Post-Match Reaction: Leicester City 2-0 SAINTS

[Lord Duckhunter]

I don't get the impression Koeman is relaxed with the players. I think he's probably pretty formidable.

 

That wasn't the performance of a group of players worried about letting the manager down.

[monosaint]

Well I did Stoke and Sunderland but couldn't face Leicester, good decision just wish I'd lumped on Leicester. I've seen this coming for weeks and here is why. It was only a few weeks ago that this team faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and played like genuine champion league contenders. Brilliant game and we all left pumped up and proud. Since then the deterioration has been rapid.

 

Losing Forster was a fatal blow and exposed Saint's critically low squad depth. We all knew it straight away but just hoped that Davis or Gazza would step up... they didn't

 

Secondly key players have been injured or suspended, the team has lost its cohesion and that telepathic passing born of familiarity has been lost. Once again squad depth has cost us here, nobody wanted Cork to go but he had Morgan Vic, Davis, JWP in front of him and he was never going to be bench warmer.

 

Thirdly teams have worked us out and we don't have the skill or guile to change. Stop our fullbacks overlapping, press our midfield and you cut off the supply line to the forwards.

 

We have no creativity Tadic and JWP are our the best we have and neither have really got going. Without Lallana the team is pedestrian and wastes procession.

 

Trevor Francis (who I rate) was the expert on my dodgy stream and he observed that Barcelona had 45% procession against Bayern but made it count and won easily. They also had Messi Trevor but the point remains valid. Teams give us possession knowing we'll do little with it, all they have to do is defend in numbers when we play tippy tap around the area and eventually the ball will be tamely given away. Nobody is going to run at them.

 

Fourthly we have no regular goal scorers, correction we do but Koeman won't play them. I like Pelle he is a great centre forward who terrorises defences but on his own he is easily marked by two players. Unlike Lambert he simply doesn't have the mobility or skill to collect the ball deeper and distribute quickly. What he needs is a young hungry striker on the bench who is itching to come on and show him how to do it. Gallagher and Seager would put him under pressure and perhaps give a bit of impetus to our play at the end of the game. Mane and Long are interchangeable but not complimentary, I'm surprised Koeman hasn't seen this. On reflection the loss of Lambo has been significant.

 

Koeman has played at the highest level and I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for what he has achieved this year. We could be staring down the barrel of relegation if it wasn't for the professional way our players made such a good start.

 

Finally the Spurs game was the watershed, that was the players opportunity to leapfrog a similarly exhausted team. Both teams went toe to toe and I thought it was the best game of the season. No quarter given or asked and by the end they were on their knees. For both teams the result meant they were chasing a Europa place rather than Champions league and I suspect both sets of players were mentally exhausted.

 

I just wish Koeman would trust us enough to play the youngsters more often, sure we would be beaten more easily on occasion but you've only got to look at the performance of Reed today to see that they wouldn't let us down.. I would have cheerfully accepted 9th or 10th if it meant seeing some rising stars rather than journeymen players like Elia. However I suspect Ron knows better than me that he also has to make sure that we don't have a West Ham or Newcastle style dip whilst the squad lacks the security to cope.

 

I suggest we all relax and just enjoy the final two games, wear you're flip flops and just think of what might have been and what is to come.

 

Next year we'll have a decent 2nd keeper of that you can be sure, JRod will be back and our attack of Pelle, Mane, Long, Seager, Gallagher and JRod will have a lot more pace and guile to unlock premiership defences. It may need another player but we can't block promising youngsters. That is the Southampton way so best accept it.

 

In midfield there will be incoming quality to supplement Vic, Reed, JWP, Tadic and Davis (who needs a rest). I'm assuming that Morgan will be gone and the loanees will return from whence they came. This will be where the club spends some money although Hesketh may start to make an impact if he grows a bit. We still have Ramirez on the books so he may feature... yeah right.

