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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:23:05 GMT
ATT- 511
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:27:11 GMT
Loick Pires AND Matt Taylor coming on for Steve Wales and Lee Clarke
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:32:11 GMT
We just haven't played as well in this second half so far
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:39:08 GMT
Saints good chance, but cannot slot it home in scramble
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:40:45 GMT
1-3 Sutton.... Reindorf set through on goal, round Welch, and score...
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:46:42 GMT
Saints 2-3.... Frendo
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:48:38 GMT
5 mins added
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:51:27 GMT
2-4 Sutton... Hit on the break again sadly
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 15:52:43 GMT
FT: 2-4
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barker
Saints Youth Team Player
Posts: 135
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Post by barker on Aug 30, 2014 16:56:37 GMT
Some good chances missed in the first half. Very disappointing performance in 2nd half - lack of ideas, passes all over the place, certain players looking lethargic and half hearted. Sutton were allowed to walk right through us for that 4th goal. We can play much better than that ... a number of comments in the crowd today about that not being worth £15.
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Post by Saint on Aug 30, 2014 17:10:44 GMT
Poor all round really, but you could tell that Sutton are a full time outfit.
Post match- Howie Hall has gone out on dual registration to Burnham, Kaloczi will return from his loan after his final game next Saturday, and Jimmy is speaking this week to one or two possible players that he's hoping to bring in.
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Post by notsorecentconvert on Aug 30, 2014 17:40:22 GMT
Well, that was certainly a game of two halves. The first was open, entertaining and enjoyable to watch, the second was poor and Saints allowed themselves to be picked off easily on the counter attack.
I don't know if Sutton have had many personnel changes since last season but the side that played today looked good enough to challenge for promotion.
The two key things about football are that good teams break quickly and take their chances. That's what they did in the first couple of minutes to take the lead.
But for the rest of the half we looked Sutton's equals. Shields is a terrific little player, and good enough to play regularly at a higher level than this, but when given a great chance to equalise he shot wide. Finishing chances is what enables a player to make the step up. Managers and coaches higher up will look at that and wonder if he's clinical enough for them.
We had another couple of very good chances before Frendo won the penalty. It probably was a bit of a push and a bit of a trip and it may well just about have been in the area but we'd have been unhappy to have that given against us.
The keeper did very well. He could tell Frendo was left footed and he gambled that he'd put it that side. It was a nice enough strike but it was at a good height for the keeper once he'd committed to go that way.
Scoring the goal just before half time was a real boost and I thought we might push on and win it. Shields lobbed the ball onto the top of the bar right at the start of the second half but after that Sutton were the stronger, cleverer, more experienced side.
They broke very well and we couldn't really cope with it when there were three or four of them running at our back line. At the other end they did well to stop Shields, forcing him to swap sides, drop deep and so on to shake off his markers. Likewise they did a good job on Frendo.
We didn't offer much but managed to pull one back after Sutton had gone 3-1 up. It gave us a glimmer of hope we might get a point, particularly when they announced there would be five extra minutes. But Sutton are a smart side, they defend together and they break together and in four or five neat passes they'd cut through us again to score a fourth.
I don't like to single out individuals but I felt Clarke struggled. He just doesn't look fit enough to do the job he's being asked to do. Even in the first half he looked as if he was having a hard time getting up and down. He wasn't on the ball much either and I think we really miss Corcoran to do that work in the middle. Perhaps he just needs a few games, or perhaps he was carrying a knock because he did well against Bishops Stortford when he came on.
The fans under the covered terrace were moaning and grumbling quite a bit in the second half. Perhaps that's not a surprise, although I did notice last year that some are not the most patient when it's not going well.
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knockers
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 283
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Post by knockers on Aug 30, 2014 17:44:23 GMT
Went to 1st game this season toda, agree with most people, £15 to much to pay even with 511 att. Like to ask board wouldnt team appreciate extra 150 fans thru gate and still getting same money thru turnstiles, every team thrives on better atmospheres. If we dropped into mid table during season v lesser teams think atts would drop. End of day we all want to see Saints progress onwards and upwards. COYS.
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Post by gatekeeper on Aug 30, 2014 18:18:41 GMT
Poor all round really, but you could tell that Sutton are a full time outfit. Rather poor defending by both sides in the first half and the Saints were a little unlucky not to be ahead. Sutton - who are not full time- were a lot better in the second and got the win their football deserved. BTW the ticket priceing is absurd for our level of football!
