Charlton 1-5 Saints - Match Thread

[saints-til-i-die]

36 minutes ago, Singapore Saint said:

Yes, about 10 years ago in the Premier League, against Aston Villa I think it was, Sadio Mane scored the fastest hattrick in history (a bit over 3 minutes) and Shane Long scored soon afterwards with a wonderful floater from long distance.

I think it was 2mins 56? 

[stfrancisofbenali]

Saints players were coming off saying we love this manager and want to play for him. He’s certainly made an impact! 

[Willo of Whiteley]

2 hours ago, DT said:

Just got back. Have to say that at times we were brilliant, and totally bossed the first half. I sat with my Charlton supporting mate in the side stand and he said we were the best team by far he has seen in the 8 games so far this season he's been to.

I thought Scienza was amazingly good with his pace and directness, and Fellows also excellent. But boy oh boy were Charlton open, and Nathan Jones didn't seem equipped to change it. Deja vu.

Even Armstrong was pretty good, one glaring piss poor header aside, and at least finished after his bites at the cherry. Wood looked a bit lumbering at times, choosing to manhandle his man too much, and Stephens had one Stephens moment, plus of course we conceded (poor marking or should Baz have come?) but overall an incredible performance, great result, and much rendition of the sheepshagging song about Nathan Jones.

One thing I thought was interesting - okay, some of their fans went home early but even at halftime whilst queuing for teas, I couldn't sense any of the anger, vitriol, and toxicity that might have been there had we been 5-1 down. Or at the final whistle. My mate suggested that there was still a lot of goodwill around for their promotion, and that was also evident by the way their fans applauded their team at the final whistle. Despite being demolished in the first half.

There will be a lot of people now calling for Eckert to get the job full time but it's too early I think, and perehaps Charlton were just the third bad team in a row we have played. But he hasn't done himself any harm. Ownership must be rubbing their hands with glee. 

Pretty accurate analysis from what I’ve read around. Agree with you regarding Tonda Eckhart, amazing result but still worth erring on the side of caution to his permanent appointment.

[Patches O Houlihan]

2 hours ago, DT said:

Just got back. Have to say that at times we were brilliant, and totally bossed the first half. I sat with my Charlton supporting mate in the side stand and he said we were the best team by far he has seen in the 8 games so far this season he's been to.

I thought Scienza was amazingly good with his pace and directness, and Fellows also excellent. But boy oh boy were Charlton open, and Nathan Jones didn't seem equipped to change it. Deja vu.

Even Armstrong was pretty good, one glaring piss poor header aside, and at least finished after his bites at the cherry. Wood looked a bit lumbering at times, choosing to manhandle his man too much, and Stephens had one Stephens moment, plus of course we conceded (poor marking or should Baz have come?) but overall an incredible performance, great result, and much rendition of the sheepshagging song about Nathan Jones.

One thing I thought was interesting - okay, some of their fans went home early but even at halftime whilst queuing for teas, I couldn't sense any of the anger, vitriol, and toxicity that might have been there had we been 5-1 down. Or at the final whistle. My mate suggested that there was still a lot of goodwill around for their promotion, and that was also evident by the way their fans applauded their team at the final whistle. Despite being demolished in the first half.

There will be a lot of people now calling for Eckert to get the job full time but it's too early I think, and perehaps Charlton were just the third bad team in a row we have played. But he hasn't done himself any harm. Ownership must be rubbing their hands with glee. 

That was only the second game they have lost at The Valley in 2025. We had only seen that many home wins in the same period. I suspect that might have an influence on the halftime vibe 😉

[Draino76]

I've got to hand it to Sports Republic; i was a 'nay-sayer' but their recruitment has actually been really clever. 

[Draino76]

Very very clever. We should be premier league champs by 2030.

[SNSUN]

 

Love the Ceefax app. Old school.

[SNSUN]

Incidentally 10 points separate 3rd from 20th. League is still wide open.

[Football Special]

 

[saintstowin]

Very, very good.

Really liked the width including the CBs meaning we didn't become slow at the back.

Wing backs could pretty much play as wingers due to our dominance but even so they were high up from the start which was good to see. 

I loved the passing into space that found a teammate having lost his man. Some really skillful, intuitive football that took the ball up the pitch in seconds.

Pace was great on the ball. 

