Saint Fan CaM

Lard has a point to make and he's said it. And as he says, there are the usual posters who can only attack the OP rather than debate the issue - such a shame for this forum - it could be so much better without the *****y backbiting. Anyway - I'm truly looking forward to the season start (despite the rubbish kickoff time Sat.). I think the squad has the potential to surprise and delight, however (as my thread on the subject states), I feel there are unanswered questions regarding the ability of the defence to cope with the strength of attacking players seen in the NPC. Having watched NPC matches my view is our backline could struggle, although it is very difficult to predict I accept. A really good complimentary CB for Fonte will go a long way to helping the cause. Not worried about midfield or attack options atall - we have scoring potential throughout the side. Midfield looks very strong in particular now. I would be quite happy to finish just outside the play-offs with Pimpley and Brighton below us. Not overly concerned with going up this season.

Agree with this. It seems he will be a last minute signing.

Thanks for a reasoned answer - you've made some good points, although I am still not convinced that attack presents more concern than defence TBH.

As above...

Well, if you're truly Supersonic, I suppose it would have gone very, very quickly indeed! (; Highlight? Mmm, either the hate Lowe stand-up (shivers down neck time), or, Crouchy's pen against the Skates after the hand-ball. Insanely funny and celebratory at the same time! lol

I was thinking this morning that it would make sense that a more complex deal would be the reason for the delay in getting something announced. The QPR connection might have some legs therefore, but if he's been playing for them why should a work permit be an issue?

Hang on a minute - I've not said I am worried about anything. I have suggested that we should be concerned - yes - and tried to suggest that L1 stats do not necessarily provide cast iron evidence that everything will be OK in the NPC - yes. I have suggested that perhaps the pre-season performance against Yeovil, while not an absolute, could be indicative of an issue that stretches beyond a replacement CB - yes. If you look at my predictions for next season in those threads you will see that I am plumbing for just outside the play-offs - not a disaster. However, my point is that to consider a promotion push, we need to improve defence and what I was trying to do was to generate a debate on how we might do that. I am certainly not claiming to have all the answers, but I do believe the defence needs to be strengthened to achieve the aims of the club from this point on. Unfortunately, AS USUAL on here from the usual culprits, a debate is misconstrued as being either a chance to call someone a petty name (Benji) or to shoot down the poster without putting up a reasoned debate. To be honest you've provided your view which is fair enough, however I was hoping for a bit more of detailed analysis of how the back 4 operate. Just trying to get people talk about football which I thought was the point of a football forum? Oh well...

Err, actually no we didn't. Remember the Pimpley or Man Ure games? Towards the end of those games we were cut a new one because our back 4 were nowhere near as fit and agile as the opposition. That's the biggest difference between Prem players and NPC/good L1 players - stamina. I'm not a betting man, but I reckon most of the goals we concede in the NPC will come in the last 20 minutes of the 2nd half.

No you are not alone. It might or might not have been me thinking this too.

I do believe I am in the '3' camp. If the number 5 shirt is taken up by a top CB that slots in next to Fonte comfortably then it could be higher.

Good thread. I elect to vote in the key areas as follows... GK: Davis Defence: Fonte (potentially could be a new signing) Midfield: De Ridder Attack: Connolly (if he stays fit)

Personally I thought he got off lightly myself. Let's face it, if he'd actually managed to play some football the abuse could have been a whole lot worse.

Was it a Saints Web poster and why did he/she need to get drunk to say that? (:

Ron no STOP! Don't be fooled by the one eyed snake trick....there's no going back (so I've heard).

I've heard this too, but the upshot is that the sister gets the biscuit. True story.

Who gives a toss - let's sign him...money's no problem...we'll be out of this league this season anyway, so splash the cash.

He's rubbish - doesn't track back enough to assist the defence. And even when he does, he's too short to be effective. Leave well alone.

Yeah, but do they need another laundry assistant? (; LOL

Might well be a good acquisition this - I think age-wise he's in the ball park, but would wages be an issue?

