Saints v Millwall Post Match Reactions

[Manuel]

Last post for the evening, and it's Saga related. With a player with supposed quality and ambition he was an average striker for League One Saints today I thought. Admittedly service wasn't brilliant at times, and on occasion he was very closely marked, especially in the first half. However when the ball did arrive at his feet, there was virtually no effort to turn and get past the league one defenders, nearly always passed back, very little positive movement into the box going forward. A few occasions looked to go down and look for the fowl, when there wasn't one. League one too tough for him?

 

Interestingly his best spell came after the Northam started singing his song, got him moving, wanting the ball and looking like he wanted to score for a spell.

[J Bizzle]

I wasnt really concentrating on the game...... had some milf sat behind me. Block 41 row HH, she was something special.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Promising, but we need a squad with lots more depth.

[Mr Saints]

Just go back. Enjoyable game to watch, both sides gave it everything.

 

Positives - Harding, Murty, Morgan and the front two.

 

Negatives - Still can't defend corners.

 

If Millwall got in the playoff final last season, we should be aiming for a top half finish, especiaslly if Pards can get in 2 or 3 more to add some strength.

[shurlock]

'Fraid dont really agree with many of the posts. I dont think we played well in either halfs. Yes we matched them physically in the first half, though didn't they only play one man -Morrison- upfront? But how many real saves did their keeper make? How many times did we really get behind them and have them on the backfoot? Not once if I remember.

 

From being our weakest area, I think both our fullbacks are excellent. Shame there were so few options in front of Murty and Harding with the predictable result that both rarely got forward and were forced to hit long ball after long ball. Why was Lallana played on the left? Neither him or James are wide players - we can afford one to play narrow but we need at least one player with scary pace - we havent had a decent wide player since Dyer. McLaggon has shown glimpses but its still early days. Mills will give more balance but will not frighten opponents.

 

Saga and Patterson were horribly isolated - Wotton, Schneiderlin, James were unwilling to make forward runs and only Schneiderlin can find a genuine pass. Most worringly, our midfield just imploded when they got their goal - in theory Wotton ticks all the right boxes but its hard to say what he offers in practise - he doesnt have the juice in the tank to get around the pitch and break things up. I would be interested to know why Gillett started as sub.

 

With the addition of perhaps one more CB, I think our defense is pretty solid while Patterson and Saga aren't the worst combo in the world, though we are spread really thin if either gets injured/suspended/sold. But both defense and attack are only as good as the midfield and that is letting the whole side down at the moment.

[RinNY]

I think we have an excellent CM in Morgan Schneiderlin, but he's coming back from injury and I don't think he's fully fit: he didn't really seem in the game any more in the last 30 minutes or so and it hurt us. But that will surely be remedied over the next few weeks in training (barring further injury). Thing is, I didn't think Wotton offered much, and Gillett, when he came on, was much too easily hustled off the ball or pressured into error. And we offered little out wide. If we can get Holmes fit, I think that'll be remedied on the left, but we really need a true RW. I like James, but that's not his best role. And we need size and strength up front.

 

So for me: a CB, a strong dominant CM, a RW, and a big strong striker in the Stern John mould (damn him for leaving anyway). If we can get 4 signings in those areas, that performance today says we can be a very good team in this league!

[corky morris]

Well we got a point! I though Morgan was the best player on the park first half by a country mile. Then he gave the ball away that lead to the pen & his head went down.

We played far to deep for the first half hour & just after we scored.

Saga was very poor today, Perry struggled with the big lad.Murty & Harding played well. Thomas won a decent amount in the air. Wotton tries hard, but is not really a decent footballer. James worked well with Murty. Lallana was identified as our key strength & Millwall hit every time they could. Paterson was the surprise plus point. He worked really really hard. He gave us options in a way Saga never looked like doing. As soon as he went off we went to 4-5-1 & were pretty terrible IMHO.

We need strikers, Wingers & another defender ASAP! Please!

Where was Rasiak?

[mcjwills]

I wasnt really concentrating on the game...... had some milf sat behind me. Block 41 row HH, she was something special.

