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Decisions poor - not play

8:00am Monday 15th September 2008 in


Jan Poortvliet felt his side were undone by crucial decisions rather than poor play in their 4-1 defeat at QPR.

The Saints head coach threw Ollie Lancashire in for his debut but saw him last just half an hour before a debatable sending off while his side, who also lost Lee Holmes to injury, conceded a crucial goal that was clearly offside.

Pressure is now mounting on Saints ahead of a St Mary’s double header against Ipswich and Barnsley where they really need to add to the three points they have picked up from five Championship games this season.

He said: “I don’t think this had anything to do with the football but it had to do with decisions, with moments.

“When you play an hour with ten men an easy game is not possible.

“I think honestly we can give more and even more when we don’t have the ball.

“You see what happened with Lee – when they go for the ball they go for the ball and the body and we only go for the ball and we have to learn that.”

He continued: “I think we started not well. When you concede a goal after one minute it’s not good enough.

“It was a pity but we picked up the game and looked better and better.

“We were in the game before the red card - even though we hadn’t had many chances it was coming.

Full story in today's Daily Echo

Comments(25)

UTS says...
8:13am Mon 15 Sep 08

Yawn zzzzzzzzzzz

Facts are matey end result was 4-1 and maybe one of the goals was offside. But if it wasnt for Kelvin in goal it could of been 7-8 !

Who cares that it 'looked good' as we need points.

Jan you have two games to save yourself. Four points minimum this week or its going to get rather gloomy.

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sainthog7 says...
8:43am Mon 15 Sep 08

decisions wil go against you in life&football the boys gave it their all cant moan about that but we need a leader on the pitch&in the board room these youngsters will want to follow Theo out of the club&mrlowe will sell its a crime!

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mullingar says...
8:50am Mon 15 Sep 08

Let's look at the facts.
At the start of the season, looking at the first five league fixtures we were really only expected to have 3 points at this stage and that would have been a home win against Blackpool!
It didn't quite work out like that but we still have 3 points and with home games against Ipswich and Barnsley coming up, we need to take at least 4 points ; 6 pounts would better!
The team is young and needs full support from us to help them.
I have to agree with a previous statement - we need leaders on the pitch - why was Perry on the bench yesterday?
Anyway, let's hope this time next week, we are in a healthier position!
COYRs.

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NewforestSaint says...
10:07am Mon 15 Sep 08

Fingers crossed for the next two home games, and maybe a win or two to get the kids confidence up. I just hope that none of the squad read any of the comments or any of the Saints messageboards coz they'd be wanting to commit hari-kari! Support your team with positives please - I for one am loving seeing these kids trying to play the 'beautiful game'.

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m@t says...
10:19am Mon 15 Sep 08

Watched the match and was quite impressed by the style of play, their second goal was a killer after the team had played so well to get back into the match.
I think QPR deserved the win on the balance but 4-1 wasn't a fair representation of the game.

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saint Compo says...
10:33am Mon 15 Sep 08

There were some positives to take out of this performance, particularly the fighting spirit shown by the players in adversity (early goal against, a harsh, but hard to refute, red card and an appalling error by the linesman for QPR's second goal. As for Kelvin, it's his job to make great saves (many opposing goalies do against us!), but he did have a very good game.

It's hard to compete with only 10 men for an hour with events and decisions going against you.

Leaving Perry on the bench was a strange decision. We looked vulnerable at the back throughout the game and the failure to convert chances up front is becoming worrying. Maybe Pekhart can make the difference. With Holmes out for a while, perhaps Lallana should play left flank, Pekhart as primary forward with McGoldrick in the hole (in my view his best position).

We must keep the faith and support the team. The young players are gaining experience but need more seasoned players in the side.

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Exile says...
10:47am Mon 15 Sep 08

We had only Wotton as a leader on the pitch (Davies can't be expected to do that from goal)so we hardly had anyone to advise the kids or to organise them. That is no use at all. Relying almost entirely on kids will fail this season (this is Lowe's fault); not selecting more experienced players is JP's fault (the fact that he hardly has any available is again down to Lowe... and injuries)
We have to have the right mix of skill and experience, at the moment we are working on potential and inexperience - it won't work and we won't survive...WAKE UP SFC
Starting with a preconceived system of play and then fitting players into it is also a big mistake arising from management with no experience of playing/managing in this league or even England.
I agree that the lads played some nice patterns in midfield, but the defence was woeful and the attack looked lightweight. We could have lost by many more (Davies is brilliant at shot stopping but wobbly on crosses)the full backs do not do enough to cut out crosses and we had nobody to cross to until Peckhardt came on. The selection is naive and so is the style of play for this league without physically stronger players who have experience.
Our priorities nowshould be
1. survival by winning enough games by any style that's effective
and then
2. if possible playing attractive football too

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paulsmith118 says...
10:53am Mon 15 Sep 08

lets open up a debate!!!!
the qeustion is- is gillet the worst player to play for saints ever?
surely not but he is sliding that way
lets not kid ourselves this is shocing and it aint even getting better, we not even trying to hold on and scrap for a point, why the hell wasnt perry playing and why dont dyer start i just dont understand the man please lets get super nig back and once again see a saints side play with passion

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london saint says...
11:20am Mon 15 Sep 08

pausmith118 - your a goon who clearly know nothing. ,y guess is your an overwieght thirty something who's pretty unhappy in life. we outplayed QPR for long periods yesterday and were simply unlucky due to some major decisions going against us. gillet, lallana, james, dyer all had decent games. surman was awful and mcgoldrick held onto the ball for too long. whats your suggestion? sack the manager? we cant buy any players. try being positive for a change.

