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Shambolic Saints hammered by Hornets

4:57pm Saturday 18th October 2008

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SAINTS 0 WATFORD 3 Saints missed two penalties as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Watford at St Mary’s.

The Hornets had a dreadful away record going into the game having only taken one point in their five games on the road this season but were comprehensive winners over Saints.

It could have been very different were it not for missed first half chances from Saints and naïve defending that saw them concede all three goals from set-pieces.

The game got off to an incredible and controversial start with Saints missing a brilliant chance to take an early lead.

Just three minutes in Watford let a long ball over the top from Andrew Surman bounce and David McGoldrick chased it down. He went down right on the edge of the area with the keeper Richard Lee and two defenders having challenged.

The linesman flagged and the referee awarded a penalty with Lee being booked.

McGoldrick stepped up to take the penalty himself but it was very weak and fairly central and Lee diving to his left saved it with relative ease.

Saints created another opening just two minutes later when Jordan Robertson got in down the right and crossed low to the far post but Ryan Smith was unable to turn it goalwards.

Moments later Adam Lallana’s chipped ball to the far post was headed over by McGoldrick as Saints piled the early pressure on Watford who were desperately hanging on.

But as ever in football missed chances come back to haunt you and it was the Hornets who took the lead on ten minutes.

They failed to defend a right wing corner adequately and the ball fell to Tamas Priskin at the far post who lashed a half volley past Kelvin Davis for 1-0.

John Eustace was the next player in the book for a strong challenge on Adam Lallana.

Amazingly Saints were awarded another penalty on 19 minutes and they missed it again.

This time it was Smith who went down in the area looking like he was shoved by Matthew Sadler as he tried to win a header.

Paul Wotton took the responsibility from the penalty spot this time and decided to blast it low and hard but again it was very central and Lee, this time diving to his right, saved it with his legs.

Saints were getting rattled by Watford’s strong-arm tactics as Lee Williamson became their third player in the book while Jon Harley made it four moments later.

After 30 minutes it was 2-0 and again it came from a poorly defended corner.

Williamson lifted the ball in towards the near post, Darren Ward’s header hit the underside of the bar and Eustace was alert to follow up and head home from close range.

Saints had a terrific chance to halve the deficit four minutes later as Lallana’s beautiful ball put McGoldrick through one-on-one with Lee. He lifted the ball over the keeper but missed the target as he went for the far corner.

There was a much tougher chance for Robertson on 37 minutes as Leigh Bromby’s header back to Lee saw the keeper having to dive away on one edge of his area to prevent a corner.

He did that but spilt the ball allowing Robertson the chance to try and curl into an empty net but from a very acute angle he couldn’t quite get it on target.

On 40 minutes Saints again defended a set-piece appallingly and went 3-0 down, paying the ultimate price for all their missed chances.

This time it Williamson with the free kick on the right, Adrian Mariappa won the ball in the area and Priskin was alert enough to backheel the loose ball home from inside the six yard box.

McGoldrick was the firsts Saints player in the book for a trip.

Surman nearly gave Saints a glimmer of hope as his free kick was well saved by Lee and the follow-up just about hacked clear but at half time it was 3-0 and looking pretty grim.

The start to the second period was much more serene.

Watford knew their attacking job was largely done and that they needed to concentrate on defending.

As a result they were sitting deeper and trying to make themselves a more compact unit for Saints to break down.

Smith tried to do just that with a run and shot from distance but Lee was able to save.

Lallana also tested the Watford keeper on 55 minutes after being played through by Smith but Lee was equal to it.

Priskin nearly put the result beyond all doubt four minutes later when a long clearance drifted over the top of the Saints defence and the Watford man outpaced Wotton. He had to shoot early just inside the area but Davis dived to his right to make a good save.

Priskin had an even better chance on 65 minutes when some more indecisive defending allowed him a shot from eight yards out but somehow he missed the target.

Saints made their first change a minute later with Jake Thomson on for Lloyd James at right back before he switched positions with Jack Cork.

Davis had to be alert to turn away Ward’s flick-on from Bromby’s long throw as Watford came into the game a little more.

Watford made a double change with nine minutes remaining with Liam Henderson and John-Joe O’Toole coming on for Priskin and Will Hoskins.

Saints responded two minutes later with Tomas Pekhart replacing Smith.