 

So you were the PERV eyeing up my missus then !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[labibs]

Impressed with Paterson today. What a difference from Rudeboy, I don't need to run McGoldrick. Harding looked good. We desperately need some attacking flair and pace on the wings. Overall not too disheartened, only 9 points to go!

[J Bizzle]

So you were the PERV eyeing up my missus then !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that was untill I heard her talk. Sorry, but she has a proper saaaaffamton squeek. She worshiped me. FACT!

[carljack]

Sorry to sound a bore, but our lack of physical strength to bully a game or bully our way back into a game is there for all to see.

 

Its only in three positions though Alps we need a BIG Centre Back a BIG midfield General and a QUICK Striker/winger

[rick1976.4.38]

rasiak was outside after the game ,so why wasnt he played.thought a point was a fair result today,only 9 to go.we need strikers with pace,thought morgan had a good game,harding was mom imho.thought the northam went a bit quiet second half and thought millwall would have created a better atmoshere for us to bounce off.all in all a good day with better to come,coyr

[Genk]

Overall I would have taken a point before the game, I felt they looked more likely to get the winner and we didnt look active enough upfront. Saga didnt seem interested. Paterson is very good in the air but there doesn't seem to be any pace along the front line or movement.

 

Set pieces as usual, we look very dodgy at defending but other than that, the back four generally played quite well. Wotton didn't do much, but Schneiderlin looked handy.

 

Disappointed not to get the 3 points but a point will do against a quite decent Millwall team who will be there or there abouts come May

[Genk]

Its only in three positions though Alps we need a BIG Centre Back a BIG midfield General and a QUICK Striker/winger

 

 

Can't agree more. One in each of those positions will put us in a good spot to move up this league. Defence is pretty much sorted, bring in another CB so we have 3, one for cover. A decent striker to play alongside Paterson (Think this is the one we will have to pay a bit of money for). And a Matt Oakley type figure in the middle of the park.

[Baird of the land]

Draw was a fair result. Though they shouldn't have had a penalty or the corner before the goal but they had a legimate goal later chalked off. Hated the fact twice their players conned the ref by throwing themselves to the floor and winning a free kick & penalty. We need more depth so we can make effective tactical substitutions like they did. Nice to see the team show some resilence.

 

My ratings

 

Davis: 8. Excellent double save from the penalty & oozed class.

Murty: 7: Very Solid & good organiser

Harding 8: Excellent defensive fullback

Thomas: 6 Clumsy but won a lot of headers. Size matters at centre back this season.

Perry: 7: Almost scored, saved a certain goal in first half

James: 5 very average, no width

Lallana: 6 not a left winger but touches of class

Sneiderlin: 7 turned the game in our favour when he came to life in middle of first half. Should have been subbed at 1 nil & then he wouldn't have been there to play that suicidal ball across his own box. Looking forward to him playing a big role this season.

Wotton:7 He's a spoiler. Did a good job today. Put vital interceptions in & played the ball simply but effectively. Yes he'll never have any skill but think he'll be useful against other dirty teams like millwall.

Saga: 6. Worked hard but just didn't come off for him.

Patterson: 8. Good goal, great work rate

[Tac-tics]

We need:

 

Youngish Centre back early 20s pacey

Midfield general, bully and create hopefully with some height.

Wingers/pacey

Target Man CF

Nippy striker

 

p.s Lambert pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ahh thank you

Edited 8 August, 2009 by Tac-tics

[Legod Third Coming]

Well we got a point! I though Morgan was the best player on the park first half by a country mile. Then he gave the ball away that lead to the pen & his head went down.

We played far to deep for the first half hour & just after we scored.

Saga was very poor today, Perry struggled with the big lad.Murty & Harding played well. Thomas won a decent amount in the air. Wotton tries hard, but is not really a decent footballer. James worked well with Murty. Lallana was identified as our key strength & Millwall hit every time they could. Paterson was the surprise plus point. He worked really really hard. He gave us options in a way Saga never looked like doing. As soon as he went off we went to 4-5-1 & were pretty terrible IMHO.

