Match Day Thread Saints Vs Tom Brady’s Birrr-Ming-Ham (Formerly Wayne Rooney’s) Saturday 6th December 15:00

I agree with this 100%.

Scienza is the new Tadic.

 

Still would have got us out of the league...

Not upwards though

 

I’ll make the next thread tomorrow if required

 

We won. Where's Linc's ?

 

Scienza is the most consequential signing we have made in 4 years imo.

Someone asked how Archer got on, should probably have scored but did well to propel us forward and away from dangerous situations a couple of times.

Great performance by nearly everyone, except maybe Aribo who was lucky not to be sent off after 5 mins on. Did do a calm bit of defending near the end though, we know he is a better player than this in the Championship, so just not arsed?

Only downside of Scienza being so good is that when he comes off we noticably recede.

 

The sound in the ground has got to be some sort of acoustic issue.

I sit in Kingsland on the chapel side of the centre line (not in the rubbery seats..), row BB and I can hear the Northam fans pretty well when they are singing and they are always louder then the away corner from where I sit.

So weird how people's experience is so different around the ground.

 

I can't help having sympathy for managers when they get sacked but the difference in this same group of players from when Will Still was here is remarkable.
A manager needs more than a few qualities to get regular success and it remains to be seen how good Tonda can be for us, but so far so very good. Will Still can have few complaints.

 

Was sat near the Northam last season and they always sounded dominant with the away fans seemingly silent even when we were ****.

Behind the goal in Chapel this season, can pretty much only hear away fans all game.

 

It's not often that I struggle this much with naming a MOTM. It felt like one of those games where everyone was 8 out of 10. No bad performances (from the starters) and no wonderous performances.

There's easily at least five names I could pick. Maybe more.

Even the subs did well for once (albeit not to the extent of putting themselves in the frame for MOTM). Well, with the exception of Aribo. Finding a buyer for him can't come quickly enough.

 

And he's already being targeted so we may have to expect him to be injured a lot.

 

Aren't most teams in the championship going to struggle with the level of quality of their subs? We are better off than most but have had a couple of injuries to players that you'd think were all in the match day squad when fit.

Once Charles is back I can't see Aribo event getting on the bench as we'll have Downes and Romeu sat on it plus Bragg that are all better options to put into a holding midfield to close out a game.

Also think a season of Robinson playing Scienza's understudy will do him good too - a little less pressure on him each game as we should usually be winning by that point.

 

The fact that he showed some flashes of what he could do is encouraging. I agree it looked a nailed on scoring opportunity but if he’s getting encouragement and gaining confidence, surely one match will see him return to the habit of scoring. Much happier walking away at the end this year v last year’s disastrous efforts!!

 

TOM BRADY'S BIRMINGHAM GET SACKED AT SOUTHAMPTON.

This headline includes nearly everything I know about American football. Thankfully.

 

Only half watched the match but agree with others. We were the better side for most of the game and Birmingham didn't really threaten much. We're only 3 points off the play offs and 9 away from 2nd place now.

I do think we need to be somewhat active in January. Tonda has found a way to make our current starting 11 a threat but it only really seems to work with the front 4 we had today. Once any of today's starters (Scienza in particular) aren't fit or get subbed off we lose some of our goal threat. A big lump of a striker would be a good start because it would give us the option of playing a different way when we need to.

 

I agree 100% with this post too.

I think Eckert will start to get performances out of Archer too. Just think once he scores his first,.we will be watching a very different player.

 

I get the impression that Tonda is quite good at seeing how to use the potential of our squad. Most encouraging start.

 

Doesnt he only have until the end of the season left? He'll be off on a free or maybe loan in jan just to save on wages.

He has given up and should never play for the club again.

 

I think it’s harsh to dismiss Aribo as useless or not bothered when he didn't play for the first three months of the season.What I saw today was a player who was putting in a lot of effort, but looked woefully off match pace. So every header he went for he mis-timed and when he was on the ball he needed a split second more time than he had. Cast your mind back two years and at the start of the season he was similarly being written off. Later on he got a run in the side due to injuries of other players (Stuart Armstrong in particular iirc) and by Christmas he was one of the first names on the team sheet. Many people on this forum commented on his progress (evidence: https://not606.com/threads/saints-stuff.313456/page-932#post-17235590).
Don't get me wrong - I don't think that will happen again, because he won't get a chance to build his performances. When Shea Charles returns we will not require the CM cover that Aribo provides and as others have said he will go in January or when his contract expires at the end of the year. However to say things like "he has given up" is disrespectful.

 

Oh, and by the way, 3-1 is the new 3-1.

 

Speaking for myself, I'm judging him since he arrived. He's had plenty of games to prove himself and has proved himself not good enough. He wont come good.