Liverpool 3-1 Saints - Match Thread

[LuckyNumber7]

NJ's post match press conference..

I like the cut of his jib.

[Vancouver Saint]

11 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

I like the cut of his jib.

Me too. Could be just what we need.

[woodsaint1]

15 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

NJ's post match press conference..

I like the cut of his jib.

Brutally honest, which is refreshing after Ralph continuously making excuses for piss poor performances/tactics. 

Did he say he hasn't slept in a month? What's that about?

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

According to all the national media and Saints fan pages, he pulled off some amazing saves and kept us in it. 

I'm sure that's not true though. 

Well he should have saved the first one and I asked for an example where we earned points. I don't care about a couple of saves that mattered not one fucking iota. I want a keeper that can actually impact the outcome of the game in a positive way.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

1 hour ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Not quite sure I share your optimistic outlook. I think we are easily amongst the three worst clubs in the league. Am not sure if we can put this right even with a transfer window coming up. I think we are going down this season. Love to be proved wrong, but the lack of real quality in the final third is going to be our undoing.

Agree with Lee On Solent. I'm looking around seeing who are relegation candidates - Notts For, Wolves, Bournemouth, Leeds - and then I go and watch us v Sheff Wed and shit, they matched even outplayed us. Felt a little more confident after watching us today on a stream. Lavia is quality, Edozie has something but surely, surely we've given A.Armstrong enough chances. Try someone else.

[Chez]

26 minutes ago, woodsaint1 said:

Brutally honest, which is refreshing after Ralph continuously making excuses for piss poor performances/tactics. 

Did he say he hasn't slept in a month? What's that about?

Might have just been an expression of stresses and strains of the last week rather than literally not sleeping for a month. Not sure.

maybe we first offered him the job a month ago and its taken until now to sort it out?

[The Kraken]

17 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Well he should have saved the first one and I asked for an example where we earned points. I don't care about a couple of saves that mattered not one fucking iota. I want a keeper that can actually impact the outcome of the game in a positive way.

Well that’s quite simple then. Pick any game where Saints picked up a point or three (there’s not many), see if Bazunu made any saves from shots on target.  If he did, then he’s helped us earn points. It’s a brutally simplistic answer and it doesn’t prove much of anything, but it’s what you asked for.

[Chez]

18 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Well he should have saved the first one and I asked for an example where we earned points. I don't care about a couple of saves that mattered not one fucking iota. I want a keeper that can actually impact the outcome of the game in a positive way.

saves count in both wins and defeats and do have an positive impact. The save when Perraud was sleeping and Salah just had to tuck it away was top drawer. It kept us in it. If we had scored the two great chances in the second half that save would have helped us earn a point. 

Should have done better with the first though. It was in the corner but he wasn't even close to it. He also flapped at another that could have cost us. He had a mixed bag of a day. He was very sharp off his line, and his passing was very good. He made some smart saves. 

With McArthy 32, Caballero 41, we were always going to bring in a young keeper. 

[Roo1976]

He knows he can make Chey a better striker.......................um, he was unlucky today, and Ely,just fucking put the boot through it .

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

12 minutes ago, Chez said:

saves count in both wins and defeats and do have an positive impact. The save when Perraud was sleeping and Salah just had to tuck it away was top drawer. It kept us in it. If we had scored the two great chances in the second half that save would have helped us earn a point. 

Should have done better with the first though. It was in the corner but he wasn't even close to it. He also flapped at another that could have cost us. He had a mixed bag of a day. He was very sharp off his line, and his passing was very good. He made some smart saves. 

With McArthy 32, Caballero 41, we were always going to bring in a young keeper. 

Baz, even at his age, is an upgrade on what we had. He doesn't boss the defence, his positioning is a little off, but he is quick to come out and snuff out danger and his distribution is pretty good.

[MAY-Z]

1 minute ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Baz, even at his age, is an upgrade on what we had. He doesn't boss the defence, his positioning is a little off, but he is quick to come out and snuff out danger and his distribution is pretty good.

Baz isn’t an upgrade on what Forster was producing last season, but Ralph backed the wrong horse at the start of last season

[Behind Enemy Lines]

5 minutes ago, MAY-Z said:

Baz isn’t an upgrade on what Forster was producing last season, but Ralph backed the wrong horse at the start of last season

They were both offered contracts. Alex accepted, Forster turned it down. So, nobody backed the wrong horse. 
 

You can lead a horse to the contract table….

[madge]

I may sound crazy but I reckon it’s time to play djenepo up front of just off Adams. We’ve genuinely very few players that can take a player on and moussa is one of the few. Whilst we struggle to score from open play we’ve JWP who can score from free kicks. Problem is we’ve not got enough of the ball to win any this season in dangerous positions and moussa may win a few. Also look at some of the goals moussa scored when he first arrived. He’s an offensive  player and likely carry more threat than a Armstrong.

