aussiesaint20 Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 SOUTHAMPTON CAN'T FINISH IN THE TOP 4! Often heard around various watering holes. We're here to throw some sexy stats at those folk: Our record with our strongest back 5 this season (Boruc, Clyne, Fonte, Lovren and Shaw) was: P15 W8 D5 L2. That equates to a top 4 finish in 13 of the last 15 Premier League seasons. Top 3 finish in 5 of the last 15 and 2nd in 3 of the last 15. Our home record with those five is even more impressive: P7 W5 D2 L0 Scored 14 Conceded 4. We were also #1 for possession in the Premier League this season. #2 in the table including only England goals and #18 worldwide for World Cup reps in Brazil. From all of the above, we'd say that the European dream isn't impossible. It's entirely possible. Some quality depth to cover for injury and we're right in the mix. So f**k the rumours and keep that half-full glass close by. The Saints are coming.
Smirking_Saint Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Thats all well and good if; A. It doesnt go to pot when your prefered choices are injured. B. We can consistantly stick the ball in the back of the net (we cant) C. We manage to hold on to our best players So, if we manage that ? And sign able deputants or invest in more 1st team quality (effectively doing the same thing) then maybe just maybe we will become more of a nuissance to the top 6 but make no mistake that takes a big financial clout that I fear we dont have.
Olallana Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 There´s a big difference in the outlook from an Austrian fan and an Aussie fan..
aussiesaint20 Posted 19 May, 2014 Author Posted 19 May, 2014 Thats all well and good if; A. It doesnt go to pot when your prefered choices are injured. B. We can consistantly stick the ball in the back of the net (we cant) C. We manage to hold on to our best players So, if we manage that ? And sign able deputants or invest in more 1st team quality (effectively doing the same thing) then maybe just maybe we will become more of a nuissance to the top 6 but make no mistake that takes a big financial clout that I fear we dont have. A: We briefly mentioned. We're not living in fantasy land and hoping that those 5 play all 38 games this season, no hope. Just that we need reasonable back up in a few positions. That wouldn't cost the world. It certainly would cost less than losing our stars, our team spirit and getting relegated..We're an optimistic bunch down under. B: That was factored in. Although Jay Rod's injury and Osvaldo being a c**t doesn't help things. 4 of those 8 wins were 1-0. Good enough for me. C: The idea here. Rather than sell the farm, keep them together and aim for the stars. They're all under contract as far as I'm aware.
benjii Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Interesting stats and backs up my personal opinion which is that our First XI is Champions League quality already. The problem, as is obvious, is that we simply don't have the depth at GK, striker and centre back ( and arguably attacking mid) to maintain that form over a season.
Saint in Paradise Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 One tiny snag is that the season is a lot longer than just 15 matches.
trousers Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Interesting stats and backs up my personal opinion which is that our First XI is Champions League quality already. The problem, as is obvious, is that we simply don't have the depth at GK, striker and centre back ( and arguably attacking mid) to maintain that form over a season. Pretty much this. And the catch 22 is that it's nigh on impossible to attract "champions league quality" players to sit on the bench at a club like Southampton.
sammysaint Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Back up GK LB CB Winger and maybe CF if we can offload Osvaldo, and we can finish top 6, each postion would cost 5-6 mill max, some would even be frees or loans. This season i am a firm believer we would of beaten Cardiff if Jay Rod was fit and Villa away, as we lacked his pace and power, add them extra 5 points on and were going into the UTD game knowing a win takes us above them, there is very little we need to add, to ensure another top 8 finish and maybe sneak a 6th place finish with luck on the injury front.
aussiesaint20 Posted 19 May, 2014 Author Posted 19 May, 2014 Anyone brave enough to do the stats for games where at least 2 of those 5 weren't playing?
charliemiller Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Its worth doing the Stats only for matches when Victor Wanayama played , seems when he plays we have a much more solid defence .
