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Saints 1-1 Spurs - Match Thread


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I thought JWP was good, and seemed fairly good against West Ham too. In both games he had an extra player behind him, due to using the 3-5-2 or 4-1-4-1 formations, so I wonder if that makes a difference in allowing him the ball slightly higher up the pitch.

KWP was back to the player he was last year.

Valery looked good, probably one of his best games for the club 

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1 hour ago, Saint Keef said:

Can anyone help me please? I am trying to find the resident "Ralph Bashers" that come on here, week in - week out. They didn't seem to be around on Boxing Day evening and they are very quiet again this evening. Has something happened to them? I do hope the're alright. Must be a tough time for them. 

Enjoy it - 4 points from the two, potentially very tough "festive" games so far. I would have taken that at the start. Great second half defensive display today. Well done to the whole team......Oh, and Ralph too.

 

Hi,

I have been one to point out Ralph's failings, after Sunday I did praise h on the Ralph thread and will do the same today. What most of us wanted was flexibility and picking the correct formation for the players available. He did that Sunday and again today.

I also today also shows up those who always say 'what can be do with this squad' as the depth today showed that it has improved greatly.

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2 minutes ago, Bob76 said:

Hi,

I have been one to point out Ralph's failings, after Sunday I did praise h on the Ralph thread and will do the same today. What most of us wanted was flexibility and picking the correct formation for the players available. He did that Sunday and again today.

I also today also shows up those who always say 'what can be do with this squad' as the depth today showed that it has improved greatly.

I’m with you on this. 

It is also funny how the people who can’t see Ralph has caused some of his own issues also state the lack of depth card, and he can’t do subs as he doesn’t have the players, when today they proved we do have the players, they needed trust from the manager and a tactical/formation tweak to 422fucking2. 

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27 minutes ago, Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan said:

I thought JWP was good, and seemed fairly good against West Ham too. In both games he had an extra player behind him, due to using the 3-5-2 or 4-1-4-1 formations, so I wonder if that makes a difference in allowing him the ball slightly higher up the pitch.

KWP was back to the player he was last year.

Valery looked good, probably one of his best games for the club 

And all it took was to play him in his natural position. Who'd have thought it eh!

It's a shame that it took an injury to Tino for that to happen but I hope it has given Ralph something to think about. Perraud looks solid enough defensively and having a left footer in that position makes such a difference. 

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May be slightly off being at the game (and a few pints deep) but that first half felt ridiculous. The free-kick before the penalty on Kane felt soft, and it looked like the same thing happened on Long moments before.

At the same time it didn’t look like a foul on the hilarious Forster own goal, so it goes both ways.

KWP and Valery both excellent. Forster with the least impressive 10 save performance of all time, but I have to say I feel more comfortable with him there.

Another very good point. Teams going to be a little weak going to Newcastle but nowhere near as bad as theirs (should it go ahead). 

 

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Was my first time at St Mary's for ages today and I'm ever so pleased with the performance I got to see. I took my Dad (sadly a spud, though he was at the 76 cup final supporting Saints that day) and his fury at how badly his side played was rather amusing; he said he kept forgetting we were down to 10 men in the second half as it didn't look like one team had an extra man. He doesn't like to praise other teams (especially mine!) so he blames it on Spurs being awful, but he did praise the Saints crowd and he thought the atmosphere was excellent. 

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I thought Shane Long was at his best today. He's never going to score goals like Son or Kane, but put more into his 71 minutes on the pitch than the Spurs boys did in their combined 180 minutes. He never let their defenders settle and he gets back quickly to help out the midfield, before pressing forward again. Kane spends most of the match jogging incredibly slowly from the edge of the area back to the halfway line having made a feebly half-hearted attempt to close down the keeper following a back pass. The contrast was stark. Shane also won a load more headers from our long balls than I'm used to seeing him get, which really helped relieve the pressure when we did get the ball away. He really deserved the ovation he got when he went off.

