Southampton (H) League 1 Saturday 5/12/09.

[Asps]

Sansara was shonky i completly agree but Southampton were playing with 3 down the middle on the break. Sansara was covering the man down the middle and leaving the left back positon vacant which was where thier attacks were coming from. Any manager worth his salt would of spotted that within 10 minutes of the game and taken appropiate action. Hutch did nothing.

aside from that I can't be to critical, Southampton are a good side - just need to move on and hopfully come away from the den with at least a point

Totally agree, Sansara produced one of the worst left back performances ever. Was Vincent on the bench? If so, he should have been on at halftime.

Bradley was a useless bottler.

Hutching messed up the substitions again, no Nicholls. :?

We should have had a point today.

[bigbillyofdarlo]

Sansara should be sacked. Absolutely shocking

thats a bit harsh,he didnt have a great game i know but neither did many others.weston,richards,jones,bradley,mattis{basically the midfield}we were out played by a potential championship club,with a virtual ex premiership defence and two very mobile and experienced strikers.

[scott_powell]

Sansara should be sacked. Absolutely shocking

thats a bit harsh,he didnt have a great game i know but neither did many others.weston,richards,jones,bradley,mattis{basically the midfield}we were out played by a potential championship club,with a virtual ex premiership defence and two very mobile and experienced strikers.

Yes they were all terrible, but Sansara was in a different class of terrible. Definatly the worst left back performance off anyone in a walsall shirt for a while. Even worse than Palmers "bad" games.

[bigbillyofdarlo]

Sansara should be sacked. Absolutely shocking

thats a bit harsh,he didnt have a great game i know but neither did many others.weston,richards,jones,bradley,mattis{basically the midfield}we were out played by a potential championship club,with a virtual ex premiership defence and two very mobile and experienced strikers.

Yes they were all terrible, but Sansara was in a different class of terrible. Definatly the worst left back performance off anyone in a walsall shirt for a while. Even worse than Palmers "bad" games.

now that is harsh!!!!!

[tinned]

All these happy's clambering over themselves to talk about play off's were (well should be if they actually looked at reality) bought down to earth today. As soon as we come up against an hafl decent side we show exactly what we are ...... mid table fodder.

I have as much influence on a game as Hutchings as, he's useless. come up and sit with us Chris ...... you are of no benefit on the bench :roll:

[bigbillyofdarlo]

Sansara should be sacked. Absolutely shocking

thats a bit harsh,he didnt have a great game i know but neither did many others.weston,richards,jones,bradley,mattis{basically the midfield}we were out played by a potential championship club,with a virtual ex premiership defence and two very mobile and experienced strikers.

Yes they were all terrible, but Sansara was in a different class of terrible. Definatly the worst left back performance off anyone in a walsall shirt for a while. Even worse than Palmers "bad" games.

now that is harsh!!!!!you must remember hes only young and still learning the game and todays experience will stick out for him,but im sure he and the whole team will learn from it as they all did after the cup game against Brentford with the win at yeovil.We shouldnt be picking on just one player when virtually the whole team didnt perform well,we should be getting behind them,win as a team,lose as a team!

[Exile]

Disappointing, but not terribly surprised, especially by the substitutions for some reason.

[scott_powell]

bigbillyofdarlo - It was Sansaras fault though, thats the problem. All 3 goals were because of his lack of positional sence. Westlake has played far less games yet he is 75648363 times better (on the opposite flank obviously). I've never thought Sansara was any good. I want him to prove me wrong

[bigbillyofdarlo]

bigbillyofdarlo - It was Sansaras fault though, thats the problem. All 3 goals were because of his lack of positional sence. Westlake has played far less games yet he is 75648363 times better (on the opposite flank obviously). I've never thought Sansara was any good. I want him to prove me wrong

how can you blame him for all 3goals,1st goal was was a long ball played in the gap which hughes was was to slow to get to,being outpaced by a ageing connolly,the 2nd was after sansara had headed the ball from defence out to byfield,who in turn lost possesion then the ball went back down the right wing where sansara was covering the oncoming midfielder that richards did not pick up allowing the winger james into the box,then the deflection to the shot of connolly which our 3other defenders stood and watched hammond follow up.the 3rd was a bit of hesitant defending by sansara but when connolly went through he was clearly offside but the linesLADY was behind play and allowed play to continue.yes he may of been out of position on a few occasions but thats because he was covering as centre back when the saints counter attacked with 3players or more!!how you can lay the blame at one young players feet is beyond me,and he doesnt have to prove you wrong but to prove to the manager that he is worthy of keeping the shirt,to which out of his previous 9first team starts he according to the manager,press and other posters on here has been doing a very good job,thats why i cant understand the nasty comments about him,everyone is allowed 1 bad game.As football is all about opinions you are entitled to yours as am i,but surely this doesnt help the player or team???

