Saints 4-0 Walsall - Match Thread

[Whitey Grandad]

3 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

That's 5th round.

5th round is Feb 28th they are midweek games 🤬

[The Cat]

Dibling has all the ability to be an outstanding player.

Probably time people started getting his name right instead of calling him Dibbling or Dibley.

[Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan]

Could easily have finished about 8:2 with better finishing. 
Fraser was the best player on the pitch by a mile, made about 20 runs waiting for a ball through that never came and looked quicker than everyone else.

Impressed by Meghoma, seemed to be running and running, quick and direct with his runs and passes, and a decent cross on him too. I’m not sure he was tested defensively but he looked more Luke Shaw and less Jake Vokins to me.

SAA had a quiet game but we seemed to work a lot more down the left than the right and I’m not sure he had much help from Holgate going forward so was often facing two men.

Glad Dibling and Bragg got minutes, happy to see Dibling take on players with ease and get some shots away. Bragg didn’t seem to take more than 2 touches anytime he had the ball, could probably come in for Smallbone and you wouldn’t notice

[OttawaSaint]

1 hour ago, The Cat said:

Dibling has all the ability to be an outstanding player.

Probably time people started getting his name right instead of calling him Dibbling or Dibley.

Da-bling...got it!

[saintant]

How is Chris Sutton doing with his FA Cup predictions? The guy embarrassed himself. What a complete tit.

[austsaint]

50 minutes ago, Fabrice Fernandes no.1 fan said:

Could easily have finished about 8:2 with better finishing. 
Fraser was the best player on the pitch by a mile, made about 20 runs waiting for a ball through that never came and looked quicker than everyone else.

Impressed by Meghoma, seemed to be running and running, quick and direct with his runs and passes, and a decent cross on him too. I’m not sure he was tested defensively but he looked more Luke Shaw and less Jake Vokins to me.

SAA had a quiet game but we seemed to work a lot more down the left than the right and I’m not sure he had much help from Holgate going forward so was often facing two men.

Glad Dibling and Bragg got minutes, happy to see Dibling take on players with ease and get some shots away. Bragg didn’t seem to take more than 2 touches anytime he had the ball, could probably come in for Smallbone and you wouldn’t notice

Was thinking the same about Meghoma's very impressive display.  Not tested defensively but the pace, crossing, movement and athleticism stood out like a beacon and looked a favourable comparison to a 17yo Luke Shaw, even if it was only L2 opposition.    His display has probably sealed Larios' fate and even Ryan Manning should be worried about the talent we saw from Meghoma today.   If promotion comes, he could be the understudy to a new LB.   The cameos from Dibling and Bragg were encouraging and as you say, it was quieter out on SAA' wing yet he didn't get the help from Holgate that Fraser supplied to Meghoma.       Fraser's game was stunning - head and shoulders (if that's possible) above any other player on the pitch.  Every contribution he made seemed a bit special.

Harwood-Bellis again looked a class act, he directed so much of the tempo and the build up play.  Alcaraz, though prone to a lost possession or a stray pass, just has that flair and creativity to make things happen.   Well done to Joe Lumly; more than ok and showed he can play the sweeper role, handle safely and command his box.    The only downside for me was another underwhelming game from Smallbone - you'd expect him to show out against L2 opposition but the same limitations showed up in his game.   

Another feel good afternoon and fair to say most of the 22,600 at the ground (excepting Walsall supporters) will be turning up again hoping for more entertaining Football.

 

 

[John B]

7 minutes ago, austsaint said:

Was thinking the same about Meghoma's very impressive display.  Not tested defensively but the pace, crossing, movement and athleticism stood out like a beacon and looked a favourable comparison to a 17yo Luke Shaw, even if it was only L2 opposition.    His display has probably sealed Larios' fate and even Ryan Manning should be worried about the talent we saw from Meghoma today.   If promotion comes, he could be the understudy to a new LB.   The cameos from Dibling and Bragg were encouraging and as you say, it was quieter out on SAA' wing yet he didn't get the help from Holgate that Fraser supplied to Meghoma.       Fraser's game was stunning - head and shoulders (if that's possible) above any other player on the pitch.  Every contribution he made seemed a bit special.

