With a short build up time and as I have a few more hours to while away than you lot in the west here is Mondays match thread
The Old V The New,
Too early.
Let me get over the last two games before I have to face up to this one.
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Fuck off!
We are going to get bored to death with two poor teams, we’ll lose 2-0 with no resilience, the man is a no mark (repsect to Steveintheforest) as I think the man is a twat who wont change through stubborness.
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Can see us getting anything from this.
But you live in hope, don’t you.
Happy new year all!
In Jack Schitt’s absence… here is a FUCKING long and rambling message!
Just had a few bottles of wine at home with my girlfriend and chilled. She has never been remotely interested in football so I’m afraid you guys are going to have to (skim) read my mother of all first world problems! I find it therapeutic to moan about Saints at times because it sure beats addressing the actual important anxt rendering shit in life.
After being dumped out of Europe I posted about this being a fresh start for us. Unfortunately the fixture congestion has actually intensified over Christmas rather than relaxed so we are still in the midst of Puel’s ‘rotation for freshness’ policy.
As a consequence I don’t think we are actually any further forward with being able to properly assess Claude’s time so far.
We have looked good in parts - second half at Bournemouth and first 20 against Tottenham, but what concerns me is how sporadic that was. From a tactical point of view why did we drop off deep against Tottenham after proving in the first 15-20 minutes that they don’t like being harrassed any more than those that they do it to? There’s no point pressing for such a short period of time. So, was it the players fault or management? Hmmmm. If he was worried about burnout due to fixture congestion then fuck it…he changed half of the team anyway so you might as well get 100% out if those you’re going to rest in the next one anyway.
What the rotation has also done is confused me to the point where I don’t actually know what our best lineup actually is anymore. Sure, the back 5 picks itself and so does Romeu but the rest is shuffled so much that I don’t have a fucking clue anymore. I’m going to gloss over the much covered Martina and Yoshida being naff debate because frankly that is true and I’ll be able to offer nothing new. Here is my ponderings…
Midfield:
What I do know is that we are a worse team without Steven Davis, so perhaps he also picks himself but is rotated due to position and perhaps age.
Beyond him, we have PEH who has looked good in bursts but equally shite (maybe a bit harsh) in equal measure. In my opinion he has yet to properly establish himself. Probably needs a goal.
JWP - 5 years on and I’m still none the wiser as to what actually is his best position or what he does beyond take a semi tasty dead ball at times. He doesn’t create or score enough for me considering his ability to strike a ball. Off the top of my head he has only scored one free kick for us (against WBA ironically) which is pretty embarrassing when you consider how highly and widely regarded he is as a deadball specialist. Sadly there’s probably a reason Liverpool haven’t been in for him, and it isn’t because of his devoted affection for the south coast.
Clasie - like PEH, looks good at times but has again yet to properly establish himself or command a regular position (or replace Morgan as hoped/intended).
Reed - sorry but I’ve not seen anything worthy of further comment.
In summary, 1 league goal between the aforementioned midfielders is pretty damn shocking after 19 games.
Moving on to the forward positions… crumbs…
Redmond is clearly a favourite, despite his quite obvious lack of end product. He doesn’t have the strikers instinct to score shitty tap ins and therefore for me doesn’t warrant that second striker position. Henry my ass. He is frustrating as fuck on the wing for being indirect despite more often than not having the beating of his fullback. He has pace and decent feet but acts like he wants to be Iniesta or something instead.
Austin - clearly, to me in any event, Claude didn’t fancy him early on. Not until he realised he was the only one with the instincts and unwavering confidence in front of goal. Claude, to his credit, appeared to acknowledge that scoring goals were quite important to winning football matches so he gave him a go and was rewarded by a decent return. Charlie is probably in truth not mobile enough for the way Claude wants to play so as a consequence needs somebody else ‘buzzing’ around him at the same time. In the main, this has been Redmond although as I have stated above I’m not convinced he is doing enough to justify such regular inclusion.
Jay - I’d truly love for him to stay fit and go on a run of playing and getting goals. It must suck loving football as much as he does but being injured so badly by it. He needs to build momentum and stay in the team to build his fragile confidence. Being rotated isn’t helping him in my opinion but then again I don’t know how fucked he is physically.
Shane - Love his heart and workrate. Unfortunately he is not a natural striker in goalscoring or technique terms so probably needs to play alongside somebody else. His pace is also worthless in Claude’s slow and methodical ‘let the opposition get back goal side before we attack’ philosophy. The most gentlemanly of tactics! More suited to counter attacking style for sure.
Tadic - like him but his desire to assist rather than score (he actually stated this fact) is fucking alien to me and in my opinion affects his decision making. If his first instinct was ‘shoot’ at times he would score double figures every year. I swear I have never seen anybody have so many blocked shots as he has. There are times where he takes just a fraction of a second too long before pulling the trigger and inevitably his shot gets blocked by a defender. Given the above, I have interpreted this as a decision making process of “can I find a pass? No. Oh well, might as well shoot then” by which point his window of opportunity has fucked off.
Boufal - I’m not sure I’d agree with Jeff Stelling’s comments. Still relatively early days. He’s got undoubted ability and just needs to channel it better. Chances are he will be amazing next year and earn his move. Let’s remember that Mane looked like a fish up a tree initially.
I do feel we could benefit from making a significant signing up front in January. If for no other reason than to kickstart those players already here. Sadly I don’t fancy our chances and suspect it will be insignificant outgoings if anything.
Anyway, I’m even boring myself now so congratulations if you’ve made it this far but - goodnight.
Peace.
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I feel guilty betting against Saints but it’s hard not to given Everton are available at 6/5. We might nick a result but I can’t fathom how the bookies think we’re the happy side of a coinflip
Its a new year and we will win. Simple.
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I’d be happy with a draw but I fancy us to win this one. I reckon Everton are more out of sorts than we are at the moment. It’s also the perfect opportunity for Jose to state his case with a captains performance and I think we’ll be more organised defensively without VVD going awol up the pitch all the time.
2 nil Saints for me
…and the cracks will be papered over once more 
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Originally posted by @steveintheforest
I’d be happy with a draw but I fancy us to win this one. I reckon Everton are more out of sorts than we are at the moment. It’s also the perfect opportunity for Jose to state his case with a captains performance and I think we’ll be more organised defensively without VVD going awol up the pitch all the time.
2 nil Saints for me
…and the cracks will be papered over once more
I really hope this comes true.
I fear it is utter bollocks.
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On current form I’m not feeling the love for this one…
If we can get a point I’ll be getting on an open top bus for a tour of the city followed by a civic reception.
Burp.
It’s wot I think.
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These fuckers owe us.
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Lawro has given his fantastic insight.
Everton v Southampton
Everton will definitely be a club doing business in January. They have not been bad in the past three or four games but I think where they are now - seventh - is where they should be. In golfing parlance, they are par. And let’s be honest, Ronald Koeman knows they are short of quality in a few areas and will act.
Every time I see Southampton play they seem to be getting a player sent off. Perhaps they need more cutting edge because as much as I like Shane Long, he does tend to need a few chances to score.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Arron’s prediction: 2-2
We’re in a dodgy patch of form and seemed to have no invention going forward on New Year’s Eve.
Massive fixture congestion too. Will be happy to get anything out of today.
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Yeah - seems a no brainer at those odds.
Why the fuck is Bertrand not playing?
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Does anyone else really dislike our teamsheet announcements?
Do it by position not squad number ffs…
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