Saints 0-1 Burnley - Match Thread

[Badger]

40 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:

Hey guys just wanted to check in and see how things were going? 

Record breaking season though xx

Record breaking for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Saint Shady]

There was a moment second half that summed us up completely. Sulemana received the ball on the left when on a slight break and just slowed down and came to a stop. He then turned around and passed backwards. Even without the passing backwards the attack was done the second he decided to stop running forward and casually looked around before sending the ball in the wrong direction. Surely the natural and obvious thing to do would be to keep running forward and be able to attack less defending players but yet we see this stuff time and time again.  

[The Kraken]

10 minutes ago, Saint Shady said:

There was a moment second half that summed us up completely. Sulemana received the ball on the left when on a slight break and just slowed down and came to a stop. He then turned around and passed backwards. Even without the passing backwards the attack was done the second he decided to stop running forward and casually looked around before sending the ball in the wrong direction. Surely the natural and obvious thing to do would be to keep running forward and be able to attack less defending players but yet we see this stuff time and time again.  

We also saw it in the first half with something of a comedy moment. Sulemana picked up the ball in our half and was very positive, going through two of their players with a nice move. He looked like he was going to continue to drive forward but was promptly tackled by Mateus Fernandes who then proceeded to pass it to our left back.

[notnowcato]

3 hours ago, The Realist said:

As I have said before, I don't understand how we score goals in this Juric team.  What is our plan? I understood more under RM but we just didn't have the ability to carry it out the plan of drawing teams onto us.  Under Juric, what is the plan????

This. I see no obvious pattern or where we are trying to cause the oppo pain. We used to worry about no Plan B (a term I fucking hate) but I don’t see a chuffing Plan A. 
 

The second half became ridiculous we had zero presence in the middle. At one point you could have drawn a circle with a 30m diameter in the middle of pitch and no red and white in sight. Poor. Just really fucking poor. 

[Lighthouse]

3 hours ago, saintant said:

We need to stop being lied to about ABK. Juric has stated he is fit and wants to play, he is getting on the bench but not being given a single minute on the pitch.  Something does not add up so let's hear the truth.

Not if the truth is something that could jeopardise our chances of selling him in the summer. Clearly there is some reason two different managers have done what we're doing. I can only hope the bloke f**ks off in summer and is never seen here again.

[trousers]

1 hour ago, Bad Wolf said:

Hey guys just wanted to check in and see how things were going? I assume Southampton have forged a title challenge as predicted once RM left? I'm pleased to see the new manager has transformed things so brilliantly. Anyway guys RM is responsible for the team you have now but Juric is absolutely NOT responsible for the January window. That was the fault of Martin, Stephens and Jermaine Wright.

Record breaking season though xx

A rather generous 2/10

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

Not if the truth is something that could jeopardise our chances of selling him in the summer. Clearly there is some reason two different managers have done what we're doing. I can only hope the bloke f**ks off in summer and is never seen here again.

Who in their right mind is going to sign a player previously reported to have a health problem and who only ever gets selected as a sub and even then never sets foot on the pitch? The only way to sell him, if that's the club's intention, is to give him some games so he can show what he can do. How can a potential buyer have a look at him if he never kicks a ball?

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, SW11_Saint said:

Actually better than I thought it would be - probably down to the 2.5k Burnley fans. 
£10 adults and ‘kids for a quid’ would likely have seen a full house, and with it, all of the extra revenue from F&B sales. But that’s too obvious of course… 

I happened to be ill today but was going to stay away anyway - my own little protest at the pricing. Plus I’ve seen enough shite football/defeats this season already. 

Let’s hope they at least learn a lesson from this (though clearly didn’t post-Swansea) and start to consider the long-suffering fans a little more… 

 

 

 

 

No way was there 2.5k Burnley, more like 900 

[trousers]

6 minutes ago, saintant said:

Who in their right mind is going to sign a player previously reported to have a health problem and who only ever gets selected as a sub and even then never sets foot on the pitch? The only way to sell him, if that's the club's intention, is to give him some games so he can show what he can do. How can a potential buyer have a look at him if he never kicks a ball?

