Saints Marching
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West Ham 3-0 Southampton: Three key takeaways

By Erik Franzo

COVENTRY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: Mark Hughes, Manager of Stoke City reacts during The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Coventry City and Stoke City at Ricoh Arena on January 6, 2018 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
COVENTRY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06: Mark Hughes, Manager of Stoke City reacts during The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Coventry City and Stoke City at Ricoh Arena on January 6, 2018 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace and Oriol Romeu of Southampton clash during the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary’s Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace and Oriol Romeu of Southampton clash during the Premier League match between Southampton and Crystal Palace at St Mary’s Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /

Where is Romeu?

It is not necessarily surprising that Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were given the start given their youthfulness and skill.  Lemina has at times, looked the best player on the team, and Hojbjerg has won the hearts of the fans on and off the field.

However, when it is the most important game of the season, and the 2016-17 Southampton player of the year is left on the bench, you have to scratch your head.

Oriol Romeu had to play in that game.  Bottom line.  The 4-4-2 formation demands a lot out of the centre-midfielders, and maybe one can argue Romeu can’t cover as much ground, but that sounds ridiculous.

To add insult to (no) injury, Lemina had a howler of a performance coughing up two balls that led to goals.  The first was bad, but did you notice he gave the ball on the edge of the penalty box prior to the all-decisive third goal?  Hojbjerg was also at fault for goal #2, giving up possession and recovering far too slowly to defend the cross to Marko Arnautovic.

Honestly, fans were clamoring for the 4-4-2, but at the expense of Romeu is not worth the risk.  Which leads to takeaway number 2.