5 wins in 20 games! Is this the next level?

[Olallana]

Is it just me that want to go into (almost) every thread and write.

 

 

Four games people, four games.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Is it just me that want to go into (almost) every thread and write.

 

 

Four games people, four games.

 

Did you not expect a bit better though? Or at the very least get a feeling that anyone in midfield or attack were playing like they knew 100% what they were supposed to be doing?

[Saint Garrett]

Is it just me that want to go into (almost) every thread and write.

 

 

Four games people, four games.

 

I know. But it's more the manor of the performances rather than the overall results that worry me. And plus we're had a relatively easy first four games....if we lose to Liverpool and fail to beat Palace then I would start to worry about relegation - and the squad we have and money spent, we shouldn't be down there.

[ericb]

0 - 0 against west ham.

 

It's happening!

[Turkish]

0 - 0 against west ham.

 

It's happening!

 

:lol:

[Turkish]

I know. But it's more the manor of the performances rather than the overall results that worry me. And plus we're had a relatively easy first four games....if we lose to Liverpool and fail to beat Palace then I would start to worry about relegation - and the squad we have and money spent, we shouldn't be down there.

 

If we hadn't got that debatable late penalty at WBA then it would have been a very poor start indeed and 10 games without a win including the end of last season.

[Olallana]

Did you not expect a bit better though? Or at the very least get a feeling that anyone in midfield or attack were playing like they knew 100% what they were supposed to be doing?

 

Not really, it´s still very very early and we have a new striker that needs time to gel with the team and the team needs to learn how to utilize him in the best way possible.

 

The evidence of that are all over the league. City, Spurs (looked better in their last game but before that no goals from open play, Everton, Swansea and even Chelsea has all been struggling in different ways during the start of the season. I´ll always give a season 10-12 games before you can really make any judgements on the team but my comment was also about people making judgements on signings after four games.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Not really, it´s still very very early and we have a new striker that needs time to gel with the team and the team needs to learn how to utilize him in the best way possible.

 

The evidence of that are all over the league. City, Spurs (looked better in their last game but before that no goals from open play, Everton, Swansea and even Chelsea has all been struggling in different ways during the start of the season. I´ll always give a season 10-12 games before you can really make any judgements on the team but my comment was also about people making judgements on signings after four games.

 

I agree on an individual level but as far as the team goes I always think it bodes well when you can identify straight away what they are trying to do - whether you agree with it or not. What I saw at Norwich and yesterday was a complete cluster**** and the players didn't seem much more informed either. That really worries me, as whilst I wouldn't expect thing to work straight away, you'd want an idea of what we were trying to do and / or a sense of what combinations were being put forward.

[Saint Garrett]

I agree on an individual level but as far as the team goes I always think it bodes well when you can identify straight away what they are trying to do - whether you agree with it or not. What I saw at Norwich and yesterday was a complete cluster**** and the players didn't seem much more informed either. That really worries me' date=' as whilst I wouldn't expect thing to work straight away, you'd want an idea of what we were trying to do and / or a sense of what combinations were being put forward.[/quote']

 

This,

 

And we're going backwards with 2 up front and 2 in CM.

[Dig Dig]

If we hadn't got that debatable late penalty at WBA then it would have been a very poor start indeed and 10 games without a win including the end of last season.

 

If if if mate.

 

If we had scored just 1 of our many chances yesterday, stopped Redmond from having his shot and marked the corner better against Sunderland we'd be top.

[John B]

Is it just me that want to go into (almost) every thread and write.

 

 

Four games people, four games.

 

It may only be four games but the top six

 

1 Arsenal 2 Tottenham 3 Liverpool Man City 5 Man Utd 6 Chelsea is you would expect and we are mis table as you would expect

[Dig Dig]

It may only be four games but the top six

 

1 Arsenal 2 Tottenham 3 Liverpool Man City 5 Man Utd 6 Chelsea is you would expect and we are mis table as you would expect

 

So why are people moaning?

[david in sweden]

are you seriously telling me you are happy with 4 points and 3 goals from home games against West Ham x 2, Sunderland, Stoke and WBA?

 

No of course not.......I'd like us to have had 12 points right now, but that wasn't likely either - was it ?

 

this is typical tough, mid-table football with teams having one eye on the teams at the bottom and wanting to scrape at least one point out of every game.

 

I think we can play good football against good teams, and hopefully will do. It's all about getting the ball in the net - isn't it, and just now it 'aint working but

that doesn't mean it's a poor squad, or bad tactics. We're never going to be 100% better than the opposition, they are allowed to play well , too.

