Southampton 3-1 Leeds - Match Thread

[Southner]

Mad that we could already be 11 points behind top spot after Leicester's game, but plenty of games to go. Championship can be a crazy ol' place. 

[trousers]

3 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Turns out that a lot of people who chat away like they think they know it all don't have a fucking clue. 

The same people that have been crying out for Russell Martin to ditch the possession dogma and play a more direct / pragmatic style...?

[Jimmy_D]

First half was the best half of football we’ve put together for quite some time, which is just as well because the ref was up there with the worst we’ve seen at St Mary’s.

Top quality finishing today!

Brilliant result, there aren’t many teams I enjoy beating more than Leeds 😇

[saint lard]

Lucky win. 
but I’ll take it. 

[Harry_SFC]

Just now, saint lard said:

Lucky win. 
but I’ll take it. 

I've been very critical of the manager etc the last few weeks, but how was that win lucky? 

[pimpin4rizeal]

Close to the best side we could put out today . Fair play to Martin. Loving the confidence AA is finding now it’s time he plays instead of che two great finishes. 

Always thought Sulamana would be a class above in this division.. once we get our attack settled and clicking it’s gonna be really juicy !

also kwp really looking good again super ball for AA’s first 

[Gloucester Saint]

Far better, fell off a bit for a 15 minute spell second half but otherwise big improvement.

Better for being less predictable in the play, Sully and Stu excellent, KWP class, Alcaraz did valuable work pulling Cooper out of position, destabilising their midfield. Smallbone very good goal, bit more bite in his play and hopefully builds on that. AA buzzed around like a wasp and took goal very well, bit unfortunate the second deemed an OG.

THB and JB at CB much better pairing and few issues with Piroe. Downes still recovering his full strength but like Smallbone, more bite. Could have done a bit better on their goal. 

One good stop from Baz, great distribution, not heaps to do but tidy. Bit more proactive off his line but a work in progress. Manning forward nicely, the more pragmatic system offered him more protection and he looked more comfortable. 

[hypochondriac]

I'm genuinely chuffed we won and pleased for Martin who I think is a good man. Let's not though pretend that this is Martin's system coming good. This was largely abandoning the system and doing something that can actually win football matches. I hope Martin doesn't try and gaslight the fans by saying that his system is now working. 

[FarehamSaintJames]

So what was the system that was played today?

[Block41 Saint]

Really good first half performance and a deserved win overall. 

[SNSUN]

Missed the last 15mins driving home but it sounded like we were comfortable. What a positive way to start my annual leave! 

Curry tonight, Muse gig tomorrow. Great weekend.

[Zorba]

Happy with that result. Missed the first half so am presuming they played significantly better than the second half performance I did see. A mild improvement on recent games but thought Leeds looked well off the pace.

Hopefully this is a turning point.

We dream on.

[Lighthouse]

Farke going to town on the officials and saying Leeds were unlucky. I think we've seen enough of that from our own managers to know it's not gonig to go down well.

[LGTL]

21 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Turns out that a lot of people who chat away like they think they know it all don't have a fucking clue. 

Up the Saints.

There was a notable change in style today which seemed to help. Far more aggressive, much quicker in possession, particularly first half. Hopefully Martin doesn’t revert to type. 

Edited 30 September, 2023 by LGTL

[Baird of the land]

Very important win

First half was excellent. Alcaraz, Sulemana, A.Arsmtrong caused them problems. Took our chances.

2nd half very concerning. Was it a fitness thing? Struggled to get out of our own half. Glad the bad piroe turned up because he had a couple of moments where if he'd been on it it could have become a lot more fragile.

[Suhari]

Didn't watch. Go me!

Doing a win makes me feel smiling. I like it. Please do lots more Saints 

[Colinjb]

3 hours ago, Colinjb said:

We are going to get torn apart...... again.

Love being wrong at times.

[AlexLaw76]

3 minutes ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

So what was the system that was played today?

A pretty pragmatic set up. False 9 sort of thing, no inverted fullbacks and defended in numbers.  More longer balls from the back too. 
 

was not pretty, but our goals were good. Leeds well on top for about 25 mins in the 2nd half, but we defended well

[AlexLaw76]

23 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Turns out that a lot of people who chat away like they think they know it all don't have a fucking clue. 

