Why are Saints in the market for another striker ?

This season has seen Saints often crush sides and scoring goals is rarely a problem, indeed in Lambert, Guly & Barnard they have three players all capable of hitting 20 goals this season, add Connolly on the bench and firepower isnt the problem with Saints, especially since Lallana & Chamberlain are no slouches and of course there is still Oxo, at time of writing anyway.

Given that firepower, saints may only be fourth in the goalscoring charts at present, but take away their poor form early season and you would not bet against Saints being top scorers come May.

No the problem with Saints has not been attacking its been defending, some may find it strange I say this, given that with only 22 goals conceded, only Brighton have a meaner defence, but its not been the number that we have conceded its been the manner.

Truth is too many soft goals have ben let in, in games when keeping a clean sheet is needed to be able to get a grip on the game from the start, Tranmere was a typical example of this, it was a game like most away games, where Saints need to weather an early storm, get a grip on the game and then impose themselves on the opposition, but a soft goal was conceded meaning that not only were Saints playing catch up, but the opposition spirit was up and suddenly Saints were needing to dig in against a side now fighting for every ball like it was the final minute of the FA Cup final.

A Look back at the results over the season, shows a plethora of games where we have dropped points through silly defensive lapses, Plymouth at home, Orient at home, Yeovil away, Carlisle away and now Tranmere, all games were defensive lapses cost us dearly, at a guess 7 points have been dropped in those games, if we had just got half of those points the table would look a lot better for us (that extra 1/2 point might be vital lol)

But as i said, Saints have one of the best defences in the league, so wheres the problem ? well the problem lies in the fact that in having one of the tightest defences it allows the opposition less shots on goal, meaning that on shote on target to goals ratio, it actually has one of the worst, Plymouth had one shot on target, Orient three, Yeovil one, Carlisle 4, and finally Tranmere two.

Add that up and what you have in those 5 games is a total of 11 shots on target and amazingly 8 goals going in !!!!

What that tells us is that we have a defence and goalkeeper who are prone to lapses of concentration, everyone tells me that Kelvin Davis is a good shot stopper, well statistics do not back up these facts, in those games we did not even keep out 1 in 2 shots, compare that to the other end where we need about 5 on target for every goal and it should be telling our management a few things about what needs to be changed.

Some will say that this is another rant at kelvin, its not, its just a look at some statistics, like it or not statistics play a big part in the game nowadays and these are very relevant, for those that say that you can make statistics say anything, I have tried hard this morning and i cant seem to make them add up to an extra 7 points and that the hard and fast statistic that counts.

But its not just a Saints thing, the trouble with this game is that managers are willing to splash out on forwards but not on goalkeepers and to a lesser extent defenders, but its these players that are the foundation of every succesful team.

Test the theory by taking a look at any Premier team, Arsenal have struggled relatively in recent years, but take a look at how much they have paid for goalkeepers and then compare it to forwards, Chelsea are big big spenders but Petr Cech only cost £7 million, even Man Utd whilst spending multi millions on the likes of Rooney always went for the cheap option with keepers after Schmeichel left and it took Sir Alex a while before he actually went out and signed someone good instead of just expensive.

So if every great football team has been built on a great goalkeeper and they have, just think of any succesful side and a good keeper is behind it, why do managers so rarely have a goalkeeper as a priority and indeed a position they are prepared to spend decent money on.

Hence we have Saints being linked with just about every forward in League 1, despite having three of the best to start with, but seemingly not doing anything about the goalkeeping problem.

The problem will not go away, just as good players dont become bad overnight, habits of a lifetime done change either, in this division we need to have a keeper that comes out and commands his box, in all of those five games mentioned, a fair chunk of those goals scored could have been prevented by Kelvin being in the right position and catching simple balls into the box, he is not going to suddenly start catching crosses at this stage in his career and as i have proved he is hardly stopping that many shots, so do we keep faith with him because he is good at dealing with a problem that doesnt exist, or do we do something about a problem that does !

Many have short memories, in 06/07 we dragged ourselves into the play offs after a change of keepers brought a new confidence in the side, simiarly in 07/08 it took the arrival of Richard Wright to tightenup the defence, at this stage if we have aspirations of automatic promotion we need to tackle this problem now.

Of course i would like to see the likes of Charlie Austin arrive at St Mary's, but before that happens i would like to see the real problem areas addressed.

Photo: Action Images

bstokesaint added 12:20 - Jan 27 I think where this article falls down is on the words "capable of hitting 20 goals in a season". Lambert is still below par for the season, Guly is showing promise but only time will tell how good he is, Barnard (unless I have missed anything) could be missing a few games because of his 'incident' and Connolly is constantly burdened by injuries. I cannot see the harm in adding an in-form striker to keep competition fierce. You mention that we don't have trouble scoring goals but we didn't score against 5th from bottom Tranmere. I'm not Kelvin's biggest fan, but I think our failure to beat some average to poor teams is more than the result of a couple of soft goals.

0

1962saint added 13:35 - Jan 27 Unfair to put all the blame on Davis - we have to look at all the defenders. Fonte is class but needs a more mobile partner at the centre of the defence. Some of Saints' more comfortable wins haven't been without nervy defensive spells eg Exeter in the 1st half when we failed to close down their forwards and Dag & Red away where we had a complete stranglehold on the game at 2-0. Then a hopeful cross Jaidi & Fonte left it to each other 2-1 and almost 2-2 a few minutes later until Lambert made the result safe. NA was a goalkeeper and seems to be happy to stick with Davis so let's trust his judgement. It will be his job on the line if Saints fail to get promoted.

