe did bugger all and one was left with the impression hat he might yet turn out to be just another in our long list of failed strikers of recent seasons. Steve de Ridder? Let's not even go there!

 

One man team? Two, if you count the goalie so let's just pray that Rickie Lambert makes it for the next game and where or where is Tadanari Lee when we need him?

 

Morgan poor ?

 

Lallana poor ?

 

But Cork had a decent game ?

 

I really dont need to bother reading any more of your posts

[Smirking_Saint]

Holloway was interviewed before the match, he said along the lines of, they have two systems, I have a good idea which one they are going to use so I've selected a team to counter it. So out we came with the diamond, nearly scored, missed a penalty then were well and truly sorted out. Blackpool played two wide and a spoiler up front with Dobbie in the hole, we left acres of space wide and the full backs exposed so consequently the centre backs were under pressure. The ball was played into the wide space and we were cut to bits.

 

We conceded a questionable penalty, a route one from the goalkeeper ineptly defended and a corner that left the scorer totally unmarked whilst Marie Antoinette on the line flinched and ducked like a girl.

 

Adkins didn't react until half time but by then we were out of it. It's a waste of time playing SDR as the central midfield and right backs are so incompetent he rarely gets a pass. It's all very well having 70% possession in your own half if all it achieves is to allow 11 opponents in their own half and our attackers saturated. Schneiderlin is not a playmaker, he could be but he isn't and rarely shows any inclination to play forward. Yesterday we had two shots on target, a free kick and a penalty FFS.

 

The missed penalty was the turning point, score that and we might have pulled it off. We have been asking for this sort of beating for a few months, our central midfield is hopeless and lacks attacking inclination. We have to get central midfielders through the strikers but because we never do there is now really no movement up front, just waiting for the ball up the line or the big boot from the goalkeeper. Lallana is the only spark and when he gets crowded out not a lot happens.

 

You were doing ok until the completely unrelated turd you wrote about Schneiderlin, yes he flinched on the line but IMO that was much less painfull tgan watching a completeky inmarked CB pick where he wanted to put the ball.

 

Morgan was arguably one of the only players to come out of it with any credit, chappers had his usual hussle and bussle but seemed to catch the same bug that stopped him actually passing to anyone, Cork even worse !! How did he stay in the pitch ? Terrible performance, atleast Morgan passed a ball well yesterday but lack of movement around him and strikers being unable to hold anything at all stopped us yesterday as well as sone inept defending

[derry]

Morgan Schneiderlin is one of the problems He has the skills to do so much more but is just a strolling passing link in midfield. He might pass a lot but where does it usually end up, mostly with our goalkeeper whilst opponents win the second ball and put us under pressure. The central midfield is hopeless and creates little. Doncaster was route one again a Fonte clearance to Sharp, a Fox corner. If the central midfielders would get ahead of the strikers Schneiderlin v Millwall I think, Cork against Leeds we can create overloads but not by camping in midfield

 

The reason the strikers struggled was the poor service and the time taken passing it around in our own half allowing 11 opponents time to get goalside and outnumber our two or three attackers.

[captainchris]

It wouldn't be right to say the result doesn't matter but the fact is that no team can be expected to win every game and an away defeat to a side in the play-off zone is not especially surprising. It is still the case that for both West Ham and Reading to get above us is very unlikely and its also unlikely that both of them will win all their remaining games. The home game against Reading could be a title decider and it is looking fairly certain that it will be Saints and Reading who go up automatically even though we can't both get maximum points from that match.

 

One thing that is a worry though, is that despite some excellent results in the last few weeks, there have already been indications that the team is not as good as it should be. Even when we have won it has sometimes had too much element of fortune about it and we have seen lower sides dominate us for long periods, such as Doncaster in the first half at St Mary's. We may well have done enough for promotion, if not for the title and should get the required points for a top-two place from the last 6 games, but as one door closes so another opens. We do have some obvious candidates for the Prem side but my impression is that to be secure next year this team is not good enough overall and will need significant strengthening.

