Saints 2-3 Charlton - Match Reaction

[Ohio Saint]

Never argue with an idiot. he will pull you down to his level and beat you with his experience. *sigh* How did I ever forget that golden rule.

[St Marco]

Wotte a **** up

Totally gutted.

From the start with the walk in to the stadium, talking to all the fans, to Crouch's and Lawries speach it was hard not to get taken in by the atmosphere, the passion from everyone was magical. It made you feel proud to be a Saints fan. That will be one of the greatest momments i will take away from this season.

 

Then they got the early goal after our defence fell asleep you thought we could get mauled here. But the crowd kept on roaring and DMG scored a fantastic effort. You felt it could be our day!

Then Kelvin did this

 

 

 

After that you really did think after the week we have had we will go on to win and we will all go away happy and with some relief from our nightmare for a day at least.

 

But nope it was not to be.

 

It was the same story as it has been recently. Stupid formation with clueless tactics mixed in with gutless performances from most of the players.

 

I can't be bothered to go through and give ratings but once again Davis was motm for me. He made some amazing saves, that point blank volley he somehow got a hand too was awesome. I feel sorry for him because the goals that went in were top class from their player and utter **** marking/defending from our defence. He was let down.

 

DMG i felt did ok. He was lost at sea for the most of the game but that is down to the formation. He can't do anything if he doesn't get the ball. He had to come back into our box many times just to get it.

 

And for me that was the problem. It was amateur school boy stuff. Get the ball, then hoof it. That is what we have. Hoof the ball up to nobody. It was just so bad.

 

BWP scored a great goal but if you asked him to do that again he probably couldn't. So it was more of a fluke really.

 

At that point Saints came alive and Charlton went defensive.

 

All in all have to say we deserved to lose and if it wasen't for Davis and some awful finishing it would of been far worse for us.

 

Nick Illingsworth blames the fans for our situation. Every chance he gets he slags them off.

 

But now we have the Forest game and the Charlton game to add to the many games where it has been the same. The fans support today and always has been outstanding. To criticise the fans with everything that has happened is a joke. The guy needs to quit talking to the media. He is Rupert Lowe Mark 2.

So hopefully now Nick you have seen the support the fans gave. Even when we played **** and lost 2-3 at home to to the bottom team the chants of we are Southampton echo around the ground. You probably just wern't there to hear them.

So i look forward to reading your "the fans were superb again" article. But i have no doubt it will be more like "we will regret losing Rupert Lowe".

 

So truely gutted that we lost. But we can only do what we do and that is cheer the boys on untill the final whistle. And i will continue to do that untill the end whatever happens as i know there are so many people who feel the same.

We will rise again.

Edited 4 April, 2009 by St Marco

[Um Bongo]

Wasnt that bad - he's not a full back so harsh to critisise. Wottes fault for picking him rather than the player?

 

Thought he should have made more of his pace in 1st half as had loads of space on the right and Primus is so slow - should have exploited it!

 

Bad afternoon all round - but 0/10 he wasnt

 

I know he's not a rightback. But i feel he deserved 0. and 0 he will get.

 

And Primus wasn't playing!!!!!!

[samoakley]

Players That Looked up for it and played well was

Mcgoldrick

Wotton - Made a few mistakes but mainly good.

Surman - didnt play that good considering how talented he is.

Perry - Was bullied as said in many comments but again done well.

Sajes - I think he tryed to hard and made some misatkes overall ok perfomance.

Euell - looked up for it and done ok.

Thomson and Rudi were too attacking and **** and defending there attacking is quailty just they cant defend for **** would be ok if we had terry and rio at CB with Barry holding.

Charlton Scored a quailty goal and we should of had a pen so were unlcuky not to get a draw in the end last 25 mins we were the best we played for a long time just wish we done it the whole 90 or at least 60 mins.

Wrotte is a legend showing passion and trying his best to turn it around made the right subs IMO but maybe should of brought on BWP earlyer.

[.comsaint]

Wasnt that bad - he's not a full back so harsh to critisise. Wottes fault for picking him rather than the player?

 

Thought he should have made more of his pace in 1st half as had loads of space on the right and Primus is so slow - should have exploited it!

 

Bad afternoon all round - but 0/10 he wasnt

 

 

Can someone...anyone! - please tell me exactly WHAT Lallana brings to the side?

 

I know he's young, he's "raw", he's yadda yadda yadda - but every week he flatters to decieve. It's not as if he creates many chances for the frontmen either ffs.

 

Lallana? Don't believe the hype!

[TheSaint75]

The selection was wrong, Thompson should never have been RB, Wotton played too deep and we lacked any bite in midfield, if Wotton had pushed forward a bit, McG would have done the same and pressed the game from further up the park.

