Southampton post-match

[rurikbird]

5 outstanding players for me today, really can't decide who to leave out for MOM vote.

Mignolet – heroic in the 1st half, safe and calm in the 2nd. We were so often on the wrong end of outstanding goalkeeping performances this season, it feels great when the shoe is on the other foot. Ming's overflowing with confidence right now; he honestly reminded me of Neuer at some point today, which is definitely not the comparison I would have imagine I would ever use for him a few months ago.

Henderson – I worried for him a bit after the penalty incident and being undermined in some way by Gerrard, Balotelli and even Rodgers. This performance should put to bed any doubts about his character. It was almost super-human how much ground he covered. He led the way and inspired those around him, especially Allen, to raise their games.

Coutinho – his goal was Zidanesque, just out-of-nowhere pure unstoppable brilliance. I thought he should be rested, but he suddenly looked livelier when reunited with Sterling up top, stringing together some nice passing moves despite the challenging conditions.

Skrtel – a rock in defense when his two partners were both shaky at times, pretty much a flawless defensive performance. It helps to have a player with big game experience who knows how to withstand pressure.

Ibe – once again, our best outlet on the night. At this point this kid is almost undroppable. He just skips past players for fun.

 

[jimmy]

Top five indeed.
I thought Allen also deserved a good word for his performance today.

 

[Frogfish]

Ming - 8
Markovic - 5 Moreno - 7
Can - 7.5
Skrtel - 9
Lovren - 6.5
Hendo - 6 (the number of misplaced passes he made had me pulling my hair out. He might have run a marathon but our midfield was annihilated by Wanyama and Davis)
Allen - 6
Ibe - 7.5
Lallana - 6
Coutinho - 7 (ran his balls off and what a goal) !
Sterling - 6
Sturridge - 6
Johnson - 6.5 (he closed that wing down once he came on for Ibe)

BR - 8

 

[mark1975]

I thought our game plan was great in the second half. I kept saying "we'll get a goal on the break" and we did. We've learned how to go away in the league and nick goals and then defend as a team with men behind the ball, instead of going gung-ho and chasing everything, like we did to our detriment sometimes previously.

You look at Chelsea and the amount of times they soak up pressure in games and rely on the fact that they have both brilliance and pace to always grab a goal through a moment of genius or a quick break. That's what we're starting to show and it's the makings of a very good team that is becoming more and more tactically astute and varied.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

You missed out Moreno. It was quite obvious after the first half what the most important change we needed to make at half time was, and that was to pull Markovic. I'm glad Rodgers took the conservative option and went with Moreno. The little Spaniard might not be the best defensively at full back but at least that's his position, while Clyne just made Markovic his bitch. It's no coincidence that Can's performance at LCB improved in the second half because he now had a partner ahead of him who offered him greater protection, work rate and effort.

Had a part (somewhat fortuitously) in our crucial second goal as well. I love the little guy.

 

[Mystic]

You missed out Moreno. It was quite obvious after the first half what the most important change we needed to make at half time was, and that was to pull Markovic. I'm glad Rodgers took the conservative option and went with Moreno. The little Spaniard might not be the best defensive full back but at least that's his profession, while Clyne just made Markovic his bitch. It's no coincidence that Can's performance at LCB improved in the second half because he now had a partner ahead of him who offered him greater protection, work rate and effort.

Had a part (somewhat fortuitously) in our crucial second goal as well. I love the little guy.

Moreno has been fantastic for us the last few games. Rodgers was rightfully resting him, but he needed to come on and it worked wonders.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Great result despite the luck it needed - but this team, like last year, is into a groove and everything is going our way.

Ming - his revival continues. Great early save to keep the game 1-1, and some excellent work in the 6 yard box.

Can - a lot of poor passes today. was solid defensively but seems fatigued mentally.

Skittles - on form, one of the best CBs in Europe right now.

Ibe - I thought this was his worst game so far. However, he was very disciplined defensively and never shied away from the ball. It was the right call to bring him back from Derby (I thought it was a mistake as I didn't think he'd get enough games) and he's going to get many opportunities down the stretch.

