Saints 3-2 WBA - Match Thread

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Oisin said:

I don’t think I’m getting carried away to be fair - we have one of the best squads in this division, finally playing to somewhere near their potential, full of confidence, at home to a well organised and competent side with players at a good but on average lesser standard than ours, who just got smacked 4-0 (at an average Sheffield United) so are presumably not full of confidence.

It should be a routine comfortable home win. Of course, with well over 40 years of saints’ very special “scar tissue” I am very aware we are capable of cocking it up. But it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be 3 points comfortably won.

I totally get your point and confidence,  other than Millwall just a week ago was an example of where we still have weaknesses. 

WBA just lost to QPR (it was Stoke who got beat 4-0 at Sheff Utd) 

[Chez]

5 hours ago, Oisin said:

Should be a routine comfortable win. No need to change anything in the starting 11, just swap Aribo for Wellington on the bench and I’ll be happy.

I think "routine comfortable win" predictions are reserved for league 1 promotion winning sides containing the likes of Fonte, Lambert et al. It's literally one game ago that we we putting in a woeful display at Millwall and even Saturdays terrific display didn't lead to a "comfortable" win. 

[Chez]

2 hours ago, saintoaks said:

Want to see a bit more in the second half of games (including the subs), don't know if it's the managers tactics are to sit in and hit teams on the break, he keeps on about clean sheets so maybe thats why. Millwall found us out, Birmingham didnt, so will be interesting to see what West Brom do. I'm sure they will have a plan for Fellows but they will still have to work Leo out as well. Going to be an open game again. It's been great to watch some of our play recently, long may this continue. UTS 

I hope they don't have video of Saturdays game, which I felt was different to a lot of previous games in the way Fellow got the ball with his back to goal and look to immediately come inside, leaving the full back for dead and causing havoc as he opened up the entire pitch. Time after time he relieved pressure AND got us on the attack. Hopefully they haven't seen this and he can continue to do it. It made a huge difference to our game.

[Midfield_General]

4 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Tonda, Presser

• I did my last coaching badges in Italy. The first thing they talk about is the result, then development and then entertaining
• I prefer to win than be entertaining. Winning is most important
• I would prefer to win ugly than lose beautifully

"Pffft, you'll never get anywhere with a philosophy like that"

[tdmickey3]

4 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

 

Tonda, Presser

 

• Arma is good, all is fine after a knock
• Players are fine and ready to go again
• Quarshie was brought in against Leicester for tactical reasons, not to rest players
• If you look at the table, we are a little far away from top 6
• We need to take 1 game at a time, sounds boring but that is the reality
• Still many many points to play for
• It is important that we declare our ambition for promotion, but we need to back it up on the pitch
• Mason as had an unbelievable journey as a manager
• They have high outputs; it will be an intense game as we must match that
• They are a better team than the table tells us
• They are very physical, and it will not be easy
• I know some of their players, they are very strong
• Their main striker is excellent, very good holding the ball up, very strong
• He likes to attack certain areas in the box, we must defend those areas well
• We are on a 3-goal average now and credit to the boys
• We must improve; we must defend and put it all on the line
• We will need to tweak a few things still
• The desire not to concede on Sat was very pleasing
• I did my last coaching badges in Italy. The first thing they talk about is the result, then development and then entertaining
• I prefer to win than be entertaining, but we want our supporters to enjoy themselves. Winning is most important
• I would prefer to win ugly than lose beautifully
• I talk with Spors daily, and we have a good connection between all levels of the set up
• We have very good conversations; we are happy with the squad for the moment
• Not being the assistant my opinion counts for more. We are looking how to improve and will continue that

So no goalkeeper then.... oh dear

[Chez]

1 hour ago, tdmickey3 said:

So no goalkeeper then.... oh dear

You seriously thought we might sign a keeper in January? I'd be amazed if we did.