 

The defence of Fonte, Gardos, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertram Tragett, and Clyne (or replacement) should be sufficient with a decent goalkeeper behind them, although I could see Gardos being shipped out and a replacement for Toby brought in. I wish the main man would stay but sadly that looks unlikely.

 

That isn't a Champions league team next year but it might just be the year after with some experience under their belts.

 

Lots to look forward to

 

Well thought through and sensible analysis of where we are. I agree that FF injury seems to have tied in with our poor run. I also watched the game online and convinced that Clyne has his mind elsewhere. My guess is that his comments last week were only used to bump up the fee which is good. £18 million buys us 2 good players to replace him.

Let's see.

[Patrick Bateman]

We were crap yesterday, but booing the players is utterly ridiculous, especially after this season we've had.

 

Agreed, that was well over the top!

[bertie]

I thought their home atmosphere was best I've heard this year, although one Leicester fan I spoke to said it hadn't been like that all season. Their chant of: "You've only got one song" was cutting if not quite true. Thought Reed was outstanding.

[ART]

Correct me if I'm wrong. I have not seen at anytime the owner, chairman or Les Reed make an offer to the players of a decent bonus if we'd qualified for the Champions League.

Football players are no different to anyone. They need financial incentives to go the extra mile.

[S-Clarke]

Correct me if I'm wrong. I have not seen at anytime the owner, chairman or Les Reed make an offer to the players of a decent bonus if we'd qualified for the Champions League.

Football players are no different to anyone. They need financial incentives to go the extra mile.

 

If they had, do you think it would be made public? No. HTH.

[sandwichsaint]

I thought their home atmosphere was best I've heard this year, although one Leicester fan I spoke to said it hadn't been like that all season. Their chant of: "You've only got one song" was cutting if not quite true. Thought Reed was outstanding.

 

Yeah, pretty s5hit day out really, total no-show by us on the pitch and we were completely owned by the Leicester fans off the pitch. I get it that there's not much to play for and we've had a really good season but the King Power was not a good place to be for a Saints fan yesterday. Team lacked any sort of shape and discipline and it was like time-travelling back to a time when we always used to be pretty gutless away from home. I'm not one to moan about our support and all that but this was my first away league game this season (I did the league cup games) and it wasn't what I was expecting at all. I've always rated our away support as pretty good but it was pathetic yesterday. Some of the people round me made more noise and appreciation at the end of the game than they did for the whole 90 minutes. Did people really clap the team off yesterday? Probably 50% did but there was plenty who told them what they thought of them too, I was firmly in the what-they-thought-of-them camp!

 

And someone sort Mane's diving out - it's getting beyond embarrassing now.

[LostBoys]

There were several dreadful performances with Davis absolutely dire.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

So it looks like its us vs spurs for the 'who doesnt want to be in the europa league' playoff

 

If you aren't challenging for CL or fighting relegation the Europa is ruining the last third of the season. No one seems to want to enter that competition.

Time for clubs to say the competition should be dropped or changed significantly.

[ART]

If they had, do you think it would be made public? No. HTH.

Often clubs publish offers of bonuses to win something or avoid relegation. A public proclamation would have worked wonders.

One certainty is that Koeman would have had a huge bonus attached to his contract.

[Matthew Le God]

Often clubs publish offers of bonuses to win something or avoid relegation.

 

Bonuses are common place in football player's contracts, but can you provide any link to a public announcement of such bonuses any other club has made? Are there really enough examples to describe it as "often"?

 

A public proclamation would have worked wonders.

 

Why would making it public make any difference?

Edited 10 May, 2015 by Matthew Le God

[sandwichsaint]

I don't get the impression Koeman is relaxed with the players. I think he's probably pretty formidable.

