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Saints v Reading build-up (the big one)

kwsaint

By kwsaint,
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Cabrone

Cabrone

Posted
Posted

We can and we will win this one 2-1.

 

Let Reading sweat it out if Wham beat Brighton.

 

They base their game on being a tough nut to crack at one end and a smash and grab outfit at the other so I don't think we'll get more than 2 goals + our defence has to be very weary for the whole 90 mins - esp from set pieces.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to be here at 10pm on Friday knowing that if Wham drop a single point over their next 4 games that we will be up (assuming a win against a **** poor Cov team)

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jasoneuelllfanclub

jasoneuelllfanclub

Posted
Posted

i think reading will have robson-hal, tabb and leighterwood back for friday, dont think they were risked last night as they carrying minor knocks. brighton deserved something out of the game last night and had reading on the back foot for large parts of the game, so lets hope our extra recovery time pays dividend. if we keep the ball and make them work then we will have great chance of winning the game. if we give away silly set pieces we are asking for trouble. mcanuff and harte are deadly dead ball specialists. same line up that started at palace for me with full backs pushing on to offer natural width allowing chaplow and lallana to take up unorthodox positions in between the lines.

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alpine_saint

alpine_saint

Posted
Posted
i think reading will have robson-hal, tabb and leighterwood back for friday, dont think they were risked last night as they carrying minor knocks. brighton deserved something out of the game last night and had reading on the back foot for large parts of the game, so lets hope our extra recovery time pays dividend. if we keep the ball and make them work then we will have great chance of winning the game. if we give away silly set pieces we are asking for trouble. mcanuff and harte are deadly dead ball specialists. same line up that started at palace for me with full backs pushing on to offer natural width allowing chaplow and lallana to take up unorthodox positions in between the lines.

 

If Reading really rested key players last night and still ground out a win, I am not confident we are going to get something on Friday.

 

Not only have they got the talent, but it seems they are simply oozing confidence. Something with us that I feel is a little bit fragile.

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eelpie

eelpie

Posted
Posted

We will win this game -provide we heed warnings learned from our away draw in October. This massive game may not decide promotion but it will decide who will go up as champions.

 

On paper, since November 1st when Reading were a mere 16th in the Championship, Reading's run has been impressive, and 15 points better than anyone. Their defence has been crucial as has some decent January signings.

 

Against the Royals away we struggled as they dominated the centre of the park in one of the games when we were not performing positively. Not until De Ridder came charging off the bench and scored a massive equaliser, were Saints belatedly reinvigorated. Without that crucial goal then we would be trailing Reading by three points now.

 

But yesterday they had a gruelling 90 minutes against Brighton, who were all over Reading for much of the game and only a brilliant Federici denied them. The lesson is that we have to come out of the traps blazing. Be first to the ball. Dominate interceptions. Tackle ruthlessly, Don't shy off. Be resolute.

 

We have the skills to better Reading. Strong defence. Lallana, Cork and Hammond in midfield at their best. Lambert's intelligence alongside Sharp's bust foraging, running, collecting, and opportunistic in front of goal. Had Brighton these two in their team they would have thrashed Reading. Which is why we will win.

 

And our home support will be so massive for the team.

 

A stirring game, not for the faint-hearted -on or off the pitch. 2 -1 Saints!

 

COYR!!!!

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Dalek2003

Dalek2003

Posted
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If Reading really rested key players last night and still ground out a win, I am not confident we are going to get something on Friday.

 

Not only have they got the talent, but it seems they are simply oozing confidence. Something with us that I feel is a little bit fragile.

 

I think that this is realistic. A draw would be good and of course the big question is the ability of Wham to get a few more wins ? If they had lost heavily to Brum I think their morale would have been smashed. As it is I fully expect them to beat Brighton.

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Mr Saints

Mr Saints

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We're at home and I make us favourites. Brighton got at them last night and caused them alot of problems, with a half decent centre forward they would of won. We have the best forward in the division and if our big players step up to the occasion we'll be fine.

