Get behind Puncheon!

[Ken Tone]

I would never boo one of our players and I didn't hear booing yesterday , apart from the howls of frustration at his appalling hoof over the stand from a good shooting position. However he did not play well and should have gone off rather than the excellent Barnard.

 

Part of the problem it seems to me is Pardew's insistence on playing him on the right and Adam on the left. This can be good for part of a game, enabling them to cut in and shoot, but to play this way pretty much all the time is a mistake IMO. (They do swap occasionaly for a few minutes at a time). The problem is that whilst AL has the skill to also to cross with his 'wrong' foot , Puncheon is completely one-footed, and can only cut in. This means that often he is in a good position to give a quick cross, but wastes the opportunity as he fiddles about bringing the ball on to his other foot.

 

K.

[teamsaint]

was one of our best players on Saturday.

[70's Mike]

the interesting thing on saturday was that Orient had done their homework on puncheon, every time he got the ball two men converged on him.

the full back showed him down the line and the other one was our goal side of puncheon to make cutting in very difficult,

HOW he handles this is the key to his season, does he have the brain to try other things or is he a one trick pony.

He also needs guidance from AP and the other coaches when this happens, Butterfield was reluctant to over lap to occupy the full back because of a fear that if Puncheon loses the ball he is miles out of position and will be blamed by the crowd for that fact

[Fan The Flames]

Most wide players in the modern game (at all levels) seem to do exactly the same thing - which leads me to believe that crossing the ball from the by-line is a harder skill to master than it would seem to be .

 

Or modern managers don't want this from their wide men, you don't see a team bombarding another team with loads of crosses anymore, they are too easy to defend.

[SaintBobby]

I think Puncheon is our most over-rated player. Not our worst player, but not as good as either Antonio or Waigo.

 

His decision making can be wretched and he doesn't have the pace that you expect him to have.

 

Hope he goes on a great run and proves me wrong, of course. Maybe it's a bad patch of form, not an absence of talent.

[Legod Third Coming]

Never in your life were you good enough to play league football, that's why no one pays you £10k a week.

 

And yet I've still never hit a stadium roof from 25 yards...

[Legod Third Coming]

Or modern managers don't want this from their wide men, you don't see a team bombarding another team with loads of crosses anymore, they are too easy to defend.

 

Exactly, modern mangers WANT their wide players to cut in. They all insist on playing people on the wrong bloody side!

[John B]

I think Puncheon is our most over-rated player. Not our worst player, but not as good as either Antonio or Waigo.

 

His decision making can be wretched and he doesn't have the pace that you expect him to have.

 

Hope he goes on a great run and proves me wrong, of course. Maybe it's a bad patch of form, not an absence of talent.

 

 

 

In the League 1 team of the year last season I believe so must be a useful player.

[jasoneuelllfanclub]

JP is so hit and miss. Saw him against Huddersfield last season and he was unstoppable. But too many games he lacks end product or control of the ball. Having said that he is probably still our leading assist player. Talented but very very frustrating.

[Big Bad Bob]

I rate him, I like him, however, he had a very poor game on Saturday and so the criticism is justified. Only way fans will get behind him is if he plays well consistently, which is fair enough.

 

Noticed a strange thing about Puncheon. I especially noticed in after the Bournemouth game. Nearly all Saints fans were slagging him off saying he was rubbish, whilst Bournemouth fans were saying he was the difference.

 

Conclusion: F**king frustrating but I couldn't drop him. Always has potential to randomly skin a defender. He's our new Fabrice Fernandes.

 

My thoughts exactly

[Andyb1]

You have a short memory then.

 

I can't remember people slating Adam???

 

As for Punch and as a full paying customer and a 'so called fan' I think he is poor, he was poor for the last 8 or so games last year and he is poor again this year.

 

I'm not one for signalling out players with boo's and taunts but, as Pardew says 'if your good enough your old enough; so if your not good enough then...............

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Or modern managers don't want this from their wide men, you don't see a team bombarding another team with loads of crosses anymore, they are too easy to defend.

 

You may be right , perhaps managers in the modern game do prefer their wide players to cut inside . But as my personal opinion only , I'm not sure that with Ricky Lambert in our team a succession of decent crosses would be that easily defended at all . Lambert is a beast .

[mitch01]

More than once on saturday he reminded me of Fabrice Fernandes, some very nice stuff interspersed with needless misplaced passes and being dispossessed unnecessarily. He needs to learn when is the right time to attack the full-back and when it is best to send the ball back to a CM or the RB. I wouldn't say he needs replacing as I think he's got the potential to win games, as we saw last season, but he just has to perform better than he has in the first 2 league games.

[SaintDonkey]

At half time on Saturday I was saying that he was playing awfully and Pardew should get him off sharpish. Second half he came out and didn't exactly set the world on fire but was a lot better and stuck in a couple of half decent balls into the box.

