Saints 1-1 Norwich // Post-Match Reaction

[RonManager]

Oops.

Controversial.

[The Kraken]

KD back please. Enough of this tiresome error filled keeping. Adkins also to blame for subs, or lack off. 85min for first unforced change. **** me but the world could seeour players ere tired. that said its nice to be disappointed just to draw for a change. although it is a luxury we can't afford to often.

 

Yeah, because Kelvin never made any errors, did he? Gazza's have been appalling but doubly so as they've resulted in goals. Davis has let in some poor goals and made some shocking errors on top of that as well. Neither of them are good enough.

[trousers]

Fair result. Convinced Cork would've scored in 2nd half if Ramirez hasn't deflected the cross away from him!

 

A little surprised Adkins didn't introduce Mayuka half way through the second half given the team was looking a bit jaded.

 

Hey Ho. Onwards and upwards. Can see us nicking a draw at Anfield.

[Chez]

tough game as I knew it would be. A point was about fair. We dominated the first half possession wise, but offered little real cutting edge in the final third. The goal took our wind out of our sails and we struggled in the second going long a lot. We did create a few chances and could have won, but we lacked ideas in the final quarter of an hour. It was unusual that Adkins didn't tinker with the formation and personnel to changes things. Bringing on Rodriguez with just a few minutes to go was uninspiring. Ramirez did next to nothing in the second half yet stays on the pitch then moved out wide where he offers nothing. Don't understand Adkins thinking there. Was Mayuka not on the bench, we needed to add some pace and turn their defenders as they played with a high line congesting the middle and leaving us with no room to work in.

 

Gazza 0 Absolutely woeful game. Not just the terrible organising of the wall and failing to stop the powderpuff shot, but everything in his game was bad. He just stood on his line like a rabbit stuck in headlights. Come out and claim something FFS. He looks like he has lost his confidence/bottle. At times the ball was almost next to him and he just stood there. His kicking at times was poor, although at least he has learned to go long rather than mess about. I want to keep a settled back four, but Davis must wonder how bad must Gazza be before he gets another chance? Gazza is young. He will improve, but right at this minute he is a problem for us.

Clyne 6 Some good stuff defensively, his pace helps a lot, but also some poor stuff such as diving in quite a few times and committed a number of fouls in poor areas including the one for their goal. Ball watches at times too. Get some studs.

Fonte 7 pretty solid game. A few poor clearances, but overall decent

Yoshida 3 He is a very very average defender IMO. He had a tough job marking Holt, but he does so many things badly, letting the ball bounce, failing to mark at corners, distribution at times wasn't just poor it was suicidal. He hardly ever tackles, and perhaps jockeying is right, but if he is going ti jockey I don't want to see players waltz past him as though he wasn't there like Snodgrass did in the first half. Bring back Jos.

Shaw 9 terrific game. Showed Snodgrass that he was quick and strong in the first few minutes and from then on had him in his pocket. Hope its not a bad injury.

Cork 6 passing a little awry in the first half but dominated the middle winning loads in the air. Disappeared in the second half as we went long time after time.

Morgan 6 again good in the first half getting us moving and neat and tidy, but hardly figured in the second. Disappointed to see him totally bottle one tackle

Puncheon 8 thought he was our most dangerous player. He just didn't have the pace to go past the fullback so was always going to find it tough to beat him. He kept the ball well and created chances. Not sure why he was subbed.

Lallana 6 pretty bright first half getting in between the lines and linking up well with JP and Ramirez. Don't recall him doing anything in the second really. We just went long and we don't have the right players for that game.

Ramriez 5 again bright in the first half but did absolutely nothing in the second and should have been subbed IMO. He's a class act that is obvious, but he made the wrong choices too often today and we need him to be winning games for us if he is getting a free role.

Lambert 8 won everything in the air but sadly the flick ons just did not fall to one of ours. He doesn't move but when we go long he at least keeps us in the game.

Edited 28 November, 2012 by Chez

[trousers]

Adkins confirmed in his post match interview that Shaw went off with cramp

[S-Clarke]

Adkins confirmed Shaw went off with cramp in his post match interview

 

I think that's been a regular occurrence for the lad, got to remember how young he is (although if he keeps playing as he is, it's easy to forget he's only 17!). I don't think his body is quite yet up to the level of dealing with PL demands week in/week out, but he'll get there.