 

An excellent post and spot on with the analysis of the Donny game at St Mary's and some quite fortunate wins which have papered over some average to poor performances.

One of the reasons we generally play better with Lambert in the side is that he plays with so much energy dropping into midfield to collect the ball and start up passages of play. However when playing away even with Lambert in the team we struggle. We cannot continue with two up front. We are continually out numbered, out muscled and out fought in midfield because two up front is like playing with ten men. We can't get the ball to them because we are not in control of midfield so why have two of them up there like man marked statues. Without Lamberts willingness to help the midfield out we are stuffed and even with him the other forward is basically a goal hanging statue. We have a back four with no pace - every one knows this and there is no protection for them. We need five in the middle with a 'sitter' to allow us to do what we are best at, passing our way up the pitch. We have to play this way because we have no pace and Puncheon and DeRidder are average at the very best and not good enough for this team. We insist on rearanging the deck chairs in the same inane way with out affecting the problems. We are not controlling games these days. Closing down yesterday seemed to be something from the dim and distant past and not part of our game - we continually stood off them - perhaps this all part of the same sympton that the midfield are knackered and need help....

[up and away]

Holloway was interviewed before the match, he said along the lines of, they have two systems, I have a good idea which one they are going to use so I've selected a team to counter it. So out we came with the diamond, nearly scored, missed a penalty then were well and truly sorted out. Blackpool played two wide and a spoiler up front with Dobbie in the hole, we left acres of space wide and the full backs exposed so consequently the centre backs were under pressure. The ball was played into the wide space and we were cut to bits.

 

We conceded a questionable penalty, a route one from the goalkeeper ineptly defended and a corner that left the scorer totally unmarked whilst Marie Antoinette on the line flinched and ducked like a girl.

 

Adkins didn't react until half time but by then we were out of it. It's a waste of time playing SDR as the central midfield and right backs are so incompetent he rarely gets a pass. It's all very well having 70% possession in your own half if all it achieves is to allow 11 opponents in their own half and our attackers saturated. Schneiderlin is not a playmaker, he could be but he isn't and rarely shows any inclination to play forward. Yesterday we had two shots on target, a free kick and a penalty FFS.

 

The missed penalty was the turning point, score that and we might have pulled it off. We have been asking for this sort of beating for a few months, our central midfield is hopeless and lacks attacking inclination. We have to get central midfielders through the strikers but because we never do there is now really no movement up front, just waiting for the ball up the line or the big boot from the goalkeeper. Lallana is the only spark and when he gets crowded out not a lot happens.

 

 

Go back to the first game of the season against Leeds and you saw most of what got us to such an elevated position. We had several players prepared to pass and move the ball quickly to each other. When a player received the ball he would quickly pass the ball on or turn and face the opposition, looking to make forward progress or pass and immediately putting the opposition onto the back foot. Players would cut through defences using triangles or later develop the ball out to the full back coming down the wing. Teams just did not know whether the L/R midfielder was going down the wing, cut in and develop a move or cut in and establish the full back coming down the outside. When you have Lambert, Connolly, Lallana, Guly, Cork, Hammond and the FB's all doing this well, you are unstoppable with that quality of passing.

 

Leicester were the first to show they had figured us out and had two banks of four in front of the goalie denying us space between the lines to get our passing game together. Add to that a tenacity to get in our faces and we found it very difficult to make headway. When things broke down their midfield could step up as a unit and have the freedom to attack at will. But we did come back at Leicester because we were still playing reasonable football that we produced against Leeds, with Sven gaving us a chance by changing his formation.

 

Against Blackpool we were again faced with a midfield and defence that had done their homework and a Saints side with little resemblance to the side that started the season. No movement off the ball so the triangles became totally predictable and static, no tuning to face the opposition once having received the ball and just laying it off in hope or back to someone in defence who then came under pressure. We passed it to ourselves for long periods but only getting ever closer to Kelvin. When the move did break down we had managed to pull ourselves so out of position in defence retaining the ball, that we were totally at 6's and 7's when confronted with most of the Blackpool midfield  bearing down on an out of position defence. Never mind the wings, they had space all over to pick a spot, combined with a defence totally out of position.