Allen - I thought he worked his socks off. A good solid performance.

henderson - A lot of misplaced passes. Great defensive work though.

Lallana - poor today.

Coutinho - another game, another key goal or assist. Keep it up.

Sterling - I thought his work rate was great - but that he was average at best. Well taken goal though.

Disappointed with Lovren ... he could have given Rodgers a selection headache but it's kinda obvious he's still not over whatever bug he got when he left Soton to sign with us ... I'd sell him if we get any offers in the 10 million range.

 

[rurikbird]

Yes, after Sturridge came on and we switched to the system with 2 strikers and Coutinho in behind, I remember I just felt completely safe. Maybe it helped that by that point Saints players started running out of ideas and getting tired, but I just couldn't see a way for them to seriously trouble our defense from that point on. And I knew with Sterling and Sturridge we would have chances on the break. So after heart-in-mouth first half, last half-hour I was completely calm and just enjoying the game.

So in essence Rodgers' plan kind of worked; we survived the early onslaught (not without a big slice of luck to be sure) and managed the game pragmatically after that. I think 1st half would have looked better had Sakho been playing instead of Lovren (who didn't help our distribution by passing the ball to Mignolet way too often – the polar opposite of Sakho), but one feature of 3-4-3 that always worked in our favor was that Saints could never completely pin us down because we always had a reliable way to get out of our half with the ball through the wing-backs. Maybe another team or another coach would find a way to put more pressure on our wing-backs, but at this point our opponents haven't figured out a remedy. And having players like Ibe and Markovic who are so comfortable carrying the ball forward really helps.

 

[rurikbird]

Disappointed with Lovren ... he could have given Rodgers a selection headache but it's kinda obvious he's still not over whatever bug he got when he left Soton to sign with us ... I'd sell him if we get any offers in the 10 million range.

Yeah, Lovren just doesn't look like a very good defender, does he? Same positioning problems were on evidence today and not enough pace to compensate for them. Distribution is poor. It's hard to see what he offers compared to his competition.

 

[Whirly]

Ming - 8
Markovic - 5 Moreno - 7
Can - 7.5
Skrtel - 9
Lovren - 6.5
Hendo - 6 (the number of misplaced passes he made had me pulling my hair out. He might have run a marathon but our midfield was annihilated by Wanyama and Davis)
Allen - 6
Ibe - 7.5
Lallana - 6
Coutinho - 7 (ran his balls off and what a goal) !
Sterling - 6
Sturridge - 6
Johnson - 6.5 (he closed that wing down once he came on for Ibe)

BR - 8

About right for me, but I might knock BR down to a 6.5/7. He got his subs correct, but playing Can at LCB and Lovren at RCB left both uncomfortable at the back, and led to Southampton having quite a few good chances early on. I suppose if he's not willing to start Balotelli, then starting Sterling at Striker is the only option given how much we used Sturridge this week, but Sterling hardly had a touch in the first half, very isolated.

 

[rurikbird]

 

[Whirly]

Yeah, Lovren just doesn't look like a very good defender, does he? Same positioning problems were on evidence today and not enough pace to compensate for them. Distribution is poor. It's hard to see what he offers compared to his competition.

Early on he didn't seem to have any interest in retaining possession. When we were able to settle it down a bit, he would try to play a tough long pass that he simply isn't good enough to execute, but I thought his distribution improved some from thereon. But he looked about exactly the player we dropped several months back, and might force us into switching to a 4 at the back formation sooner than later. There can't be any expectations for him to contribute at the moment.

 

[rurikbird]

Is this the best of Coutinho's goals for us?

 

[Hansern]

Yeah, Lovren just doesn't look like a very good defender, does he? Same positioning problems were on evidence today and not enough pace to compensate for them. Distribution is poor. It's hard to see what he offers compared to his competition.

Thought was pretty good until the 2 incidents late in the first half. 2nd half he was okay.
Overall I thought he was decent. But need to perform much better if he's to turn around his Liverpool career.

 

[Tinto]

Is this the best of Coutinho's goals for us?

Wonderful goal.

Sterling drifts to the left a lot when he's up top. That movement really helps Coutihno's game. They're a great threat on that side for us.

