Saints 0 Bristol City 1 - Post Match Reactions

[jampot]

very decent game, especially in the first half, but perhaps not enough clear openings for us that our play deserved. For those that went to Bristol, they would have seen a huge improvement performance wise, we got hold of Adomah much better (Morgan especially) and we pressed them much higher up the pitch, where at Ashton Gate we just watched them run rings round us. I thought we deserved much better. Bristol had three great chances,but that was it, we dominated but just couldn't quite carve them open. I actually thought we played better than against Palace, the difference was that we couldn't find a head from the countless crosses we put. For me the only negative, result aside, was Lallana, who just looks miles from his sharpest best and should have been subbed ages before. The difference between this and several earlier wins was that bit of magic finishing. If Fox (Volley first half), or Lambert (volley second half) or Guly (volley second half) had gone in I would imagine everyone would have been more than satisfied with the display.

 

Davis 7 two tremendous saves, one in either half, great sweeping and decent distribution. He spilled two shots that both ended up in the back of the net. I thought he should have done better with both (he made an amazing second save for the goal I must add) and in the end that was the difference between the sides. Tricky conditions, perhaps they swerved, but in the end he will be disappointed.

Richardson 7 another very solid display, we just needed another of his super crosses to find a man

Martin 7 very nervy start. He lost Maynard a few times during the game, although recovering well, but then again Maynard's movement was very good. Improved as the game went on.

Jos 8 solid display again, very composed on the ball

Fox 7 got forward a lot on the first half and actually passed it short a lot to Lallana - which he hasn't done all season. Should have dine better with the volley chance in the first half. Thought he could have got tighter to the wide man early on, but wasn't exposed by Adomah who played down the middle this time rather than out wide.

Morgan 8 quieter on the ball, but his work marshalling Adomah off it was outstanding. If you haven't noticed it, the guy is quick. Shame he was booked and then made a few too many fouls as he had to be subbed. Cork had faded badly so it would have been good to take him off instead

Cork 6 brilliant battling first half, but disappeared completely in the second

de Ridder 9 brilliant display, ran their fullback ragged, just couldn't find a man in the second half.

Lallana 4 looks unfit to me, wanted too much time and often got caught because of it, we carried him in the second half. Holmes should have come on after 60 minutes and I can't stand Holmes. Boy do we need him to get fit as without him we just lack that touch of class to unlock sides.

Lambert 8 his first touch gets better every time I see him. Got hammered by their CBs so many times, but still came away with the ball time after time. Need him to get on the end of one of those crosses, but he was in the box a lot so I guess it was just one of those nights

Guly 7 some terrible first touches, some subsequent great recovery tackles, some poor passes, some great hold up play. If you don't like him you'll find enough examples of why tonight, but the same applies to those that do like him. Overall I thought he did quite well. Perhaps should have scored near the end?

 

Connelly, not on long but one lovely bit of link up play, but on a separate occasion he played one of the worst passes all night when he could have sent Steve free

Holmes great first touch and another wonderful first time pass/touch that set Steve free.

Hammond no time to make an impression

 

Good to see a glass half full report.......

[Surman4no7shirt]

Bristol City should have won 3-0. Hard to believe that was the same team from the Middlesbrough match. Back to the drawing board.

[No 2 to Maybush]

It would be unfair to say we were poor. Bristol City worked us out, controlled the midfield by packing it, got their body in front of everything. They out thought us, out fought us and deserved what they got.

 

Lallana was very poor. Worst game for seasons! I have been a supporter of Guly but he was so poor I would give him -1

 

Lambert did the best he could but was up against a very poor referee. Bloody hell was he one sided. Best defender BC had!!!

 

Well done to De Ridder.

Agree with all that and also what Clarky and Norm said.

[Jonnyboy]

They could of had Lloyd James in goal tonight and we wouldn't of scored.

 

Yep, I was disapointed we didnt try a few long range shots or even anything when on the edge of the box. The wet skiddy surface might have got us the first goal we needed. Instead it was a longer range effort from them which caused Kelv the problems.

[Nexstar]

Really good post Chez

[John Boy Saint]

Just one of those nights where we could have played till midnight and Bristol been down to 5 men. Like someone said like Walsall away last year and Oldham at home the season before.

After a fair start from the ref he quickly set his crap stall out. And to be fair to Bristol there were times in the first half where for general play you wondered how they were so low in the league.

You could also tell it was not our night with the bounce of the ball and the like. In reality to get a home loss out of the system might not do us any harm as regardless of whatever team you are to go so long with such a good record at home must bring pressure of its own.

 

Ah well soon be Monday

[sandwichsaint]

I'm getting quite tired of this line to be fair - too many people are having their opinions lambasted purely because 'they were not there'.