 

But for that screamer of a goal from the Norwich lad, or Jaskaalinen's " one-man show" yesterday, we might have been in the top three by now.

 

We may not be winning at present, but at least we're picking up points.

[Saint George]

This time last year we had conceded 14 goals.....So far this year we've conceded just 2, and only one from open play.....Anyone who can't see an improvement there isn’t looking very hard.

 

Get the defense right and the rest will come....Patience people...."Defense wins Championships"

[Solid Saint]

This time last year we had conceded 14 goals.....So far this year we've conceded just 2, and only one from open play.....Anyone who can't see an improvement there isn’t looking very hard.

 

Get the defense right and the rest will come....Patience people...."Defense wins Championships"

 

I am also inclined to this way of thinking. Its sensible to 'build from the back'

[Hoppysaint]

Some great posts (like rasiak-9 but others too) on this thread thought I would add my bit, bit of a lurker here but do post on FootballForums.net as happysaint.

 

Firstly on the previous post, easy to say we have a great defence after having played the might of WBA, SUN, NOR and WHU. Let's see how we do with our first proper test at Anfield and then this may have some credence.

 

I feel for Cork what has he done wrong? Brilliant partnership with Morgan last year and to be honest MS doesn't even look the same player as he seems to be playing in a slightly different role. I am on the Wanyama fence, a beast he is but I want more for £12m and at the moment I'm not sure he is even an upgrade on Cork. We have no width whatsoever which is exacerbated by the full backs not pushing up like before presumably because they have no cover as we have no midfield just 4 forwards!!! We let our two quickest players go (Punch and Mayuka) and now rely on JWP and Lallana both of whom aren't exactly well endowed with speed. So we end up with a team with lots of round pegs in square holes and trying to fit players in whilst leaving out questionably our biggest talent and creative player in Ramirez (whom most fans were looking forward to seeing an improvement from this season and so far have been denied), does MP not rate or trust him ? Whilst we play with all this attacking intent they don't seem to link up that well and often seem isolated ending in a lot of long balls.

 

I really want to be positive but I'm not that happy with the start (and having been to all 4 games by the way) given the fixtures and we really should have been looking to get more points and better performances to hang our hats on so MP has work to do to convince me that we are on this path to the next level.

[saintadjg]

This time last year we had conceded 14 goals.....So far this year we've conceded just 2, and only one from open play.....Anyone who can't see an improvement there isn’t looking very hard.

 

Get the defense right and the rest will come....Patience people...."Defense wins Championships"

 

At last there's someone with an once of common sense on the board.

Talk about a group of doom merchants .You'd think we were getting turned over every game.Far from it ,playing as badly as many would like to believe it took a one man show from Jussi to prevent a 3 or 4 - 0 victory for us.

[Toadhall Saint]

Do I think MP can take us to the next level (whatever that means)? Yes

 

Is it apparent as of now? No

 

Do we look better defensively? Yes

 

Are we scoring more/the same? No

 

In conclusion

 

The jury is out but if we play every half of football as we did 2nd half against West Ham (with a little more luck) then the jury will come out with a thumbs up - if not.......the horses head will be deposited in MP's bed.

 

Long way to go yet tho and IMHO we just need a couple of wins under the belt.

[Sour Mash]

At last there's someone with an once of common sense on the board.

Talk about a group of doom merchants .You'd think we were getting turned over every game.Far from it ,playing as badly as many would like to believe it took a one man show from Jussi to prevent a 3 or 4 - 0 victory for us.

Which saves did he make that were exceptional, that you wouldn't expect most good quality Prem keepers to also make?

[Mr X]

We are boring to watch at the moment west ham were there for the taking and we failed I agree their keeper had a blinder but that wasnt the only reason we failed. When are we going to start playing with width and pace on the flanks?

[doggface]

So you think everything is great then and been happy with our form and the performance of the man who was hailed as the man to take us to the next level?

 

No I do not think everything is great. I have been less than impressed with our performances since WBA to be honest.

 

I have great concerns about our shape as I have mentioned and worried about lack of direct pace in forward positions, even before punch left. However it IS early days.

 

My point was you cannot look at somebody's overall record and "remove the wins" against the top teams....it's ridiculous. If anything more kudos for beating the best teams imo.

[Rasiak-9-]

The problem is that assuming we lose to Liverpool, which I'm sorry to say is really quite likely, the Palace game suddenly looks like a massive banana skin.

 

Home team and manager under pressure playing against a team eager to win but with very little to lose, a nervous home crowd and boisterous away following...just has all the makings of the game where the **** hits the fan.

