Saints V Blackpool Match Thread and Reaction

[Ohio Saint]

Kelvin must have mixed emotions today. His importance to us after an incredibly nervy performance from Bart has been shown, but I remember about six years ago against Preston he made a similar mistake to Bart's one today, and people absolutely slaughtered him for it, but he's now on the verge of 250 appearances. Bart will rightly get criticised, but writing him off is the wrong thing to do.

 

 

It's not that long ago that we were in the championship, and Bart was playing out of skin. Many here wanted him to replace Kelvin at the time! Bart didn't become a bad player overnight. Either he had a very nervy game, or we've ruined him. I would suspect the former.

Edited 10 December, 2011 by Ohio Saint

[Jonnyboy]

The front two saved us today. Rickie and Guly both did well, particularly the latter. He does tend to blow hot and cold but his work rate was excellent and it was notable that he was the one charging after the ball in the last ten minutes, looking for any opportunity to create a chance. Rickie showed his value once again. He really is becoming a Le Tissier-esque talisman. Kelvin must have mixed emotions today. His importance to us after an incredibly nervy performance from Bart has been shown, but I remember about six years ago against Preston he made a similar mistake to Bart's one today, and people absolutely slaughtered him for it, but he's now on the verge of 250 appearances. Bart will rightly get criticised, but writing him off is the wrong thing to do. He'll earn some sympathy from Kelvin, certainly. Blackpool deserved their point though and, ultimately, we've actually gained a point today on the team in second. The home wins run couldn't go on indefinitely and we need to keep showing faith, and hoping that Nigel has a couple of good transfer targets for January, as we do need them. He knows more about football than anyone who posts on this board and if he's backed, then we can maintain our standing as genuine contenders.

 

Spot on.

[Vershinin]

Ref was a complete ****ing **** tosser ****ing **** **** ****ing knob. ****ing unbelievable, lost my voice at today calling him a ****

[SNSUN]

Never cheered so loudly for a Saints goal, even my missus was screaming at our second! Cold day but that warmed me up. Bart couldn't catch Gonnorhea in a pompey brothel.

[Ohio Saint]

Never cheered so loudly for a Saints goal, even my missus was screaming at our second! Cold day but that warmed me up. Bart couldn't catch Gonnorhea in a pompey brothel.

 

To be fair, even STDs are too nervous to go to those places.

[lethallee]

We were not at our best but still created fair few chances . well deserved point in end against a good team. hope chaplow back next week and hammond dropped to bench. cork and Morgan looked good partnership. thought cork was very good 2nd half

[Wes Tender]

Well, it had to happen sooner or later that our record breaking run of home wins came to an end and there is no embarrassment that it came at the hands of a team playing in the Premiership last season. However, but for the comedy blooper from Bart, we would have had the three points and still been in the hunt for the all time best home wins sequence in British football.

 

Where we have had a couple of blips during these past few games, undoubtedly we would have been better today had Kelvin played and Lambert's presence showed once again why he is so vital to our cause and how we missed him the last game, but I also feel that we miss Chaplow too. Players like these represent the difference between an average team and a good team.

 

For me today, the stand out players were Guly and Richardson. Apart from Bart, the rest of the team acquitted themselves quite well against well organised opposition who could have scored a couple more goals had half chances been taken. However, it must be said that there were several opportunities for us to have scored perhaps two or three goals ourselves. Hammond managed to scoop the ball over the bar from virtually underneath it and there were a couple of superb balls across the face of their goal that only needed a touch to convert them. Schneiderlin had a clear opportunity that he had carved out for himself, but hadn't the guts to shoot for some reason. And yet in the last match against Doncaster, Adkins had him up front for a while.

 

The referee was also dire and there were a couple of decent penalty shouts we had. He also seemed pretty keen on punishing any contact with their players, whilst ignoring far worse fouls committed by Blackpool players.