[PT]

bigbillyofdarlo - It was Sansaras fault though, thats the problem. All 3 goals were because of his lack of positional sence. Westlake has played far less games yet he is 75648363 times better (on the opposite flank obviously). I've never thought Sansara was any good. I want him to prove me wrong

I'd counter that by suggesting that our rightback, whether that be Weston or Westlake, have a team-mate in front of them who helps them out, both defensively and in an attacking sense. Our left-back, whether that be Sansara or Vincent, has an apology of a professional footballer playing in front of them. A man who shirks every challenge, turns his back on the ball, can't pass, beat a man or cross the ball and who I'm sure was tackled by one of the cones at half-time.

[caldy]

We were poor today. Very frustrating as there were too many passengers being carried. I'm going to get slated now but Sansara cannot be completly blamed for the result. At times he had 3 players on his side with no back up. What is he suuposed to do? Richards offered no cover and Hughes just left him to it. Hutch should have seen this and done something about it. Hutchings has to take some blame for today, yet again he failed to make changes early enough. If we were 2-0 at home and the side on the pitch wasn't doing it in 45 mins, what makes him think we can get something out of thegame by doing nothing after the break?
Bradley was bad today but Mattis was no better. I've never been impressed by Hughes and today just strengthened my thoughts that he is nothing more than of lower average ability in this league. Thought Parkin did well when he came on. We needed muscle. McDonald used as a battering ram Sam Allerdyce style would have been useful today, anything would have been better than the tactics employed today.

[bigbillyofdarlo]

We were poor today. Very frustrating as there were too many passengers being carried. I'm going to get slated now but Sansara cannot be completly blamed for the result. At times he had 3 players on his side with no back up. What is he suuposed to do? Richards offered no cover and Hughes just left him to it. Hutch should have seen this and done something about it. Hutchings has to take some blame for today, yet again he failed to make changes early enough. If we were 2-0 at home and the side on the pitch wasn't doing it in 45 mins, what makes him think we can get something out of thegame by doing nothing after the break?
Bradley was bad today but Mattis was no better. I've never been impressed by Hughes and today just strengthened my thoughts that he is nothing more than of lower average ability in this league. Thought Parkin did well when he came on. We needed muscle. McDonald used as a battering ram Sam Allerdyce style would have been useful today, anything would have been better than the tactics employed today.

glad you saw the game as i did today.

[Wyrley_saddler]

We were poor today. Very frustrating as there were too many passengers being carried. I'm going to get slated now but Sansara cannot be completly blamed for the result. At times he had 3 players on his side with no back up. What is he suuposed to do? Richards offered no cover and Hughes just left him to it. Hutch should have seen this and done something about it. Hutchings has to take some blame for today, yet again he failed to make changes early enough. If we were 2-0 at home and the side on the pitch wasn't doing it in 45 mins, what makes him think we can get something out of thegame by doing nothing after the break?
Bradley was bad today but Mattis was no better. I've never been impressed by Hughes and today just strengthened my thoughts that he is nothing more than of lower average ability in this league. Thought Parkin did well when he came on. We needed muscle. McDonald used as a battering ram Sam Allerdyce style would have been useful today, anything would have been better than the tactics employed today.

Netan can't be completely blamed as it is a team sport, however he did have a big part in the defeat

Completely agree

Hughes has been our best signing this season in my opinion.

I agree, I said to my mate he should be playing more. Today was his type of game, like Norwich away.

[priestley_saddler]

We're gonna have to start playing all our matches on a Tuesday night, as we win on Tuesday's and lately never seem to perform on a Saturday. We had a go for the first half hour, but once the first goal went in then the second was inevitable. I accept we were beaten by a better team, but it just seemed that during the game the team themselves accepted they were being beaten by a better side, and therefore left Southampton too it.

There's been some nonsence written above about Sansara and Richards. Maybe I was watching a different game but the two of them did appear to be trying to work together. I was sat at the end of the F2G Lower, pretty much behind Sansara throughout the first half, and the problems were coming when Connolly was drifting out wide. Saints always seemed to have a 3 on 2 down that side and just kept picking out the spare man.

The first goal was disappointing but was a very good finish. This might sound strange but I actually blame Ince for the second goal. After the first goal we were all at sea, and I said to Jockey that we really looked like we needed half time. About four times during that period Ince got the ball in his hands and each time he got rid of it quickly. We lost it, it came straight back, Ince got it again and then released it as quick as he could again. I feel he should have just held the ball for a bit, killed a bit of time and broke the game up a bit to get us to half time 0-1 when we could regroup. However, we tried to rush and play at Southamptons pace and couldn't manage it. 0-2.