Harwood-Bellis again looked a class act, he directed so much of the tempo and the build up play.  Alcaraz, though prone to a lost possession or a stray pass, just has that flair and creativity to make things happen.   Well done to Joe Lumly; more than ok and showed he can play the sweeper role, handle safely and command his box.    The only downside for me was another underwhelming game from Smallbone - you'd expect him to show out against L2 opposition but the same limitations showed up in his game.   

Another feel good afternoon and fair to say most of the 22,600 at the ground (excepting Walsall supporters) will be turning up again hoping for more entertaining Football.

 

 

I feel that the decline in the playing standard in recent seasons has ended and the future looks a great deal brighter than it did a few months ago promotion is a possibility but staying in the PL is by no means a formality

[stknowle]

9 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Note on Dibling : 

maybe it’s just me but the way he runs with the ball, kind of ramshackle way but the ball keeps up, and he gets that bit of time and Space to himself…and then looks up and easy as you like delivers a premium quality pass….last time a young player with that kind of body shape and look did that that I can recall his name was Matthew something when he was playing his early matches for us and had that rep as being a bit special when he came on.   Tyler may well be an absolute gem in the making. 

I thought the same. In fact if he shaved his hair off we’ve basically got an exact replica of Matthew Robinson.

[Jack]

Solid win in the end but we’ve got to break this habit of pissing about and trying to gift the opposition a way back into the game at 1-0. It happens far too regularly  

I’m not saying hoof it forward but some of our ‘playing out from the back’ is just pointless risk with no reward. 

Holgate’s throw in across our own 18 yard line followed by Stephens’ blind pass to their forwards, then another blind pass from Holgate a few mins later is what I’m on about. It’s just irresponsible or complacent and a better team would’ve punished it, and it might have been a different game. 

[Jack]

Positives though, Meghoma looked very assured and hopefully he can push Manning for his place going forward.  THB was top class again and obviously Fraser ran the show. Good to see some of the kids getting first team minutes and not looking out of place, and Lumley with a solid performance 

[benjii]

An unconvincing 4-0 win but Lumley and Meghoma looked very capable and Fraser was class. 

Front three of Fraser, Adams, Armstrong for next weekend please.

[Mr X]

Losing Fraser back to Newcastle is going to be a big big loss! he's made that much of a impact at saints.  Would he ever start at Newcastle? Surely they've kept tabs on his performances, he's not just providing goals but assists too 

[eurosaint]

4 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Losing Fraser back to Newcastle is going to be a big big loss! he's made that much of a impact at saints.  Would he ever start at Newcastle? Surely they've kept tabs on his performances, he's not just providing goals but assists too 

I doubt very much that he will return to Newcastle as he would struggle to get into their injury hit squad right now and they are bound to strengthen come the summer window ! Also Eddie Howe has never been a fan of his, just inherited him when he went to Newcastle after a falling out at Bournemouth !

I'll be surprised if we don't do a deal for next season !

[saintant]

There was a lot to admire about yesterday's performance. I'm particularly encouraged by the ability shown by the four youngsters as it shows they are being well coached and understand how we play. Meghoma looks to have it all although he was not overly tested defensively. He displayed a great aptitude to get forward at pace at every opportunity and partnered very well with Wee Man. Looks to be one who will soon be making the step up to the first team squad.  Agree with others that it was a quieter game for SAA but I think that was largely because Fraser was so brilliant we constantly tried to get him the ball on the opposite flank. There were still little cameos from SAA to show he's another great prospect. Dibling came on and you could sense how much he wanted to make an impression. He was always direct and looking to get into shooting positions and clearly is a lad confident in his own ability. Bragg was not on for long but slotted in seamlessly and always found space and time to receive the ball and find a team mate. With these youngsters ready to bolster the first team squad soon it bodes well for our future.

[goodymatt]

Not sure what was the nicest surprise, the quality of our youngsters or finding out Che actually does have a left foot…

Ryan Fraser, great performance and he has further reassured me that Edozie and Sulemana injuries shouldn’t stop our momentum. He’s been great off the bench but this was a full game performance of high standard. I would like to sign him up permanently please.

