Toon v Evertoon

[Scrivenator]

We win 2 to nil.

WTF happenned there? That is the very best I have seen us since Rafa left.

Since the arrival of Sreve Bruce, our football has been dirge. Watching every match has been a horrible frustrating and miserable experience, leaving me to be inclined to hope we lose, not only because we deserve to, but for the greater good which is to make Ashleys investment value plummet. That in itself is a contrary statement because the greater good is for the takeover to go ahead, which arguably will never happen if we go down...

However I would never have imagined the complete transformation I witnessed almost 24 hours ago. We played with zest, vigour and purpose. We played pressing, winning the ball and keeping it, passing and moving as a team, showcasing that we can actually perform to a standard that wins games. I actually cheered when we scored, and then indulged in a second salutation in stoppage time.

Can this all be down to the introduction of this new coach? Did he influence the way we set up? Possibly, but what stands out for me is it has exposed Bruce for the numbnuts he is. Miggy was highly effective, playing more in his natural position. Wilson was working the channels and getting better service, seeing more of the ball instead of being isolated and stifles week in week out.

There is clearly a lot of work to be done and room for much improvement, but if we play like we are clearly capable of doing so and with consistency, I'm kind of back on board to actually enjoying watching us play.

So there!

[sossujrurl]

Who'd have thought having a few players posing a threat to the opposition's goal would stop them piling forward en masse and bombarding our goal wills-nills?

[exenrique]

I  reckon  for  new  coach  we  should  substitute  "manager  in  wating". A  move  by  Ashley to  get

   shot  of  Bruce  on  the  cheap  

[veriaqa]

A fluke. Happen once in a while. Just like today

[Scrivenator]

To be fair, I wouldnt call that a fluke.

If Shelvey had put away his chance early on in the second half, it would have have put the game a lot harder to lose. Where we fucked up is the lack of discipline by Hendrick which added unecessary pressure. Losing Schar was unfortunate. I would certainly criticise the subs, Carroll would have been more effective than Joe, especially with hindsight that we were going to go down to 9.

Miggy was awesome again today, having ASM start was a bonus. You cant underestimate just how valuable thise 3 points were. The difference between going down and staying up IMO. The next few games are going to be really testing however, these injuries are worrying.

[sossujrurl]

Shelvey's miss was unforgiveable. He's a prick and I wish he'd just fuck off and then keep on fucking off. I feel that at 4-1 down in the opening minutes of the second half Southampton's heads would have dropped but instead they went up the other end and got a free kick that they scored from. That gave them something to fight for. Hendrick's dismissal was amateur but then he is playing in a league 2 divisions above his level. It baffles me why he's a regular starter but I can't pin the blame on him. Shelvey is supposed to be this great technical footballer with a brilliant passing range. Only he's half arsed and lazy. All he cares about is making a Hollywood pass.

Thankfully Southampton were shite in front of goal. And when we went 4-4-0 it suited us as that's how we've effectively been playing for ages to be honest. Hopeful punts up front frequently coming back to us.

[surreymag]

I was impressed with the victory v Southampton thought we should have got at least a draw v Palace aswell. Back to normal v Chelsea could have been worse than 2-0. Fulham beating Everton didn’t help either. Oh well it will be an interesting end to the season not just for us few clubs in the same predicament.