Other Games - 2020/2021

[The Cat]

Just now, SKD said:

The team that beat us with absolute ease. 

They were easily the better team in this game until they forgot how to defend corners. Not sure what your point is really?

[SKD]

Just now, The Cat said:

They were easily the better team in this game until they forgot how to defend corners. Not sure what your point is really?

 No particular point. They’ve always been a shambles defensively, obviously had a quiet night against us, but they genuinely have a team that is over performing. 
 

Raphina and Phillips are the only 2 with any real quality about them. Bamford going through a purple patch. Probably benefiting from playing in a team who only know how to attack. 

[Lighthouse]

16 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

Pretty sad indictment of the way our seasons gone that we’re basically crossing our fingers that Leeds can do us a favour by beating lowly Fulham.

No. This, rather bizarrely is a contest between two teams - one only three points ahead of us, who nobody has even entertained the possibility of catching. One seven points behind us, who everybody is obsessing over.

[CB Fry]

20 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

Pretty sad indictment of the way our seasons gone that we’re basically crossing our fingers that Leeds can do us a favour by beating lowly Fulham.

Fulham can win 10-1 for all I care. 

Irrelevant.

[The Cat]

16 minutes ago, SKD said:

 No particular point. They’ve always been a shambles defensively, obviously had a quiet night against us, but they genuinely have a team that is over performing. 
 

Raphina and Phillips are the only 2 with any real quality about them. Bamford going through a purple patch. Probably benefiting from playing in a team who only know how to attack. 

They played us at a good time when we were complete shit and had a load of injuries. Will be interesting to see what happens when we play them near the end of the season.

[davefizzy14]

Leeds just scored again.

[Chris cooper]

Lemina too causal losing the ball and getting punished ! ...Parker’s chewing gum now on overdrive!

[Lighthouse]

Watching that, one could be forgiven for thinking Fulham are a bit sh*te.

[cloggy saint]

The Fulham juggernaut rolls on. Hopefully this will silence some of the bed-wetters.

[Give it to Ron]

53 minutes ago, The Cat said:

They played us at a good time when we were complete shit and had a load of injuries. Will be interesting to see what happens when we play them near the end of the season.

We could have had pen and goal whistle blown earlier been ahead but different game concede early don’t start second

we were ok first half utter shite second as per usual.

Edited 19 March, 2021 by Give it to Ron

[trousers]

Just now, cloggy saint said:

Hopefully this will silence some of the bed-wetters.

[S-Clarke]

Thought Fulham were really poor tonight. That had to be a win for them IMO.

They had a doomed look about them tonight.

[austsaint]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

Thought Fulham were really poor tonight. That had to be a win for them IMO.

They had a doomed look about them tonight.

They did, shame really because they play some nice stuff. Enjoyed the game though, some of Leeds counter attacking is great to watch, even if they are a bit ropey defensively.

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, austsaint said:

They did, shame really because they play some nice stuff. Enjoyed the game though, some of Leeds counter attacking is great to watch, even if they are a bit ropey defensively.

Leeds games are great to watch, you can always guarantee chances when they play. Their games are so hectic, but it makes for entertainment. I can imagine their fans go through the wringer emotionally during 90 mins!

[nta786]

Was hoping for Fulham to win tonight, keep us closer to Leeds and spice things up at the bottom 😬

Others may think differently. 

[SKD]

One game closer to survival. Let’s hope we can get through tomorrow without any injury and have full focus on securing 14th place. COYR 

[austsaint]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Leeds games are great to watch, you can always guarantee chances when they play. Their games are so hectic, but it makes for entertainment. I can imagine their fans go through the wringer emotionally during 90 mins!

Yes, Leeds fans have been on a ride with Bielsa.  Thy must be rapt to be back in the top flight though and they look like they are back to stay.  One of the reasons I'll be sorry to see Fulham go is I've enjoyed seeing Harry Reed get a sustained crack at the Prem - and he's done well, justifying opinions he was unlucky not to get more opportunities at Saints.    Lemina?    Not so much! 

