Saints 1-1 Man Utd - Reaction

[Wes Tender]

I came away feeling that the match was like a win, given that we played with ten men for the last nearly 20 minutes. Up until the sending off of Danso we were very feasibly the better team, certainly wanting it more than them and winning more of our share of the balls in midfield. We were in their faces from the start, closing them down, pressing high in twos and threes. The only worrying part was the usual tendency to play it out from the back, sometimes losing the ball as a result in dangerous areas. Without Bertrand and with Valery not 100%, Cedric was back and acquitted himself well. Danso did very well on the left until his sending off, making several runs deep into United territory with the ball at his feet and he was a handful for their right flank.

 

Overall in the first half, United had not produced much threat apart from their goal, which could have been at least more difficult to score had they been closed down before the shot. Having scored that early, the worry was that they could go on and score a few more, but instead it was us who upped our determination to equalise and were playing the better football, whilst United lost possession several times as a result of sloppy passing and shots well off target. So we reached half time looking very much as if we could get something from the match if we carried on playing as we had in the first half.

 

We started the second half on the front foot and were rewarded by a superb goal from Vestergaard, United's defence allowing him a free header well clear of De Gea. Having had the confidence boost from the goal and silencing the United fans, there was every chance of going on to win the match, until the sending off of Danso for two yellows. His first one was soft, but his second one was clearly a yellow and he should have been more careful. Hopefully he will learn from it. The substitutions we had made just before were helpful, as Long and Armstrong were exactly the players needed to both tighten up the midfield and produce problems up top and Yoshida added to the defence. Boufal, Adams and Ince made way for them, Adams and Ings not having produced much threat until then anyway.

 

The last 20 minutes was when United threw everything at us, but the defence stood firm with some good saves by Gunn and some vital clearances, which in turn produced some chances to nick a goal on the break. Most of the team played well as a unit and particular plaudits to Romeu who was a beast in midfield. Vestergaard was also immense, ably backed up by Bednarek. Boufal was also a handful and Danso very good until the red card.

 

It would be interesting to speculate on whether we could have snatched all three points had Redmond, Djenepo and possibly Valerie been available. I think that they could have produced all sorts of problems for that United defence. At the moment they are a very poor team by their standards. As for the referee, Mike Dean was his usual incompetent self, typically favouring the big team at our expense more often than not.

[rallyboy]

Great to see Danny Wallace as well - that was a nice moment.

[Jimmy_D]

Ings at least wins the ball in the air as was shown again today but where was his support? He challenged almost every possible header and on this performance he was an improvement from previous games. MOTM for me was Romeu he was outstanding once he got his second wind.

 

Normally Ings would have Redmond in support. As well as we played for large parts of the game, his cutting edge could have made a real difference in attack today.

 

Got to be happy with the point considering the injuries and going down to 10 for 20 odd minutes, but on another day we could well have won it playing that well.

[Ed Rooney]

Yep and don’t agree with yours one bit Hojberg and JWP were poor and dragging Romeu across and he was pulled out of position second half he was immense

 

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Exactly thought Romeu first half was strolling and gave ball away stupidly, hojberg covered so much ground compensating for that. JWP was proper pants though

[S-Clarke]

A really well fought point - although with a bit more quality, we may have been able to get a bit more out of the game.

 

Our press really unsettled them early on and we had them giving away passes left, right and centre. We didn't exactly create anything in that first half though, whilst we competed well enough, it was a bit huff and puff.

 

Second half we showed a little bit more composure and quality in our build-up, penned them in a little bit more and got a deserved goal I felt.

 

I think that was Vesterguards best game for us, great defensive performance through blocks, tackles and headers - and then he pops up with a goal for us too.

 

Also a shout out for Romeu who had his best game in a long while too, those two were like rocks throughout the spine.

 

Danso was very naive, I'd have hoped he was a bit more mature than that - it was an incredibly daft tackle to make. He is very raw, I’ll be honest, but he has some terrific attributes to his game which can be refined. He's a bit of a unit.