Perry did well, and if it wasn't for him and KD this season we would be down and out already.

[Glasgow_Saint]

I know he's not a rightback. But i feel he deserved 0. and 0 he will get.

 

And Primus wasn't playing!!!!!!

 

who was the dude with the primus style haircut - one who had the comedy miss kick in 1st half? thought that was him - wondered why i was the only one that booed each time he got the ball!! doh

[SuperMikey]

Disappointing - our defence have really let us down this season - just look at the goals conceded.

 

Au contraire, our defence has been great these past few games. However, today was a different story. Perry and Saeijs seemed a bit distracted during the first half, and their strikers were wandering around everywhere, as was the case for the first goal when Shelvey got behind the defence. However, I think we improved defensively in the second half, but still a weak performance by them.

 

Davis - 8

Good performance in goal. Made some vital (and brilliant) saves and saved the penalty in great fashion (and much to the delight of the fans, you would've thought we'd scored!).

Thomson - 6

Okay performance, but this guy is not a right back. His pace was really his only redeeming feature defensively, I don't think he could handle the strikers (Kandol especially) drifting out wide which caused us a few problems. However, his attacking game was much better. He provided some quality service into the box but we were never going to win headers against that Charlton defence. I'd like to see him on the right flank instead of Lallana on Tuesday, with Lloyd James returning at right back.

Skacel - 5

Pretty poor performance. He was a bit ineffective, seemed reluctant to tackle and gave the ball away a lot. His touch was poor too, which also led to attacks breaking down when he got the ball forward.

Saeijs - 6

Alright performance, nothing special really. Won his headers, which was good, but seemed to play the long ball out of defence too much when there were other options around him. Work on that particular aspect of his game and he can really spurr us on in these last few games.

Perry - 8 (MOTM)

Very solid at the back. Won countless tackles and balls at the back for us and was a real rock to build on. My man of the match because he used his experience well to keep a cool head and take everything in his stride.

Lallana - 6

Ok. Nothing that outstanding to comment on. Seemed to be outside the game a bit, didn't get passed to very much on the right flank and seemed to play a lot better when he drifted inside. Wotte was right to sub him.

Surman - 7

Looked good in the centre of midfield. Worked well to win the ball and create chances for us. Would have liked to have seen him play the full 90 minutes but we needed more attacking play and to put BWP on was the correct decision.

Wotton - 6

Not that great. His performance was okay, but he seemed a bit too eager to complain about referees decisions rather than correct mistakes that he made or try to win the ball back. Having said that, he did win the ball a lot in midfield, and that was vital. But, his passing was extremely lacklustre and that often broke down attacks.

McGoldrick - 7

Good game for him today. He looked a lot more focused, he was paying attention to the game and challenging for the ball a lot. He also won a fair few challenges when he dropped back a bit more in midfield and his goal was quality, even if he maybe could have made it easier on himself by shooting a bit earlier!

Euell - 6

Average. Considering he was an aerial target he could have won a few more headers, but his physical presence was needed up front as both him and Saga were swarmed with defenders for the whole game. Maybe he could play in the role that DMG has been playing in the the last few games on Tuesday?

Saganowski - 6

Ineffective really. He was marked very well all game, and the bloke that was marking him was absolutely huge, so that made him hard to win headers, which isn't so great if you're playing a direct, ball-to-head game. Only one moment where he impressed when he turned and shot from a corner but it was well saved by the keeper. However, he did run a lot and kept running, which was great to see.

 

Subs:

Smith - 6

Held the ball up too long on the right side. He impressed me when he ran at his man and nutmegged him, and then was fouled (twice) and won a free kick. After that though, he seemed reluctant to run at his man, which is really what a winger should do, and was therefore a bit ineffective. He wasn't being marked much either, so obviously Charlton don't rate him very much either...

Liptak - 6

Again, a bit ineffective. Won a few headers up front, which is what he was probably supposed to do, but apart from that was very quiet for 15 minutes.

Wright-Phillips - 8

Great 'super sub' performance. Gave the team a bit of width, ran at his markers and scored a sublime goal to top it all off. What more do you want from a substitute than that? Also, I don't think he was caught offside once...which is a bit of a revelation!

 

I think we need to ditch this long ball game, because it's not working at all. We scored our second goal by playing the ball along the floor and passing short. This is what we need to do to win points. I know we've been playing that style all season, but we looked a lot more fluid and confident in the last 10 minutes. And Wotte, tell the players not to pass back to the keeper when we need to push forward!!!

