suewhistle

Whoops, I didn't realise it had been changed to Friday night. That would have been depressing, waking up on Saturday to see they'd already lost. It's not as if I wasn't already expecting to be a bit grumpy over the weekend..

I'm no lip reader but they showed Ings at half time and I think he was muttering to himself 'F*** me'! Whether that was the score or the effort he's put in I'm not sure but we certainly deserve that lead. Salisu showing his lack of experience a bit but his pace is really useful. The tackling has so much more bite to it tonight and even if we don't get the win this half has reminded us what we can do.

I never seem to have enough time to say thanks as I'm too busy closing pop-ups but this one looks good. Thanks again..

Not like you to make an over the top and exaggerated comment. FWIW I'm not particularly confident tonight but people have been calling for change, complaining about Bertrand, Diallo, Redmond etc., and when we get a change, whether tactical or personnel it's never acceptable and everybody has their own idea of what should be done. When we do a high press (as with Spurs at home) there are complaints, when we take a conservative approach as in the first half in the semi likewise. We do seem to have difficulty changing gear and upping the tempo. Oh well.. off to find a stream and finish my second G&T..

Gin and tonic here (domestic measure..). Actually I was getting ready for my birthday tomorrow and I always get depressed on my birthday, so I'll start early..

Well, I've got a grass roots game at 2pm, then take the goal posts down, home, hot bath, then out ready for the line-ups and the nervous wait for the second kick off. I'm not optimistic but certainly haven't written them off. It would be good to see a few London Saints in the crowd as my screams at the screen won't have much impact..

Does anyone know hackedoff's real identity? Just in case...

Cazzo.

Thank goodness that's over. I normally try and see something positive (unlike some of the unremittingly negative individuals on here) but nothing there tonight.

This is appalling. At least SKD will be happy..

Ooh, that's a point, the pubs will be open.. There's one in the next village that has a marquee out the back with a TV, or at least it did when it was last open. Small chance of getting a seat I imagine, but I might give them a ring.

I can't really remember his performances (which is a good sign in some respects) but I think the thought crossed my mind that he was under orders to keep it simple and safe. The other thought was that he looked a bit nervous, which was fair enough considering the opposition.

I'm not aware of any Saints player that SKD likes, and he posts an awful lot. He could and probably should score more goals and he needs to be more confident and instinctive about using his left foot but he's a valuable asset to the squad, and whenever I think who could we get who is better I think of the price Sheffield paid for Oli McBurnie (or we paid for Carillo...)!

The "who would we buy from a relegated side" test..

I think this sums up my position. A few choice expletives as I watched a dodgy (and delayed) stream. I thought we were playing some decent football but as always succumbed to some robust physicality. Then we got one back and my hope soared and although I was going out to lunch managed to leave it as long as possible. Had to wait to watch a corner, then managed a couple more minutes to see the equaliser and then had to dash. When we went 2 -0 down I certainly didn't see us winning but what gets me is the language some people use. It's so black and white and negative and admits no possibility of us getting back into the game. It's never "this looks beyond us now" and " we need to get a goal back soon" but always "we've lost" and "we're going to be relegated" and "we're rubbish". That, I reckon, is what people object to, and the sheer relish with which some people seem to embrace our failures. Oh yes, and the repetitive nature of such comments by the same posters..

'Cos when you're 5-0 up it's good to give others a run out..

They fitted the spare leg..

If that's the line-up that looks OK and a few options from the bench too..

I can only assume from that last sentence that they will be testing all the crowd to see the impact of the event. I still think varying the conditions in one of the semi-finals would make a decent comparison and entry could be on the basis of having a formal follow-up test. I'd accept that for the chance to go.

I rather agree. What are they going to test: crowd control? Local covid outbreaks? The impact of a crowd sitting silently watching? Only allow vaccinated pensioners? I'd go for that..:-) How about having one semi with, say 10,000 and the other with 30,000 and see if there are any impacts on infection rates etc. etc. Either way I'd like to see the remit of the test and what they are looking at.

Calling London Saints, calling London Saints, come in please...

Handy flick on as well at the end. In the end Armstrong not needed, so maybe Ralph had a quiet word or the Scotland coaching staff indeed appreciate his physical capabilities.

I took the opportunity for a Bednarek watch in the absence of JWP. I thought he had a decent game and no gratuitous errors.. How many touches did Stones make??

Mods, have a word..

The thing that disturbed in one of the reports above about the Burton game was the lack of basic skills of control. In the past my impression was that we had more of a lack of physicality or pace but the ability to control a ball was normally there. So Vokins and Valery or even Targett may have lacked positional skills or pace but they could always bring the ball under control. In the glimpses I've seen of the under 18s there have been one or two players where I've wondered why they were on the pitch.