EFL Championship Match 18 - Southampton 1 Bristol City 0

Behold, I am Magnificent!

One benefit of being in the Championship and having no international breaks in the near future is that if you have a shit result, then you will probably only have to wait three or four days for the opportunity to put it right and that’s the situation that we find ourselves in today with a visit of Bristol City to St Mary‘s, just a few days after the shambolic shitshow of a second half at Huddersfield. Bristol City come to us on the edge of the play-off places which is probably a bit of an over achievement with the squad they have, so fair play to them.

They changed manager relatively recently, which was a bit of a surprise from the outside, with ex-Saints boss Nigel Pearson being manoeuvred out the door and replaced by Oxford United’s Liam Manning.  Manning has so far won one and drawn one of his two games in charge but this will of course be his biggest test so far.  Known for favouring a possession-based style, it’ll be interesting to see the match-up today.  

Big Nige was manager of Saints at the end of the Michael Wilde season which was the season that saw Stern John almost single-handedly keep this up with two goals in the last game of the season against Sheffield United.  Pearson was brought in to rescue the situation after Whisky George Burley had literally pissed away the first three-quarters of the season and though he only won relatively few games, Pearson kept us up. Then, Rupert Lowe came back and because he knew best and because Pearson was relatively popular (and no one sang any songs about him swinging from a bridge), didn’t give him the job and gave it instead to Jan Poortvliet, who was up until recently, unquestionably very high in the “Worst manager we’ve ever Had“ stakes.  After last year, he went down a couple of places.  Pearson was very similar to Mark Hughes in that he did the bare minimum and kept us up but unlike Hughes, was not offered the job for the following season which probably saved him from being sacked about ten games in, which of course is what happened to Sparky.

Team news today will focus on whether Russell Martin’s annoyance at the result and performance against Huddersfield, translates into any team changes from the start. I would say that Kamaldeen Sulemana and Ryan Fraser are under the most threat out of those who started on Saturday.  In the event, Fraser was replaced with Alcaraz and there were two that were more surprising with Smallbone and Bree, making way for Charles and Manning.

Away we go and two minutes gone and there’s a bit of an altercation on the right hand side with Adam Armstrong and Sykes squaring up and after a slight push by The Saints captain, Sykes throws himself about 10 yards and performs about three rolls. It’s absolutely fucking pathetic by the Bristol man but it’s enough for Keith Stroud to brandish a yellow card at Armstrong. It’s one of the positives of the Championship that you don’t get as many diving shithouse players as you do the Premier League but Sykes now has his card marked as far as I’m concerned.

The first chance of the game comes from a THB diagonal which doesn’t quite reach Sulemana but the clearance gets nodded back to him and he’s away in on goal, cutting in from the left but his finish is ultimately, crap and just rolls to the goalkeeper.

There is then another incident involving Sykes as KWP is the slightest bit late to a tackle but down goes Sykes with the maximum effect and once again, the referee buys it at the Saints man gets a yellow card. This is the first referee this season who is really getting on my tits and we’ve only had fifteen minutes.

Sulemana and Alcaraz combine through the middle to tee up Adam Armstrong who takes too long to get a shot away and it’s blocked for a corner. The short corner is eventually crossed in by Stuart Armstrong and bounces out for Adam Armstrong to smash over the bar.

When Bristol bother to venture out of their half they actually show some promise, finding good space out on the right wing in the Manning Chasm and the cross is headed out by the aforementioned Manning.  In comes the corner, flicked on and Conway has a free header at the back post about 5 yards out and just casually nods it over the bar.  That was really shit from us and luckily, really shit from Conway.

Having not done so so far, it’s time for us to actually work the goalkeeper with Stuart Armstrong picking up the ball in midfield and driving straight towards the penalty area before letting fly and though it makes the keeper work, it is ultimately straight at him.

Sulemana and then goes down with no one near him and it looks like he is morphing into Moussa Djenepo and this looks like a hamstring.  Off he comes and on comes unmistakable figure of the man wearing Adidas Trampolino boots. Yes folks, it’s Che Adams. We now at least have a centre forward with Adam Armstrong moved to the left and Alcaraz to the right.

Bristol decide to commit some players forward and look dangerous, working a decent opening once more in the Manning Chasm and when the cross comes in there is absolute carnage and Sykes meets it at the back post and gets it on target but Bazunu flies across towards the post to claw it away. Great save and the first thing he has had to do today.

After a decent move and a crap effort on the turn from Adams, Bristol City get through yet again, this time with a long ball over the top which finds Conway clean through against Baz but the first touch is bad and gives Baz the chance to dive at his feet with his hands and make an impressive save. Impressive because hardly any goalkeepers do this anymore as they usually come launching out with their feet and don’t really want to even do that because of the amount of players who just dive and get you sent off.

Half time and zzzzzz.  Dull.  We didn’t play with enough pace to trouble them and they just stifled the shit out of it and waited for mistakes.  Must do better and there are no changes as the second half starts.

How's This for Goal Threat ?

