Saints 0-1 Cherries - Match Thread

[OttawaSaint]

12 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

I still had a tiny bit of that before the game. Not anymore. The fat lady has almost finished the album.

The fat lady could probably turn quicker than Bednarek.

How, just how was:

1) he allowed to come back?

2) put straight into the starting XI?

3) allowed anywhere near the pitch ever again after that comical own goal vs Wolves?

Like him...staggering...

[macca155]

As soon as I heard the team I knew what was going to happen. Pretty much the same as every other home game.

This manager is clueless. Why McCarthy, ridiculous.  He looked rusty, and out of his depth. Bazunu isn't a Prem goalie yet, we can all see that but at least his distribution is decent.

Armstrong and Elyounoussi were terrible at Arsenal, oh of course they get to keep their places. My scorn extends to AMN, back to Arsenal for him.

The players are set up to play cautiously. Selles is a scared manager and they know it.

It took O'Neil 10 mins to order a convenient injury, and then quickly change things. From then on our midfield was bypassed and Perraud constantly harrased. Hodgson did the same, as did Moyes.

Bournemouth were poor but at least played with some fight. Better than Saints and deserved the win.

My 4th relegation.. I just want it over and done with now. I've had enough, time for cricket.

[Whitey Grandad]

1 minute ago, macca155 said:

As soon as I heard the team I knew what was going to happen. Pretty much the same as every other home game.

This manager is clueless. Why McCarthy, ridiculous.  He looked rusty, and out of his depth. Bazunu isn't a Prem goalie yet, we can all see that but at least his distribution is decent.

Armstrong and Elyounoussi were terrible at Arsenal, oh of course they get to keep their places. My scorn extends to AMN, back to Arsenal for him.

The players are set up to play cautiously. Selles is a scared manager and they know it.

It took O'Neil 10 mins to order a convenient injury, and then quickly change things. From then on our midfield was bypassed and Perraud constantly harrased. Hodgson did the same, as did Moyes.

Bournemouth were poor but at least played with some fight. Better than Saints and deserved the win.

My 4th relegation.. I just want it over and done with now. I've had enough, time for cricket.

He and the centre halves looked as though they’d never played together before.

I’ve just watched their goal again and DCC gives a perfect example of how not to play full back. Tavernier just runs past him down the outside and then skips into the penalty area with all the space and time in the world to roll the ball into our net. It’s happened so many times this season that the opposition have been able to run into our penalty area and then pick their spot from twelve yards out.

[rallyboy]

All I saw tonight was a bunch of guys working hard, on top of their game and entertaining an appreciative Southampton crowd who had a bloody good night for thirty odd quid.

I chose the Peter Hook gig down the road because I couldn't stomach another St Marys shitshow rearranged to clash with a proper night out.

Couldn't even give the season ticket away, but like the players, I couldn't give a fuck.

Condolences to anyone who attended, you missed a great gig.

 

[Whitey Grandad]

2 minutes ago, rallyboy said:

All I saw tonight was a bunch of guys working hard, on top of their game and entertaining an appreciative Southampton crowd who had a bloody good night for thirty odd quid.

I chose the Peter Hook gig down the road because I couldn't stomach another St Marys shitshow rearranged to clash with a proper night out.

Couldn't even give the season ticket away, but like the players, I couldn't give a fuck.

Condolences to anyone who attended, you missed a great gig.

 

That must have been the Bournemouth players.

[egg]

2 minutes ago, rallyboy said:

All I saw tonight was a bunch of guys working hard, on top of their game and entertaining an appreciative Southampton crowd who had a bloody good night for thirty odd quid.

I chose the Peter Hook gig down the road because I couldn't stomach another St Marys shitshow rearranged to clash with a proper night out.

Couldn't even give the season ticket away, but like the players, I couldn't give a fuck.

Condolences to anyone who attended, you missed a great gig.

 

Ditto. I couldn't bring myself to watch. Hooky on the other hand was amazing. 