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A great battling performance. The team has shown in the last two games a level of resilience we havent seen for a long, long while. To hang on with 10 men for 55 mins against an in form Spurs team and to get a winner against WHU after twice losing the lead is impressive.

Said it a few games ago that we would struggle if our midfield/defence didnt start chipping in with some goals (like they did last year), and they've delivered. Thats three from JWP, and one each from Ely and Bednarek. JWP has been excellent with his goals/assists of late. Leading by example, yet some have demanded that he be stripped of captaincy. Laughable

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2 hours ago, Chez said:

in what way? I saw a `championship at best' type player out there today. He battled hard, as did them all, but he's not particularly great at any facet of the game. Am I being too harsh?

Championship “at best”. You think his natural level is  basically Third or Fourth Division?

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21 minutes ago, VictiAbNonem said:

I thought Shane Long was at his best today. He's never going to score goals like Son or Kane, but put more into his 71 minutes on the pitch than the Spurs boys did in their combined 180 minutes. He never let their defenders settle and he gets back quickly to help out the midfield, before pressing forward again. Kane spends most of the match jogging incredibly slowly from the edge of the area back to the halfway line having made a feebly half-hearted attempt to close down the keeper following a back pass. The contrast was stark. Shane also won a load more headers from our long balls than I'm used to seeing him get, which really helped relieve the pressure when we did get the ball away. He really deserved the ovation he got when he went off.

Yeah, I like him. He’s passed his peak now, but he harries brilliantly 

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Just now, SaintBobby said:

Championship “at best”. You think his natural level is  basically Third or Fourth Division?

No, I meant that, on what I have seen so far, he looks like a championship player and no more than that. But I'm not daft enough to write him off completely. Plenty of players, especially from oversees, need a season to find their feet.  Leeds signed Firpo in the summer and he hasn't done much either.

 

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I still find it absolutely mental people can watch our team and think the manager isn’t right for us. We’ve played similar to that today for quite a bit of this season. Sometimes we’ve conceded 2 and gone on to lose. But Jesus this bloke is and always will be our best asset until he leaves.

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2 minutes ago, JibMcdo said:

I still find it absolutely mental people can watch our team and think the manager isn’t right for us. We’ve played similar to that today for quite a bit of this season. Sometimes we’ve conceded 2 and gone on to lose. But Jesus this bloke is and always will be our best asset until he leaves.

I've been a critic of him but also given credit where its due, he is definitely capable of getting the team to play really good stuff... its just the other stuff that goes with it & the level.of consistency when it doesn't work.... record defeats.... record points lost from winning positions.... strange tactics and subs, but yes as things stand we aren't going to get anyone else at a higher level that wants to some here and he seems to have plugged the rot.. and got players believing again, long may it continue.

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2 hours ago, Saint Keef said:

Can anyone help me please? I am trying to find the resident "Ralph Bashers" that come on here, week in - week out. They didn't seem to be around on Boxing Day evening and they are very quiet again this evening. Has something happened to them? I do hope the're alright. Must be a tough time for them. 

Enjoy it - 4 points from the two, potentially very tough "festive" games so far. I would have taken that at the start. Great second half defensive display today. Well done to the whole team......Oh, and Ralph too.

 

You are so far off the mark - it's just bollocks - I am not a Ralph fan and have said so many times - including Boxing day if you just do your research. I praised him for his team selection and finally making a change then. He was good today as well, but left it very late to make changes when we were obviously shattered.

Is it really rocket science to play your best right back at right back, and the better keeper? It might not have dawned on you but the last two results we have had were the result of a change of formation and personal - that was all any of us were asking for. Ralph is a highly paid professional coach/manager and it shouldn't take a novice (or simpleton if you prefer) like me to spot what he doesn't is is too stubborn to do so.

Yes we have a limited squad but one that can play a lot better when managed and deployed better.

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I don't think it's a coincidence that the defence seemed more balanced and solid today even after the red card, KWP is an all round better RB than Tino which is unsurprising given the latter's lack of experience although I realise that this may be an unpopular opinion.