 

What we failed to do on this occasion and several others is to realise what we can achieve when not able to play our pass and move game. Get the midfield behind the ball such we are not giving the opposition the freedom of the park to take us apart at their ease. Go to 4411 or 451 to get control, at least then we can deny the opposition the space they were denying us. Blackpool looked brilliant because that is what we made them look like, but it would have been a totally different story without the space we afforded them. If you look at all the really bad performances such as this, it's because the opposition have put up a fight, denied us space and we were off form. This has been a real weakness for Adkins in how we play when in such poor form. Trying to play in the same manner as when we were top dog just gives the whole game away so easily, whereas I am sure we could have got far more out of these games by not exposing large voids between the defence and attack for the opposition to exploit.Yes that does mean we are no where near that same level of attacking threat and have to try and nick the game from a set piece or chance from Billy. If the worst team in the league can pull that off against us with Billy, there's no reason we could not do the same to Blackpool or at least look good for a point.

[derry]

We got where we are before Christmas by high tempo and quick passing that is sadly no more as we try to stroll through games boring the opposition but we aren't good enough. Get back to the 'in your face' high tempo.

[Thedelldays]

We got where we are before Christmas by high tempo and quick passing that is sadly no more as we try to stroll through games boring the opposition but we aren't good enough. Get back to the 'in your face' high tempo.

so, we stayed top of the league (mostly) by luck then...?

[derry]

Go back to the first game of the season against Leeds and you saw most of what got us to such an elevated position. We had several players prepared to pass and move the ball quickly to each other. When a player received the ball he would quickly pass the ball on or turn and face the opposition, looking to make forward progress or pass and immediately putting the opposition onto the back foot. Players would cut through defences using triangles or later develop the ball out to the full back coming down the wing. Teams just did not know whether the L/R midfielder was going down the wing, cut in and develop a move or cut in and establish the full back coming down the outside. When you have Lambert, Connolly, Lallana, Guly, Cork, Hammond and the FB's all doing this well, you are unstoppable with that quality of passing.

 

Leicester were the first to show they had figured us out and had two banks of four in front of the goalie denying us space between the lines to get our passing game together. Add to that a tenacity to get in our faces and we found it very difficult to make headway. When things broke down their midfield could step up as a unit and have the freedom to attack at will. But we did come back at Leicester because we were still playing reasonable football that we produced against Leeds, with Sven gaving us a chance by changing his formation.

 

Against Blackpool we were again faced with a midfield and defence that had done their homework and a Saints side with little resemblance to the side that started the season. No movement off the ball so the triangles became totally predictable and static, no tuning to face the opposition once having received the ball and just laying it off in hope or back to someone in defence who then came under pressure. We passed it to ourselves for long periods but only getting ever closer to Kelvin. When the move did break down we had managed to pull ourselves so out of position in defence retaining the ball, that we were totally at 6's and 7's when confronted with most of the Blackpool midfield  bearing down on an out of position defence. Never mind the wings, they had space all over to pick a spot, combined with a defence totally out of position.

 

What we failed to do on this occasion and several others is to realise what we can achieve when not able to play our pass and move game. Get the midfield behind the ball such we are not giving the opposition the freedom of the park to take us apart at their ease. Go to 4411 or 451 to get control, at least then we can deny the opposition the space they were denying us. Blackpool looked brilliant because that is what we made them look like, but it would have been a totally different story without the space we afforded them. If you look at all the really bad performances such as this, it's because the opposition have put up a fight, denied us space and we were off form. This has been a real weakness for Adkins in how we play when in such poor form. Trying to play in the same manner as when we were top dog just gives the whole game away so easily, whereas I am sure we could have got far more out of these games by not exposing large voids between the defence and attack for the opposition to exploit.Yes that does mean we are no where near that same level of attacking threat and have to try and nick the game from a set piece or chance from Billy. If the worst team in the league can pull that off against us with Billy, there's no reason we could not do the same to Blackpool or at least look good for a point.

 

Spot on.

