Saints 2 Palace 0 - Post Match Reactions

[Lighthouse]

This picture is brilliant. Any idea if and how I can get a high res version from getty?

 

[rick1976.4.38]

saints back to playing football on the ground today.palace did look like they were ready for their holiday but at the end of the day you can only beat what is infront of you.great support apart from some bloke just behind me who was slagging billy all game,had a word with him,he kept going on how he does nothing for saints,i couldnt believe this numpty,anyway i moved b4 i decked him,mong.get behind the lads ,even guly,if they wear the red and white support them,ffs.i cant fault anyone today,10/10 for all.a solid display,motm for me was cork.roll on friday,sadly cant go,so looking forward to p'boro.the stewarding was ok,lads had beer next to me steward just said to them your on cctv and if the old bill get you your out.made me laugh though that they told us not to use hand gestures,you know ,the coffee one at the palarse support,lol

[S-Clarke]

This picture is brilliant. Any idea if and how I can get a high res version from getty?

 

 

...''We're coming for youuuu...''

[teamsaint]

I don't think anyone else has mentioned it but were the 30 or so Palace fans in black, with the raised arms and choreography, doing an "ultra" thing?

 

Dunno, Mrs TS noticed this , no idea what it is about.

 

HT entertainment was just Brilliant, also.

[stardustonmyfeet]

I don't think anyone else has mentioned it but were the 30 or so Palace fans in black, with the raised arms and choreography, doing an "ultra" thing?

I think they're called the Crystal Girls? If I had a teenage daughter I wouldn't let her prance around in a miniskirt at a footy match, but I guess an eagle threatening to land on De Ridder's head as he jogs across the pitch isn't enough entertainment for some.

 

I cycled from a mate's house near Croydon and arrived just after kick-off to buy a ticket in the main stand, and was greeted by a worried looking steward who asked me where I was from, and if I was one of the 'Southampton Bikers'. What the hell?! It sounded like they were expecting the Hell's Angels in the guise of a bunch of ponces on pushbikes. Couldn't really do anything but pretend to be a local and laugh in his face. I wonder if anyone here can shed any light as to what he was on about. I have an image of a gang of yoof cycling across the country to away games, creating mayhem and leaving carnage and desolation in their wake.

 

Maybe one day I'll learn to upload my blurry photos and videos so you can see just how bad I am at using a camera.

 

Oh and our support was incredible. I'm so proud of Southampton.

[Stevie B]

I don't think anyone else has mentioned it but were the 30 or so Palace fans in black, with the raised arms and choreography, doing an "ultra" thing?

 

Yes, laughable bunch, if you had the whole stand with flares, flags, banners etc. then fair enough if that's what you want to do, don't think there's any place for that in English terrace culture but the fact that there's 20 of em at best makes them look pathetic, living in Croydon the majority of my mates are palace who think exactly the same

[LGTL]

The Saints Foundation did a charity thing today whereby some people cycled to the game, so expect he saw your bike and thought you were one of those.

[mulletsaint]

This picture is brilliant. Any idea if and how I can get a high res version from getty?

 

 

It's available for purchase from the Getty website, although I'm not sure they will sell for personal usage.

 

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/rickie-lambert-of-southampton-celebrates-scoring-their-news-photo/142608936

[Lighthouse]

It's available for purchase from the Getty website, although I'm not sure they will sell for personal usage.

 

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/rickie-lambert-of-southampton-celebrates-scoring-their-news-photo/142608936

 

Yeah, they don't. Unless you buy it and the cheapest I can find is £125, so no thanks.

[Sour Mash]

Yes, laughable bunch, if you had the whole stand with flares, flags, banners etc. then fair enough if that's what you want to do, don't think there's any place for that in English terrace culture but the fact that there's 20 of em at best makes them look pathetic, living in Croydon the majority of my mates are palace who think exactly the same

Their whole 'Ultra' thing is bad enough, but to go out and buy matching s**t black hoodies is another thing, properly cringeworthy.

 

Our atmosphere never really got going. Hangover from Saturday's result, rubbish weather and the usual London away day trippers meant it'd never be a classic in that regard.

[Saint_Jonny]

Their whole 'Ultra' thing is bad enough, but to go out and buy matching s**t black hoodies is another thing, properly cringeworthy.

 

Our atmosphere never really got going. Hangover from Saturday's result, rubbish weather and the usual London away day trippers meant it'd never be a classic in that regard.

