ottery st mary Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I'm not sure that that's the way to solve the problem,don't like to think of us pandering to the wishes of any given player. Personally I'd give AL the first half at Brighton to show where he's at just now and then sub him with one of the youngsters if there's not much to build on. I find this a very strange comment mate after all your pandering you do for your mate Morgan ....even after he has played some stinkers... or is it just your love of the French connection..... Lallana is still a great player to have in the side as is De Ridder..another player you continually slate.. If Morgan plays well..as against Palace ..I will say so and will add, on the day one of the best if not the best performance in the side.. although my bud Hammond should have been brought on a lot earlier... against Brizzle Morgan was craaap..as were one or two others on the night.. I sometimes wonder if you ever watch Saints play coach;) WIFM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delmary Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Adam knows he isn't firing on all cylinders he would be the first to tell you and gets annoyed with himself. Adam has been different class this season and like all great players will have the odd dip in form during a season. No doubt Adam's class will shine through soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenue Saint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I find this a very strange comment mate after all your pandering you do for your mate Morgan ....even after he has played some stinkers... or is it just your love of the French connection..... Lallana is still a great player to have in the side as is De Ridder..another player you continually slate.. If Morgan plays well..as against Palace ..I will say so and will add, on the day one of the best if not the best performance in the side.. although my bud Hammond should have been brought on a lot earlier... against Brizzle Morgan was craaap..as were one or two others on the night.. I sometimes wonder if you ever watch Saints play coach;) WIFM morgan was far from crap, that shot he had was class. Just not his best game pretty much like most of the team so singling him out isnt very objectibve now is it ottery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 morgan was far from crap, that shot he had was class. Just not his best game pretty much like most of the team so singling him out isnt very objectibve now is it ottery. Just my opinion on the night mate... Quality on the night in the final third was missing for all the side........but Morgan after a great performance v Palace was very poor against Brizzle.... There are many games where Morgan is not at the races and should not be playing in this league.....on the odd match he is pure class and will maybe better suited to Premier League or even foreign football... Maybe Arsenal are still looking at him..... His selection will have to be carefully thought out for the second half of the season.. WIFM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Channon's Sideburns Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 It's a dilemma f'sure. The problem though is that if Lallana isn't firing, and Guly is on an off day - we're carrying two players out of 11 - and people wonder why we're in a 'blip'?!?! Start with both give them 45mins - then if either aren't firing - bring them off. No rocket up arse required but a little nudge might help. In that scenario I'd have Fox on LM in front of Harding, and Connolly upfront with Lambert. Simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Would like to see Hammond back tomorrow - him and Cork would be good I think. Definitely should persevere with Steeeve down the right hand side, would perhaps consider Guly as well as he doesnt seem to do it during away games. Starting XI for me: Davis, Richardson, Hooiveld, Martin/Fonte, Fox, De Ridder, Hammond, Cork, Lallana, Lambert, Connolly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Would like to see Hammond back tomorrow - him and Cork would be good I think. Definitely should persevere with Steeeve down the right hand side, would perhaps consider Guly as well as he doesnt seem to do it during away games. Starting XI for me: Davis, Richardson, Hooiveld, Martin/Fonte, Fox, De Ridder, Hammond, Cork, Lallana, Lambert, Connolly Hammond will be back, no worries. Morgan is suspended for this one. Agree with your team too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenue Saint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Just my opinion on the night mate... Quality on the night in the final third was missing for all the side........but Morgan after a great performance v Palace was very poor against Brizzle.... There are many games where Morgan is not at the races and should not be playing in this league.....on the odd match he is pure class and will maybe better suited to Premier League or even foreign football... Maybe Arsenal are still looking at him..... His selection will have to be carefully thought out for the second half of the season.. WIFM "he should not be playing in this league" sorry mate, i had to stop reading at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Would like to see Hammond back tomorrow - him and Cork would be good I think. Definitely should persevere with Steeeve down the right hand side, would perhaps consider Guly as well as he doesnt seem to do it during away games. Starting XI for me: Davis, Richardson, Hooiveld, Martin/Fonte, Fox, De Ridder, Hammond, Cork, Lallana, Lambert, Connolly Hammond is almost certain to be back ...Morgan is suspended. Just to set the record straight re AL. I think he is an excellent player but who does tend to have some pretty big ups and downs, the most recent down seems to be lasting far longer than any that have gone before it.As someone else says if we're carrying AL and Guly who are without a doubt the sharp end of the creative effort we ain't got much left. I also think many of our players are suffering from too many high intensity games one after the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchen_block4 Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I'd stick with the strongest available side for this one and ring the changes in the cup match. Davis, Richardson, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox De Ridder, Hammond, Cork, Lallana Lambert, Connolly Although if Connolly isn't deemed match fit enough to start, stick him on the bench and put Guly in there. The match is likely to naeed Connolly