Saints At Leicester The Verdict
Monday, 29th Aug 2011 09:55

The defensive frailties that have been evident in the last three games all came home to roost.

Over the past couple of weeks a recurring theme has been part of both my match reports and match previews and that has been that in each of our previous three matches prior to the trip to leicester Saints have had perids where they have defended abysmally and that unless this is addressed we will pay the price.

Each of these observations was usually met with a howl of derision and me being firmly told that you should not change a winning team and that I was was wrong, the first half at Leicester confirmed my fears from the previous games. Indeed I have delayed this match review to make sure that I have seen the replays on TV and confirm what I thought on the day.

The difference in this game to theothers though was that the Foxes did not allow us to settle and made sure our dodgy defending spell wasnt later in the game, but right from the kick off, within minutes they were ahead and it was the old chestnut of a ball put into the six yard box and the keeper rooted to his line allowing the attacker to nip in and prod it past him, the keeper wasnt the only defender found wanting in fairness and granted Kelvin Davis redeemed himself later in the game with a couple of fine saves but the damage had already been done, the final stats showd six shots on target and three goals conceded, far too high a ratio for a team with its eyes on promotion.

The second goal was equally as poor, Harding was out of position and Seaborne held up the man inthe left back spot, Harding arrived back but made a clumbsy attempt at a tackle that wrongfooted Seaborne as much as anything and allowing the Leicester player to check back and lay the ball back for a sublime finish, watch this on the BBC website, the marking positional sense and tackling were appalling.

Harding partially redeemed himself with a headed goal, but those at the game will confirm that he was up in the opposition penalty area having run himself into a dead end with a run going nowhere, lucily for Saints they regained the ball quickly and got the ball into the area where harding was there to score.

The third goal in truth should have been disallowed, Lambert was clearly fouled but he is the biggest strongest player on the pitch, surely he should not allow himself to be bullied in this way, he should have stood strong and headed it clear,

Some will say this is harsh, others will say Im biased against Harding, Seaborne, Davis and anyone else i have criticised in the start of this review, I say Im merely setting standards that we will need to achieve if we have hopes of promotion, put bluntly a side top of the leage and in the run of form Saints were in should not have crumbled as they did and it could easily have been five at half time.

In the second half Nigel Adkins made a tactical change and Saints looked a lot better, it firstly steadied the ship and secondly enabled them to get forward a little more, Connolly's goal put the jitters up the home side and in truth Saints were the better team in the second half, they should have scored at least one more and would have if it hadnt been for Kasper Schmeichel who had one of those days where at times he didnt know where the ballwas, but like his father beofre him, he made himself big and got something behind it.

Im sure that Nigel Adkins knows what he has to do, Im sure he knows where we need to change things, after all thats why he spent £2 million on a left back and has tried to sign several central defenders, whilst I can sympathise with him on the centre back situation, as Im sure that whatever he says publicly, the manager cannot be happy that three centre halves have agreed terms had medicals and for one reason or another have not signed, all for reasons beyond his control, but as the old saying goes, Adkins also knows that the buck stops with the manager, despite it not being his fault they did not sign, he is the man who has to shoulder the blame for this defeat and its defensive frailties,.

However as much as he can be excused not really having choices in central defence, there was no such excuse in the full back positions where we were ripped to shreds at times in the first half and which ultimately cost us the game.

Nigel Adkins now has a week or two to get things back on track, he has a big enough squad that this should not be more than a blip, we can go on strongly, but as I have said many times before never changing a winning side is a cliche thats outdated, in fairness at Scunthorpe Adkins perhaps didnt have this problem working with such a small squad, but hopefully on Saturday he learnt a valuable lesson, the job of the manager is to pick sides and change tactics, the best managers are pro active and are not afraid to make decisions and be brave, Nigel Adkins is still learning, he will make mistakes,every manger does, but ultimately he willbe judged on how he bounces back from adversity.

Photo: Action Images

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splurty added 10:57 - Aug 29

It was a strange game in the fact that we could so easily won 5or 6 .3 but I have not seen such an open game away for years .Yes Harding was poor as was Fraser ,seabourne again had a pretty solid game ,fonte baby was at times poor and had to make last ditch tackles to redeem the situation ,the standout player for me was corky ,he was everywhere and once deridder came on we crucified them ,but yes a younger jaidi type cb required and a nippy striker and it's happy days also Adkins has got us playing a brand of football that is a revalation long may it continue .COYR
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stevie280 added 10:59 - Aug 29

Hi there everyone I'm new.

Always read comments here as a contrast to not 606, and find these reports pessimistic to be honest,but often fair to a point.

