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Comment | Update On Saints V Stoke Due This Afternoon
at 20:59:46
It's been a long time since I last posted on here, so forgive me for doing so just for personal reasons. Many of you will already know about the one-minute applause for my son, Louie, at tomorrow's match. However, some may not know the story, or realise that it was a chance conversation between one of the UI team and one of my relatives after the Spurs game that started the ball rolling. To think that ten years ago at Bristol Rovers, Louie cried for the impending death of his football team. Yet, here we are now and, for all the club's troubles, The Saints march on, while Louie has gone to be with Markus.
So here is the story as recorded in the Echo:
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/16031563.cheer-for-louie-fathers-call-to-saints-
This is today's update:
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/16060381.Clap_for_Louie__Here__39_s_how_you_can_
And here’s my appeal to everyone. So, please, if you are able ....
1. Share the hell out of this across social media. Add #saintsfc to everything and ask friends to share it further.
2. If you have contact with anyone at the club: players, former players, stewards, administration staff …. let them know and ask them to spread the word amongst colleagues.
3. If you’re going to the match, set a reminder on your mobile phones for 3.14pm on Saturday. Then, in the 15th minute, stand up and join in with the applause.
As Matt Le Tiss tweeted: “Let’s give Louie the send-off he deserves.â€
Thank you for all your support.
#saintsfc |
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Comment | Saints At Peterborough The Verdict
at 08:22:25
BlackRod, I agree with your comment about home and away supporters having a different outlook on certain players. I managed to get to Blackpool (talk about picking your moments to travel over for a game!) and was pleased that the fans gave Guly the applause he deserved for a hard-working shift. He wasn't great, but most others had a worse game than him.
I think some fans feel they have to be on the back of at least one player. By and large (although not 100%), the fantastic away supporters are more united and extend that unity to the team as well as the other travelling fans. Thus, they are not as prone to whinging or getting on the players' backs.
To those who went and to those off to Boro, you are all fantastic Saints. |
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Comment | Reading Should Be A Sell Out ! No Excuses !
at 11:40:26
I'll be in Braga, Portugal desperately hoping to have more luck trying to find Sky than on my last visit there.
Am I excused?
But seriously, Nick, you're right. I think, given last night's result, the ticket office will be pretty busy this week. I just wish I could be around for at least one of (or better still ALL OF) the last four matches. |
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Comment | The Barracking Has To Stop
at 11:20:04
Yep! Spot on, Nick.
I can think of only one 'good' reason to turn on a player, and that is if he deliberately plays badly because he wants away.
Guly is versatile, 100% committed, puts himself about and has a quick brain; too quick for some. Yes, he frustrates, but, as you point out above, so do all players some times. |
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Comment | Great Pompey Myths Debunked - No 1 The Origin of Scummers
at 12:07:45
Laying aside the pointless abuse from Poopeytillidie, this is a decent (inaccurate?) article with some interesting additions, notably from Exferryman and Nick.
Some thoughts:
1. It seems the Soton ‘scabs’ strike-breaking story is a myth. If it could be directly attributed to Docker Hughes, he ought to be in court for incitement.
2. My earliest memory of 'scummers' comes from the Div2 mid-70s matches when we all sang 'In your Liverpool homes' to different words. In the Milton Road end, we'd sing, 'In you Pee-orts-muff slums' and then shout 'slummers' at the blues. They shouted back, 'Slummers', then it became, 'scummers'. At least, that's what I remember, I could be wrong.
3. Remember Shep Wooley? Around that mid-80s - maybe when both teams were in the old Div 1 - he released a song about the scummers. It gained national attention and seemed to clearly mark Saints fans, more than any others, as scummers (or 'the scum').
During the mid-80s, I worked in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. One day, I was in a room of Brits and a couple of Tanzanians, when I found an article about the Southampton Docks' strike in the Telegraph. Unbeknown to me, as I read the article, people were arguing. The two Tanzanians eventually left and slammed the door. The room went quiet and, referring to the dockers, whom the Telegraph claimed were threatening the future of Soton docks (a view I had some sympathy with having heard countless second-hand tails of how over-paid they were and how they would sleep all nightshift whilst the rest of the city was busting its hard-working butt off), I turned to the Brits and, breaking the silence, said, 'bl00dy dockies!' There was a shocked silence. 'WHAT DID YOU SAY?' asked a friend. I explained what I had just read and relief filled the room. They had thought I had said 'bl00dy darkies!' Of course they were shocked, they knew this was something I would surely NEVER say. |
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Comment | Lee Holmes Goes Up To Oxford
at 14:11:27
Decent bloke, good pro. If he helps Oxford gain promotion and a deal could be struck to keep him there, everyone would be happy.