We build up down the left with Manning finding Adams and then Alcaraz and he looks to have put Adam Armstrong through but his touch is bad and it runs across him and he ends up out on the right where the edge of the penalty area meets the goal-line. He manages to turn and almost casually picks out KWP on the edge of the box and he takes one touch to control, two more to nudge it left and then just like at Preston, curls it left footed giving the goalkeeper no fucking chance at all.  What a brilliant fucking goal and call me a bastard but I always find it quite amusing when people are queuing for a shit burger, some shit coffee or some shit lager and they hear the goal music.

The first thing I thought of when that goal hit the net and Bristol City kicked off again, was how important it was because Bristol City will surely have to come out a little bit more now and we will have to learn the lessons from Saturday and push for a second goal which should make the rest of the second-half a lot more entertaining.

For a few minutes it looks like the floodgates will open but Adam Armstrong’s touch again lets him down but his battling qualities win the ball back off a dithering defender before he drills it straight at the keeper. In the carnage that follows, the ball was eventually teed up for Alcaraz to smash wide from the edge of the box.

Stuart Armstrong then aims a pass at namesake Adam who knows he’s offside, so he leaves it and Shea Charles is the rather unlikely figure closing in on the ball in the penalty area. He is tackled however and it bounces to KWP who should just absolutely smash it but instead he tries to tee up Captain Armstrong who duffs the effort through to the goalkeeper

With time running out and aware that the energy usually dips around this point, Russell Martin made a double substitution with Stuart Armstrong and Shea Charles being replaced in the midfield engine room by two players who don’t have an engine, Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo. Fucking hell.

We win a free kick on the right side when Flynn Downes is trashed by a lazy challenge. Adam Armstrong‘s freekick is nodded away but no danger because Ryan Manning picks it up and tries to find Aribo but the pass is an absolute fucking beast and doesn’t reach him and Bristol City break through Cornick and I don’t know about you, but I don’t fancy Joe‘s chances of catching him.  Joe and his caravan doesn’t catch him but Flynn Downes does as he steams back from absolutely nowhere to nick the ball and get fouled in the process. Brilliant play by our future signing from West Ham.

Four minutes extra to be added and Bree is on for Manning but the expected Bristol City onslaught doesn’t happen at all and Saints keep the ball pretty well, winning free kicks and corners down the other end until the final whistle blows.  Get in.

A phrase you’re going to hear a lot about this game is, “a win is a win“ and it absolutely sums this game up as far as Saints are concerned.  When you were playing a team who have no real interest in doing anything other than sitting in formation about 25 yards from their own goal, then all you can do is win the game and move onto the next one.

It isn’t going to be particularly entertaining because it takes two teams to make an entertaining game and with Bristol City, it was never going to be entertaining because their game plan from the first whistle was basically to sit in and hope that Saints give away opportunities with mistakes. To be fair, it nearly worked because if it wasn’t for Baz being on top form and City forwards shitting themselves at the vital moment, they would undoubtedly have scored in the first half.  

The frustration in the first half was that on the rare occasions when City committed any players forward, we would break the lines and if there were three or four City players the wrong side of the ball, we didn’t progress it quickly enough or switch play and just allowed them to get back behind the ball again.  Within about 30 seconds of the game starting, it was obvious that City‘s plan was to get everyone behind the ball and defend deep and narrow so we had to play a little bit quicker and a little bit more expensively to take advantage if they were caught upfield at all.

Their limitations became apparent after they went 1-0 down, when there was no discernible change to the way that they were playing and they basically settled for a 1-0 defeat from 46 minutes onwards after KWP’s goal.  We did that ourselves, many a time last season when we had loads of time to get back into it but in the end, don’t even have a shot.  If I’d been a Bristol City fan and I’d been made that trip to an away game, I would be very pissed off with a second-half performance and the lack of intent.   We did keep the ball very well in the second half but City just kind of let us do it.  They could have tried pressing high or even gone direct but for me, they didn’t try anything and made it easy-ish for us.

Baz Saves Us From the Second Half From Hell

The first half however, belonged to Gavin Bazunu. His two vital saves in the first half set up the win and if either of those had gone in then we probably would’ve lost 1-0 and the second half would have been absolute murder because City would’ve just sat with eleven men behind the ball for the entire second half and strangled the shit out of it.

Flynn Downes had a superb game in midfield… we are very lucky to have him and that’s really hope that this loan turns into a permanent transfer at some point in the future.  No West Ham – he’s definitely not good enough for the Premier League and you should snap our hands off for about £7 million.

Also not good enough for any Premier League pariah in January is KWP, who had his usual solid game at the back and found the time to get forward and smash in another superb left-footed goal. We do unquestionably have a lack of goal threat, so any goals from any source are most welcome.

Having not set the world alight with the substitutions against Huddersfield, Russell Martin had a better day today in my view. Bringing on Che Adams for Kamaldeen Suledjenepo was a good move because it gave us a focal point in attack that we just didn’t have before he came on with Charly playing centrally as a false 9, so this enforced substitution was in a sense, correcting that.  It probably would’ve been even better if we had brought on the real Che Adams instead of the impersonator who has been wearing the Saints number 10 shirt since the transfer window closed.   The good news is that it’s nearly time for January window so we might get a few goals out of him before then.  Today though, again the touch was awful and it almost felt like it was worth a round of applause every time we actually kept possession after Che had touched it.