Up the Saints.

Considering we played a very different system and setup from the standard Martin-ball

[skintsaint]

6 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Farke going into town with the officials

Might be more like it, so pro-Leeds today the ref.

[skintsaint]

24 minutes ago, Southner said:

Mad that we could already be 11 points behind top spot after Leicester's game,

Not really, we lost 4 on the bounce.

[Jimmy_D]

6 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Farke going to town on the officials and saying Leeds were unlucky. I think we've seen enough of that from our own managers to know it's not gonig to go down well.

Farke was complaining about the officials? After today?

What?  

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, Jimmy_D said:

Farke was complaining about the officials? After today?

What?  

The ref was a right piece. 

[RedArmy]

I reckon it was those lgbtqiayehaspdkrbabs shirts they wore for the warm ups that did it. 

[Lighthouse]

4 minutes ago, Jimmy_D said:

Farke was complaining about the officials? After today?

What?  

First goal he was implying was offside, bemoaning the lack of VAR. The second he said Smallbone should have been sent off a few minutes before and he was also going on about the 30 seconds injury procedure.

[rallyboy]

15 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Farke going to town on the officials and saying Leeds were unlucky.

Unlucky? They were fucking dreadful, it reminded me of another side I'd seen recently, no plan B, delusions of being able to play out from the back, sloppy passing and lots of sideways with no end product, followed up by the manager saying he thought they'd played great. Clown.

And Leeds should have had 3 or 4 more bookings.

Either way, a great day.

 

[derry]

Well that was new, defenders defending, quick breaks, longer passes and less possession. The only times we had problems when we tried to play it around in our own half.

[BranfootsLoveChild]

Just read some comments on the Leeds FB page. Only one comment I saw moaning about the officials. Most other comments were about how Farke set the team up for what he thought would be an easy game!

[jasonbenali]

That just about gets the 3-4 v Leeds out of my system...

Saints almost unrecognisable from the first game where it was all about possession - we could have done with some of that towards the end to see out time but Leeds are better at pressing than Sheff Weds and we don't seem to have been able to play that way since Ward-Prowse left. Much more akin to 'Championship' football with more directness, some decent quality up front and clinical finishing - just baffled at how bad A Armstrong was in the Prem when he looks so calm in front of goal at this level. It seems he needs the extra time you get at this level.

Harwood-Bellis looks a decent signing alongside Bednarek although I still think we're too passive at the back particularly on crosses and second balls. Sulemana is going to frustrate a lot when he gives the ball away so regularly, but he has something special and is only going to improve.

After 4 losses on the bounce I'll take that incredible start and win, just so Saintsy!

[hasper57saint]

Previous texters have also commented. Is there any possibility we could have some form of consistency by Referees. I lost count at the amount of nasty fouls Leeds committed and yet the Ref thought ours yellows. My optimism has returned and I hope it’s because RM reads some of our positive posts. Put out your best team and you get a result. 

[Vancouver Saint]

Ha, had so dismissed this game already as a lost cause didn't bother to check the time and missed the game - typical I should miss a win. Summary in a nutshell anyone?

[Convict Colony]

On 29/09/2023 at 08:09, Convict Colony said:

Don't think I'm able to watch it due to some cunt visiting me so I'm guaranteeing a 3-1 masterclass to us.

Would guess Armstrong gets 2 and smallbone 1, think Suelemana assists a couple as well.

 

Sometimes on this site i come across someone who really knows his shit and bow down to their greater knowledge, think this is one of those times.

[Toadhall Saint]

2 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Sometimes on this site i come across someone who really knows his shit and bow down to their greater knowledge, think this is one of those times.

Lottery numbers please

[redkeith]

54 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Far better, fell off a bit for a 15 minute spell second half but otherwise big improvement.

Better for being less predictable in the play, Sully and Stu excellent, KWP class, Alcaraz did valuable work pulling Cooper out of position, destabilising their midfield. Smallbone very good goal, bit more bite in his play and hopefully builds on that. AA buzzed around like a wasp and took goal very well, bit unfortunate the second deemed an OG.

