Saints 2-1 Leicester - Match Thread

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

I went to the game today very scrappy but obvious to see that Leicester were poor.

Saints were disjointed at times but definitely grew into the game.

Digba looks lively absolutely skinned a Leicester player at one point and ran down the wing. 

Larin got a match in, so good for fitness. 

Archer.....somethings not right. He looks shot.

[rallyboy]

41 minutes ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

 

Archer.....somethings not right. He looks shot.

He's certainly suffering some problem but I'm not sure it's a gunshot wound, unless it's self inflicted and he was aiming elsewhere?

 

Great to see academy players stepping up and doing themselves proud.

Edited 19 hours ago by rallyboy

[macca155]

2 hours ago, Pilchards said:

How come around 3k left on 90 minutes?

Itchen almost totally disappeared in numbers!

I know I nipped down to get some teas and was nearly swept away on the stairs, by an avalanche of early leavers.

Bet the crowd will be different when we draw City at home

[die Mannyschaft]

Decent enough entertainment and a win. We now know not all Saints players are walking g sideways. Some very good dribbling skills on show albeit quite a few ended up going nowhere. 

#9 looks good and can hold the ball up and score a pen.

Players on line to clear and some decent closing down and blocking at times. 

Again as all season it a disjointed hotch pitch of misfits with no real plan.

But I'm not bothered anymore as long as its a win, 3 points or a draw.

Decent atmosphere again with smaller crowd, good singing at station (lcfc very quite) and on train to Eastleigh 

[Maury Dyer]

Whatever else happens this season; happy happy two games this week. Fuck off back to Leicester you Vardy, mardy cunts.

and hopefully, league one.

[die Mannyschaft]

52 minutes ago, rallyboy said:

He's certainly suffering some problem but I'm not sure it's a gunshot wound, unless it's self inflicted and he was aiming elsewhere?

 

Great to see academy players stepping up and doing themselves proud.

He doesn't look like a forward more like a defender told to play up front. Touch is terrible, control and awareness.  Was he due to leave in window? Maybe he's waiting for loan transfer. Who knows.

[die Mannyschaft]

1 hour ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

I went to the game today very scrappy but obvious to see that Leicester were poor.

Saints were disjointed at times but definitely grew into the game.

Digba looks lively absolutely skinned a Leicester player at one point and ran down the wing. 

Larin got a match in, so good for fitness. 

Archer.....somethings not right. He looks shot.

Archer.....somethings not right. He looks shot.

He looks exactly the same as me when playing football at 63. At least I know I can get a trail at Saints next week.

[Whitey Grandad]

55 minutes ago, die Mannyschaft said:

Archer.....somethings not right. He looks shot.

He looks exactly the same as me when playing football at 63. At least I know I can get a trail at Saints next week.

I think he's too tense. Maybe he feels under pressure. 

[manji]

9 hours ago, tdmickey3 said:

Who can we put on instead Archer

Seriously shut the fuck up.

[bpsaint]

9 hours ago, Pilchards said:

How come around 3k left on 90 minutes?

Itchen almost totally disappeared in numbers!

Wonder if they didn’t get the memo about replays being scrapped and assumed it was going to end 1-1?

[austsaint]

Many things I enjoyed about that cup tie.   The performances of Edozie and Romeu showed they both have something to offer in the run home.  Whether it was a shop window for Edozie or not, if he wanted to stay at the Club beyond this season it would be no bad thing.  Matsuki was good again - he’s full of energy, presses well and has a good range of passing.  Bree is rightly getting praised at RB since his return but Jelert showed he is an accomplished player capable of pushing for a place.   Really enjoyed Bragg’s game; he paired well with Romeu for the first hour and then revelled, leading the midfield with his peers around him.    Which brings me to the favourite part of the game -  Tonda bringing on a number of Academy lads while King countered by bringing on senior player after senior player.   Made the win all the more satisfying.    Suddenly there’s a lot to look forward to and a lot to play for.

[St Chalet]

Good win for the Tondbola

[Tom & Gerry]

I know nothing Archerb did went right but I'm not going to jeer any player who puts in that much effort however badly he plays.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

6 minutes ago, Tom & Gerry said:

I know nothing Archerb did went right but I'm not going to jeer any player who puts in that much effort however badly he plays.

Yes, effort was there but looks like he has no confidence and nothing is working. 