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5 minutes ago, CAH61 said:

I don't think it's a coincidence that the defence seemed more balanced and solid today even after the red card, KWP is an all round better RB than Tino which is unsurprising given the latter's lack of experience although I realise that this may be an unpopular opinion.

I think you'll find there's a lot on here that felt KWP should be starting games ahead of Tino.  KWP has been outstanding for two seasons in both attack and defence. Tino has looked equally good going forward, but defensively he has a lot to learn.   

Edited by Chez
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2 minutes ago, CAH61 said:

I don't think it's a coincidence that the defence seemed more balanced and solid today even after the red card, KWP is an all round better RB than Tino which is unsurprising given the latter's lack of experience although I realise that this may be an unpopular opinion.

I think we should play double fullbacks.

KWP and Tino on the right, Adam Armstrong and Redders on the left.

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12 minutes ago, Red said:

 

Is it really rocket science to play your best right back at right back, and the better keeper? It might not have dawned on you but the last two results we have had were the result of a change of formation and personal - that was all any of us were asking for. Ralph is a highly paid professional coach/manager and it shouldn't take a novice (or simpleton if you prefer) like me to spot what he doesn't is is too stubborn to do so.

Yes we have a limited squad but one that can play a lot better when managed and deployed better.

Absolutely spot on. Ralph is doing what a lot of his critics have called for, yet we’re wrong?



 

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7 minutes ago, Chez said:

that's one hell of an endorsement for Perraud. 

Ha! I'm joking about the left side, but because I'm now confident after their performances today that Armstrong or Redmond can help out Perraud there. (Edit - and Ralph did joke in his interview that we've got two new left backs!)

I do think that KWP and Tino both on the right interchanging is an option that we ought to have up our sleeve.

Edited by VictiAbNonem
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Was a really good point, hard-fought today against the Spuds and their extra man. I know this will probably jinx it but in my still newbie-Saints fan status, I am still yet to see us lose (live) so I was confident we would get something out of it! 🥴

Edited by FboroSaint21
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11 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

A mention for Redmond who did a great defensive job when he came on but there were no passengers today.

it's interesting that down to ten men, attacking players like Redmond seemed more than happy, and capable, of tucking into defensive positions. Redmond played left back really when he came on. Perhaps we need to see a little more that when we have 11 on the pitch and trying to hold on to a lead or a draw. A bit more digging in. 

Maybe it's a case of swallowing our pride a fraction and parking the bus a bit more. 

That said, if Spurs had scored (the offside goal/Forster's fuck up) all the digging in we did would have been forgotten. And perhaps previous games,  where we have also dug in, but the luck has not gone our way have also been forgotten?

 

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1 minute ago, FboroSaint21 said:

Was a really good point, hard-fought today against the Spuds and their extra man. I know this will probably jinx it but in my still newbie-Saints fan status, I am still yet to see us lose (live) so I was confident we would get something out of it! 🥴

get this man a home and away season ticket

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6 minutes ago, FboroSaint21 said:

Got the home season and also off to game at Wolves. Prepping the mrs to be a football widow!

good man/woman. I find that if the expectation is you will be at the football every week, there isn't a problem, it's when you suddenly want to go to football instead of seeing the inlaws that you get it in the neck. Let's hope you continue to bring us good luck. Wolves look very solid indeed these days. A point would be decent.

 

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16 minutes ago, Chez said:

it's interesting that down to ten men, attacking players like Redmond seemed more than happy, and capable, of tucking into defensive positions. Redmond played left back really when he came on. Perhaps we need to see a little more that when we have 11 on the pitch and trying to hold on to a lead or a draw. A bit more digging in. 

Maybe it's a case of swallowing our pride a fraction and parking the bus a bit more. 

That said, if Spurs had scored (the offside goal/Forster's fuck up) all the digging in we did would have been forgotten. And perhaps previous games,  where we have also dug in, but the luck has not gone our way have also been forgotten?

 

Yeah, if those two decisions had gone against us how much praise would the players be getting on here now? 

They could have played exactly the same game but lost 3-1 and the comments would be 90% about how shit Ralph, Forster and Bedders are.

