NewYorkSaint

Excited to see Livramento. I have a good feeling about his prospects here.

I think people are missing how much JWP brings to our high-press. When Saints are good, the effective high-press is what everything builds from. And JWP is at the heart of it. His extreme fitness and intelligent reading of the game mean that he is a key contributor to our regaining possession. This isn't always obvious, because he's doing this in combination with other players. But we are simply a more effective side when he's on the field. Time and again he converts 40% chance of gaining (or retaining) possession into 60%. Over the last year, he's added to that core much better, bolder, faster passing. I really do think he's a special player, and that he deserves more appreciation here than he gets.

Will take that... Great energy, confidence, skills....

Tella + Adams = 🤩. !

Salisu nearly undoes his early shine!

Walcott..! off a poor defensive error.

Perraud looks pacy and has shown a few good touches down near the corner flag...

Salisu looking really good...

Like everyone, I'm pretty bummed at many aspects of this season, or at least of the 2021 part of it. But one thing, to me, is markedly different than most of the time under Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes. Namely... We have played a LOT of really pleasing-to-watch football. Fast, crisp moves from one penalty box to the other. Fast decision-making. Beautiful flicks. Determined running... And accompanied by an impressive ability to win back the ball quickly. Now admittedly... it's usually been only in the first half of games. And it hasn't resulted in nearly enough goals (except when one D. Ings has been on song). And it's been accompanied by far too much defensive frailty. But still. It has often been beautiful to watch. vs. several seasons when far too many games were simply... bland, boring. Clearly we have some big things to fix. But I personally believe the core fundamentals are there. So I choose to go into the summer holding onto hope. Specifically, I hope we can solidify our defense, hang onto Danny, continue to develop Tella and Salisu and Armstrong (who's had an incredible year) and bring in at least one super-exciting player with the robustness to thrive in the premier league. And I hope we find a buyer who understands the club's potential and bring some smiles back. Happy summer, everyone.

Tella for Redmond, pls.

Che Adams is going to become a true Saints legend. He's got all the talent. And strength. Just needs to keep building confidence. Today will help.

I have no opinion to offer on the evilness or awesomeness of any of our players. I'm just feeling lucky to get to enjoy a stress-free game of football. It's a beautiful game. And we get to watch it.

The snark on here is mind-blowing. The boys just played a really good half against one of the world's best teams. JWP, Tella have been wonderful.

We miss Romeu. And I fear Bertrand's lost his fire. They were def the slightly better side. But their goal was actually incredibly fortuitous. There's another universe close to this one where that deflection back off Vest went in any of 50 other directions, and no goal scored. And where we're all celebrating Diallo's wonder strike. Football. Really too bad. The hate here is over done.

Can't believe the unrealistic expectations of some on here. Determined performance so far. Bednarek, who took all manner of unfair heat last few weeks, has been heroic. Vest strong too. Seems to me JWP Diallo slowly winning more of the midfield. Could go any way. More fun to believe than to moan!!

Agree with these suggestions. ...replace Walcott and Diallo.

Re WBA/Chelsea... I don't think it tells us that much. Chelsea played most of the game w 10 men. In some match-ups 10 can hold 11 for a while. But as we know ourselves all too well, once the dam breaks it can get ugly. I believe we'll win by at least a 2-goal margin.

Re all the dumping on Bednarek... On the radio commentary Sunday, Adam Blackmore suggested he was playing brilliantly, candidate for man of the match (and he was critical of Vestergaard by comparison.) Personally, I think he'll pull through. His commitment is incredible. He deserves to be in the semi-final. But I like Salisu too.

Only imaginable downside I can see is that this will increase Man City's desire for Ings. We really battered their goal today. Two teams on the same points, but if you stand back and say which is genuinely the better side, no one independent wouldn't put their money on Saints. We're a top half team. The next few months are going to be sooo interesting.

No one can accuse of us of not being entertaining...

Heartbreaking half.

So... it's been a common pattern since the start of the season. We go all out first half with our high-press game and have often stunned teams into conceding. But we always pay a price. The team isn't able to sustain it over 90 minutes. So it's no accident that we're among the best for first half goals, and worst for second half. This is core to Ralph's strategy. And in a league where many teams have vastly more to spend on their players, you can make a strong case for it. Blitz them. Surprise them. Take a lead. And then fight like hell to maintain it. It worked pretty great for the first third of the season. I worry that two things have happened. 1) Teams have watched us and started to figure out how better to play around the press. 2) We've started to pay an additional cost beyond second half exhaustion... namely, overall physical exhaustion. Our injury rate and - judging from today - overall physical vitality have taken a hit. Of course, it's not helped by numerous 'bad luck' moments such as key refereeing decisions and the bad momentum brought on by losses leading to low morale in a cycle. What to do? Dial back a bit the all-out first half blitz? I think there may be a case for it. I remain huge Ralph supporter. He'll figure this out. But it's a giant challenge at this point.

It's going to take an absolutely massive defensive effort now. Hopefully the ref has taken a look at Djen's being hacked to death and will be less lax second half. Holding on to a win would be incredible for us....

LOL. For one thing he's not a New York Saint. I am.

Yes, I believe they can. All the money is in place for current offer. And longer term they have access to further funding sources, both private and public.