Watford 0-0 Saints Post Match

[hypochondriac]

Same old same old - how would we keep Scheneiderlin and Clyne? Romeu could be excellent and Clasie hasn't had a chance yet. CB in pipeline as well and experienced LB not been available. FFS you lot are impossible to satisfy. Oh and 6 competing games and one defeat when we haven't had chance to have our full strength team out.

I would say get a grip but pointless as people can't cope here with any substandard performance

 

Again I don't think you understand what I said. I didn't suggest we could keep Schneiderlin and Clyne but I don't think the replacements are up to the same standard. I of course expected us to sign slightly lower quality since its almost impossible to replace Morgan but I think if people are honest with themselves they expected exciting quality on the same level as a Wanyama but I don't think we've got that from this year's transfers.

 

Personally I think going with the cheap and clever buy is a good tactic some of the time but when it's employed for the majority of signings, the danger is that some of them are not going to pay off and you are going to badly miss the quality that has gone. We need to be mixing some of these signings with potential with proper proven quality in the 10-15 million pound bracket if we want to see progression.

 

I won't bother responding to your last comment because it's just silly.

[northam soul]

Having decided to play with the extra defender it would surely of been the time to try Juanmi instead of Davis.

[Tommog]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is worried about the direction our transfer dealings are taking us. You can't stand still in the prem, you should be looking to improve all the time and better teams than us have seen the wheels fall off in the past. It seems to me that not only have we not stood still, we have gone backwards from last year and we haven't used the transfer income nearly as well this season as we did last. As a consequence we have lost that solid defensive base and that air of calmness that we had the entirety of last season.

 

It's a fairly depressing prospect and not a huge amount to look forward to when we already know that mane, Wanyama and possibly Jay rod will be off next summer and replaced with cheaper alternatives. That's not to say that I blame the players but I don't think our recruitment has been up to scratch this summer.

 

The exciting and quality buys like mane Clyne etc haven't materialised this year and I wonder if a season of underperformance will force us to loosen the purse strings next summer? Inevitably if we do this every summer we will face a year that the gambles don't pay off and we end up battling relegation. I hope it's not this year...

 

Careful with that sort of talk on here. Anyone thinking that you dont worship at the alter of The Black Box is likely to make you an outcast.

 

Personally i think you hit the nail on the head. Im all for sustainable clubs. But we havent spent what we recouped in players. We have 10's of millions in TV money. Millions in league money, Millions in gate receipts and a billionaire owner. Im not saying we are in a position to do a Man City.. not by a long shot but come on lets see a bit of drive!

[Chez]

Having decided to play with the extra defender it would surely of been the time to try Juanmi instead of Davis.

 

What a very good point. I suspect RK is currently beyond criticism, but his team selections have been suspect this season so far.

[CB Fry]

Look mate, the sooner you get the fact that everything Saints do is f'ing brilliant, the better. We're just a poor little club trying to make do the best we can with our limited resources. "What could we have done"?! is the cry of the day around here. You don't want people to think that you're being mean to the board or expecting Kat to spends her billions on the first team do you?

Maybe it's about people realising the club is here to do well in the football competitions we are participating in.

 

All I read on here is people who want us to win a transfer window.

 

Come March, let's all see how these breathtaking megastars that Stoke (oh why can't we be Stoke) and Palace (oh why can't we be Palace) and Newcastle (oh why can't we be Newcastle) are doing. I bet Man City are absolutely bricking it.

 

Come March I reckon we'll be nicely mid table and still in at least one of the cups. Which would be just perfect.

[hypochondriac]

Careful with that sort of talk on here. Anyone thinking that you dont worship at the alter of The Black Box is likely to make you an outcast.

 

Personally i think you hit the nail on the head. Im all for sustainable clubs. But we havent spent what we recouped in players. We have 10's of millions in TV money. Millions in league money, Millions in gate receipts and a billionaire owner. Im not saying we are in a position to do a Man City.. not by a long shot but come on lets see a bit of drive!