[Morse]

1 hour ago, ItchenRob said:

One small positive is that I only have to watch some of these players another 5 times in a Saints shirt!😄😇

Two things here, you don't have to go again this season. Might be a good idea to boycot the last home games and maybe Sport Republic will get the message. And secondly that abysmal shirt is NOT a Saints shirt.

 

[OttawaSaint]

One consolation is that it won't be the scouce pricks who mathematically relegate us. That'll be what Forest? Fulham? BHA?

Can't be bothered (like our players) to look. 

Edited 27 April, 2023 by OttawaSaint

[OttawaSaint]

Can't find the post but after the 0-0 at Old Trafford I predicted we'd not get more than 5 more goals, to 30pts and neither Tall Pall nor Sulemana would ever get a Saints goal.

Got the 5 goals part wrong (7 so far) but well on course to be correct on the 3 other predictions. How fucking depressing.

Edited 27 April, 2023 by OttawaSaint

[SW11_Saint]

Did anyone witness a confrontation between a fan and Toby Steele tonight  at the final whistle? 

[Appy]

20 minutes ago, SW11_Saint said:

Did anyone witness a confrontation between a fan and Toby Steele tonight  at the final whistle? 

It was probably an away fan in the home end but Toby ignored him. 

[Dark Munster]

[John Boy Saint]

Ah well at least the loss was 8 goals better the last time I woke up here in China to a Saints result. 
 

Cheers for the observations on here. Just made me think of Merson on soccer Saturday when we beat Chelsea at theirs “Chelsea seem to be a assembled team of very expensive individuals”, Reading on here seems we are the opposite - a team of very cheaply assembled individuals. 

Hey ho

[washsaint]

With some time to rethink after that diabolical display, I actually feel sorry for Selles who seems like a decent guy.  Clearly miles out of his depth and a risk averse coach but no-one could get a tune out of these idiots.  What a disastrous season this has been and what terrible owners SR are.  

Where on earth do Saints go from here?  

Edited 28 April, 2023 by washsaint

[Edmonton Saint]

This was all on Selles. Wrong team , Wrong Tactics. Bournemouth have conceded the most goals from corners in the league . Did we set up to take advantage of this ? Did we fuck. To watch short corner after short corner was infuriating . Just maybe our 6ft7 striker could have caused a bit of panic if he was playing ?  
 

Elyounoussi has survived 3 managers this season, if ever a player was symptomatic of our demise it is this idiot. Offers nothing. Every single time I see him starting I know what kind of performance the team will give us. Safe, tepid , Shit.

[Convict Colony]

went to bed at half time, i chose well

[Pamplemousse]

Not even angry any more.

Bournemouth passed the ball around quickly. We dither with it. Why? It is so a) awful to watch and b)tactically a disaster, allowing teams to set up and just wait for us to make a mistake. And still Selles doesn't change a single thing from the "plan"

We need a mass clear out of players and staff, and hopefully Selles doesn't even return to his old post next season, he has not got a clue at all.

[obelisk]

Saints actually seem to be getting worse. In fact I'm struggling to think of any player that has improved during their time at Saints. Anybody arriving with any talent or flair seems to have it knocked out of them. Players arrive with a history of goalscoring only to find that they become nervous and incompetent wrecks in front of goal - that's if they even get picked to actually play - in a team that has long had a problem finding the net. Under the current regime the likes of Davies, Osgood, Lambert and Pelle wouldn't get a look in. Le Tissier would most certainly be banished to the sidelines because he doesn't do enough without the ball.

Something is seriously wrong at Saints. The playbook, if there really is one (and I'm struggling to see any evidence for it), needs ripping up and flushing down the sewer.

At least we can now abandon any hope for this miserable season. The plan for next season needs to be put in place right now.

[JRM]

7 hours ago, OttawaSaint said:

The fat lady could probably turn quicker than Bednarek.

How, just how was:

1) he allowed to come back?

2) put straight into the starting XI?

3) allowed anywhere near the pitch ever again after that comical own goal vs Wolves?

Like him...staggering...

Agree, the whole Bednarek saga sums it up. 

Obviously last night was the final final nail in the coffin, Selles needs to go he's so far out of his depth. 