[MAY-Z]

11 minutes ago, Behind Enemy Lines said:

They were both offered contracts. Alex accepted, Forster turned it down. So, nobody backed the wrong horse. 
 

You can lead a horse to the contract table….

Why on earth would Fraser have accepted at that time when Ralph clearly had Alex ahead of him. If Ralph was playing Fraser he may have signed it.

Ralph backed the wrong horse by prioritising the wrong player

[CylonKing]

I agree with Madge. We need a level of unpredictability and we have very few players who can deliver. We should play 432 and have Moussa floating around. Just make sure he's not near a touchline when he picks up the ball. Desperate times, desperate measures!

[Forester]

A long day but much more enjoyable than same game last year, or Spurs and City this season in that for 60 minutes we actually competed and created things.  Felt the second half performance was decent and bar Alison we would have won the second half for sure and possibly nicked a point.

 

Always felt it was a big risk to play ABK on eve of World Cup and so it proved, thought he was poor.  By contrast very good performances from Adams and AMN who should be starting week in week out

Edited 12 November, 2022 by Forester

[Turkish]

That first goal was bloody awful defending 

[Turkish]

So was the second how many chances to clear?

[Pilchards]

3 minutes ago, Turkish said:

So was the second how many chances to clear?

When I watched the Blackpool vs Luton game last Saturday to see how good they were I saw some of the worse goal scrambles ever.

Part of me fears our new management are not great at organising defences away from home.

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Pilchards said:

When I watched the Blackpool vs Luton game last Saturday to see how good they were I saw some of the worse goal scrambles ever.

Part of me fears our new management are not great at organising defences away from home.

Too early to say, the first one was crap marking the second one at least two players balls up clearances before the put in a half decent cross to score 

[Brissysaint]

6 hours ago, Chez said:

Personally I don't think Livramento will be back after the break.If he plays this season we will be lucky. N ides about KWP. If he has torn his hamstring, he could be out for several months easily. If he does come back, I'd have him at left back ahead of Perraud and AMN at right back. It would be nice to have some options. 

I think perrauds been a bright spark lately even not counting his goals, yeah he’s slow but he recovers quite well.

 

overall not as depressed as I usual am on a Sunday morning after watching, second half was exciting at least, if one of those three chances goes in I think we could’ve taken it to them.

 

[qwertyell]

2 hours ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Baz, even at his age, is an upgrade on what we had. 

We had the weakest first choice keeper in the division. 

We still have. And £13m less in the bank.

That's not an upgrade.

[Suhari]

4 hours ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

NJ's post match press conference..

I like the cut of his jib.

Like this.

Calm and confident.

I see good leadership here.

[Saint Fan CaM]

“My strikers score goals”. Mmm, well one of doesn’t, so either AA needs to shape up or ship out. My bets on the latter as he’s just not getting better…same lack of positional sense and not dynamic enough. Blimey, the Wednesday strikers had a better go.

 

[HKsaint]

We should ask all our players don’t shoot except JWP. All players should try to run with the ball to and in the area within 10 yards outside the penalty area of the other side, or passed the ball to the player in that area, and keeping the ball in that area to try to get a free-kick. Without a decent striker, our goals source is largely from JWP’s set piece or direct goal from free kick.

Edited 13 November, 2022 by HKsaint

[Verbal Kint]

3 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

“My strikers score goals”. Mmm, well one of doesn’t, so either AA needs to shape up or ship out. My bets on the latter as he’s just not getting better…same lack of positional sense and not dynamic enough. Blimey, the Wednesday strikers had a better go.

 

I'm struggling to remember us having a player who looked this bad so consistently and yet continued to get games.

He's one of the worst signings we've ever made

Edited 13 November, 2022 by Verbal Kint

[Dorchester Saint]

10 hours ago, Behind Enemy Lines said:

They were both offered contracts. Alex accepted, Forster turned it down. So, nobody backed the wrong horse. 
 

You can lead a horse to the contract table….

I have real problems with your analogy….horses have hoofs and thus lack opposable thumbs, even if they wanted to sign the contract, how would they hold the pen?? 

[Turkish]

12 minutes ago, Dorchester Saint said:

I have real problems with your analogy….horses have hoofs and thus lack opposable thumbs, even if they wanted to sign the contract, how would they hold the pen?? 

In their mouth obviously 

[david in sweden]

The fans (above) who have been so critical in this thread should recall that - even in our best seasons past - trips to Merseyside are 

quite often pointless in the end, but at least we managed to score one goal this time.

Looking at the table, and this season's start we have fielded the youngest and least-experienced  sides we've had in my long memory,

and a series of injuries to some of our brightest talents hasn't helped either, although their replacements have done their best.  