[Give it to Ron]

Lookman did great impression of Redmond tonight

[Lighthouse]

5 minutes ago, austsaint said:

justifying opinions he was unlucky not to get more opportunities at Saints

He is one of the better players in a poor team fighting relegation. Nothing more. 

[austsaint]

4 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

He is one of the better players in a poor team fighting relegation. Nothing more. 

I dunno.  He's better than that.  I've always thought he's the equal (leaving dead ball technique aside) of JWP as a midfielder.  And I'm happy to bat away the howls of disagreement.

[woodsaint1]

56 minutes ago, austsaint said:

I dunno.  He's better than that.  I've always thought he's the equal (leaving dead ball technique aside) of JWP as a midfielder.  And I'm happy to bat away the howls of disagreement.

I would agree, both very similar players but what JWP offers from free kicks and corners is arguably the best in the league and the reason why hes in the England squad right now. Fair play to him for the work he puts in on that front. Reed having a good season for Fulham.

Fulham have a number of good individual players - the likes of Lookman, Anguissa, Andersen and Areola. But thats also their problem, cohesively they seem to struggle (Lemina wont help on that front either) and make some silly mistakes. Still think they will catch Newcastle, but will need Brighton to do them a favour tomorrow.

[SaintBobby]

Have to admit to quite a sense of relief. Have never really thought we’d get relegated, but had Fulham won tonight, we’d have been just 4 points clear of the drop zone and also in a truly horrid run of form. Getting towards squeaky bum time (then you start speculating about, say, Fulham nabbing a win at St Mary’s in a key six pointer).

I also think relegation this season would be just utterly horrific. Psychologically because we started so well and it just would feel so much worse to go down having briefly topped the table and being 300/1 shots to drop at one stage. That would hurt more than a season permanently in the bottom 4 or 5 that ends in going down. Financially we also seem a bit of a mess and relegation after a year of Covid would be grim indeed.

Haven’t been wetting the bed, but there’s sure been the odd dribble or two.

 

[JRM]

8 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

Leeds games are great to watch, you can always guarantee chances when they play. Their games are so hectic, but it makes for entertainment. I can imagine their fans go through the wringer emotionally during 90 mins!

Agree it was a good game to watch , Fulham missed some good chances during the period they were on top (to be fair Leeds keeper made some good saves) . I wouldn't say Fulham look doomed but they are running out of games, 8 left of which only 3 at home, key for them is to stay within 3 points of Newcastle who they play last game of the season, if they can do that still in their hands. 

[CB Fry]

6 hours ago, SaintBobby said:

Have to admit to quite a sense of relief. Have never really thought we’d get relegated, but had Fulham won tonight, we’d have been just 4 points clear of the drop zone and also in a truly horrid run of form. Getting towards squeaky bum time (then you start speculating about, say, Fulham nabbing a win at St Mary’s in a key six pointer).

If Fulham had won yesterday we'd have been five points clear of the drop zone, not four. But it's hardly some surprise that Fulham didn't win. 

Five wins all season, 23 goals - twenty. three. - in 30 matches and still i read nutcases on this forum just convinced they are going to win every time they step on the pitch.

You can bet your life if that was Southampton FC in 18th, with 26 points and 23 goals, the supreme confidence and belief people have on here for bloody Fulham would not be here for us.

Edited 20 March, 2021 by CB Fry

[JRM]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

If Fulham had won yesterday we'd have been five points clear of the drop zone, not four.

Five wins all season, 23 goals - twenty. three. - in 30 matches and still i read nutcases on this forum just convinced they are going to win every time they step on the pitch.

You can bet your life if that was Southampton FC in 18, with 26 points and 23 goals, the supreme confidence and belief people have on here for bloody Fulham would not be here for us.

I understand the point you make, which you make well, i think concern as a Saints fan was that we'd only won 2 of our last 16 or 17 games, understandably people had stopped looking up the table and started looking down. 

Fulham play Villa before we play again,  if they fail to win that the commentators might stop mentioning us in connection with the drop. 

