Southampton 0-1 Leicester - Match Thread

[Teddeer]

1 minute ago, TWar said:

So many people talking like Leicester dominated us but it simply isn't true. Cagey game with few chances settled by a fluke goal. We had a couple of chances where it was bobbling round in the box too and we didn't get the rub of the green. Don't think we were outplayed, it was 50/50 and we were unfortunate. 

We didn't have a single effort on target in a game as important as the semi-final of the FA Cup. The fact that Leicester didn't dominate us is not relevant - they scored a goal and we had zero attempts on target. If you're happy with that then fine but I suspect you are on your own. That was a gutless display.

[Greenridge]

2 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

He can get them up for a semi final, it’s his responsibility. Spineless bunch of cunts, with the Teflon manager. 

If only we’d had Claude to give one of his motivational speeches eh.

As Keane would say. You shouldn’t need a manager to get you up for an FA Cup semi-final. If you can’t motivate yourself you’re in the wrong job. 

[OttawaSaint]

If team can’t raise their game in an FA Cup semi then what is the point?

Losing 1-0 with no real decent attempts on goal is much harder to stomach than if we lost 3-2 but the players had to be helped from the field at the end through exhaustion.

Guess they were just saving themselves for training where they’ll be all smiles wearing their gloves and scoring acrobatic volleys vs the canteen staff, I mean goalies...

[TWar]

3 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

We had 0 shots on target.
 

As Rio said the players should wake up tomorrow regretting they didn’t give their all. God, I dread to think how poor their attitude needs to be before the cult accept we’re shocking. 

And they had 1, the goal. 

[qwertyell]

Wow. Leicester didn't even turn up - and they still won without breaking sweat.

Didn't lay a glove on them. Just abject surrender from first to last.

Where do we go from here? It's the same predictable shit every game. I don't care if the manager has "lost the dressing room" or not - the bottom line is that every team has figured out his one dimensional approach, and it's like taking candy from a baby for them.

[Fan The Flames]

2 minutes ago, Teddeer said:

We didn't have a single effort on target in a game as important as the semi-final of the FA Cup. The fact that Leicester didn't dominate us is not relevant - they scored a goal and we had zero attempts on target. If you're happy with that then fine but I suspect you are on your own. That was a gutless display.

Leciester had 1 shot on target.

[Disco Stu]

13 minutes ago, spyinthesky said:

We are a less than average team with less than average players.

Dont blame the Manager.

He can only work within a limited transfer fund.

Those responsible are those who spunked away the Van Dyke money

I'd agree if not for the shocking performances against teams below us in the table.

[Ekelund]

So fucking annoyed. That's it. 

[Teddeer]

4 minutes ago, Jimmy_D said:

We restricted them to the square root of feck all as well.

Their only shot on target came from the luckiest ricochet I’ve seen all season.

They had other good chances and on another day that could easily have been 3 or 4 nil. Madison had two good chances and Iheanacho had a shot blocked and there were other half chances. We created nothing.

[revolution saint]

Just now, Vancouver Saint said:

This. Shame to lose a game of tight margins to a crappy goal like that - but then we need to get a shot on target to score. We did not play that badly, Ralph made the right subs - I understand the disappointment and frustration but let's get some perspective here and stop abusing the team, the manager and each other. Let's beat Tottenham and finish the season strongly.

How bad would we need to be to play badly in your eyes?  We were awful - no shots on target, no attacking threat whatsoever and no idea of what to to do with the ball.  It's the FA Cup semi final and to go out with a gutless performance like that is criminal.

 

[Mr X]

Ralph talks shit "we left everything everything we had on the pitch today!" Did we fuck

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 minute ago, Greenridge said:

If only we’d had Claude to give one of his motivational speeches eh.

As Keane would say. You shouldn’t need a manager to get you up for an FA Cup semi-final. If you can’t motivate yourself you’re in the wrong job. 

Contrast today with the attitude when we were 2-0 down in the final. 
 

He’s now said he’s proud of the players and they left everything on the pitch. Hes as deluded as you 

[Chez]

Leicester played well after they scored. They pressed well, they kept the ball well, their shape was spot on and the looked a threat on the break. They strangled us, just as they did at their place. Our shitness was not all down to us. They helped make us look even shitter.

[egg]

8 minutes ago, stknowle said:

Looking at the goal again Bertrand and Vest were done by some SERIOUSLY good movement from Ihanaecho (sp). He STEPPED BACK SLIGHTLY AWAY FROM THE GOAL. There ain't a defender in world football capable of countering that kind of movement. 

