Middlesbrough 2-1 Saints - Match Thread

[saintant]

Baz

Bree Jan HB KWP

Charles

Edozie Downes Stu

Adams

Sulemana

 

 

 

[saintant]

8 hours ago, Nolan said:

Mason Holgate had a shocker, which from what I hear came about due to limited or no training time with the team.

Did it prevent him knowing how to pass the ball or clear it without it going under his foot? Interesting how much of their basic skills professional footballers lose because they have not trained with their team.

[pimpin4rizeal]

Even though it seems a obvious move to take Charles out of cb position, I get the feeling Martin is trying to use him as some kind of comfortable on the ball passing centre back which fits in with the playing out from the back philosophy..

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Seems relatively straightforward to me. Switch to a 4-2-3-1 to give us a bit more defensively and don't piss around with the full backs

 

Baz

Kwp THB Bednarek manning

Charles downes

Stu alcarez edozie

Adams

[hypochondriac]

7 minutes ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Seems relatively straightforward to me. Switch to a 4-2-3-1 to give us a bit more defensively and don't piss around with the full backs

 

Baz

Kwp THB Bednarek manning

Charles downes

Stu alcarez edozie

Adams

That's a much better team. I'd go with that. 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

Apart from the obvious move of Charles to defensive midfield (well, obvious to all of us except RM it seems), I also don't get what Edozie has done wrong to keep getting subbed. Perhaps give our Sule Messi a run from the start to show why he's our most expensive signing and Fraser on the bench.

[Harry_SFC]

1 hour ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Apart from the obvious move of Charles to defensive midfield (well, obvious to all of us except RM it seems), I also don't get what Edozie has done wrong to keep getting subbed. Perhaps give our Sule Messi a run from the start to show why he's our most expensive signing and Fraser on the bench.

Apart from the cameo against QPR, Fraser has been pretty average so far. Sulemena has been poor on the ball in the last two games but you still get the feeling he could make something happen. 

I know Martin doesn't see him as a wide player but I wouldn't be against putting Stu out wide to start with. 

It's a shame that Martin made A.Armstrong captain as it means he's nailed on to start every game, when in reality he should be nowhere near the starting 11.

Bazunu; KWP, Bednarek, THB, Manning; Charles, Downes, Alcaraz; Stu, Edozie, Adams. 

Edited 20 September, 2023 by Harry_SFC

[Galway saint]

Seems a long time since the transfer window closed and optimism abounded. People were lambasted at that time if they dared to suggest evenHolgate was a shite signing ( that was pre sunderland).  Must be some sort of record for the pace of decline in sentiment. Guess it’s principally because no one with a footballing brain can see us getting promoted playing this way and the aimless fecking passing around at the back drives you mad. it’s passing for passings sake

 

[Saint Garrett]

Who knows…will do the team good to be away from the expectation of St Mary’s, and the understandable groans…! 
 

Baz; KWP Bednarek Bellis Manning; Charles Smallbone Armstrong Edozie Adams Armstrong

if Charly and Sulrmana can be arsed then they should play, but neither looks interested in the slightest for me. 

Such a poor squad still sadly …

[Saint Fan CaM]

Lose this and it’s time up for RM. 

[6ft8saint]

14 hours ago, Nolan said:

I remember when Cortese brought in the thinking of "small margins" where little adjustments on many things could make the world of difference.

Those who choose to boo are certainly not helping the situation.

 

 

Nolan..... I have read your comments and they are very  critical of the fellow fan but don't offer a solution. 

 

In your  world of almighty wisdom what is your solution to the current situation of players and management underperforming season on season?

 

When for you is it OK to say this is enough? Things need to change? And how do you get listened too? Or do you just roll over and say it'd OK

 

 

[Nolan]

3 hours ago, 6ft8saint said:

Nolan..... I have read your comments and they are very  critical of the fellow fan but don't offer a solution. 

 

In your  world of almighty wisdom what is your solution to the current situation of players and management underperforming season on season?

 

When for you is it OK to say this is enough? Things need to change? And how do you get listened too? Or do you just roll over and say it'd OK

 

 

4 games in was 3 wins 1 draw followed by 3 losses after mass squad changes, Injury to CB Captain and then Injury to other senior Centre Back. 

