Jay Rodriguez...

[Unbelievable Jeff]

Why is he being allowed to continue to masquerade as a Premier League footballer. The lack of control, poor decision making and finishing really means he shouldn't be near the first team. Could see how frustrated Osvaldo was getting with him, it's not good for anyone, so give him a few weeks to pick his game up again and then put him back in when it seems he can have a positive impact on the game.

 

IMHO we should be giving Ramirez a chance from the start, something we continue to fail to do.

[Saint Garrett]

I'm surprised how much stick he's getting on here tbh. Didn't think he was that bad yesterday - not any worse than he has been for the last 12 months.

 

Fact is he is one of our only attacking players with a bit of pace so he needs to play to give us an outlet. Also he closes down a lot better than any of our other players.

[Gemmel]

He didn't have a great game yesterday, but he is absolutely good enough for the Premier League

[Unbelievable Jeff]

I'm surprised how much stick he's getting on here tbh. Didn't think he was that bad yesterday - not any worse than he has been for the last 12 months.

 

Fact is he is one of our only attacking players with a bit of pace so he needs to play to give us an outlet. Also he closes down a lot better than any of our other players.

 

But he's not been very good in the last 12 months in my opinion. Not been a fan of his since he arrived. He scored a few lucky goals last Winter and people seemed to think he was worthy of an England cap! He's an alright player at best, but he's frightfully off form at the moment.

[Unbelievable Jeff]

He didn't have a great game yesterday, but he is absolutely good enough for the Premier League

 

What facets of his game make you think that?

[Dig Dig]

His poor first touch and decision making are traits of his lack of confidence. He is able to control a football and make the right choices, the key at this level is consistency. I think he's a purple patch type of player and does offer us some directness but agree with the OP that he needs some time out of the first 11 and maybe be more of an impact player in order to gain the confidence he needs.

 

There was a moment yesterday when Osvaldo made a great run, was on the shoulder of the defender and a ball over the top would have but him through. Instead, Rodriguez just put his head down and ran. I'm sure Ramirez would have at least saw the run. I would bring him in over Rodriguez.

[Turkish]

he was rubbish yesterday, but i do think there is a good player in there. He's very much a cofidence player and like last season needs a goal or two to get him going.

[pimpin4rizeal]

Agree i have always been a fan of ramirez and against rodriguez.

Trouble with rodriguez is he has no first touch and no technique everything he does looks rushed and clumsey,even the couple of crosses he managed to dig out in the second half his first touch was so bad he was fighting to keep the ball in play.

 

Lallana is also starting to wind me up at least he has some talent unlike j rod,

But as soon as he gets into a position to do anything constructive its like he gets mental block, awfull first touch yesterday after brilliant play from osvaldo to put him in, in general though lallanas decision making is looking really poor.

 

Ive always thought ramirez looks a class act at times he looks world class,

Its so frustrating to see your best creative talent still on the bench, when the championship standard clowns jrod and lallana continue to make mistake after mistake

[DT]

Agree i have always been a fan of ramirez and against rodriguez.

Trouble with rodriguez is he has no first touch and no technique everything he does looks rushed and clumsey,even the couple of crosses he managed to dig out in the second half his first touch was so bad he was fighting to keep the ball in play.

 

Lallana is also starting to wind me up at least he has some talent unlike j rod,

But as soon as he gets into a position to do anything constructive its like he gets mental block, awfull first touch yesterday after brilliant play from osvaldo to put him in, in general though lallanas decision making is looking really poor.

 

Ive always thought ramirez looks a class act at times he looks world class,

Its so frustrating to see your best creative talent still on the bench, when the championship standard clowns jrod and lallana continue to make mistake after mistake

 

 

Agreed. He's very frustrating because his feet and brain have a disconnect. No composure. No position feels quite right for him. Why Ramirez didn't come on yesterday is a total mystery.

[Rasiak-9-]

The major problem as I've said on here before (and this may come down to the manager's poor English) is that none of our attacking players seem to have a designated role to play as part of an overall attacking game plan. All four of our attacking players were just thrown forward in some sort of a mish-mash with no real shape yesterday and we seemed to get the least out of all four of them even though I don't think any were particularly terrible as individuals.

 

Rodriguez in particular never seems to know whether or not he's expected to cut inside and go for the one-two, snap a shot off, or take his opponent on and try and get to the byeline. Thats why we had no real width, couldn't work a shooting opportunity, passes were delayed etc.etc.

