Shanghai Saint Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/2012/11/21/the-technical-area-southamptons-midfield-improvement/ It may only be a fantasy footy site but an interesting technical analysis nevertheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Interesting write up. Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingwing Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Sorry but Davis and Cork are completely different types of midfielders, would be like comparing Guly to Wotton, ones game relies on being quite far forward to start with and the other relies on being towards the back line to progress from. Davis did an alright job filling in a role he's not really able to play, it was frustrating that we didn't let him press forward more when 1-0 down against wba as he wasn't doing loads but he did what was asked of him and had a chance of making a difference pushing further forward. Having Cork back is great though, exactly who we need to win the ball in the midfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Davis looked like a different player at CM/CAM against Man City and QPR. That's his role and while he can cover in a more defensive midfield position, in reality we're just stifling him there. With our current formation Davis might see his chances limited to the bench but he's a fantastic choice to switch in for Ramirez if we need to see out a game without cutting off our attacking opportunities entirely. The Cork and Schneiderlin partnership will be key to our season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Apparently we've got 9 points already. I didn't read past that. If they can't get the simple stats right, then it's probably not worth reading. Plus, as mentioned, there's no real point in comparing 2 very different types of midfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Sorry but Davis and Cork are completely different types of midfielders, would be like comparing Guly to Wotton, ones game relies on being quite far forward to start with and the other relies on being towards the back line to progress from. Davis did an alright job filling in a role he's not really able to play, it was frustrating that we didn't let him press forward more when 1-0 down against wba as he wasn't doing loads but he did what was asked of him and had a chance of making a difference pushing further forward. Having Cork back is great though, exactly who we need to win the ball in the midfield. Having studied most of our games thus far this season I'm getting the impression that NA really wants to play Morgan further forward because he's pretty quick and seems to read the game fairly well. He's certainly been a lot farther forward since Cork has returned. With Davis the defnsive role wasn't really assured and there was a fair old bit of confusion and to allow Morgan to get forward we had to use JWP in midfield as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Twelve Gameweeks into the season and it’s something of an understatement to suggest Southampton have been far from impressive since their top-flight return. Nigel Adkins’ side have leaked goals in alarming numbers and sit second bottom of the table, with just nine points to their name thus far, but the past couple of matches have suggested they are finally starting to gel as a side. If its a site that relies on stats to form an opinion then it might be worth taking with a pinch of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajjuk Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 It's probabaly just a typo. It's a very good article. I'd love to see anyone on here produce anything close to that. The Davis V Cork comparision is fair because they have both been playing the same role. The section about Lallana shows exactly how good he is as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingwing Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Having studied most of our games thus far this season I'm getting the impression that NA really wants to play Morgan further forward because he's pretty quick and seems to read the game fairly well. He's certainly been a lot farther forward since Cork has returned. With Davis the defnsive role wasn't really assured and there was a fair old bit of confusion and to allow Morgan to get forward we had to use JWP in midfield as well. Yeah he's been trying to get Morgan away from having to make tackles because he's managed to pick 4 yellows up so far. It works because he is a really good passer in the middle, especially when tackling is left to Cork. The confusing was all from having 2 players trying to be the passer there and not the tackler in midfield. Shame as it shows we could maybe do with one more midfielder to come through for backup in that role (though Corks record last year means they would have to be young to cope with the lack of game time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasoneuelllfanclub Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 no coincidence that our shape and protection of the back four has improved since cork has come into the team. davis did well @ QPR when playing in more advanced role. cork was also very vocal during the swansea game ensuring the team maintained their shape and discipline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Yeah he's been trying to get Morgan away from having to make tackles because he's managed to pick 4 yellows up so far. It works because he is a really good passer in the middle, especially when tackling is left to Cork. The confusing was all from having 2 players trying to be the passer there and not the tackler in midfield. Shame as it shows we could maybe do with one more midfielder to come through for backup in that role (though Corks record last year means they would have to be young to cope with the lack of game time) Yellow cards are an occupational hazard for CMs I'm afraid.There's a shedload of players on 4, a lot of them are CMs, including Delph,Morgan,Scholes,Noble etc. I'd be more worried if we weren't getting cards in midfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 I look at this and think "so Cork playing versus Swansea at home and QPR away is a fair basis for a comparison with Davis playing against Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Villa, Everton, Fulham, West Ham, Spurs and West Brom ?". Give me Cork's stats for his two matches and Davis' stats against just Villa and Wigan and we might have a fairer comparison. Not sure if "they're playing different positions" is necessarily a valid argument, until Cork was fit it was mostly Davis alongside Schneiderlin, since Cork's been fit it's been Cork alongside Schneiderlin. If they're playing different positions it's probably because one of them isn't suited to the position they were meant to be playing, as it's been obvious for a couple of months that we needed more strength in front of our defence. Whether the improvement is due to Cork or due to the opposition being worse we won't know until Cork has to face the top half teams from December 28th for a couple of months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_Randell Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 It's actually a very good article. Those who say otherwise obviously didn't really read it. Shows clearly how poor our shape was at West Brom but how good it was at QPR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 It's actually a very good article. Those who say otherwise obviously didn't really read it. Shows clearly how poor our shape was at West Brom but how good it was at QPR. Honestly it's not particularly insightful. They talk about player positions for West Brom and QPR matches but as well as conveniently ignoring that the player postions were actually just more defensive against West Brom (therefore the attacking positions are compressed on top of the midfield and the whole team is more compact and much nearer our own goal generally, so of course the "formation" is less well defined) they also completely fail to mention that Davis, on as sub against QPR, had a higher average position than Lambert. Even if it's only looking at it from a Fantasy Football point scoring perspective that's a pretty huge oversight. The most important statistic in that equation isn't remotely related to our personnel, it's "West Brom 6 home wins, QPR none". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Having studied most of our games thus far this season I'm getting the impression that NA really wants to play Morgan further forward because he's pretty quick and seems to read the game fairly well. He's certainly been a lot farther forward since Cork has returned. With Davis the defnsive role wasn't really assured and there was a fair old bit of confusion and to allow Morgan to get forward we had to use JWP in midfield as well. Agree- both in terms of closing down higher up the pitch and creating things -hence his goals and willingness to shoot from distance. Still it shouldn't come as a massive surprise as NA played him virtually upfront with Guly last season at Donny when Lambert was out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 22 November, 2012 Share Posted 22 November, 2012 Always believed that Morgan should not play defensive/anchorman role..should always play further forward. As with Davis..always seen him as an AM. Cork more versatile and able to tackle and disrupt the opposition.Corky also reads the game better than Morgan and Davis. JWP will develop into a combination of the defensive/attacking all round midfielder. Glad to have all four for our squad/team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammysaint Posted 23 November, 2012 Share Posted 23 November, 2012 Our CMs are not a problem all good enough to play in any team outside the top 7/8, JWP looks like he might become top class, our future midfield is Cork MS JWP, they will take us forward along with Gaston and Jay Rod, which is what NA and NC wants to happen in 2-3 years time, Cork protects the back four well and thats really helping Shaw and Yoshida who are developing and adapting still. Davis is quality attacking and has a bit of pace and energy great experienced player who bar WBA game has been decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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