Diary of a Season: St. Mary's Redemption
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rocheyb
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Friday 11th November, 2022
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Having made late arrangements to go and watch Spain play Paraguay at La Rosaleda, Malaga, I cancel them again when I learn that Juan Carlos - Villareal’s 21 year-old central defender who was in line for his full international debut - has injured his shoulder [the above screenshot was taken later - but believe me, he was injured]. Instead, I go to Bern to see Switzerland take-on Portugal to evaluate Giovanni Rambaldi as a possible future successor to Tom Ince on the left-wing. He’s 24 years-old and plays in Germany for Borussia Moenchengladbach, following a 10-million transfer in the summer from Young Boys. His form in the Bundesliga has been poor but he comes into this international friendly with superb morale and fully-fit.
Rambaldi starts on the bench. Jose Pinho is Portugal’s No.10, at the tip of a narrow 4-4-2 diamond. Pinho plays decently for 70mins, and goes close tin a near-post header, before being substituted. Rambaldi comes on for the last 15 minutes on the left of Switzerland’s 4-2-3-1. He doesn’t see much of the ball but he shows me enough to know that he is in a similar mould to Ince; stays wide, takes-on full-backs, gets to the byline and crosses, can also deliver free-kicks. The match ends 1-0 to Switzerland with a goal by Mauro Nicolet of St. Gallen.
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Tom Ince scores England’s winner in a 2-1 defeat of the Czech Republic, at Wembley - but Shane Westley scores an own goal. Giammarco Stangoni comes through 90mins in Italy’s 5-1 win of Venezuela. Egypt win by the same scoreline against Namibia, with Ibrahim doing well in goal.
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Having made late arrangements to go and watch Spain play Paraguay at La Rosaleda, Malaga, I cancel them again when I learn that Juan Carlos - Villareal’s 21 year-old central defender who was in line for his full international debut - has injured his shoulder [the above screenshot was taken later - but believe me, he was injured]. Instead, I go to Bern to see Switzerland take-on Portugal to evaluate Giovanni Rambaldi as a possible future successor to Tom Ince on the left-wing. He’s 24 years-old and plays in Germany for Borussia Moenchengladbach, following a 10-million transfer in the summer from Young Boys. His form in the Bundesliga has been poor but he comes into this international friendly with superb morale and fully-fit.
Rambaldi starts on the bench. Jose Pinho is Portugal’s No.10, at the tip of a narrow 4-4-2 diamond. Pinho plays decently for 70mins, and goes close tin a near-post header, before being substituted. Rambaldi comes on for the last 15 minutes on the left of Switzerland’s 4-2-3-1. He doesn’t see much of the ball but he shows me enough to know that he is in a similar mould to Ince; stays wide, takes-on full-backs, gets to the byline and crosses, can also deliver free-kicks. The match ends 1-0 to Switzerland with a goal by Mauro Nicolet of St. Gallen.
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Tom Ince scores England’s winner in a 2-1 defeat of the Czech Republic, at Wembley - but Shane Westley scores an own goal. Giammarco Stangoni comes through 90mins in Italy’s 5-1 win of Venezuela. Egypt win by the same scoreline against Namibia, with Ibrahim doing well in goal.
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rocheyb
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Saturday 12th November, 2022
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My defensive coach, Sylvain Distin, advises that Rodrigao should work on his positioning, so I tell Sylvain to go ahead and put the relevant exercises in place for him.
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My defensive coach, Sylvain Distin, advises that Rodrigao should work on his positioning, so I tell Sylvain to go ahead and put the relevant exercises in place for him.
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rocheyb
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Monday 14th November, 2022
England U19s beat Wales 1-0 at Dog Kennel Hill. Our defensive prospect Kevin Egan is the Man of the Match.
Saints U21s lose at home to Tottenham with Rodrigao and Jorginho both involved to aid their recoveries from injury.
England U19s beat Wales 1-0 at Dog Kennel Hill. Our defensive prospect Kevin Egan is the Man of the Match.
Saints U21s lose at home to Tottenham with Rodrigao and Jorginho both involved to aid their recoveries from injury.
rocheyb
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Monday 14th November, 2022
Preparation vs NORWICH CITY (h)
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SAINTS: 4/5 (fav); Norwich: 3/1; Draw: 2/1
Norwich play 4-2-3-1 - a formation we’ve been facing a lot recently - and are vulnerable to the same. They have scored a lot of goals early-on in matches but conceded them during the last 15mins. We have won 15 and drawn 7 of the 24 meetings against them during this save, but the two we lost ended 0-4 and 1-4. We beat them 3-0 away and 4-0 at home last season, when they finished 15th in the table. But they are doing well now, in 6th, under their 63 year-old manager Carlo Ancelotti. The squad comparison makes for encouraging reading from our point of view, but players like Jack Grealish, Nathan Redmond, Josh McEachran and the Dane Yussuf Poulsen are capable of doing damage if we are not on our game.
I’m going to go for the 4-4-1-1 formation against them, to try and reduce our vulnerability in the channels and get a fully-fit Giammarco Stangoni running at them in advanced areas. We train on Attacking Set-Pieces.
Preparation vs NORWICH CITY (h)
View attachment 375235
SAINTS: 4/5 (fav); Norwich: 3/1; Draw: 2/1
Norwich play 4-2-3-1 - a formation we’ve been facing a lot recently - and are vulnerable to the same. They have scored a lot of goals early-on in matches but conceded them during the last 15mins. We have won 15 and drawn 7 of the 24 meetings against them during this save, but the two we lost ended 0-4 and 1-4. We beat them 3-0 away and 4-0 at home last season, when they finished 15th in the table. But they are doing well now, in 6th, under their 63 year-old manager Carlo Ancelotti. The squad comparison makes for encouraging reading from our point of view, but players like Jack Grealish, Nathan Redmond, Josh McEachran and the Dane Yussuf Poulsen are capable of doing damage if we are not on our game.
I’m going to go for the 4-4-1-1 formation against them, to try and reduce our vulnerability in the channels and get a fully-fit Giammarco Stangoni running at them in advanced areas. We train on Attacking Set-Pieces.
rocheyb
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Tuesday 15th November, 2022
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England beat Iran 5-1 at Wembley. And Christoffer Jorgensen scores twice for Denmark in their 3-2 win over Uruguay in Copenhagen, taking his tally of international goals for the season to 11 and setting a new Danish record.
Elias Migliorini will miss the Norwich game after straining his wrist lifting weights in training.
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England beat Iran 5-1 at Wembley. And Christoffer Jorgensen scores twice for Denmark in their 3-2 win over Uruguay in Copenhagen, taking his tally of international goals for the season to 11 and setting a new Danish record.
Elias Migliorini will miss the Norwich game after straining his wrist lifting weights in training.
rocheyb
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Saturday 19th November, 2022
Premier League - Matchday 12
SOUTHAMPTON vs NORWICH CITY
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; Att: 44,054
SAINTS Team News - 4-4-1-1: Ibrahim is still travelling back from Egypt so Louis Cruse is in goal; Buti Ndou returns to the starting line-up for the first time since the Chelsea defeat; Luke Shaw is on the left with Jedvaj and Kaminski at centre-back; Pugliese and Ward-Prowse will patrol the midfield; Kabastanakis starts on the right with Ince on the left; Stangoni returns to his Trequartista role, with Jorgensen operating as a Complete Forward_Support with instructions to Shoot more often; the 17 year-old Dutch winger Marc Smulders could get his first team debut today, if he comes off the bench.
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Norwich - 4-3-2-1: John Ruddy keeps goal for Norwich; Nathaniel Clyne makes his first return to St. Mary’s since leaving in the summer; midfielder George Thorne is also a former Saint; Jack Grealish and Mendes Rodriguez play behind the front man at the tip of Ancelotti’s Christmas tree formation; Nathan Redmond and Josh McEachran could step off the bench to add some early festive cheer to the visitors.
Norwich are going to make it a midfield battle with so many players in there, so I instruct hard tackling. The key for us will be to get Stangoni into the pocket and isolate their full-backs in one-on-ones with our wingers. With some assertive encouragement to finish where we left-off last time, I send the boys out onto the pitch…
1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Jorgensen and Stangoni kick us off for The Saints, attacking towards the Chapel End.
