Saints 2-2 Norwich - Reaction

[Saint Fan CaM]

the players "sit" where the coach and manager tell them to.

We play a pattern or formation which is dictated by the coaching staff.

The player probably don't have any choice. Did you see AP screaming at either of them to get further forward? NO, then that's where he told them to be.The modern footballer is not Roy of the Rovers, he plays whatever role the manager tells him to.If he doesn't he gets subbed or shipped out-à la Saga.

 

 

Err, yes actually I did. Just before Norwich scored he was screaming at the team to move forward as they were camping outside our pen area.

[ericofarabia]

Who's that then Millwall or Swindon?:confused::confused::confused:

 

LOL .... just done a bit of number crunching (not easy in my present state :cool:) ... don't ever trust a carrot cruncher when it comes to Maths

 

The +3 and -3 worked but doesn't take into account todays +1 or something like that. How are Swindon that far up the table :confused:

[Genk]

Lloyd James and Kelv costed us 3 points today.

 

Lloyd James - easily the worst player I've seen in a Saints shirt since the Prem days, Jermaine Wright IN!

 

Kelv - Unlucky with the penalty but should of done miles better for their goal. If he wasn't confident on catching it - why not put it out for a corner?

 

Firstly Lloyd James is not a Right Back and there was nobody else to play there whilst Murty was injured. No I would not rather have Thomas there because he is far too slow.

 

Secondly, any keeper would struggle to hold that shot especially seeing as it was incredibly wet. I blame the defence for not following up quick enough.

[Whitey Grandad]

Disappointed not to win but came away thinking a draw was a fair result

 

.....I see Lloyd James is the new whipping boy on here for the moaners :-( He didnt have a a good game ...true ...but he's not a right back by first choice and looked more comfortable on midfield when Murty came on

 

It wasnt so long ago that Lallana was getting a similar slagging

 

For a young player it's obvious James has got talent ... he needs a bit of support on here and not slagging off IMHO

James was awful, has always been awful and should never, ever be let anywhere near the right-back position ever, ever, again.

[John B]

James was awful, has always been awful and should never, ever be let anywhere near the right-back position ever, ever, again.

 

Not very constructive I would have thought

[rallyboy]

I have to defend Davis - that was a horrible shot to deal with and he even got up for the rebound but the bloke mi**** it and it and it went under him.

Could have done better but I wouldn't class it as a howler.

 

As for the ref, conned by dives very easily, and when he let them have another go after a blatant foul throw?!.....is that a new rule from non-competitive sports days??

 

For me today was going to decide whether we could overcome the points penalty and make it to the playoffs, I think not, let's get into midtable and win the painty cup.

[Whitey Grandad]

Not very constructive I would have thought

The most constructive thing that we could do is keep James away from right back. He cost us 2 points today and he has cost us goals all season. It was a stupid, pointless lunge and we just cannot afford to keep indulging him in that position. He is too slow and is never going to be a full back, no amount of positive attitude or training is going to change that. He might become an acceptable midfielder, but today must be the last chance that he ever gets to throw away a game.

[benjii]

Name someone worst.

 

Only player I can think that came close to how bad he is was that player we had on loan last season from Tottenham.

 

 

Clueless.

[Andy_Porter]

Name someone worst.

 

Only player I can think that came close to how bad he is was that player we had on loan last season from Tottenham.

 

Lee Molyneux, Olly Lancashire, Tommy Forecast, Anthony Pulis, Jermain Wright, Vincent Pericard, Jordan Robertson, Tomas Pekhart, Paul Wotton etc

 

I really could go on.

 

Lloyd James is just the new scapegoat. He's playing out of position and always gives 100% with everything he does. He isn't a great right back but he's clearly got talent and is a decent footballer.

[Andy_Porter]

 

Clueless.

 

It really is ridiculous, I dont understand why certain parts of our fan base always need someone to take the blame.