The VAR disallowed goal was a great reminder that we can get away from this nonsense and actually start to celebrate goals again normally in the championship.  

Bournemouth fans really hate us don't they, desperate for it to be reciprocal. 

[Whitey Grandad]

1 minute ago, JRM said:

Agree, the whole Bednarek saga sums it up. 

Obviously last night was the final final nail in the coffin, Selles needs to go he's so far out of his depth. 

The VAR disallowed goal was a great reminder that we can get away from this nonsense and actually start to celebrate goals again normally in the championship.  

Bournemouth fans really hate us don't they, desperate for it to be reciprocal. 

Bournemouth is where old people go to be ignored.

Their fans seem to think that beating us is something special. They don’t realise that most of the other teams in the league do it too.

[Kenilworthy]

As a perfect end to the evening, who thought it was a good idea to close the M3 without giving warning notices when you joined? Added an hour to my journey home

[Mr X]

Well I hope I the final home game is an totally empty stadium as that's no less than what they deserve! 

[macca155]

The owners have a cleat choice here. If they continue with Selles and waste the next 5 games,  then the Championship is going to be a tough gig. Look at Stoke, Swansea, West Brom, and Norwich. The likes of Luton and Millwall are lean, mean, and ready to take us down.

The club needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom. They need to address the sense of hopelessness that has infected the fan base.

Identify the players who'll be here next year and use the next 5 games as a pre pre season.

Establish an identity and build for the future.

Edited 28 April, 2023 by macca155

[Mr X]

2 minutes ago, macca155 said:

The owners have a cleat choice here. If they continue with Selles and waste the next 5 games,  then the Championship is going to be a tough gig. Look at Stoke, Swansea, West Brom, and Norwich. The likes of Luton and Millwall are lean, mean, and ready to take us down.

The club needs a complete overhaul from top to bottom. They need to address the sense of hopelessness that has infected the fan base.

Identify the players who'll be here next year and use the next 5 games as a pre pre season.

Establish an identity and build for the future.

With our lot in charge..... that will definitely happen 

[RedArmy]

1 hour ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Bournemouth is where old people go to be ignored.

Their fans seem to think that beating us is something special. They don’t realise that most of the other teams in the league do it too.

We’re probably the only team that couldn’t beat us. 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

Am fuckin sick of teams like Bournemouth, Everton, and Forest winning easily at St Mary's. Absolutely accept that we are shit at the moment, yet Bournemouth are a pile of shit too, yet they didn't even have to get out of third gear to do us over. Yesterday's game had zero quality in it at all. Only difference was that they were organised and determined, we on the other hand had no clue what we were doing. Just happy for the usual routine of passing between the keeper and back four. We had a transfer window and the opportunity to go for a decent manager in January, yet we have managed to get even worse since we sacked Jones. Sport Republic have absolutely fucked this club over.

[malcolm waldron]

2 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Am fuckin sick of teams like Bournemouth, Everton, and Forest winning easily at St Mary's. Absolutely accept that we are shit at the moment, yet Bournemouth are a pile of shit too, yet they didn't even have to get out of third gear to do us over. Yesterday's game had zero quality in it at all. Only difference was that they were organised and determined, we on the other hand had no clue what we were doing. Just happy for the usual routine of passing between the keeper and back four. We had a transfer window and the opportunity to go for a decent manager in January, yet we have managed to get even worse since we sacked Jones. Sport Republic have absolutely fucked this club over.

That just about sums it up for me.  I felt that after about 15-20 mins (after one of their players was 'injured' - and O'Neill got them all together) last night Bournemouth gained control.  And that for me was it - not once after that did we look anything like a team that believed in themselves and played with purpose.  We need a focal point up front - to at least keep hold of the ball, and Che coming on gave us that.  Why not start with him?  He'd miss one or two from three yards out but he might at least bring others into scoring positions.  Then he can go off after 60 mins and after that it's a roll of the dice to replace him.