 

Would take a draw but can see us taking all 3. COYR.

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wild-saint

wild-saint

Posted
Posted
If Reading really rested key players last night and still ground out a win, I am not confident we are going to get something on Friday.

 

Not only have they got the talent, but it seems they are simply oozing confidence. Something with us that I feel is a little bit fragile.

 

Alpine in not confident & {Fill in Blank} are just great & we are fragile shocker.

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saintbob40

saintbob40

Posted
Posted

If we play our normal fast tempo passing/possession game I think the day and a half's extra rest will prove decisive and they will tire. I have a feeling we will put four past them.......and I will give them a consolation goal out of sheer generosity, so 4-1.

 

COYR>>>>>>>!

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70's Mike

70's Mike

Posted
Posted
If Reading really rested key players last night and still ground out a win, I am not confident we are going to get something on Friday.

 

Not only have they got the talent, but it seems they are simply oozing confidence. Something with us that I feel is a little bit fragile.

 

what do you base your opinion on regarding our confidence levels

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alpine_saint

alpine_saint

Posted
Posted
Against Palace we looked comfortable. A performance of at least that standard, and not a performance akin to what we saw against Blackpool and the blue few, will see us alright. I'm confident.

 

There seems to be some revisionism / forgetfulness in these parts.

 

I thought Palace missed a number of sitters, especially after we went 1-0 up.

 

I dont think it sounded "comfortable"

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Appy

Appy

Posted
Posted
There seems to be some revisionism / forgetfulness in these parts.

 

I thought Palace missed a number of sitters, especially after we went 1-0 up.

 

I dont think it sounded "comfortable"

 

I was there, unlike you.

 

We were comfortable.

 

Barely had to get out of second gear, ideal game ahead of Friday and in between last Saturday.

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Horley CTFC Saint

Horley CTFC Saint

Posted
Posted
We will win this game -provide we heed warnings learned from our away draw in October. This massive game may not decide promotion but it will decide who will go up as champions.

 

On paper, since November 1st when Reading were a mere 16th in the Championship, Reading's run has been impressive, and 15 points better than anyone. Their defence has been crucial as has some decent January signings.

 

Against the Royals away we struggled as they dominated the centre of the park in one of the games when we were not performing positively. Not until De Ridder came charging off the bench and scored a massive equaliser, were Saints belatedly reinvigorated. Without that crucial goal then we would be trailing Reading by three points now.

 

But yesterday they had a gruelling 90 minutes against Brighton, who were all over Reading for much of the game and only a brilliant Federici denied them. The lesson is that we have to come out of the traps blazing. Be first to the ball. Dominate interceptions. Tackle ruthlessly, Don't shy off. Be resolute.

 

We have the skills to better Reading. Strong defence. Lallana, Cork and Hammond in midfield at their best. Lambert's intelligence alongside Sharp's bust foraging, running, collecting, and opportunistic in front of goal. Had Brighton these two in their team they would have thrashed Reading. Which is why we will win.

 

And our home support will be so massive for the team.

 

A stirring game, not for the faint-hearted -on or off the pitch. 2 -1 Saints!

 

COYR!!!!

Am I the only one that feels our defence will get ripped apart if and when we get into the Premier League? Good enough for the Championship but really unsure about in the Prem

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vince

vince

Posted
Posted

A Brighton ST holder at work who went last night tells me that Readings defence was rock solid and barley gave them anything - I didn't follow the game myself so can't comment on the rose tinted specticalness of that point of view, but will take it at face value. My take on that is for AL to step forward on Friday and pick the lock, but stay on your feet, nipper!!

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Thedelldays

Thedelldays

Posted
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they had Leigertwood and Karacan out last night

Kebe was struggling with his knee...?

