Southampton 0 - West Bromwich Albion 0

Paul Killeen:

Made my way down there from sunny west london. A few observations.

First half we seemed to spend a lot of time in their half. Second half it was other way around.

Pogo looked good on left but I think wisdom tooth struggled a little on the right. I am not always good at noticing who is good and bad but other moaners in the crowd point things out...

I thought Ideye was very lively when he came... he is always trying to stick the ball past last defender and sprint past them. He had a couple of good chances.

Near the end we had a free kick in the right back position. We left it for foster to take, no rush and he whacked it into touch. Not the first time... be brilliant if we were playing rugby.

As some has already mentioned there were the two corners one after the other near the end. Both rubbish... one too short the other over hit. We can't afford to forgo such opportunities so simply.

Overall I think there's hope for the future. Hopefully we can get everyone fit and settle on our strongest side.

By the way didn't notice many of the pinstripe shirts in evidence today.

Paul Gainham:

A point away from home is always good, question is how good in the context of the opposition.

Southampton were pretty awful, without Lallana in the middle they look lost and had no real creativity, they have a big guy up front Pelle who is similar to Anichebe without the skill. Their main route according to a Saints friend of mine is via Clyne but Brunt and Pocognoli kept him quiet all game.

Against all of that, neither keeper was really *that* troubled during the game, Foster had to make one low down save in the 1H, Forster one from Ideye in the second but that was pretty much it.

We started with the same team that started against Sunderland with the same 4-5-1 formation, Anichebe the loan striker. We started brightly and overall our defence was not that troubled, our midfield were excellent. Our biggest challenge remains going forward. A number of times during the game we broke forwards only to have to go sidewards or backwards as there simply was no forward outlet. Dorrans made a number of excellent surging runs forward that often led to nothing as others around him were not on the same wavelength. Against poor opposition we cannot afford not to take advantage of that, we need a more mobile and progressive attacking option, the ‘lump’ that Anichebe is was shown up again for what it is, a very poor and limited option.

Mulumbu was back to his absolute best today, Poconoli had another impressive game before being subbed due to injury and Gardner showed he is a much better option again then Yacob.

At HT I sent a mail saying this game was here for the taking and it was, the fact we did not get all 3 points is not the end of the world BUT against opposition like this I view this as 2 points dropped.

It was good to see Ideye make his debut, he got around 35 mins in the 2H and made one really sharp turn and shot and had some other ok moments. Based on this fleeting glimpse, he is the sort of player that could feed well off Dorrans and Sessegnon, not a hold up player but somebody who will make runs and play on the last man.

Overall, Irvine stuck rigidly to the 4-5-1 formation and really only made substitutions when he had to (Ideye for Anichebe, Davidson for Pocognoli and finally with 2 mins left Sess for Berahino). This does concern me. The game was crying out for individual creativity to open it up and in Sessegnon we have a player who can do that but my feeling is that Irvine was again playing safe and settling for the draw.

We may live to regret that later in the season as the games against much tougher opposition mount up.

Player Marks

• Foster 6 Did not have much to do but distribution remains woeful. Kiely, earn your money and sort this out
• Wisdom 6 Looked shaky at times but I think overall there is a good player in him
• Dawson 6 Looked better today, still shaky at times but the midfield mostly did their job in front of him
• Olsson 6 Not as commanding as usual, a few missed headers and misplaced passes
• Pocognoli 8 The pick of the defense, solid in the tackle, positions himself well and completely nullified the threat of Clyne
• Mulumbu 9 MOTM. Back to the Mulumbu we all know well. An excellent display. Solid, full of energy and completely engaged for 90 mins
• Gardner 8 Claudio who? If he continues like this the position is his. With Mulumbu, looked really solid in the middle
• Brunt 8 Great game from Brunt. Yes a couple of wayward corners but he played the position perfectly and with Pocognoli prevented any threat from Clyne
• Dorrans 8 Always looking to get forward, some great forward surging runs which were let down by slow support around him
• Berahino 5 Not his day, did very little
• Anichebe 5 Poor display, touch really poor at times and not mobile enough.

Subs

• Davidson 6 Looked competent at LB, not quite the same level as Pocognoli on this showing
• Ideye 6 One great turn and shot, I hope he keeps his place
• Sessegnon N/A Not on long enough

Coach 6 Another game we should have taken more from. My suspicion is he does not like to change things too early and is conservative.

oshawabaggie:

The good news; no losses yet. The bad news; no wins either. If I had to take a stab at Irvine's style I would say he has many of the traits of Steve Clark. A dour Scot focussing on defensive discipline over attacking ambition. Not that there's anything wrong with that as a start. But to be fair, we're just two games in and the team we are looking at today may be vastly different in 6 weeks. If last years transfer activity was woefully inadequate, this year we have been uncharacteristically bold (well, for the Albion anyway). Irvine will not be able to use last years excuse that he doesn't have a big enough squad. With the latest two signings, Varela and Samaras, along with the promising Ideye, we have finally added some attacking flair.

Not much to add on the game except to say that Southampton gave Liverpool a real hard time last week, so I don't accept that they were poor opposition? Brunt, Dorrans and Foster need some dead ball kicking practice. Our goal kicks, free kicks and corners are generally piss poor. Totally unacceptable. But overall so far, not too bad.