Saints 0-0 Colchester - Reaction

[derry]

A better shape yesterday, nobody playing on their wrong side, attempted to start playing a passing game, but the passing and movement was as yet slow, so defence allowed to consolidate. Adkins knows what he is about and I expect to see dramatic improvement by the end of October.

 

Holmes although not pacy is a good footballer and the only player in the team apart from Lambert that can put in dangerous crosses. Dickson improved the penetration down the left but need to see more of him before deciding on his defensive quality. Hammond's movement, awareness and passing is woeful. Our central midfield needs to start making runs through and beyond the strikers to try and overload the defences, to enable this Barnard's lateral ovement is good but Lambert is very static.

 

If Lambert is carrying an injury, we need to rest him and/or get it sorted. In the meantime get a loan replacement in to cover. If he is medically fit but overweight and unfit then we need to get that sorted pdq which I'm sure NA will, but we can't be going on like this.

 

All in all, not a bad start, whilst a little slow at the moment I expect the tempo of play, pass and move etc to be ratcheted up rapidly. I was hoping De Prado would be brought on for Hammond for the last twenty minutes to up the attacking pace and movement.

[Wes Tender]

Well that was better, for the first time this season I've come away from St Mary's feeling slightly lifted, rather than down after a dull-pointless performance.

 

There was only one team in this game, Colchester didn't play at all - they were so bad. The first half was ok, nothing special and we weren't enough threat, we had so much possession but did so little with it.

 

the 2nd half was more like it though....pace, energy, drive and we shot at goal! The keeper pulled off 2 fantastic saves in the 2nd half, one in the last second of the game and also pushed away a corner that was destined for seabornes head....and we possibly should have had at least 1 penality, although i couldn't see it that clearly. They'd obviously had a talking to at half time because it was much better, probably as well as we've played all season for a consistant amount of time as we had them penned in all half........but christ, that one break away colchester had in the 86th min felt like hell, we would not have deserved it and it would have been seriously hard to swallow...thank **** they were **** though.

 

Lambert looked a bit better, brought players into play like last season but is still cleary way off match fitness (As you can see when he keeps pulling up). Barnard improved our attack, much more livley than we have been and was full of energy and running, it kept their back 4 pushed right back and helped us dominate as much as we have.

 

The goals will come, we cannot play as well as we did in the 2nd half all season and fail to score again. Unfortunatley these results aren't helpung us, we're dropping off now and auto promotion is possibly almost becoming a distant dream.

 

Once we get a goal though, i can sense the confidence will flow through this team. We just need a break and we'll start ticking again, i think we may need a little help from the loan market though.

 

I was going to write it up, but having read your post, it pretty well says what I would have.Although I came away disappointed and frustrated, with the benefit of hindsight, I am hopeful that we have turned a corner by settling the defence, although not gaining the confidence boost that a goal would have produced. Sometimes it just happens that a rival goalkeeper produces a couple of saves that prevent us winning a game, but as you say, their substitute striker should have put away the clear chance given to him when he broke through one on one with Kelvin. Now there was a striker lacking in confidence. Ditto Lambert also found himself through and just lacked the sharpness he had last season and was closed down before he could pull the trigger. But his two free kicks in the last few minutes were good and only kept out by great saves by their keeper. There were two handballs that should have resulted in penalties, but the referee was poor. It is on incidents like these that the fine dividing line lies between 1 point and three.

 

Colchester are unbeaten in the league so far this season, so no disgrace the draw under our current circumstances.

 

Their stand out player was the midget David Perkins, 5'5" of blond terrier. Another midget in their team Kemal Izzet is only 5'6". I recall that a couple of seasons ago when we were struggling in the Fizzy Pop league, a team of brick sh*thouse players from Colchester bullied our kids off the ball all match. At least nobody bullies our players any longer, apart from Chamberlain, who being smaller as a kid, invites a physical response from players that find him too fast and clever to stop playing any other way. Once again, he was our man of the match. Our defence partnership of Seagoon and Fonte looked more solid this match and Barnard's industry was something else sorely missed the past 4 matches. IMO the only thing that might have turned this draw into a win, was the guile that Lallana provides of defence splitting passes. The goal drought is not for want of chances, but the lack of a cutting edge.

