That red card in the Villa game helped us pick up all three points. This time, we couldn’t even manage to recover a single point from a losing position, despite the fact we played over 36 minutes with the extra man. Including Leicester City, both teams are capable of attaining European qualification. We both have squads with a lot of breadth and depth, as well as the finances to bolster them, given that both teams are in the top 25 of the Deloitte Football Money League. We both lost just once in the league in January. I could go on comparing how similar we are to the club who have finished 8th and 7th in their previous two seasons in the Premier League, but you get the gist. I feel that as long as we remain above Southampton, we can finish in the top 7, which would be a wonderful way to go into the Olympic Stadium.
It has become quite apparent that we are struggling on the road. We have only had one away win in our last 8 away matches. This is more than likely overshadowed by the fact that we are unbeaten at Upton Park since August – it was a 3-4 loss to Bournemouth. We have conceded 6 first half goals in our 4 away losses. The main reason for that is down to us failing to set up properly. The surroundings may be unfamiliar, but the team needs to start holding onto the ball from the first blow of the whistle, and stringing some passes together to improve confidence on the ball. Otherwise, we as visitors, can easily turn into spectators.
At first, I didn’t know if it was just me who thought that Payet has underperforming for a few matches. After reading Iain’s talking points, and numerous comments in threads, I realised I had the right instinct. In particular, it is his dribbling in the final third which has been severely lacking. I thought it was just a one-off when he was playing down the flanks, but it turns out that it wasn’t the case. He played in his preferred CAM position yesterday, but simply did not cut through inside enough. I can see why he tends to play around the wings, as he gets success with his skill, but it wasn’t working, as Virgil van Dijk played with a lot of physicality, as did the Saints in preventing any headers reaching the targeted players. I feel Payet crosses best when he takes set-pieces, instead of in play.
In previous posts, I have referred to him as a superhero who delivers at the right time. He scored a fabulous free-kick against Bournemouth, when he was under pressure, and crossed a fabulous ball in for Reid yesterday. He even assisted Kouyaté in scoring the first goal of the PL season. It is an asset of a top-class player. That is why I feel he is better in dead-ball situations on the flanks. Furthermore, he needs to be more confident in his ability in the final third, as he was towards the end of the game finally cutting inside when the pressure was really and truly on. He also did well in the centre of the pitch to evade the Southampton midfield, only to get an agitated Wanyama make a dangerous tackle on the Frenchman. If only Payet played like that in the final third, we could have at least got a draw.
Very underwhelming performance from us tonight. Especially once they went down to 10 men. Not a great start for Emenike either.
— Spencer FC (@SpencerOwen) February 6, 2016
Lanzini and Sakho have been out for quite some time. Bilic said: “They are still out, but they will be back in a couple of weeks, maximum.” The Lanzini and Payet partnership is one that we have not seen since November. We have seen Lanzini prosper in the CAM position, so if Payet wants to play out wide, he certainly can. Lanzini can also play out wide. To be honest, there are so many ramifications that can be made when considering the entire squad that I can’t predict how we will play. We know they are the sort of players not to confine themselves to their positions.
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