Lastly I'd welcome a comparison between Bournemouth's January spend vs impact on the first team and ours.  I'm guessing not pretty reading.  Bournemouth FFS! 

[badgerx16]

8 hours ago, OttawaSaint said:

Can't find the post but after the 0-0 at Old Trafford I predicted we'd not get more than 5 more goals, to 30pts and neither Tall Pall nor Sulemana would ever get a Saints goal.

Got the 5 goals part wrong (7 so far) but well on course to be correct on the 3 other predictions. How fucking depressing.

Not getting to 30 points has been obvious for a while.

Edited 28 April, 2023 by badgerx16

[rooney]

We showed no intensity for a must win game and after JWP did not appear following half time we were a complete shambles in mid field. Just shows what a good player he is for us. When we did get going later AMN decided he was unable to cross the ball which just about summed it all upside. Bournemouth were much the better side than us but even they were not any great shakes.  

[badgerx16]

15 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

We’re probably the only team that couldn’t beat us. 

Chelsea

[Whitey Grandad]

I came home and watched the last 15 minutes on fast forward. All I saw was cross after cross being lobbed into their penalty area and being headed straight back out. Nothing being driven flat with pace and accuracy.

The starting formation was weird. A back four, JWP and Latvia sitting just in front of them and a midfield two of Alcatraz and Elyonoussi with Walcott right wing and A Armstrong on the left. A sort of 4-2-2-2. There was no linkage or interplay between the defence and the attack.

In the first half when we were defending we had everybody back within 35 yards of our goal line. From where I sit in the Kingsland just north of the halfway line I was staring at an empty field of grass.

[badgerx16]

The absolute definition of a "must win" home match, against a team still involved in the relegation mix, and we manage 2 attempts on target. 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What was Selles' plan ? Bore them into submission ?

Edited 28 April, 2023 by badgerx16

[Lallana's Left Peg]

No clue, no fight, no quality.  The note being passed around in the first half was frankly embarrassing. 

 

Blow it all up and start again.

[Mr X]

Would anyone actually wear their saints shirt in public at the moment? 🤔🤣 AFC totton are a better watch!

[ChrisR]

Having sat through that complete and utter pile of drivel they call football i must have fallen asleep as i can not remember the 2 efforts on target. That has to go down as one of the worst performances at home in a complete season of poor performance even the Leicester win was down to them missing several open goals - the team selections are shocking the lack of energy after the initial 10 mins is unprofessional, the walking off the pitch by most of the players at the end is disrespectful to those mugs like me who stayed to the end. I will go to Fulham game cause its a Saturday and have a few beers with friends but there is no way i am going to watch the bin dippers slice through us. The only silver lining t this cluster f*ck of a season is that the Skates blew it yet again so we dont have to suffer their gloating.

[JCBSaint]

Well that was every bit as horrendous as i expected! Normally there would be a packed house, the fans behind the team.., none of that and who can blame us! We as fans give everything every time but if the club, ie the board can’t be arsed then why should we? A flat atmosphere, no urgency, no ideas, sitting ducks  once again at home!  No tactics, no plan, a team of no quality. I said when we signed all these young players, who is that? Who is this? Never heard of any of them, most of them can’t even get in the team anyway!!! A manager thrown under the bus aswell! 
He hasn’t got it, the people in charge should have seen it! 

what a complete mess we are!! 
 

At least no VAR next season .. the only positive in this sorry season. Cricket for me soon thank goodness and then mayb split my time between the Silverlake Stadium and the odd championship match. 
 

Sort this club out someone! 

[Saint Fan CaM]

After switching off and leaving my thoughts behind last night I've just read through some of this thread.  Obviously Selles and the players get dogs abuse rightly thrown at them, however my concern for some time (and I've written here before about it) has been the insistence on some kind of playbook that simply put revels in sideways and backwards passing, allowing the opposition to re-group and defend cohesively.  This has permeated through the squad under the management of Ralph, Jones and Selles - possibly even before Ralph actually.  It needs a complete critical overhaul.  

