Post-Match Reaction: Stoke City 1-2 SAINTS

[Sour Mash]

Excellent performance, surprising all things considered. Well deserved win.

 

Should definitely have had a penalty and no way was that a sending off, horrific refereeing.

 

Pretty average away support from us, women in front of me spent the whole game reading some murder mystery book

[Sour Mash]

Should we expect massive bids for VVD?

 

In theory we should, absolute class again today, and a lack of top CBs in the PL, but never happened for Alderweireld, so who knows.

[adrian lord]

VVD player of the season? I think so.

[SuperSAINT]

Should we expect massive bids for VVD?

 

In theory we should, absolute class again today, and a lack of top CBs in the PL, but never happened for Alderweireld, so who knows.

 

More than likely. There's s fair few clubs who will be looking for centre-backs.

 

Utd / City / Chelsea / Arsenal / Liverpool

[Cabrone]

Pelle, he's a bit of a conundrum isn't he.

 

When he's good he's very good but then he disappears for large parts of the season. If he could get more consistency he'd be a top draw striker.

 

Still, hopefully he'll go on a run now and score a load just in time to get picked by the Azzuri.

 

VVD yet again was fantastic, enjoy his performances - he'll be on his way if not this summer then next.

 

Good win but I don't think we'll get Europa now, we've let Pool and Chelsea gain too much ground but you never know.

[S-Clarke]

More than likely. There's s fair few clubs who will be looking for centre-backs.

 

Utd / City / Chelsea / Arsenal / Liverpool

 

I would Imagine Utd, City and Chelsea will be going for 'names'. They need big windows by buying proven CL/International players. Guys like Marquinous (sp), Ramos, Laporte, Stones etc. I 'think' Liverpool have already wrapped up the free transfer of Schalke cb Matip (very good player).

 

Virgil is totally immense though and as the seasons go on he will attract interest, but I'd like to think we're safe for a season or 2 yet!

[View From The Top]

Personally I feel Ryan Bertrand deserves special praise today as defensively I thought him flawless.

 

VVD was immense and our support was way better than quite a number of away games I've been to this season. My Stokie friends, of which I have many living up here, have all said that one 1st rendition of OWTS was as good as anything they've heard from away fans this season.

 

As for the ref. I thought the pen decision wrong and, from where I was, the sending off right. Having seen the replays he clearly has a mare and gets them both shockingly wrong.

[doddisalegend]

Excellent performance, surprising all things considered. Well deserved win.

 

Should definitely have had a penalty and no way was that a sending off, horrific refereeing.

 

Pretty average away support from us, women in front of me spent the whole game reading some murder mystery book

 

Really? You could hear the saints fans loud and clear of solent today, taters mentioned it, and Koeman seemed pretty impressed with the away following to.

[doddisalegend]

Should we expect massive bids for VVD?

 

In theory we should, absolute class again today, and a lack of top CBs in the PL, but never happened for Alderweireld, so who knows.

 

1st year of his contract should mean we are safe for now.

[doddisalegend]

Pelle, he's a bit of a conundrum isn't he.

 

When he's good he's very good but then he disappears for large parts of the season. If he could get more consistency he'd be a top draw striker.

 

Still, hopefully he'll go on a run now and score a load just in time to get picked by the Azzuri.

 

VVD yet again was fantastic, enjoy his performances - he'll be on his way if not this summer then next.

 

Good win but I don't think we'll get Europa now, we've let Pool and Chelsea gain too much ground but you never know.

 

We won't sell a player less than 12months into his contract especially as the club are keen to tie Koeman down to a new contract which certainly won't happen if we sell VVD from under him.

[The Cat]

Have to say I was very surprised at how well we played after the last 2 poor performances. Stoke were very careless in possession in the first half and we made them pay. I feared the worst when they scored but other than a couple of chances we restricted them to long shots before they got desperate and started lumping it to Crouch.

 

Their fans are weird, after years of clogging opponents they get all uppity when one of their players gets a nudge. They really had it in for Martina in the first half who I thought had his best game for us. Pelle was excellent, that chat Koeman had with him after his horrible sub performance against Chelsea has worked. None of his silly flicks, strong hold up play and 2 good finishes.

 

As above Bertrand deserves a lot of credit. That has to be the first time I've seen Saints play with 2 CB's who are so comfortable on the ball which made playing out of defence much easier.