Put bluntly, we have already got 3 keepers and we ain't adding another to the considerable keeper wage bill. If one was injured for the rest of the season, then they'd act, but as much as you and a lot of Saints fans want it, the club isn't going to bring in a fourth keeper in January. Come the summer, McCarthy will be out of contract, Long's loan will end and Ramsdale will return, allbeit probably temporarily. This is when the club can and will consider its keeping options. Right now, their hands are pretty tied. We might want better, but we have what we have and we have to make do.

[St Louis]

19 minutes ago, Chez said:

Right now, their hands are pretty tied.

The keepers'? That explains it!

[LGTL]

Looking at Eckert’s comments I wouldn’t be surprised to see Quarshie back in for this. 

[saintant]

32 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Looking at Eckert’s comments I wouldn’t be surprised to see Quarshie back in for this. 

Didn't pick up that vibe to be honest. He was asked about dropping Stephens for Quarshie against Leicester but explained it was to combat the pace of their front three - not sure WBA are as quick up front.

[egg]

1 hour ago, LGTL said:

Looking at Eckert’s comments I wouldn’t be surprised to see Quarshie back in for this. 

I got a sense of that - a big but mobile lump up top possibly leans towards Quarshie. 

[Football Special]

West Brom fans sound a confident bunch , no wonder they're only bringing about 600 fans 

https://www.wbaunofficial.org.uk/showthread.php?tid=39612

[Dark Munster]

4 hours ago, Chez said:

You seriously thought we might sign a keeper in January? I'd be amazed if we did.

Put bluntly, we have already got 3 keepers and we ain't adding another to the considerable keeper wage bill. If one was injured for the rest of the season, then they'd act, but as much as you and a lot of Saints fans want it, the club isn't going to bring in a fourth keeper in January. Come the summer, McCarthy will be out of contract, Long's loan will end and Ramsdale will return, allbeit probably temporarily. This is when the club can and will consider its keeping options. Right now, their hands are pretty tied. We might want better, but we have what we have and we have to make do.

Send that Norwich 5th choice joker back, and replace him with a competent keeper on a 6 month loan.

[Willo of Whiteley]

4-1 win incoming. Very confident 

[Give it to Ron]

Tougher game than a lot are going for on here. Mason is under fire they have good forward and wingers.

Tight game need to finish chances and hopefully push up the table recovering further from the Still 1 win in 12.

[macca155]

3 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

4-1 win incoming. Very confident 

That would do.... 😂

That would give us 30 points with a GD of +8. Looking at the table there is a scenario where that would put us in 6th place. Unlikely obviously, but that would be a hell of a boost this side of Christmas. 

That will give Middlesbrough the shits, with Saints visiting them in 20 days.

Whatever happens this is all moving towards Ipswich and Saints slugging it out for the autos.

Lampard observed a few weeks ago, where the eventual threat would come from. Looks like he was right.

Just love this league, but all hangs on keeping the momentum going.

[Winnersaint]

38 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

4-1 win incoming. Very confident 

Just like some predicted at Millwall, heh! You know how it works?

[Chez]

1 hour ago, Football Special said:

West Brom fans sound a confident bunch , no wonder they're only bringing about 600 fans 

https://www.wbaunofficial.org.uk/showthread.php?tid=39612

for the midlands clubs, we are effectively their longest (least attractive) away trip. They are 'spoiled' in that regard. Lots of closer decent away games. hard core away fans only then. Fair play to anyone who travels midweek.

[Chez]

1 hour ago, Dark Munster said:

Send that Norwich 5th choice joker back, and replace him with a competent keeper on a 6 month loan.

I wouldn't be against it, but from Tonda's point of view, has Baz made mistakes that would have him pressing the board for a replacement? He made a couple of tremendous saves on Saturday. I'd of thought Tonda would be pretty happy with him to be honest. Give it time and that may change.

[Football Special]

16 minutes ago, Chez said:

for the midlands clubs, we are effectively their longest (least attractive) away trip. They are 'spoiled' in that regard. Lots of closer decent away games. hard core away fans only then. Fair play to anyone who travels midweek.