Yes its a pain that a lot of pre-season has been rendered moot, but FFS, get a grip.

 

 

 

Edited 21 September, 2023 by Nolan

[CB Fry]

22 minutes ago, Nolan said:

4 games in was 3 wins 1 draw followed by 3 losses after mass squad changes, Injury to CB Captain and then Injury to other senior Centre Back. 

Yes its a pain that a lot of pre-season has been rendered moot, but FFS, get a grip.

 

 

 

The other way to look at it was that we beat a terrible Sheffield Wednesday team because we had JWP and Tella, not because of Russell Martin and his amazing pre-season.

The "one draw" involved conceding four, at home.

The longer Russell Martin is in charge, the worse we are getting.

[Zorba]

We will win convincingly against another Sheffield Wednesday-esque side. Martin will claim “we were brave” and his tactics are working. We will be back to “promotion favourites” and all will be rosey again. Until we play Leeds the following week and get deservedly stuffed because “we needed to be braver on the ball like we were last week”

1-3 Saints

We suffer on!

[Nolan]

39 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

The other way to look at it was that we beat a terrible Sheffield Wednesday team because we had JWP and Tella, not because of Russell Martin and his amazing pre-season.

The "one draw" involved conceding four, at home.

The longer Russell Martin is in charge, the worse we are getting.

Did someone sneakily score more goals in our 1-0 defeat against a team only beaten by Leeds in their first 7 games?

How is losing by 1 goal instead of 5 getting worse?

[CB Fry]

2 minutes ago, Nolan said:

Did someone sneakily score more goals in our 1-0 defeat against a team only beaten by Leeds in their first 7 games?

How is losing by 1 goal instead of 5 getting worse?

We've got a wage bill/squad supposedly built for automatic promotion but because the the third of our three defeats in a row wasn't quite as shit as the other two we're supposed to be grateful at the glorious improvement? Fucking great. We're getting worse because we've lost three in a row.

Oh, tiny little Southampton can only dream of scraping a draw at home against mighty Ipswich. Thank you Russell Martin for keeping it down to one. Thank you for the improvement. 

[lambtiss]

6 hours ago, Saint Garrett said:

Who knows…will do the team good to be away from the expectation of St Mary’s, and the understandable groans…! 
 

Baz; KWP Bednarek Bellis Manning; Charles Smallbone Armstrong Edozie Adams Armstrong

if Charly and Sulrmana can be arsed then they should play, but neither looks interested in the slightest for me. 

Such a poor squad still sadly …

I agree with you that Alcaraz and Sulemana don't appear to be giving their all. I would add Adams to that list and KWP prior to the Ipswich match. Perhaps because they all expected to be transferred. 

[egg]

1 minute ago, lambtiss said:

I agree with you that Alcaraz and Sulemana don't appear to be giving their all. I would add Adams to that list and KWP prior to the Ipswich match. Perhaps because they all expected to be transferred. 

Possibly. Or perhaps because they're not buying into what RM is doing. 

[tisspahars]

7 games is a long time in football - some on here have gone from "We should have got Michael Carrick, he's built a fantastic team at Middlesbrough" to "If we can't even beat f******g Middlesbrough he simply has to go!"

[lambtiss]

18 minutes ago, egg said:

Possibly. Or perhaps because they're not buying into what RM is doing. 

I know what you are saying. But in my opinion that is not a good reason to give less than your all; even if you don't agree with the manager you should still give 100% on match day.

[JRM]

3 minutes ago, tisspahars said:

7 games is a long time in football - some on here have gone from "We should have got Michael Carrick, he's built a fantastic team at Middlesbrough" to "If we can't even beat f******g Middlesbrough he simply has to go!"

Funny what's happened to Middlesbrough, they lost a couple of influential players from last season and don't seem to have been able to replace them. The basis of the team and manager haven't changed so always the chance they'll find that form again. 

