West Ham 1-0 Saints - Match Thread

[beatlesaint]

Having watched Saints since 1976 I can honestly say I cannot think of a worse, more ineffective forward line. We literally have nothing in attack.

The only thing we might have is Tall Paul who, when he gets a cross on his head, hits the bar……but he won’t get game time, that’s obvious.

We are toast.

[saintant]

Just now, qwertyell said:

1-0 in the book will look like a tight defeat, like we were perhaps a bit unlucky, but honestly we barely laid a glove on them.

As expected. 

What else is there to say? There's no one single issue that, if resolved, will turn the ship around. The players aren't good enough for the premier league. Some of them won't be good enough for the championship.

 

It was actually an even game and they won it because we were too negative from the start and gave away our usual free header from a set piece. One day we'll score with a free header from a set piece...or maybe not.

[Chez]

1 minute ago, Ed Rooney said:

Don’t think the likes of Alcarez, Sulemana, TP, Orsic have really had as much to be accountable for than the rest of these useless pricks 

If you can't get in this side, then you must either be shit or can't be bothered.  

[aintforever]

3 minutes ago, qwertyell said:

1-0 in the book will look like a tight defeat, like we were perhaps a bit unlucky, but honestly we barely laid a glove on them.

As expected. 

What else is there to say? There's no one single issue that, if resolved, will turn the ship around. The players aren't good enough for the premier league. Some of them won't be good enough for the championship.

 

To be fair West Ham were garbage as well. 

[Chez]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

It was actually an even game and they won it because we were too negative from the start and gave away our usual free header from a set piece. One day we'll score with a free header from a set piece...or maybe not.

Agree, it was pretty even. West Ham were so fucking bad in the first half, yet they finished it leading. That's how crap we are. 

[Ed Rooney]

Just now, Chez said:

If you can't get in this side, then you must either be shit or can't be bothered.  

Or the people in charge are absolute clowns, who pick players who have actually proved in match situations that they are shit and can’t be bothered 

[Zorba]

We’re officially worse than all the other shit teams. Our relegation is well and truly deserved. We are in a bad place.

[Jonnyboy]

1 hour ago, Jonnyboy said:

Can all 10 of their players be offside so long just the one who heads it is onside? Bizarre. 

Think I might head down the Solent Sky museum now, gotta be more entertaining. 

Can confirm that the Sky museum was nice and empty. 

[badgerx16]

Just now, Ed Rooney said:

Don’t think the likes of Alcarez, Sulemana, TP, Orsic have really had as much to be accountable for than the rest of these useless pricks 

Perhaps, but the team has to have 11 on the pitch, and the other 6 outfield players would be the problem. Even JWP has looked below par, free kicks aside. People say we should start our strongest team, but allowing for injuries we would still have Bednarek and DCC at centre back.

Whilst starting Onuachu and Orsic is a valid proposal, have either actually shown enough to infer that they might be part of the solution ?

[Saint86]

I know we have injuries, but that doesn't fully exclude that line up. If Selles starts another game without Alcaraz and Sulemana he shouldn't make it back home again as manager. He's not ready to deliver with this squad, if indeed ever.

[Disco Stu]

10 minutes ago, trousers said:

Apart from a 5 minute burst of energy, do you think the line up we ended the game with were any better...?

I think a forward line including Mara, Walcott, Moi and Stu is possibly the weakest we've ever started in this league. Alacaraz has already scored more league goals than any of them and Sulemana actually offered us some pace and directness so overall, yeah I would say so.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

We just haven't got the fight for it. Just too negative, afraid to lose.

[Morse]

We're down. 

And the blame is not any particular manager, or any particular player, but on genuinely awful recruitment based on buying young and cheep to sell on for a profit, rather than buying players to build a team. 