Quite....

#rocketscience

 

Edited Saturday at 21:46 by trousers

[Lighthouse]

3 minutes ago, saintant said:

Who in their right mind is going to sign a player previously reported to have a health problem and who only ever gets selected as a sub and even then never sets foot on the pitch? The only way to sell him, if that's the club's intention, is to give him some games so he can show what he can do. How can a potential buyer have a look at him if he never kicks a ball?

You said we needed to stop being lied to. We don't. I don't care about whatever juicy gossip is surrounding ABK, I just want him gone. He is quite obviously a more attractive prospect to potential buyers if he's playing regularly and putting in solid performances. The fact that Martin and Juric are both not playing him, instead picking the likes of Bree, Aribo and Manning to fill in at CB, should tell you that's clearly not an option, for whatever reason.

[saintant]

Just now, Lighthouse said:

You said we needed to stop being lied to. We don't. I don't care about whatever juicy gossip is surrounding ABK, I just want him gone. He is quite obviously a more attractive prospect to potential buyers if he's playing regularly and putting in solid performances. The fact that Martin and Juric are both not playing him, instead picking the likes of Bree, Aribo and Manning to fill in at CB, should tell you that's clearly not an option, for whatever reason.

Who is going to buy a player that never plays making it impossible to appraise his strengths and weaknesses? I'd be happy to see him gone if we are so adamant about not playing him but I'm afraid it's a chicken and egg situation. Maybe you can explain what I'm missing here.

[Lighthouse]

10 minutes ago, saintant said:

Who is going to buy a player that never plays making it impossible to appraise his strengths and weaknesses? I'd be happy to see him gone if we are so adamant about not playing him but I'm afraid it's a chicken and egg situation. Maybe you can explain what I'm missing here.

The club know this and yet they're not doing it, so it's clearly not that simple.

[Football Special]

As bad as today was I fear it could be much worse next week, Bournemouth set up perfectly to take advantage of the holes we leave in midfield and defence, it's not a 'rivalry' but it's a local game, need to keep some pride 

[RedWillie]

1 hour ago, SW11_Saint said:

Actually better than I thought it would be - probably down to the 2.5k Burnley fans. 
£10 adults and ‘kids for a quid’ would likely have seen a full house, and with it, all of the extra revenue from F&B sales. But that’s too obvious of course… 

I happened to be ill today but was going to stay away anyway - my own little protest at the pricing. Plus I’ve seen enough shite football/defeats this season already. 

Let’s hope they at least learn a lesson from this (though clearly didn’t post-Swansea) and start to consider the long-suffering fans a little more… 

 

 

 

 

Not a chance 2.5 K Burnley.  1200 at best.  What a shit show we are. The club is a farce. 

[Andy Hill]

Can it get any worse ?? Massive clear out needed.

[Oldandtired]

30 minutes ago, Andy Hill said:

Can it get any worse ?? Massive clear out needed.

and replace with what? As far as I can see we are in a catch 22 situation of the worst kind. Yes we can get hopefully get rid of the dross but how are we going to replace with anything better? I can't see anybody of quality wanting to come here, so is it just more mediocrity to make the numbers up? I don't trust our system to find the quality in numbets that we are going to need, we don't just need one or two we need virtually a whole new team.

Where are they going to come from and who is going to find them?

Edited Saturday at 22:57 by Oldandtired

[Noodles34]

3 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Hey guys just wanted to check in and see how things were going? I assume Southampton have forged a title challenge as predicted once RM left? I'm pleased to see the new manager has transformed things so brilliantly. Anyway guys RM is responsible for the team you have now but Juric is absolutely NOT responsible for the January window. That was the fault of Martin, Stephens and Jermaine Wright.

Record breaking season though xx

You’re a real tool Matt, fucking clueless but hey, carry on blaming the fans, because without that agenda, you’re nothing on here. 

[Andrew Watson]

Losing to a championship reserve side is bad enough,but god knows what Bournemouth will beat us by next week. The club is on a one way ticket to oblivion. A TOTAL AND UTTER DISGRACE.