 

Here's a tiny little and quite superficial insight and I put it out there without any spin just as I saw it. Me and the missus stayed up at Leicester on Friday night, decent hotel on the outskirts, we rocked up at 8-00 and I jokingly said to Mrs Sandwich is the team bus here yet? She said, what, do Saints stay here, i said i don't know but it's the sort of place they would. Didn't think any more of it and we were sat down in the lobby/lounge area at about 9-25 when lo and behold I look up to see RK and group of players heading across the lobby. Players and entourage enter (we must travel with a total complement of 40-plus people including players and staff) plus assorted kit and medical bits and pieces. Slightly surprised to see Les Reed was at the centre of it all, no particular reason he wouldn't be but i was surprised to see him so hands-on with the team, does he travel to all the games?

 

Hotel was virtually empty, couple of families at the door with kids and the players very relaxed and signed autographs and did pics etc. Players very polite, very relaxed, and super proffessional in the public areas. They had all the first floor booked out and using the business suites for team meetings and physio etc and ate upstairs, the staff ate downstairs with the general public. Saturday the staff were up and about pretty early, players appeared from 09-00 and ate upstairs. At this stage I got chatting to someone with the team about the routine for the day, just generally interested in their eating and prep etc. I asked him if they were late last night (9-30 ish). They said not particularly late but it did make it tight for physio etc and an early night, the players had trained at Staplewood on Fri, evening meal there, then flown (to East Mids presumably?) and then coach transfer. I asked him the arrangements for the morning and he said the players would come out for a walk after breakfast at about 10-00 and would walk around the car park and the local area (a bunch of out-of-town trading estates) for about 20 minutes just to relax, get some fresh air and help digest their breakfast. Players came out bang on cue, it was a blowy morning and they walked once round the block and were back inside within 5 or 6 minutes. Players then either went to their rooms or sat in the public area reading papers and magazines. I did get a chance to speak to Harrison Read and asked him if he was playing, he said he wouldn't know until the team meeting at 12-30, and we small talked across the foyer area. So that's it really, a tiny snap shot of the life of a pro footballer so my conclusions on the public face of SFC (?)

 

Saints players really are a credit to the club

The whole team (players and staff) are very relaxed and there appears a real positive buzz about them

In fact the atmosphere is so laid back they are almost horizontal

The players clearly want for nothing, everything about the set-up is PL and very professional

Players may have some autonomy, clearly somebody made the decision they would only go out for 5 mins rather than 20.

Footballers are very young and very lean when you see them up close in their training kit!

 

I'm sure if we had won 2-0 yesterday I would be posting up brilliant, superb preparation; when I was walking out of the King Power yesterday I was cursing the whole set-up and wishing that they had slept in tents and had tripe and onions for tea!

[GarrettIvo]

Least it keeps Sunderland in the drop mix. So very much want them to go down.

[ART]

Bonuses are common place in football player's contracts, but can you provide any link to a public announcement of such bonuses any other club has made? Are there really enough examples to describe it as "often"?

Why would making it public make any difference?

 

I speak of a bonus to the team, not individual players. Yes, it would have made a difference in improving team effort/team spirit, in knowing as a team they would be rewarded.

[S-Clarke]

What a mess Redkrapp left QPR in - but after they are relegated today, it will be all about Ramsey and how he couldn't keep them up. They're probably heading into oblivion right now (they league may not let them in it next year, due to their failed FFP), and it'll be another club that obliterated thanks to Redkrapps doing.

[Matthew Le God]

I speak of a bonus to the team, not individual players. Yes, it would have made a difference in improving team effort/team spirit, in knowing as a team they would be rewarded.

 

What do you mean? Pretty much every club runs bonus schemes for performance in the league. Why does making it public make any difference? The players would still be aware of the possible rewards.

[Wiggles31]

Well I did Stoke and Sunderland but couldn't face Leicester, good decision just wish I'd lumped on Leicester. I've seen this coming for weeks and here is why. It was only a few weeks ago that this team faced Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and played like genuine champion league contenders. Brilliant game and we all left pumped up and proud. Since then the deterioration has been rapid.