 

Che and Ings ran the United defenders around but had very little quality when they did get the ball. I’m really looking for Ings to step up now, he's been here for a year and a bit and I've hardly seen anything from him which makes me believe he is a good fit for us. Che is still learning and raw, whilst he does look a bit out of his depth at the moment, I'm hoping he will mature and settle as time goes on.

 

Good little run we've got going now, performances are getting better, we're giving everyone we play a game. 4 points on the board isn't ''too' bad given our starting fixtures up to now, it could have been a lot worse.

 

Good time for a break I think, focus on getting a couple of the injured guys back and fill the squad out a little bit. I think there's plenty to be positive about though, it looks like we can actually compete again compared to times at the start of last season.

[Avenue_Saint]

Exactly thought Romeu first half was strolling and gave ball away stupidly, hojberg covered so much ground compensating for that. JWP was proper pants though

 

Whilst I don’t agree about Romeu, you are right about JWP, he’s regressing back in to his old self. You could tell as soon as 2nd half kicked off, he seemed like he had Ralph in his ear. Cedric was utterly dismal in today. Letting players have a free run at goal, poor marking and generally inconsequential but what didn’t help him was Jwp leaving him with 2 Utd attackers on him for most of the game.

 

So disappointed with those two and bednarek lost goal to mane and to James today for not closing down player. Fundamental for a defender to try and stop the shot. You don’t have to be Maldini or Baresi to get those basics right.

 

Boufal did a lot of good things second half but he seemed to be playing more centrally.

 

I still say, play Boufal number 10 through middle, play Redmond and Djennepo either side and partner Danso at the back alongside Vestergaard who it has to be said was really good today. His strength seems to be reading the game and intercepting, wasn’t all too bed in the air either. Well played

 

Play this:

 

[TWar]

Whilst I don’t agree about Romeu, you are right about JWP, he’s regressing back in to his old self. You could tell as soon as 2nd half kicked off, he seemed like he had Ralph in his ear. Cedric was utterly dismal in today. Letting players have a free run at goal, poor marking and generally inconsequential but what didn’t help him was Jwp leaving him with 2 Utd attackers on him for most of the game.

 

So disappointed with those two and bednarek lost goal to mane and to James today for not closing down player. Fundamental for a defender to try and stop the shot. You don’t have to be Maldini or Baresi to get those basics right.

 

Boufal did a lot of good things second half but he seemed to be playing more centrally.

 

I still say, play Boufal number 10 through middle, play Redmond and Djennepo either side and partner Danso at the back alongside Vestergaard who it has to be said was really good today. His strength seems to be reading the game and intercepting, wasn’t all too bed in the air either. Well played

 

Play this:

 

I don't think we can drop the bednarek vestergaard partnership after that game. Keep danso at lb or go to 3 atb.

 

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[tobes8]

Not many mentions for Gunn today but thought he had his best match for us. Can’t help thinking that without the red card united were there for the taking. But got to be happy with the point today. Romeu was immense. Have to say united going absolutely nowhere and a squad full of average players.

[Forester]

Excellent point given circumstances. With hindsight the Burnley game feels like an outlier with two wins, a draw and a good performance against Liverpool that deserved a point. Am happy with how things are shaping up, and we have already played two of the top six from last year (albeit I will be surprised if Manure finish top six this season).

 

By the way, contrast the work rate of Romeu with Pogba who I estimate is on four times the salary....

[The Kraken]

Danso quite clearly isn’t a left back IMO, so the sooner whatever is going on with Bertrand is settled, the better. I guess with a Danso suspension it leaves us with fewer options outside of Bertrand, none of which are a step up.

