Match Day Thread Southampton vs Arsenal 10/05/2017 KO 7:45PM

I love the Greek islands but have only been to Santorini out of the ones you're going to. Santorini is spectacular I'd go back in an instant, you'll love it.
Just to keep this post on topic, do you think Saints or Arsenal players go to Greece for their holidays?

 

Tadic may not go to Greece, but he slips around a lot

 

completely useless fact - most popular holiday destination in Serbia is Greece (so Dusan has probably been there)

 

He immediately followed his supposed strop (at always being subbed) a month or two back with two brilliant performances (completing full 90 minutes both times). Since then he has been pretty awful - and continued to complete 90 minutes.

 

A few words in support of our inconsistent Tadic; the players have to be making the moves so that he can pass to them. When Gabbiadini came in, Tadic's performances immediately went back up the scale. Gabby has only just come back, and now Boufal is being integrated as much as possible, to give him proper game time. I think next season we'll begin to see the best from all of them. Which may be a very useful thing because they could be finishing off a move started by VVD, or they could be passing the ball around him to score. I much prefer the former example.

 

Summer signings?

Is Santorini a pacy CB?

 

Hits Matchday and the Midlands Massive is coming down to the sunny south coast for this one!
A few beers and a hotel stop over hopefully to celebrate our magnificent victory

 

I've heard Gareth Rodgers got fired for spending a large chunk of money on lava lamps, which the club are having difficulty shifting.

 

I thought they looked like drained beer glasses which they'd hastily had engraved.

 

So what would people see us do tonight -

Play expansively and probably get battered 4-0 (as before), but it's exciting.

Play a contained style and possibly win 1-0, but it will be 'tactical'.

 

Win.

Vin

 

Play expansively, dominate the whole game, reduce Arsene and his squad to tears interspersed with gasps of admiration for our play, and win 6-0.

Works for me.

 

Don't let Oxlaide Chamberlaine out of his own half. Bertrand and whoever is in front of him need to do a job on the Ox. Then if Romeu can keep Sanchez quiet, they will become frustrated.

Both their wing backs are dangerous going forward but weak defensively. Xhaka has not given their defence anything like the cover Romeu has given ours imo. I hope Wenger plays him and not Coquelin. Tadic, Redmond, Boufal and Gabbi could wreak havoc amongst their back three if we can get the ball forward quickly (yeah I know, big if).

On the other hand, wtf do I know about tactics and formations? Let's keep a clean sheet and score a goal or two.

 

Easy answer....1-0 in a tactical game the same as we did to Liverpool in the first leg of the cup

 

The numbers of times today I have had to resist the urge to reply to Facebook comments saying along the lines of "can't wait to win 0-0 tonight" is extraordinary.

I wish st Mary's installed an ejector seat option for these moaning fans. Hate them.

 

If we lose, it'll be #puelout - we were awful
If we draw, 0-0 it'll be #puelout - set up to draw
If we draw x-x it'll be #puelout - can't even score faster than we concede
if we win 1-0 it'll be #puelout - we won but it was boring
if we win 7-0 it'll be #puelout - that shows we have the team to win like that, so it's all Puel's fault that we haven't been doing it.

Vin

 

I think its going to be an entertaining match of 2 like-minded managers playing exciting, possession based football.

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I have resigned myself to the fact that a vocal minority of our fans have absolutely no comprehension of what they are watching on the pitch, and no clue about a coach's job.

I am reminded of something my brother told me about the coaching he received as a boxer. He gave the sport up after moving from London to Soton because, having been used to astute technical analysis from his corner, he struggled to adjust to the style of coaching in the club he joined at Soton, which mostly consisted of bellowed admonitions to "stick one on him, knock him out". Many of our supporters illustrate that level of understanding of the game they are watching.