THB and JB at CB much better pairing and few issues with Piroe. Downes still recovering his full strength but like Smallbone, more bite. Could have done a bit better on their goal. 

One good stop from Baz, great distribution, not heaps to do but tidy. Bit more proactive off his line but a work in progress. Manning forward nicely, the more pragmatic system offered him more protection and he looked more comfortable. 

 

[Saint Fan CaM]

Sulemana got MOTM somehow, but I’m glad he did…hopefully he’ll grow as an influential player in the way Mane did.

The key differences for me were…

(a) the lack of rigidity caused by continual adherence to the inverted wingback idea which gave KWP and Manning more flexibility to play a ‘normal game’. They did step inside but generally only deep in our half to assist playing out, the reverted back to their natural position. I can only assume that’s RM tweaking the system to make it work better - fair play if so.

(b) the faster movement of the ball forwards - very telling and it suited Arma in particular so much more. Telling that this stopped after the break or the passing became more erratic.

(c) the press was much more organised, with players going together rather than sporadic individuals. Again we let them come onto us more into the second half which is recipe for disaster normally, but thankfully Leeds couldn’t find their own rythym. We’ll not get away with this in other games.

Feels great to have a win…really, really need to follow-up at Stoke.

 

[redkeith]

Much better performance. A bit more pragmatism last week and we would have won 1 0 . 

Kwp very good , as was all the defence.  

Sulemana was a class apart. Had them worried every time. I was worried when he came off that they would pile forward more, which they did , but we rode it out. 

I  still remember the 3 4 defeat when Rednkapp moved Wallcot out to the wing when he was murdering them down the middle. Feared the same here.

One last thing would much rather see Doyle on instead of Aribo. 

 

[Miltonaggro]

Having a relaxing pint after a rather pleasant afternoon watching SFC beat Leeds. That’s about as schizophrenic performance as I can remember, it was as if the side had undergone a transplant. Credit where it’s due, we looked excellent today, hunting for every 50/50 and giving it a real go, Leeds second best all over the park, theirs was a soft goal and should have been 4-0. I had Adam Armstrong as man of the match, proper Duracell bunny performance. Onwards and upwards. 

[miserableoldgit]

Random thoughts on today:-

1) When the team was announced, it felt different. I actually felt a bit positive. I would have had Charles over Smallbone but other than that....

2) Saints seemed, for the first time this season, to have a "nasty" edge to their game. Dishing out niggly fouls and not afraid to get stuck in. I saw somebody mention a "lack of discipline", but I saw it more as a will to win dirty if neccessary.

3) I was pleased to see "dreadful, dreadful footballers" scoring the goals.

4) I thought that apart from when they scored their goal and for about 10 minutes afterward we controlled the game. Leeds didn't seem to offer much.....or was it that we didn't let them.

5) The Northam chanting Gavin Bazunu's name a few times.

6) Leeds fans being kept generally quiet.

7) How did KS get Man of the Match?? Not saying that he had a bad game, just didn't stand out.

Edited 30 September, 2023 by miserableoldgit

[BotleySaint]

Got to be looking to follow this up with a winning run. 3 in the next 4 and the season is back on track. 

The much critised Adam Armstrong on 7 goals for the season already. He has found his level. 

[miserableoldgit]

4 minutes ago, BotleySaint said:

Got to be looking to follow this up with a winning run. 3 in the next 4 and the season is back on track. 

The much critised Adam Armstrong on 7 goals for the season already. He has found his level. 

And yet i still see experts on here calling him dreadful....I think that there are few that put in as much effort as he does. Very under-rated IMHO.

[gio1saints]

Still trying to work out what was different about Saints today not in terms of players but in terms of the tactics. 
 

Others have helped on that already but my general perception was that

1. we appeared more dynamic in attack. My personal view is that Che is a relatively stationary striker not super fast or a devastating finisher and not all that powerful at holding the ball up either - so dropping him and putting on more mobile attacking players made sense and meant we looked more dangerous. 