[nickfinks]

Can somebody remind me what form Norwich were on coming into this game? Rather good if memory serves; unbeaten in 10 or something similar? Winning a lot? In which case, perhaps an entertaining 2-2 draw isn't the end of the known universe as we are fearing and we can all put the Prozac away. Yes we are leaking a few goals and yes maybe we should and could have won this game but that's still 1 defeat in 10 isn't it? Perhaps in Glasgow that is relegation form but down here I would say we're doing ok. Always room for improvement, of course, but let's put the razors back in the draw shall we?

 

exactamondooo

[derry]

This is not a smart-arse question, but would we be better off at RB with a Murty who's not match fit than with a James who is?

 

That's assuming that Murty is physically fit as opposed to match fit.

 

Two big plusses today Bill, Murty at right back, needs to play. Lallana worked his socks off tracking the wide players in the first half and came off the wing at times scoring once.

 

I think Pardew has laid the law down about tightening up wide. I didn't like the second half formation our 4-3-1-2 against their 4-1-2-1-2 it was a bit like trench warfare but they were a bit better at getting round the outside in the space we gave them.

 

Trotman seems very hesitant and missed a lot of headers, Davis was a bit pinball today, James lack of pace, looks like running in treacle, is a problem, Hammond didn't seem to be on his game today, there were a lot of errors. Schneiderlin worked hard, Norwich were decent so it wasn't easy.

Edited 21 November, 2009 by derry

[Liquidshokk]

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed that game! Soo much action and had a great view of connollys absolute cracker. Was right next to pardew too who blew a fuse or two today :-S never seen him so angry... Threw his pen and paper at one point and got all red faced.. Wish a couple of players on the pitch had such passion... Jaidi wasn't exactly bursting with the stuff and I'm starting to think he's a real liability at the back and not as good as I expected him to be. Shame. I think it was a great game though against a good team and a fair result.

[Red&White]

Just for a second dismiss the Brighton game as a 'blip' and consider this ;

 

An entertaining draw against a potential league champion side follows knocking Brizzle Rovs & Charlton, ( both title chasing teams ) out of the cups, and having just had 4 successive league wins, including MK Dons - another top 6 team.

 

What's so bad ?

 

Agree

[benjii]

Point against Norwich is fine normally, or not a disaster anyway, but it looks bad after last weekend.

 

Seems more and more with each passing week that this is a largely pointless season. We won't be near relegation, we won't be near playoffs, fascinating.

 

On that basis, keep playing 442 and trying to outscore teams. We'll learn to defend next season.

 

I agree largely, except it could still be a decent season. I, for one, have dreamed of winning the Jonstone's Paint Trophy for quite some time now.

[sad saints fan]

Brilliant game today.Hard fought game played in the right spirit by two evenly matched teams.The right result ,neither were at there best I dont think,

but Norwich will be among the promotion chasing teams at the end of the season.

I see people are knocking lloyd again well they are entitled to there opinions.

I think RL was still feeling the effects of his flu but Connely and llalana were both great.

One think I would like to say is that I wish our two centre backs would return to the original plan they used in their first few games together.

IF IN DOUBT KICK THE BALL VERY HARD IN WHICH EVER DIRECTION YOU ARE FACING.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

My ratings for Saints v Norwich (2-2)

 

K Davis 6.5 - Some good saves but he spilled Norwich's 2nd - due to the extremely wet conditions no doubt .

L James 5.5 - Guilty of giving away a pretty poor pen and no great shakes as a Full Back really - slightly better in midfield later .

N Trotman 5 - In poor form I thought , no longer dominant in the air and frequently caught the wrong side of opposition forwards .

R Jaidi 7.5 - No complaints at all today , good strong player .

D Harding 7.5 - Smashing player but not quite up to supporting Lallana's attacking play adequately at times .

M Antonio 7 - In and out of the game but always ready to take his man on and beat him , which is a surprisingly rare in modern football .

M Schneiderlin 7 - A decent hard working midfield performance but how long will we have to wait for his 1st SFC goal ?