- 2mins: John Ruddy pushes Tin Jedvaj’s early header over-the-bar from a left-wing corner.
- 11mins: A heavy challenge from Richards sends Jorgensen down in the box. Nothing is given so Shaw takes up the ball, running wide to cross to the near post. Clyne diverts the ball across and towards the back of the area, where Kabastanakis meets it with a first-time shot on his left-foot. Ruddy makes the save and as the ball is cleared, Bryn Morris slides into Shaw for a free-kick. Shaw takes it quickly but Clyne is alive to it and slides in to prevent Ince from profiting.
- 12mins: Poulsen, Mendes Rodriguez and Morris move the ball around the halfway line, before Morris finds Grealish with a chipped forward pass. His ball into the D is met by the run of Poulsen who gets between Ndou and Jedvaj to close in on the Southampton goal. But Louis Cruse races off his line to shut down the opportunity, saving at close quarters as Poulsen lets fly from 14-yards.
- 17mins: Giammarco Stangoni receives possession inside his own half and then runs at the heart of the Norwich defence, gliding away from Morris and Duffy as he makes his way into the penalty area on the left, before drawing a near-post save from Ruddy.
- 24mins: Putanu heads out Ndou’s right-wing throw, but only as far as Pugliese. He squares to Ward-Prowse whose first-time pass is met by Kabastanakis with a left-foot cross shot from 14-yards, right of centre. The ball flashes across goal and Stangoni leaps well to get his head to it at the far post, but sends the ball agonisingly wide.
- 26mins: Norwich struggle to clear a Kabastanakis cross from the wide and the ball comes out to James Ward-Prowse. He slips it to Stangoni in the D, who feeds Tom Ince, totally free on the left corner of the area. He settles himself and strikes for the far corner, but drags the shot wide of the far post. An uncharacteristically nervous effort from Ince.
- 29mins: Ince escapes Clyne down the Southampton left and crosses low to the back post. Jung Joon-Kyi has to keep his wits about him to clear, under pressure from Kabastanakis. Ward-Prowse sends the corner in high to the back post, from the right, but Kaminski can’t control the header.
- 32mins: A Norwich counter finds Grealish running at the Southampton back-four. He slips the ball inside to Poulsen, then gets it back and lays it back to Mendes Rodriguez. The chipped fast finds Poulsen spinning off the back of Jedvaj, but the Croatian defender slides low to deflect the shot high over-the-bar.
- 34mins: Jorgensen goes close with a near-post header from Ward-Prowse’s right-wing corner.
- 37mins: Ward-Prowse has a shot from outside the box deflected wide. Then he stands the left-wing corner up to the far post, where Kaminski gets good contact with the header but can’t keep it down.
- 40mins: Norwich work an opening through the middle for Mendes Rodriguez, but he opts for an early shot from distance that flies high-and-wide.
- 43mins: Yellow card for Ionut Puntanu for a foul on Stangoni.
- 45mins: Puntanu needs treatment after being caught in possession by Jorgensen’s heavy challenge.
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 0-0 NORWICH CITY
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We’ve had 63% possession in the first-half and have done well to work the ball through the densely populated midfield and out to the wings. Kabastanakis in particular has isolated the left-back Kyi a number of times, but most crosses have been won in the air by Puntanu. Stangoni’s dribbling has also created some openings for us, but Jorgensen has struggled to impose himself, so far. Jack Grealish and Garry Mendes Rodrguez have created some chances for the visitors, and Poulsen has got through our defensive line a couple of times. They don’t pose much threat down the wings but their intricate short passing moves are effective. I switch to Drill crosses in the Team Instructions and tell them assertively that I am not happy with the first-half performance. I pick out Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Stangoni and Jorgensen and tell them all, individually, that they are the man who can make the difference for us today. Norwich have replaced Poulsen with the New Zealander Chris Wood during the break. That’s a curious move, as Wood is still tired from international exertions.
2nd Half Highlights
- 46mins: Mendes Rodriguez feeds Wood through the middle and it takes a late tackle from Jedvaj to deflect his effort wide.
- 48mins: Morris shoots low at the near post, from Mendes Rodriguez’s short free-kick, drawing a reaction save from Cruse. Duffy is denied the follow-up by Ward-Prowse’s well-timed intervention and then a scramble ends with Ndou booting into touch on the far side.
- 53mins: Norwich get the rewards for their early second-half dominance when Jack GREALISH floats a free-kick from 25-yards over the five man wall and into the top-right corner, beyond the dive of Louis Cruse, to open the scoring for the visitors. 0-1.
- 58mins: Yvo Lucas comes on to replace Christoffer Jorgensen, who has struggled today.
- 68mins: Lucas receives an angled pass from Kabastanakis but his shot from the edge of the area is well wide.
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- 70mins: We go into attack mode again, with the full-backs overlapping and playing at a Much higher tempo. Jose Pinho comes on for Kabastanakis on the right.
- 74mins: Ndou plays Pinho in down the right-hand side and he crosses to just behind the penalty spot. Luke Shaw strikes it on the volley, crashing the ball against the crossbar. With John Ruddy grounded, the ball loops high and Tom Ince gets under it, centre of goal, on the 6-yard line - but his header goes wide to the right with Duffy succeeding in putting him off.
- 78mins: Ward-Prowse suddenly goes down for no apparent reason and has to be substituted. Shane Westley comes on.
- 90mins+1: Wood and Grealish combine to play the latter in-between Ndou and Kaminski. He advances on-goal and tries to lob Cruse, but the keeper jumps high and pushes the ball away for a throw.
- 90mins+4: Grealish almost capitalises on Jedvaj’s deflection of a cross by Redmond, hitting a volley into the side-netting from an acute angle.
FULL-TIME
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MAN OF THE MATCH:
JACK GREALISH (NORWICH CITY) - 7.9
Attacking Midfielder: 1 goal; 0 assists.
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VERDICT:
Norwich’s Christmas tree formation was successful, in the end, at frustrating our usually flowing football, even though I felt we were getting through them in the first-half. We were slow to deal with their runners from the pocket, both in terms of midfielders tracking back and centre-backs timing their runs and challenges. Jack Grealish was a constant thorn in our side, and I probably should have reverted to a formation with defensive midfielders to combat him. I tell the players assertively that they should have won the match.
Premier League - Matchday 12
SOUTHAMPTON vs NORWICH CITY
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; Att: 44,054
SAINTS Team News - 4-4-1-1: Ibrahim is still travelling back from Egypt so Louis Cruse is in goal; Buti Ndou returns to the starting line-up for the first time since the Chelsea defeat; Luke Shaw is on the left with Jedvaj and Kaminski at centre-back; Pugliese and Ward-Prowse will patrol the midfield; Kabastanakis starts on the right with Ince on the left; Stangoni returns to his Trequartista role, with Jorgensen operating as a Complete Forward_Support with instructions to Shoot more often; the 17 year-old Dutch winger Marc Smulders could get his first team debut today, if he comes off the bench.
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Norwich - 4-3-2-1: John Ruddy keeps goal for Norwich; Nathaniel Clyne makes his first return to St. Mary’s since leaving in the summer; midfielder George Thorne is also a former Saint; Jack Grealish and Mendes Rodriguez play behind the front man at the tip of Ancelotti’s Christmas tree formation; Nathan Redmond and Josh McEachran could step off the bench to add some early festive cheer to the visitors.
Norwich are going to make it a midfield battle with so many players in there, so I instruct hard tackling. The key for us will be to get Stangoni into the pocket and isolate their full-backs in one-on-ones with our wingers. With some assertive encouragement to finish where we left-off last time, I send the boys out onto the pitch…
1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Jorgensen and Stangoni kick us off for The Saints, attacking towards the Chapel End.
- 2mins: John Ruddy pushes Tin Jedvaj’s early header over-the-bar from a left-wing corner.
- 11mins: A heavy challenge from Richards sends Jorgensen down in the box. Nothing is given so Shaw takes up the ball, running wide to cross to the near post. Clyne diverts the ball across and towards the back of the area, where Kabastanakis meets it with a first-time shot on his left-foot. Ruddy makes the save and as the ball is cleared, Bryn Morris slides into Shaw for a free-kick. Shaw takes it quickly but Clyne is alive to it and slides in to prevent Ince from profiting.
