cambsaint

A very enjoyable game for once, starting with a large gin and tonis ant kick off to steady the nerves, a delicios spag bol and a glass of Italian red at half time, and another large glass of red during the second half to savour the win with, followed by a near perfect draw for the nexr round. If that's 5.30 kick offs let's have more. Seriously on a footballing note, we played well enough, I don't publicly criticise players only praise good performances, (There are plenty on this board who seem to be incapable of anything but destructive criticism.) It was a pleasure to watch a well refereed match, you hardly knew he was there and his decisions were good and fair. However I just cannot understand why when Wolves bring on dangerous attackers, and we are in a one nil lead with ten minutes or so left Ralph doesn't add a defender. For me Stephens for Redmond was a substitution crying out to be made, particularly with Traore on the field..

If there is a problem with Ralph's sty;e of press, imo it's that it condenses the play into such a congested area that our forwards have no space and can't find any. Watching Cimainly ty and Spurs yesterday showed that the goals came when the last quarter of the opponents half was relatively empty, which is when we concede most goals against us. The result seems to me that teams set up against us to pack their box when we attack and try to score on the breakaway. I have no great problem that we couldn't score against Newcastle when they just parked the bus, it's extremely difficult and either requires a m istake from the opposition or a piece of genius or luck. It was a shame that KWP was absent as I'd like to see if he could have coped better with St Maximen who created chaos on their left wing.

Fortunately for me Tuesday is my online Bridge night with very good friends so I had an enjoyable time. Needless to say the recording of the match was immediately deleted. Had a few messages of extreme woe from my son until he switched it off after about half an hour.

The owners' are wholly to blame as you shouldn't go anywhere near Premiership football ownership if you can't afford it. The Prem management ought to institute financial checks as well in the ownership checks and imo should insist on a large deposit into a reserve fund which cannot be withdrawn except on sale. We shouldn't allow chancer's who are looking for a quick gain to go anywhere near ownership. If an owner wants to make a profit then buy a club in the ower divisions, invest wisely and get into the Prem and then if you want take your profit if you can find a very deep pocketted buyer. I

The conspiracy theorisy asks if VAR stands for Value Added Replay, and who benefits from the added value? I'm not really serious but whereas replays work well in cricket where you have umpires call for minute decisions they don't seem to be working well in football, where the player isn't fairly stationary like a batsman but moving usually very quickly. some very serious discussions need to take place in the closed season one can imagine mike deans reception when he next meets a live Ssint's crowd, oresumably he will be greeted on to the pith with a resounding chant of "cheat"

I'll name you 5 better strikers that have left us: Chivers (the first 100K£ player, Channon albeit he returned after failing to impress at Man City, Keegan, Shearer, and Bale for a start.

Let's be honest about his position. If you were in his place and had two to four yeras of top earnin g potential with the ever present risk of injury, you would or should be solely concerned with maximising your earnings. Loyalty wouldn't come into it for most people. If he gets a significantly better offer from a top club of vourse he will leave and all we cn do is get as much as possible for him. that's football, and if he loves the area he just keeps hos Hampshire mansion and moves for the time of his next ciontract, and returns to retire. All the Club can do is offer him what they can afford , with the hghest release clause they can get. In our current parlous financial position we are poiwerless. What is very unfair is that we the taxpayer have effectively subsidised Arsenal and Spurs by lending them vast sums of money for virtually nothing and Saints have to pay an usurious rate of interest which shows that our credit rating must be dreadful. I recommend a large dose of unpleasant cold hard realism, and of course realise over 90% of supporters would put their financial security before loyaty to an employer, especially as in my experience employers have absolutely no loyalty to employees nowadays

As the cricket umpire once said to a famous cricketer who said "That wasn't out umpire", the reply was "Read the morning papers lad and you'll see it was." This endless discussion is pointless now.

If you're reckless enough to clatter into a player just going into box then you deserve either a penalty or a red card. He knew precisely that he intended to foul a player and prevent a clear goal scoring chance Persoally I thought it was a pen all along and the ref couldn't have been able to tell the exact position from his position so VAR did its job. I thought he was a shocking ref, seemed to allow pushes in the back, and Djenepo's foul? was never a yellow. A few minutes later a Brighton player deliberately hacked a Saint down across the shins and only a free kick. Doubt if Ward -Prouse intended to handle the ball but if you wave your hand in the area in the area you are taking a huge risk. Awful match but a great three points and I'll take that all day long. I wish that Ralph would sort out an end-game strategy, imo bringing on Stephens as an extra defender if poss, in the last ten minutes if we're winning. I think the high energy high press game tires player out, both physically and mentally (which is just as important), leading to mistakes, and we don't seem to have a clear endgame plan. Manu was totally avoidable imo. Still a great result, three cracking performances by Vestergaard, Bednarek and Romeu, and of course Ings looked a different class when he arrived, three points and fifth above both Mancs. Come on you Saints.

Ron Davies later behaviour was rather strange. I often wondered if this was early onset dementia. It was certainly a problem with old heavy sodden balls. Whether it will e seen to be a problem to current generation won't be known for nearly 30 years. Certainly it should be banned immediately from the junior game, and then would probably slowly be phased out of the adult game It seems rather strange to me that you can't tackle anyone properly now for risk of injury (non life-threatening)yet little notice is taken of the most essential and amazing part of the body-the brain. No cricketer would risk playing without a helmet these days I won't be around to see the day but I hope it is gradually phased out.