 

Unfortunately people have to base their opinions on the information sources that are available to them at the time. For some that might be first hand at the game, others might see a stream on the net, some on TV, others might hear commentary on the radio, others (like me) might purely rely on the match thread on an internet forum.

 

Even if we were all at the game, you can bet that opinions would differ on certain aspects - that's just the way it is.

 

My point is, we offer honest forthright opinions based on the information at hand at the time - but unfortunatley that information might be second or even third hand.

 

The forum would be a pretty poor place if opinion was restricted to those who were there. I really do wish the 'I was at the game' lambasters would appreciate this.

 

You are so wrong!

 

The 'media' will spin it anyway they want.

 

Real fans will say what they see.

 

I wasn't there tonight (followed it on Saints player) but am quite happy to take FF's opinion that that they were better than us - get over it!

[Genk]

My views:

 

Bristol City are our bogey team, much like Swindon were in the first year in League 1. They just know how to play against us.

 

The defeat has come at a good time I feel, highlighting the fact that we have nobody on the bench that is a 'game winner', so here is hoping for a couple of signings next week.

 

Don't panic people, this was going to come sooner or later. Rather get it out the way now than on the last day against Coventry. Teams are going to come for a point now at St Marys and we are going to have to break them down. Hopefully the likes of Leicester will come and play which suits us and we should tear them apart. It's just a case of getting that first goal. We didn't have enough quality today but I'm hopeful we can bounce back against Brighton. Morgan was poor tonight, I expect Hammond and Cork on Monday. Lambert was getting assaulted and the ref didn't let the game flow which didn't help.

 

On to the next one. Plenty of game left and we are still 3points clear.

[St Marco]

If we finish 17th we will have well and truely fooked things up.

 

To be fair if we finish 3rd we will have well and truely ****ed things up. We were 9 points clear going into playing the two bottom teams. People talk about Burley fecking up but that would be right up there.

 

In all honesty i don't think any of us are surprised about that result. And if people are then they have not watched us play for awhile. The last 4-5 weeks we have struggled. Tonight was no different. We were up against a Bristol team playing exactly the same way when we played them away. The players all chasing the ball down, putting their foot in, trying to be physical and generally in our faces. We played the same way we played there. Tried to break them down and couldn't, got frustrated and started hoofing it hoping lambert could do something.

 

The reality is we HAVE done very well this year overall. One of the best years i have seen as a Saints fan. The lads should be proud of everything they achived. All runs come to an end eventually.

 

But as i said the warning signs have been there sometime. Adkins has got away with many results when playing people in strange positions i.e Morgan on the right or up front. But now we have been found out.

 

We have lost that neat quick passing style that we had, and gone more to a punt it up to Lambert/Guly style team. Which isn't always a bad thing. Norwich and Wolves played like that and they got out of the league.

But we are making too many mistakes as a team. We are trying to play direct too often. We need to mix it up and change things around when they are not working. And that is my concern. Adkins has stuck to his guns and won't change to a plan B. Maybe that is simply because we don't have the players to be able to switch it about. We are very light on people with pace.

 

In the window it is obvious we need a young striker with Pace and enthusiasm. Someone who we can play throughballs to around the half way line. If we had someone like that they would score loads of goals in this team. We also need a proper winger on the right and a back-up winger for when Lallana goes through a bad patch. Defence wise i think we are fine but others need to help them out more, learn positioning and how to pick up players.

 

We will still get promoted but we can't continue playing the way we have. That is why people are frustrated because it isn't something new.

[Chez]

Firstly i thought thet Brizzle fans were excellent, never stopped singing and were really creating noise tonight, credit to them.

 

We never matched their work rate from start to finish.

 

Our players couldnt string passes together and therefore deserve low scores for their performance.

 

And when we do bring Holmes he goes to Left Back!! Surely Harding would have been the better option!!

 

I thought Bristol were one of the quietest set of fans this season, especially considering how many they brought.

We matched them for work rate. The game was evenly matched full stop. Why when we lose is work rate questioned? Ever thought that perhaps it wasn't our night? Plenty of other games have gone our way and we have played worse.

What was wrong with our passing? I thought we passed it well. We just didn't cross it well enough.

 

Holmes went to right back.

[doddisalegend]

From were I was sat we were the better team tonight Brizzle offered very little and tried to hit us on the break with their speed (of which they seemed to have plenty). What we weren't very good at tonight was finishing the final ball was poor all night coupled with Brizzle defending in numbers meant whena saints player did get the ball in the area they couldn't seem to fashion a clear chance through the mass of yellow shirts. Didn't help that Lallana looked way off his best (has done ever since he got injuried), that Lambert was beaten black and blue all night (seemingly unnoticed by the blind ref) amd the ref seemed determined to break up the flow of the game to Bristol city's advantage.

 

No lack of effort from the boys just needed better finishing IMO

[WGC Saint]

Gutted tonight. Not been able to get to a game all season so far due to work and family commitments and when I do finally go we bloody well lose our 100% home record.....

