Saint86 Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I may be reaching here, but I do think that this summers transfer business could be described in terms of players lost OR missed signings. Its clear that we haven't addressed the back line, we've all known that I would guess since January last year? Certainly this summer. But I am also gutted that we let Harding go. I was sad at the time as I always felt he was a player who put the graft in, and if any of our less fancied players was going to step up I felt it could have been him? Especially now, when we have 1 fit full back. I wish we still had him on the books! As for the midfield. We are looking thin on the ground. I felt morgan was very good first half against west ham and gave as good as he got despite some crunching tackles which were in the typical west ham mould of "go for the player". But we are really missing cork, him morgan and ramirez is a decent midfield 3, I don't think there should be any debating that. But seriously, hammond was worth a keep... get stuck in and made for it as a hard working tackling midfielder who would protect the defense and get the ball clear, the SIMPLE THINGS! I am struggling to think of a time this season when we have actually hoofed the ball clear. Playing from the back is good ofc, but the players need to get it clear once in a while. They hesitate and play it out to softly as times and we put ourselves under easy pressure as a result. They need to be harder! Wanted to guage other's opinions on these 2 and perhaps other players? Could they do a job for us now, when we are seriously suffering in crucial positions due to injuries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Harding is a midtable championship player at best. So he'd be the ideal fit for our back four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Clarke Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think we'd exceeded both players ability and I don't think they'd have changed anything. It's frustrating we weren't' as ruthless in other area's as I still feel we're carrying players who aren't good enough. The one thing we don't have a problem with is retaining the ball in the middle, we intercept and use it well there. The problem occurs when the oppo are attacking and we don't have the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Another case of players reputations growing by not playing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think Hammond could still do a job in front of the back 4 but if Fox is struggling at this level then Harding certainly would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IN MY DAY Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think it's widely accepted that Harding and possibly Hammond were not upto the premiership, fair enough. But we also lost two strong characters and former captains from the dressing room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint86 Posted 22 October, 2012 Author Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Ha, i suppose the one dead certain is that Harding would definitely give away a penalty with the constant shirt pulling But I just liked the man, always tried hard! At times thats what you want, and he would not be worst than yoshi at left back - that is no complaint to maya, but I just don't think he is a full back :/ As for hammond, its when we loose the ball that we struggle, he was never creative, but he was a stallwart in midfield and I think he would perhaps be better than warde prowse as a substitute still. Plus he was a detirmined head to give encouragement, we are short on them now that him and kelvin are gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think Hammond brings more to the table than Chaplow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlesaint Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think Hammond brings more to the table than Chaplow. I think defensively Harding brings more to the table than Fox. We both will never know however, besides Chaplow is hardly playing anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadgerBadger Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Always thought Harding was worth a punt in the Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miltonroader07 Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I was a big fan of Dan Harding, not always the best but was usually the most passionate and put in loads of effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMike Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think Hammond could still do a job in front of the back 4 but if Fox is struggling at this level then Harding certainly would. as would Deano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I was not unhappy that Hammond went, I think we have better and apart from Cork's injury we are not really short in this area. I wasn't surprised to see Harding go, but letting him go without getting a replacement was a big mistake. We could certainly use his experience now, either instead of Fox (much better defensively, but not as good going forward) or at least as an able backup while Fox has a little rest. Better option than Yoshi who although very good at CB cannot play as a LB or RB. Letting him go like we did makes me almost certain that we had someone lined up but the deal fell through, whether that was Buttner or someone else is another matter. I liked Harding and I am sure he could have coped in the PL, without necessarily being a star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever a red and white Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Although I'm not convinced that Hammond was a Prem player he certainly deserved the chance to prove himself at this level after captaining us to two successive promotions. In addition to this, I think he certainly would add some much leadership on the pitch at the moment. He would have had a winning mentality and I would imagine have been a fairly positive influence in the dressing room. I think/hope Cork can provide a bit more steal when he returns but having said that, I think Steven Davis has been one our better players this season along with Morgan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainchris Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Harding is a midtable championship player at best. So he'd be the ideal fit for our back four. Totally disagree with this comment. As the Saint86 says Harding was a good energy player who would have stepped up no problem. Indeed he looked good in pre season and in typical fashion we discard him in favour of a player who is either blind and I mean that literally or just unable to follow the game - I refer of course to Fox - a total waste of 1.5 m...