Saints 2-3 Liverpool - Match Thread

[Vancouver Saint]

And so we continue to find new ways to lose games...

Russell Martin is every other PL manager's useful idiot....they must be praying we keep him employed so they can Pass Go and collect their three points.

[OttawaSaint]

Alex McCarthy 58% pass accuracy. Says it all really.

RM...you colossal twat!

[LGTL]

Any other premier league team beat Liverpool today. I bet they can’t believe their luck.

[Mr X]

Sacked when your in 16th above the relegation  zone but we can't make a decision to sack a manager that's bottom of the table and only one lucky win to his name! 

[AlexLaw76]

RUSSELL MARTIN, YOUR FOOTBALL IS SHIT

[Holmes_and_Watson]

After that performance, I'm a bit torn.

Has Russ' hair reached peak floppiness?

We had several views of him focused on the game, pausing to push his hair back.

Any longer, and I think it becomes a distraction. Shorter and he won't be able to look quite as hipster.

[OttawaSaint]

1 minute ago, Mr X said:

Sacked when your in 16th above the relegation  zone but we can't make a decision to sack a manager that's bottom of the table and only one lucky win to his name! 

Pathetic isn't it?

[Sarnia Cherie]

McCarthy in goal means one thing. Prat about in the goal area when he doesn't have the skills. Just kick it up the pitch. lad and what exactly was he doing for their 2nd goal? Salah had done nothing much up to that point but with an open goal in front of him that gave him the impetus to score and up his game. Ramsdale out until Christmas. Heaven help us. 

[Gloucester Saint]

Just now, Holmes_and_Watson said:

After that performance, I'm a bit torn.

Has Russ' hair reached peak floppiness?

We had several views of him focused on the game, pausing to push his hair back.

Any longer, and I think it becomes a distraction. Shorter and he won't be able to look quite as hipster.

The main issue was him pushing the defence and midfield back. Perhaps he needs a grow a pair of 90s style curtains so long that he can’t see the pitch?

[Jimmy_D]

Walking away from this one feeling like we deserved something from the game.

Our second goal was a thing of beauty.

[It's There]

I think we need a striker. When tall Paul went off, we had no outlet. Archer defended, so we had no one on the half way line to occupy defenders.

[OttawaSaint]

Just now, Holmes_and_Watson said:

After that performance, I'm a bit torn.

Has Russ' hair reached peak floppiness?

We had several views of him focused on the game, pausing to push his hair back.

Any longer, and I think it becomes a distraction. Shorter and he won't be able to look quite as hipster.

His hair should match his philosophy, short back and sides. This dichotomy must be jarring for the players, perhaps leading to their downfall.

[Sarnia Cherie]

2 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

After that performance, I'm a bit torn.

Has Russ' hair reached peak floppiness?

We had several views of him focused on the game, pausing to push his hair back.

Any longer, and I think it becomes a distraction. Shorter and he won't be able to look quite as hipster.

And in between he was picking the grass. What a plonker.

[SambaMaverick]

Has Russell got a sub right so far this season?

Shocking changes again today

[BotleySaint]

Possibly some signs of promise today despite the defeat. We can clearly score goals if we don't just play keep ball. Need a manager who can see that.

[OttawaSaint]

Just now, SambaMaverick said:

Has Russell got anything right so far this season?

Shocking again today

Fixed it for you. 

[Gloucester Saint]

3 minutes ago, Jimmy_D said:

Walking away from this one feeling like we deserved something from the game.

Our second goal was a thing of beauty.

We didn’t - you never do if you gift a CL side three goals straight from the Tyro League. When the players told the manager to fuck off I agree we were well in the game, moving the ball much faster, asking Liverpool questions, Paul holding up really well, Dibling and AA going at people. 

The players showed yet again they can compete but only with the shackles off. They are too cosseted to be ambitious and chuck him under the bus, to the club’s detriment.

