Southampton 1 - 1 Leyton Orient - Post match reaction

[Genk]

Forgot to add to my post that Puncheon was awful today

[SaintNeil90]

The whole 'we start the season slow' is a load of b*llocks. We have pretty much the same team that finished last season and we have had a full pre-season with that team. NO excuses.

[ericb]

Hoofing it nowhere. Defensively he was fine.

 

I thought defensively he was shaky too, good at nodding the long balls away but his positioning and speed are just not good enough. Especially when you have him alongside someone with the quality of Fonte. Mind you i thought the same last season and would much rather see Martin get a run in the team as i think he may well develop into a decent player.

[saintjay77]

Good point. Hoddle would have done the job second time round, he was the MAJORITY OF fans choice !

 

Christ why did I mention him??? lol

[Dalek2003]

Christ why did I mention him??? lol

 

What is the problem ? You can't just pretend that one of our best managers (supported statistically), was turned down a second time for a Wurzel from League 1.

[kpturner]

 

Any word yet on who the player and agent were behind the Solent crew?

Do Prado it seems

[up and away]

Originally Posted by captainchris

I cannot understand why Christmas is such an iconic time point? IF AP is not good enough he should be replaced much sooner than Christmas - by then it is too late anyway this season so might as well not bother changing. After all, according to AP you need all of pre season to stand a chance of going up with a team so taking over at Christmas is a total waste of time ?????? And he knows his stuff ????

Didnt sunderland go on a charge after xmas a few years back to get promoted?

 

XMAS is a good marker as by then you can look at averages and see which way things are heading. If NC makes a decision Pards will need more than Santa to change his mind however.

I think he needs more than 2 games to attempt to correct the problems and give the team a chance to improve there finishing. We could have been 4 up by half time with a bit of luck and betting finishing and this board would have been a much happier place. lol

 

You have to consider that Orient still look favourites for relegation and Plymouth look like a mid table team. And you can't say Orient parked the bus as Plymouth did. Which ever way you want to cut this, it has to come back to Pardew. He has had vast resources and enough time to build two teams. These are all his players, coaching and tactics, no one or thing to hide behind here. Anyone who thinks Antonio is the answer is deluded, if he never contributed enough last season, why would he be any different this, Waigo was that bit quick though, with the habit of bundling in scrappy goals.

 

Pardew has to go on a run and show some of the previous exemplary form, as the present form is not going to give him more than 6-8 games tenure, which is more than fair. It's not as if we have not seen this before, so it's not a total shock and Pardew still has games to turn it around, but Christmas never.

[hypochondriac]

I would put how I feel properly but I'm just too disappointed at the moment. Really poor performance. Hoofing when we should be keeping it on the floor, Puncheon was awful AGAIN. Lazy and disinterested for much of the game with no tempo. Is it just me, or does Pardew seem really disinterested this year? That seems to have been translated onto the pitch. Preseason seemed to be lacking something this season for whatever reason and it has left us unfit and unprepared. Pardew said they were climbing the walls for a game this week well it didn't look like it to me! We have the players but our tactics are completely wrong and we are much too predictable and easy to defend against. Rant over.

[John Smith]

Oh well, another good performance by Saints, created enough chances to win by 5 or 6, only allowed the opposition 1 chance in a full 90mins, we hit the woodwork at least twice, their keeper made at least 3 very good saves and how Harding missed that opp when Oxlaide Chamberlain got to the line and whipped it in, I'll never know! But that's Saints for you, but each of you on this forum knows this...

 

Oh, hang on, I've just read all these posts from people that have NEVER watched a saints season in all their lives. To all you pompey supporters calling for AP's head and booing and stuff, we were good today, maybe not as good as when we beat Huddersfield last season, but, we're on the right path and dominated from start to finish and created enough chances to win this game and the next 3 or 4!

 

I am fed up of you miserable old fools bleating on about sacking the manager, buying new players, getting rid of very good ones and so on. Tell you what, just stay on this site and pop along to watch with the blue few down the road, it's where you belong. You're not supporters, you're criticisers!

[Dalek2003]

Are we ruthless enough.

 

Time and time again we take the lead at a crucial time and then let slip an equaliser. Today was a classic example. We got the goal at a good time, all we needed to do was calm the game down, snuff out LO and then push for the second. There was no need to rush about or get all excited.