 

Losing Forster was a fatal blow and exposed Saint's critically low squad depth. We all knew it straight away but just hoped that Davis or Gazza would step up... they didn't

 

Secondly key players have been injured or suspended, the team has lost its cohesion and that telepathic passing born of familiarity has been lost. Once again squad depth has cost us here, nobody wanted Cork to go but he had Morgan Vic, Davis, JWP in front of him and he was never going to be bench warmer.

 

Thirdly teams have worked us out and we don't have the skill or guile to change. Stop our fullbacks overlapping, press our midfield and you cut off the supply line to the forwards.

 

We have no creativity Tadic and JWP are our the best we have and neither have really got going. Without Lallana the team is pedestrian and wastes procession.

 

Trevor Francis (who I rate) was the expert on my dodgy stream and he observed that Barcelona had 45% procession against Bayern but made it count and won easily. They also had Messi Trevor but the point remains valid. Teams give us possession knowing we'll do little with it, all they have to do is defend in numbers when we play tippy tap around the area and eventually the ball will be tamely given away. Nobody is going to run at them.

 

Fourthly we have no regular goal scorers, correction we do but Koeman won't play them. I like Pelle he is a great centre forward who terrorises defences but on his own he is easily marked by two players. Unlike Lambert he simply doesn't have the mobility or skill to collect the ball deeper and distribute quickly. What he needs is a young hungry striker on the bench who is itching to come on and show him how to do it. Gallagher and Seager would put him under pressure and perhaps give a bit of impetus to our play at the end of the game. Mane and Long are interchangeable but not complimentary, I'm surprised Koeman hasn't seen this. On reflection the loss of Lambo has been significant.

 

Koeman has played at the highest level and I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for what he has achieved this year. We could be staring down the barrel of relegation if it wasn't for the professional way our players made such a good start.

 

Finally the Spurs game was the watershed, that was the players opportunity to leapfrog a similarly exhausted team. Both teams went toe to toe and I thought it was the best game of the season. No quarter given or asked and by the end they were on their knees. For both teams the result meant they were chasing a Europa place rather than Champions league and I suspect both sets of players were mentally exhausted.

 

I just wish Koeman would trust us enough to play the youngsters more often, sure we would be beaten more easily on occasion but you've only got to look at the performance of Reed today to see that they wouldn't let us down.. I would have cheerfully accepted 9th or 10th if it meant seeing some rising stars rather than journeymen players like Elia. However I suspect Ron knows better than me that he also has to make sure that we don't have a West Ham or Newcastle style dip whilst the squad lacks the security to cope.

 

I suggest we all relax and just enjoy the final two games, wear you're flip flops and just think of what might have been and what is to come.

 

Next year we'll have a decent 2nd keeper of that you can be sure, JRod will be back and our attack of Pelle, Mane, Long, Seager, Gallagher and JRod will have a lot more pace and guile to unlock premiership defences. It may need another player but we can't block promising youngsters. That is the Southampton way so best accept it.

 

In midfield there will be incoming quality to supplement Vic, Reed, JWP, Tadic and Davis (who needs a rest). I'm assuming that Morgan will be gone and the loanees will return from whence they came. This will be where the club spends some money although Hesketh may start to make an impact if he grows a bit. We still have Ramirez on the books so he may feature... yeah right.

 

The defence of Fonte, Gardos, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertram Tragett, and Clyne (or replacement) should be sufficient with a decent goalkeeper behind them, although I could see Gardos being shipped out and a replacement for Toby brought in. I wish the main man would stay but sadly that looks unlikely.

 

That isn't a Champions league team next year but it might just be the year after with some experience under their belts.

 

Lots to look forward to

 

Top post.

 

Totally agree with the comments about teams working us out. Our possession is good up to the final third where teams do cut the supply. This is why we need a true number 10 to play. I would like to see the Schneiderlin money (presuming he is sold) go towards this player. Reed is adequate cover and I sometimes question why we always need two CDMs playing.