OK, I'll accept that the stats make for interesting reading, equally though there are certain aspects of pre-season friendlies that can be considered as indicative of adverse issues that need to be addressed...i.e. it's not just about improving fitness - there's a performance element to assess also. You say you think we already have about the 7th or 8th best defence in the NPC. How did you arrive at that conclusion? If you can provide a sound rationale, then my view might be changed completely actually. So far in this thread however there has not been one sensible explanation of why we should not be concerned about the effectiveness of our defence.

I've dealt with the we're OK, because we were OK last season myth. While a pre-season friendly may not be the be-all and end-all of a teams preparation, it does provide the gaffer with some information about his squad. I cannot imagine that Adkins is wholly pleased with the performance played out by the back 4 combination whoever was playing. You need to look at how ALL the full-back and ALL the CB's are progressing together to get an holistic picture. We're sound in midfield and looking sharp in attack. Defensively you can see we're not prepared yet - it might be just a top CB is needed - or it might be more fundamental issues.

So what you're saying is, we don't need to worry about this season because L1 is a perfect benchmark to assess the ability of our back 4 to deal with the NPC? I say this is potentially wrong for so many reasons, but to re-iterate just one - stamina. Opposing forwards in the NPC will be able to sustain pace and accuracy of attack for longer than their L1 counterparts. I hope the defence coaches are doing more than looking at those stats and then putting their feet up! It's fine though - we all have differing opinions, even if you like to live yours in la-la-land! lol Seriously though, we're agreed that we need a new top CB.

Thank you RobM for understanding what this thread was supposed to be aimed at. Back on track I hope and please people, don't just slate an opinion...try and explain your own if that's not too difficult. Who know's, you might convince others you've got the right point of view?!? Again, to re-iterate the issue. We had a great last season defensively eventually...the stats say so (fine if it leads to a win and 3 points). But next season is different. The quality of attacking players is much higher - the pace is much faster and consequently harder physically so stamina will be MUCH more important. In short it's going to be a different ball game next season and I fear for our defence. Even Fonte is prone to getting dragged out of position (and expend more energy) mainly because he has to cover other players - Martin is not ready, Seaborne is not good enough to be anything other than backup and Jaidi, while having the competency, will not have the physique now to match his experience. We are desperate for at least one if not TWO CB's. With the right coaching and tactical instruction, I think our full-backs might just cope.

OK, right off the bat I want to make it clear I'm not slating any one member of the squad here. However, I think a little reasoned debate about our defensive line-up would be a good thing and in particular the type of players that we've got across the back 4. Please try and keep an open mind when posting - don't slag off others opinions - just state your own so we can try to get to a consensus. The key issue is this : we have striking options all over the pitch now - we don't have many problems scoring goals - but unless we have an iron solid defence we will be punished time and time again by at least 10 teams in this division. We need to improve - but where? The first article of evidence I would like to offer up is the Yeovil game. Twice we went ahead - we dominate the game against a team we should be streets ahead of if we're to gain promotion - and yet we can't put the game away. Why? I know it will be said this was only a warm-up friendly, but that's no excuse (and Adkins displeasure would reflect that too). Making a slip against a prem team like WBA is forgiveable - not a team at Yeovils level surely? There are no perfect answers to this dilemna IMO. I would like to think bringing in another quality CB to parter Fonte would do the trick, but is this the only issue? Is there more to it like poor coaching or the mix and balance of styles or is it a collective thing where the overall competency of our back 4 is just plain low? Is it because we are so attacking from midfield on, that our defence gets little assistance and cover? Whatever the problem(s), it/they need sorting out because I would argue that at the moment the signs are that it will be our defence that will let us down this season. Over to you.

Will be going and taking my two lads up with me. Will probably take the coach as it's got to cost more than £75 in fuel and we can all have a tipple or more. (: Will be the furthest I've travelled for an away game actually - can hardly believe it's only two weeks away! 0: