eurosaint

Having played a totally different system than previously, there was bound to be a downside as well as some positives (we got an important draw) ! Not using the 'high energy', 'high press', effectively offered posession to the opposition but was less tiring for us. Many have opined that Ings, Redmond & Minamino gave the ball away too often but considering that they were often alone and surrounded by 3 blue shirts instead of being backed by other red shirts it was perhaps unsurprising ! The bottom line is that Ralph utilised a 'plan B" which many had called for and it was (relatively) successful ! Be interesting to see if we go back to the normal formation tomorrow night !

The mail I received on 12th Feb said it could take 'up to 3 weeks' so should probably be in the first week of March !

Yeah, I downloaded it and it looks to be have similar content to the main website ! Will be handy on the smartphone when out and about (if we are ever released from 'house arrest' that is) 😎!

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Perhaps Ralph does have a ‘plan B’ but is not able to implement it through lack of resources ? It’s already been said that our best players are having to play 2 or 3 games a week and (because of our high press, high energy style) they run out of steam ! Bestways we have a good first 11 but a very weak and inexperienced backup squad ! It’s absolutely soul destroying to get crap refereeing decisions which alter the dynamic of the game and all of a sudden you have to go again... It’s not ideal the way things are going right now but perhaps understandable ! Those calling for Ralph’s head are a bit thick IMHO !!

You may be right about incentives but I reckon they'll be pretty desperate to get the numbers up so will put all former ST holders in the same bracket ! Either way, it's not a financial issue for me, I'm just keeping an open mind in an ever-changing world ! COYS 😇

#MeToo Taking the refund on the basis that I’ve nothing to lose and uncertainty still prevails! I’ll deffo renew as and when it suits ! Credit to the club that they lived up to the promise of sorting it out this week !

Ralph has said in his presser that McCarthy remains his no.1 although FF will play v Wolves in the cup ! Only really blamed him for the third goal v Newcastle and none of the Man Utd ones... Said he's had a good season and will continue as before... Perhaps he's just trying to keep him from losing confidence which would make a lot of sense, no point in slagging him off and then having to play him anyway !!

Now Thursday 11th and no sign of an email asking what I want (refund or continuation !). Given that they said w/c 8th Feb it should come any minute, I assume ! No panic but I like them to do what they committed for....

I feel a bit sorry for Bednarek, he has played every game of late with different back four partners in most matches. He's getting dogs abuse for the two own goals and a couple of other mistakes but tbf prior to that he was up there as MoM in quite a few games ! He must be knackered and possibly a bit disillusioned right now ! He could do with a break but it's unlikely he'll get one 😦!

Given the ongoing Covid restrictions etc.. I'm pretty sure that most will take the refund now and decide nearer the time whether/not to renew for next season ! That's what I'm doing but if everything looks good in advance of the August kick-off (I will have had two jabs by then as will many others) I'll start again ! It's not forever, just makes sense to keep your options open IMO !

They won't overturn it, they'll bottle it once again and move on to the next fiasco 😦, Dean will not be admonished in any way as that would be a loss of face for the lot of them ! Maybe one of you smart techies could put together a montage of the dodgy decisions over the last four days so that we can circulate online and try and build a bit of momentum for change ????

As per the Villa game, ALL of the ex-players commenting on TV were perplexed about the VAR decisions and considered them to be largely unfair ! Two ex Utd players (Ferdinand & Dublin) both said that these incidents are detracting from the spectacle of football as a whole ! I've suggested before that ex players should be involved in the VAR room (adding some perspective to the process) and I stick with that, it's certainly worth a go as right now there's more discussion about borderline technicalities than anything else... Ps. Anyone know if there's a good plastic surgeon available to remove the smirk from Mike Dean's face 🤤?