We need strikers, Wingers & another defender ASAP! Please!

Where was Rasiak?

 

Mainly agree with that Corky. Jacket made the right move bringing Price on and that caused us to lose balance and shape. AP responded by going 4-5-1 which I thought was a bit negative.

 

But the manager's assessment sounded about right to me, so we have to hope the lads he is bringing in will give us the spine we need!!

[converted_saint]

I think we have an excellent CM in Morgan Schneiderlin, but he's coming back from injury and I don't think he's fully fit: he didn't really seem in the game any more in the last 30 minutes or so and it hurt us. But that will surely be remedied over the next few weeks in training (barring further injury). Thing is, I didn't think Wotton offered much, and Gillett, when he came on, was much too easily hustled off the ball or pressured into error. And we offered little out wide. If we can get Holmes fit, I think that'll be remedied on the left, but we really need a true RW. I like James, but that's not his best role. And we need size and strength up front.

 

So for me: a CB, a strong dominant CM, a RW, and a big strong striker in the Stern John mould (damn him for leaving anyway). If we can get 4 signings in those areas, that performance today says we can be a very good team in this league!

 

Draw was a fair result. Though they shouldn't have had a penalty or the corner before the goal but they had a legimate goal later chalked off. Hated the fact twice their players conned the ref by throwing themselves to the floor and winning a free kick & penalty. We need more depth so we can make effective tactical substitutions like they did. Nice to see the team show some resilence.

 

My ratings

 

Davis: 8. Excellent double save from the penalty & oozed class.

Murty: 7: Very Solid & good organiser

Harding 8: Excellent defensive fullback

Thomas: 6 Clumsy but won a lot of headers. Size matters at centre back this season.

Perry: 7: Almost scored, saved a certain goal in first half

James: 5 very average, no width

Lallana: 6 not a left winger but touches of class

Sneiderlin: 7 turned the game in our favour when he came to life in middle of first half. Should have been subbed at 1 nil & then he wouldn't have been there to play that suicidal ball across his own box. Looking forward to him playing a big role this season.

Wotton:7 He's a spoiler. Did a good job today. Put vital interceptions in & played the ball simply but effectively. Yes he'll never have any skill but think he'll be useful against other dirty teams like millwall.

Saga: 6. Worked hard but just didn't come off for him.

Patterson: 8. Good goal, great work rate

 

Spot on. Their substitutions were the reason we were 2nd best in the last period of the game. We had nobody of any note to bring on when the starters began to tire and this is what we need to address. Pards will have it sorted.

[The Rover]

'Fraid dont really agree with many of the posts. I dont think we played well in either halfs. Yes we matched them physically in the first half, though didn't they only play one man -Morrison- upfront? But how many real saves did their keeper make? How many times did we really get behind them and have them on the backfoot? Not once if I remember.

 

From being our weakest area, I think both our fullbacks are excellent. Shame there were so few options in front of Murty and Harding with the predictable result that both rarely got forward and were forced to hit long ball after long ball. Why was Lallana played on the left? Neither him or James are wide players - we can afford one to play narrow but we need at least one player with scary pace - we havent had a decent wide player since Dyer. McLaggon has shown glimpses but its still early days. Mills will give more balance but will not frighten opponents.

 

Saga and Patterson were horribly isolated - Wotton, Schneiderlin, James were unwilling to make forward runs and only Schneiderlin can find a genuine pass. Most worringly, our midfield just imploded when they got their goal - in theory Wotton ticks all the right boxes but its hard to say what he offers in practise - he doesnt have the juice in the tank to get around the pitch and break things up. I would be interested to know why Gillett started as sub.

 

With the addition of perhaps one more CB, I think our defense is pretty solid while Patterson and Saga aren't the worst combo in the world, though we are spread really thin if either gets injured/suspended/sold. But both defense and attack are only as good as the midfield and that is letting the whole side down at the moment.

 

I was at the game and this is pretty much the way I saw the game too.