 

[egg]

2 minutes ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

Yes, effort was there but looks like he has no confidence and nothing is working. 

 

That's exactly it. There's a player in there, and Tonda clearly wanted him to get some minutes in, and boost his confidence. Playing him off the big man should have taken the pressure off a bit as well. Fair to say it didn't go well. 

[Sheaf Saint]

15 minutes ago, Tom & Gerry said:

I know nothing Archerb did went right but I'm not going to jeer any player who puts in that much effort however badly he plays.

I also would never jeer a player like that - that's not cool. But I take issue with your claim of "that much effort" in this instance. He looked half-arsed to me.

He didn't make enough of a nuisance of himself, making it far too easy for Leicester players to dispossess and/or play around him, and more than once he pulled out of a 50/50 that he could/should have won.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

14 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

I also would never jeer a player like that - that's not cool. But I take issue with your claim of "that much effort" in this instance. He looked half-arsed to me.

He didn't make enough of a nuisance of himself, making it far too easy for Leicester players to dispossess and/or play around him, and more than once he pulled out of a 50/50 that he could/should have won.

Yes agreed. Effort wasn't lacking but equally it wasn't focused and it showed. 

[Charlie Wayman]

No doubt Eckert will bask in the glory of this win and the impact of the U21 lads, who were managed by him once but in truth he is a very lucky boy indeed. He picked a side to lose the match. no doubt about that but the stiffs confounded his plan by playing out of their skins and pulling off an unlikely victory.

One hopes that in triumph there will be more than a touch of humility on his part as well, recognising that this was a player's victory and not the result of some master technician's devious plan.

[Mr X]

2 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

No doubt Eckert will bask in the glory of this win and the impact of the U21 lads, who were managed by him once but in truth he is a very lucky boy indeed. He picked a side to lose the match. no doubt about that but the stiffs confounded his plan by playing out of their skins and pulling off an unlikely victory.

One hopes that in triumph there will be more than a touch of humility on his part as well, recognising that this was a player's victory and not the result of some master technician's devious plan.

Ain't that the truth 

[UpweySaint]

11 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

No doubt Eckert will bask in the glory of this win and the impact of the U21 lads, who were managed by him once but in truth he is a very lucky boy indeed. He picked a side to lose the match. no doubt about that but the stiffs confounded his plan by playing out of their skins and pulling off an unlikely victory.

One hopes that in triumph there will be more than a touch of humility on his part as well, recognising that this was a player's victory and not the result of some master technician's devious plan.

No chance. He picked a weakened side to rest players and give others minutes - when you do that you accept you are less likely to win but it’s clearly not the same as sending a team out to lose. 
 

Tonda gets some things right and plenty wrong but it’s bizarre how some seem determined to blame him for everything that goes wrong yet dismiss anything that goes right as pure dumb luck or being on the players alone. 

 

[obelisk]

Have to say that the extra time performance with all those youngsters doing so well certainly confounded my expectations - and probably Eckert's too. Certainly offered us a positive insight into the future.

It's going to be Norwich away next up isn't it?

[badgerx16]

If Tonda intended to lose why were so many first team squad players on the pitch ?

[Lymington Saint]

Thought the selection yesterday was fine and Tonda Eckert will have learned a lot. Felt like watching a pre season friendly. Good to see he persisted with 4 at the back. Had to give Archer another game but doubt we will see him again.

[tdmickey3]

11 hours ago, manji said:

Seriously shut the fuck up.

Oohhhhh

Prissy tart

Just wanted to check when the greatest era in our era starts because you said It was going to be just that.

Based on the above, it’s you that need to shut the fuck up

Edited 5 hours ago by tdmickey3

[coalman]

Can we change the thread title to "Saints 2-1 LOLcester", please? 

[Maggie May]

1 hour ago, obelisk said:

Have to say that the extra time performance with all those youngsters doing so well certainly confounded my expectations - and probably Eckert's too. Certainly offered us a positive insight into the future.

It's going to be Norwich away next up isn't it?

Yeah it’ll be a shite one. I think we’ll get Man City. 