- 12mins: Poulsen, Mendes Rodriguez and Morris move the ball around the halfway line, before Morris finds Grealish with a chipped forward pass. His ball into the D is met by the run of Poulsen who gets between Ndou and Jedvaj to close in on the Southampton goal. But Louis Cruse races off his line to shut down the opportunity, saving at close quarters as Poulsen lets fly from 14-yards.
- 17mins: Giammarco Stangoni receives possession inside his own half and then runs at the heart of the Norwich defence, gliding away from Morris and Duffy as he makes his way into the penalty area on the left, before drawing a near-post save from Ruddy.
- 24mins: Putanu heads out Ndou’s right-wing throw, but only as far as Pugliese. He squares to Ward-Prowse whose first-time pass is met by Kabastanakis with a left-foot cross shot from 14-yards, right of centre. The ball flashes across goal and Stangoni leaps well to get his head to it at the far post, but sends the ball agonisingly wide.
- 26mins: Norwich struggle to clear a Kabastanakis cross from the wide and the ball comes out to James Ward-Prowse. He slips it to Stangoni in the D, who feeds Tom Ince, totally free on the left corner of the area. He settles himself and strikes for the far corner, but drags the shot wide of the far post. An uncharacteristically nervous effort from Ince.
- 29mins: Ince escapes Clyne down the Southampton left and crosses low to the back post. Jung Joon-Kyi has to keep his wits about him to clear, under pressure from Kabastanakis. Ward-Prowse sends the corner in high to the back post, from the right, but Kaminski can’t control the header.
- 32mins: A Norwich counter finds Grealish running at the Southampton back-four. He slips the ball inside to Poulsen, then gets it back and lays it back to Mendes Rodriguez. The chipped fast finds Poulsen spinning off the back of Jedvaj, but the Croatian defender slides low to deflect the shot high over-the-bar.
- 34mins: Jorgensen goes close with a near-post header from Ward-Prowse’s right-wing corner.
- 37mins: Ward-Prowse has a shot from outside the box deflected wide. Then he stands the left-wing corner up to the far post, where Kaminski gets good contact with the header but can’t keep it down.
- 40mins: Norwich work an opening through the middle for Mendes Rodriguez, but he opts for an early shot from distance that flies high-and-wide.
- 43mins: Yellow card for Ionut Puntanu for a foul on Stangoni.
- 45mins: Puntanu needs treatment after being caught in possession by Jorgensen’s heavy challenge.
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 0-0 NORWICH CITY
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We’ve had 63% possession in the first-half and have done well to work the ball through the densely populated midfield and out to the wings. Kabastanakis in particular has isolated the left-back Kyi a number of times, but most crosses have been won in the air by Puntanu. Stangoni’s dribbling has also created some openings for us, but Jorgensen has struggled to impose himself, so far. Jack Grealish and Garry Mendes Rodrguez have created some chances for the visitors, and Poulsen has got through our defensive line a couple of times. They don’t pose much threat down the wings but their intricate short passing moves are effective. I switch to Drill crosses in the Team Instructions and tell them assertively that I am not happy with the first-half performance. I pick out Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Stangoni and Jorgensen and tell them all, individually, that they are the man who can make the difference for us today. Norwich have replaced Poulsen with the New Zealander Chris Wood during the break. That’s a curious move, as Wood is still tired from international exertions.
2nd Half Highlights
- 46mins: Mendes Rodriguez feeds Wood through the middle and it takes a late tackle from Jedvaj to deflect his effort wide.
- 48mins: Morris shoots low at the near post, from Mendes Rodriguez’s short free-kick, drawing a reaction save from Cruse. Duffy is denied the follow-up by Ward-Prowse’s well-timed intervention and then a scramble ends with Ndou booting into touch on the far side.
- 53mins: Norwich get the rewards for their early second-half dominance when Jack GREALISH floats a free-kick from 25-yards over the five man wall and into the top-right corner, beyond the dive of Louis Cruse, to open the scoring for the visitors. 0-1.
- 58mins: Yvo Lucas comes on to replace Christoffer Jorgensen, who has struggled today.
- 68mins: Lucas receives an angled pass from Kabastanakis but his shot from the edge of the area is well wide.
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- 70mins: We go into attack mode again, with the full-backs overlapping and playing at a Much higher tempo. Jose Pinho comes on for Kabastanakis on the right.
- 74mins: Ndou plays Pinho in down the right-hand side and he crosses to just behind the penalty spot. Luke Shaw strikes it on the volley, crashing the ball against the crossbar. With John Ruddy grounded, the ball loops high and Tom Ince gets under it, centre of goal, on the 6-yard line - but his header goes wide to the right with Duffy succeeding in putting him off.
- 78mins: Ward-Prowse suddenly goes down for no apparent reason and has to be substituted. Shane Westley comes on.
- 90mins+1: Wood and Grealish combine to play the latter in-between Ndou and Kaminski. He advances on-goal and tries to lob Cruse, but the keeper jumps high and pushes the ball away for a throw.
- 90mins+4: Grealish almost capitalises on Jedvaj’s deflection of a cross by Redmond, hitting a volley into the side-netting from an acute angle.
FULL-TIME
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MAN OF THE MATCH:
JACK GREALISH (NORWICH CITY) - 7.9
Attacking Midfielder: 1 goal; 0 assists.
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VERDICT:
Norwich’s Christmas tree formation was successful, in the end, at frustrating our usually flowing football, even though I felt we were getting through them in the first-half. We were slow to deal with their runners from the pocket, both in terms of midfielders tracking back and centre-backs timing their runs and challenges. Jack Grealish was a constant thorn in our side, and I probably should have reverted to a formation with defensive midfielders to combat him. I tell the players assertively that they should have won the match.
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rocheyb
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Saturday 19th November, 2022
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Chelsea beat Everton 5-3, despite a hat-trick from Giovanni Simeone, son of Diego, for the Toffees. Manchester City win 4-1 at home to Leicester City, but United go down to a surprise 0-2 defeat at Coventry City. We remain 4th but within reach of Arsenal, who have a game in-hand, and now 11 points off-the-pace.
My decision to ditch the 3-5-2 in favour of 4-4-1-1 is being described as a tactical blunder in the post match flurry of messages. With two players operating in the pocket, I thought Norwich would pick us apart in the channels if we played the three-at-the-back system - and I still think the same thing, having seen Grealish and Mendes Rodriguez work those areas behind our central midfield, in front of our back-four today.
Another blow: James Ward-Prowse has a broken ankle and will be out for 3 months. Just as Stangoni comes back to full-fitness, I lose Ward-Prowse for a long time! Maddening!!!
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Chelsea beat Everton 5-3, despite a hat-trick from Giovanni Simeone, son of Diego, for the Toffees. Manchester City win 4-1 at home to Leicester City, but United go down to a surprise 0-2 defeat at Coventry City. We remain 4th but within reach of Arsenal, who have a game in-hand, and now 11 points off-the-pace.
My decision to ditch the 3-5-2 in favour of 4-4-1-1 is being described as a tactical blunder in the post match flurry of messages. With two players operating in the pocket, I thought Norwich would pick us apart in the channels if we played the three-at-the-back system - and I still think the same thing, having seen Grealish and Mendes Rodriguez work those areas behind our central midfield, in front of our back-four today.
Another blow: James Ward-Prowse has a broken ankle and will be out for 3 months. Just as Stangoni comes back to full-fitness, I lose Ward-Prowse for a long time! Maddening!!!
rocheyb
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Sunday 20th November, 2022
Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Swansea ends a miserable weekend for The Saints, dropping us to 5th place in the Premier League.
Yesterday’s attendance of 44,054 sets a new record - but it probably won’t last long.
Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Swansea ends a miserable weekend for The Saints, dropping us to 5th place in the Premier League.
Yesterday’s attendance of 44,054 sets a new record - but it probably won’t last long.
rocheyb
Member
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Sunday 20th November, 2022
Preparation vs FC LORIENT (h)
View attachment 375204
SAINTS: 2/5 (fav); Lorient: 13/2; Draw: 11/4
Lorient came back from 4-0 to 4-3 the last time we played, but we’re at home this time and I’m going to field the same 3-5-2 formation that we used that day. We have some tired players in the squad and several injuries, so I’m going to have to make some careful selections to get the win we need to ensure our progress in Big Cup and still be ready to take on Tottenham away next weekend.