[CanadaSaint]

I think that's been a regular occurrence for the lad, got to remember how young he is (although if he keeps playing as he is, it's easy to forget he's only 17!). I don't think his body is quite yet up to the level of dealing with PL demands week in/week out, but he'll get there.

 

I'm starting to wonder if he has some kind of chemical imbalance or dietary issue because he's super young and super fit but, you're right, it is becoming a regular thing.

 

Still, I'm sure the club is looking at all the angles.

 

He was excellent today.

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

How kak was the linesman on the itchen side?

 

In the grand scheme of things not a terrible result. Thought we looked jaded tonight, surprised we didn't freshen things up earlier in the second half.

[corsacar saint]

4 points out of 6,is okay,but with another calamitous goal conceded by Gazza,he has to come out of the firing line. The sad thing is,the other two keepers are not premiership standard either.

[Wade Garrett]

The positioning of the wall for their goal was almost as poor as the keeper's attempt to stop it.

 

Boruc must be dogsh*t in training if he can't force his way in.

[Sour Mash]

tough game as I knew it would be. A point was about fair. We dominated the first half possession wise, but offered little real cutting edge in the final third. The goal took our wind out of our sails and we struggled in the second going long a lot. We did create a few chances and could have won, but we lacked ideas in the final quarter of an hour. It was unusual that Adkins didn't tinker with the formation and personnel to changes things. Bringing on Rodriguez with just a few minutes to go was uninspiring. Ramirez did next to nothing in the second half yet stays on the pitch then moved out wide where he offers nothing. Don't understand Adkins thinking there. Was Mayuka not on the bench, we needed to add some pace and turn their defenders as they played with a high line congesting the middle and leaving us with no room to work in.

 

Gazza 0 Absolutely woeful game. Not just the terrible organising of the wall and failing to stop the powderpuff shot, but everything in his game was bad. He just stood on his line like a rabbit stuck in headlights. Come out and claim something FFS. He looks like he has lost his confidence/bottle. At times the ball was almost next to him and he just stood there. His kicking at times was poor, although at least he has learned to go long rather than mess about. I want to keep a settled back four, but Davis must wonder how bad must Gazza be before he gets another chance? Gazza is young. He will improve, but right at this minute he is a problem for us.

Clyne 6 Some good stuff defensively, his pace helps a lot, but also some poor stuff such as diving in quite a few times and committed a number of fouls in poor areas including the one for their goal. Ball watches at times too. Get some studs.

Fonte 7 pretty solid game. A few poor clearances, but overall decent

Yoshida 3 He is a very very average defender IMO. He had a tough job marking Holt, but he does so many things badly, letting the ball bounce, failing to mark at corners, distribution at times wasn't just poor it was suicidal. He hardly ever tackles, and perhaps jockeying is right, but if he is going ti jockey I don't want to see players waltz past him as though he wasn't there like Snodgrass did in the first half. Bring back Jos.

Shaw 9 terrific game. Showed Snodgrass that he was quick and strong in the first few minutes and from then on had him in his pocket. Hope its not a bad injury.

Cork 6 passing a little awry in the first half but dominated the middle winning loads in the air. Disappeared in the second half as we went long time after time.

Morgan 6 again good in the first half getting us moving and neat and tidy, but hardly figured in the second. Disappointed to see him totally bottle one tackle

Puncheon 8 thought he was our most dangerous player. He just didn't have the pace to go past the fullback so was always going to find it tough to beat him. He kept the ball well and created chances. Not sure why he was subbed.

Lallana 6 pretty bright first half getting in between the lines and linking up well with JP and Ramirez. Don't recall him doing anything in the second really. We just went long and we don't have the right players for that game.

Ramriez 5 again bright in the first half but did absolutely nothing in the second and should have been subbed IMO. He's a class act that is obvious, but he made the wrong choices too often today and we need him to be winning games for us if he is getting a free role.

Lambert 8 won everything in the air but sadly the flick ons just did not fall to one of ours. He doesn't move but when we go long he at least keeps us in the game.