[John Boy Saint]

Highlight has to be the defending under immense pressure when down to 10, that actually put a bit extra in the Utd tank. I thought Utd actually looked tired towards the end of the first half. They came out looking to put the game to bed, when we scored amazingly it knocked a bit of stuffing out of them until the sending off. After we scored JWP was signalling to pretty much keep the foot down.

 

Mrs JBS had Gunn as her man of the match, no doubt impressed at the series of good saves he made under the cosh. Like others I thought Romeu had a cracking game, Maguire knew he was trouble and left something a bit naughty on him in a challenge, I was amazed to see Mike “look at me”Dean book him when the ball went out, that was a yellow possibly worth looking at for more. By contrast I thought Dansos first booking was more clumsiness as opposed to malice.

 

The worst player on the pitch regardless of all his running about was Hojbjerg, the vast percentage of his passing was bloody woeful and snuffed out so many chances to get at Utd.

 

Thought Vestergaard and Bednarek had a good game, they seem to have realised that the apron strings connected to Maya have been cut and they have to do it themselves.

 

I like the look of Danso - shame and a bit silly to be sent off but he left Dean no choice after the harsh yellow in the 1st half. What a lovely intelligent ball he hoisted into the box for Vestergaards goal, so often we have either smashed in a cross or played pass the parcel, to just drop one right in the mixer was very nice. Also at long last we have a player who can Delap one into the penalty box from a throw in!

 

Considering the players out, I thought we look like we might well click pretty soon.

 

They can poke 12:30 kick offs up their backside - buggers up the day - and, for me, too early for a pint.

[Saint_clark]

Long should be starting every game with Ings or Adams, was so much more effective at winning the ball in the air and closing down than the other two.

 

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[hasper57saint]

Hey! I'm not superstitious but happy with 13th today. Roll on next week for the Blades and Billy Sharp.

[Heisenberg]

Hey! I'm not superstitious but happy with 13th today. Roll on next week for the Blades and Billy Sharp.

 

2 weeks

[shurlock]

Danso quite clearly isn’t a left back IMO, so the sooner whatever is going on with Bertrand is settled, the better. I guess with a Danso suspension it leaves us with fewer options outside of Bertrand, none of which are a step up.

 

Agree he’s got a motor and got up and down well but his touch and control are pretty clumsy.

[DuncanRG]

One good thing I did notice about JWP today: as soon as we won the ball he played a lot of early, incisive passes through their midfield to get us running at their back four. With Redmond on the pitch we might have scored one of them.

 

Agree with everyone else's plaudits but also think Ings had a good game linking things up. Shame there was no cutting edge from the other two.

 

Didn't see anything wrong with the refereeing besides the Adams/Maguire collision (which I was miles from) and one offside. Dunno why everyone moaned so much.

[Dusic]

Agree he’s got a motor and got up and down well but his touch and control are pretty clumsy.

I liked that he properly got stuck into the LB role. When he had space he motored forward and tried to be confident on the ball rather than just play a basic game.

 

Obvious error for the red but clearly has some decent attributes for a CB, and different from our others.

 

That said, in general our passing from the back is awful. Both Bednarek and Vestergaard are very limited on the ball and not quick enough to see a forward pass when its on. We have been spoiled with the likes of Alderweireld and VVD I guess.

[saintwbu]

One good thing I did notice about JWP today: as soon as we won the ball he played a lot of early, incisive passes through their midfield to get us running at their back four. With Redmond on the pitch we might have scored one of them.

 

Agree with everyone else's plaudits but also think Ings had a good game linking things up. Shame there was no cutting edge from the other two.

 

Didn't see anything wrong with the refereeing besides the Adams/Maguire collision (which I was miles from) and one offside. Dunno why everyone moaned so much.

 

The corner he gave in the first half when Rashford had so clearly kicked it out, to the extent that Cedric walked alongside the ball as it went out, was a decision worth demoting to the lower divisions alone.