 

On the plus side, at the 70 minute stage I thought that we wouldn't get anything from the game, so a point right at the death was a giant relief. I understand that Hollow Way was incensed at the five extra minutes, but then he should tell his players not to waste time unecessarily when taking goal kicks, throw-ins and strolling off the pitch nonchalently when substituted. Great to find out later that whenever we stumble, West Ham do also, but their loss today actually widened the gap over them by a point

 

I sincerely hope that Kelvin is back for the match against the Skates. After their win today against Burnley, they must fancy their chances of a win a bit more. If Chaplow was back too, I'd feel a lot more confident of a victory.

[southbourne saint]

Dont panic were going through a poor spell. I thought that was our best performance in a while, we created loads of chances it should have been game over after 30 mins. Bart aside it was ok

[derry]

As biased as i am towards Adam i find this statement a little bit over the top,he played pretty well when given the ball but see it very seldom. As i said on the match thread earlier fox was hoofing it forward missing out the midfield thus leaving Adam picking up scraps.I await window cleaner to knock me back as he has been slowly getting a head of steam over this subject the last couple of weeks,brings back memories of two seasons ago LOL

 

He is obviously managing that arch injury and isn't at his best yet. Having said that he worked extremely hard and had a decent game. The one criticism I have of him in the light of your comments is that he gets himself into the middle too often looking for the ball so is not easy to pick out. If he spent a little more time wide and delayed his runs into the middle he would give himself more room and be easier to pick out. He does get the ball far too often facing his own goal which forces him inside or back.

 

I heard that Barnard is having/has had an operation on his ankle and is out for a while, have you heard anything?

[up and away]

for the fourth game in a row we carried Lallana.

 

Get it right, Lallana never carried the rest of the team today. He's off form from his earlier standards, but so are others and far worse. Our biggest loss is the drive from midfield and no Chaplow to work one of the wings.. Cork had a good game and thankfullly we had Ricky back. Hooiveld let his man slip away for an easy goal, yet I hear no mention about that.

[Papa Shango]

My take on the game. Don't like saying it, but think we would have won comfortably were it not for Bart. Controlled first 30 minutes of the game. My player ratings/report can be read here if anyone is interested : http://www.thesaintshub.com/saints2-2blackpool.html

[Ziggy]

Was their first offside? From where I was sat he was off by a mile.

[Liquidshokk]

Was their first offside? From where I was sat he was off by a mile.

 

Nope, confirmed onside

[beatlesaint]

FWIW I think Lallana misses Connolly, they seem to be on the same wavelength.

[Chez]

Get it right, Lallana never carried the rest of the team today. He's off form from his earlier standards, but so are others and far worse.

aye? As I said, we carried Lallana again. He was poor and has been in all of the last four games. I'm told he is still injured. Well, he is certainly playing like someone that is unfit and carrying an injury. His work rate is terrible and that is something I have never said about him before. Marvellous player, but he is leaving huge gaps, not closing down, not tracking back and generally not doing anything unless he is on the ball. I am tempted to drop him.

 

Hopefully I have now said enough to ensure he is amazing next week!

[aintforever]

Every time we play Scheiderlin, Hammond and Cork in the same midfield we are sh!t. Morgan is not a right midfielder, he does and OK job siting in the middle - that's it.

 

We scraped a draw today against a poor Blackpool side, we need to strengthen the squad in Jan.

[Ziggy]

Nope, confirmed onside

 

Cheers mate. Makes me feel a little better.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Well the manager said there'd be a time when we struggled this season, and let's face it he was not wrong. It's too easy to just blame our hapless stand-in goalkeeper because in truth our performance level has been on a descending trajectory for a month or so now. Never mind because it seems our troubles have spread to West Ham as well, so all things considered you could say that todays point doesn't look too bad right now - he says unconvincingly.

