CanadaSaint

I’ve got a ton of time for Martin but this was an arrogant, “I know better” starting line up. Two players in key positions who should never be in it, and both of them have been torched.

The troubling takeaway from today is that Huddersfield, to their great credit, have given the rest of the division a blueprint for playing against us. When we don’t get the ball into the front third quickly enough, and our opponents do, we can really lose our way. But I have every confidence that Martin will make exactly that point. Again.

Squad depth and a manager willing to re-set are massive assets in this gruelling league, and I think we have the edge on our main rivals in both. But as much as I want us back in the PL, I’m really enjoying the proper football, proper fans, and down to earth sincerity we’re seeing every week.

Ridiculous. Not your post but those two touches. Once Brooks and KWP start dovetailing down that right side, some defenders are going to end up needing counselling. I have always loved width, and we have the opportunity to have both sides fizzing. My main frustration today was Manning - not because he was poor defensively (unusually, he wasn't) but because he kept pushing so far forward that he took away the space that Fraser needs for his game. And then he played it square or back for the most part. The change I was expecting - Brooks on, Che off, and Adam Armstrong to the middle - didn't happen. If we'd done that I think we might have bagged a couple more, but I think Martin is managing his squad really well with the fixture congestion in mind. Yes, we're looking at a boatload of games in a short space of time, but so are the other contenders. And that brings it back to squad depth, where we have the edge over pretty much all of them.

😂 Perhaps they've seen him doing it at Staplewood and it's cleared the Marchwood Bypass, but there are goalscoring chances around the D in every game.

I was super-happy to see Flynn Downes' goal. He's a cracking player but I've always thought that he's not great around the "D" on the edge of each penalty box - really key areas. He doesn't always defend it well at our end (and goals have resulted) and he doesn't always attack it well at their end (and chances have been lost). Today he really attacked it well for his goal. It's not somewhere to be taking a control touch because a defensive cavalry is coming out at you - just hit it first time. If it gets through, great, or it may get a lucky deflection. Flynn did exactly that today and I really hope we see more of it.

Overall a brilliant performance but with some important takeaways. Martin has shown that he's committed but not stubborn, so I hope he's reflecting on some areas for improvement. The Swansea goal that undeservedly got them back into the game when they were being pummelled came (again) from poor play by Manning - getting caught too high. My suspicion is that the apparent improvement in Manning's game recently has come not because he's playing better but because he has Fraser ahead of him; Fraser is such a threat that sides can't pressure our Manning side as easily. He remains a major defensive weakness. Jack Stephens is a great guy, and clearly well regarded in the dressing room, but he doesn't have a quick enough brain to fit into our "play it out from the back" style. In fact, it's frightening to see him trying to participate in it. With hindsight, Martin might have left THB out there for another 20 minutes and trusted him to avoid a second yellow. And, as committed as we are to playing that style, and as good as it is to watch, there is nothing to be gained and lots to be lost from overplaying at the back when we're 3-1 up but under pressure in the last 10 minutes - especially when THB isn't out there. It seems ridiculous to say that we dodged a bullet today, but we probably did.

There has been tons of discussion of Martin's "style" but he deserves huge praise for some longstanding Saints weaknesses that he has turned into strengths. He's getting the best out of his players - Bednarek is just one example of significant improvement (he's now passing the ball with vision and confidence), but there are many. I'd like to see how well he'd do with the many under-committed under-achievers we've had (like ABK); those types have been a characteristic of our club for the past three years or more. He doesn't play square pegs in round holes; everyone's role is suited to their skillset. The cohesion is quite remarkable, and the team-first ethos shines. All of them look like they really want to be here. He has actually developed a Plan B that we pull out in the middle of Plan A - the sudden delivery of a long ball over the top or through the channels; it makes it so much harder for teams to defend against Plan A (possession) when they have to keep an eye out for the early ball. We weren't doing this very much 8-10 games ago. He has instilled touchline to touchline width, and that opens space in the middle for quick one-touch passes. Acting on the recognition that Fraser needs the ball in front of him, so that he can run at a defence, has been transformative. And he seems to have built some steel into the squad. It will be interesting to see how we respond to some adversity, because we haven't seen much over this 20-game run.

It really helps our style to have touchline to touchline width, opening up gaps in the middle. And we’ve dug ourselves out of the goal difference hole we dug ourselves into. Fraser is everything I like in a player - skill-wise and character-wise.

Can you suggest an "experienced" keeper who is anywhere close to Bazunu for the fundamental element of our (currently very successful) style of playing out from the back? Sure, it was a big clanger and it could have cost us, but these things happen when the keeper's role is so pivotal in the team's set up. You might want to stay close to a defibrillator while you're watching because, sooner or later, Bazunu will let one in over his head from forty yards. That's another risk we willingly and knowingly take with out style. The league table, and our unbeaten run, show that we gain far more than we lose from it.