 

[willby]

Minutes 3, 73, Game over

 

[Red Mullet]

Coutinho- you always, ALWAYS, play best when you play with your mates. And Sterling is his mate. Awesome goal.

 

[Spionkop69]

Ok, I didn't realise Sakho was injured prior to the game meaning Lovren would play.

What I didn't get at all and it was blindingly obvious from the start was, why was Lovren, a left footer on the right of the three and Can the vice versa.

It just seemed to make us very nervous, and of course the pitch didn't help. We didn't play well today, I thought Sterling needed company earlier and Markovic looked very out of sorts.

A word for Mignolet. He was great today. Commanding and his handling in very difficult conditions was world class. Whoever has helped him turn things around of late deserves great credit, because over the last month he's been pretty much faultless.

But we won so who cares! It's often better to be lucky than be good!

 

[tony]

Considering we played on thursday what a great result!
Did anyone else notice Hendo's triple gambol when Stirling was about to score? Thought he was at his destructive best today

 

[Spionkop69]

Something else I've noticed recently. We have started taking bookings for the team. Henderson today was an example. We have now got some fight and tenacity aligned with a knowledge of when to take a booking. It's cynical, yes. However all the other top teams do it and it's part of the game.

I'm liking that we are not being bullied as much we used to. If the other team gets rough we roll out sleeves up to. The Chelsea semi away was great example of the team refusing to be intimidated. We'd have lost that game today if we'd played with our early season attitude.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Very happy with the result.

Very happy with most of the side.

I will add that I was extremely disappointed with Markovic, who just didn't seem up for it from the start. He looked like he didn't have the determination to run the yards or put the effort in.

Lallana similarly disappointed me, but I suspect with him it was more the reception he got, he didn't seem able to take it mentally.

I hope Rodgers has a word with both of them & we see a reaction in the entire few games.

 

[red_maradona]

Carra's comments about Brendan coaching players and how his sides have improved so much in the 2nd half of a season were refreshing and reassuring*. We are in for an exciting second half of the season!

*next season pls Brendan don't buy 100 new players. Stick to quality.

 

[Rafiagra]

That was not an enjoyable game to watch but testament to how far we've come that we won and kept a clean sheet.

Mignolet has been a revelation since coming back into the team. The save from the free kick in the second half where he held on to it was magnificent. The guy has total confidence and it's transformed him and us.

Coutinho's goal....wow! Another one of them next week against City would be nice.

 

[Halmeister]

Ok, I didn't realise Sakho was injured prior to the game meaning Lovren would play.

What I didn't get at all and it was blindingly obvious from the start was, why was Lovren, a left footer on the right of the three and Can the vice versa.

It just seemed to make us very nervous, and of course the pitch didn't help. We didn't play well today, I thought Sterling needed company earlier and Markovic looked very out of sorts.

A word for Mignolet. He was great today. Commanding and his handling in very difficult conditions was world class. Whoever has helped him turn things around of late deserves great credit, because over the last month he's been pretty much faultless.

But we won so who cares! It's often better to be lucky than be good!

Lovren is right footed.

 

[Spionkop69]

Lovren is right footed.

Nope he is left footed.

 

[Halmeister]

Nope he is left footed.

I am 100% certain he's right footed, though he's probably reasonably capable of using his left.

 

[ILD]

We had this debate before. I presumed he was left footed after the Dortmund friendly but apparently he's predominantly right footed.

He is very confident on his left and I presume he was signed to play LCB so I was surprised to see Can switched over to the left. Had it anything to do with Lazar playing LWB?

 

[cloggypop]

We had this debate before. I presumed he was left footed after the Dortmund friendly but apparently he's predominantly right footed.

He is very confident on his left and I presume he was signed to play LCB so I was surprised to see Can switched over to the left. Had it anything to do with Lazar playing LWB?

Can being used to Lazar is the only thing that makes sense to me.

Lovren is right footed but played mainly on the left for Southampton.

Can did play leftback for Leverkusen occasionally though.

 

[Ryan]

Lovren is right-footed.

 

[gene hughes]

He's ambicrapstrous