 

I think one of the reasons he looked to have such a poor game was that he was always making himself available and a lot of our play went through him.

[doggface]

Puncheon is a good player at this level no doubt.

 

He is out of form and no competition. Was exceptional against Leeds last season and provided loads of assists. Lacking sharpness & confidence.

[ericofarabia]

I was surprised he didn't drift over to the left more often so as to be able to get to the bye line. This is where the most dangerous crosses come from and with Lambert up front, crosses from there rather than the halfway line would lead to goals or knock downs from Rickie fo sure.

 

Puncheons first touch was pretty poor, was diappointed with him on saturday to be honest, but he defo has the ability to be an outstanding player this season.

[St Lej]

I think he's a good player, but I'm fed up with his sh1tty chipped crosses!!!! If we had wingers that got the down the line and delivered decent whipped crosses, or even earier crosses than they currently deliver instead changing direction 6 times before delivering their chips, Lambert would score plenty!!! How many headed goals or goals from crosses did Lambert actually score last season? With decent crosses he probably could have got 40 plus!!!!

[modern matron]

You may be right , perhaps managers in the modern game do prefer their wide players to cut inside . But as my personal opinion only , I'm not sure that with Ricky Lambert in our team a succession of decent crosses would be that easily defended at all . Lambert is a beast .

 

 

Agreed but

[modern matron]

You may be right , perhaps managers in the modern game do prefer their wide players to cut inside . But as my personal opinion only , I'm not sure that with Ricky Lambert in our team a succession of decent crosses would be that easily defended at all . Lambert is a beast .

 

Agreed but I also think AP wants his full backs to go beyond Puncheon and Lallana. On Saturday apart from the first 15 mins both full backs were crossing from way back - nowhere near the byeline....

[Dalek2003]

Players thrive on confidence, so how can booing help Puncheon ?

 

I go to SMS to 'support' my team, not destroy it.

 

We have had a poor start, but we are only 2 games into the season.

[The9]

Puncheon's got great ability and gets the ball more than anyone, especially when we're not playing well. If he passed the ball when he first sees the pass rather than 2 seconds later he'd be about 50% better, but he has a touch of Fernandes Syndrome, and if any opposing side ever realises he ALWAYS cuts inside on his left, he'll be in the Conference before you know it.

 

Having said that, he's already shown he has great finishing and only needs to be a little quicker releasing the ball to stop winding people up. And anyone could hit the roof when rushing a shot.

 

I'm slightly concerned people are using "wearing jeans and not showing approriate respect" as a stick to beat him with. Which really has nothing to do with how good a footballer he is, and isn't even on the scale as far as footballer misdemeanours go.

Edited 24 August, 2010 by The9

[The9]

Agreed but I also think AP wants his full backs to go beyond Puncheon and Lallana. On Saturday apart from the first 15 mins both full backs were crossing from way back - nowhere near the byeline....

 

You'd be inclined to think he'd pick Dickson over Harding if that was the case.

 

All our full backs have had at least one poor game so far, Butterfield was dreadful v Bournemouth AND on Saturday, giving his man far too much room to turn and cross.

[saint_stevo]

Puncheon's got great ability and gets the ball more than anyone, especially when we're not playing well. If he passed the ball when he first sees the pass rather than 2 seconds later he'd be about 50% better, but he has a touch of Fernandes Syndrome, and if any opposing side ever realises he ALWAYS cuts inside on his left, he'll be in the Conference before you know it.

 

Having said that, he's already shown he has great finishing and only needs to be a little quicker releasing the ball to stop winding people up. And anyone could hit the roof when rushing a shot.

 

I'm slightly concerned people are using "wearing jeans and not showing approriate respect" as a stick to beat him with. Which really has nothing to do with how good a footballer he is, and isn't even on the scale as far as footballer misdemeanours go.

 

As we saw at Meadowside on Sunday

[MorningtonCrescent]

Someone in here posted a thread about the weight of expectation and the fact that Saints are the shortest odds for promotion for any team for quite some time.... basically stating that when the fans get behind the team it can build a "Dunkirk" spirit across the whole club and even when things aren't going the way you'd want, with everyone pulling together it can make all the difference.

 

Take the Bournemouth match - Saints were the better side, but struggling to break down the defensive tactics.... the fans sung OWTS for 10-15 solid and the players raised their game and scored.

 

Whether we are playing well, or not; getting the luck, or not; scoring for fun, or not; can't we just try to support ALL the players on the pitch for the duration and see what happens.

 

OK. It's not always going to work, but if can build that mentality of support through thick and thin and get some confidence into the players representing our City, then we may get that un-defeatable look about us that we all crave at this level.

