Villa 1-0 Saints - Match Thread

[East Kent Saint]

6 minutes ago, Stripey McStripe Shirt said:

On target? I'd have been happy with an off target shot, but didn't have any of them either...

Saints had 4 shots which were all blocked so none on or off target 😬

[washsaint]

What an absolutely awful squad we have.

 

AA, Archer, BBD, Fraser, Sulemana, Cornet

as 'attacking' players are absolute garbage.

Lesley - what was the point?

Lallana - injured the last 2-3 seasons and carrying that on with Saints

Garbage squad, garbage manager, garbage recruitment and garbage owners

[Harry_SFC]

8 minutes ago, washsaint said:

What an absolutely awful squad we have.

 

AA, Archer, BBD, Fraser, Sulemana, Cornet

as 'attacking' players are absolute garbage.

Lesley - what was the point?

Lallana - injured the last 2-3 seasons and carrying that on with Saints

Garbage squad, garbage manager, garbage recruitment and garbage owners

Yep, total shitshow all round. 

[Gloucester Saint]

6 minutes ago, washsaint said:

What an absolutely awful squad we have.

 

AA, Archer, BBD, Fraser, Sulemana, Cornet

as 'attacking' players are absolute garbage.

Lesley - what was the point?

Lallana - injured the last 2-3 seasons and carrying that on with Saints

Garbage squad, garbage manager, garbage recruitment and garbage owners

Hard to argue with the overwhelming majority of that. I will defend Archer as on the rare occasions we’ve gotten him quick balls around the corner he’s either scored or worked the keeper. He’s off the shoulder player and walking football doesn’t suit him. Could be successful next season without this arsehole of a manager.

Cornet as above really, great at Burnley, serious muscle injury at W Ham, came here to play games. Clearly a PL quality player if used properly. BBD has looked appalling, no denying that, but again, totally unsuited to Russball. 

Lesley - worst central midfielder I’ve ever seen in the top flight for Saints. Carlton Palmer’s first touch, Wanyama’s passing without the great engine which made them effective players, and instead the engine of 1993 era Glenn Cockerill (he was very good in the 1980s) in his Captain Crap phase. Whoever got Chelsea to pay £22m on a 7 year contract should be replacing Rasmus, very shrewd.

[Cabrone]

In 40 years I have never seen a Saints team so utterly adrift as I'm seeing this season. I'm starting to seriously question if we can even get past Derby's all time low points tally of 11.

I feel for the season ticket holders, this club does not seem to give a damn about it's fans.

 

[Baird of the land]

9 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Hard to argue with the overwhelming majority of that. I will defend Archer as on the rare occasions we’ve gotten him quick balls around the corner he’s either scored or worked the keeper. He’s off the shoulder player and walking football doesn’t suit him. Could be successful next season without this arsehole of a manager.

Cornet as above really, great at Burnley, serious muscle injury at W Ham, came here to play games. Clearly a PL quality player if used properly. BBD has looked appalling, no denying that, but again, totally unsuited to Russball. 

Lesley - worst central midfielder I’ve ever seen in the top flight for Saints. Carlton Palmer’s first touch, Wanyama’s passing without the great engine which made them effective players, and instead the engine of 1993 era Glenn Cockerill (he was very good in the 1980s) in his Captain Crap phase. Whoever got Chelsea to pay £22m on a 7 year contract should be replacing Rasmus, very shrewd.

Not a huge fan of archer honestly. What I’d like to see is onachu and somebody with pace(whether archer or AA) together.

[OttawaSaint]

7 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Hard to argue with the overwhelming majority of that. I will defend Archer as on the rare occasions we’ve gotten him quick balls around the corner he’s either scored or worked the keeper. He’s off the shoulder player and walking football doesn’t suit him. Could be successful next season without this arsehole of a manager.

This here is the issue. You can see this as can I, as can many others.

A coach who wants to get the best out of his team analyses what he has and tailors his formation and tactics to match.

Now this is just one player. Imagine if goldfish boy Russ did his due diligence with each player we'd have a first 11, subs and a way to play with a plan B and C when needed. I'm not saying we'd be a great team but we'd be competitive and on far more points than 5.