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SimonSimple says...
11:32am Mon 15 Sep 08

UTS wrote:
Yawn zzzzzzzzzzzFacts are matey end result was 4-1 and maybe one of the goals was offside. But if it wasnt for Kelvin in goal it could of been 7-8 !Who cares that it 'looked good' as we need points. Jan you have two games to save yourself. Four points minimum this week or its going to get rather gloomy.
7-8? You must have been watching a completely different game on another channel. Certainly QPR could have scored 7 goals if it wasn't for Kelvin but how on eartl could we have scored 8? We only had 3 shots all game !!

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CHEESLEY says...
11:44am Mon 15 Sep 08

Even after all the papers say we played well,3 points out of 15 is not good enouth.It is no good saying we have played 4 good teams and Blackpool we should be getting points from these good teams.

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hampshirehawk says...
12:03pm Mon 15 Sep 08

NewforestSaint wrote:
Fingers crossed for the next two home games, and maybe a win or two to get the kids confidence up. I just hope that none of the squad read any of the comments or any of the Saints messageboards coz they'd be wanting to commit hari-kari! Support your team with positives please - I for one am loving seeing these kids trying to play the 'beautiful game'.
You are "loving these kids trying to play the beautiful game", are you really being serious?

So you loved yesterdays performance then, if it wasn't for one of the few experienced players in the team- Kelvin it could have been double figures.

As many posts on this site have been saying all summer relying on kids without signing some experienced Championship players equals relegation, looks like they will be proved right.

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St.Yorkie says...
12:39pm Mon 15 Sep 08

I must say even though we lost yesterday - the goal we scored just shows what we are capable of. How many times last season did we give teams a 1-goal start?

We have two problems:
1. We can't defend
2. We can't score

A lethal combination in any league.

We don't have experienced full backs, we lack height in the centre of the back four - we do have a good shot stopper!

I think our midfield is industrious, and creative and capable of scoring a few goals.

Poor old (or should that be young?) McGoldrick looks totally lost as a lone striker. Dyer for all his pace is lacking the quality of the final ball in.

I don't know but we seem to want to pass the ball into the net - which Lallanna did to equalise. Nothing spectacular - but it was a team goal taken very cooly.

I read somewhere else today - that if you have a product that nobody wants you'll eventually go out of business. I really do think we have something that could do great things - but like last time you need some experienced pro's in there too.

We need an organiser, we need a Godfather type player who can nuture our young stars - a bit like Alan Ball did last time we were relegated. The problem is old pro's don't want that role - it's all about career earnings then retirement to TV punditry.

Life will go on - the passing game will win out in the long run. It's pretty to watch and I can only talk about the positives of being a Saints fan again. We will give some teams a right good tonking - but sadly unless we resolve our own issues we will become the whipping boys of The Championship. No fun in losing - but it doesn't seem to hurt as much this season, because at least everyone is trying.

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diggers1 says...
1:33pm Mon 15 Sep 08

Youth & experience is a good blend, but youth on its own is never going to work, Wotton's experence at centre back & Davies keeping saved us from a battering, we also need to mix the play up becomes to predictable, need experience at centre back, centre mid & up front then build around that, you have Perry- who I reckon was rested for the home games in mind, Wotton & John -Pekhart would be good upfront with John? We also need to back Dyer has loads of pace & potential.
Weds is a must win game against an experienced side, pressure's on boys.

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sjames29 says...
2:34pm Mon 15 Sep 08

We quite clearly need to sort out an area one at a time. A good system would be to blend youth and experience.

Sorry for the ever so long comment, but it is my view on every position in the team.

In defence, we may always be without at least one CB having svensson in the situation he is in. We have seen how two exerienced heads (Svennson & Perry) cannot deal with pace, and how two young ones cannot deal with set pieces and delivered balls (CORK & LANCHASHIRE). So having one of each (SVENSSON, PERRY or THOMAS) with either (CORK or LANCHASHIRE) is a good combination.

Seeing as we do not have full backs, we are going to have to wait until the transfer window. However, I was thinking we should have an experienced head and a young one on each wing. RUDI SKACEL is hopefully still to return as he offers good security and experience at left back, whilst also being able to push forward from that position. He would work well with LEE HOLMES ahead of him in the left wing position as they can both produce an excellent delivery.