"And Then I Put Two Players Who Can't Run in the Engine Room..."

It got better after half-time and there was a slight tactical switch and we went to 4-diamond-two formation with Adams and Adam Armstrong ahead of Charly Alcaraz, who was a lot more prominent in the second half.  Russell Martin’s next play with substitutes was to display bollocks of steel when at 1-0, with 15 minutes to go and needing more energy, he replaced the still energetic Stuart Armstrong and the solid Shea Charles, with two midfielders who can’t run in with the never-knowingly-sprinting Will Smallbone and Joe Aribo, a man who took his Apple Watch back because it thought he was dead.  If I had been Bristol City manager, that would’ve been the trigger to really press high and try and swarm all over the Saints midfield. Luckily, we got away with it because of the aforementioned acceptance of a 1-0 defeat.

A Win is a Win… Three points and onward we go to Saturday and the visit of Cardiff City to St Mary‘s. We now have a ten game unbeaten run with seven wins and both of those particular stats need to increase by one at the weekend.

Up the Fucking Saints.

EFL Championship Match 17 - Huddersfield 1 Southampton 1

 

Behold, I've Done It Again

I was reading somewhere that Saints have to play twenty-two games in sixteen weeks before the next international break. Seeing as we are in an eight-game unbeaten run, if we can extend that to thirty games by the time the next international break happens, then I think we will be in a fairly good place regarding promotion back to the land of VAR and financial fair play my arse.

The first game of our twenty-two game run is away at Huddersfield and if we are serious about getting promoted this year then this is a game that we clearly have to win. Huddersfield started off the season with Neil Warnock in charge and depending on what you read, he was sacked or gracefully pensioned off after a few games and the present incumbent is Darren Moore, fresh from getting Sheffield Wednesday promoted out of League 1. The headline result of Moore’s time with Sheffield Wednesday was of course the play-off semi-final when they were 4-0 down to Peterborough and then scored five goals in about 10 minutes to overturn the first leg deficit.  Of course, this was not the norm. The norm was a very pragmatic, defence first approach which he has taken into the Huddersfield job.  Last time out against Hull, they basically lined up 5-4-60 yards-1 and tried to defend the shit out of it for 90 minutes which nearly got them a point but a late Liam Delap goal meant the tactics ultimately failed.  I am expecting similar tactics today.

Hopefully, we will be good enough today so that Huddersfield tactics don’t actually make much difference but in the first game back after national break, you can never quite tell what you’re going to get, especially when some of your players has been over the other side of the world. Russell Martin’s press conference yesterday was encouraging though with him admitting that we were in a better place than we thought we would be, regarding players coming back from international duty and existing knocks and niggles. There is also the tantalising possibility that Ross Stewart will be more ready to play after another couple of weeks training since his outing against West Brom.

Charly Alcaraz, probably jet-lagged from a flight here from Argentina is the only one missing from the starting XI with Ryan Fraser being given a chance to show he should be a starter, rather than an impact sub.  The other change today is that Russell Martin is of course sat in the stands after his three bookings in previous games.  There is the slightly absurd spectacle of him being sat there with a radio mic so he can talk to the bench, which is about five yards in front of where he is sat. He is sat on the end of a row with a big guy who obviously works for the club sat next to him.  I guess that this is to stop some random bloke sitting next to him and chatting shit all through the game.

The first incident Russell oversaw from the stand was Huddersfield bundle down the left-hand side before Thomas shot well wide.  Our first bit of threatening play sees THB switch it wide to Sulemana and we go all Brazil 1982 for a second with Sulemana with a couple of back flicks and Adam Armstrong and Smallbone combining to try and put Stuart Armstrong through but eventually the number of Huddersfield bodies does enough to crowd us out and get the ball clear.

KWP then links up with Stuart Armstrong who dribbles into the box and passes at the opportunity to shoot to sliding Fraser on the right but the wee man is pressured into hoofing the shot well well over the bar.

The game then falls asleep with us having the ball and Huddersfield dropping nine players deep and allowing us to to have it.  We are content to pass it around and not go anywhere and it’s boring.  As we approach 40 minutes it wakes up and KWP on the right cuts the ball into Adam Armstrong, who displays poor centre forward play in allowing a defender to get a boot to it but it rolls out to Stuart Armstrong who smashes it first time, past the keeper, against the post and out.  Shit.

Stu Makes Things Happen

We do however appear to be fully awake now and Smallbone plays it through inside the full back to Sulemana, who cuts inside and sees his shot blocked into the side netting.  Bree’s corner from the left is cleared out as far as KWP on the right and via Downes the ball goes to Smallbone on the edge of the box who does what site should do far more often and lets fly and keeper Maxwell makes an almighty flap of it but manages to keep it out.

The five minutes of pressure then pays with some patient play around the edge of the box before Smallbone finds Stuart Armstrong on the left his first time across his met by Adam Armstrong, who darts in front of his defender before stabbing the ball into the corner of the net. Brilliant finish and happy days.

