The bus has pulled in, Journey Compete!

7^th May 2011

Our final game of the season saw Walsall make the trip to St. Mary's. Saints needed a point to be assured of Championship football next year and the coveted runners up spot to Brighton.

The game was a sell out and over 31,000 supporters filled the stadium to enjoy the promotion party. Walsall fans played their part by bringing about 2,000 in their bid to avoid relegation.

Before the game, Saints fans held aloft red or white placards to show the support the team had behind them.



Before the game, Itchen / Chapel Corner



Chapel / Kingsland Corner 

As per most games this season, we started brightly with Guly and Lambert both moving around the visiting defence. Guly broke the deadlock with a well taken goal on 25 minutes, cutting in from the right before curling the ball past Walker in the Walsall goal. This joy was doubled 3 minutes later as Connolly finished from close range following good work from Lallana. We seemed to have wrapped up the points and took our foot off the gas. We got a little bit sloppy and gave away a goal on the cusp of half time as Gray cut in and drilled a shot past Kelvis.

Second half we seemed to have regained our composure and played in 3^rd gear. We could have opened up and scored many more, but there was no need. Saints bought on the returning Chamberlain who seemed fresh and eager. Alex should have scored a hat-trick within 10 minutes of coming on, but he made one chance count with the goal of the game, cutting in from the right and curling a shot in from 18 yards. A fitting end to the season.

The inevitable pitch invasion took place at the final whistle, with many of the players struggling to make it to the tunnel. It was all in good spirits and it was great to see the players celebrating with the Chairman in the directors box shortly after. Mission complete!

Party time on the pitch!

Block 42, Row W boys.
 (L-R: Me, Jamie, Dave, Brendan, Geoff)

Here is to a busy summer, with hopefully more additions to the squad. It would be great to be able to keep all our star players, but I think we may lose one in Chamberlain. Nigel Adkins deserves great credit for all his hard work and I for one cannot wait till 17^th June when the fixtures come out. The build up starts then! But for now, the bus is parked up in the station and getting a well deserved rest for the summer.

Adventures of a Saints Fan, Season Player Ratings:

1 Kelvin Davis - A good shot stopper, but poor communication and looks nervous coming off his line. Some vital penalty saves. 6/10

2 Frazer Richardson - Always dependable. Long term injury meant we didn't see the best of him. 7/10

3 Dan Harding - Got into good attacking positions, weighed in with a couple of goals. Shame his defending was inconsistent at times. 7/10

4 Morgan Schneiderlin - Best passer of the ball at the club. Needs to cut out silly bookings, but good to see him getting stuck in. A massive season awaits. 7.5/10

5 - Ryan Dickson - Yet another good attacking full back. A bargain signing who should establish himself as number 1 next season. 7.5/10

6 Jose Fonte - Hardly put a foot wrong and was our best defender this season. Scored his fair share too. 9/10

7 Rickie Lambert - Didn't reach the height of the previous season. Carried injuries, but still scored 20 goals plus and numerous assists. 8.5/10

8 Jonathan Forte - Signed midway through the season. Looks a good signing. Vital goals against MK Dons. 7/10

9 Lee Barnard - Despite off field distractions, still banged in almost 20 goals. Always works hard and a fans favourite. 8.5/10

10 Jason Puncheon - Absolute disgrace, should never wear the shirt for us again. 0/10

11 Guly Do Prado - Took a while to settle in. Hit double figures and bought some chaos to our front-line. We still don't know his best position. 8/10

12 Danny Butterfield - Great free transfer signing. Always solid, put in a few great crosses and offered versatility. 7.5/10

14 Dean Hammond - The skipper dragged the team at times to victory. Superb in second half of the season. 8/10

15 Radhi Jaidi - A rock at the back. Shame his legs are going. Scored a few and won lots of headers at the back. 8/10

17 Aaron Martin - Showed great promise with some impressive displays. Under used in my opinion. One very much for the future. 7/10

19 Danny Seaborne - Bobby Moore as we like to call him. Over uses his cross field passes, but another squad member who can be relied on. 7/10

20 Adam Lallana - Critical to all our success. Not only chips in with goals and assists but shows the passion required to be a fans favourite. 9/10

21 Lee Holmes - Another injury ravaged season. Showed glimpse of talent in his few appearances. 6/10

22 David Connolly - Injuries ruined his season. Once fit, showed his class. Scored a classic Connolly goal away to Brighton. 7/10

23 Tommy Forecast - Who? What a waste of space, even Eastbourne thought he was crap! 0/10

24 Bartosz Bialkowski - Didn't feature much, performs well when selected. Still doubts over long term fitness but should be number 1 in my opinion. 7/10

26 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - What a season from the young kid. Gave many a left back nightmares with his pace and directness. Scored his share of goals too. 8.5/10

27 Oscar Gobern - Potentially can be our Patrick Vieira. Breaks up play well and tries to get forward. Classic sending off at Bournemouth! 7/10

30 Richard Chaplow - Bargain signing at 50k. Added needed bite to midfield and always a goal threat. 7/10

32 Dany N'Guessan - Showed glimpse of skill but generally was a let down. 5/10

33 Dale Stephens - Came in and did a job. Too many sideways passes for my liking. Like a young Jim Magilton. 5.5/10

Other loan signings like Nicholas Bignall 4/10

The Gaffer Nigel Adkins - Nigel got us fit and motivated. Won mind games with most managers and always seemed to try to play flowing football. Tactically very good and not afraid to change the system. 10/10

Adventures of a Saintsfan, Player of the Season :

Dean Hammond wins my player of the year. Dean has skippered the side well and was the driving force behind the new found resilience that our players seem to have. Dean chipped in with a few goals and deservedly wears the armband. Well done Deano, hopefully the first of many awards!

I would like to thank everyone who has read, contributed and given me feedback this season. I plan to make lots of improvements over the summer and hope you'll all be back next season to read my thoughts on Saints in the Championship.

COYR!! We did it for Markus!!

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch. Email – modha79@gmail.com

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit http://www.bellsofhythe.co.uk/ for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

The Promotion bus is pulling into the station!

