Burnley 0-1 Saints - Reaction

[Stubby]

Sky gave MoM to Ings. I'd give it to Romeo.  He was superb tonight. Vestergaard also excellent.

You can't play good footy against Burnley, but we did make them look very poor.  A proper professional; away performance against a big ugly team.  Well done!

 

[Charlie Wayman]

Two very poor teams and inevitably a drab and tedious affair lacking any enterprise from either side. A win is a win but we need to pull our socks up and get working if we want to win any more. Not much evidence of automatism which must be a worry for Ralph.

I'd have Romeu as MotM for his commanding performance in midfield but little else other than Danny's usual well taken goal was cause for celebration.

[Pamplemousse]

3 points is all that mattered. Dreadful game though, I expect better going forward next week against WBA.

[Lets B Avenue]

27 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

First win at Turf Moor since 1971, was sort of watching it at work, looked scrappy, hard fought, scuffy goal, but what a win to kick start the season.

 

 

I must have dreamt us winning there in 2006 and 2007.

[The Curse of St Mary's]

1 minute ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Two very poor teams and inevitably a drab and tedious affair lacking any enterprise from either side. A win is a win but we need to pull our socks up and get working if we want to win any more. Not much evidence of automatism which must be a worry for Ralph.

I'd have Romeu as MotM for his commanding performance in midfield but little else other than Danny's usual well taken goal was cause for celebration.

No pleasing some. Confidence would have been low and not a happy hunting ground so no one should have expected beautiful attacking football. 3 points most important thing and a clean sheet to take confidence from.

[Harry_SFC]

Djenepo looked awful, it almost seemed as though Ralph told him not to take anyone on?? Either his touch was awful or he just played the ball backwards. The total opposite of his performance Vs Spurs when he was arguably our best player. Armstrong wasn't much better.

The central midfielders and centre backs were decent, which was good to see considering that's where we looked so bad against Spurs. 

We just need the defence and attack to click at the same time now! 

[Chez]

How do Burnley win games? They are terrible. They have always been terrible. Hoof it down the channels, hope for the best, pick up the pieces, lots of hopeful crosses...and that's it. 

Thought we worked hard, and deserved the win, just, based on the first half dominance, but we have to offer far more on the counter. We need a pacey ball carrier, badly unless Djendepo improves. We need some fresh legs in the middle too.

Happy days though. Something to build on at least. 

Edited 26 September, 2020 by Chez

[CougarSaint]

There you go

Not a great game to watch but we proved individually our players were better thsn theirs and we played as the better team which we need to do. Not arrogant just factual.

And beaten o bogey team...😉

COYS!!!

[pimpin4rizeal]

Still think it’s a poor decision to let boufal go, he’s surely better then djenepo Tella etc. At least has ability to beat players and cause problems.. we are really lacking that atm

[Mr Saints]

Did a Burnley on Burnley. Delighted with the 3 points but my god does the squad need an injection of new blood.

Romeu excellent 

[CougarSaint]

BTW Where is the Archers Road Stand these days my friend?

[SaintsFan86]

https://twitter.com/SaintsExtra/status/1309966342905307139?s=20

[hypochondriac]

I think the positives are that it's really clear what we are missing. Surely surely we will get in a dm as a minimum and then hopefully a bit of quickness and speed in midfield. Defence looked OK today and attack did their job with the goal. We badly need more options in midfield. 

[SaintsFan86]

Danny to extend soon...

[St_Tel49]

Take the points -move on

[OttawaSaint]

41 minutes ago, Lets B Avenue said:

I must have dreamt us winning there in 2006 and 2007.

You forgot to add an MLG klaxon...

[Archers Road Stand]

Pleased we got the points but that performance really was piss poor. 

[Jonnyboy]

 Credit to Ralf for dropping Stephens? 

[hypochondriac]

7 minutes ago, Jonnyboy said:

 Credit to Ralf for dropping Stephens? 

I think that was actually a really good move. Vestergaard was decent which he has a tendency to be from time to time. 

[redandwhite82]

not great but the points are welcome

[Lighthouse]

8 minutes ago, Jonnyboy said:

 Credit to Ralf for dropping Stephens? 

It seemed a fairly straightforward choice up against Wood, especially as he’s done that effectively in the past. Watford last year springs to mind.

[tajjuk]

Thought defensively we were excellent and the work rate and communication across the team was excellent. 

