Saints 3-1 Birmingham - Match Thread

[Saint Fan CaM]

Eckhert gets booked for kicking ball away!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[benjii]

Ekert sets the team up from the off better than Still ever did, but I do worry about his seeming obsession with this shape. A tactical change has been obviously needed to close some of the wide spaces, as their only attacking plan is to get crosses in.

[saint michael]

Good win guys

[Sarisbury Saint]

1 minute ago, Themotherfunky said:

He's been doing it since he arrived. Did it plenty under Martin. 

 I can't imagine any manager would tell a defender to stand off and invite crosses time and time again.

I can’t imagine why a manager would keep putting up with it.

[Saint NL]

Eckert doesn't look happy 😂 hope he punts Manning like that

[Saint Fan CaM]

Excellent game - Tonda is the fucking real deal!

[Suhari]

Bosh.

Decent. I'm opening a bottle of Abbot.

[obelisk]

FT and 3-1 but Saints are flattered by that scoreline. Second half Saints looked like a pub team. If this is what we can expect for the rest of the season under the new manager then I might not make it.

[Saint Fan CaM]

Just now, Suhari said:

Bosh.

Decent. I'm opening a bottle of Abbot.

Good luck - I’m two wines and two Leffes in. Bloody great!

[Saint NL]

Decent win in the end.

Some parts in the first half were sublime, some parts in the second were awful. 

If Scienza gets injured for any length of time we are in real trouble.

[AlexLaw76]

Tonda looks intense!!!

[Zorba]

Great result. Scienza different class. Nice to see Archer looking up for it when he came on. I really want him to start scoring. COYS!

[Hopper]

1 minute ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Good luck - I’m two wines and two Leffes in. Bloody great!

Love a Leffe. I’ve just cracked open a Gamma Ray.

[Ralph Fastenbüttl]

Just now, obelisk said:

FT and 3-1 but Saints are flattered by that scoreline. Second half Saints looked like a pub team. If this is what we can expect for the rest of the season under the new manager then I might not make it.

I was literally about to say that I hope with today's excellent result, the fanbase finally buys in to Team Tonda. But alas...

I, for one, am massively relieved. 5 wins out of 6 is superb and for long spells today we looked genuinely brilliant. That a seeming lack of depth means we look less good once the real talent gets a rest at the end does not change any of that. Tonda really could be the one (until he's poached in the summer). COYS!

[Willo of Whiteley]

Wasn’t at the game but saw that we take off the two best attacking players we have.

In other words that says to the opposition “we’re done for the day now”.

[AlexLaw76]

Is it me or do we look like we have a fair bit of pace about us?

we certainly have the shithousery!!!

[Mr X]

4 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Excellent game - Tonda is the fucking real deal!

Way too early to be saying that! 

[stknowle]

Very good display. That’s now 3 very good performances out of 6 and 5 wins out of 6. KEEP IT UP TONDA.

[SNSUN]

Decent win against a potentially dangerous opponent.  Keeping up with the play off race. A few more wins in December please and we can go into the transfer window in a nice position. 

[skintsaint]

Classic 3-1 scoreline. Need to keep scraping these wins till the transfer window and bring in some players and make sure Aribo etc and nowhere near the team.

[Baird of the land]

how good is scienza. Armstrong must love him, he’s going to help him to some goal tally
On the positive side, we should have scored 7/8 but for goodgoalkeeping/poor finishing

the negative we could have conceded 1/2 more

ultra negative, can that be aribo’s last appearance. Lucky not to get sent off

[benjii]

4 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Good luck - I’m two wines and two Leffes in. Bloody great!

Please don't drink to excess.

[SaintTex]

9 minutes ago, obelisk said:

FT and 3-1 but Saints are flattered by that scoreline. Second half Saints looked like a pub team. If this is what we can expect for the rest of the season under the new manager then I might not make it.

come on.. Beadle had 3 to 4 worldly saves.

3-1 win. enjoy it.

