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Saints 4-0 Walsall - Match Thread


SaintBobby
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Another game where we have loads of possession. Whetehr we get one or 4, there's always that feeling that we've got more chances and effforts that could so easily have come off.

What a difference between this and our shambles of a team in nose dive last season, and our team of want aways earlier in this season. Today, we rested quite a few after a really hectic period, gave extra minutes to those who have already been involved as subs, and give starts and sub appearences to some of our youngsters. It doesn't get much better in squad management terms than that, with such a comfortable victory.

We got an early lead, lost a bit of tempo until the likes of Stephens and Fraser drove us up a bit. After that our dominance in both possession and chances rose again.

We were only at danger shooting ouselves in the foot today. Holgate, Stpehens and later Smallbone (form a little further up) a bit complacent in a pass. Like his earlier game, Holgate feeling he had to get the pass away in this system, rather than waiting to pick out the better option. Stephens trying to take on everyone needlessly. And those stood out because we were otherwise very comfortable.

Meghoma did well, showing pace and keen to get a delivery in. I liked SAA in earleir appearances, but he found chances harder to come by as we went through that horrible September. Like Edozie, no reason why he won;t improve with each outing. With us well in the lead, Dibling and Bragg got pots of space and took every opportunity to impress. Dibling strong and keen to take players on, while looking at that final delivery. Bragg, with good judgement and passing range.

Mara and Alcaraz are relative verterans compared to those other youngsters. Not everything they did came off, as you'd expect (not just from them). But both were hungry, mobile and kept going. And both were part of or at the end of goal scoring moves.

Fraser clearly MOM today. Gave everything over the 90, and knacked at the end of it. Top performance.

Stephens, apart form the odd brainfart moment did very well pushing us forward. THB, until he went off really good as always. I wonder how Bednerak is looking at things. He's been very important to us this season. You just think Martin really likes Stephens' more forward, vocal, driving approach. Looks as though, with KWP going forward, he might get all 3 playing. Holgate just a bit behind them really, and at right back too.

Lumley got to play BazBall today. He did fine. There was an ealry moment of rustiness, as a unit, doing it. But after that fine. He did everyhting asked of him.

Smallbone, as I've said lots, is having to pick up lots of different roles in the side, as required. He had license to push further up today, more than usual with Stephens, Charles and later Bragg in there. Like some others, not everythign is going to come off. But Martin must be really pleased with having him, and at his progression.

The unbeaten run continues. Along with it, it's great to see we've still got plenty of potential and developing talent.

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Only followed on here but sounds like a good professional performance from manager and players.  Four goals, clean sheet, fringe players getting time, others getting rest, what's not to like. Onwards and upwards, when's the draw for the next round? 

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Well much more comfortable than I thought it would be.

My out-takes - Lumley in goal looked very good. All the youngsters played well. THB and Frazer a cut above. Alcaraz committed and unselfish. Mara goal good, but really should have had more. Smallbone meh. Stephens still has an error in him, Holgate very lucky his mistake not punished at a critical time in the game...better teams would punish Stephens and Holgate mistakes to have made it 1-1 and a very different game.

All good in the end. Let's continue it for Sheffield Wednesday with four or more then.

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7 minutes ago, SaintsFan86 said:

Cameron Bragg. He's a under 21 midfielder.

 

6 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

Screenshot_20240106_171255_Google.jpg

 

6 minutes ago, cynicalsaint said:

Only been at the club for 12 years and captaining the U21s recently. 

 

4 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

He joined Saints when he was 2?

 

4 minutes ago, SaintTex said:

Epitome of ‘the other 80s’ … Billy Bragg.

 

1 minute ago, trousers said:

 

MB_SBS_Archive.jpg

That's cleared that up, cheers lads.

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9 minutes ago, Micky said:

Only followed on here but sounds like a good professional performance from manager and players.  Four goals, clean sheet, fringe players getting time, others getting rest, what's not to like. Onwards and upwards, when's the draw for the next round? 

Spare a thought for little old me though... Spent £80 on Saints v Hull tickets last week but now can't go because I didn't realise it would be postponed for the FA Cup 4th round tie...DOH!

Edited by trousers
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17 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

There we go. 
Anyone who does not vote for, or believe that, Ryan Fraser is MoM is either being quirky or are just plain odd

He is one of handful of our team that is Prem quality.

Im loving watching our team at the very top of our league and kicking ass in the cup. 
 

Prem yes love to be back, it will take a lot of money and huge overhaul of the squad to stay in the Prem if we, oh wait sorry when we go back up next season. 
 

But really enjoying the buzz of being unbeatable at the moment. Well done lads. 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, trousers said:

Spare a thought for little old me though... Spent £80 on Saints v WBA tickets last week but now can't go because I didn't realise it would be postponed for the FA Cup 4th round tie...DOH!

4th round is 16th Feb?