[eelpie]

the interesting thing on saturday was that Orient had done their homework on puncheon, every time he got the ball two men converged on him.

the full back showed him down the line and the other one was our goal side of puncheon to make cutting in very difficult,

HOW he handles this is the key to his season, does he have the brain to try other things or is he a one trick pony.

He also needs guidance from AP and the other coaches when this happens, Butterfield was reluctant to over lap to occupy the full back because of a fear that if Puncheon loses the ball he is miles out of position and will be blamed by the crowd for that fact

 

A fair observation. Puncheon may not yet be the finished article, but let's not forget that he was one of the injured players for much of pre-season, so he has some excuse for not yet being able to play at his best (like Adam and Lambo). Let's not also forget how many very successful players have learned their trade on the pitch and come good. On Saturday we watched a directionless jaded group of footballers, not playing as team, in the second half. Just a few players were putting in that extra effort, and that included the unlucky - not to score - Barnard, Butterfield and Puncheon. Puncheon was taking on defenders and battling forward but so often without support. It is an unlikeable aspect of this forum that so many on here always must have a scapegoat to pillory. It is a form of cowardly group internet bullying and rather pointless. Puncheon has undoubted talents. Better to appreciate a players strengths and weaknesses. Criticism is ok and part of the learning experience. But why not support Puncheon as he progresses, as he will? More rewarding too.

[The9]

As we saw at Meadowside on Sunday

 

Name names, I can't remember the specific shot in question.

[chivvy1664]

25% quality 75% ****e .Poor mans ashley young in slow motion. Streets ahead of the average div 1 player but incredibly frustrating.

[miserableoldgit]

I thought that that Puncheon was both excellent and frustrating in equal amounts tonight. But people around me were just getting on at him when he did things wrong but made no comment when he was at his best. I feel a witch-hunt coming on!!

[Pokerchampion]

Tonight he was exsposed as a slow thinking ,and lacking ideas in a higher league . He is slightly above average for this league but any higher he will be found out . Played on the right 2nd half tonight , so one footed it was easy for their full back . Couldnt clear the first man 3 times from the corner .

I get the impression he thinks hes better than he is easy . Easy pass was on 3 or 4 times tonight he decided to try something a lot harder and lost possession to many times .

50/50 for him to come through this season for us .

[Stu Man Do]

To be fair to him he was much better tonight than on Saturday. Shame he bottles alot of challenges! Just wish he would speed his play up might help us get a break. I think the big problem we will have this year is the lack of anyone else breaking from midfield when we get forward. No one in the box when he does get to the byline!

[solentstars]

I thought that that Puncheon was both excellent and frustrating in equal amounts tonight. But people around me were just getting on at him when he did things wrong but made no comment when he was at his best. I feel a witch-hunt coming on!!

i agree

[solentstars]

Puncheon's got great ability and gets the ball more than anyone, especially when we're not playing well. If he passed the ball when he first sees the pass rather than 2 seconds later he'd be about 50% better, but he has a touch of Fernandes Syndrome, and if any opposing side ever realises he ALWAYS cuts inside on his left, he'll be in the Conference before you know it.

 

Having said that, he's already shown he has great finishing and only needs to be a little quicker releasing the ball to stop winding people up. And anyone could hit the roof when rushing a shot.

 

I'm slightly concerned people are using "wearing jeans and not showing approriate respect" as a stick to beat him with. Which really has nothing to do with how good a footballer he is, and isn't even on the scale as far as footballer misdemeanours go.

i remember Schneiderlin getting rubbished last season ,its funny how its the talented players get knocked instead of the safe type players .

[CB Saint]

I thought that that Puncheon was both excellent and frustrating in equal amounts tonight. But people around me were just getting on at him when he did things wrong but made no comment when he was at his best. I feel a witch-hunt coming on!!

 

There were a few like that around me, although saying that they seemed to see the worst in everything tonight - some people just moan. Moments of skill and a fair bit of rubbish, he certainly needs to get more consistent if he wants to getthe crowd of his back.

[Nexstar]

Blew hot and cold again tonight. Some moments saw him rip through the Bolton defence with some great skills and others he took far too many touches and his dreadful corners left a lot to be desired.

[saintsforlife7]

Am going to stick up for Puncheon tonight, although he sometimes slows the game down and we moan, he's looking for a more risky pass than the simple ball to Fonte which I can respect a lot of the time, and at times he absolute tore their fullback to pieces, he tied three of them in a knot in the second half inside the penalty are, played a nice intelligent ball for Lallana in the first who should have scored and alot of our good play went through him. Just after Saturday people sing his name when he beats someone and floats in a cross but as soon as he tries something out of his comfort zone, like using his right foot and giving it away people boo and shout that he needs to be sold and that's way out of line with his performance, thought overall he was one of our best players this evening.

[The boy done well]

Thought he played well. Frustrating at times but always a potential match winner.

