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Saints 'B' Team

SuperSAINT

By SuperSAINT
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sockeye

sockeye

Posted
Posted

Ballard has had a rough time of it. In 2023-24 he went to Reading and had a decent start before getting a season-ending injury. He then went to Blackpool at the start of this season and injured his shoulder, eventually being recalled and sent to Cambridge in January. It may be true that he’s unable to make the step up to senior football for us, but send him out on loan to League One again in 2025-26 for a full season and we’ll have a much clearer picture as long as no more injuries occur.

stevematthews635

stevematthews635

Posted
Posted
47 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Ballard has had a rough time of it. In 2023-24 he went to Reading and had a decent start before getting a season-ending injury. He then went to Blackpool at the start of this season and injured his shoulder, eventually being recalled and sent to Cambridge in January. It may be true that he’s unable to make the step up to senior football for us, but send him out on loan to League One again in 2025-26 for a full season and we’ll have a much clearer picture as long as no more injuries occur.

Well that won't work as his contract is up at the end of the 2026 season and he has stated he needs to see a pathway.

And let's be honest, he cannot be any worse than Onachu or Archer

hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, skintsaint said:

We are fucked if so.

Not sure why. I'd have him in the fringes of the squad. We gave the likes of Edozie and Amo Ameyew a chance. 

  • Like 2
skintsaint

skintsaint

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Not sure why. I'd have him in the fringes of the squad. We gave the likes of Edozie and Amo Ameyew a chance. 

Fringes of the squad is different to being in the team.

disconnect

disconnect

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Not sure why. I'd have him in the fringes of the squad. We gave the likes of Edozie and Amo Ameyew a chance. 

Actually, we barely gave Amo-Ameyaw a chance! 

  • Like 2
HarvSFC

HarvSFC

Posted
Posted

Only seen the goals, but it's good to see that completely slowing the game down and passing backwards at all costs hasn't filtered down to the youth teams. Now, there might have been times in the match where they did so, but there is a time and a place to play slow, and there's a time to play fast, not being predictable and mixing it up. From the goals, we attacked with pace and it worked, pulling the Fulham defence out of shape, revolutionary. 

Saint_clark

Saint_clark

Posted
Posted

Might as well start him the rest of the season and see if he has anything about him to lead the line next year (although I'd still have Onuachu as our leading striker next season). 

TheAlehouseBrawlers

TheAlehouseBrawlers

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, HarvSFC said:

From the goals, we attacked with pace and it worked*, pulling the Fulham defence out of shape, revolutionary. 

Wahey! We're reinventing football again.......

*good to hear, long may it continue!

hypochondriac

hypochondriac

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, disconnect said:

Actually, we barely gave Amo-Ameyaw a chance! 

We gave them some games in the Championship is my point. As we should do here.

  • Like 1
qwertyell

qwertyell

Posted
Posted
On 06/05/2025 at 14:14, sockeye said:

Ballard has had a rough time of it. In 2023-24 he went to Reading and had a decent start before getting a season-ending injury. He then went to Blackpool at the start of this season and injured his shoulder, eventually being recalled and sent to Cambridge in January. It may be true that he’s unable to make the step up to senior football for us, but send him out on loan to League One again in 2025-26 for a full season and we’ll have a much clearer picture as long as no more injuries occur.

Hope to be wrong, but I can only see Ryan Seager in Ballard: prolific scorer as a youth, but ultimately didn't have any weapons for top level senior football. Like Seager, Ballard isn't very big, physical, quick or creative. He can sniff out a chance, but that kind of "fox in the box" striker that contributes next to nothing in general play died out years ago with the dawning of the lone number nine role that 99% of teams have favoured over the last decade.

I'm probably doing him a disservice - Seager wasn't the England age groups regular that Ballard has been coming up - and his ceiling is higher, but it's a comparison that still stands out to me when I see him play.