 

But already it is feasible that Adkins has begun to instil a bit of belief and perhaps we are not far away from a win and some increased confidence.

[Clifford Nelson]

I was hoping De Prado would be brought on for Hammond for the last twenty minutes to up the attacking pace and movement.

 

If we are to persevere with this formation, Dave, I would like to see us park Hammond on the bench, give Schneiderlin a role as a defensive CM and let Guly play the whole game as an offensive midfielder. Why on earth did we get him here if he is not to play, and how are we to know that he is poor if we have never seen him play in his favoured position.

 

It was the replacement of the left side which made all the difference yesterday, although I don't feel like blaming Harding, who had a bit of a job covering the left hand side from end to end without even token assistance from the nominal LM.

[Larrylove]

How are we going against Norwich 's record last season? FFS Adkins has had no impact whatsoever. Cortese and him can go and do a few underwater farts. We are ****ing **** and will never score again whilst those ****ing idiots are in charge.

 

T W A T very wrong indeed,in Nigel we trust

[derry]

If we are to persevere with this formation, Dave, I would like to see us park Hammond on the bench, give Schneiderlin a role as a defensive CM and let Guly play the whole game as an offensive midfielder. Why on earth did we get him here if he is not to play, and how are we to know that he is poor if we have never seen him play in his favoured position.

 

It was the replacement of the left side which made all the difference yesterday, although I don't feel like blaming Harding, who had a bit of a job covering the left hand side from end to end without even token assistance from the nominal LM.

 

I think the Puncheon thing came to a head when he went walkabout, a la Pardew, and Schneiderlin had the ball but no left option. Hammond is no leader/captain or driving midfielder. I don't want to see Schneiderlin just parked in midfield, he needs to be teamed with an attacking midfielder and learn how to drive forward. If we are going to be the best team in the league we have to play like it and forget any idea of holding mdfielders. We need to just keep the ball and get rapid movement from the players. I think this is what Adkin's wants.

[Clifford Nelson]

I think the Puncheon thing came to a head when he went walkabout, a la Pardew, and Schneiderlin had the ball but no left option. Hammond is no leader/captain or driving midfielder. I don't want to see Schneiderlin just parked in midfield, he needs to be teamed with an attacking midfielder and learn how to drive forward. If we are going to be the best team in the league we have to play like it and forget any idea of holding mdfielders. We need to just keep the ball and get rapid movement from the players. I think this is what Adkin's wants.

 

Thinking about Hammond and Schneiderlin I recalled that Hammond was bought as an offensive midfielder after having regularly been banging them in for Colchester. Schneiderlin could hit a five pence from sixty yards. Right now, though, both of them are doing the same thing, which neither shuts the back door, nor arrives with pace, late into the box. Why is that?

 

If we are to play Guly, and why on earth shouldn't we, we must play him in his preferred role (I have had enough of buying players, playing them out of position, and then condemning them) as close to a continental no 10 as we can, so what should we then do with young Schneiderlin? My thought is that if we merely encourage him to get into the box as well, and I don't think that has ever been his natural game, we may look very exposed in the middle of the park.

 

Maybe we need ourselves another two CMs, but right now we prospectively have what we are looking for parked permanently on the bench.

[derry]

Thinking about Hammond and Schneiderlin I recalled that Hammond was bought as an offensive midfielder after having regularly been banging them in for Colchester. Schneiderlin could hit a five pence from sixty yards. Right now, though, both of them are doing the same thing, which neither shuts the back door, nor arrives with pace, late into the box. Why is that?

 

If we are to play Guly, and why on earth shouldn't we, we must play him in his preferred role (I have had enough of buying players, playing them out of position, and then condemning them) as close to a continental no 10 as we can, so what should we then do with young Schneiderlin? My thought is that if we merely encourage him to get into the box as well, and I don't think that has ever been his natural game, we may look very exposed in the middle of the park.

