Saints Marching
Fansided

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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WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Manolo Gabbiadini of Southampton is fouled by Dan Burn of Wigan Athletic for a penalty during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Manolo Gabbiadini of Southampton is fouled by Dan Burn of Wigan Athletic for a penalty during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

A Failed Experiment

How many fans loved seeing Manolo Gabbiadini’s and Charlie Austin’s names on the team sheet?

How many fans loved the performance they put on?

The wide play was atrocious and getting delivery into them was few and far between, but there was no link up between the pair.  The long balls driven from the back is NOT the Southampton way, and if Mark Hughes is going to attempt to turn us into Stoke City, we are in trouble.

Gabby and Austin are just too slow of a pair, who rely on service inside the box, and got none today.  The positive takeaway is Hughes at least noticed its ineffectiveness and made a change to Shane Long at half time, whereas Pellegrino probably would have waited until the dieing minutes to make a switch.

The fight in the players was definitely an issue, but so were the tactics today.  The team looked lost, and two strikers up front certainly looked like an old school formation that even David Moyes could figure out how to game plan against.