The only thing I didn't like was the continuation of the NJ chant leaving the ground when coming into contact with home fans who had just been hammered.  The '....shit football team' line seemed a little much. But I'm old and I guess the young ones were carried away with the win.

[Football Special]

13 minutes ago, saintstowin said:

Very, very good.

Really liked the width including the CBs meaning we didn't become slow at the back.

Wing backs could pretty much play as wingers due to our dominance but even so they were high up from the start which was good to see. 

I loved the passing into space that found a teammate having lost his man. Some really skillful, intuitive football that took the ball up the pitch in seconds.

Pace was great on the ball. 

The only thing I didn't like was the continuation of the NJ chant leaving the ground when coming into contact with home fans who had just been hammered.  The '....shit football team' line seemed a little much. But I'm old and I guess the young ones were carried away with the win.

I felt that song went on too long in the ground as well. 

Brilliant result today, I'll need to watch the highlights again, seemed like we carved them open with good attacking play but also Charlton were all over the place defensively

Second half a bit frustrating, I felt we could have gone for.it a bit more keep up the momentum and try to set up a tap in for Downs 

Cam Bragg deserves a lot of credit for his performance today, will he a great boost for him after the nightmare at Blackburn 

[Football Special]

I'm sure I remember their defender Ramsay playing for us in 9-0 defeat at Manchester United, thought he was on for another at one point 

[Harry_SFC]

29 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I felt that song went on too long in the ground as well. 

Brilliant result today, I'll need to watch the highlights again, seemed like we carved them open with good attacking play but also Charlton were all over the place defensively

Second half a bit frustrating, I felt we could have gone for.it a bit more keep up the momentum and try to set up a tap in for Downs 

Cam Bragg deserves a lot of credit for his performance today, will he a great boost for him after the nightmare at Blackburn 

Downs has shown on more than one occasion that he can't score tap ins, or score at all for that matter. 

Edited yesterday at 22:26 by Harry_SFC

[SouSaint]

Happy to be proved wrong on the lineup. Funny that the FM geek wants to poke fun at it though, you goon. 

Up the Saints. 

[Hawkswood]

1 minute ago, SouSaint said:

Happy to be proved wrong on the lineup. Funny that the FM geek wants to poke fun at it though, you goon. 

Up the Saints. 

Ha ! I WAS just about to message the same thing to this person but deleted the message because I promised myself ages ago never to get involved with him/it. Looks like he took the time to do that to everyone the sad twat.

[Badger]

Certainly didn’t expect that today. Well worth the effort getting there. 
 

Compared to the last couple of years, an uncharacteristic and unsaints like performance; good passing moves, attacking at pace. Scienza, Fellows and Armstrong outstanding. Boost in confidence for Azaz and Bragg. 
 

Jander running through for his goal brought back a memory of a Steve Williams goal (and they were pretty infrequent for a while) at Sunderland. 
 

Negatives - still a bit of pissing about at the back for my liking. Inevitability of being caught out at some point. Support - a bit tame at times, but 12.30 kick off doesn’t help.

[SNSUN]

29 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Downs has shown on more than one occasion that he can't score tap ins, or score at all for that matter. 

It's possible he could be a confidence player, hit one in and he starts a run. But then I'm one of the idiots that thought the same of Sekou Mara. 

[Badger]

5 hours ago, benjii said:

Unfortunately, Jones' comments were very measured and magnanimous. 

I watched Jones making his way onto the pitch a full time towards the centre circle, and half expected to see him berate the ref for something. But no. 
 

Jones made a point of congratulating and shaking hands with all of our players, and a hug with a couple of them. Credit where it’s due. 

Edited yesterday at 23:27 by Badger

[Badger]

4 hours ago, DT said:

One other thing. If I was Downs and in a miserable run of form, I would at least run around a bit. Bloody hell he doesn't look he's even trying! On a day of brilliance, he looked drab. Still need the scouts out for a CF and GK in January.

For a bloke of his size he seems pretty weak as well. Easily bundled off the ball, and we had his usual slipping and  falling over routine at one point today.

Someone on the thread mentioned Kenwynne Jones as a comparison. Difference for me at a basic level was that Jones had a bit of energy and physical presence.

Perhaps it’ll click  into gear for Downs one day. But difficult to see it coming based on what we’ve seen to date. 

[Badger]

19 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

It's possible he could be a confidence player, hit one in and he starts a run. But then I'm one of the idiots that thought the same of Sekou Mara. 