[SuperMikey]

who was the dude with the primus style haircut - one who had the comedy miss kick in 1st half? thought that was him - wondered why i was the only one that booed each time he got the ball!! doh

 

Kelly Youga. Sublime comedy, **** footballer.

[Glasgow_Saint]

I know he's not a rightback. But i feel he deserved 0. and 0 he will get.

 

And Primus wasn't playing!!!!!!

 

+ 2 people have voted him MOTM

[TheSaint75]

Can someone...anyone! - please tell me exactly WHAT Lallana brings to the side?

 

I know he's young, he's "raw", he's yadda yadda yadda - but every week he flatters to decieve. It's not as if he creates many chances for the frontmen either ffs.

 

Lallana? Don't believe the hype!

 

Didn't realise Lallana was playing, admittedly he does have some skills, but a Championship footballer he is not!

[um pahars]

Au contraire, our defence has been great these past few games. However, today was a different story. Perry and Saeijs seemed a bit distracted during the first half, and their strikers were wandering around everywhere, as was the case for the first goal when Shelvey got behind the defence. However, I think we improved defensively in the second half, but still a weak performance by them.

 

Davis - 8

Good performance in goal. Made some vital (and brilliant) saves and saved the penalty in great fashion (and much to the delight of the fans, you would've thought we'd scored!).

Thomson - 6

Okay performance, but this guy is not a right back. His pace was really his only redeeming feature defensively, I don't think he could handle the strikers (Kandol especially) drifting out wide which caused us a few problems. However, his attacking game was much better. He provided some quality service into the box but we were never going to win headers against that Charlton defence. I'd like to see him on the right flank instead of Lallana on Tuesday, with Lloyd James returning at right back.

Skacel - 5

Pretty poor performance. He was a bit ineffective, seemed reluctant to tackle and gave the ball away a lot. His touch was poor too, which also led to attacks breaking down when he got the ball forward.

Saeijs - 6

Alright performance, nothing special really. Won his headers, which was good, but seemed to play the long ball out of defence too much when there were other options around him. Work on that particular aspect of his game and he can really spurr us on in these last few games.

Perry - 8 (MOTM)

Very solid at the back. Won countless tackles and balls at the back for us and was a real rock to build on. My man of the match because he used his experience well to keep a cool head and take everything in his stride.

Lallana - 6

Ok. Nothing that outstanding to comment on. Seemed to be outside the game a bit, didn't get passed to very much on the right flank and seemed to play a lot better when he drifted inside. Wotte was right to sub him.

Surman - 7

Looked good in the centre of midfield. Worked well to win the ball and create chances for us. Would have liked to have seen him play the full 90 minutes but we needed more attacking play and to put BWP on was the correct decision.

Wotton - 6

Not that great. His performance was okay, but he seemed a bit too eager to complain about referees decisions rather than correct mistakes that he made or try to win the ball back. Having said that, he did win the ball a lot in midfield, and that was vital. But, his passing was extremely lacklustre and that often broke down attacks.

McGoldrick - 7

Good game for him today. He looked a lot more focused, he was paying attention to the game and challenging for the ball a lot. He also won a fair few challenges when he dropped back a bit more in midfield and his goal was quality, even if he maybe could have made it easier on himself by shooting a bit earlier!

Euell - 6

Average. Considering he was an aerial target he could have won a few more headers, but his physical presence was needed up front as both him and Saga were swarmed with defenders for the whole game. Maybe he could play in the role that DMG has been playing in the the last few games on Tuesday?

Saganowski - 6

Ineffective really. He was marked very well all game, and the bloke that was marking him was absolutely huge, so that made him hard to win headers, which isn't so great if you're playing a direct, ball-to-head game. Only one moment where he impressed when he turned and shot from a corner but it was well saved by the keeper. However, he did run a lot and kept running, which was great to see.

 

Subs:

Smith - 6

Held the ball up too long on the right side. He impressed me when he ran at his man and nutmegged him, and then was fouled (twice) and won a free kick. After that though, he seemed reluctant to run at his man, which is really what a winger should do, and was therefore a bit ineffective. He wasn't being marked much either, so obviously Charlton don't rate him very much either...

Liptak - 6

Again, a bit ineffective. Won a few headers up front, which is what he was probably supposed to do, but apart from that was very quiet for 15 minutes.

Wright-Phillips - 8

Great 'super sub' performance. Gave the team a bit of width, ran at his markers and scored a sublime goal to top it all off. What more do you want from a substitute than that? Also, I don't think he was caught offside once...which is a bit of a revelation!