  • Like 1
Saint86

Saint86

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 08/05/2025 at 19:43, qwertyell said:

Hope to be wrong, but I can only see Ryan Seager in Ballard: prolific scorer as a youth, but ultimately didn't have any weapons for top level senior football. Like Seager, Ballard isn't very big, physical, quick or creative. He can sniff out a chance, but that kind of "fox in the box" striker that contributes next to nothing in general play died out years ago with the dawning of the lone number nine role that 99% of teams have favoured over the last decade.

I'm probably doing him a disservice - Seager wasn't the England age groups regular that Ballard has been coming up - and his ceiling is higher, but it's a comparison that still stands out to me when I see him play.

Seager suffered a horrendous injury when on loan that pretty much ended his prospects as a top level footballer?

Given he's had similar, it's a testament to Ballard (and the physio/medical teams) if he even makes it to league 1 and champ level really. And who knows, he might still go further than that. His position sense and finishing are both very good.

Edited by Saint86
  • Like 1
stevegrant

stevegrant

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, sad saints fan said:

Is the game tonight being streamed/televised anywhere?

Might be on Palace's YouTube channel but wouldn't expect them to announce anything until very close to kickoff to maximise ticket sales.

SuperSAINT

SuperSAINT

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, stevegrant said:

Might be on Palace's YouTube channel but wouldn't expect them to announce anything until very close to kickoff to maximise ticket sales.

It’s on PalaceTV I think. 

Pwoite

Pwoite

Posted
Posted

Living a handful of miles from Selhurst Park, this was more a ‘home’ fixture for me, and being of a certain age, I got in for a quid, and it was well worth every penny.

We deservedly won, though we were exposed to a number of fast Palace breaks, and if they knew where the target was, if could have been a different result. Similarly, their keeper kept them in the match, pulling off a number of saves, often at close range. The final scoreline flattered Palace, particularly with the dominance we showed in the extra thirty minutes.

It was my first chance to see these players, and Robinson stood out head and shoulders above others, though his start seemed a little complacent after his recent elevation to the first team squad. He is like a young Lallana, cutting in, crossing and shooting. Another to enjoy whilst we can. 

Of the rest, Jayden Moore, at 18, and in the middle of defence, is tall and fast, and if he bulks up a bit, he could be one to follow. Alongside him was the much vaunted French U18s captain, who is a beast but several times was caught out as too casual. If he can cut that out of his game then his size and agility will be very useful at a higher level.

Will Merry came on after 66 minutes, looked sharp, had a couple of good long range shots, but injured himself with the second, and had to be replaced ced by Princewill E…….. He is one powerful player, though sadly reminded me of Tall Paul in appearance, but seems to have better ball skills.

Lewis Payne and Juan Larios were running full backs. Larios has class but looks too slight to have impact at a higher level, and was too easily pushed past by the fast, powerful Palace winger. He has ability, determination but….. Payne looked useful, but not a real stand out.

Abu got the winner, and has some clever moves, and is full of energy, but whether he has enough to move up, I’m not sure on this performance. He certainly took his chance with a tremendous shot for the  winner. Akinchukwu (sp) lasted till halfway through the second half, and he might develop into a useful squad player in time.

Cam Bragg, although he has a little first team experience, didn’t look as though he will be a regular on the bench next season and made a couple of howlers, so maybe that will guarantee him game time!!!

Joe O’Brian Whitmarsh started on the bench, and came on with Merry, and I was hoping to see him make an impression after his pre-season form and loan experience. Sadly, he was rather anonymous apart from one powerful run.

Always a bit harsh judging players on one game, but most fans like to see who the next big stars are going to be. Level months will bring.

 

  • Like 9
stevegrant

stevegrant

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, Pwoite said:

Living a handful of miles from Selhurst Park, this was more a ‘home’ fixture for me, and being of a certain age, I got in for a quid, and it was well worth every penny.

We deservedly won, though we were exposed to a number of fast Palace breaks, and if they knew where the target was, if could have been a different result. Similarly, their keeper kept them in the match, pulling off a number of saves, often at close range. The final scoreline flattered Palace, particularly with the dominance we showed in the extra thirty minutes.