Also pleasantly surprised by Lumley. Didn’t have much to do but saved well when needed and I thought his distribution and speed of decision with the ball fitted in well to our style. That video of his bloopers was a worry but I think he’s better than we expected.

[FarehamSaintJames]

Very good performance but then it was interesting to see Walsall not really go for it apart from the last ten minutes of the first half. They were time wasting at 1-0 down!

Lumley looked very composed. Methods I thought did very well (complete opposite of Thierry Small’s debut two years ago 😂). 
Ryan Fraser clearly MOTM and was excellent.

I wouldn’t say negatives as such but underwhelming again was Smallbone (for a short while he took a while to get into the game) but came better. But can someone for the life of me explain what Mara brings to the team aside from his plentiful locks on his head? Ineffective doesn’t cover it.

Newport or Eastleigh at home in the next round please 😁

[The Cat]

3 hours ago, Jack said:

Solid win in the end but we’ve got to break this habit of pissing about and trying to gift the opposition a way back into the game at 1-0. It happens far too regularly  

I’m not saying hoof it forward but some of our ‘playing out from the back’ is just pointless risk with no reward. 

Holgate’s throw in across our own 18 yard line followed by Stephens’ blind pass to their forwards, then another blind pass from Holgate a few mins later is what I’m on about. It’s just irresponsible or complacent and a better team would’ve punished it, and it might have been a different game. 

On the other hand our passing from the back draws the opposition in and then allows us to play the ball through their press to a player in a lot of space who turns, runs forward and makes a pass to another player who sets up a goal.

That's exactly what happened with the second goal yesterday.

Martin said it would go wrong at times. I suspect that we are happy to take the damage of the odd chance given or goal conceded for the reward of causing the opposition problems when we do beat the press.

We won't stop doing it so you're going to have to learn to accept it.

[Jack]

13 minutes ago, The Cat said:

On the other hand our passing from the back draws the opposition in and then allows us to play the ball through their press to a player in a lot of space who turns, runs forward and makes a pass to another player who sets up a goal.

That's exactly what happened with the second goal yesterday.

Martin said it would go wrong at times. I suspect that we are happy to take the damage of the odd chance given or goal conceded for the reward of causing the opposition problems when we do beat the press.

We won't stop doing it so you're going to have to learn to accept it.

All I’m saying is there are times when it’s absolutely not on, but we go for it anyway. Like we saw against Plymouth, we were in such a box that someone had to just take responsibility and get clear, but we don’t and put them back in the game. And I’ll maintain that playing blind passes across our own 18 yard line is just irresponsible and needless 

[saintant]

5 minutes ago, Jack said:

All I’m saying is there are times when it’s absolutely not on, but we go for it anyway. Like we saw against Plymouth, we were in such a box that someone had to just take responsibility and get clear, but we don’t and put them back in the game. And I’ll maintain that playing blind passes across our own 18 yard line is just irresponsible and needless 

The Holgate and Stephens errors were just poor passes under no pressure so hard to blame those on playing out from the back. I don't recall us giving possession away too much yesterday when playing out from the back. I get that sometimes it looks a bit kamikaze and you find yourself wishing we'd just hammer the ball clear but I guess we just aren't prepared to make that compromise. In the Championship we get away with far more than we would in the Prem so, if we go up it'll be interesting to see if anything changes.

[Mr X]

38 minutes ago, eurosaint said:

I doubt very much that he will return to Newcastle as he would struggle to get into their injury hit squad right now and they are bound to strengthen come the summer window ! Also Eddie Howe has never been a fan of his, just inherited him when he went to Newcastle after a falling out at Bournemouth !

I'll be surprised if we don't do a deal for next season !

Hopefully as this is the best scenario, assuming he wants to stay. 

[Kenilworthy]

When is the home game against Hull likely to be played? Do we have the rule that used to be applied that a rearranged game has to be at the first possible opportunity - which would be the week of January 22nd since Hull's replay is the week of January 15? Or could it go back a few weeks?

[Cabrone]

Obviously the league is top priority but I think most fans still enjoy a good cup run plus it keeps the confidence and winning streak going. Looking forward to round 4.

So nice to see wins, what a difference this season is to the last 2.

