Match Reports
Norwich Home Won 2 – 1
The latest players in the Premier League broadcasting game, Amazon, went old school for the December midweek round and had us kicking off at 7:30 – a welcome move for many of us. On the pitch, Southampton’s starting line up to play Norwich had just one change: Long in for Obafemi, showing that someone was paying attention to the […]
Watford Home Won 2 – 1
Boufal would surely have started against Watford, especially with Armstrong ruled out by a football-related injury, had he not become the latest recipient of the Charlie George Award for Domestic Health & Safety. Ralph obviously wanted as positive a line-up as possible against opponents likely to park the bus, but four forwards (Djenepo, Obafemi, Ings and […]
Arsenal Away Drew 2 – 2
Ralph’s selection policy always adds extra spice to the pre-match tension, but few logging on an hour before taking on Arsenal expected a line-up that not only omitted Romeu but also included Obafemi alongside Ings and Redmond. It seemed that the extra forward’s main role was to run around purposefully to ensure the home side’s […]
Everton Home Lost 1 – 2
It’s been a season characterised by appalling home form and baffling team selections, and the clash with Everton was no exception. In the absences of Bertrand through suspension and Højbjerg through a concussion assessment Ralph brought back Soares to play on the left in what looked like a back four, with probably Stephens operating on […]
Manchester City Away Lost 2 – 1
The first objective in the Manchester City two-visits-in-a-week schedule was to escape without embarrassment and that was achieved comfortably enough in match one. It would be more difficult to avoid another what’s-the-time result (“nearly ten past Gunn”) in the second game as Sterling and DeBruyne returned for the hosts, even though Ralph added Redmond and […]
EFL Cup 4th Round Manchester City Away Lost 3 – 1
Champagne moment of the Leicester debacle was the few fans left at the Northam End singing out a warning that “Manchester City, we’re coming for you.” Funny at the time (despite the scoreline), but everyone knew the Eastlands double header would become reality soon enough. Not surprisingly McCarthy lined up against the Carabao Cup holders […]
Leicester Home Lost 0 – 9
Occasional light showers were forecast for the evening game against Leicester at St. Mary’s, but the rain turned to be torrential, with a strong wind to boot; pre-match football forecasts in the pub of choice also seemed pessimistic, but turned out to be mild compared to what we saw over 90 excruciating minutes. Saints had […]
Wolverhampton Away Drew 1 – 1
This year’s ‘third’ kit was unveiled at Wolverhampton and, like its predecessor, it is more pleasing, to my eye at least, than the second choice version. What’s more important is how those wearing the outfit perform, and charged with the task at Molyneux were three centre backs, with Vestergaard restored to the team. Ralph’s teams […]
Chelsea Home Lost 1 – 4
Having had a week to think about it, Ralph decided that Valery was the best choice to replace Soares after his warm-up injury at Tottenham, with last week’s replacement, Vestergaard, nowhere to be seen. Opponents, Chelsea, have a more home-grown look this season due to their transfer restrictions, and two English players were behind their […]
Spurs Away Lost 2 – 1
Early setbacks on and off the pitch for our first visit to the new Tottenham ground. The stadium looks great but it’s only as good as its infrastructure and fans turning up after about 2:45 were frustrated by gates that didn’t work (and security staff who didn’t care), but already Southampton’s plans had had to be altered after […]
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