[Lighthouse]

Top post.

 

Totally agree with the comments about teams working us out. Our possession is good up to the final third where teams do cut the supply. This is why we need a true number 10 to play. I would like to see the Schneiderlin money (presuming he is sold) go towards this player. Reed is adequate cover and I sometimes question why we always need two CDMs playing.

 

He has a role to play next season but I don't think he is ready to replace Morgan as first choice just yet. It'll only take a few poor performances and people will be slating him like they are JWP.

 

We need 2 CDM because that has been the basis of our brilliant defence, at least it was for the first 3/4 of the year. It's no wonder Lovren has struggled since his move to Liverpool with inferior players like Gerrard and Allen playing in front of him.

[Ohio Saint]

Thanks, Sandwichsaint. Your post was an interesting distraction, now I'm going to try an salvage what is left of this ******* weekend.

[Saints foreva]

We are just so easy to play against at the moment. All that possession and we done nothing with it, we didn't even have a clear chance.

 

People can moan about the atmosphere in the away end and it's true, it was very poor but the players weren't giving us anything to get excited about. Fair play to Leicester fans, they created a good atmosphere even if some of their chants were cringey.

 

I'm glad Deano got a good reception from our fans at the end.

[The Cat]

The blokes behind me were singing quite a bit, strangely a lot of it was about Adam Johnson being a peado.

 

Leicester fans made a lot of noise but those clacker things are totally tinpot.

[Patrick Bateman]

The blokes behind me were singing quite a bit, strangely a lot of it was about Adam Johnson being a peado.

 

Leicester fans made a lot of noise but those clacker things are totally tinpot.

 

They were in the row directly behind me and Turkish ... I thought it was weird.

[Batman]

one bit of light after the recent form. Liverpool are all but out of the champions league next season

[ART]

Why has no one had the guts to post that after last weeks defeat at Sunderland, Koeman once again hopped on the plane to Holland to fulfill a full schedule of appearances for the Dutch media. That he didn't return till mid week to prepare for yesterdays game obviously seems to have slipped the attention of those looking for answers to yesterday abysmal performance.

 

Wonder which side of the channel he is today to prepare for the Villa game? Who are the real management team preparing our lads?

[Coxford_lou]

Who are the real management team preparing our lads?

 

Mossad?

[Graffito]

All I got out of yesterday was a headache. Those clackers.

[VectisSaint]

Who are the real management team preparing our lads?

Maybe Erwin, Jan, Sammy and Dave.

You really seem to have a bit of a problem with Koeman, hate to think what he did to you to have made you so bitter and twisted. Perhaps he was actually doing some preparation for next season, God knows we need it with some of the under performing wastes of space we currently have.

[ART]

I fail to accept a manager who expects 100% from all those around him and doesn't give 100% to the club, the players or supporters He's entitled to family life, but even they pushed aside for his media onslaught.

From the start I warned what to expect from Koeman and he's lived pretty much up to what I said back last August. For a time I believed I was wrong and delighted how things were progressing, but he's fallen into what I expected from him, if not worse of late. His January signings or lack leave me very worried about what he will do if given money to spend.

Is Shane Long worth 12.9million, or Djuricic worth 10 million? Where Bertrand is concerned I am certain Poch's backroom team had him lined up should Shaw leave.

[S-Clarke]

I fail to accept a manager who expects 100% from all those around him and doesn't give 100% to the club, the players or supporters He's entitled to family life, but even they pushed aside for his media onslaught.

From the start I warned what to expect from Koeman and he's lived pretty much up to what I said back last August. For a time I believed I was wrong and delighted how things were progressing, but he's fallen into what I expected from him, if not worse of late. His January signings or lack leave me very worried about what he will do if given money to spend.