Edited 24 November, 2024 by Gloucester Saint

[Saint Fan CaM]

One of the worst decisions was putting Downes in at central CB. Had he been sat in front of defence providing more of an outlet I’d get that, but playing him so deep made no sense…muddled the defensive line to an extent and limited our effectiveness in midfield. Instinctively he’s not a CB - that’s why he did such a poor job clearing the ball for their goal. Square pegs - round holes…again.

TP going off instantly made us look weaker. Such a shame and I suspect he’ll be keeping Lallana company in the treatment room for two months.

McCarthy is not worse than our other backup keepers and to be fair he made some good saves. When you lose your best keeper to injury, you’re going to suffer a lesser, rusty player. Personally though I don’t think that’s why we got nothing from that game.

The moment we went ahead 2-1 you could feel Martins presence bearing down on the team - they went back into themselves and started trying to be clever at the back. I mean what’s the point of drawing Pool players onto our defence if we’re not going to play the ball in behind? It’s so insane trying to make it work when it’s not worked previously it beggars belief. Of course Russ will come out with the usual ‘brave’ and ‘proud of the lads’ type comments and seem comfortable with another week of 0 points as he’s learnt so much.

[HKsaint]

Hope that McCarthy can force RM to give up Russball as he did  when Bunznu injured 

[OneMrsWallace]

RM said we needed to be more attacking which to be fair we were. Problem is, we shipped three. He's had 12 games to get the balance right which is several games too many. He gets it wrong pretty much every time and the constant tinkering with players/positions is costing us. Should be shown the door but can't see it happening this season now. Agree with those that say we have a squad capable of staying up but not with him in charge. 

[Ralph Fastenbüttl]

31 minutes ago, kevdoh said:

It's corrupt as fuck. How was that a free kick to Liverpool. Armstrong fouled by keeper and defender and not even looked at by var. Fucking joke 

So how does this corruption manifest? Who makes the decision about who is to be wronged? Who is then told to wrong them, and by what means? Does each ref have a list in their pocket with big green ticks next to some teams and huge red crosses next to others? Are they disciplined at clandestine liaisons in abandoned and derelict buildings in the dark of night by men in black suits and dark glasses should they be deemed to have not been sufficiently unfavourable to those clubs being conspired against? And no-one has ever blown the whistle on this because all refs fear that if they speak up they will one day be taking a walk by a canal with their loved ones only for a man carrying a suspicious bouquet of lilies to 'pop a cap in his ass' via a cunningly concealed silenced P99?

[saintstowin]

Good stuff when quick and incisive. Usual bad stuff when doing what current Saints do, especially near our own goal. All 3 unearned goals the most frustrating (and sadly expected) thing, as usual. 

Mccarthy clearly will be rusty. Why instruct him to play stupid passes, the opposite of when he came in late last season. 

And Fraser by no means terrible, but an international fullback was available. Odd. And Downes, what?!

Edited 24 November, 2024 by saintstowin

[derry]

Three self inflicted goals. The first was one of the worst pieces of defending I've ever seen. The second was stupid defending leaving the keeper exposed to make a decision which he didn't make and ended nowhere. Sugawara was unlucky as he chested the ball onto his arm. Onuachu was playing well when taken out by Gakpo from behind. Armstrong and Dibling were good. Dibling especially. Fernandes played well. The back five did their best and McCarthy as a goalkeeper gave it a good go however his playing out from the back is suicidal as as the whole theory. The manager is the problem. We scored two goals on the break. This team is better than the manager he needs sacking before he can do any more damage. 

I'd like to add that our lack of a co-ordinated physical press is also an indictment of the manager's pie in the sky theory. A one trick pony I'm afraid.

Edited 24 November, 2024 by derry

[saintant]

5 minutes ago, It's There said:

I think we need a striker. When tall Paul went off, we had no outlet. Archer defended, so we had no one on the half way line to occupy defenders.

