Overriding impression was of two very average teams playing a very average game off football! Positives for saints- spiderman was a class above anyone else on the pitch, Martin looked solid throughout & ward-prowse fit into the side very well. Down sides- forte upfront on his own was useless, we had little in the way of creativity or final ball & both goals came from defensive lapses. Cork is wasted at cb, seems a bit futile to play him there just to rest others, especially with hammond suspended. We didn't use the width well at all- most of the time, butters & de ridder were standing in the same place, with no one even trying to run for the corners. All that said though, a decent run out for some fringe players with no injuries & a return for barney. Expect a much better result in the league game. Hope we get some better officials too!
That's a pretty moderate reaction compared to the Saints Facebook page. (presumably McLaren as assistant).
Just got back from the game and all I can say it what a shocker De Ridder had, he gave the ball away 9 out of 10 times, he looked like he was trying too hard. Forte up front looked lively at first but after that was nowhere to be seen. I agree with above about Cork, when he pushed forward a little him and Spiderman linked up brilliantly and on this performance Spiderman deserves to be back in starting 11. Great to see Barny back, shame the youngsters didn't shine too much. Anyway onwards and upwards, Bring on Boro. In Nigel We Trust
Thanks ManMountainJaidi, appreciate the info. Saintly-DCM no I do not read the youth reports but know a bit about most of the players. I rarely read the saints web page as its not the best and I am not sure if it would tell me. Please tell me if you think my questions are pertinent in the future . Disappointed about tonights game. We really just threw it away with our team selection. It is good to blood the youngsters but I don't see why we didn't give it our all. After all we may not end up in the autos either.
I hope so! To be honest, for me, it wasn't exactly a Harding/Dickson debate. It was more a Harding/Alternative-to-Harding debate - and of course last season, that alternative was Dickson. If Dickson had a full season a left back, it may well have turned out that he was just as bad as Harding. Now that Fox is another alternative however, I absoloutely don't think there's anything to debate now. But the Harding supports may disagree.
its a fox v harding debate, but its the same all over the pitch, Butterfield or Richardson? Hooiveld or Martin? Bart or Kelvin? Hammond, Chaplow or Schneiderlin? Guly or De Ridder? Barnard or Connolly? its one of a number of debates among fans, with everybody having their different preferences
My views (I came back in 2 hours ago but let my spirits settle rather than posting a violent diatribe against everybody on the pitch)... Bart- Looked really dodgy in the warm up, that's all I really have to judge him on because he didn't have much to do. Butterfield- Couple of dangerous crosses that didn't amount to much but on the whole not very good. One pass in particular made me think he forgot what colour his shirt was. Cork- The most solid of our defenders, but I'd much rather see him in midfield. Martin- Looked dodgy and nervous a couple of times but on the whole not too bad. Wouldn't like him to be a starter though. Harding- Not too bad, looked better than Butterfield but still not good. De Ridder- Very frustrating game. Made a couple of really dangerous runs early on but ended up terribly, running into space, wasting possession etc. Reeves- Seemed to be playing every position on the pitch without really making a massive impact. Reasonable game but nothing groundbreaking. Schneiderlin- Top class. Makes me wonder why he isn't starter by default, really controlled the game with a couple of incredible balls. Ward-Prowse- Was really, really impressed with him. Seemed to go for the "play it safe" backwards ball approach a few times but was very sensible with possession (except when he tried the Schneiderlin-esque ball to the flank once or twice which didn't really come off), always in good positions and made several good passes. Very excited about his potential. Holmes- Struggled to get into the game, when he did he was okay. Forte- The less said the better (though I said a lot during the game...). It looked as if I'd taught him everything he knows about a gentle touch, couldn't keep possession, couldn't bring the ball in, couldn't do much at all. Didn't see his supposed lightning pace as defenders managed to keep up with him all night. I'll always remember him fondly for that MK Dons game but I'm very glad he's not in the first team often. Seems a nice guy and all but just isn't good enough. All in all I left the ground very disappointed. Good showing from the Saints fans, shame about the result.
Thanks -Dan for opinion of someone there. Sky said that Palace were erratic and that we looked like we knew what we were doing, but with no final result. They also praised Ward-Prowse..so that's one positive. We can see that Nigel's judgement that SdR is an impact player rather than a starter is probably correct. Would have been great for confidence to get a win but, unless you had the misfortune to go, going out is not the end of the world. We are at an important stage of season. Nigel says we could have won, but says it was a good chance to give fringe players a game. Also mentioned the January window so obviously feels, quite rightly, that we need new blood. As Mowbray says prior to this Saturdays match, Middlesborough will have a chance to show if Saints are in a good spell or are serious contenders for title.
I half expected to come on here this morning and read the typical, fickle, negative, down in the dumps comments - however, I am pleasantly surprised! Yes, it was a defeat, we didn't score, we're out the cup. But let's face the facts, we've now got until January to focus solely on the league with no cup games to distract us. It's also given Nigel a chance to see who can cut it; e.g. Ward-Prowse and who can't cut it; e.g. Forte, Dickson, Butterfield. And as Adkins hinted in his post-match interview, I think we'll probably see quite a lot of action come the January transfer window, with those players who aren't cutting it at the moment, heading for the exits. All in all, a disappointing result, but there's no more distractions until January and it was a revealing evening - an insight into the future of this squad.
Went to last nights game....where to start..I will kiss St Marys when I go on saturday, Selhurst Park is a S*** hole, Went for a cup of tea - No hot water? guy in front got a Cheeseburger on a dry bun, wafer thin meat, crumbly dry cheese and a coke £5.60?. Then the match, Best thing Palace have got is the cheerleaders. We ran the show Ward-Prowes looks a propect, worked his socks off and played some good passes, Morgan ! what a player he was head and shoulders above the rest with his passing,Martin looked good, De Ridder was trying to hard and looked less than average and Jono Forte ???? any chance we can loan him out, he cant control a ball and just runs around like a headless chicken, worst player at the club by far. Our fans where brilliant. Man of the match The Referree ( C Palace) their best player by far.
I have to say there were some dam idiots in the crowd that turned on our boys at the end. One chap with glasses being racist to De Ridder and another guy behind me in row 15ish was complaining about us passing the ball. I dont think we can turn into a hoofball team just becase we are two down. That upset me more than the result. I thought both youngsters played well. Ward-Prowse looks Fabregas-esque to me. De Ridder was trying too hard which was a shame. I think he needs to pass the ball quicker and not ponder on it. Sure take people on but only if you are one on one. He goes down dead alleys alot of the time. I dont think we desreved to lose or win actually. But prefer to lose than goto pens. Roll on Saturday.
Massive error in the match report in the sun Darren Ambrose edged Eagles ahead with a close-range goal, smashing home Williams' cross when Aaron Martin messed up an easy clearance in the 73rd minute it was Jack Cork, in other words, oh lets blame it on the player we don't know basically - muppets
Didn't go to the game last night, but have been to Selhurst Park in the past. The ground is very dated and tired looking and the away section is pretty poor in comparison the other grounds in the Championship/Premiership. It's very cramped and feels disorganised. Without blowing our own trumpets, St Marys doesn't even compare to be honest. In my opinion, Crystal Palace could well do with renovating or perhaps even building a new ground because I can't see Selhurst Park being good enough for an aspiring club much longer in it's current state.