Attacking wise we were meh, some nice flashes of play in the first half, obviously the goal but some other nice moves that almost came off save for some poor first touches or finishes.

But second half we were a non-entity going forward and seemed reluctant to even counter attack with any thrust.

I thought particularly Armstrong and Djenepo looked very rusty and not match fit, they put the effort in but Armstrong could barely control a ball at times and looked constantly a yard off and Djenepo was just a shadow of the games he had last year, no confidence to take his man on or make runs in behind, hopefully its just match sharpness and him needing a run of games after being out for long periods last year.

Romeu was excellent save for the odd miss pass, JWP was decent and was everywhere, we played some decent balls into forwards in good positions so the play was generally quite positive but it just didn't click, people's movement or control or the weight of pass let promising moments down where we really should have hurt Burnley. This was best exampled I think by Ings offside goal and the blocked shot Armstrong had just before that, he had two identical positions where he picked up the ball in the no. 10 area in front of the Burnley defence and had their defence back peddling but just took too long to actually do anything and so had one useless shot blocked and in the other move took ages to pass to Ings who was by then offside, when he was in loads of space. 

As Ings said after the game, we are a dangerous team when we are in our rhythm but just aren't quite there, we look like a team about half way through our pre-season. 

Saying that you have to praise the spirit, work rate, and organisation after last week getting 5 thumped past them in the 2nd half, to then come to a bogey ground and grind out a result and a clean sheet. Praise also to Vestergaard who looked today like the player we hoped we had when we signed him, he won everything in the air, was calm on the ball and found good passes forward, anticipated things and showed good positioning. Hope it continues. I mean Burnley are pretty awful but they are relentless in their crosses and getting the ball in and around the box, but they barely had a sniff really.  

Also finally, McCarthy cannot pass a ball more than 30 yards, everytime we tried to cycle possession back through him and he had to do more than a short pass to one of the defenders , he put it nowhere near one of our players, not even somewhere where they could win it, he just chipped it back to Burnley under no pressure. Multiple times there was a free player that he just had to play a 30-40 yard chipped ball and didn't get it near.  You can see the value of proper keeper who can actually pass the ball. 

Edited 26 September, 2020 by tajjuk

[Dan Johnson]

Momentum is massive at all levels of football, Burnley are a horrible team to play against and we won so all positive. 

instantly forgettable and not a great watch but very happy with the result and the performance, it’s exactly what we needed.

Chance to build that momentum further against WBA next weekend 👍🏻

[wadesmith]

Sometimes a crappy win can spark a revival, I remember we beat Watford 2-1 late November, confidence rose & we slowly started picking up points.

[davefizzy14]

Very happy with the win! Burnley away is never easy, tough in fact. Ings class as usual and expertly taken goal. Was a great team goal involving KWP, Adams and Ings to finish it off. Good performances from Romeu, JWP, Bednarek and Vestergaard. McCarthy made a great save in the second half too. Momentum now going into next game vs West Brom. COYR

Edited 26 September, 2020 by davefizzy14

[qwertyell]

Bank the points - but that was one of the poorest quality games I've seen. Both sides made controlling the ball look like an entirely foreign concept to them. I lost track of all the heavy touches, misplaced passes and farcically overhit simple through balls.

The main culprits for us were Djenepo and Armstrong, who were absolutely hopeless in everything they did. They played like the ball was a live grenade and their boots were on the wrong feet.

I remain mystified as to the appeal of Adams. He doesn't score, has got the touch of a baby elephant, and was easily outpaced by Burnley's not particularly quick centre back when he finally seemed to have the run on him. Is he really the best we can do? 

Vestergaard was the MoM. We desperately needed his aerial strength - especially as McCarthy lost his bearings and flapped uncomfortably at numerous crosses.

Anyone who finishes below us and Burnley will go down.

 

[Saint Pete]

Well, as wins go, that was about as unimpressive as they come! Objectively, that looked like 2 teams who wouldn’t look out of place in the Championship (although that is probably an insult towards Championship football).

That said, 3 points is 3 points and in our situation after a couple of bad results, that was really all that mattered tonight. I remember a couple of similar results from last season when we were really struggling (the win at home to Watford springs to mind) where the performance was bad but the result was crucial in building confidence in the games that followed, so we have to hope that this will set us off towards better form and confidence. A couple of signings to help our options in the squad is certainly also definitely needed though.