We've had one but unfortunately he never got picked until today then played brilliantly but got injured. Maybe Blackmore can ask Russell about that but we know no difficult questions are allowed or toys get ejected from the pram.

[OneMrsWallace]

1 minute ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

One of the worst decisions was putting Downes in at central CB. Had he been sat in front of defence providing more of an outlet I’d get that, but playing him so deep made no sense…muddled the defensive line to an extent and limited our effectiveness in midfield. Instinctively he’s not a CB - that’s why he did such a poor job clearing the ball for their goal. Square pegs - round holes…again.

TP going off instantly made us look weaker. Such a shame and I suspect he’ll be keeping Lallana company in the treatment room for two months.

McCarthy is not worse than our other backup keepers and to be fair he made some good saves. When you lose your best keeper to injury, you’re going to suffer a lesser, rusty player. Personally though I don’t think that’s why we got nothing from that game.

The moment we went ahead 2-1 you could feel Martins presence bearing down on the team - they went back into themselves and started trying to be clever at the back. I mean what’s the point of drawing Pool players onto our defence if we’re not going to play the ball in behind? It’s so insane trying to make it work when it’s not worked previously it beggars belief. Of course Russ will come out with the usual ‘brave’ and ‘proud of the lads’ type comments and seem comfortable with another week of 0 points as he’s learnt so much.

The Downes experiment kind of worked for 20  minutes but a team with the quality of Liverpool were always going to find a way around it. But we shouldn't have to be tinkering 12 games in. A decent coach would have found a settled team by now with best players in their best positions. RM is just not good enough to do that. 

[Vancouver Saint]

Leicester going to take Van Nistelroy is my bet - why can't our owners see an opportunity like that?!

[petermcpete]

8 minutes ago, SambaMaverick said:

Has Russell got a sub right so far this season?

Shocking changes again today

In all fairness the first two were enforced, Lallana & TP were having decent games until the injuries. TP for a defensive midfielder was an odd one though.

[saintant]

2 minutes ago, derry said:

Three self inflicted goals. The first was one of the worst pieces of defending I've ever seen. The second was stupid defending leaving the keeper exposed to make a decision which he didn't make and ended nowhere. Sugawara was unlucky as he chested the ball onto his arm. Onuachu was playing well when taken out by Gakpo from behind. Armstrong and Dibling were good. Dibling especially. Fernandes played well. The back five did their best and McCarthy as a goalkeeper gave it a good go however his playing out from the back is suicidal as as the whole theory. The manager is the problem. We scored two goals on the break. This team is better than the manager he needs sacking before he can do any more damage. 

Nail smashed on the head - pity SR can't see it.

[Mixedkebab]

We were a bit unlucky with injuries and some questionable decisions, but same pathetic defending.

No  excuses for the limp displays against the lower ranked teams though which have properly fucked us 

[Turkish]

Just now, Vancouver Saint said:

Leicester going to take Van Nistelroy is my bet - why can't our owners see an opportunity like that?!

Because Van Nistelroy hasn’t failed yet

[bugenhagen]

Our only real threat today was Dibling... without him we create next to nothing.

[tdmickey3]

22 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

Lets see this season we have had brave defeats, unlucky defeats, poor defeats, embarrassing defeats, naive defeats, predictable defeats. Have I missed any out? 

Progressive defeats 

[Turkish]

We’ve conceded 3 goals in half our games this season, crazy when you think about it 

[Zorba]

8 minutes ago, saintant said:

Russell will take 2 things from that - he'll view it as a moral victory but he'll be furious at our lack of possession.

Shame it wasn’t his P45 and his w*nk football philosophy. 

[SWLondon Saint]

Normally I am not keen on Fraser at full back, but I was literally saying 'I'm not sure it was a good idea bringing Suga on' when that handball happened. It's really hard to get up to speed when conditions are that bad and while it was still a calamitous mistake, strong winds, raining - it was waiting to happen. Why we didn't throw lots of awkward bouncing crosses into their box? Well, that's a question for the manager...

