Saints 3-1 Swansea - Match Thread

[swedish dave]

6 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

Blatant push on Leo.

and the Swansea penalty looked pretty soft, whereas Leo was clearly pushed, but the defender

got away with it as the ref. didn't see it from his position.

[Totton Saint]

17 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Well, that was enjoyable. Three great goals, and for all their possession we didn't really let them create anything of note from open play. Their penalty was soft. 

Schlotterbeck, Azaz, Leo and Larin were all fantastic tonight but wow, what a game from Downes. He was absolutely immense, I think that's one of the best games I've seen him have for us. He was everywhere, and provided a real attacking threat as well as winning everything. Really, really impressed by him tonight. 

Need to keep it going with another home win on Saturday and then we'll be in a great position going into the break. 

Well done boys

I totally agree. He was inspirational.

[Mr X]

6 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Bree's was a shirt tug.

Yes but both blatent fouls is what I'm getting at 

[Totton Saint]

The way the team congratulated each other after each Saints goal, and especially after the final whistle, spoke volumes about team unity.  I also liked the way the way they pressed and fought for every ball.

 

 

 

 

 

[Miltonaggro]

2 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

He has a name actually, Schlotterbeck.

Ich glaube, du wirst feststellen, dass sein Name eigentlich Herr. Keven Matteo Schlotterbeck ist, mein korinthenkackerischer Liebling x

 

[Saint_lambden]

One thing I noticed last night is how much more positive we were at throw-ins in their half. Constantly looking to go forward with it instead of the (often usual) backwards to a more safe option. It seemed to catch them off guard for the opening goal but hopefully that will be more of a deliberate ploy moving forward as it made a refreshing change. 

[Totton Saint]

17 hours ago, Dan Johnson said:

It’s a very good win tonight against a side who have shown, up till now, that they’re one of the better teams in this league, we however were much better.

There’s so much to like about tonight’s performance but I wanted to focus on the post match interviews by Tonda and Azaz on Solent Sport who basically said we have to trust them when it comes to playing out from the back, alongside the great point made by Jo Tessem in the post match analysis who said in the last two away games if we’d kept the ball better by playing out from the back rather than pumping it long and losing the ball, we might have won the games, and I have to agree. 
 

I think this team has earned our trust.

also it’s good to see Tonda learning from the mistakes of Saturday and leaving the better players on to secure the game, had we don’t that Saturday we probably win that too.

I don’t think there’s a bad performance tonight and I think there’s more to come. 
 

This sides top of the league on form, just not on points, and that’s something we all should be excited about 

I agree with Tessem. when I was watching as soon as Perez started lumping the ball upfield I knew we would concede a goal,

All we had to do was to keep  passing  out from the back and thereafter keep position more. I actually cried when Lincoln equalised.

 

 

Edited 23 hours ago by Totton Saint
spelling

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

2 hours ago, Ekelund24 said:

I don't think he meant at goal kicks I think he meant in general, in general play it is a considerably more risky pass than at goal kick when there is a 12 yard gap before the pass. 

I think the reason we struggled under Russell Martin was that he didn't allow the option of the long ball or the punt forward which can force the opposition backline back or at least make them think. With no long balls forward you could see how relaxed defences were that season and were always on the front foot which meant it was easier for them to engage when/if the ball got there!!

Yes, the key is to mix it up. At the beginning of last season, we were in a routine of goal kick to centre back, side pass to corner flag and we were hemming ourselves in. Usually the next 'pass' was a boot out to the midfield in the centre of the pitch which for pressing teams like Millwall was easy pickings. And starting this season, there were signs this was again being done too often.

Now, Peretz is also playing the long ball. It would just be useful if he kept the ball on the pitch!

[Totton Saint]

did I hear the commentator say Stewart is at SWANSEA now and is, wait for it, injured?

 

[Badger]

3 minutes ago, Totton Saint said:

did I hear the commentator say Stewart is at SWANSEA now and is, wait for it, injured?

 

Yn ôl ymhen pythefnos

According to Radio Cymru:(Back in two weeks - courtesy of Google Translate)

[Alanh]

1 hour ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

Yes, the key is to mix it up. At the beginning of last season, we were in a routine of goal kick to centre back, side pass to corner flag and we were hemming ourselves in. Usually the next 'pass' was a boot out to the midfield in the centre of the pitch which for pressing teams like Millwall was easy pickings. And starting this season, there were signs this was again being done too often.