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Stand out players,  debutants ...and occasional faces

Captain Jack - ran the whole game in the first half.  He and THB were superb all over the pitch..

Ryan Fraser deserved a hat-trick - once again.   MoM for me.    2 goals and an assist.

Good showing from hard-working Alcaraz and Smallbone - both unlucky not to score. 

Charles moved around well, did nothing wrong but not outstanding. 

Mara got his goal but squandered several chances in first half.    Goes AWOL too often. 

What can you ask of Ché Adams ? .  12 minutes on the field and got his regular goal from the bench.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Debut for Joe Lumley. Looked confident, safe pair of hands and not afraid to come out and use his feet. 

Cameron Bragg - got his 10 minutes when the game was already safe , but slotted into MF with ease.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holgate..... DAJFU but not outstanding, but still nowhere near KWP..... on an ordinary day. 

Both Meghoma and Amo-Ameyaw got 90+ mins. game time away from the U21's - good experience for them. 

Tyler Dibling showed up well for his 20 minute outing.  Won a corner and hit a post.  Well worth a place on the bench every week.

Now onto round 4 ....whoever that is going to be.

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44 minutes ago, saintant said:

Wee Man clearly man of the match, superb all game plus two well taken goals. Meghoma the young left back was excellent, really impressed with him today and looks to have a big future. Dibbling looked very confident and tried hard to get a goal. The young midfielder Bragg came on and got involved and looked very comfortable. Lumley was excellent and very vocal. Charley sloppy in large parts but think he got a couple of assists. Too much walking football for my liking but in the end it was an easy win.

No need to get out of second gear really. No disrespect to Walsall as we've been stung by lower league clubs in the past but you could see there was a gulf in quality today. We're playing well and the club is filled with a positive attitude right now and that has rubbed off on the fringe players.

Meghoma did look good today and I was impressed with his pace and vision. I saw him in one of the pre-season friendlies and he didn't impress me then so he's come on leaps and bounds since then. A good back up for Manning while Bree and Larios are out - in fact Manning better watch out for his place!

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11 minutes ago, whelk said:

I did needless research concerned for your plight

I've reached out to Saints 'supporter relations' to see if they can swap tickets to a different game... I'm sure that legendary Southampton FC customer service ethos will kick in and see me good... 

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Fraser excellent.  Alcaraz showed real character to play really well in the second half after a really poor first 45.

Really wouldn’t be bothered if Mara left.  1/10 for effort. 
 

Keeper looks decent as well.

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Ryan Fraser was exceptional today 😊 two goals and an assist - definite man of the match 😊

Che and Mara with another goal each 😊

Lumley was calm and composed, an impressive showing.

Tyler was really good when he came on 😊 

Meghoma was really good at left back, an exciting talent. Sam Amo-Ameyaw showed flashes too of quality. Cam Bragg slotted in nicely in CM when he came on too.

Jack, THB, Holgate and Fraser all really drove the team on in my opinion 😊

Carlos was good too, love seeing him drive with the ball into space and create something. Two assists too 😊

All in all a comprehensive victory and into the hat for the next round - COYR 😊

Edited by davefizzy14
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13 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Fraser excellent.  Alcaraz showed real character to play really well in the second half after a really poor first 45.

Really wouldn’t be bothered if Mara left.  1/10 for effort. 
 

Keeper looks decent as well.

he was throwing himself at everything in the box and coming deep to receive balls from the CB's and chased down and defended.

 

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7 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

he was throwing himself at everything in the box and coming deep to receive balls from the CB's and chased down and defended.

 

That is the bare minimum you would want from a £9M striker. He really should look better against L2 opposition.

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11 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

he was throwing himself at everything in the box and coming deep to receive balls from the CB's and chased down and defended.

 

Apart from his goal, he was pretty crap

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1 minute ago, farawaysaint said:

Really disappointed we didn’t get the draw as a replay would have given us an opportunity to extend the unbeaten run.

It’s just tactics. 

Martin: RIght lads. Play for the draw. Just pass it around the middle a lot.
Team: But I thought we were going to do something different.

🙂

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Note on Dibling 

maybe it’s just me but the way he runs with the ball, kind of ramshackle way but the ball keeps up, and he gets that bit of time and Space to himself…and then looks up and easy as you like delivers a premium quality pass….last time a young player with that kind of body shape and look did that that I can recall his name was Matthew something when he was playing his early matches for us and had that rep as being a bit special when he came on.   Tyler may well be an absolute gem in the making. 

Edited by gio1saints
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Ryan Fraser just nailed his place in the starting line up next week no ifs no buts! Sam is going to have to work very hard to dislodge him. And KS. As it should be. Great loan move that - 10/10 for Saints recruitment and management. 

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8 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Note on Dibley

maybe it’s just me..

No, and I'd also add he has very little backlift on his shots.

Way to go but none of the kids looked out of place on that pitch, regardless of "it was only against nnnnnn". 

