Pre Season Friendlies 2023/24

[LGTL]

We just need a decent fucking striker. Much like we did for the entirety of last season. Baffling that this still hasn’t been addressed.

Edited 29 July, 2023 by LGTL

[lambtiss]

17 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Didn't see the game and only reading the threads but this is the common theme that needs to be addressed. AA & Che are and always will be crap, so like last year, we need a striker.

Both Che and AA have scored plenty of goals in the league we are now in, arguably for worse teams than Saints. To say they are crap is inaccurate 

[The Kraken]

2 minutes ago, LGTL said:

We just need a decent fucking striker. Much like we did for the entirety of last season. Baffling that this still hasn’t been addressed.

Gonna be an interesting august. Martin gave an interview a week or so ago where basically said we need to get players out of the door. Think we need to shift on the likes Lavia, JWP, Adams and Onuachu before we get any more incoming in those areas. If we can’t get rid of the, for the price we want then it’s a bit worrying.

[rooney]

We played good football first half surely no one can deny that? Alcatraz could have had three with a little luck.I like him and awu away or whatever his name is .Agree we do need a striker who can score.

 

 

 

[captainchris]

19 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Didn't see the game and only reading the threads but this is the common theme that needs to be addressed. AA & Che are and always will be crap, so like last year, we need a striker.

Spot on and I was there. Armstrong runs around chasing shadows and is increasingly unproductive. Che is about 1% better. That team would not get anywhere near promotion.

Possession football is one thing and very commendable, however when played at such a very slow pace is so easy to defend.

Martin has to train the guys to move the ball far far quicker than this. Honestly standards have dropped a long way in recent seasons. 

[The Kraken]

3 minutes ago, rooney said:

We played good football first half surely no one can deny that? Alcatraz could have had three with a little luck.I like him and awu away or whatever his name is .Agree we do need a striker who can score.

 

 

 

Thought we played good football throughout tbf. Just some poor decisions, Edozie being his infuriating blind-ally self, and really as said earlier my me and plenty, no real focal point up front to play through. We played some nice looking stuff but not enough of a breakthrough threat when in their area.

[Chewy]

19 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

Both Che and AA have scored plenty of goals in the league we are now in, arguably for worse teams than Saints. To say they are crap is inaccurate 

Since when they’ve spent 2 years being cr4p, scoring nothing, and losing all form and confidence. It’s irrelevant what they did 3 seasons ago. We may as well sign Dele Ali on that logic

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

24 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

Both Che and AA have scored plenty of goals in the league we are now in, arguably for worse teams than Saints. To say they are crap is inaccurate 

It isnt. We need to lose both of them and get some fresh blood in

[saintant]

15 minutes ago, captainchris said:

Spot on and I was there. Armstrong runs around chasing shadows and is increasingly unproductive. Che is about 1% better. That team would not get anywhere near promotion.

Possession football is one thing and very commendable, however when played at such a very slow pace is so easy to defend.

Martin has to train the guys to move the ball far far quicker than this. Honestly standards have dropped a long way in recent seasons. 

Agree, if you are playing possession football there has to be bursts of pace and changes of gears or it becomes very easy to defend against. 

[saintant]

5 minutes ago, Chewy said:

Since when they’ve spent 2 years being cr4p, scoring nothing, and losing all form and confidence. It’s irrelevant what they did 3 seasons ago. We may as well sign Dele Ali on that logic

Since coming here both have missed chances as do all strikers. Both have also largely been fed on scraps whereas when they were free scoring in the Championship they had great supply. I still believe they have goals in them but the supply line has to come first.

[macca155]

15 minutes ago, captainchris said:

Spot on and I was there. Armstrong runs around chasing shadows and is increasingly unproductive. Che is about 1% better. That team would not get anywhere near promotion.

Possession football is one thing and very commendable, however when played at such a very slow pace is so easy to defend.

Martin has to train the guys to move the ball far far quicker than this. Honestly standards have dropped a long way in recent seasons. 

Lot to agree with there but I did think they moved the ball through the middle a lot quicker than last year. However, failed to sustain that for long periods. But hopefully they will as the season goes on.