23^rd April 2011 - 2^nd May 2011

The final push for promotion started with a trip to the Withdean to face league champions Brighton. Most Saints fans have been respectful to our south coast neighbours and congratulated them on their successful season, shame the same can not be said for Gus Poyet and his club.

This was a vital game in our season and it seemed the hosts did everything they could to gain victory. The games started during the week in the run up to the game as Poyet and his little mouthpiece Tarrico yet again opened their big mouth's and slated our club. Then on match day, Nigel Adkins and his men were subjected to songs such as “Catch us if you can” during the warm up. Some of the Brighton fans even made a childish banner referring to “The Adkins Diet.” Yet again, here is a club who should just concentrate on enjoying their season and act professionally, but small club syndrome seems to have struck again! Very much like little old Bournemouth who seem to think they are our rivals. When will these clubs learn, we have only one rival and that is the Blue mob down the M27!

Saints started well on a bright sunny day in the not so pleasant surroundings. Saints travelling army were in good voice and as usual gave tremendous backing to the boys. The first half was dominated by Saints as Guly and then Lambert had good opportunities. Then disaster, an under hit back pass from Jaidi was intercepted by Barnes who finished to give the home side an undeserved lead.

Saints acted instantly at the beginning of the second half, Talisman Lallana was introduced to help create more chances for the forward players. Saints kept banging at the door and Ankergren in the Brighton goal made a few decent saves. But all the hard work our lads had put in finally came to fruition in the 83^rd minute as Connolly showed his class and turned inside the box and put the ball in the bottom corner. The determination of this current side meant we would go for the winner and that we did. A long ball in from Davies was met perfectly at the back stick by Jose Fonte who looped a header over the keeper. The scenes of pure delight were evident not only in the crowd but also on the players faces as they ran towards the crowd and celebrated. A vital 2-1 away win at the Champions and promotion was still in our own hands.

Even after being beaten by the better side Poyet still didn't have a nice word to say about us, comparing us to Dagenham & Redbridge. Hmm-mm, Sour grapes Gus?

The lads had two days rest after beating Brighton and were then back in action at St. Mary's against a resilient Hartlepool side. From the very start Saints were comfortable and it was a case of when we scored rather than if we would. Goalless at half time and a few nerves were jangled. We weren't passing the ball in the way we know we can, but were still much better than the visitors.

Relief for the home fans finally at the beginning of the second half as Lambert broke into the box and was pushed, simple decision for the referee who also showed the monkey hangers defender a red card. The penalty was of course dispatched by Rickie who was closing in on 20 league goals again this season. The second goal was a long time coming following a spell of frustrating play where our midfield again seemed to go missing. Lambert had the opportunity to shoot from a free kick about 25 yards out but he cleverly disguised the free kick and instead floated a great ball to the back post where Fonte again headed in. It was a well worked training ground set piece and again showed that the gaffer has got players thinking about how to earn different scoring chances.

The travelling army then had the short trip up the M3 to play Brentford. This was a game that I felt confident of winning and with Huddersfield making the trip to Brighton I felt this could finally give us some breathing space above the terriers from West Yorkshire.

Pre match warm up at Griffin Park

Saints had this game won after 29 minutes. Following good link up play Lallana got free on the edge of the box and drilled home a low shot. Then the evergreen Connolly chased a lost cause, got to it before the keeper and coolly lobbed it over him. This goal sent the Saints fans in the terracing wild. A tremendous atmosphere which just kept building. You could see that the players seemed to enjoy the ease with which they were winning.

The second half was a slightly different story as the home side chased and harried our lads. We seemed to take our foot of the gas and looked like we had our minds on the upcoming trip to Plymouth. The referee didn't help, he awarded a penalty for a foul by Richardson which even from my view at the other end of the ground seemed outside the box. Luckily the penalty was smacked against the left hand upright and bounced to safety. Just to help calm the nerves, Saints then broke down the pitch and Lallana laid the ball of for Gobern to tap in from a couple of yards. 3-0 and it was not a harsh scoreline on the home side as we outclassed them in all departments.

It is a shame that the day out was ruined by London Met. Yet again they have no respect for visiting fans and seemed to want it to kick off. They were rude and even threatened to push fans who were simply waiting to get to their cars! Good to see our taxes being spent so well!

Yet another Pillar blocking our view!

With Huddersfield managing to beat Brighton, Victory in our last game in hand at Plymouth was vital. A win for Saints today would leave us 3 points ahead of Huddersfield with a much superior goal difference. As with every trip I have made to the Plymouth, the first thing to do is make your way to the fresh doughnut stand. Best I've ever had!

The Saints were backed by a magnificent following and I’m sure there were more than a few hundred in with the home fans.

The crap side

The good side

Saints started slowly and the home side were chasing down every ball. A defeat for Plymouth would mean relegation and it showed that Peter Reid had wound them up a treat. It was a shame that the highly rated Bolasie dived so blatantly in the early minutes trying to claim a penalty, good thing the ref was strong and didn't bow to crowd pressure. The home side tried an aggressive approach which for once Saints stood up to. The magnificent centre back pairing of Fonte and Jaidi won every high ball and Hammond in midfield showed his class with an authoritative performance. The breakthrough came on the stroke of half time as Butterfield crossed to the back post and Lambert rose to power home a great header. Some of the Saints fans in the home end couldn't hide their happiness and some were outed by the home fans and even a few skirmishes broke out. 1-0 half time.

Promotion was all but sealed in the first 15 minutes of the second half. First following Jaidi cracking the post with a flying header, Lallana put the ball back into the box and Dickson curled the ball in from 6 yards for his first goal for the club. Then Lambert broke into the box and was bought down. As per usual he smashed home the penalty. This sent the Saints fans into raptures and the promotion party was well and truly under way! Shame the result was ruined by a late goal for the home side.

At the final whistle the fans and players alike shared some joyous scenes as the Saints had all but confirmed promotion. Shame the police bought the dogs out or we could have had a pitch invasion to celebrate our first promotion in 33 years! A great achievement which will be confirmed after our last game on Saturday against Walsall.



Police Dogs, not to be messed with!



Now you gonna believe us! The Saints are going up!