CB Fry Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 It's perfectly possible if the club is prepared to spend 80 - 100m on transfers and wages to give us enough squad depth to challenge for those extra 20 points we need. All your stats show is we finished where we deserve to finish. Good, but nowhere near good enough.
trousers Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 (edited) Anyone brave enough to do the stats for games where at least 2 of those 5 weren't playing? Alas, the chap that used to provide those kind of stats on a regular basis has been banned.... Edited 19 May, 2014 by trousers
aussiesaint20 Posted 19 May, 2014 Author Posted 19 May, 2014 It's perfectly possible if the club is prepared to spend 80 - 100m on transfers and wages to give us enough squad depth to challenge for those extra 20 points we need. All your stats show is we finished where we deserve to finish. Good, but nowhere near good enough. Doesn't it indicate that our results dropped away so sharply because we didn't have the depth in defence? Meaning that if similar quality was available in reserve (entirely possible) the total would've more than likely been much higher. It's a hypothetical, but surely holds some weight.
Baldbarbarian Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Its worth doing the Stats only for matches when Victor Wanayama played , seems when he plays we have a much more solid defence . Absolutely, I think Victor is key to us keeping clean sheets & being all the more solid.
alpine_saint Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 There´s a big difference in the outlook from an Austrian fan and an Aussie fan.. Well, thats a load of b*ll*cks. I've said all along we lack depth and agree with everyone else about our weak positions.
Super_Saint Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Anyone brave enough to do the stats for games where at least 2 of those 5 weren't playing? P16 W3 D5 L8 From the games below results were respectable when both Yoshida and Chambers played together: W3 D1 L1 (Omitting the two draws highlighted with an asterisk) So if we exclude those games that leaves us with: W0 D2 L7 (Omitting the two draws highlighted with an asterisk) Norwich 1-0 Southampton: Boruc, Lovren, Fonte, Fox, Chambers Arsenal 2-0 Southampton: Boruc, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw (Davis – 45’,) Hooiveld Southampton 1-1 Man City: Gazzaniga, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers Newcastle 1-1 Southampton: Gazzaniga, Lovren, Hooiveld, Shaw, Chambers Southampton 2-3 Spurs: Gazzaniga, Lovren, Hooiveld, Fox (Gallagher – 78’) , Chambers Cardiff 0-3 Southampton: Gazzaniga, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers Everton 2–1 Southampton: Davis, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers Southampton 0–3 Chelsea: Davis, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw (Clyne – ’45) Chambers Sunderland 2-2 Southampton: Boruc, Lovren (Yoshida – 88’) Fonte, Shaw, Chambers *Goals conceded with 4/5 defenders Southampton 2-2 Arsenal: Boruc, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers Fulham 0-3 Southampton: Boruc, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers (Clyne – 58’) Southampton 2-2 Stoke: Boruc, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Clyne (Chambers – 80’) *Goals conceded with 4/5 defenders Hull 0-1 Southampton: Boruc, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers West Ham 3-1 Southampton: Boruc, Yoshida, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers Man City 4-1 Southampton: Gazzaniga, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers Southampton 0-1 Cardiff: Gazzaniga, Lovren, Fonte, Shaw, Chambers (Clyne – 67’) We also lost 3-2 to Villa when Yoshida was pushed to left back Southampton 2-3 Aston Villa: Boruc, Lovren, Yoshida, Clyne (Fonte – 59’)
Olallana Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Without looking I´m pretty sure Lovren was out of the Arsenal away game...
shurlock Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Without looking I´m pretty sure Lovren was out of the Arsenal away game... Yep- fell ill the night before the game.
Olallana Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Yep- fell ill the night before the game. Remember I was thinking that with Big Vic protecting the back four even Hooiveld looked decent in that game...
Super_Saint Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Without looking I´m pretty sure Lovren was out of the Arsenal away game... Oops, you're right, I have three center-back in there lol. I must have slipped him in by accident.
Olallana Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Oops, you're right, I have three center-back in there lol. I must have slipped him in by accident. No probs, great summary.
shurlock Posted 19 May, 2014 Posted 19 May, 2014 Remember I was thinking that with Big Vic protecting the back four even Hooiveld looked decent in that game... Yep, he had a torrid opening 10 mins - they hit the bar, coming in off our left and had another very good chance down the same side; but he calmed down immeasurably after that.
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