It's a pre season game, still not the starting eleven, and the opposition were way tighter than most Championship teams. They defended in numbers and played the ball out of defense comfortably. Saints need their coach, because they still haven't mastered that.

Excellent choice for a pre season game, strong physical side it was a good test.

Need a striker though, can't go on like this.

[Miltonaggro]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Lol. Enjoyable game where we played some nice stuff. We have some exciting players this year. If we get that focal point up top then we could be really effective and score a load. Still a few issues at the back but again we will get another cb in which will help. Overall an encouraging game where we probably played the best we had all preseason. 

Referring to groundhog day in terms of every summer -  we very rarely tear up these games  

I remain optimistic for this season, strengthen that spine and the nice stuff can be underwritten by some guile and nasty.

[captainchris]

MOTM for me was Classie who ran the show and once upon a time he couldn’t get in our team…..Those were the days…. 

[saintant]

1 minute ago, captainchris said:

MOTM for me was Classie who ran the show and once upon a time he couldn’t get in our team…..Those were the days…. 

Big worry if we allowed Classie to run the show.

[lambtiss]

25 minutes ago, Chewy said:

Since when they’ve spent 2 years being cr4p, scoring nothing, and losing all form and confidence. It’s irrelevant what they did 3 seasons ago. We may as well sign Dele Ali on that logic

So Che had scored nothing? Very good at holding the ball up. He was a great foil for Ings. Yes, he misses chances, but so do all  strikers. 

[macca155]

11 minutes ago, saintant said:

Big worry if we allowed Classie to run the show.

Wasn't the Classie of 5 years ago. His game has improved, quite impressive.

[egg]

1 minute ago, macca155 said:

Wasn't the Classie of 5 years ago. His game has improved, quite impressive.

He was always a cracking player to be fair, just not quite suited to us or the PL. 

[Pengi]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

He was always a cracking player to be fair, just not quite suited to us or the PL. 

IIRC he had a bad injury soon after signing for us.

[Charlie Wayman]

2 hours ago, Viking Saint said:

How are we matching them if we're 0-1 down???

Probably too subtle for you to understand.

[Saint Fan CaM]

Well the result was no better than what we’ve seen in the 2-3 past seasons.  Yes, we passed the ball better showing improvement in transition, but ultimately it was useless as we didn’t look likely to score. Why? Not because our strikers can’t shoot. It’s because (a) 95% of our attacking moves have to find their way through all 11 opposition players, (b) there is little or no invention in attacking play…it’s a case of one player - usually the wide player like Tella, Edozie or AAA - trying to dribble through 3-4 defenders.

Smallbone is an ok utility DM but he is useless around the penalty area and couldn’t hit the proverbial barn door.  Baz was not at fault for their goal…he was lucky it went near enough to him to get a touch…the goal was wide open and the striker unchallenged. It was in fact a very good move…one that we could only dream of scoring it seems.

Prediction. If the attacking phase of this teams game is not sorted out we’ll end up losing as many games as winning this season…the Championship is not as bad as some seem to think. On that showing, promotion is a pipe dream right now in my opinion.

[Charlie Wayman]

Shame only 7.5k turned up at St Mary's on such a beautiful day. Very entertaining football and a million miles away from Tuesday clogfest that was AFCB. Great to see Jordie Classie again and brilliant reception for the lad.

Obviously a training exercise and part of the process for both teams but our weaknesses were exposed yet again. We do not move the ball around quickly enough and we do not seem to want to play on the front foot with proactive movement. Far too often we react to play rather than shape the play the way we want it. I lost count of the number of times our players passed to a teammate then stopped running rather than run into a space on the pitch to anticipate and receive the next pass. This is why every promising move breaks down before the ball is moved onto the attacking line.  A few takes from the match;

KWP is infinitely more effective on the left than the right and probably better in midfield than full back.

Manning is not ready to be a starter and is not an improvement on Perraud.

Stephens is a poor reader of the game and ponderously slow.

Adams can't help being Adams. Surely no PL club will come in for him on this form despite the rumours. He's going to be hard to shift out the door.

Lyanco's passing is improving and he actually had a decent match.

Good to see Bazunu back again and looking confident. I like his athleticism. He will. be a great keeper one day.