Davis made another good save to stop Watford adding another in the dying minutes as Henderson managed to get past Cork but the Saints keeper got down at his feet to block his shot.

Watford made a final switch with Lloyd Doyley on for Mariappa.

By then though Saints were a beaten side, looking deflated out on the pitch and out of ideas.

When the final whistle went to a few boos from the disappointed St Mary’s crowd it was something of a welcome release and provided a realisation that another very winnable home match had ended in defeat.


Your Say YourHampshire Chronicle

The Junkie Monkey, The Beautiful Caves says...
5:02pm Sat 18 Oct 08

HA HA HA HA

couzzy, southampton says...
5:08pm Sat 18 Oct 08

just an utter utter shambles. the worrying thing is i'm not shocked. No doubt there will be the same old excuses but i'm really starting to not care therefore following the trend set by the players themselves, Mcgoldrick im talking about YOU in particular!!!!!

AndyAndrews, West End says...
5:09pm Sat 18 Oct 08

A new low, to the extent that I turned off the radio in disgust before half-time. And no, there are NO positives in a result like this.

Richard Hill, Lillestrom, Norway says...
5:11pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I am sure JP said we would benefit from the international break and come back stronger...well done... we only let in 3 this time!
Give us a good run of results and away from the bottom 3!!!

St JohnH, East Sussex says...
5:14pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Oh dear I have had to miss this game because of torn tendons. Sounds like Saints were just not in it at all. 2 missed penalties as well are we really that poor. the knives will be out for all concerned thats for sure

Finlay, Des Moines Iowa says...
5:17pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I spoke to the groundsman at St Marys and congratulated him on his pitch. It was in perfect condition.

I asked how he kept it so well and he said they put $50M of s*** on it at weekends

See what he meant now

couzzy, southampton says...
5:21pm Sat 18 Oct 08

just heard on solent that jan declared himself "satisfied" with the second half!!!!! this may well speak his mind but he is clinicaly insane!!!!

saintslad, southampton says...
5:42pm Sat 18 Oct 08

An old saying in football is "you build from the back" or maybe they dont do that in Holland !! utter garbage well done lowe ANOTHER experiment , ANOTHER **** up

St.Yorkie, Pocklington says...
5:48pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Another game and another lesson. What is the board going to do t resolve this farce?
A decent crowd will be completely turned off after that. Professional footballers should not miss penalties - and we miss two!
Jan's the man OK!
Wilde may be wild!
But it can't get much Lowe(r)!

Honestly I think I could do a better job with my knowledge of the game than this bunch of incompetents.

Clearly boys bullied again on the pitch, the same way Rupert bullies off it.

No joy in saying this but the sooner we get the -10 points for going into administration the better as I think the team will not have so much pressure on them and play better.

Awaits the tirade of abuse heading my way!

I'm not going to Sheffield on Tuesday night, I seem to be a jinx so perhaps we'll win!!!

The account for the "stay away fans" is opened to donate their ticket money - the warchest already has my £10 in for Tuesday nights game that I won't be attending.

That warchest will be needed come January as we may be able to afford to sponsor a goal scorer to keep us afloat - after all by then we'll need to have won 4-games to increase or points tally by 2!

More abuse expected, but still no response from the board as to our current predicament. I bet there is no response until the annual figures that are published showing things are not all that bad appear to support the current regime.

Sorry folks - I'm not going to be suckered in again!

"All Southampton FC,
We're by far the worst run team,
The world has ever seen,
And it's LOWE's Southampton
Lowe's Southampton FC..."

iwearahalo2, Liverpool says...
5:55pm Sat 18 Oct 08

At least the players are on our side , destroy the club , destroy Lowes finances , I would rather watch us in freedom than under a spotlight wherever they may be is anybodys guess but losing games and people not going is screwing my day up as well as his so as far as I am concerned its 1-1 , but I will stay far far longer than Lowe ! There will always be a Southampton.........
..........

The Junkie Monkey, The Beautiful Caves says...
6:00pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Saints should do us all a favour and go out of business now instead of in 10 years (and 10 relegations) time.

The players are cack
The manager is cack

Mike_Saint, Soton says...
6:02pm Sat 18 Oct 08

NO PASSION - NO PRIDE - NO IDEA - IN FACT CLUELESS!
WHAT A SHAMBLES - POOR KIDS DONT HAVE A CHANCE WITH THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP! WAS JAN'S HANDS GLUED INSIDE HIS TROUSER POCKETS ALONG WITH HIS BRAIN- THATS IF HE HAS ONE AS JUST NOW IM NOT SURE HE HAS!
WE ARE DOOMED UNLESS WE CHANGE TACTICS HOME:- 4-4-2 AWAY 4-5-1 !
oh AND PICK SOME SENIOR PLAYERS RUPERT!

couzzy, southampton says...
6:10pm Sat 18 Oct 08

just heard paul wotton being interviewed, actually felt sorry for him if im honest, he sounded like he was going to burst into tears anyway i think its telling that he made the following 2 points

1. he accused some of our players of not wanting it and needing a kick up the backside

2. labelled the goals a joke and
sunday league defending NOW with this in mind ..........what is jan ACTUALLY doing in these training sessions?

on a more positive note, nice to see nigel pearson doing well?

forcaster, spain says...
6:17pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Being a Watford fan I am highly delighted.We give you the chance to get two goals and you blow it.You deserve to be in Div.1 and most surely that is where you will be,Did you see the Leicester result?Peason must be laughing his head off.Where are all these people who blame the stay away fans for not putting money into the club,can you blame them for not wasting thier hard earned cash.

Saint, says...
6:28pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Jan you have been told by so many Saints fans on here, that we need to defend first! We are conceding so many goals on a regular bases....NOT GOOOD ENOUGH!

Lowe I hope you are proud of your gamble, as it is slowly turning into a nightmare for all Saints, and your happy to sit back and do nothing!


UTS, says...
6:35pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Well i think that will convince the doubters that Jan Portvliet is nothing more than a second rate amateur league coach. Totally clueless with tactics and playing one up front in a system that has never worked beggers belief.

I just dont understand why Portvliet has allowed himself to be a puppet to Rupert Lowe. We might as well say Lowe is indeed the team manager.


Thanks Michael Wilde is all i can say and you claimed in this paper that the club was 'better off with you two in charge' ! LOL

Bring back Leon Crouch as he in six months got things on track and with Nigel Pearson we wouldnt be in this mess. No excuses and as we have seen there was scope for a number of loans which would of been experienced !

Two away defeats to follow and that will be it for Porto and i can Wotte coming in.

There where more fans in the pub at halftime than before kick off !


LLMK, Locks Heath says...
6:38pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Can I just ask, what the hell has this picture to do with todays crap result??!! I wish Jan was Bond, maybe he's what need to sort this team out! Maybe a more apt picture would be of the 8,000 fans left at the final whistle?

St.Yorkie, Pocklington says...
6:47pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I've had a couple of Stellas now and calmed down a bit. Honestly I am soooooo angry.

As I said in an early response the account is open for donations for the new regimes warchest. All donations should be sent to...YO42 2EX. Address the envelope "We want Change" YO42 2EX. Make all cheques payable to "sfcyorkie" and they will be deposited.
Regular updates available on the value of the account daily on these pages.
Total as of today +£10.

keano, chandlers ford says...
6:59pm Sat 18 Oct 08

what a shambles again 3 goals from set peices selling andrew davies 4 a peanuts will cost us .we need 2 play 4-4-2 especialy at home ,jan seems out of his depth and his interviews are confusing and comical no wonder the players are confused they have no leader on or off the pitch,i really fear 4 us this season hope i am proved wrong.

doctorsaint, Hedge End says...
7:17pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Oh dear, oh dear. There's really good stuff there. Lallana showed flashes. Cork was excellent, The new boy Smith was really good in the second half. Lancashire showed some real spirit. McGoldrick can feint past players, but he's got a right attitude.

But the parts don't make up the whole. Missing lots of players yes - but the defending at corners is now a standing joke.

julius, Southampton says...
7:19pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Well what do we really expect, relegation Rupert has not invested in the club (1st Team) and is hoping that the Kid's will do a job for him, he's also brought in a managment team on the cheap!!. Saints at this rate WILL be playing in the 1st div next season, and ti'll all be down to the idiotic policies introduced by relegation Rupert!!!!!!!!!.

damien thorn, west end says...
7:35pm Sat 18 Oct 08

isnt it time to try to bring in experienced players on loan before this total football relegates saints?ajax its not.

Condor Man, Southampton says...
8:07pm Sat 18 Oct 08

This was one of the worst performances I've seen in 20 years. McGoldrick should hang his head in shame for a succession of misses- at least Wotton tried with the penalty. Robertson should go back to Sheff U and we desperately lacked experience in defence. Mills is too young and James ain't a right back.

Smith played well in fits and starts and the two best players- Surman and Lallanam will no doubt go as soon as the window opens.

147madmax, Swanwick says...
8:41pm Sat 18 Oct 08

If the board at Southampton football Club are in any doubt as to why the fans are staying away, then todays game against Watford should drive the reasons home hard and fast , Men against boy's, Two penalty's missed, 3 shot's 3 goals, Rupert Lowe can fool some of the people some of the time, but can not fool all of the people all of the time. How I hope that Rupert is hurting as much as us true saints fans.
147madmax

Optimist, Soton says...
8:42pm Sat 18 Oct 08

They practice set pieces, we practice football.
Set pieces dominate half of all games.
We lacked a killer instinct in defence and attack.

Jan will need help defensively, a new coach who has a dedicated role and sufficient time to implement necessary protocols is a minimum.

We dominated the football but did not score or protect with the needed force. They did, they won. If we want football to win we must earn the right to play the style.
Penalties must be executed with the apex of professionalism, not to do so is to side with the enemy.

Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter), says...
8:44pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I take no pride in saying it and I have said it before, we are in trouble this season. After the Barnsley game I put £20 on us to go down, I hope I am proven wrong but without serious action cannot see it happening for us this season.

The decision to sell Andrew Davies could prove to be a decisive one. No doubt people will talk about cost cutting but if we go down this would be proven to be a false economy (hoped Rupes would have learnt his lesson on thid first time around...)

The decision to buy Schneiderlen could also prove to be an error IMO. Why did we get one (expensive - relative to SFC) defensive midfielder, so that we could play a DM (Loyd James) at right back. Why didn't we buy 3-4 exerienced players, particularly defenders.

Pinning our defensive hopes to Michael Svennson is a pipe-dream. He isn't the player he was, understandably after such a long time out. Killer is an SFC legend but we cannot rely on him.

The decision not to play Skacel and to a greater extent Stern seems suicidle from my perspective. John was only our top scorer last season, but hey what do I know....

The decision to shut doen the Itchen corner is a mistake due to the atmosphere it generated. Again an example of Rupes going on the cost of something rather than the value.

SORT IT OUT

Dave Brown, Lee on the Solent says...
8:48pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I listened to Jan being interviewed on Solent after the game and have come to the conclusion that he either does not have a clue about Managing a team in the English league or that Rupert Lowe is selecting the team and Jan cannot criticise Rupert in fear of getting sacked by Lowe.
It is a known fact that Rupert spends a lot of time at the training ground and I guess he will appoint himself as Manager very soon, as he knows all there is to know about football and all the fans are complete idiots in his mind.
Well he can keep his club to himself and I will keep my money in my wallet until the day that he leaves, that is R.Lowe.

tricky19791, Ringwood says...
8:50pm Sat 18 Oct 08

What did I say about the 4-2-1-2-1 formation. It does not work. Also playing just 1 man up front at home from the start is in my eye's stupid. Be more attacking in your formation Jan. Maybe 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 might of worked for you.

Southampton have a good spot ball specialist in the squad, so why is he not even on the bench. If he was somewhere in on the pitch today I think that The Saints could have had 2 goal and a possible point had Rudi been on the pitch or as a sub. Has Rudi realy upset you or something Jan or what? Why?

I would also like to add the home of Southampton f.c. used to be a fortress. Be it at The Dell or St Marys. Now it resembles more like a sand castle, at the sign of trouble it breaks down, cracks and crumbles at the seams.



Steve in Swindon, Swindon says...
8:59pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Another 150 mile round trip wasted.

Jan is clueless - No experience in the side (except Wotton/Davies) and only 1 up front AT HOME !!

3-0 down at half time and he brings a second striker on in 82nd minute -CLOWN!

In the second half WATFORD looked like a team set on winning the game - we looked like a bunch of kids having a meaningless kick about in the park - No drive, spirit,passion,direc
tion or strategy - NOTHING!!

