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Southampton 2 - 0 Newcastle Utd - 25/11/12 - post-match reaction from page 45


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Two defensive midfielders in the centre and two centre forwards who can't hold the ball up. Not a recipe for building attacks.

 

Cisse can hold the ball up. Playing up front on his own at Freiburg he was brilliant at it.

 

I've never seen him play for Freiburg, but I simply don't believe that. He's absolutely terrible at it, even worse than Ba.

 

Me neither but i would imagine when he played up front on his own at Freiberg he wasn't having balls fired at his head and instead was getting balls played through midfield and then down the side of centre backs for him to run on too. 

 

In short our biggest problem is not creating any good opportunities for our strikers to do something. We have no system or plan of attack to break down and unlock opponents defense. When harem and Cabaye are injured or off forum we are basically f**k.

 

The lack of investment in senior players last summer is now bearing it's results and I blame Ashley for this.

 

With those two absent we don't create anything down the centre. The only threat we had today came from the wings, and a lot of that was from fairly deep crosses.

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every god damn player in every team we played against this season has looked the business vs us.

 

i mean seriously even with a full strength squad there would only be three changes in the line-up vs Southampton.  And no i dont think we should have the god given rights to beat teams like southampton everytime  but!....

 

hba, cabaye, colo, missing yes they are very important players,  but that still EIGHT of our first teamers (purple players) that still started.

 

we should not look as dire as that with just 3 players missing vs a team that has the worst defensive record in the whole league. 

 

completely unacceptable.

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As bad as we were - and boy, we really were - I thought Southampton were brilliant.

 

As for us? We're in a lot of trouble.

 

They weren't brilliant - they passed the ball to each other instead of to the opposition, ran off the ball to create space and wanted it more than we did...they also looked organized.

 

We made them look like Real Madrid instead of a newly-promoted side just finding their feet...we could and should have lost 5 - 0, they hit the woodwork 3 times.

 

We are a shambles of a team, and if we lose at Stoke on Weds, the alarm bells will be clanging very loudly indeed.

 

This sort of shambles can't go on - if it does, we'll be looking for a new manager by Christmas.

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Only saw the second half but that was laughably comfortable for a team that most predict will be battling relegation all season. Could have quite easily been six or seven.

 

Even aside from the question of management, the number of basic errors the players are making at present is unbelievable. Players running into each other, throw-ins immediately putting teammates under pressure (there were two in particular in the second half that were truly incredible), corners taken directly to the opposition, shots spilled by the goalkeeper and so on. There's a fundamental problem here right now.

 

Absolutely. It's been collectively s****; all players and manager are getting it wrong at the moment. It's a recipe for defeat.

 

No - its a recipe for relegation.

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Barely watching after 65 minutes, but my thoughts (mainly from the first half):

 

- Tiote did well first-half, risky backpass aside

- Ferguson put in a good free-kick - the first I've seen in a while - with really good shape whipped in behind the Southampton defence. One of the few times their defence was meaningfully tested. Unfortunately, like many of our set-penises it ended up with them going up the other end and getting a free-kick for nothing on the edge of our box.

- Ba's individualism from the off was galling to see. After 2-3 minutes, he showed it for the first time. Better pption to pass, and he tried to go for it alone. Not sure if that's a lack of faith in his teammates (which would be super-depressing so early in the match) or if those are the tactics.

- Saylor, and other defenders in fairness, all seem to be adopting Danny Simpson style defending - trying to guide attackers away, rather than stand up to them and put in a challenge. Really, really bad habit - and it's costing us goals.

- Crossing... we have to start getting in behind defences before we cross. We don't have the quality of delivery to be able to cross diagonally from in front of defences.

- Southampton. Well done, played well - even if you were up against s*** opposition.

 

Also a shame Ferguson and Sammy will get exaggerated and undue flak from supporters because of bigger problems. They'll be wrongly hung out to dry. They weren't perfect today but "never going to make it" comments seem daft IMO.

Interesting comment about Ba. I tend to agree, i think Cisse holds it up and looks to find a team mate better than Ba does and despite his goals I think we need to get away fro playing the 2 of them up top and actually have the balls to pick one of them, and at the minute i'd pick Cisse.

 

Ba is looking more and more as if he is part of the problem - he is next to useless at holding up the ball, esp for a big man and his control is often suspect in tight situations.

 

If we could get a decent target man I would replace him because this clause in his contract will always be held over the club's head.

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Did

Two defensive midfielders in the centre and two centre forwards who can't hold the ball up. Not a recipe for building attacks.

 

Cisse can hold the ball up. Playing up front on his own at Freiburg he was brilliant at it.

 

I've never seen him play for Freiburg, but I simply don't believe that. He's absolutely terrible at it, even worse than Ba.

 

Me neither but i would imagine when he played up front on his own at Freiberg he wasn't having balls fired at his head and instead was getting balls played through midfield and then down the side of centre backs for him to run on too. 

The was a moment in the 2nd half when cisse was called offside after making the right dash when he was behind the southhampton defense line and waited and waited (while he was dashing) for the ballot come from Simpson and when it came it was too late. The shake of the head and the smile of frustration he had on his face says it all.

 

In short our biggest problem is not creating any good opportunities for our strikers to do something. We have no system or plan of attack to break down and unlock opponents defense. When harem and Cabaye are injured or off forum we are basically f**k.

 

The lack of investment in senior players last summer is now bearing it's results and I blame Ashley for this.

 

Agree that lack of investment to blame, but there is little evidence to suggest that we would play any differently with 1 or 2 new players.

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It's just so uninspiring to go through another week on the back of an utterly gutless defeat. I wish we'd actually show some fight at least, but there's nothing at all.

 

Wish we'd bewwwww them so bad in the next home game. It's the only way we can try to slap it into their consciousness.

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Guest firetotheworks

Most of those successful ones weren't route one passes either. Nothing with most of the successful ones. I see 4 hoofs that were successful and I'd be surprised if any of them then went to one of our players/they didn't then immediately lose the ball.

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