Norwich 2-1 Saints - Match Thread

[OttawaSaint]

Manning is like the cockwomble you see at 5 a side who managed to ping a perfect curling pass once, and now tries it every time he gets the ball. 

[Osvaldorama]

7 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Zero game management, it doesn’t exist.

We really have 1 way to play and when it doesn’t work Ekhert is clueless 

Can’t really blame Ekhert, been happening for a long time. 
 

I voted for a striker as our more important signing in the transfer window. 
 

I still think if we had a target man that could actually control a football, we’d be a completely different team. 
 

Arma has been good recently but when he fades we offer absolutely nothing. 

[benjii]

Just now, OttawaSaint said:

Manning is like the cockwomble you see at 5 a side who managed to ping a perfect curling pass once, and now tries it every time he gets the ball. 

You know he scored, right?

[James]

Just now, benjii said:

You don't know what would have happened. Are you that stupid, really?

Neither do you. Not really stupid to speculate the game might have gone differently had a bad decision immediately following an equaliser been made correctly.

[Micky]

2 minutes ago, James said:

We played poorly and didn’t deserve to win but we were still cheated out of a point. 

No we weren't, the referee didn't see it, he couldn't give it. None of his assistance saw it either, they couldn't help him.  The player probably didn't even mean to do it, it went from thigh to hand. But even if he did, he did what I'd want all of our players to do to score a goal for us.  We weren't cheated, we played shyte and got what we deserved. 

[Wade Garrett]

5 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Hated that game, felt like Norwich were more streetwise and wanted it more, we're so easy to bully. All the same old weaknesses on display. 

Load of shite from Tonda with really tough run of games now to come. Azaz poor I think, second half we were too easy to defend against. 

I only caught the last few minutes of the game on the radio.  Tessem said that it wasn't Azaz fault and that the team weren't getting the ball to him.  He also questioned Archer's commitment in one passage of play saying he should have sprinted.

 

[benjii]

Just now, James said:

Neither do you. Not really stupid to speculate the game might have gone differently had a bad decision immediately following an equaliser been made correctly.

Well, yes, it would have gone definitely, certainly. What does that have to do with how we actually played? 

[OttawaSaint]

Just now, benjii said:

You know he scored, right?

Yeah, but he's still utterly fucking shit. Can't defend, can't cross, shit corners, can't stop crosses. Blind squirrel.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Fucking nods 😂😂😂

Cheating 😂😂, the ball hit the blokes hand, the way you nods are crying, anyone would think he throw it in the net. 
 

Accidental handball like that was a goal for years and years, and if the ref doesn’t see it, it’s a goal in every English professional, semi professional, and amateur league except the premier one. It’s not cheating, stop fucking crying about it…
 

 

[trousers]

12 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

They've completely outplayed us. There is no "to be fair" about it. And without their best player and top scorer.

My comment was simply in response to you labelling them a "relegation team". Under their new manager I suspect they won't be relegated, ergo my observation that they're probably in a false position right now. I wasn't suggesting they hadn't outplayed us, so not sure where you got that notion from.

[die Mannyschaft]

5 minutes ago, BotleySaint said:

Is anyone still expecting a promotion charge? With Will Still i was just hoping we'd stay up. Now I'm hoping for midtable with a late push for the playoffs. Going straight back up isn't going to do us any favours.. 

No, I still think avoiding relegation is our main priority.

Firstly if Scienza out or not playing well we struggle

Second I'd any other key player out like Fellows then something team struggle

Third If the ball is not in opposition Third most of the game then our defence cant cope.

Forth We have too many slow players.

Oh and add in our subs don't add anything to the game. We have at least 3 players that should have retired by now or dropped a division.

[Jimmy_D]

Just now, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fucking nods 😂😂😂

Cheating 😂😂, the ball hit the blokes hand, the way you nods are crying, anyone would think he throw it in the net. 
 

Accidental handball like that was a goal for years and years, and if the ref doesn’t see it, it’s a goal in every English professional, semi professional, and amateur league except the premier one. It’s not cheating, stop fucking crying about it…
 

 

Did you see his post match interview? Definitely wasn’t accidental.

