Saints 4 Huddersfield 1 - Reaction

[Kingsland Red]

Apart from the first 20 minutes, when our centre backs never got the hang of defending the space behind them , I thought we were awesome - great game.

Guly was excellent except when faced with scoring a goal !

COYR

[S-Clarke]

A really good view from an intelligent hudders fan

 

''What a typical Town response , why are we so ****e at this time of year? Still a lot to look forward to but nothing for our away fans to hope for at the moment. Southampton aren't even a good side''

So what does that make them then? Seeing as that's 5-1 last year and 4-1 this year...

[up and away]

We were a lot sharper today and Ricky was a lot better, whether this is just because of the rest we will have to wait and see. Oxo still gets my MOM, even though he was subbed. Ricky's link up play was excellent, his goal classy, but he never forced their team to change out the centre half. Guly really came on strong at the end, compensating for Ricky and I hope we keep him.

 

This had Brentford written all over it again, but we were a lot sharper this time out. Their keeper made a couple of good saves, the Red sea parted and we were one down. What is it with this weakness? We have to prioritise the defence until we get on top. I am getting slightly paranoid with having Schniederlin in the midfield, seems a trademark when he is involved. However good that game was to watch, I just don't feel it's the best way to play with the talent we have available. far too open for my liking at the start, but that's where the excitement comes from.

 

A little concerned with Oxo having cramp, especially with all the games coming up and Holmes no longer available. I would be very tempted to get Puncheon back and see how he pans out for a couple of games, let him go at the end of the window if it does not work out.

[Tractor_Saint]

Guly was very good today..

 

Really? Assume you saw him post match then - what did he do, buy you a beer?

[Lighthouse]

How ever.. Guly is not a footballer..

He is awful

 

Guly may have missed some chances but his link play around the box was good.

 

Guly was very good today..

 

Guly was frustrating but i didn't think he was awful

 

thought Guly was woeful once again, one of the most frustrating strikers i've seen in a Saints shirt since Ricardo Fuller.

 

Guly is one of our better players overall. I hope we keep him.

 

Guly was USELESS again and Barnard probably would have had a hattrick in his place. Please DON'T sign him!

 

Guly was excellent

 

Good to see we've finally cleared this up.

[Minty]

At the start of the match there were certainly some glimpses of why Huddersfield had beaten us a short while back so convincingly. In fact they could have been 2 up within about 16 minutes, had not their player shot wide when it would have been much easier to have scored from a few feet out, the goal at his mercy. It must be one of their misses of the season... Had they established that margin so early, hard to say what our reaction would have been. As it turned out though, it could have ended at 8-3 to us, as we also had some gilt edged chances...

 

But with Lallana giving a man of the match performance on one flank and Chamberlain excellent on the other flank, we gave Huddersfield plenty of problems...

 

The previous match against them appeared to show them as wanting it more than us, but this match, we gave as good as we got all over the pitch and gained our reward. Schneiderlin and Hammond were solid in midfield and when Schneiderlin had to go off before he gained his second yellow, Chaplow was a terrific replacement, full of industry and purpose, his goal a fitting reward for his wholehearted efforts. Please can we buy him, Nicola?

 

Lambert's goal was a stonker, hit with venom from out of nowhere...

 

Agree with this summary almost word for word. A few things I would add though.

 

I was genuinely concerned after the first 20 minutes. It wasn't that we were being outplayed or outfought, but we just looked very shaky and fragile at the back. I had expected quite an open game, and it started exdactly that way, but the only difference was some woeful defending and wayward finished from us. We equalized however, with a goal that I thought the keeper should've saved but look forward to seeing again because it was so unexpected (virtually the whole Kingsland thought it had hit the side-netting at first), we started to get a good grip on things. That said however, it wasn't until the second half when I felt we were on top of their strikers.

 

Lallana's showed so much skill and close control today, he deserved a goal, but fully played his part. Chamberlain delivered the goods too and scored a very mature, composed goal that belied his tender age. He picked his spot and passed it in. A lot of other strikers could learn from it. He took a heavy challenge which clearly affected him but he was excellent to that point.