The third goal, Connolly had so much time that he even had time to fall over, pick himself up and still score without being under any pressure. I was about to up and leave at that point but then Byfield scored and for a minute or two you just wondered if we could get into it.

Bradley spent the whole game running like he'd got a brick in his shoe. The only surprising thing about his substitution was that it didn't happen earlier. At 0-2 we should have replaced Bradley, Mattis and Richards with Nicholls, O'Keefe and Parkin. However, we only made one change in the whole game and that to me was the most worrying thing. Southampton were making changes before we were and they'd got the game sewn up, yet Hutch wouldn't freshen it up.

A defeat I could accept, but the manner of it was really disappointing.

[Stu]

Bit of an overboard here, granted, we weren't great but sometimes you have to turn around and admit the opposition were just bloody good. The first 30 minutes was deadlock, but from the first goal there was only ever going to be one winner.

Soton were superb. Great movement, slicky passing, quick football, good tempo and appeared to press quite high, they'd got two fullbacks who got forward and some real quality in Lambert and Connolly. So even when we managed to keep Lallana quiet, the two up top were superb and Schniederlin (? sp) were impressive.

We simply had no answer, our response was for Rhys Weston too hoof it 50 yards to Raidi Jahihi who won everything in the air all game.

We were poor, yes. Tactics were poor anld Hutchings made no attempt to change them or to stop Ince and Weston hoofing the ball 50 yards every time they got it and giving possession away... Their 2nd goal all started off with another lame hoof from Weston straight to Jahidi's chest, which he put out to their right flank and within 30 seconds they'd scored.

They stopped us just as Brentford did, which is quite predictable. Stop Steve Jones and you force Walsall into 50 yard football with two strikers who aren't going to dominate anyone in the air. This is where a left winger, yes Hutch, you are allowed a left and right winger, would come in useful.

But at the end of the day. We came up against a better side, with real quality, who stopped us playing and imposed their own game.

[latviancheese]

Sounds like they had us figured out, targeting our left side.

[adjisaddler]

i went to the game today and what can i say , southampton were a class above.Walsall were all at sea most of the time and what more can i say except RICHARDS... i mean what the... how inept can a guy be , loose passes wayward crosses, corners that don't get past the 1st defender, clearances that go straight to the opposition .
Get rid now

Also what was going on with the defence today .. often hughes and smith were caught out and left men unmarked in the area on quite a few occasions.

[latviancheese]

first goal Hughes was just too fat and slow.

Second was the embaressing, it was like watching school children chase after a bal

[adjisaddler]

first goal Hughes was just too fat and slow.

Second was the embaressing, it was like watching school children chase after a bal

agreed

[philthesaddler]

im glad stu said we need a left winger, because thats exactly what i was saying during the match.

Our team is unbalanced because we have a threat down one side in jones, and on the other side, we have one of the worst players in the league, he cant pass, cross or beat a man.

If we had zaboob...and we so nearly did, we'd strectch teams a lot more, because theyd have two wingers to worry about, not just one.

Yes the defence looked poor today, but in conolly and lambert, theyve got one of, if not the best strike force in the league. We aint play off material, and even if we were, we'd have to beat one of charlton, leeds, norwich, southampton, millwall etc in the playoffs, which we wouldnt be able to do.

[King Crimson]

now that is harsh!!!!!you must remember hes [Sansara] only young and still learning the game and todays experience will stick out for him...

He's 20. He's been lucky enough to get a run of games under his belt through Vincent's injury. He's no better than when I saw him pre-season against Halesowen over three years ago. Lightweight, poor positioning, and his free kicks are woeful. I'd rather stick Hughes there and see Smith and Macdonald at centre half if Vincent isn't fit. Against quality opposition, we'd at least have some solidity and a bit of distribution from left back.

[Percie]

More money = more class.

No complaints.

[Pedagogue]

More money = more class.

No complaints.

... and there you put your finger on the injustice of it all, Percie. Why are a club like Saints allowed to spend big money on the likes of Lambert (and, presumably, high wages) when they are millions in debt? The football authorities are as pathetic as ever.

[Dell-icious]

More money = more class.

No complaints.

... and there you put your finger on the injustice of it all, Percie. Why are a club like Saints allowed to spend big money on the likes of Lambert (and, presumably, high wages) when they are millions in debt? The football authorities are as pathetic as ever.

Saints were in debt, hence why we went into Administration and almost folded completely back in July and started this season with minus 10 points. However, our new owner (Mr Liebherr) cleared all the club's debts (inland revenue, scheduled payments to other clubs from transfers, mortgage on the ground and all creditors) when he took over the club. So we are now in the fortunate position (and very rare one for any football club) to have absolutely no debt.