[Colinjb]

13 minutes ago, OttawaSaint said:

This here is the issue. You can see this as can I, as can many others.

A coach who wants to get the best out of his team analyses what he has and tailors his formation and tactics to match.

Now this is just one player. Imagine if goldfish boy Russ did his due diligence with each player we'd have a first 11, subs and a way to play with a plan B and C when needed. I'm not saying we'd be a great team but we'd be competitive and on far more points than 5.

Yes. We are not able to see the best of our squad. They are being stiffled by the manager.

And this is why I will stand by my opinion that we were promoted despite Russell Martin, not because of him. A dogmatic approach will not by it's nature bring out the best in our squad.

[OneMrsWallace]

6 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

I think I'm done. Following your football team is supposed to be fun, but SR and Russ have sucked every last bit of joy out of watching Saints, and I'm just numb to it now. I don't think I can stomach watching another weak, insipid performance like today's again. We're so toothless, I've seen newborn babies with more bite.

Thanks Russ, thanks Rasmus. You've made me fall out of love with the team I've followed for 35 years.

This. 

[macca155]

8 hours ago, saintant said:

I think most of us on here could own Russell in a match - it doesn't require much footballing nous - just set the press as we try to play out from the back and wait for the inevitable howlers, rinse and repeat. It's the easiest opposition team talk in football when RM is in charge as is being proved week after week.

That's a tad harsh, against teams with equal or lower skill levels it probably works. Boring as but reasonably effective, we saw that last year.

Villa didn't play long and coped with our press quite happily. Fitter, skillfully, and well prepared players make for an easy team talk as you say.

RM has a weak squad, but these tactics aren't helping.

[Saint Fan CaM]

1 hour ago, macca155 said:

That's a tad harsh, against teams with equal or lower skill levels it probably works. Boring as but reasonably effective, we saw that last year.

Villa didn't play long and coped with our press quite happily. Fitter, skillfully, and well prepared players make for an easy team talk as you say.

RM has a weak squad, but these tactics aren't helping.

Villa didn’t play long?!? Their one goal started from a long ball…put pressure on a defence in disarray and it won them 3 points. Other examples are to be found.

Also, our press is not effective. The team are so scared of being caught upfield with lack of pace, we don’t press hard as a unit and so it’s easy for the opposing team to find route out. You could say a ‘soft’ press, with 2-3 forwards running about aimlessly trying largely unsuccessfully to cut out passing lines. One reason why Russ claiming the players are brave is so ridiculous.

Edited 8 December, 2024 by Saint Fan CaM

[Harry_SFC]

25 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Villa didn’t play long?!? Their one goal started from a long ball…put pressure on a defence in disarray and it won them 3 points. Other examples are to be found.

Also, our press is not effective. The team are so scared of being caught upfield with lack of pace, we don’t press hard as a unit and so it’s easy for the opposing team to find route out. You could say a ‘soft’ press, with 2-3 forwards running about aimlessly trying largely unsuccessfully to cut out passing lines. One reason why Russ claiming the players are brave is so ridiculous.

Our press is awful but the players are woefully unfit. He doesn't care about anything off the ball apart from as he says "being aggressive" which going by the amount of bookings we've had, means fouling people. 

[Thripp87]

15 hours ago, trousers said:

"Plucky defeat"... 🤦‍♂️

 

Clueless as ever. I wouldn’t spend a penny in January. The season is over already and we have nothing left to play for other than getting 12 points and beating Derby’s record.

[Saint Billy]

"I don’t know what more I can give the players to make them believe or that extra spark. ".

 

In that case RM better late than never, sod off.

[Whitey Grandad]

6 minutes ago, Saint Billy said:

"I don’t know what more I can give the players to make them believe or that extra spark. ".

 

In that case RM better late than never, sod off.

Yes mate, you're in the wrong job. 

[Saint Keef]

8 minutes ago, Saint Billy said:

"I don’t know what more I can give the players to make them believe or that extra spark. ".

