Half term report, old boys and new boys.

[david in sweden]

....taking a quick look back to May, and the team that finished up last season.. scarcely half of that squad are still around.....and, of the "survivors" ...there are quite a few question marks.

It became obvious from the first month that life in the Prem. wasn't going to be what we'd hoped for, and the estimation of our player's potential was far short of reality in this league.

 

Clearly KD is on " borrowed time" but as we are not using Boruc(?), I am still unimpressed by Gazzaniga and we seem no further to getting a top class keeper in place.

 

Only Fonte is still in the back four, (no Fox, Butterfield, Martin or Hooiveld) I was one of Fonte's earlier critics, though I admit he has improved a lot of late...but I still don't see him as a Prem. CB.

Clyne and Yoshida look worth the investment, but hard to judge anyone on half-a-season. Shaw may have been regarded as "one for the future" but suddenly he's here and performing - but for how long?

 

Schneiderlin, Cork and Lallana are still the basis of midfield, (Hammond gone - Chaplow, Guly and De Ridder are only making up the numbers) although I do admire Ramirez talent, it seems that sometimes, they don't seem to know the roles they should all be playing! ....and there seems to be very mixed opinions of Lallana's role .....on the pitch and as captain.

I expected Steven Davis to play a bigger part, and in a wet and windy climate we need someone " tough and routine " in the middle - as weather conditions don't always favour our " pretty football ".

 

Of course, in retrospect we see that it was Billy Sharp's goals (9 in last 9 games) that got us promoted - as Lambert had an unusually quiet end of season (only 3 goals in last 9 starts).

He clearly didn't get much chance (2 sub. apps) at start of season, (when no-one looked very good) but the loan-out has clearly done him some good and I think he deserves a decent shot at the Prem.

 

Which leaves us with Lambert...soon 31, not as good as he was..but where would we be without him now? ....(or more importantly, where will we be after he's gone).

Rodriguez has talent, but has had little chance to shine, and won't get a real run of games whilst Rickie is still there as no.1 man.

 

Which leaves us with Puncheon. Previously, a bad boy left out in the cold, has suddenly become our only real " attacker ". Agressive going forward, difficult to dispossess, (though his passing isn't perfect)...he's some sort of combination of.....what Chaplow once was, and should have become ...and what De Ridder finally wasn't ever going to be.

Should really have scored more goals, but I don't see any suitable replacement (at present).... and why do I have this strange feeling that we aren't going to keep him?

 

Our present situation isn't the ideal one to introduce more of the Academy lads ...Ward-Prowse showed some real talent, but he's not upto a full season standard yet, and little has been seen of Reeves.

Lee's injuries have been unfortunate in timing, (as he looked really good at the start), and Mayuka would be a world-beater... if we were already top 6 and the team was playing well.

 

TEAM REPORT: ....some encouraging signs, but must certainly do much better. Room for improvement in several areas. Now we've stopped conceding lots of goals, we need to " re-learn" the basics of how to score them (too much time-wasting with the final pass would help). Still too dependant on Lambert for goals, although good to see that 10 players have scored League goals so far.

 

REQUIREMENTS: Another good, hardman at CB..(type Jaidi)..and another defender, but must solve the (Fox /Dickson / Butterfield / Richardson) situation first.

.....AND there's still room for an " old-fashioned " goal-scorer who can take half-chances....(if not Sharp)... someone like Connolly used to be, but with a good injury-free history.

 

END OF TERM PREDICTION: Survival most likely, but would do well to finish above 15th.

Edited 28 December, 2012 by david in sweden

[Barry Sanchez]

Survival as likely as Wigan, Qpr and Norwich.

[Saint Charlie]

IMO Fonte has showed he is a decent CB for a lower level Prem team. Took a while to adapt but looks pretty decent now I would say.

 

Also there is no doubt about Lallana's role as a player or captain for me, he is vital and an extremely good player.

[Barry the Badger]

Lambert not as good as he was? I think he's got better and better. If you put him back into league 1 now he would absolutely destroy it.

[Nigel=God-Poyet=Sod]

Decent summary there, although I would disagree about Fonte as I think he would be the one I would keep at CB if we brought another one in. I also agree about your opinion of Puncheon leaving, I have that feeling too but not sure why.

 

A winger is also a must in this winger, especially with lala out.

[david in sweden]

Decent summary there, although I would disagree about Fonte as I think he would be the one I would keep at CB if we brought another one in. I also agree about your opinion of Puncheon leaving, I have that feeling too but not sure why. A winger is also a must in this winger, especially with lala out.

 

 

..and this disturbs me most.....De Ridder should have been the guy, but he never seemed to fulfill his early promise in the Championship and certainly doesn't look like Prem. material at present.

