Reflection…

L

Lionsteele

Well-known member
What a day!

A majority of us have been saying it for weeks on end but having a back 4 makes such a big difference, night & day. I think Edwards would still be around had he not been so ridged.

Many people won’t mention Cooper (which is a good thing) today compared to the last few weeks because in the last run of games he has seen more of the ball than a lot of players, which is what we do not want. Let him do what he is best at & defend.

The whole back 4 was superb. As I said last week, Danny Mac again is a fantastic defender at this level, I don’t want to hear slander when he has a bad game. He has been absolutely solid the last few weeks & seems like he gets the brunt for no reason when it goes tits up. I know opinions are fickle but obviously a lot of people do not actually watch the games.

Everyone seems to know what they should be doing in a back 4 & this is what we need!
 
Under JE's tactics, Danny was a little lost. But also was most players, especially Wallace/Bryan at Left Wing Back. Asking ridiculous things of them, very clear. But it's not their fault, they tried to take on instructions given to them. Standard back 4 today, with standard instructions. Makes a hell of a difference. Back 4 was immense.
 
I agree, even then Dmac was one of the most consistent in recent weeks. It was just so clear to see we were crying out for a back 4!

Cooper played almost 2 seasons without missing game, he doesn’t turn into a bad defender over night. Wallace was being played wing back. It’s like they wasn’t sure who’s fault it was.

Back to basics & hard graft!
 
NH's substitutions were good today and one of the things he probably learned over the years (he mentions learning a lot these past four years in interviews).
They didn't upset the balance of the team and made at the right times.
Was Obafemi injured? Or was it just a tactical change?

Cooper certainly looked better today than his recent performances playing in a back four, but it looked like he got done by the No.10 midget for the Saints goal. Although, in fairness I suppose, it was a great ball in from their bloke.
 
I know we are still in a bit of a dog fight, but I hope the likes of Esse, Emakhu and Mayor get a look in, its going to take a squad effort to remain in this league.
 
partisan_lion said:
I know we are still in a bit of a dog fight, but I hope the likes of Esse, Emakhu and Mayor get a look in, its going to take a squad effort to remain in this league.
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Yesterday was a day for experienced players who could defend, had we been one down with 15 to go we might well of seen Esse or Emakhu.
I think next week sees the start of how Harris wants to play and with who.
 
We really, offered next to nothing up front but managed 2 goals while the park the bus attitude was resurrected , nice to see the lack of passing out from the goalie and the Harris hoof was used to get the ball away from our box ,players look more comfortable with the passing game but we do not want the same tactics at home please....just get an attacking plan in place for home games
 
Harris did say he was happy with the display but we have to keep the ball better when attacking also he said before the game that the team and the way they play in his first game won’t be a template for the rest of the season but a means to a end for that game due to lack of time he as had with the squad
 
Phlion54 said:
We really, offered next to nothing up front but managed 2 goals while the park the bus attitude was resurrected , nice to see the lack of passing out from the goalie and the Harris hoof was used to get the ball away from our box ,players look more comfortable with the passing game but we do not want the same tactics at home please....just get an attacking plan in place for home games
Click to expand...
I don't care how we gain points right now, hoof ball, kicking the oppo up in the air, shithousing teams, no problem at this stage. It hasn't been pretty all season so no point in trying to that now. I can't see us defending at home vs Watford, and thought the tactics was pretty much spot on yesterday. Clearly Harris has done his homework, he had beaten Southampton earlier on in the season with Gillingham so had good knowledge of their team already.
 
Kryan Bing said:
NH's substitutions were good today and one of the things he probably learned over the years (he mentions learning a lot these past four years in interviews).
They didn't upset the balance of the team and made at the right times.
Was Obafemi injured? Or was it just a tactical change?

Cooper certainly looked better today than his recent performances playing in a back four, but it looked like he got done by the No.10 midget for the Saints goal. Although, in fairness I suppose, it was a great ball in from their bloke.
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Seemed like Cooper found himself on the wrong side of the Midget, and yes it was a great ball .in
 
My reflection:
Six of the bottom ten teams won yesterday (could only have been nine at most)
Now that can’t happen very often but what it means is that this season the points threshold to stay up could be more than usual and maybe even as many as 50
 
Phlion54 said:
We really, offered next to nothing up front but managed 2 goals while the park the bus attitude was resurrected , nice to see the lack of passing out from the goalie and the Harris hoof was used to get the ball away from our box ,players look more comfortable with the passing game but we do not want the same tactics at home please....just get an attacking plan in place for home games
Click to expand...

But it worked. Edwards tactics were not working and not working very badly. And as I said on another thread, they created three big chances, all from crosses and scored one. We created two chances from crosses, scored one and got a penalty from the other. Two different approaches from the teams but the chances came from the same method. It wasn't park the bus, the second half we were pretty comfortable.

Southampton had a team that cost tens of millions, we get very excited when we spend £1m or £2m on a player. The playing field was not level but we beat them and Harris had only one full day of training to prepare the team and the game plan. Add that to the fact the players' confidence was shot and it really was a truly remarkable win.
 
The gameplan was simple as I mentioned yesterday. The extra midfielder sitting in meant that they couldn't pass through us through the middle and so had to keep going wide. High balls into the box is something we usually deal with quite well and so it played into our hands.
As I said, and if you watch it back, Saville hardly touched the ball but with Honeyman, Mitchell and Longman all staying tight beside him as a unit, he was just there to block any through balls. It worked perfectly.
How many times recently, under both Rowett and Edwards, have teams just played or run through our middle. The 5 at the back always left us a man short in there. Having the extra man in the middle made all the difference. Having Flemming more central also helped.
Who'd have thought it, a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 works for us.
No, we didn't actually attack much or have much of the ball but not many teams can do what Southampton do.
 
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