Yep, and now every midweek game is shown on sky it feels inevitable that travelling numbers will decrease, hard to justify the expense and time for a lot of people 

[SW11_Saint]

9 hours ago, tdmickey3 said:

So no goalkeeper then.... oh dear

Not required. 

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

9 hours ago, Football Special said:

West Brom fans sound a confident bunch , no wonder they're only bringing about 600 fans 

https://www.wbaunofficial.org.uk/showthread.php?tid=39612

That corner of the ground is going to look pretty sparse with just a few aways rattling around in there plus the half empty blocks either side. Around 2,000 home tickets still available, looking like around 27k tonight as it stands.

[Harry_SFC]

10 hours ago, Football Special said:

West Brom fans sound a confident bunch , no wonder they're only bringing about 600 fans 

https://www.wbaunofficial.org.uk/showthread.php?tid=39612

Jesus. Everyone on there expecting a hammering. Everyone on here expecting us to hammer them too. 

You know what happens next. 

[LiberalCommunist]

Wild out there today. Stay safe everyone. And hopefully this is gone by kick off. 

[Toussaint]

16 hours ago, tdmickey3 said:

So no goalkeeper then.... oh dear

He couldn’t say anything else really without potentially unsettling certain players. The key phrase is “for the moment”, that gives him a get out as this “moment” is not the January transfer window. 

[Toussaint]

28 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Jesus. Everyone on there expecting a hammering. Everyone on here expecting us to hammer them too. 

You know what happens next. 

It’s a funny one, there are lots of dangerous teams on their day in this league. I’m not taking a win as a forgone conclusion. We tend to struggle with strong powerful teams. 

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

Overdue a draw. 1-1.

[steve green]

1 hour ago, LiberalCommunist said:

Wild out there today. Stay safe everyone. And hopefully this is gone by kick off. 

 

Here in South Wales things are really rocking.

 

Hope the interweb stays up so I can stare at Flashscore for extended periods.

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

It’s a funny one, there are lots of dangerous teams on their day in this league. I’m not taking a win as a forgone conclusion. We tend to struggle with strong powerful teams. 

I don't understand it myself, a win for WBA puts them back above us in the league, it's hardly some crazy mis-match. 

Bookies have us at 4/5 to win seems about right. 

[Scummer]

42 minutes ago, Football Special said:

I don't understand it myself, a win for WBA puts them back above us in the league, it's hardly some crazy mis-match. 

Bookies have us at 4/5 to win seems about right. 

They've lost 6 in a row away, although they've mostly been quite tight games

[Toussaint]

17 minutes ago, Scummer said:

They've lost 6 in a row away, although they've mostly been quite tight games

We specialise in ending losing runs and goal droughts! 

[Miltonaggro]

If we beat WBA by three clear goals we could be in sixth place this evening, overtaking Stoke into the play off positions on goals scored. We would also be only 2 wins off second place Boro with a better goal difference, if they slip up (which is highly doubtful but hope springs eternal).  Remarkable turnaround since Tonka took over.  If we keep our current form into January it could be a very exciting second half of the season. 

Saints 4-1 WBA (Armstrong 2, Azaz, Fellows). 

Edited 11 hours ago by Miltonaggro

[Chez]

3 hours ago, TheAlehouseBrawlers said:

That corner of the ground is going to look pretty sparse with just a few aways rattling around in there plus the half empty blocks either side. Around 2,000 home tickets still available, looking like around 27k tonight as it stands.

Block 29 has been sold out pretty much every week since we opened the stadium. Now its pretty much empty as there is little desire from those Kingsland regulars to sit next to the away fans and the Itchen block 1-3 folks simply have not moved over there. Bit of a shame. I've considered sitting in the Chapel next to the aways but its pretty empty. Is there much banter between the fans over there?

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, Miltonaggro said:

If we beat WBA by three clear goals we could be in sixth place this evening, overtaking Stoke into the play off positions on goals scored. We would also be only 2 points off second place Boro with a better goal difference, if they slip up (which is highly doubtful but hope springs eternal).  Remarkable turnaround since Tonka took over.  If we keep our current form into January it could be a very exciting second half of the season. 