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch. Email – modha79@gmail.com

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit http://www.bellsofhythe.com/ for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

The journey is almost over....All aboard!

19^th March - 16^th April 2011

Saints started a very busy period with the televised visit of Sheffield Wednesday, another club who should be higher up the leagues. The sky camera's came to St. Mary's hoping to see an upset. High flying Saints started brightly with Rickie Lambert testing the keeper with an early free kick. Saints were playing some flowing football with the creative heartbeat Lallana involved in most of our attacking play. Wednesday barely threatened and made it to half time all square. The deadlock was finally broken early in the second half as Jose Fonte powered home a header from a well worked corner routine. The goal seemed to settle the crowd and saints went on to play some more good stuff. The partnership up front between Bernie and Lambert was blossoming and they combined on 65 minutes for Lambert to convert on the half volley to wrap the points up for the Saints. This made it 4 wins from 4 and the promotion charge was well and truly on.

Next up was a midweek trip to an out of sorts Charlton. This was one of our games in hand on our rivals and will have a major impact on where we finish. Saints were again on the front foot early but seemed to lack a little bit of fitness on a tough night. Things became even tougher during the first half as Lallana and then Chamberlain were both forced off with injuries. Chamberlain seemed to have a serious ankle injury, hopefully this will not be the last time we see the young talent in a Saints shirt! Guly and N'guessan were bought on to play wide and hopefully provide the fire power for our in form strikers. Again the first half ended goalless. Saints pressed hard in the second half and the travelling 3000 supporters were rewarded on 63 minutes as Radhi Jaidi scored following yet another set piece. But as we all know a 1-0 lead away from home is never safe if you're a Saint. As we pushed for a second goal, Charlton hit us on the break and ex Saint Bradley Wright Phillips did what he never did much for us and coolly finished to square up the game. Saints still believed and had a perfectly good goal by N'guessan disallowed for offside. A point away from home at a ground where we haven't got the best of records was a result I would have taken before kick off. As Nigel would say, we move on to the next game.

With our away game at Plymouth being called off due to international commitments, MK Dons were our next opponents at St Mary's. Saints were forced into a change with Guly starting at the top of a diamond in place of the injured Chamberlain. MK came with a good game plan and forced Saints into plenty of uncharacteristic mistakes. Saints paid for the poor start when MacKenzie rose unchallenged in the six yard box to head MK into the lead. Yet another goal which could have been avoided if Kelvis had come off his line! MK then silenced St Mary's with another goal on 55 minutes, Baldock broke into the box and beat Kelvis at his near post. Serious questions need to be asked about our keeper. I think its a season too far for him and I hope we can find a better replacement this summer. 2-0 down and Nigel Adkins had to earn his money. He introduced the pacey Forte in place of an out of form Chaplow. What a sub this proved to be as Forte tapped home with his first touch and then took the roof off St Mary's a minute later with another close range finish. By this time Saints were rampant and could smell victory. Lee Barnard who had worked his socks off, finally got his reward as he drilled home the winner with 15 minutes remaining. As someone who has watched Saints for many years, these sort of comebacks never work in our favour. We are usually on the other end of a game like this. The players seem to have a stronger mental attitude than teams before them. Maybe a sign that we will get promoted?

Following the euphoria of the comeback victory against MK, Saints had yet another midweek game against Charlton. From the moment Guly gave Saints the lead on 10 minutes, the result was never in doubt. Charlton were a poor team who lacked any sort of confidence. Saints had probably the most comfortable home victory of the season. Kelvis was barely troubled and the returning Ryan Dickson was causing all sorts of problems for Charlton with his foraging runs down the left. Bernie added to his tally with another well taken goal as Saints showed tremendous professionalism to see out the remaining minutes. Special mention to Radhi Jaidi who showed his class with yet another dominant performance keeping the divisions leading scorer in his pocket.

Saints marched on to Leyton Orient hoping to collect yet another 3 points. This was a game that was a must win and would take us into second place in the league. Over 3500 Saints fans made the trip to the Match room stadium in East London. Orient tried to play dirty by having one of the most knobbly pitches I have seen in a while. But such is the steely determination of this current squad that it didn't really effect our play. Orient had two first half goals rightly disallowed for offside, Saints were trying to play the football and Dickson created the first goal with a lovely cross for Lambert to powerfully head in at the near post. A 1-0 lead at half time was just what we deserved and kept the fans at ease. Orient were a different side second half, as per past history, Russell Slade instructed his team to go even more long ball. Fonte and Jaidi at the back were immense and won header after header. As the home started exerting more pressure, Adkins used his excellent tactical skills to nullify the threat. He introduced Seaborne and Martin to play at full backs. This meant we had 4 centre halves to deal with the Orient long balls. We wrapped up the match when Lambert cleverly found Bernie in the box to smash home and confirm all 3 points for the red army.



Pre match Warm Ups



Sunshine at Orient




Saints fans fill the away end!



One of the many Pillars at Orient

Yet another game in hand was next up with a very tough midweek trip to Rochdale. Saints went with the diamond midfield again. We were outplayed first half and went in 2-0 down at half time. Both goals were poor from a defensive point of view. Kelvis again at fault, firstly allowing a looping header to go past him then for the fifth time this season he was beaten at his near post. How many more points will he cost us? We have a very able deputy sat on the bench. Nigel, time to drop Kelvis....Please! We improved second half with the switch to a flat four in midfield and the introduction of Lallana who was unlucky when hitting the post late on.

Saints completed yet another busy week with the visit of relegation threatened Bristol Rovers to St Mary's. Most Saints fans including myself felt this would be an easy victory. How wrong was I? Rovers came with a game plan and boy did they stick to it!

Saints had all the possession early on as Guly combined with Lambert to create some good openings. But Rovers stood firm, the keeper made a great save on the line to deny Guly then got lucky as a good downward header from Forte bounced off the post and away to safety. Saints had Stephens and Hammond in midfield and they proved to be ineffective. They both seemed to play in the same areas and Stephens lacked any responsibility as he only looked for the Jim Magilton sideways pass! Jaidi was forced off after half an hour with what seemed to be a niggle. This looked like another game where the most patient team would prosper.