Now, Peretz is also playing the long ball. It would just be useful if he kept the ball on the pitch!

Agree strongly with this.  As with all things in football, if you do something the same way too often, the opposition will work out what you are going to do and attack you.  After about the 5th or 6th goal kick went short and was pressed strongly in the second half last night I was shouting for the team to mix it up and go long, just so that Swansea were forced to react in a different way and we could hopefully engage them further up the pitch.

I get the logic of why we do it and we all saw the results last night with the goals, but when there are a series of goal kicks in quick succession, we need to mix up how we take them.

[Charlie Wayman]

5 hours ago, Miltonaggro said:

Ich glaube, du wirst feststellen, dass sein Name eigentlich Herr. Keven Matteo Schlotterbeck ist, mein korinthenkackerischer Liebling x

 

Es gibt hier einige wirklich intellektuell faule Leute, die sich nicht einmal die Mühe machen wollen, die Namen neuer ausländischer Spieler richtig schreiben und aussprechen zu lernen, und stattdessen erfundene Spitznamen verwenden. Es hat Jahre gedauert, bis sie Ralphs Nachnamen gelernt haben. Faule Engländer und beleidigend für die betroffene Person.

[Whitey Grandad]

7 hours ago, Mr X said:

Yes but both blatent fouls is what I'm getting at 

Scienza went down too easily. It was only a touch on his back whereas a shirt tug is inexcusable. 

[Dark Munster]

5 hours ago, Alanh said:

Agree strongly with this.  As with all things in football, if you do something the same way too often, the opposition will work out what you are going to do and attack you.  After about the 5th or 6th goal kick went short and was pressed strongly in the second half last night I was shouting for the team to mix it up and go long, just so that Swansea were forced to react in a different way and we could hopefully engage them further up the pitch.

I get the logic of why we do it and we all saw the results last night with the goals, but when there are a series of goal kicks in quick succession, we need to mix up how we take them.

That's a concept completely alien to Russel Martin.

[Scummer]

8 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Scienza went down too easily. It was only a touch on his back whereas a shirt tug is inexcusable. 

The defender had already tried pulling him back, before they got into the box. Then there was a very deliberate push, he extended his arm. I don't know why you are characterising it as a 'touch', it was a shove.

[trousers]

19 minutes ago, Scummer said:

The defender had already tried pulling him back, before they got into the box. Then there was a very deliberate push, he extended his arm. I don't know why you are characterising it as a 'touch', it was a shove.

Have you not noticed that it's Whitey Grandad's job to play the contraian for every single refereeing decision in our matches in order to stoke up debate...? And, fair play to him, he's very good at it, in my humble opinion... 

Edited 7 hours ago by trousers

[saintant]

9 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Scienza went down too easily. It was only a touch on his back whereas a shirt tug is inexcusable. 

Whether it was a penalty or not I'm not sure. However, Leo does himself no favours by continuously going down far too easily at the slightest touch. This now goes against him because referees take the view that he's diving again so he will only ever get really blatant penalty decisions.

[trousers]

13 minutes ago, saintant said:

Whether it was a penalty or not I'm not sure. However, Leo does himself no favours by continuously going down far too easily at the slightest touch. This now goes against him because referees take the view that he's diving again so he will only ever get really blatant penalty decisions.

Players are allowed to "to down easily" if they feel they have been genuinely fouled, ergo referees should treat each "going down easily" case on its own merits rather than resorting to blanket decisions just because a given player has "gone down easily" on previous occasions where no foul has been committed.

In other words, we need referees who are astute enough to make the decision based on whether it's a foul or not in the first place, rather than how easily the player went down... Any referee that bases their decision on a player's reputation, rather than the specific situation in front of him, isn't doing their job properly...

Edited 6 hours ago by trousers

[sadoldgit]

10 minutes ago, saintant said:

Whether it was a penalty or not I'm not sure. However, Leo does himself no favours by continuously going down far too easily at the slightest touch. This now goes against him because referees take the view that he's diving again so he will only ever get really blatant penalty decisions.

If the refs think he is diving why don’t they book him for simulation? For the record I thought that they were both clear penalties. 

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, trousers said:

Players are allowed to "to down easily" if they are genuinely fouled, ergo referees should treat each "going down easily" case on its own merits rather than resorting to blanket decision just because a given player has "gone down easily" in occasions where no foul has been committed.