 

I think we need to ditch this long ball game, because it's not working at all. We scored our second goal by playing the ball along the floor and passing short. This is what we need to do to win points. I know we've been playing that style all season, but we looked a lot more fluid and confident in the last 10 minutes. And Wotte, tell the players not to pass back to the keeper when we need to push forward!!!

 

Considering we just shipped three goals at home and lost to the worst team in this division. then I have to say your marks are rather generous.

 

I'm all up for being positive and optimistic, but surely you've been too generous.

[Ohio Saint]

 

Btw, I dont feel Mid-European mouths would even register on a scale of mouth size if North America were included..

 

No problem. It's OK guys, i understand now! Alpine's opinions are more valid than mine because he is surrounded by Austrians.

 

It's all clear now, sorry about the previous uninformed insults from my part, Alpine.

 

Now let's get this thread back where it belongs

[1976_Child]

There's a one of them ****ing loony tunes sitting in front of me on the train. ****ing rabbit rabbit rabbit. Shut the f@do up you sub-human neanderthal tosser. Here I am, trying to think of something good to write about the footeh and you keep on distracting me. ****ing ****-sucking fister. I don't give a frig about your favourite pubs in the wide-friggin-world. What are you? Some sort of mutant vulva from hell. SHUT UP.

[alpine_saint]

No problem. It's OK guys, i understand now! Alpine's opinions are more valid than mine because he is surrounded by Austrians.

 

It's all clear now, sorry about the previous uninformed insults from my part, Alpine.

 

Now let's get this thread back where it belongs

 

Apology accepted.

[Hopkins]

Can't be arsed to read through all this but I assume Euell, Skacel, Saga and Wotton have been slated for todays performances?

 

Horrific. Especially coming from so called experienced players...

 

Euell and Saga couldn't finish there dinner.

[Hopkins]

Actually to add to that Lallana was non existant aswell.

[Micky]

Can't be arsed to read through all this but I assume Euell, Skacel, Saga and Wotton have been slated for todays performances?

 

Horrific. Especially coming from so called experienced players...

 

Euell and Saga couldn't finish there dinner.

 

Actually they haven't. I have actually seen posts which praise Euell, Skacel and Saga for their efforts today. Strange how opinion differs between fans who witness exactaly the same game isn't it...???

[Micky]

Actually to add to that Lallana was non existant aswell.

 

Although, I admit, most seem to concur with your opinion here.

[1976_Child]

If you go down to the woods today,

You bound to have a surprise,

Today's the day the teddy bears have a pic mic

[ooh it's a corner]

Interesting to see some of the player ratings from todays game. I think I must have been watching a different fixture.

 

Kelvin aside, I'm not sure anyone gets above 5 points, and most would get 3-4. Thompson will bear the brunt for being inept and as people keep saying it's not his fault, he's not a right back.....erm, but he is a "professional" footballer, so he ought not to look as out of his depth as I would.

 

Surman was non existant. Wotton was everything that we have come to expect of him, slow, sluggish and unable to tackle (but it's not his fault, he just doesnt have the legs for this anymore).

 

Euell had 5/6/7 (I lost count) decent enough chances, but continually made the wrong decisions.

 

Saga managed to put the ball out for a throw in when he was in front of goal, about 5 yards out - and he's an international professional footballer.

 

Seijs was poorly out of position for the first goal.

 

Skacel has never, ever, had a good game for us, and how annoying is it when he tries to encourage the fans into making more noise - you put your foot through a tackle Skacel and I will make some noise about it, but all the while you strut around the place, playing like you are the most skillful player ever to grace the Championship. Here is a player that I will not be sad to see the back of (League one or not).

 

And another thing, if Wotte thinks that striking the opposing manager is leading from the front, then he is sadly mistaken. perhaps if he had had that much fire in his belly at half time, they wouldnt have come out like a limp biscuit.

 

sorry, but on a day of such optimism, I cannot believe they dished that up.

 

rant over

[Smirking_Saint]

Davis - 8 - Good performance, vocal and brave, good penalty save

Tompson - 4 - Did all he could, atleast he tried to keep it simple, disagree with some, he didn't attack enough, he has pace but never tried to beat the full-back.

Size - 5 - Done ok, made a few mistakes.

Perry - 7 - Did all he could, still reads the game well

Skacel - 5 - Did ok again, gave a left sided option, looked dodgy at the back though.

Lallana - 4 - Some nice touches, he needed to hound and get stuck in today.. he didn't

Surman - 4 - Has not looked right for me for a couple of games

McGoldrick - 5 - Good finish, i thought he put some effort in today

Euell - 6 - Ran around, held it up, crap in front of goal

Saga - 6 - Again ran around but got no massive service, he was never going to beat the back 4 in the air.