 

I think changes need to be made to our set up because there is absolutely no way that our pseudo 4-2-4 can possibly work. Time and again (and we had the same thing vs Sunderland) the midfield and defence drift further and further away from each other, we have no width from the full-backs because they have no one to cover them, we never get hold of the ball, players up front get the ball out of position and don't have chances etc.etc.) The whole thing needs to change, starting with bringing Ramirez in and frankly building from there.

[Mr Saints]

He's looking like the player we saw in the first half of last season rather than the second. Thought he had turned a corner when Poch came in but unfortunately it hasn't carried over to this season.

[pimpin4rizeal]

When you look at how our players are delivering what is expected from them,

Jay rod all lallana are definately the weak links, the defence is doing a job, the defensive mf pairing of schneiderlin and wanyama are doing there job of protecting the back 4, the 2 strikers lambert and osvaldo are both quality but both need service.

This is where we are struggling the creative side of the game to make the chances for lambert and osvaldo ,playing both of these 2 up front together is like having one less man to do the creating leaving it down to the inconsistent lallana and rodriguez,

Maybe ramirez and ward prouse can do a job? But this is the problem area everything else looks good.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

Blimey Jeff, you do love an outlandish OP.

 

He had an off day yesterday, but he really wasn't that bad - not even our worse player yesterday. For the first couple of months after MP's appointment he was one of our best players.

 

As others have said I think there is a decent player in there too.

 

That said, I would also like to see Gaston get some game time, preferably with Osvaldo - and dare I say it, instead of Rickie. I know it is almost a sacrilegious statement, and he will probably just go on to prove me wrong (half the point to some extent) but he has been poor for a while really. I'm also intrigued to see how Gaston and Osvaldo would link up. A front 4 of Jay, Gaston, Lallana & Osvaldo is potential a lot more mobile and fluid.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

When you look at how our players are delivering what is expected from them,

Jay rod all lallana are definately the weak links, the defence is doing a job, the defensive mf pairing of schneiderlin and wanyama are doing there job of protecting the back 4, the 2 strikers lambert and osvaldo are both quality but both need service.

This is where we are struggling the creative side of the game to make the chances for lambert and osvaldo ,playing both of these 2 up front together is like having one less man to do the creating leaving it down to the inconsistent lallana and rodriguez,

Maybe ramirez and ward prouse can do a job? But this is the problem area everything else looks good.

 

Did you watch the game yesterday?

 

We created several clear cut chances - the clearest of which (Osvaldo's), I'm pretty sure J-Rod created.

[pimpin4rizeal]

Did you watch the game yesterday?

 

We created several clear cut chances - the clearest of which (Osvaldo's), I'm pretty sure J-Rod created.

 

Yes he put in a good ball for osvaldo.. But how many other chances did osvaldo get ? We have a 15m striker in osvaldo is one chance a game acceptable for him? If not who do you point the finger at?

[The9]

I think Rodriguez is an excellent player on the run, who occasionally knocks the ball a little too far when running at players.

 

I'm always surprised how much people back off him when he dribbles, but they do, and it seems to work.

 

He's not, yet, a back to goal player, and because his strength is going at people, the last thing he wants is a first touch that stops the ball dead and gives the defender a stationary target to defend against. He also gives us something different which is important if our policy of rotating attacking positions is to work - because there's no point in doing that if all our players play the same way anyway.

 

Wasn't his best game yesterday, but he's certainly as worth a place at the moment as Lallana, Lambert or Ramirez are based on this season's performances.

[Wurzel]

I'm surprised how much stick he's getting on here tbh. Didn't think he was that bad yesterday - not any worse than he has been for the last 12 months.

 

Fact is he is one of our only attacking players with a bit of pace so he needs to play to give us an outlet. Also he closes down a lot better than any of our other players.

 

Pace counts for nothing if you're not running in the right direction. Over 90 minutes a quick brain will always come out on top over quick legs. Felt JayRod was the weak link yesterday. Ramirez (assuming he's fully fit) and Osvaldo spotting each other's runs for 90 minutes would have wiped the floor with West Ham's dinosaur age defending.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

Yes he put in a good ball for osvaldo.. But how many other chances did osvaldo get ? We have a 15m striker in osvaldo is one chance a game acceptable for him? If not who do you point the finger at?

 

I know it's frustrating, but we have played 4 teams that have pretty much parked the bus so far.

 

It will be interesting once we play a few teams that open up a bit and actually look to play football a bit.