In other words, we need referees who are astute enough to make the decision based on whether it's a foul or not in the first place, rather than how easily the player went down... Any referee that bases their decision on a players reputation, rather than the specific situation in front of him, isn't doing their job properly...

basically, players are allowed to cheat?

[trousers]

5 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

basically, players are allowed to cheat?

Going to ground when you believe you've been fouled isn't "cheating", if my understanding of the rules of the game are correct. Whereas going down when you know you haven't been fouled is. Its that simple, isn't it?

We've all seen scenarios where a player has been clearly fouled but managed to stay upright and the foul then isn't given. These days, it's almost imperitive that a player goes to ground when he's been fouled to ensure the referee gives the free kick / penalty...

Edited 6 hours ago by trousers

[OldNick]

51 minutes ago, trousers said:

Have you not noticed that it's Whitey Grandad's job to play the contraian for every single refereeing decision in our matches in order to stoke up debate...? And, fair play to him, he's very good at it, in my humble opinion... 

Also to mention he was a ref at one time lol 😀

[Ken Tone]

32 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

basically, players are allowed to cheat?

It seems that way sometimes.  Blatant shirt pulling is just ignored nowadays. I know it's not a non-contact game, but there's a huge difference between a shoulder charge and grabbing an opponent's shirt to hold him back.

[swedish dave]

well, another 3 points if not the most convincing overall performance, but then again Swansea

had made a good start to the season. Saints seem to be content with letting sides come at them

in the first 15-20 minutes but I thought that Swansea were more bark then bite in the first half.

I'm convinced that Tonda is still unsure of his "best start side" although the "strike force" seems to

pick itself, but we must hope they stay fit and in-form, as the bench isn't overloaded with obvious subs.

Dobbin has almost become a liability after his £9 million move, he hasn't shown up convincingly and

TE must show belief in the player, both economically and to convince the fan base it was a good deal.

 

It still feels strange to think that Tonda has only been at the club a little over one year, and perhaps Prowsey

was merely a name of a former player, who was with another club when he returned at the eleventh hour.

It feels like JWP has fitted in almost seamlessly alongside Downes, who has started very well and has managed 

to make it through most of the 8 games - with only one yellow card - which is a decided improvement.

Slotterbeck seems like a good buy, and those who worry about his age (29) might remind themselves that 

many good defenders soldier on into their thirties with little sign of wilting. I think Manning is still first choice 

LB and works well with Scienza, but although Welington's goal of the month might be a career "one-off"

he does come over as a useful sub. for Manning.  I am increasingly pleased to see that Matsuki looks 

to be improving all the time, but why is it that commentators can't learn to pronounce his name correctly ?.

[The Wyvern]

19 hours ago, Alanh said:

Agree strongly with this.  As with all things in football, if you do something the same way too often, the opposition will work out what you are going to do and attack you.  After about the 5th or 6th goal kick went short and was pressed strongly in the second half last night I was shouting for the team to mix it up and go long, just so that Swansea were forced to react in a different way and we could hopefully engage them further up the pitch.

I get the logic of why we do it and we all saw the results last night with the goals, but when there are a series of goal kicks in quick succession, we need to mix up how we take them.

Agreed re mixing it up. Is there also the argument that for playing it around at the back to work, the defensive team needs to lose the ball to the attackers occasionally. Part of the point is to draw the opposition out and if they never think they’ve got a chance of getting it back they’ll just sit deep. 
 

Bit like bookmakers always wanting you to win occasionally so you keep coming back. 

[jrobsbigshorts]

On 09/09/2026 at 11:36, Whitey Grandad said:

 

In my view any advantage gained by playing pass the hot potato in our own penalty area is offset by the risk, probability even, of messing things up and handing the opposition a gilt-edged chance close to our own goal. It used to be a universally acknowledged maxim that you don't pass the ball across your own goal. It's a dad and in time it will died a natural death.

If we know anything from spygate and Tondas background as a video analyst it's that he's a hound for data and makes decisions based on it , but you reckon the data even though you don't have it would say playing out doesn't work but Tonda tells the team to do it anyway, nah doesn't make sense to me

Swansea press high and hard to either win the ball back in a dangerous position or force the opposition to concede possession through going long , I thought we navigated it pretty well

Come on Grandad be brave and trust the process!