Official 2024 Lappinitup Match Thread-Norwich v Southampton

[Jim Smith 2,325]

1 hour ago, Indy said:

You need to ask yourself how to set up with the squad he’s got against a rampant Southampton! He did keep it to 0-0 for a long period of time, when they broke through he changed it! Had we started with that system who’s to know what the score might have been at half time? I criticise when I see it and as I said didn’t agree with the starting set up but that’s my opinion! It worked as we gained a point.

But it didn’t work as we went one down after a period of about 20 minutes during which we couldn’t get out of our half or string two passes together.

unless you are suggesting the plan was to go one down? 

[shefcanary 2,435]

Yep, are people really happy that for at two periods of twenty minutes in that game, we did nothing in the oppositions half? At home? Really?

[Conrad 171]

1 hour ago, Grumpy said:

A well earnt point against a very good side.We were very well organised and disciplined when playing 5-4-1 but when we reverted to 4-4-2 it was a bit more squeaky bum time.All in all an entertaining game but not one I would want repeated week after week.

Entertaining game? I would want to watch what you would consider a boring one. 

[Indy 3,307]

14 minutes ago, Jim Smith said:

But it didn’t work as we went one down after a period of about 20 minutes during which we couldn’t get out of our half or string two passes together.

unless you are suggesting the plan was to go one down? 

Nope but ifs and buts don’t get results, the game played out by the tactics and players available! Sargent probably hasn’t got more than 30 minutes in him, better the last 30 when Southampton defence tires! Hwang is absolutely useless and I can’t wait to see the back of him, players like him with his shady scruples and morals off field and utter crap on it, shouldn’t be wearing our colours IMO Barnes just has no legs, the rest of the summer signings aren’t even close to being good enough! Yet you think we should have gone on the attack from the start playing an open game with the in form team!

Possibly you could be correct or probably not…who knows but even if we had won you’d probably still moan?

Edited January 1 by Indy

[Jim Smith 2,325]

6 minutes ago, Indy said:

Nope but ifs and buts don’t get results, the game played out by the tactics and players available! Sargent probably hasn’t got more than 30 minutes in him, better the last 30 when Southampton defence tires! Hwang is absolutely useless and I can’t wait to see the back of him, players like him with his shady scruples and morals off field and utter crap on it, shouldn’t be wearing our colours IMO Barnes just has no legs, the rest of the summer signings aren’t even close to being good enough! Yet you think we should have gone on the attack from the start playing an open game with the in form team!

Possibly you could be correct or probably not…who knows but even if we had won you’d probably still moan?

I actually don’t think we should have played an “open game”. In fact we nearly lost after his final sub and switch to 4-4-2 left us too open through the midfield again. What I want is for us to play three in midfield so we can dominate that area of the pitch and have more possession and control in games. When I saw the team today that’s what I thought he was doing. But sadly not. Instead he chose to pack the defence, sit deep and play on the counter.

I will admit a draw v them is not the worst result in the world and some of our attacking play today carried a bit of threat. But fundamentally for a team like us to be having under 30% possession in games is not good enough and more often than not will end in defeat. Nothing we did today suggests Wagner has learnt anything. 

 

Edited January 1 by Jim Smith

[Indy 3,307]

1 minute ago, Jim Smith said:

I actually don’t think we should have played an “open game”. In fact we hear my lost after his final sub left us too open through the midfield again. What I want is for us to play three in midfield so we can dominate that area of the pitch and have more possession and control in games. When I saw the team today that’s what I thought he was doing. But sadly not. Instead he chose to pack the defence, sit deep and play on the counter.

I will admit a draw v them is not the worst result in the world and some of our attacking play today carried a bit of threat. But fundamentally for a team like us to be having under 30% possession in games is not good enough and more often than not will end in defeat. Nothing we did today suggests Wagner has learnt anything. 

 

Totally agree and that’s my point, Rowe, Sargent, Sainz, Sara, Nunez, MClean & Gunn are the core of our team who are certainly the best of our squad! The rest are still very much lower championship level, some young but not fulfilling their potential, others journeymen signed by a poor DOF in Webber! 
I’ve been critical of Wagner though I can’t see anyone out there who could get more out of this squad at this time, so today I’ll cut him some slack! But the entire club is in transition with no one taking any leadership from top to bottom, everyone appears to be happy to drift along, until that changes and we get a real leader in the boardroom nothing will change!

[Jim Smith 2,325]

17 minutes ago, Indy said:

Totally agree and that’s my point, Rowe, Sargent, Sainz, Sara, Nunez, MClean & Gunn are the core of our team who are certainly the best of our squad! The rest are still very much lower championship level, some young but not fulfilling their potential, others journeymen signed by a poor DOF in Webber! 
I’ve been critical of Wagner though I can’t see anyone out there who could get more out of this squad at this time, so today I’ll cut him some slack! But the entire club is in transition with no one taking any leadership from top to bottom, everyone appears to be happy to drift along, until that changes and we get a real leader in the boardroom nothing will change!

Fair enough, all about opinions but I couldn’t disagree more on whether someone else could get more out of this squad. I think the current coach has cost us at least 10 points and hasn’t had us play well since the first month of the season. I think others would get considerably more out of them, not always in terms of results (we’ve won a few we haven’t deserved to) but certainly in terms of performance levels and how the team plays. 

[Grumpy 122]

3 hours ago, Conrad said:

Entertaining game? I would want to watch what you would consider a boring one. 

Well this is how I saw the game.
We seemed to come out with a very defensive mindset and set up which gave S'hampton the chance to play some good attacking football while also giving us the chance to contain them with what to me was a well drilled defensive display with the added bonus of Stacey being given so much space on the right to exploit due to them playing what seemed to me to be 3 at the back with a high wing back.Unfortunately due to miscommunication between Sainz and McC they scored a soft goal,although unlike the MCLean haters on here I dont lay the blame at him.The fact that he got 'nutmegged' is no reason to criticise the guy for the goal,it was purely down to Sainz and McC.
When we eventually reverted to 442 although a lot less comfortable we started to show some good forward movement which resulted in a well worked goal,taken by Sargent who made quite a difference to our play both in terms of movement and pace which I thought we were lacking with Hwang up top.
I didnt really expect to get much from the game as they are a team in form so a point was a good result for us.