 

Pardew seems to have instilled a degree of confidence in the side. The back 4 were excellent - Harding seems quite a find. Saga and Pato did their best but the link from midfield was not good at all.

 

I look forward to seeing who else Pardew brings in.

[SaintBobby]

So interesting to read the response. I agree with about half of you.

 

My take on it:

 

Quite pleased. Well, consider it satisfactory. 6.5 out of ten overall.

 

If the gaps and problems are obvious to me, they will be even more obvious to AP.

 

My man of the match was Schneiderlin. Interestingly, I thought it was a Wotton misplaced pass that led to the build-up to the Millwall penalty, but I was obviously wrong given the posts above.

 

The back four looks fine to me - but little cover. The keeper is magnificient, natch.

 

We actually have an embarrassment of riches in midfield, but I'm not sure how they should be fielded. Lallana was awful IMHO, but is not a winger, and definitiely not a left-winger. Gobern looked good when he came on. Not much additional evidence on Thomson, but he is still my "one to watch" for the season.

 

The frontline are poor in my view. Saga is strong in getting the ball on his chest, but his first touch was poor. He did some okay running off the ball, but I felt Schneiderlin was the only player who could find him over more than ten yards. Paterson okay, but nothing special - little anticipation and nearly fluffed the goal (sorry, that sounds really harsh......)

 

Overall, I think we'll be fine - but will end up about 12th -18th given the ten point deduction. Assume this is a rebuilding season, I'd like us to focus on the Johnstone Paint Trophy (god, how nerdy is that?). I think we're just 4 games from Wembley.....

[Delmary]

A very positive point gained today. The team will without doubt improve over the coming weeks. I'm going to really enjoy this season.

 

In other good news:

 

http://www.portsmouth-mad.co.uk/news/loadroll.asp?cid=ED14&id=456566

[hasper57saint]

Just about even at full time. I think AP ought to instruct them to stop this bloody 'head tennis'. We were far better keeping the ball on the deck. My MOM was Dan Harding followed closely by Kelvin. What a superb save. I also agree with Alpine. Our kids were being bundled off the ball frequently. Just in passing. anyone know how many times Saga was caught offside? It could have made a huge difference as the flow of play halted time after time due to his incompetence.

370 miles round trip but well worth it on a lovely sunny day back 'home'

COYR

[SFC Forever]

The general mood upon leaving the ground was one of quiet confidence. We should be safe enough and with a few astute signings I am sure we can climb ever upward.

[St_Tel49]

Seems to me we're still weak in midfield: in the second half we couldn't keep the ball and couldn't pressure Millwall on the ball, which enabled them at times to put our defence under a lot of pressure. The penalty award was bullsh*t in my view: when two players fall down with the ball between them, how can you give handball if the ball hits the arm of one of them? But it came about because of the pressuire they were putting on us. And then the goal: a midfielder not properly covering his man. Maybe as the season goes on Morgan will get a bit fitter, and players will learn their roles; but for me, midfield reinforcements are needed as well as a tall strong CB.

Did he give hand ball?. I had roughly the same eye-line as the ref on the incident and there is no way I could see if the ball had hit anyone's arm. IMO he reacted to the crowd - which is poor refereeing

[krissyboy31]

I think Gobern deserves a mention. When he came on I wasn't sure where he was going to play and I don't think he did either. But he stuck with it and carved out some chances while giving us a more physical presense than we had before.

 

Yes, thought he did really well when he came on. Seems to have grown a bit and got stronger since last season.

[Brussels Saint]

Just got back and overall, like many I was fairly happy.

 

Kelvin, 8, - You dont need me to tell you how good he was.

Murty 7.5 - Looks the biz. Moves incredibly fast for a fat man. I was about 5 rows back in the kingsland and a couple of sprints of his along the sidelines were immense. This guy is not slow.

Thomas, 7.5 - Strong, won a lot of headers and is vital against the type of forwards in this league.

Perry, 7 - Class still shows, but despite this I would still prefer we sign a monster to play alongside Thomas.