 

Those of you who don't like stats being quoted should avert your eyes, but the truth of the matter is that 3 of our 4 worst defeats have been

in away fixtures against sides who spend the equivalent of our entire transfer budget - on just one player - every season, and they rarely buy

anyone who isn't an established international.  If Liverpool had fielded their bench players , the score might well have been a similar result,

but the reality is that  4 of our other defeats have been by a one goal margin - in games where we failed to score at all.

Whatever we may be seen to be doing right, just isn't resulting in goals and it doesn't need me to repeat who carry's the can for that.

 

If we have any positives to draw from this game, it can be that we showed fight that has been lacking before, and with better luck we might

well have come away with at least one point, but the final result was - to say the least - predictable.

[Daft Kerplunk]

Ralph’s worst characteristic was man management and Nathan seems like he will be the complete opposite. His tactical approach and style of football will be seen soon enough. 

I just hope the board didn’t either too long in keeping Ralph and we can survive what will be a very hard season for this young team, especially if we don’t sign a couple of strong players over the winter. Perhaps SR now realise they need to take the bill by the horns and crack on with things instead of letting the old guard delay too long. 

[saintant]

11 hours ago, Roo1976 said:

He knows he can make Chey a better striker.......................um, he was unlucky today, and Ely,just fucking put the boot through it .

Did nobody think to ask if he can get Adam Armstrong scoring? From what I've seen we bought him then proceeded to play in a system that would never get the best out of him and, not surprisingly, his confidence is shot. Unless Nathan Jones and his coaches study videos of his goals for Blackburn and decide they can adjust our style of play so that he gets himself in more of those scoring positions then we might as well cut our losses and sell him for what we can get. He can score goals but not in a team employing the tactics we did under Ralph. Personally I feel quite sorry for the guy because he's fed off scraps since the first game he played - when, of course, he scored a cracking goal against Everton. 

[wadesmith]

The ten fixtures after the break are interesting, all of them (bar Chelsea away) look like games that in normal circumstances we could get points from.If we could get 15 from 10 games, than it’s 27 points from 25 games..after that 11/12 points from the final 13 would hopefully get us over the line.

[Cabrone]

This was always a nailed on loss. We'll see what the new manager is all about in January.

[adrian lord]

There’s some hope with this new chap. We were  heading for the drop under Ralph, but we have a good fighting chance now. 
 

Fasten your seatbelts.

Edited 13 November, 2022 by adrian lord

[Bad Wolf]

12 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Well he should have saved the first one and I asked for an example where we earned points. I don't care about a couple of saves that mattered not one fucking iota. I want a keeper that can actually impact the outcome of the game in a positive way.

So, had we scored two more goals and got a point, yesterday's performance would have satisfied your criteria?

[goodymatt]

12 hours ago, woodsaint1 said:

Brutally honest, which is refreshing after Ralph continuously making excuses for piss poor performances/tactics. 

Did he say he hasn't slept in a month? What's that about?

Perhaps he’s been in talks (informally) with Saints for a month?

[LuckyNumber7]

24 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

Perhaps he’s been in talks (informally) with Saints for a month?

There were some interesting comments here from the Luton CEO that basically confirmed we had been in contact with them for a while and Jones was our top target. He's also very complimentary about how Saints conducted the approach.

https://thelutonian.com/its-a-sexy-project-everything-chief-exec-gary-sweet-said-on-search-for-new-luton-boss/

 

[Totton Saint]

two points off the bottom .   Happy new year?

[DT]

1 hour ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

There were some interesting comments here from the Luton CEO that basically confirmed we had been in contact with them for a while and Jones was our top target. He's also very complimentary about how Saints conducted the approach.

https://thelutonian.com/its-a-sexy-project-everything-chief-exec-gary-sweet-said-on-search-for-new-luton-boss/

 

Makes you wonder why we didn't get him in sooner. Ralph was so obviously a busted flush and we may have some more points on the board already. Guess he felt like he couldn't leave Luton just yet

[StrangelyBrown]

15 hours ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

NJ's post match press conference..

I like the cut of his jib.

Agreed - I just hope he can deliver on what he's saying.

[John Boy Saint]

Liked the fact that he said he could have sat this one out before stepping into the role, but just chose to get on with it to get feel for it all.
On the flip side Wolves mates of mine seemed a bit more cheesed at the final whistle (aside from being bottom at Christmas) that their new manager chose to start his role tomorrow (Monday) despite being appointed on last week on Bonfire night.

[Saint86]

15 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Well he should have saved the first one and I asked for an example where we earned points. I don't care about a couple of saves that mattered not one fucking iota. I want a keeper that can actually impact the outcome of the game in a positive way.