[NickG]

two passes into penalty box, in first half, both I think for Lallana were excellent and could easily have made goals from nothing

[Roger]

I thought he was our best player. Some really good runs and passes tonight. Pards said he was terrific. The english fans mentality is always to support people who appear to run a lot but dont like people who keep the ball, look where its got us.

[The Godfather]

I thought he was our best player. Some really good runs and passes tonight. Pards said he was terrific. The english fans mentality is always to support people who appear to run a lot but dont like people who keep the ball, look where its got us.

 

I thought he was much better in open play tonight, a constant threat along with Lallana but his corners & free-kicks were woeful again.

[RedAndWhite91]

I thought he was much better in open play tonight, a constant threat along with Lallana but his corners & free-kicks were woeful again.

 

This.

 

Was about to write the same thing.

[Saint_clark]

Biggest thing I noticed tonight.

With Puncheon and Lallana on the right and left wings respectively, NOBODY runs down the byline.

When Mills and Chamberlain came on we instantly looked much more dangerous, IMO.

[St_Tel49]

Am going to stick up for Puncheon tonight, although he sometimes slows the game down and we moan, he's looking for a more risky pass than the simple ball to Fonte which I can respect a lot of the time, and at times he absolute tore their fullback to pieces, he tied three of them in a knot in the second half inside the penalty are, played a nice intelligent ball for Lallana in the first who should have scored and alot of our good play went through him. Just after Saturday people sing his name when he beats someone and floats in a cross but as soon as he tries something out of his comfort zone, like using his right foot and giving it away people boo and shout that he needs to be sold and that's way out of line with his performance, thought overall he was one of our best players this evening.

Agree

[Saint_clark]

Am going to stick up for Puncheon tonight, although he sometimes slows the game down and we moan, he's looking for a more risky pass than the simple ball to Fonte which I can respect a lot of the time, and at times he absolute tore their fullback to pieces, he tied three of them in a knot in the second half inside the penalty are, played a nice intelligent ball for Lallana in the first who should have scored and alot of our good play went through him. Just after Saturday people sing his name when he beats someone and floats in a cross but as soon as he tries something out of his comfort zone, like using his right foot and giving it away people boo and shout that he needs to be sold and that's way out of line with his performance, thought overall he was one of our best players this evening.

 

Do you reckon it would make more sense for him to do the things that worked, like actually running outside his man and then into the box, more often? As opposed to doing that 3 times out of 10 and just running in circles till he loses it the other 7.

[Saint Charlie]

Puncheon was good tonight, very quick feet and rarely lost the ball. A couple of awesome defence splitting passes too. An easy target to abuse because he tries high risk play. Looked more at home in the centre where he played a lot for MK Dons. Probably wouldn't be his choice to be put out on the right.

[Saint_clark]

Puncheon was good tonight, very quick feet and rarely lost the ball. A couple of awesome defence splitting passes too. An easy target to abuse because he tries high risk play. Looked more at home in the centre where he played a lot for MK Dons. Probably wouldn't be his choice to be put out on the right.

 

Personally i'd play him on the left and Lallana on the right and just tell them to get down the byline. We play far too narrow.

Nevermind all this "but then they won't score as much" rubbish, because right now we aren't scoring at all - and in all the games so far we have looked much more likely to score when we've had Chamberlain on the right bombing down the wing.

[NickG]

He is more of a MLT winger than a Rodney Wallace - looking to do something different, make a goal, use skill rather than speed - if you expect out and out speed no wonder you are disappointed.

 

(comparison is on style rather than complete ability!)

[Griffo]

I thought Puncheon looked much better yesterday and even though his choices with the ball at feet seem to be wrong at times, he always seems to make things happen.

[Chez]

Puncheon is like all wingers, he has good and bad days. Every time a winger gets the ball we expect him to beat the man and put a perfect cross in. Not easy that, so it is not suprising that some days it comes off and other it doesn't. We just need an option should he have an off day.

 

I'm not too bothered if he fails to beat the man or makes the odd poor choice, what I do have a problem with is when a winger doesn't have the confidence to try again and again. Oh and track back of course.

 

The other criticism I have had with Puncheon is dissapearing in games. He certainly didn't do that yesterday and I want to see that every week. With his quality on the ball he has to dominate games especially with Lallana out.

Edited 29 August, 2010 by Chez

[saintmatt]

how people can get on puncheon's back is beyond me.he takes on full backs (which a lot of ex-saints wingers have hated doing), he scores goals, he makes things happen.in notw team of the week for yest as well.quality player

[IFHP]

how people can get on puncheon's back is beyond me.he takes on full backs (which a lot of ex-saints wingers have hated doing), he scores goals, he makes things happen.in notw team of the week for yest as well.quality player

 

Agree with that. I always think that if Puncheon plays well then Saints play well.