Concentrate On The Game In Hand Not The Past.
Sunday, 27th Nov 2016 10:38

Everyone connected with Southampton Football Club have to concentrate on what is on the pitch and for different reasons.

There is a lot of bitterness towards Ronald Koeman in the way that he departed from St Mary's as there was when his predecessor went to Tottenham Hotspur in similar circumstances, however that was slightly different in that you sensed that Pochettino was a wrong un and would do the dirty, whereas everything about Koeman suggested that he had morals and was an honest man with principles.

That is why Koeman's departure hurt, he did a great job and we wanted him to stay, but that is now in the past and we have to put everything to bed and get on with things, for me Koeman should be warmly applauded then when the starting whistle sounds, the past should be firmly behind us and we have to concentrate on the future.

So firstly the supporters need to concentrate on doing this and backing the team towards a victory that will give our season the reboot it needs.

So that means forgetting about what happened in Prague, I have yet to meet a Saints fan who was happy about the team selection in Prague, I could go on for paragraphs about how we went wrong and undoubtedly Claude Puel made a big mistake in how he selected his team.

But that is gone, we can put that right in a couple of weeks when we meet Happoel Be'er Sheva and we need to put that out of our minds and concentrate on Everton.

So if the supporters do their bit, then it is down to the players to get things back on track, there was friction between both players and fans after the game in Prague and whilst I don't think they should have been booed off the pitch, the players themselves have to understand that they did not put in a display which was acceptable at the level we are striving to achieve.

The goal we conceded was sloppy and showed a lack of concentration, but that alone did not cost us the game and the team have to look at themselves and accept that the total lack of creativity was down to them, yes Puel's team selection was poor, but few out there in Prague came out of the game with their reputation improved.

So if both fans and players concentrate then the last thing is the manager to get things right.

By his own admission he is still learning the English game and in truth he has shown he can gel the team together and get a run of results, but he shot himself in the foot with his team selections in both Milan and Prague and that has not helped his popularity amongst the supporters.

He needs to realise that sometimes in games like the one against Sparta it is not about squad rotation, but asking your best players to walk that extra mile and play a game or two more than is normal, yes the squad has to be utilised to it's full extent and it is about results.

Of course Puel has had issues he cannot control in terms of injuries to key players, but on Wednesday he had virtually a full squad to pick from and the first priority should have been getting a result, not resting Jose Fonte and others.

Today against Everton if the usual pattern is followed we will put out a full team, but on Wednesday we go to Arsenal and we need our strongest team out not another weakened side.

This club is long overdue a semi final in a major competition and indeed another trophy, the League Cup is our best chance of doing that and in the process giving us a European Campaign next season, let us not be saying the same things after the trip to the Emirates as we were after Sparta Prague.

So everyone connected with this football clubs Manager, players and supporters need to concentrate on the positive things and not the negatives,football teams need their supporters roaring encouragement not abuse, the fans need their players putting in a game to the best of their abilities and both players and supporters need a manager putting out his best team in key games.

If we do all that then success is not far away, or is it better to scream abuse at certain players on the pitch and make things worse ?

Photo: Action Images

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highfield49 added 11:07 - Nov 27

Is it just possible, he said trying to convince himself, that Puel made a decision to risk playing a speculative team selection in Prague in order to put out the strongest possible side against Everton and Arsenal? A huge gamble if he did, based on keeping at least a clean sheet against Happoel in a couple of weeks time. That said I'm struggling now to decide exactly what is our strongest team as perhaps only seven or eight players look like automatic selections at present. If Tadic isn't fit to return as yet would anyone support the view Puel rolls the dice and plays Boufal rather than Redmond?

SanMarco added 11:39 - Nov 27

Isn't the 6 million dollar question how far off our "strongest" team it was in Prague. Certainly the two first choice full-backs (with both fit and playing well) would make a big difference and Davis instead of Clasie but have we got that much more to bring in other than Tadic? Yes - those names make the side stronger but do thet make it strong? Let's hope they will answer that question in the positive this afternoon.

PS - No reason why Everton should be brimming with confidence and they are no Chelsea or Liverpool so let's GET AT them - and a poisonousness atmosphere in the stands directed solely at the returning manager has not in recent years been an effective route towards 3 points.

SanMarco added 11:39 - Nov 27

SanMarco added 11:40 - Nov 27 Sorry I seem to have developed a sticky mouse - I will look for some ointment....
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ExiledSupporter added 14:50 - Nov 27

Sorry Nick, I'm tired of the unjustifiably positive attitude you have developed over recent months eg. your comment above "Manager, players and supporters need to concentrate on the positive things and not the negatives..." This is naive from someone I cannot believe after all these years is that delusional!

Especially when the negative is becoming increasingly apparent and becoming worryingly existential (although many of us have thought it obvious so for some time) we do not have a reliable trio of forwards (fitness/form/complementary skills); nor do we possess midfielders who can be relied on to contribute more than a small handful of goals in a season; nor do we have many who can play sufficient, consistent quality passes/crosses into the opposition's penalty area. In these circumstances it seems wrongheaded that we should only address those positive things about the team which recently amount to us getting narrow victories or not losing by bucketfulls of goals. Both important considerations, but not sufficient to emphasise the positive and look away from the negative.

We are where we are - and I have no problem with the appointment of Puel in principle, though agree that he has made some recent selection errors which have cost us dearly. Nor do I think that the incoming players are unsuitable, but it will take them some time to mature into the right calibre; not least of these is Boufal who has had a medium term injury, missed most of the pre-season and more in convalescence and has only played in the French league which is typically less physical and pacy than the EPL. These players need time and I applaud the club for 'buying forward'. Here's the negative part though, the club appears to have neglected the urgent need to replace the c60% of last season's scoring capacity (represented by Pelle and Mane). We could also have spent more on keeping Koeman had the Board had a little more foresight or been allowed by the owners to spend more to secure as good a manager as we were ever likely to have (despite some of his relatively minor faults)

This amounts either to wanton complacency in the interests of 'jam tomorrow' or more cynically a desire for the club ie. the owners to reap the rewards of the many good deals (though not as good prices as some other clubs seem to extort from the top six that we customarily let our best talent go to - see Klopp's comments in last weekend's press regards how much Liverpool would have to have paid for Mane, and would have paid, had he joined BMG rather than Saints from Austria). The key question is never answered ie. why is it that for the last three or four years transfer expenditure has always been more or less (significantly less sometimes) equivalent to transfer income? Where does the consider4able wealth accrued from TV rights go - never apparently on outstanding established players. And perhaps that is how we are where we are today (again)...as a club we 'know our place' and are beholding to clubs who ravish our squads and set us back time and again.

So let's reduce the volume of positive waffle and confront some of the harsh realities that undermine our ambitions to move forward sustainably.

So let's be positive, c'mon you Saints, let's take this fight to Everton this afternoon and start making progress again, but let's not lose sight of the mistakes that consistently mean that each season we seem to undermine our own attempts to move forward by virtue of our summer bargain sales season!

DPeps added 15:56 - Nov 27

Great post Exiled. I agree with pretty much everything you say.
I think the club is terrified of spending big and getting stung if those players turn out to be below standard or get injured etc. There's so much money in the PL now that clubs are desperate to not risk relegation. On this occasion, however, the club's prudence is actually risky in itself because we lack quality in midfield and up front at the moment.