D Hammond 7.5 - A tireless midfield hardman and fitting on the field Captain , every team needs players like this .

A Lallana 8.5 MOTM - The best player on the field yet again , has to play at a higher level than this before long . Top class goal .

D Connolly 8 - His beautiful goal (at the Chapel End ) will live on in the memory of all who saw it , a contender for goal of the season surely .

R Lambert 6 - Quiet game by his (high) standards , never mind I'm sure the usual service will be resumed before long .

 

Substitutes :

G Murty 6 - Great to see him back but a rather low energy performance as you'd expect after such a long lay-off .

Papa W 6 - Has the potential to be a match winner , LOL @ myself for slating him for missing a (offside) late chance .

J Mellis - Late sub I just don't know what to make of him - ask me later .

 

Conclusions:

I hard fought (and very wet) battle between two evenly matched teams , a neutral will say a draw was a fair enough result but I'm counting it as a moral victory because our goals were much better than theirs . Trotman's impending departure and poor form suggests a recall for Wayne Thomas or Chris Perry may well be advantageous .

The same starting 11 as on Sunday but much more 'at the races' today - we remain vulnerable to the quick counter-attack when our forward play breaks down however . I can't help but think that the 7 points dropped over the last 3 league fixtures will make the play-offs almost impossible now but we'll just have to keep plugging away and see what happens I suppose .

Edited 21 November, 2009 by CHAPEL END CHARLIE

[madruss]

A massive improvement on the Brighton game. Norwich are one of the top sides in this division (since the Colchester game prior to today they'd only conceded 2 goals away from home in 7 games), and we were more than a match for them. Disappointing goals to concede, and (although he was loads better than last week) Trotman still looks a bit shaky...especially compared with the awesome performance he put in against MK Dons.

 

Positives:

Connolly - Absolutely brilliant, intelligent runs, great first touch, world-class goal, worries defenders....wayyyy too good for this league

Llallana - starting to show a bit of consistency and his all round game is definitely improving as the weeks go on.

The return of Murty...hope he stays fit so no more James at RB.

Thoroughly entertaining game against one of the promotion contenders, I would say overall we were the better team.

I actually thought Mellis looked quite good for his brief cameo

 

Negatives:

Poor finishing at times, and inability to kill the game off.

Coupled with the Brighton game, that's a point from 2 home games, not really promotion form

Lambert out of sorts (although I'm going to put it down to flu & recovery...etc)

James having a mare...he hasn't been that bad this season

Dodgy Trotman moments

Antonio proving he should really only be used as an impact sub.

 

Ratings FWIW:

Davis 5. Didn't have a lot to do, and I think he should've done better with the long range effort that led to their goal.

 

James 4. Outpaced, outfought, out jumped, terrible tackle for the pen. Bad day at the office

Jaidi 7. had a tough time against Holt, but battled well and asserted his dominance when needed.

Trotman 6. Much better than his Brighton mare. A coupld of howler moments that could easily have led to a Norwich goal. Still excellent in the air though

Harding 7. Very strong, and made some crucial blocks and tackles towards the end. Had very little protection from Morgan at the left side of the diamond

Hammond 7. Bit wayward in the first half, but improved in the second and really got stuck in when needed. So glad we've finally got a midfielder like that in our side

Morgan 6. His long range passing was not up to its usual high standards, and he looked suspect on the left of the diamond in the second half

Llallana 8. Excellent goal. Tracked back well, was at the forefront of most of our attacks, and relished his favoured role behind the front 2 in the second half

Antonio 5. Some threatening forward play in the first half, but his positional sense is awful, really left James exposed at times..predictably ran out of steam in 2nd half, and his 'knock-and-run' move didn't really work today.

