Huddersfield Post Match Thread

[Yorkshire Saint]

Dont know if anyone else saw it ...a move broke down and Crosby was shouting orders to Punch, he started flapping his arms about and reacting petulantly as if to say what the hell was i supposed to do ...dont think it was more than a storm in a tea cup but Punceon was off soon after and to be fair he just can not beat a man and i think thats what was being asked of him to which he retaliated.

[70's Mike]

todays result summed up my big fears that have not benn solved imo

center of defence away from home and lack of a difference on the bench up front.

So many away games were won away last season because of the pace upfront, we now lack that and will resort to long ball game.

At the back we knock it around well at Home BUT when away the home side will push up on us and it will lead to problems

[SaintNick89]

Currently on the coach home on the M1 at moment and it's very subdued.

 

We got out played by a better team today end of. We wern't winning enough of the balls in the air. Amazed that no one ended up getting sent off with the amount of cards that ref was dishing out!

 

This is turning into a very long journey home!

[Saint Fan CaM]

Looks like Adkins agrees with many of us on here - he messed up his game plan by not altering the manner in which the team played against Tranmere.

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2186578,00.html

 

Mind you, I think he's being a little economical with the truth when he says KD only had to make one save! According to Solent KD had made 3 blinding saves in the 1st half alone!

[Window Cleaner]

Looks like Adkins agrees with many of us on here - he messed up his game plan by not altering the manner in which the team played against Tranmere.

 

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2186578,00.html

 

It's common sense really, horses for courses and all that.We should have gone with 3 DMs and broken them down no further back that half way into our own half. Guly was an absolutely stark raving monster loony choice, there's nothing for him against aggressive sides like Huddersfield, not when your strike partner is Ricky Immobile Lambert anyway. Puncheon adds nothing and Lallana probably lacks core fitness for a challenge like Huddersfield.

[Shroppie]

It's common sense really, horses for courses and all that.We should have gone with 3 DMs and broken them down no further back that half way into our own half. Guly was an absolutely stark raving monster loony choice, there's nothing for him against aggressive sides like Huddersfield, not when your strike partner is Ricky Immobile Lambert anyway. Puncheon adds nothing and Lallana probably lacks core fitness for a challenge like Huddersfield.

 

Agree with horses for courses. IMO should have been Barnard for Guly and Spiderman for Chaplow. Or, given the way Lambert is now, Barnard alone up front and Chaplow Spiderman and Hammond in Cm. Some games you need a more defensive solid setup.

[Saint_John]

I think it will be Chaplow and Morgan for centre-midfield next week again Oldham.

 

I believe that was Dean Hammond's 5th yellow card of the season so he will get a one match ban .

[View From The Top]

Just back.

 

We got out bullied and by the time we got to grips with it we were one own.

 

After the 1st goal KD didn't make any save of sorts for the rest of the game.

 

Mistake got playing LB and MS IMHO.

[Ruffo]

Dissapointing result but one that has clearly taught Atkins a lesson given his comments

[SouthportSaint]

Just in from the game. My first of the season so was expecting much more from Saints. Agree we overplayed at the back but the real problem was a series of very basic individual mistakes. I thought it was much better in the second half (don't recall Huddersfield having a chance). Looked more threatening playing 4-3-3 in last quarter which brought Lallana more into it. Sad to say I agree we looked more potent without Lambert- much more movement up front. I would not pick out Chaplow and Hammond for particular blame and don't agree with earlier comment about lack of effort. The Saint's players kept going to the end.

[Saint J 77]

A Bad day of Football Results on the South Coast. Smelly Skates win and we lose.

[LostBoys]

Sounded awful on radio. Oops

[Bearsy]

Adkins position could be looking a bit tenuous

 

Bedwetter

[Acetripper]

Just back! And a bit piddled to be honest! I'll give a more considered posting tomorrow but basically, just as I hoped for we scored early, we wanted it and we kept going!

[doddisalegend]

whoops not part of the plan looks like Nigel has got a bit of work to do yet. Luckily I didn't get to carried away after the Tranmere result so this one hasn't hit me to hard. We need to start scoring goals though I don't know where the free scoring team of last year has gone but I want them back what happened to only winning 3-1?