[saintant]

1 minute ago, bugenhagen said:

Our only real threat today was Dibling... without him we create next to nothing.

Scored two against the best defence in the league and might have had another penalty.

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Turkish said:

We’ve conceded 3 goals in half our games this season, crazy when you think about it 

Not really, Russell Martin is our manager.

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, SWLondon Saint said:

Normally I am not keen on Fraser at full back, but I was literally saying 'I'm not sure it was a good idea bringing Suga on' when that handball happened. It's really hard to get up to speed when conditions are that bad and while it was still a calamitous mistake, strong winds, raining - it was waiting to happen. Why we didn't throw lots of awkward bouncing crosses into their box? Well, that's a question for the manager...

Sugawara was a bit unfortunate, that was ball to hand via a deflection. But the dropping off and slow passing encouraged Liverpool’s press to reassemble and create the situation in the first place.

[Tanlee]

Zero points, can't hold a lead, promising moments, stupid defensive mistakes, poor selections... More predictable than a episode of columbo 

[Mr X]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

Not really, Russell Martin is our manager.

I can't actually see Nathan bloody Jones doing any worse! 😂

[BotleySaint]

If Ramsdale was fit today. We'd have won? 

[bugenhagen]

4 minutes ago, saintant said:

Scored two against the best defence in the league and might have had another penalty.

And without him that sentence it's just "we might have had a penalty"

[pimpin4rizeal]

Trying to piss about with intricate passes at the back whilst under pressure from Liverpool over and over again .. it’s just crazy really it’s all risk with no reward ..

not impressed with kwp lately he seems to have really half assed commitment in winning the ball . Many times he looks in a odds on position to win ball or a 50 50 and somehow the opposition always end up with it ..

typical onuachu gets a injury .. he looks the real deal and really should be a easy choice as the main cf..his hold up  play can help the likes of arma and dibling greatly  it’s ludicrous he has been out of this side so much..russ didn’t  even want him in the championship 😂

Edited 24 November, 2024 by pimpin4rizeal

[lambtiss]

1 minute ago, BotleySaint said:

If Ramsdale was fit today. We'd have won? 

Certainly

If we had a different manager today we would have won? 

[SWLondon Saint]

3 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Sugawara was a bit unfortunate, that was ball to hand via a deflection. But the dropping off and slow passing encouraged Liverpool’s press to reassemble and create the situation in the first place.

True, and I've forgotten who it was who got away with a way worse handball at SMS a few seasons ago for that exact reason.

And on the dropping off, what the hell is going on with our defending with 2 lines of 5? Archer should not be back there chasing their midfield, he has to provide an outlet, the ball just keeps coming back otherwise. Why isn't RM screaming at them and pushing them up the pitch? 

[tdmickey3]

42 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Leicester sack Cooper and they've got 6 points more than us.

Can we have him and give them Martin

[Mr X]

I've accepted we are going down but can we at least go down without Martin attached to the club! 

[obelisk]

Yet another lead thrown away. The players look much better than the manager that is holding them back.

[saintant]

7 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Trying to piss about with intricate passes at the back whilst under pressure from Liverpool over and over again .. it’s just crazy really it’s all risk with no reward ..

not impressed with kwp lately he seems to have really half assed commitment in winning the ball . Many times he looks in a odds on position to win ball or a 50 50 and somehow the opposition always end up with it ..

typical onuachu gets a injury .. he looks the real deal and really should be a easy choice as the main cf..his hold up with play can help the likes of arma and dibling greatly  it’s ludicrous he has been out of this side so much..russ didn’t  even want him in the championship 😂

Speaks absolute volumes. He's not in Russell's in-crowd and never will be along with Taylor and ABK.

[Wade Garrett]

Plucky, but another defeat due to the suicidal football we play.

SR, you bunch of absolute cunts.