Saints 1-0 Arsenal - Match Thread

[Saint Billy]

Anyway 🤪

 

[Charlie Wayman]

15 hours ago, Mr X said:

Thought theo was pretty poor verging on anonymous today, especially anywhere near the goal.  

Utterly ridiculous comment. Theo worked his socks off yesterday and was all over the pitch in support of the attack and the defence. The guy is a 100% pure gold and we are very lucky to have him.

[Whitey Grandad]

13 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Can't remember who said it but I've always liked the quotes "goals win games, clean sheets win championships".

Attributed to various people including Sir Alex Ferguson usually as “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” but goes back further in the US as "Offense wins games, defense wins championships”.

The original quote appears to be "Offense sells tickets; Defense wins championships" by Dave Thorson (me neither) a basketball coach.

[steve green]

I think the thing about Theo is people have to stop remembering the teenage wunderkid who was dragged off to the world cup and was going to be a saviour of English football. That's blighted most of his career.

The truth is he's not, and never really was, a 15-20 goal per season striker. Hs finishing has always been inconsistant.

He still has pace, is getting better at pressing, is costing us little for an experienced premier player who can fill more than one gap, and is a decent option at AM.

 

We'd be using a lot more academy 'talent' in the last few weeks if he wasn't around.

[Toussaint]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Utterly ridiculous comment. Theo worked his socks off yesterday and was all over the pitch in support of the attack and the defence. The guy is a 100% pure gold and we are very lucky to have him.

I also thought he was  very poor (again) where it mattered, at the attacking end. I have come to  expect him to stuff up the final ball / shot every time.

[Mr X]

16 hours ago, Chez said:

didn't do much offensively, but bloody hell does he put a shift in. First half he didn't stop, up and down the pitch, always getting back behind the ball to double up with KWP and prevent Arsenal doing anything. I don't see that work rate from many forwards. I honestly wouldn't think twice about offering him a deal. He isn't a world beater but with his pace and off the ball running he is an asset. If we can find better, lets sign them, but if not Theo will do for me.

Maybe I am thinking he's poorer than he is cos his shots anywhere near goal are so off target, he's definitely not a natural striker of the ball 

[Chez]

49 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Maybe I am thinking he's poorer than he is cos his shots anywhere near goal are so off target, he's definitely not a natural striker of the ball 

you are absolutely right. He's a scuffer that gets it right now and then.

He's does a job and can cause opponents real problems with his off the ball runs and pace. Certainly not a world beater, but it's a loan that has worked out so far.

[Philvinda]

Has he put in a decent cross since he came back?

[saintwbu]

19 minutes ago, Philvinda said:

Has he put in a decent cross since he came back?

The assist for Che Adams against Newcastle was a decent cross..

[Toussaint]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

you are absolutely right. He's a scuffer that gets it right now and then.

He's does a job and can cause opponents real problems with his off the ball runs and pace. Certainly not a world beater, but it's a loan that has worked out so far.

Despite my criticism of his end product what you say is correct. In an ideal world it would be nice to have a wide player like Ashley Barnes, our strikers seem to have to rely an pouncing on half chances or creating something out of nothing. 

[East Kent Saint]

His problem at Arsenal was he didn't score loads of goals al a Henry but in our team he seems to be a good addition to the team , not fantastic but then he wouldn't be at Saints if he was . Better option than Long at the moment.

[Totton Saint]

Have people forgotten he scored a hat trick for England? Wasn't it against Germany?

[cloggy saint]

Just now, Totton Saint said:

Have people forgotten he scored a hat trick for England? Wasn't it against Germany?

Croatia I think, although it was about 10 years ago.

[fanimal]

For an experienced player he doesn’t get his head up quite enough when his runs draw three defenders and he doesn’t see a team mate in space

shame because otherwise he would make and score a lot more goals and be a real legend

[CWD]

3 hours ago, Totton Saint said:

Have people forgotten he scored a hat trick for England? Wasn't it against Germany?

Nobody has forgotten that, he’s also scored a a hat trick against us more recently too. What’s held him back from becoming a top, top player isn’t bad finishing, it’s completely erratic finishing. The beautiful finish against Arsenal away and the missed sitter against Wolves highlights my point.

That said I think he works well in this system. He chases and harries all game, and he isn’t afraid to drive at the defence. Yes he loses it sometimes, and maybe doesn’t keep the ball as well as Redmond for example, but he still makes things happens. I hope his wage demands don’t scupper a chance of him staying another season.

[Singapore Saint]

On 24/01/2021 at 04:41, Chez said:

didn't do much offensively, but bloody hell does he put a shift in. First half he didn't stop, up and down the pitch, always getting back behind the ball to double up with KWP and prevent Arsenal doing anything. I don't see that work rate from many forwards. I honestly wouldn't think twice about offering him a deal. He isn't a world beater but with his pace and off the ball running he is an asset. If we can find better, lets sign them, but if not Theo will do for me.

Perhaps because it was against Arsenal?

[Nordic Saint]

On 23/01/2021 at 15:05, Nordic Saint said:

And Fraser Forster usually does. His clean sheet record is outstanding. This reminds me of the great 2015/16 season.

 

Aubameyang's 'situation 'sounds bad:

Charles Watts

 

@charles_watts

 

Arteta unsure if Aubameyang will return on Tuesday - Says Arsenal will see how 'the situation evolves' and that the club will give him the support he needs.

Tonight we missed Forster more than Arsenal missed Aubameyang. Like Bertand, Forster is a player who's very underrated by most Saints fans. His clean sheet record is far better than that of any other goalkeeper we have had in recent decades. 

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, Nordic Saint said:

Tonight we missed Forster more than Arsenal missed Aubameyang. Like Bertand, Forster is a player who's very underrated by most Saints fans. His clean sheet record is far better than that of any other goalkeeper we have had in recent decades. 

I'm not sure you're thinking straight. If you think Forster is underrated then you're not quite with it.

McCarthy is our best goal keeper and will continue to be our first choice. When he isn't our first choice, it will be because we have a new player, not Forster.