The second half started with Rovers wasting time and trying to make the game scrappy. Their cause was helped by yet another group of inept officials sent by the football league. The ref seemed to have his yellow card out before a foul was committed and made some ridiculous decisions. We also had the pleasure of seeing a female assistant referee. Now people may say this next comment is sexist, but there is no room for a poor official in the professional game. Go ref on the Women's league! Forte continued to cause a few issues with his pace, but injuries were the main concern. Forte, Lambert and Barnard were all victims of heavy tackles. This took its toll and just as it appeared Lambert would be coming off, Bernie attacked a cross in the box and fell awkwardly. He was stretchered off. A worrying sign for Saints fans as Bernie has been in great form lately, he was replaced by the injury prone Connolly. DC is a fans favourite and his introduction seemed to spark Saints as his clever build up play allowed Guly and Lambert to work in more dangerous positions. Finally to the relief of the whole city Guly combined with DC and finished well from inside the box. The relief was evident to see among the players and they finished the game well. Another 3 points for the boys and Brighton to come next week.

On the subject of Brighton, I would like to offer my congratulations to them for winning the league. The have been the most consistent side and I hope to be going to their new stadium next season, hopefully with the Saints!

We now have a pivotal period until the end of the season. 5 games remaining, 4 wins assures promotion. Fingers crossed! We have a few injuries at the moment but with more encouraging news about Morgan and others I'm sure we can achieve our aim of promotion.

Keep the faith folks and keep supporting the team!

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch. Email – modha79@gmail.com

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit http://www.bellsofhythe.co.uk/ for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

The wheels on the bus go round and round....

1^st March 2011 – 13^th March 2011

Following Saints 4-1 home victory against Swindon, the Saints made the midweek trip to Walsall hoping to come home with the 3 points. An enjoyable drive up to the Midlands ended with parking at the stadium for a reasonable £2 for the night. Walsall has a great supporters club in the vicinity of the stadium. £2 to get in and they do food and drink at a good price. When we arrived at about 5.30pm the club was already half full with the Saints army and by 6.30pm it was full of Saints.

Away Entrance at The Bescot

The first half started scrappily with Saints trying to pass the ball about on the bog they called a pitch. This wasn’t working and we soon switched to a more direct approach. The defence seemed solid enough but we lacked the guile and patient to open up the home defence. Morgan Schniederlin went through early on, but collided with the keeper. Morgan stayed down following the collision and was subbed off. Rumour has it we may not see Morgan again this season. A fairly poor half was finally over and we hoped for better.

Classy Stadium!

Saints started the second half shooting towards the 1200 or so fans that had made the trip. We finally started to open up the defence and seemed to be gaining the upper hand. We were wasting chances and seemed to panic in front of goal. Then disaster struck, a long ball from the Walsall defence was misjudged by Jaidi and with Kelvis yet again off his line, Jon Macken coolly lobbed the on rushing keeper. 1-0 and they only had one shot on target. Saints continued to try to get back level but it just wasn’t our night. Both centre backs had simple chances to score, but were denied by a combination of good keeping, brave defending and some luck! With saints launching the ball into the box at every opportunity, Walsall seemed to take an age over goal kicks and throw ins. Looking back, we played ok. We just knew it wasn’t going to be our night and the fact the home keeper, Jimmy Walker was named man of the match summed up our evening. A disappointing journey home was all we had to look forward to.

Saints were again on the road for the next game. Colchester has proved to be a tough team for Saints to beat and this was a vital game in our promotion challenge. This was a game I didn’t go to and I wasn’t surprised that we won. It always seems to be the case. We took the lead following a Lambert free kick which was poked home by Alex Chamberlain. Then a bizarre decision by the ref turned the game in our favour. He showed a red card to the Colchester forward Mooney, for what I can only describe as handbags with Danny Butterfield. A very harsh sending off. Second Half, Skipper Hammond finished well to round off an impressive and very important 3 points for the Saints.

After two games on the road, Saints returned to the relative luxury of St. Marys for a home match against perennial strugglers Yeovil Town. Saints still had a few injury problems with Guly and Morgan still sidelined. Yeovil came to St. Marys with the objective of frustrating Saints. They worked hard and made life very difficult for Saints. We finally took the lead when the hard working Barnard fired home from close range following yet another training ground set piece. Bernie was working his socks off up top and creating space for Lambert, Lallana and Chamberlain. Saints were playing a patient game and seemed to be tiring the opposition out. The morons who sit at the back of the Northam stand fail to understand tactical play and just moan and complain when Saints try to do this to teams. Tactical play is something we have rarely done over the last few years and look where it’s got us.

9 minutes into the second half our number 9, Bernie, doubled the lead with a far post header following great wing play from Lallana. Our opponents were now looking tired and we seemed quicker to every ball. A result of our tactics? The result was put beyond doubt when Alex Chamberlain won a ball about 25 yards out and drilled a shot home via a deflection. 3-0 and we were very comfortable. We had managed to get a vital 3 points, but the plus side was that we were able to rest Jaidi and give valuable run outs to a few squad players like Aaron Martin and Oscar Gobern.

And so to the day Eddie Mitchell and every Bournemouth fan has been harping on about all season! Their Cup final!

Saints took a great following of 1200 down the M27 to dean court. Arriving at Kings Park we were greeted with a surprisingly quaint atmosphere. We were told to expect a hostile reception and to expect a heavy police presence. This could not have been further from the truth. It was like a pre season friendly as the Saints fans gathered outside the ground.

The crowds rushing to get at the home end! Dean Court.

The game finally kicked off with the travelling support in good voice, nothing beats mocking a jumped up little club like Bournemouth. The home side took the lead when Dalla Valle smashed home a controversial opener. Saints cleared the ball, it hit one of our own players before the blonde haired striker scored. The linesman who had officiated in the world cup final could make up his mind as to if it was offside or not and Andre Marriner awarded the goal. Considering the ref was an established Premier league official with one of the most highly thought of linesman in the country I have to say they were more than useless! Some of the decisions were baffling. I couldn’t believe how many fouls on Bernie were going unpunished. Both the Saints strikers were victims of some very heavy challenges. Saints equalised quickly. Lambert did very well in chasing down a ball out wide and not letting the home defender see the ball out. He then crossed to the back where Bernie headed downward towards the goal. Then comedy time as Shwan Jalal the home keeper seemed to let the ball under his body. Another example of how bad a keeper he is. His distribution and handling was so bad, it made Kelvis look a decent keeper. 1-1 at half time, but in all honesty I didn’t think we were in any danger.