My sympathies on your loss, but - trust me - he'll be there; not just tomorrow but for every game from here on. I lost my Dad on Christmas Eve 1977, and the last thing he said to me was "How did Saints get on?" But he'd lost track and thought it was Boxing Day, so I told him that they won, and he smiled. Two days later Saints beat Cardiff, so thankfully the last thing I said to Dad wasn't a lie. We've watched every game together since the day he lifted me over a turnstile at the Dell when I was six, and that will last as long as I do. Merry Christmas to all.

Great decision by Martin to stop banging our head against a brick wall in the middle of the park, with Smallbone giving the ball away a lot, and start attacking them down the flanks. Giving Fraser the ball at his feet, pointing the right way, takes our incisiveness to another level. He has a directness that we really need. And I love how he's always got his head up - looking around for open players. It's no coincidence that he's recently set up three goals with his crosses, and it could - SHOULD - have been two more today.

Fraser can’t get a start because he doesn’t fit “the style” but he’s set up two of our last three goals with early crosses. And Edozie scored the third one from wide by not fart-arsing around and going backwards. Against Cardiff our possession number was down 12% but we created far more chances. But we’ll doubtless be back in our soporific, no end product possession vortex again on Saturday. Sincere questions for Martin. 1) How can you NOT see that we are much better when we’re more direct in the final third? 2) How many times must Manning give the ball away in terrible places before you leave him out?

He’s in there for his left peg but gives the ball away constantly. I’d rather have Long John Silver.

The goal reflects exactly that. Bazunu was playing well off his line in order to be that "last line of defence". The major danger is something going over his head. The other big danger is that a shot will come when he's back-pedalling - a situation in which it's really difficult to adjust sideways. A keeper's widest reach comes when he's advancing, the narrowest when he's retreating. He'll let both kinds in this season - likely more to come. It's the price of bringing those "last line" things, and being the initial launch point for attacks, both of which are central to how we play, and both of which he does extremely well. On balance, for me, he's much more an asset than a liability.

Martin-ball is excellent for two-thirds of the pitch - probably the best in the division. But in the final third it just becomes frustrating over-passing with no early ball and often no delivery at all. Once the opposition realizes that there’s little threat at the end of it - usually after about twenty minutes - they start coming at us. The goal came from getting it to Fraser’s feet early, in space and pointing the right way, and an instant cross. Until we address that issue every game will look like this. When/if we do, we’ll start taking sides apart. I’ not holding my breath. I was worried when I saw Downes was out but, on a side note, it was great to see Aribo make a strong case to start. Alcaraz made the reverse case.

The key difference for me was that we played fewer final-third passes and opted for balls through the defence and earlier delivery. Compared with Wednesday night we were down 10% on possession but had about ten times the scoring opportunities. For me, Charles in for Smallbone helped that to happen.

We seem to be playing fewer passes in the final third, and opting for earlier delivery into the box or through the D. Good to see. 👍

Charles seems to bring a positivity that isn’t really in Smallbone’s skillset, and I think we’re much better for it. We don’t lose much defensively - if anything.

Adams had better be a hell of a lot more engaged - he looked completely disinterested on Wednesday. I found myself hoping that he had kicked his last ball for Saints, but couldn't remember when he did it.

Here’s a link to the interview for those requesting it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gwrhfs He’s clearly feeling some pressure – as well he should. He’s talked frequently about the need to be “brave” but the problem is that we’re not. If we were we wouldn’t be prioritizing possession over penetration as much as we do. We’d play more early balls through or over the defence to make them turn – Sulemana, Fraser and Edozie would love that. When we take the lead we try to hold onto it rather than really go for the jugular. Possession after possession we just keep passing our brains out until the defence gets completely set. About 20-30 minutes into every game you can almost see the opposition thinking “Is that all you’ve got?”, and then they start coming at us. To me it adds up to gutless football, and there doesn’t seem to be any room for “maverick moments” of individual skill that change games – I think that’s why we’re not seeing the best of our wide players, and it’s also why Alcaraz seems lost out there. Ironically, the only real maverick moment won the game for us last night. Either Martin is coaching that out of the players, or he’s trying to coach it into them and they’re not listening to him. We desperately need to find the “trip switch” that turns excellent build-up into incisiveness. That would change everything. Until it happens the fans are bound to be restless. The first half last night was mind-numbingly frustrating to watch. Having said all of that, I totally understand why he might be feeling insecure and being defensive. Let’s face it, we’ve been pretty damn quick as a fan base to start pumping bile onto our managers. In the case of the hapless, ill-chosen Jones it happened with a sickening “we don’t want you” survey before he even arrived. At some point we ALL need to remember that we’re all on the same side and want the same things.

Indeed! He’s the only thing stopping us from reverting to Martin’s “hold onto the lead” mode.

Hopefully KWP won’t get a bollocking for that - there was a pass available. 🤣

Sadly, it’s absolutely gutless football - nobody is willing to do anything outside “the system”. Every game we have all the possession until the opposition realizes we offer no incisiveness and no real threat, and then they start to threaten us. Until Martin adds an early ball dimension, instead of a 100% focus on ball retention, every game will look like this.

It’s like having a team of JWPs but without the free kicks.