 

Subs:

BWP - 6 - Changed the game gave some width and desire.

Liptak - 4 - Had to be marked i suppose, he did ok, won some headers.

Smith - 5 - Had a better game then usual but he is so left footed whats the point of playing him on the right, the time he ran at the back 4 they looked worried but he can't use his right foot ?? He looked like he was lost to me.

 

Like i said, we lost this in midfield, no battle and too narrow simple.

[southamptonfclegend]

do people just randomly click on people to vote for?

how 3 people voted for thomson?

and 2 people voted for bwp ?

[rocknrollman no2]

The fans were up for it,

The media were ready for it,

The whole city expected it.

So why werent the team prepared for it?

[OldNick]

Davis let down by most of the rest really. Having a rookie right back didnt help and we lost the energy in midfield with Gillette out. DMG tried hard scored a good goal, Euell tried but missed a couple, Saga the most disappointing with Drew.

Need to improve tuesday

[Give it to Ron]

Exactly the performance I dreaded why does this team always let down the fans ?

Surman and Lallana were abysmal and Wotte should of changed it at half time which again gave them all the impetus in the half.

No pace out wide, no creativity from midfield and just a big lump up the pitch and feed off that.

Size was poor, Jake out of his depth, Wotton at home offers nothing, I felt really annoyed with Wotte today as the midfield in the last 3 or 4 games have been poor yet he continued with 2 of them the usual culprits.

We missed Gillet IMO.

I think it will be immaterial anyway after Tuesday.

I cant wait for this horrific season to be over.

Lets hope we have a team next season to follow.

 

Funniest rumour I heard today....Rod Stewart and WGS are interested.

[ooh it's a corner]

 

Funniest rumour I heard today....Rod Stewart and WGS are interested.

 

I've taken some acid in my time, but I still can't get my head round that one.

[miltonroad]

Is it mandatory to kick towards the Northam every first half? Every week we come out at the start of the second half with nine men sitting deep and barely being able to get out of our half for the first fifteen minutes - groundhog day. Whilst I appreciate we are not good enough in any aspect (the fitness levels are a joke) perhaps kicking towards the most vocal set of home fans in the second half may help slightly. I'm clutching at straws.

[hackedoff]

Have been looking at the teams in League Division 1, looks like the team we got would find their level there..

 

Get rid of Wotte, get in an old style belt and braces Manager who knows about football and hopefully we can rebuild. Oh hang on, we had a Manager like that last season with Pearson!

 

Wish we can stay in the CCC, then we can root out the deadwood in the squad, work the kids more.

 

Any investor that comes in hasn't only got to sort out the company side, but they've definitely got to take the team apart and rebuild and get some new blood in, hopefully some players who take some pride in their team!

 

Scroz_Saint

Agree with all you said apart from the first sentance, NO this team will not find its level in leage 1, it will struggle in it !

[ooh it's a corner]

Is it mandatory to kick towards the Northam every first half? Every week we come out at the start of the second half with nine men sitting deep and barely being able to get out of our half for the first fifteen minutes - groundhog day. Whilst I appreciate we are not good enough in any aspect (the fitness levels are a joke) perhaps kicking towards the most vocal set of home fans in the second half may help slightly. I'm clutching at straws.

 

I agree. If nothing else it does mean that the away team are a long way from their support in the second half....

 

I suppose we're giving the club credit that they can even think about stuff like that...

[Smirking_Saint]

What the hell was john solako (bad spelling i know) doing in kingsland ??

[L1Minus10]

Davis 9 - Superb all game, saved a pen, what more does anyone want.

Thomson 2- Woeful, Should have been subbed after 20 mins

Saeijs 3 - Worst game he'll ever have. Good coming forward, shiite defending

Perry 7 - Playerd well, should come 2nd to Kelvin for Player of the year

Skacel 5 - Not enough going forward, tried hard though

Wotton 3 - when we've got the ball, he's a liability

Lallana 4 - Flattered to deceive at start of season, now doesn't even do that.

Surman 4 - Poor performance again

McGoldrick 4 - Brilliant goal, otherwise nothing

Saganowski 6 - Did his best with little or no service

Euell 6 - Looked the most likely to be honest

---------------

BWP 7 - Made a big difference, great goal, you just know that's his lot for 20 games.

Liptak 2 - Did he touch the ball ?

Smith 6 - Looked lively and got some good crosses in.

 

Wotte 2 - ****ing terrible today. It was obvious after 20 mins that Saeijs was having a mare against the big guy up front and Thomson was likewise. Liptak should have come on with Saeijs going to right back as was one of the options mentioned when James got suspended. Liptak could not have done any worse that Saeijs was doing. The subs and lack of formation at the end were a bit of a joke really.