Edited 16 October, 2010 by doddisalegend

[Saint_Jonny]

Did anyone else see the guy in our end who got sick of the guy in front of him standing up. Was hilarious. He got about an inch away from the back of this guys head and screamed at the top of his voice "SIT DOWN!!!!!", I couldn't stop laughing. Think Saints pretty **** performance got the better of him and he lost the plot bless him. Highlight of my day anyway,

[doddisalegend]

Did anyone else see the guy in our end who got sick of the guy in front of him standing up. Was hilarious. He got about an inch away from the back of this guys head and screamed at the top of his voice "SIT DOWN!!!!!", I couldn't stop laughing. Think Saints pretty **** performance got the better of him and he lost the plot bless him. Highlight of my day anyway,

 

you know a match was a good one when something in the stands is the highlight of your day:(

[Saint_Jonny]

you know a match was a good one when something in the stands is the highlight of your day:(

 

Yup very true. Had a bit of a hangover going on, then topped myself up with some dodgy tasting ale so was in a lucid sort of mood today, losing the game didnt really bother me. ****ed off knowing ive got to live in Huddersfield with that **** performance hanging over me though.

[Colinjb]

My Dad's reaction from the Galpharm.

 

"We wern't that bad, dictated a lot of the play but their first goal hit us for six... we couldn't break through but the performance was not a tragedy."

[Leicestersaint]

Very disappointing - i had thought we coudl get a draw - I increasingly think several of the player simply are not good enough.

[Danny R]

My Dad's reaction from the Galpharm.

 

"We wern't that bad, dictated a lot of the play but their first goal hit us for six... we couldn't break through but the performance was not a tragedy."

 

To be honest mate, I would much rather hear the view of the suicide brigade (who know that a massive club like us such never lose game in this league), than to people who actually attended the game.

[Acetripper]

My Dad's reaction from the Galpharm.

 

"We wern't that bad, dictated a lot of the play but their first goal hit us for six... we couldn't break through but the performance was not a tragedy."

 

God Bless Dad...but it was...sorry but you were nowhere! You just weren't init..init!

[Legod Third Coming]

This result will not matter. It was always going to be the hardest game of the season (look at thtir home record) and we are only 6 points behind 2nd place and have played most of the top half already.

 

Disappointing day but nothing to concern ourselves with too much. Adkins will learn from this.

 

Learn what exactly? He's a fecking football manager not studying for GCSE maths.

This is a poor result. With our resources, when exactly do we start to play to the standard our Chairman aspires?

[Saint Since '51]

Huddersfield started with more muscle (esp their No19, Alan(?) Lee up front) and energy than us. We were bullied and hassled off the ball constantly for the first 10 minutes and it was no surprise that they got an early goal. Huddersfield played good, quick passes on occasions, but mainly relied upon balls in the air and Seaborne and Fonte looked like ballet dancers in a bar fight - footballers trying to look class in a brawl.

 

Who is to blame for this?

 

Added to this, the back four and Kelvin were like the Keystone Kops when they tried to play it out from the back. It was a bit like a game of Chicken (how close can I get to giving away a goal before you actually score). Adkins is correct; we tried to play football in the wrong areas.

 

Who is to blame for this?

 

As a result of the chaos at the back, our footballers (Chaplow, Lallana, Guly) never got a look in, while Puncheon seemed unwilling to take on the full-back and Sir Ricky, who can mix it, never had the appetite for it.

 

All in all, a woeful performance. Better in the 2nd half - but how much was this because Huddersfield were just protecting their lead. Milles off promotion material.

[captainchris]

Not enough fight or goals in this team to get out of this league. Players like Guly and Puncheon are a luxury we cant afford. Would not have scored today if they played all night.Lets hope we scrape the play offs and get lucky.

 

Very good point. Both these too were very over rated by most at the Tranmere game. Guly was not that good and Punch was no different to every other game this year. Today weaknesses were exposed but there again so were tactical weaknesses. The tactics employed by NA are great but mixing it is important if teams are pushing up against us.

[Legod Third Coming]

Very good point. Both these too were very over rated by most at the Tranmere game. Guly was not that good and Punch was no different to every other game this year. Today weaknesses were exposed but there again so were tactical weaknesses. The tactics employed by NA are great but mixing it is important if teams are pushing up against us.

 

I said at the time, Tranmere were hopeless however good we might have looked. Tranmere showed how good they are today, as did we.

There is a long way to go. I wish Adkins would speed up whatever it is he's doing. If we're not promoted this season, then what??

[PokingFun]

Terrible performance, we can only beat poor sides.