at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I'd stick with the strongest available side for this one and ring the changes in the cup match. Davis, Richardson, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox De Ridder, Hammond, Cork, Lallana Lambert, Connolly Although if Connolly isn't deemed match fit enough to start, stick him on the bench and put Guly in there. The match is likely to naeed Connolly at some point. I'm more concerned about Fonte than anything else, such a key player, now seems to be on top form at the back again and is so important in the premier phases of most attacking build-ups. Don't know if we've ever won a match when Fonte has been missing, a cup game may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Glad Noone is out for them - only player of theirs that looked a bit handy at SMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Noone was a good player I saw at Plymouth and again saw when on loan at Exeter... Always rated him and thought Saints would go for him prior to Brighton aquiring his services.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 (edited) don't know if many of you belong to saintslist so perhaps Mr Buffoni won't mind me posting it here as well. He has( or had) a spare ticket for tomorrow. Might be worth a mail to see if you're still looking for one. Don't shoot the messenger david.buffoni@btinternet.com Edited 1 January, 2012 by Window Cleaner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Hammond is almost certain to be back ...Morgan is suspended. Just to set the record straight re AL. I think he is an excellent player but who does tend to have some pretty big ups and downs, the most recent down seems to be lasting far longer than any that have gone before it.As someone else says if we're carrying AL and Guly who are without a doubt the sharp end of the creative effort we ain't got much left. I also think many of our players are suffering from too many high intensity games one after the other.OK, perhaps I was a bit harsh on your position regarding Lallana overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 That only leads to the self doubt leading to the present situation of dwelling too long in possession in the wrong place. It was clear that he is low on confidence when in the first half V Bristol City he had a great chance to shoot from the edge of the box, but instead held it up and passed it wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 (edited) Clearly Lallana's low on confidence - but I wonder how much his dip in form has got to do with the opposition wisening up. Its not like he's having martin keown following him around; but no doubt he's receiving special attention and maybe he isn't quite able to make the step up. Edited 1 January, 2012 by shurlock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint_disco123 Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 they dont seem up for it at all, i was just having a look on their forum site and only 20% think they will win! ouch! saying that im going for a 0-2 to saints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 "he should not be playing in this league" sorry mate, i had to stop reading at this point. You missed the best bit then.... maybe better suited to the premier league.....Where his talent will end up with Saints.. Don't get me wrong..Morgan, in my view is a very good footballer and improving all the time. Just not an automatic selection for me in many of our games. Funnily enough..most on this forum agree with you and window cleaner....... so do not spoil our friendship as most of my family also agree with you mate... Hopefully he will prove me wrong and help us get promotion this season.. As for Lallana and De Ridder...they will bring us back the three points from Brighton.. WIFM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpsaint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Clearly Lallana's low on confidence - but I wonder how much his dip in form has got to do with the opposition wisening up. Its not like he's having martin keown following him around; but no doubt he's receiving special attention and maybe he isn't quite able to make the step up. Does seem like opposing teams work hard on trying to shut him out of the game as it affects our attack big time. In fairness though he is up against much better defenders this year so he was never going to stand out like the last 2 seasons. Don't think it's any coincidence though that he doesn't play as well with Fox behind him. That's not an attack on Fox, I like him, just feel like Adam links up better with Harding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 they dont seem up for it at all, i was just having a look on their forum site and only 20% think they will win! ouch! saying that im going for a 0-2 to saints With D'Urso as ref the game could be a complete lottery. Doubt if it will go 0-0 though,apart from that wouldn't like to say. A win hopefully but I might even be consoled by a draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 It's a dilemma f'sure. The problem though is that if Lallana isn't firing, and Guly is on an off day - we're carrying two players out of 11 - and people wonder why we're in a 'blip'?!?! Start with both give them 45mins - then if either aren't firing - bring them off. No rocket up arse required but a little nudge might help. In that scenario I'd have Fox on LM in front of Harding, and Connolly upfront with Lambert. Simple. I rate Lallana as our best player, but he is just not performing at the moment. Unlike Guly, who can give you two goals on a bad day, I have not seen that from Lallana. Against Bristol, I would have taken off Lallana, brought on Harding as you indicate, put Guly on the right and brought de Ridder up front to feed off of Ricky. Because we were just getting no control from midfield and Hammond I expect would have been needed for Morgan as well. If we could not get control of the midfield with that set up or control + passing working again, then Ricky goes onto the CB's shoulder. Ricky does not do so well when he's stuck up front like that but it would have been far better than what was playing out. De Ridder would have to go to the space that gave opportunity every time, even though the pickings would have been slim. We would have then been mainly reliant on the long ball then, but if nothing else was working you have to bypass Bristols midfield and live off the scraps that Ricky or an error can give you. We had no control of the midfield against Bristol and it was obvious just changing Hammond for Morgan was not going to be enough. Hammond was an improvement but never solved the problem and we were just in hope from there on, more than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilchards Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Do something different vs Brighton please. Why not Guly (home boy) & Lallana in the bench, we need some quality for the 60th minute mark when Brighton get tired. Fox, Harding, Holmes & De Ridder to start please. De Ridderplays a free role behind Lambert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintNeil90 Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Oh dear... people wanting to drop Lallana! The one player who can create from nothing. I dont care if you say he is off form, the whole team is at the moment. The only player who needs dropping is Guly for Connolly. And whats with people wanting Holmes?! What has he ever done. He is slow and awkward. I'm glad Adkins is manager!