[Bailey]

Not good. Have to admit, I'm not too downhearted about the defeat, as I've convinced myself that the Football League will impose a 10-point deduction on us anyway, so today's result will almost be irrelevant. However, if they choose not to, then today could be looked back on as the day that we really blew it.

 

As for individual performances, I thought Davis, Perry, Saga and Euell were the only players to come out of the game with any credit. Saeijs was poor, as was Thomson, but I don't blame him so much. He's clearly not a RB and is being asked to do a very difficult job.

 

Still, forever the optimist, if we win on Tuesday night at Watford, then we will be level on points with Norwich who sit fourth bottom. For how long though, remains to be seen.

 

I've all but conceded that we'll be in League One next season, providing there is a next season, but IMO, it's just a case of whether we'll be starting on 0 points or -10. Could be an interesting few weeks or so. Hard I know, but lets keep the faith!

[Smirking_Saint]

Is hatch injured ????

[sidthesquid]

Wotte needs to go. The team preparation was hopeless.

 

Back down below 20,000 attendance next home match too..

 

Not his fault - you can't polish a turd

[alpine_saint]

you can't polish a turd

 

LOL. I do like that saying..

[sidthesquid]

My ratings for what it's worth

Davis - 7.5 - Did nothing wrong and a couple of good saves. (probably MoM,, which says it all at home to the bottom club with the worst away record)

Thompson - 5 - for trying, but he isn't a fullback

Skacel - 4 - for not looking significantly better than the above

Saeijs - 4 - looked mentally all at sea. We have come to expect better

Perry - 7 - will do well again in League One next season

Wotton - 4 - makes Gillett look like Alan Ball by comparison

Surman - 5 - looks like he's struggling with an injury

Lallana - 4 - was he playing

McGoldrick - 6 - great goal and some good grafting. Definitely his best position

Euell - 3 - Back to bad old Jason. Lost every header, terrible touch and on a totally different wavelength to everyone else. Enthusiasm is no-where near enough in a 31 year-old on £14k/week

Saganowski - 3 - he could still be out there now trying to find the goal. Both he and Euell had service & chances today but looked about as likely to score as I would with Lucy Pinder (sadly)

Smith - 6 - added a bit of width, but terribly isolated on the right

BWP - 7 - one of his good sub appearances & a great goal. Let's hope Wotte doesn't decide to start with him

Liptak - 5 absolutely no idea if this guy is a hidden gem or the new Ali Dia

Wotte - 5 - subs seemed fair enough, post match interview likewise, can tyou really blame him for the crapness of his players

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Can't do my usual post match ratings today as to be frank with the notable exceptions of Kelvin Davis and Jason Mule they'll all going to be in the 4 or 5 out of 10 range and it'll just get too repetitive .

 

What I would like to say is that I left St Marys after the match today feeling utterly dejected and just about as low as I've ever felt in my footballing life . The truth is however loudly we cheer & sing , however many of us turn up it just doesn't make any difference if the players aren't good enough - I hold this to be self evident now .

 

For so many reasons today's game was as crucial a match as it could possibly be and yet too many of our players just weren't up for the fight I'm sorry to say . Especially depressing was the fact that many of the most prominent non-performers of recent weeks have been the young players who have emerged from our academy , players like Drew Surman or Adam Lallana who you'd hope would sweet blood for their club just don't have the strength of character needed to express their undoubted ability properly when the 'big' games come along .

 

In future (presuming we have one that is) we should select youngsters for the academy not only (or even primarily) on their talent or technical ability but also on that hard to define quality of mental toughness - call it 'bottle' if you will . One Paul Marsden or Jason Dodd is worth any number of pretty ball passers when the going gets tough IMO , I don't think you can really teach this either - you either got it or you haven't .

[Charlie Wayman]

Totally gutless performance. You get the impression they are mor e interested in finding new jobs elsewhere for next season raher than get Saints out of the hole they have pt us in. As far as I'm concerned they all can b*gger off with the exception of Davis

[ooh it's a corner]

Perhaps they all know something about Tuesday's Football League meeting that we dont?

 

Perhaps they know -10 is coming?

 

Or perhaps they're just crap

[Wes Tender]

Having gone back to attending with my son now that the demon Lowe is gone, I look at our current position from two diverse perspectives and am not that disheartened at the loss today. You see, I am looking at the longer term picture and although the match today was a disappointment, in the plus column we have more cause for encouragement and optimism than we have had for some years. Because we have unshackled ourselves from being a PLC, also got shot of the main hindrance to inward investment in the club, we are now a bargain basement buy for somebody and there appears to be plenty of interest being shown in us. Whether anything really good comes of it remains to be seen, but personally I feel that the longer term prospects are much brighter.