 

Yes that's exactly my point! That's not to say that I don't think some of our buys are quite clever and have good potential but I'm sure we could have looked to sign some exciting signings to complement them like wijnaldum. Other than Mané I don't see much excitement and quality in the team. I don't think that's asking for much or being overly pessimistic, simply wishing that we used a bit more cash to strengthen further and get that class of player a notch or two up from what we've gone for.

[simo]

I think that Ron has realised that until Bertrand and Clasie are back and Vvd is down our usual attacking style leaves us too open so went for damage limitation today!

[Fitzhugh Fella]

I think that Ron has realised that until Bertrand and Clasie are back and Vvd is down our usual attacking style leaves us too open so went for damage limitation today!

 

So three games in and money in the bank we are down to damage limitation? Hmmm.

[Dig Dig]

Maybe it's about people realising the club is here to do well in the football competitions we are participating in.

 

All I read on here is people who want us to win a transfer window.

 

Come March, let's all see how these breathtaking megastars that Stoke (oh why can't we be Stoke) and Palace (oh why can't we be Palace) and Newcastle (oh why can't we be Newcastle) are doing. I bet Man City are absolutely bricking it.

 

Come March I reckon we'll be nicely mid table and still in at least one of the cups. Which would be just perfect.

 

Hope so, and I hope you get your long awaited cup run. The chances of us doing well in any competition is obviously enhanced through having quality players all playing well within the system which the manager wants. We've struggled to create consistently for a while now yet we were build on a solid foundation. We're heading into a season having not really addressed the creativity through the midfield and with a backline which looks very different to last year (incl Morgan) so there are some legitimate question marks.

[CylonKing]

Not seen anything of the game, still drunk in Mauritius, 0 0 against Watford is poor. What is happening with Gaston Ramirez? From what I have seen, we are crying out for that type of player currently.

[MongoNeil]

I have a theory that Ron has told everyone to play a bit **** until until the transfer window shuts. Stop the big clubs sniffing round and then we can turn it on again in September.

[Saint Billy]

Maybe it's about people realising the club is here to do well in the football competitions we are participating in.

 

All I read on here is people who want us to win a transfer window.

 

Come March, let's all see how these breathtaking megastars that Stoke (oh why can't we be Stoke) and Palace (oh why can't we be Palace) and Newcastle (oh why can't we be Newcastle) are doing. I bet Man City are absolutely bricking it.

 

Come March I reckon we'll be nicely mid table and still in at least one of the cups. Which would be just perfect.

 

Don't you think being nicely mid table is a backward step considering we were 7th last season?

[CB Fry]

Don't you think being nicely mid table is a backward step considering we were 7th last season?

We are not going to finish higher than seventh this season. Do try to get used to it.

[Mr Biscuits]

The positive from today is the clean sheet. We'll build on that.

[shurlock]

Back from the game, that was f**king dire. When the only exciting thing is Longy charging down a back pass or chasing a defender down the channels, then something's up.

[Donatello]

Capote missed an open goal header from about a metre out, put that away and this would have been right up there with the Sheff United debacle of last season. We were ****e and lucky to score 0 we offered so little going forward. Last season we were running Liverpool ragged at Anfield whilst coming away with nothing. Performances do matter as they point to how things will go when the chances do go in. We didn't turn any corners today.

 

The difference being Clyne and Schneiderlin? Oh, and Forster, known for his ability to run teams ragged, of course.

[saintgeorge8]

Can one of the regular ITK'ers please say we're looking at a creative midfielder... We don't have that kind of player, doing well at the moment

[View From The Top]

Don't you think being nicely mid table is a backward step considering we were 7th last season?

 

You actually believe that we were capable of breaking into the top six? How, pray tell, were we going to achieve that?

[Donatello]

I think that Ron has realised that until Bertrand and Clasie are back and Vvd is down our usual attacking style leaves us too open so went for damage limitation today!

 

Bingo!