 

I thought the whole back 5 were dubious for a good half an hour but they gradually tightened up and Jaidi improved markedly after the half hour and nothing got past him or Fonte after that. But lessons do need to be learnt from the ease with which they scored their goal, and the open goal miss shortly afterwards. We switched off and must learn from it. Davis too had a couple of moments where I felt he should've come out to claim the ball or been more decisive. One high ball inparticular was crying out for him to come and collect, but it was allowed to drop and bounce 18 yards out... we won a free kick for an infringement but it concerned me a little.

 

Schneiderlin and Hammond did well, the latter, like the defence, especially after 30 minutes had passed. Chaplow came on and did exactly what was needed to help see the game out and also scored a quality finish from Guly's intelligent pay off. Guly has got some criticism on here and it's easy to see why... his scoring chances were all wasted and those stick in the mind, but his link up play and running of the channel's was good and whilst he can certainly improve, he contributed a lot to the win today, make no mistake.

 

Lambert is still improving, his goal will be a massive fillip for him, and I suspect was rather lucky, but that doesn't matter right now. His workrate was visibly better and he got zero from the ref, despite similarly physical challenges being punished the other way around.

 

18 efforts on target, 7 off target, their keeper made some good saves and we missed others. A lot of good things to take from the game and forward into 2011. Absolutely no reason why we cannot move on and get automatic promotion as long as we learn about the things we still need to improve and stop giving other teams chances that we seem prone to doing.

 

We can and should be positive (go on alpine, give it a go), whilst recognising that we are nowhere near the finished article. As someone else said, no one in this league is consistent. We will lose games and will play poorly. We just need to be the least inconsistent.

[barney]

guly technically was poor but i really couldnt fault his effort.

Thought fonte and jaidi were immense,Rickie was a lot better but cant agree with the mom comments.

Centre mid was overrun early doors but as the game went on they grafted superbly allowing lallana and oxo to do what they do best ATTACK.Great win other another decent side in this league please dont throw it away on saturday.

[Scudamore]

Guly was making things happen. How people can say he was rubbish is beyond me. Should have scored at least one but I think his contribution to the team was pretty good. Frustrating in much the same way as Waigo but I really enjoy watching him in action. Great play for our second today.

 

Another enjoyable moment was Kelvin hoofing the ball way too high into the air for Chamberlain only for him to control the ball wonderfully (you can't coach that kind of class) before passing it on for Guly to make a nice pass to Lallana to hit the woodwork. Lovely stuff.

 

Heard some nob on Solent complaining about the "prawn sandwich brigade in corporate hospitality" voting for Lambert as man of the match. Oblivious to the fact we all get a vote.

 

Also why are there so many brigades in football?

[Hopkins]

The Guly hate is embarrassing. Yes, his shooting was pretty toilet but his link up play was immense. How anyone can deny that is beyond me. he was central to everything we did good today, got an assist for Oxlade and played a good role in Chaplow's goal. Also set up Lallana to miss a sitter, and his all round footwork and link up play with Lallana, Oxlade and even Lambert at times, was a joy to watch.

[IN MY DAY]

It official then, now Puncheon's gone Guly's the new whipping boy. Suck the confidence out of them till they move on and shine for someone else. Like i said to my 8 year old who seemed to get it. He's not a striker. Ive seen Barnard miss chance after chance and he's called unlucky, Gulys had a bad game in front of goal and he's useless.

[Minty]

One of the reasons Guly has attracted criticism is because he got on the ball so much... he was available for passes from defence and midfield 90% of the time and so there will naturally be many times when he will, and did, lose possession. But Hopkins and Scudamore and others are right - His all-round contribution was very valuable and to those who feel otherwise I simply invite you to tell us why... I've not seen any worthy critique yet that comes to a negative conclusion, only knee-jerk remarks like 'He was sh!te' with no justification.

[niceandfriendly]

For those saying guly was/is useless then please, please have a word with yourselves. Perhaps a trip to specsavers wouldn't be a waste of time either. Yes, his finishing wasn't good today and is not his best attribute, but his link up play is better than anyone else we have at the club. He set up chaplow and oxos goals and was part of that brilliant move in the first half where Lallana hit the bar.

 

People just LOVE to hate someone, and it's a little sad really.

 

Rant over, what a great game. :-)

[niceandfriendly]

That's a cracking few posts above mine there.

