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Saints 2-1 Plymouth - Match Thread


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13 hours ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

I can see Stephens starting again though against his youth club. I just hope when we do it it’s like Swansea and not ever for THB or Bednarek who have formed a great partnership.

Stephens was quoted on the OS as being prepared to play anywhere. Of course he will, having zero chance of unseating THB or JB or indeed KWP his only hope of game time, captain or no captain, is to compete with Manning or Bree for the other wing-back position.

Let's face it he has never been a first choice CB for Saints and was even sent away on loan last year as being surplus to requirements. Martin bigs him up all the time and inexplicably made him club captain (thus making a rod for his own back) but facts are facts and Stephens at best is an over-the-hill journeyman with a very limited future here if indeed he has one at all.

 

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1 minute ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Stephens was quoted on the OS as being prepared to play anywhere. Of course he will, having zero chance of unseating THB or JB or indeed KWP his only hope of game time, captain or no captain, is to compete with Manning or Bree for the other wing-back position.

Let's face it he has never been a first choice CB for Saints and was even sent away on loan last year as being surplus to requirements. Martin bigs him up all the time and inexplicably made him club captain (thus making a rod for his own back) but facts are facts and Stephens at best is an over-the-hill journeyman with a very limited future here if indeed he has one at all.

 

To an extent I have to agree, he isnt brilliant by any means and I do worry that RM wants to shoe horn him in somewhere in the team. He would still be my centre back on the bench option but if while Bree is out he decides to play KWP and Stephens as the full backs then the question is would Jack be a better bet than Manning? Away from home where you defend more I would have to say yes he probably is.  

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On 19/12/2023 at 17:47, Convict Colony said:

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32 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

To an extent I have to agree, he isnt brilliant by any means and I do worry that RM wants to shoe horn him in somewhere in the team. He would still be my centre back on the bench option but if while Bree is out he decides to play KWP and Stephens as the full backs then the question is would Jack be a better bet than Manning? Away from home where you defend more I would have to say yes he probably is.  

Certainly better in the air

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1 hour ago, Badger said:

See mention above of Fraser starting. Personally I hope not as I don’t recall him impacting the game from the outset. I think the 60 minutes onwards is his time.

I think we all like the setup right now, replacing Edozie with Fraser must be devastating for the oppo and working very well for us but we play again in 3 days (third game in less than a week) there's bound to be some changes. This is where a fervent crowd can help carry the team. This is a complete sellout in the stands (don't know about corporate) let's see how many empty 'sold out' seats on show later.

Norwich away also sold out.

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I remember first game of the season in league one. Everyone expected us to walk the league and Plymouth would be the first lamb to the slaughter on the season opening day. We were poor and they ended up beating us 1-0. Complacency is the mother of all fuck ups.

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37 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I remember first game of the season in league one. Everyone expected us to walk the league and Plymouth would be the first lamb to the slaughter on the season opening day. We were poor and they ended up beating us 1-0. Complacency is the mother of all fuck ups.

And don’t forget Bristol City at home, similar fixture before New Year lost 1-0 (promotion from Championship season). 

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3 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Stephens was quoted on the OS as being prepared to play anywhere. Of course he will, having zero chance of unseating THB or JB or indeed KWP his only hope of game time, captain or no captain, is to compete with Manning or Bree for the other wing-back position.

Let's face it he has never been a first choice CB for Saints and was even sent away on loan last year as being surplus to requirements. Martin bigs him up all the time and inexplicably made him club captain (thus making a rod for his own back) but facts are facts and Stephens at best is an over-the-hill journeyman with a very limited future here if indeed he has one at all.

 

Only neither part of this description is actually a fact.

Firstly, he's 29. That's younger than Romeu was when he left for Girona, before then going on to play regularly for Barcelona.

Secondly, he's only played for two different clubs at senior level, and only ever signed a permanent contract with one of them.

Also, he was a first choice starter for a while - partnering Maya for the second half of the Puel season where he mostly held his own, and then again for the remainder of the lockdown season after project restart, when the team was in really good form and he was a big part of that.

And remember also that Bednarek was deemed surplus to requirements and shipped out on loan at the same time that Stephens was, but that's not prevented him from excelling for us this season in the Championship.

Apart from all this though, your assessment is pretty spot on.

Edited by Sheaf Saint
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This has all the makings of a typical upset. Saints on brilliant form, at home to a team fighting for their lives and no permanent manager, expected home win, on sky, stupid light show at the start...

They apparently never score from corners.....

you know how this goes!!!

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Desperate for this to be a win.

We can't stop 22/23 being the year we fell apart in the Premier League, but to be able to extend an historic unbeaten run past the turn of the new year would put down a marker for Leicester and Ipswich.

The Saints are coming ...

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1 hour ago, Turkish said:

I remember first game of the season in league one. Everyone expected us to walk the league and Plymouth would be the first lamb to the slaughter on the season opening day. We were poor and they ended up beating us 1-0. Complacency is the mother of all fuck ups.

Seems to be a fair bit on here atm

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Fan complacency doesn't affect the players though. I've been rightly informed that fans have no impact on the outcome of matches or the performance of players.

In that light...

... we've got tonight in the fucking bag. I'm changing my prediction. 4-0 Saints. Over 70% possession. Arma and Edozie to score. Easy.

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29 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Someone is suggesting that Downes could be out. Has anyone heard anything? 

Hope not. The side functions far better when he plays - RM did mention that he is still recovering from his recent illness. I think this will be a hard game because they have some useful attackers. We should have enough to take the 3 points but unlikely to be the goal fest enjoyed in the last two home games. 2-1 to us.

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Surprised to see that Aribo has been left out after has performance against Swansea.  We'll miss his ability on the ball and strength.  With Downes and Stu Armstrong also missing this line-up doesn't fill me with confidence but hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

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On 27/12/2023 at 20:06, benjii said:

I'd be tempted to make a few changes with the long away trip a few days later and, at least on paper, being a more challenging fixture.

KWP must have played virtually every minute so far? Also, Downes seems to be struggling a little for full fitness and Stuey has been running all over the place. Probably best not to start Stephens again soon after an injury.

I'd go something like:

-----------Bazzer----------

Holgate--THB--Bedz---Manning

----------Smallbone---------

---Charles---------Alcaraz----

Adam Arm---Adams---Edozie 

Aiming to give Adam Arm and Edozie a good subbing around the 55 or 60 mins.

 

Seems like Russ takes my advice (apart from the KWP rest).

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Just now, hypochondriac said:

Not sure I rate Charles or smallbone that highly. Alcaraz is good but inconsistent. Certainly a risk. 

That is the best squad available (Plymouth), bar the injury to their keeper...

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  • Lighthouse changed the title to Saints vs Plymouth - Match Thread
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