I wish him well. |
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Comment | Saints V Burnley The Verdict
at 11:54:51
Although I don't get to many games, I totally agree with Nobby. We all know Guly can be frustrating but he gives a lot to the team and his stats speak for themselves.
That sort of answers Nick's question as to why Guly started ahead of Punchean. It's good to see Puncheon back in the fold, but that doesn't give him an automatic right to start every game. Once Guly was fit again, he had to be considered.
The trick is not necessarily to pick the players who did well last time but to pick those who will do well next time, and it seems NA got it right yesterday. |
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Comment | Saints V Cardiff The Verdict
at 14:02:08
Being overseas, thus not making many games, it's always interesting to read what those at the games have to say. It's also hard to make too many constructive comments but I'll try.
Re: Guly ..... injured. He took a knock a while back (Skates, was it?) and it reoccurred in his last match.
Re: Punch. It seems a bit obvious to me. He's hardly match fit having been collecting splinters at Loftus Road. So, easy to see why he came off early. It makes it all the more commendable that he did so well. Long may it continue.
Re: the centre backs. Glad the pairing worked. It shows it IS possible to pair two left-footed (or right-footed) players at the back.
Re: the full backs. At best, they appear to be inconsistent. I like what I've seen of both but know many have doubts about Fox, especially if we go up. Generally, the defence will need strengthening at some point.
Re: midfield. Once Chappers is back, we'll have a lot of options. The tough bit will be picking the players who will do well in the upcoming match, thus not necessarily picking the ones who did well in the last one.
Re: strikers. Same 'problem' and one that is really welcome. Imagine, if RL and BS are the preferred strikers, that leaves one of this season's highest-scoring strikers (Guly) and a Japanese international on the bench or out of the squad.
Re: Plan B. On this one, Nick, I'm confused. If we didn't have one yesterday evening but then played Cardiff (for me the best team in the Championship this season) off the park in the second half, do we need one? It's a tongue-in-cheek question because the impresion I have from reading various posts is that, as usual, we switched formations a few times during the match and this plan (which seems like a plan A, B AND C) came good. Thus, I'm not sure why you are critical of NA regarding his 'plans' or tactics. My only query would be regarding selection. Where was De Ridder? Dropped to make way for Falque or was he injured, too?
Finally, 24,000? Good enough? For me, yes, times are tough for many right now. What do others think? |
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Comment | Am I Wrong To Expect A Full House For Cardiff ?
at 18:32:23
Gosh! Ericofarabia, that was ..... um ..... sharp!!!! Good spot.
I wish I could swell the crowd, but will have to make do with listening in from France.
Tuesdays in January? Cold spell of weather? Economic crisis? A full house is ambitious. But I do agree, for such a big game, it would be great if there were close to (or above) 30,000. Better still if we all go to bed happy with the result. |
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Comment | Saints V Leicester The Verdict
at 10:59:43
Half full or half empty? We can see it eaither way and, Nick, you've chosen to see it half empty. That's your right and having only reached Strasbourg last night in time for the second half, I can only say that I agree with much of your criticism.
Players didn't gell and some were just awful on the night. Team selection was a bit odd given the options that were still available. I say 'still' because where I don't agree with you is that you don't seem to think that injuries and Rickie's absence were major factors as well. Last night, no Forte, Chaplow, Lallana and Lambert. That's a huge loss.
More important is how we move on. With luck, most of those missing last night will be back by February and Tadanari Lee will be available and settled.
That should give us new impetus. So, as Horton says above, now is the time for the fans to get behind the team and remember how far we have come in the past couple of years. |
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Comment | Saints At Pompey The Verdict
at 14:53:23
I think this is pretty reasonable report.
Harding or Fox? Not sure but I wouldn't have changed the back four when the main trouble was further up the field.
Was the corner a poor decision by Harding? Probably. Even without a call, he could have put the ball over the main stand.
Was Guly to blame for the goal? Am I the only person who blames Lallana? He was ball watching and allowed Fonte to mark two players. When they peeled away, Fonte tracked the other one, leaving Ward free.
