Saints 0 Man Utd 0 - Buildup, Match and over-reactions Thread

[John Boy Saint]

I have to say I didn't walk out of SMS feeling flat and despondent, like I have a few times too many this season. At least we had a go especially in the second half where we were actually knocking on the door. Man U were there for the taking as many have said but to say that was a weakened team, probably in Manchester United teams terms you could say that, but aside from Smalling and Jones (and possibly 'Wane' Rooney) they still had a team capable of keeping Hull Sunderland and Boro up, out on the pitch.

its that final third still though, shabby service up to Gabbi, Redmond giving the odd flash but overall driving you up the bloody wall, and Tadic losing the ball again and again then blaming everyone else in a red and white shirt (surprised he hasn't blamed some one in the crowd yet). Some clown further up these pages commented that Davis was always losing the ball, there are others on the pitch who make Steven look like a rank amateur on the losing possession tally up, and if losing the ball very cheaply counted double Mr Davis would be pretty low on the table.

Whilst whispering Dave on Solent does spout some cobblers, he is right about questioning why the hell Puel doesn't tweak the formation in an effort to make us a bit more dynamic in front of goal. Last season when we had our mid winter slump, Koeman suddenly decided to go 3 at the back 5 in the middle 2 up front, hey presto! we had stopped the rot.

Anyway we shall see what happens following the end of season de-brief with Claude, I think he is a capable enough chap, maybe Mrs Puel is putting the squeeze on him to return to France, and the way the contracts work these days he may as well get the most money out of the remaining 2 years of his deal............. I still think Mr Black isn't the best option as a number 2.

 

Still back to tonight, I thought young Jack looked good again, ("3rd / 4th choice CB" some numpties on here haven't a chuffing clue) thought he had a touch of the VVD about him as he increasingly had a wander up field carrying the ball and off loading it without too much fuss. Nice to see young Matty back too again a tidy performance looking the part, that said I think he was hanging a bit towards the end........... not many players play the full 95 minutes after as long a lay off as he has had. JWP Again played well, just wish he would tell Tadic to bugger off when he is setting up to take a free kick, and Dušan is spouting cobblers in his ear, his 2 free kicks dropped right in the box had the Man U sphincter twitching. Why take him off when the obvious choice was Tadic or more so Redmond. Liked the Cameo from Pied too, you can see he has a few miles on the clock where experience is concerned.

After Long getting beaten up on Saturday (poss metatarsal I swear Claude mumbled on Solent), and Cedric taking his turn tonight, I wonder who will be getting battered black and blue by those nasty Stoke boys on Sunday?.

 

Finally Mike Dean must be getting close to hanging up his whistle soon?

[eurosaint]

****ing genius.

 

Let's bring a bloke whose played 5 mins in the past 6 months on in the 6th minute.

 

 

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You couldn't make it up, eh ?

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Can't score at home and the tactical genius takes off Gabbi again. I really can't wait to see the back of Puel.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Can't score at home and the tactical genius takes off Gabbi again. I really can't wait to see the back of Puel.

 

I was wondering whether it was tactical or whether the medical staff advised Puel that he wouldn't last the full 90. He's not played a lot this season & was out recently. Thanks for clearing up that it was in fact a tactical decision. I won't ask you to post how you know this, because I wouldn't want you to compromise your position within the first team set up.

 

 

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[austsaint]

We played well tonight particularly second half. Some of our passing under pressure in the middle third was excellent. Jack Stephens was outstanding , he looks a class act. Apart from his final ball I thought Matt Targett had a really good game after so long out. Davo was busy and OR his normal excellent self.Tadic continues to frustrate and Redmond actually looked decent in the first half , but faded when we played better in the second. Clearly the Pen Miss would have made a difference & their keeper made some decent saves. Taken in isolation that was a pretty good show. Had it been the first game of the season posters would have been praising us & would have an air of confidence about the forthcoming season. They'd probably think we could have a decent cup run and maybe finish 8th.