 

Looking for two positives to take from today, I thought that Jack Cork had a fine game and we did create more than our fair share of chances during the 1st 45 minutes, indeed with a proper goalkeeper between the sticks I think we'd have beaten a very average Blackpool side fairly easily.

 

As for two negatives, Well aside from the aforementioned Polish goalkeeper's nightmare, neither Guly Do Pardo nor Steve De Ridder can look back on this game with any sense of satisfaction either I'd have thought. Indeed it has to be said that I wonder if De Ridder is up to the demands of English Football.

[Saints foreva]

Every time we play Scheiderlin, Hammond and Cork in the same midfield we are sh!t. Morgan is not a right midfielder, he does and OK job siting in the middle - that's it.

 

We scraped a draw today against a poor Blackpool side, we need to strengthen the squad in Jan.

 

Agree with this.

 

Sadly we will line-up with all three of those against Skates next week.

 

I wouldn't mind Lallana coming over to right midfield, Fox being pushed up to LM, Harding at LB and two of Morgan, Hammond and Cork sitting in the middle. Won't happen though.

[OVER THE HILL]

My take on the game. Don't like saying it, but think we would have won comfortably were it not for Bart. Controlled first 30 minutes of the game. l[/url]

 

Agree with this .We started the second half strongly as well but the soft goal knocked us back for twenty minutes then we pushed on for the rest of the game.Rickie was really fired up and I thought the referee was going to send him off after the scuffle by the corner flag.

[aintforever]

Sadly we will line-up with all three of those against Skates next week.

 

We will lose if we do, i would put my house on it. Schiederlin offers zero attacking threat, not much defensive cover. It's like having 10 men with him at right mid.

[corky morris]

Just back in. I thought Blackpool actually kept the ball better than us at times. We deserved at least a draw, but we simply dont pass the ball as fast as we did at the start of the season. Teams have sussed that they should play 4-5-1 & hit us with pace. The last 4 games prove that.

Having read some of the other posts I find myself almost laughing. Guly was poo!! Lallana was not! Fox has been shocking for the last 3 games he has played & was rightly subbed for Harding.

Playing Morgan, Cork & Hammond is a mistake. Drop one of them & let either Butterfield or Holmes play on the wing as SDR can be great, but also frustrating. I have wanted him to start, but that over run at the end was worse than my 9 year old would do.

I dislike Holloway & his rant about 5 minutes at the end made me laugh. They wasted time all the way through & got what they deserved.

The ref was shocking. Every 50/50 went their way & there was a defo push on Morgan before we scored our 2nd.

Harding needs to start next week & Davis needs to be fit because Bart was shaky right from the start. Dont know what has happened to him, but if & i mean IF we go up we will need a new keeper next year.

A point gained whilst only Boro won..............Bring on Sunday & the fish ****ing skate bastards!!!

[sidthesquid]

Ref was a complete ****ing **** tosser ****ing **** **** ****ing knob. ****ing unbelievable, lost my voice at today calling him a ****

 

Totally agree - look at the stats from the Beeb - very unusual for a team with the far higher count of possession, shots & corners to concede double the fouls of the other team. Ref was one of the worst I have seen.

 

Possession

Southampton 54%

Blackpool 46%

 

Attempts on target

Southampton 9

Blackpool 4

 

Attempts off target

Southampton 11

Blackpool 4

 

Corners

Southampton 5

Blackpool 3

 

Fouls

Southampton 18

Blackpool 9

[Chez]

My take on the game. Don't like saying it, but think we would have won comfortably were it not for Bart. Controlled first 30 minutes of the game. My player ratings/report can be read here if anyone is interested : http://www.thesaintshub.com/saints2-2blackpool.html

how have you given Bart a 3? Do players get points just for turning up?

Bialkowski: 0. From start to finish terrible. Worst display since Ian Andrews at QPR. Couldn't catch or kick. Choices were bad and in the end they stopped passing back to him which gave us more problems. He even ****ed up a throw out under no pressure at all

Richardson: 7. Always willing to get forward, which I love, just like him to go to the byline a few more times.