[Galway saint]

49 minutes ago, Andy Hill said:

Can it get any worse ?? Massive clear out needed.

It can always get worse albeit in the context of this season feels like there's not much more to say 

[Whitey Grandad]

1 minute ago, Andrew Watson said:

Losing to a championship reserve side is bad enough,but god knows what Bournemouth will beat us by next week. The club is on a one way ticket to oblivion. A TOTAL AND UTTER DISGRACE.

The club showed their disdain for the Cup by closing our biggest stand. They missed a trick by not selling tickets at a low price and tempting in a new generation of supporters. What’s the point of a home draw if you’re not going to take advantage of it?

[ErwinK1961]

1 hour ago, Andy Hill said:

Can it get any worse ?? Massive clear out needed.

 

[OneMrsWallace]

5 hours ago, miserableoldgit said:

The manager said that we "did a lot of good things......."

Jesus Christ, why hasn't anyone else thought of that. Fucking genius. 

[captainchris]

3 hours ago, notnowcato said:

This. I see no obvious pattern or where we are trying to cause the oppo pain. We used to worry about no Plan B (a term I fucking hate) but I don’t see a chuffing Plan A. 
 

The second half became ridiculous we had zero presence in the middle. At one point you could have drawn a circle with a 30m diameter in the middle of pitch and no red and white in sight. Poor. Just really fucking poor. 

Precisely, every game we are completely overrun in central midfield where the opposition can freely run run up to Bednarek and past him… There is no central midfield at all…

RM did the same thing. Are managers actually blind? 

[captainchris]

54 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The club showed their disdain for the Cup by closing our biggest stand. They missed a trick by not selling tickets at a low price and tempting in a new generation of supporters. What’s the point of a home draw if you’re not going to take advantage of it?

Our ticketing is as poorly managed as the team unfortunately… 

You’ve got to laugh… 

[captainchris]

4 hours ago, Give it to Ron said:

I just want a manager that can look at a game and alter tactics rather than stick to what he is embedded to. We had Martin boring pass pass to nobody now we have 5 at the back against Ashley 98 year old Barnes-plus 2 midfielders slotting too. 
today we needed 4 4 fcking  2 with someone close to TP and crossing to him but we had absolutely b/s tactics going nowhere and creating nothing .

Dibling was terrible!

Excellent analysis Ron

[LoyalSaintSO50]

Didn’t expect it to be as bad as this when the Marin out brigade got their way. Well I did. We’re now fucked for next season n all, good work. Managed to piss Downes off in the process. So predictable. Our new nutter playing one centre back with ‘breezy’ and wellington on the other side of a back 3. You couldn’t make it up, fkin mess 

[St. Ciervo]

If we are rotten to the core in marketing, ticketing, ownership, management, and on the pitch... where do you begin? How is this solved? 

It is a chore to support this team, yet here we are. We are not the problem. 

[Owen The Saints]

9 hours ago, Saint Shady said:

There was a moment second half that summed us up completely. Sulemana received the ball on the left when on a slight break and just slowed down and came to a stop. He then turned around and passed backwards. Even without the passing backwards the attack was done the second he decided to stop running forward and casually looked around before sending the ball in the wrong direction. Surely the natural and obvious thing to do would be to keep running forward and be able to attack less defending players but yet we see this stuff time and time again.  

He was back to his usual self, all show no go. As for the others, I'll limit my thoughts to the 2 worst - Aribo is a useful as a condom with a hole at each end - as for Manning, passenger at best, we just as well had 10 players on the pitch.

[Roo1976]

8 hours ago, Andrew Watson said:

Losing to a championship reserve side is bad enough,but god knows what Bournemouth will beat us by next week. The club is on a one way ticket to oblivion. A TOTAL AND UTTER DISGRACE.

at least Fraser will get the obligatory run out against a former club eh.............happy days. Btw we were bloody awful (Tottenham in disguise),dare i say it..............