Is Shane Long worth 12.9million, or Djuricic worth 10 million? Where Bertrand is concerned I am certain Poch's backroom team had him lined up should Shaw leave.

 

Still, you've got no justification for your thoughts. You're not doing very well to dispel your mentalist reputation.

 

One line in particular in your waffle above stands out ''From the start I warned what to expect from Koeman and he's lived pretty much up to what I said back in August''. What did you say in August? ''Koeman will get us a higher finish than last year, with a higher points total. You have been warned''

 

Some people try to put across extreme views for reaction, but with you I genuinely believe it's what you think. You've always been a character on here but you are turning into a real lunatic with your outlandish views.

 

How are Morgan's fingers by the way?

[Lets B Avenue]

I fail to accept a manager who expects 100% from all those around him and doesn't give 100% to the club, the players or supporters He's entitled to family life, but even they pushed aside for his media onslaught.

From the start I warned what to expect from Koeman and he's lived pretty much up to what I said back last August. For a time I believed I was wrong and delighted how things were progressing, but he's fallen into what I expected from him, if not worse of late. His January signings or lack leave me very worried about what he will do if given money to spend.

Is Shane Long worth 12.9million, or Djuricic worth 10 million? Where Bertrand is concerned I am certain Poch's backroom team had him lined up should Shaw leave.

 

Don't forget to mention his part in Labour's performance in the Election and the missing Air Asia flight.

 

March Hare.

[Katalinic]

I fail to accept a manager who expects 100% from all those around him and doesn't give 100% to the club, the players or supporters He's entitled to family life, but even they pushed aside for his media onslaught.

From the start I warned what to expect from Koeman and he's lived pretty much up to what I said back last August. For a time I believed I was wrong and delighted how things were progressing, but he's fallen into what I expected from him, if not worse of late. His January signings or lack leave me very worried about what he will do if given money to spend.

Is Shane Long worth 12.9million, or Djuricic worth 10 million? Where Bertrand is concerned I am certain Poch's backroom team had him lined up should Shaw leave.

 

Complete nutter - your posts get more bizarre at weekends, so presumably Monday is medication day.

[Leicestersaint]

Abject performance - I actually felt quite angry about many of the players. They were like headless chickens and always second to the ball. We are seeing Koeman's limitations in terms of team selections and the ability to motivate the players.

[The Cat]

They were in the row directly behind me and Turkish ... I thought it was weird.

 

In that case you were 2 seats from me, I was next to Steve.

[Patrick Bateman]

In that case you were 2 seats from me, I was next to Steve.

 

Hah, I was stood next to Steve, nice to meet you

[adrian lord]

Mossad?

 

Priceless!

[ART]

Jack Cork's reason for leaving gives a hint why things aren't going so well of late for Saints. Can believe Keman's persistence with the likes of Pelle, Elia and Djuricic breeds similar feelings

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/576245/Jack-Cork-Not-Valued-Southampton-Hopes-Swansea-Get-Europa-League

[VectisSaint]

Jack Cork's reason for leaving gives a hint why things aren't going so well of late for Saints. Can believe Keman's persistence with the likes of Pelle, Elia and Djuricic breeds similar feelings

 

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/576245/Jack-Cork-Not-Valued-Southampton-Hopes-Swansea-Get-Europa-League

Sure, he must have got really ****ed off with Koeman persisting with Djuricic, who arrived 3 days after Jack left, and with Elia who had been around, ooh all of 4 weeks. Cork didn't feel wanted because he was behind Vic and Morgan in the pecking order, as he was under Poch. I suspect he became most fed up under Poch not Mr Bogeyman Koeman.

[Lighthouse]

Sure, he must have got really ****ed off with Koeman persisting with Djuricic, who arrived 3 days after Jack left, and with Elia who had been around, ooh all of 4 weeks. Cork didn't feel wanted because he was behind Vic and Morgan in the pecking order, as he was under Poch. I suspect he became most fed up under Poch not Mr Bogeyman Koeman.

