Sheaf Saint

FFS Tadic - why didn't you shoot!?

It's that time I think...

For the love of god, please stop quoting this tedious pr 1ck.

What's all the booing about?

Agreed. We just haven't been getting the rub of the green lately. Those second balls never seem to fall nicely to our players like it did for Berahino.

Is that down to the midfield players though, or is it down to Pelle's total lack of movement to make the space? I went to the Liverpool game last weekend and Skrtel will never have an easier game than he had that day.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the shape. It's just the fact that our whole attacking gameplan falls apart when we have someone so completely ineffective as Pelle leading the line. It's like a stroll in the park for any CB that is up against him at the moment.

Right on cue

The ball fell kindly to Berahino there. That's something that just hasn't happened for us in recent weeks. Superb finish from him, although I'm sure there will still be some morons on here who will try and blame it on Forster somehow. Watch WBA do exactly what Liverpool did at SMS last week now and sit back protecting their early lead. If they do that then we're screwed with Pelle in the form he is in.

FFS not again!

He was utter rubbish today. He was far too static and made it so easy for the defenders around him. When the ball got lumped up towards him he would make a half-arsed attempt to jump for it and then make no effort to get to the second ball. He looked totally dejected out there and was by far the worst player on the pitch.

As it has been over-turned, I think it's actually a shame that the ref gave him the red card in the first place. With 11 men on the pitch I reckon we would have beaten them. But after that incident, the anti-football that WHU played in the hope of not getting beaten was a disgrace to the game really. They might as well have been dug into fox-holes.

Yes, well done you. Completely ignore the crux of the point I was making and instead pick me up on a single expression that I used, in the full knowledge that it was 'literally' incorrect, in order to make it obvious to the average SWF user what I meant. The term 'parking the bus' usually refers to a team defending deep with the hope that a breakaway attack might bring them a goal. When WHU camped in their own half last night they had absolutely no intention of trying to hit us on the break, rather they were trying simply to stop us from scoring and holding on to get a point, making the expression more appropriate than in its regular use. I'm sorry if this thinly-veiled inference was lost to your superior literary intellect.

In a way, I kind of wish the red card hadn't happened. As soon as it did, W Ham literally parked the bus and just hoped they could hold out for the draw, let alone hit us on the break and win. At least with 11 men on the pitch it would have been much more open and we might have actually got in behind them once or twice, but with the two compact banks of 4 camped in their own half we could have played until midnight and not scored.

Apart from that one from Fonte just now.

Has it even occurred to you that perhaps they did, but were unable to tie up a suitable deal?

Man City 3-1 up now.

Was quite astounding to see the WHam players rounding on the ref after the red card. It was the most obvious, unarguable decision you'll ever see.

Keeper deliberately handled outside the box. Ref had no choice.

Dammit. Jääskeläinen on now. He played an absolute blinder at SMS last season IIRC.

I'm beginning to wonder if he's ever going to score again.

Good game so far. Saints looking far more likely to score but I said that at half time against Swansea. What has this ref been smoking though? Doesn't even give a the FK for the Kouyate handball but books Fonte for an equally accidental one. Then misses a blatant deflection for what should have been a corner. Very poor.

Not for me he doesn't. Our attacking play has looked much sharper today with Mane and Elia in the wide positions. We need to use their pace if we want to score goals.

There was no 'nearly' about it.

Ouchy. That looked painful.