 

There were downsides. The main one being the complete and utter ****wits some of our supporters are. Leaving the ground I heard people saying stuff like "Same old ****", "too negative ", "boring ", if any one thinks that about tonight , I would say they haven't got a clue. Special mention goes to the **** wits who booed JWP coming off. They're probably the same half baked that complain that Puel is to rigid & never changes, the ones that complain he doesn't go all out to win. Instead of a like for like , taking off Redmond or Tadic. He ended up with Tadic,Boufall , Redmond all on the park, yet there were boos. Unbelievable. I actually thought Boufall looked dangerous, I was willing him to score to shut the planks up.

 

The final straw was having to listen to Dinosaur Dave calling for 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 with JRod, Austin and Gabbi "up top" and then hearing the texts read out. I drove down the M27 thinking , God we've got some idiots following the club.

 

 

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Good write up LD. I think a section of the crowd were booing the decision to sub JWP, not JWP himself. He had quite a good game, but the run and penetration of Boufal was a good change and he proved that with a decent cameo.

[PeteCampbell]

Ward-Prowse had a really good game and should be on penaltys by now.

[Ultimatt]

Story of our season. We don't take our chances up front.

[Verbal Kint]

Story of our season. We don't take our chances up front.

 

Apart from the penalty what good chances did we miss?

[doddisalegend]

Apart from the penalty what good chances did we miss?

 

Guess you weren't at the game last night here's a match report for you

 

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/football/southampton-0-manchester-united-0-stand-in-romero-shines-in-de-geas-absence/ar-BBBflDf?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartandhp

 

Interesting stat from last night

 

Southampton had six shots on target - only Tottenham (seven on Sunday) have had more in a match against Manchester United this season in all competitions.

 

So we actually got more shots on target than we did in the cup final were everyone said we played well. every match report I've read credits the UTD keeper as MOM. Yes we have had some **** games but last night wasn't one of them and defiantly was a case of not scoring our chances.

[Saints foreva]

Can't score at home and the tactical genius takes off Gabbi again. I really can't wait to see the back of Puel.

 

To be fair he was ****.

[danjosaint]

Guess you weren't at the game last night here's a match report for you

 

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/football/southampton-0-manchester-united-0-stand-in-romero-shines-in-de-geas-absence/ar-BBBflDf?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartandhp

 

Interesting stat from last night

 

Southampton had six shots on target - only Tottenham (seven on Sunday) have had more in a match against Manchester United this season in all competitions.

 

So we actually got more shots on target than we did in the cup final were everyone said we played well. every match report I've read credits the UTD keeper as MOM. Yes we have had some **** games but last night wasn't one of them and defiantly was a case of not scoring our chances.

 

Out of those 6 on target 1 was a penalty, and the rest prob bar jwps decent effort were all speculative from range, after about 5 min I think Cedric hit one from 25yds straight into Romeros arms, so I agree as were pretty clueless in final 3rd were resorting to pot shots hence shot on targets look good

[benjii]

We got in loads of good positions. Puel did nothing wrong at all yesterday.

 

Most people criticising him are just repeating dross they've heard from others recently.

[Give it to Ron]

We got in loads of good positions. Puel did nothing wrong at all yesterday.

 

Most people criticising him are just repeating dross they've heard from others recently.

Why did Tadic stay on? Could we not have bought on Austin a proven goalscorer when we can't hit a cow's arse as well as Gabi?

 

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[doddisalegend]

We got in loads of good positions. Puel did nothing wrong at all yesterday.

 

Most people criticising him are just repeating dross they've heard from others recently.

 

 

Yeah very agenda driven now. We have been poor at times this season no getting past that but last night wasn't one of those games we played good football at times and were the better team let down by finishing.

[whelk]

We got in loads of good positions. Puel did nothing wrong at all yesterday.

 

Most people criticising him are just repeating dross they've heard from others recently.

 

Yep suits their narrative

[Sour Mash]

Yes there is. He could play the one guy in the side with a high score rate at penalties. Instead he is sat on the bench. I would have brought him on when the penalty was awarded.

 

Ok, good idea.

[shurlock]

Guess you weren't at the game last night here's a match report for you

 

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/football/southampton-0-manchester-united-0-stand-in-romero-shines-in-de-geas-absence/ar-BBBflDf?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartandhp

 

Interesting stat from last night

 

Southampton had six shots on target - only Tottenham (seven on Sunday) have had more in a match against Manchester United this season in all competitions.