 

In that case RM better late than never, sod off.

Is that his resignation speech? I do hope so.

[Pamplemousse]

10 hours ago, washsaint said:

What an absolutely awful squad we have.

 

AA, Archer, BBD, Fraser, Sulemana, Cornet

as 'attacking' players are absolute garbage.

Lesley - what was the point?

Lallana - injured the last 2-3 seasons and carrying that on with Saints

Garbage squad, garbage manager, garbage recruitment and garbage owners

Fraser has looked OK tbh, he put in that cross that Archer "scored" at Brighton

I genuinely don't know what BBD is good at. He hasn't played much which probably hasn't helped.

[Doctoroncall]

11 minutes ago, Saint Billy said:

"I don’t know what more I can give the players to make them believe or that extra spark. ".

 

In that case RM better late than never, sod off.

It’s all starting to unravel. 
 

Obtaining only one point every three games pressure is only going to increase. Derby’s record is still in sight. 

[Sarnia Cherie]

9 hours ago, OneMrsWallace said:

This. 

 

10 hours ago, Cabrone said:

In 40 years I have never seen a Saints team so utterly adrift as I'm seeing this season. I'm starting to seriously question if we can even get past Derby's all time low points tally of 11.

I feel for the season ticket holders, this club does not seem to give a damn about it's fans.

 

Exactly this. In the 50+ years as a supporter I don't know when I felt so much concern about the future of my beloved Saints. It would be nice if SR came out and spoke to the supporters about what exactly is going on, especially RM's consistent failure to actually be a manager. SR's silence is an insult to each and every one of us.

[Kenilworthy]

One thing I noticed is that when Villa had a corner we left two players up. It has taken about 20 years or more for us to this. About the only thing our manager has been flexible on.

[Whitey Grandad]

18 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

One thing I noticed is that when Villa had a corner we left two players up. It has taken about 20 years or more for us to this. About the only thing our manager has been flexible on.

He's obviously a very slow learner. 

[Whitey Grandad]

4 hours ago, Saint Billy said:

"I don’t know what more I can give the players to make them believe or that extra spark. ".

 

In that case RM better late than never, sod off.

To paraphrase, "I've completely run out of ideas"

[Toussaint]

19 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

To paraphrase, "I've completely run out of ideas"

To para-paraphrase “I didn’t actually have any ideas in the first place but thanks to you suckers I’ll never have to work again”

[Lighthouse]

31 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

To para-paraphrase “I didn’t actually have any ideas in the first place but thanks to you suckers I’ll never have to work again”

He really is quite the schizophrenic, according to this forum. Apparently he doesn’t care about results, only possession stats, because he doesn’t really want to be here and we’re just a stepping stone to another club, but we’re also one final big paycheque so he never has to work again.

[Oh no Mick Mills]

7 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

He really is quite the schizophrenic, according to this forum. Apparently he doesn’t care about results, only possession stats, because he doesn’t really want to be here and we’re just a stepping stone to another club, but we’re also one final big paycheque so he never has to work again.

Sorry to be the pedant but schizophrenic is the wrong use of word. 

Schizophrenics don't have a split personality or a contractitory nature.

They suffer with auditory and visual hallucinations and paranoid thoughts. 

 

[Doctoroncall]

12 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

He really is quite the schizophrenic, according to this forum. Apparently he doesn’t care about results, only possession stats, because he doesn’t really want to be here and we’re just a stepping stone to another club, but we’re also one final big paycheque so he never has to work again.

Not sure what you’re getting at. The forum isn’t the Borg. There are those that want him gone, some to stay either because they don’t think there is a better alternative or some other reason. Some don’t want the club to spend in January, others do. 
 

besides, there has been a forum shift in position on RM throughout his time here. Like most managers (bar Nathan Jones) here or at other clubs. 

[The Left Back]

4 hours ago, Sarnia Cherie said:

 

Exactly this. In the 50+ years as a supporter I don't know when I felt so much concern about the future of my beloved Saints. It would be nice if SR came out and spoke to the supporters about what exactly is going on, especially RM's consistent failure to actually be a manager. SR's silence is an insult to each and every one of us.

