Liverpool 2-1 Saints - Match Thread

[RedArmy]

Watching Still post game interview on sky. Fucking hell he looks like he hasn’t slept for weeks. 

[SaintsBarry74]

9 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think the choice is this -

GK who cannot play with the ball at his feet

or GK who cannot use his hands or make saves.

I'll take the risk on number 1 tbh.

McCarthy has his howlers, but as a shot-stopper he’s acceptable at this level. Bazunu’s good with the ball at his feet, but his shot-stopping is honestly non-league. McCarthy edges it for me.

[Lighthouse]

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

[John Boy Saint]

27 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Still says he's learned nothing tonight and we shot ourselves in the foot.

Right miserable bollox he is

He was much better on Sky - but he was being asked good questions 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

Wood is limited as a defender, but at least he wants to defend and not fuck about with the ball like he's a hybrid of Maldini and Beckenbauer.

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

I think I speak for most of the fanbase in that we all feel much, much more comfortable with McCarthy in goal.

He's not perfect, of course he's not, and it's a shame we're having to choose between him, Long or Bazunu - but here we are, and for where we are I feel safer with McCarthy.

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

If Bazunu had played tonight it would have been 4-1

McCarthy isn't great but Bazunu is utter shite

[Lee On Solent Saint]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

What the fuck are you smoking? They are both shite, McCarthy maginally less so. McCarthy should be given a run in the team, now. Just an idea, but how about instead of showing endless pointless ads on the big screens, just flash a message on both, saying "Alex, kick it fuckin long". 

[SW11_Saint]

34 minutes ago, saintant said:

A very honest appraisal and he is clearly as frustrated as we are by the cheap goals we continually give away and is right to call it out.

Agreed, I’d rather he do that (telling it like it is) than some whitewashed ‘spin’ or triangulation as we’ve had in the past. 

[SW11_Saint]

2 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

If Bazunu had played tonight it would have been 4-1

McCarthy isn't great but Bazunu is utter shite

You know that how? 

[Willo of Whiteley]

3 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think I speak for most of the fanbase in that we all feel much, much more comfortable with McCarthy in goal.

He's not perfect, of course he's not, and it's a shame we're having to choose between him, Long or Bazunu - but here we are, and for where we are I feel safer with McCarthy.

Id rather have a cardboard cut out in goal

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, SW11_Saint said:

Agreed, I’d rather he do that (telling it like it is) than some whitewashed ‘spin’ or triangulation as we’ve had in the past. 

I don't think you can moan about his interviews, he's as fucked off with the stupid give aways as the rest of us. He doesn't tell them to pass the ball to the Liverpool player in the penalty box, I'm sure of that - that's on the players in-game non-brain moments (of which there are lots).

He sees it as we all see it really, frustration and good moments let down by the same cycle of so many years - self inflicted sabotage in play.

Edited 3 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Willo of Whiteley]

100% Jack Stephens, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Gavin Bazunj start Saturday.

[ErwinK1961]

29 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I don't want either THB or Stephens in the starting 11. I don't want either keeper really but that's the choice we have given we never bothered to sign a good one in the summer for some reason. The choice is between the two and McCarthy is clearly better despite his deficiencies.

I wouldn’t start either as well if I was in charge, but the fact is Stephens is captain and he is going to play most weeks. THB has been by far our worst CB this season.

I think it’s negligible with the GK’s either way - Bazunu does some things better, McCarthy does others. They’re both shite and it’s embarrassing that they’re our GK options.

[notnowcato]

4 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think I speak for most of the fanbase in that we all feel much, much more comfortable with McCarthy in goal.

He's not perfect, of course he's not, and it's a shame we're having to choose between him, Long or Bazunu - but here we are, and for where we are I feel safer with McCarthy.

Yeah I absolutely fucking love it when Macca has the ball at his feet, so comfortable. 

[kitch]

45 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Still says he's learned nothing tonight and we shot ourselves in the foot.

Right miserable bollox he is

Or he expects more, which is a good thing.

[saintant]

5 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Wood is limited as a defender, but at least he wants to defend and not fuck about with the ball like he's a hybrid of Maldini and Beckenbauer.

Thought he didn't look limited and hardly put a foot wrong tonight and even carried the ball out of defence on one occasion. He is brave, strong and has some pace. Very good performance against some good players.

[ErwinK1961]

24 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

Yep not sure why Martin is getting the blame for what McCarthy did. He never played like that under Martin. 

Did you miss Newcastle away last season?

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, notnowcato said:

Yeah I absolutely fucking love it when Macca has the ball at his feet, so comfortable. 

I absolutely love it when a striker has a shot at Bazunu, feel so comfortable as his crisp wrists drop it into the bottom corner.

[saintant]

3 minutes ago, SW11_Saint said:

You know that how? 