[saintds]

but we all know it will be p*ssed up against the wall against D & R next week.

 

This exactly what I said on the way back from the game and I'm normally of the optimistic persuasion!

 

Happy with the win. Lambo's goal was a highlight and hopefully he can kick on now. Strange game really as didn't feel like a 4-1 performance. Losing Chambo & Lallana, now or in the summer, scares the crap out of me.

[alexdawkins]

I went to the huddersfield away game, and was absolutely livid with adkins. despite (surely?) knowing that huddersfield would play 2 huge strikers and knock it long all game, he left jaidi out of the side - easily our most dominant defender. this was a fairly criminal error on his part and i have been pretty sceptical of him ever since. that day we were bullied from start to finish. today, i don't think jaidi (MOTM for me) lost one challenge, and eventually they took alan lee off. even more pleasingly, i actually agreed with NA's substitutions today- he took off schneiderlin (who was a class above the rest, chamberlain excluded) at the right time, as he did with chamberlain. guly was actually one of our best performers i thought, apart from his finishing of course. his first chance was a header which he headed tamely wide first time when he should have brought it down. every other chance following that he wanted too much time. but his link up play and work rate were second to none.

[sadoldgit]

Yep thats the one,the same Fuller who was absolute dog**** when he played for us.

 

Saw him play against Cardiff for us and he was terrific in the 2nd half after taking some appalling stick in the first. The facrt that he is still in the Prem says all you need to know.

[Um Bongo]

This exactly what I said on the way back from the game and I'm normally of the optimistic persuasion!

 

Happy with the win. Lambo's goal was a highlight and hopefully he can kick on now. Strange game really as didn't feel like a 4-1 performance. Losing Chambo & Lallana, now or in the summer, scares the crap out of me.

 

No chance! I've seen 3 games this season - 4-0 v Bristol Rovers, 4-0 v D&G & 4-1 v Huddersfield - If D&G are going to score 5 then fair play to them!

[warsash saint]

Strange... From where I was sat lallana missed the easier of chances yet Guly gets the grief??

[up and away]

For those saying guly was/is useless then please, please have a word with yourselves. Perhaps a trip to specsavers wouldn't be a waste of time either. Yes, his finishing wasn't good today and is not his best attribute, but his link up play is better than anyone else we have at the club. He set up chaplow and oxos goals and was part of that brilliant move in the first half where Lallana hit the bar.

 

People just LOVE to hate someone, and it's a little sad really.

 

Rant over, what a great game. :-)

 

It's down to frustration which we all must feel to a certain extent. If you have a look at Guly's record for goals and assists per minute on the pitch, I doubt there is a better player in the Saints team on that basis?

 

This may not have Guly's goal scoring day but his contribution was vital, bordering on essential. Think back to those games where teams come and park the bus and we always have suffered with breaking them down, well in Guly we have someone who can perform that task.

 

The only time I have ever booed at a Saints game was when Redknapp subbed Jones instead of Fuller. Frustration got the better of me, even though it took Fuller another season and a half to sort his knees out.

[Minty]

Strange... From where I was sat lallana missed the easier of chances yet Guly gets the grief??

 

That miss was actually quite surprising IMO... Lallana is usually quite clinical in such situations... it was almost as though he had too much time to think about where to place it (a lot like Guly's header).

[lenwilkins]

Indeed.

 

On paper this is a massive shot-in-the-arm to our hopes for promotion, but we all know it will be p*ssed up against the wall against D & R next week.

 

FFS - do you have a date for the end of the world alpine? I'd like to make sure I have a final **** before it occurs

[musesaint]

Get off Guly's back FFS!

 

Must we always have someone to complain about ????

 

Fans fcked Puncheon by getting on his back at every opportunity .....not suprising he is doing well on loan with a club who appreciate him .... now the same muppets have decided Guly is the new whipping boy ...despite his great link up play and assists ....to be honest Adam missed a couple of better chances today and he is clearly a living God on earth

 

FFS! 4-1 against one of the best teams in the league !

[SOTONS EAST SIDE]

One of the reasons Guly has attracted criticism is because he got on the ball so much... he was available for passes from defence and midfield 90% of the time and so there will naturally be many times when he will, and did, lose possession. But Hopkins and Scudamore and others are right - His all-round contribution was very valuable and to those who feel otherwise I simply invite you to tell us why... I've not seen any worthy critique yet that comes to a negative conclusion, only knee-jerk remarks like 'He was sh!te' with no justification.