Half time and a second goal will clearly be enough to put this to bed.  There doesn’t appear to be any need for any changes, just a need to keep the intensity up and keep the ball, push for a second and not do anything dumb.  We had in truth been largely untroubled all half but there were a couple of breaks by Huddersfield that we had eventually snuffed out, mainly because they only committed one player forward.

However, Saints start the second half like a fucking drain with Bednarek giving the ball away on the half-way line which gives Huddersfield the platform to build up down the left with Thomas flashing a ball across the box which is eventually stabbed behind for a corner by Bree.  More Huddersfield pressure down the left-hand side ends with more chaos and Koroma’s shot deflected wide.

Huddersfield now have their tails up and we are absolutely still in the changing room and it doesn’t take too long for Russell Martin to replace Sulemana with Edozie. It’s been another hit and miss display by Sulemana. Looking electric in places and coming out after half-time and looking like he just can’t be bothered when it gets a bit difficult.

Headley bundles past three half-arsed challenges on the left which gives Koroma another chance to shoot which Baz flaps away somewhat unconvincingly. We are trying to play, as you expect but no one is putting their body on the line to secure and keep possession, with both Stuart Armstrong and Smallbone coughing up possession cheaply to give Huddersfield the ball and give us some defending to do.

Saints finally get some play in the Huddersfield half and on 70 minutes, Stuart Armstrong knocks a ball back for Edozie to shoot but it’d well saved by Maxwell and Fraser’s follow is blocked for a corner which nothing comes from.

Ten minutes to go and it looks like we’re not really going put Huddersfield away so it’s now a case of can we hang on or not. Koroma causes more problems down the right and fires over a brilliant cross along the 6-yard line and Thomas just has to run into it but, probably impaired by his ridiculous hairdo the ball slapped him on his 50p head at an angle the sent it wide.  Dreadful miss.

More Huddersfield pressure and Edozie gives away a dopey freekick on the edge of the box. In it comes and Helik, all 6 foot 8 of him, being marked by Wee Man Ryan Fraser, heads wide of the post with a free header.

It seems a little bit too late but on come Manning, Stewart and Charles in place of Bree, Stuart Armstrong and Fraser but it’s still all Huddersfield with Jackson who looked across it in with his left foot and his inswinging cross flies over Bednarek and bounces and beats the dive of Bazunu into the far corner. For fuck‘s sake - it’s a slightly fortunate goal but we cannot possibly complain about Huddersfield equalising.

Seven minutes of injury time to go and we show a bit of urgency but not enough and when the final whistle went, I was happy enough to get out with a point.  No last-minute goal and in truth we didn’t deserve one. The horrible, almost complacent start to the second half killed the tempo of our performance and we could never pick it up again. It was like we expected Huddersfield just be dazzled by our brilliance and accept their fate and not do anything.  Great lads – however, we gave them the encouragement at the start of the second half and to be fair to them they kept on pressing.  Okay, it’s a lucky goal because basically it was a cross but you can’t deny that Huddersfield deserved the point for being the better side in the second half.

It was a bad day all round and maybe Russell Martin being in the stands rather than dugout played a part. The substitutions came far too late. Once the other team puts us under pressure for a sustained period of time and starts getting a foot in, then it is not the kind of game for Will Smallbone and he needs to come off as soon as possible. Shea Charles should’ve been on for him a lot earlier than he was.  It wasn’t just Smallbone who is off the pace in the second half. Sulemana went from being a regular threat in the first half to being absolutely nothing in the second and the same happened to Stuart Armstrong.  Adam Armstrong did as usual, not a lot and then scored a very good goal but his second half performance was lacking as well.  Ryan Fraser did nothing but cement his place as an impact substitute – the trouble being that he started the game today.

The complacent start the second half started with Bednarek giving the ball away needlessly with a crap pass on half-way and from that Huddersfield one a couple of corners and we basically didn’t get the ball out of a penalty area for about five minutes. The sloppiness set the tone and that was the all the encouragement that Huddersfield needed and it gave them belief that they could get something out of a game that they shouldn’t have got a sniff at getting anything out of.

The goal conceded was fortunate as said but could have been prevented.  Bednarek misjudges the flight of the ball and you could argue that Bazunu did also by assuming that Bednarek was going to head it.  Maybe that’s harsh on the keeper but I do wonder if he could have done better.

You can’t win every game of course and at least we kept the unbeaten run going but that second-half performance was absolutely pathetic.  In all honesty, the first 35 minutes of the first half wasn’t great either as though we controlled the ball and had a lot of possession, we created precious little with it with nothing sticking up front. On about 40 minutes Stuart Armstrong hit the post, Smallbone made the goalkeeper work and then we scored…. And then we thought we’d done all we needed to do.  It’s not good enough though just to score once and expect the other team to do nothing.

Russell Feels the Pain of Being a Supporter in the Crowd (Sort Of)

Russell was allowed down from the stands to do the post match interviews and wasn't happy.  Stopping short of outright blaming the players, he blamed the players for not following instructions and the lack of second half intensity.  He doesn't tend to give too much away in interviews as he's very level headed but the frustration of being in the stands and the annoyance at the performance was plain to see.  It's comforting to know that like me, he gets annoyed about shite performances.