 

Massive shades of QPR at home last season, which fortunately was a debt paid off in advance with our win against Manchester City.

[Badger]

Looking that way. Think Adkins would have had puncheon and gaston in and Lallana and j rod out.

 

Moot point in my opinion as I don't think we'd have attracted the players we have if he was still in charge.

 

Agree with the general gist of the thread though. We're quite boring and frustrating to watch the majority of the time and only 4 goals in 9 or something is pretty poor. .

 

You're right it is a moot point, although there is an element of a myth about MP attracting players to the club in my book. He has not it appears used - or been allowed to use - his knowledge of La Liga to bring players in. Okay,so Osvaldo signed eventually and made some comforting noises about MP, but this was after we'd chased him for two months whilst he waited on other offers.

 

Personally I was quite confident in NA in spotting players and given time building a side. At a club like ours players tend to sign for the ££ rather than the manager. I doubt Wanyama or his agent(s) gave a monkeys who the manager was once the dosh was on the table.

[Berkshire Saint]

You're right it is a moot point, although there is an element of a myth about MP attracting players to the club in my book. He has not it appears used - or been allowed to use - his knowledge of La Liga to bring players in. Okay,so Osvaldo signed eventually and made some comforting noises about MP, but this was after we'd chased him for two months whilst he waited on other offers.

 

Personally I was quite confident in NA in spotting players and given time building a side. At a club like ours players tend to sign for the ££ rather than the manager. I doubt Wanyama or his agent(s) gave a monkeys who the manager was once the dosh was on the table.

 

Indeed. Blokes behind me on Sunday were saying we wouldn't have signed the players we'd brought in this summer under Adkins; I didn't bother pointing out that Ramirez joined last year whilst NA was in charge. Very unconvinced by Pochettino and I have been from the word go to be honest, our record against middle/lower opposition (particularly at home) is miserable.

[GAS]

If we hadn't got that debatable late penalty at WBA then it would have been a very poor start indeed and 10 games without a win including the end of last season.

Yes, and if Manu hadn't cheated a win against Palace we would be above them. It's all thin lines and we are doing ok, whatever way you look at it.

[Cascadia Saint]

yeah i agree with the people on this thread! If you exclude the games he won, Pochettino's record looks v.poor indeed!

 

If you also exclude the draws, it's even worse!!

 

From pressing game to depressing game in a few months, it's a disgrace.

[Chez]

Some great posts (like rasiak-9 but others too) on this thread thought I would add my bit, bit of a lurker here but do post on FootballForums.net as happysaint.

 

Firstly on the previous post, easy to say we have a great defence after having played the might of WBA, SUN, NOR and WHU. Let's see how we do with our first proper test at Anfield and then this may have some credence.

 

I feel for Cork what has he done wrong? Brilliant partnership with Morgan last year and to be honest MS doesn't even look the same player as he seems to be playing in a slightly different role. I am on the Wanyama fence, a beast he is but I want more for £12m and at the moment I'm not sure he is even an upgrade on Cork. We have no width whatsoever which is exacerbated by the full backs not pushing up like before presumably because they have no cover as we have no midfield just 4 forwards!!! We let our two quickest players go (Punch and Mayuka) and now rely on JWP and Lallana both of whom aren't exactly well endowed with speed. So we end up with a team with lots of round pegs in square holes and trying to fit players in whilst leaving out questionably our biggest talent and creative player in Ramirez (whom most fans were looking forward to seeing an improvement from this season and so far have been denied), does MP not rate or trust him ? Whilst we play with all this attacking intent they don't seem to link up that well and often seem isolated ending in a lot of long balls.

 

I really want to be positive but I'm not that happy with the start (and having been to all 4 games by the way) given the fixtures and we really should have been looking to get more points and better performances to hang our hats on so MP has work to do to convince me that we are on this path to the next level.

 

stop lurking, your post describes the current situation extremely well.

['00']

4 points from the last 5 games at home.Relegation & bottom of the table form.

[Whitey Grandad]

4 points from the last 5 games at home.Relegation & bottom of the table form.

 

? Are only home games included in the final table?

[buctootim]

? Are only home games included in the final table?

 

No away games are too. I would have thought you'd know that Whitey.

[chocco boxo]

Cannot see how people can include last season games in this years stats, last season was a good first year back in the Prem , this season is a start of a new dawn. Two draws at home is not too bad.

[Whitey Grandad]

No away games are too. I would have thought you'd know that Whitey.

 

Phew, that's a relief. I used to think that I knew all the rules, at least I think I used to know, but some of the postings on here make me doubt my own sanity sometimes. So just to be clear about this, we can draw all our home games but as long as we get more than a point a game away we'll be ok?