It is this lack of professionalism, the ability to control a game at crucial times that worries me.

[Thedelldays]

. To all you pompey supporters calling for AP's head and booing and stuff, we were good today, maybe not as good as when we beat Huddersfield last season, but, we're on the right path and dominated from start to finish and created enough chances to win this game and the next 3 or 4!

 

!

 

would you say weston saint is a pompey fan in disguise..?

[saint_stevo]

Hmm yes I have always thought that to a certain extent, but he is a hard fighting midfielder.

 

There seems to be a lot of negatives concerning Puncheon, yet he has always impressed me when I have watched him. Is this backlash from his behaviour at the memorial or is he genuinely ****?

 

I don't get the Puncheon abuse, tries to create at least and runs at people. Sometimes he will get tackled.....

[tttdcs]

Forgot to add to my post that Puncheon was awful today

 

I thought he had better game today.

[country bumpkin]

get a life only 2 games

[saint_stevo]

Hoofing it nowhere. Defensively he was fine.

 

.......but the other option is Seaborne, who hoofs it and is defensively suspect....?

[kpturner]

I thought Lambert looked a bit lethargic TBH - especially in comparison to Barnard. Really unlucky to be subbed I think.

[RedAndWhite91]

The fact the Orient players and fans were celebrating this draw as if it were a win sums it up really. We created loads of chances, and in the first half played some really good football. Like people have said, it looked from the start as if it could have been a four or five-nil game, but that's what happens when you don't take your chances... After Orient equalised it had all the makings of a bore draw. We resorted to hoofing and passes went astray. Barnard played well and was unlucky not to have had about 4 goals. Puncheon was noticeably average.

 

It's a shame but it's not the end of the world. I don't understand the booing at the end.

[Saint Fan CaM]

Jaidi and Puncheon had particularly poor games today with the formers distribution really terrible. Puncheon needs to (a) get to the byline more and (b) look up once in a while to see what's going on and where his team-mates are - he's a shadow of his former self in the Dons.

 

Overall the team played well - it was the one defensive blunder that let them score on their ONE attacking move. It's only the 2nd match of the season - it's not all doom and gloom. The boo-boys are a disgrace and I wish they would stay home TBH.

[mcjwills]

Forgot to add to my post that Puncheon was awful today

 

I thought he had better game today.

 

Was not from where I was sat he was awful and so was Schniederlin

[manji]

would you say weston saint is a pompey fan in disguise..?

 

Well he does hang out with Terry The Builder...........

[NickG]

Disappointing.

 

+ve , start of game we looked unplayable - did not last long enough. As well as the goal we had 3 other near misses - Barnard hitting post keeper well beaten, Barnard just failing to get to header when goalie beaten and Lambert downward header. When we had them on back foot team played well - Puncheon was beating players with ease, Butterfield joining up well.

 

-ve

key thing for me is we are losing the battle in CM. Hammond was not in the game at all, Schneiderlin was nothing like the player last season showing odd moments only. No Case / Marsden to grab hold of the game, pick up scraps when they clear it or fight back when their pressure came. CM to me remains my first choice of a quality signing.

 

Next biggest problem was CBs. Fonte had his worst game for us and Jaidi was appalling. At one stage he was about 3m from the ball, the forward about 7m and still the forward got to it first. Although never fast he is normally commanding - he wasn't, lost a lot of headers and the booking was typicial - making up for his slow reactions. But what really effected the team is the amount of possession he gave away.

 

 

Cortesse was not in the box by the end of the game.

 

Although Juilan and Andrew Lloyd Webber were!

 

Don't get the Puncheon slating at all

[70's Mike]

Bit one dimensional today for much of the game, flashes of good stuff from Puncheon. Lallana and Chamberlain,Kelvin was rarely troubled but we struggled to break them down on a regular basis and when we did , we missed.

Realisticaly we have to get use to it, we have good players for this division but few of them could hack it and a higher level, there is still a lot of work to do on shape of team at home, imo to mant times was Lambert dropping deep and Bernard trying to win high ball.

Other concern is that we do not break quickly with the starting 11 today which gives concerns for away games, whilst Antionio and Papa were not world beaters they offered something different, they did the unexpected.

