Saints 1-1 Chelsea- Match Thread

[Ohio Saint]

1 minute ago, Chapel End said:

I`m lost 🥴

Saints in a nutshell

[Saint Keef]

Has it finished? Can I open my eyes yet? How did we get on? I blame Jack Stephens whatever the score. Has Ralph "walked" yet? Is Gao still the owner? I expect Redmond was rubbish was he? Have MLG and Trousers disagreed over anything today? I blame Jack Stephens for that! 

[Harry_SFC]

Djenepo & Salisu very good and generally we defended pretty well.

Thought Redmond and Minamino were awful until the goal. Whilst Minamino improved after that, Redmond didn't.

It's clear that Ralph learned his lesson from previous games and decided to defend deeper once we took the lead. Unfortunately a poor decision from Danny Ings cost us the three points. 

[hasper57saint]

Many years ago there was a keeper who played for Ipswich and his penalty saves are legion. He didn’t move until the kick taker swung his leg to the ball. McCarthy always moves before the kick is taken. All he has to do is make the kicker make the decision. Most pens go within three feet of the goal centre and as such can be kicked away. The comment ‘sent the keeper the wrong way’ is a misnomer. Keepers make a decision to go in the direction they ‘think’ the ball will travel.
We gained a very well earned point today. Now I would like to see three more for us at Leeds.

[SupersonicSaint]

Salisu impressive today, perhaps didn't have the flex the attribute that sets him apart from the rest of our CBs too much (his pace, as we defended quite deep) so it is also encouraging to see he has the ability to read the game well, too.

On the basis of todays great assist + finish you'd think perhaps it would make sense for Redmond to be playing in the 10 and Minamino up top, rather than vice-versa. Though I think Armstrong, Ings, Djenepo (agree with others that he had a good game today - put in a lot of effort defensively too), Minamino should be the 4 starters in those positions.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

1 hour ago, Avenue_Saint said:

Don’t think he was Egg. Sorry mate

 

He did some good things but overall just blunts our attack. One occasion, Mina had acres in front of him, instead of playing him in on overlap, he drags it back, then plays the ball forward when I pouts lost, goes out of play. Too many situations like that have got the beating of me for him sadly.

 

he simply doesn’t have a football brain. 
 

Djenepo was the best player on the pitch today. Followed by Salisu.

 

 

I agree, very good assist for the goal but aside from that I thought Redmond was his usual self and didn't really cause Chelsea any problems.

Djenepo MOTM for me, was a real warrior out there with some nice moments of skill as well. Salisu and Vest also very good.

[stevy777_x]

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

[macca155]

1 hour ago, egg said:

Genuine question - did you watch the game? If you did, you would have seen that Redmond was our best attacking player by a mile. Knock him if he's shit, but give credit where its due. 

Spot on, Redmond played Ralph's game for 93 minutes and did a good job. Ings and Minamino drifted in and out of the game. However when you score great goals you're allowed to do that. Romeu had a very iffy game, he is clearly nursing an injury. Late to the tackle and frequently gave the ball away, which is unusual.

Bendarek struggled at RB but put a shift in, Stephens may possibly (I said possibly before you all start) be an option there.

Salisu is 21 for goodness sake, Saints have a winner there.

[Lighthouse]

1 minute ago, stevy777_x said:

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

All part of the ploy to get him cheap in summer. He’ll replace Ings and get 30 goals for the next two seasons.

[macca155]

1 hour ago, saintwbu said:

What’re you talking about? He’s been one of our only decent performers recently

Sorry but he really wasn't, he gave the ball away a lot today. Whether that was just Chelsea pressing well or something amiss I guess we'll never know.

[Dimond Geezer]

15 minutes ago, hasper57saint said:

Many years ago there was a keeper who played for Ipswich and his penalty saves are legion. He didn’t move until the kick taker swung his leg to the ball.

Paul Cooper (if my fading memory holds up).

[Teddeer]

10 minutes ago, Dimond Geezer said:

Paul Cooper (if my fading memory holds up).

