Eddie is hurt

How many times yesterday did we get the ball from the wing across their goal for our forwards to run onto?

Remember one that went right across goal and just wide of Wilson.

They are the balls Defoe would hopefully put away.
 
I was very disappointed after the game yesterday especially as we were right next to the Scummers celebrating their non-derby cup final win as if it was.

There were spells in the game where we looked ok (first and last few Minutes of the 2nd half) and others where we looked slow and non-commital.

Won’t even discuss the individual errors as they shouldn’t be happening after nearly four seasons in the PL.

We need a squad shake up and if Mings can stay fit, him and Simpson need to come into contention.

Midfield we also need someone like a Diame to let Cook work his magic as well as the front players helping out. Either that or 3 in midfield as too many times we are overrun.

I would consider trying Mousset and King as a front partnership. For me they were the highlights yesterday but King is not a wide player, although he had some good touches and put himself about whilst constantly being tugged and jostled.
 
billythekid said:
How many times yesterday did we get the ball from the wing across their goal for our forwards to run onto?

Remember one that went right across goal and just wide of Wilson.

They are the balls Defoe would hopefully put away.
Click to expand...

He (Defoe) was played through by someone towards the end of the match and never looked like out pacing or out muscling the defender. Crystal Palace aside he has looked like a player in a "Legends" game too often.
 
I felt sorry for Lewis Cook. When we get corners he is left all alone in the centre circle. For a man of his ability to be stood doing nothing is crazy.
 
IMHO the main problem was just suicidally giving the ball away. We must have done it 10 times in dangerous positions, only 2 ended in goals. Other things we could have lived with and got a result.

I largely absolve Gosling from that, he was shattered 10 min before he actually came off.

Other problems:
(1) the formation - highlighted by MOTD, Daniels & Fraser were lost,
(2) the ball would not stick to the front 3, and they persisted in trying to thread non-existent balls and 1-2's to each other - I would have taken Mousset off after 30 min, though he did have some driving runs in 2nd half.
(3) when Ibe came on, he had clearly been told to get at them, but he did this by dribbling in stupid positions and Saints knew he was never going to pass it.

Ake was huge at both ends, he and Lewis Cook must get frustrated by what's around them.

We do need a squad with more quality and depth, but Eddie clearly has difficulty keeping a whole large squad happy, and seems to prefer to work with 18 players or so.
 
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It’s hard to understand why Daniels and Fraser seem so lost as wing backs. For attack minded players you’d have thought playing further up the pitch would suit them but they just seem really unsure of what they should be doing

I remember a very old comment from Warren Cummings. He said he felt he could actually attack more as full back. As a wing back, he was responsible for the entire flank on his own so felt he couldn’t be as adventurous.

If we are going to use wing backs, and so many teams do use them effectively, we need to get our CB’s more comfortable covering the wide areas and asking a CM to drop into the back line. That would hopefully enable the WB’s to play higher up the flank when we attack.
 
I thought their midfielder Mario Lemina was great yesterday. Exactly what we've been lacking in midfield without Arter.
 
Silent AFCB said:
I thought their midfielder Mario Lemina was great yesterday. Exactly what we've been lacking in midfield without Arter.
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Like Tadic, Lemina is another talented player who has received nothing but stick and abuse all season from Saints fans, for a perceived lack of fight. Yet when AFCB arrive in town, suddenly they become world beaters.
 
Watching the post match has n MOTD and seeing Daniels plodding back and out of position on numerous examples shows that we are in need of some overhauling
 
Some of the players are getting a deserved whacking after some shockingly lazy performances of late , but the spotlight must also be shined on EH, as the buck stops at his desk and he and his assistant are the tactical planners for each game.

Once the media's darling has Eddie learnt anything from his time managing in the PL or has he gone backwards ?

Is he really as stubborn as we are sometimes led to believe?

Does EH sit in his office trying to reinvent the wheel when KISS would sometimes be a better option. (Keep it simple stupid):throw:Players not playing in their strongest position ?

Do some of the players think they are bigger than the club and really can't be arsed some weeks?

Why have we not kicked on like other clubs in a similar situation to ours ?

Just some random thoughts at the end of a season that has been quite frustrating for a lot of folk.
 
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sam adams said:
The players (TEAM) are getting a deserved whacking after some shockingly lazy performances of late , but the spotlight must also be shined on EH, as the buck stops at his desk and he and his assistant are the tactical planners for each game.

Once the media's darling has Eddie learnt anything from his time managing in the PL or has he gone backwards ?

Is he really as stubborn as we are sometimes led to believe?

Does EH sit in his office trying to reinvent the wheel when KISS would sometimes be a better option. (Keep it simple stupid):throw:Players not playing in their strongest position ?

Do some of the players think they are bigger than the club and really can't be arsed some weeks?

Why have we not kicked on like other clubs in a similar situation to ours

Just some random thoughts at the end of a season that has been quite frustrating for a lot of folk.
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On Howe, there are two things that have frustrated me with him.

The first, sticking with systems that don't work for too long.

Main examples, first Premier League season and sticking with 4-4-2 during the final games of the season and then this season, refusing to play a central three in midfield.

The other is trying to play out of form players into form, not a fair comparison but Tokelo Rantie and more recently Callum Wilson...would pulling them out of the firing line be more beneficial?

There has to be reasons behind it that my limited footballing IQ doesn't understand.
 
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1. We miss Stanlislas, terribly
2.Wilson said on Premier League Show, that he (Wilson) has found it problematic coming back in mid-season and is already looking forward to next season, which means that he is already on holiday.
3. Mark Hughes had clearly rumbled our wing back tactics.
4. When Defoe arrived, I said on here, he has nothing to prove so why have we signed him.
5. I would reckon that over 50% of Eddie's signings have turned out to be failures, or just couldn't play Eddie's system, or there was a personality conflict.
6. Why do we lend players such as Grabban who are in-form and scoring when we need him to put the goals in the net that Wilson and Defoe obviously cannot do.
7. Conceding 2 goals a game is relegation form, because we struggle to get 2 goals a game without Stanislas, and if you can't match what you are conceding you are in trouble.
8. We maybe mid-table, but it is irrelevant when you look at how many points we are off the top 4 compared to how many points we are off the bottom three.
9. Too many supporters live on sentiment based on what Eddie achieved in the lower divisions, without looking at the reality as to whether he is competent to manage a Premier Team. I would expect us to have pushed on to be in a similar position as to where Burnley are today.
10. I was angry with Eddie for blaming the players mistakes on MotD for our defeat, instead of looking at the failure of his own tactics and blaming himself.
 
DJ said:
On Howe, there are two things that have frustrated me with him.

The first, sticking with systems that don't work for too long.

Main examples, first Premier League season and sticking with 4-4-2 during the final games of the season and then this season, refusing to play a central three in midfield.

The other is trying to play out of form players into form, not a fair comparison but Tokelo Rantie and more recently Callum Wilson...would pulling them out of the firing line be more beneficial?

There has to be reasons behind it that my limited footballing IQ doesn't understand.
Click to expand...

I sometime's wonder why we haven't tried this magical three in midfield while we've been in the Pl...then i remember that yes of course we have.
 
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