[RedWillie]

I'll keep it short.... nice new screens, pretty possession football but with absolutley no end product.  

[Fitzhugh Fella]

4 minutes ago, RedWillie said:

I'll keep it short.... nice new screens, pretty possession football but with absolutley no end product.  

I think you should copy your post because I have a feeling you will be pasting it after most matches. 

[davefizzy14]

We played some good football at times however lacking the final cutting edge. Alcaraz was our best player today for me Always looking to make things happen and got a few shots in too. We definitely need to strengthen upfront thats for sure. 

Edited 29 July, 2023 by davefizzy14

[Harry_SFC]

Amazing how much better we were at playing it out from the back with Bazunu in goal. 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

1 hour ago, captainchris said:

MOTM for me was Classie who ran the show and once upon a time he couldn’t get in our team…..Those were the days…. 

Ha, our kid when he was 9/10 insisted on an away shirt for a Christmas present with the name Classie on the back. Ever since, Saints shirts for Christmas presents have been nameless!

[West end Saints]

Enjoyable game.

Smallbone and Alcarez play a good passing game, move the ball more quickly and more attacking than previous seasons. Fullback (Tino, KWP, Manning all good. 

Edozie still showing promise and ability but lacking final goal threat, or winning corners etc.

Tella looked good, more physical and involved than before he left us. 

Lacked potent goal threat. 

Enough against a good side to suggest we will do OK at championship level.

 

Clasie was surprised at our team play, pressing well, passing etc, likened the style to Barcelona or Man City, but did make the point that not at same level! 

 

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0g3psh7?s=09

[John Boy Saint]

3 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Not bad. I think we actually looked the better side but my god do we need a striker. Need to get the witchdoctor backl to sort this home form.

I’ve being saying for ages - get that white witch back to give us a top up. 
The ancient settlement of Hamwick is still under the stadium, more powerful mystic stuff than a p*mpey shirt under the centre circle.

Right I’m off to find some water with my Hazel twigs!

[woodsaint1]

We're going to need to be patient.

You could draw similarities with Burnley last season (and hopefully we get the same outcome) with a new manager trying to implement a new style of play, which will take time. They had a slow start to the season and it wasnt until late September if I recall when they started to find their groove. It may take us longer as they dealt with their player turnover a bit quicker than us. We will no doubt have a few players coming in at the end of August and it could be October time before they're comfortable in RMs system.

Need a striker, CM (when Lavia/JWP leave), CB or two depending on who leaves, and a GK 🤞🏼

[Convict Colony]

Yeah I dunno bro's, are we good, are we bad, can we score, can we defend ?

I'll be fucked if I know but I would like someone in the team who expects to score every game and not have guys who did it 3/4yrs ago.

[Convict Colony]

17 minutes ago, woodsaint1 said:

We're going to need to be patient.

You could draw similarities with Burnley last season (and hopefully we get the same outcome) with a new manager trying to implement a new style of play, which will take time. They had a slow start to the season and it wasnt until late September if I recall when they started to find their groove. It may take us longer as they dealt with their player turnover a bit quicker than us. We will no doubt have a few players coming in at the end of August and it could be October time before they're comfortable in RMs system.

Need a striker, CM (when Lavia/JWP leave), CB or two depending on who leaves, and a GK 🤞🏼

I think the one thing every saints fan has every been their entire life is patient, am getting sick of this easy flippant demand upon us, when will our patience result in us being good huh, or do we have to be patient again when the next guy comes in.

Not having a go at Martin or yourself but more of this we must be patient bollocks with no long term reward is starting to annoy me.

We will we have a team that scores goals huh.

Edited 29 July, 2023 by Convict Colony

[Ex Lion Tamer]

2 hours ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

It isnt. We need to lose both of them and get some fresh blood in

By the end of the season Armstrong will be in double figures for goals and we'll be saying he played a useful role alongside the (better) striker we signed

Edited 29 July, 2023 by Ex Lion Tamer

[Give it to Ron]

1 hour ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Shame only 7.5k turned up at St Mary's on such a beautiful day. Very entertaining football and a million miles away from Tuesday clogfest that was AFCB. Great to see Jordie Classie again and brilliant reception for the lad.

