The Athletic article about Saints' mystery injuries around 60mins

[Saint NL]

https://theathletic.com/3128906/2022/02/16/southampton-medical-checks-gels-and-team-talks-between-60th-70th-minute-coincidence-or-plan/?source=emp_shared_article

Is not against the rules, but it does looks like it's a planned thing.

[david in sweden]

Well...  let's not pretend Saints are alone using such a tactic...if indeed they do.

Fans will recall the notorious home game  v.  Wolves  in September '21....

(we lost 0-1 despite having more possession and more shots 18-5).

In the last 30 minutes, Wolves players were dropping like flies (the game ran to 97 minutes) 

and what had been a big Saints superiority was disturbed by successive stoppages.  

The other point ....  (naturally enough)... is not everyone can run for 45+ minutes without a break,

and not every club  has a Ward-Prowse, who never seems to stop and regularly clocks up more

distance than the rest of  " the Prem. World."   Not everyone is a robot, and some can't run at all. 

I see no reason why ...a 60 second  " water break / Covid pause ... (call it what you will) couldn't 

be incorporated into the playing time and used as a time for subs. to come on en masse.. instead

of  the continual  stop / starts every few minutes which interrupts the flow of play.

 

IF.. this " accusation "  proves to be correct, will we see Referees being told to book players for 

feigning injury, along with time-wasting  and "diving " in the penalty area.?  

 

[Chocolate Box]

2 hours ago, Saint NL said:

https://theathletic.com/3128906/2022/02/16/southampton-medical-checks-gels-and-team-talks-between-60th-70th-minute-coincidence-or-plan/?source=emp_shared_article

Is not against the rules, but it does looks like it's a planned thing.

We've been rumbled

[Teddeer]

As if we are the only club that does this! Also, if this gives us a time to take on gel/water and have a tactical pow-wow then the opponents could do the same. Ridiculous article.

[SaintsLoyal]

pompey born Sheldon

Edited 16 February, 2022 by SaintsLoyal

[saintwbu]

I can’t imagine it’s as much of a secret as we think it is, I think a commentator referenced it during a game not too long ago as something he’d noticed. However, it does seem a bit of a weird thing for a Saints reporter to write about, given it’s quite clearly a tactic rather than coincidence. 

[Toadhall Saint]

And they have only just realised - Christ trigger and his broom were into us long ago.

[maysie]

4 hours ago, Saint NL said:

https://theathletic.com/3128906/2022/02/16/southampton-medical-checks-gels-and-team-talks-between-60th-70th-minute-coincidence-or-plan/?source=emp_shared_article

Is not against the rules, but it does looks like it's a planned thing.

Its a vaguely interesting concept, but god was that a dull read

[Whitey Grandad]

I remember Leeds doing something under Revie.  If the other team was having a good spell then someone would go down 'injured' in order to give themselves a breathing space.

[rooney]

I can remember Freddie Cox leaving the grass to grow longer on the wings, years ago so that Nelson Stifle and Olly "Jumping Dervish" Norris could take advantage of this. It is all in the mind.

[saint lard]

I’m amazed it taken so many,so long, to work this out. 
it’s been obvious. 

[Convict Colony]

Am pretty sure Tom Leach or someone else flagged this earlier last year as I've known about it for ages so bit of a rehash from Sheldon.

[Turkish]

Was called out here weeks ago. Annoying that the athletic have grassed it up though. Although I’m sure other clubs didn’t miss the fact the players were taking in gels etc.

[Dman]

45 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Was called out here weeks ago. Annoying that the athletic have grassed it up though. Although I’m sure other clubs didn’t miss the fact the players were taking in gels etc.

I thought this, I bet the club are absolutely delighted that Sheldon keeps banging on about it. 
 

The trouble is, Sheldon is a bit of a dud and his content is pretty average, so a little scoop like this I’ve no doubt is his Crown Jewels. 

[S-Clarke]

We're clearly not the only team who do things like this, you've got to use whatever competitive advantage you can get.

[stknowle]

5 hours ago, maysie said:

Its a vaguely interesting concept, but god was that a dull read

Yeah, I feel distinctly uncompelled (sic) to unlock The Athletic for just £1 a month after reading the first few paragraphs of that. 

[SaintsLoyal]

I dont know who runs the media at Saints these days but this Sheldon fella isnt doing us any favours with this sort of stuff. 