I was in Holand this week. Spoke to some Dutch football fans. They thought that JAN was a nobody who had only been involved with second division rubbish in Holland. Still that experience will do him good when we are in Div 1 next season.

Yet again Lowe has screwed us. Get JAN in on the cheap and experiment with kids and 'total football. Admit it Rupert - 'You don't what you're doing'. Unfortunately we do and that is why you only get 14,000 mugs instead of 25,000 these days.

By the way Rupes have you noticed how NP is doing these days??

Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter), says...
9:06pm Sat 18 Oct 08

forcaster wrote:
Being a Watford fan I am highly delighted.We give you the chance to get two goals and you blow it.You deserve to be in Div.1 and most surely that is where you will be,Did you see the Leicester result?Peason must be laughing his head off.Where are all these people who blame the stay away fans for not putting money into the club,can you blame them for not wasting thier hard earned cash.
We rolled over for you, but your support was rubbish. At 3-0 up can you hear the Watford sing?! SSHHHHHHH

St.Yorkie, Pocklington says...
9:14pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter) wrote:
forcaster wrote: Being a Watford fan I am highly delighted.We give you the chance to get two goals and you blow it.You deserve to be in Div.1 and most surely that is where you will be,Did you see the Leicester result?Peason must be laughing his head off.Where are all these people who blame the stay away fans for not putting money into the club,can you blame them for not wasting thier hard earned cash.
We rolled over for you, but your support was rubbish. At 3-0 up can you hear the Watford sing?! SSHHHHHHH
Shazza

A true cyber warrior!

Where so sh*t it's unbelievable!

Reality-man, Southampton says...
9:17pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I tried telling all you 'oh we're playing great football' and you 'we'll win more games than we lose' mugs after the Birmingham home game. Are you all finally waking up? Saints are rubbish, face it - we're doomed!!!!!!!

St.Yorkie, Pocklington says...
9:21pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Reality-man wrote:
I tried telling all you 'oh we're playing great football' and you 'we'll win more games than we lose' mugs after the Birmingham home game. Are you all finally waking up? Saints are rubbish, face it - we're doomed!!!!!!!
"We're all doomed" Private Fraser (Dad's Army c.1970)

He was right then, and I'm afraid with the current regime it will only get worse.

Rebellion (or is it revolution) that's required. Never mind "Storming of the Bastille" let's have a "Storming of SMS". No ticket purchases and force our way into the ground! Ticket sales 10,000 - attendance 30,000!

Jesus_02, Freemantle says...
10:19pm Sat 18 Oct 08

Oh no, I’ve just go back from drowning my sorrows’


We never looked like scoring. The penalty decisions made us look better than we are..

I just hope that there’re are 3 tams that are worse than us this year

TottonScrutineer, Totton says...
10:29pm Sat 18 Oct 08

If we want to attract supporters back to St Mary's we must give them what they want a winning team .This one is going nowhere and very fast.Rupert and Michael need to their money where their mouths are and buy or loan "experience" otherwise it will be a case of "Rome/Saints burning" while Nero/Rupert fiddles"

sainth, southampton says...
11:42pm Sat 18 Oct 08

I'm still waiting for the likes of Kate of Andover to come on and tell us it is all going to be ok and we just have to keep turning up and support the team and if we do that we will win the championship/premier
ship/world cup. sorry forgot that world cup is a country event. Sorry but our youngsters are just completely out of their depth and we have to start getting a few old heads in with the young'uns or are only hope is that there maybe three teams who are worse than us. 6 home games this season and only 5 points, this is just not good enough now. We have got some really tough games coming up now. If this had been any other season under L*** the manager would be gone. I hate having to be negative about saints but as a non season ticket holder and having spent over £175 already this season on tickets and merchandise for my kids I have the right to say that it is not good enough. The Dutchman has to go now and get a manager in that knows how to compete at this level. didn't we have one in Pearson?

Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter), says...
10:23am Sun 19 Oct 08

St.Yorkie wrote:
Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter) wrote:
forcaster wrote: Being a Watford fan I am highly delighted.We give you the chance to get two goals and you blow it.You deserve to be in Div.1 and most surely that is where you will be,Did you see the Leicester result?Peason must be laughing his head off.Where are all these people who blame the stay away fans for not putting money into the club,can you blame them for not wasting thier hard earned cash.
We rolled over for you, but your support was rubbish. At 3-0 up can you hear the Watford sing?! SSHHHHHHH
Shazza

A true cyber warrior!