[beatlesaint]

so, we stayed top of the league (mostly) by luck then...?

 

We haven't played anything like as well since the end of November as we did in the first 3 months of the season.

Now wether that is due to heavier pitches in part i have no idea but the idea of going back to passing the ball quicker and getting at the opposition instead of playing a lot of what WGS used to call propoganda football in the last 6 matches aint a bad one.

[derry]

so, we stayed top of the league (mostly) by luck then...?

 

No we won a lot of games without really dominating. Doncaster, Leeds, Millwall, Barnsley whilst Reading were playing catch up and everyone else has been dropping away. We aren't there yet and need a lot better than yesterday. The central midfield has been poor for months.

[VectisSaint]

Morgan Schneiderlin is one of the problems He has the skills to do so much more but is just a strolling passing link in midfield. He might pass a lot but where does it usually end up, mostly with our goalkeeper whilst opponents win the second ball and put us under pressure. The central midfield is hopeless and creates little. Doncaster was route one again a Fonte clearance to Sharp, a Fox corner. If the central midfielders would get ahead of the strikers Schneiderlin v Millwall I think, Cork against Leeds we can create overloads but not by camping in midfield

 

The reason the strikers struggled was the poor service and the time taken passing it around in our own half allowing 11 opponents time to get goalside and outnumber our two or three attackers.

Although your conclusion may not be too far wide of the mark, your analysis is complete rubbish. Morgan is not supposed to be the attacking midfielder, that's Cork's role. Morgan continuously broke up the Blackpool attacks, then played the simple ball out to set us up for an attack. Yesterday Cork was an absolute waste of space, while Morgan did everything that was expected, although of course not one of his best games. I bet you are one of those misguided people who used to think Oaks was crap while professional football managers put his name on the team sheet first every week (the exception being Burley, but then I did say professional managers, not **** heads). Yesterday we should have pulled Hammond on in the 2nd half for Cork, I am not a great fan of Hammond, but it was his type of game yesterday, a battler, limited on skill, taking control of the MF was what was needed, rather than a lightweight Jack Cork, who was getting bogged down in the mud.

[captainchris]

Go back to the first game of the season against Leeds and you saw most of what got us to such an elevated position. We had several players prepared to pass and move the ball quickly to each other. When a player received the ball he would quickly pass the ball on or turn and face the opposition, looking to make forward progress or pass and immediately putting the opposition onto the back foot. Players would cut through defences using triangles or later develop the ball out to the full back coming down the wing. Teams just did not know whether the L/R midfielder was going down the wing, cut in and develop a move or cut in and establish the full back coming down the outside. When you have Lambert, Connolly, Lallana, Guly, Cork, Hammond and the FB's all doing this well, you are unstoppable with that quality of passing.

 

Leicester were the first to show they had figured us out and had two banks of four in front of the goalie denying us space between the lines to get our passing game together. Add to that a tenacity to get in our faces and we found it very difficult to make headway. When things broke down their midfield could step up as a unit and have the freedom to attack at will. But we did come back at Leicester because we were still playing reasonable football that we produced against Leeds, with Sven gaving us a chance by changing his formation.

 

Against Blackpool we were again faced with a midfield and defence that had done their homework and a Saints side with little resemblance to the side that started the season. No movement off the ball so the triangles became totally predictable and static, no tuning to face the opposition once having received the ball and just laying it off in hope or back to someone in defence who then came under pressure. We passed it to ourselves for long periods but only getting ever closer to Kelvin. When the move did break down we had managed to pull ourselves so out of position in defence retaining the ball, that we were totally at 6's and 7's when confronted with most of the Blackpool midfield* bearing down on an out of position defence. Never mind the wings, they had space all over to pick a spot, combined with a defence totally out of position.