 

So we actually got more shots on target than we did in the cup final were everyone said we played well. every match report I've read credits the UTD keeper as MOM. Yes we have had some **** games but last night wasn't one of them and defiantly was a case of not scoring our chances.

 

This has to be the dullest stat and doesn't pass the smell test. I'd say we were much more threatening and likely to score in the LC final as we got behind. You wouldn't know that from the statement as presented here. I thought we were decent last night, though pen and JWP's long range strike apart, but don't think Romero was really tested. For its part the united defense had to be alert but it was rarely pulled out of shape.

Edited 18 May, 2017 by shurlock

[benjii]

Why did Tadic stay on? Could we not have bought on Austin a proven goalscorer when we can't hit a cow's arse as well as Gabi?

 

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I doubt Austin has more than a few minutes I'm him. I also doubt he will contribute much in the future so bringing Boufal on made more sense.

[The Cat]

Good performance. Really enjoyed the game as a whole but the best thing about it is only one more match before we can move our seats and get away from the moaning, negative **** that sits behind us.

 

Thought Stephens was outstanding again. I'm really excited to see him develop further over the next few seasons and the way he's been playing I'd happily have him starting regularly going forward.

[Give it to Ron]

I doubt Austin has more than a few minutes I'm him. I also doubt he will contribute much in the future so bringing Boufal on made more sense.

Rodriguez came on at that time not Boufal though - who did well I thought.

I am sure Gabi played as second striker before and would like to see him have closer support.

I am a bit down on Tadic at moment as he has been poor lately yet gets picked

Wouldn't two strikers at least be worth a try when 0-0.

You think Austin is off then?

 

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[Heisenberg]

The damage is sadly done and a semi decent 2nd half with no goals (again) against Man United reserves is not going to change that.

 

We allowed United to play at a slow pace and they restricted us to pop shots from 20 yards. Was a dull first 45 minutes on par with Hull at home.

 

United played with zero intent or intensity and yet we still managed to mess it up. Like 4 like subs, give me a break Puel.

 

That was the golden ticket to end the jinx against the top 6.

 

12 league games - ZERO wins! Unprecedented

 

Puel is finished here and think even he knows it.

 

Anyone else clock R&R (Reed and Ralph) looking unimpressed in the stands?

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Good performance. Really enjoyed the game as a whole but the best thing about it is only one more match before we can move our seats and get away from the moaning, negative **** that sits behind us.

 

Thought Stephens was outstanding again. I'm really excited to see him develop further over the next few seasons and the way he's been playing I'd happily have him starting regularly going forward.

 

This..

[ALWAYS_SFC]

We got in loads of good positions. Puel did nothing wrong at all yesterday.

 

Most people criticising him are just repeating dross they've heard from others recently.

 

And this

[Harry Bloggs]

Totally agree with Lord Duckhunter's post. But for the penalty save and some other good saves we would have won that game. I couldn't believe it when I heard booing at the final whistle.

[Saint Billy]

Ooops!! I forgot about the match today.

 

Can someone please post a summary of the entire game including all the mong post reactions during the match Please? I'm sure it can be done in about two sentences. Thanks guys!

 

Man U field weakened side, Gabbi misses first half pen in a rather dull half. Saints up their game 2nd half and make their keeper work. Their keeper gets Motm making standard saves. Saints still lack that killer finish despite good build up play.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

Totally agree with Lord Duckhunter's post. But for the penalty save and some other good saves we would have won that game. I couldn't believe it when I heard booing at the final whistle.

 

Indeed but the most cretinous booing was when JWP was subbed for Boufal...

Why would those who consider themselves fans boo when a player comes on?

[benjii]

I always wonder how some of these people cope with daily life.

[eddie]

No negative tactics to be seen here. Felt we played some excellent football, total horse **** about not knowing what to do in final third. Man Utd had so many players in the box at the end that it would have required something extraordinary to nick a late goal.

 

End of first half and beginning of second our strongest period. Could and should absolutely have won that game.

 

No idea where weakened team comes from, given that anyway Zlatan and Pogba are injured. They gave us trouble on the break but we were in control. More possession and more chances.