[davefizzy14]

Into the next round, get in! 😊

It was the perfect day yesterday, resting key players and giving some of our academy graduates opportunities. Bragg was absolutely exceptional yesterday 😊 my motm. He is so good. Alongside him, Romeu was everywhere, he is getting sharper which is fantastic to see 😊 Larin was strong and took his penalty so well 😊 Manning was excellent for me, winning tackles and getting the assist for Bree's header 😊 Quarshie and Wood were solid as was Jelert 😊 Long made some important stops. Edozie looked good and won the penalty 😊  Matsuki  good too 😊 Archer worked hard 😊 Azaz showd his class when he came on 😊 Barnaby Williams, Oyekunle and Dibaga all impressed when they came on which was so good to see 😊 Tonda got everything perfectly set up 😊

Edited 6 hours ago by davefizzy14

[Give it to Ron]

55 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Oohhhhh

Prissy tart

Just wanted to check when the greatest era in our era starts because you said I was going to be just that.

Based on the above, it’s you that need to shut the fuck up

Can’t we just enjoy 6 unbeaten? Not all can be fluked I wanted someone more experienced but we are stuck with Tonda for a while as he learns on the job.

Im more concerned with recruitment and why after severely trimming down the squad we have to get in a Warrington keeper and not one better than Long anywhere in Europe . Financially in trouble or selling?

Edited 6 hours ago by Give it to Ron

[Give it to Ron]

22 minutes ago, Maggie May said:

Yeah it’ll be a shite one. I think we’ll get Man City. 

Will be Liverpool away yet again 🙂

[Badger]

11 hours ago, Maury Dyer said:

Whatever else happens this season; happy happy two games this week. Fuck off back to Leicester you Vardy, mardy cunts.

and hopefully, league one.

We were lucky. 
 

Grow up ! 
 

(said in jest on behalf of an imbecile in Leicester) 

Edited 6 hours ago by Badger

[Badger]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

No doubt Eckert will bask in the glory of this win and the impact of the U21 lads, who were managed by him once but in truth he is a very lucky boy indeed. He picked a side to lose the match. no doubt about that but the stiffs confounded his plan by playing out of their skins and pulling off an unlikely victory.

One hopes that in triumph there will be more than a touch of humility on his part as well, recognising that this was a player's victory and not the result of some master technician's devious plan.

The only interview I’ve heard with Blackmore on BBC he praises the youngsters and doesn’t attempt to take the glory. 
 

He mentions that he’d worked closely with Bragg as captain of the U21’s. Nothing wrong with that, it was just said to reinforce the confidence he had in him.

 

[LordHester]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

No doubt Eckert will bask in the glory of this win and the impact of the U21 lads, who were managed by him once but in truth he is a very lucky boy indeed. He picked a side to lose the match. no doubt about that but the stiffs confounded his plan by playing out of their skins and pulling off an unlikely victory.

One hopes that in triumph there will be more than a touch of humility on his part as well, recognising that this was a player's victory and not the result of some master technician's devious plan.

Jesus. If you get that little joy out of the game, why do you bother? 

[swedish dave]

15 hours ago, macca155 said:

Grumpy about extra time, made me late for my curry.

Great run out for the U21s, who equipped themselves well. There is some real talent there. Williams came on for the excellent Romeu and looked very good. Very strong in the tackle and always available.

Oyekunle was equally a handful. Saints don't need to keep buying players, the future is right there under their noses.    Bragg showed his class, keeping him out of the 1st team will be difficult now.

 

Good points well-made macca,  We are regularly producing young talents, but while the Championship may

be attainable for teenagers, the Prem. level is often a league too high, but nevertheless very encouraging.

re: Bragg.  IF...any truth in the rumours about foreign interest in Casper Jander, his spot will be up for grabs.

[swedish dave]

3 hours ago, Tom & Gerry said:

I know nothing Archer did went right but I'm not going to jeer any player who puts in that much effort however badly he plays.

Jeering is a very poor reaction when it's your own player you're abusing. 

Credit to Tonda for persevering with him, but he doesn't seem to "fit " the formation we play.

There are often long periods when I forget that he's on the pitch, but I'm sure there is a footballer

in there somewhere, perhaps he needs the right move for him to see his best.

[tdmickey3]

33 minutes ago, swedish dave said:

Jeering is a very poor reaction when it's your own player you're abusing. 

Credit to Tonda for persevering with him, but he doesn't seem to "fit " the formation we play.

There are often long periods when I forget that he's on the pitch, but I'm sure there is a footballer

in there somewhere, perhaps he needs the right move for him to see his best.