[hypochondriac]

You actually believe that we were capable of breaking into the top six? How, pray tell, were we going to achieve that?

 

I think building on the success of last year and trying to get as close to the performances and results of last year would have been good. Still time of course but I think most people know it's pretty unlikely.

[Convict Colony]

Can one of the regular ITK'ers please say we're looking at a creative midfielder... We don't have that kind of player, doing well at the moment

 

Can't remember but I think Monk mentioned he liked the look of Gourcuff 29yrs AM who is on a free at the moment (his personal view not ITK view) bit injury prone though and high wages

Edited 23 August, 2015 by Convict Colony

[gammon cheeks]

I like him,but He'd starve on the service we are offering right now.

Not if we could get matt Phillips on the bus

[View From The Top]

I think building on the success of last year and trying to get as close to the performances and results of last year would have been good. Still time of course but I think most people know it's pretty unlikely.

 

I know of no Saints fan who believed we would finish higher this season than we did last. I also know of no Saints fan who didn't fully expect MS & NC to leave (the Toby thing was a pis*ser mind you). Also, the Saints fans I know, understand that we've a CB coming in and two very key players to come back into the side. It's not as if we're not attempting to build but, IMHO, only a utter blinkered fool (& MLG) believes we can break into the top six. Personally I'd settle for 12-8 and a proper cup run.

[macca155]

Just back from the match after getting lost in the car park from hell. I suspect some Saints fans are still in it!

 

Anyway 0 0 is never a good result but neither are they a disaster. The team at present is barely up to Premiership standard. Ron went for damage limitation as another poster said and it worked. Their keeper made a good save from Pelle and that was about it. If you play with five defenders and 2 defensive midfielders on the pitch then you are asking a lot of the remaining players, so it was no surprise that Saints failed to score or create much.

 

A clean sheet one point job done move on. Until the club puts some points on the board we are in relegation mode, and we stopped Watford taking 3 points out of us today and that was enough. They are probably at their peak Saints will only get better so I'm happy enough with that. It wasn't pretty but it was what was needed.

 

a 2 hour drive for a 0 0 draw is desperate but you have to take the rough with the smooth in this game.

 

On to Europe

[hypochondriac]

I know of no Saints fan who believed we would finish higher this season than we did last. I also know of no Saints fan who didn't fully expect MS & NC to leave (the Toby thing was a pis*ser mind you). Also, the Saints fans I know, understand that we've a CB coming in and two very key players to come back into the side. It's not as if we're not attempting to build but, IMHO, only a utter blinkered fool (& MLG) believes we can break into the top six. Personally I'd settle for 12-8 and a proper cup run.

 

Yeah I pretty much agree with that (though I reckon it could easily be lower than 12th.) I just think there is a bit of a sense that we have gone for some cheaper options this year and that may have an impact on our performances and ultimately where we end up.

[SuperMikey]

For people talking about needing a creative midfielder - we have Clasie due back in the next few weeks. Him sitting in front of Romeu + Wanyama could be a very good combination for us, so lets wait and see on that one..

 

I was working during the game today so can't comment on the result too much, but a point away from home is never a bad thing. We should really be beating Watford but our squad is still a while away from full cohesion and we're missing a few players so I wouldn't read into it too much at this time. 2 points from 3 games is a bit disappointing considering all 3 were winnable but I fully expect us to spank somebody in the next few weeks and then go on a run like we usually do at some point in the season.

[Wade Garrett]

I think Koeman has in mind a 1-3-4-2-1 system using Fonte, Caulker and VVD and wing backs.

 

The9 I await your reply.

 

By the way my team played a 1-4-3-2-1 Christmas tree system with fast conditioned full backs and won 7-0 in the Toto Cup.

 

But I don't know what I'm doing.

 

LOL

 

I remember playing in my cubs team when I was 8 playing 4-4-2 and we won a game 13-0.

