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FULL-TIME - West Brom 0-1 Southampton & MotM

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MotM vs West Brom (Away 2013/14)  

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  1. 1. MotM vs West Brom (Away 2013/14)

    • Boruc
      8
    • Lovren
      101
    • Fonte
      1
    • Chambers
      7
    • Shaw
      86
    • Schneiderlin
      13
    • Wanyama
      162
    • Ward-Prowse
      18
    • Lambert
      13
    • Rodriguez
      0
    • Lallana
      2
    • Ramirez
      1
    • Davis, S
      0
    • Cork
      1

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Saint Martini

Saint Martini

Posted
Posted
I think you are.

 

He was a beast, the best player out there for large periods of the game.

 

I thought we missed a certain creativity in midfield which we did have with Cork and Morgan. Defensively he was a rock chasing people down and winning the ball but in possession he didn't offer that much apart from the occasional surging run.

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austsaint

austsaint

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I thought we missed a certain creativity in midfield which we did have with Cork and Morgan. Defensively he was a rock chasing people down and winning the ball but in possession he didn't offer that much apart from the occasional surging run.

 

I thought VW did show the ability to thread creative passes several times in the game - very impressive. Conversely, JWP, although tidy and with good set piece delivery, seems to lack the creative pass at this stage.

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The9

The9

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on the commentary they said that the offside rule has been tweaked a bit for this season. If a player is moving towards the ball he's likely to be adjuged to be influencing play, unless of course the ball is on the 6 yd line and he's in the centre circle or similar. Don't we have some resident refs to talk us through this new interpretation ?

 

I don't think the tweak makes much difference when the player in an offside position is standing directly in front of the goalkeeper. I've seen them given though, and the lino was probably just wrongly flagging Lallana anyway.

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Whitey Grandad

Whitey Grandad

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I don't think the tweak makes much difference when the player in an offside position is standing directly in front of the goalkeeper. I've seen them given though, and the lino was probably just wrongly flagging Lallana anyway.

 

Lallana was offside as well, let's not try to stretch things too far.

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saintbob40

saintbob40

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I thought we missed a certain creativity in midfield which we did have with Cork and Morgan. Defensively he was a rock chasing people down and winning the ball but in possession he didn't offer that much apart from the occasional surging run.

 

VW doesn't show for the ball or make space to receive a pass and we were forced to play down the flanks a lot. Morgan's game suffered as he wasn't getting the ball all much as he would from Cork. VW is also very clumsy in the tackle which may cost us and him as the season progresses.

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Giordano

Giordano

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Posted

The two centre-backs that SRL faced were 6ft 6 and 6ft 5 respectively. He admitted that he found it hard against them in post match interview. This was always going to be one of the harder matches for Rickie to impose himself upon for that reason, so to get three points and him a goal as well was excellent.

 

I have not watched the match in entirety but can someone tell me the starting formation, and then if it changed? My memory says that Merson said we played an amazing version of 442, but that's at odds with our normal formation...so what was it and did it change in play much, especially after sub?

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DuncanRG

DuncanRG

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Posted (edited)
The two centre-backs that SRL faced were 6ft 6 and 6ft 5 respectively. He admitted that he found it hard against them in post match interview. This was always going to be one of the harder matches for Rickie to impose himself upon for that reason, so to get three points and him a goal as well was excellent.

 

I have not watched the match in entirety but can someone tell me the starting formation, and then if it changed? My memory says that Merson said we played an amazing version of 442, but that's at odds with our normal formation...so what was it and did it change in play much, especially after sub?

 

It was the same as always, 4-2-3-1 with Rodriguez drifting into scoring positions which is probably what Merson was referring to. Ward-Prowse stuck to the right but Lallana and Rodriguez interchanged regularly, as did Ramirez when he came on. Schneiderlin didn't get forward as much as he might have done last season with Cork but that was mostly down to West Brom's discipline and organisation. Lambert played on the shoulder to try and get some joy out of the centre halves because he couldn't always compete aerially. Shaw got forward a lot.

Edited by DuncanRG
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Lallana's Left Peg

Lallana's Left Peg

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I have not watched the match in entirety but can someone tell me the starting formation, and then if it changed? My memory says that Merson said we played an amazing version of 442, but that's at odds with our normal formation...so what was it and did it change in play much, especially after sub?

 

We started 4-2-3-1. The first six you can assume but it was Lambert up top on his own, with Rodriguez on the left, Lallana behind Lambert, and JWP on the right. Lallana floated all over and JWP and Rodriguez both came inside when appropriate to allow the full-backs to bomb on. I didn't notice any changes in particular during the game with that same personnel on the field but Rodriquez and JWP were both very diligent in defending as well.

 

When Ramirez came on he did so in a straight swap for Lallana, and the shape didn't change. Same for Davis when he came on for Rodriguez. Even Cork replace JWP like for like however it didn't really mean much given the stage of the game he came on.