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2 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Yep. No decent hold up play, keeps trying fancy flicks that don't come off. First half miss was pretty poor. 

It sounds weird because he scored and I thought things were looking up after a few decent cameos but today he struggled against League Two opposition in a dominant display. 

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Glad I went to the game and didn't follow it on here - there are some who are living in a parallel universe 🙂 

First class performance from Fraser today - no stop effort from beginning to end. MoM performance by 10 mins in. He also brought Meghoma into the play very well.
I liked what I saw from the other younger players - SAA was solid, Tyler and Bragg looked very at home. Impressed by Lumley, a good shot stopper, owned the role very well, was confident and VERY vocal to the players in front of him. 

Cant get all the hate for Charlie on here - thought he had a measured game and with two (almost three) selfless and spot-on assists. I like having him around. 

All in all another good day at the office - let's see who's next!

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1 hour ago, revolution saint said:

Fraser was clearly MOTM but I thought Lumley looked calm, composed and saved what little he had to deal well. 
Also thought Meghoma looked excellent and was impressed with him.

You could clearly hear Lumley shouting and organising his defenders which I always like. On that score I think Baz is a little on the quiet side.

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Good win, we tried to gift them a goal a few times but Walsall's finishing  was poor.

Fraser excellent, looked really up for it and impressed. 

Wasn't sure what to expect from Lumley but he was good. 

SAA was disappointing I thought, expected a bit more from him. 

Alcaraz bit of a headless chicken at times.

Walsalls away support had an even worse selection of songs than we do, love a library song. 

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Where does this leave us in the history books for longest unbeaten run? Will we equal our record next week if we avoid defeat to Sheffield Wednesday? 

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Beating a side comfortably we should beat comfortably with lots of changes and giving our kids some minutes? That's very unSaintsy but I love it. None of the kids looked unable to play in the system. We looked able to cut them apart at will which is a wonderful change from our glorious tradition of scraping cup wins against lower league opposition.

Edited by coalman
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3 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Another game where we have loads of possession. Whetehr we get one or 4, there's always that feeling that we've got more chances and effforts that could so easily have come off.

What a difference between this and our shambles of a team in nose dive last season, and our team of want aways earlier in this season. Today, we rested quite a few after a really hectic period, gave extra minutes to those who have already been involved as subs, and give starts and sub appearences to some of our youngsters. It doesn't get much better in squad management terms than that, with such a comfortable victory.

We got an early lead, lost a bit of tempo until the likes of Stephens and Fraser drove us up a bit. After that our dominance in both possession and chances rose again.

We were only at danger shooting ouselves in the foot today. Holgate, Stpehens and later Smallbone (form a little further up) a bit complacent in a pass. Like his earlier game, Holgate feeling he had to get the pass away in this system, rather than waiting to pick out the better option. Stephens trying to take on everyone needlessly. And those stood out because we were otherwise very comfortable.

Meghoma did well, showing pace and keen to get a delivery in. I liked SAA in earleir appearances, but he found chances harder to come by as we went through that horrible September. Like Edozie, no reason why he won;t improve with each outing. With us well in the lead, Dibling and Bragg got pots of space and took every opportunity to impress. Dibling strong and keen to take players on, while looking at that final delivery. Bragg, with good judgement and passing range.

Mara and Alcaraz are relative verterans compared to those other youngsters. Not everything they did came off, as you'd expect (not just from them). But both were hungry, mobile and kept going. And both were part of or at the end of goal scoring moves.

Fraser clearly MOM today. Gave everything over the 90, and knacked at the end of it. Top performance.

Stephens, apart form the odd brainfart moment did very well pushing us forward. THB, until he went off really good as always. I wonder how Bednerak is looking at things. He's been very important to us this season. You just think Martin really likes Stephens' more forward, vocal, driving approach. Looks as though, with KWP going forward, he might get all 3 playing. Holgate just a bit behind them really, and at right back too.

Lumley got to play BazBall today. He did fine. There was an ealry moment of rustiness, as a unit, doing it. But after that fine. He did everyhting asked of him.

Smallbone, as I've said lots, is having to pick up lots of different roles in the side, as required. He had license to push further up today, more than usual with Stephens, Charles and later Bragg in there. Like some others, not everythign is going to come off. But Martin must be really pleased with having him, and at his progression.

The unbeaten run continues. Along with it, it's great to see we've still got plenty of potential and developing talent.

Thanks H&W, totally agree with all of this. Couldn't have had a better day. RM put out a solid team, he gave a lot of game time to youngsters and the result never looked in doubt. Shit, I'm starting to like the guy. It also confirmed JS and Holgate (if he stays) should not be in our team if we get promoted.

Speaking to the person next to me, we were discussing whether this team is better than the team this time last year. Yes we haven't got a JWP or a Lavia but we also haven't got such a bunch of losers (Ely, Diallo, Maitland-Niles, Lyanco, Djenepo etc). Really like the atmosphere around the club at the moment 

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