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ricardo

Ricardo's report v Southampton

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There was a hint of worry in the air at a very warm CR this afternoon. Would we see the quality of our new boys showing through or would we be calling for Chris Hughton''s head after another Hull-esque display.Thankfully City started really well and it was virtually all one way traffic in the first quarter. Redders was showing up well down the left and began what would turn out to be an afternoon of acute torture for the poor Saints right back. A tricky run across the area ended with a low shot that was only a foot wide of Boruc''s right post. City continued to press really high up the pitch and Southampton were finding it difficult to put anything together. On 16 minutes Snoddy floated a great free kick into the box that Leroy Fer almost got hold of and in the ensuing melee in the six yard box both RVW and Elmander attempted to bundle it in only for the ball to run out for a goal kick.The non existant Saints attack at last burst into life and I thought City were very fortunate not to concede a pen when Johno''s hand blocked a shot from the edge of the box. I''ve seen them given but thankfully Mr Webb played on. The next fifteen or so minutes were very scrappy with City losing their earlier fluency while Saints became a little more measured in the passing.. City eventually regained the upper hand and really should have gone in front when Snoddy and Whits opened up the defence down the right. Ricky''s header was blocked on the line and after an almighty scramble and appeals for a pen the danger was finally cleared. At the other end a rare Saints attack ended with a volley from Lallana struck the outside of a post for what would certainly have been a goal against the run of play. With halftime fast approaching Whits again got in behind the defence but chose the wrong option by shooting across the face of goal from a narrow angle when Ricky was in acres of space calling for a pull back.I think most people were happy enough with the first period with the much maligned Johno and Leroy Fer generally getting the better of the Saints midfield. Elmander too, had looked impressive and had added some weight to the strike force. However all the good work could so easily have been undone when Saints came out of the traps with much more purpose at the start of the second half. John Ruddy made a fine save to his right to foil the very physical Osvaldo and it took a few minutes before City could re-assert their control. The pace was pretty frantic and you could feel that this game wasn''t going to end up without a score. It finally arrived on 68 minutes when Garrido did well to draw the defender as Redders cut inside and unleashed a low shot that beat Boruc all ends up at the near post. It was well deserved and City now began to stroke passes around with plenty of confidence.Inevitably Saints pushed forward and the City defence came under pressure for a time but didn''t really look like buckling. A Lambert free kick had me worried but fortunately it was well blocked and City then pulled off Elmander to give Howson a run. It was so good to see how calmly Fer and Johno broke up the Saints attacks while the whole back line looked firm and solid. With time running out Snoddy tricked his way into the box only to be felled by a blatant body check but no surprise when Mr Webb waved away what looked to me a nailed on pen.So ended a well deserved victory for City and a good solid display against what I think is a very decent Southampton side. If a MOM is forced on me I wi;ll pick Leroy Fer ( I know most will say Redmond) but in truth this was a fine team performance which will hopefully settle the nerves of the pantwetting brigade and at least give Chris Hughton another weeks grace.[;)]

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Agree completely good game great result.

Saint are a good team, much better formation than that dross last week. I am very happy to be back on the positive bus.

Can''t believe how negative all the callers were on canary call, would have like another goal and think the players will get used to this formation and only get better.

Wolfy didn''t get much of a chance but was much more involved than the previous 2 games.

Another No10 option before Tuesday would be nice but at least the season has actually started.

Oh and Whittaker......Legend

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Every time we win its down to a players revolt if you ask me spartacus

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Good report

Nice to see the new players starting to gel in the team

On the late pen appeal, watching on a stream I and the commentators thought it was clear - always been impressed with Webb in the past but that was a blooper by him

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Southampton offered sod all.

There only good player was lallana.

If they are one of the teams favourite to stay up then. We really have nothing to worry about amongst all my concerns about houghton

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Excellent report as usual, Ricardo. Fer was my man of the match as well. Very reassuring presence in midfield with excellent vision and passing. The only time he lost the ball, he chased the player down and won it back immediately. Could be a huge player for us this season.

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Very different team though.

Always said formation is ok need number 10 and thought Elmander did the biz and don''t get me started on Hobson on the wing.

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[quote user="Yelloow Since 72"]Excellent report as usual, Ricardo. Fer was my man of the match as well. Very reassuring presence in midfield with excellent vision and passing. The only time he lost the ball, he chased the player down and won it back immediately. Could be a huge player for us this season.[/quote]Yes, its starting to dawn on people what an absolute bargain he is for £4 million. Barring any injury problems I think we look well capable of a solid mid table finish again this season. The only minus point for me is that we still aren''t using RVW to his full potential. He twice took up goal scoring positions when Whits and then Redmond had clear chances to pick him out but they both chose to shoot instead.

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Today was the second of at least four games I would miss this season if I still held a season ticket, Ricardo and so I rely on media and reports like yours.

An interesting comment from Eadie first half was that Lillana was the difference as he was mobile and unpredictable whereas we were rigid and predictable and, like last season, conservative. Does he have a point?

Secondly, our possession stats continue to concern me. Why don''t we keep the ball better? It almost flies in the face of the disciplined play Hughton demands.

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"Why don''t we keep the ball better?"

or why did we force S''oton to keep passing the ball around without being able to do anything positive with it ?

these stats are pretty much meaningless sh ite - best treat them as such

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I said in pre season Fer looked an astute signing and is more influencial in a deeper midfield role where his wide range of passing can be of better use.