[saintgeorge8]

Can't remember but I think Monk mentioned he liked the look of Gourcuff 29yrs AM who is on a free at the moment (his personal view not ITK view) bit injury prone though and high wages

 

Not a bad player, however, he wouldn't really fit into saints normal buying policy... One player I wouldn't mind is Ziyech from Twente (he was vital for them, but they might be willing to part due to their financial problems). He got about 20 goals and assists combined in the Eredivisie last season and is not a bad technical player, don't know if he would have the physicality required in the prem, though

[Griffo]

Awful in every sense. 4pm so not enough drinking time can't be an excuse. 2000 Saints 'fans' stood in silence for an hour and a half today. F*cking awful support stood there in £50 worth of home and away shirts, that amount of polyester in our end was a big enough fire hazard to burn the whole of Vicarage Road down.

[Dalek2003]

3 games in and people mentioning relegation? Oh dear

 

For once I am not alone. Mind you, do you think if it is not mentioned it will never happen ? = Emu-head-sand.

[Chez]

SuperMikey I was told Wijnaldum and Clasie are totally different players yet you seem to want to play Clasie in the same position?

 

There is a lot of talk about Clasie coming back and saving the day, is he that good? I only saw about half an hour of him in the Vitesse game and the game was played around him. When he went off we nosed dived performance wise, but I wouldnt say it was because we missed him specifically. Someone tell me he's Xavi II cos I could do with leaving this board in a positive frame of mind.

Edited 23 August, 2015 by Chez

[supersonic]

Draw a fair result. We offered pretty much nothing going forward, they should have scored twice. How their player headed it over from 2 yards is beyond me. I notice both Wanyama and Targett forgot to mark their players on that corner.

 

The sooner Wanayama gets his head straight and Bertrand is back the better.

[alpine_saint]

So three games in and money in the bank we are down to damage limitation? Hmmm.

 

Yep.

 

And its because the management have ballsed up the transfers and/or are creaming off the transfer revenue.

[Dalek2003]

Just cannot believe how many people are using the 'R' word. I thought we weren't supposed to countenance such thoughts ?

[S-Clarke]

I was told Wijnaldum and Clasie are totally different players yet you seem to want to play Clasie in the same position?

 

There is a lot of talk about Clasie coming back and saving the day, is he that good? I only saw about half an hour of him in the Vitesse game and the game was played around him. When he went off we nosed dived performance wise, but I would say it was because we missed him specifically. Someone tell me he's Xavi II cos I could do with leaving this board in a positive frame of mind.

 

There's also a lot of talk about Jack Cork being the savior of all things football.

 

But Clasie isn't an AMC, I don't agree with people who think that. He'll play in a 3 I imagine, with Romeu and Victor. He'll be more of a CM who dictates the pace rather than a marauding AMC.

 

He comes with a lot of pedigree and I've always been impressed with his use of the ball, and how he settled into life in the Dutch team. He's clearly very talented, the only question marks are around his size - but sometimes I think too much is made of that.

[Wade Garrett]

Not if we could get matt Phillips on the bus

 

Phillips has looked excellent so far this season. Him, Austin and VVD would be excellent signings.

[Dalek2003]

Phillips has looked excellent so far this season. Him, Austin and VVD would be excellent signings.

 

That would be brilliant, but probably a pipe dream.

[Batman]

anyone know if Pelle has a knock?

 

he went straight down the tunnel when substituted

[Graffito]

anyone know if Pelle has a knock?

 

he went straight down the tunnel when substituted

 

Just looked like he was ****ed off by being taken off.

[Saint Charlie]

Again I don't think you understand what I said. I didn't suggest we could keep Schneiderlin and Clyne but I don't think the replacements are up to the same standard. I of course expected us to sign slightly lower quality since its almost impossible to replace Morgan but I think if people are honest with themselves they expected exciting quality on the same level as a Wanyama but I don't think we've got that from this year's transfers.