Lorient are struggling domestically, too. They are in 10th place so their perennial status as a top 3 team is under threat. 16mins-30mins and 76mins-90mins are the times when they are most vulnerable. They tend to score most either side of half-time.
Andrew Powell and Yvo Lucas are both fit and could do with getting into the starting line-up, so I’m going to switch the False9 and Advanced Forward roles to suit two right-footers, as opposed to the two left-footers (Jorgensen and Idris) who have been operating in those positions.
Preparation vs FC LORIENT (h)
View attachment 375204
SAINTS: 2/5 (fav); Lorient: 13/2; Draw: 11/4
Lorient came back from 4-0 to 4-3 the last time we played, but we’re at home this time and I’m going to field the same 3-5-2 formation that we used that day. We have some tired players in the squad and several injuries, so I’m going to have to make some careful selections to get the win we need to ensure our progress in Big Cup and still be ready to take on Tottenham away next weekend.
Lorient are struggling domestically, too. They are in 10th place so their perennial status as a top 3 team is under threat. 16mins-30mins and 76mins-90mins are the times when they are most vulnerable. They tend to score most either side of half-time.
Andrew Powell and Yvo Lucas are both fit and could do with getting into the starting line-up, so I’m going to switch the False9 and Advanced Forward roles to suit two right-footers, as opposed to the two left-footers (Jorgensen and Idris) who have been operating in those positions.
rocheyb
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Tuesday 22nd November, 2022
European Champions League, Group F - Matchday 5
SOUTHAMPTON (Eng) vs FC LORIENT (Fra)
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; Att: 49,776
SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim returns in goal, having missed the previous match due to travelling commitments; injuries and fatigue pathe the way for 16 year-old Kevin Egan to make his first-team debut on the right of the defensive three; Diego Reyes and a fit again Sergey Radimov join him; Mark Ardean-Webb replaces the injured Ward-Prowse; Stangoni is the Advanced Playmaker and Pugliese sits alongside; Jose Pinho starts on the right; Migliorini is still injured so Tom Ince is on the left; Powell and Lucas are up-front; Cruse and Kabastanakis drop to the bench, with Idris and Shaw.
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Lorient - 4-4-2: Areola played well in goal last time, despite conceding four; Simone Pasa is midfield this time, where he played for us for five seasons; Benzia and Thievy inspired that 3-goal fightback in France.
I instruct normal tackling - although, with Reyes on a yellow card, I would happily see him take another now and sit out the last Group match with Amkar. I struggled to get through to some of the players during the pre-match team-talk - hopefully that won’t show on the pitch…
1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Southampton get the match underway, attacking the Northam End, from right-to-left.
- 16sec: An early foul by Radimov on Cabella concedes a free-kick on the Lorient right.
- 5mins: Giammarco Stangoni receives a short pass in the middle of The Saints half and advances, under pressure to the centre-circle, before chipping the ball up to Andrew Powell. He heads back to Ardean-Webb in the inside left, as red shirts pour forward. A square pass finds Pugliese and he passes forward to his fellow Italian, Stangoni, now in the hole. With his back-to-goal and three defenders in close attention, he plays Yvo LUCAS in for a rasping finish into the bottom-right corner, from right of the penalty spot. 1-0.
- 9mins: Stangoni’s progress is blocked by Pasa, so he turns infield and tries to go the other way, drawing the foul and a yellow card for Simone Pasa.
- 10mins: At the other end, Vasco’s free-kick nearly produces an own goal from Pugliese but Ibrahim dives to make the save.
- 11mins: Good approach play, orchestrated by Stangoni, goes from left-to-right wing and enables Pinho to send in an inviting low cross. But Powell is pulled up for simulation as the ball flashes across the face of goal. Yellow card for Andrew Powell.
- 18mins: Stangoni commits defenders again with a surging run-from-deep and lays it off to Powell, whose shot is saved by Areola at his left-hand post.
- 22mins: Lucas spreads the play out to Pinho on the right-wing. He strides forward and sends the ball into the area from just outside the angle of the box. Stambouli stretches to defend the cross, but Lucas gets a shot away, which Areola again saves at his left-hand post. Then, a quick control and pass in centre-field by Stangoni releases Powell to make a diagonal run to the left of the penalty area, with defenders in retreat. He gets away from Nyom and Herrera and as Perrin runs in, crosses to the back post where Lucas gets his head to the ball, heading down so it bounces just in front of Areola’s diving, outstretched hand, but wide of the post.
- 29mins: A patient build-up down the right-wing comes to Stangoni in an advanced right position. He turns onto his left foot and feeds Lucas just right of goal. The striker evades Stambouli and shoots low but Areola saves with his legs to turn it round the post.
- 30mins: Areola pushes Pinho’s cross from the right behind for a corner. Lucas delivers from the right and Powell heads over at the near post.
- 33mins: Lucas goes down in the D, but Stangoni quickly diverts the ball to Ince, in space on the left. The England winger’s shot is too high.
- 35mins: Vasco’s in-swinging corner from the right has Ibrahim flapping under pressure but Radimov heads over his own bar to prevent Perrin from scoring at the back post.
- 36mins: A similar incident at the other end has Areola pushing over to deny Lucas a goal direct from a corner, with Powell applying pressure in the Lorient goalmouth.
- 43mins: Mark Ardean-Webb passes square to Pugliese, on the edge of the centre-circle. A short pass forward finds Stangoni and he turns to play a precision ball between Pasa and Stambouli to free Yvo LUCAS again, and this time the Dutch striker shoots left-footed, into the bottom-right corner from 12-yards. 2-0.
- 45mins: Andrew Powell drives diagonally across the Lorient half of the centre-circle, left-to-right, before feeding Stangoni at inside-left. The Saints No.10 sees the gap between full-back and centre-back and races into it with the ball, forcing the right-back Nyom to make a sliding tackle. The ball comes to Yvo LUCAS who helps himself to his hat-trick goal, from 5-yards right of the penalty spot. His 10th goal of the season. 3-0.
- 45mins+1: Giammarco Stangoni steals the ball from Herrara in midfield and then launches a one-man assault on the Lorient goal, bursting past three defenders but shooting into the side-netting from an acute, left-sided, angle.
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 3-0 LORIENT
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Lots of dribbling and clever through balls have crow-barred the Lorient defence open, time-and-time again. They can’t deal with Stangoni running with the ball from midfield into the final third, and Lucas is expert at finding pockets of space while the defenders panic about what the Italian is doing. Powell has also shown a willingness to take responsibility for initiating attacking moves. Kevin Egan has made some good tackles and passed the ball well on his debut, but hasn’t been tested much by Lorient - who haven’t mustered a proper shot on goal, yet. The match stats show that we’re dominating passes, tackles and headers. I tell the players to keep it going in the second-half. Lorient have brought Dylan Clement on to replace Lorenzo Vasco, the left-winger. Clement will slot into left-black with Tagliafico now moving forward.
2nd Half Highlights
- 47mins: Stangoni runs at Nyom and requires treatment after the full-back's sliding tackle. While he’s off the field, Powell shoots from outside the D but it’s wide of the right-hand post.
- 54mins: Pinho throws-in from the right-hand side and gets it back from Radimov. His cross reaches Powell, 9-yards out, whose header hits the crossbar, Perrin scrambling the ball to safety from the rebound. Then, from a right-wing corner, Lucas pulls the ball back to the edge of the area and Stangoni lets fly with a shot that goes over.
- 56mins: Lucas delivers a near-post corner which Powell heads over.
- 57mins: Jorginho comes on to give the excellent Stangoni a rest. Then, Lucas provides another chance at the near post, this time Ardean-Webb heading on-target only for Areola to push it over.
- 63mins: From a throw-in, Radimov plays a one-two with Ardean-Webb and picks out Lucas with a low cross. But his drive from an acute angle hits the outside of the post and goes behind.
- 66mins: Stambouli chips the ball to Thievy at inside-left, for Lorient. With control and a sudden change of pace, he burns past Egan, slipping the ball in-field to Benzia who should have done better from 12-yards - Ibrahim flicking the ball wide with the faintest of touches with his left hand.
