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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by SanMarco at 19:21:53
I can't speak for the 'fanbase' but I know I am far from the only one uneasy with RM's 'philosophy'. Tippy-tappy can only be said to have worked if we end up doing better than we would have playing other more dynamic styles. We will never know that of course, it is the road not taken, but I would conclude that more good chances to score have been handed to the opposition than have been created by us as a result of tippy-tappy.
There is nothing wrong with possession-based play as part of a strategy but when it becomes the only goal of our play it is too easy to play against and prepare for. Stoke know how we will play and they will plan accordingly. If we beat them it will be because we have better players - not because we played tippy-tappy. |
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by saintmark1976 at 17:58:21
It’s not so much about team selection Nick, although I agree that for much of the season Russell Martin’s choices have been utterly incomprehensible in this regard.
The problem is his inability to see that there are ways of playing football other than his tippy tappy nonsense. Witness Tuesday when he achieved 63% ball possession but without a single shot on goal.
Any half decent manager would have seen that he had been found out after the Huddersfield home game when they attacked us and scored three goals in the first half. Yes, we won but ever since then every other half decent team has seen a way of succeeding against his sole method of play and that’s what has cost us automatic promotion.
In my opinion whatever happens tomorrow is irrelevant. It’s now entirely evident that Russell Martin can’t or more likely won’t change his method of play. This being the case he is now a dead man walking, it matters not whether we stay in The Championship or obtain promotion through the playoffs. Either way I hope that Russell Martin’s time at S F C is coming to a close.
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by LordDZLucan at 15:29:43
Other teams have got better at nullifying us as the season has gone on. They learn from the first time they played us as well as from watching how other sides achieve success against us. Therefore I think we need to be more flexible in our tactics. Our full backs tend to be very good at attacking but not so good at defending. I would therefore be tempted to play 3 centre backs thereby allowing KWP and RM to play further up the pitch where they are more comfortable and effective. I know we’ve tried this before this season but we didn’t give it a proper go. The next 2 games are an opportunity to try to bed it in properly. |
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by JoeEgg at 15:21:29
" Protestations that the fan base are bereft with the current side are way off the mark (in my opinion)."
Not so sure of the truth of this statement.
If we lose to Stoke and/or go on to miss out on promotion through the play-offs, I hope the vast majority of our fan base will realise the utter stupidity of playing the RM tippy tappy stuff with players neither good enough nor happy to play it.
We are not a Premier League side and it was not asking a lot extra from our players to win more games this season in the Championship. If next season we lose our best players and get a new selection of spares from the likes of clubs like Bournemouth, we shall soon start to struggle. Playing Stoke at the weekend might help remind a few supporters that their decline started when they failed to gain immediate promotion back to the Premiership. |
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by JoeEgg at 15:11:38
" Protestations that the fan base are bereft with the current side are way off the mark (in my opinion)."
Not so sure of the truth of this statement.
If we lose to Stoke and/or go on to miss out on promotion through the play-offs, I hope the vast majority of our fan base will realise the utter stupidity of playing the RM tippy tappy stuff with players neither good enough nor happy to play it.
We are not a Prelier Lea |
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by TimSaint at 13:32:07
Fraser had the confidence, life and everything else kicked out of him against Millwall - their game plan was purely to target Fraser and after 4 bad fouls on him, he was forced off injured and hasn't been the same since. |
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by WestSussexSaint at 13:00:38
I realise everyone is entitled to their opinion but this site regularly presents itself as being in tune with the fan base. I don’t know how you can suggest that the fan base is feeling like we have been relegated. Yes there is a degree of disappointment at recent results which have meant we missed out on automatic promotion. But this is nothing like the feeling I and most fans experienced last season when each week we turned up to watch expecting to get beaten regardless of the opposition.
We are in the playoffs and on balance this season the fan experience has been ten times better than recent seasons in the PL because we have been competitive and winning most of the time. So I for one hope we are promoted but even if we are not will be thankful to the management and team for bringing som joy back to SMS this season. Protestations that the fan base are bereft with the current side are way off the mark (in my opinion). |
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Comment | Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
by A1079 at 10:26:15
I think RM needs to play the players that he is going to use in the playoffs because he needs to get them playing as a group again and they the players need to know that they are the ones that he has faith in to give us the best chance. The selection of McCarthy over Lumley was a really poor decision and sent the wrong message - I wonder how much that affected the feeling in the changing room. The message that RM gave out after the Cardiff game told everyone that he thrown in the towel from an automatic promotion perspective and that showed at Leicester in the players performance - loads of possession but no intent.
I am going tomorrow, travelling down from Yorkshire. I appreciate Nick you giving a supportive message of the fans because tomorrow is sold out (whether everyone turns up is another matter - I have been in 2 minds despite buying the ticket but I will go in hope that we see a different attitude on the pitch). The Saints fans support has been great this season home and away (accepting our vocal support has not always been as good as it could be). We have been there and we have been there in numbers and how let down those that went to Leicester on Tuesday must have felt.
As usual the players trotted out the same old stuff after a bad defeat about letting us down and must do better. Heard it all before after a bad defeat and you usually get a brief response and then they lapse back. I just hope the players get it as well as I am not convinced they all do or have the same desire - after all, to some it won't matter whether we challenge for promotion or not because they will just play out their loans or move on anyway.
Overall I have enjoyed this season and it has been good to watch and be a part of. It has gone a bit sour since the Easter period and there is a sense that the manager and the team have lost their way and motivation. It will be interesting to see not just how we react tomorrow but in the playoffs - will we be lions or mice?
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Thread | Man. City
by grumpy at 21:35 25 Apr 2024
I cant see them not winning the premier again. |
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