[rooney]

Fraser kept playing the ball back in the first half. I cannot recall once that he ran down the wing and crossed like Fellows does.Has his legs gone?

[Matthew Le God]

4 minutes ago, benjii said:

So?

It is the reason they scored.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

6 minutes ago, James said:

You’re sure we wouldn’t have held on and yet they didn’t score another goal? Righto. 

What the fuck? Well I hope you stuck your life savings on a one all draw then 

[obelisk]

Another 20 points should see us safe from relegation.

[James]

3 minutes ago, Jimmy_D said:

Did you see his post match interview? Definitely wasn’t accidental.

Clearly not, only us “nods” bothered with that 😂

[die Mannyschaft]

1 minute ago, rooney said:

Fraser kept playing the ball back in the first half. I cannot recall once that he ran down the wing and crossed like Fellows does.Has his legs gone?

As soon as we play the old back or sideways first football then we just help the opposition.  I thought we had advanced from Russell Martin to Russell Martin plus but now taken step back. 

[Turkish]

18 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Don’t talk pony man. They throughly deserved the win. Before you start about a handball, the disallowed one was soft as shite. 

Yep a few will whinge about the handball but that was shit today. No threat at all in the second half and no urgency when chasing the game. We got lucky with the one that was disallowed.

[badgerx16]

1} it wasn't handball because the ref didn't see it. Players cheat in so many ways during a match, the officials, without VAR are never going to see all of it.

2) if it had been Archer scoring that for Saints and we had won, who would be complaining about the ref ?

[benjii]

Watching replays of the first goal. Really crap by Wood on that one too.

[LaptopSaint]

Unlucky not to score after two mins - yeah. Missed pen - yeah. Handball - yeah. Leo kicked all over the park - yeah. 
But that second half was as bad as we’ve been all season. No pressure on Norwich at all after they went 2-1 up. Load of shite. 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by LaptopSaint

[benjii]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

It is the reason they scored.

Why are you isolating one link in a causal chain? 

I recommend reading some Hume.

[Football Special]

14 minutes ago, Turkish said:

It was. It was an absolute mess at the back, outrun in midfield and no threat at all second half. The amount of time they had to put crosses in beggared belief. 

I was fuming on Tuesday night at the 2nd half performance vs WBA and it was more of the same today, looked so disorganised and mentally weak 

Can add today to our away disasters at Hull, Bristol City,, Blackburn and Millwall , all great examples of calamity defending and lack of character in the squad 

 

[Sheaf Saint]

Just now, benjii said:

Watching replays of the first goal. Really crap by Wood on that one too.

And Manning too. Just jogging about in the box marking nobody, like he does far too often.

[Adkins' Bus]

So frustrating. We never stop a cross and we are so weak defending them. First goal Manning nowhere to be seen, 3 CBS and still no one can get in front of their lone striker. Second goal a hopeful punt, lost the first header, slow to the second ball. 

We finally take a CB off for a midfielder and somehow still end up with 5 at the back. Unbelievable. 

We are capable of some great attacking play, but we can't always be on it and score 3 goals. Particularly away from home we will come under spells of pressure and we just can't handle it. So weak at the back. 

Fair play to Norwich, they got tight, fought for every ball, were strong and physical and we couldn't cope with it. 

[die Mannyschaft]

2 minutes ago, obelisk said:

Another 20 points should see us safe from relegation.

At least we don't have to worry about relegation too much. Tonda is at the wheel but we don't have any spare wheels when we get a puncture at Norwich early second half

[Mboto Gorge]

What exactly is he saying to them at half time? We come out a yard slower than the opposition every single fucking game after the break and it’s becoming a huge problem, and because of this the writing was on the wall at half time when we went in 0-0.
 

No surprise at all to see us on the back foot and concede almost immediately from the restart. Does he actually have a plan for the second half in these games or not? If so, what instructions is he actually giving them?
 

It seems to me that he’s probably just at saying “‘more of the same please , keep going lads”, without giving any motivation for them to up their game at all: it’s driving me fucking mad and is a huge worry. There is a huge huge drop off in urgency and pace of our play after the break. He seems to have fuck all in game management , which is hardly a surprise given he’s not managed before.