What should Guly have done? Some blame him for staying put, some blame him for moving? He had a poor game and should have been replaced sooner. The game was crying out for De Ridder's pace to run the ball deep into the corner. However, I can't see how he should be blamed for being left to protect his post (something he has done well all season) AND do Adam's job. |
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Comment | Abuse Doesn't Help Our Players
at 23:29:19
Some good comments on here this evening in response to a well-worded defence of Bart.
Having not been at the game, I can't say how fans inside SMS reacted, but some of the 'Bart is s*** comments on the Echo (and related Facebook forum) have disappointed me.
Some fans are 100% for Bart and 0% for Kelv, others see things totally the other way. But the fact is that both have had (and will have) off days; and both can be match winners.
As said above, De Ridders costly first touch at 2-2 probably cost a goal as well. And, in the lead up to Blackpool's second, where were the tackles which would have prevented the shot in the first place? And, love him though I do, for me, NA must take some blame for his selection which, in midfield at least, was proved wrong (and costly) again. |
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Comment | Why Is Guly The Whipping Boy ?
at 11:52:51
I'm glad you've rasied this, Nick, and I'm 100% with you.
We all have a little moan when a player does something wrong (and Guly misplaces passes quite often) but I try to keep it under my breath and, like you, get behind the team. It disgusts me when people single a player out when he is giving his best, and the disproportionate treatment Guly gets is starting to really annoy me.
I don't get over to many games but did manage 4 in a month recently. At Coventry, at2-2, there were guys behind me (perhaps the same as you had at Donny) shouting the same abuse. No one player wins or loses a match but his performance that day was the difference. Hell! He laid on the first two and scored the third!!!! At Reading, it was his clever flick which put Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeve through.
One of the reasons he does misplace passes is that, more than some of the others, he actually gets ahead of his marker and wins lose balls. Another factor, perhaps, is that he thinks faster than some of the others and they don't read his play. De Ridder, Rickie and Lallana can, but would, say, Hammond or one of the full backs have latched onto the flick he made at Reading for the equaliser? If it hadn't worked, I bet the boo boys would have had a go, rather than moaning at the player who failed to read the run.
Okay, rant over, back to work. |
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Comment | Belgian Winger Signing Could Spell Chamberlain Departure.
at 18:01:07
Nearly 19? Let's call it 18 and a half :-)
You remember our past players better than I do, but it's easy to select a bunch of names. Try doing the same with English (or maybe British) players and I'm sure you could make a decent arguement against ever signing another from these shores.
Of those above, there was only one Balmadi (you've listed him twice), whilst Ostlund, Pele, Vignal and Saejs all did okay and Skacel was frequently played out of position. Idiakez would have done better had he not been injured and Licka was constantly over-looked despite a couple of decent performances. All were here when the club was in free fall.
Given your criterian for failure, I would say that Kevin Davies's second spell was a disaster.
Can't we just agree that, over the years, there have been many foreign players who have served us well and many UK players who have not.
Here's a pretty decent 11:
Niemi, Golac, Claus and Michael, Van Gobbel, Ekelund, Berkovic, Kachloul, Fernandes, Marian, Egil (Ali Dia as a half time replacement, of course). |
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Comment | Belgian Winger Signing Could Spell Chamberlain Departure.
at 16:44:24
".... or another in a long line of foreign signings .... in recent years who have never quite lived up to their billings ...."
Why are you always so fast to make 'foreign' equal 'failure'? Fonte? Schneiderlin? Guly? Or, Forcast? Puncheon? Dean? |
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Comment | Saints At Colchester The Preview
at 10:59:09
Not sure things are quite as dire as you paint them, but I agree with a lot of what you say. I especially agree that, given the likely options, moving Butterfield up ahead of Richardson makes sence.
With Hammond constantly picking up yellows and likely to get wound up by the likely abuse, and given that Chaplow will have to start, I wonder if we should recall Harlee Dean from Bishops Stortford and put him on the bench. |
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Comment | Saints At Tranmere The Verdict
at 13:02:53
I agree with bstoke saint but do think a 'rest' would now do both KD and BB a favour.
Also agree about the lack of substitutions. The situation was crying out for Oxo to get subbed and to try Butterfield ahead of Richardson.
However, with AL injured and Punch in a strop, the Harding/Dixon combo was spot on.
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