 

What we failed to do on this occasion and several others is to realise what we can achieve when not able to play our pass and move game. Get the midfield behind the ball such we are not giving the opposition the freedom of the park to take us apart at their ease. Go to 4411 or 451 to get control, at least then we can deny the opposition the space they were denying us. Blackpool looked brilliant because that is what we made them look like, but it would have been a totally different story without the space we afforded them. If you look at all the really bad performances such as this, it's because the opposition have put up a fight, denied us space and we were off form. This has been a real weakness for Adkins in how we play when in such poor form. Trying to play in the same manner as when we were top dog just gives the whole game away so easily, whereas I am sure we could have got far more out of these games by not exposing large voids between the defence and attack for the opposition to exploit.Yes that does mean we are no where near that same level of attacking threat and have to try and nick the game from a set piece or chance from Billy. If the worst team in the league can pull that off against us with Billy, there's no reason we could not do the same to Blackpool or at least look good for a point.

 

Brilliant analysis - spot on. Adkins has to see this - it is staring him in the face....We need five in midfield and deny the opposition the space to play. We have decent players which will win out in the end as long as we are controling the game.

[derry]

Although your conclusion may not be too far wide of the mark, your analysis is complete rubbish. Morgan is not supposed to be the attacking midfielder, that's Cork's role. Morgan continuously broke up the Blackpool attacks, then played the simple ball out to set us up for an attack. Yesterday Cork was an absolute waste of space, while Morgan did everything that was expected, although of course not one of his best games. I bet you are one of those misguided people who used to think Oaks was crap while professional football managers put his name on the team sheet first every week (the exception being Burley, but then I did say professional managers, not **** heads). Yesterday we should have pulled Hammond on in the 2nd half for Cork, I am not a great fan of Hammond, but it was his type of game yesterday, a battler, limited on skill, taking control of the MF was what was needed, rather than a lightweight Jack Cork, who was getting bogged down in the mud.

 

Schneiderlin is the problem, a luxury we can't afford playing in a strolling low tempo, rarely passes forward nearly always turns towards his own goal and usually plays his passes behind the target rarely in front. Oakley of old would be the answer but probably past it now. We need a playmaker that passes to our forward players.

[Thedelldays]

Schneiderlin is the problem, a luxury we can't afford playing in a strolling low tempo, rarely passes forward nearly always turns towards his own goal and usually plays his passes behind the target rarely in front. Oakley of old would be the answer but probably past it now. We need a playmaker that passes to our forward players.

like brian howard...?

[kpturner]

Look again! I didn't write that we loose to every team that takes the game to us, just that teams try to stop our passing game.

It is lose not loose!!! I bet your grand-children don't make that sort of mistake. Next you'll be writing there instead of their

[Norm]

It is lose not loose!!! I bet your grand-children don't make that sort of mistake. Next you'll be writing there instead of their

 

 

Thank you, Sir! I'm off to stand in the corner.

[miserableoldgit]

It is lose not loose!!! I bet your grand-children don't make that sort of mistake. Next you'll be writing there instead of their

....or "they`re!"

[Window Cleaner]

like brian howard...?

 

I think that's supposed to be Lallana's job actually,it's certainly not the brief of a DM.Morgan and Cork are there to recover and relay,after that it's up to the wide men (man in our case) and the playmaker who I just assume is Lallana in our case.

[Thedelldays]

I think that's supposed to be Lallana's job actually,it's certainly not the brief of a DM.Morgan and Cork are there to recover and relay,after that it's up to the wide men (man in our case) and the playmaker who I just assume is Lallana in our case.

we don't play with wingers...our "wide" players come in quite often and create...lallana usually more so....we have 2 CMs who generally sit with morgan sitting deeper..or one of the CM playing further forward

 

that is how we play and its done us brilliantly for the last 18 months

[Norm]

Go back to the first game of the season against Leeds and you saw most of what got us to such an elevated position. We had several players prepared to pass and move the ball quickly to each other. When a player received the ball he would quickly pass the ball on or turn and face the opposition, looking to make forward progress or pass and immediately putting the opposition onto the back foot. Players would cut through defences using triangles or later develop the ball out to the full back coming down the wing. Teams just did not know whether the L/R midfielder was going down the wing, cut in and develop a move or cut in and establish the full back coming down the outside. When you have Lambert, Connolly, Lallana, Guly, Cork, Hammond and the FB's all doing this well, you are unstoppable with that quality of passing.

