Saint Fan CaM

Well I agree that JP's decision making is poor and that Euell should be in the starting line-up. And yes, I have stated from day one that he is not good enough to be manager. BUT, how you can score Rudi LOWER than DMG after last nights performance beggars belief!!!! LOL!!! Rudi was one of our better players last night - didn't you see the 3-4 world class last minute tackles he made in front of goal?! And DMG has to be one of the worst strikers EVER to wear a Saints shirt....and I thought Ormarod was poor!

How very, very disappointing. JP is not learning from mistakes made - Lowe is not providing the support needed. Can only see a loss on the cards tonight I'm afraid and it might be a big one at that. Hate to feel dispondent and negative, but SFC are making it very easy at the moment....

There are many things I love about Saints - even at the moment. I don't hate Lowe - I just don't agree with some of his strategic decisions. I don't think JP is useless - I just think he's not good enough to be manager (i.e...good coach). What I do dislike intensely about SFC is the inherent inability to learn from mistakes. Like the seemingly eternal problem of killing off games that they have dominated for 75 minutes. Like not playing tippy-tappy football sideways and backwards until the opposition figure out the game plan. Like not playing the best players in the best positions. Like making crazy subsitutions that end up losing a game. Like not getting a corner kick beyond the first man or rarely hitting the target from a free-kick on goal. Many of these things should surely be rectified in training? So why are we still waiting to see improvements? There are surely only two answers - 1. the players are not good enough or professional enough, OR 2. the coaching/management is sub-standard in some way. Whatever the answer and whatever our level of support, these issues need to change, otherwise more and more supporters will drift away and the club will die.

Simple fact of the matter is that if we were to field BWP with Euell up front consistently, we would be scoring many more goals and would not be talking once again about losing/drawing a game we dominated. Putting a lone kid up front is a recipe for disaster, as is placing a midget who is not match fit at CM when defending a 1-0 lead with 15 mins to play. Patterson looks a better prospect than Robertson and McG, BUT...he is not ready yet.

The team worked really hard today and played some great football - BUT... 1. JP is out of his depth - good coach, rubbish manager. Should not persist with striker pairings and formations at home that fail time and time again. Why oh why was Euell not on the bench - he should be played up front? Why oh why did JP take off McGoldrick (10 mins AFTER he should have come off) and replace him with the smallest player in the CCC when we needed a big tough guy to come in and shore things up when we were 1-0 up? No, the prat was so dazzled by the passing football (backwards) that he forgot he had Wotton on the bench! 2. JP needs a manager to make match decisions for him - let him carry on coaching. Perhaps Wotte is that man? Let's face it, whatever he said at half-time must have been as inspiring as a wet fart in a crowded lift. Once again, thanks to our esteemed coach's tactics, the team are turned over by what can only be described as a poor team. 3. McGoldrick and Robertson are rubbish. And McGoldrick is also one of the laziest players I think I have ever seen - he is NOT working for his team mates and should be dropped.

Personally, as an ST holder I would have preferred the option of a 2nd ticket or a £5 discount for my loyalty. Now that would have been a great way for the club to say thanks, but sell tickets AND keep bums on seats.

I would say this is going to be the non-event of the year. The LoWilde Consortuim will rule the roost for many a month I would expect - well until we're relegated anyways.

I take it you didn't support the team in 1976 then? The thing with the FA Cup is there's always a chance and the club desperately needs its supporters to SUPPORT it right now. I too suspect we'll be whipped, but frankly if you cannot muster the hope that we might play well and get a result, why bother going to any games? Let's face it, its all we've got left now...

I know what you mean - especially as they almost certainly insist on SMS prices to be raised SKY high....after all, they can't have anyone watch their precious team for a pittance now can they?!

A win is the only result I would wish for. However, ahem...I think we're going to get taken apart quite frankly, so this thread does seem to be a tad pointless to me. Still we can all dream I s'pose....

DMG has proven himself to be totally ineffectual as a striker and should be dropped to the reserves if for no other reason but to make him hungry to score again. I would try a different approach and have BWP up front with Euell supporting him in the slot. I think they could really make the difference. Failing that Euell and Patterson up front. Euell is the only striker at the moment that understands how to break into the box at speed and create problems for the opposing defence - the kids need to learn from his example.

Disgusting - the perpetrators should be locked away for inciting violence. Anyone who has lost a child to a knife attack would agree.

They've ruined the club between them - simple as that. If we think the club is at an all time low (Lowe?) now, I think there's every chance of a lot more pain in store over the course of the next few months. Seriously considering giving up the ST next summer like many others....nothing to do with the kids playing...its all about being held in contempt by Lowe - he has no respect for his 'customers'. That's why so many are walking away.

Two points lost once again by an incompetent Coach/Manager. Firstly, not to play 4-4-2 at home is tantamount to giving the match away before the ball is struck. When will they realise its not just about what WE do - its about how the other team reacts to what we do?! Once Sturrock realised what his rubbish team were heading for, he changed things around at half-time and lo and behold things got even tougher for us. We had no answer for their tactics - beginning to end really. Second, why did JP not put Pearce up front towards the end when it was clear our totally inept "strikers" were not doing their jobs? Given his skill at heading home a good goal, I would have thought he would be the perfect target man towards the end game, plus he would have been a useful extra defensive head if they managed to create any chances. Despite the boys looking like they have the foundations for something excellent, JP is contributing to killing the club off by stubbornly playing the same tactics home and away. No goals at home means no win at home means more fans staying away. Simple equation. Lowe will put the final nail in the coffin by selling the only players of any worth in the Jan window. Sorry, but tonight typified for me all the reasons this club is on the brink of collapse.