[Wes Tender]

[eelpie]

Whilst I don’t agree about Romeu, you are right about JWP, he’s regressing back in to his old self. You could tell as soon as 2nd half kicked off, he seemed like he had Ralph in his ear. Cedric was utterly dismal in today. Letting players have a free run at goal, poor marking and generally inconsequential but what didn’t help him was Jwp leaving him with 2 Utd attackers on him for most of the game.

 

So disappointed with those two and bednarek lost goal to mane and to James today for not closing down player. Fundamental for a defender to try and stop the shot. You don’t have to be Maldini or Baresi to get those basics right.

 

Boufal did a lot of good things second half but he seemed to be playing more centrally.

 

I still say, play Boufal number 10 through middle, play Redmond and Djennepo either side and partner Danso at the back alongside Vestergaard who it has to be said was really good today. His strength seems to be reading the game and intercepting, wasn’t all too bed in the air either. Well played

 

Play this:

 

 

It's interesting that you noted Vestergard's interceptions. I read that towards the end of last season he had one of the highest successful interceptions in The Premiership. Not sure how the stats ended.

[eurosaint]

Amazing the different views people have.

 

Romeu was dog **** first half, hojberg was carrying him

 

Are you sure that your comments apply to today’s game v Man U ???

I reckon that you’ll be in a minority of one, given that most have voted Romeu as MoM !!

[vin]

The corner he gave in the first half when Rashford had so clearly kicked it out, to the extent that Cedric walked alongside the ball as it went out, was a decision worth demoting to the lower divisions alone.

 

This. And the high boot from Young that he gave as a freekick against Ward-Prowse for handball (off his shoulder). And Young diving to get a freekick which Dean didn’t award - so Young laid on the ball and instead of giving obstruction Dean gave him his freekick when our players challenged him.

[DuncanRG]

The corner he gave in the first half when Rashford had so clearly kicked it out, to the extent that Cedric walked alongside the ball as it went out, was a decision worth demoting to the lower divisions alone.

 

Fair enough, was at the other end so didn't see.

[Tamesaint]

This. And the high boot from Young that he gave as a freekick against Ward-Prowse for handball (off his shoulder). And Young diving to get a freekick which Dean didn’t award - so Young laid on the ball and instead of giving obstruction Dean gave him his freekick when our players challenged him.

 

That incident was right in front of me. No way was it handball The worrying thing is that the lino was even closer to the "handball" and didn't correct the ref.

 

Overall very pleased with the point. Thought that Boufal played well and that we lost our attacking edge once he was substituted. Having a front 2 for the last 15 plus minutes of Long and Armstrong did invite United onto us. Fortunately the days of conceding in the last 5 minutes seem to have gone.

Edited 31 August, 2019 by Tamesaint

[saintwbu]

This. And the high boot from Young that he gave as a freekick against Ward-Prowse for handball (off his shoulder). And Young diving to get a freekick which Dean didn’t award - so Young laid on the ball and instead of giving obstruction Dean gave him his freekick when our players challenged him.

 

That Young free kick was also seconds before Danso’s red card, so had we got that free kick it would never have come to Danso hacking down McTominay as they broke. Another absolute **** show from a highly paid referee.

[Shroppie]

Apparently big trouble on the 16:20 train to Manchester. Train held for 40 mi s at Banbury whilst police dealt with "serious antisocial behaviour"

 

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[Whitey Grandad]

This. And the high boot from Young that he gave as a freekick against Ward-Prowse for handball (off his shoulder). And Young diving to get a freekick which Dean didn’t award - so Young laid on the ball and instead of giving obstruction Dean gave him his freekick when our players challenged him.

 

That free kick was awarded by the linesman. Dean wasn’t going to give anything until he flagged. There had been a hand in Young’s back a couple of seconds before but not enough to send him flying.

[Wes Tender]

That incident was right in front of me. No way was it handball The worrying thing is that the lino was even closer to the "handball" and didn't correct the ref.