Pretty much spot on. Think Adkins could have done with livening things up a lot earlier - Mayuka would have been my shout, get on the end of some of those Lambert flicks. I thought Cork and Schneiderlin struggled a bit - Norwich were first to lots of 2nd balls and the passing from our midfield two wasn't quick or incisive enough.

[St_Tel49]

Keep Gazza in goal for Anfield I think, it will be a great experience for him, in a game I expect very little. Can he handle playing in a stadium heaped in tradition and in front of the Kop. If he makes some good saves it could make him!

How pathetic is this! I see no reason for us not to go for a minimum of a draw. As for giving Gazza experience - we've given him plenty and he has still managed a cock-up a game - near as dammit. Time for him to work for his place I think.

[Appy]

Tettey absolutely ran the game for Norwich second half, he looks a good player.

[suewhistle]

I'm starting to wonder if he has some kind of chemical imbalance or dietary issue because he's super young and super fit but, you're right, it is becoming a regular thing.

 

Possibly not. I'm a real veteran and was slightly surprised to have to play 90 minutes + extra time for my team last Sunday,, but when I was younger I often used to suffer from cramp. Perhaps I'm just fitter now!?

[sandwichsaint]

Was hoping for all 3 tonight but in the end happy to settle for one - 4 games unbeaten in the 'hardest league in the world' TM NA, is not to be sniffed at.

 

Norwich were better (more effective) than most of the teams we have played at home so far and our performance had more than a hint of after the Lord Mayor's show about it. The Keeper, Yoshi and pretty much all of the front 6 failed to reach the heights they reached on Sunday. Honorable exceptions Clyne and Fonte are both proving to be very consistent performers this season and Shaw had a stormer at LB.

 

Fairly tepid game all round, all turning on their shocking goal, let Norwich back into the game and they pretty much carried that momentum in the second half.

 

Not sure where this leaves us for Liverpool? Maybe some rotation on Saturday and then get our best X1 out v Reading the week after?

 

Good to see we had enough about us to scrap out a result even though we didn't play particularly well, we are back on track and wins against Reading and Sunderland would see us moving above a point a game.

 

(KD on Saturday for me; Gazza looked shot tonight, it's out of the firing line and off on loan to L1 for him, though I still see him as a decent long-term option for us).

[pingwing]

Just home from a long drive and what a frustratingly odd game. Norwich showed how to play the 6-2-2 kick and rush stay up tactic properly after Swansea, QPR and Newcastle failed at it so miserably.

 

We should have been out of sight by half time, so many chances, all stopped at the last min by them having 6 in the box with Bunn at all times. Wasn't sure what happened for their goal (other side of the ground) but everyone going Gazza mistake is even making me starting to doubt what to do there. Mate said loan him to the champ and get Friedel/Robinson in, which after a poo and a bit of thought, I am fully for. Not one of our keepers seem good enough so getting someone in that is seems sensible. I think we have to abandon Boruc as a "we thought we could fix his mad personality" is just too much for us (someone else can do that), Kelvin has just had it and Gazza doesn't look ready.

 

Everyone else looked ok overall though generally knackered. No idea what Adkins has planned for saturday as my limited armchair knowledge of football would have been target 3 points tonight with a 100% fit team and give one or two key players a slight break last sunday for the next two. Instead I fear he's going to run them into the ground "because they should be fit enough for it", no idea why we didn't make any subs when at 60 mins NOTHING was going to happen. Frustrating how he can get everything so right against Newcastle and not see that Punch was exhausted today at 60 mins, Gaston they marked out the game and Shaw was going to break.

 

2 points dropped BUT if this result and the Newcastle result were switched around I would have felt a lot better about it. Weird seeing as Newcastle are broken and Norwich are unbeaten in 7, including wins against Arsenal and United.

 

So really after a bit of a confusing rant we should have won, Adkins had the cards to win and chose to come away with a safe point, gambling we can get an amazing result on saturday. If we walk away with 3 against Liverpool that would be amazing (and we would be a point behind them), more likely we will get nothing and a question or two has to be asked of Adkins, mainly what has Myuka done to offend him? Why was he not an option?