 

(3 points off 6th place... tell me you wouldn't have taken that one month ago)

Edited 1 hour ago by SaintTex

[saintant]

5 minutes ago, obelisk said:

FT and 3-1 but Saints are flattered by that scoreline. Second half Saints looked like a pub team. If this is what we can expect for the rest of the season under the new manager then I might not make it.

Behave. We had good chances in the second half. 3-1 was a fair result.

[Saint Fan CaM]

2 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Way too early to be saying that! 

Really - don’t just think about the scores or even the points. The performances are different level.

[tdmickey3]

8 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Excellent game - Tonda is the fucking real deal!

Lol, we were shit in last 20 gave chance after chance and better sides will not be so generous 

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

how good is scienza. Armstrong must love him, he’s going to help him to some goal tally
On the positive side, we should have scored 7/8 but for goodgoalkeeping/poor finishing

the negative we could have conceded 1/2 more

ultra negative, can that be aribo’s last appearance. Lucky not to get sent off

Very good summary of what I witnessed.

[Vancouver Saint]

Good result and both teams could have scored more - big let off when they missed an open goal from five yards with 20 minutes to go - that could have completely changed the outcome of the game.

We still look really shaky defending leads. 
Will we ever make an effort to stop a cross coming in? Or give ourselves an outlet to relieve pressure when we're parking the bus in the penalty box.
Aribo subbed on again? Must be a mandate to play him to put him in the shop window...it's the only reason I can think of.
Was watching a Birmingham City stream and commentators were remarking how we looked 'flat on our feet' - and that was right after the Romeo and Aribo substitions!

[bugenhagen]

Aribo - might as well have a fan on instead of him. Half time competition where the winner comes on instead of Aribo.

[Saint Fan CaM]

Just now, tdmickey3 said:

Lol, we were shit in last 20 gave chance after chance and better sides will not be so generous 

Nah, think you give the opposition too much credit. Our defence continues to let the Manager down, mainly because of the wing-back choices unfortunately, but that’s probably imposed by SR.

[Harry_SFC]

Clearly the better side in the first half. We aren't the same team when we make subs but let's not forget we do still have a fair few players out injured who would do a better job of coming on (Stewart, Charles, Mads etc).

Please please drop Manning. The bloke is a complete and utter liability.

Edited 1 hour ago by Harry_SFC

[ErwinK1961]

1 minute ago, tdmickey3 said:

Lol, we were shit in last 20 gave chance after chance and better sides will not be so generous 

Lol, do you ever post anything positive? If you can’t enjoy a deserved 3-1 home win then why bother.

[tdmickey3]

Just now, ErwinK1961 said:

Lol, do you ever post anything positive? If you can’t enjoy a deserved 3-1 home win then why bother.

Yes but I also say it how it is, sorry it upsets you so much 

[Saint86]

20 minutes ago, benjii said:

Aribo trying to get a Xmas break there.

In more ways than one. Brum player lucky to walk away from that.

[tdmickey3]

2 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Nah, think you give the opposition too much credit. Our defence continues to let the Manager down, mainly because of the wing-back choices unfortunately, but that’s probably imposed by SR.

Maybe but surely he doesn’t coach to let so many crosses in?

[DrunkenSaint]

Another good win but this obsession of Aribo scares the living crap out of me, just put any youngster in the u21 team on the pitch and they will do 100% better than what he brings.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

18 minutes ago, obelisk said:

Aribo trying to get a red there. Ref let's him off with a yellow.

Great game to watch. You can see the confidence in the team. Edge of the seat stuff at the end but I wish we wouldn't sit back and invite trouble. Have a release for corners.

Good to also see Archer hopefully keeping Downs off the sub's bench. My only real criticism is allowing Joe Aribo on the pitch. He's a liability and not someone who can help protect a lead.

[qwertyell]

Wins breed confidence. We're already night and day from the naval gazing lumps of 7 or so games ago. Whether we've looked dodgy at times getting those wins is a moot point, really.