I agree with you Minty. Guly is not a striker, he's a midfeilder who scores goals. I suppose thats a STRIKER to the untrained eye. LOL

[saintds]

No chance! I've seen 3 games this season - 4-0 v Bristol Rovers, 4-0 v D&G & 4-1 v Huddersfield - If D&G are going to score 5 then fair play to them!

 

I never meant they would stick 5 past us, just that it wouldn't be unlike Saints to go there, with momentum behind them, and get beat! To be fair to NA though, other than the Brentford game we haven't shown those sort of tendencies.

 

My main concern now though is making sure we keep hold of the crown jewels.

[Leicestersaint]

Well done Saints - a very good result and the first step towards 9 points over the break which should take us into the top two.

 

And we definitely need to keep young Oxlade-Chamberlain.

[John B]

Well done Saints - a very good result and the first step towards 9 points over the break which should take us into the top two.

 

And we definitely need to keep young Oxlade-Chamberlain.

 

I agree but if he wants to go what happens then

[Justin C]

The Guly hate is embarrassing. Yes, his shooting was pretty toilet but his link up play was immense. How anyone can deny that is beyond me. he was central to everything we did good today, got an assist for Oxlade and played a good role in Chaplow's goal. Also set up Lallana to miss a sitter, and his all round footwork and link up play with Lallana, Oxlade and even Lambert at times, was a joy to watch.

 

I fully agree. He was vital today setting up 2 and could have been 3 if Lallana had finished his chance. He is not a great finisher and perhaps he should not go in their box (joke). His link up play is very good and he makes runs that draw defenders and finds himslef in space more oftern than a lot more of our players. It is embarrassing where I sit as poeple slate him for things he is doing right like playing the ball into space where someone should have made a run but did not and they blame him, they don't seem to have a footballing brain at times or they are only allowed to support 10 of our players!.

[SNSUN]

The Guly hate is embarrassing. Yes, his shooting was pretty toilet but his link up play was immense. How anyone can deny that is beyond me. he was central to everything we did good today, got an assist for Oxlade and played a good role in Chaplow's goal. Also set up Lallana to miss a sitter, and his all round footwork and link up play with Lallana, Oxlade and even Lambert at times, was a joy to watch.

People forget Guly's a midfielder doing a job as a second striker, highlighting our lack of options up front. Great win today against a good team and promotion rivals but we do still need reinforcements in January. More of the same in the next game please.

[Rebel]

Guly is an attacking midfielder - and had a great game playing upfront - he just needs to hit the ball first time instead of taking the extra touch - but that's probably the difference between an attacking midfielder and a striker! It was frustrating to watch as he came so close to scoring so often! But he was nearly always in the right place and ran his legs off!

 

I'd like to see Barnard and Guly on the pitch at the same time - there movement around Lambert would cause teams real problems.

 

Also starting to think we are playing Oxlade a bit too much. Suggests he's on his wat to me -and we are trying to put his price up a bit!

[Pip]

Perhaps all those who criticise Guly's nervousness in front of goal should think about what their groaning when he gets the ball in the box does to his confidence.

[Badger]

....despite (surely?) knowing that huddersfield would play 2 huge strikers and knock it long all game, he left jaidi out of the side - easily our most dominant defender. .

 

Sorry,but your comment here reminded me of a former poster and a comment he once made.

 

Agree that Jaidi has a presence in defence , just a shame age and speed are against him.

[Jonnyboy]

Yep thats the one,the same Fuller who was absolute dog**** when he played for us.

 

I expect you told him so week in week out, and Puncheon, and...hold on were you one of the dicks in Kingsland north slating Guly the whole match?

 

No wonder they leave for higher leagues

[ericb]

After the first 20mins i really enjoyed today, i still think huddersfield are a decent side but we outworked them and outplayed them. Chambo and Lallana were awesome as was (for me at least) the man of the match Hammond. Once Hammond got his teeth into the game we looked a different side and it gave space for the others to start ripping huddersfield apart.