 

Everyone else on the forum is saying how awesome the support was today, and you say it "never really got going". So I guess what you meant to say was "I never really got going, I am a pansy and can't get over the game on Saturday just yet, someone cuddle me, because I am a fragile girl".

 

Please be honest next time.

[SuperMikey]

Cracking game, so glad that I got to go today. Pretty even up until we scored (after a 5 minute spell of dominance from them) but then after that it never really looked in doubt.

 

Davis 7 - Made some great saves at 0-0 to keep things even and punched away a few tricky crosses with lots of bodies around him.

 

Butterfield 8 - Not his biggest fan, but he was great today. Operated much higher up the pitch than usual and looked much better for it. Crossing was good and positioned himself well.

Fox 9 - Thought he had an absolutely storming game. Was gutted to see him taken off as the battle between him and Zaha was getting tasty, but at the rate it was going one of them was going to get a(nother) booking.

Fonte 8 - Excellent game, so composed on the ball and his passing was sublime. Good in the air and handled Scannell well when he played through the middle.

Hooiveld 8 - Same as Fonte, very strong and handled their strikers well. They barely got a sniff after we went ahead.

 

Chaplow 8 - Put himself about, got stuck in to some tackles and held a high line, putting pressure on their LB. So much better today than he has been for the last few weeks.

Lallana 7 - Clyne had him pretty much covered, but he still showed some nice touches and linked up well with Lambert. He looks f*cking knackered though!

Hammond 8 - Made some fantastic challenges, dropped deep and pushed up at the right times to keep our flow going. Was worried we'd miss Morgan but I have faith in Deano!

Cork 8 - Like Chaplow he had a high-intensity game. Not afraid to stick his foot in to try and win the ball and harried their central midfield pairing all day. Very good indeed.

 

Lambert 9 - Well, what can you say really? Took his goals very well and created some good opportunities with some clever passes and flick-ons.

Sharp 7 - Ran his socks off but didn't get much luck. He's been in great form recently which is good to see, but we need to give him better service when he makes those forward runs. Ball in front and onto his chest!

 

Subs:

Harding 7 - Got down the touchline well and linked up nicely with Lallana. Made an absolutely amazing tackle on Chris Martin inside our penalty area.

Guly 6 - Worked quite hard but passing and touches were a bit sloppy. Seems to be very low on confidence, could it be homesickness or is he just miffed that he's in bad form?

De Ridder - Barely any time to impact on the game.

[SaintBobby]

Oh, a penalty. What a surprise.

 

Prepare for some dodgy decisions over the last 4 rounds of games.

 

Did you watch the game?

 

West Ham should have had at least one and possibly two other penalties.

 

Why do you imply any worry about "dodgy decisions"?

 

It was an absolute stonewall penalty.

 

I appreciate that you are unable to actually watch much football given you're away from the UK.

 

But I'm unclear why you seem to be so determined to prove that ignorance is no barrier to expressing an opinion.

[SaintBobby]

I dont blame him.

 

We were w*nk against Blackpool and Portsmouth, irrespective of whether he played or not.

 

Seems unlikely he will start on Friday, and I consider that to be a major problem. He's still our best RM in my opinion (even if that is not saying a lot)

 

Did you watch either game?

 

If not, on what are you basing your opinion?

 

I'd say we were 4/10 v Blackpool and 5.5/10 v Portsmouth. (i.e. a slightly poor average)

 

But, heck, what do I know?

[saintscottofthenortham]

Just woke up for work, my head is POUNDING!!!

 

What an incredible day. Wetherspoons before the game was quality, the atmosphere at the game was nothing short of superb, the performance from The Saints was that of Champions, a terrific display, then onto the Slug & Lettuce at Clapham where a pub full of Saints went mental with one West Ham fan sat smack in the middle with his missus throwing his toys out of his pram. Priceless.

 

One of my best ever away days. I can almost smell the premier league. COYS!!!

[CanadaSaint]

Just woke up for work, my head is POUNDING!!!

 

You might need to get used to that feeling.

[saintds]

...

Edited 10 April, 2012 by saintds
Need to read on sometimes.

[dubai_phil]

I tell you what, every moaner/negatitive wave/voices in head Saints Fan should sit and listen to Nige's post match interview.

 

http://audioboo.fm/boos/747573-nigel-adkins-speaking-to-solentsport-after-saints-2-0-win-at-crystal-palace

 

yeah he has his usual cliche's in there but he does let his mask slip when he talks "to" the fans and also when he talks about everyone knowing what they have done so far this season and how much THEY want it.

