Cameron Archer

[Brumsaint]

I was at the game yesterday and Archer's performance was one of the worst technically that I've ever seen. Everything bounced off him, it looked like he completed one accurate pass all match, the crowd groaned when the ball went near him and were calling for him to be subbed off throughout. Despite all this, he never stopped running. He put in a shift, but his footballing ability and confidence in it seems to have totally deserted him.

I hold no ill will towards him, but I really don't want him anywhere near the team when he's hindering rather than helping our forward play. I wish he could have gone on loan in the window, as, like with Damion Downs, I really don't see how he gets his confidence back here. 

[spyinthesky]

14 hours ago, saintant said:

Just seen the highlights - the miss after the keeper spills a save was ridiculously bad. No excuses for that.

I thought at the time it was a terrible miss like the one in the early stages of Tuesday's game at the King Power but didnt we get a corner? If so Archers effort must have diverted off a Leicester player.

[coalman]

It may well be he wanted out in the transfer window and his heart isn't in it any more. It's quite a comedown from a £15m transfer fee to a newly promoted side to barely playing a game to playing yourself into 4th choice striker (with Armstrong gone) behind one of the U21s. 

Players have bad games and they have good games. Archer only seems to have bad games. His first touch is painful to watch. His passes find the opposition and he can't score from right in front of goal. When he tries to challenge for first or second balls he bounces off the player and falls over. It reminds me of Armstrong in just how easily he's knocked off the ball. He doesn't seem to anticipate where the ball is going and just runs to where it's landed.

It doesn't help that we play with one striker up top and Archer is best playing off a big target man. In our preferred formation he is a passenger and that's not going to change. Even with a big target man beside him he's reliant on the rest of the team to create for him. When he joined his pace and finishing were decent but he seems to have lost both.

[Oldandtired]

I guess now Bazunus gone we need a new whipping boy...

[Midfield_General]

Sounds like he was very close to joining Rangers on loan in January. If that fell through at the last minute it may well have affected him mentally. Tonda alluded to it after the game in the week when he defended him in the press conference afterwards. 

[Badger]

5 hours ago, HKsaint said:

He made me think of Ormerod 

In a Posh Spice sort of way ? 
 

Diversity and all that. 

[Badger]

On 09/01/2026 at 17:50, Tommy Mulgrew said:

In Jamaican squad for first time.  Hope he does well for his adopted country.

Didn’t realise Jamaica had a bobsleigh team at the Winter Olympics. I’ll look out for it. Unlikely to be for their football team on current form. 

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

14 hours ago, Harry_SFC said:

But he's an absolute mess at the moment. 

At the moment? 
 

He’s been a complete mess since the minute he walked through the door. This isn’t a bloke who is suffering a loss of form or confidence this season, he’s a bloke who was absolute pony and is now embarrassingly pony. The drop off is from shite, to fucking shite. 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

5 hours ago, Brumsaint said:

I was at the game yesterday and Archer's performance was one of the worst technically that I've ever seen. Everything bounced off him, it looked like he completed one accurate pass all match, the crowd groaned when the ball went near him and were calling for him to be subbed off throughout. Despite all this, he never stopped running. He put in a shift, but his footballing ability and confidence in it seems to have totally deserted him.

I hold no ill will towards him, but I really don't want him anywhere near the team when he's hindering rather than helping our forward play. I wish he could have gone on loan in the window, as, like with Damion Downs, I really don't see how he gets his confidence back here. 

Earlier in the season, playing off Stewart against Norwich, I thought there could be a role for him in the team, but his subsequent performances have been absolute dross.

I don't buy in to the 'lacks confidence' argument. His touch is awful, he can't hold up the ball, he doesn't seem to fight for the ball in the penalty area and those misses against Leicester were classics. Hopefully we've seen the last of him.

[Challenger]

Yet another SR dud. Panini could probably compile a complete sticker album full of them.

 

[St. Ciervo]

18 hours ago, Oldandtired said:

I guess now Bazunus gone we need a new whipping boy...

Sometimes the whipping boy reveals themselves to you...

[Kingsland Codger]

22 hours ago, spyinthesky said:

I thought at the time it was a terrible miss like the one in the early stages of Tuesday's game at the King Power but didnt we get a corner? If so Archers effort must have diverted off a Leicester player.

Yes, Archer didn’t “miss” a sitter, the ball came off a defender for a Saints corner.

I first saw Archer in the League Cup match away at Cardiff at the start of last season. He scored two goals and looked lively. Sadly he hasn’t lived up to that initial promise.

[HarvSFC]

I thought Archer would show up this season and give us a view of the player he was at Preston and Middlesbrough. A few nice finishes in his first season here also, in the league and cup, but he was feeding off scraps in the Premier League, so with a few more chances I was of the belief we could have one of the better strikers in this league. In the same way that Adam Armstrong revitalises in the second tier.

However, for whatever reason nothing is coming off for here him now and when he isn't scoring, similarly to Armstrong, there isn't much point on him being on the pitch as he isn't doing anything else.

There have been two games this season where he has actually seemed up for it and that was Birmingham home and away. So, maybe if we tell him we're playing Birmingham every week now, that might work. 

[disconnect]

Didnt the manager allude to there being something going on behind the scenes with Archer (whether that was a failed move or something else)? Seems strange that both Downs now Archer have seemingly lost a lot of ability / have a crisis in confidence when proving they were decent players in the past

[DT]

20 hours ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Earlier in the season, playing off Stewart against Norwich, I thought there could be a role for him in the team, but his subsequent performances have been absolute dross.

I don't buy in to the 'lacks confidence' argument. His touch is awful, he can't hold up the ball, he doesn't seem to fight for the ball in the penalty area and those misses against Leicester were classics. Hopefully we've seen the last of him.

I was at the game too and was amazed he wasn't subbed earlier. I've seen far better players in the national and non-league. Amazingly bad.

However, lots of good points in the other players I thought.

Keeper much better than I had expected. Solid, and decent distribution.

Larin's hold up play not bad at all, fitness coming along a little.

Cam Bragg - excellent performance.

Quarshie and Wood did well.

Manning won most of his duels, and decent delivery.

Impressed with Matsuki and his work rate

Dibaga not bad when he came on - could be more direct

Oyekunle excellent strength and persistence. Should start ahead of Cameron Archer every time

Some very nice touches from Barnaby Williams

Good to get minutes into Oriel - he is still classy

Overall, much to be happy about, especially the result. THought we were heading for penalties.

PS You can see how Winks is a cultured player, but also how he never does anything remotely risky