Southampton (A) | PL | Post Match Thread

[Keeper!]

City owner and Khaldoon will back Pep to the hilt as they should for the next 2 seasons.. not great at the moment but I am looking forward to the club World Cup and how he will develop the squad for that and next season! I'm think next season he another settling the new players the team top 4 a cup win then the season after compete for the league..

I genuinely can't see Pep lasting 2 years and for me this rebuild will take 2/3 season best case scenario.

Believing that will will challenge for the title next season is utter and total fantasy.

 

[Tb1981]

Disagree with KDB, he looks what he is, a broken, old once great player living on memories.

The only player who for me shows desire, enthusiasm and always looks to get forward is Marmoush and he gets dropped, WTF.

When I say Kev has balls I mean to attempt the pass at all
It’s like he is the only one will to try it
Granted he is miles off it
Agree Marmoush is brilliant, he has improved his workrate as well which is good. Has a desire were lacking
Midfielders just can’t or won’t put him through, same as erling

 

[the-ecstacy-of-eight]

From one angle it looked like the push was just before the ball was kicked so it wasn't a penalty.

...and we all know how "they" like to go with the singular angle which looks the worst (for us) don't we

 

[East Level 2]

Yes, it was disappointing, but how are City supposed to play fast attacking football against a team with eleven players, in and around their own area?

We've been beating higher quality bus-parkers for the past ten or twelve seasons.

 

[noseve]

Yes, it was disappointing, but how are City supposed to play fast attacking football against a team with eleven players, in and around their own area?

Not easy, but top teams have been having to deal with this since football began. Parking the bus isn't anything new.

For one thing, forget the high press. Where are the gaps supposed to appear if you keep the opposition squashed into just 25 yards of the pitch?

I'm not a 'Pep-out' man, but this near season-long lack of any ability to think on the fly and adjust mid-game definitely has me reassessing just how big a genius he is?

 

[Keeper!]

When I say Kev has balls I mean to attempt the pass at all
It’s like he is the only one will to try it
Granted he is miles off it
Agree Marmoush is brilliant, he has improved his workrate as well which is good. Has a desire were lacking
Midfielders just can’t or won’t put him through, same as erling

I get KDB's body is broken but I find it strange that he struggles to even get accuracy in his short/medium passes.

Marmoush is a strange player and I do worry long term if he is good enough, at times brilliant at times poor but he brings passion, desire, enthusiasm and sheer effort to this present team, so he has to start.

 

[argyle]

Not been that successful this season …….

The first season in how many years?

And its not awful. We're 3rd and in a cup final.

People have been spoilt with an extraordinary winning period. We'll never see winning the league 4 times in a row again. It was never done before and unlikely to be done again.

I just find it sad that after such an amazing achievement many on here are behaving like Madrid fans and have turned on the manager and the team the moment things haven't been great.

 

[East Level 2]

Then the club have to say sort out your shit and quickly or we have to move on.

Is Pep become bigger than the club?

Quite possibly, and it won't be the first time that a coach or player has done that. But it's only a problem if it isn't addressed.
Pep has a lot on his plate, and if he didn't have any say in the January signings then he can hardly be blamed for not playing them if he doesn't think they are good enough. - And I doubt anybody on here really knows how much of a say he has in transfers.

 

[argyle]

Mate I’m no pep out guy but this isn’t just about that game yesterday is it it’s basically a copy and paste of almost every game we’ve played this season it’s just that sometimes we’ve got away with it.
Surely you must be a bit concerned about next season?

I'm not.

Pep and the club will bring in the players needed and we'll be back fighting for the league again next season.

Far too much negativity on here and expecting the worst.

 

[Keeper!]

Quite possibly, and it won't be the first time that a coach or player has done that. But it's only a problem if it isn't addressed.
Pep has a lot on his plate, and if he didn't have any say in the January signings then he can hardly be blamed for not playing them if he doesn't think they are good enough. - And I doubt anybody on here really knows how much of a say he has in transfers.

Needs people on his staff that challenge him, hopefully the fernandinho rumours are true, we need major changes and a new start.