 

Leicester were the first to show they had figured us out and had two banks of four in front of the goalie denying us space between the lines to get our passing game together. Add to that a tenacity to get in our faces and we found it very difficult to make headway. When things broke down their midfield could step up as a unit and have the freedom to attack at will. But we did come back at Leicester because we were still playing reasonable football that we produced against Leeds, with Sven gaving us a chance by changing his formation.

 

Against Blackpool we were again faced with a midfield and defence that had done their homework and a Saints side with little resemblance to the side that started the season. No movement off the ball so the triangles became totally predictable and static, no tuning to face the opposition once having received the ball and just laying it off in hope or back to someone in defence who then came under pressure. We passed it to ourselves for long periods but only getting ever closer to Kelvin. When the move did break down we had managed to pull ourselves so out of position in defence retaining the ball, that we were totally at 6's and 7's when confronted with most of the Blackpool midfield  bearing down on an out of position defence. Never mind the wings, they had space all over to pick a spot, combined with a defence totally out of position.

 

What we failed to do on this occasion and several others is to realise what we can achieve when not able to play our pass and move game. Get the midfield behind the ball such we are not giving the opposition the freedom of the park to take us apart at their ease. Go to 4411 or 451 to get control, at least then we can deny the opposition the space they were denying us. Blackpool looked brilliant because that is what we made them look like, but it would have been a totally different story without the space we afforded them. If you look at all the really bad performances such as this, it's because the opposition have put up a fight, denied us space and we were off form. This has been a real weakness for Adkins in how we play when in such poor form. Trying to play in the same manner as when we were top dog just gives the whole game away so easily, whereas I am sure we could have got far more out of these games by not exposing large voids between the defence and attack for the opposition to exploit.Yes that does mean we are no where near that same level of attacking threat and have to try and nick the game from a set piece or chance from Billy. If the worst team in the league can pull that off against us with Billy, there's no reason we could not do the same to Blackpool or at least look good for a point.

 

 

Top post.

[Window Cleaner]

we don't play with wingers...our "wide" players come in quite often and create...lallana usually more so....we have 2 CMs who generally sit with morgan sitting deeper..or one of the CM playing further forward

 

that is how we play and its done us brilliantly for the last 18 months

 

I'm not knocking it to be sure but we do need a bit more contribution from whoever it is that's supposed to be the forward CM on the right.

[Norm]

....or "they`re!"

 

oh dear Kp! Don't you just hate it when someone picks up your mistake?

 

[Leicestersaint]

Schneiderlin is the problem, a luxury we can't afford playing in a strolling low tempo, rarely passes forward nearly always turns towards his own goal and usually plays his passes behind the target rarely in front. Oakley of old would be the answer but probably past it now. We need a playmaker that passes to our forward players.

 

I am sorry but this is ridiculous. Schneiderlin is one of the few players we have who will do well in the PL - he is classy and very good at his job. Our problems are that we do not have (a) effective creative midfielders other than AL, who is clearly not on top form (b) any real pace down the wings. We have become very square - we need to get a grip on these matches and to get back some of our old intensity.

[S-Clarke]

Do you know who would look excellent and give us that drive and threat from midfield?

 

Gylfi Sigurdsson. On loan at Swansea, who don't have an option. There will be a bidding war in the summer for him, I hope we show an interest.

[Noodles34]

Listen you weirdo give me and address il come round today and teach how to behave and then you'll give it less of the large one behind your computer screen being the Internet warrior you're so desperate to be?

 

Feckin stalking weirdo...

 

Go shove your stalking mug up Ian branfoot's ass. Poodles! Run along....

 

Stupid wa.nkerrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

 

lol, sure your god would approve of such bevahiour, bored of you now, bye, bye xx

[Norm]

Any chance that you two will call truce, please?

[Window Cleaner]

Do you know who would look excellent and give us that drive and threat from midfield?

 

Gylfi Sigurdsson. On loan at Swansea, who don't have an option. There will be a bidding war in the summer for him, I hope we show an interest.