 

For me we seemed to hesitate when we should have shot first time and the final ball, from De Ridder mostly, was always too high or too long.

 

We lacked a little bit of quality tonight which makes the difference between champions and also rans!

 

Not happy with the defending for the goal either. Davis makes two great point blank stops while the defence stand and watch the third shot fly in!

 

Still, we're much better placed than I could have dreamed of in August so onwards and upwards..........

[SNSUN]

Now home. I was going to start a Steve De Ridder thread but I won't, however he was fantastic tonight - easily our best attacking player, and he looked very dangerous running at the Brizzle defence. He got stuck in too, and I disagree with Adkins - the boy can cross. Not as well as Frazer, granted, but his crosses were still good tonight. I would still look to sign a winger in January (left or right sided), but if De Ridder can keep up this level of performance then he'll be a big asset in the last half of the season.

 

Worst Saints player on the night was unfortunately Adam. I'm a massive fan of his but nothing came off for him, even in the first half when he had the chance to strike on goal he looked to pass it - that's not the Adam of earlier in the season/last season. While it's bloody hard to drop a player of Adam's talent, it does look like he should sit a game or two out to gain some rest, BUT there's the question of who could come in to replace him. When Holmes came on he was playing right back (most baffling), but perhaps he could get a run on the left wing for a bit? Or do we simply play Adam until he plays himself into form?

 

As I said earlier the transfer window has come at the right time, but Nigel cannot procrastinate - it's a busy month and we need reinforcements sooner rather than later. The players we have have done admirably so far this season, but fatigue is surely settling in. Freshening it up will make for a strong end to the season.

[doddisalegend]

My views:

 

Bristol City are our bogey team, much like Swindon were in the first year in League 1. They just know how to play against us.

 

The defeat has come at a good time I feel, highlighting the fact that we have nobody on the bench that is a 'game winner', so here is hoping for a couple of signings next week.

 

Don't panic people, this was going to come sooner or later. Rather get it out the way now than on the last day against Coventry. Teams are going to come for a point now at St Marys and we are going to have to break them down. Hopefully the likes of Leicester will come and play which suits us and we should tear them apart. It's just a case of getting that first goal. We didn't have enough quality today but I'm hopeful we can bounce back against Brighton. Morgan was poor tonight, I expect Hammond and Cork on Monday. Lambert was getting assaulted and the ref didn't let the game flow which didn't help.

 

On to the next one. Plenty of game left and we are still 3points clear.

 

I was just thinking what a good post and then I read that. Personally thought Morgan was very good tonight Hammond offered very little when he came on (and I'm a big fan of Deans normally)

[Chap in the Chapel]

Disappointing result but let's have some perspective on it. We haven't made a habit of losing at home recently and Bristol City did well, with pace and presence in the right areas and a good gameplan based around outnumbering us in midfield. They will finish a lot higher than 20th. The transfer window is coming at a good time as we can add the reinforcements that we need and perhaps take some of the pressure off Lallana, who is seriously off form, and Guly, who is yo-yoing between

 

(Sorry for duplicate posting) flashes of excellence and frustrating periods of heavy-footedness. We were certainly up for the game tonight and the levels of effort from several players were excellent, but we were unable to create enough clear chances. De Ridder was probably man of the match as he always looked threatening, but the number of times he got into a great crossing position and then took the wrong option or delivered the wrong type of ball was maddening. Rickie got no help at all from the referee, and his marker should have been set off for persistent fouling, but we should have played to his feet more once it became obvious there was not going to be anything forthcoming. It's one to draw a line under as soon as possible and I expect to see changes on Monday to freshen things up a bit, but this is more of a bad, unfortunate one-off at home than the start of a crisis. Happy new year - let's hope 2012 is as good as 2011 has been.

[James]

God that was depressing - felt like the most important game of the season when we threw everyone on at the end.

 

We weren't great but those saying Brizzle should have won 3-0 need their eyes checking - for all their huff and puff I thought they created relatively little. We should have won the game regardless of the fact we were well below par.

 

First off - I hate doing this but the ref was absolutely dire - he must have had a personal vendetta against Lambert - their no.6 was all over him all the time and he missed a clear as day pull back in the box at 0-1.

 

A crying shame to lose the record to such a dirty team who played with a lot of gamesmanship - don't like to see it but their throw ins/goal kicks/free kicks etc just took an age. The ref really didn't want the game to flow and that didn't help us at all.

 

What is worrying is the fact that the squad is paper thin at the moment - the first team are out on their feat visibly and we don't have the right men to come in and replace them.

 

The December form proves this: Blackpool (h) - Davis out and we lose two points because of a gaff from Bart, Donny (a) - we are without Lambo and fail to score

 

The run seems to tie in with the loss of Chaplow who provides a directness and robustness that the midfield currently lacks and De Ridder cannot provide.