Still early days yet but 3 points next Saturday would be nice or we will be giving teams 10 points start again

[Tony10]

Never convinced by Pardew after last season but was happy to give him a chance. Time for him to go.

[Saint Malc]

I wish we'd give Bart a chance. Kelvin just can't come for a cross to save his life. He should dominate his six yard box but never, ever does. A great shot stopper but his failings on crosses, like for their goal, costs us dear time and time again IMO.

 

My MOM; Butterfield

[Toomer]

We could have and should have been three goals do the good by half time, on another day Barnard would have had a hat trick, Lambert was off the pace the Oxo kid should start in front of Punch he could get nicked for making crop circles.

[RedAndWhite91]

Can't believe people are calling for Pardew's head two league games into the season, unf*ckingbelievable!

[RedAndWhite91]

.......but the other option is Seaborne, who hoofs it and is defensively suspect....?

 

Martin? Looked good Gillingham away and Southend home last season, promising, he is a good prospect.

[Mr Dad]

I can't remember where I heard it, TV or radio but AP was interviewed a week or so back. He said something along the lines of that he wan't panicking yet but after 10 games, you need to have scored a certain number of points to be in contention. He didn't specify that number.

 

Our 10th league game is Bournemouth at home on Sat 2nd October. Lets see where we are after that game.

 

Personally, I don't want to see him go but he does seem to have specified a benchmark against which our promotion chances should be judged.

 

I was at the game by the way. Barnard did everything but score and impressed me. However, we need actual results rather than being 'unlucky' and 'we could have scored three'.

[Thedelldays]

I think is a fecking madness that we dont know who the best 11 are...

 

punch or oxo

jaidi or seaborne or martin

barnard or connolly....

 

ffs

[aintforever]

Not good, we lack pace IMO.

 

I don't give Pardew long, Cortese doesn't seem to be the type of bloke who has a lo of patience.

[saint_stevo]

Martin? Looked good Gillingham away and Southend home last season, promising, he is a good prospect.

 

Needs games out on loan i reckon, but agreed he looked ok. But Jaidi was fine today really

[saintsforlife7]

From where I was sat, we were on course to hammer them for the first twenty minutes, went 1-0 up and fell asleep, they conceded and we seemed to lose all idea of what we are doing, Puncheon had a bad game, he seems unable to do things quickly, gets the ball and would rather try and beat somebody and show off than sweep in a cross. We desperately need pace down the wings, Lallana is such a more complete player than Puncheon as everything he offers is for the team and he wants to make things happen.

Jaidi loves to hoof it forward but he has never been a passing defender, that's all he offers, and taking Hammond off says alot about what he offered today.

Barnard my MOTM and wonder why he was taken off and not Rickie, Barnard should have scored but had two cracking efforts one bouncing off the post and the keeper making some good saves. Overall we need some squad depth, only having two subs to change the game is not good enough, but Lambert hasn't had a pre season and once the team gets back in the flow of things we will start scoring more and winning games comfortably.

 

Have faith, hopefully Pards will be allowed enough time to add just slightly more to the side.

 

WIFM

[RedAndWhite91]

Needs games out on loan i reckon, but agreed he looked ok. But Jaidi was fine today really

 

Agreed, wouldn't do him any harm. Jaidi was fine defensively, but his distribution generally lets him down.

[John McGrath's Jockstrap]

Thought we looked very ring rusty overall. Lambert still looking like a lack of a good pre season is affecting him and also needs some work to lose a few pounds. Barnard very lively imo and unlucky - also visibly frustrated with the lack of quality service - hoofed balls and 45 degree crosses he will not win. Lallana very quiet second half, as was Hammond who just dropped out the game. Puncheon - seems to choose the wrong option most times - when he hit the roof lol !!. Spiderman was fighting in midfield on his own and losing in second half. In fact this second half was similar to Plymouth - we seemed to lose the plot in centre mid again and concede to the opposition. Thought Harding (bad miss aside) had a solid game as did Fonte......but Butterfield allowed too may crosses into the box, but the main worry is Jaidi. He really is starting to look pedestrian on the turn, distribution was awful, and you can see Fonte worried about leaving him in 1:1 situations.......time for Martin (but not Seaborne) to step up in my opinion. AP summed it up well - 4 "senior" players off colour, and lack of a drive to win.