[The Cat]

Brighton v Newcastle tonight, massive one for both teams. On current form you'd have to look at a Brighton win.

[SaintBobby]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

If Fulham had won yesterday we'd have been five points clear of the drop zone, not four. But it's hardly some surprise that Fulham didn't win. 

Five wins all season, 23 goals - twenty. three. - in 30 matches and still i read nutcases on this forum just convinced they are going to win every time they step on the pitch.

You can bet your life if that was Southampton FC in 18th, with 26 points and 23 goals, the supreme confidence and belief people have on here for bloody Fulham would not be here for us.

You’re right - the gap would have been four points to Fulham and five points to Newcastle, with them having a game in hand. (And, I guess, a game in hand is probably worth about a point).

Also, some of our remaining fixtures are at the easier end of the spectrum - hard to see how we wouldn’t pick up some points from games v Palace, WBA, Burnley and Fulham.

But a Fulham win last night would probably have shifted our relegation odds into about 18/1 or maybe even 16/1. Hardly a likely outcome then, but not vanishingly unlikely either - and would have been only one bad set of results away from being right in a true relegation scrap. (Positing a loss at home to Fulham when that match happens would probably shift the odds of Saints relegation to about 9/2). We are now two steps away from a major relegation battle rather than just one, thanks to Leeds winning.

I think we are now about 40/1 to go down. We possibly already have enough points to avoid the drop. 3 or 4 more points from 9 remaining games and it’s surely done & dusted? It could well end up like Project Restart, of course, and we finish up mid-table a good 12-15 points clear of relegation. 

[SuperSAINT]

34 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Brighton v Newcastle tonight, massive one for both teams. On current form you'd have to look at a Brighton win.

Possibly, Newcastle are still without their top 3 attackers.  But they’ve still managed 3 straight draws.

At least with Newcastle, they are dull, but they still fairly compact.

[austsaint]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

If Fulham had won yesterday we'd have been five points clear of the drop zone, not four. But it's hardly some surprise that Fulham didn't win. 

Five wins all season, 23 goals - twenty. three. - in 30 matches and still i read nutcases on this forum just convinced they are going to win every time they step on the pitch.

You can bet your life if that was Southampton FC in 18th, with 26 points and 23 goals, the supreme confidence and belief people have on here for bloody Fulham would not be here for us.

I'm sorry, but someone has to keep pulling your hubris up.    I'm not seeing anyone much expressing "supreme confidence and belief" in bloody Fulham.   What I read is concern over the collapse of Saint's performances - and some admiration for Fulham's recent performances in trying to beat the drop; and they might - but not at Saint's expense.

Yes, we all know we're going to flop over the line to safety - no need to hammer your repetitive point.   Go and have a couple of pints and chill out - and have a great day.

[Lord Duckhunter]

12 hours ago, The Cat said:

They played us at a good time when we were complete shit 

This year then, or maybe the start of 2019 season 

Edited 20 March, 2021 by Lord Duckhunter

[Charlie Wayman]

10 hours ago, austsaint said:

Yes, Leeds fans have been on a ride with Bielsa.  Thy must be rapt to be back in the top flight though and they look like they are back to stay.  One of the reasons I'll be sorry to see Fulham go is I've enjoyed seeing Harry Reed get a sustained crack at the Prem - and he's done well, justifying opinions he was unlucky not to get more opportunities at Saints.    Lemina?    Not so much! 

Agree, Reed was playing well, very much in the mold of JWP. Shame he was sacrificed for a forward but by that time Parker had few options but to go for it. I thought Lemina played quite well also but he seems to have had a conflicted role between DMF and AMF which makes it harder to read his game. he is though a vastly better and more consistent player than he was at Saints.