Connolly 10 MOTM Ran his socks off, movement on and off the ball was sublime. Thought he looked a class above today, and his goal typified that. If he stays fit I'm a bit worried a Prem team may come in for him

Lambert 5. Held the ball up well at times, and some nice touches and passing that nearly put Connolly and then Llallana through on goal. However, Doherty had the measure of him, and the after effects of his flu seem to be still hampering his game

 

Subs:

Murty 7. Shored up the right side when he came on, and looked good going forward. Everything James wasn't. Glad to have him back

Mellis 6. Suited the AMF role really well, and with a bit more confidence would probably have scored when put through late on

Papa 5. Looked threatening at times, but offside AGAIN at crucial moments

[Springhill]

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed that game! Soo much action and had a great view of connollys absolute cracker. Was right next to pardew too who blew a fuse or two today :-S never seen him so angry... Threw his pen and paper at one point and got all red faced.. Wish a couple of players on the pitch had such passion... Jaidi wasn't exactly bursting with the stuff and I'm starting to think he's a real liability at the back and not as good as I expected him to be. Shame. I think it was a great game though against a good team and a fair result.

 

So did I...best game for a long time....and a fair result

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Burn the Happy Clappy, burn the Happy Clappy......

 

Oh well, look on the bright side, another Correct Score in the prediction league. (thanks to a typo)

 

Was too tired and hungry to listen to more than about 30 minutes but we did seem to be very slow out of the blocks at half time. Perhaps they did suss us out and we paid the price. No idea

 

Still saves me worrying about airmiles for the playoffs :mad:

 

Armchair fans are getting worn out now!

FFS Phil you should have tried going mate, the weather was crap and you got "tired out and hungry" listening to your tranny?

I sometimes wonder if we should have one forum for fans who go and some who can't be bothered.

[Neil]

A decent point against probably the best team/manager in League One, and could even have beaten them.

 

That said, Nowich outclassed us for most of the game, it's to our credit that we still had the chances to win.

 

Would love a clean sheet, but can't see where the next one is coming from!

[southamptonfclegend]

why did Pardew bring Mellis on? and why when he was running through did he stop and turn around?

[benjii]

A decent point against probably the best team/manager in League One, and could even have beaten them.

 

That said, Nowich outclassed us for most of the game, it's to our credit that we still had the chances to win.

 

Would love a clean sheet, but can't see where the next one is coming from!

 

Think that's a bit over the top.

[Crispypie]

Got to agree with with it being a very enjoyabke game today, frustration at the end but throughly enjoyable.

 

I do wonder if we could relieve the pressure on the back if we could direct the defensive headers a bit better, we seems to never pick up the second ball from them so it came straight back! Sounds easy I guess, I was rubbish at football at school so what do I know?

[shurlock]

why did Pardew bring Mellis on? and why when he was running through did he stop and turn around?

 

In the 2 mins he was on, he made two surging breaks that were as dangerous as anything we did in the 2nd half, though he bottled the first one. Mellis is a class player who just needs a start after his absence. His movement, passing and tracking back would be a huge asset in a 4-5-1.

[Andoverian]

Disappointed not to win but came away thinking a draw was a fair result

 

.....I see Lloyd James is the new whipping boy on here for the moaners :-( He didnt have a a good game ...true ...but he's not a right back by first choice and looked more comfortable on midfield when Murty came on

 

It wasnt so long ago that Lallana was getting a similar slagging

 

For a young player it's obvious James has got talent ... he needs a bit of support on here and not slagging off IMHO

 

Sorry but Lloyd James is just not good enough and hasn't been all season wherever he has played. He is honest and IMO tries hard but that is not enough by a long way in this team. Now that Murty is back I would expect to see Lloyd James disappear off the radar one way or another. However Connolly is simply a revelation. Not only his undoubted class but also his prodigious work rate. 10/10 for me today.

[benjii]

Got to agree with with it being a very enjoyabke game today, frustration at the end but throughly enjoyable.

 

I do wonder if we could relieve the pressure on the back if we could direct the defensive headers a bit better, we seems to never pick up the second ball from them so it came straight back! Sounds easy I guess, I was rubbish at football at school so what do I know?