On to a home game on Wednesday against Bristol City where we have to get back on track after today’s disappointment.  Other promotion chasing teams had mixed results with Ipswich losing and Leeds dropping points at Rotherham.  We would have gone up to 3^rd place with a win but maybe this is a point gamed rather than two dropped but it doesn’t really feel like it right now. All we have can do is worry about our own performances and results and the league table will ultimately look after itself.

EFL Championship Match 16 - Southampton 2 West Bromwich Albion 1

 

Oh There He Is!

The once mighty West Bromwich Albion visit St Mary‘s today, in a rather surprising 5^th place in the league, off the back of a run three successive wins. Surprising because they seem to have been in financial turmoil ever since dropping out of the Premier League a couple of seasons ago. Manager Carlos Corboran has developed a pragmatic playing style regarding the way they sit deep and attempt to hit teams on the break. Earlier on in the season this would’ve been the perfect way to going about beating us but we are a lot better now with regards to over-committing when we have the ball.  This could well be a game where the first goal is crucial,so we have course are hoping to replicate our fast starts against Leeds and Birmingham. West Brom‘s main attacking threats are the wingers Diangana and Phillips so I expect KWP and Bree to be kept on their toes this afternoon.  Our last game against West Brom was in the Premier League at the Hawthorns when we had Ralph Hasenhuttl as manager and they had the gravy quaffing expertise of Sam Allardyce.  Fat Sam won the day as we were fucking abysmal and collapsed to a pathetic 3-0 defeat, which was a result that neither stopped West Brom going down or us staying up.

It’s been a relatively quiet week at St Mary’s and the main decision Russell Martin has to make is how to replace Jan Bednarek in the starting lineup. Having seen the way that James Bree slotted into left back rather than moving everyone else around, I’m kind of expecting a like for like replacement with Mason Holgate coming in. Hopefully the fact that Holgate’s three starts have seen us concede nine goals, won’t have too much of a bearing today.

Elsewhere, the Nathan Jones masterclass on how he beat Manchester City on his own, didn’t secure him the job at Millwall which statistically, I’m sure they will regret.  Afterwards, he said that statistically, his masterclass was one of the best in Europe in terms of xPotency and xAggression, and that he could have stayed in Wales and done a podcast about mining villages, but he wanted to test himself by not marrying a Welsh girl and leaving to do a masterclass.  I realise that all of these jokes have been done before but in my mind, they are still amusing.

To today and 2pm brought answers to the questions we were all asking and true to form, Russell Martin made as few changes as he had to, with Mason Holgate coming in for the suspended Bednarek and other than that it was unchanged with James Bree having obviously recovered from the knock that forced him off against Millwall last week.  The headline news is that Ross Stewart is on the bench.

Come on lads, fast start.  Nothing for the first four minutes other than realising that the formation had changed a bit and we were playing a kind of 4-4-2 with Charly on the left and Stu on the right.  West Brom had played three-at-the-back recently in away games but they were 4-4-2 as well so matched up.  Whether we surprised them or not with the formation change, we’ll never know but in the 5^th minute, Alcaraz slid a ball in to Stuart Armstrong who had turned up on the left behind the full back.  His pull back finds Adam Armstrong who has to score but he hits the keeper and Smallbone smashes the rebound and it looks like it is cleared off the line… fuck!  Oh hang on… we have no VAR but we do have goal-line tech, one-fucking-nil, get in!!

A difference between the Championship and the Premier League then became apparent as Smallbone put Adam Armstrong through with a slide rule pass but it’s given offside by the lino who flagged straight away.  Five minutes later, THB missed out midfield and puts Armstrong through and again it’s given offside by an early flag.  Both offsides were close but the lino, who was best placed to see, thought they were both offside so fair enough and no drama.

If this had been a Premier League game, that last paragraph might have read:

Smallbone put Adam Armstrong through with a slide rule pass and on he goes, draws the keeper and slots it past him for 2-0.  We all go “YEEEEEEH-fuck as he’s just put the flag up.  Off to Stockleigh Park and it’s clearly a close one as it’s taking ages whilst the etch-a-sketch draws some lines and what do you know, it’s offside by fucking miles so why couldn’t the twat have put his flag up straight away.  Action replay a few minutes later as THB missed out midfield and puts Armstrong through and again, no flag and he’s in but overruns it and clatters the keeper who looks like he’s dead.  Arma rolls it into the empty net and the Baggies centre backs kick off and the handbags come out and once more we’re off to Stockley Park and after ten minutes we establish that it’s miles offside again and the lino should have flagged, no punches were thrown and after a check of the monitor, two of their players get yellow cards and Arma gets one as well, presumably for being pushed in the face.  Shambles.

Back in the real world in the Championship and Alcaraz breaks infield from the left and spreads it wider KWP and he finds Sulemana who helps onto Smallbone who launches it into space.