Saints pre match prep

The second got underway with another controversial start. Ref Marriner denied Saints a good shout for a penalty when Chaplow was bought down on the edge of the box. How it wasn’t given as a foul I’ll never know. Then up the other end, Jaidi went in clumsily in the box and appeared to have bought down Ings. Yet again no penalty given. Saints were starting to dominate with Lallana showing why he is so important to the team with some great surging runs and tricky footwork. On 70 minutes Chamberlain got away down the right and was brought down by a high challenge. From the resulting free kick Hammond poked in at the far post to give Saints a well deserved lead. We were now fully in control of this match and despite Bournemouth sending on Fletcher and playing more long balls than a Wimbledon side of the late 80’s we were rarely troubled. Just as rare is my praise for Saints current number 1, Kelvis. But fair play to him, he pulled off a great save to tip a shot onto the bar and maintain our lead. We wrapped up the victory when Lambert smashed home free kick from the angle late on. Again if I was a Bournemouth fan I would be asking serious questions of Shwan Jalal. The only sour point of the day for Saints was the very late red card for Oscar Gobern. Ossie went in with a wild high challenge that was reminiscent of Tommy Widdrington’s effort away to Port Vale many years ago.

Hopefully this victory coupled with Saints leapfrogging Bournemouth will put an end to any thoughts of a permanent derby match. The local press have done all they can to try to build up this match and should take responsibility for some of the pre match hype regarding trouble at the match. I’m sure Eddie Mitchell the Chairman of Bournemouth will still run his mouth about how we showed little old Bournemouth no respect. And why should we?

The highlight of my day in Dorset had to be the walk back to the car. Once we were finally let out of the ground, I could do nothing but laugh as we were met by a group of about 20 kids trying to start trouble with our fans. These kids must have been about 14 or 15 years old and were all dressed in the obligatory Boscombe trackie bottom and hoodie combo! True nutters! Maybe they should go home and watch Danny Dyer on the telly before they can be classed as “Pwaper Nawty.”

Cheers for the 3 points Cherries!     

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch. Email – modha79@gmail.com

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit www.bellsofhythe.co.uk for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

The rollercoaster continues....

5^th February 2011 – 26^th February 2011

Saints were the late kick off for a televised away game to Peterborough. A game which we all knew would be a tough task. Boro have a good home record and score by the sack full, but also concede almost as many. Darren Ferguson was back in charge, so I expected the home team to be up for it.

Saints started brightly, as per usual. The wind was causing all sorts of issues for the keepers. We took the lead when Chaplow stabbed home. He continued his good form from the previous month. Alex Chamberlain was causing all sorts of problems for the home team allowing Lambert and Guly to hold a very high line. Chamberlain was bought down for a penalty, which Sir Rickie converted. 2-0 up and cruising. Yet again Saints seemed to switch off and allowed the home side back into the game. Seaborne mis-judged a bouncing ball which allowed Mackail-smith to run in on goal. An average shot beat Kelvis at his near post. Boro then levelled when Whelpdale was allowed too much space at the back post to head home from inside the 6 yard box. 2-2  half time.

Saints again flew out of the traps in the second half and scored 2 quick goals, first Rickie Lambert blasted home another penalty following a foul on Chaplow, then skipper Dean Hammond smashed home a great shot from a well worked training ground corner. Surely this would mean we would tighten up and come home with the 3 points? Being saints fans, we all know the answer was no! The ref gave Boro a penalty following a clumsy tackle by Seaborne, 3-4 with 54 minutes gone. We managed to hold the lead until the 2^nd minute of injury time when Chamberlain was very harshly judged to have handled the ball. Boro equalised and for me it felt like a defeat rather than a point gained away from home.

It was a performance which had its high points, but I will be critical of several players. Firstly Dan Harding was so out of position for their second goal. Again a wide player had got goal side of him. Secondly Dan Seaborne allowed a ball to bounce when he should have cleared and then gave away a penalty with a silly challenge. But yet again our keeper was at fault. Beaten at the near post for the first goal, then stayed on his line for the second. If he had come and claimed the cross Dan Harding would have got away with his poor positional play.

Carlisle were the visitors to St Marys on the 12^th. They had been on a poor run before the game and long may it continue. A crowd of 25,076 turned up to watch a poor game. Carlisle came with a game plan of sitting deep and trying to stop our ball playing midfield getting in behind. It worked for large periods. Rickie Lambert, who looks like returning to the form of last season, gave Saints the lead just before halftime.  It was a lead which we managed to hold on to, but without really creating many chances to extend the lead. I myself will accept this type of match every time as long as we win. Some people enjoy moaning about this type of game, but did we hear Chelsea fans complain when under Mourinho they would grind our results? This is a sign of a team going places. Consistency is all we lack.

Our away day at Rochdale was postponed on the morning of the match. This proved very frustrating and adds to our heavy fixtures load between now and the end of the season. The team stayed up north and prepared for the next away match at Hartlepool  on the 22^nd. By all accounts we trained at Middlesbrough’s training ground and had a few team building moments on this very long road trip.

The match against Hartlepool is another where there is not really a lot to say. We huffed and puffed but didn’t create many chances. 0-0 was the final score and by all accounts the 600 or so loyal fans that made the trip didn’t have much to help warm them up!

During the week we got the bad news that Bart Bialkowski has suffered a bad knee injury and could be out for over a year. I wish Bart a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon. To deal with this injury Saints moved fast and loaned James Shea from Arsenal. Hopefully this will be the first of many loans between the two clubs.

So we went into our final match of the month against Swindon. The Robins have fast become a bogey team for the Saints. We have failed to beat them in the last few seasons and were well and truly outplayed in the JPT when Swindon visited early in the season.