 

- JWP excellent, would now start him every game (what a change from a year ago!). Strange to substitute him,

- Stephens and Yoshida make VVD style runs into midfield, love it! And nice to have some speed/energy at the back, unlike Fonte, to deal with the runs of Martial.

- Forster some nice saves

- Redmond lively, though hung back a bit too much, but fair enough, he was missing his usual partner of Bertrand on the left hand side. Him and a cautious Targett weren't as good a partnership

- Tadic I felt was a 7/10, which is one of the higher scores this season. Solid free kick, nice crosses all day, bad on corners.

 

If we have more confidence, if we have our current full strength team except for maybe a like-for-like younger Steven Davis 2.0 replacement and not relying so heavily on the inconsistent Boufal/Tadic, I think we will be a good top half side again. Something like:

 

Forster

 

Pied

Stephens

VVD

Bertrand

 

Romeu

Steven Davis replacement

 

Redmond

JWP

Gabbiadini

 

Austin

[Shroppie]

The damage is sadly done and a semi decent 2nd half with no goals (again) against Man United reserves is not going to change that.

 

We allowed United to play at a slow pace and they restricted us to pop shots from 20 yards. Was a dull first 45 minutes on par with Hull at home.

 

United played with zero intent or intensity and yet we still managed to mess it up. Like 4 like subs, give me a break Puel.

 

That was the golden ticket to end the jinx against the top 6.

 

12 league games - ZERO wins! Unprecedented

 

Puel is finished here and think even he knows it.

 

Anyone else clock R&R (Reed and Ralph) looking unimpressed in the stands?

We get plenty of gibberish on here but I nominate this as the most ridiculous nonsense yet.

 

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[John Boy Saint]

Indeed but the most cretinous booing was when JWP was subbed for Boufal...

Why would those who consider themselves fans boo when a player comes on?

I think you will find that the Booing was more for the decision of who was being taken off not who was coming on, there were at least 2 other players much more deserving than JWP to be coming off.

[Shroppie]

Man U field weakened side, Gabbi misses first half pen in a rather dull half. Saints up their game 2nd half and make their keeper work. Their keeper gets Motm making standard saves. Saints still lack that killer finish despite good build up play.

That's pretty well it. We played quite well, looked to be positive, made more chances and had more shots than at Wembley.

 

Their keeper played a blinder. We've played much worse and won. Puel did nothing wrong. The team played for him and we're clearly frustrated not to win.

 

Just one of those games.

 

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[Shroppie]

No negative tactics to be seen here. Felt we played some excellent football, total horse **** about not knowing what to do in final third. Man Utd had so many players in the box at the end that it would have required something extraordinary to nick a late goal.

 

End of first half and beginning of second our strongest period. Could and should absolutely have won that game.

 

No idea where weakened team comes from, given that anyway Zlatan and Pogba are injured. They gave us trouble on the break but we were in control. More possession and more chances.

 

- JWP excellent, would now start him every game (what a change from a year ago!). Strange to substitute him,

- Stephens and Yoshida make VVD style runs into midfield, love it! And nice to have some speed/energy at the back, unlike Fonte, to deal with the runs of Martial.

- Forster some nice saves

- Redmond lively, though hung back a bit too much, but fair enough, he was missing his usual partner of Bertrand on the left hand side. Him and a cautious Targett weren't as good a partnership

- Tadic I felt was a 7/10, which is one of the higher scores this season. Solid free kick, nice crosses all day, bad on corners.

 

If we have more confidence, if we have our current full strength team except for maybe a like-for-like younger Steven Davis 2.0 replacement and not relying so heavily on the inconsistent Boufal/Tadic, I think we will be a good top half side again. Something like:

 

Forster

 

Pied

Stephens

VVD

Bertrand

 

Romeu

Steven Davis replacement

 

Redmond

JWP

Gabbiadini

 

Austin

Good post. That's how I saw it too.

 

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[mrfahaji]

I doubt Austin has more than a few minutes I'm him. I also doubt he will contribute much in the future so bringing Boufal on made more sense.

 

There's more than meets the eye to the Austin situation. He definitely has more than a few minutes in him. Someone posted a while ago about him being a bad influence (LeG?) and it being related to his injury. It's true but not in the way the original post suggested.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

I think you will find that the Booing was more for the decision of who was being taken off not who was coming on, there were at least 2 other players much more deserving than JWP to be coming off.

