Saints v Liverpool Sunday @ 2pm

[Weston Super Saint]

I guess ignoring it won't make it go away.

Live on Sky, so the whole world will be watching.  Will it be a shop window for the want-away players or just a televised disaster?

I'm going with a nervous first half, followed by the Liverpool kids finding their rythm in the second half.

0-2 but another stunning 65% possession with 1 shot on target.

[CB Fry]

I forgot it is Sunday.

If we pull off the most spectacular upset victory of the season then you can thank the fact that I will be in a cinema for the entirety of it with the family watching Wicked.

 

[coalman]

41 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

I guess ignoring it won't make it go away.

Live on Sky, so the whole world will be watching.  Will it be a shop window for the want-away players or just a televised disaster?

I'm going with a nervous first half, followed by the Liverpool kids finding their rythm in the second half.

0-2 but another stunning 65% possession with 1 shot on target.

Charity shop window?

Saints to start brightly. Then fade. The only disappointment is Klopp won't be there to praise Martin at the end so he'll have to make do with Slot's bemused indifference.

Men Vs Boys with the boys of Liverpool to come out on top.

[Osvaldorama]

24 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

I forgot it is Sunday.

If we pull off the most spectacular upset victory of the season then you can thank the fact that I will be in a cinema for the entirety of it with the family watching Wicked.

 

Christ alive, massive credit to you. You must be an excellent father/husband/son.
I’d rather watch Russell Martin explain the intricacies of possession based football for 2 hours than watch that steaming pile of turd 

[saintoaks]

Here we go again, If we get dicked then it would have been another two weeks wasted since the Wolves game to get another manager in. If we lose by the odd goal or two but have 70% possession with one or two shots on goal, it will be "oh well, that was a free hit" we'll give RM another few games to turn it round. Never ending circle !!  

[Football Special]

 

I'd love to see our Russ get the opportunity to recreate this moment on Sunday 

[Football Special]

Another option is to avoid watching the game and spend 90 mins watching these instead 

 

 

 

 

 

[Football Special]

It's not been a great international break for the club, awaiting news on how long Ramsdale and Bednarek will be out for, obviously miss this game. 

Mccarthy to be beaten at near post by Salah seems a likely scenario 

[Sarnia Cherie]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

I forgot it is Sunday.

If we pull off the most spectacular upset victory of the season then you can thank the fact that I will be in a cinema for the entirety of it with the family watching Wicked.

 

Having watched the trailer I think you will be in for more excitement at the cinema. 

[ally_uk]

I'm gonna go 4-0 Liverpoool 

We have the attacking threat of a wet flannel let's face it...

[tdmickey3]

5 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

I'm gonna go 4-0 Liverpoool 

We have the attacking threat of a wet flannel let's face it...

We are set up to attack like a wet flannel

[Hatch]

53 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

I'm gonna go 4-0 Liverpoool 

We have the attacking threat of a wet flannel let's face it...

 

good prediction for half time score that is

 

[steveo]

half time.......we should be so lucky!

[LeBizzier69]

Fast start by saints, possession ahoy, crowd loving it, 20 mins of cracking play by us culminating in some terrible finishing.....followed by one slick incisive move and excellent finish by the scousers. Then more of the same from them resulting in a drubbing and toxic atmosphere from 65 mins onwards.

Am i missing something?

  

[eurosaint]

If Ramsdale, Bednarek and Downes are all out (a fair prediction) then we will be extra stretched at CM, CB & GK !

Makes a hard job even harder but hey ho, let's keep the faith 😇

[lumuah]

2 hours ago, Football Special said:

Another option is to avoid watching the game and spend 90 mins watching these instead 

 

 

Now THAT is what possession based football should look like! 

And how we can dream of the days of the Wallaces on the wing crossing the ball into a striker in the middle. 

[Peter Douglas]

26 minutes ago, eurosaint said:

If Ramsdale, Bednarek and Downes are all out (a fair prediction) then we will be extra stretched at CM, CB & GK !

Makes a hard job even harder but hey ho, let's keep the faith 😇

Which faith would this be?

[Wade Garrett]

It will be a moral victory if we can boss possession and get a shot on target.

Hope dopey Dragan and his crew of bullshitters are there to witness more shite.

[Harry_SFC]

It's looking tight in race for the champions league places. Big game this weekend and a chance to overtake our opponents and move into the top 3. I've got absolutely no doubt Russ will be able to pull it off. UTS! 

[Challenger]

I'm going to join the ranks of the owner and manager by really not giving a fuck about the outcome of this. Thanks to all at SFC for making me feel like this.