Kicking towards the Northam end, Saints started brightly and nearly took the lead when Chamberlain hit the post from inside the box. Alex was almost wheeling away celebrating but luck was not on his side. We did take the lead when Lallana finished off a good move and gave us the lead. Guly who was working hard then hit the same post as Chamberlain following a Lambert knock down. Would this be our day? 1-0 at half time, Swindon had barely got into our half.

Saints were sloppy at the beginning of the second half. Our passing was poor and we seemed second to most 50-50’s. Swindon got back into the game when ex skate Ritchie beat Davies at the near post. Yet again another poor piece of keeping from our only senior keeper. Hopefully the gaffer has a new number one on his summer shopping list! Conceding this goal worked in our favour as it seemed to spark life back into the team. Adkins made two subs, bringing on Morgan and Bernie for Guly and Chaplow. We hit Swindon with a quick fire double as Lambert and then Radhi “Fireball” Jaidi headed in from well worked set pieces. Once we had the two goal lead the confidence soared and we knocked the ball around quickly and could have scored a few more. Kelvis had the cheek to turn to the crowd and smile and make gestures when asked the score. How about you do your job Kelvin and stop conceding poor goals? Your team mates got you out of a very sticky situation. It was good to see the Muppets who chant his name like he is a god still sing it despite his poor performance. Grow up lads, he’s a mediocre keeper who needs replacing! Good old Bernie then scored his third injury time goal of the season to give saints a well deserved 4-1 win.

Now the fun really starts. Saints have a run of games which will test the strength of the squad. We will play Saturday, Tuesday for a few weeks. I hope this build momentum and gets us closer to our pre season goal of promotion.

On a sad note, Dean Richards who served us so well passed away today. Dean was suffering from a terminal illness and battled hard against it. He was forced to retire in 2007 due to his illness. Dean signed for Saints on a free transfer from Bradford and went on to make 87 appearances for the club. Dean followed Glenn Hoddle to Spurs for a then club record £8 million. A sad day for football and our thoughts are with his family.

                                                   RIP Deano, Thanks for the memories!

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch. Email – modha79@gmail.com

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit www.bellsofhythe.co.uk for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

Cups, Windows and Bobbles....

29^th January 2011 – 4^th February 2011-02-04

This week started with Saints playing in the FA cup against the current Premiership Leaders Man Utd. A large crowd was expected at St. Marys for this match compared to the majority of the league games played this season. Coincidence or not? I’m all for a full stadium roaring the team onto victory but the amount of plastic fans who attend these games frustrates me. The amount of so called fans who tell me they have to work every Saturday or have childcare issues so can’t make league games, but miraculously they can arrange days off work and someone to look after the kids, just to watch Man Utd. I know the majority of supporters would prefer larger crowds for league games rather than cup games like this one.

Anyway, Saints started the game against Utd in the diamond formation which worked so well against Blackpool in the previous round. The lads didn’t look intimidated and started with plenty of confidence. We passed the ball sharply and caused the premiership team some problems with our passing and movement. Guly playing at the top of the diamond seemed to be enjoying the extra space he was given. Morgan and Chaplow had the upper hand in midfield. First big chance of the game went to Guly who poorly headed over after a great cross from the recalled Danny Butterfield. Saints were more than matching the opposition and took the lead just before half time as Richard Chaplow smashed a shot past Lindegaard on the stroke of half time. It was a ferocious effort which flew into the net. A well deserved lead, but Utd would still be dangerous in the second half.

It was great to see some of the heroes of the 1976 cup winning team paraded on the pitch at half time. Well deserved recognition for a group of players who battled hard to win the cup for us. The second half started much like the first, Utd had their fair share of possession but Bialkowski in goal wasn’t really troubled. Saints had a great chance to extend the lead when a clever set piece between Harding and Chamberlain resulted in a Harding cross being missed by everyone as it flashed across goal. Saints were starting to look tired after all the effort that had gone into the game. On the hour mark, Utd bought on Giggs and Nani. They had the choice of £100 million worth of players. Rooney and Berbatov didn’t even get up to warm up. Eventually Utd worked an opening and Owen showed why he used to be a great striker and pounced from close range. By this time saints were out on their feet and with the extra quality Utd had bought on the result was inevitable. Hernandez poked home the winner after Dickson was robbed on the edge of the box.

Saints may have lost, but I think we should all be proud of the effort and skill they showed. We were not given a beating and showed the nation that we play an attractive brand of football and have some very special players. Chamberlain played a different role and excelled, Lambert, Barnard and Guly all worked hard to create chances for each other. The defence looked solid with Seaborne and Harding having great games. The star of the show for me was Morgan. He showed with time and space what a talent he is. His performance frustrated me, he can sometimes go missing in league games, but on this day he showed that if the likes of the ineffective Darron Gibson and Anderson are worth millions, Morgan more than matches up to them. The final highpoint of the day was abusing the mancs! Oh how I enjoyed that!

Following the good performance in the cup, Saints played what in my opinion was a more important game. Away to the Grecians of Exeter. This was always going to be a tough match. Exeter have a decent home record and the pitch at “the real” St James’ Park was always going to even the contest. This is traditionally the type of game we lose, as at Tranmere.

We started badly and eventually gave away a goal when a long ball was poked past the on rushing Davies. The ball trickled in despite the efforts of Jose Fonte. N’Guessan our recent loan signing started and showed glimpses of what he can add to the team. Second half Saints reverted back to a diamond formation and got a good equaliser when N’Guessan crossed for the goal machine Lambert to power a header back past the keeper. The returning Dean Hammond got an assist for the winner in the last minute, again Lambert rising to head home from close range. A great 3 points which keeps us in the promotion race. Brighton could only manage a draw and with all the other teams around us winning, this was a game we simply couldn’t afford to lose.

Editorial -

This week saw the transfer window shut. Saints added Jonathan Forte from the gaffer’s old club Scunny on deadline day, a move none of the fans predicted. Outgoings were Forecast and Puncheon on loan. Shame we didn’t release Forecast as he is the worst keeper I’ve ever seen, even worse than current number 1 Kelvis! Puncheon on the other hand should be sold in the summer to the highest bidder. I’m glad he’s gone.