 

It was easy to see why Steeeve isn't first choice - he rinsed their left back a number of times but his crossing was (for the most part) atrocious.

 

Reinforcements are needed and quickly - heard NA say the deals wouldn't be complete until the end of the month, I wonder whether we can wait that long?

 

Hope that we can kick on into 2012 but I am worried that the team have run out of steam a bit - its going to be a struggle to stay in the top two and this result will only boost the Hammers and Boro.

[doddisalegend]

Now home. I was going to start a Steve De Ridder thread but I won't, however he was fantastic tonight - easily our best attacking player, and he looked very dangerous running at the Brizzle defence. He got stuck in too, and I disagree with Adkins - the boy can cross. Not as well as Frazer, granted, but his crosses were still good tonight. I would still look to sign a winger in January (left or right sided), but if De Ridder can keep up this level of performance then he'll be a big asset in the last half of the season.

 

Worst Saints player on the night was unfortunately Adam. I'm a massive fan of his but nothing came off for him, even in the first half when he had the chance to strike on goal he looked to pass it - that's not the Adam of earlier in the season/last season. While it's bloody hard to drop a player of Adam's talent, it does look like he should sit a game or two out to gain some rest, BUT there's the question of who could come in to replace him. When Holmes came on he was playing right back (most baffling), but perhaps he could get a run on the left wing for a bit? Or do we simply play Adam until he plays himself into form?

 

As I said earlier the transfer window has come at the right time, but Nigel cannot procrastinate - it's a busy month and we need reinforcements sooner rather than later. The players we have have done admirably so far this season, but fatigue is surely settling in. Freshening it up will make for a strong end to the season.

 

I thought Steve was bloody frustrating. Clearly he has some talent he does all the hard work getting into dangerous postions with skill and speed then the final ball (the one that should lead to a goal or at least a shooting chance) is really poor.

[Chez]

From were I was sat we were the better team tonight Brizzle offered very little and tried to hit us on the break with their speed (of which they seemed to have plenty). What we weren't very good at tonight was finishing the final ball was poor all night coupled with Brizzle defending in numbers meant whena saints player did get the ball in the area they couldn't seem to fashion a clear chance through the mass of yellow shirts. Didn't help that Lallana looked way off his best (has done ever since he got injuried), that Lambert was beaten black and blue all night (seemingly unnoticed by the blind ref) amd the ref seemed determined to break up the flow of the game to Bristol city's advantage.

 

No lack of effort from the boys just needed better finishing IMO

this is exactly what I saw. Thanks for posting, I thought I had gone mad what with all the "Bristol were much better and Saints were ****" ******** I'm reading on here. Some fans appear to expect us to dominate every home game from start to finish with opponents just rolling over for us because they lie somewhere lowly in the table.

[saintquin]

Just back from the game. For those of you that were not there, sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. Brizzle played well, and credit to them for that. The ball did not run for us tonight, it happens. We are not suddenly a bad team

 

I agree with this but will add, the ref tonight never seemed to give us any 50/50s, sometimes not even 100s when it was Rickie fouled.

James should have been arrested never mind booked for the time wasting which started in the first half. It was no suprise Brizz score the kind of goal they did, they nearly scored 2 like it before.

 

I'll end by thanking everyone at the club for giving us a great 2011!

[SNSUN]

I thought Steve was bloody frustrating. Clearly he has some talent he does all the hard work getting into dangerous postions with skill and speed then the final ball (the one that should lead to a goal or at least a shooting chance) is really poor.

 

I think it didn't help that the strikers struggled to keep up with him. If De Ridder is going to get games, it highlights the need for a pacy forward to be brought in. That said IF a pacy forward gets brought in, it's most likely De Ridder that will lose his spot. Swings and roundabouts.

 

At least we know who our bogey team are now.

[jampot]

I was just thinking what a good post and then I read that. Personally thought Morgan was very good tonight Hammond offered very little when he came on (and I'm a big fan of Deans normally)

 

To be fair how many minutes was Hammond on for?

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

A competitive game from start to finish, but I thought Brizzol City were just about worth the 3 points in all honesty because although we created rather more chances they probably had the best ones. Sub standard home performances of late were bound to catch up with us sooner or later I suppose, the only crumbs of comfort I can find tonight being our (excellent) league position and the memory that last season also saw us stutter at times - and that season didn't finish too badly did it.

 

MOTM - Bristol's No27 Albert Adomah - forget Maynard and sign this guy pretty please Mr Cortese.

 

PS - After games like this I'd like to take Guly out and buy him a pint - of arsenic

Edited 31 December, 2011 by CHAPEL END CHARLIE

[Chez]

I thought Steve was bloody frustrating. Clearly he has some talent he does all the hard work getting into dangerous postions with skill and speed then the final ball (the one that should lead to a goal or at least a shooting chance) is really poor.

it wasn't poor when he picked out Lallana perfectly in the fist half only for him to take three touches when he only had time for two.