[Football Special]

6 hours ago, LoyalSaintSO50 said:

Didn’t expect it to be as bad as this when the Marin out brigade got their way. Well I did. We’re now fucked for next season n all, good work. Managed to piss Downes off in the process. So predictable. Our new nutter playing one centre back with ‘breezy’ and wellington on the other side of a back 3. You couldn’t make it up, fkin mess 

Deary me. It's all the Martin Out Brigades fault isn't it 🤦‍♂️

[austsaint]

59 minutes ago, Owen The Saints said:

He was back to his usual self, all show no go. As for the others, I'll limit my thoughts to the 2 worst - Aribo is a useful as a condom with a hole at each end - as for Manning, passenger at best, we just as well had 10 players on the pitch.

Really, is your first sentence about Sulemana?   I thought he was impressive again - just about our only attacking threat with Dibling marked out of the game and Fernandes a little quiet by his standards.

I like Juric, but he got things wrong today.  As others have mentioned, a mistake to play four full backs and Bednarek at the back.  Especially since we’ve been gifted an excellent LB prospect in Wellington there was an opportunity to have KWP and Wellington flanking two centre backs and strengthen the midfield.    Later in the game it was somewhat demoralising to watch Bree, Manning and Smallbone knocking the ball around at the back with minutes to go and the score 0-1.   I’m not sure whether Juric is playing Smallbone because we are stretched with injuries and the Downes situation, or whether he rates him, but his credibility is going to be dented if it continues.   I thought he should have brought on the Dane earlier to chase the goal we needed rather than WS.   

[East Kent Saint]

It's like the manager was just going through the motions as the club was not interested in the FA cup which the players were obviously aware of . They did have a number of chances even so .

The club seems to going the same way as Sunderland or our own relegation on the previous occasion , not bouncing back but sliding out the bottom of the championship .....

[IFHP]

9 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The club showed their disdain for the Cup by closing our biggest stand. They missed a trick by not selling tickets at a low price and tempting in a new generation of supporters. What’s the point of a home draw if you’re not going to take advantage of it?

Probably because we play like shit and in danger of putting kids off for life . 

[Badger]

10 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

The club showed their disdain for the Cup by closing our biggest stand. They missed a trick by not selling tickets at a low price and tempting in a new generation of supporters. What’s the point of a home draw if you’re not going to take advantage of it?

I took the pricing etc to show their disdain for the fan base as much as the competition 

[Saint Fan CaM]

I want to like Juric and God knows he’s got one hell of shit sandwich to devour in trying to get a song out of this squad, but I just don’t understand what the fuck he was doing playing that formation/team at home against a weakened Burnley side. The set up of the team and any form of corresponding system of play is shambolic.

Sulemana had some bright spells, but both he and Dibling were essentially more interested in showboating than in working in a team that moved as a unit - very self-centred selfish play…they don’t know when to release the ball to sustain an attack. At one point Fernandes actually stole the ball away from Sully to attempt distribution (but even that  failed). It’s fundamental, basic stuff to get right and so the conclusion must be that players are not invested in the coaching team or indeed the club.

Things are not improving - it’s getting worse. ABK not getting a game when on the bench…Downes reportedly fallen out of favour and refusing to play. And on it goes.

Well done Burnley - they looked a more cohesive side, fighting and working hard for each other and their manager. They lacked skill and guile up front, but they had that ultimate desire to see the ball in the back of the net in whatever way they could. They deserved the win - simple as. The best we can hope for is this is a massive wake-up call to Spors - he’s got a huge job of trying to breath life back into what right now appears to be terminally sick patient.

[gio1saints]

Playing without a centre forward against a weakened Burnley who everybody knew were more interested in getting promoted than winning this game was simply a bad management decision. 

Ivan decided on a false 9 approach before the match. Fair enough. But stupid imo. But he should have seen what the Burnley line up and formation was - and how ineffective we were against it - and adjusted saints team and tactics accordingly during the match. Instead it was just more of the meandering same and even when TP arrived we were so lost in our shit play we could not improve. 
 

That our team played like it was a friendly when we should have been bullying them from the start pisses me off . It’s the FA cup and we already going down. Fight! We sleepwalked to defeat. Yet again.
 