 

Was also really good to see Lambert get some confidence back and look more like the player of last season, wanting the ball risking shots and generally looking a nuisance.

 

As for the defence i though Jaidi was woeful for the first 20mins, the huddersfield players/management had obviously noted his lack of speed and were capitalising on it by dropping balls just over the top of him for people to chase.

 

That was until - and i've no idea if it's Adkins decision or Fonte's - Fonte dropped in just behind him and swept up. At the point Jaidi could just worry about heading the ball up the other end of the pitch and we stifled their ideas. Great header for his goal too and i loved the cheeky little backheal in the second half.

 

I've got to be honest i'm not Jaidi's biggest fan but in games like Brighton and the second half of today he's looked like just the kind of big lump we need in this league. Be interested to see Huddersfield fans opinion on him though since i know Brighton fans thought he was shocking!

 

Could've been a very different game if their open goal chance had gone in though, and being stood in the Northam i still can't understand how he missed it!

 

One thing i would say about today was that due to the time of year i went with a chelsea fan and he was openly shocked by how many of our fans left early despite being 4-1 up. Would also be interested to know what happened to the fat northern fan that laid into the steward in the away end then seemingly got away with it by disappearing into the crowd.

[ottery st mary]

Well done Saints..Thank you Our Nigel...

 

World Champions on the rise again.

 

More of the same against Exeter and Dand G Sorry Dagenham.

 

 

Come on Spiderman ..more of the same ..if you want to stay........

Edited 28 December, 2010 by ottery st mary

[Saint_John]

I agree but if he wants to go what happens then

 

IMO we keep him for another 18 months, whatever he wants.

He has just signed a 3 year contract (2.5 years left) and the NEXT 2 YEARS are going to be the most important period in his development as a player. He will NOT get that time (17-19) back again if he waste it.

Sitting on the bench or playing reserve team football at a PL club is the WRONG thing for him at the moment. He needs to be playing 1st Team Football with the odd rest game. He currently has a problem playing a full 90 mins in a game.

 

Returning to the subject of the game the BBC web site says 18 Attempts on Target and another 7 Off Target. I cannot remember a game when we had so many attempts on target.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

The Guly hate is embarrassing. Yes, his shooting was pretty toilet but his link up play was immense. How anyone can deny that is beyond me. he was central to everything we did good today, got an assist for Oxlade and played a good role in Chaplow's goal. Also set up Lallana to miss a sitter, and his all round footwork and link up play with Lallana, Oxlade and even Lambert at times, was a joy to watch.

 

Astute post. Yes Guly can frustrate big time with his finishing but today he worked his socks off and was a "presence" all afternoon. That presence was responsible for 2 of our goals - sometimes you have to look a little deeper at what certain players offer.

[Chez]

A few things that stick in my mind. Firstly the reaction to going 1-0 down. Outstanding effort to turn things around and shows we have players with the right stuff. The second thing was the display from the much maligned Schneiderlin. He had his best game since he came back from Internatioaanl duty and was unlucky to be subbed to protect him from himself. As much as I rate Chaplow I have to applaud Adkins for giving Morgan another shot, when perhaps most fans wouldn't and he delivered. Strong and on to every second ball. The final thing the was confirmation that a striker is needed (as if anyone didn't know it already). All those early chances for the very decent Guly need to fall to a true striker if we are to get promoted. Very pleased with the reaction to the Brentford game, now can we put a run together?

 

Davis 5 some poor kicking (a bit like the old days) and a strange choice to let the ball bounce in the area. No great saves today

Butterfield 5 better than Brentford but not much. Played them all on for the open goal miss.

Jaidi 8 poor start when beaten by Lee a few times, but then dominated

Fonte 7 very poor start and looked a little lost but dominated later

Harding 6 Not quite at his best (when he bullys players) early on, but second half he was solid as ever.

Chamberlain 9 showed exactly why he is in the papers, caused havoc but showed great composure as well. Worrying injury, hopefully just a knock

Schneiderlin 7 covered the ground and picked up the pieces, subbed as yellow card put him at risk

Hammond 7 slow start but overall another decent showing

Lallana 9 should have scored but other than outstanding

Guly 7 not a striker but once he got going worked his socks off

Lambert 7 great goal but not a dominating display by any means. He and Guly eat each others space. Him and Guly may have falled out over free kick at end.