His ball to Redmond in the build up to the goal was class.

As others have said. Given more time to settle I think the team can only get better. Elmander has only been here a week or so.

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[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Today was the second of at least four games I would miss this season if I still held a season ticket, Ricardo and so I rely on media and reports like yours.

An interesting comment from Eadie first half was that Lillana was the difference as he was mobile and unpredictable whereas we were rigid and predictable and, like last season, conservative. Does he have a point?

Secondly, our possession stats continue to concern me. Why don''t we keep the ball better? It almost flies in the face of the disciplined play Hughton demands.
[/quote]
I disagree with Eadie. Lllana was their most dangerous player, mainly because of his movement between the lines, but we were by no means conservative in that first half. In the first quarter we really pushed them, created chances and pressed high. As the game wore on, we used the flanks effectively, the full backs pressed high and overlapped regularly. There was a lack of quick decision making at times, but the intention was clear, to take the game to Southampton. 
As for our possession, it was heavily influenced by our sitting deep in the final 10-15 minutes when we tried to grind out the win. Until then I would suggest possession was 50-50, perhaps even favouring us slightly. 
Just to show how agressive we were, we attempted 14 shots, and 35% of the play took place in their third. We didn''t try to keep the ball via horizontal passing, instead we drove forward into their third and then attempted to break them down via use of the wingers and full-backs, this is where Fer shined as he was capable of playing quick switches of play to the wings, that''s how Redmond scored his goal. Plenty of positive play from Norwich in this game.
 

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And what Mr fry has written is what the difference is between watching the game and forming an opinion and looking at meaning less numbers and speculating from there.

This is not a pop at RH who is a knowledgable poster, but at the endless dribble we often get from the numerous window lickers football has dragged in who spew out shi te about .......... "how many yards were gained over how many throw ins in the second half on the left side of play " ........ which somehow are supposed to be some means of judging a game or a player.

We were, as Mr Fry says ... and that is how we should be judged.

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I realise it is a cliché but there are simply no easy games in this division. We had to fight all the way for three points and we''ll have to fight for every point all the way through to May.

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[quote user="Rock The Boat"]I realise it is a cliché but there are simply no easy games in this division. We had to fight all the way for three points and we''ll have to fight for every point all the way through to May.[/quote]We''ll take it one game at a time and look to pick up as many points as we can, particularly from relegation dogfights and six pointers.

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City1st wrote the following post at 01/09/2013 12:14 AM:

"This is not a pop at RH who is a knowledgeable poster.."

A short memory you have there.

City1st wrote the following post at 01/09/2013 12:14 AM:

"but at the endless dribble we often get from the numerous window lickers football has dragged in who spew out shi te about .......... "

It takes all sorts, looks like you have a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to those who watch the game and discuss it using statistics to justify their argument. Not a numbers man I presume?

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Interesting point, not sure what the ratio of open play to set piece was last season but it often felt like a set piece was our only chance of a goal.

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Thanks Ricardo.

I agree with yourself and other posters re Fer, who looks a really exciting prospect and I too preferred him in the deeper role.

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]And what Mr fry has written is what the difference is between watching the game and forming an opinion and looking at meaning less numbers and speculating from there.

This is not a pop at RH who is a knowledgable poster, but at the endless dribble we often get from the numerous window lickers football has dragged in who spew out shi te about .......... "how many yards were gained over how many throw ins in the second half on the left side of play " ........ which somehow are supposed to be some means of judging a game or a player.

We were, as Mr Fry says ... and that is how we should be judged.

A tad emotionally put but I agree that the possession stats mean little in most games. The game that i watched was end to end until the last 15 minutes. I was impressed at the way we moved the ball around effectively creating good attacking play.

It probably should have been 3-1 had the referee made diifferent penaly decisions which would have better refected the game imo.

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I''d just like to clarify, I was asking questions based upon limited information collected having been out of the country with sporadic Internet all season. I was not making personal observations.

I found your response very encouraging Mr. Fry. Thank you.

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Good report Ricardo, I agree Fer was MOM.As Southampton have scored in the last minutes of every game so far, I was very pleased that Hughton had worked hard on our defence !

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[quote user="Phillip J Fry"] I disagree with Eadie. Lllana was their most dangerous player, mainly because of his movement between the lines, but we were by no means conservative in that first half. In the first quarter we really pushed them, created chances and pressed high. As the game wore on, we used the flanks effectively, the full backs pressed high and overlapped regularly. There was a lack of quick decision making at times, but the intention was clear, to take the game to Southampton. 
As for our possession, it was heavily influenced by our sitting deep in the final 10-15 minutes when we tried to grind out the win. Until then I would suggest possession was 50-50, perhaps even favouring us slightly. 
Just to show how agressive we were, we attempted 14 shots, and 35% of the play took place in their third. We didn''t try to keep the ball via horizontal passing, instead we drove forward into their third and then attempted to break them down via use of the wingers and full-backs, this is where Fer shined as he was capable of playing quick switches of play to the wings, that''s how Redmond scored his goal. Plenty of positive play from Norwich in this game.
 
[/quote]

Agree completely best attacking performance for some time and hopefully template for home performances this season.

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