Saints 4-1 WBA (Armstrong 2, Azaz, Fellows). 

We wouldn't as they are currently 9 points ahead of us

[Obstacle1]

11 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

We wouldn't as they are currently 9 points ahead of us

They're being docked 4 points if they lose 

[SaintLondon]

I strangely find the confidence on here uncomfortable - I'm not used to it.. Where is all the doom and gloom that I'm so very au fait with? I actually think it will be a tough game. Mason fighting for his job - I don't think they'll come to play, think they'll play to not lose with a low block and the odd attack on the break. I don't foresee a high scoring game and think it might be bit of a battle in the middle with 1 goal getting the win - either way. 

 

[LuckyNumber7]

We definitely should not be underestimating them. They have some good players and although their away form is poor, most of their defeats have only been by the odd goal. They're only 2 points worse off than us. I'd take a scrappy 1-0 win all night.

[macca155]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

We wouldn't as they are currently 9 points ahead of us

Two wins presumably, point is things change in this league fast.

Edited 10 hours ago by macca155

[Jack]

1 hour ago, SaintLondon said:

I strangely find the confidence on here uncomfortable - I'm not used to it.. Where is all the doom and gloom that I'm so very au fait with? I actually think it will be a tough game. Mason fighting for his job - I don't think they'll come to play, think they'll play to not lose with a low block and the odd attack on the break. I don't foresee a high scoring game and think it might be bit of a battle in the middle with 1 goal getting the win - either way. 

 

Yeah could be anoter new test for Tonda - seeing how he deals with a side that want us to have more of the ball and play on the break. I still feel it’s where we’re most vulnerable, always prone to mistakes from sloppy possession 

[saintant]

BBC weather showing winds easing and rain stopping by kick off - hope they're right for a change.

[Sheaf Saint]

1 hour ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

We definitely should not be underestimating them. They have some good players and although their away form is poor, most of their defeats have only been by the odd goal. They're only 2 points worse off than us. I'd take a scrappy 1-0 win all night.

While this is undeniably true, I think it's fair to say that our current points total and league position are somewhat false, given how we were so obviously being grossly mismanaged for the first dozen or so games under Still. Now that we're playing much more closely to our potential, the difference in quality between the two teams is actually much greater than a 2-point gap suggests.

[Maggie May]

This will be a tough test.  1-3 West Brom.

[DT]

Interesting to see how everyone says both teams to score. Almost a certainty with our flaky keepers, but good for betting, frankly.

I think it will be 1-1 tonight

[Andy Hill]

1-1 seems a good shout.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Maggie May said:

This will be a tough test.  1-3 West Brom.

A tough test you clearly believe is beyond us 🙂

[Saint86]

9 hours ago, Harry_SFC said:

Jesus. Everyone on there expecting a hammering. Everyone on here expecting us to hammer them too. 

You know what happens next. 

Especially with the bad weather - a superb leveller for WBA. Prepare yourselves imo. This has all the makings of an extremely annoying result.

[Maggie May]

23 minutes ago, saintant said:

A tough test you clearly believe is beyond us 🙂

That and Ryan Mason won his first game in charge of Spurs against us. 

[Obstacle1]

All the omens are stacked against us. Is this Tonda's first REAL test?

[Football Special]

8 minutes ago, Obstacle1 said:

All the omens are stacked against us. Is this Tonda's first REAL test?

Yes. Is this his first game on a windy day? That's the real test to see how he manages that 

[saintant]

9 minutes ago, Obstacle1 said:

All the omens are stacked against us. Is this Tonda's first REAL test?

We should win but, as Saints fans, we are rarely confident even when on a good run. A loss or draw would be disappointing but not too damaging to our top six aspirations. Another win and we travel to Carrow Road full of confidence. Think we'll need Scienza and Fellows to be right on their game tonight. More early goals for us please.

[RedWillie]

Club just sent out text offering £10 off tickets for the game.