[skintsaint]

I thought Steve was bloody frustrating. Clearly he has some talent he does all the hard work getting into dangerous postions with skill and speed then the final ball (the one that should lead to a goal or at least a shooting chance) is really poor.

 

a couple of balls where poor but most where decent balls but no one bloody attacked them which was more annoying.

[supersonic]

awful is the best way to describe that. From the first minute City looked like the only team willing and able to win that match. We hardly tested James and were second best all over the pitch. City played some nice football, that of a team much higher than their league position.

 

Davis was MOTM which said something. Fox and Martin were poor at the back. Martin tonight showed me why he isn't ready to play this level of football. Fox again was ok going forward but left wanting defensively. Lallana was anonymous and SDR was ok in glimpses but his final ball really needs some work on.

 

Ok the ref wasn't the best and didn't have the best of games, but we were poor and anyone who blames him for the defeat is as deluded as the liverpool fans who believe their side is still part of the 'big 4'

 

On tonights performance it's clear that we need a few more additions in january. a CB is a must as Martin just isn't good enough. I WOULD sign Maynard as I feel he is the type of striker we need. Plays on the last man and has pace and an eye for goal. Like Connolly but less injury prone. Would love us to throw say £5m at city for him and Adomah and see what they say.

 

Overall, although a defeat at home was inevitable at some stage, we need to pick up, LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES, and bring in people sooner rather than later in the transfer window

[doddisalegend]

this is exactly what I saw. Thanks for posting, I thought I had gone mad what with all the "Bristol were much better and Saints were ****" ******** I'm reading on here. Some fans appear to expect us to dominate every home game from start to finish with opponents just rolling over for us because they lie somewhere lowly in the table.

 

Bristol where solid but not great (certainaly not better than saints) you have to give credit to their defending though they where throwing bodies on the line all game and getting men behind the ball all the time. The net result was there always seemed to be a Brizzle head,leg or arse in the way to cut out crosses or block shots. I can't help thinking Connolly (or better still if he weren't injuried Barney) would have been a better option in tonights games the sort of striker he will poke a lose ball over the line or dig out a shot from a mass of players.

[jampot]

I thought Steve was bloody frustrating. Clearly he has some talent he does all the hard work getting into dangerous postions with skill and speed then the final ball (the one that should lead to a goal or at least a shooting chance) is really poor.

 

Was sat in the Kingsland (pitch side) watching De Ridder, thought his approach play was superb today. However he seemed so tired from the sprints the end product had little composure with regard to the crosses put in...

[doddisalegend]

a couple of balls where poor but most where decent balls but no one bloody attacked them which was more annoying.

 

Swings and roundabouts you could argue he needs to look up and see where his team mates are before blindly wacking it in. Don't get me wrong I liked what I saw from Steve tonight just seemed to me he undid a lot of his own hard work by not putting in a effective final ball.

[Chez]

Bristol where solid but not great (certainaly not better than saints) you have to give credit to their defending though they where throwing bodies on the line all game and getting men behind the ball all the time. The net result was there always seemed to be a Brizzle head,leg or arse in the way to cut out crosses or block shots. I can't help thinking Connolly (or better still if he weren't injuried Barney) would have been a better option in tonights games the sort of striker he will poke a lose ball over the line or dig out a shot from a mass of players.

their two CBs were outstanding and either could have got my man of the match (might be a bit hard on de Ridder who had his best game in a Saints shirt). We must have put in about 30 crosses and they won all of them or ensured we didn't get a clean header on any. Edited 31 December, 2011 by Chez

[skintsaint]

Thats true - I never saw Cork or Morgan making late runs into the box tonight either, something we miss from midfield.

[doddisalegend]

awful is the best way to describe that. From the first minute City looked like the only team willing and able to win that match. We hardly tested James and were second best all over the pitch. City played some nice football, that of a team much higher than their league position.

 

Davis was MOTM which said something. Fox and Martin were poor at the back. Martin tonight showed me why he isn't ready to play this level of football. Fox again was ok going forward but left wanting defensively. Lallana was anonymous and SDR was ok in glimpses but his final ball really needs some work on.

 

Ok the ref wasn't the best and didn't have the best of games, but we were poor and anyone who blames him for the defeat is as deluded as the liverpool fans who believe their side is still part of the 'big 4'

 

On tonights performance it's clear that we need a few more additions in january. a CB is a must as Martin just isn't good enough. I WOULD sign Maynard as I feel he is the type of striker we need. Plays on the last man and has pace and an eye for goal. Like Connolly but less injury prone. Would love us to throw say £5m at city for him and Adomah and see what they say.