Just before half time, we get a bit ragged with Downes getting booked for a wild attempt to try and regain possession after we’d lost it in our own half and West Brom wake up a bit in an attacking sense and Jed Wallace, Skate Bastard gets a cross in and it bounces out to Thomas-Asante, whose effort is headed wide by Holgate.  A warning. Half time.

It’s been quite comfortable to be honest as we’ve been as good in possession as usual and West Brom haven’t really threatened.  Our lack of efforts on goal after the 5^th minute is irritating and you feel that West Brom are going to put a bit more together in the second half.

After ten minutes of holding pattern, Smallbone goes down and the obvious substitution is to bring on Shea Charles but it’s Ryan Fraser coming on which means readjustment for Stuart Armstrong and we appear to have gone to our more regular 433 formation, with Stu and Charly both in the midfield, which seems a bit unnecessarily risky as we are ahead.

West Brom have been better since half-time and begin look the better side with powerful Phillips cutting off the left wing and curling one quite a long way wide of the far post. West Brom are growing though and we are doing the opposite, not keeping the ball particularly well and seemingly lacking in a bit of energy.

Shit...

Phillips again picks up the ball on the left and Townsend wins a corner off of Downes. Russell Martin has got three subs lined up to come on but doesn’t want to do it before the corner which ends up back over the far side before being crossed back in by Skate Wallace and Thomas-Asante rises to smash a header against the bar and Bartley walks it into the net from practically on the line. Fuck. Can’t say it hasn’t been coming though

Now the subs can be made with Manning, Adams and Charles coming on for Bree, Sulemana and surprisingly, Flynn Downes.  Saints immediately look more energetic and Fraser has a shot blocked on the edge of the box but then it’s panic station as Saints get the defending all wrong as Charles falls over and West Brom break again with Wallace putting a cross over which was superbly headed away by Holgate.

At least we are creating a bit ourselves now and KWP brings it down the right and slides the ball in to Stuart Armstrong who needs to pull it back but doesn’t get his foot around it and it’s easy pickings for the goalkeeper.  At the other end, Townsend is allowed to sling in a cross from the left and it’s met by the right back Furlong who easily gets above Ryan Manning before sending a header onto the bar and over. At this point with about fifteen to go, I am more than happy to take a point.

We work the ball out of Fraser on the left and he switches on his right foot and crosses.  Stuart Armstrong goes for the header and it flicks off a defender and the left back has followed him and it bounces down to Adam Armstrong at the back post and all he has to do is control and knock it into the net which he does comfortably. 2-1, fucking get in there.

All Eyes on the New Right Winger

It’s more or less Adam Armstrong‘s last contribution as he’s replaced by Ross Stewart who takes his place on the right wing, with Adams still in the middle. West Brom put a cross into the box which are dealt with by Mason Holgate who was getting better and better as the game goes on.  In comes the corner headed away for another corner. In it comes in and everyone is hacking at the ball and it’s about three yards out, Thomas-Asante swings a boot at it and somehow it’s a great save by Bazunu before we hack it away.  

The end… get in!! Well that was sketchy as fuck but we got there in the end, immediately putting me in mind of the QPR game earlier on in the season, where we similarly didn’t play particularly well but managed to nick it with her relatively late goal by Adam Armstrong, who once again gave a typical Adam Armstrong performance, not doing very much at all but then popping up with a goal.

Overall, I would say that we got a bit lucky here and a draw would have been a fair result.  Russell Martin was brave on 55 minutes when Smallbone got injured, bringing on Ryan Fraser instead of Shea Charles, which left us with the midfield three which included both Alcaraz and Stuart Armstrong, two players not exactly known for their defensive discipline. He wanted to make further changes before West Brom scored and he managed to change it eventually after they equalised and we just about got us over the line thanks to Fraser’s cross, the confusion caused by Stuart Armstrong arriving late in the box and Arma’s finish. Once we got in front, we had our first glimpse of Ross Stewart for 15 minutes, playing a slightly unfamiliar right wing spot but he worked hard and he looks like he’s going to be a right rangy awkward handful when he gets fully fit and establishes a place in the side in his proper position.

In a game with the first goal was always going to be very important, to get it after five minutes was a major bonus but though we pretty much dominated the first half, we didn’t kick on and didn’t work the Baggies goalkeeper at all before half-time. West Brom barely had a touch anywhere near a penalty area but in the second half they were the better side and literally a minute before Armstrong scored, as said, I was quite happily settle in for a point.

What’s the cliché?…. the sign of a good team is one that can play badly and still win? That was kind of us today.  Tactically we set up a little bit different today, which I guess was some sort of adaptation needed for the opposition and we basically matched them up. Our more traditional four in midfield pretty much dominated in the first half but Kamaldeen Sulemana had a very listless performance up front and Adam Armstrong as discussed, was his usual. I think the opposition made it the kind of game but it ended up being because they were very solid and didn’t lose their shape at all, even when 1-0 down.

Anyone order Steamed Skate?