 

Maybe we need ourselves another two CMs, but right now we prospectively have what we are looking for parked permanently on the bench.

 

If the team firms up it's shape and plays outside to in attacking and inside to out defending, the fact that the two central midfielders break beyond the strikers needn't make us vulnerable, as the defensive full back and the two centre backs will come closer on the halfway line, but because of the overloads that we are creating we are going to suck in their attackers into their defence at the very least well into their own half. We then have to build the awareness that on the breakdown of any move the players defend aggressively from the front while the rest of the team funnel back and consolidate in front of the back three. I have two options, play Schneiderlin/Guly or Schneiderlin/Puncheon but Schneiderlin has to look for the opportunity to get into the box.

 

Hammond is a poor passer of the ball and as such is likely to prove an impediment to high tempo pass and move football.

[Chez]

Thinking about Hammond and Schneiderlin I recalled that Hammond was bought as an offensive midfielder after having regularly been banging them in for Colchester. Schneiderlin could hit a five pence from sixty yards. Right now, though, both of them are doing the same thing, which neither shuts the back door, nor arrives with pace, late into the box. Why is that?

 

very very good point. Personally I like having two players in CM that can both get forward and back, but its essential that we don't leave ourselves open to the counter and as we get desperate for a goal we tend to forget our defensive duties - it almost cost us again yesterday. The other problem is neither is really doing enough at the other end either.

[Chez]

Hammond is a poor passer of the ball and as such is likely to prove an impediment to high tempo pass and move football.

 

you really think Hammond is a poor passer? He lacks pace and a touch of quality in the final third, but I never had him down as a poor passer. IMO he's a decent footballer at this level.

[derry]

you really think Hammond is a poor passer? He lacks pace and a touch of quality in the final third, but I never had him down as a poor passer. IMO he's a decent footballer at this level.

 

He gave the ball away quite a few times yesterday. More than anyone else. It's the same every match. We need to move on now. He either has to put this right or he will be discarded, because possession is now the name of the game and giving the ball to the opposition will be an issue.

[Freemantle Saint]

Did you go ? they look a lot happier now. Frecking bed-wetter loon.

 

Season ticket holder you fecking simpleton...

 

If you think ambling around the pitch is happy then yes they are.

Lambert,harding dont look interested.

[Freemantle Saint]

Do f*ck off.

 

F*ck off yourself...ignore if you dont like it....

 

****

[SFC Forever]

He may have been a decent mixer for Colchester who had a team of big players. He is not as effective with a smaller team like ours and leaves a great deal tobe desired. I do think Morgan could play further back when we have sorted out our new way of playing as he is capable of passing short and long. He still has some growing to do and needs to improve his tackling.

[lethallee]

I think Ox should start from bench and be used as impact sub if needed. He was pretty ineffective yesterday.

 

Puncheon should retain place in team as although can be some what frustrating he does boast that potential spark needed. He is going through a indifferent patch of form at moment but i believe Adkins will help his confidence and get more from him on a more regular basis. I don't think AP helped when comparing Puncheon with Le Tiss in terms of potential hero status with fans - Just a little pressure placed on him !!

 

Centre midfield is a big problem area. Hammond is technically woeful and doesn't score or create goals. If he wasn't captain I think he would of been dropped few games ago but only matter of time before Adkins does the rightful thing.

[NickG]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/league-one/8012250/Southampton-0-Colchester-United-0-match-report.html

[doddisalegend]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/league-one/8012250/Southampton-0-Colchester-United-0-match-report.html

 

What match was he watching? Lambert the best on the pitch say what? some harsh comments in that one.

[Red]

Just watched the recorded BBC football league show from Sat eve - good profile for Saints, but I have to say having watched L1 part twice, I am at a complete loss as to why we are in the position we currrently find ourselves????

 

Most of the L1 teams are utter garbage (bar SW who are not doing so well either, and possibly Udders - not totally convinced about them). On paper our squad is miles better, and the level and skill of the other teams is dire (maybe L1 level I guess?). So why are we struggling? Even allowing for the recent issues, we weren't dominant last year or even in the games with AP in charge this season (Brizzle was probably a fluke).