 

Overall, although a defeat at home was inevitable at some stage, we need to pick up, LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES, and bring in people sooner rather than later in the transfer window

 

Interesting...... personally thought Martin played very well hardly looked troubled and the perfectly timed sliding tackle on Adomah in the first half was a joy to watch. Maynard was very uninspiring wouldn't swap him for Connolly on tonights showing TBH. Adomah looked good though not better the De Ridder on tonights showing both having good feet and speed but disappointing end product.

[tttdcs]

Sack alpine for being a .............

 

fish lover ?

[um pahars]

Fair play to City tonight, have to say they were worthy of the win. Not sure their disallowed goal was offside and they had at least as many chances as us. Lost it in the midfield where Cork went missing and Spiderman was overwhelmed. Lallana was off colour and I really just don't see why people rave about De Ridder. We really were quite poor and nowhere near as good as we played earlier in the season (but some of that was due to a hard working City side).

 

Definitely need to regain our composure for the second half of the season and definitely need a couple of new faces (or get Chaplow back ASAP)

 

Boxing Day we were good, but tonight's performance was back to the normal December performance. Not good at all.

[Graffito]

Saints passed the ball ok but didn't create enough and the final ball was almost invariably poor. If only De Ridder could deliver a final ball. The ref was poor and gave Lambert no protection but the ref wasn't the reason we lost. At the end of the day credit the opposition (including James whose save from Lambert was outstanding) who played as well against us as anyone I've seen this season. None of this don't get too up or too down nonsense after that loss. Let's see a reaction against Brighton.

[warsash saint]

awful is the best way to describe that. From the first minute City looked like the only team willing and able to win that match. We hardly tested James and were second best all over the pitch. City played some nice football, that of a team much higher than their league position.

 

Davis was MOTM which said something. Fox and Martin were poor at the back. Martin tonight showed me why he isn't ready to play this level of football. Fox again was ok going forward but left wanting defensively. Lallana was anonymous and SDR was ok in glimpses but his final ball really needs some work on.

 

Ok the ref wasn't the best and didn't have the best of games, but we were poor and anyone who blames him for the defeat is as deluded as the liverpool fans who believe their side is still part of the 'big 4'

 

On tonights performance it's clear that we need a few more additions in january. a CB is a must as Martin just isn't good enough. I WOULD sign Maynard as I feel he is the type of striker we need. Plays on the last man and has pace and an eye for goal. Like Connolly but less injury prone. Would love us to throw say £5m at city for him and Adomah and see what they say.

 

Overall, although a defeat at home was inevitable at some stage, we need to pick up, LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES, and bring in people sooner rather than later in the transfer window

 

Yepp, totally disagree with near all of that !!

[LostBoys]

Its been a fantastic year and we are better placed that i ever expected but we were crap tonight with too many below par performances from too many players. We are being sussed out by every other team now and if you cannot pick out a simple pass you are not going to win any league. Squad improvements are going to be necessary to stay in the top 6 at the end of the season. I do not intend to slash my wrists quite yet but I am very disappointed as 6 points ahead put real pressure in West Ham and Middlesborough. If we lose on Monday I fear we will not remain in top.

[jampot]

Would of given Martin a 7 tonight.....

[Roger]

Would of given Martin a 7 tonight.....

 

Off the pace for me.

[pingwing]

Weird game, 0-0 was the most deserving result but as a mate said at half time someone was going to get just one and run away with 3 points, shame it was them.

 

McInns is their Adkins and that was by far and away the best league team to come to St Mary's in the run (United being better but they are one of the best teams in the world). They were organised and kept their shape, especially when things got going in the second half as the first was just quick and scrappy. We weren't at our best and well the result shows it, but several played had really good games, Morgan and Steve again pushing for starting places. Martin again was good (nice to see the lad get a few starts as I like him) and Jos was really good, very glad we have him now. Guly was his usual hit and miss fan fair which I enjoy as he played an AMAZING pass to steve in the first half that steve didn't quite make, on a dry day or one with a little more luck that's the sort of thing we need.

 

Lallana still doesn't look quite right which is a shame as I want him back on form soon

 

The ref spoilt the evening though, don't see why their no.6 wasn't sent off for a second yellow for plowing into Lambert on 70 mins. Don't see why steve was given a hand ball for slipping and touching it when James could handle it out the area... The list of mad little decisions goes on (morgans yellow being terrible too). Hope there is some sort of review committee on ref performances as it was frustrating to see 2 well organised and good passing teams hampered by an idiot not applying balanced common sense or text book rules.

 

At least Maynard looks a better buy than Zaha and Adomah would clearly be a good buy too.

 

Still an amazing calendar year at home and onwards for another

[saint peter]

Pretty obvious bearing in mind Saints haven't lost a home game in a year and then go and blow it against the mighty Bristol City who incidently I take my hat off to for getting 6 points off us in a very short space of time !!!!!!