Fonte: 7. very good display again. Back to his best and dominating strikers

Hooiveld: 7. Didn't pick up his man for their first goal, but very solid game otherwise. He seems to be improving week on week.

Fox: 6. Fed up of his hollywood cross field balls. What is the point? Just pass it 10 yards down the line to Lallana. Give him the bloody ball. I think he only passed it to him once and that was part of a lovely burst in the second half. Do it all the time. Didn't think he was playing too badly, but Harding improved us with a greater degree of urgency.

Schneiderlin: 7. Totally wasted out wide, as soon as he went in the middle he ran the game. Has to start there. We have a Lampard/Gerrard thing going on. Adkins - make a choice.

Cork: 8. Worked his socks off and for periods looked like the only player desperate to get us back in the game. Covers defenders so well when they go forward and when the game gets stretched he comes into his own.

Hammond: 6. Some good stuff, but we seemed very open at times and its his job to cover the back four so I have to wonder how well he really did. We improved when he went off as Morgan was quicker and sharper.

Lallana: 4. Two nice touches in the whole game. Liability at left midfield right now as he simply is not working hard enough when he hasn't got the ball. In the hole he did next to nothing.

Lambert: 8. Blimey, what a difference from Donny with someone leading the line and able to win arial ball

Guly: 8. Lots of great running, touches and hold up play. A completely different player to Tuesday.

[teamsaint]

Thought we played really pretty well today, going forward. Really could have had 4 or 5.

 

Defence was its usual, looked decent but conceded 1 from not too much pressure.(fair play though, managed to keep pool out of striking range for most of the game).

 

Considering the way the day went, (awful ref, mistake by keeper, few bad misses) it was a good point, and a very well deserved one.

Encouraged generally.we will win lots of games yet.

 

Hope KD is fit soon though.............

[Upton72]

Football makes us all see things/players differently; see every post-match reaction above.

The shift that Cork put in, particularly 2nd half was terrific and the ground Guly covered was amazing. Let's stress the positives. Thanks to the referee, (where do they get them from), the crowd was a noise and contributed to the passage of play that eventually led to the 2nd goal.

We preserved our unbeaten record, that's worth a lot. WHU got stuffed. Keep positive.

Blackpool played their football on the ground and were a good passing side. We were worth our point and the timing shows that Nigel keeps them going until the end of full time.

I've not heard what Holloway said but nothing surprises me what he says down here. He's not really recovered from the roasting Saints fans gave him after their cup defeat.

I'll be interested to see the 2 penalty appeals on the FLS later.

[Tractor_Saint]

Pic taken of the Itchen just as we scored - Did I get anyone on here??

 

 

Full size pic here Right Mouse click and save as to zoom in a bit

[53andout]

Well Bart makes a Howler and everybody is having a pop ay him. What about Hammonds miss from 3-4 yards in the first half when he managed to put the ball over the bar, just as bad if not worse. I know from where I was sat which was the worst.

 

Get off Barts back not so long ago a number of people thought he should replace Davis. Look more at the selection of MS DH and AC in midfield Does that coincide with AL poor performances They play to narrow time to get some proper width in the team and leave Hammond on the bench bringing Holmes in until Chaplow is fit give the guy a chance

[maysie]

how have you given Bart a 3? Do players get points just for turning up?

Bialkowski: 0. From start to finish terrible. Worst display since Ian Andrews at QPR. Couldn't catch or kick. Choices were bad and in the end they stopped passing back to him which gave us more problems. He even ****ed up a throw out under no pressure at all

Richardson: 7. Always willing to get forward, which I love, just like him to go to the byline a few more times.

Fonte: 7. very good display again. Back to his best and dominating strikers

Hooiveld: 7. Didn't pick up his man for their first goal, but very solid game otherwise. He seems to be improving week on week.