 

Either way booing at substitution can only be described as Moronic

[Scully]

Not our best game but not our worst. So many missed penalties in a row is an obvious concern as it shows our players are lacking belief and confidence. End of the season can't come soon enough.

[corky morris]

Anyone who cant see just how isolated Gabbi was clearly has never ever played football at any standard whatsoever............................

Anyone who cant see just how deep we are clearly has never played football at any standard whatsoever...........................

Anyone who cant see just how slowly we move the ball has never played football at any standard whatsoever................

 

These are facts, undeniable. These are the tactics Puel employs & I'm not one of those who says he should go now.

6 efforts on goal last night, with the exception of the penalty the keeper didn't really need to dive for any of them.

Were we better than in previous games? Yes we were, no doubt, but don't BS people & say that that was an outstanding display of attacking football.

Any team with pace up front creates chances against us. Even Man Utd last night with the ever slowing Rooney did.

17 goals at home says everything.

Only Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough & Sunderland have won less points at home than us. Swansea have the same at 24.

6 hours at home, no goals.

We are currently Southampton NIL.

Bring on Sunday, 3 pts & a couple of goals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Give it to Ron]

Anyone who cant see just how isolated Gabbi was clearly has never ever played football at any standard whatsoever............................

Anyone who cant see just how deep we are clearly has never played football at any standard whatsoever...........................

Anyone who cant see just how slowly we move the ball has never played football at any standard whatsoever................

 

These are facts, undeniable. These are the tactics Puel employs & I'm not one of those who says he should go now.

6 efforts on goal last night, with the exception of the penalty the keeper didn't really need to dive for any of them.

Were we better than in previous games? Yes we were, no doubt, but don't BS people & say that that was an outstanding display of attacking football.

Any team with pace up front creates chances against us. Even Man Utd last night with the ever slowing Rooney did.

17 goals at home says everything.

Only Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough & Sunderland have won less points at home than us. Swansea have the same at 24.

6 hours at home, no goals.

We are currently Southampton NIL.

Bring on Sunday, 3 pts & a couple of goals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great post

 

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[trousers]

No negative tactics to be seen here. Felt we played some excellent football, total horse **** about not knowing what to do in final third. Man Utd had so many players in the box at the end that it would have required something extraordinary to nick a late goal.

 

End of first half and beginning of second our strongest period. Could and should absolutely have won that game.

 

No idea where weakened team comes from, given that anyway Zlatan and Pogba are injured. They gave us trouble on the break but we were in control. More possession and more chances.

 

- JWP excellent, would now start him every game (what a change from a year ago!). Strange to substitute him,

- Stephens and Yoshida make VVD style runs into midfield, love it! And nice to have some speed/energy at the back, unlike Fonte, to deal with the runs of Martial.

- Forster some nice saves

- Redmond lively, though hung back a bit too much, but fair enough, he was missing his usual partner of Bertrand on the left hand side. Him and a cautious Targett weren't as good a partnership

- Tadic I felt was a 7/10, which is one of the higher scores this season. Solid free kick, nice crosses all day, bad on corners.

 

If we have more confidence, if we have our current full strength team except for maybe a like-for-like younger Steven Davis 2.0 replacement and not relying so heavily on the inconsistent Boufal/Tadic, I think we will be a good top half side again. Something like:

 

Forster

 

Pied

Stephens

VVD

Bertrand

 

Romeu

Steven Davis replacement

 

Redmond

JWP

Gabbiadini

 

Austin

 

What on Earth possessed you to believe that the Saintsweb Forum was the best place to post such pragmatism? Bizarre

Edited 18 May, 2017 by trousers

[spyinthesky]

Overall not a bad performance but was dreading a late and undeserved Man Utd goal which I was sure was going to happen when Rashford's shot hit the post.

 

Normally these rebound into the net but this was one we got away with.

 

Like all Saints fans I was disappointed with the penalty miss (having being spoilt by Peach/Le Tizz/Lamberts expertise) but of the four recent penalties for/against us, three have been well saved by the keeper and only Shane Long's effort was off target.

 

One thing that really frustrated me (again!!) was Boufal.

 

He came on and look lively and I thought this was the type of performance that we will all be looking forward to next season.