So many fans appear to be unhappy with the clubs dealings during the window. But I disagree. We have completed the permanent deals of Guly, Chaplow and Forte. Bought in N’Guessan on loan, managed to keep hold of Chamberlain when many predicted the lad would be sold to one of the premiership’s top clubs. The most important signing of this window was securing Lallana on a four year deal. He seems to have taken on the responsibility of being our creative genius in midfield and shows how important he is to our side. Stats prove that when Adam doesn’t play we can sometimes struggle to score the necessary goals to win matches. But aside from creating goals, Adam chips in with his fair share and scored a vital opener at Dagenham. Being a fairly local lad, he seems to have the same passion for the club that the likes of Benali and Le Tissier had.

I will soon be running a competition to win a signed Saints shirt and might even have a surprise in the next edition, so keep checking back!

Also I would like to use this blog to pass on my congratulations to Jamie Cotton Jnr, who has signed academy terms with Saints. Good luck for the future Jamo, remember me when you’re handing out free tickets!!

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch. Email – modha79@gmail.com

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit www.bellsofhythe.co.uk for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

From one extreme to another...

January 8^th 2011 – January 22^nd 2011

Finally the day most football fans look forward to, FA Cup 3^rd round day. Blackpool were the visitors to St Marys as Ian “Too much to say” Holloway made headlines by making nine changes from his previous selection. What the media failed to recognise was that Saints made eight changes themselves, even giving the want away Puncheon a start.

Saints started with a new formation from the standard 4-4-2. Adkins adopted a diamond shape in midfield to give the creative Lallana more space to ply his trade. This system baffled a very poor Blackpool who were simply outplayed by Saints. From the kick off, Morgan and Lallana ran midfield and toyed with the opposition. Saints had numerous chances to take the lead but seemed to lack calmness in front of goal and seemed to snatch at a few chances. 0-0 at half time, but it was never in doubt who would progress to the next round.

The second half started with a bang for Saints as Lee “Bernie” Barnard finished off from close range to give Saints the lead. This is where I expected the so called premier league team to battle back and show their fitness and class. How wrong was I? Saints carried on with great confidence and passed around a very poor team. The win was guaranteed when Samba Star Guly came off the bench and scored with a cracking 25 yard effort. Special mention to former Saint Brett Ormerod, who as usual worked his socks off for his team and was rewarded with a standing ovation from the saints fans.

Ian Holloway had the nerve to call our fans disrespectful and jealous due to the nature of the banter aimed toward his team. Holloway has worked miracles to get the seasiders where they are, but he needs to learn to shut up. He was beaten by the better team and showed he can be tactically inept by moving Matt Phillips, who was the biggest attacking threat to right back and throwing some unknown player up top. In my opinion he needs to learn that he is manager of a football club and not a TV personality! All his quotes and little stories were once directly linked to his team but now they are just the ramblings of someone desperate to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame. Stick to being a manager and you may still have a chance of earning my respect.    Anyway, Saints will face Manchester United in the 4^th round at St. Mary’s. A great excuse for the plastic fans to crawl out of the woodwork!

Following the cup victory Saints had to make the long journey to Oldham. This was game I thought could be a potential banana skin for Saints. Paul Dickov has moulded a team based on his own beliefs and they are a difficult side to play at home. However this game was a walk in the park for Saints. Chamberlain tapped in from a Lambert pull back early on and it was one way traffic for the rest of the game. Saints ran out 6-0 winner with further goals from Lallana, Guly, Chaplow, Lambert and Barnard. In all honesty it could have been more, but from reports Saints played with a freedom which allowed most of our play to be in Oldham’s half. A great way to carry on our good form and we seemed have come together as a unit.

The euphoria surrounding our next home game was high. The other form team in the division Nott’s County came to town. Paul Ince’s men had been unbeaten in several weeks and had themselves pulled off a cup shock by beating Sunderland. Ince has never won a point against Saints as manager and seemed determined to change that. His team set out in a very defensive system and frustrated Saints. I think we looked a bit tired from the run of games we’d had and seemed a little off the pace. We huffed and puffed but didn’t really create many chances. Fonte had a header cleared off the line early in the second half, but we couldn’t find the breakthrough. Nott’s county celebrated like they had won the league at the final whistle, which to me shows how much teams in our league fear the Saints.

Tranmere Rovers was the next stop for Saints on the journey to hopefully promotion. Tranmere has been a very unlucky ground for Saints in the past and this was again proved by a poor 2-0 defeat. Nigel Adkins was not happy with the performance and I’m glad he stated this on local radio. Too many times do Saints seem to struggle at places like Prenton Park. We conceded 2 very poor goals, again in my opinion the fault of fans darling Kelvis. He was hesitant for the first goal and showed how little he commands his area and what he was doing so far off his line when beaten from 35 yards, I will never know. My feelings on Kelvis are well known and I won’t bore you all with them. So it has been mixed emotions for all Saints fans lately, a couple of very good wins, followed by two lacklustre performances. Let’s hope we get back to winning ways soon.

The transfer deadline is almost upon us and Saints have been in the media a lot! Alex Chamberlain is an undoubted talent and I’m glad the club appear to be standing their ground with respect to how much he’s worth. During the dark days of Darth Lowe, we cashed in on our prized assets and rolled over to the big boys. Mr Cortese seems to have made a stand. Chamberlain is being courted by the most successful clubs in the land, but they must pay. Arsenal have rumoured to have offered a structured deal for the kid and Liverpool simply can’t afford to buy him with their current crisis. Man Utd and City have both watched him, but no concrete offers yet. Saints should look after themselves; Chamberlain should be sold to the highest bidder. His welfare once he leaves saints is not our concern. But I will wish him good luck for wherever he ends up.

One player who I will be over the moon to see the back of is Puncheon. A typical wideboy who thinks he’s better than what he is. Rumour has it a disruptive influence in the changing room, Puncheon displays all the things I hate about modern day footballers. The big thing he lacks is loyalty and heart! Dropped from the first XI, replaced by a kid, he should have knuckled down and tried to win his place back, but he decided to sulk and went out on loan. The biggest thing that annoys me is the fact he stated he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to sit on the bench away at Tranmere. The bloke is a disgrace!