Mason Holgate got named as man of the match by the rather clumsy stadium announcement that happened whilst the game was in progress. Not sure about that because THB was the one organising the defence and he was absolutely flawless.  Holgate did however play very well after the opening minute or so. He has an aggressive streak to his defending and gets in there and gets to the ball before the striker. He is also obviously a bit of a wind-up merchant and it is a bit of a lightning rod for the opposition doing stupid things. We should’ve had a penalty in the first half for Holgate’s shirt being virtually ripped off his back. With the two centre backs and the goalkeeper being our best players today, it probably explains quite a lot about the game.

Another side note from today is that Russell Martin picked up his third booking so he will not be on the touchline in our next game against Huddersfield, which happens after the international break. It will be interesting to see whether that has any adverse effect but that’s certainly a game where we need to continue our positive form against one of them or struggling sides in the division.

Up the Fucking Saints

EFL Championship Match 15 - Millwall 0 Southampton 1

Wee Man, 94th Minute, Again

A trip to Southeast London and The Den of Millwall. In the context of the championship, where every game for us seems to be in the Frozen Wastelands of the North, it’s nice to be a bit more local.

Millwall have had a somewhat indifferent start to the season and a couple of weeks ago, parted with their manager Gary Rowett who had been there for the last four years. Apparently, there was none of the old Millwall spirit which all the readers will remember being manifested by the likes of Terry Hurlock, Tony Cascarino and Teddy Sheringham back in the late 80s. Rowett’s Millwall lacked bravery and often went out to ‘not lose’ games rather than to trying to win them and that is what ultimately caused his departure, with a fanbase that demands a braver, more combative approach.  I’ve heard the term ‘tough place to go’ a lot this week.  I guess it is as much as any away ground is but it certainly isn’t as tough as it was in the late 80s/early 90s at the old ground.

So, Millwall are still managerless at the moment but rumour has it that Adam Barrett is in the dugout for the last time today with a new manager to be announced next week and maybe, just maybe, it will be the return of statistically one of the best managers in Europe, who could’ve married a nice Welsh girl if he stayed in the Welsh Mining Village, instead of travelling the world to Luton.

Statistically....

Talking of our favourite Mr Jones, it has been teased on Twitter that he was going to do a Coaches Voice masterclass and as the pictures advertising it had orange counters in front of him, I assumed it was going to be a Luton Town thing but no, the game in question was Saints against Manchester City in the Carabao where we denied them the quadruple, of course.  As I write, I haven’t watched it but I would love to know if they make any mention of the fact that Pep totally shat it with his team selection. I am sure that Nathan will try and take credit for that.

Things are going well at the moment of course and there was another boost on Friday as there was an official sighting of the Loch Ness Drogba with Ross Stewart playing for the Under 21s against Sunderland.  We lost, which at the end of the day doesn’t matter, but the main man scored his first goal in Saints colours in only his 7^th minute on the pitch.  There is still no need to rush him into the first team picture but the 45 minutes he got in were a major plus.

Anyone Know Who This Is?

To today and the Saints line-up is predictable.  James Bree deservedly keeps his place again and Alcaraz is preferred to Adams.  Millwall have the ex-Saints Bartosz Bialkowski in goal, who was of course, understudy to Kelvin Davis when we were in the Championship, most notably under Whiskey George Burley.  Bart got a chance at the end of the playoff season in 2007 and was in the team for the first leg of the playoff semi-final against Derby and played well. George’s glass of Jim Beam told him to put Kelvin back in goal for the second leg and he let in a crap goal after about a minute and Bart’s career at Saints was from then on restricted to the odd appearance, where he generally was ok/average.  I remember one ‘Taibi’ like goal conceded.  Still, he’s had a decent career at Championship and League 1 level.

Away we go and once again, our gameplan is, we have the ball and we’re not letting you have it.  There are no real chances until THB tries a long diagonal long ball which causes a bit of panic in the Millwall penalty area and the ball eventually bounces out to Sulemana on the left whose low cross is set up for Stuart Armstrong to lash it first time, forcing Bart to help it on its way over the bar.

Millwall aren’t getting on the ball much as you would expect but when they do we get a sighting of that rare thing where a Saints full back, namely James Bree, actually blocks a cross and Millwall get a corner.  A subsequent push on Baz clears any danger.

A Saints attack breaks down on the edge of the Millwall penalty area with Smallbone giving it away but in the surprise of actually having possession, Millwall give it straight back and Alcaraz makes a yard before smashing it straight at Bart, who somewhat eccentrically shovels it wide of the post.

The corner is cleared but we recycle it back out of Stuart Armstrong who plays the ball in to the under-lapping Smallbone who flashes it across and once again Bart makes sure everyone sees him pushing it wide of the post.

As another half of dominance without goal draws to a close, THB concedes a corner and from it, a knock back at the far post and Harding meets it 3 yards out and manages to hit the bar meaning we get a bit lucky and go in at 0-0.  We play superb football up until we get 30 yards out and then there is a bit of a void.

It hard to say anyone has played badly but no one has done anything particularly brilliant either, so it’s no surprise that there are no changes in personnel made at the break.  What has changed however is that KWP is playing a lot higher in the second half and he refuses to give up on an overhit through ball, keeps it in and after a superb touch past a defender, Stuart Armstrong should pull it back to Adam but gets greedy and tries to poke it though Bart who saves comfortably.