A small concrete bollard placed to the side of the goal at the opposite end would have as much chance of saving a penalty as McCarthy.

[hasper57saint]

23 minutes ago, Dimond Geezer said:

Paul Cooper (if my fading memory holds up).

That’s him.Outstanding keeper. 

[woodsaint1]

34 minutes ago, LeG said:

Gave the ball away 4 or 5 times in the space of about 15mins under no pressure. We need JWP and Romeu to be far more positive when in possession. I love Romeu, but he needs to work on turning defence into attack with quick and forward passing. Sometimes he looks like he doesn't want the ball, shifts it sideways, and the moment has gone. 

Romeu has never done that at any of the clubs hes played for. Hes not going to change now. Thats why Diallo offers us a great option, hes like a Romeu/JWP hybrid

[Convict Colony]

I am finally getting the idea based on Redmond and Armstrong doing it a lot that the cut inside from the right into the midfield looking for runners (like todays goal) is a clear tactic we play and i like it.

If we could get that option working from the left then it would be awesome as well.

Not Redders biggest fan but he did good today in that role and a great ball to Taki but with him and Japanese messi in the team we are a bit weak in terms of bodystrength, Che could of held the ball up better.

Mo looked very good, quick and i liked the left footed direct passes through chelsea forward players into the midfield which launched quick attacks.  If we have him and Vestie doing that from the back then the incisive passing will help launch attacks quicker.

Not sure what to think about Oriel and JWP, think they did ok but in comparison to what Kante did for chelsea from midfield today they looked very slow, would bring Diallo in when he's back and maybe give JWP a rest as he surely needs some time off.

[Toussaint]

2 hours ago, egg said:

Genuine question - did you watch the game? If you did, you would have seen that Redmond was our best attacking player by a mile. Knock him if he's shit, but give credit where its due. 

I watched it, aside from setting up the goal, which he has to have credit for , I thought he was his usual slow witted, slow footed self.

[notnowcato]

43 minutes ago, stevy777_x said:

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

He’s been with us for 2 weeks, having joined a team on a depressing run of results. 
He is a player no doubt. Once match fitness improves and knowing his team mates a bit more you’ll see it. 

[Convict Colony]

Also loved Djnepo's today, was fighting for everything, keep it up.

[Manuel]

56 minutes ago, stevy777_x said:

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

Ha ha, I was about to complain about him giving the ball away too often when he scored the goal.  Hopefully he'll gain a bit more sharpness as he settles in.  

[Lighthouse]

57 minutes ago, stevy777_x said:

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

I’d take Mina scoring two in three and ‘not being on the same wavelength’ over Long scoring two per season and being ‘a great lad in the dressing room’ any time.

People were convinced Boufal hadn’t been given a fair chance after four years, I won’t be passing judgement on TM for a while yet.

[saintwbu]

57 minutes ago, macca155 said:

Sorry but he really wasn't, he gave the ball away a lot today. Whether that was just Chelsea pressing well or something amiss I guess we'll never know.

I didn’t say he was today. But the original post said ‘keeps up these performances’ which suggests he has been poor in games beyond today, which just isn’t true. The midfield was very condensed today because weren’t as expansive as normal, and it showed, we gave the ball away a lot. 

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Teddeer said:

Disagree. What exactly did Chelsea create first half for all their possession?

they created quite a lot of very good opportunities, but the final ball was absolutely terrible. So yes, in terms of MOTD clips, which require an actual shot at the end of a move, maybe little, but that's not the whole game.

IMO we were very fortunate at times and on another day we might have been behind. It was much more about their failure to execute than our good defending. I'm not saying it could have been another 9-0, but there are games agains the better sides when you get the run of the green a bit and that helps to avoid a big defeat.

Second half we were better, but created absolutely nothing. This was not a good display. We competed and held on, not much more. 

