Saints 1-2 Hull - Match Thread

[saints-til-i-die]

This is on Spors. He recruited a young cb when we were crying out for experience/leader to help THB/Wood. He didn’t sort the gk issue in the summer. He signed Downs when we were crying out for a decent striker. He obsesses over signing young players with potential resell value and ignored experience/proven quality. To top it off he gave us a young manager who looked out of his depth so when he inevitably sacked him he gave us another young manager with no managerial experience. The man is a fraud. Spors has presided over this disaster.

[obelisk]

I was maybe half joking during the Christmas period that we were likely to be caught up in a relegation struggle but that performance yesterday against a patched up Hull side has me wondering where on earth a win is coming from. I have no confidence in getting a result against Sheffield United and this lot are very likely to be an embarrassment at Fratton Park in a week's time. Lose those two and we're really in a dog fight at the wrong end of the table with a Saints team that show no fight at all. Very worrying and yet another mess of a season under SR.

[Katalinic]

14 minutes ago, saints-til-i-die said:

This is on Spors. He recruited a young cb when we were crying out for experience/leader to help THB/Wood. He didn’t sort the gk issue in the summer. He signed Downs when we were crying out for a decent striker. He obsesses over signing young players with potential resell value and ignored experience/proven quality. To top it off he gave us a young manager who looked out of his depth so when he inevitably sacked him he gave us another young manager with no managerial experience. The man is a fraud. Spors has presided over this disaster.

It's the whole Sport Republic model. They want to emulate Brighton, the difference being that Brighton are good at it.

[a1ex2001]

10 minutes ago, Katalinic said:

It's the whole Sport Republic model. They want to emulate Brighton, the difference being that Brighton are good at it.

The difference being Brighton have got lucky so far, they will eventually struggle as maintaining that level of success in the transfer market while selling your best players is impossible long term.

Our club is a mess though, clearly the board are dictating this 3/5 at the back nonsense and think they are smarter than everyone else when it comes to gambling on young managers and inexperienced players.  I’d love us to appoint a manager who talks about winning games and fill out the team with one or two senior players (not the totally past it types we have been picking up)

[64saint]

Maybe Eckert's wife should have given the team talk.  Obviously worked for Man Utd with Carrick if Roy Keane is to be believed. 🙄

[Katalinic]

7 minutes ago, a1ex2001 said:

The difference being Brighton have got lucky so far, they will eventually struggle as maintaining that level of success in the transfer market while selling your best players is impossible long term.

Our club is a mess though, clearly the board are dictating this 3/5 at the back nonsense and think they are smarter than everyone else when it comes to gambling on young managers and inexperienced players.  I’d love us to appoint a manager who talks about winning games and fill out the team with one or two senior players (not the totally past it types we have been picking up)

Brighton are incredibly well run from top to bottom (I do have some personal insight into that). There will always be a degree of luck in transfers of course but they get it consistently right which is no coincidence and they have their core supporting structures spot on.

Saints couldn't be further from that sadly - we are run by a team of desperate gamblers at a roulette wheel.

Edited 1 hour ago by Katalinic

[Saint Billy]

I am literally done with this lot. Give me a shout when we have a side worth supporting, and that comes from someone who has supported saints since the age of six and is not 69.

[Gloucester Saint]

14 minutes ago, Saint Billy said:

I am literally done with this lot. Give me a shout when we have a side worth supporting, and that comes from someone who has supported saints since the age of six and is not 69.

I’m nearer 50 but yes, feel exactly the same. 

[Gloucester Saint]

2 hours ago, Hamwic said:

The current fashion of appointing a head coach rather than a manager is the cause of such malaise. On the whole they are not man managers, leaving the players rudderless. They also have little or no control over signings. Add to that the fact we have no real leadership on the pitch and you have much of the real reasons we are in our current situation. 

💯 and the players as a result don’t respect them. Saints are an extreme example but you can see it at loads of clubs. A player typically signed on a 5 year contract thinks ‘If I don’t like you there will probably be at least 8-9 managers during my contract if I’m here for the duration so I’ll sack it off and the owners will bring someone else in’.

[Stud mark of doom]

39 minutes ago, a1ex2001 said:

The difference being Brighton have got lucky so far, they will eventually struggle as maintaining that level of success in the transfer market while selling your best players is impossible long term.

Our club is a mess though, clearly the board are dictating this 3/5 at the back nonsense and think they are smarter than everyone else when it comes to gambling on young managers and inexperienced players.  I’d love us to appoint a manager who talks about winning games and fill out the team with one or two senior players (not the totally past it types we have been picking up)

Starting to think that this formation has been selected to optimise individual player stats and resale value and, much like our transfer policy, winning games of football isn’t the point. 
 