It was my first chance to see these players, and Robinson stood out head and shoulders above others, though his start seemed a little complacent after his recent elevation to the first team squad. He is like a young Lallana, cutting in, crossing and shooting. Another to enjoy whilst we can. 

Of the rest, Jayden Moore, at 18, and in the middle of defence, is tall and fast, and if he bulks up a bit, he could be one to follow. Alongside him was the much vaunted French U18s captain, who is a beast but several times was caught out as too casual. If he can cut that out of his game then his size and agility will be very useful at a higher level.

Will Merry came on after 66 minutes, looked sharp, had a couple of good long range shots, but injured himself with the second, and had to be replaced ced by Princewill E…….. He is one powerful player, though sadly reminded me of Tall Paul in appearance, but seems to have better ball skills.

Lewis Payne and Juan Larios were running full backs. Larios has class but looks too slight to have impact at a higher level, and was too easily pushed past by the fast, powerful Palace winger. He has ability, determination but….. Payne looked useful, but not a real stand out.

Abu got the winner, and has some clever moves, and is full of energy, but whether he has enough to move up, I’m not sure on this performance. He certainly took his chance with a tremendous shot for the  winner. Akinchukwu (sp) lasted till halfway through the second half, and he might develop into a useful squad player in time.

Cam Bragg, although he has a little first team experience, didn’t look as though he will be a regular on the bench next season and made a couple of howlers, so maybe that will guarantee him game time!!!

Joe O’Brian Whitmarsh started on the bench, and came on with Merry, and I was hoping to see him make an impression after his pre-season form and loan experience. Sadly, he was rather anonymous apart from one powerful run.

Always a bit harsh judging players on one game, but most fans like to see who the next big stars are going to be. Level months will bring.

 

Would largely agree with that assessment, Robinson looked head and shoulders above anybody on either side in terms of just an all-round game and having both the physicality and spacial awareness that you need at senior level, so he's the one I would expect to see in and around the first team next season.

Dom Ballard is an unrivalled centre forward when playing against his peers, but his senior record in a few loan spells in League One doesn't yet suggest he's going to be troubling the likes of Adam Armstrong for first team minutes next season, he's a very willing runner (and to do so for 120+ minutes was undoubtedly impressive) but while he's got a little burst of pace it's probably not quite enough to make a difference against experienced pros, and while he's not a pushover physically he's not big or dominant against players of his own age. I don't want to write off someone who's still very young in his development and has shown such promise but we've been here before with the likes of Ryan Seager and even Cosimo Sarli for those of a slightly older disposition :lol: where banging the goals in at reserve team/U21 level doesn't necessarily translate to the first team.

Will Merry was one player I'd not seen before in the flesh, but he looked more attack-minded last night than I'd thought him to be, two or three excellent driving runs through the heart of Palace's midfield (which was their main weakness, I'd say), his cameo curtailed by a shin injury, assume he got closed down late by a defender when he took a shot from the edge of the area that was well saved by their keeper - one of about 8 saves varying in quality from decent to outstanding.

That game could genuinely have ended 6-6, 8-1 or anything in between, such was the openness of the game. Not sure such an open game will work to our benefit against Man City in the final, but we'll wait and see, I guess!

  • Like 2
Patrick Bateman

Patrick Bateman

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Pwoite said:

Living a handful of miles from Selhurst Park, this was more a ‘home’ fixture for me, and being of a certain age, I got in for a quid, and it was well worth every penny.

We deservedly won, though we were exposed to a number of fast Palace breaks, and if they knew where the target was, if could have been a different result. Similarly, their keeper kept them in the match, pulling off a number of saves, often at close range. The final scoreline flattered Palace, particularly with the dominance we showed in the extra thirty minutes.

It was my first chance to see these players, and Robinson stood out head and shoulders above others, though his start seemed a little complacent after his recent elevation to the first team squad. He is like a young Lallana, cutting in, crossing and shooting. Another to enjoy whilst we can. 

Of the rest, Jayden Moore, at 18, and in the middle of defence, is tall and fast, and if he bulks up a bit, he could be one to follow. Alongside him was the much vaunted French U18s captain, who is a beast but several times was caught out as too casual. If he can cut that out of his game then his size and agility will be very useful at a higher level.