Harding, 8 - MOTM for me. First class defensive performance, not great going forward, but few right wingers in this league will get any change from him.

James, 6 - Quiet. Did not notice him much to be honest.

Morgan, 7.5 - Class and will get even better.

Wotton, 6.5 - Actually not bad. Did what it says on his tin.

Lallana, 6.5 - He is a good player and you really see it in his touch, need to find his best position.........anyone any ideas..........I'm lost

Saga, 6.5 - Tried. Has skill and ability, but is absolutely not the 1st striker, he is so much better as the 2nd striker.

Pato, 7.5 - Really a good game and surprised everyone a bit I think. Need to see more, but this was positive.

 

Subs:

Gillet - I thought he did ok, but everyone else thought he was rubbish, so I'm probably wrong there.

Gobern - I thought he was rubbish, but everyone else thought he did ok, so I'm probably wrong there!

Thomson - Now he was rubbish I'm sure of that!........But unfair to be honest as was not on long.

 

Interestingly was sat next to some Millwall fans in the Kingsland (who were alright to be honest)........They did get booted out though for celebrating their goal, which I thought was fair enough.

[St_Tel49]

I think we have an excellent CM in Morgan Schneiderlin, but he's coming back from injury and I don't think he's fully fit: he didn't really seem in the game any more in the last 30 minutes or so and it hurt us. But that will surely be remedied over the next few weeks in training (barring further injury). Thing is, I didn't think Wotton offered much, and Gillett, when he came on, was much too easily hustled off the ball or pressured into error. And we offered little out wide. If we can get Holmes fit, I think that'll be remedied on the left, but we really need a true RW. I like James, but that's not his best role. And we need size and strength up front.

 

So for me: a CB, a strong dominant CM, a RW, and a big strong striker in the Stern John mould (damn him for leaving anyway). If we can get 4 signings in those areas, that performance today says we can be a very good team in this league!

I agree about Schneiderlin but you are being harsh on Gillett. In a couple of instances of him losing the ball it was more down to the poor passes he received than a lack of strength on the ball. Actually I thought that, for the most part, the youngsters stood up quite well to the bullying. On the other hand, while I do not rate Thomas's skills too much, he has got the strength to wrestle with the big lumps of centre-forwards we are going to encounter in this league. For me Gobern was a revelation when he came on. He got everything that came to him in the air and had a pretty sublime touch on the ground too. He is going to be a very good player. I hope we still have him after Christmas. And well done to Patterson too - he did not make life easy for their centre backs either - leaving aside his goal. Harding MoM, Kelvin excellent, Murty sound and Lloyd James sound but between them our right side is a bit lacking in pace, Lallana not as good as he was against Hearts - but OK. Saga worked hard but caught offside too often ( and falls over too easily too). A reasonable start but we need to kick on.

[Kadeem Hardison]

If we aren't counting the dozen or so times Millwall got behind Harding to get a cross in, then he's MOTM for sure.

[St_Tel49]

I said before the match (Calvin, back me up on this ) 1-1 Saints take the lead through Paterson, but concede sloppily from a set piece. Overall, not a bad start to the campaign, but it does highlight some frailties in the side, namely our woeful lack of depth. When Paterson got a knock he was replaced with ... Gobern, an unproven winger. Thought we lacked width aswell. James and Lallana disappointed me and Wotton just seemed not to have any impact other than a few last ditch tackles second half. Shook hands with MLT as he was walking up the Kingsland towards the Sky cameras at the start of the first half.

 

Davis - 8 Very good game, great pen save again. Maybe should have got back on his line quicker for their goal.

 

Murty - 8 Excellent play and a good leader. Used his intelligence to make up for his love of pies.

 

Thomas - 8 Won a lot in the air. I think my earlier prediction of 3-1 Millwall when we thought he was injured could well have come true with Lancashire.

 

Perry - 7 Reads the game well. Made a couple of great saving tackles.

 

Harding - 8 strong contender for MOTM in my book, but would liked to have seen a little more going forward. Had their right winger in his pocket all afternoon. Should he have gotten to their goal on the left hand post?