 

The attendance today was nothing short of astonishing and shows that there was indeed a significant element of boycotters solely because of Lowe who were willing to return once he was gone. Surely we must have generated some decent profits today to offset the deficit a little and if we have similar gates for the other two home matches, we will earn ourselves a little breathing space on the financial front.

 

What was the shame, was the team that Wotte picked and the way it played. It was only during the last 15 minutes that it seemed to play with the necessary urgency. If we are to survive, we need to play like that for all 90 minutes. Whoever gave away that stupid penalty should be bloody grateful that Davies saved his bacon and not be so stupid and naive the next time. We played with a total lack of width yet again, much as we have all season. I have almost given up hope of seeing a Saints team playing with wide men who get to the byeline and then put in crosses. We were unfortunate with Holmes' injury, but letting Dyer go was just plain stupid. Perhaps Lowe allowing the hapless Poortvliet to stay in charge as long as he did, meant that we had already sank too low to save ourselves and I don't have total confidence in Wotte either. I wonder what we might have achieved if we hadn't wasted time and money on the dross they brought in that has not performed and instead brought in some decent players experienced at this level and in this division. What exactly have Robertson (apart from one incredible debut goal), Peckart, Gasmi, Molyneux, Ryan Smith and Pulis brought to the team?

 

And so I have still only witnessed one win at St Mary's all season, as I had boycotted a couple of matches that Wotte had won. But I will be attending the other two remaining home games and praying that the Charlton game can be excused because it came too close to Lowe's departure and after the two week lay-off because of the International break. But regardless of whether we win, lose or draw, whether we are relegated or survive this division, I pledge my support to whatever team that wears the red and white from now on, providing that Lowe has nothing further to do with the club. But I hope that the fans get the team that they deserve, one that is prepared to fight for us and always give their best efforts whenever they wear the shirt.

[rocknrollman no2]

Can't do my usual post match ratings today as to be frank with the notable exceptions of Kelvin Davis and Jason Mule they'll all going to be in the 4 or 5 out of 10 range and it'll just get too repetitive .

 

What I would like to say is that I left St Marys after the match today feeling utterly dejected and just about as low as I've ever felt in my footballing life . The truth is however loudly we cheer & sing , however many of us turn up it just doesn't make any difference if the players aren't good enough - I hold this to be self evident now .

 

For so many reasons today's game was as crucial a match as it could possibly be and yet too many of our players just weren't up for the fight I'm sorry to say . Especially depressing was the fact that many of the most prominent non-performers of recent weeks have been the young players who have emerged from our academy , players like Drew Surman or Adam Lallana who you'd hope would sweet blood for their club just don't have the strength of character needed to express their undoubted ability properly when the 'big' games come along .

 

In future (presuming we have one that is) we should select youngsters for the academy not only (or even primarily) on their talent or technical ability but also on that hard to define quality of mental toughness - call it 'bottle' if you will . One Paul Marsden or Jason Dodd is worth any number of pretty ball passers when the going gets tough IMO , I don't think you can really teach this either - you either got it or you haven't .

 

Quality post.Says everything i feel.

[1976_Child]

ok, so the game was rubbish today, but could it have been in part down to the players been TOO eager? Sometimes when you know it is a big match it gets to you and you under perform. I'm not trying to make excuses for them but there is no way the recent events vis-a-vis the administrators and "24 days to save SFC" would not have got to them in some way.

 

..only a thought.

[Mark``]

i fealt for sure it was going to be a demolishing of Charlton today. it just didn't look like the lads wanted it as much as the fans. Bwp changed the game totally when he came on. he turned charlton defenders inside out. I don't know why wotte doesn't play him off the bat.

[offix]

Pretty sad that so many on here persist in blaming the fans for every loss, whether they mean "some" fans or "all" fans.

 

The players didn't show up - the "coach" didn't have the team or the tactics right. and neither players nor coach showed the same spirit that was shown by this large crowd and our opponents.

 

The Dutch experiment finally dies today, shame it may take the whole club with it.