We do need some more fight in centre mid allied with a lot more creativity.....but most desparate is lack of forward options - we would have won this last season by injection of either Papa W or Antonio or both. I sense AP is frustrated by lack of progress in getting replacements for these.....is the problem Cortese??.

[SuperMikey]

Davis 6 - Didn't have much to do, no chance from the corner. It was great to see him screaming at the players to move about a bit, at least somebody had the right idea!

Butterfield 5 - Quite composed, but had some dodgy moments. Would have to see Richardson play properly, but Butterfield is 2nd choice for me atm.

Harding 7 - Great on the overlap and put some good crosses in, but HOW DID HE MISS!?

Jaidi 5 - Distribution was awful as always, and his decline in fitness is noticeable. We need to start blooding Martin and Seabourne as regulars.

Fonte 6 - Not his best performance and was beaten in the air a lot. Solid enough on the ground, and kept the ball down a lot which was good to see.

Puncheon 5 - Needs to learn to pass. To be fair, he had no options a lot of the time, but he needs to realise that there is a team around him who also want the ball.

Lallana 7 - Creative spark is what we've been lacking, was blocked out in the 2nd half a lot by some good Orient marking.

Hammond 4 - One of the worst performances i've seen by a Saints player in a while. He was completely anonymous, a total pedestrian for the whole game.

Schneiderlin 6 - Looked good going forward and combined well with Lallana, but still needs to work on his tackling and needs to get stuck in more often.

Lambert 5 - Looked dangerous in the first 20 minutes, but then he was marked out of the game, which affected the whole team as he is central to how we play. Didn't look 100% fit either. We need a Plan B, Mr Pardew!

Barnard 7 - Unlucky not to score, but he got too wound up by the time wasting of Orient and frustrated by missed opportunities. Unlucky to be subbed based on performance, but needs to keep a cool head in the future.

 

Subs (when they eventually came on):

Chamberlain 6 - Looked bright enough, would've liked to have seen him come on earlier and play more centrally with Lallana, would've scared the sh!t out of the Orient defence.

Connolly - Ineffective and no chance to do anything.

 

 

It's evident from today's performance that we still have a while to go to forming a title winning team, but it's still early days. Let's not forget we didn't win in our first 10 league games last season. Leyton Orient set out to stifle from the off, and they were gifted a goal and a point by some really poor defending at corners. That's something we really need to work on, but we've been saying that for the last 125 years! Something that was really evident from the game today was the lack of pace. Puncheon has some pace, but we have nobody like Waigo or Antonio last year that's completely electric and can slice through defences. The transfer market is picking up though, so I think we can probably expect some signings before the end of the window. Best part of the game was the rapturous applause for Markus (3 rounds) at the start, real lump in the throat moment.

[hypochondriac]

Davis 6 - Didn't have much to do, no chance from the corner. It was great to see him screaming at the players to move about a bit, at least somebody had the right idea!

Butterfield 5 - Quite composed, but had some dodgy moments. Would have to see Richardson play properly, but Butterfield is 2nd choice for me atm.

Harding 7 - Great on the overlap and put some good crosses in, but HOW DID HE MISS!?

Jaidi 5 - Distribution was awful as always, and his decline in fitness is noticeable. We need to start blooding Martin and Seabourne as regulars.

Fonte 6 - Not his best performance and was beaten in the air a lot. Solid enough on the ground, and kept the ball down a lot which was good to see.

Puncheon 5 - Needs to learn to pass. To be fair, he had no options a lot of the time, but he needs to realise that there is a team around him who also want the ball.

Lallana 7 - Creative spark is what we've been lacking, was blocked out in the 2nd half a lot by some good Orient marking.

Hammond 4 - One of the worst performances i've seen by a Saints player in a while. He was completely anonymous, a total pedestrian for the whole game.

Schneiderlin 6 - Looked good going forward and combined well with Lallana, but still needs to work on his tackling and needs to get stuck in more often.

Lambert 5 - Looked dangerous in the first 20 minutes, but then he was marked out of the game, which affected the whole team as he is central to how we play. Didn't look 100% fit either. We need a Plan B, Mr Pardew!