 

they do have... a CB paring that is excellent and an excellent keeper.

lambert need to be on his game...or should they mark him out, hope lallana has his shooting boots on for this one

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Nexstar

Nexstar

Posted
Posted
A Brighton ST holder at work who went last night tells me that Readings defence was rock solid and barley gave them anything - I didn't follow the game myself so can't comment on the rose tinted specticalness of that point of view, but will take it at face value. My take on that is for AL to step forward on Friday and pick the lock, but stay on your feet, nipper!!

 

To be fair, it doesn't surprise me that their defence is solid. However, Brighton were still allowed 20 shots (13 off, 7 on) including hitting the bar and a missed penalty. Sounds like Federici had a cracker too, so there certainly is hope :)

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alpine_saint

alpine_saint

Posted
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They did, but we scored two more goals than they did & should have at least got another. I find it strange that you are not satisfied.

 

I am well chuffed about the Palace result, I was quite nervous about that one, especially after the 2 previous games.

 

I just think its a bit of an exaggeration to say "comfortable", inferring we didnt let them get a sniff at goal

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hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
I am well chuffed about the Palace result, I was quite nervous about that one, especially after the 2 previous games.

 

I just think its a bit of an exaggeration to say "comfortable", inferring we didnt let them get a sniff at goal

 

I wa at the game. We were very comfortable for the majority of the game.

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S-Clarke

S-Clarke

Posted
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So Palace didnt have those chances, then ?

 

Teams will create chances against us. If you're now starting to moan if a team has a chance against us then you have no clue. Last night for example, the amazing, fantastic, breathtaking Reading side were taken to the cleaners by Brighton and we well battered in terms of possession and chances against, but they held on. Like we did at Leeds.

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Crazy Diamond

Crazy Diamond

Posted
Posted
but we played really well

 

Can't agree to be honest. Didn't look as if we played half as well as we could have. That's what disappointed me the most about that game.

 

There seems to be some revisionism / forgetfulness in these parts.

 

I thought Palace missed a number of sitters, especially after we went 1-0 up.

 

I dont think it sounded "comfortable"

 

It was comfortable. Palace never looked that threatening, highlights on TFLS made it look a closer contest than it ever actually was. Even when Palace got gritty and tried to kick us off the park, we were up for it and never looked like losing or dropping points.

 

I was there, unlike you.

 

We were comfortable.

 

Barely had to get out of second gear, ideal game ahead of Friday and in between last Saturday.

 

Agreed.

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S-Clarke

S-Clarke

Posted
Posted
they had Leigertwood and Karacan out last night

Kebe was struggling with his knee...?

 

they do have... a CB paring that is excellent and an excellent keeper.

lambert need to be on his game...or should they mark him out, hope lallana has his shooting boots on for this one

 

Mcanuff (sp?) took a knock as well, but I expect he'll be ok. Last night will have taken a huge amount out of them though. I wouldn't have felt confidet about a game straight after Leeds away, due to how much we had to withstand. Luckily we had a week until our next match. Reading have 3 days.

 

That's a huge factor IMO.

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mitch01

mitch01

Posted
Posted
I am well chuffed about the Palace result, I was quite nervous about that one, especially after the 2 previous games.

 

I just think its a bit of an exaggeration to say "comfortable", inferring we didnt let them get a sniff at goal

 

They had one good chance at the end of the first half. The other one that they made out to be a sitter on the radio was not; Zaha pulled the ball across the goalmouth and Fonte casually knocked it past the onrushing striker who subsequently missed the ball. On the radio they somehow missed Fonte's very deliberate and controlled touch, concluding that it was a sitter.

 

Yes, we were very comfortable for almost the entire game.

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dellboypete

dellboypete

Posted
Posted
They missed I think 2 good chances. We also missed atleast two chances.

 

We were very comfortable.

 

I'm sure that 90% of saints that were there (me included) thought the same - I really thought that we had a lot left in reserve. OK they had a couple of chances - but so does every team in every game. It was the way we kept possession in the 2nd half gave me loads of comfort. It's how we dominated this division upto december.