Edited 8 hours ago by Mboto Gorge

[benjii]

Just now, Mboto Gorge said:

What exactly is he saying to them at half time? We come out a yard slower than the opposition every single fucking game after the break and it’s becoming a huge problem, and because of this the writing was on the wall at half time when we went in 0-0. No surprise at all to see on the back foot and concede almost immediately from the restart. Does he actually have a plan for the second half in these games or not? If so, what instructions is he actually giving them? It seems to me that he’s probably just at saying “‘more the same please , keep going lads”, without giving any motivation for them to up the game at all: it’s driving me fucking mad and is a huge worry. He seems to have fuck all in game management , which is hardly a surprise given he’s not managed before.

I feel like he puts some Ketamine in their Monster.

[Disco Stu]

14 minutes ago, BotleySaint said:

Is anyone still expecting a promotion charge? With Will Still i was just hoping we'd stay up. Now I'm hoping for midtable with a late push for the playoffs. Going straight back up isn't going to do us any favours.. 

I'm expecting a top 6 finish. Anything less would be a gross underachievement.

[SNSUN]

Essentially some things should be noted.

Fellows is key to our attacking success.

AA can take a good penalty but not always.

Defence needs improving. 

Eckert needs to work on his game plan.

We need better squad players. 

Plus some other stuff that I'm too tipsy to think about. 

[Wade Garrett]

5 minutes ago, die Mannyschaft said:

As soon as we play the old back or sideways first football then we just help the opposition.  I thought we had advanced from Russell Martin to Russell Martin plus but now taken step back. 

As far as I'm concerned, unless it's game management and we're winning, it's players cheating.  Too easy, that's why they liked Russell Martin - that and all the days off he gave them.  They need a rocket up their arses.

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

Merry Christmas Pompey.

[tdmickey3]

Who is looking forward to Coventry

[badgerx16]

1 minute ago, Wade Garrett said:

As far as I'm concerned, unless it's game management and we're winning, it's players cheating.  Too easy, that's why they liked Russell Martin - that and all the days off he gave them.  They need a rocket up their arses.

Which Tonda ain't going to give them.

[M271]

We were definitely below par today. unfortunately Norwich we’re in our faces with high energy, I thought that they would drop off in the last quarter of the match but credit to them that their fitness level allowed them to keep it up for 90+ minutes.

Things that have been going our way lately weren’t today, 50/50 balls, passing accuracy, shots (in first half) off not on target, missed penalty, opposition getting the rub of the green with handball goal. Every team gets games like this but it was concerning how Norwich managed to control the game and hurry us out of possession time and time again.

[S-Clarke]

Back to back defeats away from home, some really worrying signs and some regression back the 'old days' showing across the entire team, it was like nothing had actually changed.

1st half we started fast, as we do, but we didn't get that slice of luck/score the pen and put the game to bed, and we clearly need to score 3 or more goals to win a game with our GK and Defenders, but that's not realistic to achieve every week.

Second half was utter abject, honestly. Defensively, especially from Wood, who was an absolute mess. He really isn't much cop, let's be honest. Leo providing the only real drive through the attacking third, everyone else simply not on it. The regression in quality when we play Fraser is so glaring, you kind of feel sorry for him.

The subs and how he switched it was a bit wtf - I didn't understand what he was trying to do. Wellington and Manning both over on the left side, why? The lack of ability to influence a game when required is continuing to haunt Tonda it has to be said. Ultimately the blueprint to beat us remains the same - press us high, hit the ball long. Ultimately I think we've benefited from some abject Charlton/Wednesday/Leicester sides not pressing or hitting it long. The fear we just hit a purple patch continues in my mind.

Edited 8 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Wade Garrett]

Just now, badgerx16 said:

Which Tonda ain't going to give them.

Maybe he needs an experienced assistant who will get in their faces then.

[Football Special]

5 minutes ago, Stripey McStripe Shirt said:

Merry Christmas Pompey.