Barnard 7 - Unlucky not to score, but he got too wound up by the time wasting of Orient and frustrated by missed opportunities. Unlucky to be subbed based on performance, but needs to keep a cool head in the future.

 

Subs (when they eventually came on):

Chamberlain 6 - Looked bright enough, would've liked to have seen him come on earlier and play more centrally with Lallana, would've scared the sh!t out of the Orient defence.

Connolly - Ineffective and no chance to do anything.

 

 

It's evident from today's performance that we still have a while to go to forming a title winning team, but it's still early days. Let's not forget we didn't win in our first 10 league games last season. Leyton Orient set out to stifle from the off, and they were gifted a goal and a point by some really poor defending at corners. That's something we really need to work on, but we've been saying that for the last 125 years! Something that was really evident from the game today was the lack of pace. Puncheon has some pace, but we have nobody like Waigo or Antonio last year that's completely electric and can slice through defences. The transfer market is picking up though, so I think we can probably expect some signings before the end of the window. Best part of the game was the rapturous applause for Markus (3 rounds) at the start, real lump in the throat moment.

 

Can't agree with you at all there about Butterfield.

[rick1976.4.38]

two games in and youd think the season was over.ffs get alife some of you.we could and should have won,sometimes it happens and other times it doesnt.there will be games where we dont deserve to win but will.there is a long way to go,wifm

[RedWillie]

Anyone who thinks we were good today are deluded. That was one god awful, unimaginative performance I have seen in a long time. We were poor from front to back. Jaidi was terrible, couldn't pass wind properly, Puncheon, apart from 10 mins in 2nd half was just as bad. Lambert not fit, was down with cramp with 15 mins to go, scneiderlin huffed and puffed but got nowhere, Lallana was the only piece of skill out there. Admittedly Barnard had a shot well saved but a draw at home in front a great crowd and that with a masively deflected free kick...please.

Pathetic, performance and a total kick in the teeth to Marcus.

The excuses stop now

[corsacar saint]

On another day we could of had 6.Absolutely awful goal to give away,a free header from a corner.We are still,one dimensional,having said we could have scored 6.

The midfield is the main concern,and Hammond in my opinion is definately not good enough.Puncheon maybe irritating when he does not release the ball,but at least he tries to create,and never hides.Jaidi is a worry as he looks past his sell by date,and Davis will never be capable of controlling his 6 yard box.

So plenty to work on,to get better,and I fear for AP,if we cannot beat a team with Orients limitations.

[SuperMikey]

Can't agree with you at all there about Butterfield.

 

He was one of the better performers in the first half, but he got caught out of position a lot in the second. Not a bad performance, but does need to improve.

[Causer]

Changes needed if we are to go up this season. Kelvin struggles on crosses and should have claimed the ball for the first goal and his distribution is woeful, Bart in. Oxo in for Puncheon who only has one foot and can't even produce anything with it. Two different moments sum up there ability,first half Barnard wins the ball rolls it back to Puncheon with Lambert and Hammond unmarked in the middle,Puncheon cuts back and loses the ball,Second half a minute after Chamberlin comes on he beats his man and produces a great cross which Harding somehow misses. Jaidi out, as well he is really slow and kept on falling over and barely found a teammate all match with his passing.

[aintforever]

two games in and youd think the season was over.ffs get alife some of you.we could and should have won,sometimes it happens and other times it doesnt.there will be games where we dont deserve to win but will.there is a long way to go,wifm

 

Problem is, I think most of our players think WIFM means We're Innit For Money.

[hypochondriac]

Another thing, I turned to my mate on 60 minutes and said we need to make a substitution now but we won't make one until it is too late to change the game. It's the big weakness I noticed from Pardew last season and it happened again today. Why does he wait so long to make substitutions which could affect the game?

[Clifford Nelson]

Listening to the game my thoughts

 

Jaidi & Fonte didn't seem to be able to work the ball out from defence properly... Is Jaidi now really just for those days when we need a hoofing lump? Possibly

 

Two players making first starts of the season, we start brightly and then run out of steam. yep well that's what tends to happen when players aren't match fit, and of course the back up players on the bench aren't cover for AL & RL.

 

Sounded grim if Weston Saint posts like that, but I'll still wait for the new signings.