I know it will open a can of worms but will he be one of the squad boosting players that Hasenhüttl will look at again in the summer? There is a half decent footballer in there somewhere and as he matures and knuckles down there might yet be a happier ending to his time here. Then again the lure of London might prove too great.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

1 hour ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Agree, Reed was playing well, very much in the mold of JWP. Shame he was sacrificed for a forward but by that time Parker had few options but to go for it. I thought Lemina played quite well also but he seems to have had a conflicted role between DMF and AMF which makes it harder to read his game. he is though a vastly better and more consistent player than he was at Saints.

I know it will open a can of worms but will he be one of the squad boosting players that Hasenhüttl will look at again in the summer? There is a half decent footballer in there somewhere and as he matures and knuckles down there might yet be a happier ending to his time here. Then again the lure of London might prove too great.

I've always thought that Lemina was one of our best midfielders, real shame that for whatever reason it didn't work out for him here. Maybe it was just a case of too many managers in such a short space of time.

[Teddeer]

1 minute ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

I've always thought that Lemina was one of our best midfielders, real shame that for whatever reason it didn't work out for him here. Maybe it was just a case of too many managers in such a short space of time.

It didn't work out because he was lazy and disinterested when playing for us. Who can forget his lack of effort in that Wembley semi-final? Even for Fulham he is fairly average so wouldn't want to see the lightweight back on our wage bill.

[S-Clarke]

24 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

I've always thought that Lemina was one of our best midfielders, real shame that for whatever reason it didn't work out for him here. Maybe it was just a case of too many managers in such a short space of time.

Technically, yes, probably the most skilful midfielder we had. The overriding problem with him throughout his career has been attitude and professionalism. 

If you are lucky, you get 1 maybe 2 good games out of him a year. This is why he's your typical journeyman footballer. I think Fulham were nuts when they put in a transfer arrangement into that loan.

[igsey]

I'm now far more invested in Everton - City than I would have been otherwise!

Richarlison is a horrible cheating player, can't stand him, rolling around at every opportunity.

Foden is way too good, I'm very happy he's English.

[skintsaint]

Heres hoping Everton can nick one, feel we have more chance versus them.

[skintsaint]

urgh Citeh score..

[skintsaint]

2 nil ....Everton out.

[sydney_saint]

What I don't like is those (mostly in the media) purring over the fact that City can bring someone like De Bruyne off the bench. Or if they had needed them the likes of Aguero or Mahrez like it is some sort of achievement. This isn't something to be lauded over. It is signs of a broken football system. 

[AlexLaw76]

13 minutes ago, sydney_saint said:

What I don't like is those (mostly in the media) purring over the fact that City can bring someone like De Bruyne off the bench. Or if they had needed them the likes of Aguero or Mahrez like it is some sort of achievement. This isn't something to be lauded over. It is signs of a broken football system. 

It is how football works.  We have been the big fish in a pond in the not too distant past

Edited 20 March, 2021 by AlexLaw76

[sydney_saint]

13 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

It is how football works.  We have been the big fish in a pond in the not too distant past

Has there ever been this big a gap in resources in the English top flight though? Man City 25 player squad cost them 810m (+eye watering wages). United are second with a squad that cost significantly less at 630m. Who in turn have spent nearly 50m than third place which is Chelsea. Most of the teams in the EPL squad have cost less than 250m. I dunno, for me that is not a good thing, and certainly not something I think the media should salivate over. Yes, there will also be a gap, but for me the size of the gap is disgusting. 

Edited 20 March, 2021 by sydney_saint

[Lighthouse]

6 minutes ago, sydney_saint said:

Has there ever been this big a gap in resources in the English top flight though? Man City 25 player squad cost them 810m (+eye watering wages). United are second with a squad that cost significantly less at 630m. Who in turn have spent nearly 50m than third place which is Chelsea. Most of the teams in the EPL squad have cost less than 250m. I dunno, for me that is not a good thing, and certainly not something I think the media should salivate over. Yes, there will also be a gap, but for me the size of the gap is disgusting. 

It’s no different from the days of Man Utd signing the likes of Ferdinand and Veron for £30m, whilst we were signing the likes of Prutton and Higginbotham for £2m each. Just bigger numbers.

