Saints 3-2 WBA - Match Thread

[hypochondriac]

If we could defend we'd win the league. Not sure if we can afford another cb in Jan but we definitely need something.

[Dr Who?]

When we are in command can we keep looking to score and not try and shut up shop. We cannot do it, so might as well keep going and concede and we might nick another one. It’s more exciting football but following the same shape. We play a top side and we will get punished. 

Another 3 points and off to Norwich 

[Secret Site Agent]

Full time and Sky comes back on, fuc king typical.

[Chez]

Can we sack the set piece coach. Waste of fucking time. Spend the money on pies for fans or something less pointless.

[Mr X]

1 minute ago, Sir Ralph said:

Not great second half need to learn to keep up the intensity.

People saying Tonda isnt good enough are bloody jokers. We have won 6 in 7. Have they forgotten what it was like about a month ago. Short term memories

He's done well but You'd have to be crazy to not be concerned about his complete lack of game management and how we are way way too passive after taking leads! Plus he thinks aribo is the answer when we are under the cosh 

[jimmer42]

2 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Tonda needs to learn that this fucking defence (inc Baz) are just not good enough to sit back and let the oppo team back in.

What utter shit  If it wasnt for Baz that would have been a draw

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, jimmer42 said:

What utter shit  If it wasnt for Baz that would have been a draw

Baz is shite...no 2 ways about it

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

3 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Lovely 1st half

abysmal 2nd. Slightly concerning how they seemed to be bullied by direct play.

It started after we went three up. Far too early to try to hold on to a lead and go on the defence.

It's another 3 points. It's another move to the play off places. Sort out this game management and we'll get automatic promotion.

 

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, Mr X said:

He's done well but You'd have to be crazy to not be concerned about his complete lack of game management and how we are way way too passive after taking leads! Plus he thinks aribo is the answer when we are under the cosh 

Glad its not just me 

[SouSaint]

Great first half, pleased with another win but that second half was a fucking disgrace. Learn to defend ffs. 

[sfc4prem]

1 minute ago, Chez said:

Can we sack the set piece coach. Waste of fucking time. Spend the money on pies for fans or something less pointless.

Our attempts at defending set pieces. Phwoar. So poor. I think they must have had half of their shots on target from headed attempts from corners! Bazunu saving the day, really.

[SNSUN]

3 minutes ago, DrunkenSaint said:

why are we so crap in the 2nd half? its like we are a completely different team from the 1st half 

Probably because we sub off the good players and our replacements aren't good enough. Work to be done in January. Tonda does need to work on his game management too.

Lets not forget too, WBA aren't a bad team. And, we did get the 3 points, however pant-shittingly close it ended up.

 

[Andy Hill]

Cannot rely on 3 or 4 goals to win a game. Need Charles back ASAP.

[sadoldgit]

6 minutes ago, Mr X said:

I agree not unless he can seriously improve his game management  when we are under the cosh! Doesn't seem to have any plan B whatsoever 

Yay! Only his second game as official head coach and already called out for not having a Plan B. Must be a record!

[Chez]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

If we could defend we'd win the league. Not sure if we can afford another cb in Jan but we definitely need something.

three centre backs and we we still look weak as piss at corners. Not helped by Baz being easily manhandled (no var to protect him from fouls) and unable to command his six yard box. Opposing teams may have spotted a weakness in our game. 

[Baird of the land]

Part of the problem in second half was our touch seemed to have vanished. So many misconstrues, heavy touches when we had opportunity to break.not sure if that was complacency from the players or what

[saintstowin]

Some of that 2nd half was inept. I would have preferred the change to be put on hold when they got their first. I think we need to get the ball to Scienza more at the start of second halves.

I don't see how taking off the four most effective players is a good plan. 

And hats off to how we dealt with that low cross near the end. I've not seen defending like that in many years. How many players missed it?!

This is not to ignore the lovely play we did manage.

[saintant]

7 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

3 points all that matters, really need to keep going after half time for 20mins before deciding the game is done and resting legs.

In a way but come on, we shouldn't be falling apart like that when leading by 3-0. Something seriously wrong with the game management or fitness or whatever but it needs fixing and quick.

[OneMrsWallace]

I'm out from behind the sofa now. Isn't this second half exactly why we've brought Romeu back? Hopefully once he's fully fit we can get him on to help the team better manage these types of games where momentum swings. Still, we held on and it's so much better than it was if not perfect defensively. 