 

You can almost hear the real Nige in there when he talks of the hair standing up on his neck

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/9194253/Crystal-Palace-0-Southampton-2-match-report.html

 

And a more down to earth report on the game. Just to keep our feet on the floor

 

On an uninspiring afternoon, Rickie Lambert produced two moments of Premier League quality to push the league leaders closer to promotion.

 

This was a game in which Southampton could easily have lost points. They struggled to break down a resolute Crystal Palace side who, despite poor form, had lost only three Championship games at Selhurst Park. In truth the hosts should have won it, but missed all their chances.

 

[shurlock]

 

And a more down to earth report on the game. Just to keep our feet on the floor:

 

On an uninspiring afternoon, Rickie Lambert produced two moments of Premier League quality to push the league leaders closer to promotion.

 

This was a game in which Southampton could easily have lost points. They struggled to break down a resolute Crystal Palace side who, despite poor form, had lost only three Championship games at Selhurst Park. In truth the hosts should have won it, but missed all their chances

 

 

Journo must have been watching a different game - it was as comfortable an away win as ive seen all season and we didnt need to get out of 2nd gear.

[dubai_phil]

Journo must have been watching a different game - it was as comfortable an away win as ive seen all season and we didnt need to get out of 2nd gear.

 

Yeah but in fairness we did take until just before HT to actually score and we did have a couple of squeaky bum moments

[trousers]

Journo must have been watching a different game - it was as comfortable an away win as ive seen all season and we didnt need to get out of 2nd gear.

 

I've just had a quick skim read through a selection of newspaper reports and not one is anywhere near as glowing as the praise on here. But I guess that's not surprising. A winning side's fans are always going to accentuate the positives. Of course, the reverse happens when we lose...

[Jack]

Cracking day again. I thought Palace started brighter than us but we settled into the game.

Fox MOTM, was absolutely immense today and kept their 'best' player in his pocket, who was obviously really p*ssed off about it. I thought Corky and Deano bossed the midfield and were top notch, and Lambo is a class above in this league.

 

Great turnout in terms of numbers. We were loud but not as loud as we could/should have been. No denying we were right behind them all day.

 

Got into a 'closed' pub after the game to watch Fat Sam pull his hair out, had a load more beers and a curry on the way home and went to bed feeling we're not too far away. Hoping for a Brighton win today.

[Sour Mash]

Journo must have been watching a different game - it was as comfortable an away win as ive seen all season and we didnt need to get out of 2nd gear.

Took a bit of time to break them down, but otherwise it was a very comfortable win against a side that clearly had nothing to play for. 'The hosts should have won it' is certainly an utter load of rubbish.

[Charlie Wayman]

Good result. Well done!

[Whitey Grandad]

Did you watch the game?

 

West Ham should have had at least one and possibly two other penalties.

 

Why do you imply any worry about "dodgy decisions"?

 

It was an absolute stonewall penalty.

 

I appreciate that you are unable to actually watch much football given you're away from the UK.

 

But I'm unclear why you seem to be so determined to prove that ignorance is no barrier to expressing an opinion.

 

Nothing stonewall about any of those penalty claims.

[Window Cleaner]

Took a bit of time to break them down, but otherwise it was a very comfortable win against a side that clearly had nothing to play for. 'The hosts should have won it' is certainly an utter load of rubbish.

 

But the hosts could have won it, should have is probably an exaggeration though.Fortunately for us Martin must be a Saints fan.

[Griffo]

Sorry but our support really wasn't that good today. We sung the same songs round and round and round. F*cking boring. You could tell there were loads there that barely set foot in an away ground.

[shurlock]

Sorry but our support really wasn't that good today. We sung the same songs round and round and round. F*cking boring. You could tell there were loads there that barely set foot in an away ground.

 

Didnt think it was a bad atmosphere - admittedly not very adventurous; but more people than usual got involved -while palace offered nothing back so it was hard for any decent banter to develop.

[RedAndWhite91]

Sorry but our support really wasn't that good today. We sung the same songs round and round and round. F*cking boring. You could tell there were loads there that barely set foot in an away ground.

 

Have to agree. My mate is a Palace season ticket holder and he was sat high up in the stand to the left of us. Whilst he quite happily praised our squad, Lambert, and the numbers of us that travelled, he did say it sounded like we only had about three songs and there were a lot of stages where we were silent.

 

He did say however, that when we all did sing, we were the loudest away fans that have been at Selhurst this season.