I haven't watched it back but it looked at the time that Vestergaard drifted near post area, and that Bertrand had eyes on Iheanacho but chose to drop off. Looked like shit defending rather than world class centre forward play to me. 

[nta786]

I’m going to try and put a different perspective on things- I think we did try but the players we have, the squad are just so limited. Confidence is incredibly low and Ralph and the players have gone backwards in 2021. 
 

If I’m honest, Leicester made one chance which they took and scored, Iheanacho is on top form and in those situations you end up making your own luck, similar to Ings last season.

Otherwise, Leicester’s other main chance came from our mistakes and that’s as a result of our players not being as good as theirs.

Yes, I’m upset, and yes it is a very bitter pill to swallow but we need to learn from Leicester tactically and strategically in the transfer market

[obelisk]

Did Ralph watch the same match as me?

[stknowle]

1 minute ago, Turkish said:

He also got lucky in that his shot was going wide hit Vestergaard and went straight back to him. Doesn’t take away the fact that we deserved to lose, it was a pathetic performance, how the fuck can you play in a semi and not even muster a single shot on target.

True he did get lucky but our half arsed bellends allowed him all the space he wanted in the first place. As for no shots on target It looks as if we tried to go all containing resolute saints - something we all know we don't do too well historically - it kind of worked but when its at the expense of any attacking threat whatsoever what actually is the fucking point?

[Halo Stickman]

What a gutless, limp, pathetic performance.

[S-Clarke]

That was one of the lowest quality games of football all season, it really was. Both teams were absolutely dreadful.

I'm not happy with how we performed, I don't think we showed up enough. I really don't feel there are any leaders in this squad, a load of quiet schoolboys. We need a bigger squad and much better mentality/experience in the group. Otherwise this will continue with this lot.

Whilst I think the way we try to play is the right way, with the press etc, it's a bit kamikaze with 1) this squad and 2) those defenders. There is no pace at the back and Bednarek is going to be hung out to dry once we push up. Ralph is nailed to this style though, so we either back him and let him buy the right sorts, or we let him go and bring in someone like Allardyce.

This squad is in desperate need of quality injected into it, but even without quality we should still have enough about us to make more of a game out of that in my opinion.

They will all wake up tomorrow and realise what a wasted chance this was, neither side showed up really but the result was pretty much expected when we have no shots on goal in a semi final. That alone was a disgrace.

I'd like to see Moussa, Bednarek, Bertrand, Redmond gone - get shot. Replace those with better quality and we have have a chance going forward.

Edited 18 April, 2021 by S-Clarke

[The Cat]

One shot on target for both teams. Has to be some sort of record for the most turgid game in FA Cup history, let alone a semi final.

We came out after half time with a bit more purpose but that soon evaporated once they scored and we realised we were too shit to break them down. Once Armstrong tired that was it because the rest of them were pretty pathetic from an attacking point of view. 

Really annoying to get to within 45 minutes of the final and then go out with a whimper. 

Edited 18 April, 2021 by The Cat

[Sunglasses Ron]

Didn’t bother tuning in as had this feeling we’d be abject. Nevertheless, doesn’t mean I’m any less disappointed than those who watched it. 

0 shots on target? FFS!

[SaveloyMush]

That was a 55:45 game, in Leicester's favour. On balance, 1-0 was the correct score. Their goal was lucky, but no less than they deserved, given the respective qualities of the play.

A special mention to the poster who said that Saints should pressure Schmeichel, as his footwork was dodgy - with the ball at his feet, he played like Franz Beckenbauer!

I thought Saints' defence did very well in the main and, unlike the commentators, thought that the game was less cagey and more frenetic. Bertrand's legs have clearly gone, hence his continual turning back - and why do his eyes always look like he is massively hung over?

Ings, Redmond, Walcott? I see no goals there...

I agree that Ward-Prowse's last-ditch free-kick was unforgivable - tiredness or bottle?

Soyuncu was a lucky boy.

[Chez]

2 minutes ago, qwertyell said:

the bottom line is that every team has figured out his one dimensional approach, and it's like taking candy from a baby for them.

Leicester certainly have.  They played 5-3-2 and the game was up before it started

[Teddeer]

3 minutes ago, Fan The Flames said:

Leciester had 1 shot on target.