[Southner]

5 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

7th now...

[IronCitySaint]

Terrible second half - hardly had a kick in the last 20 minutes. The team has absolutely no shape once the procession of substitutions starts. Can't remember a defender winning a challenge. It is just so soft. Good thing we actually tried to attack in the first half, and that the forwards are currently converting.

[Sheaf Saint]

2 minutes ago, jimmer42 said:

What utter shit  If it wasnt for Baz that would have been a draw

For their second goal he was so weak - he absolutely should be claiming that.

And that run of 3 saves - first one was straight at him, second one was off Manning's boot, only the third one can you claim is a good save.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

Terrible second half. Not sure why it keeps happening.

Why not keep the pressure up, making the other team think twice before going at Saints.

Will be good to get Charles back.

[Dr Who?]

8 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Got out of jail there Brom were by far the better team second half

Overall they had more chances, attempts on and off target. They probably deserved the draw. 

[Crab Lungs]

5 minutes ago, Secret Site Agent said:

Full time and Sky comes back on, fuc king typical.

They done you a favour!

[SWLondon Saint]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

If we could defend we'd win the league. Not sure if we can afford another cb in Jan but we definitely need something.

It wouldn't help if we bought another 3 CBs, the problem is we have too many on the pitch and not enough bodies in midfield - we just leave so much space the crosses come raining in from either side and the CBs all seem to be confused / unable to defend anything.

[O_Lord_Marian]

Just now, Chez said:

three centre backs and we we still look weak as piss at corners. Not helped by Baz being easily manhandled (no var to protect him from fouls) and unable to command his six yard box. Opposing teams may have spotted a weakness in our game. 

Shoot on sight and get as many crosses in as possible.

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, sadoldgit said:

Yay! Only his second game as official head coach and already called out for not having a Plan B. Must be a record!

Well its true, he doesn't have one, the fact that its his 2nd game after announcement is relevant, its happened in every game

[Baird of the land]

1 minute ago, sfc4prem said:

Our attempts at defending set pieces. Phwoar. So poor. I think they must have had half of their shots on target from headed attempts from corners! Bazunu saving the day, really.

Apart for their 2nd where baz was bullied. I can definitely see why Tonda brought in quashie because he was worried about their physicality.

[sfc4prem]

Our goal difference compared to Ipswich says it all. Look at their goals conceded compared to ours... 

Chuffed to get over the line tonight, nice to have another 3 points and to be able to critique from a winning position 😅

[Southner]

2 minutes ago, Southner said:

7th now...

8th.

[Raging Bull]

12 minutes ago, bangkoksaint said:

How long

That’s what my wife said 

[Chez]

Pretty happy, but ever so slightly annoyed as I had us wining 3-1. 

Great to smash teams in the first half of games. I wonder if we have it in us to bounce back in a game if we go behind?

[Saint NL]

So to get anything against Coventry next week we're going to need to score 7 (seven) by half time.

[sadoldgit]

3 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Well its true, he doesn't have one, the fact that its his 2nd game after announcement is relevant, its happened in every game

If his Plan A is to win many more than he loses perhaps he doesn’t need one 😉

[Crab Lungs]

1 minute ago, Sheaf Saint said:

For their second goal he was so weak - he absolutely should be claiming that.

And that run of 3 saves - first one was straight at him, second one was off Manning's boot, only the third one can you claim is a good save.

This defending of Bazunu is mental.

The team were 100% culpable for the pressure we received and if we’d have drawn it’d be mainly them I’d be annoyed with.

However, Bazunu cannot save anything. He’s either too slow diving, completely out of position, if he does get to it it’ll probably either (a) go in because his wrists just fold or (b) he’ll palm into danger.

And don’t get me started on the pressure he puts us under at set pieces. He panics are own team more than the opposition half the time.

Can sometimes pass in a straight line to defenders from ten yards though, so all is forgiven.

[Chez]

3 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Apart for their 2nd where baz was bullied. I can definitely see why Tonda brought in quashie because he was worried about their physicality.

where the fuck was Quarshie?  I want to see him in that six yard box winning absolutely everything like Jaidi used to do.

[washsaint]

What an utter bunch of melts on here these days.

We won and Bazunu made some excellent saves.  I'm certain Tonda will learn from this but he is also trying to keep players fresh playng 3 games a week at the moment.

Terrible, complacent second half and we have to be able to shut down the crosses coming in and standing off players.

But 6 wins from 7 is dreamland from where we were.