 

At least we aren't paper thin at the back now.

 

As someone (I forget who) pointed out on another thread, the league in general seems to be a bit dull this season. Few chances and even fewer goals. You can tell Jose is back, everyone just seems to be setting up to not lose. Hopefully things will open up as the season progresses.

 

It's still early days, but I would much rather we were tighter at the back, creating a few chances that haven't been put away. It's a decent enough platform to build upon as the season goes on.

 

J-Rod is a decent enough player, and once we get going, I feel confident he will too. I'm guessing MP feels this too, as he must be one of the most permanent fixtures of "the 3" since he took over.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

Double-post.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

I know it's frustrating, but we have played 4 teams that have pretty much parked the bus so far.t.

 

I don't wish to be picky but that was evident throughout last season and it seems the same this season as well. Nothing we've done has improved the way we deal with that?

[KelvinsRightGlove]

I don't wish to be picky but that was evident throughout last season and it seems the same this season as well. Nothing has really changed?

 

That is exactly what you are doing!

 

It's a fair enough point, but certainly in our 2 home games, both opposing teams have literally set up camp outside their own area and been happy to risk absolutely nothing. What has changed is that we look a lot less vulnerable to the counter attack which we were punished by so frequently last season.

 

Yeah, we have only scored 2, but we have also only conceded 2 as well. Which is, in my opinion, some progress at least. As I said above, it at least gives us a solid platform to build upon, if we are keeping it tight at the back, we are at least a lot more likely to be in matches, and only need an odd goal to win.

 

Funny how quickly things change, we spent the majority of last season bemoaning our in ability to keep it tight, whilst we were pretty decent at scoring.

[Saint Garrett]

Pace counts for nothing if you're not running in the right direction. Over 90 minutes a quick brain will always come out on top over quick legs. Felt JayRod was the weak link yesterday. Ramirez (assuming he's fully fit) and Osvaldo spotting each other's runs for 90 minutes would have wiped the floor with West Ham's dinosaur age defending.

 

It's not like he's De Ridder and just runs and has zero footballing ability....J-Rod is a good little player. Yes he's not up there with Ramirez in footballing ability but he's clearly got decent amount of talent, but also has a bit of pace about him. I like him and feel we dont get in behind enough when he's not there.

[Crowds]

He's a good player being played out of position IMO, we needed a creative player instead of synod yesterday SOS to a mr Ramirez....

[Crowds]

*Jayrod

[ART]

Can't people get it into their thick skulls that our players are playing to Pochettino's orders. If they don't he doesn't select them. Rodriguez played okay yesterday but like so many others in the team he's not playing his natural game and doing what he knows best. How can he or Ricky score when they are pushed out of prime goal scoring positions so Osvaldo is in prime position.

[Dig Dig]

That is exactly what you are doing!

 

It's a fair enough point, but certainly in our 2 home games, both opposing teams have literally set up camp outside their own area and been happy to risk absolutely nothing. What has changed is that we look a lot less vulnerable to the counter attack which we were punished by so frequently last season.

 

Yeah, we have only scored 2, but we have also only conceded 2 as well. Which is, in my opinion, some progress at least. As I said above, it at least gives us a solid platform to build upon, if we are keeping it tight at the back, we are at least a lot more likely to be in matches, and only need an odd goal to win.

 

Funny how quickly things change, we spent the majority of last season bemoaning our in ability to keep it tight, whilst we were pretty decent at scoring.

 

People were saying last season that they wished we would just focus on keeping the game tight and nicking a winner, claiming that our cavalier approach was naive and would see us lose more often than not at this level and get us relegated.

 

1 year on and we are doing exactly what people were asking and they still complain.

 

Typical mongery from SWF.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

People were saying last season that they wished we would just focus on keeping the game tight and nicking a winner, claiming that our cavalier approach was naive and would see us lose more often than not at this level and get us relegated.

 

1 year on and we are doing exactly what people were asking and they still complain.

 

Typical mongery from SWF.

 

Shocker

[david in sweden]

Yes he put in a good ball for osvaldo.. But how many other chances did osvaldo get ? We have a 15m striker in osvaldo is one chance a game acceptable for him? If not who do you point the finger at?

 

mind you MLT reckoned that a £15 million player shouldn't have shot straight at the keeper in that situation, but then again... what does he know ?

[The9]

People were saying last season that they wished we would just focus on keeping the game tight and nicking a winner, claiming that our cavalier approach was naive and would see us lose more often than not at this level and get us relegated.