 

Not to mention the quotes in that thread are probably not entirely what Jack said. It was probably more like, "I knew I didn't really fit into Koeman's first team plans and I didn't have much of a future," as opposed to sitting in a corner crying because nobody loves him.

[SaintSteve]

Abject performance - I actually felt quite angry about many of the players. They were like headless chickens and always second to the ball. We are seeing Koeman's limitations in terms of team selections and the ability to motivate the players.

Tend to agree...we were totally devoid of ideas in the final third..Elia is a waste of time, Mane falls over at will and Pelle looked disinterested.

Still, found a nice pub - Cow and Plough - so it was not all bad.

[Saint_clark]

Bonuses are common place in football player's contracts, but can you provide any link to a public announcement of such bonuses any other club has made? Are there really enough examples to describe it as "often"?

 

 

 

Why would making it public make any difference?

 

Indeed, the only evidence we have either way is that those types of bonuses ARE favoured under this regime. Didn't our championship team earn an extra 30% or something every week we were in the top 2?

[ART]

"The obvious incentive for clubs is to put in front of players is a big bonus for achieving certain things. Revenue created by qualifying for Europe, for example, makes these big bonus incentives possible and creates the atmosphere of giving more instead of taking away.

 

This is also the best way for a club to compensate for not getting into Europe because the idea and thought of that bonus can be reiterated throughout the squad, over the course of a season in preparation for next season.

 

If a side goes a season without European football then the obvious incentive is to offer an even bigger bonus to the team for the following season. Again, this would be justifiable due to the extra revenue streams created.

 

It could also make the players a lot more determined to play for the club and the manager in order to achieve European football. If they are penalised heavily for missing out, instead of being further incentivised, then the football club is only asking for trouble."

ARSENE WENGER

 

It’s also quite important to point out that the radical proposals coming out of Arsenal are coming at a time when the team is going through a patch of poor form. Uncertainty at clubs often creates illogical decisions.

 

The news could well have emerged due to Arsenal’s current league position and the fact that they may not play well enough over the rest of the season to finish in the top four and secure a Champions League place.

 

They don’t need to penalise the players even if that’s the case because the club is running at a healthy profit and could afford to pay a bigger bonus to reward players who help the club bounce back into European football"

[John Boy Saint]

Just reading ART's post, I recall something regarding bonuses going back to our last stint in the Prem that despite not paying big club wages our win bonus structure was quite handsome and second only to Arsenal.......... Think it might have had something to do with the players agents cut of their wages in that bonuses were excluded from the percentage taken.

 

Its a bit hazy but certain there was something

[AdrianC]

Good synopsis from ESPN:

http://www.espnfc.com/club/southampton/376/blog/post/2442482/spineless-southampton-in-danger-of-ruining-good-work

[The9]

FWIW I think we'll put in a hell of a shift at Man City as well, not so sure against Villa. It's all about motivation - we were good at Chelsea because we needed to be, we lost at Sunderland and Leicester because they put in more effort than us which made them quicker to react and more likely to win close challenges. In a game of narrow margins that across elevn players is enough for a significant tip in the balance of the result.

 

Can't really explain it for Stoke, who weren't and aren't playing for anything, but we weren't particularly bad there and mostly on top, just a bit unlucky with the goals. Sunderland wouldn't have won that game 9/10 times even though they were trying harder, they were still incredibly spawny despite trying, because of the penalties and red card. Saturday we were just guff for 20 minutes and after that all Leicester had to do was defend against a side moving in slow motion and happy to pass sideways.

[Sour Mash]

Good synopsis from ESPN:

http://www.espnfc.com/club/southampton/376/blog/post/2442482/spineless-southampton-in-danger-of-ruining-good-work

That's an emotional rant on a par with the stuff from Alpine, god knows how it ends up on the ESPN website.