[JRM]

12 minutes ago, sydney_saint said:

Has there ever been this big a gap in resources in the English top flight though? Man City 25 player squad cost them 810m (+eye watering wages). United are second with a squad that cost ~30% less at 630m. Who in turn have spent nearly 50m than third place which is Chelsea. Most of the teams in the EPL squad have cost less than 250m. I dunno, for me that is not a good thing, and certainly not something I think the media should salivate over. Yes, there will also be a gap, but for me the size of the gap is disgusting. 

Completely agree, they can hardly call it a 'competition ' when the odds are weighted in the favour of some teams so heavily, not by club produced wealth but external funding by a benefactor. It makes a farce of it. 

Our match day squad of 20 (starting XI plus 9 subs) can barely have cost £100M if that? 

Edited 20 March, 2021 by JRM

[JRM]

2 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

It’s no different from the days of Man Utd signing the likes of Ferdinand and Veron for £30m, whilst we were signing the likes of Prutton and Higginbotham for £2m each. Just bigger numbers.

At least United's wealth was generated by success of the business which was invested back into resources, they also put a lot of emphasis on youth team production "cant win anything with kids", Man City's owners just treat the whole thing like a computer game. Other clubs have to take financial risks trying to keep up.

Edited 20 March, 2021 by JRM

[SKD]

Brighton are a really good team to watch. If they had a striker like ings, they’d be top 10 with ease I expect. 

[Lighthouse]

7 minutes ago, JRM said:

At least United's wealth was generated by success of the business which was invested back into resources, they also put a lot of emphasis on youth team production "cant win anything with kids", Man City's owners just treat the whole thing like a computer game. Other clubs have to take financial risks trying to keep up.

Their wealth was generated by having glory supporters across the country. You could argue it was ‘earned’ but they were still an insufferable club ‘back in the day’. I can’t remember too many youth team products since they became successful, either. There was the class of ‘92 but when they came through, United hadn’t won a title for 25 years. Clubs taking financial risks is nothing new either. Leeds and Chelsea both nearly went bust chasing United.

 

Back on topic; this Brighton/Newcastle game is crap.

[sydney_saint]

15 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

It’s no different from the days of Man Utd signing the likes of Ferdinand and Veron for £30m, whilst we were signing the likes of Prutton and Higginbotham for £2m each. Just bigger numbers.

I think there is a difference. Traditionally when sides like United spent big, they spent it on players that were more of a marquee signing. Players to boost their starting XI. Okay some of them, like Veron, flopped. But the intention was that they would be a big player for the club. The frightening/horrifying thing I find about City is how much their squad as a whole costs. Which gives them so more of an advantage. Look at City's bench today. Nearly 400m worth of purchases on it. With the exception of Torres, every single one of them cost more than our record signing. That would be fine if they had juniors on the pitch. But oh no. There was still around 300m on the pitch itself!

[SuperSAINT]

Brighton 1-0 Newcastle

[woodsaint1]

7 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Their wealth was generated by having glory supporters across the country. You could argue it was ‘earned’ but they were still an insufferable club ‘back in the day’. I can’t remember too many youth team products since they became successful, either. There was the class of ‘92 but when they came through, United hadn’t won a title for 25 years. Clubs taking financial risks is nothing new either. Leeds and Chelsea both nearly went bust chasing United.

 

Back on topic; this Brighton/Newcastle game is crap.

Two poor sides and we managed to lose to both in the last month or so 🙄. Both desperately need a win as their run ins are very tricky

[Jonnyboy]

40 minutes ago, sydney_saint said:

Has there ever been this big a gap in resources in the English top flight though? Man City 25 player squad cost them 810m (+eye watering wages). United are second with a squad that cost significantly less at 630m. Who in turn have spent nearly 50m than third place which is Chelsea. Most of the teams in the EPL squad have cost less than 250m. I dunno, for me that is not a good thing, and certainly not something I think the media should salivate over. Yes, there will also be a gap, but for me the size of the gap is disgusting. 

Modern capitalism. Football is a mirror of our society.