 

What, like B'mth, Sheff Wed etc who are top six as well?!?!

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Fairly predictable result. After getting ourselves into a good vein of form and a chance to push into the top half, we feck it up. Saints all over. Bottom half of Division 3 it is then. Put the 5 year plan for World Domination back on hold then. Maybe we should get Roque Santa Cruz on loan from Man City. I know we can't afford the wages but there's other teams that win matches with that strategy and it seems to be accepted by the authorities.

[Simster]

Brighton are looking like a team that is head and shoulders above this division, which is what I expected our team to be.

We certainly are. We're looking a different class. Luckily, our worst performance of the season was saved for the telly. lol

 

Until we get in a decent ball-winning ( not ball-losing ) midfielder we are stuck in this league.

I do feel your pain and can well believe this. Having seen Hammond more times than I care to remember, I can't believe he's your captain ffs. He honestly wouldn't come anywhere near our bench to be honest.

 

This thread is like a million on our thread down the years. We're all football fans and there's never a middle ground. Personally, I'd be fairly shocked if Southampton weren't a top six side at the end of the season, but the inconsistency has to be left behind before the end of October if you're going to challenge the top 2. It's easy enough to soar up the lower reaches of the table but the top teams don't often drop points for you to make up!

[saintrich]

Both goals conceded 'cos we didn't bother to mark gudjonson on the edge of the box. Huddersfield played good percentage football - pumping it into our final third so that lee could hold up and they could continuously pressurise. Playing ball out of defence was dodgy as novak worked tirelessly to close down meaning Davis and fonte regularly got in sticky situations and we couldn't attack enough. Saw players at chievely on way home - lambert big cut on his forehead.

[Saint Fan CaM]

Bedwetter

 

What a clever chap you are.

[SaintJackoInHurworth]

I'm surprised how little feedback there has been on here, but that is perhaps a sign of how poorly we played today. I'd agree with some of the comments on here, but I think there are a few more important things to be added:

 

1. Huddersfield got their tactics spot on. They were first to almost every ball (especialy in the first half) and didn't give us any chance to settle on the ball. We didn't know how to deal with this and it's an area the coaching staff will need to work on. However, their aggression was helped in no small part by the fact that...

2. The refereeing was atrocious! One minute he would completely ignore the use of hands by a Huddersfield player to shove a Saints player off the ball and then the next minute he would award them a free kick for something that looked completely innocuous. Many times he awarded them free kicks that looked like they should have been awarded the other way. He completely missed a stonewall penalty for us.

3. The team seemed to lack coherence and shape - especially in the first half. It looked like they had been asked to play in a particular way with which they were not comfortable. It seemed that their natural creativity was being stifled in order to play to a rigid system of football.

4. Until the second goal the team lacked any passion and determination. Hence with Huddersfield's tactics we were beaten to almost every ball.

5. I sensed a disunity among the team and noticed Fonte and Davis exchanging sharp words early on.

6. Fonte looked frustrated by having to cover for other players short-comings and by having to operate under a system that placed them under unneccessary pressure.

7. One of our biggest weaknesses was our total lack of movement. Time and again we lost the ball from thrown-ins, etc. because there was no-one creating space. The whole team were guilty of this, not just a few individuals. Again it felt like they were trying to stick rigidly to a system which caused them to forget basic things like this!

 

Finally, here are a few comments about individual players:

 

Davis - Didn't actually have a lot to do, but was put under pressure too often by having the ball returned to him from defenders. This was in part due to the system operated for passing the ball out and in part due to the high pressure game played by Huddersfield.

Harding - Mostly anonymous in first half and despite not coming into the game in an attacking sense much was occasionally still out of position. Improved in the second half and became one of our more creative outlets.

Butterfield - Mostly solid and put in some ok crosses. Would have liked to see him develop more of an understanding with Puncheon to release him to run to the byline and put in some crosses.

Fonte - A few mistakes, possibly due to having to cover for others and because of the sytem being played.

Seaborne - Woeful! Should have been subbed at half time. Got his timing wrong numerous times and it was embarassing the number times the ball bounced over his head, nearly resulting in more goals for them. Was largely at fault for both goals.

Hammond - Mostly pretty anonymous. Provided little defensive cover and little going forward.

Chaplow - One of our better players. Worked hard for the team and tried to create space for others. Some nice touches of the ball and reasonably good passing.