 

James - 6 I thought RM was his best possition going into this match, but really didn't impress. Solid enough but didn't provide much down the right.

 

Schneiderlin - 7 Decent game and a decent range of passes. Would have loved one of those two long range efforts to have gone in.

 

Wotton - 5 Tackling not bad, but when it comes to using the ball he looks poor. Always looking for someone 5 yards away from him.

 

Lallana - 6 Some good running at defenders, but no final ball. Didn't do much when he drifted further forwards towards the end either.

 

Paterson - 8 MOTM Well taken goal and seemed to work well with Saga. A good understanding between them and good link up play.

 

Saganowski - 7 I can't see a case for singling him out as lazy. He was nothing to write home about, but he had some good touches and worked well with Pato. Between them they caused Millwall all sorts of trouble in the first half. Looked lost up front on his own when Pato went off. Had two efforts disallowed. One wrongly, the other after the whistle had gone.

 

Subs:

Gillett, Gobern and Thomson. None of them had any impact. Thought Gillett should have started, but passing was poor.

 

Disagree re Gobern. I thought he was making their defenders a bit panicky. Wasn't out jumped, was reasonably strong on the ball and was a bit unlucky to have goal disallowed

Edited 8 August, 2009 by St_Tel49
spelling

[Thedelldays]

If we aren't counting the dozen or so times Millwall got behind Harding to get a cross in, then he's MOTM for sure.

to be fair..that will happen to any defender who has lallana in front of him..

[RonManager]

Just got back from the game.

 

Head says -

 

Not much to say on top of other posts. Harding excellent as was Murty. Match was a bit of a 'curates egg' - good in parts. Came away feeling pretty good. If we can do this well in our current state of flux against one of League 1's promotion contenders, then with a few additions and a bit of time to get to know each other we should do ok.

 

Heart says -

 

I still keep to my prediction that something amazing is going to happen and we will win the division!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:smt040

 

This was confirmed when I had a vision whilst sat atop a Snowdonian mountain on my hols this week. A cloud in the shape of Terry Paine's quiff appeared to me - pointing towards another cloud in the shape of a 1.

[converted_saint]

 

I still keep to my prediction that something amazing is going to happen and we will win the division!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:smt040

 

This was confirmed when I had a vision whilst sat atop a Snowdonian mountain on my hols this week. A cloud in the shape of Terry Paine's quiff appeared to me - pointing towards another cloud in the shape of a 1.

 

I'm not sure whether I trust your vision, but blind optimism is something we as Saints fans have not had for years, so bring it on!

[Whitey Grandad]

Did he give hand ball?. I had roughly the same eye-line as the ref on the incident and there is no way I could see if the ball had hit anyone's arm. IMO he reacted to the crowd - which is poor refereeing

Not in my opinion. I was watching the ref closely and he didn't blow until after the swallow dive. Watching the recording at home it looked like a Millwall handball when Thomas was on the ground and Thomas was held back as he got up. I wasnt too impressed by the ref who let a lot of stuff go and I don't know what the assistant thought he saw when Saga's header was ruled out.

[eelpie]

Good game...Pretty even IMO...well taken goal and you could see theirs coming

 

Good team effort...thought patterson was good, as was the defence..what a double save from kelvin.

 

My MoM was Harding..what a find...proper solid LB defends and attacks well

 

Why isn't our only goal-scorer Paterson featured on the MOM vote?

 

 

(Edit -Just realised he played under a psudonym)

Edited 8 August, 2009 by eelpie

[eelpie]

we need at least one player with scary pace - we havent had a decent wide player since Dyer.

 

 

...both defense and attack are only as good as the midfield and that is letting the whole side down at the moment.

 

It is tragic that we lost Dyer imho, not least due to the rubbishing he got from our fans. His speed was awesome. And most likely the same guys that dissed him are now complaining that our attack is slow.

 

And so true about our midfield

[Ash]

IMO we're 4 or 5 players away from having a squad capable of climbing into the play offs. A CB, a CM and 2 or 3 strikers depending on what Saga decides to do.