[danjosaint]

Exactly why would Russ give a fuck, it's win win  for him either way 

[Toussaint]

3 hours ago, tdmickey3 said:

We are set up to attack like a wet flannel

We have the aggression of a wet flannel

[coalman]

5 hours ago, Football Special said:

It's not been a great international break for the club, awaiting news on how long Ramsdale and Bednarek will be out for, obviously miss this game. 

Mccarthy to be beaten at near post by Salah seems a likely scenario 

McCarthy will have a point to prove.

Bednarek has just been keeping Captain Jack's place warm and isn't able to influence the game as much from a roving left back midfield role as he'd like. Playing in the middle gives him the perfect position to watch the ball as Liverpool bring it forward. We will miss Bednarek's league leading passing stats. It also allows Manning to move back to left back giving Salah no chance to shine down that flank.

If we also are without Downes then we've got a ready made replacement in Lallana to anchor the midfield and give us much needed bite in the tackle. Shutting that door as well.

The stars are aligning for Russball.

[saintant]

5 hours ago, Football Special said:

Another option is to avoid watching the game and spend 90 mins watching these instead 

 

 

 

 

 

Some great football and goals there. Maybe Russ should watch these videos, he might learn something though I doubt it.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

43 minutes ago, coalman said:

The stars are aligning for Russball.

In that Cthulhu rising from the depths to lay waste to the world sort of way. 🙂

[franniesTache]

The good news about the game on sunday is it might finally be the game that stops people talking about the 9-0's.

Mainly because 10-0 is worse, but that's by the by.

I think we can all now predict what will happen. The game will kick off, we will immediately revert to Beaver like behaviour, but instead of building damns for no reason we will instead pass the ball around aimlessly and with no intent.

Liverpool will capitalise on this utterly pointless tactic and score their first in the first ten minutes.

We will arrive at the ground having badly misjudged the kick off due to it being 2pm.

The Northam Wall will be in the full flux of recreating John Cage's 4'33", with the odd rendition of something about pompey to really drive the point that we're not obsessed home.

About the 15th minute Liverpool will get their second, the entire ground will at this point completely resign themselves to what happens next, and the silence and groans will change into a collective depression for all bar the tourists in the home end.

As half time approaches the third will go in, the players will trudge off and we will start the walk back to the pub, safe in the knowledge that there will be absolutely no improvement in the second half.

Saints will come out unchanged, both in line up and in tactics, passing the ball pointlessly in areas that make absolutely no difference. Those watching on TV will have turned off or searched for something more exciting, like songs of praise or the BBC test card.

We will then go on to concede, four? five? six? maybe even ten.

The game will end, the weirdos left in the Northam will clap what is fast becoming the worst Saints team in living memory. Martin will be pleased that we secured zero shots on target so are clearly learning with each game that attacking play is to be stamped out at all cost.

Mary Saint will finally crack, having seen her partner Sammy burnt in a wickerman shaped as Adrian Heath after the Everton game, and put through the torture of watching Russball every week, a tactic that will see the CIA in the crowd to learn new interrogation techniques for Guantanamo.

She will run into the stands and rip the head off Ankersen, to reveal that he has in fact been Rupert Lowe all along, and that Russel Martin is the bastard love child of Jim Magilton and Jan Poortvliet.

We pass slowly sideways and backwards to relegation.

[Tom57]

3 hours ago, eurosaint said:

If Ramsdale, Bednarek and Downes are all out (a fair prediction) then we will be extra stretched at CM, CB & GK !

Makes a hard job even harder but hey ho, let's keep the faith 😇

Maybe something like:

                          McCarthy

Sugawara Stephens THB Taylor KWP

               Ugochukwu/Aribo Fernandes

                    Onuachu Archer

 

or 4 atb:

 

                         McCarthy

           Sugawara Stephens THB KWP

         Ugochukwu/Aribo Fernandes Lallana

              Dibling Archer Armstrong

 

Admittedly nothing looks great  

[Toussaint]

28 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

The good news about the game on sunday is it might finally be the game that stops people talking about the 9-0's.

Mainly because 10-0 is worse, but that's by the by.

I think we can all now predict what will happen. The game will kick off, we will immediately revert to Beaver like behaviour, but instead of building damns for no reason we will instead pass the ball around aimlessly and with no intent.

Liverpool will capitalise on this utterly pointless tactic and score their first in the first ten minutes.

We will arrive at the ground having badly misjudged the kick off due to it being 2pm.

The Northam Wall will be in the full flux of recreating John Cage's 4'33", with the odd rendition of something about pompey to really drive the point that we're not obsessed home.

About the 15th minute Liverpool will get their second, the entire ground will at this point completely resign themselves to what happens next, and the silence and groans will change into a collective depression for all bar the tourists in the home end.