Where so sh*t it's unbelievable!
St Yorkie

A true t0$$er!

We're so sh*t it's unbelievable, agreed! Their support was so sh*t it was unbelievable, too!

Martin Orford, Bishops Waltham says...
10:45am Sun 19 Oct 08

When are we going to learn? Yet another victory for the long-ball Route 1 game.

We've got to ditch all our lofty principles together with this dreadful "passing football" right now, get Billy Davies or Sam Allardyce and a bunch of thugs in, and let's hoof it up in the air and rough all these other teams up like they do to us!

Another ludicrous experiment has completely failed, and it's time to wake up and realise what actually works in this league.

We're trying to educate the Championship teams with our "Total Football" and they're all laughing at us.

Saint Madcap, Horndean says...
10:52am Sun 19 Oct 08

We have hit an all time low(e).The second half tipie toe football failed to bring a reward.We need a spine, a backbone for our team :- a hairy ar** centre half, a midfield general and a good old fashioned centre forward (this we have, where was Stern John?).Unless the powers that be act soon we are gonna be in for an even rougher ride. COYR

mitch kings langley, kings langley says...
10:59am Sun 19 Oct 08

I know how you must all feel!!To have missed 2 pens and to have given the 3 goals away to a side which has only won two in their last 19 away games......!'thanks for that'...(an embarrassed but greatful hornet)..x

Shazza (the genuine article, not an imposter), says...
11:09am Sun 19 Oct 08

mitch kings langley wrote:
I know how you must all feel!!To have missed 2 pens and to have given the 3 goals away to a side which has only won two in their last 19 away games......!'thanks for that'...(an embarrassed but greatful hornet)..x
Pleased to be of service, what were your thoughts on our brand of total football? x

St.Yorkie, Pocklington says...
11:21am Sun 19 Oct 08

What is total football? It doesn't seem to win many games. Perhaps we should consider an alternate type of football.

I'm not sure that there is anything wrong with total football, if the opposition stand off you! At Derby the kids didn't look out of their depth - but it's obvious the cloggers are taking their toll. We need a minder, someone who will kick back. Funny how we don't win anything in the air at either end. Mind you the last time I saw Svennson he didn't win a header either (Blackpool I think).
Why is it people like me who watched football for fun can see we are in deep Ka-Ka - yet there are still some praising the Lowe/Wilde way?
Life will go on without Chamionship football, we could end up in the Blue Square South in a few seasons. Just think how the opposition will play at SMS then!

Redhat, Southampton says...
11:44am Sun 19 Oct 08

I left the match,head down and really unhappy.. at half time-the home fans were at each others' throats and divided..
We all know who to blame here- LOWE/WILDE. I feel for Jan,he has no say and is a YES man..
I dont see a way out of this demise,we have been a laughing stock for so long now-we all expect it each time we play, i will always turn up and support my team-END OF.
I dont care who is in charge..im there... but i have to admit,this hurts like hell...

almouk, southampton says...
12:24pm Sun 19 Oct 08

True fans are for life not just the good times.....END OF....

Alexlibertine, Woolston says...
1:00pm Sun 19 Oct 08

It seems to me that Saints are missing to key players in Lee Holmes and Morgan Schneiderlin. Holmes provides quality and attacking flair down the left, not to mention the goal threat he can deliver, while Schneiderlin is a calming influence in midfield, with a good brain and can pick out some key short and long passes. When these two come back into the squad hopefully we can start picking up some points again and some much needed consistency with our performances and results. COYR!

Optimist, Soton says...
1:20pm Sun 19 Oct 08

almouk wrote:
True fans are for life not just the good times.....END OF....
True, a club is for life, not just for premiership.

Lowes Nemisis, Southampton says...
2:23pm Sun 19 Oct 08

Rupert Lowe you are to football what Gerald Ratner was to jewellery!