If it wasn't for those minus 10, we'd now be in 6th place. Hopefully, we will continue this great form and reach the play-offs, but it would mean only losing 6 or so games max between now and May.

Went to the game yesterday, thought you did well in the opening 30 mins or so as it took Saints some time to wake up.

Best of luck for the rest of the season.

[King Crimson]

Saints were in debt, hence why we went into Administration and almost folded completely back in July and started this season with minus 10 points. However, our new owner (Mr Liebherr) cleared all the club's debts (inland revenue, scheduled payments to other clubs from transfers, mortgage on the ground and all creditors) when he took over the club. So we are now in the fortunate position (and very rare one for any football club) to have absolutely no debt.

If it wasn't for those minus 10, we'd now be in 6th place. Hopefully, we will continue this great form and reach the play-offs, but it would mean only losing 6 or so games max between now and May.

Went to the game yesterday, thought you did well in the opening 30 mins or so as it took Saints some time to wake up.

Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Cheers for this, Dell-icious. Can you clarify the bit I've emboldened though? Are the debts cleared (i.e paid back in full already), or in the process of being paid back in installments ('scheduled payments')? For me, there's a massive difference between saying to people who lost cash when the club went 'pop' - "Here's your money, sorry for the inconvenience" and "We know you've lost a shed load, but we plan to pay you £x for x months/years and then we'll be quits."

Not having a go, just genuinely interested. If it's the former, then I think spending money on decent players is the club's perogative. If it's the latter...

[Duke]

Have to agree Stu with Saints were the better side , from the first goal the game was over we had no answers.
only goes to show how far we are away from any realistic chance of a play off place , Southampton will be there come May.

[Dell-icious]

Cheers for this, Dell-icious. Can you clarify the bit I've emboldened though? Are the debts cleared (i.e paid back in full already), or in the process of being paid back in installments ('scheduled payments')? For me, there's a massive difference between saying to people who lost cash when the club went 'pop' - "Here's your money, sorry for the inconvenience" and "We know you've lost a shed load, but we plan to pay you £x for x months/years and then we'll be quits."

Not having a go, just genuinely interested. If it's the former, then I think spending money on decent players is the club's perogative. If it's the latter...

I know that Saints reached an agreement with Norwich Union regarding a settlement figure for the stadium loan, so instead of the book debt of about £20m, Saints paid around £11m up front to clear the debt. All other debts were paid in full, including ones to other clubs. I understand that our payment of £1m for Lambert and £0.4m for Hammond in August were paid in one sum to Bristol Rovers and Colchester respectively.

The new owner has said they will "spend money appropriate for the division we are in". So we are not spending stupid amounts getting players from a higher division who won't then be that motivated. Getting David Connolly was a gamble, he was a free agent and been out injured for almost a year. He trained with Saints for 4 weeks for no salary to prove his fitness and was rewarded with a contract. IMHO, a brilliant move by Pardew as he's clearly one of the best strikers in this division and probably the Championship too. Buying Rickie Lambert was a no brainer, we had ONE striker on the club's books in August, so we had to get more and buying the highest scorer in the division made sense.

[Fray Bentos is God!]

As soon as Soton looked down our left side they didn't stop.

They weren't the best team I've seen but Sansara had a shocker today and the ref was a hell of an inconsistant fellow.

[Bernie]

I know that Saints reached an agreement with Norwich Union regarding a settlement figure for the stadium loan, so instead of the book debt of about £20m, Saints paid around £11m up front to clear the debt. All other debts were paid in full, including ones to other clubs.

Thank you for the information. I wonder if you could give us a link to a website that contains the details since I am sure the new owners will have wanted to make known their very fair way of dealing with the previous regime's creditors, but I have not been able to find where they did this. The club website news archive does not seem to be working at present.

[chestersaddler]

With respect to some of the comments regarding Richards and Sansara, I was reticent to criticise either on Tuesday as it was such a good team performance.

I did comment a number of times dueing the game at Yeovil regarding Sansara's clearances / distribution. It was as though he was wearing dice on his feet as a number of times he tried to sidefoot volley clearances which just spun off into the stand. Also, Yeovil's goal and the majority of their attacking play came down our left.

From what I have seen of Richards, he is lightweight in his defensive duties and I cannot remember him winning a 50:50. I do, however, think he is a good crosser of the ball (again based on the times I have seen him).

A number of comments again regarding Hutchings use of substitutes. I am baffled by his reluctance to change things either for tactical reasons (our own or to combat the opposition's) or for fresh legs.