Eh? Would take an absolute wonder save to get that header, have to remember he has to set himself to come out and claim the ball, then firminho of all people gets a free header and sends the ball flying into the far bottom corner. 

And he did make some cracking saves 👍

[StrangelyBrown]

3 hours ago, saintant said:

Did nobody think to ask if he can get Adam Armstrong scoring? From what I've seen we bought him then proceeded to play in a system that would never get the best out of him and, not surprisingly, his confidence is shot. Unless Nathan Jones and his coaches study videos of his goals for Blackburn and decide they can adjust our style of play so that he gets himself in more of those scoring positions then we might as well cut our losses and sell him for what we can get. He can score goals but not in a team employing the tactics we did under Ralph. Personally I feel quite sorry for the guy because he's fed off scraps since the first game he played - when, of course, he scored a cracking goal against Everton. 

I hope I'm proven wrong, but I've not seen anything in Armstrong that suggests the premier league is his level. He thinks far too slowly and doesn't seem aware of what's happening around him. He's got workrate and pace, but he needs a bit more to be effective at this level.

[goodymatt]

2 hours ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

There were some interesting comments here from the Luton CEO that basically confirmed we had been in contact with them for a while and Jones was our top target. He's also very complimentary about how Saints conducted the approach.

https://thelutonian.com/its-a-sexy-project-everything-chief-exec-gary-sweet-said-on-search-for-new-luton-boss/

 

Interesting read and thanks for sharing. Confirms we formally approached them over the weekend so he absolutely was our first choice. I guess the speed of appointment already told us that. Luton having the weekend knowing it was coming also might suggest Ralph was gone regardless of Newcastle result, as per the Athletic’s view?

Also interesting that the leaks of the news were south coast related, not Luton as we had rumoured on here. Something we are getting used to since SR got involved. I guess that leaking to the media is ok when we know we are appointing someone but the Ralph rumours all season hasn’t been a good look.

Definitely sounds like we’ve been after Jones for some time and had agreed that the World Cup break was fair for us and Luton to manage the change best. Just a shame we’ve wasted so many points in the interim. It’s encouraging that we’ve gone and got our fist choice but it remains a high risk approach. 

[Charlie Wayman]

1 hour ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Agreed - I just hope he can deliver on what he's saying.

Agree, he comes across as a bit naive with silly statements like "all my strikers score goals" when he hasn't even worked with our lot yet.

[LaptopSaint]

4 hours ago, saintant said:

Did nobody think to ask if he can get Adam Armstrong scoring? From what I've seen we bought him then proceeded to play in a system that would never get the best out of him and, not surprisingly, his confidence is shot. Unless Nathan Jones and his coaches study videos of his goals for Blackburn and decide they can adjust our style of play so that he gets himself in more of those scoring positions then we might as well cut our losses and sell him for what we can get. He can score goals but not in a team employing the tactics we did under Ralph. Personally I feel quite sorry for the guy because he's fed off scraps since the first game he played - when, of course, he scored a cracking goal against Everton. 

I think I'd offer him back to Blackburn on loan in January as part of a plan to buy (or loan) Brereton Diaz. Although paper talk is now that ManUre are sniffing around BBD so we probably have no chance. 

[AlexLaw76]

5 hours ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

There were some interesting comments here from the Luton CEO that basically confirmed we had been in contact with them for a while and Jones was our top target. He's also very complimentary about how Saints conducted the approach.

https://thelutonian.com/its-a-sexy-project-everything-chief-exec-gary-sweet-said-on-search-for-new-luton-boss/

 

Guess SR had Ralph for the chop a while back. 

[Sheaf Saint]

19 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Guess SR had Ralph for the chop a while back. 

Seems pretty obvious to me that they knew they wanted to replace him some time ago and were waiting for the right candidate to become available before ditching him. Given the noises about us being in contact with Jones/Luton for some time, and him not believing the timing was right in the summer, it looks like they were trying to keep some stability rather than leaving a caretaker in charge while they got their ducks in a row.

[Chez]

17 hours ago, Brissysaint said:

I think perrauds been a bright spark lately even not counting his goals, yeah he’s slow but he recovers quite well.

You are kidding? Watch the Salah chance that Bazunu saves brilliantly with his left hand  and tell me he recovers quickly. He is so slow. A full back with any kind of pace cuts that out never mind allows him to shoot under no pressure. 

[Chez]

16 hours ago, Suhari said:

Like this.

Calm and confident.

I see good leadership here.

Got to say I was surprised just how confident he is and comes across. The way he talks is like a guy that knows he belongs at this level and has no concerns about players giving him the necessary respect.

Obviously he could be one of these deluded souls that believes his own hype, and if he gets laughed out of town within six months that will suggest he is, but I don't get those vibes.

He is only human. Like all managers, he can only do so much - the players are the ones that have to perform - but I am hopeful he will be successful here.