Saints vs Blackpool - Post Match Reaction

[SaintRobbie]

Post Match Reaction.

 

I will be going to support the team as much as I can. No more protests against Lowe. THESE NIPPAS ARE GOING TO NEED AS MUCH SUPPORT AS THEY CAN GET TO STAY IN THIS LEAGUE.

 

Fans:

 

Low turnout partly down to TV, partly down to the majority of - fickle - fans refusing to pay £25 odd to watch what has been billed as a bunch of kids playing Dutch Football badly. So most stay away and make a judgement on the box... and I am sure will be staying away for the next few months as a result.

 

The Northam started to leave early.

 

Some booed at the end... but I sense it was directed against the situation rather than the youngsters.

 

Manager:

 

JP was spot on for me - given the tools he has been given to use. Made the right decisions and reinforced with John and Wotton to provide some badly needed mature spine... but it failed. His youth side lacked the holistic professional approach to a tough game of football and had no way recovered from the initial Birmingham game - in fact the second half performance was worse.

 

JP has ONE system and therefore cannot counter robust 4 4 2 playing CCC teams at the moment. He needs a couple of systems that the nippas can play to - but this will take time.

 

I was beginning to think he was a genious... but I revert back to my initial opinion. Needs alot more time in a lower league to get this right and is heading for that opportunity next year.

 

Blackpool:

 

Done their homework. A middle of the pack CCC team who played us for kippers. Their gameplan was a straight forward robust 4 4 2 defending deep in the first half to absord Saints pressure and potentially hoof up the ball to a powerful striker to run it in on the counter attack. Meantime they closed down and niggled Gillett with x2 big midfielders who took him out of the game and as he crumbled I expected the poor lad - who had killed Derby singlehandedly by all accounts - to start to cry.

 

A lesson. BIG lesson that we all have been warning the team and this experiment about... the CCC is full of big robust players who are professional MEN who will play out a whole game. Blackpool did what EVERY CCC team will now do to this team and broke up the passing game, assisted by a referee, took out the momentum from our passing game. Spoiling. That is what this league is about. You can get out of it one way - bullying or being Premiership quality. You cannot with these kids I'm afraid. We are in a relegation battle not a playoff battle. CCC teams will watch the video of this game and do this to the nippas week in and week out.

 

Well done to Blackpool. Professional game. A sound lesson.

 

Southampton Leisure Holdings FC:

 

Some superb nippas who we risk losing to Arsenal and others in due course. Appalling mental robustness. No striking ability (John needs to start IMHO).

 

Lots and lots of potential - but no spine for a whole game. Crumbled when bullied.

 

Going down.

 

 

Overall?

 

We need to build a team upon (not around) these nippas. That requires investment. That requires a takeover for cash to reinforce and manager with a holistic approach, determination and guts. Someone who loves Southampton and will ATTRACT DECENT ROBUST PLAYERS (MEN) to the club. I predict JP is put in as 1st team coach or sacked by the impatient Boardroom by Jan 09 and Shearer and Fulthorpe's consortium rebuild the team for a push against relegation in the latter half of the season. If not we're going down.

 

Takeover please... meantime I am giving what I can to minimise the damage and cheer thes nippas on. See you all at QPR.

[Whitey Grandad]

Saint Robbie, I'm completely with you on this one. I will be there with my support just as I would be if it were my own kids out there, but there was a whole league of difference between the teams last saturday.

[saint1977]

Err, two contracts in a week??

 

Not had much time to be on TSW lately so if he's signed one, that's great news!

[saintkiptanui]

My view is that the first half we were unfortunate to be behind, on another day we'd have been 2-0 up. That said, White needs at least a season of reserve games to be ready at CCC level and was very naive for the penalty. Blackpool murdered us in the second and only some wonderful saves from Kelvin kept it at 1-0. If McG had scored at the end, it would have been very welcome but a travesty!