[Donatello]

FWIW I think we'll put in a hell of a shift at Man City as well, not so sure against Villa. It's all about motivation - we were good at Chelsea because we needed to be, we lost at Sunderland and Leicester because they put in more effort than us which made them quicker to react and more likely to win close challenges. In a game of narrow margins that across elevn players is enough for a significant tip in the balance of the result.

 

Can't really explain it for Stoke, who weren't and aren't playing for anything, but we weren't particularly bad there and mostly on top, just a bit unlucky with the goals. Sunderland wouldn't have won that game 9/10 times even though they were trying harder, they were still incredibly spawny despite trying, because of the penalties and red card. Saturday we were just guff for 20 minutes and after that all Leicester had to do was defend against a side moving in slow motion and happy to pass sideways.

 

The issue at Stoke was that Kelvin 'decided' (inexplicably) to let them right back into the game immediately after the commencement of the second half. We were *very* good value for that 1-nil lead. Anyway, yes, a lack of motivation(?) does seem to have given rise to a fair few individual-player mistakes

Edited 11 May, 2015 by Donatello

[Kingsbridge Saint]

We just look so short of ideas and pace. There is something wrong with the coaching or tactics. We should watch other sides goals and try to work out how they do it. Koeman needs to sort it out fast.

[eddie]

Nigel Pearson has all the characteristics that Koeman lacks. He is one day going to be the best football manager this country has produced. Seeing him after the whistle brought floods of tears to my eyes, the man, the pride and fighting spirit and the humanity and belief.

Koeman is a coward and stubborn and arrogant persisting with the same pathetic selections when we have young guns ready and willing to give their last drop for the team. One or two bad games and it's right he keeps faith in a player, but 5, 10 even 15 useless contributions and still picked is sheer insanity.

The longer Koeman persists with Pelle, Elia and Diuretic, the greater the apathy and quality of the rest of the team will deteriorate. Gallagher, Seagar and others deserve a chance. The squad realise if Pelle can match after match do nothing why bother.

 

We aren't interested in Europa League, no matter the public utterances. That is not what what angers me, it's the way we've gone about it. The players who've been playing are those that Koeman sees as that of next season.

 

I salute Toby for his contribution towards scoring when others just did a full circle and passed the ball sideways or backwards. Gazza took time, which cost us 2 goals, to come to grips with his first first team game all season, but it was poor defending that was to blame . We just aren't at any game during the start to a game.

 

Leicester deserve their Premier League place, their fans were the best I've seen all season. Happy clappers!!! Nigel Pearson, the big one we had, and let get away. He has everything that Koeman still lacks in football management. He drove his players by example and being there encouraging them on the touchline. Koeman just sits laid back, along with his brother like a tailors dummy. At very least he could show some enthusiasm like he did when he first arrived.

 

A bitter end to a dream season that went horribly sour.

 

I just find this complete overreaction, I'm sorry.

 

I think it's been an excellent transitional season with the loss of chairman, manager, chief scout and several key players in the last year+.

 

No idea what the negativity is about. We've lost momentum and seem to be distracted. We've not got a strong attack. We've had a few key injuries in a small squad.

 

What is the big deal? Had some great wins (arsenal twice....utd....sunderland....and many other great days out), got some new fancy foreign players to get excited about, and a seemingly very stable manager who brings something different to pocchetino.

 

We're still southampton, we'll have a cracking summer to look forward to and a next season to build upon.

 

Feel free to toss my positivity about the window but standing back from the whole thing its not so bad.

[VectisSaint]

That's an emotional rant on a par with the stuff from Alpine, god knows how it ends up on the ESPN website.

Seems a pretty accurate assessment after Saturday's performance. In fact one of the better assessments that have been made and shows a little more awareness of the issues at Saints than is evident from some of the other media luvvies or some of the apologists on here who think that everything is rosy because we are going to finish 7th (or are we?).

[Bearsy]

it does read like someone on here wrote it tho.

 

Probably cos they did