Newcastle United v Southampton - 10/03/18 - 3pm

[HaydnNUFC]

Think this whole discussion on what is and isn't must win has been blown a bit out of proportion like. Saturday is a very winnable fixture against an underachieving Southampton side whom we should've beaten away from home if not for a lapse in concentration from Lejeune, who could've actually redeemed himself by winning the game with a header off the line late on. It's the definition of a 6 pointer, 16th v 17th. We're at home. We should be looking to win the game. Southampton are a side who have won 1 league game in 16, which was against West Brom. Are we down if we fail to win? No. Would it make our lives a lot easier in securing survival if we won? Aye. We need 3 more wins imo. This game is one of my 3 I looked at and thought win, trebled with the Huddersfield and West Brom games. We've also got Arsenal who are dire at the moment, Everton who are looking dreadful, Chelsea who may well be on the beach by the time we play them and so may Watford and Leicester. Fanbase needs to stick together atm and just get this horrible slog of a season over with.

[Vinny Green Balls]

You are being a bit ridiculous, man. There are several people who claimed that they couldn't safely give their opinion on here without the mob jumping all over them. El Cid said such on several occasions.. It's been going on for awhile, and you are likely being willfully obtuse in denying that. We even pointed this out to you before when you denied it earlier.

 

Passion is great, but when it begins to short circuit reason is when I have an issue. Yes, the Southampton game is extremely important. But even if we lose, there is still some chance of avoiding the drop. None of us will be happy or content about it, but I don't think that believing that relegation is dead certain if such happens is particularly constructive, or accurate.

 

[Ketsbaia]

I thought I was negative

 

The only thing I'm concerned about is Rafa's home tactics, which are a constant letdown. I don't entirely trust him to set us up correctly.

[Amir_9]

Not the match to be conservative, at all, this lot are fucking rank. Get at them.

[Vinny Green Balls]

I thought I was negative

 

The only thing I'm concerned about is Rafa's home tactics, which are a constant letdown. I don't entirely trust him to set us up correctly.

 

Don't think that's unreasonable. I would certainly like to see a more positive approach for this one.

[Figures 1-0 Football]

Which home games have we been cautious against the teams around us like?

 

Burnley, Swansea, Everton (1st half), Bournemouth, Leicester, Brighton - I recall us having numerous chances and being the better side only to be let down by poor finishing. We could have (and should have) won all of those games like, which was nothing to do with being set up wrong but everything to do with our strikers not taking their chances.

 

We’ve also beat West Ham, Palace & Stoke at home.

 

Is Watford the only game we were probably guilty of being too cautious? Then again, I think we were more crap in general than necessarily cautious.

 

[HaydnNUFC]

Aye, we were embarrassing against Watford.

 

We created chances in both halves against Burnley at home. I don't think we were the better side against Leicester mind, they bossed the midfield that day. Brighton was just a boring game though we had the clearer chances. Bournemouth we should've scored at least 1 in the first half; Gayle had a goal wrongly disallowed.

[Dave]

Which home games have we been cautious against the teams around us like?

 

Burnley, Swansea, Everton (1st half), Bournemouth, Leicester, Brighton - I recall us having numerous chances and being the better side only to be let down by poor finishing. We could have (and should have) won all of those games like, which was nothing to do with being set up wrong but everything to do with our strikers not taking their chances.

 

We’ve also beat West Ham, Palace & Stoke at home.

 

Is Watford the only game we were probably guilty of being too cautious? Then again, I think we were more crap in general than necessarily cautious.

 

 

 

People taking our tactics against the big boys and the fact we've dropped points late in too many matches as proof that we're too negative every single time we take to the field. It's simply not true.

[Altamullan]

Our home record looks poor, possession seems irrelevant but here’s the shots, shots on, and goals. Might be interesting to compare to the other promoted sides. Or the League in general. Are we creating enough, and getting enough on target? Certainly not scoring enough.

NUFC home

10 and 3 Man Utd, 1 goal

14 and 4, Burnley 1 goal

12 and 4, Swansea 1 goal

11 and 2, Brighton 0 goals

6 and 2, Man City 0 goals

16 and 4, Everton 0 goals

10 and 4, Leicester 2 goals

12 and 2, Watford 0 goals

16 and 4, Bournemouth 0 goals

7 and 3, Palace 1 goal

8 and 5, Liverpool 1 goal

14 and 3, Stoke 2 goals

17 and 8, West Ham 3 goals

6 and 2, Spurs 0 goals

Total shots 150, 10.7 per game

Shots on target 50, 3.6 per game

Goals 12 goals 0.86 per game

[STM]

Hopefully Rafa has the edge over his former player.

 

Crucial that the atmosphere isn't flat and the crowd encourage the players like they did against Man Utd.

[Paully]

2-0 Gayle and Kenedy

 

I had forgotten that we dropped another two points down there after Lejeune's idiotic tackle for their pen!

[Ketsbaia]

Which home games have we been cautious against the teams around us like?