[haddock22]

maybe cos hes rubbish 9 times out of 10

[adelaide saint]

Absolutely gutted definitely not the result I wanted to see on my birthday I even ran out on my own party to catch the game. All I can say is that we cannot let this grand club implode. Contrary to what many others think I believe there is great potential in the player base we have at St. Mary's and that games like todays cannot be employed as an appropriate measure of the quality we possess. Alot of players will not have to endure throughout the entire duration of their careers what has transpired at St.Mary's in recent times. Coupled with this the air of expectation which permeated around the stadium cannot have been favourable. I realise that these are professional players supposed to be able to cope with such occurrences but when the existence of a proud insitution and the passion of thousands is in question the scale of nervousness is undoubtedly intensely magnified. When compared with what Charlton had to play for today the contrast could not be more stark. Although it is apparent that even with a cash injection Saints will be playing in League 1 next season the fight is not over yet. I will be awake at 6:00am Wednesday to catch us play Watford as I will be listening to every game to come this season and will remain proud to be a Saints supporter regardless of the outcome. Attached to following Saints is a degree of trepidation mirrored by few other supporters groups in the country yet it is a passion that will not die easily in me, a sentiment I know is shared by many (if not all) on this board. SAINTS FOR LIFE!!!!

[derry]

Any chance of the protagonists parking the bickering?

 

All of us are pretty depressed right now and it doesn't help much to read that crap.

 

Thank you.

 

Hi Bill, I suppose you are still freezing your nuts off. This was the most incompetent display of team(loose interpretation) management I've ever seen.

 

The team picked was totally unbalanced and the worst of it was most of the players obviously weren't buying into it.

 

There were three areas that caused us awful problems. The right side of Thompson ( the poor kid didn't know where he was playing and was just hanging in there), together with another totally unproductive little boy lost performance in front of him by Lallana in the narrow diamond allowed us to be murdered down that side.

 

Because of that the two centre backs were pulled all over the place. The second area was Wotton playing like a statue in front of the back four with Charlton passing the ball around him and getting at the central defenders. Even when we went 3-1 down he was still playing there.

 

The third area was the two strikers often 50 yds apart, FFS strikers have to play off each other and pretty close at that.

 

We went 1-0 down and were hanging on, after 20 mins Wotte needed to change it. Thompson off, Schneiderlin CM, Lallana off, BWP RM, Wotton to RB and just defend. Keep one sub back just in case.

 

He didn't do it, then at half time he should have done that, changed to

4-4-2, brought Smith on WR and played BWP WL with Surman and Schneiderlin in CM, he did bugger all until the last 20 mins 3 - 1 down and chasing the game with Wotton still holding FFS, the man is an incompetent clown.

 

Our players just aren't playing, no runs, no decoys, no running into space, no width, no getting to the byeline, free kicks devoid of any variation, hopeful corners, shooting abysmal, no real support play, for god's sake what the hell have they been doing all these years of alleged training and coaching.

 

The teamplay bears no resemblance to the way we learnt, and I'm pretty sure maybe only one or two might have got in our sides. What a bloody indictment. It seems only the top teams play like that now and everybody else plays total crap.

Edited 4 April, 2009 by derry

[stthrobber]

Players didn't turn up, simple as. For the biggest game of the season, that's a bit worrying. Bad times get even worse. And although i dont think fans leaving early is great, i dont think throwing coins and stuff at them is brilliant either. They paid there money, if they want to go, let them.

 

The effort was there, I think the occasion got the better of the players.

 

Charlton, supposedly the worst team in the league, came to SMS and passed well, moved well and showed no signs that they are virtually relegated. Their midfield piddled all over ours.

 

On the other hand we huffed and puffed, hoofed and hoofed, played head tennis but had no width or guile to give them enough problems.

 

If that is the Dutch way, then they learned their football from Branfoot.

 

Wotte seems to have no game plan and if we get taken over I sincerely hope he isn't in charge next season.

[SoccerMom]

FWIW, couldn't believe how crap the "experienced" players were today (Kelvin aside). Euell and Saga - what was that about? back to where they were last season. Tough when they both decide to leave brains at home on the same day. Skacel seems to have left his balls behind, too - I've seen plenty of 8 and 9 year-olds more willing and able to tackle. But what galls me most is that all season key players in this team have just rolled/bent over when the opposition has got a little bit physical - Saga and Lallana the worst, with Surman not far behind. At least Euell gives as good as he gets, and most of the time gets away with it, too.

 

But what was going on with Size and the big forward? There were clearly words once or twice, and I looked over to see them head to head and shoving at one point. Then Size took his arm around the bloke's shoulder as if to calm him down, and I really thought he was going to get decked good and proper. And Size just wasn't cutting it today - such a disappointment.

 

I've seen this so many times this season - tough boy tactics that look more like the Eastleigh and District Mini Soccer League than they do Championship football. Respect campaign? You're havin' a laugh. But the real shame is that they work against Saints - they must come here thinking that if they rough them up a bit, they will implode. And they do.