[Ohio Saint]

Possibly not. I'm a real veteran and was slightly surprised to have to play 90 minutes + extra time for my team last Sunday,, but when I was younger I often used to suffer from cramp. Perhaps I'm just fitter now!?

 

But you are a girl. What would you know about young men's bodies?

[doggface]

Rodriguez definitely offside.

[Steeleye Saint]

The positioning of the wall for their goal was almost as poor as the keeper's attempt to stop it.

 

 

From where I sat I could see exactly where the ball would go. Free shot at goal.

[70's Mike]

Game panned out how i thought it would, bit concerned we lacked ideas to break down a team who got 11 behind the ball.

still think team needs to swallow its pride sometimes and go long rather than taking risks with short passes long back 4

[dubai_phil]

Adkins: “Paulo has got to save it, it changed the game. We have 3 good keepers & we have good competition and he has to save it.” #saintsfc

 

Fair enough really.

 

Nobody would have changed a team after the win, and Gazza did make a worldy save Sunday.

 

When anyone on here finds out how to use hindsight to see forwards let me know, I'll send you a few grand for the next 3 months of Lottery/football pools results.

 

Diappointed, not only in the result but again our sh1t TV service providers which meant I had to dig out my old Saintsplayer account info. Even worse was listening to that go in knowing I had to get up 4 hours later to go into battle with the FCO's consular service.

 

Grumble groan but obviously no poster on here has ever made a stupid mistake ever, no siree

[St Jim]

Diasppointed not to win, especially after the first half performance but just happy not to lose.

 

I thought the two full back did well, especially Shaw who looked very comfortable playing. Clyne look good but at times had lost his player only to be able to get back and cover. One criticism I will have is the amount of free kicks the fullbacks gave away.

 

Thought Cork was excellent, tracked back well and always looked to get the ball forward. Towards the end, the couple of crosses he put in were good.

 

Gaston was disapointing on the whole. Although he showed glimpses of class he gave the ball away too much and sometimes tried to be too clever but then again Norwich did always seem to have 2/3 players on him.

 

SRL I thought was excellent. Worked his sock off, hardly gave the ball away, always looking to play people in. Only negative was I think he sometimes tries to play team mates in when he probablby should have had a crack. Saw that a couple of times. Anyone who thinks Holt should play for England needs their head examining. Between the two SRL looked a class above. Holt looked lazy and disinterested. Could be a result of the defensive style Norwich now play with the supply to Holt being cut, though but I'd rather have a player who searches for his and tries to create oppertunites (like SRL) than a player waiting for the oppertunities to come to him (Holt)

 

Big negative for me was the goal and Yoshida. I have serious concerns about Yoshida. He never seems to look all that comfortable and misses the ball/challenges too often form my liking.

 

Also Gazza has now been at fault/part fault for our last 3 goals which is a massive concern. We could be sitting comfortably in mid table had we have a more composed GK. There was nothing he did to suggest to me that he should be in the starting line up.

 

MOTM for me would be between SRL & Shaw.

[Dibden Purlieu Saint]

You'd put a central midfielder in goal?

 

He's Davis as well ffs...

[THINWHITEDUKE]

Sammy the Saint doing Gangnam Style at half time was plain ridiculous.

 

Funny that most of the ground found it quite entertaining, you need to stop taking yourself so seriously.

[alpine_saint]

Stop you tiresome moaning...

 

ITs not tiresome moaning when she comments on the game, its tiresome moaning when she whines on about the contributions from other posters.

Edited 29 November, 2012 by alpine_saint

[WealdSaint]

A few thoughts :-

When Adkins has made subs around the 70 minute mark (eg Man U) we have shipped more goals. I can therefore understand him keeping the same team on til pretty much the end.

Is it me are all the refs & linos we are having pretty crap (letting the Norwich CB gouge Rickie's eye, several bad lineo calls)

Keepers - We have one keeper for the future (Gazza) and two from the past (I think KD is a great pro). This must be a priority for January

[tajjuk]

Boruc in at Anfield, give him a run of games. He was only dropped because of the stupid bottle throwing incident and that was caused by our idiotic fans having a go at our keeper who was not at fault for either goal against spurs.