 

Maybe teams raise their game against us as we are the "big boys", but that does not work for me - Norwich, Leeds, even us had the same issue last year and yet all coped (also happens in all other leagues). No, I think there is some other issue - is our team too good for L1? We all know that top European players sometimes struggle with the PL due to a different style of play etc. (Robino for example - yes I know he is not European but the example is valid). Could it be that we need L1 bruisers and thugs, rather than the silky skills??

[hughieslastminutegoal]

Barnard needs an operation on his hernia. Just asked him outside the stadium. Il keep ya posted on anything else.

 

We seem to have come into this season with players carrying injuries that could and should have been operated on in the close season. Why Lalana's injury which he had at the end of last season wasn't dealt with is unfathomable.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

Still looked like a collection of individuals who do not like each other, players on the ball have very few options on who to pass to, hence the ball gets launched forward at Bernard.

something is still not right in the camp

 

Yes, it's called midfield.

[Teddy Nutkins]

Much improved shape seconed half,a little suprised Guly was not given a little longer.One half of central midfield still not adding to our team.

Liked the way when we changed our left side everything was done at a far better momentum, which kept their back four turning.I also liked our back four pushing onto the midfield a little more, rather than sit back.It made Morgan play further up the pitch.Of course the problem with pushing up can leave you vulnerable, if you become square when pushing up,which nearly cost us in the last 5 minutes.Great save there KD, but for goodness sake sort out your kicking, two unchallenged kicks put straight into touch.

Finally, just a word on set pieces..................practice them FFS!

[West End Saint]

I thought we were better than the last 3 games no so much 1st half but definetly 2nd half we kept playing & passing rather than just hitting long hopeful balls if can keep doing that goals & points will come.

 

Some players are still not at the races Punch had another bad game I like him when he is playing well but if it is not going our way he is a liability everything he does has to be a hollywood wish he would do the simple stuff well I am sure he thinks he is 3 times better than he actualy is.

 

Hammond another poor game constantly giving the ball away what happened to the Deano of last season we need to take him out of the firing line and get a centre midfielder in on loan.

 

On a positive note Seaborne who gets a lot of stick on here had a decent game so fair play to him Fonte had a good game it was good to see Barny back we have missed his engergy & running also fair play to Chambo for a young kid he gets stuck in. Lambo whilst still only a shadow of last season was better than he has been his touch was better and he was winning & fighting for the ball unlucky not to score.

[OldNick]

anyone else notice that all the time time Izzet and the little blond midfielder were at the ref? They were at him and anytime it looked like a booking was likely they rushed to get to him and were having a go.They were in his ear constantly.

As for the game, the first half was poor Seaborne did well, Puncheon has lost confidence and the fans are at him, which does not help. Harding went and consoled him at one time after ironic cheers.

Colchester's midfield were like terriers and Morgan (who is pretty poor at set pieces) and Hammond struggled.

Barnard lacks pace and their centre halves matched him and so were comfortable, again the lack of pace up front lets the opposition backs have an easy afternoon.

"nd half was lit up when Lambert had a great effort and the last half hour was exciting.

Hart in mouth time when the sucker blow was about to happen buit luckily we have a 'shot stopper' Tm who used his experience ot put off the 2 strikers. That would have been a real sickener had they stolen the points and an injustice.

A slightr improvement and perhaps the start of the beginning

[Sour Mash]

Thought we looked decent first half at MK Dons on Weds night and don't think we looked too bad on Saturday either. A goal or two and a win and I think we'll go on a run. Yes we miss Lallana and yes we miss the pace and "Plan B" that Waigo and Antonio brought us, but we're still a good side, the same side that tore apart plenty of sides in this league last season, we're just lacking the confidence and momentum that a few goals and wins will bring.

 

Keep the faith.

[Isabel Healey]

Summed it up quite well, I thought.

 

Adkins comments in the Echo, in my opinion, are just "clutching at straws".

 

We need 2/3 bloody players in--------and quick ones at that !!

What match was he watching? Lambert the best on the pitch say what? some harsh comments in that one.