 

Then the play broke down in the centre of the Man Utd half and just seemed to give up and made no effort at all to try to win the ball back and just wandered around for a while.

 

I just hope his mind and body can be made to adapt to Prem football as undoubtedly he has talent

[Whitey Grandad]

Out of those 6 on target 1 was a penalty, and the rest prob bar jwps decent effort were all speculative from range, after about 5 min I think Cedric hit one from 25yds straight into Romeros arms, so I agree as were pretty clueless in final 3rd were resorting to pot shots hence shot on targets look good

 

Yes, this is the point. The penalty was a good save but the others were all well off the ground and mostly long range.

[Colinjb]

We played ok, the worst thing about it last night was the frustration and angst from the crowd. Entirely understandable as Manchester United were there for the taking, but it did undermine what was a reasonable performance.

 

My thoughts:

- Boufal and Pied looked ok when they came on, Boufal clearly was making efforts not to over-do it after a bit of skill and Pied was eager to impress and showed a good turn of pace on occasion.

- Gabbiadini was isolated, again. Could it simply be that people are now wise to him? We can criticise our poor finishing until the cows come home, but at what point do we look to our tactics and match preparation as reason for this?

- Tadic, one of his better games. Some excellent link up play.

- Targett, clearly bulked out a bit but without the attacking threat from Bertrand we were significantly weakened.

- Stephens and Yoshi: Solid again. A perfectly acceptable partnership building there.

 

Man Utd played for a point, they clearly had the quality to hurt us but were more concerned with staying free of injury and tidy. Not to detract from us though as we did control the game.

[doddisalegend]

Anyone who cant see just how isolated Gabbi was clearly has never ever played football at any standard whatsoever............................

Anyone who cant see just how deep we are clearly has never played football at any standard whatsoever...........................

Anyone who cant see just how slowly we move the ball has never played football at any standard whatsoever................

 

These are facts, undeniable. These are the tactics Puel employs & I'm not one of those who says he should go now.

6 efforts on goal last night, with the exception of the penalty the keeper didn't really need to dive for any of them.

Were we better than in previous games? Yes we were, no doubt, but don't BS people & say that that was an outstanding display of attacking football.

Any team with pace up front creates chances against us. Even Man Utd last night with the ever slowing Rooney did.

17 goals at home says everything.

Only Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough & Sunderland have won less points at home than us. Swansea have the same at 24.

6 hours at home, no goals.

We are currently Southampton NIL.

Bring on Sunday, 3 pts & a couple of goals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

It wasn't 6 efforts on goal it was 17. 6 on target and 4 blocked.

[verlaine1979]

One thing that really frustrated me (again!!) was Boufal.

 

He came on and look lively and I thought this was the type of performance that we will all be looking forward to next season.

 

Then the play broke down in the centre of the Man Utd half and just seemed to give up and made no effort at all to try to win the ball back and just wandered around for a while.

 

I just hope his mind and body can be made to adapt to Prem football as undoubtedly he has talent

 

Honestly, this is such BS. More often than not, when Boufal loses the ball he ends up racing after it and putting in a fairly rash challenge to try get it back. I'm sure you observed one incident that conforms to your narrative of him as a lazy foreign flair player, but at least try to have a little consistency in how you apply your frustration. After all, its not as if our current captain doesn't lose the ball constantly, and trotting after it ten yards behind the play is functionally the same as 'wandering around'.

[Whitey Grandad]

Anyone who cant see just how isolated Gabbi was clearly has never ever played football at any standard whatsoever............................

Anyone who cant see just how deep we are clearly has never played football at any standard whatsoever...........................

Anyone who cant see just how slowly we move the ball has never played football at any standard whatsoever................

 

These are facts, undeniable. These are the tactics Puel employs & I'm not one of those who says he should go now.

6 efforts on goal last night, with the exception of the penalty the keeper didn't really need to dive for any of them.

Were we better than in previous games? Yes we were, no doubt, but don't BS people & say that that was an outstanding display of attacking football.

Any team with pace up front creates chances against us. Even Man Utd last night with the ever slowing Rooney did.

17 goals at home says everything.

Only Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough & Sunderland have won less points at home than us. Swansea have the same at 24.