Obviously a training exercise and part of the process for both teams but our weaknesses were exposed yet again. We do not move the ball around quickly enough and we do not seem to want to play on the front foot with proactive movement. Far too often we react to play rather than shape the play the way we want it. I lost count of the number of times our players passed to a teammate then stopped running rather than run into a space on the pitch to anticipate and receive the next pass. This is why every promising move breaks down before the ball is moved onto the attacking line.  A few takes from the match;

KWP is infinitely more effective on the left than the right and probably better in midfield than full back.

Manning is not ready to be a starter and is not an improvement on Perraud.

Stephens is a poor reader of the game and ponderously slow.

Adams can't help being Adams. Surely no PL club will come in for him on this form despite the rumours. He's going to be hard to shift out the door.

Lyanco's passing is improving and he actually had a decent match.

Good to see Bazunu back again and looking confident. I like his athleticism. He will. be a great keeper one day.

Totally disagree about Manning he is light years above Perraud defensively. He was stifled a bit going forward but composed , read danger and confident on ball gave us good balance.

[saintant]

4 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Shame only 7.5k turned up at St Mary's on such a beautiful day. Very entertaining football and a million miles away from Tuesday clogfest that was AFCB. Great to see Jordie Classie again and brilliant reception for the lad.

Obviously a training exercise and part of the process for both teams but our weaknesses were exposed yet again. We do not move the ball around quickly enough and we do not seem to want to play on the front foot with proactive movement. Far too often we react to play rather than shape the play the way we want it. I lost count of the number of times our players passed to a teammate then stopped running rather than run into a space on the pitch to anticipate and receive the next pass. This is why every promising move breaks down before the ball is moved onto the attacking line.  A few takes from the match;

KWP is infinitely more effective on the left than the right and probably better in midfield than full back.

Manning is not ready to be a starter and is not an improvement on Perraud.

Stephens is a poor reader of the game and ponderously slow.

Adams can't help being Adams. Surely no PL club will come in for him on this form despite the rumours. He's going to be hard to shift out the door.

Lyanco's passing is improving and he actually had a decent match.

Good to see Bazunu back again and looking confident. I like his athleticism. He will. be a great keeper one day.

If we have another coach who is failing to drum in the very basic concept of pass and move we are in for a very long season. 

[bpsaint]

5 hours ago, lambtiss said:

So Che had scored nothing? Very good at holding the ball up. He was a great foil for Ings. Yes, he misses chances, but so do all  strikers. 

Are those numbers meant to be impressive? No wonder we’re so shit up front.

[HKsaint]

Where is Onuachu now? I thought he were our next Lambert and would win us a promotion.

[Give it to Ron]

3 hours ago, HKsaint said:

Where is Onuachu now? I thought he were our next Lambert and would win us a promotion.

On the bench yesterday 

[Give it to Ron]

6 hours ago, saintant said:

If we have another coach who is failing to drum in the very basic concept of pass and move we are in for a very long season. 

We don’t they can pass and move have you not seen any pre season games? It’s way above any Jones or Selles play.

If we recruit properly and rid ourselves of the dross it will be a good season.

[Convict Colony]

12 hours ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

By the end of the season Armstrong will be in double figures for goals and we'll be saying he played a useful role alongside the (better) striker we signed

agree with this but us signing that better striker has been our achilles heel since ings left

[egg]

2 hours ago, Give it to Ron said:

We don’t they can pass and move have you not seen any pre season games? It’s way above any Jones or Selles play.

If we recruit properly and rid ourselves of the dross it will be a good season.

I didn't watch yesterday, but I've read comments that players were giving but not going, and that the players ahead of the ball were very static. Not a great sign if so. 

[Wsaint]

1 minute ago, egg said:

I didn't watch yesterday, but I've read comments that players were giving but not going, and that the players ahead of the ball were very static. Not a great sign if so. 

Was definitely more movement although I only really saw the first half. Quick 1-2's to break the lines in the midfield, can definitely see improvements and that Russel is working on something. Might not be completely there yet but anyone saying its "same old" is just wrong. 