Not a winger? Crikey, I reckon we could do with at least two of the buggers. Be a massive improvement on the none we played today.

 

Lallana - 8 - Did some good things today on left & right

It really is bizarre how different eyes watch the same game. As far as I could see Lallana did next to nothing today yet your rating him as high as anybody in the red and white. Similarly, most people seem to rate Schneiderlin, but I didn't think he did that much (aside from the long range efforts). I thought our whole midfield was pretty ineffectual for a large part of the game, would like to see Gillett starting and two new wingers in time for Huddersfield.

 

370 miles round trip but well worth it on a lovely sunny day back 'home' COYR

Pfff. Part timer, just got back in following a 440 mile round trip.

[Arizona]

Pfff. Part timer, just got back in following a 440 mile round trip.

 

Plastic fan! I'm half way through a 1,400 mile journey via Dublin and London.

[Ash]

Plastic fan! I'm half way through a 1,400 mile journey via Dublin and London.

I could have clocked up just as much if I'd have gone the long way home like you.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

As a damage limitation exercise before Pardew gets the team he wants on the pitch the result is OK.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

My ratings for Saints v Millwall (1-1)

 

K Davis 7.5 - At his usual (high) standard again , saved a pen & had no chance with their goal

G Murty 7.5 - Experienced pro who certainly knows his business as you'd expect , looking to be a good signing .

W Thomas 7 - Considering just how little football he's had in the last 12 months I thought he did well .

C Perry 6.5 - Solid if unspectacular performance as usual .

D Harding 8 MOTM - A free transfer :confused: somebody's 'aving a larf' , the best LB we've had for years maybe .

L James 5 - His performance didn't leave much of an impression on my memory TBH .

P Wotton 5.5 - Mr Journeyman midfielder .

M Schneiderlin 7 - You know I think this lad might be starting to 'get' British football at last , got stuck in & showed a touch of class .

A Lallana 6 - No cause for complaint but still not as effective as I'd hope , perhaps we expect too much of him .

M Saganowski 6.5 - Put a decent shift in but never looks very likely to score - same as usual then .

M Patterson 7 - I love a striker who can take a simple chance - needs to work on his fitness .

 

Substitutes :

S Gillett 4.5 - On for James he had a bit of a mare sadly - kept giving the ball away . Bad day at the office .

O Gobern 5 - On for Paterson & looking very raw ATM , for some reason I can see him developing into a decent player in time .

J Thomson - late sub on for Schneiderlin .

 

Summery :

The result was fair enough to both sides & I'd say we did pretty well all things considered , the defense is looking particularly solid and organised which is both unheard of for SFC and to the credit to the players involved and Alan Pardew . We obviously need to settle on a preferred striker partnership and a little more creativity from midfield wouldn't go amiss either , but this team is clearly still a work in progress .

I'm reliably informed that Millwall are one of the better sides in this division and if that's true the fact that we matched them with ease for most of the game proves that there really is nothing to fear but fear itself .

[david in sweden]

first game of the season - hot day - energy sapping sort of day. Millwall were play-off team last season - if this is the best L1 can offer - I'd be happy. KD class act. New back line looked good - considering they don't know each other.

Lightweight midfield but has skill. Wotton needs to be more agressive (ala Huxford, Walker from 60's).

of course we need strikers. Paterson good prospect but inexperienced, needs to play alongside a tough s*d who can sort out the opposition, and give him chances to convert. Saga tried hard but had too much to do on his own.

 

Overall one point was fair result..guess that AP is happier than Gunn at Norwich !

[SoccerMom]

It is tragic that we lost Dyer imho, not least due to the rubbishing he got from our fans. His speed was awesome. And most likely the same guys that dissed him are now complaining that our attack is slow.

 

And so true about our midfield

 

From what I've seen, McLaggon will wipe the floor with Dyer. Same speed, but accurate. And big.

[Professor]

Murty, Davis, Harding and Paterson were all excellent today.

Schneiderlin was playing well until that dodgy pass, after which his confidence went.