[notnowcato]

1 minute ago, Chez said:

they created quite a lot of very good opportunities, but the final ball was absolutely terrible. So yes, in terms of MOTD clips, which require an actual shot at the end of a move, maybe little, but that's not the whole game.

IMO we were very fortunate at times and on another day we might have been behind. It was much more about their failure to execute than our good defending. I'm not saying it could have been another 9-0, but there are games agains the better sides when you get the run of the green a bit and that helps to avoid a big defeat.

Second half we were better, but created absolutely nothing. This was not a good display. We competed and held on, not much more. 

The tactics but more importantly the application of the tactics were absolutely spot on today.  Chelsea were always going to dominate possession and they did get into a lot of good positions to create a scoring opportunity but our marking of players in the box to deny those opportunities was excellent.  Fantastic defensive performance.  

[Teddeer]

1 hour ago, stevy777_x said:

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

2 goals in two games while getting used to new team mates in a struggling side strikes me as being very all that. I'm sure he'll get better and I'd like to see him playing up front as Danny's partner.

[Teddeer]

8 minutes ago, Chez said:

they created quite a lot of very good opportunities, but the final ball was absolutely terrible. So yes, in terms of MOTD clips, which require an actual shot at the end of a move, maybe little, but that's not the whole game.

IMO we were very fortunate at times and on another day we might have been behind. It was much more about their failure to execute than our good defending. I'm not saying it could have been another 9-0, but there are games agains the better sides when you get the run of the green a bit and that helps to avoid a big defeat.

Second half we were better, but created absolutely nothing. This was not a good display. We competed and held on, not much more. 

Thought we hit the bar in the second half.

[niceandfriendly]

Salisu MOTM, Vestergaard did well too. Defensively we were decent but a complete lack of intensity and our usual pressing game meant overall we were flat and unadventurous. Probably didn't deserve a point but thankfully Chelsea were blunt in attack.

Moussa ran his socks off, had a better 2nd half than he did 1st.

Redmond, boy oh boy he doesn't deserve to be starting. Fair play to him he got a great assist, so he deserves credit for that, but the rest of his game was dreadful. He's clumsy, lacks finishing quality and should never play as a striker. He now has 1 assist in his last 16 Premier League games. Far, far from good enough. Certainly nowhere near our best attacking threat as it was mentioned here earlier. He and Ings both weren't at it today. 

Minamino's finish was classy. Nice to see such composure in front of goal.

Take that point all day long, probably would've been 3 had Ings not lost the plot for the penalty.

Edited 20 February, 2021 by niceandfriendly

[Chez]

9 minutes ago, Teddeer said:

Thought we hit the bar in the second half.

Could Chelsea have been less stretched? If you were happy with the amount of possession we had and the chances we created, that's fine. This was a million miles away from some the displays we have seen in the past year where we go toe to toe, are brave on the ball, attack with intend and cause opponents problems. We were meek, which is expected after so many defeats, but anyone thinking we have turned a massive corner is mistaken. We need KWP back in the side quickly. Playing Bednarek there is basically giving up.

Edited 20 February, 2021 by Chez

[stknowle]

20 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I’d take Mina scoring two in three and ‘not being on the same wavelength’ over Long scoring two per season and being ‘a great lad in the dressing room’ any time.

People were convinced Boufal hadn’t been given a fair chance after four years, I won’t be passing judgement on TM for a while yet.

Haha yeah, I'm not overly convinced by Mina but I'll happily continue to be so if he scores 2 goals in every 3 to 4 starts.

[Chez]

11 minutes ago, Teddeer said:

2 goals in two games while getting used to new team mates in a struggling side strikes me as being very all that. I'm sure he'll get better and I'd like to see him playing up front as Danny's partner.

the quality of finish for both goals shows he is an extremely talented footballer. Hopefully he can show a bit more. He faded badly in the first games and he didn't really dictate much today at all.

