Southampton (H) | Post Match Thread

[OB1]

Which is why xG is nearly as shit a metric as net spend. Had Saints had more composure in front of goal they'd have won 2 or 3-0. Yesterday felt more like a point gained for us, rather than two dropped.

Can't say I usually bother with it but it is a widely used metric and one thing it doesn't have is fan bias in it.

If our finishing or final ball had been better, we could have won 2 or 3 nil. However, neither team did enough to score and the 0-0 was a fair reflection of the game.

We were well below par and Southampton were better in some aspects of the game but they still had to step up to match us.

 

[bitterblue78]

I think Pep has some problems this season. The arrival of Grealish, great player that he is, has added another attacking midfielder to an already overloaded area of the squad and Rodri's injury has exposed the need for a quality DM. Sterling or Torres at CF are not convincing and take up a place in the starting line up that could be occupied by one of our quality midfielders, so it's only a matter of time before Pep returns to a false nine. Mahrez has been ousted from the starting line up to accomodate Jesus, and he was one of our top performers last season. Pep seems a bit grumpy, not sure why, but I'm guessing he's realised that his squad is lop sided and he's lacking depth in certain key areas. This wasn't addressed during the transfer window, so we may be in for a relatively unsuccessful season.

Well maybe instead of going out for dinner every other night with the txiki, sorriano and omar he should be banging there door down demanding the players we need. Pep and the powers above him are all to cosy

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Can't say I usually bother with it but it is a widely used metric and one thing it doesn't have is fan bias in it.

If our finishing or final ball had been better, we could have won 2 or 3 nil. However, neither team did enough to score and the 0-0 was a fair reflection of the game.

We were well below par and Southampton were better in some aspects of the game but they still had to step up to match us.

The whole point of xG, as I understand it, is what the cumulative, historical stats say that we were likely to score given the opportunities we had. So the real judge of how we actually did should be the gap between xG and actual goals, not the xG figure itself.

To give you an analogy I know you'll be familiar with. Say a software comapny believes it has prospective sales of £25m (i.e. where they believe they have a greater than 50% chance of landing the contract) in the pipeline. They might be very happy with that but if they don't turn any of those into firm contracts, they won't have done well.

 

[Del_Bosque]

I think yesterday really highlighted how fucking stupid/lazy/arrogant it was from the board not to get a striker.

Even if Pep was happy to go with the false 9 for the season, we should have got someone happy to come off the bench or be 2nd choice.

Can’t stress how much you need an option off the bench, creating movement with instinct only a striker has when you need a goal.

How many times did Cavani do it last season for that lot.

We may still win the league but we’ll need a 9/10 performance of absolutely everyone who starts in virtually every game. We did it last season but grounds were empty, this season will be different completely.

A striker would have bailed us out when we weren’t playing well, like yesterday.

 

[johnnytapia]

What a cretinous response.

Of course I have if you mean the club, but that's not what I meant. And you know that.

I'm talking about this side. Thought that was obvious.

Give yourself a pat on the back though for a truly original take. Berk.

Thought you were talking about the club , my apologies, you’re right about this team, that was as ponderous as we’ve seen from them. I thought we did well to nick a point.

 

[Cobwebcat]

Can't say I usually bother with it but it is a widely used metric and one thing it doesn't have is fan bias in it.

If our finishing or final ball had been better, we could have won 2 or 3 nil. However, neither team did enough to score and the 0-0 was a fair reflection of the game.

We were well below par and Southampton were better in some aspects of the game but they still had to step up to match us.

You are correct.

xG is an extremely important metric as are most of the underlying statistics used now by virtually all clubs. Its the best measure of future performance. There are many different models and it’s how the data is used that is more important than the data itself but clubs like Brighton and Brentford were at the forefront of analytics for years and their owners used xG to become billionaires.

One of the reasons Liverpool closed the gap on City is thought to be down to their analytics department and is also the reason City recently did this:

Training Ground Guru | Man City land big signing in quest to be the best in data science

A PhD in computational astrophysics, developing trading systems for a £30bn hedge fund and policy advisor for the British government: not your typical CV for a member of backroom staff. However, these are just some of the credentials of Laurie Shaw, who has been appointed Lead AI Scientist by...

trainingground.guru

Dinosaurs like Jeff Stelling do a good job of persuading the masses statistics are of no use while the clubs that know differently quietly go about their business.

 

[aka blue jambo]

A 'mare yesterday
2 turnstiles at SS3 weren't in use so missed ko
Game was shite City not at the races
Train back to Edinburgh broke down at Oxford Road. Managed to get back via Wigan and Glasgow Central !!!

Cannot wait to do it all again already

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Let’s see where we are at Xmas. We’ll have played all the hardest away games by the new year. If we’re still in touch, we may well go on one of our runs again early next year.

 

[Lavinda Past]

True but the PSG game is one we could lose and still easily qualify from the group.

Retaining the title is the big one for me.

My thoughts exactly. I'd even consider starting two or three youngsters at PSG just for the experience, with a couple more to come off the bench.

Save the big names for Anfield. I'd rather get two points off Chelsea and Liverpool than three off PSG.

We won't win the CL this season anyway, and I don't care. The PL is what's important.

 

[Chi-town blues]

I think the problem is fitness issue. Some players are lacking proper preseason .