Im amazed hes got the brass after the whole Ted Bates statue non story, which deeply upset his family.

[HarvSFC]

The magic sponge/spray didn’t gain its title because it’s actually magic…

This isn’t a revolutionary thing and I could write the same article about the other 19 Premier League clubs and feigning injuries. We see it every week as fans and always have done in the modern game.

We’ve just been taken over… Surely there’s something more interesting to write about?
 

[manji]

Wolves are the biggest shithousers par excellence.

[Matthew Le God]

Does the article actually delve into the circumstances for each player who went down? How many for example of the 14 were impact injuries caused by opponents? Without that information it is pretty meaningless to take too much out of the article.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Matthew Le God

[notnowcato]

21 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Does the article actually delve into the circumstances for each player who went down? How many of the 14 were impact injuries from opponents?

What do you mean exactly by impact injuries?  Can we objectively define if the impact is sufficient for the need of medical attention?  How certain are we that the player is not already managing an injury that the impact was on and if so, what is the scale of that injury and what value of impact is required for it to then require medical attention?  With that in mind, if the answer is 10 how the f**k does that help you, exactly? 

[Matthew Le God]

2 minutes ago, notnowcato said:

What do you mean exactly by impact injuries?  

An injury caused by the opponent and therefore less likely to be Saints playing for a break and a chat between 60 and 70 mins.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Matthew Le God

[notnowcato]

2 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

An injury caused by the opponent and therefore less likely to be Saints playing for a break and a chat between 60 and 70 mins.

No analysis is required here.  I appreciate subjectivity is your idea of hell but it's all around us or so I believe.

It's clearly a tactic, we are not alone in applying it.  Klippety and others have been doing it for ages.

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, notnowcato said:

No analysis is required here.  I appreciate subjectivity is your idea of hell but it's all around us or so I believe.

It's clearly a tactic, we are not alone in applying it.  Klippety and others have been doing it for ages.

Which has also been acknowledged by Frank Lampard in his press conference today 

[rallyboy]

I was amused against Man City when the only breathers we got were for VAR checks to see if we'd done anything wrong.

We  badly needed to break their momentum and it was better than any gel or injury break.

 

[Master Bates]

The FA to keep tabs on the situation 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/frank-lampard-southampton-everton-tactic-26259398

[stevy777_x]

Thanks a lot Dan f**king Sheldon for bringing this up.

How about you find more interesting topics to talk about?

[HarvSFC]

Why hasn't the FA kept tabs on this? Has far more influence on a match than our little one minute breaks.

[Village Saint]

I cant imagine why the FA would be interested in our scientifically informed use of gel packs etc. other than perhaps to guide other clubs at various levels in the pyramid on best practice. The FA has no role in the way clubs in the Premier League behave other than when they have to deal with disciplinary issues brought to their attention by match officials. As you say they should concentrate on their actual role - such as dealing with the mobbing of referees and the constant whining to refs. Those are disciplinary issues. 

[SaintTex]

don't even need to go to the sideline.. just safety pin a few to your kit and take one during any short stoppage in play.

an old marathoner's trick.

 

[Nordic Saint]

Portsmouth's finest reporter on Saints, Dan Sheldon, has had the effect he wanted with his article in The Athletic. He's also circulated it to a lot of national newspapers. Was it also him who spread the recent stories about Ted Bates' statue? 

"Frank Lampard comments on controversial Southampton move with FA keeping tabs"

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/frank-lampard-southampton-everton-t

[Post edited 17 Feb 18:10]

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Nordic Saint

[Saint_clark]

1 minute ago, Nordic Saint said:

Portsmouth's finest reporter on Saints, Dan Sheldon, has had the effect he wanted with his article in The Athletic:

"Frank Lampard comments on controversial Southampton move with FA keeping tabs"

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/frank-lampard-southampton-everton-t

[Post edited 17 Feb 18:10]

Wtf? Players have been going down for a rest since I can remember watching the game. Why are we now being focussed on?

[Nordic Saint]

16 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Wtf? Players have been going down for a rest since I can remember watching the game. Why are we now being focussed on?

Because of a football reporter from Waterlooville, called Dan Sheldon, who seems to be on a campaign against Saints.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Nordic Saint

[Dman]

2 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

Because of a football reporter from Waterlooville, called Dan Sheldon, who seems to be orchestrating a media campaign against Saints.