 

VVD was as excellent as normal and I thought Romeu was strong in the middle. Long caused them problems all match with his running in the channels. Apart from his bizarre non-shot I thought Tadic was decent and it was a blatant penalty. Up until the last 10 minutes Lee Mason wasn't as bad as normal and in fact let play carry on a few times when I expected him to give free kicks to Stoke. He then lost the plot completely with the penalty and red card which was clearly a joke.

[eurosaint]

I think RK got it spot on with selection and tactics today too

 

Captainchris ????? Bit quiet?

 

With the Skates losing 0-3 at home as well, he has obviously crawled back under his stone for the time being

[nta786]

Last on MOTD

[SuperSAINT]

1st year of his contract should mean we are safe for now.

 

Like Lovren

[Chez]

I can see why the ref gave the red. Mane has a look at him and from one angle his elbow appears high and Pieters head moves sharply (because of the clash of heads) as though manes elbow has made contact, and he holds his face. At full speed and from the refs angle it looks bad. Obviously with multiple views and angles it's obvious it's just a clash of heads.

 

As for the pen, the ref is unsure, Tadic makes the most of it, and that probably puts the Lino off, who the ref has turned to for help. I'm surprised he didn't give it. From the angle he had it looked at pen, from others less so. Not easy for refs as players cheat, including our own.

 

Thought he had a decent game apart from those two big decisions...or is it not possible to have a good game if you get big decisions wrong?

[Whitey Grandad]

Last on MOTD

 

On Sky Sports now as full extended highlights. No need even for the red button

[david in sweden]

great first half.....should have had 3 or 4 goals. Good defensive set-up in second.

 

Penalty ? YES

Red Card? -NO !

3 points deserved ? - ABSOLUTELY !

[pangy]

VVD is destined for the top of the game,he will end up at a Real Madrid/Bayern I think he is that good,far too good for Chelsea/Liverpool etc.

Can see us getting some serious ££ for him,£30m+

[Jonnyboy]

Has Tadic got some sort of learning disability?

[Wade Garrett]

Good win. Thought we were a bit sloppy with our passing. VVD excellent, and I thought JWP looked good when he came on.

[Dark Munster]

Last on MOTD

Pundits both agree it was a blatant penalty, and never a red card. They also thought Tadic's miss was embarrassing, even if it had been on the training ground.

[kermitsaint]

It wasn't a penalty although I've seen them given before . Tadic went looking for contact .

 

I didn't see the red card as I fell asleep , kick off on tele was 11pm but thought the ref was good allowing some decent tackles .

 

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[Saint Claude Van Damme]

Watching motd and it's confirmed for me we were on the end of two bad decisions. Good to hear the presenters strongly agreeing with that. If it had cost us I would feel robbed but fortunately we still got the points. Good win and let's hope we continue with points next week.

[Batman]

Watching motd and it's confirmed for me we were on the end of two bad decisions. Good to hear the presenters strongly agreeing with that. If it had cost us I would feel robbed but fortunately we still got the points. Good win and let's hope we continue with points next week.

 

decent to see. Also, Mark Hughes was quite perplexed as to why Mane was sent off

[Wes Tender]

Thought he had a decent game apart from those two big decisions...or is it not possible to have a good game if you get big decisions wrong?

 

As both decisions individually, let alone taken together might well have changed the result, then Mason's performance amounted to negligence or incompetence. He deserves to be demoted from top flight football. It isn't as if he hasn't got previous for poor decision-making.

[Saint Claude Van Damme]

Yeah good to hear Hughes say that. Not often you get that from an opposition manager or player. Normally just say 'I haven't seen the replay yet'. Appeal should be ok you'd think.

[Wes Tender]

It wasn't a penalty although I've seen them given before . Tadic went looking for contact .

 

1/10

[Roger]

1/10

 

It was a blatant pen ffs.

[kermitsaint]

1/10

I understand you're trying to be clever but multiple angles on a 60 inch screen says you're wrong .

 

You're entitled to be wrong though .

 

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[Baird of the land]

To me the only question with tadic is whether he was going to reach the ball he knocked through. As for the actual contact he does pull his leg back(my guess to protect it) but there's definite contact from the rashly committed butland.