[Osvaldorama]

Feel the same. 
 

Horrific yesterday. As bad as when we went to league one before, but with even more expensive and unlikeable players with no connection to the fans whatsoever. 
 

It’s all feels basically pointless until SR leave. Even if he pumps in more cash, they’ll waste it all over & over. 

[benjii]

I'm not 69 either.

[Gloucester Saint]

2 minutes ago, benjii said:

I'm not 69 either.

But you’d like to be (not as in age) 😉

[saintant]

56 minutes ago, a1ex2001 said:

The difference being Brighton have got lucky so far, they will eventually struggle as maintaining that level of success in the transfer market while selling your best players is impossible long term.

Our club is a mess though, clearly the board are dictating this 3/5 at the back nonsense and think they are smarter than everyone else when it comes to gambling on young managers and inexperienced players.  I’d love us to appoint a manager who talks about winning games and fill out the team with one or two senior players (not the totally past it types we have been picking up)

I don't think it is a matter of luck. Their owner uses a secret algorithm that identifies potential signings by analysing various metrics and betting markets helping them find undervalued talents. People may deride this method but it works for them far better then our feeble efforts to copy Moneyball. Brighton are far more switched on at doing what they are doing than we are. They will likely continue to unearth unknown players who they buy cheap and turn huge profits on. Others may think it will inevitably crash but I'm not so sure.

[saintant]

24 minutes ago, Stud mark of doom said:

Starting to think that this formation has been selected to optimise individual player stats and resale value and, much like our transfer policy, winning games of football isn’t the point. 
 

If it's been selected to optimise player resale values they clearly need to take a sledgehammer to it.

[bangkoksaint]

50 minutes ago, Saint Billy said:

I am literally done with this lot. Give me a shout when we have a side worth supporting, and that comes from someone who has supported saints since the age of six and is not 69.

Me too. I’m a regular, or was. Simply not throwing my time and money at them anymore. If we were entertaining and the team were giving 100% then different matter, but they’re not. I don’t think I’ve seen such unprofessionalism in 50 years of supporting this club
 

[Football Special]

10 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Bree has been training and playing regularly at Charlton, will he have returned by then?

 

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones confirmed they will be losing James Bree’s services - with the on-loan Southampton defender making his farewell appearance in today’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United at The Valley.

The 28-year-old was replaced at the start of the second half as the Addicks looked to attack opposition reduced to nine men after red cards for Djibril Soumare and Japhet Tanganga.

Tyreece Campbell came on to replace Bree at left wing-back.

James Bree made his 19th appearance for Charlton in today’s victory against Sheffield United/Picture: Keith Gillard

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert confirmed this week that he wanted to add Bree to his squad. His predecessor Will Still had been happy to let the player, out of contract in the summer, head to SE7.

“The nice thing is that I think with James, you have an opportunity,” said Eckert. “He can play as a half-back, he can play as a full-back, and he has now played as a wing-back a lot.

“There are not many players who have that profile and feel comfortable in all of those positions. Defending inside, defending outside, but also have the physical capacity to get up the pitch.

“I think it’s different from a player that comes into a completely new group. But of course, we need to get a feeling for each other. We will meet on Monday and see where we’re at.”

Edited 14 minutes ago by Football Special

[obelisk]

11 minutes ago, Football Special said:

 

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones confirmed they will be losing James Bree’s services - with the on-loan Southampton defender making his farewell appearance in today’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United at The Valley.

The 28-year-old was replaced at the start of the second half as the Addicks looked to attack opposition reduced to nine men after red cards for Djibril Soumare and Japhet Tanganga.

Tyreece Campbell came on to replace Bree at left wing-back.

James Bree made his 19th appearance for Charlton in today’s victory against Sheffield United/Picture: Keith Gillard

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert confirmed this week that he wanted to add Bree to his squad. His predecessor Will Still had been happy to let the player, out of contract in the summer, head to SE7.

“The nice thing is that I think with James, you have an opportunity,” said Eckert. “He can play as a half-back, he can play as a full-back, and he has now played as a wing-back a lot.

“There are not many players who have that profile and feel comfortable in all of those positions. Defending inside, defending outside, but also have the physical capacity to get up the pitch.

“I think it’s different from a player that comes into a completely new group. But of course, we need to get a feeling for each other. We will meet on Monday and see where we’re at.”

Smacks of desperation.