[eelpie]

very decent game, especially in the first half, but perhaps not enough clear openings for us that our play deserved. For those that went to Bristol, they would have seen a huge improvement performance wise, we got hold of Adomah much better (Morgan especially) and we pressed them much higher up the pitch, where at Ashton Gate we just watched them run rings round us. I thought we deserved much better. Bristol had three great chances,but that was it, we dominated but just couldn't quite carve them open. I actually thought we played better than against Palace, the difference was that we couldn't find a head from the countless crosses we put. For me the only negative, result aside, was Lallana, who just looks miles from his sharpest best and should have been subbed ages before. The difference between this and several earlier wins was that bit of magic finishing. If Fox (Volley first half), or Lambert (volley second half) or Guly (volley second half) had gone in I would imagine everyone would have been more than satisfied with the display.

 

Davis 7 two tremendous saves, one in either half, great sweeping and decent distribution. He spilled two shots that both ended up in the back of the net. I thought he should have done better with both (he made an amazing second save for the goal I must add) and in the end that was the difference between the sides. Tricky conditions, perhaps they swerved, but in the end he will be disappointed.

Richardson 7 another very solid display, we just needed another of his super crosses to find a man

Martin 7 very nervy start. He lost Maynard a few times during the game, although recovering well, but then again Maynard's movement was very good. Improved as the game went on.

Jos 8 solid display again, very composed on the ball

Fox 7 got forward a lot on the first half and actually passed it short a lot to Lallana - which he hasn't done all season. Should have dine better with the volley chance in the first half. Thought he could have got tighter to the wide man early on, but wasn't exposed by Adomah who played down the middle this time rather than out wide.

Morgan 8 quieter on the ball, but his work marshalling Adomah off it was outstanding. If you haven't noticed it, the guy is quick. Shame he was booked and then made a few too many fouls as he had to be subbed. Cork had faded badly so it would have been good to take him off instead

Cork 6 brilliant battling first half, but disappeared completely in the second

de Ridder 9 brilliant display, ran their fullback ragged, just couldn't find a man in the second half.

Lallana 4 looks unfit to me, wanted too much time and often got caught because of it, we carried him in the second half. Holmes should have come on after 60 minutes and I can't stand Holmes. Boy do we need him to get fit as without him we just lack that touch of class to unlock sides.

Lambert 8 his first touch gets better every time I see him. Got hammered by their CBs so many times, but still came away with the ball time after time. Need him to get on the end of one of those crosses, but he was in the box a lot so I guess it was just one of those nights

Guly 7 some terrible first touches, some subsequent great recovery tackles, some poor passes, some great hold up play. If you don't like him you'll find enough examples of why tonight, but the same applies to those that do like him. Overall I thought he did quite well. Perhaps should have scored near the end?

 

Connelly, not on long but one lovely bit of link up play, but on a separate occasion he played one of the worst passes all night when he could have sent Steve free

Holmes great first touch and another wonderful first time pass/touch that set Steve free.

Hammond no time to make an impression

 

Deduct 1 from each of your generous ratings (not lambert and Kelvin) and I agree. We learned little from our thrashing at Brizzle. They had their tactics spot on. They were fast and snappy as we were slow and sluggish from the outset. By the time Saints woke from their torpor the game was firmly for the visitors to take. Every time we do badly it is for much the same reason. We concede the ball to the opposition. too easily. Other than the ecellent display against Palace we are becoming too erratic. Not promotion form.

[Jack]

We just got promoted to the NPC. We're top of the NPC. We had an off day today, despite having most of the chances and putting about 30 crosses into the box.

 

We'll beat Brighton 3-1 and get back to winning ways in 2012.

Edited 31 December, 2011 by Jack
Shouldn't post when that p*ssed

[Professor]

Dear Jack, Rose tint does make the world look nice, doesn't it.

 

Can't blame the team for the performance against a struggling bottom of the table side, after all its not the first failure recently. 2 wins and 3 defeats in the last 7 games, 8 points out of 21, only just over a point per game, is bottom six form, not top six. Thats not just an off-day, its an off-five weeks. The team can only play to their ability and if this is their ability, then this is all that can be expected.

 

Still a worrying element of complacency in Adkin's post-match comments suggesting Saints should have won and Brizzle's goal was lucky. Not what I saw. I saw Brizzle have a lot of possession and look just as threatening as Saints. Their goal wasn't unexpected. It may be that Adkins is not complacent and is just defending his team's performance with public statements that he would not make in private. The positive from this will be if the club now realise that being in contention for a play-off place is not good enough given the performance up to November as a launch pad. This team lacks some quality players, not more squad players but real quality, and we will know very soon the level of the Club's ambition from how many signings are made and who those players are.

[dune]

Anyone with half a brain could see that our bubble had burst several weeks ago. We urgently need a strike partner for Lambert.