- 71mins: Perrin wins the ball from Powell inside the Lorient half. Herrera strokes the ball forward to Thievy and his headed flick drops the ball behind Reyes to put Benzia through the middle. He keeps away from Radimov and evades Reyes’s lunging tackle to strike at Ibrahim’s goal, but the Egyptain keeper makes a smart stop with his left-hand as the dives to his right.
- 73mins: Luke Shaw comes on for Tom Ince.
- 76mins: Herrera charges down Jorginho’s pass and lifts the ball over Reyes and Pugliese to release Thievy through the middle. Running at pace, he takes a slightly heavy touch and Ibrahim is on him, diving at his feet by the penalty spot to clamp down on the shot. Pugliese clears into touch before Lorient can claim the rebound.
- 77mins: Hat-trick hero Yvo Lucas goes off to a standing ovation as he is replaced by Kingsley Idris, whose appearance also raises a roar from the St. Mary’s faithful.
- 78mins: Areola catches Luke Shaw’s free-kick.
- Lorient enjoy some possession in the last 10mins but are unable to create any clear cut chances.
FULL-TIME
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MAN OF THE MATCH:
YVO LUCAS (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.6
Advanced Forward_Attack: 3 goals; 0 assists.
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VERDICT:
I think that the fact Lucas should notch his second hat-trick of the season, playing on the right of the front two, validates my theory about and left-footed and right-footed Advanced Forwards. The second-half was a non-event although we did get exposed a couple of times as the game wore on, but Ibrahim was outstanding in the second-45. Kevin Egan (7.4) was also comfortable for the most-part, until the last half-hour when Lorient found out the way to get through.
European Champions League, Group F - Matchday 5
SOUTHAMPTON (Eng) vs FC LORIENT (Fra)
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; Att: 49,776
SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim returns in goal, having missed the previous match due to travelling commitments; injuries and fatigue pathe the way for 16 year-old Kevin Egan to make his first-team debut on the right of the defensive three; Diego Reyes and a fit again Sergey Radimov join him; Mark Ardean-Webb replaces the injured Ward-Prowse; Stangoni is the Advanced Playmaker and Pugliese sits alongside; Jose Pinho starts on the right; Migliorini is still injured so Tom Ince is on the left; Powell and Lucas are up-front; Cruse and Kabastanakis drop to the bench, with Idris and Shaw.
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Lorient - 4-4-2: Areola played well in goal last time, despite conceding four; Simone Pasa is midfield this time, where he played for us for five seasons; Benzia and Thievy inspired that 3-goal fightback in France.
I instruct normal tackling - although, with Reyes on a yellow card, I would happily see him take another now and sit out the last Group match with Amkar. I struggled to get through to some of the players during the pre-match team-talk - hopefully that won’t show on the pitch…
1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Southampton get the match underway, attacking the Northam End, from right-to-left.
- 16sec: An early foul by Radimov on Cabella concedes a free-kick on the Lorient right.
- 5mins: Giammarco Stangoni receives a short pass in the middle of The Saints half and advances, under pressure to the centre-circle, before chipping the ball up to Andrew Powell. He heads back to Ardean-Webb in the inside left, as red shirts pour forward. A square pass finds Pugliese and he passes forward to his fellow Italian, Stangoni, now in the hole. With his back-to-goal and three defenders in close attention, he plays Yvo LUCAS in for a rasping finish into the bottom-right corner, from right of the penalty spot. 1-0.
- 9mins: Stangoni’s progress is blocked by Pasa, so he turns infield and tries to go the other way, drawing the foul and a yellow card for Simone Pasa.
- 10mins: At the other end, Vasco’s free-kick nearly produces an own goal from Pugliese but Ibrahim dives to make the save.
- 11mins: Good approach play, orchestrated by Stangoni, goes from left-to-right wing and enables Pinho to send in an inviting low cross. But Powell is pulled up for simulation as the ball flashes across the face of goal. Yellow card for Andrew Powell.
- 18mins: Stangoni commits defenders again with a surging run-from-deep and lays it off to Powell, whose shot is saved by Areola at his left-hand post.
- 22mins: Lucas spreads the play out to Pinho on the right-wing. He strides forward and sends the ball into the area from just outside the angle of the box. Stambouli stretches to defend the cross, but Lucas gets a shot away, which Areola again saves at his left-hand post. Then, a quick control and pass in centre-field by Stangoni releases Powell to make a diagonal run to the left of the penalty area, with defenders in retreat. He gets away from Nyom and Herrera and as Perrin runs in, crosses to the back post where Lucas gets his head to the ball, heading down so it bounces just in front of Areola’s diving, outstretched hand, but wide of the post.
- 29mins: A patient build-up down the right-wing comes to Stangoni in an advanced right position. He turns onto his left foot and feeds Lucas just right of goal. The striker evades Stambouli and shoots low but Areola saves with his legs to turn it round the post.
- 30mins: Areola pushes Pinho’s cross from the right behind for a corner. Lucas delivers from the right and Powell heads over at the near post.
- 33mins: Lucas goes down in the D, but Stangoni quickly diverts the ball to Ince, in space on the left. The England winger’s shot is too high.
- 35mins: Vasco’s in-swinging corner from the right has Ibrahim flapping under pressure but Radimov heads over his own bar to prevent Perrin from scoring at the back post.
- 36mins: A similar incident at the other end has Areola pushing over to deny Lucas a goal direct from a corner, with Powell applying pressure in the Lorient goalmouth.
- 43mins: Mark Ardean-Webb passes square to Pugliese, on the edge of the centre-circle. A short pass forward finds Stangoni and he turns to play a precision ball between Pasa and Stambouli to free Yvo LUCAS again, and this time the Dutch striker shoots left-footed, into the bottom-right corner from 12-yards. 2-0.
- 45mins: Andrew Powell drives diagonally across the Lorient half of the centre-circle, left-to-right, before feeding Stangoni at inside-left. The Saints No.10 sees the gap between full-back and centre-back and races into it with the ball, forcing the right-back Nyom to make a sliding tackle. The ball comes to Yvo LUCAS who helps himself to his hat-trick goal, from 5-yards right of the penalty spot. His 10th goal of the season. 3-0.
- 45mins+1: Giammarco Stangoni steals the ball from Herrara in midfield and then launches a one-man assault on the Lorient goal, bursting past three defenders but shooting into the side-netting from an acute, left-sided, angle.
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 3-0 LORIENT
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Lots of dribbling and clever through balls have crow-barred the Lorient defence open, time-and-time again. They can’t deal with Stangoni running with the ball from midfield into the final third, and Lucas is expert at finding pockets of space while the defenders panic about what the Italian is doing. Powell has also shown a willingness to take responsibility for initiating attacking moves. Kevin Egan has made some good tackles and passed the ball well on his debut, but hasn’t been tested much by Lorient - who haven’t mustered a proper shot on goal, yet. The match stats show that we’re dominating passes, tackles and headers. I tell the players to keep it going in the second-half. Lorient have brought Dylan Clement on to replace Lorenzo Vasco, the left-winger. Clement will slot into left-black with Tagliafico now moving forward.
2nd Half Highlights
- 47mins: Stangoni runs at Nyom and requires treatment after the full-back's sliding tackle. While he’s off the field, Powell shoots from outside the D but it’s wide of the right-hand post.
- 54mins: Pinho throws-in from the right-hand side and gets it back from Radimov. His cross reaches Powell, 9-yards out, whose header hits the crossbar, Perrin scrambling the ball to safety from the rebound. Then, from a right-wing corner, Lucas pulls the ball back to the edge of the area and Stangoni lets fly with a shot that goes over.
- 56mins: Lucas delivers a near-post corner which Powell heads over.
- 57mins: Jorginho comes on to give the excellent Stangoni a rest. Then, Lucas provides another chance at the near post, this time Ardean-Webb heading on-target only for Areola to push it over.
- 63mins: From a throw-in, Radimov plays a one-two with Ardean-Webb and picks out Lucas with a low cross. But his drive from an acute angle hits the outside of the post and goes behind.
- 66mins: Stambouli chips the ball to Thievy at inside-left, for Lorient. With control and a sudden change of pace, he burns past Egan, slipping the ball in-field to Benzia who should have done better from 12-yards - Ibrahim flicking the ball wide with the faintest of touches with his left hand.