Because Liverpool had at least 4 shots on target plus he'd have spilled a few crosses.

[The Wyvern]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

I don't think you can moan about his interviews, he's as fucked off with the stupid give aways as the rest of us. He doesn't tell them the pass the ball to the Liverpool player in the penalty box, I'm sure of that - that's on the players in-game non-brain moments (of which there are lots).

He sees it as we all see it really, frustration and good moments let down by the same cycle of so many years - self inflicted sabotage in play.

This season has been a lot more than individual mistakes letting us down when playing well though? We’ve had consistently poor performances that has been the theme so far this season  

[HarvSFC]

With Still's interview, it's a positive surely? Very high standards. A tight 2-1 defeat against Liverpool with a cheap goal given away, not good enough for him. Makes a difference from the low standards that have been set over the years with many of our most recent manager's talking up and praising the players for a 2-1 defeat. Hopefully it motivates the players to strive to be better, rather than patting each other on the back and going through the motions.

[davefizzy14]

Quarshie and Wood were quality tonight. Jelert really was impressive. McCarthy made some top class saves. We have to cut out overplaying from the back. That is something that can be worked on.

Edited 3 hours ago by davefizzy14

[Mboto Gorge]

13 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

There is an opta table of “prevented goals” data for every keeper who’s played a minimum of 10 premier league games since 2016, and guess who rocks in at rock bottom, 86th out of 86 for goals prevented? Our Baz. Let’s not pretend he’s anything other than utter shite .

All the stats over the last few years show that he just doesn’t save shots! Hes a fucking keeper who doesn’t save anything, he shouldn’t be in our starting 11.

Edited 3 hours ago by Mboto Gorge

[Badger]

7 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

Watching Still post game interview on sky. Fucking hell he looks like he hasn’t slept for weeks. 

Not really Mr Motivator is he ? 
 

Hope he enthuses a bit more with the squad. 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

3 minutes ago, saintant said:

Thought he didn't look limited and hardly put a foot wrong tonight and even carried the ball out of defence on one occasion. He is brave, strong and has some pace. Very good performance against some good players.

Wasn't meant as a criticism of his game, just refreshing that he actually wants to defend

[saintant]

2 minutes ago, Mboto Gorge said:

There is an opta table of “prevented goals” data for every keeper who’s played a minimum of 10 premier league games since 2016, and guess who rocks in at rock bottom, 86th out of 86 for goals prevented? Our Baz. Let’s not pretend he’s anything other than utter shite .

All the stats over the last few years show that he just doesn’t save shots! Hes a fucking keeper who doesn’t save anything, he shouldn’t be in our starting 11.

Amen to that.

[sfc4prem]

I'm frustrated that these players turned it on for this fucking meaningless game, but couldn't rock up at St Mary's against the enemy.

[trousers]

14 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

Watching Still post game interview on sky. Fucking hell he looks like he hasn’t slept for weeks. 

Yeah, he didn't come across very well at all in that interview. Lots of nervous gestures and over-the-top repetitive negativity. The Sky pundits in the studio said it was a bizarre reaction from a manager whose team had almost matched the best team in Europe (albeit their second string)

[saintant]

1 minute ago, sfc4prem said:

I'm frustrated that these players turned it on for this fucking meaningless game, but couldn't rock up at St Mary's against the enemy.

Most of them didn't play against Pompey so a bit harsh to blame them for that shit show.

[trousers]

21 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight

The unlikeliness of that hypothesis is the very point people are making...

Both keepers are error prone, and there's a valid case for believing that McCarthy makes less mistakes than Bazunu, and visa versa. Different opinions on this are fine.  For me, I feel less uncomfortable when McCarthy is in goal. 

Edited 3 hours ago by trousers

[die Mannyschaft]

1 hour ago, egg said:

He belongs in non league. I've never seen a worse first touch from a 

 

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, trousers said:

The unlikeliness of that hypothesis is the very point people are making...

Both keepers are error prone, and there's a valid case for believing that McCarthy makes less mistakes than Bazunu, and visa versa. Different opinions on this are fine. 

The problem we have is highlighted in that post - we have poor keepers, full stop. Not one we can fully trust, and choices are made on selections at what they're less bad at. It's a very unhealthy place to be as a club.

[ally_uk]

Thought Wood was solid! ( har har lads )

Should get a run out against Boro.

[suewhistle]

That was a lot better team performance and some good crisp passing at times which was a definite improvement. The defence was better, actually doing that defending bit, and Wood kept it simple and strong. Quarshie, I thought, looked a lot more comfortable and was calling for the ball. Jander and Jelert looked comfortable, DownEs looked fitter and more effective again, Scienza also comfortable but over-thought the header.

Downs is regretful, Robinson we didn't feed at all. Their goals weren't triumphs of amazing play, were they? The second I thought was offside in the first phase when Chiesa received the ball and Ekiteke at that moment was offside, but I've long forgotten the offside laws, particularly at Anfield.