[StrangelyBrown]

All done. We're not going to score the goals to stay up. End of

[Ed Rooney]

1 minute ago, badgerx16 said:

Perhaps, but the team has to have 11 on the pitch, and the other 6 outfield players would be the problem. Even JWP has looked below par, free kicks aside. People say we should start our strongest team, but allowing for injuries we would still have Bednarek and DCC at centre back.

Whilst starting Onuachu and Orsic is a valid proposal, have either actually shown enough to infer that they might be part of the solution ?

Thanks, i didn’t know a team has to have 11 on the pitch.

My point was that the same underperforming twats are being picked no matter what and it’s the same twats very very responsible for the position we are in. Nothing changes if there is no change 

[Saint86]

5 minutes ago, Zorba said:

We’re officially worse than all the other shit teams. Our relegation is well and truly deserved. We are in a bad place.

No zorba, not true, haven't you heard? We can go down and magically the team will become top class, carry a threat, and win the title...

Edited 2 April, 2023 by Saint86

[beatlesaint]

1 minute ago, Saint86 said:

I know we have injuries, but that doesn't fully exclude that line up. If Selles starts another game without Alcaraz and Sulemana he shouldn't make it back home again as manager. He's not ready to deliver with this squad, if indeed ever.

Start them two, start Tall Paul, get the ball in the box to him and have runners coming into the box looking to pick up any scraps. It’s the only chance we have, I think anyway.

[Turkish]

16 minutes ago, aintforever said:

That side doesn’t have a prayer of staying up. We’re bottom of the league but that’s a false position with the fixtures we have left. Once we’ve played City and Arsenal again we will be 6 or 7 adrift.

we will still be bottom of the league after those games so it isn’t a false postion 🤦‍♂️

[JohnS]

If only we knew:-

1 How to Defend a Cross

2 What the hell to do in the final 3rd

You’d think after years of the same sh*t - somebody would care to put this right! 

[aintforever]

1 minute ago, Turkish said:

we will still be bottom of the league after those games so it isn’t a false postion 🤦‍♂️

False position as in we are in reality 6 or 7 adrift you bell-end.

[Saint In Cornwall]

When will season tickets for next season go on sale?

[Archers Road Stand]

1 minute ago, Saint In Cornwall said:

When will season tickets for next season go on sale?

They should be giving the renewals a big discount considering the shite they've served up at home this season after charging top half prices. 

No doubt they'll freeze prices and say you get more games for your money. 

[rooney]

We have been relegated at a wimper and it will be years before we are back in the Premier League.

[Chez]

11 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

 

Whilst starting Onuachu and Orsic is a valid proposal, have either actually shown enough to infer that they might be part of the solution ?

Orsic has been shite in every game he has played. Onuachu played well at Chelsea but shit in other games. Salamena has flashed his pace, but in general hasn't been all that effective. Alcaraz has been a little hit and miss. 

Every player in the squad has been given a look in now.   

[badgerx16]

9 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

Thanks, i didn’t know a team has to have 11 on the pitch.

My point was that the same underperforming twats are being picked no matter what and it’s the same twats very very responsible for the position we are in. Nothing changes if there is no change 

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, it's just that I don't believe we have 10 outfield players of sufficient quality, and I include Onuachu and Orsic in that assessment, based on the little we have seen of them.

[LiberalCommunist]

Is that the first match since the WC that has had just 3 mins added on time? 

Football is so inconsistent under such an intense glare now. But I expect little else. 

[Turkish]

5 minutes ago, aintforever said:

False position as in we are in reality 6 or 7 adrift you bell-end.

We’re bottom of the league but that’s a false position withthe fixtures we have left.

 

If we’re 6 points adrift we’d still be bottom so it isn’t a false postion. you really don’t do yourself any favours do you 🤣🤣🤣

 

[miserableoldgit]

5 minutes ago, Saint In Cornwall said:

When will season tickets for next season go on sale?

Don't expect the tickets to be cheaper.....more games in the Championship.....

[Turkish]

Just now, LiberalCommunist said:

Is that the first match since the WC that has had just 3 mins added on time? 