2. we appeared to be happy to go long quicker 

3. our defenders passed into midfield or further much quicker. Less backwards passing. 
 

4. Baz played best game I’ve seen him

play.

[Lymington Saint]

Just back.  Looked like a change in formation to me, with a diamond in midfield allowing full backs to push up.  Downes as the holding midfielder and Alcarez at the point as a false 9.  With two up front in Armstrong and Sulemana.  Team looked much better connected, without the huge gaps as in recent games.  And they were mixing it up, going long sometimes.  Defended well second half.  Think that he might have stumbled on a formation that actually works.

[Midfield_General]

Well that was a pleasant surprise. Actually looked like a football team, with a shape and a defence. 

Thought Bednarek was excellent. Good positioning, calm under pressure and some good interceptions. 

Bazunu didn’t have a huge amount to do but couldn’t do anything for the goal and his distribution was superb.

All three goals really well taken. Nice to see Adam Armstrong starting to thrive and look confident. It might be his level but if he keeps this up there’s no reason why he can’t have another 20 goal season, and I never thought I’d be saying that.

Not perfect by any means - we still gave the ball away way too much and looked weak in the tackle in midfield at times - but it felt pleasingly back to basics, which it needed to after the car crash of the last few weeks, and damn it feels good to win at home. 

Leeds were shite, mind. 

Edited 30 September, 2023 by Midfield_General

[Smatt48]

Just back from game. Generally Excellent as has been stated already vEXCEPT can someone explain what the hell our goal kick situation is meant to be achieving? What's the tactic?

Baz and the 2 CBs all in the 6 yard box. Baz passes to CB and gets the ball back immediately only to look up and see 2 Leeds players sprinting toward him?? What the actual?

 

Or...the pass out to Bednarek who stands still with the ball under his feet inviting pressure?!

 

We've already lost games from pissing about at the back, my only huge gripe is constantly being nervous when we get a flipping goal kick ffs!

[Cabrone]

Got to admit I thought Leeds would tear us a new one but relieved to get 3 points.

Must build on this and get a real run going - Stoke, Rotherham, Hull, Preston, B'ham, Millwall - 15 points out of that lot would get us back on track for auto promotion if we are serious - and we should be.

Keep with this lineup and tactics if it works.

[The Cat]

Those sort of goal kicks are done by loads of teams. It's to draw players towards the ball so you can then play it into the gaps they have left.

It relies on CB's and GK with good passing ability and midfielders finding the space. When it works it's very effective. When it doesn't it can get a bit worrying.

Launching the ball towards the striker or winger from every goal kick seems a bit outdated now.

[The Cat]

Weirdly quiet on here after a win. 

Why do people like to moan more than they do celebrate?

[miserableoldgit]

12 minutes ago, Smatt48 said:

Just back from game. Generally Excellent as has been stated already vEXCEPT can someone explain what the hell our goal kick situation is meant to be achieving? What's the tactic?

Baz and the 2 CBs all in the 6 yard box. Baz passes to CB and gets the ball back immediately only to look up and see 2 Leeds players sprinting toward him?? What the actual?

 

Or...the pass out to Bednarek who stands still with the ball under his feet inviting pressure?!

 

We've already lost games from pissing about at the back, my only huge gripe is constantly being nervous when we get a flipping goal kick ffs!

Leeds were doing the same thing.....it's the modern way.....

[northam soul]

Aribo at the final whistle

[Patches O Houlihan]

11 minutes ago, Smatt48 said:

Just back from game. Generally Excellent as has been stated already vEXCEPT can someone explain what the hell our goal kick situation is meant to be achieving? What's the tactic?

Baz and the 2 CBs all in the 6 yard box. Baz passes to CB and gets the ball back immediately only to look up and see 2 Leeds players sprinting toward him?? What the actual?

 

Or...the pass out to Bednarek who stands still with the ball under his feet inviting pressure?!

 

We've already lost games from pissing about at the back, my only huge gripe is constantly being nervous when we get a flipping goal kick ffs!

In theory drawing those attackers in and delaying the pass out creates more space for the midfield receivers to work in, but there's a definite risk/reward to consider that we've been often getting wrong, but mostly did ok with today