[egg]

13 minutes ago, Wsaint said:

Was definitely more movement although I only really saw the first half. Quick 1-2's to break the lines in the midfield, can definitely see improvements and that Russel is working on something. Might not be completely there yet but anyone saying its "same old" is just wrong. 

Thanks for that 👍

[AlexLaw76]

I think yesterday's game summed up why I do not believe we will get promoted (and/or be lucky to make the playoffs).

Stats, we will boss it. Possession, Xg etc..but we will just let in too many goals. It is pretty clear that we will be incredibly vulnerable to a quick counter. We are in the championship, not 1983, so many teams will probably wise up to us pretty quickly..when we finally get the team we need for the season.

 

[saintant]

3 hours ago, Give it to Ron said:

We don’t they can pass and move have you not seen any pre season games? It’s way above any Jones or Selles play.

If we recruit properly and rid ourselves of the dross it will be a good season.

I was replying to a post which implied that players were passing the ball then standing still rather than be proactive and make themselves available for the next pass. I have watched some of the preseason football and we are still not doing enough pass and move in my opinion. Watch the best teams and their players never stand still after making a pass.

[West end Saints]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

I think yesterday's game summed up why I do not believe we will get promoted (and/or be lucky to make the playoffs).

Stats, we will boss it. Possession, Xg etc..but we will just let in too many goals. It is pretty clear that we will be incredibly vulnerable to a quick counter. We are in the championship, not 1983, so many teams will probably wise up to us pretty quickly..when we finally get the team we need for the season.

 

Yesterday we 'bossed' the first half against a team head and shoulders better than any we will face. 

I'm still unsure how we will do, but preseason has been quite a change, with quicker, more incisive passing. There are still things needing improvement / addressing, however I've seen enough to think it will be decent season. 

We will be comfortably top half, probably top 6, and wouldn't be surprised if we are automatically promoted. That depends on how quickly we sort team out but also whether anyone else has storming season. 

[AlexLaw76]

11 minutes ago, West end Saints said:

Yesterday we 'bossed' the first half against a team head and shoulders better than any we will face. 

I'm still unsure how we will do, but preseason has been quite a change, with quicker, more incisive passing. There are still things needing improvement / addressing, however I've seen enough to think it will be decent season. 

We will be comfortably top half, probably top 6, and wouldn't be surprised if we are automatically promoted. That depends on how quickly we sort team out but also whether anyone else has storming season. 

are they?

They are at least a week behind us in pre season, in a very crap league and drew with Norwich last week. I doubt Clasie would get into our side, and he is a starter for them.

Edited 30 July, 2023 by AlexLaw76

[Chewy]

2 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

are they?

They are at least a week behind us in pre season, in a very crap league and drew with Norwich last week. I doubt Clasie would get into our side, and he is a starter for them.

We’re in the 5th best league in the world, remember?

[manji]

17 hours ago, lambtiss said:

I've watched 3 matches now where Amo Ameyaw has looked more creative than either  Tella or Edozie

 

Definitely. Young and fearless. He doesn’t seem scared of making a mistake. Football version of Bazball.

[manji]

16 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Well the result was no better than what we’ve seen in the 2-3 past seasons.  Yes, we passed the ball better showing improvement in transition, but ultimately it was useless as we didn’t look likely to score. Why? Not because our strikers can’t shoot. It’s because (a) 95% of our attacking moves have to find their way through all 11 opposition players, (b) there is little or no invention in attacking play…it’s a case of one player - usually the wide player like Tella, Edozie or AAA - trying to dribble through 3-4 defenders.

Smallbone is an ok utility DM but he is useless around the penalty area and couldn’t hit the proverbial barn door.  Baz was not at fault for their goal…he was lucky it went near enough to him to get a touch…the goal was wide open and the striker unchallenged. It was in fact a very good move…one that we could only dream of scoring it seems.

Prediction. If the attacking phase of this teams game is not sorted out we’ll end up losing as many games as winning this season…the Championship is not as bad as some seem to think. On that showing, promotion is a pipe dream right now in my opinion.

 

[manji]

1 minute ago, manji said:

 

We are buying more players FFS.

Edited 30 July, 2023 by manji
Repeat