Puncheon - Received a lot of criticism from some fans, especially one foul-mouthed OAP (Probably the oldest chav I have ever come across!) but actually made some good runs down the wings when he was provided with the right ball, which was too infrequently. His crosses were generally excellent and if he had been given the opening to provide more of these could have done some damage. Sadly, though, his work rate sometimes left a bit to be desired. He seemed also to be a little low on confidence, which impacted upon his touch once or twice.

Lallana - at the heart of all our best passing movement, but needs to work on looking for an outlet for that movement and passing - i.e. providing that telling ball to the strikers or wingers, etc.

Guly - Similar to Lallana. He was also frustratingly inconsistent. He went past several players at one point, exchanged a great one-two with Lallana and then fluffed the final pass!

Lambert - Heavily marked out of the game and barely received a pass from any of our other players. It wasn't so much that he did badly as he wasn't given anything with which he could do anything! His work rate was not sufficiently high to compensate for this.

 

Subs:

 

Barnard - A bit languid at first but then got into the game, worked hard, created space and provided a menace. Sadly received little service from midfield in the form of a telling ball that would release him to have a shot.

Bignall - Worked hard, created space and looked promising. Would have liked to have seen more of him in the middle, but without the service he wisely went looking for the ball out wide.

Schneiderlin - Added much needed composure to the midfield, but it was far too late in the game.

[Saint Fan CaM]

I'm surprised how little feedback there has been on here, but that is perhaps a sign of how poorly we played today. I'd agree with some of the comments on here, but I think there are a few more important things to be added:

 

1. Huddersfield got their tactics spot on. They were first to almost every ball (especialy in the first half) and didn't give us any chance to settle on the ball. We didn't know how to deal with this and it's an area the coaching staff will need to work on. However, their aggression was helped in no small part by the fact that...

2. The refereeing was atrocious! One minute he would completely ignore the use of hands by a Huddersfield player to shove a Saints player off the ball and then the next minute he would award them a free kick for something that looked completely innocuous. Many times he awarded them free kicks that looked like they should have been awarded the other way. He completely missed a stonewall penalty for us.

3. The team seemed to lack coherence and shape - especially in the first half. It looked like they had been asked to play in a particular way with which they were not comfortable. It seemed that their natural creativity was being stifled in order to play to a rigid system of football.

4. Until the second goal the team lacked any passion and determination. Hence with Huddersfield's tactics we were beaten to almost every ball.

5. I sensed a disunity among the team and noticed Fonte and Davis exchanging sharp words early on.

6. Fonte looked frustrated by having to cover for other players short-comings and by having to operate under a system that placed them under unneccessary pressure.

7. One of our biggest weaknesses was our total lack of movement. Time and again we lost the ball from thrown-ins, etc. because there was no-one creating space. The whole team were guilty of this, not just a few individuals. Again it felt like they were trying to stick rigidly to a system which caused them to forget basic things like this!

 

Finally, here are a few comments about individual players:

 

Davis - Didn't actually have a lot to do, but was put under pressure too often by having the ball returned to him from defenders. This was in part due to the system operated for passing the ball out and in part due to the high pressure game played by Huddersfield.

Harding - Mostly anonymous in first half and despite not coming into the game in an attacking sense much was occasionally still out of position. Improved in the second half and became one of our more creative outlets.

Butterfield - Mostly solid and put in some ok crosses. Would have liked to see him develop more of an understanding with Puncheon to release him to run to the byline and put in some crosses.

Fonte - A few mistakes, possibly due to having to cover for others and because of the sytem being played.

Seaborne - Woeful! Should have been subbed at half time. Got his timing wrong numerous times and it was embarassing the number times the ball bounced over his head, nearly resulting in more goals for them. Was largely at fault for both goals.

Hammond - Mostly pretty anonymous. Provided little defensive cover and little going forward.

Chaplow - One of our better players. Worked hard for the team and tried to create space for others. Some nice touches of the ball and reasonably good passing.

Puncheon - Received a lot of criticism from some fans, especially one foul-mouthed OAP (Probably the oldest chav I have ever come across!) but actually made some good runs down the wings when he was provided with the right ball, which was too infrequently. His crosses were generally excellent and if he had been given the opening to provide more of these could have done some damage. Sadly, though, his work rate sometimes left a bit to be desired. He seemed also to be a little low on confidence, which impacted upon his touch once or twice.

