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S25/26 | The Official MATCH Thread | Southampton 0 Swansea 0 | Att: 27,265 | 18th Oct | The EFL Championship | St Mary’s Stadium

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I think the thing that would bring relegation worries quickest right now is the unknown if we got rid of Sheehan. Today was bad, but in every other game we are competitive and we look like a midtable side who will win some and lose some and draw some and survive comfortably.

Unless we go on a run of multiple successive defeats, he should remain for a while yet. Even if the club internally decide to replace him but let him stay in charge for the short term until the right replacement is there. The club seem to like their data nowadays and I am sure it will not be beyond them that we just do not look like a side capable of creating many chances or scoring many goals and they will know it is hard to consistently win without that. I am slightly sceptical, but if Sheehan can add that at some point consistently in the next couple of months then it will be a positive step. If we are still struggling to create multiple chances a game from open play after that, then maybe it is time to prepare for a new manager even if it does not actually happen until next season.

That may sound accepting of mediocrity but these things need time to truly see what is working and what is not.
Here they are, always turns up.. the rebuild posters.. it'll be a 7, 8, 10 year rebuild process.. it doesn't exist mun, Bristol and Preston have been in a rebuilding process for years and years.. it'll be a decade and we'll still be rebuilding some tw*t will say, it's nonsense
 
If we can raise our eyes above our own disgruntlement for a moment and look around, its nice to see the massively entitled Birmingham City losing at home to Hull, and Hollywood United losing at Stoke. Elsewhere, Bignose County are propping up the football league after losing at home 2-0 to fellow strugglers Cheltenham. Nice one, Huw.
 
I agree that we could have lost 5-0 if their finishing had been better. They are a former Premier League team with a squad to match. Describing our performance as “garbage” is a bit strong though.
 
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We’ve chucked a few cheap points lately, we deserve one back.

This is a pretty competitive division this year (even more than usual), I look at Charlton and Hull in 9th and 10th, and we might have expected to be above them, but the spread in the middle is really tight. Seven clubs at the bottom (10 pts or less) include ‘big spending’ Wrexham, plus Norwich who I’ve always seen as a peer of ours, plus the Sheffield teams.

Given our budget, income, etc (bar a lottery win from the Scoop/ Modric brigade), we are not far off where we should expect to be.
 
Great point.

Everything else was dreadful.

We have no creativity in this team. None. Not helped by the formation which leaves huge gaps between back and front.

I’m unsure though why anyone is that surprised. We didn’t have any real shape or style last season. We just achieved good results. Largely due to O’Brien.

Anyway, it is what it is. We won’t go down I don’t think. But I’d be amazed if we finish anything other than low mid table. Maybe higher mid table if we get some lucky results like today. Or start using a different formation.

I will be interested to see how long this lasts though. As the off field ambition doesn’t match the on field performances.

My guess is that we will start to see anti Sheehan stuff come out on social media sites that are getting fed from people at the club. As it’s either that, or an admittance that we haven’t bought quite the quality that has been shouted about. And it will be a while before anyone accepts that. It may just be Sheehan of course. But at the moment, we look very lightweight and too similar. No real flair. Let’s hope it improves. As it’s genuinely boring to watch at the moment.
 
How am I so sure?

Because we've upgraded quite well in summer, the midfield has good depth and Burgess is definitely better than Darling. Plus we've started this season decently, not spectacularly, but ok.

I'm not sold on the theory we should be playoff material but I think we've got more than enough about us to be comfy mid-table. I'm not even thinking about relegation this season and that represents progress in my view.
Were you thinking about relegation this time last season?
 
Great point.

Everything else was dreadful.

We have no creativity in this team. None. Not helped by the formation which leaves huge gaps between back and front.

I’m unsure though why anyone is that surprised. We didn’t have any real shape or style last season. We just achieved good results. Largely due to O’Brien.

Anyway, it is what it is. We won’t go down I don’t think. But I’d be amazed if we finish anything other than low mid table. Maybe higher mid table if we get some lucky results like today. Or start using a different formation.

I will be interested to see how long this lasts though. As the off field ambition doesn’t match the on field performances.

My guess is that we will start to see anti Sheehan stuff come out on social media sites that are getting fed from people at the club. As it’s either that, or an admittance that we haven’t bought quite the quality that has been shouted about. And it will be a while before anyone accepts that. It may just be Sheehan of course. But at the moment, we look very lightweight and too similar. No real flair. Let’s hope it improves. As it’s genuinely boring to watch at the moment.
Everything else was dreadful. Really? You have nothing good to say about our goalkeeper, our CBs, our willingness to fight for the ball (not every player, every time, but generally)? You make some good points, and then completely undermine them with your over the top comments.
 