 

It really was as grim as all that, apart from the first tweny. Jaidi is clearly yesterday's man; Puncheon is running into dead ends as usual, although today especially poorly; Hammond remains average, and I can't remember seeing him anything but average; and Kelvin is not happy to roll the ball out, nor is the defense keen on building attacks. As a result it's either a hoof from KD, or one from Jaidi.

 

The lack of Waigo and Antonio really hits home when you are looking at the bench. There wasn't a game turning player amongst them.

 

It is early days, which everyone keeps mentioning, but I can't see any difference in the way we are trying to bludgeon the opposition, just the same as last year, but this year they will be well prepared for it. The 4-4-2 formation is not one for trying to find holes in tight defenses, as the rest of the world has discovered. To make things worse our two wide players need to turn inside, because they are both wrongfooted. So who do we find wide right more often then not? Barnard! That means that he isn't around the box anymore, and furthermore he isn't a winger. I would much rather have someone who is supposed to be there, and who can use his 'outside' foot for knocking in crosses. That player isn't Puncheon.

 

I'm disappointed that we don't seem prepared for the season, which the pre-season indicated, and that our football hasn't advanced at all. My nagging doubt is that this is the limit of AP's footballing vision, and that he was never comfortable with his 4-5-1 experiments. Now I suppose that we will knock ten bells out of Bolton on Tuesday, when it doesn't really matter.

[RedWillie]

can i clear up the Harding miss....i was sat in front of it and he was offside anyway. Flag was up and would not have counted

[SuperMikey]

Another thing, I turned to my mate on 60 minutes and said we need to make a substitution now but we won't make one until it is too late to change the game. It's the big weakness I noticed from Pardew last season and it happened again today. Why does he wait so long to make substitutions which could affect the game?

 

Agree with you on that, to wait until 83 minutes to use a sub and then only use 2 of 3 is ridiculous!

[WATERSIDEIFASAINT]

I think AP has 2 maybe 3 games at most to get this season on track or he will be gone.I don't want that as I think we need stability.

 

We definately need new signings very urgently as this 1st 11 needs some competition to stop complacency.

 

I've been harping on about the 3 key signings all summer ie cm,winger and striker.After seeing todays game I would add a 4th a cb to replace Jaidi as I don't think Martin and Seabourne are ready to be 1st choice.

 

I really hope we will go all out for the players we need and not just wait and see what happens.At the moment we have brought the fewest players in of any div 1 side,With releasing 16 we need more than 3 because as I was watching the match today I thought our bench was very limited for game changing options.I know we are a div 1 side but if we want to win automatic promotion we need more options than we currently have.

 

Performance pretty reasonable,result pi** poor.We will no doubt end up beating Bolton on tuesday as that is typical Saints but its league points that all that matters this season.

[Seaford Saint]

I read peoples' views on here with interest and don't usually comment. It is clear to me that we have not replaced Waigo or Antonio (Not sure what to make of Chamberlain yet) and unless we do I have a feeling that opposition teams will ride their luck just like Plymouth and Orient did today. Pardew is an excellent judge of a footballer and must have recognised that we need different strikers or wingers (I thought Barnard was superb today) by which I mean either/or someone with more pace or some one with more height. Puncheon did some great stuff today but he can't really be a right winger and take some one on the outside when he is totally left footed. So I question what he is doing there. His free kick deliveries were poor mostly. We are ponderous going forward and it gives the opposition time to get back in numbers. Lallana is he only midfielder who I could describe as creative, has the ability to beat an opponent. Morgan needs to try to emulate Lallana, I am sure he has it in him.

 

I am a huge supporter of Pardew and I'm sure he isn't daft. If the players he wants don't arrive, the results will continue to falter as they are doing and he will either throw in the towel or be sacked.

[Stu Man Do]

Another thing, I turned to my mate on 60 minutes and said we need to make a substitution now but we won't make one until it is too late to change the game. It's the big weakness I noticed from Pardew last season and it happened again today. Why does he wait so long to make substitutions which could affect the game?

 

In fairness the options on the bench this year are cack! Its the one major difference IMO from last seasons squad in that we currently have no real Plan B. I would however have wanted OXO on a bit earlier as he looked pretty decent from teh couple of games Ive seen of him.

[HopperSaint]

132 points still to play for - let's not go overboard - first 15 mins we were outstanding.