Lallana - at the heart of all our best passing movement, but needs to work on looking for an outlet for that movement and passing - i.e. providing that telling ball to the strikers or wingers, etc.

Guly - Similar to Lallana. He was also frustratingly inconsistent. He went past several players at one point, exchanged a great one-two with Lallana and then fluffed the final pass!

Lambert - Heavily marked out of the game and barely received a pass from any of our other players. It wasn't so much that he did badly as he wasn't given anything with which he could do anything! His work rate was not sufficiently high to compensate for this.

 

Subs:

 

Barnard - A bit languid at first but then got into the game, worked hard, created space and provided a menace. Sadly received little service from midfield in the form of a telling ball that would release him to have a shot.

Bignall - Worked hard, created space and looked promising. Would have liked to have seen more of him in the middle, but without the service he wisely went looking for the ball out wide.

Schneiderlin - Added much needed composure to the midfield, but it was far too late in the game.

 

Thanks for that. It will be very interesting to see how NA reacts to the performances in terms of changing the team around now he has good options.

 

1st names on the team-sheet sound as if they will Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, Harding, Schneiderlin, Chaplow, Lallana. Who will take up the remaining 4 places? I think we might see Martin back in defence, Puncheon will still start. So that leaves the two strikers - if Lambert is injured (head wound) then it's going to be Barnard with one of Guly or Bignoll - tough choice for Adkins.

[sidthesquid]

Most boringly predictable result of the season. And, in some ways, the most concerning.

What worried me last season and continues to worry me is not a lack of talent but a lack of bottle in our team. We still very rarely come back from one down, especially away from home, and heads drop far too easily, (ie the shocking run of performances after Pardew went). In cricketing terms we are a Graeme Hick, a flat-track bully that looks magnificent when things are going great but falls apart when things get tough.

I think the trouble is the players know they are the best in the division but, like last season, they will keep coming up against teams that will get in their faces or play 9-0-1 & they have to learn to deal with it. And so far they haven't. It's a bit like England's 'golden generation' - ultimately it's mental toughness, not talent that divides winners from 'unlucky' losers, and I seriously wonder whether we have it.

[View From The Top]

Learn what exactly? He's a fecking football manager not studying for GCSE maths.

This is a poor result. With our resources, when exactly do we start to play to the standard our Chairman aspires?

 

You really are a pathetic human being. On to ignore you go alongside the neo-nazi and Alpine. Posters that you sit easily beside.

[Shroppie]

Thanks for that. It will be very interesting to see how NA reacts to the performances in terms of changing the team around now he has good options.

 

1st names on the team-sheet sound as if they will Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, Harding, Schneiderlin, Chaplow, Lallana. Who will take up the remaining 4 places? I think we might see Martin back in defence, Puncheon will still start. So that leaves the two strikers - if Lambert is injured (head wound) then it's going to be Barnard with one of Guly or Bignoll - tough choice for Adkins.

 

Against physical sides I'd still like to see Jaidi starting. Should always have played Schneiderlin today for midfield control. And the moment is close when Ricky has to be rested.

[dubai_phil]

When you are re-building something or implementing change, whether it is in an organisation or a football team there are many lessons to be learnt.

 

We as fans (in the main) felt much more positive the past few weeks - we felt we could see the way forward or even that we would "walk this league (in most cases somewhere in between).

 

From what I heard yesterday, it would seem the players thought the same as well. They had started to have confidence in the new ways and system and turned up all "expecting things to work like magic" and forgot that Football is also about effort, determination and desire.

 

Lots more ups and downs to come I am sure, but as long as the players understood that they had a kick up the a*s yesterday then in the long run it will be agood thing to lose to a decent side as we now know what we have to do.

 

I'm sure NA will be working on this, complacency breeds failure.

 

Won't slit my wrists over it, everyone has off days or stupid results that are not expected - ask Man Ure fans today how they drew, how could EVS make a howler, or Chelsea fail to beat an average Villa side.

 

All I HOPE is that we take it as a learning step NOT as a bad day at the office

[VectisSaint]

This result will not matter. It was always going to be the hardest game of the season (look at their home record) and we are only 6 points behind 2nd place and have played most of the top half already.

Seems a few people think they have a great home record, perhaps they did last season, before yesterday it was P5 W2 D2 L1, F9 A6. Hardly awe inspiring. Our own home record has been awful this season, ours reads P6 W2 D2 L2, notice the similarity? Our little cousins down the road have the best home record, P6 W5 D1 L0

[theyin]

just out of interest, what was NA's record against Huddersfield over the past few seasons?