- 71mins: Perrin wins the ball from Powell inside the Lorient half. Herrera strokes the ball forward to Thievy and his headed flick drops the ball behind Reyes to put Benzia through the middle. He keeps away from Radimov and evades Reyes’s lunging tackle to strike at Ibrahim’s goal, but the Egyptain keeper makes a smart stop with his left-hand as the dives to his right.
- 73mins: Luke Shaw comes on for Tom Ince.
- 76mins: Herrera charges down Jorginho’s pass and lifts the ball over Reyes and Pugliese to release Thievy through the middle. Running at pace, he takes a slightly heavy touch and Ibrahim is on him, diving at his feet by the penalty spot to clamp down on the shot. Pugliese clears into touch before Lorient can claim the rebound.
- 77mins: Hat-trick hero Yvo Lucas goes off to a standing ovation as he is replaced by Kingsley Idris, whose appearance also raises a roar from the St. Mary’s faithful.
- 78mins: Areola catches Luke Shaw’s free-kick.
- Lorient enjoy some possession in the last 10mins but are unable to create any clear cut chances.
FULL-TIME
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MAN OF THE MATCH:
YVO LUCAS (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.6
Advanced Forward_Attack: 3 goals; 0 assists.
View attachment 375183 View attachment 375182 View attachment 375181 View attachment 375180
VERDICT:
I think that the fact Lucas should notch his second hat-trick of the season, playing on the right of the front two, validates my theory about and left-footed and right-footed Advanced Forwards. The second-half was a non-event although we did get exposed a couple of times as the game wore on, but Ibrahim was outstanding in the second-45. Kevin Egan (7.4) was also comfortable for the most-part, until the last half-hour when Lorient found out the way to get through.
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rocheyb
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Tuesday 22nd November, 2022
Sure enough, the attendance record is broken for a third consecutive home match. It now stands at 49,776. The 2.4-million in gate receipts is also a new record.
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Also in Group F:
ATLETICO MADRID 1-0 AMKAR PERM
These two results put ourselves and Atletico through to the knock-out stage, though we will still need to get at least a draw in Russia to ensure we top the group.
Elsewhere, Manchester City are out of the Champions League, after a 3-4 defeat at home to the Dutch Champions Vitesse Arnhem who progress together with Benfica, 3-1 slayers of Nancy. And in what was effectively a Group H play-off, the Bulgarian ex-Saint Vitaly Koviazo and the former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba scored the goals that ended Celtic’s European dream for another season - 2-0 to Juventus at Celtic Park.
Sure enough, the attendance record is broken for a third consecutive home match. It now stands at 49,776. The 2.4-million in gate receipts is also a new record.
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Also in Group F:
ATLETICO MADRID 1-0 AMKAR PERM
These two results put ourselves and Atletico through to the knock-out stage, though we will still need to get at least a draw in Russia to ensure we top the group.
Elsewhere, Manchester City are out of the Champions League, after a 3-4 defeat at home to the Dutch Champions Vitesse Arnhem who progress together with Benfica, 3-1 slayers of Nancy. And in what was effectively a Group H play-off, the Bulgarian ex-Saint Vitaly Koviazo and the former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba scored the goals that ended Celtic’s European dream for another season - 2-0 to Juventus at Celtic Park.
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rocheyb
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Wednesday 23rd November, 2022
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Porto win 2-1 at home to Barcelona to take the second Group B berth into the knock-out round. In Group C, Manchester United thrash sorry Milan 5-1 at the San Siro. Chelsea overcome their troubled Group D campaign with a 3-2 home win against VfB Stuttgart to progress at the expense of the Germans.
With one round of matches still outstanding, only Group A has a single place in the next round up-for-grabs, with CSKA Moscow and Standard Liege hoping for favours after a 3-0 victory for the Belgians in Moscow halted the army team’s expected progression, this evening.
In the U19 Champions Cup, our U21 team has been eliminated, losing 1-2 at Lorient.
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Porto win 2-1 at home to Barcelona to take the second Group B berth into the knock-out round. In Group C, Manchester United thrash sorry Milan 5-1 at the San Siro. Chelsea overcome their troubled Group D campaign with a 3-2 home win against VfB Stuttgart to progress at the expense of the Germans.
With one round of matches still outstanding, only Group A has a single place in the next round up-for-grabs, with CSKA Moscow and Standard Liege hoping for favours after a 3-0 victory for the Belgians in Moscow halted the army team’s expected progression, this evening.
In the U19 Champions Cup, our U21 team has been eliminated, losing 1-2 at Lorient.
rocheyb
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Thursday 24th November, 2022
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Tottenham Hotspur have sacked Rafa Benitez - just two days before our trip to New White Hart Lane. 4 wins from 12 matches have them in 11th place, which the Spurs board have obviously decided is not good enough. We’ll be looking to exploit any lack of leadership in the Spurs ranks on Sunday. Nigel Clough, currently at Coventry City, has declared his interest.
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Tottenham Hotspur have sacked Rafa Benitez - just two days before our trip to New White Hart Lane. 4 wins from 12 matches have them in 11th place, which the Spurs board have obviously decided is not good enough. We’ll be looking to exploit any lack of leadership in the Spurs ranks on Sunday. Nigel Clough, currently at Coventry City, has declared his interest.
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rocheyb
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Saturday 26th November, 2022
There is progress in the U21s Cup, with a 2-0 (AET) win at Arsenal.
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Chelsea’s 2-1 home win over Leicester City puts them 14 points ahead of us, with 12 wins and 1 draw from 13 matches.
At this point, I have to consider Southampton to be out of the title race, until such time as Chelsea trip up and we improve our form to capitalise. I think it best that I use this season to bring my exciting young players into the first-team fold - as I have been doing recently - and identify the areas to improve in the summer, without blocking the progress of those youngsters. City and United both won, too, and Norwich’s draw at Wigan means we drop to 6th.
There is progress in the U21s Cup, with a 2-0 (AET) win at Arsenal.
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Chelsea’s 2-1 home win over Leicester City puts them 14 points ahead of us, with 12 wins and 1 draw from 13 matches.
At this point, I have to consider Southampton to be out of the title race, until such time as Chelsea trip up and we improve our form to capitalise. I think it best that I use this season to bring my exciting young players into the first-team fold - as I have been doing recently - and identify the areas to improve in the summer, without blocking the progress of those youngsters. City and United both won, too, and Norwich’s draw at Wigan means we drop to 6th.
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rocheyb
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Sunday 27th November, 2022
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The draw for the FA Cup 3rd Round provides us with an away tie at Derby County from League One, where they are currently in mid-table. Two of their top-scorers won’t be eligible to play, because Billy Roberts and Ryan Seager are both on loan at Pride Park from The Saints.
We move fast to tie-up Kevn Egan’s contract, now that at 17 years-old he is old enough to sign professional terms.
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The draw for the FA Cup 3rd Round provides us with an away tie at Derby County from League One, where they are currently in mid-table. Two of their top-scorers won’t be eligible to play, because Billy Roberts and Ryan Seager are both on loan at Pride Park from The Saints.
We move fast to tie-up Kevn Egan’s contract, now that at 17 years-old he is old enough to sign professional terms.
rocheyb
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I am back from my training course and will shortly resume updating my story in and around the World Cup matches on TV. In the meantime, somebody has asked me to upload files for the 3-5-2 formation that I have been using, so here's a link to the relevant zipped folder in my Dropbox account:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m24s1q1a13urpit/3-5-2 Reyes_BPD.zip
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m24s1q1a13urpit/3-5-2 Reyes_BPD.zip
rocheyb
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Sunday 27th November, 2022
Premier League - Matchday 13
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs SOUTHAMPTON
New White Hart Lane, London; Att: 54,193
Spurs: 5/4 (fav); SAINTS: 7/4; Draw: 11/5
SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim in goal; Radimov, Reyes and Jedvaj are the back three; Luke Shaw starts on the left of midfield; Westley and Pugliese flank the captain, Giammarco Stangoni; Kabastanakis is on the right-hand side; Yvo Lucas retains his starting spot following his hat-trick against Lorient; he’s joined by his right-footed strike partner, Andrew Powell; Ince and Jorgensen are among the subs.