😂😂

[egg]

Can't believe people are upset by this non story. The FA have said nothing, and won't be able to stop players going down and staying down after getting a whack. 

[Nordic Saint]

This was another of his recent articles:

 

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl to consider retiring once contract expires in 2024 - The Athletic

 

He sends them to all of the national papers and they do seem to get quite a lot of coverage, as any negative gossip about a football club is always welcome.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Nordic Saint

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, egg said:

Can't believe people are upset by this non story. The FA have said nothing, and won't be able to stop players going down and staying down after getting a whack. 

And as mr lampard has said - it’s been going on for years - which to me means we are only playing catch up to the teams that have been doing it for years

[egg]

Just now, Toadhall Saint said:

And as mr lampard has said - it’s been going on for years - which to me means we are only playing catch up to the teams that have been doing it for years

Indeed, it's been happening for years. Zero chance of doing anything about it, and proving that players are feigning. 

[AlexLaw76]

16 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

Because of a football reporter from Waterlooville, called Dan Sheldon, who seems to be on a campaign against Saints.

🙃

[Toadhall Saint]

14 minutes ago, egg said:

Indeed, it's been happening for years. Zero chance of doing anything about it, and proving that players are feigning. 

Exactly- cramp can happen at anytime 😉😉

[SaintsLoyal]

The bottom line must be to anyone who hasnt cancelled this athletic subscription scam to do so asap

Dan Sheldon shouldnt be allowed anywhere near St Marys, clear grass, mugging us off to the nationals with this revalation.

 I dont care if other clubs do it, you dont have grass journalists like him around st marys.  Hes a total wazzock 

Edited 17 February, 2022 by SaintsLoyal

[Ted Bates Statue]

Diving to gain a goal scoring opportunity has been a problem in this sport for decades and nothing of substance has been done about it. Think this little titbit will be filed under the 'mildly interesting' category in similar fashion to how it was received back in the autumn, and those outside our catchment area bubble will move on swiftly to other matters.

As for The Athletic, whether you care for them or not, now that the NYT have acquired them (overshadowed by Wordle lol) I expect it won't be too long before they will start swinging the axe on the less popular sections of their site, which will no doubt include reporting on the likes of us.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Ted Bates Statue

[Saint Matty 76]

I'd never really had an issue with Dan (other than the obvious drop off in quality/communication since Carl left) but I just can't possibly see the point of this article?

How is 14/24 (approximately 58%) of games where a notoriously high pressing team pick up an injury in that time frame news worthy? We've actually scored 5 goals past the 70th minute this season, only Burnley and Norwich have fewer so it begs the question even further what was the point?

Really strange behaviour trying to dig out the team you're meant to be making engaging content for. I'm sure you could spot similar patterns in other teams in the league (Wolves in particular), but nobody would waste their time on such shite. Drawn the short straw with this bloke looking at the other clubs representatives.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Saint Matty 76

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, HarvSFC said:

Why hasn't the FA kept tabs on this? Has far more influence on a match than our little one minute breaks.

Manchester United have been charged over their conduct.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60408906

[Saint_clark]

We should go down in the 59th or 71st minute on Saturday.

[S-Clarke]

I've always found Sheldons features/articles a bit... ''well, yeah I knew that....why did I just read this for 5 mins? I've learned nothing new''

Carl Anka was on a different level with his content.

On this specific one it's another non article with means nothing and tells us nothing new, as clubs have been doing this for all time. Why our own reporter has decided to specifically name and shame us is beyond me though.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by S-Clarke

[SuperSAINT]

16 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Carl Anka was on a different level with his content.

We were spoilt with Carl.  What a writer.

[Toadhall Saint]

1 hour ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Manchester United have been charged over their conduct.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60408906

Fine will be £2.59p and a fish & chip supper.

[Disco Stu]

Does this Dan guy ever have anything positive to say about Saints? I don't understand why he was employed at the Athletic to cover us. Surely no Southampton fans are interested in his negative, low quality articles? I cancelled my subscription months ago.

Edited 17 February, 2022 by Disco Stu

[nta786]

46 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

We were spoilt with Carl.  What a writer.

As with football, he was snapped up to write for the bigger club.

If I remember correctly, Carl also used to frequent here and gave out the odd 30 day pass.