Steve Smirk, sholing says...
4:15pm Sun 19 Oct 08

Yet again unable to defend set pieces!!! This is basic stuff not rocket science. what have we spent the break doing???. We need some experience and physical strength at the back and some tactical nouse. One up front at home?. Its becoming increasing difficult to justify spending money on abject humiliation.

the third hardest man in sholing, southampton says...
5:01pm Sun 19 Oct 08

i left after the 3rd goal went in,a totally depressing performance,i just cant believe our naivety and lack of height and strength at dealing with balls into the box,it`s becoming clear that our club is being run by incompent people,we`ve got to wake up to the fact that playing nice football is a lovely idea that im totally for,but the reality of our situation is we dont have the quality to do this,we need to stop signing midfield and forward players and get in some big defenders real soon or we`re doomed ,if we cant afford to do this then we`ve got to get thomas back in defence,skacel on the left and wotton anchoring the midfield,too many of our kids just aint strong enough,and i really hope lowe and portvleit have woken up to this fact,surely its worth gambling on some experience,than trying to penny pinch our way into league 1.

St.Yorkie, Pocklington says...
5:14pm Sun 19 Oct 08

It seems strange that so many fans can see the problems - and yet the team running the club can't!

Lowe out!

Shuan Li, Southampton says...
5:34pm Sun 19 Oct 08

David McGoldrick is my favourite player... to hate! He is a lazy little sod and was abysmal yesterday against Watford. His contribution to the game was to take a lazy, over confident penalty, miss a great chance one on one with the keeper and do nothing else, but assist Watford in his own penalty area by missing two easy headers to clear and make a shocking headed clearence when he did make contact. All three mistakes led to goals. Granted the whole team was rubbish defending, but why was he there? Stay up field. Jan must see him as a match winner as he never gets subbed! Count how many times you see him stood still, hands on hips, next match. He needs to be dropped now! He does my head in!

US Spitfire, Idaho USA says...
5:42pm Sun 19 Oct 08

I hope that wasn't one of the "4 wins from 10" that Jan stated we were going to get last week!

davet1, ryde says...
5:45pm Sun 19 Oct 08

2 experienced full backs please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!

Denzil, Chilworth says...
6:31pm Sun 19 Oct 08

Pathetic.

Lowe out! And take your Dutch boyfriends with you.

Solent Saint, Lee on the Solent says...
7:51pm Sun 19 Oct 08

Can't help laughing though. Did you see who was on the score sheet for Stoke today? Higginbottam, Delap and Fuller rattled the bar twice. Oh fond memories

Steve in Swindon, Swindon says...
7:55pm Sun 19 Oct 08

We are now 11 games into the season and JP still doesn't get it! He has learnt nothing about the Championship. About time you went back to the dizzy heights of the Dutch second division.

JAN let me explain as you seem to be stuck in some sort of Dutch 'total football' time warp.

Watford are a typical Championship side.
Big blokes at the back.
Big blokes at the front.
Blokes in mid field that tackle(kick lumps out of the opposition) to win the ball .

We don't have any of these three key areas - we basically have a youth team whose average height is 5'6" and weight about 9 stone each.No wonder we NEVER win the ball in the AIR either in defence or attack.

Granted we can pass the ball 20 times around the centre circle to each other, but then we always lose it and end up being caught on the break time and time again.

We also have some lazy arogant sods (like McGoldrick) who already think they are 'big time charlies' after only 11 games.

Don't worry though Jan - you won't get the sack as you were carefully selected by Rupert who is an apparent expert in all things (Championship football, share buybacks and retirement homes).

By the way,the next time we are 3-0 down at half time try changing the team - at least it shows the players that you actually think they are useless too.

Saints Mike, Southampton says...
8:14pm Sun 19 Oct 08

Its taken me this long to get over the shambles, that used to be a team.
No pride in the red & white shirt.
No leadership on the field.
No leadership off it.
For the first time in 35 years that I ever left a Saints game early, as did my 15 mates as well, some had answered the call of Nick (the idiot)Illingsworth,a
nd like me spent my hard earned cash on watching a youth team get well and truely stuffed like the Christmas turkey, mind you I think the turkey would have put up more of fight.
Blame Lowe as much as you like. I knew and we all knew from last time exaclty what he would do, the man who ousted Lowe namely Michael Wilde is the real villian. To save his money, Wilde climbed into bed with Lowe not shaft eachother but to shaft us fans, we are using young players because its Lowes baby (the academy) and the arrogant man he is he wants to prove a point that he knows more about football than us fan, and Wilde smiles for the camera's and thinks joining Saints fans in a pub at QPR makes him a true fan, well it doesn't it makes you exactly what are you, a money grabbing scheming slimey person who think so little of us Saints fan he didn't even have time or the grace to sign an auotgraph for a disabled fan waitng by the players entrance. A true SAINT you are not Wilde. I thank god that Barnsley, Notts Forrest, Norwich, Doncaster are worse than us because without them this season I really fear the worse.