 

except of course the last one before I get a slating

Edited 17 October, 2010 by theyin

[Legod Third Coming]

Most boringly predictable result of the season. And, in some ways, the most concerning.

What worried me last season and continues to worry me is not a lack of talent but a lack of bottle in our team. We still very rarely come back from one down, especially away from home, and heads drop far too easily, (ie the shocking run of performances after Pardew went). In cricketing terms we are a Graeme Hick, a flat-track bully that looks magnificent when things are going great but falls apart when things get tough.

I think the trouble is the players know they are the best in the division but, like last season, they will keep coming up against teams that will get in their faces or play 9-0-1 & they have to learn to deal with it. And so far they haven't. It's a bit like England's 'golden generation' - ultimately it's mental toughness, not talent that divides winners from 'unlucky' losers, and I seriously wonder whether we have it.

 

I'm not convinced that's all true. Last season we regularly came back from conceding to either win or snatch a late draw - certainly we never lacked for want of trying, more for lack of guile, tactics and pace.

 

However, I do agree that if the criticism of Pardew was inconsistency (which I would grudgingly recognise), nothing has changed. That is most alarming. I cannot abide the people who think we need time. Time to do what? We have the best resources and best squad in this league. The decision to jettison Pardew is one that I can abide, so long as we soon start to demonstrate that it was to move forward and not to tread water, which current performances have an uncomfortable feeling of...

[Saints67]

I'm surprised how little feedback there has been on here, but that is perhaps a sign of how poorly we played today. I'd agree with some of the comments on here, but I think there are a few more important things to be added:

 

1. Huddersfield got their tactics spot on. They were first to almost every ball (especialy in the first half) and didn't give us any chance to settle on the ball. We didn't know how to deal with this and it's an area the coaching staff will need to work on. However, their aggression was helped in no small part by the fact that...

2. The refereeing was atrocious! One minute he would completely ignore the use of hands by a Huddersfield player to shove a Saints player off the ball and then the next minute he would award them a free kick for something that looked completely innocuous. Many times he awarded them free kicks that looked like they should have been awarded the other way. He completely missed a stonewall penalty for us.

3. The team seemed to lack coherence and shape - especially in the first half. It looked like they had been asked to play in a particular way with which they were not comfortable. It seemed that their natural creativity was being stifled in order to play to a rigid system of football.

4. Until the second goal the team lacked any passion and determination. Hence with Huddersfield's tactics we were beaten to almost every ball.

5. I sensed a disunity among the team and noticed Fonte and Davis exchanging sharp words early on.

6. Fonte looked frustrated by having to cover for other players short-comings and by having to operate under a system that placed them under unneccessary pressure.

7. One of our biggest weaknesses was our total lack of movement. Time and again we lost the ball from thrown-ins, etc. because there was no-one creating space. The whole team were guilty of this, not just a few individuals. Again it felt like they were trying to stick rigidly to a system which caused them to forget basic things like this!

 

Finally, here are a few comments about individual players:

 

Davis - Didn't actually have a lot to do, but was put under pressure too often by having the ball returned to him from defenders. This was in part due to the system operated for passing the ball out and in part due to the high pressure game played by Huddersfield.

Harding - Mostly anonymous in first half and despite not coming into the game in an attacking sense much was occasionally still out of position. Improved in the second half and became one of our more creative outlets.

Butterfield - Mostly solid and put in some ok crosses. Would have liked to see him develop more of an understanding with Puncheon to release him to run to the byline and put in some crosses.

Fonte - A few mistakes, possibly due to having to cover for others and because of the sytem being played.

Seaborne - Woeful! Should have been subbed at half time. Got his timing wrong numerous times and it was embarassing the number times the ball bounced over his head, nearly resulting in more goals for them. Was largely at fault for both goals.

Hammond - Mostly pretty anonymous. Provided little defensive cover and little going forward.

Chaplow - One of our better players. Worked hard for the team and tried to create space for others. Some nice touches of the ball and reasonably good passing.

Puncheon - Received a lot of criticism from some fans, especially one foul-mouthed OAP (Probably the oldest chav I have ever come across!) but actually made some good runs down the wings when he was provided with the right ball, which was too infrequently. His crosses were generally excellent and if he had been given the opening to provide more of these could have done some damage. Sadly, though, his work rate sometimes left a bit to be desired. He seemed also to be a little low on confidence, which impacted upon his touch once or twice.