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Spurs Team News - 4-4-2: Hugo Lloris is the Spurs skipper; central midfielder Pietro Appendino is a creative influence and will surely gain his first Italy cap soon; Matej Vydra, the former Watford player, is on the right of midfield, now in his seventh season at New White Hart Lane; Bentley Gouano endured a frustrating season at St. Mary’s last year and his 9 goals for his new side so far this season; Danny Welbeck is among the Tottenham substitutes.
Hard tackling will be the order of the day for this away match. The team-talk goes well but over-confidence could be a problem.
1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Spurs kick-off, attacking the end to the right.
- 2mins: Kabastanakis receives the ball back from his own throw-in on the right-hand side. His cross into the penalty area is headed down by Powell to Westley. He returns the ball to the Welsh striker and Hugo Lloris has to react smartly to save at his near post.
- 7mins: Vydra’s headed clearance is picked up in midfield by Pugliese. His low forward pass finds Stangoni 30-yards out, central to goal. The Italian advances on the Tottenham D, despite the close attentions of El Neny and Appendino, and - when everyone was expecting a ferocious strike - Giammarco STANGONI floats the ball over the head of Lloris, off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. 1-0.
- 10mins: Stangoni slips the ball to Andrew Powell amid several Spurs defenders. His low shot is saved by Lloris on the edge of his 6-yard box.
- 23mins: A deep free-kick by Kabastanakis from the right wing finds Stangoni unmarked on the near corner of the 6-yard box and his flick header floats over Lloris but wide of the far post.
- 24mins: Just inside the Tottenham half, Stangoni squares to Shane Westley. He feeds Shaw down the left wing and he surges past Peruzzi to cross high into the middle of the 6-yard box where the high-leaping Andrew POWELL extends Southampton’s lead with a firm header. 2-0.
- 26mins: Appendino floats in a free-kick from the right-hand side. It drops over a cluster of Saints defenders - who appear to be marking each other - to the feet of Gouano. But the ex-Saints striker inexplicably fires wide with the goal at his mercy.
- 30mins: Yellow card for Andrew Powell, for simulation. Then, Westley passes to Lucas who is 35-yards out with his back-to-goal. He turns De Vrij, onto his right foot, and shoots - the ball hitting the crossbar before Peruzzi clears down the right wing. Gouano is immediately onto it, launching a Tottenham counter. His deep cross is flicked away by Pugliese, doing well to beat Muriel, but Lamela controls the ball on the left and crosses from the byline. Vydra slides in to divert the ball goalward at the back post, but Ibrahim saves on the goal-line.
- 34mins: Lloris has to save Luke Shaw’s left-sided free-kick.
- 35mins: Yellow card for Mohamed El Neny, for a trip on Powell.
- 39mins: A partially cleared Southampton corner is collected by Westley who squares to Stangoni. He rolls the ball to Lucas on the right-hand join of the area and D, and his low left foot pass is volleyed on target by Andrew Powell, but Lloris does brilliantly to push the ball over-the-bar…
- 40mins: …the first corner his headed behind again, but from the second, Kabastanakis drops the ball at the far post where Sergey Radimov’s well-struck volley is saved lowdown by Hugo Lloris and then punted away to safety by Peruzzi.
- 42mins: Hugo Lloris is keeping Spurs in the game, with another sharp reaction save at the near post to deny Pugliese a goal with right-footed strike.
- 44mins: Kabastanakis tracks back to slide tackle Lamela at the expense of a corner. Vydra complains to the referee that there should be a Spurs penalty.
- 45mins: A well-earned lead for the visitors at the break.
HALF-TIME: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0-2 SOUTHAMPTON
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Given how dominant we have been during the first-half, the half-time player ratings are surprisingly low for some of our players, but we have managed 12 shots and 7 on target compared to 3-and-0 for Spurs. We have won 100% of our tackles which has facilitated our ability to play through the Tottenham midfield. Their centre-back Jeison Murillo (6.2) is struggling to deal with Andrew Powell (7.3) and Stangoni (7.4) is the stand-out performer in the middle of the park. Mullers is advising that we close Erik Lamela more effectively, due to his crossing ability. The half-time team-talk is positive and the team’s morale is good - not bordering on over-confidence as I had feared at the beginning.
2nd Half Highlights
- 46mins: Luke Shaw beats Vydra and then passes infield to Stangoni who advances down the left-hand side, going past Murillo and Peruzzi before crossing from the byline. Andrew Powell’s near-post header is parried by Lloris and Murillo’s weak clearance is headed back towards goal by Westley, but Murillo manages to get back on the line and volley the ball away.
- 51mins: Kabastanakis slips the ball for Lucas to cross from the byline, on the right, inside the area. Luke Shaw meets the cross at the back post with a firm volley from an acute angle, but Lloris parries the ball round the post. From Kabastanakis’s corner, another weak clearance from Tottenham is controlled and volleyed towards the top-right corner but Lloris gets up well again to keep it out.
- 58mins: Luke Shaw’s pace is the deciding factor in a 50-50 challenge with Peruzzi, enabling the converted midfielder to go past his man on the left-wing before crossing into the middle where Yvo LUCAS heads past Lloris from 9-yards. The goalkeeper had just taken a step to his left as Lucas directed the header to the keeper’s right, rendering his weight on the wrong foot for that crucial split-second. 3-0.
- 64mins: Shaw and Westley link-up on the left-hand side to work the ball to Powell in the left-corner of the penalty area with his back to goal. He touches it infield to Giammarco STANGONI whose first-time left-footed low drive flashes past Hugo Lloris at his near-post. 4-0.
- 67mins: Muriel and Falta combine on the right-hand side to enable Muriel to let fly with an angled shot, but it goes high-and-wide of Ibrahim’s goal.
- 68mins: Phillip Kaminski comes on for Tin Jedvaj, who has a slight knock. Buti Ndou replaces Kostas Kabastanakis on the right of midfield.
- 73mins: The offside flag denies Yvo Lucas a second goal, ruling out his left-footed shot after neat close control and a sharp turn just inside the area.
- 77mins: Spurs sub Danny Welbeck flicks a cross on for Muriel to strike inside the right-hand post but the offside flag rules it out.
- 78mins: Mark Ardean-Webb comes on for Mario Pugliese in midfield.
- 80mins: Yellow card for Gino Peruzzi, for a whack on Yvo Lucas’s ankles that leaves the Dutch striker needing treatment.
- 87mins: Yellow card for Diego Reyes, for what looked like a fair challenge on Danny Welbeck. Andre Marriner is getting card-happy here!
- 90mins+1: Arnold plays Erik Lamela in down the Tottenham left and he evades Westley to direct an outswinging cross into the area. Ibrahim has to make a diving stretch to provent the ball falling to Welbeck right infront of goal, at the expense of a corner - from which Muriel heads wide at the near post.
- 90mins+2: Yellow card for Jesper Boons, for persistently tripping Stangoni from behind, midway inside the Tottenham half. He’s done that at least three times now and is lucky to not already have got his marching orders.
FULL-TIME
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MAN OF THE MATCH:
GIAMMARCO STANGONI (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.4
Advanced Playmaker_Attack: 2 goals; 0 assists.
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VERDICT:
An excellent performance across the whole 90-minutes. Luke Shaw was impressive on the left-hand side and registered 2 assists, while Andrew Powell proved an effective target man in the right-footed variation of our 3-5-2 front-line. Good to see Giammarco Stangoni weighing-in with a couple of goals; he doesn’t score as many from the more withdrawn central midfield position than he did from the No.10 role in the 4-4-1-1, but I think he adds more to the team by running from deep, either into wide areas or playing short passes past defenders to set-up shooting chances for the strikers, as an M_C. I would have liked him to receive more protection from the referee though - Jesper Boons should have been sent-off. The Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris was excellent despite conceding four, so I’m happy with the number of chances we created in what could have been a difficult away match. The team-talk (which I forgot to screenshot) was very positive.
Premier League - Matchday 13
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs SOUTHAMPTON
New White Hart Lane, London; Att: 54,193
Spurs: 5/4 (fav); SAINTS: 7/4; Draw: 11/5
SAINTS Team News - 3-5-2: Ibrahim in goal; Radimov, Reyes and Jedvaj are the back three; Luke Shaw starts on the left of midfield; Westley and Pugliese flank the captain, Giammarco Stangoni; Kabastanakis is on the right-hand side; Yvo Lucas retains his starting spot following his hat-trick against Lorient; he’s joined by his right-footed strike partner, Andrew Powell; Ince and Jorgensen are among the subs.