[Nexstar]

What match was he watching? Lambert the best on the pitch say what? some harsh comments in that one.

 

To be fair, if their goalkeeper hadn't been on such good form Rickie would have had a hat-rick, and you would have happily given him MoM.

[Barry the Badger]

What a lazy article. To suggest that Lambert has put on weight since Pardew left is just completely ignorant, he's not been fit from day 1 this season.

[Clifford Nelson]

If the team firms up it's shape and plays outside to in attacking and inside to out defending, the fact that the two central midfielders break beyond the strikers needn't make us vulnerable, as the defensive full back and the two centre backs will come closer on the halfway line, but because of the overloads that we are creating we are going to suck in their attackers into their defence at the very least well into their own half. We then have to build the awareness that on the breakdown of any move the players defend aggressively from the front while the rest of the team funnel back and consolidate in front of the back three. I have two options, play Schneiderlin/Guly or Schneiderlin/Puncheon but Schneiderlin has to look for the opportunity to get into the box.

 

Hammond is a poor passer of the ball and as such is likely to prove an impediment to high tempo pass and move football.

 

I'm not convinced yet that both CMs being offensive will help with the balance of the side, but I'm willing to have a look to see if we can cope with it. We seem to have a tendency of forgetting what is going on behind us, like when we left Colchester free to score all of a sudden. Are our players aware enough to deal with that as well as getting themselves into the box?

[Clifford Nelson]

very very good point. Personally I like having two players in CM that can both get forward and back, but its essential that we don't leave ourselves open to the counter and as we get desperate for a goal we tend to forget our defensive duties - it almost cost us again yesterday. The other problem is neither is really doing enough at the other end either.

 

I agree, that is the problem I worry about if we played two offensive CMs. But that isn't an excuse for not playing any. I think I am fairly well known for not being an enthusiast for 4-4-2, but let us at least make sure that one CM gets himself into the box. I certainly wouldn't have any hesitation to start Guly in that role. If after two or three starts he also has stopped attacking I think the problem is a different one, but if we've borrowed the guy what on earth is he doing on the bench? We're not going to find anything out about him sitting there.

[Marino]

I genuinely thought Perkins was their mascot when he ran on at the start - he must be the smallest player in all 3 divisions including Dyer. He was surprisingly effective in the annoyance stakes and needed to be stamped on but nobody got near him the entire game.

[gjphilsaint]

I think this is what is called.. Perspective.

 

Right now these are our most important success criteria, those which we are talking about..

 

1. Score a goal.. any goal FFS!

We would all take that v Sheff Weds (even if we lost.. it would show improvement)

 

2. Win a game.. no matter how ugly and by any score

Forget the "giving someone a hiding".. we are desperate!!

 

number whatever.... somewhere LONG way down the line long after

playing with width,

signing cover for Lambo,

giving Guly more than 5 mins to see just how much of a duffer he may be,

Season ticket charges

etc.... is

 

Play offs... promotion.. walking the Championship ... winning the prem with our youngsters!!!

 

It might get worse of course we may have to sttop so low as to start just wanting a shot on goal first....

 

Ho hum!!

[derry]

I'm not convinced yet that both CMs being offensive will help with the balance of the side, but I'm willing to have a look to see if we can cope with it. We seem to have a tendency of forgetting what is going on behind us, like when we left Colchester free to score all of a sudden. Are our players aware enough to deal with that as well as getting themselves into the box?

 

If we are going to play a pass and move, high tempo game unless Schneiderlin plays like Scholes as a midfield fulcrum he will have to involve himself more. If we played a nominal 4-5-1/4-3-3 and played a holding midfielder it would really need two attacking in the hole behind the front striker. If we do that and pass the ball Barnard could be the lone striker with Lambert and Lallana in the hole and Schneiderlin behind. But if it's 4-4-2 we don't need one sitting, we need to to get both midfielders rotating, covering each other but at least one getting in amongst the strikers.