I did not think that a Juric team could be so limp. But maybe he knew that this shows SR we need more meat in the team and he’s thrown our cup run to make a point for next seasons recruitment?
Probably overthinking it but I prefer that than he could not see or know what to do about that shit show yesterday. It was embarrassing bad. On a par with the home  to forest U formation loss in terms of tactical ineptitude. 
 

 

Edited Sunday at 09:56 by gio1saints

[Cabrone]

That was a golden opportunity to get another win under our belt and generate a bit of confidence as we head to the champ. Naturally we blew it.

The club needs a total overhaul starting from the top.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

47 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

I want to like Juric and God knows he’s got one hell of shit sandwich to devour in trying to get a song out of this squad, but I just don’t understand what the fuck he was doing playing that formation/team at home against a weakened Burnley side. The set up of the team and any form of corresponding system of play is shambolic.

Sulemana had some bright spells, but both he and Dibling were essentially more interested in showboating than in working in a team that moved as a unit - very self-centred selfish play…they don’t know when to release the ball to sustain an attack. At one point Fernandes actually stole the ball away from Sully to attempt distribution (but even that  failed). It’s fundamental, basic stuff to get right and so the conclusion must be that players are not invested in the coaching team or indeed the club.

Things are not improving - it’s getting worse. ABK not getting a game when on the bench…Downes reportedly fallen out of favour and refusing to play. And on it goes.

Well done Burnley - they looked a more cohesive side, fighting and working hard for each other and their manager. They lacked skill and guile up front, but they had that ultimate desire to see the ball in the back of the net in whatever way they could. They deserved the win - simple as. The best we can hope for is this is a massive wake-up call to Spors - he’s got a huge job of trying to breath life back into what right now appears to be terminally sick patient.

The whole squad lack the basic principles of professional football players. No fight, desire, hunger, weak mentaility and no confidence. There is no leadership on the pitch, the players just look at each other and shrug shoulders or have hands on hips when goals go in. It's pathetic. I am stunned that we have managed to assemble a bunch that collectively are just nothing. I want them all gone from the club, bar probably Fernandes, Dibling, KWP, Ramsdale and THB. We need a complete overhaul of the squad, these players are going to be stained with the shit from this season, and if we don't hit the ground running next season, with them then its going to be another very difficult season. 

[S-Clarke]

14 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Hey guys just wanted to check in and see how things were going? I assume Southampton have forged a title challenge as predicted once RM left? I'm pleased to see the new manager has transformed things so brilliantly. Anyway guys RM is responsible for the team you have now but Juric is absolutely NOT responsible for the January window. That was the fault of Martin, Stephens and Jermaine Wright.

Record breaking season though xx

This season is on Russell Martin.

He presided over the Summer Transfer window and ensured we filled our squad with his mates, and players who couldn't adapt to PL football. I can accept Downes and THB as they had to happen based on last season, but we didn't need to sign Wood, Fraser or BBD. It was well documented that Martin had a full involvement in recruitment due to the absence of a proper DoF.

He didn't understand what was required for the PL, the club - guided by him in the lack of any football structure - completely ignored the gap between the leagues.

Juric hasn't done anything of note, but he can only work with what he has. The best thing I've seen from him is his understanding of what is required for PL football, he's said it a few times - and that's why we don't see Martins mates like we used to.

It will take us some time to recover from what we did in Summer 24.

[Football Special]

Match of the Day even made the comparison of how organised Burnley defence was vs the mess ours was for their goal, players all over the place, that's on the manager, get the basics right FFS 

[Saint NL]

1 hour ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Sulemana had some bright spells, but both he and Dibling were essentially more interested in showboating than in working in a team

This.

Sulemana was doing stepovers in the centre circle, which is all well and good, but if you can't back it up with some goals or assists then it's all a bit pointless.

[Saint Billy]

When watching this debacle it is plainly obvious that none of our players know what to do with the ball when receiving it and the easiest option is to pass it back.

There is no structure, no nothing, just a bunch of players placed on a pitch to run about playing clueless football.