 

Burnley, Swansea, Everton (1st half), Bournemouth, Leicester, Brighton - I recall us having numerous chances and being the better side only to be let down by poor finishing. We could have (and should have) won all of those games like, which was nothing to do with being set up wrong but everything to do with our strikers not taking their chances.

 

We’ve also beat West Ham, Palace & Stoke at home.

 

Is Watford the only game we were probably guilty of being too cautious? Then again, I think we were more crap in general than necessarily cautious.

 

 

I'd have put the Brighton and Swansea games down as disappointing. Every team misses chances - that's normal - it's more about the in-game changes that were disappointing.

[Dr.Spaceman]

Reckon we'll draw and be shitting ourselves for a few weeks.

[TRon]

Yep, we have to win it. Hate all this happy enough for a draw malarky against the s*** teams. We need to be beating rubbish like this at home. Not accepting all the "well it's a championship team/squad s****" either. We are better than these and if we go about it in the right way, we will get the deserved win. A draw is a s**** result for me. Too many of those against the crap recently. We need to sort out this home form against the mediocre teams. All well and good pulling it out the bag against Man Utd, we need to be doing it in these games.

 

How are we better than these? Looking at the two teams which are going to line up, I'd be struggling to see where we are significantly better in any area.

 

Complete point in case here. Defeatist attitude from top to bottom.  We are at home. We should be beating teams around us at home. It's not a hard concept. These are on an awful run and we should be getting three points at home against crap like this

 

I'm not questioning that we are at home or that we should be looking to beat them, what I was questioning was where you were getting this idea that " we are better than these", because I don't see it. I think if anything, they have probably got better players so it's hardly going to be a given that we'll win because we are at home.

[Guest reefatoon]

Yep, we have to win it. Hate all this happy enough for a draw malarky against the s*** teams. We need to be beating rubbish like this at home. Not accepting all the "well it's a championship team/squad s****" either. We are better than these and if we go about it in the right way, we will get the deserved win. A draw is a s**** result for me. Too many of those against the crap recently. We need to sort out this home form against the mediocre teams. All well and good pulling it out the bag against Man Utd, we need to be doing it in these games.

 

How are we better than these? Looking at the two teams which are going to line up, I'd be struggling to see where we are significantly better in any area.

 

Complete point in case here. Defeatist attitude from top to bottom.  We are at home. We should be beating teams around us at home. It's not a hard concept. These are on an awful run and we should be getting three points at home against crap like this

 

I'm not questioning that we are at home or that we should be looking to beat them, what I was questioning was where you were getting this idea that " we are better than these", because I don't see it. I think if anything, they have probably got better players so it's hardly going to be a given that we'll win because we are at home.

 

Fair enough bud. But you should be the stronger team at home. These are below us and on a horrific run, which should all come into it. Let’s just hope we have the three points on Saturday afternoon to ease the jitters. Will feel much better if we can start beating the teams around us.

[xLiaaamx]

Got better centre backs than them, rest of the match is a toss up of meh players

[TRon]

Also we can't point to their form as a reason to win, when our own home form has been abysmal. To win games you need to score goals, and we have very few goals in that team. That's not being pessimistic, it's just reality. Obviously it's a game we have to try and win, but it will hinge on us not conceding any daft goals IMO.

[STM]

They don't score alot do they? and we are pretty sound defensively, especially at home. So I dont particularly see them scoring.

 

0-0 1-0 1-1

 

One of them scores.

[Twinport53]

Yep, we have to win it. Hate all this happy enough for a draw malarky against the s*** teams. We need to be beating rubbish like this at home. Not accepting all the "well it's a championship team/squad s****" either. We are better than these and if we go about it in the right way, we will get the deserved win. A draw is a s**** result for me. Too many of those against the crap recently. We need to sort out this home form against the mediocre teams. All well and good pulling it out the bag against Man Utd, we need to be doing it in these games.

 

How are we better than these? Looking at the two teams which are going to line up, I'd be struggling to see where we are significantly better in any area.

 

Complete point in case here. Defeatist attitude from top to bottom.  We are at home. We should be beating teams around us at home. It's not a hard concept. These are on an awful run and we should be getting three points at home against crap like this

 

I'm not questioning that we are at home or that we should be looking to beat them, what I was questioning was where you were getting this idea that " we are better than these", because I don't see it. I think if anything, they have probably got better players so it's hardly going to be a given that we'll win because we are at home.

 

The "better players" point doesn't align over the last 30 games, otherwise Soton wouldn't be in this position. We are pretty much equal on the pitch this season, with the exception of having a better manager and a squad playing above it's ability, while theirs plays well below. On paper their squad is better than ours in almost every area, but this isn't FIFA so the point is redundant. Soton are this seasons "To good to go down" cliche.

 

Their fans also hate their GKs, don't like their CM options, want Boufal starting over Sims and play strikers that don't score... whilst playing 4-5-1 looking for draws. They didn't expect this relegation battle, we did. Pressure is on them more than us IMO.