I'm not sure how much Ankerson has to do with team affairs and even tactics, but he has presided over a total shit show and must be held accountable in his role.  It's going to be nigh on impossible to turn this squad around in less than a year, but somehow we need to lose the underperformers and attempt to keep the better players such as Alcarez and Lavia.  I actually think there are players like KWP who are really good, but lack the right leadership.  Without a seriously deep purge in the summer I think we're toast in Championship, however these deluded fools in the Boardroom probably think we'll walk it.

[badgerx16]

8 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Would anyone actually wear their saints shirt in public at the moment? 🤔🤣 AFC totton are a better watch!

I am actually wearing a Friend's Provident era sweatshirt at the moment, and will be wearing it when I go to Blackpool this afternoon.

[Southner]

Highly likely that we'll continue to pick up 0 points from the remaining games - not that this is news to any of us.

What an absolute shambles.

Dragan must he a happy chap.

Laughable that £40 Liverpool tickets are being pushed by the club. Good luck with drumming up interest in those.

[Whitey Grandad]

1 minute ago, Southner said:

Highly likely that we'll continue to pick up 0 points from the remaining games - not that this is news to any of us.

What an absolute shambles.

Dragan must he a happy chap.

Laughable that £40 Liverpool tickets are being pushed by the club. Good luck with drumming up interest in those.

They are not aimed at Saints fans.

[Mr X]

Just now, badgerx16 said:

I am actually wearing a Friend's Provident era sweatshirt at the moment, and will be wearing it when I go to Blackpool this afternoon.

Ahh the  glory days of the friends provident St Mary's stadium it really rolled off the tongue 

[Whitey Grandad]

4 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

After switching off and leaving my thoughts behind last night I've just read through some of this thread.  Obviously Selles and the players get dogs abuse rightly thrown at them, however my concern for some time (and I've written here before about it) has been the insistence on some kind of playbook that simply put revels in sideways and backwards passing, allowing the opposition to re-group and defend cohesively.  This has permeated through the squad under the management of Ralph, Jones and Selles - possibly even before Ralph actually.  It needs a complete critical overhaul.  

Has anybody ever worked out the purpose of that? All it does is waste time and bore the fans. On the football side it gets us nowhere.

[DT]

I see JWP has told his agent to up the 'get me out of here game', the Athletic saying that he has been open to leaving for a while. No wonder he has completely vanished on the pitch. People saying he deserves the move and it's been tough for him, like it's going down the mines or something. Give me strength. Guess he wants to beat Beck's free kick record somewhere else to shine the light on him. He's been a total powderpuff of a captain who reinforces our crab like side to side, no threat game for ages. Get rid of them all and play the kids.

[Tamesaint]

I want to know when the rules changed about free kicks. Every time you win one you have to play it backwards.

And why didn't Bournemouth know about that change?

[Southner]

29 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

After switching off and leaving my thoughts behind last night I've just read through some of this thread.  Obviously Selles and the players get dogs abuse rightly thrown at them, however my concern for some time (and I've written here before about it) has been the insistence on some kind of playbook that simply put revels in sideways and backwards passing, allowing the opposition to re-group and defend cohesively.  This has permeated through the squad under the management of Ralph, Jones and Selles - possibly even before Ralph actually.  It needs a complete critical overhaul.  

I'm not sure how much Ankerson has to do with team affairs and even tactics, but he has presided over a total shit show and must be held accountable in his role.  It's going to be nigh on impossible to turn this squad around in less than a year, but somehow we need to lose the underperformers and attempt to keep the better players such as Alcarez and Lavia.  I actually think there are players like KWP who are really good, but lack the right leadership.  Without a seriously deep purge in the summer I think we're toast in Championship, however these deluded fools in the Boardroom probably think we'll walk it.

If he has any say in tactics/player selection then he clearly has to go. The constant in our demise. 

[Southner]

34 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

They are not aimed at Saints fans.

Maybe tourists looking for a nice day out? 

[Charlie Wayman]

5 hours ago, washsaint said:

With some time to rethink after that diabolical display, I actually feel sorry for Selles who seems like a decent guy.  Clearly miles out of his depth and a risk averse coach but no-one could get a tune out of these idiots.  What a disastrous season this has been and what terrible owners SR are.  