 

Gazza has been given a good run and he has clearly showed he's not up to it, far too nervous, mistakes costing us crucial points. After working so hard to get the defence cutting them out NA must be pulling his hair out that the Keepers are making errors.

 

Give Boruc until Xmas, I think he will prove his quality. If he doesn't we throw the biggest 6 month loan offer and contract we can at Friedel. Then we look at a long term quality keeper in the summer.

 

At the end of the day though a point isn't a bad result, considering Norwich's recent form. They have overturned Utd and got a point away at Everton which not many teams outside the top 4 will do. I also reckon we have a chance of getting something at Anfield if the lads aren't too tired, they will be much easier to score against and will be a bit down after their loos at Spurs.

Edited 29 November, 2012 by tajjuk

[shirleysfc]

ITs not tiresome maning when she comments on the game, its tiresome moaning when she whines on about the contributions from other posters.

 

Irony?

[Sour Mash]

A few thoughts :-

When Adkins has made subs around the 70 minute mark (eg Man U) we have shipped more goals. I can therefore understand him keeping the same team on til pretty much the end.

Is it me are all the refs & linos we are having pretty crap (letting the Norwich CB gouge Rickie's eye, several bad lineo calls)

Keepers - We have one keeper for the future (Gazza) and two from the past (I think KD is a great pro). This must be a priority for January

So because Adkins ballsed up the subs against Man Utd, we can now expect him not to make any subs until very late in the game? He definitely needed to liven things up yesterday, but didn't make any changes.

 

Agree, re the standard of officials, have been very poor in the last few weeks.

[Sour Mash]

Game panned out how i thought it would, bit concerned we lacked ideas to break down a team who got 11 behind the ball.

still think team needs to swallow its pride sometimes and go long rather than taking risks with short passes long back 4

We went long loads yesterday.

[Wes Tender]

This guy is the sort of man telling UKIP they could gain power or some fat guy like the one on the front of that fat boy slim album he can lose weight, half a story and numbers to suit yourself.

 

It's an entirely different language you speak, isn't it? I'll excuse it because your name hints at some Hispanic roots and being in Liverpool might also be a factor.

 

Why only pick the games we have won in and got poiints from recently? Biased to say the least.

 

Simple really; it's called identifying a trend. You can look at the first handful of matches and conclude that we're not good enough to stay in this division. But now that there has been a run of recent results that shows that we are improving and that if we continue to improve we will be OK, I would have expected you to be happy if you were a Saints fan.

 

If it annoys you that posters are happy with the last four results, then I hope that you continue to be annoyed by them for the rest of the season.

[OldNick]

tough game as I knew it would be. A point was about fair. We dominated the first half possession wise, but offered little real cutting edge in the final third. The goal took our wind out of our sails and we struggled in the second going long a lot. We did create a few chances and could have won, but we lacked ideas in the final quarter of an hour. It was unusual that Adkins didn't tinker with the formation and personnel to changes things. Bringing on Rodriguez with just a few minutes to go was uninspiring. Ramirez did next to nothing in the second half yet stays on the pitch then moved out wide where he offers nothing. Don't understand Adkins thinking there. Was Mayuka not on the bench, we needed to add some pace and turn their defenders as they played with a high line congesting the middle and leaving us with no room to work in.

 

Gazza 0 Absolutely woeful game. Not just the terrible organising of the wall and failing to stop the powderpuff shot, but everything in his game was bad. He just stood on his line like a rabbit stuck in headlights. Come out and claim something FFS. He looks like he has lost his confidence/bottle. At times the ball was almost next to him and he just stood there. His kicking at times was poor, although at least he has learned to go long rather than mess about. I want to keep a settled back four, but Davis must wonder how bad must Gazza be before he gets another chance? Gazza is young. He will improve, but right at this minute he is a problem for us.

Clyne 6 Some good stuff defensively, his pace helps a lot, but also some poor stuff such as diving in quite a few times and committed a number of fouls in poor areas including the one for their goal. Ball watches at times too. Get some studs.