 

Overall very pleased with the point. Thought that Boufal played well and that we lost our attacking edge once he was substituted. Having a front 2 for the last 15 plus minutes of Long and Armstrong did invite United onto us. Fortunately the days of conceding in the last 5 days seem to have gone.

 

We were playing United. It is just how it is, that the refereeing always favours them, as they get more flak frorm the hordes of plastic fans and media if they weren't biased towards them than they would from Saints fans who were wronged.

 

Long and Armstrong were just the type of player we needed to finish the match, because both are high energy, capable of making a nuisance of themselves and track back well to aid the defence. United had the advantage of the extra man and had to go all out in attack to gain all three points. Both players offered an outlet threat though to hit them on the break from clearances out of defence.

[M271]

Apparently big trouble on the 16:20 train to Manchester. Train held for 40 mi s at Banbury whilst police dealt with "serious antisocial behaviour"

 

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Yes seems to be the case.

 

https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ldbdetails/iSVIV2JSQsiDKoR7Fbu4ow%3D%3D?f=SOU

[Ed Rooney]

Are you sure that your comments apply to today’s game v Man U ???

I reckon that you’ll be in a minority of one, given that most have voted Romeu as MoM !!

 

yep I thought 1st half he had a poor half

[Tamesaint]

We were playing United. It is just how it is, that the refereeing always favours them, as they get more flak frorm the hordes of plastic fans and media if they weren't biased towards them than they would from Saints fans who were wronged.

 

Long and Armstrong were just the type of player we needed to finish the match, because both are high energy, capable of making a nuisance of themselves and track back well to aid the defence. United had the advantage of the extra man and had to go all out in attack to gain all three points. Both players offered an outlet threat though to hit them on the break from clearances out of defence.

 

Not sure that I agree about Long and Armstrong. They are certainly fast but whenever we cleared the ball to the front two it seemed to come back into our half much quicker than I wanted.

[the boy from saints]

Out and about today so not followed the game, thus a draw is a decent result on the surface.

 

At least it gives the mods further chance to turn a blind eye to the next "XXX days since a win against the top 6" post...

 

Agree! Do we all have to put up with such constant inane trolling...

[Mr Brightside]

Really enjoyed that, atmosphere was great and pretty positive for a change (apart from the d1ck behind me who was slating Boufal at every opportunity). Got there late so missed the Manure goal, so in my mind we won 1-0! Romeu was immense today.

[The Kraken]

Not sure that I agree about Long and Armstrong. They are certainly fast but whenever we cleared the ball to the front two it seemed to come back into our half much quicker than I wanted.

Shane Long was basically himself, looked a bit clumsy but did some bits well to hold up play and wear the clock down. Thought he did well, considering. I also thought Armstrong did well, he looked very comfortable on the ball and got us out of one or two tricky situations. Plus held the ball up well.

 

i don’t disagree that the ball sometimes came back quickly but I also thought those two did a good job.

[John Boy Saint]

Apparently big trouble on the 16:20 train to Manchester. Train held for 40 mi s at Banbury whilst police dealt with "serious antisocial behaviour"

 

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My Friend/customers Son was on it and less than impressed, down the station at 4:30 this morning then a few numpties who have had the 3rd can of top deck shandy kick off! Expected Manchester 21:30........that’s a long day.

[Stud mark of doom]

Why were united fans on the train to Manchester? Were there no direct trains to devon/Hertfordshire etc?

[Nolan]

Noticed in the highlights that after Danso provided the ball for Vestergaards goal, Danso looks like he's going to run straight back towards position rather than run towards the celebration.

 

Was he just attempting to keep his head in the game?

[stevy777_x]

Not sure that I agree about Long and Armstrong. They are certainly fast but whenever we cleared the ball to the front two it seemed to come back into our half much quicker than I wanted.

 

Armstrong was doing my head in during the game. Was not tracking back enough and not marking man u players out wide and when he had the ball on the counter, he wasted it on numerous occasions by giving the ball away.

