Slaven Bilic refused to be drawn on the penalty decisions which saw off the Irons at St Mary’s this afternoon but was happy to applaud his team’s brave performance in adversity.
He said: “We showed character and we showed quality and we showed that we could cope with ten men and we could score two goals and stop them from scoring.
“To be fair, we started off so good, we had two or three chances to take the lead and we didn’t, so we were very disappointed to lose in the end.”
Discussing Chicharito he declared: “He is a goalscorer but if we’re also talking about him we must also talk about the second half, when we asked him to play on the wing because we needed to use his legs.
“We had to have two banks of four and sometimes defend with six when they attacked with their full-backs, so we have to praise him not only for his goals but also for his great attitude and great defensive work.”
“I only want to say that I’m very proud of my team and they showed everything I said – commitment, quality, character, team spirit and we never gave up.”
Questioned on the spot kicks he said: “I don’t want to talk about the penalty decisions, because there is no point talking about it. I only want to say that I’m very proud of my team and they showed everything I said – commitment, quality, character, team spirit and we never gave up.
“I don’t want to talk about the red card, either. I am the manager and I want to talk about the game and the decisions are going to lead to someone else talking about it. Of course the player is disappointed, but I am going to talk about the quality of the game and not about the decisions.
“It’s very hard to play with ten men, especially as we were already one goal down. We then conceded a second goal and it was difficult to come back. On paper it was very difficult to keep it to 2-0, but we showed character and commitment and that we are fit enough to do it for each other.
“As soon as we equalised, we defended how you are meant to defend, very deep, and we waited for our chances and we got them. It was our gameplan at half-time and unfortunately we conceded a third one late on.”
As soon as we equalised, we defended how you are meant to defend, very deep, and we waited for our chances and we got them.
wrong! Sitting deep invited them, and usually anyone in any game, on to us. And inevitably. We conceded.
Spot on! We did the same at Spurs last season and gave them two goals in the last few seconds of the game. We cannot defend under pressure
How about getting them motivated to come out fired up for the game from the start. How about getting the defence sorted, you have only had 18 moths to do so and it is still rubbish. Second half was better but we give ourselves too much to do off the back of unacceptable first half displays.
Standing off like statues is what they have coached into the players. It’s rubbish.
We have no intensity, no desire to get the ball back by closing space and making tackles, no pace and no aggression. Inherited a well drilled midfield & defense and has systematically broken it over the last 2 seasons.
I make you 100% spot on master. It’s what I’ve been saying for most of last season
I’m tired of the excuses I’ll get strung up but I’ve always said it Slav isn’t the man to take us to the next level IMO we always find a way to fu??? Gamexz up no !matter whois playing ..
Spot on Hammerkip.It seems Bilic isn’t capable of making tough decisions when it comes to the likes of Noble Fonte & Ayew.In the words of Jed Clampett “Just pitiful”
Nearly a centurion then roman😂😂
That came from the depths 😉
Ellie may was a sort though 😂😂
Thanks roman thought I was only one who thought so
Dont worry Slaven you are in good company.Allardyce Pardew Curbishley et al have all got the same treatment from the same fans.When the next manager arrives he will as well and then the one after him….
When the next manager arrives I hope he is the man to take us forward… U may noit agree that’s y I put IMO so calm down ..I might not agree with you either but ur entitled to ur opinion too…
The names you mention also have something else in common – they have all been sacked a few times for poor results and performances
I can understand the frustration, -bottom of the table, 7 goals conceded in two games and no sign of improvements.Personally getting a bit bored with it all.
Lemon drizzle pop 😂 have a cake mate 😉
Why sin’t some of you apply for Bilic’s job since you undoubtedly think you can do better?
Thanks trb where do I apply ..I’ll take grief every day of the year if I’m on mi!lons a year…I respect. Ur opinion😀
I agree with Billic in that the team showed commitment and a good spirit when needed. However quality and character cannot to be said for all. Antonio was back and was immense. Boy have we missed him. Hernandez, Rice, Zabaleta & Noble gave it there all as did Sakho & Obiang when they came on (looks like Obiang is getting back to how we know he can play). The defense is an accident waiting to happen and Hart is not empowering me with happy thoughts!! I suppose this is what may be the first of a number of incidents from Arnie. We were warned about his temperamental character and there it is front and center for all to see.
Overall i can’t put it down to a bad team effort or bad managerial decisions. There were individual errors today that let the team and the fans down (Fonte & Arnautovich) for the penalties conceded and a stupid red card. The last penalty IMO, was not a penalty and i would say that overall, Paul Mason had a bad day at the office which is probably why he hasn’t refereed for so long in the Prem.
Cut out the stupid individual errors. Get Lanzini and Kouyate back in and we’ll see a much better performance from this lot and work our way up the table. I am still excited at the prospects of this team this year and that’s even before we sign Carvalho if that is still going to happen?
Glass half full gentlemen. Half full…..
Go back to when Bilic was appointed …he was fifth choice I think….does not matter who the manager is if D.S continues to be involved in recruitment ie Sondgrass,Fonte,Ayew,Arnie (call him that as I cant be bothered with his full name),Hart & Zabaleta & then give a six year contract to a 29 year old …the list is endless…
I think I preferred life during the close season when we were not playing & I certainly preferred life when Adrian was in goal ….
Sullivan signs the players that Bilic wants. Everyone including Bilic has made that very clear several times. Agree with you about pre-season though – we were great when not playing.
Joint top last season for red cards & one of the highest for yellow cards. Already 7 goals conceded. One of the worst last season for failing to stop late goals. Mistakes will always happen but it’s a problem if you don’t learn from them. Two games are not enough to judge whether we have, & there are some positives from that game, but the signs are not good. Oh well, at least Mike ( look at me everybody!!) Dean wasn’t ref. There would have been a riot….
Think we could learn a lot from Saints. Like start playing when the FIRST whistle blows. Like have a trained team responsible for recruitment. Like recruit young players rather than give long contracts to ‘proven’ PL players (what a sick joke that is -Fonte, Snod-). I don’t like losing decent young players after two seasons, but they seem to cope fine.
Learning from mistakes. Learning from the successes of others. Not rocket science as they say.