While writing this lengthy edition, Saints are still being linked with attackers like Mackail-Smith and Austin, which shows our ambition. N’Guessan from Leicester has joined on loan till the summer and I hope saints will improve the squad.  

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch.

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit www.bellsofhythe.co.uk for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel

The promotion push starts here...

December 11^th 2010 – January 3^rd 2010

Saints went into the festive season with a home match against the unfancied  Bee’s from Brentford. This was a game I missed due to work commitments, and I’m so glad I did! From what I’ve seen and heard, this was possibly our worst home performance under Nigel Adkins. Brentford took the lead following a mistake from the Club number 1 Kelvin Davies. As many of you may know, Kelvis as I like to call him is not my cup of tea. From day one I have said I don’t rate this keeper. Yes, he may be a good shot stopper and decent penalty saver, but the other aspects of his game are shocking. He doesn’t command his area, doesn’t talk to his defence enough and stays rooted to his line allowing opposition teams to benefit from how static he is. I was told it was a good thing I wasn’t at the game or I may have been escorted from the ground following this error! Brentford further increased the lead mid way through the half and were able to hold on for all 3 points. This bought an end to our decent home run and hopefully we can get another run going ASAP!

It was a further 17 days before our next match due to the Siberian weather we have been having. Special mention to all the saints fans who made the trip to Charlton on Boxing day, only to have Andy D’Urso call off the game less than an hour before kick off as the linesman might have had to run on slippery ground! An absolute disgrace and I hope the FA will conduct some sort of investigation, of course we all know this will not happen!

Saints finally got some game time with a home match against one of the divisions more potent attacks. Huddersfield were the visitors to St Marys and on paper would provide a stern test for the Red and Whites. Saints started brightly but fell behind to a goal on the break, Lee Novak headed home from a delightful cross to give the terriers the lead. Saints seemed to switch off for a few minutes and paid the price. We were soon level when the big man Lambert powered home a shot from the edge of the box, his first goal from open play in a long time. Saints grew in confidence and started knocking the ball around and moving the opposition around. This movement was creating space for our wingers who were terrorising the full backs. Alex Chamberlain again looked to have the pace on the left back, who was eventually subbed after 30 minutes. This didn’t help Huddersfield’s cause, as a minute later Chamberlain used his quick feet to bury a low shot into the net following good hold up play from Guly.

The second half started with a bang as Lallana, who again was showing off his skill with some sublime touches, delivered a perfect free kick from the right and Jaidi rose to power home an unstoppable header. 3-1 and cruising. Huddersfield had come to St Mary’s and played too open and left massive holes for Saints to run into. This was highlighted 10 minutes from time as good build up again lead to Guly setting up Chaplow for a fourth. Saints ran out easy winners and in all honesty could have scored many more following 25 efforts on goal. A great way to recover from the previous poor result.

New Years day bought another home game for the Saints. This time we took on Paul Tisdale’s Exeter who have had an impressive season and were sat comfortably in mid table. The game started fairly evenly as both teams seemed happy to knock the ball about and try to create space. We finally took the lead on 19 minutes as Guly produced a lovely measured finish in front of the Northam end. Our Brazilian Samba Superstar seems to have settled into League 1 football and is now producing some lovely football and is forming a blossoming partnership with Rickie Lambert.

Guly again got Saints off to a flyer in the second half tapping in after Chamberlain had ruined yet another full back and then very intelligently squared the ball to create the chance. Saints were now playing with extreme confidence and the midfield pairing of Chaplow and Morgan were running the show. We further extended the lead as Lallana cut in from the left and curled a low shot into the far corner.  Guly then had the moment to complete a well deserved hat-trick and after rounding the keeper, he looked on in disbelief as a defender somehow got back onto the line and cleared the ball away. Nigel Adkins started to rest a few players and we were treated to “Bernie” and Oscar Gobern coming on for the final 20 minutes. Bernie made up for some missed chances in the previous game by converting in injury time. 4-0 to the Saints and only 27 attempts on goal in this match!

Saints finished off the festive program with a tricky looking tie away at Dagenham & Redbridge. Over 1000 Saints fans made the Trip to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Stadium. We were housed in the only decent stand they have behind the goal. The saints fans seemed in high spirits following our climb into second place and the team responded. The pitch at Dagenham was a leveller. Lots of bobbles and it cut up very easily. This affected our passing game and despite many chances in the first half, we went in at half time 0-0. Again our midfield dominated the game and we seemed to have a game plan to cope with the awful pitch. The defence were happy to clear the ball long away from our goal and we tried playing football in the home teams half.

Yet again Saints got off to an impressive start to the second half. Adam Lallana further enhanced his reputation with an acrobatic volley with beat the Dagger’s Keeper. The goal seemed to settle any nerves Saints had and we carrying on knocking the ball around with ease. The lead was extended when Guly cut in from the right and produced a cultured finish with his left foot. This was game over and Saints looked to see the game out in a professional manner. But typical Saints! We gave away a silly goal from a cross, yet again Kelvis stayed glued to his line. For some unknown reason, this goal seemed to drain any confidence or common sense Saints had and we panicked. Dagenham were quicker to the tackle and seemed to want it more. They got a free kick about 25 yards out and Kelvis produced a good save to keep it out with the help of the bar. Dagenham claimed the ball had crossed the line, but ref and linesman both said no goal much to the relief of the travelling army. Rickie Lambert then wrapped up the 3 points with a deft flick over the advancing Tony Roberts in injury time, from my view there was a definite suspicion of handball from the Saints number 7, but we’ll take a goal anyway we can. A top performance away from home and the Saints are chasing hard for top spot!

As the transfer window is now open I look forward to seeing what further additions the club will make following the bargain capture of Richard Chaplow. I do love this time of year as the rumour mill goes into overtime, best rumour so far is that Michael Owen will be joining to challenge Guly for a starting slot. Ha Ha, Pure genius!

A big thank you to all those that have been able to read this and if you have any comments, good or bad please get in touch.

Special thanks to my very good friend Alan who is helping spread the word by advertising this blog on his own website. Please visit www.bellsofhythe.co.uk for all your outdoor sports needs!

All the best

Neel