Fonte 7 pretty solid game. A few poor clearances, but overall decent

Yoshida 3 He is a very very average defender IMO. He had a tough job marking Holt, but he does so many things badly, letting the ball bounce, failing to mark at corners, distribution at times wasn't just poor it was suicidal. He hardly ever tackles, and perhaps jockeying is right, but if he is going ti jockey I don't want to see players waltz past him as though he wasn't there like Snodgrass did in the first half. Bring back Jos.

Shaw 9 terrific game. Showed Snodgrass that he was quick and strong in the first few minutes and from then on had him in his pocket. Hope its not a bad injury.

Cork 6 passing a little awry in the first half but dominated the middle winning loads in the air. Disappeared in the second half as we went long time after time.

Morgan 6 again good in the first half getting us moving and neat and tidy, but hardly figured in the second. Disappointed to see him totally bottle one tackle

Puncheon 8 thought he was our most dangerous player. He just didn't have the pace to go past the fullback so was always going to find it tough to beat him. He kept the ball well and created chances. Not sure why he was subbed.

Lallana 6 pretty bright first half getting in between the lines and linking up well with JP and Ramirez. Don't recall him doing anything in the second really. We just went long and we don't have the right players for that game.

Ramriez 5 again bright in the first half but did absolutely nothing in the second and should have been subbed IMO. He's a class act that is obvious, but he made the wrong choices too often today and we need him to be winning games for us if he is getting a free role.

Lambert 8 won everything in the air but sadly the flick ons just did not fall to one of ours. He doesn't move but when we go long he at least keeps us in the game.

Chez i agree with a lot of that but your assessment of Yoshida is wrong IMO. He did well against the hussle of Hoult, he is settling in more and is not making rash tackles in dangerous areas. I thought Bassong was garbage at Spurs but he gels well with Turner. An old fashioned pairing of 2 lumps who just get the ball away. Norwich were a good solid hard to beat side, the mistake by Gazzinga gifted them the point and so they did not have to open up the game, something that we may well have capitalized on in the 2nd half.

Shaw superb, the rest all below par except the keeper who was dire

[Suomi Saint]

I thought that many of the players looked a bit leg weary after Sunday. A draw was a fair result, and after getting over the shock and horror of Gazza's mistake, I was okay with a point. After all, Norwich were well organised and have beaten both Arsenal and Man U recently, so they are not too shabby. Personally, I would bring Kelvin back for Saturday. I think he was made to look a lot worse than he is by the defence in front of him - which was full of holes at that point.

[Whitey Grandad]

From where I sat I could see exactly where the ball would go. Free shot at goal.

I don't suppose that Punch waving his leg at the shot helped either.

[The Kraken]

I don't suppose that Punch waving his leg at the shot helped either.

 

I think it was Clyne, but nonetheless, a top class keeper simply cannot use that as an excuse at all. His starting position was ok, but he set up the wall incorrectly, he didn't shift his body well enough to react to the shot, and he made the wrong decision (if if doubt just throw your body at it and push it round the post). Poor goalkeeping all round, really.

[Whitey Grandad]

I think it was Clyne, but nonetheless, a top class keeper simply cannot use that as an excuse at all. His starting position was ok, but he set up the wall incorrectly, he didn't shift his body well enough to react to the shot, and he made the wrong decision (if if doubt just throw your body at it and push it round the post). Poor goalkeeping all round, really.

Oh yes, I agree completely. It was a bit of a dolly-drop of a shot as well.

[saints-cris]

Gazza's wall positioning was so bad, part of me thinks he wanted Snodgrass to shoot, thinking it would be a very comfy save - which it should have been.

 

Not too disheartened over a point, but last night and Swansea is really 4 points dropped. Must stop these errors. clearly we are improving defensively, 3 goals let in in 4 games, 2 of them howlers.

 

Fancy us to nick something at Anfield.

[sandwichsaint]

I don't suppose that Punch waving his leg at the shot helped either.

 

Agree, I picked this up straight away, no excuses for the goalkeeping but Punch really shouldn't be playing at that off-balance (although in part it is instinct to stick your leg out). It was a routine shot that the GK should have fielded 999/1000 and after Punch taking an air-shot over the ball the second most likely outcome would have been him shinning it straight past his own GK, tho he probably would have saved that!

 

(I've seen it once in real time from 100m away and haven't seen it on telly so feel free to ignore/tell me I'm wrong if I'm 'doing a Derry' on this one).