 

[Norman kneejerk]

Looked more like we did 3 months ago, static, zero invention.
Maybe no coincidence we replaced Marmoush, Nunes and especially O"Reilly who in their different ways make us more threatening and mobile with virtual non contributors.
Just to get it off my chest I think we are far too sanitized playing against that low block trying to tip tap around it. Imho the weakness of a low block is by definition it is fairly static so we should be able to run at it and jump at pace to create a bit of mayhem.
I joked with a fellow foc at City a while back that we could play at the back against City because there is f a to do except watch the ball circulating front of us. .

 

[argyle]

I genuinely can't see Pep lasting 2 years and for me this rebuild will take 2/3 season best case scenario.

Believing that will will challenge for the title next season is utter and total fantasy.

You're writing next season off because of one down season in about eight seasons?

Would you be saying the same if we won yesterday? Because it seems the doom predictions have come out because of a draw.

Wait to see how the transfer window goes or wait until half the season goes next time before throwing in the towel?

 

[GOULDYBOBS]

Great day out. Nice place. Not looking forward to the drive home. MCFC OK

 

[waspish]

I genuinely can't see Pep lasting 2 years and for me this rebuild will take 2/3 season best case scenario.

Believing that will will challenge for the title next season is utter and total fantasy.

Didn't say we will challenge for the league next season I said the season after and only pep leaves is if he quits' has never quit a contract so he will stick it out for the next 2 season.

 

[waspish]

Not easy, but top teams have been having to deal with this since football began. Parking the bus isn't anything new.

For one thing, forget the high press. Where are the gaps supposed to appear if you keep the opposition squashed into just 25 yards of the pitch?

I'm not a 'Pep-out' man, but this near season-long lack of any ability to think on the fly and adjust mid-game definitely has me reassessing just how big a genius he is?

Parking the bus against us it 11 in the box because how we play! Barcelona in there league I've never seen 11 players sat in for 90mins

 

[Saddleworth2]

From one angle it looked like the push was just before the ball was kicked so it wasn't a penalty.

It seems that other teams can lay hands on us in the penalty area with impunity. I thought Haaland would have got to that far post cross from Phil if he hadn't been wrestled. I have given up expecting them to be given. Thats not to excuse our performance which was poor.

 

[noseve]

I genuinely can't see Pep lasting 2 years and for me this rebuild will take 2/3 season best case scenario.

Believing that will will challenge for the title next season is utter and total fantasy.

That's how I see it, and I'm generally an optimistic person.

I'm not sure how posters can be so confident that this is a 'blip'. What possible logical reason is there for thinking that?

Taking off blue-tinted spectacles for a moment, we are probably at the standard of a typical mid-table team at the moment, painful though it is to admit. The only difference is that we can expect to attract bigger new signings, because of who we are.

Trouble is, these new signings will be forming a new team, not slotting into a winning machine as they've done before. They'll have to click from the start for next season to be any different to this.

There's only so much Rodri can do.

It reminds me of Liverpool fans reassuring themselves in the the early 90s that the season was a 'blip'. They didn't win the league for 30 years.

 

[tonea2003]

width was missing big time first half, every time the ball went to josko(player of the season for me) which was a lot he nearly always came back inside, its just not his position
this allowed them to set in a rigid back 8, despite what others have said it is difficult to break down
personally doku should of started for me to give the natural width
but hey ho what do i know
at least its still in our hands, also a bit odd as we feel we are stumbling over the line but its now only 3 defeats in 19 in the league

 

[Keeper!]

You're writing next season off because of one down season in about eight seasons?

Would you be saying the same if we won yesterday? Because it seems the doom predictions have come out because of a draw.

Wait to see how the transfer window goes or wait until half the season goes next time before throwing in the towel?

I am not writing anything off, I am just a realist and this club needs a serious rebuild and that could take place without CL and it's finances.

If you think we are going to makes 4/6 signings and all is good and rosey and we challenge, I think your going to be in for a shock.

We are way off and I am starting to wonder if Pep is the right man to rebuild this team, genuinely do you think our players are still running through brick walls for him?

 

[Mancity1980]

The way I see it, Pep wanted to give Haaland minutes before the FA Cup Final and it backfired. If he started Marmoush we would have won.