 

OK Reading are definitely a lot better than CP - but I am still confident that we can play our possession football. I just hope we don't resort to the long ball stuff which could play into their hands. I also wouldn't change the back four for this one - I thought that Richardson was our weak link against portsmouth who played on his relative slowness.

 

I thought Butterfield looked pretty comfortable against Palace - even when their youngster Zaha (who I thought looked pretty good - apart from his late challenge) was in full flight.

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LGTL

LGTL

Posted
Posted

It is ridiculous to suggest that we weren't comfortable because Palace had a couple of chances. Not only do we now expect Saints to win, but it appears it can't be a comfortable win unless the opposition have 0 shots :rolleyes:

 

It was as comfortable as you are ever likely to see.

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alpine_saint

alpine_saint

Posted
Posted
Teams will create chances against us. If you're now starting to moan if a team has a chance against us then you have no clue. Last night for example, the amazing, fantastic, breathtaking Reading side were taken to the cleaners by Brighton and we well battered in terms of possession and chances against, but they held on. Like we did at Leeds.

 

 

Here we go with that "no clue" sh*t again...

 

Talk about twisting what I wrote. I never "moaned" that they had chances against us, I wrote that because some of those chances sounded a close thing, its a bit over-the-top to describe the performance as "comfortable"

 

React to what I wrote, not what you'd like to see as justification for being abusive.

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Bearsy

Bearsy

Posted
Posted
So Alpine is (I can barely bring myself to say this)....WRONG?! Even though he had the superior knowledge gained from not being there?

 

No, I just can't believe it.

 

I used to take a lot of note of Alpine's opinions a few years back when he was predicting we'd lose, that the manager was useless, the players were crap and the wheels were coming off big time I was like Wow! This Alpine Saint character really knows his football!

 

Last couple of years tho when he's still predicting we'll lose, we're not good enough and the wheels are about to come off big time he's like a stopped clock. He needs the post Liebherr reboot. He needs to learn we're actually quite good at football now!

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Raging Bull

Raging Bull

Posted
Posted
Mcanuff (sp?) took a knock as well, but I expect he'll be ok. Last night will have taken a huge amount out of them though. I wouldn't have felt confidet about a game straight after Leeds away, due to how much we had to withstand. Luckily we had a week until our next match. Reading have 3 days.

 

That's a huge factor IMO.

 

We had a huge match on sat with massive disappointment at the end and we did pretty well after just 1 day rest. Can't see Reading struggling to be ready for us.

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Windmill Arm 2

Windmill Arm 2

Posted
Posted
Here we go with that "no clue" sh*t again...

 

Talk about twisting what I wrote. I never "moaned" that they had chances against us, I wrote that because some of those chances sounded a close thing, its a bit over-the-top to describe the performance as "comfortable"

 

React to what I wrote, not what you'd like to see as justification for being abusive.

 

This may come as a surprise to you but ALL teams we have played against have had an attempt at goal, this after all is the idea of the game you utter moron !

 

How you are still allowed to post here is beyond me, you offer absolutely nothing but inane gutless drivel, bore off you knob.

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alpine_saint

alpine_saint

Posted
Posted
This may come as a surprise to you but ALL teams we have played against have had an attempt at goal, this after all is the idea of the game you utter moron !

 

How you are still allowed to post here is beyond me, you offer absolutely nothing but inane gutless drivel, bore off you knob.

 

Hey, WAZ, where you been ???

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Chez

Chez

Posted
Posted
There seems to be some revisionism / forgetfulness in these parts.

 

I thought Palace missed a number of sitters, especially after we went 1-0 up.

 

I dont think it sounded "comfortable"

 

one decent chance, one dangerous cross. It was as comfortable a day as you'll ever likely have at this level. No booze and no exaggeration. It matters little. Reading are a different kettle of fish completely in terms of quality and confidence.

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