 

I do think when we take a large following we struggle to get everyone singing together and making a decent noise. There's a lot of people who don't normally sing and are happy to sit in silence. Also it always seems one part of the stand will try and start a song, then another will try and sing another song.

 

Nevertheless a top away day and superb victory.

[Minty]

I do think when we take a large following we struggle to get everyone singing together and making a decent noise. There's a lot of people who don't normally sing and are happy to sit in silence. Also it always seems one part of the stand will try and start a song, then another will try and sing another song.

It's always going to happen. The more people you take, the more the 'hardcore' away support might be diluted, and whilst having large numbers clearly helps and when singing together it looks and sounds awesome, it's inevitable that there will be times when it is fragmented.

 

Pretty much impossible to get a really REALLY good away atmosphere once you start getting above 1.5k I reckon, maybe less.

 

That said, we are all different. I've not been away for a couple of seasons now but when I do, I f*cking enjoy it and join in with everything I can... although that usually has something to do with competing with Mornington Crescent's absurdly loud voice.

Edited 10 April, 2012 by Minty

[ottery st mary]

I think Gareth Malone may have to be called in to get the Saints choir singing off the same hymn sheet

 

Stand up , stand up for Jesus........Stand up, stand up for Rikeeee Lambert...All join in boyzz and girlzz:D

 

 

WIFM

[Chez]

I do wonder which games people are thinking back to when they talk about great away noise/support. Thought our crowd were decent yesterday.

 

Funny, I don't recall the shoot the Pompey scum song being sung once.

[Viking Warrior]

Saintbobby

 

I have to come to the defence of Alpine re the penalty

 

The one they got they were indeed very fortunate It was Def Ball to hand not other way round.

 

The Brum player knew next to nothing about the shot , It was that powerful. It may well have hit the target>

 

But I have the same view as Alpine on this occassion,

 

Brum didnt help their cause by allowing West ham plenty of space and backing away from them instead of getting stuck in

 

I think I am ill , I have come to the support of Alpine

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

Noise came across very well on Solent and was commented upon frequently by Merrington and the other bloke. Was quite funny near the end, a short silence between the taters coincided with a really loud WTFILN and the other bloke laughed before resuming commentry.

[alpine_saint]

This picture is brilliant. Any idea if and how I can get a high res version from getty?

 

 

Someone needs to tell Adam that unless he is willing to start letting his teeth rot out, his Shane McGowan impression isnt completely effective...

[up and away]

Saintbobby

 

I have to come to the defence of Alpine re the penalty

 

The one they got they were indeed very fortunate It was Def Ball to hand not other way round.

 

The Brum player knew next to nothing about the shot , It was that powerful. It may well have hit the target>

 

But I have the same view as Alpine on this occassion,

 

Brum didnt help their cause by allowing West ham plenty of space and backing away from them instead of getting stuck in

 

I think I am ill , I have come to the support of Alpine

 

 

 

The problem is that "the hand" has just closed down from 8 yards to 4 yards and the ball has hit the arm outside of the body. If you are going to close the shot down to such a degree, you have to ensure no fault lies with your actions. If you don't close down and don't extend your arm/hand out in such a situation, then there is every reason it will be treated as ball to hand.

[Norm]

I do wonder which games people are thinking back to when they talk about great away noise/support. Thought our crowd were decent yesterday.

 

Funny, I don't recall the shoot the Pompey scum song being sung once.

 

 

Chez, you could be correct but I thought I heard it sung. Really wish it was not used any more.

[Surman4no7shirt]

Yeah, they don't. Unless you buy it and the cheapest I can find is £125, so no thanks.

 

Pretty sure this is the guy that shot it:

 

http://www.christopherleephotography.co.uk

 

His email and mobile number are on his website. Maybe he will sell you a print for personal use?

[Surrey Saint]

Chez, you could be correct but I thought I heard it sung. Really wish it was not used any more.

 

Definitely sung; rather halfheartedly. People around me (Block V), didn't seem very interested. Surely time to retire it now Pompey are a footballing irrelevance to us.

[teamsaint]

Sorry but our support really wasn't that good today. We sung the same songs round and round and round. F*cking boring. You could tell there were loads there that barely set foot in an away ground.

 

could you?

well I couldn't. Just looked like lots of Saints fans making a decent noise to me.

songs were reasonably varied, as it goes these days.

 

some people just don't have the time/money /inclination to make lots of away games.

 

Every time we have big away following (or even a large home gate) there are comments on here about JCLs, etc. On top of that, whilst queuing for tickets for the Donny game, the people around me were subjected to a good bit of verbal from other Saints fans about only being there for the pompey tickets.