[Teddeer]

1 minute ago, Chez said:

Could Chelsea have been less stretched? If you were happy with the amount of possession we had and the chances we created, that's fine. This was a million miles away from some the displays we have seen in the past year where we go toe to toe, are brave on the ball, attack with intend and cause opponents problems. We were meek, which is expected after so many defeats, but anyone thinking we have turned a massive corner is mistaken. We need KWP back in the side quickly. Playing Bednarek there is basically giving up.

We tailored our game plan to the fact that KWP was missing plus we have just lost 6 league games on the bounce. In the circumstances I was quite happy to see us less gung-ho, conserve some energy and manage the game far better than of late. I agree we didn't offer much threat to their goal but we needed that sort of performance against a very good side packed with expensive signings just to get the monkey off our back.

[Chez]

Just now, Teddeer said:

We tailored our game plan to the fact that KWP was missing plus we have just lost 6 league games on the bounce. In the circumstances I was quite happy to see us less gung-ho, conserve some energy and manage the game far better than of late. I agree we didn't offer much threat to their goal but we needed that sort of performance against a very good side packed with expensive signings just to get the monkey off our back.

Agreed, but you still need to be brave on the ball and attack with pace and purpose. I watched the Everton vs City game during the week and they were backs agains the wall for a lot of the game, but when they got the ball they moved it well and were a threat. The six defeats has knocked the stuffing out of us. Hopefully we can take a bit of confidence into the Leeds game - we need to be positive, not sit and wait for them to make chances.

[egg]

43 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

I watched it, aside from setting up the goal, which he has to have credit for , I thought he was his usual slow witted, slow footed self.

It's amazing what we see differently. He dropped deep several times and linked midfield to attack, did well for the vest effort. He did far more than Ings, and other than the goal, more than Minamino. Romeu had a poor game. When others had a worse game, it surprises me that he gets singled out. 

[stknowle]

5 minutes ago, egg said:

It's amazing what we see differently. He dropped deep several times and linked midfield to attack, did well for the vest effort. He did far more than Ings, and other than the goal, more than Minamino. Romeu had a poor game. When others had a worse game, it surprises me that he gets singled out. 

Agree, he ain't great but credit where credit is due, today he was decent. Not only did he do far more than Ings today he didn't give away a stupid penalty. 

Edited 20 February, 2021 by stknowle

[Teddeer]

5 minutes ago, Chez said:

Agreed, but you still need to be brave on the ball and attack with pace and purpose. I watched the Everton vs City game during the week and they were backs agains the wall for a lot of the game, but when they got the ball they moved it well and were a threat. The six defeats has knocked the stuffing out of us. Hopefully we can take a bit of confidence into the Leeds game - we need to be positive, not sit and wait for them to make chances.

I'm the last person to be content with us not playing good, attacking football so hopefully we can get through this big dip in form and get back to going toe to toe with any side. For today I thought we did ok by securing a battling point against one of the top sides in the league. Our confidence has taken a hit and we'll need to work hard to regain it. On a positive note I believe we have unearthed a real gem of a defender in Salisu who looks right at home after just a few appearances.

[OttawaSaint]

2 hours ago, Chapel End said:

I`m lost 🥴

Brighton have Potter..

[Toussaint]

16 minutes ago, egg said:

It's amazing what we see differently. He dropped deep several times and linked midfield to attack, did well for the vest effort. He did far more than Ings, and other than the goal, more than Minamino. Romeu had a poor game. When others had a worse game, it surprises me that he gets singled out. 

I wasn’t singling him out, just thought the old frustrating traits were present today. I don’t think he was especially bad, just his usual self. 

[JRM]

2 hours ago, stevy777_x said:

Am I the only one who thinks Mina is not all that.

yes he has scored 2 but i m not impressed with his contribution to our play. He doesn’t seem on the same wave length as the other players and he seems weak physically, his off the ball game has to improve.

He definitely drifts for large parts of the games I've seen, but 2 goals in 3 games is spot on. Give him the benefit of the doubt getting match sharpness back. 

Redmonds pass was superb but Minamino run and finish we're first class. 