[Appy]

How did Adkins think it wasn't a free kick for their goal?

[Window Cleaner]

Pretty miffed to see us still in the bottom 3 after 4 games without defeat. Last night's gift goal just puts us under pressure to get a result at Anfield now as we may get tailed off if we don't. Still not completely certain that NA will still be our manager in January if we hang around the bottom for very much longer. We should be nigh on mid table now but for Gazza and the manager may well pay for that choice eventually.

[Wes Tender]

How did Adkins think it wasn't a free kick for their goal?

 

Well, having watched it on MOTD to get a much clearer view than from the Northam during the match, I'm a bit surprised that there doesn't appear to be any debate as to whether it was a free kick in the first place. Clyne clearly got to the ball first.

[Appy]

Well, having watched it on MOTD to get a much clearer view than from the Northam during the match, I'm a bit surprised that there doesn't appear to be any debate as to whether it was a free kick in the first place. Clyne clearly got to the ball first.

 

No he didn't.

[Nexstar]

No he didn't.

 

Hmm

 

[Dig Dig]

No he didn't.

 

He does get the ball just before the man but it was always going to be a free kick in todays game.

[Glasgow_Saint]

someone mentioned on the match thread that Brad Friedal was joining in Jan?

 

 

[Wes Tender]

He does get the ball just before the man but it was always going to be a free kick in todays game.

 

Thanks for agreeing with me that he did get the ball first; Appy must have been watching something else.

 

It begs the question, had the tackle been inside the box, would a penalty have been awarded? The reason I ask, is that it seems that there is one rule for outside the area and another for inside. Also, if a player is going to run the risk of a free kick having made a tackle where he clearly gets a foot to the ball first but the opponent tackled goes down, that is going to be a major factor in changing the dynamics of the game, encouraging players to take a dive. Is it just a case of the referee's interpretation of the rule, or do the rules now say that even though the defender gets the ball first, he must not bring down the attacking player in the process?

[trousers]

Southampton FC ‏@officialsaints

Extended highlights of last night's 1-1 draw with @NorwichCityFC are now on Saints Player: http://sfcne.ws/TsUosV #saintsfc

[SB]

CAN'T, SHOULDN'T replace Gazza, if you do that he won't play again this season, and any confidence he did have will go. The back for need the same keeper, he did fine against Newcastle and QPR.

[sandwichsaint]

Thanks for agreeing with me that he did get the ball first; Appy must have been watching something else.

 

It begs the question, had the tackle been inside the box, would a penalty have been awarded? The reason I ask, is that it seems that there is one rule for outside the area and another for inside. Also, if a player is going to run the risk of a free kick having made a tackle where he clearly gets a foot to the ball first but the opponent tackled goes down, that is going to be a major factor in changing the dynamics of the game, encouraging players to take a dive. Is it just a case of the referee's interpretation of the rule, or do the rules now say that even though the defender gets the ball first, he must not bring down the attacking player in the process?

 

My understanding is it's based on 'excessive force', which is again totally subjective. A tackle that's dangerous or likely to lead to an injury is a foul even if the defender plays the ball first.

 

Haven't seen it on telly but in realtime it looked like a very quick and very well executed tackle, defender gets to the ball first and plays it away, then the defender and fd collide and the fd goes down. Judging by the telly comments above that is what happened.

 

Clattenberg's two calls are 1) did the defender reach the ball first, and 2) was the tackle 'safe' in that it was controlled and that the forward was in no way put at risk. Facts will say Clattenberg got either 1 or 2 or both wrong, and he was wrong to award the freekick, albeit he has to make the decision in realtime with all the other associated pressures.

 

Unfortunately that's what he's paid for and he got it wrong last night (on this and almost everything else too), really really poor game from somebody who is supposed to be one of our top 2 or 3 refs.

[Window Cleaner]

CAN'T, SHOULDN'T replace Gazza, if you do that he won't play again this season, and any confidence he did have will go. The back for need the same keeper, he did fine against Newcastle and QPR.

 

Gazza was at fault for QPR's goal to bring them back to 2-1 and thus gave us some dodgy minutes. The boy is a bust, get over it.