[sfc4prem]

Their fans on their Saddlers forum very complimentary of our team and the whole set up at Southampton. Nice read.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Mr X said:

Hopefully as this is the best scenario, assuming he wants to stay. 

I think he was very quickly out with how happy he was here and wanted to stay, a while back.

[Saint_clark]

How did the two youngsters get on? I caught a bit of the stream and saw one good cross from Meghoma but couldn't watch the whole game.

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, Saint_clark said:

How did the two youngsters get on? I caught a bit of the stream and saw one good cross from Meghoma but couldn't watch the whole game.

Meghoma had the more lively game of the two. He was a bit shaky defensively in the 1st half, but look very assured 2nd half.

[gio1saints]

One notable feature starting to become more apparent to me (anyway) is how most teams coming to SMS this season set up deep and stand off defensively - allowing us possession- but then once they go behind, and especially start of second half, they attempt a high press more often. This has caused quite a few scares in quite a few matches. we look not very good sometimes but it’s quite often the oppo are putting in extra energy to regain possession early. 

And then what happens is, assuming they don’t score or we don’t f&vk it up somehow, is that there is a cost to this in terms of oppo energy - and we find breakthrough spaces more often. And from these we often score late goals - like yesterday. 
 

Ive seenThis pattern kind of repeat itself even away from home. Not every match but enough to be noticeable. 
 

Amd I guess that is a big factor in why we persist with the playing around at the back. We end up winning or drawing more matches that way - this season at any rate. So carry on! 

[Convict Colony]

5 hours ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

Very good performance but then it was interesting to see Walsall not really go for it apart from the last ten minutes of the first half. They were time wasting at 1-0 down!

Lumley looked very composed. Methods I thought did very well (complete opposite of Thierry Small’s debut two years ago 😂). 
Ryan Fraser clearly MOTM and was excellent.

I wouldn’t say negatives as such but underwhelming again was Smallbone (for a short while he took a while to get into the game) but came better. But can someone for the life of me explain what Mara brings to the team aside from his plentiful locks on his head? Ineffective doesn’t cover it.

Newport or Eastleigh at home in the next round please 😁

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24032913.truth-behind-whether-sekou-mara-will-leave-southampton-loan/

 

[BERMUDASAINT]

8 hours ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

Very good performance but then it was interesting to see Walsall not really go for it apart from the last ten minutes of the first half. They were time wasting at 1-0 down!

Lumley looked very composed. Methods I thought did very well (complete opposite of Thierry Small’s debut two years ago 😂). 
Ryan Fraser clearly MOTM and was excellent.

I wouldn’t say negatives as such but underwhelming again was Smallbone (for a short while he took a while to get into the game) but came better. But can someone for the life of me explain what Mara brings to the team aside from his plentiful locks on his head? Ineffective doesn’t cover it.

Newport or Eastleigh at home in the next round please 😁

Can't help a blind man see. 

How about goals?

[FarehamSaintJames]

3 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24032913.truth-behind-whether-sekou-mara-will-leave-southampton-loan/

 

It would be mad - given that Che Adams is on his way out and is less than prolific and the £8m must have from the summer is injured for the rest of the season.

I bet if we had a couple of different strikers RM couldn’t give a toss. 😂

Bit if a nothing headline. “Manager says it would be mad to let member of team leave when he has no one else available”.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

7 hours ago, Convict Colony said:

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/24032913.truth-behind-whether-sekou-mara-will-leave-southampton-loan/

 

Martin very positive, while also being very honest about expectations there.

Hopefully, we're going to see Mara continue to push on, as Edozie has.

[Badger]

10 hours ago, sfc4prem said:

Their fans on their Saddlers forum very complimentary of our team and the whole set up at Southampton. Nice read.

Have had a read on their forum, and made good reading.

One of their supporters mentioned he got chance to shake hands with Chris Nicholl. Anyone see him ?

(Perhaps he was introduced to the crowd at HT but I wasn’t able to go yesterday so no idea). 

[farawaysaint]

22 hours ago, sfc4prem said:

Their fans on their Saddlers forum very complimentary of our team and the whole set up at Southampton. Nice read.

Not so much Martin though 😂 Seem to think he was a waste of space there. 