I think that very skilful flair players should be given a chance. Recently on the televised games we have found flair players hard to deal with also strong fast forwards. Begs the question why don't we give hum a chance and see if he can unlock stubborn defences. Not many deg=fenders like a skilful dribbler running at them/

Would Tottenham be hsi first choice of club though. Can't see him wanting to play second fiddle to carthorse kane at Spurs and England.

He is a very talented flair player. IMO just who was needed to try to break down Palace. Still if he doesn't fit with Ralph's thinking he should go. Don't be surprised if he doesn't do well in another team or another league. A shame that he doesn't fit in, when you see players that can dribble and set up openings do well in other teams.

I think Hodson had worked out an excellent tactic l game against us. I worry that others will do the same, soak up the pressure and hit us on the break.thankfully there aren't many Zahas around. Redmond was anonymous but on TV you can't tell whether he had a bad day or was marked out of the game. I wonder if Boufal may be part of the answer against packed defences. Just have to hope the Ralph can work on tactics to overcome this.

KWP is a young English player with potential. I'd be glad to see a straight swap for a player with probably only a few years left and who we have covered by Romeu anyway, if that is what it took. If KWP proves his potential then in a few years a mega-club will come knocking and we'll make a massive profit.

Realistic piece con Sky Sports News, saying there will be no mega transfers this year, and clubs will have to be realistic as the loss if revenue due to ground closures and presumably much reduced capacity next season means prices will be realistic. Never forget that anything is only worth what you can sell it for, no matter what you paid for it, same applies even in the la-la land of the Prem. My main hope is that we can hold on to KWP. and get another centre back in.

Have always thought JWP a skilful and clever player, but in the last couple of years he has got musch stronger and now can't be bullied off ball. He is maturing into a very fine player and I there is still more to come Saint's players' fitness has amazed me after the break, they have been good for every game, always finishing much stronger than their opponents. Well done to all concerned., especially Ralph. He has moulded what was always a good squad of players, although not well led, into an excellent team. Just hope we can buy KWP, but would you sell him????

Sorry for Bournemouth, both they and Norwich are decent well run small city clubs. Increases the PL money is all that matters ethos. Getting really fed up with the incessant inane commentator 9-0 drivel

I can actually enjoy watching Saints on TV for the first time foe a few years. Amazing what Ralph has done since the Leicester match, which as I'm always out on Friday nights thankfully I missed, We look classy, fast, slick with great skills and passing, a joy to watch. Think we may get a bit "leggy" in the last few matches, but to finish 11th would be very satisfying and also financially rewarding.

Home kit is vile. Just hope nobody buys it. What is the matter with tradition, Saints are red and white stripes and black shorts. Always have been and always should be. White with red sash is a perfectly acceptable shirt -you can muck about with them. and gold is very good, reminiscent of the old gold and black of circa 67. Please don't buy the home kit, only way to teach them a lesson.

A truly magnificent performance. What has really struck me about our performances this season is the exceptional fitness, and the obvious team spirit and the players seem really comfortable with the tactics and respect the manager. Also I hope we can buy Walker Peters, but on this showing will TH let him go?

Great result. Typical negative responses I detest on this forum getting on young players backs after the first game following a long layoff. I agree with the comment that the players will enjoy playing at home without fam=ns negativity. Twas ever thus though I particularly remember criticism of Sydenham when I lived down there and watched regularly. Compare with the incessant support of the team who's name is never spoken in polite society just down the road.

Even if they do play again it may be slightly farcical. No way players will be anywhere near as fit as before and no match fitness or practice, Possibly not the best way to decide relegation issues. Actually I've realised I don't miss football very much anymore, but I'm really going to miss watching my son play good village cricket and my annual Scarborough Cricket festival with my cousin.

Five games: My 21st birthday game, can't remember much about it except I watched two games for the price of one (Sept 1968) An abysmal home defeat by Leicester about the same time, I've never got so wet at a football match, even my underwear was soaked.(on Milton Rd end) Cup final 1976 had just moved in to a new house and had been shopping for paint in Shirley and just got home in time. League Cup Final 1979 was working in Stoke and was the supplier of dressings to Stoke City. Friendly with physio, got free tickets to every home match and also tickets for Wembley. Went with my late father, only second time he'd watched Saints, had great lunch in steakhouse in Harrow beforehand, Despite defeat a truly memorable day. Cup final in Cardiff. Got tickets from Cambridge United club doctor, went with my son, I got my only speeding ticket of 65 years, (92mph) was late due to multiple roadworks. (Good job it was at a busy piece of dual carriageway- I would have been disqualified on another stretch!

If it can get Nirman Hunter, one of the iconic hardmen of the late 60s early 70s like John McGrath and Jimmy Gabriel of the Saints, then it can kill anyone. On another matter, regarding the inanity of most political commentators and journos,it's hardly surprising as they live a life locked in the Westminster bubble. Probably not a science degree amongst them, and now bioscience is so complicated and specialised that it's virtually impossible for an old boy like me to understand. When I qualified we had just identified three receptors, alpha, Beta1 and 2. Now they can even tell you the dna make-up of intra cellular drug receptors and transport mechanisms. Still it goes to show that although we think we're very clever, a natural disaster of biblical proportions can remind us of our mortality! Although a little bored by the lock-down I'm loving the quiet and lack of traffic. Hopefully Society may now reappraise what jobs are really worthwhile and what are inessential and adjust its values -fat chance of that!!