EVERTON AT HOME

Can Saints get the win? 4 points from the first 2 games would sound pretty good.......but just 2 or 1 would be worrying. And it looks as if Saints are going to have a bit of a makeshift side with Classie and Caulker both on the injury list.

Well we still have Pelle, Mane and Long up front but need Fonte and Yoshida to play better then last week and what is going on with Fonte with the Villa rumours. Cannot see either team keeping a clean sheet so going for a 2 2 draw again for both teams. Injuries are a real pain as with a full squad would not be a doubt for me and not bringing in another CH yet mean short. Caulker has hardly had a good start, sinus infection? just hope Yoshida takes his opportunity. In view of defence issues I would strengthen midfield but that would mean not starting Tadic and that wont happen

Hmmm, Just read that Everton are in the hunt for Fonte and think they can beat Villa to him!!!


Was that an intentional pun Matty?? 'Injuries are a real pain', very good, you should be on the telly

I always thought I should have been on MOTD adding that bit of humour, actually I should have had Jeff Stellings job, only problem is would probably have got the sack letting Merson know what I think of him

the Fonte thing still puzzles me as we have not heard anything from the player, yet he was happy to talk about VVD at Celtic. I think his agent wants a new contract, he will be 32 when this one runs out so his likelihood of a decent contract could be disappearing. For me we should offer him an extra 2 years taking him to 2019, think he is an intelligent player who could keep going for many more years at top level.

Well what a disaster that was, certainly a bad day at the office and a real wake up call to the club, and Koeman. The formation was again leaving the midfield exposed with just Davis and Wanyama in midfield. Starting Long Tadic Mane and Pelle only works if you get the first goal and while that nearly happened the goals showed huge holes in the team where players simply didn't track back. Font and Yoshida continued to be poor compared to last year and while Yoshida was caught out for pace Fonte simply did not stamp any authority like he did last season.

It could have been different as in the first 20 minutes we did create chances with Mane going closest having been played in close to the byline in the box got his shot away which Howard saved with his legs and went wide, 1 minute later and we were behind. A quick break from our corner with Tadic just holding back and not committing to a tackle/foul. Kone had a free run down the right with Targett stuck forward, cross to far post and Lukaku headed in. So similar to the Newcastle game and a real worry that the side are not learning from their mistakes. Evertoan had another break down the right and this time stekelenberg saved but we didn't learn and just before the break Yoshida gave the ball away and again lukaku took his chance.

Targett had a decent shot in first half and a few goal mouth scrambles where we always wanted to take that extra touch. Wanyama should have done better with a free header which was another worrying feature as we had 4 good heading opportunities in the game and all went wide.

Second half thankfully we took off Tadic who with Long had for me caused the problems by failing to track back and put in a shift in the middle and brought on Romau who had more touches in 5 minutes than Tadic did in all 45. Again referee Oliver was awful, just be consistent. Everton were very physical yet went down like a sack of potatoes when tackled. because we tried playing on using advantage Oliver rarely booked them yet any tackle by saints player deemed to lead to a booking Romeu being a classic, simply blocked the ball, McCarthy rolls around and Romeu gets a yellow card. Referee in the Vitesse match was very fussy but was consistent to both sides, Oliver again to full of himself. Pelle should have done better with a good heading chance and also forced a save from Howard. Mane had a decent shot again well saved by Howard and the day finished badly when Soares failed to mark Barkley who cut inside and scored for 12 yards.

Desperately need that CH and cannot afford to wait while Celtic play us for mugs. Koeman has to learn that starting Mane, long, Tadic and Pelle will not work in the premier league. Hopefully if we sign VVD and get Bertrand back that will strengthen the defence. Classie will add to the midfield so no need to panic just yet but seeing how good Schneiderlin was, not just defensively but able to pass the ball as well, no surprise manure have won both games, lucky in both but not conceding




Stekelenberg 6 couldn't be faulted with goals but doesn't seem to have a presence that inspires
Targett 6 tried hard first half but rarely got forward second half having been caught forward and no one covering
Yoshida 5 thought he may have stepped up but pressure of first team starter seems to have seen him go backwards, slow and to easily turned
Font 5 Not imposing himself on the game like last season, something is not right with him
Soares 5 tries hard but his crossing was poor today and is struggling to adjust to pace of premiership but early days yet
Long 5 leave him as a sub, just doesn't work enough early in a game to earn a start
Wanyama 6 some stray passes but was struggling with little cover first half
Davis 5 played better second half when he moved forward but he is never going to score
Tadic 4 really poor game, delivery at set pieces also poor as lacked pace therefore easy enough to defend, Europa cup games only please.
Mane 7 tried hard and unlucky not to score
Pelle 6 battled away all day with little joy

subs
Romeu 6 one bright spot for me, looked like a decent player in terms of winning tackles, once fit should be Wanyamas regular partner
J Rod 5 played out wide where he could not really contribute much
JWP only on for last 15 minutes

Thanks Matty, a poor result indeed.

Thanks Matty, a worrying performance, we seemed to dither around while Everton looked positive and dangerous when in possession. Not convinced this keeper is going to give the defence the necessary confidence.

Caulker was relegated in the last 2 seasons, hope it won't be a hat-trick for him. At the moment, feeling very tempted to bet on Saints for relegation before the odds shorten too much......

Bottom half finish was 11/4 Saturday so put some money on, now 11/8!

matty07uk wrote:Bottom half finish was 11/4 Saturday so put some money on, now 11/8!

Chances are you are on a winner there Matty....

thought it was decent odds as expect around 12th this season, other sides have improved their squads, ours will be pkay if we get at least a decent CH