What a sublime first team choice for the first half, Adkins had obviously done his homework and it worked a treat! We got the rub of the green and found ourselves in the fortunate position of being 3 - 1 away from home at half time. Guly was playing well, JRod too, and we looked to be handling hoofball very well. In fact we seemed to be totally in control. All was good in the world! Second half they, as predicted, came at us, firing on all cylinders having obviously a rocket up their asses at halftime. We weathered the storm but the cracks began to appear and thats when we needed somebody with enough experience to set the team up and play the game out. They even had a player sent off! We completely lost midfield and it was all Stoke! I really feel that NA got it absolutely spot on in the first half but made a complete "Pigs ear" of it in the second. Davis for Guly (who faded second half) to shore up and try and take back control of midfield? Mayuka for a tiring Lambert? Why take the Punch off??? I just don't understand NA thinking, it's like he got caught between two thoughts - go for the break or try and neutralize their attack, and in the end did neither. As for Kelvin OMG! The worst performance I have seen from a goalkeeper in a long long time!
As for the first half, yes that's the best tactical display I've seen this season so far. Second half, we saw the Stoke we were expecting to see. Bloody brilliant goal earned them a point. If you think that's the worst goalkeeping display in a long, long time, you've got a hell of a short memory.
So tired of talking about goal keepers. Been a massive Kelv fan, but we need to bin sentiments & buy a good, & probably rather expensive keeper in Jan. Not pinning this on him, but it is a position that can save us from relegation.
I'm worried that signing a third keeper this season (fourth if you include Cropper) would cause a little negativity to creep into the training ground. Boruc was clearly a mistake.
Me too, but I think Gazza out on loan, Boruc gone fishing & Kelv back up. The only problem is.....who? Butland isn't the answer, maybe a gamble on Gomez, but wouldn't break the bank. We just can't keep talking about mistakes, especially now the defence seem settled. Its a big issue, one that needs solving.
I have supported the Saints since the early Seventies, and sorry mate if you think that goalkeeping display was acceptable you must be off your trolley! I am not blaming the goals directly upon him but in general play he was like a puppet on a string - flapping at everything!
Did I ever say it was acceptable? I'm resisting the urge to use that "doh" smiley that everyone loves so much. Is it possible that there could be a level somewhere between "acceptable" and "worst in a long, long time"? If you think he did any worse today than he did that awful day at Arsenal, then I'm inclined to believe that you were in fact born at some point between then and now.
Don't be a prat. He didn't say it was acceptable, just that he's seen worse. I can think of two worse in recent memory - Kelv v Arsenal and Bart v Blackpool. If you can't remember a worse keeping performance in 40 years, then see a doctor.
Err - I have seen (meaning what "I have actually seen") a long long time is perspective ie Did I actually say " In my whole life?" errrr NO - so stop being a tw*t and how has this developed into Kelvin's skills or lack of them and not Nigel's subs and timing of them. Do you think guys it would be interesting to address and discuss a topic instead of one line dismissive replies? (It is Christmas after all?)
Damn, I hate it when I can't come up with a retort because the other person's argument is simply incoherent. Well played, sir, well played.
Okay I'll use your suggestions - Davis for Guly (who faded second half) to shore up and try and take back control of midfield? - Would have been daft. Guly was the best player we had at keeping the ball (passing completion percentages show this) and was putting in a good shift at the back. Punch off for Davis, I'd agree with. Mayuka for a tiring Lambert? - Mayuka is lightweight, he'd have been bullied off the ball in seconds. He was against Sunderland, for goodness sake. Why take the Punch off? - Because he kept losing the ball and wasn't exactly helping hold onto a lead. Any more genius suggestions? And how long is a "long, long time"? Less than a year, obviously. Less than a couple of months. Frankly, it was definitely the worst performance I've seen in the last three hours, can we count that as a long long time?
Guly was our best player first half. We needed protection in midfield and he is an attack minded player Davis would have offered that. Lambert was tired and we needed fresh legs and some pace Mayuka would have been ideal in that role - Punch was not always losing the ball. Yes you are a knob and have no idea. Doh Tiresome!
Ignore the point that Guly was our best player at ball retention through the game, fine. Lambert was tired but what role are you talking about that Mayuka would be good at? Target man? No. Punch certainly was. 56% pass accuracy, not exactly keeping possession! Not sure what that last inane sentence is meant to be, but you're not presenting a compelling case. But you're right - your barely legible ramblings definitely shows more of "an idea" than me, and you've already proven you'd do a far better job than Adkins. Congratulations.
Empty Vessels make the most noise - Go incite an argument with somebody else, I am really not that interested. Cheers all the same.
So you tell me off for not responding to your arguments... and then tell me to **** off when I do? What do you want buddy, are you waiting for someone as stupid as you to come along so you can both pretend you know best?
Davis was not good, but I think Gazzaniga had a worse game just a month or so ago. I tend to agree however, that he needs to be replaced. Maybe if we had a better defense we could get away with a not-so-great GK, and if we had a great GK we could get away with a not-so-great defense. But right now Saints have neither and I don't think there is going to be that one World Class player who can instantly shore up your entire defense available in January. At least not one who Saints could get. So we will probably have to settle for incremental improvements in both the back four and at GK. Really don't think Adkins did anything wrong. At worst, he was brilliant in the first half with his tactics and lousy in the second which evens out and it is still a draw away at Stoke which I think most managers should be happy with. I tend to think that we just didn't have enough options so there wasn't much Adkins could do to counter Stokes 10 zillion forwards. Maybe he could have tried something different, but what he did certainly wasn't egregious. It's funny how whenever Mayuka doesn't play we all think he's a game changer. Then when he does play and he isnt good he gets slagged only for everyone to immediately forget. Yes, his speed and attacking ability MIGHT have made a difference on the counter. But then again, Richardson is a pretty solid defender who can get up the field a little, and Maya was being played out of position (though I thought he did well) so there's reasoning behind Adkins' move as well. Did anyone think that Adkins would start the team he did? And once you found out did you think that team would go up 3-1 at half? So he made us all look pretty stupid and for that alone I think he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt for whatever perceived tactical moves he made in the 2nd half.
I think you should take that as a win. You'll never get an admission that he was wrong, but that's just about as good as one.