 

Mane red is just more and more absurd, the more I see it. They really need to have technology for at least these incidents. The ref confirming that what he thinks he has seen is actually correct before making red card decisions.

[Roger]

I understand you're trying to be clever but multiple angles on a 60 inch screen says you're wrong .

 

You're entitled to be wrong though .

 

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No they prove you are wrong. All the pundits say it was. Put a sock in it.

[kermitsaint]

No they prove you are wrong. All the pundits say it was. Put a sock in it.

Haha no .

 

Pundits often have different opinions . Seen many a dive which they say was a stonewall penalty when its blatantly clear it wasn't. The big teams often get pundits claiming one thing when its not .

 

So no . Wasn't a penalty at all . We both know Tadic has that cheating streak in him .

 

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[Wes Tender]

I understand you're trying to be clever but multiple angles on a 60 inch screen says you're wrong .

 

You're entitled to be wrong though .

 

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You have previous as a wind-up merchant so I'll base my opinion on that. Likewise the MOTD pundits and Koeman are entitled to be wrong too, but what do they know compared to you and your 60" screen?

[Roger]

Haha no .

 

Pundits often have different opinions . Seen many a dive which they say was a stonewall penalty when its blatantly clear it wasn't. The big teams often get pundits claiming one thing when its not .

 

So no . Wasn't a penalty at all . We both know Tadic has that cheating streak in him .

 

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Okay whatever. Tadic was poor missing that chance but was a penalty. Don't agree with you.

[Whitey Grandad]

Here's my view for what it's worth.

 

I can see why the penalty wasn't given. Tadic does rather hang his leg out there to make sure that he gets caught and his fall is somewhat theatrical. Having said that nobody could complain or be surprised if it had been given. In principle there's not a lot of difference between this incident and the one on Benteke.

 

The red card was simply ridiculous. I don't know what the ref thought he saw.

[saintant]

No need for multiple angle views, slow motion replays, large screens or any other technology - you only had to watch Jack Butland's totally guilty reaction to know that was a stonewall penalty. As they said on MoTD he knew he'd got away with one. It was one of the most obvious penalties you could wish for and should have been a no brainer for the referee. He then compounded the matter and again demonstrated his utter incompetence by rashly sending off Mane. An extremely poor performance from the official that could easily have cost us.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Penalty 9 times out of 10, but it was Mason. Never a red card, but it was Mason, where did the 7 minutes of added time come from? Mason. Great effort to hang on in the circumstances. And what was Tadic doing taking a touch to control the ball, when a simple sidefoot would have put it in the net? Needs to have a word with himself - shocking miss, terrible. Good to see Pelle getting a couple. Hopefully the confidence and game time will see him drag his game back up to where it needs to be before Euro 2016.

[dubai_phil]

Obviously between Pelle & VVD for MoTD, many other great performances, but a word of recognition for Martina.

 

While he doesn't have the craft/guile of a Cedric nor the pace of a Clyne, I've been impresssed that he has come back in and finished two games now, and bombs up and down the line & into the opposition box very well. Defensively he is everything we need in a back up player.

He also played the role of pantomime villain very well - doing the splits in the first half after he clearly slipped, did NOT try to claim a foul, nor did the ref give anything, yet it set the Stoke fans off demanding he be booked for "simulation". That frustration seemed to spread around the ground & into their players.

 

As others have said, thought the ref had a fair game up until the last 10 mins or so then seemed to lose the plot. 8 minutes of injury time when he signalled 3? Seriously?

IMHO it wasn't a penalty, yes there was contact, but tbh by the time Tadic actually hits the ground, the ball is almost over the line for a goal kick. To most people that would indicate a "dive in a desperate attempt as he had lost control before the contact.... I think the best question is "How would we have reacted if that had been given against us".

 

Red Card? That was a really poor decision, not going to even attempt to defend that.

 

Oh and a huge shout to the travelling fans. They were deafening on the TV coverage here. No wonder RK went over to them.

 

MotM Pelle - not just for the goals but for dropping into the wide right position when Mane came on and doing a good job cutting the supply line down that wing

[whelk]

Apart from the pen and the red card thought Mason had one if his better games. A low bar admittedly

[Fan The Flames]

IMHO it wasn't a penalty, yes there was contact, but tbh by the time Tadic actually hits the ground, the ball is almost over the line for a goal kick. To most people that would indicate a "dive in a desperate attempt as he had lost control before the contact.... I think the best question is "How would we have reacted if that had been given against us".