It's embarrassing to watch and embarrassing to support. Juric has had enough time to install some basic principles but is still making the same mistakes as RM did. I was hoping for better from him but unfortunately it is as we were.

[Whitey Grandad]

48 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

This season is on Russell Martin.

He presided over the Summer Transfer window and ensured we filled our squad with his mates, and players who couldn't adapt to PL football. I can accept Downes and THB as they had to happen based on last season, but we didn't need to sign Wood, Fraser or BBD. It was well documented that Martin had a full involvement in recruitment due to the absence of a proper DoF.

He didn't understand what was required for the PL, the club - guided by him in the lack of any football structure - completely ignored the gap between the leagues.

Juric hasn't done anything of note, but he can only work with what he has. The best thing I've seen from him is his understanding of what is required for PL football, he's said it a few times - and that's why we don't see Martins mates like we used to.

It will take us some time to recover from what we did in Summer 24.

Shut out Martin’s Mates and there’s not much of a football team left.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

16 minutes ago, Saint Billy said:

When watching this debacle it is plainly obvious that none of our players know what to do with the ball when receiving it and the easiest option is to pass it back.

There is no structure, no nothing, just a bunch of players placed on a pitch to run about playing clueless football.

It's embarrassing to watch and embarrassing to support. Juric has had enough time to install some basic principles but is still making the same mistakes as RM did. I was hoping for better from him but unfortunately it is as we were.

At the moment, Wellington is the only one who has the gumption to actually move forward with the ball. Perhaps a sign that he didn't have to endure 18 months worth of RM coaching?

[woksaintly]

My first visit this season and probably my last too. I could not believe how bad we were. No organisation, communication or desire. A team misfits mishitting each other where no one took responsibility. One centre back and four full backs and no centre forward at home. I expected Juric to bring organisation and discipline. Instead we got chaos and our players tackling each other. The only bright spark was Wellington. Waste of time and money and to get to the train afterwards I could not exit the Chapel without having to circumnavigate the Stadium. Whose idea was that?  

[Convict Colony]

10 hours ago, LoyalSaintSO50 said:

Didn’t expect it to be as bad as this when the Marin out brigade got their way. Well I did. We’re now fucked for next season n all, good work. Managed to piss Downes off in the process. So predictable. Our new nutter playing one centre back with ‘breezy’ and wellington on the other side of a back 3. You couldn’t make it up, fkin mess 

Burnleys goal came from a couple of lucky deflections bit sure I'm blaming anyone for that, I thought they did ok yesterday.

Edited Sunday at 12:06 by Convict Colony

[benjii]

13 hours ago, captainchris said:

Precisely, every game we are completely overrun in central midfield where the opposition can freely run run up to Bednarek and past him… There is no central midfield at all…

RM did the same thing. Are managers actually blind? 

Quite!

Not signing a proper, athletic, combative CM in the summer was a big screw up but we are where we are.

Get two guys to sit together in front of the CBs and hope the full/wing backs and forwards can create us something. 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

3 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Playing without a centre forward against a weakened Burnley who everybody knew were more interested in getting promoted than winning this game was simply a bad management decision. 

Ivan decided on a false 9 approach before the match. Fair enough. But stupid imo.

Never forgave Poch for that Cup team he put out against Sunderland. Juric hasn't got any credit in the bank and he's already making basic mistakes in team selection. Agreed we're bang average and the team lacks quality but you can still show some intent and it's up to Juric to pick the team to instill that in the players.

[Wade Garrett]

18 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

The club know this and yet they're not doing it, so it's clearly not that simple.

You’re labouring under the misapprehension that there is logic in SR’s running of the club.

[Nordic Saint]

On 05/02/2025 at 23:28, Nordic Saint said:

Newcastle, Spurs or Aston Villa? It wouldn't be a great surprise to see a smaller club, like Fulham or Forest, in the final though. It's as wide open as it's ever been. If you have any idea who's going to win, you can get good odds on any team.

Well, perhaps not Liverpool.

Edited Sunday at 17:19 by Nordic Saint