Will Merry came on after 66 minutes, looked sharp, had a couple of good long range shots, but injured himself with the second, and had to be replaced ced by Princewill E…….. He is one powerful player, though sadly reminded me of Tall Paul in appearance, but seems to have better ball skills.

Lewis Payne and Juan Larios were running full backs. Larios has class but looks too slight to have impact at a higher level, and was too easily pushed past by the fast, powerful Palace winger. He has ability, determination but….. Payne looked useful, but not a real stand out.

Abu got the winner, and has some clever moves, and is full of energy, but whether he has enough to move up, I’m not sure on this performance. He certainly took his chance with a tremendous shot for the  winner. Akinchukwu (sp) lasted till halfway through the second half, and he might develop into a useful squad player in time.

Cam Bragg, although he has a little first team experience, didn’t look as though he will be a regular on the bench next season and made a couple of howlers, so maybe that will guarantee him game time!!!

Joe O’Brian Whitmarsh started on the bench, and came on with Merry, and I was hoping to see him make an impression after his pre-season form and loan experience. Sadly, he was rather anonymous apart from one powerful run.

Always a bit harsh judging players on one game, but most fans like to see who the next big stars are going to be. Level months will bring.

 

Great assessment thank you!

As Steve alluded to, I'm always iffy of "high scoring strikers at youth team level" having been promised greatness in Sarli, Seager and was it Mark Paul the other one? 

Lallana Mk2 sounds promising though.

suewhistle

suewhistle

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, stevegrant said:

Would largely agree with that assessment, Robinson looked head and shoulders above anybody on either side in terms of just an all-round game and having both the physicality and spacial awareness that you need at senior level, so he's the one I would expect to see in and around the first team next season.

Spacial awareness, that's a phrase I was looking for. My comment above that he'd play a part next year wasn't specific but that's part of it. Not sturdily built and the physicality was more pace and balance to exploit the spaces he found. I only saw from 65 minutes though.

As a team they showed what a bit of confidence can do, and the quickness of passing was a pleasure to see.

 

malcolm waldron

malcolm waldron

Posted
Posted
On 13/05/2025 at 11:06, stevegrant said:

Would largely agree with that assessment, Robinson looked head and shoulders above anybody on either side in terms of just an all-round game and having both the physicality and spacial awareness that you need at senior level, so he's the one I would expect to see in and around the first team next season.

Dom Ballard is an unrivalled centre forward when playing against his peers, but his senior record in a few loan spells in League One doesn't yet suggest he's going to be troubling the likes of Adam Armstrong for first team minutes next season, he's a very willing runner (and to do so for 120+ minutes was undoubtedly impressive) but while he's got a little burst of pace it's probably not quite enough to make a difference against experienced pros, and while he's not a pushover physically he's not big or dominant against players of his own age. I don't want to write off someone who's still very young in his development and has shown such promise but we've been here before with the likes of Ryan Seager and even Cosimo Sarli for those of a slightly older disposition :lol: where banging the goals in at reserve team/U21 level doesn't necessarily translate to the first team.

Will Merry was one player I'd not seen before in the flesh, but he looked more attack-minded last night than I'd thought him to be, two or three excellent driving runs through the heart of Palace's midfield (which was their main weakness, I'd say), his cameo curtailed by a shin injury, assume he got closed down late by a defender when he took a shot from the edge of the area that was well saved by their keeper - one of about 8 saves varying in quality from decent to outstanding.

That game could genuinely have ended 6-6, 8-1 or anything in between, such was the openness of the game. Not sure such an open game will work to our benefit against Man City in the final, but we'll wait and see, I guess!

Now there's a name I haven't thought about for roughly 25 years.  Saw him play for the reserves/U-21s (??) against Bashley one warm August night back in the late 90s.  Thought we'd got a special one then.  Mind you I thought Kevin Gibbens would have a long successful career.  I was right on that one of course - only it was with Sholing........

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