[AlexLaw76]

47 minutes ago, tisspahars said:

7 games is a long time in football - some on here have gone from "We should have got Michael Carrick, he's built a fantastic team at Middlesbrough" to "If we can't even beat f******g Middlesbrough he simply has to go!"

considering they have lost their best players.....literally, all of them

[Osvaldorama]

6 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

considering they have lost their best players.....literally, all of them

So have we……..

[east-stand-nic]

What a game this is. Boro's first win of the season? Or will we get a draw. I honestly give up predicting Saints. I suspect we will lose again but it all depends on the starting line up and if RM can see his mistakes, which sadly I don't think he will.

[Harry_SFC]

20 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

considering they have lost their best players.....literally, all of them.

Yep, they've lost virtually all of their goals. Until Saturday when we let their keeper have a free run through our midfield...

[AlexLaw76]

18 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

So have we……..

yet, we have bought in...THB and co...

[Dman]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

considering they have lost their best players.....literally, all of them

Yep - any team would struggle to replace Archer and Akpom at this level. 

I know they've not had the best of starts, but I'd still take Carrick over Martin - given the chance at this stage. At least there is a bit of unknown around Carrick, we all know Martin is bang average. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

2 hours ago, lambtiss said:

I know what you are saying. But in my opinion that is not a good reason to give less than your all; even if you don't agree with the manager you should still give 100% on match day.

True, but only if you’re CAPABLE of giving 100% in a system you don’t see tangible benefit from. You need every player to be able to adapt totally to Martins system, otherwise individuals will get caught out and the fact is there are too many falling short. Not their fault they put in the effort but find they cannot execute the orders they’ve been given…rinse repeat.

[Suhari]

I am starting to slip back to the Mad Nate mindset of wanting us to lose, so that he has to go. Not a great attitude for a supporter to have!

Must win game. Not only that, but must perform well too. Not sure we will do either...

[Saint Fan CaM]

RM pre-match tactical team talk: “Right lads…they’re bottom for a reason…just keep passing the ball round. Be brave. Walk the ball into the net, but don’t worry about the score…the stats speak for themselves.”

MC pre-match tactical team talk: “Right lads…they’ll fanny round with it for ages but don’t worry…be patient, once you see their CB’s near the half-way line lump it long, chase the ball down and score, cause they’ll be in a complete mess defensively. Don’t worry about them attacking, we’ll always have 11 players between the ball and our goal…just double up on every press as their gaffer reckons they’re not brave. Make sure your fouls are numerous but not serious enough to draw a card…the refs don’t give a shit. Have fun…they’re a nice side to play.”

😉😜

[kenneth_kenobi]

1 hour ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

RM pre-match tactical team talk: “Right lads…they’re bottom for a reason…just keep passing the ball round. Be brave. Walk the ball into the net, but don’t worry about the score…the stats speak for themselves.”

MC pre-match tactical team talk: “Right lads…they’ll fanny round with it for ages but don’t worry…be patient, once you see their CB’s near the half-way line lump it long, chase the ball down and score, cause they’ll be in a complete mess defensively. Don’t worry about them attacking, we’ll always have 11 players between the ball and our goal…just double up on every press as their gaffer reckons they’re not brave. Make sure your fouls are numerous but not serious enough to draw a card…the refs don’t give a shit. Have fun…they’re a nice side to play.”

😉😜

We can see it, why can't the coaching staff??

[6ft8saint]

5 hours ago, Nolan said:

4 games in was 3 wins 1 draw followed by 3 losses after mass squad changes, Injury to CB Captain and then Injury to other senior Centre Back. 

Yes its a pain that a lot of pre-season has been rendered moot, but FFS, get a grip.

 

 

 

Nolan to quote you facts then ....

Of the last 23 home games played we have only won 3!!!!

This feels that there might be a problem 

 

So please excuse me for being a little concerned but if a team is going to win anywhere it should be at home.

Yet we can't win home or away. I have given my commitment to the club investing in season tickets along with alot of others so feel we have the right for something back from them and currently we're getting nothing.

 

 

[jamesfp1]

They are bottom. We are Saints. We all know the outcome. Close the thread.

[Toadhall Saint]

17 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

That's a much better team. I'd go with that. 