 

Davis - 9.5 and MOTM - Probably his best display for Saints, the 2-one handed saves in the second half were stunning

James - 5.5 Good effort but struggled Vs a revitalised (and fit) Hammill. Harshly booked IMO

Surman 5 - Not a left-back and a silly early booking

Svensson - 6 Not his best game V Burgess

Perry - 6.5 Read the game well but poor performances around him. Lack of height is a problem at set-pieces

Gillett 4 - Out of character for our pocket battleship, great passes to Blackpool players and awful foul for his booking

Morgan S 5 - Ineffective

Holmes 7.5 - 3 superb first half crosses that should have resulted in the keeper being worked. McGoldrick and John at home please to start JP!

White 3 - Didn't notice he was there until naive penalty. Will come again but too raw for the first team

Lallana 8 - Technically IMO the best player on either side. Please get him on a new contract Rupert!

McGoldrick 7.5 - Fitter and stronger this season but still needs to work on his option selection. Would be even more of a handful alongside John

 

Subs - Dyer 7 - pace worried Blackpool and did well

John 7.5 - a threat and should have been on much earlier

Wotton - 5.5 Lost shape when he came on

 

JP - one request please. When we are 1-0 down please put McG up front as a two with with Lallana behind.

Lallana signed a 3 ear deal last week.

[trousers]

Lallana signed a 3 ear deal last week.

 

That's one more lobe that David Dein

[alpine_saint]

LGSC,

 

Do you have a response for the posts by Cabrone and SaintRobbie ???

[saintkiptanui]

Here he is the forums very own little mr sunshine.

[Legod Second Coming]

LGSC,

 

Do you have a response for the posts by Cabrone and SaintRobbie ???

 

Yep.

 

Prozac - two for one at Costco...

 

I notice we weren't being bullied and lacking tactis against Derby or Birmingham when we won?? Although bizarrely apparently Birmingham did bully us in the league but not ten days later...

 

I posted on Thursday, I think, that the euphoria and gloom are ridiculous. We have green shoots not marigolds or lillies. We have played six competitive games.

 

What happens is that you and other pessimists draw conclusions from defeat and extrapolate them across a season. Yet do not draw any conclusions from victory and simply give a cursory 'congratulations'.

 

To remind you, the manager's current win ratio is 50%.

 

If it drops below that before November, let me know...

 

But my money is on us learning lessons from Saturday and beating QPR.

[Legod Second Coming]

Seriously, read the posts Alpine.

 

"I was beginning to think he was a genuis but now he needs much more time in the lower leagues..."

 

If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the lack of balance and consideration given our situation I don't know what will.

 

CRACK!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What the feck was that??

 

Oh that's right, the sound of knees hitting the underside of desks...

[alpine_saint]

Yep.

 

Prozac - two for one at Costco...

 

I notice we weren't being bullied and lacking tactis against Derby or Birmingham when we won?? Although bizarrely apparently Birmingham did bully us in the league but not ten days later...

 

I posted on Thursday, I think, that the euphoria and gloom are ridiculous. We have green shoots not marigolds or lillies. We have played six competitive games.

 

What happens is that you and other pessimists draw conclusions from defeat and extrapolate them across a season. Yet do not draw any conclusions from victory and simply give a cursory 'congratulations'.

 

To remind you, the manager's current win ratio is 50%.

 

If it drops below that before November, let me know...

 

But my money is on us learning lessons from Saturday and beating QPR.

 

Jesus, and you get uppity at what you perceived to be the self-opinionatedness of others.....

[SaintDonkey]

Did they make anything on the TV coverage about the handball by Barker (I think) in the second half?

 

Looked clear as day from where I was sat in the Itchen - cross from the right adjudged by the officials to have come off a Southampton head and went for a Blackpool throw in down by the Itchen Chapel corner? To me (and everyone around me) it looked like Barker's hand had taken it away from McGoldrick's head. The ref was clearly blind sided as was the linesman, and I'm guessing from the lack of comment on here that the TV cameras didn't pick it up either? Barker clearly thought he'd gotten away with murder as he sheepishly took the throw with Saints' fans screaming 'cheat' at him.