“There’s a player in there” - volume 57 

[Forester]

Really enjoyed that.  Bragg was a strong full debut and we were genuinely impressive first half as a team.

I think the style of play Eckert is orchestrating is a good blend of Martin playing out of the back rather than mindless hoofing it up to a midget (a la Still) but with a difference, which is as soon as we have broken the press we then attack with pace.  Under Martin we would often recycle back all over again.

[sadoldgit]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

For a bloke of his size he seems pretty weak as well. Easily bundled off the ball, and we had his usual slipping and  falling over routine at one point today.

Someone on the thread mentioned Kenwynne Jones as a comparison. Difference for me at a basic level was that Jones had a bit of energy and physical presence.

Perhaps it’ll click  into gear for Downs one day. But difficult to see it coming based on what we’ve seen to date. 

Poch played him at international level so you would think there must be a player in there somewhere. He looks totally devoid of confidence and could probably do with a run of games in the u21’s out of the spotlight and a full 90 minutes each week. Better still, loan him out in the January window to a club in a lower league to toughen him up a bit.

[warsash saint]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

Certainly didn’t expect that today. Well worth the effort getting there. 
 

Compared to the last couple of years, an uncharacteristic and unsaints like performance; good passing moves, attacking at pace. Scienza, Fellows and Armstrong outstanding. Boost in confidence for Azaz and Bragg. 
 

Jander running through for his goal brought back a memory of a Steve Williams goal (and they were pretty infrequent for a while) at Sunderland. 
 

Negatives - still a bit of pissing about at the back for my liking. Inevitability of being caught out at some point. Support - a bit tame at times, but 12.30 kick off doesn’t help.

Is that the pissing around at the back that led to the Jander's goal ??😉

[maysie]

2 hours ago, Forester said:

Really enjoyed that.  Bragg was a strong full debut and we were genuinely impressive first half as a team.

I think the style of play Eckert is orchestrating is a good blend of Martin playing out of the back rather than mindless hoofing it up to a midget (a la Still) but with a difference, which is as soon as we have broken the press we then attack with pace.  Under Martin we would often recycle back all over again.

Spot on. We encouraged the press then played it round and got it forward quick.

Going to take patience from the fans though who have loads of scar tissue (lol) under Martin in those initial steps where we encourage the press and have to be brave (lol).

Fact is most teams won't press us and will be interesting to see how Tonda approaches that.

[LoyalSaintSO50]

Superb performance. Only disappointment was the daft Nathan Jones songs for the whole of the second half. Can’t remember him digging us out after he left so not sure what the issue is 

[sledger]

ideal game for d.downes to come on and show a bit but hes just so lethargic and wooden,hope im wrong but looks a bit of a lemon to me.

[whelk]

4 hours ago, LoyalSaintSO50 said:

Superb performance. Only disappointment was the daft Nathan Jones songs for the whole of the second half. Can’t remember him digging us out after he left so not sure what the issue is 

Yeah agree. Brilliant performance but so many seemed more interested  with singing about Jones… obsessively. Some prick behind us constantly yelling at him that was a cunt and seemed so angry. 

[Sir Ralph]

One of my best Saints games ever to have gone to (full stop). It came out of nowhere. Thanks Tonda. Bragg was excellent 

Now I’m actually really looking forward to Millwall. What’s happening to me!

Edited 14 hours ago by Sir Ralph

[BarryVenisonsHair]

6 hours ago, LoyalSaintSO50 said:

Superb performance. Only disappointment was the daft Nathan Jones songs for the whole of the second half. Can’t remember him digging us out after he left so not sure what the issue is 

Sad people do sad things 

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

I think the last time we had such a convincing and enjoyable first 45 mins away from home would have been at Swansea in the Championship  23/24, then the disappointing next 45 as all RM wanted was possession and showboat passing.

Yesterday's second half was, although less enjoyable, a more professional game management with an eye on a big game a few days later. But have to agree about the Nathan Jones chant, OK do it once a bit tongue-in-cheek but to then keep it going was tinpot. FFS just enjoy a very good performance and knocking 5 in away from home.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

10 hours ago, Badger said:

For a bloke of his size he seems pretty weak as well. Easily bundled off the ball, and we had his usual slipping and  falling over routine at one point today.