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Post by bowsaint on Aug 30, 2014 18:24:24 GMT
Agree that £15 admission is a major issue (as I think everyone thought it would be). It's simply way too high for this level and is putting off floating supporters, these are exactly the type of supporters we need on a regular basis if we are going to progress further. I've come away from today's game disappointed with the result, but at a lower admission (£10- £12 absolute max) I'd have walked away also quite pleased that we are now playing against these type of decent sides again. The whole admission price rise has just left a bitter taste in the mouth, not in terms of personal financial loss (which isn't huge all things considered) but as a principle of it in terms of the message it sends to supporters and the way it moves what should be a great non-league experience into the realm of premier/league football rip-off territory. And I genuinely do not believe the increase makes even financial sense in terms of losing supporter numbers (home and away) and reduced spend in the ground.
Having said that I do think our owners (and managers of course) need significant credit for getting us out of the southern league and of course I'm not footing the shortfall in the club's finances.
In terms of the game I thought we were excellent in the first half and poor in the second, similar to comments above. We should have gone in at half time at least a goal to the good.
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Post by EFMTFTV on Aug 30, 2014 20:11:04 GMT
I know a few of the Sutton supporters from various games across the years and the ones that came to the games (a few boycotted because of the price) refused to spend anything in the bar Be intresting if the board are aware of away fans boycotting the club and if they've been shown what people are saying on other clubs messagebaords, there has been supporters of all 3 teams we've played at home so far refusing to come and they've made that clear on their messagebaords
I echo what is being said about the game above, we could and should have been out of sight in the 1st half but we were very poor after we went 2-1 down, just like Eastbourne they sussed out Sheilds in the 2nd half and I thought we were even poorer after the double substition Once again, I think Pires should be out on loan for a month to get sharpeness, he has quality at this level but people are getting on his back and he's on a contract so he can amble round the pitch pissing people off all season now and he'll still be paid
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Post by moriarty on Aug 30, 2014 22:15:34 GMT
Spot on with Pires, I'm sure he will come good just needs game time. All the whinging is getting tiresome.
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Post by bob666 on Aug 30, 2014 22:37:35 GMT
Nothing to add about the game. One question I was sat quite far away but did the 'security' complain about fans waving flags? Seems a bit unnecessary. I have no idea were we will up end, the league still seems very topsy turvy. Given their recent form I genuinely thought we win after we equalised, shows what I know. I know its a tried point but 9 points out of 18 is still decent for a newly promoted side but the £15 pounds changes the standard against which we assess the team.
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Post by Canary Saint on Aug 31, 2014 6:33:11 GMT
Judged on results so far I think City will finish lower mid table unless a really bad run drops us into the relegation zone - if things do not change, I cannot see the Saints going on a good run. Yes £15 is extracting the urine, you can see premiership football (at Hull) for only £16.
Are the crowd attendances given for real? Looking at the videos, there must be an awful lot of people sitting in the stand or quite a few season ticket holders not bothering to go.
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Post by notsorecentconvert on Aug 31, 2014 7:12:44 GMT
Barker, it's certainly games like that which will cause people to question whether it's worth it. £15 just feels too much to hand over for a 2-4 shoeing. Of course, I expect fewer people were grumbling about the price after beating Bishops Stortford.
But the next home game is against Bromley on a Monday night. They won 4-0 at Wealdstone today.
So things could be worse. We've had a decent start but the price definitely makes the relationship between the club and the casual supporters more tenuous. And that's nothing a furry lion walking slump-shouldered around the touch line with a child's toy sword - or even a dousing for the owner - can make up for!
Interesting to see Jimmy is looking at another couple of players. I know non-league football can sometimes give the impression that the dressing room is fitted with a revolving door but there have been a lot of comings and goings. I'm yet to be convinced that Pires offers anything. Comley needs help in midfield if Corcoran is going to be out for any length of time and defensively it's a strange one. All four/five defenders who played today are good players. They all offer plenty and yet they seem to switch off together sometimes. Mind you, I've seen plenty of League defences that are capable of just that.
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Post by moordownbh9 on Aug 31, 2014 7:31:20 GMT
I'm also picking and choosing more this season as the cost has gone up to a price that is wholly unacceptable at this level.
While I'm not boycotting this and boycotting that as a matter of principle, there are things that will go by the wayside at the games. I have a budget for my son and myself. This means that the programme is no longer an option, his burger is no longer an option, the raffle tickets other than one strip are no longer an option.
If you are fairly wealthy local businessmen running a football club you may not be able to get your head round the difference that the "small" increase has made. If you're working 60 hours a week for a relatively low wage it makes all the difference.