Fox: 6. Fed up of his hollywood cross field balls. What is the point? Just pass it 10 yards down the line to Lallana. Give him the bloody ball. I think he only passed it to him once and that was part of a lovely burst in the second half. Do it all the time. Didn't think he was playing too badly, but Harding improved us with a greater degree of urgency.

Schneiderlin: 7. Totally wasted out wide, as soon as he went in the middle he ran the game. Has to start there. We have a Lampard/Gerrard thing going on. Adkins - make a choice.

Cork: 8. Worked his socks off and for periods looked like the only player desperate to get us back in the game. Covers defenders so well when they go forward and when the game gets stretched he comes into his own.

Hammond: 6. Some good stuff, but we seemed very open at times and its his job to cover the back four so I have to wonder how well he really did. We improved when he went off as Morgan was quicker and sharper.

Lallana: 4. Two nice touches in the whole game. Liability at left midfield right now as he simply is not working hard enough when he hasn't got the ball. In the hole he did next to nothing.

Lambert: 8. Blimey, what a difference from Donny with someone leading the line and able to win arial ball

Guly: 8. Lots of great running, touches and hold up play. A completely different player to Tuesday.

 

What about his hard work to pressure their defender which set up the first goal?

 

Admit he is not totally on form at the moment but think '4' is beyond harsh.

[doddisalegend]

Holy sh it are the game threads normally like this one? Normally I only do the post match ones is it normal for people to start declaring the season is over and we're doomed with third of a match to go?

 

 

As for the game we were much better than Blackpool (something the match stats backup) basically we went down to a poorly defended goal and one of those 1 in a 1000 keeper fu ck ups. With better finishing we could have won that game by several goals. Other than Matt Phillips (no 23) Blackpool weren't up to much at all.

 

Bart didn't have a great game though he is much faster at getting the ball out with purpose than Kelvin but what do people expect he barely ever plays. Can't believe people are calling for his head after one (admitedly a bad one) mistake if we get rid of every player who fu cks up we'd have no team in a few weeks.

 

Had to laugh at the Kevin Phillips abuse "stand up if you've slept with his wife"..................ouch

 

Oh and the ref and linos were awful. They were just to one sided. Saints player tackles it's a foul Blackpool player same tackle no foul, blackpool player controls with his hand nothing 2 mins later ball hits saints players hand free kick. Plus his constant blowing up every 2 mins made it hard for us to get any flowing football going.

 

To sum up we were much better than Blackpool deined 3pts by a freak keeper fu ck up................... Good thing West sham are chokers....

[MINIBARCELONASAINT]

Totally agree - look at the stats from the Beeb - very unusual for a team with the far higher count of possession, shots & corners to concede double the fouls of the other team. Ref was one of the worst I have seen.

 

Possession

Southampton 54%

Blackpool 46%

 

Attempts on target

Southampton 9

Blackpool 4

 

Attempts off target

Southampton 11

Blackpool 4

 

Corners

Southampton 5

Blackpool 3

 

Fouls

Southampton 18

Blackpool 9

 

http://facebook.com/geoff.eltringham Tell him!

[scotty]

Never cheered so loudly for a Saints goal, even my missus was screaming at our second! Cold day but that warmed me up. Bart couldn't catch Gonnorhea in a pompey brothel.

 

To be fair, even STDs are too nervous to go to those places.

 

Count yourselves lucky, ive just had to spend most of the day in that sh*thole. (On a ship, not in a brothel.)

[Chez]

What about his hard work to pressure their defender which set up the first goal?

 

Admit he is not totally on form at the moment but think '4' is beyond harsh.

in my markings 5 is average, 4 is below average. He was below average for a normal player (not just him). Wasn't he? I don't think his form is the problem, his touch is perfect, he's just not fit and not doing the work.

 

Because of how good he has been, Lallana gets away with a lot more than most. I'll keep going on as it can only ensure he gets that last minute winner next week.

