Southampton v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[not3bad]

As my old boy has just said to me: "Thought it said something about Soton that for all their possession and passing, where it doesn't hurt the opposition, their 2 goals were from headers from old fashioned crosses.", which I think is a fair point as well.

I was reading a Southampton forum after the match last night, and a number of them made the point that, although they are clearly good at keeping hold of the ball, they still massively rely on one way to score - the ball to the far post, headed back across - as per the first goal last night.

And the second.  Wasn't that Lambert heading it back across?

[Dr Butler]

I bet those pricks shouting "hoof" last night wished they had 3 points in the bag when they woke up thris morning. Ignorant oiks. Must have really pissed them off watching this unsophisticated team from Birimingham roll in, score 2 tremendous goals and a third that they should appreciate because it seemingly all they do.

wankers shouting hoof....like they are such a sophisticated side on the pitch 73 % possession and 50 of it in their half....I did not see much of that in the 2nd half v Chelsea.....ignorant oiks indeed....oh and thanks for the 3 points !

[Toronto Villa]

What a shame. Barcelona South have now lost three straight. One against a team that does everything better than them, and two against teams that figured out you need to stick the ball in the net to win games. I said last night when I think someone stuck up the stats, that being the new Real Smethwick means fuck all if you're losing games.

[joe_c]

Excellent stuff. It amuses me far more than annoys me. I'd like to know what was "right" about the outrageous penalty and subsequent justification of it following their win at Villa Park last season.

[glasses]

My thoughts/observations

Both Strikers who started scored. Brilliant

We were never behind in the game, we led three times. I don't think you can call that 'smash and grab' regardless of possession statistics. I consider 'smash and grab' to be scoring with your only chance of the game after being battered by the opposition all game.

After the third, we showed a tough attitude and dug deep to keep the lead and see the win out. fantastic stuff from a young side.

Benteke improved us when he came on, more like his old self.

I know Kozak scored, but for me he was anonymous all game. 3 in 6 starts can't be sniffed at though, maybe I'm just blind to his abilities.

Vlaar is going to be a real miss, which is something I never envisaged saying after not being impressed last season. I also thought Clark looked good alongside him and has done for a few games. They are starting to look a good pairing and may just be better than the sum of their parts

Be nice if Delph keeps his shooting boots on, great goal

Gabby is our talisman.

[Toronto Villa]

Of all of the players I was happiest for Gabby. He's still my favourite Villa player because he's living my dream. He never wants to leave the club, local lad and responsible for some of my best Villa memories especially in local derbies. I'm glad he's scored his first of the season.

[Miguelito]

Agreed with Gabby, but Guzan is right up there. look at his reaction every time a goal goes in at either end, or at full time. i love that passion.

what happened at the end of the game by the way? was it osvaldo trying to start something with our whole team or something? couldnt really work it out.

[rougegorge]

Just got home - thankfully bus driver didn't take us on tour of Southampton toll bridges on way back.

Bloody pain that was. At least it cheered up the moaner who couldn't understand why we left as early as 2pm then spent 30 mins at the beginning of each leg of the journey talking about the Albion.

A couple of top drawer interceptions by Clark kept us in the game plus their bloke seeming to clear off our line. Very pleasant night out with three pre-match pints of high quality, even if the taxi driver did another tour of Southampton's bridges.

If you know what you are doing, the toll bridge into Southampton is actually the quickest way to get to the ground and into the city. However, the layout of the city is quite confusing to the uninitiated

The problem was that the directions given to the coach drivers were wrong. Eight out of nine official coaches (not all in convoy, it should be added) went over the same toll bridge twice on the way there!

It was absurd that it took our coach well over an hour from the outksirts to park up. The driver didn't seem to use the signs on the road and then my nephew had to guide him in on his phone Satnav after a a huge detour!

As for the game, a great win, some good pacy breaks and a couple of really good goals, although we did ride our luck at times. Without Vlaar in defence, we looked so susceptible to crosses, and the full-backs didn't seem to be in good positions to prevent the crosses either.

Also, defending with arms clasped behind ones back (and occasionally ducking out of the way) isn't necessarily the most mobile or effective way to prevent across coming in.

[Concrete John]

I bet those pricks shouting "hoof" last night wished they had 3 points in the bag when they woke up thris morning. Ignorant oiks. Must have really pissed them off watching this unsophisticated team from Birimingham roll in, score 2 tremendous goals and a third that they should appreciate because it seemingly all they do.

Give this a read, it'll annoy you - "some teams trying to play the right way, others stuck in the past". Exactly like Albion the last time they went down.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/05/southampton-defence-must-learn-to-deal-with-long-ball-teams-after-criminal-result-against-villans-4216288/

This bit made me laugh:-

In the build-up to this game I compared it to a boxing match between a stylish youngster and an old-school slogger. There was plenty of style from the youngster – but the slogger won on points.