[VectisSaint]

....Which leaves us with Lambert...soon 31, not as good as he was...

Sorry, but completely disagree with this. There is no evidence that he is not as good as he was. He has stepped up and is clearly showing thet he is better than he was, or than anyone thought. The problem at the moment is that he is suffering from a lack of supply due to change of formation, and apparenelty less mobility, but I feel this is due to 2 factrs (1) heavy pitches and (2) speed of the ball off the wet surfaces. Big men always suffer a bit with these conditions, he is not slower, but is being made to look slower. I suspect if he was measure that you would actually find that he had improved his fitness and speed this season. That said, we desparately need a good alternative, J-Rod has been very disappointing as has Mayuka and Chung does not seem to have recovered from his injuries as I hoped and expected. With a midfield that lacks goals (Cork needs to start scoring a few) we do rely on Rickie more than is healthy.

[aintforever]

END OF TERM PREDICTION: Survival most likely, but would do well to finish above 15th.

 

I would say survival is 50/50 at best.

[lambertsrightleg]

I would say survival is about 35% in our favour at the moment. All of a sudden we look less shaky but absolutely toothless up front and have a stinking run coming up

[Restark19]

Also there is no doubt about Lallana's role as a player or captain for me, he is vital and an extremely good player.

 

This. Missed him immensely since his injuy

[Appy]

Lambert not as good as he was?

 

7 Goals in the Premier League before the New Year.

 

You were doing ok until you put that.

[david in sweden]

Lambert not as good as he was? 7 Goals in the Premier League before the New Year. You were doing ok until you put that.

 

 

 

YES...quite right ... he has 7 goals (incl. 2 pens)

 

but I didn't say he was playing badly.....though watched an interview where he said (he and some of the players) felt a bit out if their depth, and shocked by the pace in the Prem. after those first games.

 

Of course, he's still a good striker.....but 31 isn't 21 is it ? ...... Of course I hope he can go on for another 3 years, but I'm concerned that his "point of no return" is closer than we might think.

[david in sweden]

Sorry, but completely disagree with this. There is no evidence that he is not as good as he was. He has stepped up and is clearly showing thet he is better than he was, or than anyone thought. The problem at the moment is that he is suffering from a lack of supply due to change of formation, and apparenelty less mobility, but I feel this is due to 2 factors (1) heavy pitches and (2) speed of the ball off the wet surfaces. Big men always suffer a bit with these conditions, he is not slower, but is being made to look slower. I suspect if he was measure that you would actually find that he had improved his fitness and speed this season. That said, we desparately need a good alternative, J-Rod has been very disappointing as has Mayuka and Chung does not seem to have recovered from his injuries as I hoped and expected. With a midfield that lacks goals (Cork needs to start scoring a few) we do rely on Rickie more than is healthy.[/QUOTE]

 

Once again ...I'm not criticisng RL, I think he's great.... but you underlined a couple of points yourself that bear out my thoughts...

 

It's not easy to play on wet surfaces, especially when our game plan is based on a passing game, but ...it's the same for everyone isn't it?.....and after watching every match (either at SMS or streamed) I can see that he hasn't got the pace or sharpness that we once knew....and (as they say)..it's the same for everyone on both sides.

 

and secondly we already rely on RL too much. It was a problem (Dec. 2011) when he was out for a few games, and no-one else could score...if he were to be out for a longer period again, we'd have no (established) goalscorer at all....which is why I suggested we need to sign ANOTHER striker in the window.

 

However, I think it's a bit early to write off Lee and Mayuka as neither of them has had a run of games to make any fair judgement.

Edited 28 December, 2012 by david in sweden

[david in sweden]

IMO Fonte has showed he is a decent CB for a lower level Prem team. Took a while to adapt but looks pretty decent now I would say.

 

Also there is no doubt about Lallana's role as a player or captain for me, he is vital and an extremely good player.

 

 

nor me, but you should have read some of the critical comments on the recent thread about him......one or two or the " oracles " on here wrote that he wasn't worth his place.......

[S-Clarke]

After a bit of a baptism of fire at the start, we've got to grips with the league and seem much more competitive in the games we play.

 

At the start of the season I felt we were naive, not just the players, but the entire management structure. We seemed to assume we'd be able to play this expansive, flowing game, and win lots of games. The reality is that we didn't strengthen at the back sufficiently enough in order for us to play that game safely. We just found ourselves getting caught, again and again and again. Quite embarrassing sometimes.