 

The formation was what we were all used to. However, something that is worthy of comment for me is our shape in defending (both in terms of sitting back at times and also pressing at times) which worked brilliantly and completely stifled West Brom in my opinion. It wasn't a blind press - we pressed at times when we couldn't get caught out with the long ball and it worked well. Then the rest of the time West Brom were challenged to break us down if they could but they just weren't good enough. That was very encouraging for me.

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Giordano

Giordano

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..worthy of comment for me is our shape in defending (both in terms of sitting back at times and also pressing at times) which worked brilliantly and completely stifled West Brom in my opinion. It wasn't a blind press - we pressed at times when we couldn't get caught out with the long ball and it worked well. Then the rest of the time West Brom were challenged to break us down if they could but they just weren't good enough. That was very encouraging for me.

 

Very interesting.So its the same formation (as expected) and like for like substitutions. And the selective press shows intelligence - players judgement and understanding of position and their roles has improved. All good news.

 

Main reason I ask is that it is a big clue to how we integrate Daniel into the team. For me - we should keep SRL right up the top of the formation as he is "probably" less mobile than Daniel, though essential as a point of reference for our team when fit. If not fit then Daniel is the natural replacement. behind him If fit and after his period of integration ( if he needs it), Daniel must surely play which leaves two places left as I think Morgan and Big Vic will start every league match when fit this season (but not cup matches). The two places will be a toss up between Jrod, Ads, JWP, JP, GR, Guly, JC and SD. I think that home winnable matches we would play 2 out of our most attacking players (Jrod, Ads, GR) but away tough fixtures we might play one of the more defensively attuned players (JWP, Guly, SD, Cork) and one of the attacking players with SRL and Daniel.

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Chez

Chez

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Posted (edited)

It's great for the national team that Premiership club sides are playing possession football, but give it a few seasons and the Premiership might be a worse place for it entertainment wise. At the Hawthorns there was so much square passing it's not true. I don't have a problem with it. I am very much in favour of going backwards and square rather than hitting and hoping, but when the space opens up we need to push into it with much more conviction than we did on Saturday.

 

Wanyama (my MOTM, Mulumbo aside) was as guilty of anyone and Chambers was equally tentative about driving on. Perhaps first game nerves, especially for Chambers, but we'll need to do a little more at home next week. The onus will be on us to attack a little more. I felt we didn't comitt quite enough, although I concede that we were away from home so kept it tight.

 

That said it was a thoroughly professional away performance by Saints, Boruc apart, who I thought was incredibly sloppy and a great opening day to the season for us. Seems a while since we won on the first day of a top flight season, so I will take that and like every Saints fan will keep my feet on the ground whilst dreaming of success.

 

Just for the record we played four at the back, two holding midfielders. Prowse played right midfield, tucking in and (supposedly) pushing on to support the attackers as well. Lallana played in the hole. Lambert was up front on his own. Rodrigeuz played left side, going up and down.

 

Boruc 6 Great save, but in the first half the rest of his game was terrible. Far, far too casual and some very poor kicking. Too soft passes to fullbacks putting players under pressure, some poor choices and a misskick to compound things. Better in second half.

Chambers 7 Great debut. He looked so secure and composed. Very sold game defensively. When confidence grows I expect him to be more adventurous going forward.

Lovren 8 looked very classy indeed. Unlike Maya his passes seemed to find a red shirt too. Beaten in the air a few times by Long, which worries me slightly, but great debut.

Fonte - 6 shocking distribution. Solid defensively.

Shaw 9 our most threatening offensive player, looked even more impressive than last season

Morgan 7 solid game, but not sure if having Lallana in front and Wanyama helped him. Early days.

Wanyama 9 excellent debut. I just would have liked to have seen him drive into the space a fraction more, but that's me being hyper critical. One great nutmeg pass that even lambert didn't read caught my eye.

Lallana 7 - lot so nice stuff. Looked fit. Worked very hard to close players down. Some lovely flicks to open them up.

Prowse 6 offered little going forward and should have been subbed on the hour considering it was 0-0. Not a right sided midfielder if you ask me, so did well considering. Great prospect.

Rodriguez - 7 brief bursts of pace that broke up all the square passing caused problems. Would have liked to see a little more of that

Lambert 7 lots of movement (more runs than I have ever seen before) but hardly ever found. he looked even more confident than usual. Fantastic pen.

 

Cork - what a sub to bring on. Very tough on him to lose his place based on his outstanding performances last season. I think I'd rather see him than Prowse at right midfield if we are looking for a player that can tuck in to make three or four midfielders. Not on long enough to do much.

Ramirez - looked bright and sharp. Will want to get game time I suspect, but no sign of sulking or anything you might expect of a star player being left out. Didn't see the ball much, but did bring a few groans when well positioned and went for an eye of the needle pass that didn't work out.

Edited by Chez
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