I assume you were on a sabbatical when we went into administration?

[Toussaint]

31 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

He really is quite the schizophrenic, according to this forum. Apparently he doesn’t care about results, only possession stats, because he doesn’t really want to be here and we’re just a stepping stone to another club, but we’re also one final big paycheque so he never has to work again.

All of those things can be true. Whether he wants to be here or wants a pay off is not relevant, either way he will be extremely wealthy man, especially considering his complete ineptitude. 

[Wade Garrett]

22 hours ago, trousers said:

"Plucky defeat"... 🤦‍♂️

 

He’s a fucking toadying wanker.  

[Sarnia Cherie]

40 minutes ago, The Left Back said:

I assume you were on a sabbatical when we went into administration?

That was a hard time right enough but I don't remember being as concerned about our future as I am right now. I still had a glimmer of faith that things would improve. Nowadays, I am struggling to see any positives. Southampton is like a rudderless ship. SR appear not to care and have made some catastrophic signings with managers since Ralph went. If things don't change soon we will be back down in the Championship and don't lets kid ourselves that the likes of Dibbling, Downes and Harwood-Bellis will be coming with us. We will be relying on SR's coup of the summer, BBD!

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Sarnia Cherie said:

That was a hard time right enough but I don't remember being as concerned about our future as I am right now. I still had a glimmer of faith that things would improve. Nowadays, I am struggling to see any positives. Southampton is like a rudderless ship. SR appear not to care and have made some catastrophic signings with managers since Ralph went. If things don't change soon we will be back down in the Championship and don't lets kid ourselves that the likes of Dibbling, Downes and Harwood-Bellis will be coming with us. We will be relying on SR's coup of the summer, BBD!

It always seems worse in the here and now rather than the past, but that 2008/2009 season in the Championship was the worst I've ever had to endure. Portvliett, Wotte and co, a bunch of kids and Lloyd James at RB.

We were regularly thrashed by the likes of Wednesday and Hull, there was no money and we were heading into L1 on -10 points. I never felt as low as I did then.

[Guan 2.0]

6 hours ago, Saint Billy said:

"I don’t know what more I can give the players to make them believe or that extra spark. ".

 

In that case RM better late than never, sod off.

If he meant that, and had any integrity, that would mean he had to leave, as he knows he has no ability to improve our performances. 

I don't think he has, though.  

[Plumstead_Saint]

On 07/12/2024 at 20:29, SWLondon Saint said:

If you're going to argue that us kicking the ball long is bad because it cedes possession, then how come them doing exactly the same thing straight back is good? 

Literally nothing to do with giving the ball away and everything to do with competent defending.

Going long is by definition more of a gamble than passing short. HTH
FWIW I wish our keepers had better long distance distribution. It 's not like it isn't something you can improve by staying behind after training and practicing.

[Saint_clark]

8 hours ago, Kenilworthy said:

One thing I noticed is that when Villa had a corner we left two players up. It has taken about 20 years or more for us to this. About the only thing our manager has been flexible on.

Not that long, it started under Adkins. 

[Saint_clark]

6 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

It always seems worse in the here and now rather than the past, but that 2008/2009 season in the Championship was the worst I've ever had to endure. Portvliett, Wotte and co, a bunch of kids and Lloyd James at RB.

We were regularly thrashed by the likes of Wednesday and Hull, there was no money and we were heading into L1 on -10 points. I never felt as low as I did then.

Yeah, the situation we're in now even as bad as it is we will still be in a strong position next season for promotion again. 

[Appy]

7 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Yeah, the situation we're in now even as bad as it is we will still be in a strong position next season for promotion again. 

Yep, even before we nearly went out of business, in the worse days of Dodd/Gorman, Burley and the Dutch duo I thought we were never coming back. 

[Oldandtired]

12 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

Yeah, the situation we're in now even as bad as it is we will still be in a strong position next season for promotion again. 

Not so sure if RM is still in charge. Every other team will know exactly what to expect and plan accordingly.

Edited 9 December, 2024 by Oldandtired