6 hours at home, no goals.

We are currently Southampton NIL.

Bring on Sunday, 3 pts & a couple of goals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

All very true. It's a sad reflection but I don't even get excited about going to these sorts of games anymore. There's no pace or intensity to them.

 

One of the saddest sights last night was thirty minutes before kickoff when the United players were warming up. There were about 100 spectators lined up down by the hoardings on the northern Kingsland side taking photos and selfies of their United heroes.

[Whitey Grandad]

It wasn't 6 efforts on goal it was 17. 6 on target and 4 blocked.

 

Maybe it just the way I see it but I don't consider a shot off target as an attempt on goal.

 

There's a lot of talk about poor finishing but I don't remember any instance last night where we got anywhere near close to 'finishing'. JRod's snatched shot from the edge of the area maybe but apart form that their goal was well protected and we never got really close in.

[mrfahaji]

We played ok, the worst thing about it last night was the frustration and angst from the crowd. Entirely understandable as Manchester United were there for the taking, but it did undermine what was a reasonable performance.

 

My thoughts:

- Boufal and Pied looked ok when they came on, Boufal clearly was making efforts not to over-do it after a bit of skill and Pied was eager to impress and showed a good turn of pace on occasion.

- Gabbiadini was isolated, again. Could it simply be that people are now wise to him? We can criticise our poor finishing until the cows come home, but at what point do we look to our tactics and match preparation as reason for this?

- Tadic, one of his better games. Some excellent link up play.

- Targett, clearly bulked out a bit but without the attacking threat from Bertrand we were significantly weakened.

- Stephens and Yoshi: Solid again. A perfectly acceptable partnership building there.

 

Man Utd played for a point, they clearly had the quality to hurt us but were more concerned with staying free of injury and tidy. Not to detract from us though as we did control the game.

 

Agree with all this. The bit in bold is a particularly pertinent question, and one factor in why I'm no longer sold on Puel being the right man. While we played better than in other recent games, the actual style and strategy seems largely unchanged. We are not creating many good chances, and although maybe Bertrand would have made a difference, or if Austin had been on etc, ultimately we have played with a number of different combinations of forward players lately and nothing has made a siginficant difference, it's always the same problem.

[mrfahaji]

Maybe it just the way I see it but I don't consider a shot off target as an attempt on goal.

 

There's a lot of talk about poor finishing but I don't remember any instance last night where we got anywhere near close to 'finishing'. JRod's snatched shot from the edge of the area maybe but apart form that their goal was well protected and we never got really close in.

 

Really? So if someone hits one straight into the keeper's arms from 35 yards that's an attempt, but if someone hits the post from 6 yards it's not?

 

Agree with the general sentiment though, even Rodriguez's chance seem to fall to him by accident, and he was offside.

[Nordic Saint]

Booing when a favourite player is subbed is a bit of a trend at matches this season, not just ours. The only booing I heard last night was from Ward-Prowse fans when he was subbed. I didn't hear any at the end. In fact, for the first time this season, the home crowd at St Mary's won our team an iffy penalty so credit to them for that. Usually, it's only the away fans who mange to do that. There are people who will criticize anything. There's even some idiot on another messageboard criticising the size of the crowd, which at 31,425 must be one of the top ten home crowds we've ever had v Man United.

 

I reiterate, it was a good performance from our team and only some outstanding saves from Romero, including one from a penalty which would have beaten most goalies, stopped us winning. Looking froward to us beating Stoke and securing our 4th consecutive top 8 finish.

[Whitey Grandad]

Really? So if someone hits one straight into the keeper's arms from 35 yards that's an attempt, but if someone hits the post from 6 yards it's not?

 

Agree with the general sentiment though, even Rodriguez's chance seem to fall to him by accident, and he was offside.

 

They're both attempts in my view.

 

The flag didn't got up for Rodriguez so a goal would probably have stood. Like most of us the Assistant Ref down below us spent most of the game looking at his watches.

[mrfahaji]

They're both attempts in my view.

 

The flag didn't got up for Rodriguez so a goal would probably have stood. Like most of us the Assistant Ref down below us spent most of the game looking at his watches.

 

Yeah he wasn't given offside, but probably should have been (though it was tight).