Football is so inconsistent under such an intense glare now. But I expect little else. 

And it’s meant to be a minimum of time, he blew before 3 minutes. We could have played for another 30000 minutes and not scored so irrelevant anyway

[Lee On Solent Saint]

1 minute ago, Chez said:

Orsic has been shite in every game he has played. Onuachu played well at Chelsea but shit in other games. Salamena has flashed his pace, but in general hasn't been all that effective. Alcaraz has been a little hit and miss. 

Every player in the squad has been given a look in now.   

But starting Mara was just a waste of time. He brought absolutely nothing to the game. 

[miserableoldgit]

One of the most frustrating things was the consistent passing around at the back for the last 15 mins....

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 minute ago, LiberalCommunist said:

Is that the first match since the WC that has had just 3 mins added on time? 

Football is so inconsistent under such an intense glare now. But I expect little else. 

Yeah, those extra couple of minutes have cost us our premier league place. The PGMOL clearly have an agenda to relegate us. 3 mins FFS, corruption at an unprecedented level. 

[Chez]

2 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

But starting Mara was just a waste of time. He brought absolutely nothing to the game. 

I didn't have a problem starting him, as I think Onuachu is a donkey, but he didn't have a good game. Who did have a good game though?

[Lee On Solent Saint]

I always thought we would go down, but I didn't expect us to go down without a fight. I also thought we would finish above Bournemouth, they are showing more fight than we will ever do

[S-Clarke]

Just now, miserableoldgit said:

One of the most frustrating things was the consistent passing around at the back for the last 15 mins....

 

We have zero footballing intelligence in terms of how to break deep-lying teams down, we just cannot do it. 

10 men Wolves stuck their players behind the ball and we couldn't even figure that out. You can put our 'proper' decline on the sale of Ings and then forgetting to replace him and thinking we can get along with Adams and Armstrong. Brain dead decisions. Ings was more than just goals, his movement and off the ball runs were intelligent and helped open space.

The January additions came too late to muster anything meaningful because of all that went before.

[rallyboy]

It's all to play for, the gap is only three points....says no one sensible who has ever seen a shit team locked at the bottom of a table before.

Where the fuck are goals coming from, especially when you can't defend?

#stilldoomed  

 

[64saint]

5 minutes ago, LiberalCommunist said:

Is that the first match since the WC that has had just 3 mins added on time? 

Football is so inconsistent under such an intense glare now. But I expect little else. 

We were shit for 90 minutes, I don't think an extra few minutes added on time would have made much difference.

[Scoobysaint]

Like our previous relegation, we have a bloated squad of overpaid, overpriced yet average players that can’t do the basics. The Jones experiment has cost us this season but until we sort out our style, strategy and beliefs we won’t bounce back. If we manage to somehow survive this, there needs to be big changes in the summer. 

[badgerx16]

3 minutes ago, Chez said:

Who did have a good game though?

Bazunu ? Perraud ?

[trousers]

21 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I think a forward line including Mara, Walcott, Moi and Stu is possibly the weakest we've ever started in this league. Alacaraz has already scored more league goals than any of them and Sulemana actually offered us some pace and directness so overall, yeah I would say so.

I guess Selles is thinking: "If I start with our best attacking line up and the opposition contain us for 60 minutes, that leaves me with no game changers on the bench. Whereas, if I start with the weaker strikers and we're still in the game after 60 mins then we can bring on our better strikers who will stand a better chance of scoring against a tiring opposition rather than at the start of the game"

Yes, it's a negative approach but given none of our strikers are top quality then maybe, just maybe, it's better to play the best of a poor bunch against a tiring opposition?

Not saying I agree with this approach but I can see an element of logic in it given the overall mediocre quality of the squad.