[cambsaint]

After what I cosider to be an outstanding result with several stand out performances and allowing a top team very few clear chances and almost getting a win, I am absolutely astonished by the negativity on this board. For goodness sake why oh why do some Saints supporters have to have a whipping boy (Redmond) and go on about the few platers who weren't outstanding. Djenepo and Salisu were outstanding and the skill that Minamino showed was amazing.

I thought we were going to take a real drubbibg but after 20 minutes or so we began to play well.

Personally I would like to see a bit more of solid defence with an incisive break and goal rather than the near manic high press which as players tire doesn't work, and also clogs the space in the last half up giving no room for the incisive pass. Please watch Man City Ralph, they don't press all the time.

Also consideing we have a paper thin squad and players are starting to get stress injuries this was a brilliant result. Al,l I can say is great stuff Saints players today, you all worked your socks off and well done Ralph for at last changing your tactics, for a more realistic game plan.

[Totton Saint]

2 hours ago, LeG said:

Gave the ball away 4 or 5 times in the space of about 15mins under no pressure. We need JWP and Romeu to be far more positive when in possession. I love Romeu, but he needs to work on turning defence into attack with quick and forward passing. Sometimes he looks like he doesn't want the ball, shifts it sideways, and the moment has gone. 

We have just got a valuable point off a team backed by a Russian billionaire yet all some folks can do is nit pick the performance of individuals. i cannot understand it.  

On another note thank goodness Salusi is fit at last!

[Totton Saint]

6 minutes ago, cambsaint said:

After what I cosider to be an outstanding result with several stand out performances and allowing a top team very few clear chances and almost getting a win, I am absolutely astonished by the negativity on this board. For goodness sake why oh why do some Saints supporters have to have a whipping boy (Redmond) and go on about the few platers who weren't outstanding. Djenepo and Salisu were outstanding and the skill that Minamino showed was amazing.

I thought we were going to take a real drubbibg but after 20 minutes or so we began to play well.

Personally I would like to see a bit more of solid defence with an incisive break and goal rather than the near manic high press which as players tire doesn't work, and also clogs the space in the last half up giving no room for the incisive pass. Please watch Man City Ralph, they don't press all the time.

Also consideing we have a paper thin squad and players are starting to get stress injuries this was a brilliant result. Al,l I can say is great stuff Saints players today, you all worked your socks off and well done Ralph for at last changing your tactics, for a more realistic game plan.

Hear, Hear.An excellent post. Just read it after my last post in a similar vein

[Totton Saint]

1 hour ago, egg said:

It's amazing what we see differently. He dropped deep several times and linked midfield to attack, did well for the vest effort. He did far more than Ings, and other than the goal, more than Minamino. Romeu had a poor game. When others had a worse game, it surprises me that he gets singled out. 

redmond can do nothing right for some people. I like him.

[LiberalCommunist]

I'm not sure who enjoyed that less intensive performance the most, the players or me! When the commentators pointed out with derisory smugness that Chelsea had 80% possession, it actually made me feel more relaxed than in previous weeks. Some of the passing was pretty bad as we adjusted to he different pace, but the bodies were in the right area's and all of them were working for each other. Mini's goal must have made Joe Cole spit his soy latte all over his burberry suit. But fear not, his notes remained dry, he had left them in the car. 

A off day for Jwp & Ings, but lots of good performances from others. Special mention for Djenepo who put in a massive shift with some really good decision making, which bodes well for the future. Not sure why the opposition dislike him so much, but if a Chelsea player suffered half the kicks he got today we would have had a red card. 

Taylor, who I actually rate was poor today. He should have stamped out some of the studs up reckless from them in the first 45. The 50/50's felt like 35/65's. He's lucky we didn't make his job more difficult, so he got away with it. Massive upgrade on the omnipotent Mike Dean though.

All in all, this puts to bed a very forgettable six games. Now for four away games as we head towards a QF with some optimism.