As half time approaches the third will go in, the players will trudge off and we will start the walk back to the pub, safe in the knowledge that there will be absolutely no improvement in the second half.

Saints will come out unchanged, both in line up and in tactics, passing the ball pointlessly in areas that make absolutely no difference. Those watching on TV will have turned off or searched for something more exciting, like songs of praise or the BBC test card.

We will then go on to concede, four? five? six? maybe even ten.

The game will end, the weirdos left in the Northam will clap what is fast becoming the worst Saints team in living memory. Martin will be pleased that we secured zero shots on target so are clearly learning with each game that attacking play is to be stamped out at all cost.

Mary Saint will finally crack, having seen her partner Sammy burnt in a wickerman shaped as Adrian Heath after the Everton game, and put through the torture of watching Russball every week, a tactic that will see the CIA in the crowd to learn new interrogation techniques for Guantanamo.

She will run into the stands and rip the head off Ankersen, to reveal that he has in fact been Rupert Lowe all along, and that Russel Martin is the bastard love child of Jim Magilton and Jan Poortvliet.

We pass slowly sideways and backwards to relegation.

What about the mass substitutions @ 60 minutes that actually make us worse?

[franniesTache]

33 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

What about the mass substitutions @ 60 minutes that actually make us worse?

Sadly for Martin he hasn't quite managed to clone Jack Stephen's so his dream of subbing on five jack stephen's hasn't happened yet, but i'm sure Ramus is working on the tech right now

[Toussaint]

7 minutes ago, franniesTache said:

Sadly for Martin he hasn't quite managed to clone Jack Stephen's so his dream of subbing on five jack stephen's hasn't happened yet, but i'm sure Ramus is working on the tech right now

If Rasmus was going to clone anyone it would be Rasmus. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

29 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

If Rasmus was going to clone anyone it would be Rasmus. 

The Rasmus song...

[Football Special]

5 hours ago, lumuah said:

Now THAT is what possession based football should look like! 

And how we can dream of the days of the Wallaces on the wing crossing the ball into a striker in the middle. 

I did notice in that clip that defenders were comfortable on the ball and passed it out from the back, I thought Russ invented that? I don't think he was born then so must have gone back in time and left instructions for Lawrie Mac. 

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

What about the mass substitutions @ 60 minutes that actually make us worse?

Where we end up with 4 wingers on the pitch plus Onuacho but no one actually crossing the ball 

[BarberSaint]

I think our game's set up to flummox them.

 

It'll be pretty close, I reckon.

 

Think  they think too much of their manager too: he's a clean-shaven Ten Hag.

[Football Special]

3 minutes ago, BarberSaint said:

I think our game's set up to flummox them.

 

It'll be pretty close, I reckon.

 

Think  they think too much of their manager too: he's a clean-shaven Ten Hag.

We don't want to show them all our tricks, need to keep something back for the more important Carabao fixture in a few weeks. 

Liverpool's last visit to St Mary's featured some calamity moments, Carry On Defending it should have been called,  need to get that Kamaldeen mush back involved what a player he looks to be 

 

[Oldandtired]

Once upon a time in a galaxy far away this would've been the sort of game that I would've really looked forward to, we probably lose but we'd give it a right old go. 
Now I'm going to take my sofa so I can hide behind it, very apprehensive as to how we will approach it.

[LGTL]

Do we have to?

[Football Special]

4 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Do we have to?

It's an interesting question, and for some fans the answer is now no we don't. I know of two season ticket holders who have already sold their seats back in the ticket exchange, I'm sure there are plenty more. 

Club love it as they just stick 1/19th of the season ticket price as a credit on your account and get to sell your seat again at the full category A match price, nice little extra profit in it for them. 

[Gloucester Saint]

7 hours ago, Challenger said:

I'm going to join the ranks of the owner and manager by really not giving a fuck about the outcome of this. Thanks to all at SFC for making me feel like this.

Super Sunday has never been a more inappropriate title for the programme - super if you live in Merseyside and/or Cornwall/Devon/Somerset/Kent

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

Without Ramsdale and now Bednerek, our defence is starting to look as strong as our attack! I'm guessing Jack will play alongside THB, so just when THB was finding his feet in the premier league, he'll be all over the place again.

Still would like to see Onachu start with Archer. Admittedly, it's not Batman and Robin but hoof it up to the tall guy and watch him lay off to the speedster and RM might just realise there's potential for a partnership there.

[Weston Super Saint]

5 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Without Ramsdale and now Bednerek, our defence is starting to look as strong as our attack! I'm guessing Jack will play alongside THB, so just when THB was finding his feet in the premier league, he'll be all over the place again.

Still would like to see Onachu start with Archer. Admittedly, it's not Batman and Robin but hoof it up to the tall guy and watch him lay off to the speedster and RM might just realise there's potential for a partnership there.