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appy Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Dropping Lallana is out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southbourne saint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Has the Amex got a retractable roof because if not this could get postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Would be a real shame with their weakened side, if we were in their position we would love a postponment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appy Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Has the Amex got a retractable roof because if not this could get postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Would be a real shame with their weakened side, if we were in their position we would love a postponment. I'm sure they have a fairly good drainage system at their new ground. What is it with people worrying about a bit of rain at the moment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 What is it with people worrying about a bit of rain at the moment? D'Urso innit, bloke could call a match off for an icy pitch in the Gobi Desert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appy Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 D'Urso innit, bloke could call a match off for an icy pitch in the Gobi Desert. Christ i forgot about that. Hopefully there are no puddles on pavement outside the ground or he might not fancy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjii Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Oh dear... people wanting to drop Lallana! The one player who can create from nothing. I dont care if you say he is off form, the whole team is at the moment. The only player who needs dropping ies Guly for Connolly. And whats with people wanting Holmes?! What has he ever done. He is slow and awkward. I'm glad Adkins is manager!!! Holmes certainly isn't awkward, he is one of the most talented players in our squad in terms of touch and ability to manipulate a football. He is quite slow though. He has hardly ever put in a bad performance for Saints. I would have every confidence in him to do a decent job against Brighton. That said, I would persevere with our standard line up against Brighton and give them all the weekend off next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintNeil90 Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Holmes certainly isn't awkward, he is one of the most talented players in our squad in terms of touch and ability to manipulate a football. He is quite slow though. He has hardly ever put in a bad performance for Saints. I would have every confidence in him to do a decent job against Brighton. That said, I would persevere with our standard line up against Brighton and give them all the weekend off next week. No he really isn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Holmes can put in a good shift if you have someone to feed him, anyone who saw the early Holmes/Morgan combination under the Dutch duo would not doubt that. Holmes can also put in an excellent floating cross instead of whipping it in at 2000 mph. I might even give Guly a rest tomorrow, ask Adam (nicely) to go right and stay wide and see how that goes and use Lee on the leftwith as someone said Rickie on point and SDR sniffing behind him.Only trouble for me is whether Hammond and to a lesser extent Cork can put the ball where it needs to be put first time so that the wide men don't run offside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Holmes lacks the ability to penetrate a defense and consistently get into dangerous areas but, when he does, he delivers an excellent cross - better than Lallana and SDR imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Dropping Lallana is out of the question.He has been largely poor since returning from injury and for me he doesn't look fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appy Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 He has been largely poor since returning from injury and for me he doesn't look fit. Who would you play instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicestersaint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I think there is an argument for resting Adam - he is clearly struggling a bit at present. We could play Holmes in his place or try Harding there. I must say that the sooner Chaplow comes back the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikee Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I can't for the life of me understand what Connolly has done to deserve being picked ahead of our second top scorer. Every single one of our best performances has included Guly yet people seem to think we would play better without him. I just don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 So what is the big reason we arent kicking ar*e like in the first three months of the season? - Adam's injury and lack of return to form? - Connolly getting injured? - Too many games starting to take its toll? Who'd be a manager eh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I can't for the life of me understand what Connolly has done to deserve being picked ahead of our second top scorer. Every single one of our best performances has included Guly yet people seem to think we would play better without him. I just don't get it. That's probably because guly has played in almost every game this year both good and bad tbf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 I'd be intrigued to see how most of that first team we put out against Leeds would fare -Harding for Fox, Connolly for SDR, Hammond back in and Guly on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carljack Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Dropping