Someone on the thread mentioned Kenwynne Jones as a comparison. Difference for me at a basic level was that Jones had a bit of energy and physical presence.

Perhaps it’ll click  into gear for Downs one day. But difficult to see it coming based on what we’ve seen to date. 

That was me. Yes agree, Jones did have a bit physicality to him even when he was raw and clumsy.

Saying that he did progress well afterwards before he decided to strike and f off.

I do wonder if Downs needs a season to acclimatise. Sadly that's not what we need right now.

[HKsaint]

10 hours ago, Badger said:

I watched Jones making his way onto the pitch a full time towards the centre circle, and half expected to see him berate the ref for something. But no. 
 

Jones made a point of congratulating and shaking hands with all of our players, and a hug with a couple of them. Credit where it’s due. 

Nathan Jones believes that the big win is attributable to the foundation he made for Southampton.

[SWLondon Saint]

Bloody hell, the one game I can't watch at all and we go and do that - watched the highlights, but what was the difference? Formation and players pretty much the same as always, was there a change in tactics? Or did the players just hate Still?

 

 

 

[AlexLaw76]

2 minutes ago, SWLondon Saint said:

Bloody hell, the one game I can't watch at all and we go and do that - watched the highlights, but what was the difference? Formation and players pretty much the same as always, was there a change in tactics? Or did the players just hate Still?

 

 

 

Quick forward passes (on the ground mostly). Arma dropping deep and having 2 or 3 players running beyond him. This included fellows pushing much further forward.

Helped by Charlton giving us the freedom to play for the first half...weird how they just stood off us. Kind of reminded me of Saints last season.

 

[Singapore Saint]

13 hours ago, saints-til-i-die said:

I think it was 2mins 56? 

Just googled, you're right!

[Badger]

50 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Helped by Charlton giving us the freedom to play for the first half...weird how they just stood off us. Kind of reminded me of Saints last season.

 

They did look disorganised at times . Looking at our third goal - brilliantly worked and calmly finished as it was - you can imagine the uproar if Bazunu or McCarthy were seen left on their knees as the ball was rolled past them. 

[Badger]

7 hours ago, TheAlehouseBrawlers said:

But have to agree about the Nathan Jones chant, OK do it once a bit tongue-in-cheek but to then keep it going was tinpot. FFS just enjoy a very good performance and knocking 5 in away from home.

I can understand the pantomime villain bit, but also found it a bit tedious and misplaced.

First half singing “your football is shit” when only one or two up had the makings of something to bite us on the arse but fortunately not on this occasion. 
 

Nathan Jones was simply wrong man at the wrong club and time for us. The fault lies elsewhere for that, a wrong move that damaged all involved . He was soon removed, I can’t get worked up about him, in fact I find him quite amusing in some ways. Good luck to him at Charlton glad he recovered from the turmoil he also suffered here.

(Having said that, if we ever play a team managed by Lego then I’m all for giving the prick both barrels). 

Edited 7 hours ago by Badger

[Dr Who?]

19 hours ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Playing around at the back to beat the press was the key to most of the goals - Jander's particularly.

Clearly there is some residual memory of Russball for our defensive unit, and he did get them to be on average pretty good at that playing style in the Championship. The problem was when it didn't go well.

What makes it better than under Russ is that the players now seem to be allowed to play it long, or chip it forward if they feel under pressure and want to play it safe - it felt like they knew they would get a bollocking for doing that under Russ. 

It's not going to be very helpful against teams that will play a low block against us - as most teams in the league now will after that performance.

After a dispiriting 13 minutes with so many gilt edged chances missed that was a lovely 20 minute spell of total football. 

More please.

Agreed, but we did nearly give a goal away at 0-4, in a different game it ‘could’ be costly. They did not boot it away then, over played and gave it away. But like yesterday when everything goes well you do not notice it so much. 

[Totton Saint]

14 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Pretty accurate analysis from what I’ve read around. Agree with you regarding Tonda Eckhart, amazing result but still worth erring on the side of caution to his permanent appointment.

What has the interim manager got to do to convince doubters. Three wins on the trot after it looked like we were relegation prospects and players looking like they had thrown in the towel.  What more can you want? Could a new man do any better. If it ain't broke don't fix it

[Badger]

7 minutes ago, Totton Saint said:

What has the interim manager got to do to convince doubters……What more can you want? Could a new man do any better. If it ain't broke don't fix it

You were doing well until the last sentence. You know that isn’t the Rasmus way

[sadoldgit]

11 hours ago, warsash saint said:

Is that the pissing around at the back that led to the Jander's goal ??😉

It’s great when it works. Not so much when it doesn’t.