We’ve got them pinned back now on the hour mark and Alcaraz is running the show.  Via Stuart Armstrong, KWP has a cross shot which is again cleared for a corner.  Another chance goes begging when Smallbone plays a 1-2 and barges into the box and the ball breaks to Adam Armstrong who hits it at the fucking moon.

James Bree has picked up a knock, thanks for what looked like a perfectly fair tackle and on comes Ryan Manning. Manning immediately gets trashed in midfield and loses the ball allowing Millwall to build up on the right through Saville.  Millwall get excited for a moment and commit some players forward but when we clear it, we break with Alcaraz steaming through midfield and finding Sulemana on the left and with his first goal of the season beckoning, he cuts in and hits it and Bart gets down and pulls off a really good save this time.

Fraser on for Sulemana, who is unlucky to be replaced and the impressive Alcaraz finds Smallbone and then Stuart Armstrong breaking from midfield and his low left footed effort drags just wide of the far post.  It’s his last contribution as off he comes for Shea Charles and Che Adams is on for Smallbone with Russell Martin showing intent to go and win it in the last fifteen minutes.

Though we are building up a head of steam , it begins to look like it’s not happening when Alcaraz makes space on the edge of the box before smashing it and seeing it blocked by a defenders chest/arm.  Whilst we’re appealing for apparently the ball drops to Wee Man Fraser who puts a pretty shit effort wide of the far post.

90, 91, 92, 93.. and KWP slides a ball into Arma, who lets it run to lose his marker.  His cut back is blocked back to him and time stands still as he rolls it back to Fraser, who with a swing of his Size 6 boot (that’s a guess) knocks it past Bart… GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL... 94 minutes, Wee Man Fraser again, get the fuck in!!!

We’ve only gone and fucking done it again. 94th minute and we nick a winner in a game that we’ve completely and utterly dominated more or less from start to finish but the lack of goal threat meant that for all the world look like a frustrating 0-0 where the opposition come away with a point, wondering how the fuck they did it because they’ve barely touched the ball. The last minute winner certainly puts a different slant on things and totally changes the narrative about this performance.

Apart from set pieces, Millwall didn’t look remotely threatening at any point, the header off the bar in the first half from a corner being the only time we looked at all troubled but conversely, in the first half in particular, how many saves did Bart have to make in the Millwall goal that weren’t straight at him and weren’t firmly in the category of ‘optimistic’ efforts from us.  The first time he was truly extended was by Sulemana on 70 minutes and again, I repeat what has become a theme in recent weeks, that a good striker transforms this team from a very good one, to an excellent one.

Kamaldeen About to try Something Ridiculous

Adam Armstrong had another one of those mystifying games were basically, he is frustrating and barely involved and probably should be substituted but isn’t… but then assists with the goal.  Fair play to him as that was a great bit of composure at the end to tee-up the Wee Man.  I reckon it went through his mind that he might be offside when the ball bounced back to him but with the ball coming back off a Millwall player, he was of course fine to play it.

Similarly in terms of overall performance, Ryan Fraser came on and was nowhere near as good as the player he replaced, Sulemana, but popped up to score the winner. This is why fans like me are not managers.  Fraser's interview afterwards was comedy gold, accusing Millwall fans of making "Dwarf noises".   Even in these politically correct times, I can't imagine that will be particularly high on the list of Millwall fan misdemeanours.   At Five foot not much - I'm sure the Wee Man must have heard it all before. 

The second half was more or less perfect from us with a lot more goal threat. Charly Alcaraz was absolutely back to his best in what was easily his best 45 minutes of the season, driving us forward at every opportunity and looking uninhibited and direct, exactly like last season.  He also stayed on the pitch for all 95 minutes which is a bit of a first and should give him confidence.  Similarly, Sulemana is looking more and more like he might have 90 minutes in him as well.  He pulled out some ridiculous stuff today and I almost felt sorry for their right back, who did in fairness, stuck to his job well.  Going for a nutmeg in your own penalty area is something I could do without however.  Flynn Downes was absolutely everywhere and it kind of summed up a bit of the malaise around Millwall that the fact that there was a West Ham player in their midst, barely seemed to register.

It was another good day for Russell Martin with more vindication of his style of play, with us being in control, wearing down the opposition and eventually winning the game late on.  Tactically he was spot on as well with the shift at half time to push KWP right up the wing and having Bree drop in almost into a back three at times.

Elsewhere, the only black mark was Jan Bednarek picking up his fifth booking of the season which means he will miss a game, which will give either Mason Holgate or maybe even Jack Stephens a chance to play next week against West Brom.  James Bree, who was again very good took a whack to the ankle so hopefully he can recover so we are not changing two positions in the defence.

We don’t move up the table at all today with Leeds having won at Leicester on Friday but we do open up a bit of a bigger gap to those chasing and besides, as we all know, the league table means jack shit at this time of the season. It’s all about momentum and confidence and we have loads of both of that at the moment. We just have to keep it going.

As I’ve just said, West Bromwich Albion at home on Saturday. Let’s fucking do it and….

Up the fucking seven games unbeaten Saints.