[Give it to Ron]

Just back in. I thought Blackpool actually kept the ball better than us at times. We deserved at least a draw, but we simply dont pass the ball as fast as we did at the start of the season. Teams have sussed that they should play 4-5-1 & hit us with pace. The last 4 games prove that.

Having read some of the other posts I find myself almost laughing. Guly was poo!! Lallana was not! Fox has been shocking for the last 3 games he has played & was rightly subbed for Harding.

Playing Morgan, Cork & Hammond is a mistake. Drop one of them & let either Butterfield or Holmes play on the wing as SDR can be great, but also frustrating. I have wanted him to start, but that over run at the end was worse than my 9 year old would do.

I dislike Holloway & his rant about 5 minutes at the end made me laugh. They wasted time all the way through & got what they deserved.

The ref was shocking. Every 50/50 went their way & there was a defo push on Morgan before we scored our 2nd.

Harding needs to start next week & Davis needs to be fit because Bart was shaky right from the start. Dont know what has happened to him, but if & i mean IF we go up we will need a new keeper next year.

A point gained whilst only Boro won..............Bring on Sunday & the fish ****ing skate bastards!!!

 

I normally agree with most of your match posts but your comments about Guly are way off IMO. He had a very good game - you missed him chasing back 60 yards to cover and get a block in. He used the ball really well - should of scored with a header though.

Agree with you about our midfield - for 4 games now the 3 of them have played and for 4 games its not worked.

Butterfield and Richardson would be far better than our current set up.

Fox defensively was abysmal today and the number of times he got sucked into the middle leaving the wing exposed.

[del boy]

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce: "We are in serious trouble now player-wise and will be struggling to get 11 out."

[Ziggy]

Never cheered so loudly for a Saints goal, even my missus was screaming at our second! Cold day but that warmed me up. Bart couldn't catch Gonnorhea in a pompey brothel.

 

It was fantastic wasn't it? As my lad said on the way out, as we have been so good at home of late we haven't had a great last minute equaliser to celebrate. I am very hoarse and feel like we got a win today especially listening to West Ham get hammered (no pun intended) on the journey home.

[LostBoys]

Another ropey performance against yet another team that has sussed us out. In spite of that enough chances to have buried them if we could finish the rest of our headers in the way that Lambert did with his second goal.

[CWD]

I thought we played quite well today and if any team deserved the win it was us. Blackpool's time wasting was pathetic and I'm glad it came back to bite them on the arse.

 

I think we're just a few of players away from being a really great team, namely Chaplow back fit, Lallana back on form (didn't think he was especially poor, but we need him to be exceptional on a regular basis again), and in January we need to go out and get an out and out finisher.

 

Guly, Richardson, Cork and Rickie stood out for me today, we really need Guly on form next week.

 

Bart had an appalling game, and he cost us the win in the end. Oh well, players play badly sometimes and it's more obvious when you're a GK. Let's get behind him, and I'm sure he'll bounce back with a worldy if he plays at farton!

[SNSUN]

Well, it's a game of opinions, and I thought Lallana had quite a good game. Ok, he's not the Lallana that started the season, and by his and our own standards this was an average performance for him, but I still thought he showed flashes of himself, and by and large did work hard. At one point he berated Fox for not playing the simple pass to him. He'll come good, hopefully next week.

 

Harding was far better than Fox when he came on. A good cameo from Dan, and I hope it's won him his place next week.

 

Morgan was class today I thought. I' m not his biggest fan but I was impressed. Hammond did little, Cork was ok, Hammond needs to make way next week IMO, perhaps to give Holmes a chance on the left.

 

All in all we did play well, and should have won, were it not for Bart muffing it up. Blackpool weren't all that, although they have the makings of a good team.

 

It's clear that we're missing Chaplow and Connolly, but it's useful that it's highlighted our weak squad before the window.