Not many players that stood out tonight, but in fairness to Ralph, he made the right choice in selecting Vestergaard, who proved a good fit for this type of game. Romeu and JWP also did OK in midfield from a defensive point of view. Armstrong and Djenepo both had shockers I thought - was particularly a shame to see Djenepo play so negatively, can’t remember him taking the full back on once, not sure if that was under instructions or whether it’s a lack of confidence. Ings and Adams were OK first half but starved of any kind of service or support in the second half. 

[igsey]

Genuinely could not care less how we played tonight, a win away at Burnley is always a great result for any side, particularly after the game last week. 

[Rut]

This was more enjoyable than a 6-0 win.

If it was the other way round it would have been hailed as a 'Sean Dyche masterclass'.

If we'd hit the post 6 times, screwed up when clean-through 8 times & missed 3 penalties - then Burnley scored from their one shot at goal - it would also have been hailed as a 'Sean Dyche masterclass'.

 

 

[CWD]

1 minute ago, igsey said:

Genuinely could not care less how we played tonight, a win away at Burnley is always a great result for any side, particularly after the game last week. 

Agreed. We won by virtue of being the less shit team but the important thing was 3 points and a monkey off our backs!

 

Weird performance from Djenepo wasn’t it? Looked a different player to the Spurs game. Never attempted to beat a man or try anything vaguely risky. At one point in the 1st half Bertrand seemed to have a go at him, telling him to move out the way as he was basically standing two metres away from him not doing anything. Odd.

[Useful Idiot]

I just wanted to add that I'm still not sure how Tella makes the bench ahead of Sims. I don't think Sims is a world beater, but at least he has a bit of pace and can control and pass a football. Tella was overtaken by a tired McNeil the only time he tried to make a run with the ball today, and I've not seen him get the ball under control under pressure or play any sort of useful attacking pass in the Brentford game or during this one. He's also never particularly stood out in any of the youth matches I've seen him take part in (probably around 4-5 games overall).

To be fair on him, he did make two OK runs off the ball where he was ignored by Armstrong, but that's probably due to SA not trusting him to finish if he did let him have the ball.

[Baird of the land]

Thought vestergaard had a good game.

we ground out the win which was nice but we were pretty poor.

 

[shurlock]

Completely forgettable game. Burnley's lack of pace played into our hands and high line, so were the perfect side to get us up and going. Romeu and Vestergaard both put in decent shifts.

Edited 26 September, 2020 by shurlock

[SaintBobby]

Dreadful match against a very weakened Burnley. I guess the upside is that we got an early goal and basically killed the match from there. Ugly stuff though. 

[itchen]

Still puzzled why Bertrand has to take every throw in on the left. It means we have to wait for him to get there and then he takes ages to actually produce what is usually a poor throw. It means we never take a quick, effective throw in and more often than not* end up losing the ball from our own throw in. On top of that, he gets booked a couple of times a season for time wasting.**  Why not just let the nearest player take it quickly (unless we actually have a set play worked out) like other teams?

 

* may not be more often than not, but it seems like it

** may not be a couple of times a season

 

[Micky]

30 minutes ago, CWD said:

Agreed. We won by virtue of being the less shit team but the important thing was 3 points and a monkey off our backs!

 

Weird performance from Djenepo wasn’t it? Looked a different player to the Spurs game. Never attempted to beat a man or try anything vaguely risky. At one point in the 1st half Bertrand seemed to have a go at him, telling him to move out the way as he was basically standing two metres away from him not doing anything. Odd.

Agree with all of this, two very poor teams, the class player on the pitch made the difference.   Thought Djenepo played far to close to Bertrand, perhaps he was worried about having to cover defensively and not being able to get back in time,  but he was pretty ineffective all game.  Positives, 3 points, clean sheet.  Move on...

[Micky]

2 minutes ago, itchen said:

Still puzzled why Bertrand has to take every throw in on the left. It means we have to wait for him to get there and then he takes ages to actually produce what is usually a poor throw. It means we never take a quick, effective throw in and more often than not* end up losing the ball from our own throw in. On top of that, he gets booked a couple of times a season for time wasting.**  Why not just let the nearest player take it quickly (unless we actually have a set play worked out) like other teams?

 

* may not be more often than not, but it seems like it

** may not be a couple of times a season

 

Purely game management, we were one nil up, he's going to take as much time as he can.  I watched it on sky and on one of his throws you could hear the Burnley bench complaining to the ref.  At the end of the day, if you are one nil up away from home,  your going to slow the game down at every opportunity. 