Where on earth do Saints go from here?  

This of course is the $64million question. After the reshuffle expected during the summer when most of the half competent players - and let's face it there aren't many of those - will have moved on, the majority of the dross will still be here under contract as no other club will be in the least bit interested in them. So we will start life in the Championship with a makeshift team of half-wits and also-rans with zero positional understanding and who can't hold onto the ball when they've got it let alone make accurate or meaningful passes.

It will take several seasons to find a few new stars around which to build a revitalised team that can seriously challenge for promotion. We can only hope that in the interim period the rump of the current crop can exert themselves enough to avoid a further relegation but it is a pious hope and the odds of them doing so are every low indeed.

There are many reasons to expect that we will go straight down to League 1;  poor quality players, long-term losing mentality, low morale caused by dropping down a division, 'wannaway' emotions frustrated by long contracts. No manger on earth can be expected to address and overcome factors such as these quickly or even at all and self evidently it will take a season or three to change emotions and find the new talent on which to build a better future.

So having sat and watched bemusedly at the sheer incompetence of our so-called team performance and pretty much every individual player last night, I could not find even a spark of hope that things will or can get better anytime soon. What was more disturbing was the clear and obvious deterioration of team performances from match by match. To me it is a one way ticket to oblivion.

[Pamplemousse]

3 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

This of course is the $64million question. After the reshuffle expected during the summer when most of the half competent players - and let's face it there aren't many of those - will have moved on, the majority of the dross will still be here under contract as no other club will be in the least bit interested in them. So we will start life in the Championship with a makeshift team of half-wits and also-rans with zero positional understanding and who can't hold onto the ball when they've got it let alone make accurate or meaningful passes.

It will take several seasons to find a few new stars around which to build a revitalised team that can seriously challenge for promotion. We can only hope that in the interim period the rump of the current crop can exert themselves enough to avoid a further relegation but it is a pious hope and the odds of them doing so are every low indeed.

There are many reasons to expect that we will go straight down to League 1;  poor quality players, long-term losing mentality, low morale caused by dropping down a division, 'wannaway' emotions frustrated by long contracts. No manger on earth can be expected to address and overcome factors such as these quickly or even at all and self evidently it will take a season or three to change emotions and find the new talent on which to build a better future.

So having sat and watched bemusedly at the sheer incompetence of our so-called team performance and pretty much every individual player last night, I could not find even a spark of hope that things will or can get better anytime soon. What was more disturbing was the clear and obvious deterioration of team performances from match by match. To me it is a one way ticket to oblivion.

Lol behave. We won't go down next season, not a chance. At worst we'll be in midtable but we have enough resources to spend our way out of any trouble (for the Championship). Even Nathan Jones could probably get us at least 12th next season.

 

For a good comparison see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015–16_Aston_Villa_F.C._season (note how far worse they are than we are) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016–17_Aston_Villa_F.C._season

And hopefully we won't be stupid enough to appoint someone like Di Matteo.

Edited 28 April, 2023 by Pamplemousse

[melmacian_saint]

Next time we go back into St Mary's, it will be for the formal farewell as Fulham come and deliver the relegation maths.

Awful season, and we will go down with a whimper. 

[OldNick]

5 minutes ago, Pamplemousse said:

Lol behave. We won't go down next season, not a chance. At worst we'll be in midtable but we have enough resources to spend our way out of any trouble (for the Championship). Even Nathan Jones could probably get us at least 12th next season.

 

For a good comparison see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015–16_Aston_Villa_F.C._season (note how far worse they are than we are) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016–17_Aston_Villa_F.C._season

And hopefully we won't be stupid enough to appoint someone like Di Matteo.

Jones was a terrible appointment, but I do feel we would have been more up and at them and not been this side who think we can play Pep football if he had stayed. We have the resource of players who could have done a far better job. I doubt we'd be tippy tapping around if he was still here. Yes he was poor but Im certain would have shook the complacent  bunch we call a team