Disagree with you about Dickson, you were obviously not at the Eastleigh friendly, Ryan was well out of sorts, don't know what is wrong but he is definitely not on song. Blaming Harding for Martin losing the ball is also wrong, maybe if Martin had better left foot ability he would not have given the ball away. I also think Butterfield is better than Richardson but having said that Richardson had a good game today. I guess Dan H is a Marmite player, either you like him or you don't. I do.
NA said the Jedi picked up his knee injury at Yeovil. Sebo was unwell, sick that he hadn't been picked too. Just watched the League Show coverage and the Martin pen did look harsh, and we should have had one when Chaplow was sandwiched after his shot rebounded of the post, didn't spot it at the time, neither did the officials.
It was the lino that gave the pen. He was jumping and waving his flag all over the place in front of me !
I take it some of you are talking about the bit where Martin got caught out. As I was bang in front of that Martin either should have played it straight away to Harding or launched it up field. Yet he held onto it then played it to Harding who had to knock it back to Martin because he was getting closed down therefore ended up in a tangle. As Adkins mentioned in the interview he said we need to work on not messing around with the ball in dangerous areas. I noticed Martin got a lot of advice during the game via the coaches, so he is always going to keep improving with the guidance of the staff. I was very impressed with his headers looks a threat at set-pieces but thought at certain times in the game he didn't need to smash it out of the ground when he could have played down the line. I noticed Fonte was in a same situation and pinged it down line, so it took the pressure of the defence by being able to push up. Martin put in a solid performance and when he gets to grips he will be a top player!!
Yeah I noticed that, without hesitation he'd just hoof it into the stands rather than move it on like Fonte. He was great in the air though, and his tackling seems fantastic, I wonder if he'll start the next few games when Seaborne and Jaidi are back (or new a CB?)
I was sat in Chapel and saw Martin up close in the first half. I agree he was dominant in the air but i also agree he seemed very nervous and unsure of himself in the first half, perhaps hes still a bit young to be a first team regular? I felt a bit nervous myself when i saw him receive the ball and i can see him costing us a few goals this season. His heart is in the right place, and he gave 100% today, but id probably be happier with Seaborne, or perhaps a loaned center back, and put Martin out on loan to give him some match experience for a couple of months... Thoughts...?
Sorry, but DO NOT SEND HIM OUT ON LOAN. He had a good game and alongside Jose he will become even better. It was so apparent that he was told at halftime to stop messing with it and clear it, by the way he changed in the second half. Us fans have to stop looking for utopia. Our CB just won every header, made 2 last ditch tackles and helped keep a dangerous attacking team in check. He got caught in possession a couple of times, but he'll learn from that. Crikey did we call to drop Fonte after the goals conceded against brentford at homeland tranmere away when he and Kelv let the ball drop between them - no way. MARTIN DESERVES HIS START NEXT WEEK AND MUST PLAY AT BARNSLEY
We all keep saying we need a back up at CB...well, we have Aaron on our doorstep..he's young and learning. If we farm him out, who's to say what bad habits he'll learn. He'll progress with us and probably should play on Tuesday for more experience.
Watched Martin play for Eastleigh before his transfer to Saints - the boy is still learning the professional game - he got a handful of starts last year and its only by getting regular starts is he going to improve. He was nervy for the first 30 mins; understandable and once lost the ball in front of goal but he will learn from that mistake too. I think too many fans watch premiership football where the players have had plenty of playing time, not to mention well-honed talent, and draw unfortunate comparisions to players still learning their trade like Martin. Martin has great potential - it will be harnessed under the management of Adkins - he is IMO a raw diamond that, when polished, may well outshine Fonte in the years to come.
Exactly, who wouldn't be nervous with over 28 thousand baying fans. How many of us would like to do our job with a huge number of people watching and permitted to make vocal comments.
Nail Hammer Head I had called for a CB. Maybe we still need one, but for sure Martin steppedip to the plate yesterday impressively
I thought Martin played very well after a nervous start , he did remind me a bit of those old clogger's of centre halfs we used to have in the seventies. Could this be the perfect the combination, the clogger in Martin who will take man ball and anything else in his path to clear the danger and then the culture alongside him in the shape of Fonte?
Expected to see a Martin thread after the game. He looked nervous in posession and didn't ever look like he wanted the responsibility of starting an attack, but barring the incident where Harding left him exposed he never played us into trouble. I would rather have someone pump it into the stand than think they can take everyone on and get caught out. As for the penalty, from the replay it looks harsh although from my angle with his hand in the air I had little complaint at the time, but again there was little he could do and it was Harding switching off which allowed the chance in the 1st place. Overall it has to be said his performance gave more positives than negatives. He dominated in the air, made some great blocks and some goal saving last ditch challenges. The only Advantage that Seabourne has over Martin is his left foot as whoever plays alongside Fonte will have to take the lefthand side of the centre back pairing and if you're already not the most comfortable on the ball at this level it's ten times worse when you find yourself having to use your wrong foot most of the time. Well done Martin and unlucky not to score with that header into the ground
You Harding bashers are beginning to get up my nose, the move with Harding and Martin is a stock move that they do in practice all the time, the reason it didn't come off was Martin being right footed, dithered about what he was going to do with the ball, you don't get time to dither in the Championship, it was a lesson learned and he will know better next time.
Just a quick thought, how many of you would have named the Fonte - Martin combination before the teams were announced?
Really do rate Martin think a bit more time in the starting XI and he will just keep on developing we must remember he is still very young. The penalty from watching it again wasnt a penatly seemed to hit his chest.
TBF he did play quite well, i'm not his biggest fan and hope we get another CB in, but he did a good job today. Although he did make 4/5 big mistakes that would have been punished by a better team. Needs to eradicate those errors.
Wasn't the selection somewhat forced on NA as Seaborne was ill and Jaidi was injured? Regardless of that however, it wasn't a bad effort from Martin when you think of the pressure of the occasion, his first start in the Championship against what should have been a decent side.