Excellent post, well said 🤙 Clearly referees are determined to protect their colleagues even if it means hairline technicalities have precedence over common sense and fairness ! Having watched the match live on Sky and also MOTD later, it was clear that all of the ex professional players (the likes of Carragher, Ian Wright etc..) viewed these decisions as a miscarriage of justice ! Perhaps the authorities should consider that the VAR panel could include (or even consist of) ex players ? Obviously you would have to be aware of any potential 'conflict of interest' by adjudicating on former clubs, rivals etc.. but I feel that it would bring more balance to the situation and lend less bias towards the protection of ref colleagues ! Bottom line is that Saturday was not only a shit day for Saints, it was also a shit day for football in general !

In this case, clearly the biggest issue is with the interpretation of VAR which seems to ignore any aspect of fair play and the spirit of sporting entertainment ! ALL of the ex players on both Sky and BBC said that they were perplexed with both decisions and basically that both were wrong... Are we to believe that Lee Mason actually witnessed the ball hitting Cash's thigh before his hand (TV showed it 20 times or more in super slo-mo and it still wasn't conclusive) so how could he not give it ? Had he given it then Dean would have had to overrule it on the basis of 'clear and obvious error' which would have been nigh on impossible to justify ! Between Mason and Dean they managed to concoct reasons to decide based on dubious, hairline technicalities rather than any form of common sense ! Football is suffering a credibility crisis because of this and the ecstasy of last minute equalisers etc.. is now a thing of the past 😫 ! I'm in total despair !

Surely you mean right back as Bertrand returns from suspension ? Hopefully KWP is fit again and we don't have to shift JWP at all !

I received the refund for the last 3 matches yesterday which surprised me as I thought the total outstanding balance for the season was coming in mid Feb ! In summary, I've now had 9 games sorted and 10 more to be credited within the next couple of weeks or so ! Given all the discounts on merchandise that I've had, including extra shirts for free (the changed sponsor ones!) I'm happy that I bought my ST in the first place ! Also a nice little way of saving as I will have received £570 into my account unexpectedly 😇

The replica kits will no doubt be the same as there seems to be an unwritten rule in football that sets the price across the board (ps.I do realise that one or two of the big clubs are even more expensive) ! I would be a bit more optimistic on the casual wear though as their regular range is normally cheaper than the mega prices demanded by UA ! Time will tell but I reckon that it will be a change for the better 👍

Incredible that they let him play on for a bit after doing it, might well have aggravated the problem !

I think that I'll take the refund on the basis that there is still a lot of uncertainty hovering over the coming months ! Who knows what will transpire for next season and they have confirmed that current ST's will get continuation if desired so that's good enough for me ! 👍

JWP and Theo are both very articulate and I'm sure will be candidates for punditry after retirement ! If you add Ings and Armstrong to the list then future is looking quite bright 👍! Some of the current names who were mentioned earlier are deffo not pro Saints ( ie. Hoddle, Souness & Saggychops) also Prutton only does the lower leagues ! Terry Paine was the main man in South Africa for many years but seems to have retired now but I'm pleased to hear that some of our (proper) ex players are involved in some other countries (excluding the pisstakes😝) !

Lots of people on this discussion forum ! The number of mentions that Carragher got in the post match thread is what prompted me to start this one ! Just seems to be a dearth of ex Saints and hardly ever any balance in the studio or co-commentary ! Just trying to stimulate a conversation, not aiming to upset anyone 🤔 !

With all the matches now being televised there is more time devoted to the match pundits and their comments ! I cannot remember the last time a former Saint was used in our recent matches. Sky have sacked MLT, Benali seems to have disappeared now as well and there are no others that I can recall ! I'm discounting the likes of Andy Townsend because his main career was elsewhere. So now we have great performances like last night and have to listen to the one-sided views of Carragher ! I am right on this or just being paranoid ??

Same here !

Still don't get the negativity over Stuart Armstrong... Great awareness, positionally astute, drives forward & chips in with a few goals ! Clearly a team player who fits with our current strategy and recognised as such by Ralph ! We are on a good run with a stable formation (of which he is part) so this is not the time to be looking for scapegoats or whipping boys ! COYS 😇