Edited 2 April, 2023 by trousers

[Archers Road Stand]

Just now, Scoobysaint said:

Like our previous relegation, we have a bloated squad of overpaid, overpriced yet average players that can’t do the basics. The Jones experiment has cost us this season but until we sort out our style, strategy and beliefs we won’t bounce back. If we manage to somehow survive this, there needs to be big changes in the summer. 

I think you're being kind by calling them average players. 

 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

2 minutes ago, Chez said:

I didn't have a problem starting him, as I think Onuachu is a donkey, but he didn't have a good game. Who did have a good game though?

Agreed. They were all shit today. Mara though is just such a nothing player. I maybe would have started A Armstrong, at least he offers better movement, although he can't score either, so it matters little who is up top. 

[InvictaSaint]

If the response from everyone at the front around me was heard by Selles and the players - and their reaction when they timidly made an attempt to come over seemed to indicate it was - then there will be no doubt in the players’ minds what paying supporters thought of their collective ‘performance’…..

[Lighthouse]

Just now, rallyboy said:

It's all to play for, the gap is only three points....says no one sensible who has ever seen a shit team locked at the bottom of a table before.

Where the fuck are goals coming from, especially when you can't defend?

#stilldoomed  

 

Next week - Man City, after that - Palace and Arsenal.

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

Next week - Man City, after that - Palace and Arsenal.

You can see us beating Man City just for pointless banter, not that it will change our trajectory as we'll drop one in against Palace the following week.

Edited 2 April, 2023 by S-Clarke

[derry]

I couldn't see how the three WHU players in offside positions weren't interfering with play by being tight on the defenders and stopping them attacking the ball. WHU had a free header. the player that scored wasn't offside however the goalkeeper had no idea who was going to head the ball. The fact VAR took so long looking at it made me think they were looking for a reason to give it rather than give a fair decision.

56% of mostly own half meaningless possession. We used up loads of time going nowhere. I'm not blaming the centre backs they were all we had. I thought JWP especially was at his negative worst possession at all costs. Lavia played well but the four forwards were no real threat. WTF is it with Elyonoussi. He is a nothing player, so play him and you get nothing. I don't give a toss about about the statistics he shouldn't be playing. Armstrong had a big share of the ball but did practically nothing with it. Mara needs pace on either side to give him a chance so was isolated and snuffed out. Walcott in spells was doing his best. The bench looked better than the team. 

Onuachu showed what he isn't and what he is. He isn't a run around build up player he is a goal hanger and needs to play up on the centre backs. He almost grabbed the goal we needed getting across the centre back. Sulemana given the ball can run at defences, Alcaraz could play behind Onuachu, Maybe play KWP on the right, needs must with AMN at right back. I think that would have caused WHU a lot more problems. Alternatively I recognise that Orsic hasn't looked good, maybe we should play him his way not make him play like an advanced full back. Shit or bust after City and Arsenal we should just go flat out.

It's no use buying players and trying to get them to fit in. Either play to their strengths or buy somebody else

[wadesmith]

Just re read the ‘Rate Our Transfer Window’ Thread . I along with 29.22% gave it a 9....49% gave it an 8.....4% gave it a 10! That’s only 18% giving it 8 or below. We got this wrong lads.

Edited 2 April, 2023 by wadesmith

[BallBoy]

I haven't bothered to check but we seem to lose most games to teams around us 1-0. It's a horrible score to lose by. Most of those games we have just not turned up. Sad to say it but these players just do not have character or intelligence needed.

[AlexLaw76]

Remember people, the league position is not important, it is about the 'process'

[Lighthouse]

1 minute ago, wadesmith said:

Just re read ithe ‘Rate Our Transfer Window’ Thread . I along with 29.22% gave it a 9....49% gave it an 8.....4% gave it a 10! That’s only 18% giving it 8 or below. We got this wrong lads.

Yeah, I mistakenly believed that Aribo would be something other than slow, lazy and dreadful. I also thought that Mara, Edozie and Larios (remember that bloke) whilst young and inexperienced, would at least provide excitement in small bursts.