Lallana - at the heart of all our best passing movement, but needs to work on looking for an outlet for that movement and passing - i.e. providing that telling ball to the strikers or wingers, etc.

Guly - Similar to Lallana. He was also frustratingly inconsistent. He went past several players at one point, exchanged a great one-two with Lallana and then fluffed the final pass!

Lambert - Heavily marked out of the game and barely received a pass from any of our other players. It wasn't so much that he did badly as he wasn't given anything with which he could do anything! His work rate was not sufficiently high to compensate for this.

 

Subs:

 

Barnard - A bit languid at first but then got into the game, worked hard, created space and provided a menace. Sadly received little service from midfield in the form of a telling ball that would release him to have a shot.

Bignall - Worked hard, created space and looked promising. Would have liked to have seen more of him in the middle, but without the service he wisely went looking for the ball out wide.

Schneiderlin - Added much needed composure to the midfield, but it was far too late in the game.

 

Agree with this. However Butterfield slipped over several times in dangerous positions and he worried me. Puncheon seemed to have no appetite for the scrap and wimped out of some tackles. Huddersfield worked hard and closed our play down. They were defending to the death and only a goal-line clearance from a Guly shot in the first half and a superb tackle on Barnard in the second stopped us from scoring. Huddersfield played some nice quick tempo passing but they are hoof merchants of the highest degree. My neck was sore watching the ball arch into the afternoon sky. I was more fed up after the game with our first half display but we were more architects in our own downfall than Huddersfield being brilliant. Referee was very poor and the ridiculous 4th offical doing is warm-ups prior to ambling up and down the line just about played right into Huddersfield hands as they looked knackered towards the end whereas our lads had more energy.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Yes we were terrible and yes I had the misfortune of being there to witness it, but let's not get too OTT. It was the first game in 5 that we lost to a team who are one of our main rivals for promotion this year. Look at Arsenal against Chelsea a few weeks back. Lee Clark sussed us out well and Huddersfield stopped us from playing football for large parts of the game.

[Red and White Army]

t was the first game in 5 that we lost to a team who are one of our main rivals for promotion this year.

 

That is the problem. We need to beat our rivals, not roll over and surrender like week old puppies.

[corky morris]

We were simply out muscled yesterday and lost to the better side. We could not cope with their physicality at all. It was a mistake not starting Morgan, he is simply the best passer we have. Also a cold day in Yorkshire is never gonna help guly. Hudders have had 4 guys sent off this year and you can see why. The game needed a strong ref and we didnt get one. No gripes, they were better than us on the day. Also, how bad was Puncheon. He may be my pet hate, but he was total poo!

[LaptopSaint]

Hopefully it will be like last year. Get shown up at Hudders while we have a relatively new manager settling in. And then we do them big style when we get them back to St Marys.

But I agree with those above who say we shouldn't expect to lose to promotion rivals. That's no way to get near the top two. We should expect to win - not assume we'll win - but certainly expect it.

[Saint_Jonny]

Puncheon was not "total poo", you lot just need someone to have a go at and blame. He was as good / bad as the rest of them.

 

HTH.

[SaintNeil90]

Just back! And a bit piddled to be honest! I'll give a more considered posting tomorrow but basically, just as I hoped for we scored early, we wanted it and we kept going!

 

God Bless Dad...but it was...sorry but you were nowhere! You just weren't init..init!

 

Your making out your side to be some supreme force. To be honest, apart from the two quality goals (and I say quality because they were lucky strikes not well worked goals) you didnt do much more than take advantage of a few silly defensive mistakes. The second half was played in your half and I cant even remember you have more than one shot or testing our keeper. In that second half we just could not break down a team that was happy to park the bus and hope 2 goals was enough, luckily for you, this time it was enough.

[corky morris]

Puncheon was not "total poo", you lot just need someone to have a go at and blame. He was as good / bad as the rest of them.

 

HTH.

Standing on then falling over the ball was not total poo then? No he worse than most of them!

[SaintNeil90]

Standing on then falling over the ball was not total poo then? No he worse than most of them!

 

I also saw Butterfield and Fonte do similar!

[latter day saint]

I also saw Butterfield and Fonte do similar!

Oi ! dont give facts that may get in the way of a good rant !