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Katalinic's 'tache Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Although I'm not convinced that Hammond was a Prem player he certainly deserved the chance to prove himself at this level after captaining us to two successive promotions. In addition to this, I think he certainly would add some much leadership on the pitch at the moment. He would have had a winning mentality and I would imagine have been a fairly positive influence in the dressing room. I think/hope Cork can provide a bit more steal when he returns but having said that, I think Steven Davis has been one our better players this season along with Morgan. I think you mean steel. BWP and Nathan Dyer added the steal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Totally disagree with this comment. As the Saint86 says Harding was a good energy player who would have stepped up no problem. Indeed he looked good in pre season and in typical fashion we discard him in favour of a player who is either blind and I mean that literally or just unable to follow the game - I refer of course to Fox - a total waste of 1.5 m...... So how come Fox got more assists in one game last season than Harding got in his entire Saints career? How come Fox was preferred to Harding last season and how come Harding has never, ever played above Championship level if he is the Blonde Roberto Carlos like you seem to be claiming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 I think defensively Harding brings more to the table than Fox. We both will never know however, besides Chaplow is hardly playing anyway. Kind of the point -wasn't expecting DH to start or feature much but do think he's disciplined and consistent and would help us close out games. A much better option to have on the bench than Chaplow who's streaky and needs match time to perform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatlesaint Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 So how come Fox got more assists in one game last season than Harding got in his entire Saints career? How come Fox was preferred to Harding last season and how come Harding has never, ever played above Championship level if he is the Blonde Roberto Carlos like you seem to be claiming? Having more assists is all very well if you are a midfield player or striker but the guys primary job is as a defender and at that he is crap ! Fox was preferred to Harding cos the club spent £1.5 million on him and as with all the signings that have been made they need to justify it. Fox played in the Prem briefly before for Burnley wasn't it ? And what happened to them that season ? He's hardly loaded with Prem experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Having more assists is all very well if you are a midfield player or striker but the guys primary job is as a defender and at that he is crap ! Fox was preferred to Harding cos the club spent £1.5 million on him and as with all the signings that have been made they need to justify it. Fox played in the Prem briefly before for Burnley wasn't it ? And what happened to them that season ? He's hardly loaded with Prem experience. I'm not saying he is a premier league player, he isn't. in case you're struggling the way we played last season depended on full backs being able to provide assists. We had around 25-30 come from Fox and Richardson. Fox was prefered to Harding because Hardings 3 assists in 3 seasons weren't good enough for how we wanted to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L1Minus10 Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Deano would have struggled creatively but he could have sat in front of the defence and won tackles and headers which no other ****er does. He had heart as well and never gave less than 100% and was a leader. We don't have a leader in midfield. Harding would have got slaughtered in this division but would be better than playing Yoshida at left back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Garrett Posted 22 October, 2012 Share Posted 22 October, 2012 Harding is 10 times worse than Fox. Good honest player but poor. I miss Deano as I really like him as a player but his first touch let him down, however like others have mentioned I think he was a leader in the dressing room and a pretty dependable player. However, if cork and Gaston were fit, he prob not even get on the bench as NA wanted there to be a pathway for JWP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostBoys Posted 23 October, 2012 Share Posted 23 October, 2012 They were never good enough for the Prem but they were not replaced with quality and we were not as ruthless elsewhere and we are now being found out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 23 October, 2012 Share Posted 23 October, 2012 I may be reaching here, but I do think that this summers transfer business could be described in terms of players lost OR missed signings. Its clear that we haven't addressed the back line, we've all known that I would guess since January last year? Certainly this summer. But I am also gutted that we let Harding go. I was sad at the time as I always felt he was a player who put the graft in, and if any of our less fancied players was going to step up I felt it could have been him? Especially now, when we have 1 fit full back. I wish we still had him on the books! As for the midfield. We are looking thin on the ground. I felt morgan was very good first half against west ham and gave as good as he got despite some crunching tackles which were in the typical west ham mould of "go for the player". But we are really missing cork, him morgan and ramirez is a decent midfield 3, I don't think there should be any debating that. But seriously, hammond was worth a keep... get stuck in and made for it as a hard working tackling midfielder who would protect the defense and get the ball clear, the SIMPLE THINGS! I am struggling to think of a time this season when we have actually hoofed the ball clear. Playing from the back is good ofc, but the players need to get it clear once in a while. They hesitate and play it out to softly as times and we put ourselves under easy pressure as a result. They need to be harder! Wanted to guage other's opinions on these 2 and perhaps other players? Could they do a job for us now, when we are seriously suffering in crucial positions due to injuries? A man's got to know his limitations ........(Clint Eastwood - Magnum Force 1973) Harding and Hammond found theirs..in the Championship. Good luck to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 23 October, 2012 Share Posted 23 October, 2012 If Harding and Hammond are the answer, the question cant be "how are we going to stay up". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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