i agree about Fonte and mentioned it a couple of times on here now, seems a bit erratic if thats the word
Some of Davis' clearences were not great but he was given some dismal back passes. A keeper earns his corn from his saves and those he made. I don't think people realise what an asset he is.
Same with Fonte, of course mistakes from goalkeepers/centre backs are going to be more noticable, but a team with no Davis and Fonte is worrying.
I wonder if tiredness is the issue for Fonte, which is a worry considering it's only October. However, given how much effort the team have been putting in on the training ground and on the pitch, perhaps it can be excused. I wouldn't be surprised if Adkins chose to rest him for the Reading match, he'll have to at some point soon surely. That means Martin coming in and my concern with that is; how well will Martin do alongside Hooiveld? Have they played together yet? It's no secret that we really do need another centre-back. With Seaborne and Jaidi out indefinitely, we only have 3 fit centre-halves that can do the job - fingers crossed they don't get injured as well, otherwise we'll be screwed!
they played together against Preston in CC and both impressed me together - i wouldnt be worried about Martin playing alongside whoever
absolutely. frigging fantastic performace againt probably the best squad in this div (apart fom us of course !). yep, there were a few marginally off performaces e.g. rickie but like previously said, he's not going to come up against the likes of the whu defenders every day or indeed, even once a month. cracking performance, team perfommance througtout. totally spot on st godness, 10 for team & 11 for na.
Davis - 8, came to our rescue when needed. Richardson - 7, solid but I've seen him play better Fonte - 8, awesome Hooiveld - 9, even more awesome Fox - 8, quality delivery, good going forward and defended well Guly - 6, quiet game. One or two flashes but didn't quite come off for him Schneiderlin - 9, awesome Hammond - 9, awesome Chaplow - 9, awesome Connolly - 8, hard working and nice touches nearly created a goal or two Lambert - 9, awesome his overall play was outstanding - how can someone rate him a 6 ?? Harding - 7, did what he was brought on for Cork - 7, helped close out the game effectively De Ridder - 6, a couple of times he did not close down at the end Overall, I'd like to add that in watching Saints for 35 years I have not been more impressed by the beauty of our football. It is pure joy watching it. There is also bags of individual quality and a collective will to win. Adkins is a genius. It's as simple as that.
Come on Buddy lets not get too personal.....we are all entitled to an opinion.........if you don't agree then that's it, you don't agree...end of........We all support the same team do we not?
Very nicely put sussexsaint, couldn't agree more. The team that started last night (bar Fox and Hoiveld) was plying it's trade in Div1 last season. I don't know exactlty how many, but West Ham's side had lots of Premiership experience. We were the class act. Adkins is a genius.
I thought Rickie's link up play was quality. He put through Guly who fluffed and won most balls against some very good defenders. I thought Guly was also good although maybe a bit too nonchalant at times. Chappers ran like a demon although seemed to lose his bearings a couple of times. Hooiveld and Fonte were strong at the back. Fox's corner was reminiscent of Matty Le Tiss. Can't remember the last time I saw a corner, in any division, that well hit. Connolly worked his socks off as usual but should have passed rather than shot on a couple of occasions. Hammond and Schneiderlin were great without particularly standing out. Overall, I thought the whole team performance was very good and can't understand how any player got less than a 7. Ref -5 He made 6 bookings in a game that barely involved a tackle (I know 2 were for dissent) and was too quick to blow the whistle when letting the game play on would have been a smarter choice.