Where did it go and what was the final score?

[gallaghert366@yahoo.com]

11 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

Another gutless performance in a long line of gutless performances. Can take losing if we give it a go but we just cruised through that like it was a friendly.

Zero shots on target sums us up.

Whole club needs a big clear out. Can't wait for this season to be over.

It is!

[Chapel End]

10 minutes ago, Heisenberg said:

Its not all bad we still have this looney poster 

[The Kraken]

6 minutes ago, Turkish said:

He also got lucky in that his shot was going wide hit Vestergaard and went straight back to him. Doesn’t take away the fact that we deserved to lose, it was a pathetic performance, how the fuck can you play in a semi and not even muster a single shot on target.

I can’t recall us having even a single shot in the first half. At all.

For 5 or 10 minutes in the second half we finally got out of first gear, but aside from that it was a shockingly poor performance. No quality at all really.

[Katalinic]

6 minutes ago, Vancouver Saint said:

This. Shame to lose a game of tight margins to a crappy goal like that - but then we need to get a shot on target to score. We did not play that badly, Ralph made the right subs - I understand the disappointment and frustration but let's get some perspective here and stop abusing the team, the manager and each other. Let's beat Tottenham and finish the season strongly.

We did not play that badly?? Fuck me 🤣🤣.

[Greenridge]

1 minute ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Contrast today with the attitude when we were 2-0 down in the final. 
 

He’s now said he’s proud of the players and they left everything on the pitch. Hes as deluded as you 

Not sure what I’m meant to be deluded about but your obsession with Claudey baby and your anti-every other Saints manager is, well, pretty weird. 

[Kenilworthy]

The worst thing is we actually made a better effort in 2018, and I thought that was poor. Givne that we will generally only have a run like this every 10 years or so I probably only have two or three semi-finals left in my life. So gutted that one just was thrown away as if it was worthless to the players

[saint lard]

Gutless and shameful display. 
and there has been plenty of those of late. 

[Viking Saint]

4 minutes ago, Greenridge said:

If only we’d had Claude to give one of his motivational speeches eh.

As Keane would say. You shouldn’t need a manager to get you up for an FA Cup semi-final. If you can’t motivate yourself you’re in the wrong job. 

Can't stand Keane but he's absolutely right. It's not 'Any Given Sunday'. Motivation for a professional athlete shouldn't be an issue. That said, the question needs to be asked, are the players playing the way they're being told to, or ignoring the manager and playing how they want? Either way. the outcome is currently woeful, and makes you wonder where it's all gone wrong from the early season purple patch

[stknowle]

1 minute ago, egg said:

I haven't watched it back but it looked at the time that Vestergaard drifted near post area, and that Bertrand had eyes on Iheanacho but chose to drop off. Looked like shit defending rather than world class centre forward play to me. 

That was sort of my point mate. Should've put a winky smiler emoji on it in retrospect. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

Just now, Teddeer said:

Where did it go and what was the final score?

Exactly. It’s laughable people are somehow making out it was a cagey game they nicked. Evans played in his slippers and The Keeper won’t need a shower. It was a pathetic half arsed going through the motions performance, exactly like most this year. Pathetic 

[SupersonicSaint]

Wasn't a truly abominable watch like the West Brom game, but...

To be 1-0 down and not even get a kick in the last 20 minutes of football is about as damning an indictment you can give.
When the natural flow of the game should have you piling on the pressure and creating chance after chance, really really not good enough.

Lads could barely string a pass together at the end let alone muster up a shot on target.

If the FA Cup was our sole focus, I dread to think what we're gonna be serving up for the remainder of the season in the league.

[Chez]

3 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Ralph talks shit "we left everything everything we had on the pitch today!" Did we fuck

I keep saying this, but there is no lack of effort. The issue is what we do when we have the ball, the positions and shape of the side, and the quality of individual players. Players work hard, very hard, but chasing shadows doesnt earn kudos from fans.

[saint michael]

Really strange with all this press and tippy tippy football feels like we have lost our identity. I’m not sure what they are really attempting to do that’s not working as it is supposed to...cat defend..can’t score...can’t pass forwards...

[woodsaint1]

5 minutes ago, TWar said:

So many people talking like Leicester dominated us but it simply isn't true. Cagey game with few chances settled by a fluke goal. We had a couple of chances where it was bobbling round in the box too and we didn't get the rub of the green. Don't think we were outplayed, it was 50/50 and we were unfortunate. 