We just played two relegated Premier League teams in a row. Their combined squad values are stratospheric compared to ours. We held Southampton to a draw and competed very well against Leicester, despite the final score. Talking about replacing Sheehan is ridiculous at best, at worst it smacks of an agenda.
Yet Wrexham who were in league 1 last season went to Leicester and held them to a draw.....
 
Great point.

Everything else was dreadful.

We have no creativity in this team. None. Not helped by the formation which leaves huge gaps between back and front.

I’m unsure though why anyone is that surprised. We didn’t have any real shape or style last season. We just achieved good results. Largely due to O’Brien.

Anyway, it is what it is. We won’t go down I don’t think. But I’d be amazed if we finish anything other than low mid table. Maybe higher mid table if we get some lucky results like today. Or start using a different formation.

I will be interested to see how long this lasts though. As the off field ambition doesn’t match the on field performances.

My guess is that we will start to see anti Sheehan stuff come out on social media sites that are getting fed from people at the club. As it’s either that, or an admittance that we haven’t bought quite the quality that has been shouted about. And it will be a while before anyone accepts that. It may just be Sheehan of course. But at the moment, we look very lightweight and too similar. No real flair. Let’s hope it improves. As it’s genuinely boring to watch at the moment.
I don’t think it’s just Sheehan but, unless he ups his game, it is also Sheehan. Some of these players offer very little, and even less if one is looking for consistently good performances. When Fulton is brought on and I think ‘well that might improve things’ then I’ve either snorted a kilo of marching powder or we are in a hole. I was away and didn’t see the two Sheffield games, but the other 8 I’ve seen have been a tough gig to watch.

Maybe it’s better in the ground. I hope so, for those that make the effort to pay for it live, but I do wonder if I’d have fallen for the Swans as an 11 year old watching this. Maybe there wasn’t much else to do in 1970, but I don’t ever remember being bored, in fact I was engaged fully throughout. We were often rubbish but we went forward whenever we had the ball. Can’t imagine Brian E passing back to Alan W from the edge of the opponents box after playing ten tippy tippy back and fore up a blind alley passes with Vic G.
 
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We’ve chucked a few cheap points lately, we deserve one back.

This is a pretty competitive division this year (even more than usual), I look at Charlton and Hull in 9th and 10th, and we might have expected to be above them, but the spread in the middle is really tight. Seven clubs at the bottom (10 pts or less) include ‘big spending’ Wrexham, plus Norwich who I’ve always seen as a peer of ours, plus the Sheffield teams.

Given our budget, income, etc (bar a lottery win from the Scoop/ Modric brigade), we are not far off where we should expect to be.
Budget? Income? How the heck do you think we done so well in the Premier league, particularly the first season. It wasn't because we had the biggest budget or income.
 
Yet Wrexham who were in league 1 last season went to Leicester and held them to a draw.....
And almost no one has lost to Southampton, so it’s hardly the point of the century to be battered and slink away. But, take the point, move on. Let’s see what lessons are learned for Wednesday. In the scheme of things it looks a good point, and the game can be forgotten.
 
Everything else was dreadful. Really? You have nothing good to say about our goalkeeper, our CBs, our willingness to fight for the ball (not every player, every time, but generally)? You make some good points, and then completely undermine them with your over the top comments.
Fair enough. Our goalkeeper played very well. Again. He is an excellent keeper in my view.

I didn’t think our centre backs had their best day to be honest. We were lucky not to concede at least two, maybe three. Willingness to fight for the ball? We lost a ton of fifty fifties and were frequently second to the second ball,

I think some are being swayed by the result. It was as bad as we’ve been this year in terms of lack of shape, creativity, ideas, just basic ability to keep the ball. In my opinion.

Some will have different views of course. That’s fine.
 
LIttle merit in pointing 👉 fingers.

For example Jay Fulton showed creativity and control in his cameo.

There were half chances at both ends in the final ten minutes and we have beaten Leeds in similar circumstances.

The team has creativity and can play.

Not good enough to beat Southampton but could have.

I did not mind the game. Seen worse this season. Watford were pretty ugly.

We go again at home which will be another challenge.
 
Babies and bath water.. not everything is bad at SCFC. However, it is fair to say that there is massive scope gor improvement.
Keeper is a star.
Defence is mostly solid - NOTE Key is horrendous defensively, and young Casey must have restless leg syndrome on the bench watching him.
Strikers are making the most of the slim pickings, and wingers are threatening. Ronald is good defensively but zero threat going forward at the moment.
It is midfield where i think we have our issues. Man for man we are much improved - but the blend is not working. Main effect is a total lack of tempo or ambition.
We need to play with a proper 10 who can open things up, and we need to get our best player EG 30 on the ball as much as possible. My starting 3 would be Galbraith Stamenic and Eom/Cullen - Yacouye and Franco can be rotated in to keep legs fresh and tempo high.
I lost count of the number of times our players broke the lines and then checked backwards i stead of attacking defenders/spaces at speed.
 

Southampton😇v Swansea City 🦢

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