Denzil, Chilworth says...
8:41pm Sun 19 Oct 08

LOWE OUT LOWE OUT LOWE OUT LOWE OUT

Lehman Bros Banker, Docklands says...
10:34pm Sun 19 Oct 08

Dear Rupert,

This is no time for novices. If you wanted to experiment, you should have bought a chemistry set, not a football club. You have ruined the lives of thousands, destroyed the spirit of Southampton and made yourself a laughing stock. Only an arrogant buffoon would appoint this double dutch coaching set up,(but there is history with your appointment of Wigley and Gray), move Staplewood en masse to St Mary's in the mistaken belief that young boys can replace seasoned professionals, and return with the poison dwarf as the comedy duo Little and Large.

And when you come back in the next life, do us all a favour and go do it all over again in Portsmouth!

pompeydave, portsmouth says...
6:27am Mon 20 Oct 08

Happy days !

pompeydave, portsmouth says...
6:30am Mon 20 Oct 08

Wishing Woopert on us, now that is nasty.

Kate, Andover, says...
9:18am Mon 20 Oct 08

I think it's harsh for people to have a go at McGoldrick. He didn't have a good game and maybe the penalty miss made him lose confidence in hemself. Although to be fair, the penalty he took was exactly the same as the one he took against Norwich, except the keeper went the right way. If anything, Wotton's penalty was far worse.

I was pleased with the way the players improved in the second half but then again, Watford sat back and let us playbut the damage had already been done. The big problem with playing one up front is that it doesn't encourage attacks on goal and we never looked like scoring.

JP, you HAVE to work on set pieces in training and don't let the players go home until they've got it right. And get in a couple of experienced heads to go with the youngsters - how do you expect the young players to learn otherwise??

There had better be an imrovement in tomorrow's game although confidence may be low. And Sheff Utd will be looking for a good result after their loss yesterday.

My forecast is nothing more than a point, but I'll be hoping for more - COYR!!!

jezza, Stanstead Abbotts says...
9:22am Mon 20 Oct 08

Losing any game is disappointing, but to be fair, I doubt many realistic Saints fans would have expected to beat Watford this season.

I doubt we will beat Sheffield United either, (another big, strong team), but I still have faith in our guys to get enough points to stay up.

This season is all about rolling with the punches, (of which there will be plenty), and not, as seems more and more uniform on here, getting the towel ready to throw in.

SFC4EVA, Southampton says...
10:12am Mon 20 Oct 08

Have tried to stay positive and persuade others to do the same but it is coming more and more difficuly with every game!

I cannot see a way out as we have no money!

Sickofitall, Embarassed - ville says...
1:47pm Mon 20 Oct 08

Shuan Li wrote:
David McGoldrick is my favourite player... to hate! He is a lazy little sod and was abysmal yesterday against Watford. His contribution to the game was to take a lazy, over confident penalty, miss a great chance one on one with the keeper and do nothing else, but assist Watford in his own penalty area by missing two easy headers to clear and make a shocking headed clearence when he did make contact. All three mistakes led to goals. Granted the whole team was rubbish defending, but why was he there? Stay up field. Jan must see him as a match winner as he never gets subbed! Count how many times you see him stood still, hands on hips, next match. He needs to be dropped now! He does my head in!
And I was beginning to think it was just me! Shaun mate, your post sums it up perfectly. I know he's only young, (before anyone gets on my case), and he is learning, but he's just no good right now. His confidence is clearly hammered right now, and he needs an extended spell out of the team. Instead of showing some character and desire to put his first disaster right when we got the second pen, did you see how far he ran to get away from the ball? Almost the complete width of the pitch. Stern back, Pearson back & Skacel back, and sorry Dave, but you just don't cut it.

crazyworld, Southampton says...
9:04am Tue 21 Oct 08

Here's hoping Saints can turn it around with three points tonight! Leave McGoldrick on the bench, Jan!

Comments are closed on this article.

Jan Poortvliet Jan Poortvliet

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