 

Personally I think going with the cheap and clever buy is a good tactic some of the time but when it's employed for the majority of signings, the danger is that some of them are not going to pay off and you are going to badly miss the quality that has gone. We need to be mixing some of these signings with potential with proper proven quality in the 10-15 million pound bracket if we want to see progression.

 

I won't bother responding to your last comment because it's just silly.

 

That is fair I think, especially with 1.) The money in the PL and 2.) The fact our European rep is probably never going to be higher so players will be keen to play for us.

 

We were level pretty much with Spurs and Liverpool (on the pitch) end of last season but are obviously miles and miles away off it.

Edited 23 August, 2015 by Saint Charlie

[Whitey Grandad]

Just looked like he was ****ed off by being taken off.

 

That's good, isn't it?

[Graffito]

That's good, isn't it?

 

Yes but you don't walk off straight down the tunnel.

[Whitey Grandad]

Yes but you don't walk off straight down the tunnel.

 

Very true. Had someone messed up his hair?

[ErwinK1961]

SuperMikey I was told Wijnaldum and Clasie are totally different players yet you seem to want to play Clasie in the same position?

 

There is a lot of talk about Clasie coming back and saving the day, is he that good? I only saw about half an hour of him in the Vitesse game and the game was played around him. When he went off we nosed dived performance wise, but I wouldnt say it was because we missed him specifically. Someone tell me he's Xavi II cos I could do with leaving this board in a positive frame of mind.

 

If you were looking for a positive frame of mind, then coming on here was a terrible idea.

[shurlock]

Phillips has looked excellent so far this season. Him, Austin and VVD would be excellent signings.

 

No.

[shurlock]

Awful in every sense. 4pm so not enough drinking time can't be an excuse. 2000 Saints 'fans' stood in silence for an hour and a half today. F*cking awful support stood there in £50 worth of home and away shirts, that amount of polyester in our end was a big enough fire hazard to burn the whole of Vicarage Road down.

 

Not to mention the nob in the united shirt.

[saint_ed]

Capote missed an open goal header from about a metre out, put that away and this would have been right up there with the Sheff United debacle of last season. We were ****e and lucky to score 0 we offered so little going forward. Last season we were running Liverpool ragged at Anfield whilst coming away with nothing. Performances do matter as they point to how things will go when the chances do go in. We didn't turn any corners today.

 

Nail on the head.

[Griffo]

The team mirror our support so far this year. Since we've been in the prem it's been getting worse every year. You can only keep selling your best players and it works in your favour for so long before it starts biting you on the arse. Going forward last season we seemed to have at least 2 options for a pass every time a player was on the ball but now there's not the same movement and there is only one pass on whenever we're on the ball. We're not going to break into the top clubs ever and we're not going down this year so let's hope we take Europe seriously.

[Graffito]

Very true. Had someone messed up his hair?

 

A guess - he was ****ed off about being replaced by another forward when he had been feeding off scraps all game.

[Guan 2.0]

Clasie doesn't play that position though.

 

In fact, we have nobody that does it well.

 

He has trained in that position with Saints before his injury. FACT

 

So you are sure Van Dijk will sign then Guan?

 

I'm 99.9 certain we will get him. A last minute hijack, voodoo curse or dislike of Martin O'Neil's rented Winchester property are always possibilities though. : )

 

As for Big Fat Sam, he's done well to be treated as some sort of sage by a certain few on here. He's currently the lagered tramp standing outside pizza express, listening to the staff collecting orders and then shouting those orders to everyone and no-one. A week after Les Reed and Koeman confirm the club is in full agreement over there being no more sales, BFS comes out with a list of 'demands' that our manager should make, even though he doesn't have to, as the transfer committee has already agreed on the issue, and BFS's wishes actually mean **** all, as he is not our manager (or anybody's manager for that matter).

 

Still, Sam rants, and the depressives on here treat his dribbling like scripture: "Big Sam says Koeman should demand no more sales", "Big Sam says we should demand answers from Kat", "Big Sam says that table 4 are waiting on Margherita and Garlic bread".