The sending off though was hilarious: I commented to a neutral in the poub that he'd just managed to get himself in the book all on his own, and then to take his shirt off shows quite impressive stupidity (or the sort of short term memory I now suffer from). Perhaps there should be a club fine and every amateur club in the area get a free match ball with stenciled on it some appropriately embarassing phrase..

[captainchris]

25 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

Baz is yet again bottom of the league table for shot saved this season, he is clearly not a shot stopper and that is the most important role for a GK.

[Cuddles]

7 minutes ago, trousers said:

The unlikeliness of that hypothesis is the very point people are making...

Both keepers are error prone, and there's a valid case for believing that McCarthy makes less mistakes than Bazunu, and visa versa. Different opinions on this are fine.  For me, I feel less uncomfortable when McCarthy is in goal. 

Both of them give me the shits 28h.

[die Mannyschaft]

Much better than I expected. A lot of decent passing and more direct. 

Keepers still have this automated shor pass. Its all going brilliant with long balls out until the shot pass to a player marked by opponent.

Desperately need a striker, even from Winchester city on loan would do. Can't we get a player in next week or havdcto wait for Jan window? We coikd make a desperate please to FA.

[trousers]

2 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

Thought Wood was solid! ( har har lads )

Should get a run out against Boro.

Yep, my MotM, especially the first half 

[Sheaf Saint]

7 minutes ago, trousers said:

The unlikeliness of that hypothesis is the very point people are making...

Exactly. Not a chance Baz would have had the reactions to make that first save and we'd have been 1-0 in the first minute. Totally different game from there on.

[trousers]

4 minutes ago, suewhistle said:

The sending off though was hilarious: I commented to a neutral in the poub that he'd just managed to get himself in the book all on his own, and then to take his shirt off shows quite impressive stupidity (or the sort of short term memory I now suffer from). Perhaps there should be a club fine and every amateur club in the area get a free match ball with stenciled on it some appropriately embarassing phrase..

 

Quite amusing 🙂

Edited 3 hours ago by trousers

[Football Special]

That's the real quiz 

 

[Sheaf Saint]

Well, the main takeaway from tonight for me is that, despite the result, that's the first time I've actually enjoyed watching Saints so far this season. 

[suewhistle]

Yes, and the one I least expected to enjoy but went to watch out of duty..

[OttawaSaint]

We always do this.  

False hope that there's a team in there and then back to Baz, Stephens, THB, Downes and Downs and get slapped on Saturday.

We've been really weird with keepers in the last however many seasons. Bar Ramsdale SR seem to be of the opinion that it's not important. Baz, McC, some reject from Norwich or Boro. Nowhere near good enough!

Edited 3 hours ago by OttawaSaint

[SW11_Saint]

1 hour ago, saintant said:

Because Liverpool had at least 4 shots on target plus he'd have spilled a few crosses.

Right. So pure supposition. 

[austsaint]

1 hour ago, LegalEagle said:

Spot on. Jelert was my Saints player of the night closely followed by Wood and Arma.

All three played well, but what about Flynn Downes?       He was right at the top of his game tonight - tackling, intercepting, pressing and looking for quick, progressive passes.   Jelert impressive at RB; Manning had a very good game and all three CBs looked comfortable.   Scienza showed pace and a running game which could easily see him playing the role that Azaz hasn’t yet made his own.

Surprised that Will Still feels he hasn’t learned anything new because this was a cheese and chalk performance compared to the Hull and Pompey games, and several players - Jelert, Quarshie, Wood, Armstrong, Edwards, Scienza - must have given the Manager notice they can cut it against a strong side and “big game” atmosphere.   Only Damion Downs disappointed tonight.   His touch was clunky and  there was a looseness about his game which is a big worry.  
There should be no fear about Saturday’s Middlesbrough visit judged on tonight’s performance.

[SW11_Saint]

51 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Exactly. Not a chance Baz would have had the reactions to make that first save and we'd have been 1-0 in the first minute. Totally different game from there on.

But we’ll never know that will we? It’s just what you *think* might have happened. 

[trousers]

7 minutes ago, SW11_Saint said:

But we’ll never know that will we? It’s just what you *think* might have happened. 

That's sort of how posting thoughts on an internet forum works to be fair...

[Dark Munster]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

McCarthy has made regular clangers throughout his career. Every manager who has been able to choose between him and Baz has chosen the latter and rightly so. If Baz had put in the EXACT same performance as McC tonight, there is no way in hell anybody on this forum is saying it’s a much improved performance and he should keep his spot for Saturday.

I don’t care if people don’t rate either of our keepers, if you think we should’ve signed a first choice in summer then fine, but if the two we’ve got Baz is better.

Are you Bazunu's Dad?