UTS

Edited 20 February, 2021 by LiberalCommunist

[Whitey Grandad]

2 minutes ago, LiberalCommunist said:

I'm no sure who enjoyed that less intensive performance the most, the players or me! When the commentators pointed out with derisory smugness that Chelsea had 80% possession, it actually made me feel more relaxed than in previous weeks. Some of the passing was pretty bad as we adjusted to he different pace, but the bodies were in the right area's and all of them were working for each other. Mini's goal must have made Joe Cole spit his soy latte all over his burberry suit. But fear not, his notes remained dry, he had left them in the car. 

A off day for Jwp & Ings, but lots of good performances from others. Special mention for Djenepo who put in a massive shift with some really good decision making, which bodes well for the future. Not sure why the opposition dislike him so much, but if a Chelsea player suffered half the kicks he got today we would have had a red card. 

Taylor, who I actually rate was poor today. He should have stamped out some of the studs up reckless from them in the first 45. The 50/50's felt like 35/65's. He's lucky we didn't make his job more difficult, so he got away with it. Massive upgrade on the omnipotent Mike Dean though.

All in all, this puts to bed a very forgettable six games. Now for four away games as we head towards a QF with some optimism.

UTS

I agree about the ref Taylor. He should protect the players instead of trying to keep the game flowing. He got the balance wrong.

[Teddeer]

21 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

I agree about the ref Taylor. He should protect the players instead of trying to keep the game flowing. He got the balance wrong.

Kante should have seen red for that foul on Djenepo - very nasty.

[captainchris]

5 hours ago, egg said:

Agreeed. Who does he drop though once KWP is back and assuming we go back to 4222? For me Bednarek, which is harsh on him.

Bednarek- harsh? Well if it’s obvious and it is then hard lines but your in the bench..... 

[Shroppie]

A big positive for me was seeing Djenepo can be a wing back. 

[Fitzhugh Fella]

2 hours ago, cambsaint said:

After what I cosider to be an outstanding result with several stand out performances and allowing a top team very few clear chances and almost getting a win, I am absolutely astonished by the negativity on this board. For goodness sake why oh why do some Saints supporters have to have a whipping boy (Redmond) and go on about the few platers who weren't outstanding. Djenepo and Salisu were outstanding and the skill that Minamino showed was amazing.

I thought we were going to take a real drubbibg but after 20 minutes or so we began to play well.

Personally I would like to see a bit more of solid defence with an incisive break and goal rather than the near manic high press which as players tire doesn't work, and also clogs the space in the last half up giving no room for the incisive pass. Please watch Man City Ralph, they don't press all the time.

Also consideing we have a paper thin squad and players are starting to get stress injuries this was a brilliant result. Al,l I can say is great stuff Saints players today, you all worked your socks off and well done Ralph for at last changing your tactics, for a more realistic game plan.

You talk reasonable sense but there is an element of happy clappy especially when you try and persuade us all that Redmond should not be a whipping boy. Sorry but his contribution is woeful woeful woeful. 

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

You talk reasonable sense but there is an element of happy clappy especially when you try and persuade us all that Redmond should not be a whipping boy. Sorry but his contribution is woeful woeful woeful. 

You mean apart from his excellent ball to set up our goal today? 

[S-Clarke]

5 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

You talk reasonable sense but there is an element of happy clappy especially when you try and persuade us all that Redmond should not be a whipping boy. Sorry but his contribution is woeful woeful woeful. 

I'm not Redmond's biggest fan, but he did alright today in terms of his job tactically. He was more effective in the two than Ings was, anyway.

Yeah, he didn't contribute a great deal of end product (apart from the assist), but he was genuinely our only threatening attacking outlet today. That probably doesn't say much for our attacking showing...but he still deserves some credit imo.

[The Cat]

Redmond got a very good assist and didn't give away the penalty that ultimately cost us the win. He therefore had a much more positive effect on the team today than his strike partner. 

How is it that people still don't understand that football isn't just about what you do with the ball, even more so at the top level. If Redmond wasn't carrying out Ralph's instructions he wouldn't be in the team.