Would personally have replaced Ward-Prowse instead of Boufal as we could have kept the ball a bit more and pushed higher up the pitch.

[Ohio Saint]

Channon could have done better with his first half shot. Stokes was definitely onside. Docherty is a tosser.

[HarvSFC]

Credit to Gunn after today too. I was his critic after Burnley, but he won us that point as much as any of the outfield players today. Really good.

[Professor]

A disappointment for me was that I didn't recognise my team in yet another bastardisation of the club shirt. Sticking a couple of white oblongs on the front of a red and black shirt does not amount to red and white stripes. Hadn't realised until today how, that from the back, the shirts could belong to any team with solid red colours. And that's not Southampton. The shirt scam, where fans are supposed to fork out for over-priced variations every year, has become a scandal. My advice to fans would be to buy a simple red and white striped shirt instead of being fleeced for even more cash to watch players who are already earning more in a day than most of us earn in a year. Sorry if this is the wrong thread for this comment but it is how I felt after watching the game.

[ant]

Less than 2 pages of posts for a hard-earned point against United, having come from a goal down, and keeping them at bay for 20 minutes with a man less.

 

How many more contributions would this thread have had if we'd crumbled and lost?

 

Having read through, many of the posts here fairly highlight the positives and negatives of the game. Just find it baffling that so many more people are willing to lend their opinions after a loss.

[wadesmith]

Less than 2 pages of posts for a hard-earned point against United, having come from a goal down, and keeping them at bay for 20 minutes with a man less.

 

How many more contributions would this thread have had if we'd crumbled and lost?

 

Having read through, many of the posts here fairly highlight the positives and negatives of the game. Just find it baffling that so many more people are willing to lend their opinions after a loss.

 

To be honest I think it's the amount of Bellends who post here, the little internal squabbles just put people off.

[Kingsbridge Saint]

Poor first half from us, not enough intensity, way too many individual errors giving the ball away. No leadership from the captain who was playing like a drain as well. Much better second half, so going to credit Ralph with that. Good subs from Ralph too. Romeu had a great game, and a peach of a cross from Danso that hasn't really got enough credit got us a deserved equaliser. Good to see us hanging on to a well earned point, would have been gutting (but typical) to have folded at the end there, so a good afternoons work in the end. Couple of weeks to get that front third working better on the training ground now, and get a couple of players back.

[Heisenberg]

Less than 2 pages of posts for a hard-earned point against United, having come from a goal down, and keeping them at bay for 20 minutes with a man less.

 

How many more contributions would this thread have had if we'd crumbled and lost?

 

Having read through, many of the posts here fairly highlight the positives and negatives of the game. Just find it baffling that so many more people are willing to lend their opinions after a loss.

 

Another Saints web myth

 

4 pages after the Brighton win, 4 pages after the Liverpool defeat

[whelk]

Rom MOM by county mile.

[Dark Munster]

Vestergaard mom, even without the goal. Superb. Best match for us I reckon. Romeu very good too. Adam’s crap. Hoj poor. Cedric good, and even put in some decent crosses. Danso’s second yellow: stupid, stupid, moronic. Hopefully he’ll learn like Vallery did.

[SaveloyMush]

Vestergaard mom, even without the goal. Superb. Best match for us I reckon. Romeu very good too. Adam’s crap. Hoj poor. Cedric good, and even put in some decent crosses. Danso’s second yellow: stupid, stupid, moronic. Hopefully he’ll learn like Vallery did.

 

Danso was a silly boy, but he looks some player. Great to have a long throw option again too, really causes panic in the opposition's box.

[Saint Billy]

Danso was a silly boy, but he looks some player. Great to have a long throw option again too, really causes panic in the opposition's box.

 

Agreed, lovely pinpoint cross for Vest to head in.

[Saint Keith]

we might regret looking to let Lemina go. we are going to be short of central midfielders soon when all the bookings Holjberg and Romeu get start topping up