It's also a psychological barrier. I have a few floating friends that used to come from time to time. When I told them it was now £15, after the initial look of bemusement they just laughed and said there was no way this level of football was worth that sort of admission money.
And they're right.
I expect that is also the case for a lot of other floating fans.
It also means the team has to be winning and challenging to justify the increase, not adapting to new surroundings. The jury is still very much out on that one.
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oldgeezer
Saints Youth Team Player
Posts: 248
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Post by oldgeezer on Aug 31, 2014 7:33:43 GMT
did the 'security' complain about fans waving flags? Seems a bit unnecessary. Do we really need to pay these orange coated officious jobsworths when we did have friendly volunteers? It's another reminder of us moving away from being a friendly non-league club. Anyway, Game of two halves! Only two hopes in the second half and one of those was Bob.
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Post by thesaints on Aug 31, 2014 8:14:33 GMT
Unfortunately this is true in my world as well
It's also a psychological barrier. I have a few floating friends that used to come from time to time. When I told them it was now £15, after the initial look of bemusement they just laughed and said there was no way this level of football was worth that sort of admission money.
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pirate
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 295
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Post by pirate on Aug 31, 2014 9:17:27 GMT
Not managed to get down to Clarence Park so far this season, so cannot comment on the football, but from a distance the start seems reasonable. On pricing. I think we need to look at the cost of running the club and how then is it funded. If we view St Albans Fc as a club and not a standard commercial enterprise, then the pricing reflects the cost of belonging to that club. It cannot be sustainable, surely, to expect one or two wealthy individuals to subsidise our membership on a revolving door basis, lurching from one periodic crisis to another. I think the PR error, if there is one, by the owners is to be less than transparent over the P&L of the club, so we can see what the price increase covers. Finally I do think the only true comparison we should make with other clubs is with those that are sustainable without being the object of play for wealthy spoilt men, nor prostitutes to the media, neithe of which is a sustainable model and the latter having pretty much destroyed our national game leading to teams more representative of the Harlem Globetrotters than a team with the name of a city in this country.
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Post by Hatboy on Aug 31, 2014 9:56:19 GMT
Saints have goal ruled out for offside. Even though the player didn't touch it ! Who knows what would of happened had that stood and we went in winning at half time. As already said very poor second half two things really concerned me when we were attacking and they countered on a fast breakaway we had all our midfields up and no one back covering the counter (I thought we were playing with a defensive midfielder) and when Ben came up late on looking for the equaliser and lost the ball he stood there complaining rather than looking to get back as they broke and scored. Of course people are going to complain about Pires when he looks like he's not interested half of the time and has a poor first touch frequently, the fans didn't sign him, not put him out on loan, play him or decide to charge £15 entry so as paying punters they have every right to criticize him moriarty Another big worry with the entrance fee is our home record with Bromley and Maidenhead coming up if we lost both of them tough games we could have just one win in five at home so that wouldn't help with the attendance !
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Post by Hatboy on Aug 31, 2014 12:03:44 GMT
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Post by Boomer on Aug 31, 2014 14:52:09 GMT
This was a real eye opener. I cannot go along with this 'game of 2 halves' synopsis. We may have been level at half time and had chances to even go ahead but the warning signs were clearly there in the 1st half. Williams, Binns and the excellent Craig Dundas were scything through our defence more or less at will at times and apart from Shields, Comley and possibly Welch, we were pretty much second best in every department. In saying that, there was no faulting our effort in any way. Sutton were probably the best side we have come up against this season. They played well together as a team, won nearly all the 2nd ball and seemed a half a yard quicker to everything. Their anticipation was just so much better. For me, the 2nd half just realised the warning signs shown in the 1st half. Sutton are a very good side indeed and, on yesterday's showing, will be in the mix come the business end of the season. COYS, bring on the Ebbsfleet and let's get it back on track.
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gooner
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 254
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Post by gooner on Aug 31, 2014 16:59:48 GMT
Totally agree BOOMER your analysis is spot on. I heard Sutton are full time is that correct?
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Post by notsorecentconvert on Aug 31, 2014 17:28:31 GMT
To be fair, Boomer, when I said it was a game of two halves I didn't say that Saints were on top, I said that it was open, entertaining and we created chances. We were in it and playing a part in the game, despite the defensive problems. In the second half, we weren't in it.
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Post by gatekeeper on Aug 31, 2014 18:59:11 GMT
Totally agree BOOMER your analysis is spot on. I heard Sutton are full time is that correct? No, however they do train three times a week.
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