 

But credit to the players and to the management, because they woke up to it and we've progressed nicely since the WBA game in my opinion. But I'd have to say, overall so far our attacking side has been excellent, there's very little wrong there - other than a lack of cover in the wide area's, but our attack matches up with most of the other teams in and around us. Players such as Lallana and Lambert have stepped up, and are still pivotal to the way we play. Puncheon has surprised the hell of me, and that's credit to him - he always did have ability in there, but it was always a question about his mentality.

 

The defense was, and probably still is, a concern. For me, the jury is still out on Yoshida - I'm not 100% comfortable with him if I'm honest, I think he's a little too rash in his distribution and clearances. His reading of the game and positioning is top notch though, that part of his game is high class - but it's the other area's which let him down, but in recent weeks he's shown that he's getting there - slowly. Fonte has, for me, been our best centre back by a long way. There were a fair few question marks over him at the start of the season, and probably rightly so based on his 2nd half of last season (which still confuses the hell out of me).

 

But what we had was a composed, classy, centre back - that never changed, and we've got him back again, full of confidence. I think he looks more than comfortable at this level and has looked very sharp in recent games, he seems to grow with the captaincy - good choice for it. The full back area's are decent, young, pacey, energetic - no problems there for me. Could possibly do with a bit of cover at LB in the long run, but Shaw has stepped up and has turned himself into a pretty impressive 17 year old left back. Class act.

 

My main frustration so far this year, and probably everyone else's, has been the goal keeping situation. After the Villa game, when we signed Boruc, I looked at our options and thought ''we look pretty well covered'' - but it just hasn't worked out. Gazzaniga seems a gamble, which hasn't yet worked out for us. Davis is backup at this level at best, I'm a big fan of how he's stuck with us but he's not good enough for this level as a regular starter. Boruc is an odd one though, when he played he didn't do much wrong in my eyes....yet because he upset a few fans, he's seen as this villain who we need to ship out in January....Personally I'd put him in goal and keep him in there, our most experienced and talented GK by a long shot.

 

Overall, we're in a decent position. We've got our heads above the pit, we've got the teams above us in sight and we've shown we're getting better. We'll still have our blips and defeats, I'm sure, but I think we've got a lot more about us than other teams down there - which is why I'm getting increasingly confident about our chances. The 2nd half of the season could surprise alot of people...

Edited 28 December, 2012 by S-Clarke

[ART]

.

 

Overall, we're in a decent position. We've got our heads above the pit, we've got the teams above us in sight and we've shown we're getting better. We'll still have our blips and defeats, I'm sure, but I think we've got a lot more about us than other teams down there - which is why I'm getting increasingly confident about our chances. The 2nd half of the season could surprise alot of people...

 

Sorry but we're two points less than the same time back in 2004-2005 when we ended up relegated. I'm hopeful but most people aren't seeing the true picture. What we do in the transfer/loan window won't guarantee escaping as Harry and Lowe discovered back then. Having Lallana back would be a huge boost.

 

Following Claus's disclosures a while back I'm asking if it was he and the loans we brought in back then that got us relegated in return for a big kickback from losing vital matches. Just look at the fine forward line and midfield we had but still didn't survive.

[stardustonmyfeet]

Sorry but we're two points less than the same time back in 2004-2005

I've heard this elsewhere, but according to this we had 14 points by the end of December.

 

http://stats.football365.co.uk/2005/ENG/PR/todec.html

 

And it didn't get much better in the second half of the season - finishing on 32 points and a grand total of 6 wins. About as bad as I remember it, then.

[Suomi Saint]

Lambert's all round play has been good in my opinion. He has very good control with his feet and uses the ball intelligently in/around the box. But, I would bring in a new striker in the window if possible, because if Rickie gets injured then I think we're toast. It's a pity Billy Sharp is not available really. In order for us to have any chance of survival, we still need to bring 2 or 3 more in. Cork and Schneiderlin can't keep it up forever, and if one of the centre backs gets clobbered then life will be very difficult. I would say our overall chances of staying up are currently 40:60. The window will either save us or condemn us to the Championship.

[ART]

I've heard this elsewhere, but according to this we had 14 points by the end of December.

 

http://stats.football365.co.uk/2005/ENG/PR/todec.html

 

And it didn't get much better in the second half of the season - finishing on 32 points and a grand total of 6 wins. About as bad as I remember it, then.

 

I quoted us 2 -points worse off after the same number of games. There is a big difference in the games played till the end of December.

[david in sweden]

I quoted us 2 -points worse off after the same number of games. There is a big difference in the games played till the end of December.

 

well we'll be able to see won't we?

We are about to start a run of games that are "revese fixtures" to those we had in August /September ......but hopefully our newly-found form may gain us some poiints this time around.