0

Rednose added 14:44 - Jan 27 Some good points made here, and its obvious homework has been done. I can’t disagree, mainly because I still feel anxious when the opposition is bearing in on goal. However to view this perhaps a little more objectively I feel its safe to say that the position of keeper is a specialised job, and is so reliant of many factors not just being big and agile. To have the whole goalkeeping package is something quite special and would say rare in any one person. Obviously training and experience helps hone natural ability and improve on the things that can be taught, but the type of goalie you have to have at the highest level are few and far between. Is there better out there than what we’ve got and can do the job at Championship and then Premiership level, Yes without a doubt. Would they want to drop into League 1? The answer I would suggest is not so obvious. Kelvin is a good pro. As mentioned previously Dave Merrington rates him and obviously NA recognises his goalkeeping qualities and what he rings to the squad, I’m sure within the professional game others do to. To attract the type of keeper your article appears to be alluding to would: •Take a large amount of money to buy someone in. •Raise the Clubs wages structure that someone of that quality would command. •Or take time to find an up and coming star with the ability and consistency required. Once you have this very expensive and great goal keeper that you base all your hopes on keeping the goals out to win League one, you have to pray each week that he doesn’t get injured. If he does then you have a crock that you paying shed loads of money too to sit in the treatment room for weeks on end, whilst the team have to do their best with a lesser keeper. Clearly the facts don’t lie and I understand the frustrations. But KD number 1 BB as back up should be and dare I say it, are a good goal keeping pair to have at any League 1 (perhaps Championship) team chasing promotion. As long as we score more than the opposition then there is not a problem, which I guess is why more money is spent on strikers. In the words of a famous cartoon Meerkat Its Simples: The more good strikers you have at hand the better chance of scoring, after all you can only play one keeper at a time and you cannot guarantee that the best one is available. Time to get behind the whole team now especially the keepers. A good performance on Saturday to help build the the teams mental strength and our belief we can win this league COYS (What colour will Man u play in on Saturday any one know?).

0

SaintNick added 16:26 - Jan 27 The article was about putting facts above emotion, Im afraid the facts dont lie, Tony Warner in goal for Tranmere was everything Davis isnt but is needed in this league, big strong and dominant, he won Tranmere the game whilst Kelvin lost it for us, Warner was a free transfer, good goalkeepers are there and available
0

Rednose added 18:36 - Jan 27 I appreciate facts don't lie: Tranmere have a point’s total of 30 with a -8 goal difference. Saints are on 41 and have +21. My point wasn’t to trash your article merely to express that although a top, top keeper would be nice we are not doing bad. If we are to win this league it will be done as a team not down to one particular goal scorer or goal stopper. If we miss out again it will be as team not just the goalie. Football without emotion, are you mad? Football is pure emotion, why else would we all go daft on match day and wear replica shirts with players names younger than us on them, or is that just me :-) Any news on what kit Man U will be wearing, don't want to get in to the chant come on you reds if they are more red than us.

0

hortonsaint added 19:34 - Jan 27 Tony Warner is a seriously error prone keeper and has proven that throughout his career. It's all very well saying keepers look good in the odd game we see them but they are all playing at the likes of Tranmere for a good reason. Have you seen some of the howlers he has made in his career? I am sure if we signed one of these numerous superior keepers you talk about we'd soon find out that have plenty of their own weaknesses that would cost more points than Kelvin. Warner is a classic example, looks a great keeper on his day but has always made costly blunders. And time and time again Nick if it was so obvious why has Kelvin played 400 odd career games and keeps being perservered with?? Warner has never consistently been first choice at a club or made anywhere near this number of appearances. Sorry to disagree again but I don't dispute the need for another striker-Lambert is still way off form IMO, Guli has had a purple patch but still has a lot to prove and Barnard could be inside before long and is currently carrying injuries

0

stmichael added 21:49 - Jan 27 totally disagree. We have failed to score in 9 league games this season 11 if you include cup ties. there lies the reason we are not in the top 2. if KD has a drop in form then sure bring in BK. thats the whole point of a squad. both keepers are good enough for the championship let alone this league. to fail to score in 9 games against the quality of opposition we are against is a shocking stat given how good are strikers are SUPPOSED to be.

0

PatfromPoole added 23:35 - Jan 27 I totally agree with Nick. Kelvin has shown admirable loyalty to Saints, but I'm afraid he ultimately is not good enough.
0

SaintNick added 09:26 - Jan 28 I agree that football is a game of passion, but those signing and picking players should in this day and age be a little more scientific in their approach. hortonsaint perceived Tony Warner as being error prone and not having played many games, fact is he has played approaching 350 games in his career and I cant remember many of them, however i wasnt advocating signing warner per se, merely that goalkeepers are available . for st michael, our lack of goals in some games comes not from our lack of fire power, but the manager incistence that certain players play most of every game and other players dont, looking back perhaps our best front pairing would be guly and barnard, but when have we tried it ?

0

bstokesaint added 12:22 - Jan 28 Let's just see how the keeper and defence stand up tomorrow against the Premiership's finest. I'd suggest a clean sheet should guarantee all in the back line their place for the rest of the season!
0

PatfromPoole added 13:28 - Jan 28 Would that be Seaborne and Martin in the team for the whole season then? Would be more encouraged if it meant Bart got a chance though.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Southampton Polls