Lol.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

8 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Lol.

ok, pass it 100 times up to the tall guy.......

[CB Fry]

19 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Still would like to see Onachu start with Archer. Admittedly, it's not Batman and Robin but hoof it up to the tall guy and watch him lay off to the speedster and RM might just realise there's potential for a partnership there.

That would be the brave thing to do.

But yeah. Big man little man. Phillips and Quinn. Up to the big man, the little guy feeding off the scraps. Get the ball in the action areas as often as possible as quickly as possible. Fuck the midfield and get it up there. Cause chaos.

Of course Martin won't do it as a chicken shit coward afraid to break out of his own approach. Sure he wants to win the match but coming an incredibly close second will be securing some flattering words from his opposing manager that he can use in his video CV. All Martin is doing is feathering his own nest for his next job down the line.

Edited Tuesday at 21:02 by CB Fry

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

21 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

That would be the brave thing to do.

But yeah. Big man little man. Phillips and Quinn. Up to the big man, the little guy feeding off the scraps. Get the ball in the action areas as often as possible as quickly as possible. Fuck the midfield and get it up there. Cause chaos.

Of course Martin won't do it as a chicken shit coward afraid to break out of his own approach. Sure he wants to win the match but coming an incredibly close second will be securing some flattering words from his opposing manager that he can use in his video CV. All Martin is doing is feathering his own nest for his next job down the line.

Sadly, there's many of us that agree with your sentiment.

I guess most people are little compared to Tall Paul, but Archer is extremely fast. I can see Onachu challenging for a ball, getting a head/shoulder/back on to it with Archer being the first to the ricochet. In fact, I can see that being a route to goal more than any of our other ways we've tried this year.

[pimpin4rizeal]

I take no pleasure in saying this and absolutely despise Liverpool ..

but I think the best result for us Is they absolutely annihilate us .. it’s for the greater good . We need them to destroy us so hard the idiot board finally realise what everyone can see .. 

if we Fluke a plucky draw or something they will probably Keep martin for another three months or something .. it’s simply not a good outcome .. so cmon Liverpool do us a favour and get him gone 

Edited Tuesday at 21:37 by pimpin4rizeal

[OneMrsWallace]

9 hours ago, lumuah said:

Now THAT is what possession based football should look like! 

And how we can dream of the days of the Wallaces on the wing crossing the ball into a striker in the middle. 

Definitely not me 🤣

[Lighthouse]

18 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

I take no pleasure in saying this and absolutely despise Liverpool ..

but I think the best result for us Is they absolutely annihilate us .. it’s for the greater good . We need them to destroy us so hard the idiot board finally realise what everyone can see .. 

if we Fluke a plucky draw or something they will probably Keep martin for another three months or something .. it’s simply not a good outcome .. so cmon Liverpool do us a favour and get him gone 

I’m going to be controversial here and say that the best possible result is for Southampton to win, because I support Southampton.

[pimpin4rizeal]

2 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I’m going to be controversial here and say that the best possible result is for Southampton to win, because I support Southampton.

So you would rather paper over the obvious cracks then . 
 

if you had the choice of beating Liverpool buying martin another few months in charge .. then we go and lose the next five games which is probably likely with his form and our fixtures 

or option 2 we get raped 9-0 Martin gets sacked and we appoint a decent pragmatic manager like moyes before we are so far behind that any half decent manager won’t join as we a cert for relegation 

are you really opting for option one ? 

[OneMrsWallace]

I'm going Liverpool to win 6 -0/0

That's no goals and no shots on goal. 

That said, I'll maintain my days of childlike hope for a Saints win.

[Lighthouse]

5 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

So you would rather paper over the obvious cracks then . 
 

if you had the choice of beating Liverpool buying martin another few months in charge .. then we go and lose the next five games which is probably likely with his form and our fixtures 

or option 2 we get raped 9-0 Martin gets sacked and we appoint a decent pragmatic manager like moyes before we are so far behind that any half decent manager won’t join as we a cert for relegation 

are you really opting for option one ? 

There’s so much wrong with this.

1. I don’t want to paper over the cracks, I want a consistent improvement in results, starting as soon as possible.
2. A win against Liverpool isn’t going to buy him ‘a few months’. The board is nowhere near that short sighted and reactionary and nor should they be.
3. When did I say I wanted to lose the next five games? Where has that criteria sprung out from?
4. Would you honestly prefer another 9-0, to get laughed at by other fans again, to have the confidence of the squad destroyed and for what? So that we can make a knee jerk sacking in the hope that David Moyes will ride in on a white horse and save the day. I’ll just say I disagree and leave it there.