 

And yes it's not a guaranteed win just because it's at St James', but i'd rather be the team over achieving coming into this, than the "better" team flapping on the way down.

 

[TRon]

Yep, we have to win it. Hate all this happy enough for a draw malarky against the s*** teams. We need to be beating rubbish like this at home. Not accepting all the "well it's a championship team/squad s****" either. We are better than these and if we go about it in the right way, we will get the deserved win. A draw is a s**** result for me. Too many of those against the crap recently. We need to sort out this home form against the mediocre teams. All well and good pulling it out the bag against Man Utd, we need to be doing it in these games.

 

How are we better than these? Looking at the two teams which are going to line up, I'd be struggling to see where we are significantly better in any area.

 

Complete point in case here. Defeatist attitude from top to bottom.  We are at home. We should be beating teams around us at home. It's not a hard concept. These are on an awful run and we should be getting three points at home against crap like this

 

I'm not questioning that we are at home or that we should be looking to beat them, what I was questioning was where you were getting this idea that " we are better than these", because I don't see it. I think if anything, they have probably got better players so it's hardly going to be a given that we'll win because we are at home.

 

The "better players" point doesn't align over the last 30 games, otherwise Soton wouldn't be in this position. We are pretty much equal on the pitch this season, with the exception of having a better manager and a squad playing above it's ability, while theirs plays well below. On paper their squad is better than ours in almost every area, but this isn't FIFA so the point is redundant. Soton are this seasons "To good to go down" cliche.

 

Their fans also hate their GKs, don't like their CM options, want Boufal starting over Sims and play strikers that don't score... whilst playing 4-5-1 looking for draws. They didn't expect this relegation battle, we did. Pressure is on them more than us IMO.

 

And yes it's not a guaranteed win just because it's at St James', but i'd rather be the team over achieving coming into this, than the "better" team flapping on the way down.

 

 

I don't really disagree with any of that, but my problem is that regardless of the opposition, we seem to find it very difficult to win games down to not having players who can put away the chances. So I would do away with the idea that any game is a 'must win', we don't have the firepower to guarantee it. We can though, execute a game plan better than most due to having a top manager, and hopefully that will be enough to get us enough points in the remaining 9 games of the season. That's our main advantage, and it will play out over the full season, not one game.

[Twinport53]

[Wilson]

Need to be beating these like, a win this weekend and everything looks so much better.

[Tiotes Witch Doctor]

Keep thinking 1-1 draw for this, which just isn't enough.

[Guest]

A win means that Southampton would have to win 2 more than us from 8 games. This stage of the season margins like that or huge.

[Happinesstan]

Yep, we have to win it. Hate all this happy enough for a draw malarky against the s*** teams. We need to be beating rubbish like this at home. Not accepting all the "well it's a championship team/squad s****" either. We are better than these and if we go about it in the right way, we will get the deserved win. A draw is a s**** result for me. Too many of those against the crap recently. We need to sort out this home form against the mediocre teams. All well and good pulling it out the bag against Man Utd, we need to be doing it in these games.

 

How are we better than these? Looking at the two teams which are going to line up, I'd be struggling to see where we are significantly better in any area.

 

Complete point in case here. Defeatist attitude from top to bottom.  We are at home. We should be beating teams around us at home. It's not a hard concept. These are on an awful run and we should be getting three points at home against crap like this

 

I'm not questioning that we are at home or that we should be looking to beat them, what I was questioning was where you were getting this idea that " we are better than these", because I don't see it. I think if anything, they have probably got better players so it's hardly going to be a given that we'll win because we are at home.

 

The "better players" point doesn't align over the last 30 games, otherwise Soton wouldn't be in this position. We are pretty much equal on the pitch this season, with the exception of having a better manager and a squad playing above it's ability, while theirs plays well below. On paper their squad is better than ours in almost every area, but this isn't FIFA so the point is redundant. Soton are this seasons "To good to go down" cliche.

 

Their fans also hate their GKs, don't like their CM options, want Boufal starting over Sims and play strikers that don't score... whilst playing 4-5-1 looking for draws. They didn't expect this relegation battle, we did. Pressure is on them more than us IMO.

 

And yes it's not a guaranteed win just because it's at St James', but i'd rather be the team over achieving coming into this, than the "better" team flapping on the way down.

 

 

I don't really disagree with any of that, but my problem is that regardless of the opposition, we seem to find it very difficult to win games down to not having players who can put away the chances. So I would do away with the idea that any game is a 'must win', we don't have the firepower to guarantee it. We can though, execute a game plan better than most due to having a top manager, and hopefully that will be enough to get us enough points in the remaining 9 games of the season. That's our main advantage, and it will play out over the full season, not one game.

 

Not finishing our chances has cost us, but I would say it is more down to the team shitting itself in the last 1/4 of the game. It's at least equal, but my point is, the best manager in the world can have very little influence over either.