Think we all would apart from RM the tactical genius that has won the square root of fuck all.

[miserableoldgit]

7 hours ago, tisspahars said:

7 games is a long time in football - some on here have gone from "We should have got Michael Carrick, he's built a fantastic team at Middlesbrough" to "If we can't even beat f******g Middlesbrough he simply has to go!"

 

[miserableoldgit]

Not sure that I really want to watch it, but when is the presser.....?

[Pilchards]

10 minutes ago, miserableoldgit said:

Not sure that I really want to watch it, but when is the presser.....?

Watched it already.

He said ‘We need to be braver on the ball and I’m delighted how we are currently on second place for the most passes.

Asked if he thought getting out of the championship was the main objection and he replied yes of course it is but I want to stamp my brand of football to the team so my legacy will live on.

He did say he may spring a surprise on Saturday in the captains department as Adam Armstrong is shit.

 

[Hamilton Saint]

26 minutes ago, Pilchards said:

Watched it already.

He said ‘We need to be braver on the ball and I’m delighted how we are currently on second place for the most passes.

Asked if he thought getting out of the championship was the main objection and he replied yes of course it is but I want to stamp my brand of football to the team so my legacy will live on.

He did say he may spring a surprise on Saturday in the captains department as Adam Armstrong is shit.

 

Freudian slip?

[Mr X]

On 20/09/2023 at 06:23, Nolan said:

I think we'll have more chance here as we wont have the negativity of the Fans in the stands making the players more fractious.

Start almost the team that finished the Ipswich match.

Start with the flair players like Sulemana and Alcaraz to give them the chance to fight for a lead, rather than to attempt to claw the ball back. 

 

                                      Bazunu 

KWP          Bednarek               THB               Manning                    

                                    Charles

                  Alcaraz                   S Armstrong

 Edozie                                                                   Sulemana

                                 A Armstrong

Adam Armstrong up front that will certainly scare them

[Convict Colony]

2-0 to us, its been my prediction for nearly a year now and its never been accurate.

This weekend its gonna happen.

 

[Convict Colony]

11 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

considering they have lost their best players.....literally, all of them

sounds familar

[Convict Colony]

12 hours ago, tisspahars said:

7 games is a long time in football - some on here have gone from "We should have got Michael Carrick, he's built a fantastic team at Middlesbrough" to "If we can't even beat f******g Middlesbrough he simply has to go!"

Mate 100%, i was thinking about that the other day as my butler passed me a drink.

Everyone was loving carrick at the end of season, he's also lost a few of his better players and now he's gash, but dont worry though he'll pick a home win no doubt knowing our luck.

[revolution saint]

I’m going 0 - 0. Two teams go head to head in the being brave stakes to see who can pass the ball between their backline the longest. Purists will love it, fans not so much.

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Must win game 😂 

[sledger]

suprising how many people put manning in there starting lineup,couldnt tackle my mother,never stops a cross coming into the box,passing not great and yet he appears to be the first name on the team sheet,cant believe martin didnt make him captain.Anyway its clear to all why he was a free agent

[sandwichsaint]

2 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

2-0 to us, its been my prediction for nearly a year now and its never been accurate.

This weekend its gonna happen.

 

I always used to bet Lundekvam for first scorer, 40-1 or 50-1 it was. Unfortunately I wasn't there when Lundekvam Scored.

[The Cat]

15 minutes ago, Behind Enemy Lines said:

Must win game 😂 

Some of the more pessimistic fans from both teams will be seeing it as their first relegation 6 pointer of the season.

[bobby_charles]

I think we will scrape a narrow 0-2 defeat. Be close but lets not forget dem stats boys, dem stats, oooooo weee tasty, tasty soul destroying stats.

[Dark Munster]

On 20/09/2023 at 06:11, SambaMaverick said:

This team picks itself, surely

Unfortunately not, it's pick by that plonker Martin.

[Chez]

On 20/09/2023 at 15:15, Saint Matty 76 said:

I agree but Edozie in for Fraser, who I think has looked exceptionally average and not at all built for this system.

What system is he built for? Has he any redeeming features?