Tbh if Leicester needed to step it up in the last 20 minutes they would have been able to. They didnt need to come out of 2nd gear to beat us.

Didnt expect us to win, but did expect us to put more of an effort in, especially after WBA. Was pathetic really. I've always gave Ralph the benefit of the doubt but I'm struggling to see an upward trajectory with him right now if he cant get more out of this team in their biggest game in 3/4 years. Combine that with the clear lack of funds and next season isnt worth thinking about. 

Oh and you can put your mortgage on Spurs beating us during the week

[Marino]

It's going to be an interesting Summer - whichever division we're in.

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Chez said:

I keep saying this, but there is no lack of effort. The issue is what we do when we have the ball, the positions and shape of the side, and the quality of individual players. Players work hard, very hard, but chasing shadows doesnt earn kudos from fans.

Agreed, there is lots of running - but it's a lot of aimless running. No real purpose to the running because once they get the ball, they don't have the quality to either see a pass or actually play a pass.

As I said above, if the club is nailed to playing this way and backing Ralph (and I think a high press approach is a modern approach and a right approach to take) then we need to invest, we need to back him. Otherwise it's pointless and a waste of everyone's time, including Ralphs.

[Heisenberg]

4 minutes ago, Chapel End said:

Its not all bad we still have this looney poster 

Cretin 

[whelk]

I wish Ralph could just say “I’m a clueless cunt and so are all the players” back to Jake Humphrey who apologises if you heard any unsavoury language just then.

[CB Fry]

5 minutes ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

Didn’t bother tuning in as had this feeling we’d be abject. Nevertheless, doesn’t mean I’m any less disappointed than those who watched it. 

0 shots on target? FFS!

"Didn't bother" watching us in an FA Cup semi final. Okay. You're pretty normal, then.

[Chez]

1 minute ago, saint michael said:

Really strange with all this press and tippy tippy football feels like we have lost our identity. I’m not sure what they are really attempting to do that’s not working as it is supposed to...cat defend..can’t score...can’t pass forwards...

don't get between the lines, don't get round the back, with this rigid 4-4-2 formation, what is the fucking plan...keep it tight seemed to be the order of the day today?

[Lord Duckhunter]

4 minutes ago, Greenridge said:

Not sure what I’m meant to be deluded about but your obsession with Claudey baby and your anti-every other Saints manager is, well, pretty weird. 

Which managers have I been anti, apart from questioning Ralph? Please point me in the direction of some evidence as your continued use of this line is “well pretty weird”. 

[egg]

4 minutes ago, stknowle said:

That was sort of my point mate. Should've put a winky smiler emoji on it in retrospect. 

Apologies - complete sense of humour bypass going on after that shite. 

[davefizzy14]

Yes Ralph needs to be backed and he hasn't fully. 

Edited 18 April, 2021 by davefizzy14

[rooney]

Abysmal.

[Monk]

It’s odd, before the game I felt we’d either get battered or turn it on and win (I call it ‘a Southampton’ at work).

We lost to the better team (just) due to naive defending during the transition which is a common theme. Losing 1-0 to Leicester is hardly surprising or anything to be ashamed of.

Yet, I’m sat here with a notion of genuine rage mixed with a pit of bleakness. I’m so completely disengaged with the club, the team, the management, the academy, ‘Southampton way’ even the fucking foundation winds me up. 

Leicester were poor today and for the taking, yet we didn’t attempt to take any initiative, every move was made in caution to Leicester’s strengths.

We have no identity, uniqueness, the club just stinks of a corporate sporting franchise with no soul (its claims the football club and the city is its soul).

Ralph is tactically appalling and squad selection is stubborn bordering arrogant;  the persistence in Nathan Tella, refuses to use Alex Jankewitz (btw Spurs, Mönchengladbach, Lyon and Basel are interested in), lack of understanding of Ings and Adams partnership. Walcott is just an enigma who we’re only signing due to personality traits (give him a job in the ducking foundation or back room staff). I can’t think of one player that has improved under Ralph, I did previously think JWP but even his style has changed significantly.
 

Ramblings of a fucked off (arguably fickle) scummer who will be back for more once England let us down in the summer. 

 

 

Edited 18 April, 2021 by Monk

[AlexLaw76]

Did we really "save ourselves" for that as the excuse for being smashed by WBA?

 

Ralph has had his day, the players have clearly gone off him, for what ever reason.