 

You should be a ref!

[Arizona]

Lee Molyneux, Olly Lancashire, Tommy Forecast, Anthony Pulis, Jermain Wright, Vincent Pericard, Jordan Robertson, Tomas Pekhart, Paul Wotton etc

 

I really could go on.

 

Lloyd James is just the new scapegoat. He's playing out of position and always gives 100% with everything he does. He isn't a great right back but he's clearly got talent and is a decent footballer.

 

I'm surprised and appalled that Darren Powell wasn't the first name you mentioned. He was... just... awful.

 

Perhaps James is just the new scapegoat, but today he was very poor. Aside from the penalty, which was absolutely school boy, he just doesn't run and I've never seen him win a header. Whenever our attack ends up at his feet, he just seems to run fresh out of ideas and hit a long ball into the box from nearer the halfway line than the byline.

 

I left the game feeling a bit p*ssed off. Not because I'm a negative budgie, but the manner in which the game panned out. For a start throwing away the lead is never good. Doing it twice at home... very disappointing. Then there was the goals we conceded. I wouldn't have expected out under 15 side to have given away that pen. The second; nobody tracking the run, challenging the shot, the 'keeper spilled it right back infront of the goal and we were very pedestrian following up. We also seemed to run out of idea second half and good players like Schneiderlin and Lallana resorted to hoofball.

[WealdSaint]

Odd experience of seeing the game with the away supporters end. (Norwich mad neighbour did the organising).

 

Thought it was a very good game. Shame we lost momentum at the start of the 2nd half. Thought Connolly was in a different class to everybody else on the pitch. Very difficult conditions to play football in.

 

The Norwich fans on the bus back to the park and ride saying that it was a fantastic game.

[monosaint]

Best game of the season for me. Either team could have won it at the end. Even when they equallised I still felt we could score. Not something that would have happened last season.

 

Pleased to see Murty come on. Lloyd James is not a right back. Every time their wide man was one on one with him I worried. He may be the difference. We know that we can score goals we just need to sort out the defence and I think we will go on another good run.

[harvey]

Absolute ****.............we are mid table at best :cool:

[Gambol2K9]

That must have been the first game you've seen since the premiership days then.

 

Glad to see the fans have found another scapegoat.

 

 

I haven't been impressed with James at RB, he's far too lightweight for this league. He can put it the odd decent cross but nearly every other element of his game is poor. Call him a scapegoat but I've gotta question the lads desire after seeing him out on the **** last Saturday, the night before the Brighton game.

 

New RB in January please Mr Pardew!

[harvey]

Best game of the season for me. Either team could have won it at the end. Even when they equallised I still felt we could score. Not something that would have happened last season.

 

Pleased to see Murty come on. Lloyd James is not a right back. Every time their wide man was one on one with him I worried. He may be the difference. We know that we can score goals we just need to sort out the defence and I think we will go on another good run.

 

How can you say that was the best game?????........we were cack, very very dissapointed..........if I were Pardew I'd be worried tbh.

[shurlock]

Sorry but Lloyd James is just not good enough and hasn't been all season wherever he has played. He is honest and IMO tries hard but that is not enough by a long way in this team. Now that Murty is back I would expect to see Lloyd James disappear off the radar one way or another.

 

I wouldn't bet on it. AP seems to rate James, thinks he's got what it takes to be a very good holding midfielder. I'm not so sure.

[Whitey Grandad]

I haven't been impressed with James at RB, he's far too lightweight for this league. He can put it the odd decent cross but nearly every other element of his game is poor. Call him a scapegoat but I've gotta question the lads desire after seeing him out on the **** last Saturday, the night before the Brighton game.

 

New RB in January please Mr Pardew!

If that's the case then he should never play for us again.

[Liquidshokk]

Can't wait to see connollys goal again on the FL show. Me and the guy next to me went mental when that went in!! Hello to you if you use this site (went on your own with headphones in block b row c seat 199 I think) we both found a lot of it very tense i think but soo enjoyable...

