austsaint

Watching Sunderland v Leeds at the moment - Clarke's a good player alright....would solve the winger/striker issue we have. Reminds me a bit of Adam Lallana.

Shame for the lad, he had such a good game up to that point. A couple of saves that were anything but routine - the shot from Asprilla destined for the corner of the net being one of them. Maybe Bazunu was obscured by Bednarek but he looked slow to react, slow to get the hand down.

I'm surprised she's returned.

i think Mara will be suited by a return to Ligue 1 - he'll have a bit more time on the ball. What did you have for lunch/dinner?

You might be thinking of Adams as the "scuffed goal" specialist. If you have a look at the reel of AA's 28 goals for Blackburn prior to joining Saints they are mostly all sweet contacts. Little doubt in my mind that AA is a great Championship striker/attacker but, like many (Adams, Tella and most likely Stewart included) isn't up to Prem standard. Though I'm not a stats man, it's interesting to look at Tella's Prem record with us - something like one goal from 30 odd appearances, similar to AA's four goals from 50 or appearances. If Saints are promoted this season we would need at least two new strikers of at least the Danny Ings (when he played for us) standard.

I remember well the Nathan Dyer goal to put us 2-1 up. And then the late Watford brace to snatch the win.....not Kelvin Davis' finest moment from memory. Hard to believe that's 16 years ago!

It is bad luck. Reasonably sure that Leicester, Leeds, Ipswich, Saints and WBA would have the measure of the likes of Luton, Sheffield U and Burnley. There are going to be (at least) two unlucky sides remaining in the Championship at season's end - let's hope Saints aren't one of them. Apart from the first half v Leeds, I can't remember a more complete performance from Saints this season. The quicker movement, tempo and range of passing was great to watch. Both Armstrongs were good; AA could have easily had four goals. Once again impressed with the Downes/Charles midfield. Fair play to Manning who was much improved. The headed clearance from Bazunu was a highlight too.

My preference would be for Martin to mix up his possession based, play out slowly from the back style in favour of a quicker tempo and the option of counter attacking. This would not only benefit Sulemana but also Alcaraz, KWP and both Armstrongs.

Probably 😃. I admit he's been a frustrating player at times, under Martin. But in the right set up and style of play he is capable of boosting our promotion chances.

Thanks Rusty.

I'm guessing that Alcaraz, Smallbone and AA would disagree with you since they were beneficiaries of inch perfect crosses and passes from KS resulting in goals.

I got that wrong then...good on him. I don't dislike Tella as a player, and I'm glad he got his move and is doing ok. Yet, my memory tells me he got plenty of minutes at Prem level with us and never really looked quite up to standard. I also think that the sale price the Club received for Tella was good. Don't give up on Sulemana is my suggestion - he is, and will be a good player.

Sulemana is not gash, and the Club's sale of Tella was good business - remember he never scored a goal in his Prem appearances. The slow build up/possession style employed by Martin does not suit Sulemana's pace and skills - he is often double teamed by the time the ball arrives to him and the opposition defence is well set. if the tempo and style of play was altered, he would thrive. Have a look back at the brace he scored v Liverpool - and don't fall for the last game of the season with nothing resting on the outcome.narrative...his goals showed a touch of class. Just to address Osvaldorama's claim about "can't cross or shoot", I've seen at least three goal assists and many incisive passes and crosses which our attacking players just haven't capitalised on.

Give me the slightly robust questioning style of Blackmore over the lap dog who conducts the Club interviews any day. Martin was petulant and grouchy from the off. He also has a disturbing habit of rarely acknowledging he got something wrong - in that respect there is a resemblance to our old Welsh manager friend. A good interviewer should be asking some tough questions about our style of play, quality of performance, team selection and substitutions etc, and the Manager should be able to give open and honest answers without resorting to a sulky, defensive reply.

I just watched the Club website highlights - it really was a brave, smart piece of keeping. As you say the risk of Baz fouling Conway, conceding a penalty and copping a red card was high.

He had a very good night. Particularly liked when he smothered the advance of Conway and managed to dispossess him without fouling.

Feck me. What a defensive, irritable interview from Martin! He's obviously got some prior issue with Blackmore whose questions were fair and encouraging, yet were cut off, misinterpreted and shut down. RM needs to re-read his Buddhist mantras and take a few deep breaths.

Thought he was good - especially in the second half. Along with Stu, AA, Sule, KWP, he represents the attacking quality and penetration we often lack. Much better second half yet it took a worldy from KWP to bag the three points, after an abject first half. Downes, KWP and Bazunu the best with mentions for Stu, AA, Charles and a tidy late cameo from Aribo. What I liked about Charle's performance was he did everything that Smallbone does except play with his back to goal with default backward passing - he's (Charles) more athletic than Smallbone, and having just turned 20 I see his game developing quickly with more game time. I don't expect RM to agree, but I think our midfield is better with Charles in it at Smallbone's expense.

It's one of the reasons it's hard to trust RM's judgement. Bringing a player like Manning to the Club. At least Jones brought a reasonable defender with him.

It's hard to watch. Bristol C. are demonstrating how to play with tempo and pace - their defensive shape has barely been stretched!

Can't agree. He's a match winner (potentially). The goals will come. He has to play.

They do. What concerned me about the second half on Saturday was the lack of change in style of play when Huddersfield abandoned their first half tactic of defending deep and employing the occasional counter attack to a higher up the field press. We seemed to adopt the same play out from the back, slow build up which was largely overpowered by their press. If RM was unhappy with the players, where was his tactical change to counter, or earlier substitutions?

Understandably. Yet, he (Sulemana) and Stu were both the most likely players to produce a creative threat - when they were replaced, there was little for the Huddersfield defence to worry about. No Alcaraz only compounded the problem.

I really can't see any player the Club wants to keep, will leave in January. If Stewart starts to get-it-together then Che A. going is possible.

Thanks for another one of your Pollyanna pieces. I don't think many are disputing that Bazunu has improved this season. The point you seem to be glossing over is that the Prem last season wasn't the right place for GB to learn about goal keeping. Had he learned, and honed his skills away from the Prem Saints could still be in the top tier. That's not wailing or sneering, just highlighting a bad decision by SR.