 

Richardson 7 Solid. Why did he not start?

Chaplow 7 nicely taken goal and usual energy, but I actually felt he left a few more holes than Morgan. Interesting to see who will start on Saturday

Dickson Usual hard runing and effort. Surprised he did not start

[Hatch]

enjoyed that today,

Guly , apart from his finishing , which was pretty woeful, was pretty good. There defenders didn't know how to handle him.

He is too clever for most of our team.

[Legod Third Coming]

+1. Looked absolutely brilliant today. Great strike on the turn and half volley. I've slated him a lot this season but today he was brilliant. He's slowly getting his confidence back and slowly getting back to the player that we know he can be!!

 

More like, he has now been resting with all these postponements and might actually be near fitness from injury?

[ericb]

have to applaud Adkins for giving Morgan another shot, when perhaps most fans wouldn't and he delivered. Strong and on to every second ball.

 

Particularly strong in his "tackle" for the booking. I thought he was going to take that lads legs off with that!

[Tractor_Saint]

Fantastic performance after their goal went in. However, we had two other warnings before that goal and didn't seem to learn. Really impressed with Oxo's workrate again and thought that Lambo and Lallana had good games. However, people have asked why the Guly bashing - OK he may have made the sapce and got in the positions but we can't afford to miss sitters in this league. I can remember at least three times when he was in a goal scoring opportunity and finished like a Sunday league player. We're playing League One with sights on the Championship - Guly needs to step up and start finishing those opportunities (or at least hit target).

 

Whilst I'm on a moan - Chaplow is another one who doesn't do it for me. He was lucky not to be booked for the first freekick he gave away a few mins before his booking - stupid backward kick on a player he was tackling. He runs and runs and runs which is admirable but is too clumsey on tackles.

 

Anyhow, the rest of the boys did alright And well done to Mick behind be in Kingsland who had £10 on Jaidi to score first in the 2nd half at 33/1. When he gave me his betting slip I thought it was a late Xmas present for me - sadly he took it back.

[yorkie]

Just heard Adkins interview on Solent - we are going to win the league!

[Legod Third Coming]

Astute post. Yes Guly can frustrate big time with his finishing but today he worked his socks off and was a "presence" all afternoon. That presence was responsible for 2 of our goals - sometimes you have to look a little deeper at what certain players offer.

 

All the while we were winning the Ashes people wanted Ashley Giles dropped because he was not taking enough wickets - forgetting that it wasn't one wicket that won the Ashes or one run it was ALL of them.

 

It's a little like asking for a Heston Blumenthal Xmas pudding and then moaning that he's overdone the raisins...

 

We win as a TEAM of the manager's baking. When it loses ask him to change the ingredients.

 

Until then shut the ferk up because you sound like an idiot.

[Legod Third Coming]

Just heard Adkins interview on Solent - we are going to win the league!

 

Good. £500 at 4/1 is £2 grand. Thank you Nigel ...

[Saint_clark]

Jaidi certainly enjoyed his goal.

[cadiz saint]

All the while we were winning the Ashes people wanted Ashley Giles dropped because he was not taking enough wickets - forgetting that it wasn't one wicket that won the Ashes or one run it was ALL of them.

 

It's a little like asking for a Heston Blumenthal Xmas pudding and then moaning that he's overdone the raisins...

 

We win as a TEAM of the manager's baking. When it loses ask him to change the ingredients.

 

Until then shut the ferk up because you sound like an idiot.

 

Could you explain you sound like Cantona.

[st alex]

Most enjoyable game for a while.

 

Anyone else think it's a bit silly to still be singing 'come on you reds' when we're playing in white against a team in red?

[Jonnyboy]

enjoyed that today,

Guly , apart from his finishing , which was pretty woeful, was pretty good. There defenders didn't know how to handle him.

He is too clever for most of our team.

 

and a lot of our fans

[georgeweahscousin]

Good all round team performance. Special mentions for Lambert, Lallana and Ox.

 

Criticism of Guly is unjustified and over the top in my opinion.

[Thedelldays]

Guly was terrible..

 

Slow, his shooting Is very poor and his heading in goal was terrible

 

He does link up play Ok but that is the standard for a striker