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Spurs Team News - 4-4-2: Hugo Lloris is the Spurs skipper; central midfielder Pietro Appendino is a creative influence and will surely gain his first Italy cap soon; Matej Vydra, the former Watford player, is on the right of midfield, now in his seventh season at New White Hart Lane; Bentley Gouano endured a frustrating season at St. Mary’s last year and his 9 goals for his new side so far this season; Danny Welbeck is among the Tottenham substitutes.
Hard tackling will be the order of the day for this away match. The team-talk goes well but over-confidence could be a problem.
1st Half Highlights
- 1sec: Spurs kick-off, attacking the end to the right.
- 2mins: Kabastanakis receives the ball back from his own throw-in on the right-hand side. His cross into the penalty area is headed down by Powell to Westley. He returns the ball to the Welsh striker and Hugo Lloris has to react smartly to save at his near post.
- 7mins: Vydra’s headed clearance is picked up in midfield by Pugliese. His low forward pass finds Stangoni 30-yards out, central to goal. The Italian advances on the Tottenham D, despite the close attentions of El Neny and Appendino, and - when everyone was expecting a ferocious strike - Giammarco STANGONI floats the ball over the head of Lloris, off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. 1-0.
- 10mins: Stangoni slips the ball to Andrew Powell amid several Spurs defenders. His low shot is saved by Lloris on the edge of his 6-yard box.
- 23mins: A deep free-kick by Kabastanakis from the right wing finds Stangoni unmarked on the near corner of the 6-yard box and his flick header floats over Lloris but wide of the far post.
- 24mins: Just inside the Tottenham half, Stangoni squares to Shane Westley. He feeds Shaw down the left wing and he surges past Peruzzi to cross high into the middle of the 6-yard box where the high-leaping Andrew POWELL extends Southampton’s lead with a firm header. 2-0.
- 26mins: Appendino floats in a free-kick from the right-hand side. It drops over a cluster of Saints defenders - who appear to be marking each other - to the feet of Gouano. But the ex-Saints striker inexplicably fires wide with the goal at his mercy.
- 30mins: Yellow card for Andrew Powell, for simulation. Then, Westley passes to Lucas who is 35-yards out with his back-to-goal. He turns De Vrij, onto his right foot, and shoots - the ball hitting the crossbar before Peruzzi clears down the right wing. Gouano is immediately onto it, launching a Tottenham counter. His deep cross is flicked away by Pugliese, doing well to beat Muriel, but Lamela controls the ball on the left and crosses from the byline. Vydra slides in to divert the ball goalward at the back post, but Ibrahim saves on the goal-line.
- 34mins: Lloris has to save Luke Shaw’s left-sided free-kick.
- 35mins: Yellow card for Mohamed El Neny, for a trip on Powell.
- 39mins: A partially cleared Southampton corner is collected by Westley who squares to Stangoni. He rolls the ball to Lucas on the right-hand join of the area and D, and his low left foot pass is volleyed on target by Andrew Powell, but Lloris does brilliantly to push the ball over-the-bar…
- 40mins: …the first corner his headed behind again, but from the second, Kabastanakis drops the ball at the far post where Sergey Radimov’s well-struck volley is saved lowdown by Hugo Lloris and then punted away to safety by Peruzzi.
- 42mins: Hugo Lloris is keeping Spurs in the game, with another sharp reaction save at the near post to deny Pugliese a goal with right-footed strike.
- 44mins: Kabastanakis tracks back to slide tackle Lamela at the expense of a corner. Vydra complains to the referee that there should be a Spurs penalty.
- 45mins: A well-earned lead for the visitors at the break.
HALF-TIME: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0-2 SOUTHAMPTON
View attachment 368544 View attachment 368543 View attachment 368542
Given how dominant we have been during the first-half, the half-time player ratings are surprisingly low for some of our players, but we have managed 12 shots and 7 on target compared to 3-and-0 for Spurs. We have won 100% of our tackles which has facilitated our ability to play through the Tottenham midfield. Their centre-back Jeison Murillo (6.2) is struggling to deal with Andrew Powell (7.3) and Stangoni (7.4) is the stand-out performer in the middle of the park. Mullers is advising that we close Erik Lamela more effectively, due to his crossing ability. The half-time team-talk is positive and the team’s morale is good - not bordering on over-confidence as I had feared at the beginning.
2nd Half Highlights
- 46mins: Luke Shaw beats Vydra and then passes infield to Stangoni who advances down the left-hand side, going past Murillo and Peruzzi before crossing from the byline. Andrew Powell’s near-post header is parried by Lloris and Murillo’s weak clearance is headed back towards goal by Westley, but Murillo manages to get back on the line and volley the ball away.
- 51mins: Kabastanakis slips the ball for Lucas to cross from the byline, on the right, inside the area. Luke Shaw meets the cross at the back post with a firm volley from an acute angle, but Lloris parries the ball round the post. From Kabastanakis’s corner, another weak clearance from Tottenham is controlled and volleyed towards the top-right corner but Lloris gets up well again to keep it out.
- 58mins: Luke Shaw’s pace is the deciding factor in a 50-50 challenge with Peruzzi, enabling the converted midfielder to go past his man on the left-wing before crossing into the middle where Yvo LUCAS heads past Lloris from 9-yards. The goalkeeper had just taken a step to his left as Lucas directed the header to the keeper’s right, rendering his weight on the wrong foot for that crucial split-second. 3-0.
- 64mins: Shaw and Westley link-up on the left-hand side to work the ball to Powell in the left-corner of the penalty area with his back to goal. He touches it infield to Giammarco STANGONI whose first-time left-footed low drive flashes past Hugo Lloris at his near-post. 4-0.
- 67mins: Muriel and Falta combine on the right-hand side to enable Muriel to let fly with an angled shot, but it goes high-and-wide of Ibrahim’s goal.
- 68mins: Phillip Kaminski comes on for Tin Jedvaj, who has a slight knock. Buti Ndou replaces Kostas Kabastanakis on the right of midfield.
- 73mins: The offside flag denies Yvo Lucas a second goal, ruling out his left-footed shot after neat close control and a sharp turn just inside the area.
- 77mins: Spurs sub Danny Welbeck flicks a cross on for Muriel to strike inside the right-hand post but the offside flag rules it out.
- 78mins: Mark Ardean-Webb comes on for Mario Pugliese in midfield.
- 80mins: Yellow card for Gino Peruzzi, for a whack on Yvo Lucas’s ankles that leaves the Dutch striker needing treatment.
- 87mins: Yellow card for Diego Reyes, for what looked like a fair challenge on Danny Welbeck. Andre Marriner is getting card-happy here!
- 90mins+1: Arnold plays Erik Lamela in down the Tottenham left and he evades Westley to direct an outswinging cross into the area. Ibrahim has to make a diving stretch to provent the ball falling to Welbeck right infront of goal, at the expense of a corner - from which Muriel heads wide at the near post.
- 90mins+2: Yellow card for Jesper Boons, for persistently tripping Stangoni from behind, midway inside the Tottenham half. He’s done that at least three times now and is lucky to not already have got his marching orders.
FULL-TIME
View attachment 3685380-4 View attachment 368537
MAN OF THE MATCH:
GIAMMARCO STANGONI (SOUTHAMPTON) - 9.4
Advanced Playmaker_Attack: 2 goals; 0 assists.
View attachment 368541 View attachment 368540 View attachment 368539
VERDICT:
An excellent performance across the whole 90-minutes. Luke Shaw was impressive on the left-hand side and registered 2 assists, while Andrew Powell proved an effective target man in the right-footed variation of our 3-5-2 front-line. Good to see Giammarco Stangoni weighing-in with a couple of goals; he doesn’t score as many from the more withdrawn central midfield position than he did from the No.10 role in the 4-4-1-1, but I think he adds more to the team by running from deep, either into wide areas or playing short passes past defenders to set-up shooting chances for the strikers, as an M_C. I would have liked him to receive more protection from the referee though - Jesper Boons should have been sent-off. The Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris was excellent despite conceding four, so I’m happy with the number of chances we created in what could have been a difficult away match. The team-talk (which I forgot to screenshot) was very positive.
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