 

Oh, and thanks to today's results and barring a freak result in the Wham game next Saturday, Saints fans can sing "Top of the League" to the Pompey fans next week.

[Chez]

Another ropey performance against yet another team that has sussed us out. In spite of that enough chances to have buried them if we could finish the rest of our headers in the way that Lambert did with his second goal.

 

if they sussed us out how did we create so many chances? They didn't suss us out at all.

[doddisalegend]

Another ropey performance against yet another team that has sussed us out. In spite of that enough chances to have buried them if we could finish the rest of our headers in the way that Lambert did with his second goal.

 

It wasn't ropey (apart from Bart) we were much better than Blackpool.

[LGTL]

in my markings 5 is average, 4 is below average. He was below average for a normal player (not just him). Wasn't he? I don't think his form is the problem, his touch is perfect, he's just not fit and not doing the work.

 

Because of how good he has been, Lallana gets away with a lot more than most. I'll keep going on as it can only ensure he gets that last minute winner next week.

 

I'd go as far as to say that that also means he gets more stick if he's not quite reaching the same standard of performance.

[Dr Who?]

Just back in. I thought Blackpool actually kept the ball better than us at times. We deserved at least a draw, but we simply dont pass the ball as fast as we did at the start of the season. Teams have sussed that they should play 4-5-1 & hit us with pace. The last 4 games prove that.

Having read some of the other posts I find myself almost laughing. Guly was poo!! Lallana was not! Fox has been shocking for the last 3 games he has played & was rightly subbed for Harding.

Playing Morgan, Cork & Hammond is a mistake. Drop one of them & let either Butterfield or Holmes play on the wing as SDR can be great, but also frustrating. I have wanted him to start, but that over run at the end was worse than my 9 year old would do.

I dislike Holloway & his rant about 5 minutes at the end made me laugh. They wasted time all the way through & got what they deserved.

The ref was shocking. Every 50/50 went their way & there was a defo push on Morgan before we scored our 2nd.

Harding needs to start next week & Davis needs to be fit because Bart was shaky right from the start. Dont know what has happened to him, but if & i mean IF we go up we will need a new keeper next year.

A point gained whilst only Boro won..............Bring on Sunday & the fish ****ing skate bastards!!!

 

Agree that Blackpool kept the ball well, but did not create much. At the back they were just as dodgy as us. We had more of the ball, the better chances and looked more of a threat in the last 3rd. Should have won, and the mistake by Bart was the difference between a late leveller, and only getting a draw. Was a very strange game, and we still nearly won it.

 

Guly was man of match by far, and I thought lallana was good in the first half but drifted in the second.

 

Was a fantastic game!

[Kingsbridge Saint]

It wasnt just the one error from Bart. He needs to move on. He IS a Gonnorhea. Other than that, thought the boys did well considering the Cameras were there and they were totally undermined by the dodgiest goalkeeping performane I have ever seen at any level

[St_Tel49]

Well the manager said there'd be a time when we struggled this season, and let's face it he was not wrong. It's too easy to just blame our hapless stand-in goalkeeper because in truth our performance level has been on a descending trajectory for a month or so now. Never mind because it seems our troubles have spread to West Ham as well, so all things considered you could say that todays point doesn't look too bad right now - he says unconvincingly.

 

Looking for two positives to take from today, I thought that Jack Cork had a fine game and we did create more than our fair share of chances during the 1st 45 minutes, indeed with a proper goalkeeper between the sticks I think we'd have beaten a very average Blackpool side fairly easily.

 

As for two negatives, Well aside from the aforementioned Polish goalkeeper's nightmare, neither Guly Do Pardo nor Steve De Ridder can look back on this game with any sense of satisfaction either I'd have thought. Indeed it has to be said that I wonder if De Ridder is up to the demands of English Football.