 

Yes not bad at all, loved that goal he scored today, really intelligent of him to drive it into the ground first,mind you Spurs gave him the time to juggle it 50 times,run a lap of the pitch and still score.

Reading sold him to Hoffenheim for about 6 million I think but he doesn't seem to have settled there,Rogers will want to keep him and they'll have the money to do just that.

[LostBoys]

Just got back - truly dreadful with only Morgan putting in a performance. Nigel made the players come over by way of an apology. Blackpool supporters said they could not believe their luck.

[CanadaSaint]

I'm not knocking it to be sure but we do need a bit more contribution from whoever it is that's supposed to be the forward CM on the right.

 

I agree because it gives us width and some pace in attack - but only if we get the ball to him early enough.

 

The temptation is to say that we don't seem to have that kind of player, or that the player who's playing there didn't offer much on a particular day, when the problem IMO is the bit I underlined.

 

There's certainly a place for "sideways and back" but we do it to excess and so we don't get the ball forward soon enough to expose defences. We don't capitalize on the skills of the Lees and de Ridders - or even the Puncheons - in our squad.

 

I said after the Barnsley game that the excessive sideways and back could hurt us at some point, against a better team that Barnsley, and yesterday it did.

 

I think De Ridder could do that for us down the right. But against Donny and again yesterday (in the second half) he seemed to eventually receive the ball only when he came back looking for it, which meant he had his back to goal with a guy right up his arse. What chance does he have of doing what we need him to do - turning, running and getting to the goal line - when he gets the ball so late? Tadanari Lee suffered from the same problem - it wasn't him keep being caught offside, it was intelligent runs not being spotted soon enough by our midfield.

 

It doesn't look like there's anybody in our central midfield with the control and vision to involve/release our wide men as quickly as we need to do it. And yet we were doing it earlier in the season. What happened?

[skintsaint]

Blackpool found us out early enough. Let us have the ball and invite us up the pitch. Soon as they won the ball it was over/around our fullbacks within 2 or 3 passes for the quick lads to get onto. Wasnt pretty and was about as hoof as you can get 2nd half but it exposed our weaknesses really badly. Sharps penalty was a wasn't a great take, almost identical to MLT's miss against Forest all them years back, but I thought he had a decent game, nearly got in a few times but for some last ditch tackles and dodgy lino decisions.

 

1st loss in 12 games but we must roll with a punch and get this result out of our systems...who next but Pompey who just lost 5-1 at home..both teams will be wanting to put this weekends results behind them and it will be a close scrappy game which we will come out on top.

 

Fans were superb though from the stream I was watching.

[JackFrost]

The whole team was very poor as we couldn't even do basics. We couldn't pass accurately, beat the first man with crosses/corners and it was a shocker all round barring Davis.

 

I actually thought Guly was one of our better players, he could have scored/assisted for a total of 3 goals yesterday (the early chance which he did well to get to in the first place, winning the penalty and a clever reverse pass to set up Sharp who was denied by a last ditch tackle). I can see why people get on his back but whenever he went within 2 yards of a challenge the referee pinged him for a foul, and completely ignored him getting shoved by the nearest Blackpool player almost any time the ball came out the air towards him (There were a few he didn't bother with granted). Guly reminds me a bit of Rasiak in some ways, hel'll look useless most of the game but always has the potential to provide a useful goal/assist.

 

Butterfield looked like a Sunday league player, Sharp was invisible and Lallana was awful. Although in terms of outfield players it was a shocker all round. All credit to the fans though, they could be clearly be heard even when we playing abysmally.

 

Almost the perfect time to have a shocker though, NA will be kicking a few arses this week and hopefully Lambo will be back for the Derby. What we need now is the proverbial reaction and I trust NA to be able to get it out the players.

 

Have to say though anyone know how long Richardson will be out for?

[monosaint]

Watching Swansea today and how the stats showed they had more posession but still got stuffed.. Spurs did to them what a few teams have done to us and not let them have time on the ball. Swansea spent most of the time passing it about in their own half..