[Batman]

I would rather we lost our first 4 games. it was much more fun. at least we scored goals, despite being rock bottom and woefully out of our depth

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

Aside from his purple patch when we beat Chelsea, Liverpool and Reading I have to say I'm less than impressed with MP. Take those out and its 2 wins in 17 which is awful. the same thing that was happening at the end of last season, a lack of guille and craft to break down teams that come to defend, despite having some very creative players in the side. MP is not getting the best out of the players he has available, we are boring to watch and seem totally incapable of unlocking teams which come for a point. He seems like a good guy and I hope he can sort things out but IMO we are starting to go backwards under him after a promising start.

 

Totally agree. He's certainly not the answer. The fact that Cork isn't even in the squad when he was one of our best players last season says that the man is clueless.

[OttawaSaint]

I would rather we lost our first 4 games. it was much more fun. at least we scored goals, despite being rock bottom and woefully out of our depth

 

Ooh a big 5 goals in our first 4 last season (one of them a consolation at that [14 conceded])...hold me back!

[Batman]

Ooh a big 5 goals in our first 4 last season (one of them a consolation at that [14 conceded])...hold me back!

 

would you rather we scored 5 goals (like this time 12 months ago) be bottom and woefully crap or be midtable after a decent start with 5 points on the board?

[OttawaSaint]

would you rather we scored 5 goals (like this time 12 months ago) be bottom and woefully crap or be midtable after a decent start with 5 points on the board?

 

 

Midtable after a decent start with 5 points on the board.

[dan abnormal]

Goals win games, defences win championships etc . We can build on a solid foundation this season ( a strong defence and a solid start) rather than playing catch up for the whole season. I'm a little disappointed with the start but 5 points is a good return. We took 4 points from the 8 games with Norwich, WBA, Sunderland and WH last season, and we've already beaten that this.

[St Marco]

Some classic replies in here.

[Batman]

Adkins would be getting more out of these players than MP is imo

 

my favourite comment

[badgerx16]

Totally agree. He's certainly not the answer. The fact that Cork isn't even in the squad when he was one of our best players last season says that the man is clueless.

 

Is this still your opinion ?

[S-Clarke]

The posters with the extreme opinion's don't surprise me, always the same crew. I'm sure 90% of the time it's to grab some sort of reaction. To come to these opinions after 4 games is utterly stupid either way you look at.

[Dr Who?]

What surprises me the most was this was very early in the season (it still is), but these comments were only a month ago. I could just about understand if it was our stumbling finish to last season.

 

Saying this I cannot help thinking how much better it could be, if we beat Sunderland and West Ham at home and got a draw at Norwich. We would be top.... To greedy? Ha ha

 

I am not complaining. Just saying, these are all teams that if we played them again, we would probably beat them!

[Turkish]

The posters with the extreme opinion's don't surprise me, always the same crew. I'm sure 90% of the time it's to grab some sort of reaction. To come to these opinions after 4 games is utterly stupid either way you look at.

 

I think you'll find at the time a lot of them were fair comments. Hindsight is a great thing isn't it. I'll happily admit MP has proven me wrong and we are starting to look a very good side, back end of last seasons and the first few games of this we didn't though.

[Mowgli]

Why do people insist on bouncing old threads? It's like being back in the school playground.

[Dr Who?]

I think you'll find at the time a lot of them were fair comments. Hindsight is a great thing isn't it. I'll happily admit MP has proven me wrong and we are starting to look a very good side, back end of last seasons and the first few games of this we didn't though.

 

You are right f course, most fans are very fickle. The problem now is going to be keeping this up. Dropping down the league is the more likely than hitting the top of the league. So if we have a bit of a bad run, many will be saying top 6 yeah right! This is football and how football fans react. We will only know after 38 games where we are. This thread shows how knee jerk some can be.

 

But hey this I great so lets unite as Saints fans and enjoy the moment.

Edited 27 October, 2013 by Dr Who?

[Saint Charlie]

Why do people insist on bouncing old threads? It's like being back in the school playground.

 

If people write baseless rubbish then I'm all for seeing the result of their predictions.

[Batman]

MP has lost 6 of his 27 in charge.

[stug76]

I like it when these threads are resurrected - this is a particularly good example, 4 games in and people are wetting the bed lol. Another 5 games and we are sitting in 3rd - who knows where we will be after the next 5 games?? People need to relax a bit and enjoy the ride!

[slickmick]

Enjoy the moment just in case the bubble bursts.