Sorry but I think that you are stone wrong on this. Do Prado for me was working his socks off the entire game and, apart from Rickie, was the only person who looked likely to score. Our main problem today was Bart. Anyone can have an off day and I am not going to condemn him for it, but I hope that it settles the residue of the argument as to which keeper should be number 1. Nor do I believe that criticising players or systems today has any point. The truth is that we created enough scoring opportunities today to have won the game comfortably - even with Barts bloopers - but players were taking the wrong decision every time about whether to pass or go it alone.

[Saints Warrior]

I think what cost us today was all the constant passing to the wings by a Saints player inside the 20y box or closer. Just what is it with Saints not able to take shots anywhere further than 6yards (with the exception of Lambert). The next habit that Saints have is PASSING BACK TO THE KEEPER, did you get that NA. Whats more stupid is continuing passing back to Bart when he didnt need the ball anywhere in his own half. The 1st 15 mins was excellant with decent quick low crosses, after that we didnt tckle well and gave the ball away far too easily. I hope the Saints `blip`is over and its not returning next Sunday. It was a mirical how we ended 2-2

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Well, it's a game of opinions, and I thought Lallana had quite a good game. Ok, he's not the Lallana that started the season, and by his and our own standards this was an average performance for him, but I still thought he showed flashes of himself, and by and large did work hard. At one point he berated Fox for not playing the simple pass to him. He'll come good, hopefully next week.

 

Harding was far better than Fox when he came on. A good cameo from Dan, and I hope it's won him his place next week.

 

Morgan was class today I thought. I' m not his biggest fan but I was impressed. Hammond did little, Cork was ok, Hammond needs to make way next week IMO, perhaps to give Holmes a chance on the left.

 

All in all we did play well, and should have won, were it not for Bart muffing it up. Blackpool weren't all that, although they have the makings of a good team.

 

It's clear that we're missing Chaplow and Connolly, but it's useful that it's highlighted our weak squad before the window.

 

Oh, and thanks to today's results and barring a freak result in the Wham game next Saturday, Saints fans can sing "Top of the League" to the Pompey fans next week.

 

 

 

Not looking for a fight or anything but I simply cannot believe you thought MS was class. I watched the game live and I have watched the whole 90mins on tv since I came home and Schneiderlin was utterly crap. His only asset is he is good at making himself look good, if you know what I mean.

[St_Tel49]

Just back in. I thought Blackpool actually kept the ball better than us at times. We deserved at least a draw, but we simply dont pass the ball as fast as we did at the start of the season. Teams have sussed that they should play 4-5-1 & hit us with pace. The last 4 games prove that.

Having read some of the other posts I find myself almost laughing. Guly was poo!! Lallana was not! Fox has been shocking for the last 3 games he has played & was rightly subbed for Harding.

Playing Morgan, Cork & Hammond is a mistake. Drop one of them & let either Butterfield or Holmes play on the wing as SDR can be great, but also frustrating. I have wanted him to start, but that over run at the end was worse than my 9 year old would do.

I dislike Holloway & his rant about 5 minutes at the end made me laugh. They wasted time all the way through & got what they deserved.

The ref was shocking. Every 50/50 went their way & there was a defo push on Morgan before we scored our 2nd.

Harding needs to start next week & Davis needs to be fit because Bart was shaky right from the start. Dont know what has happened to him, but if & i mean IF we go up we will need a new keeper next year.

A point gained whilst only Boro won..............Bring on Sunday & the fish ****ing skate bastards!!!

You should have gone to Specsavers.

[The Cat]

Decent team performance let down by individual errors. Slightly annoying to draw, but then a last minute equaliser almosts feels like a win.

 

Feel a bit sorry for Bart but he was so poor today it was unreal. Just wish Lambert had buried that chance at 1-0 when Guly played him through. Game would have been wrapped up.

[Dr Who?]

I think the team should go away for a few days..... they look like they need a break and we are not playing until Sunday, and then it is game after game thick and fast.... they need a break!!!!!!!