I'd like to see the average age of that Saints side compared to ours!

[saunders_heroes]

4 shots on target, 3 goals, not much possession, and 3 points. Smash and grab, thank you very much! :-)

[Drummond]

Southampton had much of their possession in their own half because we actually played with discipline and didn't go chasing it. They couldn't do any damage in their own half so we let them get on with it.

When we needed to score, we did (we did after all take the lead 3 times) so all this claptrap about possession proves nothing except that we were far more efficient with ours. the other point of note is that the goals weren't flukes, they were all decent finishes.

We scored more there last night than everyone else put together this season. In addition, it was great to see goals from the strikers and Delph too. It's a very satisfying win.

Why some people insist on being negative and pessimistic after a win that puts us closer to Europe than the relegation places, having played all of the Top 8 teams is beyond me.

[kipeye]

Another weird thing (soz if already posted) is we have scored three away from home against the current best two defences -Arse and Saints.

[nick harper]

Southampton had much of their possession in their own half because we actually played with discipline and didn't go chasing it. They couldn't do any damage in their own half so we let them get on with it.

When we needed to score, we did (we did after all take the lead 3 times) so all this claptrap about possession proves nothing except that we were far more efficient with ours. the other point of note is that the goals weren't flukes, they were all decent finishes.

We scored more there last night than everyone else put together this season. In addition, it was great to see goals from the strikers and Delph too. It's a very satisfying win.

Why some people insist on being negative and pessimistic after a win that puts us closer to Europe than the relegation places, having played all of the Top 8 teams is beyond me.

I don't see why people should be criticised for pointing out that the football we played was dire. I am as pleased as anyone with any win and the sooner we get to 40 points the better, but if we had lost that game the forum would have been full of criticism for a lack of movement, hoofing it to a striker who wants it to his feet, no composure, the manager losing his way etc etc.

There was plenty of criticism on Saturday when we only drew. Some even calling for Lambert to go. It's all very fine margins.

[PaulWinch again]

It was a really good result but not a particularly good performance.

[saunders_heroes]

I bet those pricks shouting "hoof" last night wished they had 3 points in the bag when they woke up thris morning. Ignorant oiks. Must have really pissed them off watching this unsophisticated team from Birimingham roll in, score 2 tremendous goals and a third that they should appreciate because it seemingly all they do.

Give this a read, it'll annoy you - "some teams trying to play the right way, others stuck in the past". Exactly like Albion the last time they went down.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/05/southampton-defence-must-learn-to-deal-with-long-ball-teams-after-criminal-result-against-villans-4216288/

Southampton defence must learn to deal with long-ball teams after criminal result against Villans

I’m not quite sure what I witnessed in the game between Southampton and Aston Villa. It is extremely rare that you will see a team completely dominate and outclass their opponents and lose 2-3.

It was a combination of strange defending against Villa’s punts up field and Saints not being clinical enough in front of goal. Villa didn’t have the same issue – they had three chances, and scored all three.

For anyone who didn’t see it, here some statistics that might give you an idea of the balance of play.

Southampton had 77 per cent of the possession, Steve Davis playing in the Saints midfield completed 112 passes, Aston Villa (yes, the entire team) completed 104. This was a one-sided affair in every sense of the word… except one – the one that counts.

It was an embarrassing defeat for Saints and, unlike the previous two against Arsenal and Chelsea, this one was down to poor team selection and tactical mistakes.

Bringing in Maya Yoshida to play at centre half when Jose Fonte was fit was bizarre and the Japanese international had a nightmare with Villa’s long ball game – his mistake for the visitors’ opener inexcusable.

Saints haven’t learned the lessons from last year when facing sides who go direct. Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino was as surprised as I was to see just how direct Paul Lambert would go.

There was no attempt to play football from Villa, Gabby Agbonlahor hung off the back of Saints’ back four waiting for the inevitable ball over the top. It was ugly but effective, and Saints weren’t prepared for it.

Whenever I see a team play that way I always wonder how their fans feel about it. Of course if you asked them now they wouldn’t care because they won, but what if they had lost (as they should have) playing like that? I’m not sure I could stomach it.

Saints need to learn how to deal with it though, as despite some clubs trying to play football the right way it seems impossible to shake off the old ways for some. Saints also need to learn to punish teams with their dominance. Villa should have been dead and buried before half-time, but yet again Saints insistence on walking the ball into the net was found wanting.

He does sound rather bitter. I liked the bit where he claimed Southampton "play the game the right way" and sneering at long ball football then a little later on moans about the very same team being guilty of trying to walk the ball into the net. :-)