[Stepgar]

I thought Bristol were one of the quietest set of fans this season, especially considering how many they brought.

We matched them for work rate. The game was evenly matched full stop. Why when we lose is work rate questioned? Ever thought that perhaps it wasn't our night? Plenty of other games have gone our way and we have played worse.

What was wrong with our passing? I thought we passed it well. We just didn't cross it well enough.

 

Holmes went to right back.

 

I did mean RB for Holmes. No way on Gods earth did we match their work rate. They were constantly in our faces. We struggled to pass the ball around because they pretty much were like bull dogs harrasing all the time yet when they had the ball we seem to let them play the ball around. Was it even? Not even close. Check the stats and you will see how much posession they had.

[saint lard]

Very,very disappointed in the result.

Something is not quite right at the moment,it may be something small but our performances have tailed of recently.

We have been relying heavily on our home form as our away form is not impressive at all,especially of late.

We were going to lose at home at some stage,just a shame we could not have gone 201 unbeaten.....so close which makes last nights result even more galling.

 

One positive it will highlight that somethings needs to be addressed.....the transfer window opens and this needs to be utilised...and not left to the last minute either.

Time to be decisive as possible Adkins/Cortese......i just hope Adkins has pinpointed the things/areas that need to be addressed.....bit of a test for him and his true calibre,which to be fair he has gone unscathed thus far...except some of his transfer/loans,Forte,Bignall,N'guessan.

[John B]

this is exactly what I saw. Thanks for posting, I thought I had gone mad what with all the "Bristol were much better and Saints were ****" ******** I'm reading on here. Some fans appear to expect us to dominate every home game from start to finish with opponents just rolling over for us because they lie somewhere lowly in the table.

 

I though 0 0 would have been a fair result but their defence was pretty good got the ball away quickly and challenged effectively

[Sour Mash]

I thought we were the better team, particularly in the first half, but lost the game in centre mid. Where Cork and Schneirderlin ran the game against Palace, they could barely get a couple of passes going 2nd half yesterday. Also, we struggle to convert good positions round the 18 yard box into clear cut chances, been a bit of a problem all season, but came home to roost yesterday.

[sugarbabe64]

Hi everyone. Female half of Sugarbabe here. Went to game. Would've been satisfied with 0-0 tbh. They did good job on Rickie. I'm sorry but I just don't rate Guly. He can run, his ball control is rubbish, he don't keep his eye on the ball, he can run, when he has the ball he don't know what to do with it.......but he's better now at being caught offside. I have been told there is already a signing that just needs dotting and signing, but we've heard that before!!! Thing that worried me was Nigel must've been watching the same game as I was but took so long to make changes. Midfield was the missing link last night. God do we miss Chaplow but will he still be the same player he was when he comes back?

I don't want to go up next season cos coming home from the game last night reminded me of the feeling I was having nearly every game in the Premiership. I love Saints and I love winning. Not sure we will see so much of that in the Premiership. This is just my own opinion but at the end of the day, footballs a mans game x x

[Norm]

To be fair if we finish 3rd we will have well and truely ****ed things up. We were 9 points clear going into playing the two bottom teams. People talk about Burley fecking up but that would be right up there.

 

In all honesty i don't think any of us are surprised about that result. And if people are then they have not watched us play for awhile. The last 4-5 weeks we have struggled. Tonight was no different. We were up against a Bristol team playing exactly the same way when we played them away. The players all chasing the ball down, putting their foot in, trying to be physical and generally in our faces. We played the same way we played there. Tried to break them down and couldn't, got frustrated and started hoofing it hoping lambert could do something.

 

The reality is we HAVE done very well this year overall. One of the best years i have seen as a Saints fan. The lads should be proud of everything they achived. All runs come to an end eventually.

 

But as i said the warning signs have been there sometime. Adkins has got away with many results when playing people in strange positions i.e Morgan on the right or up front. But now we have been found out.

 

We have lost that neat quick passing style that we had, and gone more to a punt it up to Lambert/Guly style team. Which isn't always a bad thing. Norwich and Wolves played like that and they got out of the league.

But we are making too many mistakes as a team. We are trying to play direct too often. We need to mix it up and change things around when they are not working. And that is my concern. Adkins has stuck to his guns and won't change to a plan B. Maybe that is simply because we don't have the players to be able to switch it about. We are very light on people with pace.

 

In the window it is obvious we need a young striker with Pace and enthusiasm. Someone who we can play throughballs to around the half way line. If we had someone like that they would score loads of goals in this team. We also need a proper winger on the right and a back-up winger for when Lallana goes through a bad patch. Defence wise i think we are fine but others need to help them out more, learn positioning and how to pick up players.

 

We will still get promoted but we can't continue playing the way we have. That is why people are frustrated because it isn't something new.

 

 

 

That was worth reading. I can only agree with it esp the part I have highlighted.