The simply answer to the question is "NO". However, given the terrible state the club has been driven to by the Board(s), Lowe is doing what he can to protect his investment and act as a responsible PLC Chairman - that's all.

Fantastic result - well done the lads and JP for getting the tactics right. HOWEVER! Plymouth at home on Tuesday will be different. If we do not play 4-4-2, I think there is high probability we will lose or at best draw.

Well there we have it - confirmation that once again Lowe and Wilde are prepared to hold shares in the club to take money out, but not invest when the going gets tough to maintain the club's standing. Also shows what a complete farce Lowe's big plan is to develop a youthful and succesful side - this will never happen all the time we sell our better players - whether they are 18 or 38 regardless. THE STRATEGY IS NOT WORKING AND NEVER WILL.

Martin - my name sake and keeper during my formative years as a Saints fan.

Euell went in one-footed and had his arse on the ground. Wolves player went in one-footed, but with both feet off the ground and his arse two feet above ground. There is absolutely no-way that deserved a sending off unless it was for the Wolves player - video evidence would prove both players went in for a 50-50. Saints SHOULD appeal IMO.

Well that pretty much sums up my feelings also, although I am not sure the other team lets us play pretty footie as such - the tactics we play LETS THEM dictate the match result. With a lack of 4-4-2 option being played, we don't change our game and so all the opposition have to do is score 1 or 2 early goals and we're fooked, usually when we play at home. And then they shut up shop. They must laugh at the immaturity of JP's tactical nouse. For all the pretty passing, some essentials tactics we do not seem capable of are... 1. Getting to the byline and crossing. If we do, no-one is there to attack the ball because they're all too scared of a fast counter attack and so sit back too deep. 2. Threading a ball through a defensive line and then taking a shot. We ALWAYS seem to want to walk the f-ing ball through umpteen defenders and into the back of the net! IT AIN'T F-ING WORKING JAN!!!! 3. Have a man or two over in attack - what is the point of having supposedly fit 19-20 year olds, when they cannot run the length of the field as a single unit? The only element of surprise we dish up for the opposition is that we DON'T SHOOT when we have a chance! 4. Actually making any kind of deadball situation count. What the fook do they do in training?! I've lost count of the number of times a corner has not cleared the 1st man! We miss two pens in one half of one game. We NEVER seem to deliver a free kick into the box that has any resemblance of causing trouble. LASTLY - the most emphatic best two goals scored this season IMO (at SMS at least) have come from headers, from an on-loan defender - Pearce. Or to put it another way - these goals were scored by APPLYING THE BASICS - no fancy footwork, just honest to goodness basics. And what the hell does that say about Wotte and his fancy ideas for the reserves also eh - what are they teaching them FFS?!?! WE NEED TO GET BACK TO BASICS...playing 4-4-2.

Spot on post St R....there's more ambition to be found in Accrington Stanleys reserve team than in Lowe's plan for SFC.

Rubbish comment. How has Redknapp turned Spurs around without spending? Its because he's a more suitable manager than his predecessor for that team. Likewise, there is every chance a better manager with experience of the English leagues could do a better job than Poortaloo. Couldn't do much worse frankly.

Poortaloo has absolutely no idea and he admitted as much on the radio. He tinkers with the side for some unknown reason and plays players out of position. He seems utterly clueless when it comes to a plan B - i.e. 4-4-2 - at home. Lets count how many (supposed) strikers we had on the pitch today shall we.... Lallana, McGoldrick, Goburn, Euell, BWP, Pekhart - thats six f-ing strikers and not one of them scored FFS! Something is very wrong with coaching and strategy at Saints and it needs sorting out very quickly indeed. Euell made a big difference when he came on and started the charge into the box - then he had to make way for Pekhart and got pushed out the game losing us the impetus. Tactics you'd expect to see at Sunday school! I don't blame the lads - they CAN play football...its the manager/coach who is killing the club. And of course that IS Lowes fault once again, because he once again appointed a cr@p manager.

15386 - fact

Lets face it, whether we like it or not Lowe has all the ace cards - he can pick the team or even do the physio if he so wishes - there is absolutely nothing anybody can do about it except waste time on an internet forum *****ing. It seems the falling gate attendance has bottomed out, so forcing admin and Lowe's hand that way is not going to work just yet - he will see the club into admin before he admits defeat and then will blame the customers for not turning up. Everyone needs to wise up to the fact that Lowe is here to stay - win or lose - admin or Prem. That means we are faced with two choices - get back to supporting the team whatever level they're playing or staying away because the offerings are not that great. Not an easy choice and not one I will need to face now until next year when ST renewal comes around. At the moment I think I'll be saving myself £400 as I'm not enjoying the experience as I once did - whether thats due to Lowe is...well, actually I'm beyond caring frankly.