Lallana and Guly makes no sense at all,they are by far our most creative players,without them we are just another average championship side.Form is temporary class is permanent! they make the bullets for Rickie to fire,Gulys goal tally is not too shabby either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvictaSaint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Missing for the Southampton game are Vincelot, Barnes, Dunk & Navarro suspended; Calderon, Painter, Noone, Vicente, Hoskins, Elphick, Dicker out injured; Cook on loan at Bournemouth. Cook now recalled by Brighton, although no word on whether he will definitely play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 So what is the big reason we arent kicking ar*e like in the first three months of the season? - Adam's injury and lack of return to form? - Connolly getting injured? - Too many games starting to take its toll? Who'd be a manager eh! Parts of 1 and 3 I'd say. -We miss an in form Lallana undoubtedly, although I wouldn't say he is the be all and end all of our problems. -We put in some very shabby performances at Derby, Burnley, Cardiff, Leicester and Reading before Connolly got injured, so it's not that. - The fixture lists are taking their toll, but they take their toll on everyone, hence we're still top of the League. I think it's a combination of injuries effecting Lallana and Chaplow, plus the fact that we had momentum at the start of the season. We had a winning mentality from League 1 as a lot of promoted teams do. Brighton had it, but theirs wore off a lot sooner than ours did. The true test will be the second half of the season. Which players can we attract in January, how well will they integrate and will we have enough to stay on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Parts of 1 and 3 I'd say. -We miss an in form Lallana undoubtedly, although I wouldn't say he is the be all and end all of our problems. -We put in some very shabby performances at Derby, Burnley, Cardiff, Leicester and Reading before Connolly got injured, so it's not that. - The fixture lists are taking their toll, but they take their toll on everyone, hence we're still top of the League. I think it's a combination of injuries effecting Lallana and Chaplow, plus the fact that we had momentum at the start of the season. We had a winning mentality from League 1 as a lot of promoted teams do. Brighton had it, but theirs wore off a lot sooner than ours did. The true test will be the second half of the season. Which players can we attract in January, how well will they integrate and will we have enough to stay on top. We deserved a point or better at Derby, Leicester, Burnley and Cardiff. While we had dodgy halfs in some of them -notably Burnely and Leicester- we still created more clear-cut chances than the opposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 We deserved a point or better at Derby, Leicester, Burnley and Cardiff. While we had dodgy halfs in some of them -notably Burnely and Leicester- we still created more clear-cut chances than the opposition. Deserved but didn't get, you could say the same about Pompey. I don't think Connolly is the difference here. We dropped a lot of points away from home before he got injured as well as after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 We deserved a point or better at Derby, Leicester, Burnley and Cardiff. While we had dodgy halfs in some of them -notably Burnely and Leicester- we still created more clear-cut chances than the opposition. You were there and I only watched Cardiff on their iplayer. But I never thought we created much at all. I know Cardiff also never created and just accepted the two gifts we gave them, but I never thought we looked like getting a goal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 Who would you play instead?I knew you'd ask that. Tough one as I have never rated Holmes. He has an excellent first touch and is OK in the final third, no trick or pace, but he can create a yard and get a cross in. My issue has always been his engine. He is fine as an out and out winger, but as part of a four man midfield he just does not get up and down enough leaving us open defensively. However, in recent weeks Lallana has been exactly the same. Very laboured when tracking back. Almost no pressure on the ball and at times ball watching and not helping Fox at all. Not always I might point out, but much more than normal. At the start of the season his work rate was immense, but the injury has really taken a toil on his fitness. Back to Holmes, I'm not sure he could do worse than Lallana, who quite clearly needs to sort his fitness or injury out. The last league game Holmes started was at Millwall under Pardew and he was actually very good. He didn't do anything much with the ball, but he was a great out (his first touch ensuring we kept the ball in tight areas) and he worked his socks off. If he can replicate that sort of display then I'd be more than happy to bring him in and allow Lallana a break or even to come on as an impact sub. It's a gamble, but we can't continue to carry Lallana. That said Lallana might just need more games to find his fitness. I guess only he and the physio etc. know that. If he needs games then obviously continue to play him as the sooner we have him back to his best the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 You were there and I only watched Cardiff on their iplayer. But I never thought we created much at all. I know Cardiff also never created and just accepted the two gifts we gave them, but I never thought we looked like getting a goal? A very drab first half but we created some very good openings in the 2nd, especially after SDR came on. More than Cardiff and more than any of our recent games, including the Palace win. Or perhaps that just goes to show that problems have been festering for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManorHouseSaint Posted 1 January, 2012 Share Posted 1 January, 2012 If anyone has any last minute spare tickets for the game, please give me a shout. I am after 2 if possible. It may be easier to contact me on Twitter. My username is ThePrester on there. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Posted 2 January, 2012 Share Posted 2 January, 2012 If anyone has any last minute spare tickets for the game, please give me a shout. I am after 2 if possible. It may be easier to contact me on Twitter. My username is ThePrester on there. Thanks! Im after 2 tickets, pm me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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