[ErwinK1961]

Think the game management issues are several;

- he’s trying to save the legs of our best players, but is making the changes too early

- once you drop a gear or three, it’s very very hard to get that back, so if a team gets on a bit of a roll it can be hard to arrest

- managing the game out with only two in midfield is a problem

- the quality of replacements is not close to the same level

- Aribo still gets on the pitch 

The positive though is it’s another win and we can still be much better. I’m hopeful with more time Tonda will adapt as needed.

4 wins in a row at home, can’t remember the last time that’s happened.

 

Edited 11 hours ago by ErwinK1961

[Mboto Gorge]

Great first half but how can a team be so bad second half when 3-0 up at home to a clearly inferior team when we have better players? What on earth was going on for that final half an hour. It’s like we gave up any ambitions to even spend any time in their half, let alone try to get another goal. Another win but it seems like we check out at 60 mins and just try to sit in and see the game out rather than keeping the intensity up. Maybe it’s fatigue with all the games coming thick and fast, but it’s happening regularly. That second half was QPR levels of shitness, make no mistake 

[Saint86]

13 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

If we could defend we'd win the league. Not sure if we can afford another cb in Jan but we definitely need something.

A CB who wins headers would be a fantastic addition. But it doesn't resolve the glaring tactical issue. We try to defend games we're dominating, with a 5 man defence tasked with dropping deeper and keeping possession - I would imagine the entire forum can see it's terrible. We can't keep the ball, we have no outs, we get deeper and deeper, the full backs get overloaded and no one can stop the crosses, and our cbs can't win the headers - and baz ain't the best at commanding the air either. This tactical setup is untenable and someone needs to have strong words with him.

But fundamentally, carrying more threat and more bodies up field, with more width in the middle 3rd, would resolve much of the threat. His 2nd tactic (the defence mode) is just appalling.

Edited 11 hours ago by Saint86

[saintant]

6 minutes ago, Andy Hill said:

Cannot rely on 3 or 4 goals to win a game. Need Charles back ASAP.

Not sure he'll solve the problem as it seems to be deep seated and not something that will be fixed by one player coming back from injury. That second half looked like us last season playing against a top quality Premier league team - we simply could not compete.

[washsaint]

1 minute ago, Crab Lungs said:

This defending of Bazunu is mental.

The team were 100% culpable for the pressure we received and if we’d have drawn it’d be mainly them I’d be annoyed with.

However, Bazunu cannot save anything. He’s either too slow diving, completely out of position, if he does get to it it’ll probably either (a) go in because his wrists just fold or (b) he’ll palm into danger.

And don’t get me started on the pressure he puts us under at set pieces. He panics are own team more than the opposition half the time.

Can sometimes pass in a straight line to defenders from ten yards though, so all is forgiven.

What complete and utter bollocks.  Take a look at teh saves he made.

[Dr Who?]

3 minutes ago, Chez said:

Pretty happy, but ever so slightly annoyed as I had us wining 3-1. 

Great to smash teams in the first half of games. I wonder if we have it in us to bounce back in a game if we go behind?

Came back against Millwall then screwed it up!

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, sadoldgit said:

If his Plan A is to win many more than he loses perhaps he doesn’t need one 😉

Ok mush, remember Millwall

[Dr Who?]

Still need a proper keeper and centre back in January and we can push for the top 2. We should be in the playoffs even with how it is at the moment. 

[Cricketphilly]

Anyone remember the days when we didn't make substitutions to be clever? The best players played every minute. 

[Patches O Houlihan]

44 minutes ago, kevdoh said:

Happy to share the IPTV service I use if you want the info. Just need a firestick or any streaming device. Literally just need to add an app and put in the login details you get once you pay. Like I say, I've used a few over the years and only paid monthly because they were prone to get taken down, bit this one I've been with over 3 years and never had any issues. Watch football, boxing and ufc and its always been spot on

Can I ask which app you use? 

[Crab Lungs]

1 minute ago, washsaint said:

What complete and utter bollocks.  Take a look at teh saves he made.

Of course it is. No other keeper in the world saves those, just Bazunu.

[SWLondon Saint]

Just now, Chez said:

where the fuck was Quarshie?  I want to see him in that six yard box winning absolutely everything like Jaidi used to do.

On their corner goal, he was some way away not even in contention so something's gone wrong imo. The marking on the corner before with Frazer on the front post where he had no chance also looked f-ed up.