[Legod Second Coming]

Jesus, and you get uppity at what you perceived to be the self-opinionatedness of others.....

 

Which is your usual retort when you reognise someone might be right...

 

I don't even think I have heard the word Uppity since Roger Hargreaves...

 

This is a messageboard, of course people are opinionated - otherwise they wouldn't be here expressing them now would they?

 

Your assessment - dour - might turn out to be right, given time and evidence. But your constant claims (from game one), for example that Morgan Schneiderlin is a lightweight just looks plain wrong -until we lose to Blackpool and now it's right all of a sudden?? He's been immense in previous games, where were you then?

 

I accept your pessimistic outlook. I happen to think that if you're going to call us lightweight, come on and do it when we have beaten Derby and Birmingham too.

 

The evidence of whether we can beat teams at or around our level is currently 50/50. So why the panic button??

 

You're simply too anxious. You need to chill and take the odd defeat on the chin.

 

I said before, I think your expectations of this team are totally unrealistic. Winning three games in a row?? What Saints team of the last two decades has done that??

 

Judge harshly when you have the evidence, surely?

 

And I am a bad, bad loser.

[Johnny Shearer]

I dont agree with SR stating that you only get out of the Championship in only two ways.

 

"Bullying other teams and being Premiership quality."

 

I would say Birmingham are Premiership quality but they may not still make it. Look at Watford from last season, they faded badly but still had kept most of their team together and in recent seasons WBA/Reading have gone up playing a good passing game.

 

The teams that tend to 'Bully' their way to promotion tend to get found out a lot quicker in the Premiership, if by chance we do get promoted with this team in the next couple of seasons, I for one will be a lot more confident about staying up.

 

I dont think we'll go down but JP will need a bit more experience in the side. IMO adding in Wotton and John along with Perry/Svensson/Davis that is a good spine with the youngster supplementing them.

 

People could see from the game on saturday the team wasnt sure how to get past a resolute Blackpool side and therefore became ragged. Yes we played poorly but hopefully it'll be a lesson learnt rather than last season when the team would not take heed of previous games and carry on playing the same dross.

 

Dont get me wrong, Saints have got a long hard season coming up and our passing game wont work as effectively come December/January time on hard and muddy pitches. Yes the team will lose more games along the line but hopefully we'll win a fair few too.

[yorkie]

Really disappointed with the result, but more with the defence.

 

I don't thin Killer won a header in the whole game.

 

Some players went missing in the second half - didn't see much of Lallana or Holmes in the second half...was Holmes on?

 

The first half was very even and as soon as they scored I knew we would be in trouble.

 

We are goal shy...never afraid to have a crack from distance but then we want to over complicate things and pass it into the net.

 

I believe we will learn from this - Blackpool...still hard to swallow, but they deserved their win - but for Kelvin, the linesman and the referee it could have been a lot worse.

[Johnny Shearer]

Really disappointed with the result, but more with the defence.

 

I don't thin Killer won a header in the whole game.

 

Some players went missing in the second half - didn't see much of Lallana or Holmes in the second half...was Holmes on?

 

The first half was very even and as soon as they scored I knew we would be in trouble.

 

We are goal shy...never afraid to have a crack from distance but then we want to over complicate things and pass it into the net.

I believe we will learn from this - Blackpool...still hard to swallow, but they deserved their win - but for Kelvin, the linesman and the referee it could have been a lot worse.

 

 

We are the Arsenal of the Championship.

[Whitey Grandad]

I don't thin Killer won a header in the whole game.

I saw him win one. I remember thinking at the time that he wasn't winning anything in the air, and then blow me he went and won the next one. Perhaps I should do that more often.