[St Albert]

:uhoh:Listen to ourselves, GLAD THAT WE DIDNT LOSE!!! What sort of club have we become? Hard to belive that we were EVER a premiership club

[doddisalegend]

:uhoh:Listen to ourselves, GLAD THAT WE DIDNT LOSE!!! What sort of club have we become? Hard to belive that we were EVER a premiership club

 

uummmmmmmmmm what? thats pretty much the attitude we had during our days in the prem.

[SuperMikey]

Deary me, I thought this place would have changed while I was away, but it's still exactly the same!

[Topcat]

Deary me, I thought this place would have changed while I was away, but it's still exactly the same!

 

Yes we have still not scored a goal for 5 games. But if you want a happy clappy post then smile.

[Whitey Grandad]

You always start from the back and work forwards. We were shipping goals until now so it's important to steady the defence and stop the rot. Then the confidence will improve and eventually the goals will come. This is going to take some time and I, for one, have just about written off this season. If all goes well we may have a chance of outpacing all the others but I'm not as confident as I was after Bristol Rovers.

[MorningtonCrescent]

Does anyone recall the grief dished out regarding Oakley when he was in our midfield? Do people never learn anything about football over the years?

 

Oakley was described as "the invisible man", "ineffective", "sideways player" etc etc etc...... then, when he left, it was not too long before people were seeing how well he performs that midfield role and were saying that we could do with a player just like him!

 

Hammond is playing that "invisible" role, in my opinion. Successive managers have seen him as an important part of the team. These managers are experienced and qualified in their chosen field - managing football teams! I think I'd probably go with their view on how effective Hammond plays his part in the formation, rather than all the knee-jerk eedjuts on here who never learn anything from past experience!

 

FWIW - I don't think Hammond is playing his part as well as he did last year, or that he has shown us his real potential yet - but some of the things spoken about our midfield on here are just plain silly!

 

NA will get into the players heads and he will see who is up for the fight and select the team accordingly. Why the fans here think they could just change a formation/style instantly and get immediate wins......

 

Let the new management get on with it!

 

Lets do our bit too, supporting the 11 players on the pitch - WHOEVER THEY ARE.

 

If NA decides he doesn't need any loans.... then lets not keep banging on about "NC won't let NA have any money"...... NA will have known, before signing for Saints, if there was money available! If there's not, then NA still feels able to get this team promoted.

 

If NA selects Morgan, Hammond, Puncheon etc..... SUPPORT THEM! They need confidence, not a load of abuse from their own fans each time they make a mistake!

 

Jeez......

[OldNick]

Does anyone recall the grief dished out regarding Oakley when he was in our midfield? Do people never learn anything about football over the years?

 

Oakley was described as "the invisible man", "ineffective", "sideways player" etc etc etc...... then, when he left, it was not too long before people were seeing how well he performs that midfield role and were saying that we could do with a player just like him!

 

Hammond is playing that "invisible" role, in my opinion. Successive managers have seen him as an important part of the team. These managers are experienced and qualified in their chosen field - managing football teams! I think I'd probably go with their view on how effective Hammond plays his part in the formation, rather than all the knee-jerk eedjuts on here who never learn anything from past experience!

 

FWIW - I don't think Hammond is playing his part as well as he did last year, or that he has shown us his real potential yet - but some of the things spoken about our midfield on here are just plain silly!

 

NA will get into the players heads and he will see who is up for the fight and select the team accordingly. Why the fans here think they could just change a formation/style instantly and get immediate wins......

 

Let the new management get on with it!

 

Lets do our bit too, supporting the 11 players on the pitch - WHOEVER THEY ARE.

 

If NA decides he doesn't need any loans.... then lets not keep banging on about "NC won't let NA have any money"...... NA will have known, before signing for Saints, if there was money available! If there's not, then NA still feels able to get this team promoted.

 

If NA selects Morgan, Hammond, Puncheon etc..... SUPPORT THEM! They need confidence, not a load of abuse from their own fans each time they make a mistake!

 

Jeez......

I agree. You have to realise that the rules on here are that Morgan, Chamberlain Lallana Harding are untouchable, but all the rest are fodder to be abused.

Abide by that and you will be able to slag off the rest and not have any objection