Said after the game today that's exactly the sort of performance I can see this weak as piss bunch of players putting in at Fratton Park 

[Katalinic]

1 minute ago, Football Special said:

Said after the game today that's exactly the sort of performance I can see this weak as piss bunch of players putting in at Fratton Park 

100% - too many without any backbone when it gets slightly difficult.

[Mboto Gorge]

7 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Back to back defeats away from home, some really worrying signs and some regression back the 'old days' showing across the entire team, it was like nothing had actually changed.

1st half we started fast, as we do, but we didn't get that slice of luck/score the pen and put the game to bed, and we clearly need to score 3 or more goals to win a game with our GK and Defenders, but that's not realistic to achieve every week.

Second half was utter abject, honestly. Defensively, especially from Wood, who was an absolute mess. He really isn't much cop, let's be honest. Leo providing the only real drive through the attacking third, everyone else simply not on it. The regression in quality when we play Fraser is so glaring, you kind of feel sorry for him.

The subs and how he switched it was a bit wtf - I didn't understand what he was trying to do. Wellington and Manning both over on the left side, why? The lack of ability to influence a game when required is continuing to haunt Tonda it has to be said. Ultimately the blueprint to beat us remains the same - press us high, hit the ball long. Ultimately I think we've benefited from some abject Charlton/Wednesday/Leicester sides not pressing or hitting it long. The fear we just hit a purple patch continues in my mind.

Yep there’s no way we are going to get top 6 this season based on what I’ve seen through patterns in each game and playing horrifically for 50% of many games, even some that we’ve won. Couple that with a manager just starting out who’s been schooled by several managers after half time, and it just ain’t happening; 9th or 10th is most likely . Just nice that we’ve gotten  these recent points on the board to take any pressure off at the wrong end of the table 

Edited 8 hours ago by Mboto Gorge

[AlexLaw76]

No matter who is on the pitch, we don’t stop many crosses these days

[Football Special]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

No matter who is on the pitch, we don’t stop many crosses these days

And when the cross comes in none of the three centre backs take charge, just get in each other's way or leave it for each other 

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

No matter who is on the pitch, we don’t stop many crosses these days

Yep basic stuff and we barely bother 

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

No matter who is on the pitch, we don’t stop many crosses these days

With Fraser as RWB we were never going to do that, same with Fellows really. We're playing with wingers at RB at the moment.

And Manning, well he's manning. He's incapable of defending as we all know. 

Could do with a LB and the return of Mads. Remain entirely underwhelmed by Wellington.

[Football Special]

3 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

With Fraser as RWB we were never going to do that, same with Fellows really. We're playing with wingers at RB at the moment.

And Manning, well he's manning. He's incapable of defending as we all know. 

Could do with a LB and the return of Mads. Remain entirely underwhelmed by Wellington.

Mads has been shite as well let's be honest 

[S-Clarke]

7 minutes ago, Mboto Gorge said:

Yep there’s no way we are going to get top 6 this season based on what I’ve seen through patterns in each game and playing horrifically for 50% of many games, even some that we’ve won. Couple that with a manager just starting out who’s been schooled by several managers after half time, and it just ain’t happening; 9th or 10th is most likely . Just nice that we’ve gotten  these recent points on the board to take any pressure off at the wrong end of the table 

Sadly how I see it, we won't go anywhere near the top 2 at any stage this time round, which given we've spent £50m is absolutely nowhere near acceptable. We'll be in contention for the playoffs right until the end I think, but once we come up against the sides we're in there with I think we'll slip away.

[AlexLaw76]

Not a chance for top 2

be lucky to make top 6 IMo

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Football Special said:

Mads has been shite as well let's be honest 

Yeah he has been quite underwhelming it has to be said, surprising really. I thought he was better than what we've seen.

[Harry_SFC]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

With Fraser as RWB we were never going to do that, same with Fellows really. We're playing with wingers at RB at the moment.

And Manning, well he's manning. He's incapable of defending as we all know. 

Could do with a LB and the return of Mads. Remain entirely underwhelmed by Wellington.

Manning gets away with it because he scores a few goals. As a defender he is probably the worst in the whole league.