 

1 year on and we are doing exactly what people were asking and they still complain.

 

Typical mongery from SWF.

 

I don't remember anyone saying that. I remember a lot of people saying we were terrible at defending and we needed to improve it, and we were, and we had.

 

We've done that, but we have overcompensated - but as much as not committing players forward, the problem is about the lack of movement and slowness in getting the ball into attacking areas so we're not facing organised defences.

 

It's perfectly possible to be solid defensively and get the ball moving quickly when going forward in order to make it difficult for the opposition.

[Jack]

Funny how quickly people forget. Don't you remember the second half of last season when he was tearing it up and everyone was backing him to be a future England star?

 

He's in poor form, but is relatively inexperienced at this level and he's a talented player with potential.

[The9]

Can't people get it into their thick skulls that our players are playing to Pochettino's orders. If they don't he doesn't select them. Rodriguez played okay yesterday but like so many others in the team he's not playing his natural game and doing what he knows best. How can he or Rickie score when they are pushed out of prime goal scoring positions so Osvaldo is in prime position.

 

Rodriguez scored 9 goals and Lambert 15 doing exactly the same last season, the only difference was that Puncheon was doing what Osvaldo is now.

[Sour Mash]

Funny how quickly people forget. Don't you remember the second half of last season when he was tearing it up and everyone was backing him to be a future England star?

BUt plenty didn't back him for England. And it wasn't the whole of last season, but a period of 7 or 8 games. For me, his touch, vision and finishing aren't good enough, but we feel the need to include him as he's our only player that can run at the opposition with the ball and is very good at working hard to close down the opposition.

[shurlock]

At no point it seems will anyone consider the concept of form on here. Not sure there's a player here in the last few years who hasn't been labelled 'not good enough', or bizarrely not a standard of the league they currently play in.

 

???

 

When poor or mediocre games exceed your good games, is that still form? Jrod has had many more poor games for us than good games. Perhaps you need to consider the concept of a 'blip' or 'reversion to the mean'.

 

To be fair, Jrod does offer us something we don't have but that probably says more about the lack of depth/balance in the squad.

[Saint Charlie]

With a better finish from Osvaldo and without a worldie save from JJ, he could easily have had two assists yesterday.

 

Control was poor but it was also extremely wet. Having been to Norwich and seen how slow and pedestrian we are without him, I think he is worth a starting place.

 

His best spell last year was around the Liverpool, Chelsea, Reading period where he was our best player and troubled a couple of excellent defences with his direct running. Agree he is a purple patch player, but he won't find one sitting on the bench.

[Unbelievable Jeff]

At no point it seems will anyone consider the concept of form on here. Not sure there's a player here in the last few years who hasn't been labelled 'not good enough', or bizarrely not a standard of the league they currently play in.

 

Post 1: "...so give him a few weeks to pick his game up again and then put him back in when it seems he can have a positive impact on the game."

 

Post 4: "He's an alright player at best, but he's frightfully off form at the moment."

 

...and that's just to start with.

 

So since when will no-one consider form? Did you actually read the thread or just guess what people wrote?

[Saint-Beer]

Do we ever get any intelligent posts on here these days??

Ok, Jay had a poor game yesterday but the amount if people coming on here saying this like, "Lallana and j-rod are weak links" is a joke. Lallana is an extremely gifted player who is the only on with the ability to beat a man. His final ball is getting much better and all good chances come through him. The one on one mis control is so rare from him, people are being unfair. As for Jay, he is a young player learning the league and should last year what a talent he is. Did people get on his back then ?! Support the English talent in our team and stop this nonsense of getting on there backs !!

[david in sweden]

Jay Rod is very much a "confidence "player. I think he needs encouragement, but it's obvious that he wasn't going to walk into Lambert's boots when he came, and was played out of position....and then dropped (by NA).

 

When the new broom arrived (MP) I think we saw a new side to Jay Rod's game and whatever anyone says a few of those goals were really well-taken and not just "tap-ins ". With the arrival of Osvaldo...he now must see himself even further down the list than before.

 

I hope that MP is smart enough to keep encouraging him, and we may see a good player emerging...but at present he's no better or worse than anyone else in the side ...who hasn't scored a goal yet.

[david in sweden]

Do we ever get any intelligent posts on here these days??