I still think we're treading water until January - and I'm not confident we'll bring in the necessary reinforcements that defensively and offensively we're crying out for. But let's ride whatever this momentum is for as long as we can and try and muscle into the play off places before then. 

Things might look a lot brighter come the new year.

Or worse. It'll probably look worse, won't it? That's the Saints way.

Edited 1 hour ago by qwertyell

[Sheaf Saint]

Made hard work of it but a brilliant win, all things considered.

Scienza is becoming as important to us as MLT was in the 90s. At the heart of everything good in attack and the opposition just don't know hoe to deal with him, except foul him. Please stay injury-free!

Another goal for Azaz, and another brace for Arma. Could have had more as well with better finishing (but then so could Brum).

Fellows did some amazing things today. That run from the edge of our area in the first half, for instance. I would love to see what he could truly offer if he was playing as a traditional winger instead of having to fulfil all the defensive duties on that side as well.

I watched Aribo intently when he came on, and in fairness at least he looked a tad more interested than he did last week. But that passage of play leading to his booking - WTF! Had space and options then just stood still and allowed himself to be robbed, then lunged into a wild tackle to try and retrieve it and was lucky to only see yellow. Please Tonda, stop bringing him on.

I still have huge concerns about our defence. We've got a LB who cannot for the life of him stop crosses, a CB (and captain) who just ball-watches and constantly leaves attackers unmarked for free headers, and a more than suspect keeper (although I will give credit where it's due today for that foot-save from a deflected shot). On the plus side, THB seems to be finding his form again and has played really well recently.

We've got to find a way to stop surrendering all possession and momentum when defending a lead. And I hope TE recognises that and will be working on it on the training ground now that his position has been secured.

Edited 1 hour ago by Sheaf Saint

[Yozzman]

15 minutes ago, obelisk said:

FT and 3-1 but Saints are flattered by that scoreline. Second half Saints looked like a pub team. If this is what we can expect for the rest of the season under the new manager then I might not make it.

Bye bye👋

[Baird of the land]

Also love the way we run at teams with the ball after so long of ponderous possession.

[ErwinK1961]

2 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Yes but I also say it how it is, sorry it upsets you so much 

I must have missed your posts about all the positive bits then, my bad.

[tdmickey3]

Some good attacking play, decent goals and it should have been more, a bit more composure and it would have been 5 or 6

Gave up to many chances again, this must be addressed ASAP or it will be costly, apologies to those who don’t want to hear it but it’s a fact

[Ekelund]

7 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Yes but I also say it how it is, sorry it upsets you so much 

You say it how it is according to you, that’s the problem.

[LuckyNumber7]

Really enjoyed that, some baffling negative posts in here. We're never going to boss a game for 90 minutes against a dangerous team like Birmingham and the subs are to keep players fresh for another 3 game week. Overall I thought we were very good and should have scored more.

My only complaint is Manning, please drop him. Bloke's a liability.

All aboard the Tonda train!

[jasonbenali]

Happy days! Some shaky moments in that second half but we could have had another 3 easily, some huge chances to extend our lead. 5 out of 6 is great form and two high quality finishes today.

Scienza is different class, really making us tick. Archer looked up for it which is good to see as these tactics suit him much better, shame about the miss. Also good to see THB back to somewhere near his best.

[richardc]

just noticed skates in relegation spot

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, Ekelund said:

You say it how it is according to you, that’s the problem.

Ok dear, shall I get you to vet my posts in future?

[Harry_SFC]

8 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Also love the way we run at teams with the ball after so long of ponderous possession.

Big difference between this and Russball is we now look for the forward pass once the opposition have committed to the press and then keep going forwards. Under Martin we used to pass it around at the back, eventually get the ball forward then pass it back again. 

[Osvaldorama]

Class performance, all things considered. 
 

Tonda has made an absolutely huge difference. 
The only thing that’s missing is staying on top for a full 90. But we seem to be happier to grind out results now instead of capitulating. 
 

All credit to the manager, genuinely look like a different team.