However, Can not agree with the comment about Lambert standing up to the bamba challenge! The guy came flying from behind lambert with his weight and momentum and practrically flatened him, think about the physics of that! And did we not start to play our way into the game 1st half, and got a goal back.The Lambert goal should never have stood. Didn't know there have been three medicals for three defenders. Maybe we needed to loose a game to shock us into what defeat feels like. I think we'll carry on strong, and hopefully add in next week make some additions to the defence.

geezershoong added 11:00 - Aug 29 Lambert bullied? I defy any player no matter how big not to be affected by someone jumping on their back from behind!
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slynch added 11:11 - Aug 29 You say in your report "In the second half Nigel Adkins made a tactical change and Saints looked a lot better, it firstly steadied the ship and secondly enabled them to get forward a little more" What change was made?
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131153 added 11:20 - Aug 29

Whilst it is dissapointing to lose on Saturday, and I wasn't there, from all the reports we should at least had a point. Clearly to lose another goal just before half time was crucial especially when it should not have been allowed. I am amazed Nick to hear all three of the centre halves were deals sorted and then fell apart. You must have a spy in the boardrom to make such a comment. I have to say I'm not sure any of the three mentioned are better than we have at present.

With two home games to come I can't see any reason why we won't be back on top by the 18th Sept.

bstokesaint added 11:46 - Aug 29

Think we need to get this in perspective a little. The first goal was the result of a slip and a deflected cross which fell kindly to the Leicester front man. We did give them too much space for the second goal and it was well taken. As for saying the third goal was Rickies fault, well that's laughable. In fairness the referee got it very wrong. In all honesty I see the need for a new centre back, but Saturday was one of those days when we just didn't have any luck and Leicester did. When we raised our game in the second half, particularly when de Ridder came on Leicester couldn't keep up with us. We just need to learn to keep our concentration for 90 minutes. We're still averaging over 2 points a game and I've yet to see a team match us when we're at out best. Let's get things back on track against Forest.

StSaint added 11:48 - Aug 29

Stevie280 - Spot on re: Lambert. There was no way you can prevent that. The referee has made an awful decision which ended up costing us the game.
Their keeper was the man of the match and we were pretty unlucky not to equalise and can feel pretty happy about how we played in the second half.
There were lots of positives to take and I am sure we will strengthen and be in very good shape for the season ahead.
Once again, I think you need a reality check Nick, we were never going to win 46 league games this season.

beynali73 added 11:48 - Aug 29

The defence can be a worry at times but even with the reasonably minor worries Saints have, we are still a better team than most in this division. We lost 3-2 away to a big spending team, the albatross of being unbeaten has now been removed, and, like most of the positive posts here, Saints will be back to winning ways very soon. I think even without any new signings we'll be fine, they'll be a few close shaves, but more often than not we'll be on the right side of a 3-2 scoreline. If we had our current back 4/5 in the premiership they would be a real concern, but at this level we'll be fine.

I share your concerns to some extent Nick, but other teams fear us more than we fear them and we've won 80% of our games so far - surly better than most of us could wish for at this stage.

bstokesaint added 11:51 - Aug 29 To be fair the only reason Leicester won was down to Vassell's pace and an inspired display from Schmeichel. Other than that they were nothing special.
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bstokesaint added 11:53 - Aug 29 To be fair the only reason Leicester won was down to Vassell's pace and an inspired display from Schmeichel. Other than that they were nothing special.
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sidsaint added 16:14 - Aug 29

I rarely disagree with Nich's verdict. I generally believe them to be honest and perceptive. What does concern me is the problems we have had with getting a centre half and forward to sign. Neil Warnock's comments on dealing with our Chairman's negotiating skills speak volumes. I think Atkins has chosen the right players but a deal has not been done because of the difficulties other clubs have in negotiating with Saints. We have lost a good centre half to Reading when we were in the driving seat and seen good strikers go elsewhere. I hope we now don't pay over the odds at the last minute when positive action earlier on could have secured better players.

sholingred added 17:01 - Aug 29

Same two again,Davis stands and watches Vassel side foot a shot from 4 yards without a chalenge,pathetic.How long is this going to go on for,the Ipswich goals were bad goalkeeping errors in their build up,bring Bart in now,bring the new left back in now,bring a new centre half in now,we might have a chance at promotion,no good going on about Davis loyalty,buy a labrador if you want loyalty,i want promotion,tough decisions need to be made mr Adkins.

rjh added 21:52 - Aug 29 The second half was one of the best performances I have ever seen from Saints. The passing, pace and fitness levels were outstanding. I think we are the real deal. Please tell me if you think I am living in a dream world?
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bstokesaint added 09:09 - Aug 30 No I agree totally. Just a couple of lapses of concentration combined with some bad luck and refereeing that cost us Saturday. I think we're just a player or two from a promotion team and should stop singling out individuals.
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