Ok, Jay had a poor game yesterday but the amount if people coming on here saying this like, "Lallana and j-rod are weak links" is a joke. Lallana is an extremely gifted player who is the only on with the ability to beat a man. His final ball is getting much better and all good chances come through him. The one on one mis control is so rare from him, people are being unfair. As for Jay, he is a young player learning the league and should last year what a talent he is. Did people get on his back then ?! Support the English talent in our team and stop this nonsense of getting on there backs !!

 

 

well said that man.

Anyone criticising Jay Rod so quickly should look back on the first two/three seasons of a player we signed around 15 years ago...by the name of James Beattie.

[ART]

Rodriguez scored 9 goals and Lambert 15 doing exactly the same last season, the only difference was that Puncheon was doing what Osvaldo is now.

 

I can never recall Puncheon playing up in front of Ricky and Rodriguez. I seem to recall he mostly played out on the right wing with a great collaboration with Clyne , that with speed he either went round players on the line or managed successfully to win corners. Alternatively, he's moved inwards across the pitch passing players and often trying to score or losing the ball.

Edited 16 September, 2013 by ART
Spelling correction

[johnnyboy]

Interesting read here

 

http://squawka.com/news/2013/09/16/southampton-0-0-west-ham/2013091621346

[LostBoys]

He was awful - very disappointing

[KelvinsRightGlove]

Interesting read here

 

http://squawka.com/news/2013/09/16/southampton-0-0-west-ham/2013091621346

 

 

Haha, he is so useless. Doesn't do anything.

 

[rshephard3]

He's consistently better than Ramirez. Saints fans so badly want to have a love in with a multi million pound South American but the fact is that he's been dog useless since coming to the Prem. Rodriguez didn't have his best game yesterday but the whole team would have looked much higher on confidence if his excellent pull back had been converted by our new superstar. He is working hard and just needs something to go his way. On endeavour alone I'd rather see him start than Ramirez. We're not good enough to afford a number 10 that doesn't break sweat and loses the ball more often than he retains it.

[Andre]

OP, p!ss off you troll. Rodriguez is obviously class.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

He's consistently better than Ramirez. Saints fans so badly want to have a love in with a multi million pound South American but the fact is that he's been dog useless since coming to the Prem. Rodriguez didn't have his best game yesterday but the whole team would have looked much higher on confidence if his excellent pull back had been converted by our new superstar. He is working hard and just needs something to go his way. On endeavour alone I'd rather see him start than Ramirez. We're not good enough to afford a number 10 that doesn't break sweat and loses the ball more often than he retains it.

 

Would you rather have had puncheon than gaston?

[rshephard3]

Would you rather have had puncheon than gaston?

 

In honesty, Puncheon was frustrating in his inconsistency but on his game could cause good defences problems. I'd probably be indifferent between those two. I think we need to hold onto Rodriguez. I like his very unenglish traits of taking players on, having the balls to try a trick and always looking for a forward pass. To be fair on Ramirez the same could be said of him, he just makes it clear he doesn't gave a damn if he loses the ball and considers it someone elses problem to win the thing back.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

In honesty, Puncheon was frustrating in his inconsistency but on his game could cause good defences problems. I'd probably be indifferent between those two. I think we need to hold onto Rodriguez. I like his very unenglish traits of taking players on, having the balls to try a trick and always looking for a forward pass. To be fair on Ramirez the same could be said of him, he just makes it clear he doesn't gave a damn if he loses the ball and considers it someone elses problem to win the thing back.

 

Interesting post. Against the grain on here, and not what I expected if I am honest. I do agree JP, like Gaston, was frustrating.

 

I disagree on Gaston, there have been times when his effort and desire have been clear to see - Villa & Arsenal at home and Fulham away last year he was involved in everything. I think he suffers from the price tag, which wasn't his fault and the fact he is South American. Just because he doesn't run around like a headless chicken he is useless.

 

That's not to say he isn't faultless, or ever has a bad game. I just personally think the stick he gets is way over the top.

 

Also, on his day, Gaston is equally (I'd be more inclined to say more so) of terrorising top defences, he played v well in some of ours wins against some of the big boys last year, Liverpool particularly.

 

I really though the game was crying out for Gaston yesterday.

[Pastor Patrón]

He's rubbish at this level, he wasn't even outstanding in the Championship.

[Whitey Grandad]

 

I really though the game was crying out for Gaston yesterday.

 

Me too.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

he was rubbish yesterday, but i do think there is a good player in there. He's very much a cofidence player and like last season needs a goal or two to get him going.

 

 

this