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12 minutes ago, VictiAbNonem said:

Yeah, if those two decisions had gone against us how much praise would the players be getting on here now? 

They could have played exactly the same game but lost 3-1 and the comments would be 90% about how shit Ralph, Forster and Bedders are.

#resultsdrivenbusiness

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3 minutes ago, HarvSFC said:

Just got home from the match. Was the ref as abject/one sided as he seemed in the stadium without the opportunity of viewing replays? Seemed totally one sided, barring the Forster "foul" mistake, which should have been a goal to be fair.

I need to watch it back as well as everything in the first half seemed to go against us. Think the wind blew one of the Spuds players over at one point and the ref gave a free kick!

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1 hour ago, JibMcdo said:

I still find it absolutely mental people can watch our team and think the manager isn’t right for us. We’ve played similar to that today for quite a bit of this season. Sometimes we’ve conceded 2 and gone on to lose. But Jesus this bloke is and always will be our best asset until he leaves.

We play some really good football. We do try and play the ball into the net far to often when someone should be looking to shoot. We are a pretty good premier league team, who win some, lose some, draw some and we have a manager who gets it right sometimes and wrong other times. But boy he fits the club well and he has loads of passion. Me I think he is great, but like all managers like him, I do fear for him, as a manager you are only a run of bad results from the sack. 

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2 minutes ago, FboroSaint21 said:

I need to watch it back as well as everything in the first half seemed to go against us. Think the wind blew one of the Spuds players over at one point and the ref gave a free kick!

I think Salisu got quite harshly treated, in a way that reminds me of how Wanyama used to be. They go in for 50 50s, and because they're proper units the other person usually gets knocked over. If they were the same size and just bounced off each other it would never be called a foul. I hope that Salisu can find a way to play as hard but avoid the fouls and bookings.

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33 minutes ago, HarvSFC said:

Just got home from the match. Was the ref as abject/one sided as he seemed in the stadium without the opportunity of viewing replays? Seemed totally one sided, barring the Forster "foul" mistake, which should have been a goal to be fair.

Yes he was because he was never up with play and guessing 20-30yards away and going with top 6 team some of decisions near us were ridiculous 

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Well that was another pleasant display. Perraud should be left back simple as .KWP right back. It makes crossing a more difficult pass into the box for on rushing defenders to manage  imo. Lucky i thought on the second goal that was disallowed . Another different team choice for the Sandcastle Arabia game but they have 2 key players missing so a good performance like today is whats needed from now on. Ralph did well today.

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Fantastic rearguard and ballsy performance by all against a very talented, albeit underperforming side.

I do want to draw put the performance of JWP in particular. He has been unfairly singled out by many on here. 'son in law', 'gutless', 'rarely makes a tackle'. That kinda crap. Sometimes compared to the 'great' English 70s and 80s midfielders who slid hard for tackles, wrestled hard, 'rallied' their sides, and through their talent and bravery failed to qualify for numerous major tournaments in the 70s and 80s against majorly inferior opposition....real passion that!

He's honestly such an asset for us. Doesn't hide. Plays whilst injured. Sets an example for the younger lads. And genuinely is everything you could ever ask for a Southampton Skipper. Yet some would happily boot him out, yet complain when a player like VVD leaves that there is no loyalty left in football...

 

 

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4 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

That’s the way to play against 10 men, better than the mincing around we’ve seen the last couple of years we’ve gone down to 10. 2 banks of 4, with someone up top who puts themselves about a bit. Plus players defending properly and putting their bodies on the line. Proper performance. 
 

KWP motm for me, highlight a fantastic saving header when Kane looked odds on to nod it in. Valery deserves a special mention, to play like that at centre half after hardly playing was impressive. Left back played w really well too. Rode our luck when lurch dropped a bollock, but deserved that. Salisu owes his teammates a big thank you. He needed to calm down, dived in 2 or 3 times before his first booking. When are professional players going to use their brains and stop tackling in situations that he found himself in. What’s the worst that happens, they score but it’s 11v11. 