[Graffito]

A good game. Norwich look a good side that moves the ball around quickly but we had the chances to win it. A draw was probably a fair result. A comment on our defending. Three times in a week we have failed to be alert to rebounds. Once against Brighton and twice today.

[harvey]

Not very constructive I would have thought

 

Spot on, I would say.............he's ****ing next to useless :cool:

[corsacar saint]

We scored two superb goals and conceded two shockers. The defence is a worry, and

Dean Hammond has been poor of late.

We have the offensive players to hurt any team in this league, however especially at home, we need to be playing with more attacking intent. We only seem to attack in spurts, instead of continually. We are much better going forward than defensively.

[Whitey Grandad]

Spot on, I would say.............he's ****ing next to useless :cool:

Quite right. Nothing personal, this is business. If you had somebody working for you who made that many mistakes and was buggering up your whole enterprise you'd get rid of them pronto.

[SaintRobbie]

Please Alan... get rid of the last of Lowe's legacy... remove the final kid: Lloyd James.

[benjii]

A good game. Norwich look a good side that moves the ball around quickly but we had the chances to win it. A draw was probably a fair result. A comment on our defending. Three times in a week we have failed to be alert to rebounds. Once against Brighton and twice today.

 

Nonsense.

 

First goal was a pen: funnily enough the taker was at least 6 yards closer than anyone else.

 

Secondly: There was a defender tracking back, they both slid in, the attacker got a toe to it. That is all.

 

Thirdly: Against Brighton, the forward's momentum took him stright towards the rebound.

[benjii]

Please Alan... get rid of the last of Lowe's legacy... remove the final kid: Lloyd James.

 

Yeah, I agree and get rid of Lallana, Schneiderlin and the stadium too.

[Whitey Grandad]

Yeah, I agree and get rid of Lallana, Schneiderlin and the stadium too.

I wouldn't miss Schneiderlin and perhaps not Lallana but the roof's useful when it's raining.

[benjii]

I wouldn't miss Schneiderlin and perhaps not Lallana but the roof's useful when it's raining.

 

Haha - funny you should say that, I was admiring the roof today.

[krissyboy31]

Can't understand the doom and gloom on this forum. Absolutely fantastic match played in atrocious conditions between two teams unrecognisable from the dross representing the two clubs, last season.

 

Yes, disappointed to drop two points after being ahead twice and think Davis should have done better for the second but Norwich were the best side we've played this season and we more than matched them.

[Whitey Grandad]

Can't understand the doom and gloom on this forum. Absolutely fantastic match played in atrocious conditions between two teams unrecognisable from the dross representing the two clubs, last season.

 

Yes, disappointed to drop two points after being ahead twice and think Davis should have done better for the second but Norwich were the best side we've played this season and we more than matched them.

You're right, but the disappointment is because we should have won this one.

[Graffito]

Nonsense.

 

First goal was a pen: funnily enough the taker was at least 6 yards closer than anyone else.

 

Secondly: There was a defender tracking back, they both slid in, the attacker got a toe to it. That is all.

 

Thirdly: Against Brighton, the forward's momentum took him stright towards the rebound.

 

You have a point about the pen. Your defence of the other two is a bit feeble Benj.

[rooney]

I enjoyed this game and a fair result. We still do not win enough tackles and our passing to one of our own players needs improving upon. We still seem to leave their attacking players with too much room. Both our goals and the build up were quality.

[VectisSaint]

He cost us 2 points today

I accept I wasn't at the game today but how did James cost us 2 points? Was he directly to blame for the 2nd goal, most seem to be blaming Davis. He may have given away a penalty but we were still winning before their 2nd goal went in.

 

As I said last week it seems James has become the scapegoat for those who feel the need to have someone to blame. Its a team game, get off the lad's back. he has been asked to play out of position due to unavailability of Murty and has done a decent job from what I have seen.