 

Just because some people are , or have to be,selective, doesn't make them worse fans. It really doesn't.

 

 

and you know what, I just think we should let people enjoy following the Saints whatever way the feel fit, and if that involves going to millwall and taking their thermos flask,(something I did see !) then good on them.

[Norm]

Firstly, hats off to the 6000+ that made the effort! Secondly, I listened ON Radio Solent and was impressed with the Saints vocal backing. Thirdly, FFS STOP singing that bloody stupid 'song' about Pompey!

[suewhistle]

Just watched the extended highlights on Saints Player. Difficult to get a proper impression but it looked pretty comfortable from what I saw. Crowd sounded OK too. Of their players the only one we might want would be Clyne perhaps, as long as he's not marking someone tall, particularly in dead ball situations: he's got the bit of pace we lack in defence.

[itchen_dan]

Just watched the extended highlights on Saints Player. Difficult to get a proper impression but it looked pretty comfortable from what I saw. Crowd sounded OK too. Of their players the only one we might want would be Clyne perhaps, as long as he's not marking someone tall, particularly in dead ball situations: he's got the bit of pace we lack in defence.

 

I've been underwhelmed by him in some previous appearances ive seen in person or on TV but yesterday he stood out for me on their team. He was extreemly composed on the ball and looked to get forward whenever possible. He also dealt with Lallana and Fox very well but as you said, his only weakness was his height and we played to his weakness very well by targeting him with Lambert. I'd definitely go for him, one for now and the future without a doubt IMO.

[Bailey]

I've been underwhelmed by him in some previous appearances I've seen in person or on TV but yesterday he stood out for me on their team. He was extremely composed on the ball and looked to get forward whenever possible. He also dealt with Lallana and Fox very well but as you said, his only weakness was his height and we played to his weakness very well by targeting him with Lambert. I'd definitely go for him, one for now and the future without a doubt IMO.

 

Clyne will be playing at a much bigger club than Palace or Saints next season. I'd love to see him here as he's a fantastic prospect, but there's more chance of P*mpey staying up then that happening unfortunately.

[saintscottofthenortham]

Clyne will be playing at a much bigger club than Palace or Saints next season. I'd love to see him here as he's a fantastic prospect, but there's more chance of P*mpey staying up then that happening unfortunately.

 

My United plastic fan brother reckons they already have a deal wrapped up for him this summer. I S'pose they are in need of a backup backup backup backup backup right back.

[suewhistle]

I've been underwhelmed by him in some previous appearances ive seen in person or on TV but yesterday

 

Funnily enough I've felt the same on previous occasions, watching him as I'd seen his name mentioned on here, but as you point out yesterday I began to see his qualities. If he does go to a bigger club, all well and good, but as SSOTN points out, it might be a mistake for him to go to a very big club...

[Legod Third Coming]

I feel I should interject some sense back into some of the comments on here.

 

1. Whichever journalist thinks Palace should or even could have won is a cretin and needs to be fired for misleading the public. In fact I would go so far as to say they are less credible than the man who claimed Elvis was alive living in a bus on the moon...

 

2. We were in second gear throughout, gifted more space than the Russian cosmonaut programme explored throughout the 60s and 70s...

 

3. Had we needed to, I am confident we could have scored 6 or 7 goals. Truth is, we didn't even try once 2-0 up. At one stage I counted over 20 passes going nowhere just retaining possession because we could, because Palace are frankly not very good. I love Dougie as a bloke but his tactics and failure to close us down was criminal.

 

4. Sat in the Palace Family stand, our fans were awesome. I know I was close, but apart from Billy Smart's circuis act with the drum, and a bloke screaming Eagles over the PA, the only sound was Saints fans. Stood up throughout and making a wall of noise.

 

If any further clarification is required, let me know

[Barry the Badger]

My United plastic fan brother reckons they already have a deal wrapped up for him this summer. I S'pose they are in need of a backup backup backup backup backup right back.

 

The Palace fans in the pub after the game said this too, 4mil they reckon. They also said they think he's better than Rafael.

[Barry the Badger]

Just watched the extended highlights, makes us look even better than I remember.

 

Commentator opened it by saying "it's a flat midfield four, none of this diamond nonsense today". What a pr*ck.

[bertie]

Anyone else think the crush at half time was bordering on dangerous? And it was only because someone in front of me unilaterally opened a gate at full time that stopped even more pushing. Great ground once in the stands, but the 'concourse'...