[skintsaint]

Was always confident of a win in this one and result was never in doubt 😆. Adams with a sexy assist and the right decision not to go for goal.

[Vancouver Saint]

4 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

If I was a neutral I’d think 2 really poor sides.

Yup.

I doubt many neutrals hung around to watch that dreadful match.

Echo everyone else: terrible match, great result. Much needed win, but no disguising our shortcomings.

Thought we were not interested in attacking today...wondered if it was following orders to shore up defence...Djenepo is normally gung-ho at going forward but on the opportunities to so went back or sideways. Nobody really outstanding - McCarthy made a big save, but still looks dodgy on high balls and running out fast. Armstrong had a shocker. Vestergard did ok. Adams made the goal and worked hard but missed the early chance to make it 2-0...attack-wise that was screaming for Long (surprising though I find myself saying)...someone to defend from the top and have some pace for the long ball over the top.

Anyway, happy with the three points. Heard a commentator saying qe are interested in Everton's Davies on loan...any substance to that?

[brmbrm]

A win away!  Up to 7th, apart from goal difference

[Gordon Mockles]

Good result against an organised & patient (but not overly pressured in attack) hime team. 
P*ss boring match. 

Che needs to get more clinical in front of goal but he is improving every week and scooped the goal assist to Danny despite squandering his own effort (he should’ve done better) on goal. 

I don’t care how we get a result, we got the result and that was a big relief. Our squad are in a state of flux and desperately need new faces to at least add some depth and quality. We are threadbare, at the end of the road after consecutive transfer windows of culling the squad and promising the manager he can build his own squad which the club have failed to fully support. 

Good result. Get Salisu fit. Recruit this week  please board. 

[rooney]

Oriel my MoM last night.

[austsaint]

9 hours ago, bpsaint said:

That’ll do - get the monkey off our backs and hopefully build from it.

No stand out performers, Djenepo poor and Armstrong was a let down not playing potentially goal scoring passes on a few occasions.

Crucial win, but the two players you mention Djenepo and Armstrong were so untidy and wasteful.    Just that one threat on goal after the KWP and Adams lead up; never looked like scoring a second.     The two CBs did well enough and JWP and Romeu were probably our best - Adams not bad for his 75 minutes.  No one likes to be critical after a win but players like Tella coming on and Smallbone in the opening games underlines how threadbare our squad is.

[SaintBitterne]

8 hours ago, Harry_SFC said:

Djenepo looked awful, it almost seemed as though Ralph told him not to take anyone on?? Either his touch was awful or he just played the ball backwards. The total opposite of his performance Vs Spurs when he was arguably our best player. Armstrong wasn't much better.

The central midfielders and centre backs were decent, which was good to see considering that's where we looked so bad against Spurs. 

We just need the defence and attack to click at the same time now! 

Definitely the instructions for the second half. No ambition to push for a second. Clearly instruction from Ralph

[trousers]

32 minutes ago, austsaint said:

Djenepo and Armstrong were so untidy and wasteful.  

Whilst I agree with that assessment, I thought Armstrong provided a level of midfield dynamism that was missing in the first couple of games he was out for. Don't think it'll be long before he shakes off the rustiness.

[austsaint]

8 minutes ago, trousers said:

Whilst I agree with that assessment, I thought Armstrong provided a level of midfield dynamism that was missing in the first couple of games he was out for. Don't think it'll be long before he shakes off the rustiness.

Yes, I agree...he had the energy yesterday and the pace, just not the control and touch expected of him.   It was strange to see both he and Djenepo so far off the pace.

[Østerrike]

 

game summary: 3 points are better than 1 point are better than 0 points.

[Stu_Saint]

When you look at stats for us 5 shots 1 on target, 1 goal, 3 points. Burnley only had 2 shots on target. Ultimately enough to win this one. Move on job done. However if we want to compete with the better teams we need to create more chances. 

[Chez]

9 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

It seemed a fairly straightforward choice up against Wood, especially as he’s done that effectively in the past. Watford last year springs to mind.

You can see the games or perhaps even opponent where he will be useful. Wood, Mitrovic, Giroud, Carrol...although Burnley are the side that plays most into his hands.

[Chez]

56 minutes ago, trousers said:

Whilst I agree with that assessment, I thought Armstrong provided a level of midfield dynamism that was missing in the first couple of games he was out for. Don't think it'll be long before he shakes off the rustiness.

good first half, non existent second, as was true of us offensively as a whole.

Edited 27 September, 2020 by Chez