 

What bizarre logic, you can make a bad touch and still be fouled, it doesn't indicate anything.

 

It wasn't a penalty although I've seen them given before . Tadic went looking for contact .

 

I didn't see the red card as I fell asleep , kick off on tele was 11pm but thought the ref was good allowing some decent tackles .

 

And you are just a muppet.

[doddisalegend]

Looked a clear penalty to me if was a dive why wasn't Tadic carded?

[Give it to Ron]

What bizarre logic, you can make a bad touch and still be fouled, it doesn't indicate anything.

 

 

 

And you are just a muppet.

 

But he has a 60" screen

 

 

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[austsaint]

Obviously between Pelle & VVD for MoTD, many other great performances, but a word of recognition for Martina.

 

While he doesn't have the craft/guile of a Cedric nor the pace of a Clyne, I've been impresssed that he has come back in and finished two games now, and bombs up and down the line & into the opposition box very well. Defensively he is everything we need in a back up player.

He also played the role of pantomime villain very well - doing the splits in the first half after he clearly slipped, did NOT try to claim a foul, nor did the ref give anything, yet it set the Stoke fans off demanding he be booked for "simulation". That frustration seemed to spread around the ground & into their players.

 

As others have said, thought the ref had a fair game up until the last 10 mins or so then seemed to lose the plot. 8 minutes of injury time when he signalled 3? Seriously?

IMHO it wasn't a penalty, yes there was contact, but tbh by the time Tadic actually hits the ground, the ball is almost over the line for a goal kick. To most people that would indicate a "dive in a desperate attempt as he had lost control before the contact.... I think the best question is "How would we have reacted if that had been given against us".

 

Red Card? That was a really poor decision, not going to even attempt to defend that.

 

Oh and a huge shout to the travelling fans. They were deafening on the TV coverage here. No wonder RK went over to them.

 

MotM Pelle - not just for the goals but for dropping into the wide right position when Mane came on and doing a good job cutting the supply line down that wing

 

Agree with you about Martina. He really isn't a bad player. Highlights of his game yesterday included that inch perfect through ball for Long in the first half and an attacking foray where he stood up Pieters or Shawcross with great skill before whipping in the cross. He has not been a bad buy for 1 Mill. and is certainly a better alternative at right back than Maya or JWP.

[ALWAYS_SFC]

It wasn't a penalty although I've seen them given before . Tadic went looking for contact .

 

I didn't see the red card as I fell asleep , kick off on tele was 11pm but thought the ref was good allowing some decent tackles .

 

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Nice but dim is back:lol:

[Plastic]

Only just seen the goals, pelle's second was superbly worked. Well done to him.

[hasper57saint]

From where I was standing it is a penalty all day long.Keeper clearly took him out.Problem was If Mason had award it he could possibly have Red carded Butland as it was a clear foul inside the penalty box.

PS. A woman standing reading a penny dreadful? LMFAO!

[Kingsland Codger]

The penalty claim ... I think back to the 8-0 rout of Sunderland last season and the 'penalty' that wasn't awarded to Sunderland when Steven Fletcher was upended by FF when we were 2-0 up. It looked like we got lucky back then and unlucky yesterday.

[Batman]

it was such penalty, it is laughable....

then you have Mane's sending off....even more laughable..His arms were never ever raised

both player went for the ball and headed each other

[Give it to Ron]

it was such penalty, it is laughable....

then you have Mane's sending off....even more laughable..His arms were never ever raised

both player went for the ball and headed each other

 

All Mason had to do was look at Butland that was enough...

 

 

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[Saint Billy]

Pelle, looked much better, well taken goals especially 2nd which was well worked with Tadic.

 

Tadic, spoilt his chances of a penalty by doing the theatrical stuff again, it was a penalty so no need to try and get a Bafta.

Open goal, trying to do it pretty again, overall better game though.

 

Mane sending off, bad decision, good job it didn't cost us, hopefully we'll appeal it.

 

Much much better this week.

 

Observation, what a crazy season in the Premiership generally, can't work out if it has been exciting or just plain odd.