Unfortunately, after we scored Millwall bullied us in the midfield and pulled the goal back.

 

IMO we're 4 or 5 players away from having a squad capable of climbing into the play offs. A CB, a CM and 2 or 3 strikers depending on what Saga decides to do.

 

IT will take 84 points to get to the play-offs because of the minus 10. Thats more than Birmingham got last year for automatic promotion. Simply not an achievable target.

[NickG]

we would probably have to be somewhere near Leicester's performance last year to get 2nd, maybe less this year as have feeling few teams will take points off of each other

[Saint Billy]

Overall not a bad result. Patterson is going to be a bit special if he gets the service, Harding, best player for saints on the day, Murty is going to be Mr reliable. Schneiderlin looked good in the first half but went totally out of the game in the second. Davies double save was excellent but was a bit surprised he did'nt get to their second.

 

3-4 players short but if we get the right men I think we could surprise a few this season.

 

Whats concerns me is the same old characteristic of not being able to hold a lead and letting the old nerves kick in, hopefully Pardew and the new signings will sort that one out.

[converted_saint]

Overall not a bad result. Patterson is going to be a bit special if he gets the service, Harding, best player for saints on the day, Murty is going to be Mr reliable. Schneiderlin looked good in the first half but went totally out of the game in the second. Davies double save was excellent but was a bit surprised he did'nt get to their second.

 

3-4 players short but if we get the right men I think we could surprise a few this season.

Whats concerns me is the same old characteristic of not being able to hold a lead and letting the old nerves kick in, hopefully Pardew and the new signings will sort that one out.

 

Schneiderlin faded mainly because of match fitness, he didn't play much last season because of injury so it's going to take him a while to get match fit. As fot the nerves issue, I'm not sure it was a case of nerves, we still looked pretty solid apart from set pieces. If the team has been nervous, we'd have lost it 2-1 or 3-1, again i think it was a case of fitness. plus the millwall subs gave them freshness and the subs we made weren't exactly match-changing

[Whitey Grandad]

IT will take 84 points to get to the play-offs because of the minus 10. Thats more than Birmingham got last year for automatic promotion. Simply not an achievable target.

I think you're looking at the wrong division, professor. Last season S****horpe got to the playoffs on 76 points and Peterborough got the second spot on 89 points so allowing for the -10 we would have needed to get 86 points, quite achievable. We would have needed to be slightly better than Leicester to have been automatically promoted with -10.

 

( http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalLeagueTable/0,,10794~200825,00.html )

[Amesbury Saint]

ok match

hoped for a win.

 

I thought we were second best for quite big bits of the game.

[matthieu]

My honest opinion is that we got away with that one, they could have scored twice in the first 3minutes, and the only reason we didn't lose was because their strikers weren't sharp enough. We need a striker like Alexander (number 8 for them I believe) big massive lump, and someone with pace.

 

Their goal that got disallowed too should have stood, overall we weren't poor, but we weren't brilliant, we looked tired after 65mins and in the whole game we didn't really create much, we need two wingers ASAP!!

 

on a lighter note, saw Leon Crouch in West Quays after the game and just asked him if there was any news on any new signings and his reply was "hopefully two more this week"

[The Liebherr Bird]

THE LION TAMERS

 

Saints welcomed Millwall to the big top for their League One curtain raiser.

 

After last season's comedy of errors, pundits could be forgiven for thinking Ring Master Pardew would send out the clowns once more.

 

But billionaire owner Markus Liebherr intends to bring a smile to spectators and not so much laughter.

Silly season is over. A new one begun.

 

A crowd of 20,000 fans, paid to see a more skillful act, and although they managed to walk a tightrope, the highlight had to be the taming of the Lions. Millwall promised drama, and roared on occasion.

 

But the fast improving Saints, with a few new additions, could soon be ready to take their show on the road.

 

The CIRCUS has left St. Mary's.

 

:smt040

 

http://southamptonblog.forumotion.com/southampton-football-club-blog-f2/lion-tamers-t63.htm