Something was up with Salisu today. He was very pumped up and I think frustrated that he made the challenge for the penalty. He knew the red card was coming. He had to be talked to and calmed down by 2 subs and he just looked very angry and pumped as he was leaving the field. Did not acknowledge the Saints fans at all in the Itchin chapel corner as they applauded him off. All very strange, seemed to lose his head completely, so much that his tackling was off like his head was not straight. 

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2 hours ago, sydney_saint said:

Fantastic rearguard and ballsy performance by all against a very talented, albeit underperforming side.

I do want to draw put the performance of JWP in particular. He has been unfairly singled out by many on here. 'son in law', 'gutless', 'rarely makes a tackle'. That kinda crap. Sometimes compared to the 'great' English 70s and 80s midfielders who slid hard for tackles, wrestled hard, 'rallied' their sides, and through their talent and bravery failed to qualify for numerous major tournaments in the 70s and 80s against majorly inferior opposition....real passion that!

He's honestly such an asset for us. Doesn't hide. Plays whilst injured. Sets an example for the younger lads. And genuinely is everything you could ever ask for a Southampton Skipper. Yet some would happily boot him out, yet complain when a player like VVD leaves that there is no loyalty left in football...

 

 

SPOT ON, great response

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Any game that Spurs can't win brings a torrent of abuse from their fans / London media about VAR / bad tackles /offside etc.

especially where Kane and Son are concerned, but one thing is for sure... There is no difference between being offside

and putting the ball in the net... and just being plain offside.  Some media drivelled on about Spurs having the ball in the net FOUR times

but typically replays of the first showed  4 Spurs players offside from the incoming free kick, whilst Saints held firm onto the back line.

Likewise, replays of Kane's "offside goal " show  Bednarek standing still - holding up the back line - whilst Kane is facing goal and moving forward. 

Regardless of  position of feet, armpits or whatever, a lot of common sense went into that VAR decision.

The reality is that Spurs millionaires side played over 50 minutes against 10 brave men, had 18 attempts in the second half and still failed to get a win.

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Never expected to get anything from this game after seeing the lineup. My apologies to Ralph for my part in the pre-match criticisms. 

Thought Valery had a really good game even after being forced to go in at CB. Diallo had some decent moments and Long and Armstrong worked hard without actually causing them too many problems. And despite FF's kicking being pretty shocking I always feel far more confident with him in goal compared to the other two. When he plays we pick up more points. Do not want to see McCarthy come back in again like he did last season after FF put in some great performances.

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11 hours ago, Saint Garrett said:

Back from the game. Went to the Bedford after the game, and my wallet was nicked, which is obviously a lovely experience. On the off chance, does anyone know of a wallet that was found that would great…

Driving licence, season tickets bank cards. Credit cards etc…

Having seen the sort of people that drink in there (yourself excluded obviously) your wallet is long gone mate. Get those credit cards cancelled.

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10 hours ago, Chez said:

it's interesting that down to ten men, attacking players like Redmond seemed more than happy, and capable, of tucking into defensive positions. Redmond played left back really when he came on. Perhaps we need to see a little more that when we have 11 on the pitch and trying to hold on to a lead or a draw. A bit more digging in. 

Maybe it's a case of swallowing our pride a fraction and parking the bus a bit more. 

That said, if Spurs had scored (the offside goal/Forster's fuck up) all the digging in we did would have been forgotten. And perhaps previous games,  where we have also dug in, but the luck has not gone our way have also been forgotten?

 

Redmond's awareness to get in front of the ball when it breaks through to Moura was class. Maybe a less mobile or slower to react defender might not have got there.

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7 hours ago, warsash saint said:

The screams from Ali & Ederson following tackles in the first half was pure embarrassing!  I honestly thought Ederson have broke his leg after the noise he made ... gets up & sprints off to join in Spurs next attack!

Spurs were diving all over the place, people blame the ref, but there players were the ones who should be questioned. They are by far the most disgraceful team I’ve seen this season.

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