[sadoldgit]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

They did look disorganised at times . Looking at our third goal - brilliantly worked and calmly finished as it was - you can imagine the uproar if Bazunu or McCarthy were seen left on their knees as the ball was rolled past them. 

They were an absolute shower in the first half, but for a change, we made them pay. I’m looking forward to see how that performance translates against teams who can defend properly.

[Patrick Bateman]

6 hours ago, sledger said:

ideal game for d.downes to come on and show a bit but hes just so lethargic and wooden,hope im wrong but looks a bit of a lemon to me.

Sadly from what I saw he was still one of the negatives. He did seem to look a bit more lively and his run forward with the ball, whilst slow, was controlled. However there was one bit where the ball was passed back by a Charlton player, Downs was onside and seemed shocked that the ball had gone past him, like his whole world stood still for a minute before he reacted. 

I'm still hoping there is a good player in there and am ready to be delighted, but whether it's lack of confidence or nerves or just incredibly slow processing of the speed of English football, who knows. He should definitely be getting 90 mins in the U21s regularly though.

[Totton Saint]

Wednesday's team selection will give the interim manager few pleasant dilemmas e.g, does Bragg play again? At his age he should not be tired. 

 

[hypochondriac]

2 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Quick forward passes (on the ground mostly). Arma dropping deep and having 2 or 3 players running beyond him. This included fellows pushing much further forward.

Helped by Charlton giving us the freedom to play for the first half...weird how they just stood off us. Kind of reminded me of Saints last season.

 

Indeed. If Tonda shows he can figure out teams that shut up shop against us then he deserves the job quite frankly. That's the unknown so far.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Totton Saint said:

What has the interim manager got to do to convince doubters. Three wins on the trot after it looked like we were relegation prospects and players looking like they had thrown in the towel.  What more can you want? Could a new man do any better. If it ain't broke don't fix it

Autos 🙂

21 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Indeed. If Tonda shows he can figure out teams that shut up shop against us then he deserves the job quite frankly. That's the unknown so far.

But really this. And not necessarily that he must win every game. SR recruitment is to blame for a lot of our issues. If Tonda can show he has a plan, that allows the players to create, even in difficult circumstances, that would go a long way.

[OVER THE HILL]

1 hour ago, Totton Saint said:

Wednesday's team selection will give the interim manager few pleasant dilemmas e.g, does Bragg play again? At his age he should not be tired. 

 

Tuesday.

[Saint Pete]

The counter attack goal was probably the most eye-catching yesterday but I think a really positive sign going forward was Manning's first goal. RWB crossing to LWB to head it in, great to see the Wing-backs being so positive. Maybe the much maligned 3 centre backs could work after all if that continues?! 

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

Great result. Not expected at all. 

As I've always said. There's absolutely nothing wrong with our players. They'd walk into any team in this league. 

The problem was how they were being managed. 

[BERMUDASAINT]

So TONDA,

You brought most of the old guard back, "but they were shite players, they cried"

won ya first 2 games, without time to settle in, "but they were shite teams, they cried"

Has 2 weeks to train for the first time with the squad, "but we should have a perminant manager so we dont waste intl break"

Won against a team playing well, above us in the league, 3 on the trott, we havn't done that since April 2024.

TONDA has shown empatically (5 goals) that he used his 2 weeks with our squad very well, it was beautiful to watch....players had confidence, understanding of movement and passing that looked unatainable earlier in the year.

He had the balls to chose an academy player for a big game and he did excellent ! It shows he has a great understanding of player ability.

 BUTTTTTT, YA GOTTA DO MORE TO GET THE JOB??????

  sheesh, now ya have to beat a few more teams, a low block team, a big strong team,  chucking hell, why not wait until dec 20 to see if we can beat covenrty before we can say you are a good fit???? 

How long did it take for some of to to choose your wife...some are probably still looking for the right fit?

Love that he scowls through the whole game, not sure i have seen a goal celebation from him? Seems all business and no luaghing and hugging until the job is done!

Edited 9 hours ago by BERMUDASAINT