Sorry but there is no credit for persevering with Archer, he has had chance after chance and more than Downs.

If a player is clearly not up to the job he should not play, we are not an experiment, we are a team trying to win football matches and Archer does not aid that in anyway 

[coalman]

11 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

Sorry but there is no credit for persevering with Archer, he has had chance after chance and more than Downs.

If a player is clearly not up to the job he should not play, we are not an experiment, we are a team trying to win football matches and Archer does not aid that in anyway 

I think that part of the problem with Saints over reliance on bad statistics is that we treat players as stat generating machines rather than individuals with strengths and weaknesses. So we move them around interchangeably and play to a team system rather than to the players' strengths then are surprised when we don't get the most out of them. 

Archer is very much affected by this as was Armstrong this season. Playing someone whose strength has always been playing off the shoulder for through balls and expecting them to win balls leading the line and get on the end of the crosses that we built a  team to supply is naive at best. Add to that, the fact that we chopped and changed our attackers constantly for the first half of the season and it's easy to see how any player is going to be played out of form or demoralised.

It also makes bringing new players into the side harder because they're coming into an unsettled side where they're going to struggle to make an impact and where we were (up until the start of January) inviting teams to come and play in our half without any kind of out ball to relieve pressure. It's made our attacking players look a lot worse than they actually are.

That's not saying I think we should persist with Archer. We've burned that bridge pretty thoroughly to the extent I don't think he can succeed at Southampton any more and based on his current form he's a liability we can't afford unless there are no other options available.

Edited 5 hours ago by coalman

[Chez]

I enjoyed the game. It wasn't the highest quality and there was very little goalmouth action, but it was great to see the wider squad and young guys coming through. The tickets were cheap, so had no excuses with watching the reserves. I'd of put out a wide like that if I was Tonda, although I thought he might gives Charles some more playing time as he has been coming back from injury. 

There were some negatives. Archer looked poor. His first touch is just not good enough when space is tight. He looks like a league 1 player to me. I thought Jelert looked lightweight. He was extremely passive and nowhere near strong enough for the championship. He improved in the second half, and to be fair Mavadidi didn't expose him but I've no idea who thought he was a better option than Bree. I wasn't impressed by Romeu. He looked slow and can see why he isn't making matchday squads. The same can be said of Long. He isnt good enough for the Championship

The positives though outweighed the negatives. The two centre backs looked pretty solid. Bragg looked at home at this level. I was disappointed when Edozie went off. He was exciting and a handful. Azaz continue to show his quality and Larin did some good things before fading. I really liked O'Brien-Whitmarsh when he came on. 

I liked Aluko for them. Not sure how strong he is defensively, but he's a very talented player with the ball.

Edited 1 hour ago by Chez

[BarberSaint]

7 minutes ago, Chez said:

I enjoyed the game. It wasn't the highest quality and there was very little goalmouth action, but it was great to see the wider squad and young guys coming through. The tickets were cheap, so had no excuses with watching the reserves. I'd of put out a wide like that if I was Tonda, although I thought he might gives Charles some more playing time as he has been coming back from injury. 

There were some negatives. Archer looked poor. His first touch is just not good enough when space is tight. He looks like a league 1 player to me. I thought Jelert looked lightweight. He was extremely passive and nowhere near strong enough for the championship. He improved in the second half, and to be fair Mavadidi didn't expose him but I've no idea who thought he was a better option than Bree. I wasn't impressed by Romeu. He looked slow and can see why he isn't making matchday squads. The same can be said of Long. He isnt good enough for the Championship

The positives though outweighed the negatives. The two centre backs looked pretty solid. Bragg looked at home at this level. I was disappointed when Edozie went off. He was exciting and a handful. Azaz continue to show his quality and Larin did some good things before fading. I really liked O'Brien-Whitmarsh when he came on. 

Care to elucidate?

[saintwbu]

One thing I noticed with all the youngsters is that with probably the exception of Bragg, they all look quite physically imposing - even Jay Robinson is a big lad too. Clearly something the club has been focusing on beyond just the senior team. Bragg was superb, so clearly being a bit smaller isn’t going to stop him!

[BARCELONASAINT]

With the way the Cup results have gone today it is highly likely with our luck we will be drawn away to one of Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea or Newcastle