[david in sweden]

On 07/01/2024 at 08:59, Mr X said:

Losing Fraser back to Newcastle is going to be a big big loss! he's made that much of a impact at saints.  Would he ever start at Newcastle?

Surely they've kept tabs on his performances, he's not just providing goals but assists too 

 

1-  Newcastle have already written him off, and he wasn't being selected for a start place, and he's " unpopular " with the manager. 

2-  he'll be 30 in February and has a season-and-a half left on his contract,  Can't see them giving him a new contract, and they would be 

......more likely take the opportunity to get him off their already very costly payroll. 

3-  If he continues to perform for Saints, we'd be daft to ignore the chance to sign him for " a nominal fee " .

Edited January 8 by david in sweden

[trousers]

11 minutes ago, farawaysaint said:

Not so much Martin though 😂 Seem to think he was a waste of space there. 

RM pretty much said the same thing in the pre-match press conference; admitted it was the wrong move at the wrong time at that stage of his career, which is why he bailed after only a few months.

[Bakovnetski]

Harwood-Bellis definitely looks to be the standout defender out of the 4 main ones on the books. Stephens slowed the game down far too much (and almost cost us) and doesn't seem to have anticipation of a forward gameplay from the team in front of him. Needs some more coaching if he is to be a captain and hold down a place.

 

[VectisSaint]

15 minutes ago, Bakovnetski said:

Harwood-Bellis definitely looks to be the standout defender out of the 4 main ones on the books. Stephens slowed the game down far too much (and almost cost us) and doesn't seem to have anticipation of a forward gameplay from the team in front of him. Needs some more coaching if he is to be a captain and hold down a place.

 

Would agree that THB is the best central defender, but he is clearly going to be a class act and will not be with us for long. Disagree about Stephens, what he is bringing to the team is a desire to get forward quickly and make incisive, perhaps a little riskier forward passes. The pass to Alcaraz that led to the Mara goal being a case in point. He made several passes of that ilk against Walsall, and also in previous games. We do seem to have developed this aspect of our game in the last 2 or 3 matches, where before we messed around with it at the back, we now take some risks in getting balls forward from the CBs into the midfield/forwards, and Stephens has been central to this (THB has been doing as well). My hunch is that this is why Martin prefers Stephens over Bednarek, Bedders has been excellent this season defensively, but he is not so good in the area of making incisive passes and playing out with pace from the back. We have looked so much better recently, now that there is pace, and the ball is being moved far more quickly, Meghoma was excellent on Saturday playing out and running with the ball at pace and making good passes to Fraser especially. Personally I wouldn't be averse to playing Meghoma in preference to Manning, who is poor defensively and ponderous on the ball, sadly I am pretty sure Martin will stick with Manning.   

[Tommy Mulgrew]

I agree with pretty well all Vectis said.  I think Bednarek has improved his attacking and passing, long and short, immeasurably in the last few months so that he is now as good as Stephens at that.  Witness his runs forward with the ball against several oppos recently and his long, over the top pass that the Smallone headed wide ten days or so ago when it was easier to score, just before Che’s goal.

[JRM]

3 hours ago, VectisSaint said:

Would agree that THB is the best central defender, but he is clearly going to be a class act and will not be with us for long. Disagree about Stephens, what he is bringing to the team is a desire to get forward quickly and make incisive, perhaps a little riskier forward passes. The pass to Alcaraz that led to the Mara goal being a case in point. He made several passes of that ilk against Walsall, and also in previous games. We do seem to have developed this aspect of our game in the last 2 or 3 matches, where before we messed around with it at the back, we now take some risks in getting balls forward from the CBs into the midfield/forwards, and Stephens has been central to this (THB has been doing as well). My hunch is that this is why Martin prefers Stephens over Bednarek, Bedders has been excellent this season defensively, but he is not so good in the area of making incisive passes and playing out with pace from the back. We have looked so much better recently, now that there is pace, and the ball is being moved far more quickly, Meghoma was excellent on Saturday playing out and running with the ball at pace and making good passes to Fraser especially. Personally I wouldn't be averse to playing Meghoma in preference to Manning, who is poor defensively and ponderous on the ball, sadly I am pretty sure Martin will stick with Manning.   

Agree with that , good that we have a few options in those positions at least