On the right however, it seems we do not have that easy of combinations. LLOYD JAMES should definately fill in at the back, but I feel the likes of NATHAN DYER is always giving the ball away too easily, despite his incredible pace. ROMAIN GASMI is still recovering from injury but I hear he can fill in on the right wing. Moreover, we also have McGoldrick who can fill in that position. He is tricky and is a good finisher, however I feel he needs most things perfect to capitalize. Lastly, ANDREW SURMAN. A few seasons ago, he played on the right and scored a hatrick against Barnsley, amongst other good goals that season. He can also fill in on the left (seeing HOLMES' injury this weekend) However, I feel he is not cut out for left back as he looks shaky at most times and he loves to get forward.

The two holding midfielders we play is relatively simple. MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN most obviously prefers this position as he provides good strength and protection of the back four. PAUL WOTTON can provide the experience you need in that area though and should provide leadership being one of the oldest members of the team. On the other hand, SIMON GILLETT has performed very well this season from what I've seen and is always eager to win the ball. He is always running, moving like a rocket. However, he always tires out after 50 mins hense the frequent substitutions which leads me to think he would work well as a great sub.

The Player in the hole, I think is an easy position to fill. ADAM LALLANA (best player so far in my opinion) is perfect for this role, providing ammunition for the striker and getting well worked goals himself through great passing and intellegent movement. However, I feel someone like SKACEL can also fill this role having played in a simular position behind the strikers at Hearts, achieveing 16 goals that season.

The obvious key however, is the Striker. For many games now, all of our main outfield positions have been dominated with youth. This is where we need STERN JOHN. He has great goalscoring ability and is excellent at winning freekicks due to his size and power on the opposition defenders forcing them to foul him. TOMAS PEKHART also has a great record in the TOTTENHAM reserves and is a big guy (implying he should be good in the air. Obviously, we all know what McGOLDRICK can do, but he sometimes needs most of the work done for him, before he finishes everything off.

I think that a team like this would possibly work??

DAVIS

JAMES SVENSSON CORK SKACEL

SCHNEIDERLIN WOTTON

LALLANA
SURMAN HOLMES
JOHN

TEAM COUNTING INJURIES:

DAVIS

JAMES PERRY CORK SKACEL

SCHNEIDERLIN WOTTON

LALLANA

MCGOLDRICK SURMAN
JOHN

Sorry again for the long comment but I have eagerly been waiting to put my say across.

A final word on the PLAN B Saints so desperately need. It's Simple, play 4, 4, 2. When our abnormal but stylish new formation isn't working Saints need to switch to someting basic, something that is known for succeeding.

regards sam

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jude says...
3:18pm Mon 15 Sep 08

Come on fans...lets do a Newcastle. Wilde and Lowe have refused to put in the money, which is what chairmen are supposed to do, therefore, time to get rid and get some good foreign investment...GETLOWE
OUT.COM

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The Exiled Saint says...
3:23pm Mon 15 Sep 08

Game Five.

Thank heavens the Daily Echo has changed the format of the Your Say page.

First off, I wasn’t at Loftus Road yesterday and had to contend with Sky TV’s coverage, which at its best means the viewer is relying on what the cameraman (sic) sees.

Second, a 4-1 defeat is a 4-1 defeat. We live with it and we get over it!

Third, Ollie Lancashire’s sending off may have been a trifle harsh and an appeal against the three-match ban might be worth it. Nevertheless, he deserves a **** good rollicking, for by his actions he let his team mates down when they needed him.

Fourth, the offside was doubtful, but the assistant referee ruled it as onside and again we live with it.

Fifth, we were never going to win that game, but we could have and that hurts. On the positive side, despite fielding a young inexperienced side they held their own for long periods.

Lastly, we are where we are and we have to acknowledge it and change it.

I’m a Saints Supporter. That means I support Southampton FC. Not just when they win; not just when they’ve got the perfect team; not just when they’ve got shed-loads of money and not just when they got a Chairman and Board of Directors of my liking. Any **** fool can support a winning side.

Next Wednesday sees another difficult side visiting St Mary’s I hope to travel down to watch and support the Saints. If it goes wrong, it goes wrong and it will be disappointing but I will not be booing and moaning. Though I daresay there’ll be plenty around who will be only too keen to demonstrate their ignorance and their lack of sportsmanship.

Support the Saints or Shut Up!

You want a happy ending? Go watch a Disney Movie!!

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juan101 says...
3:44pm Mon 15 Sep 08

You will not get out of this division with young lads playing pretty football. You need a team of bruisers with the odd skilful player thrown in. Examples in the past are Derby, Hull and Sheffield Utd. I fear for these youngsters. They are trying their best but lack the physical strength to out muscle the brawn that dominates this league. Soon they will start to lose confidence (if they haven't already). Time to get some big experienced blokes in on loan. A big centre back, a strong runner in midfield and a bruising striker who puts himself about. It's not rocket science. It's a good job Davies is playing well otherwise they would be getting even heavier beatings.

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robhythe says...
3:45pm Mon 15 Sep 08

The Exiled Saint wrote:
Game Five.Thank heavens the Daily Echo has changed the format of the Your Say page.First off, I wasn’t at Loftus Road yesterday and had to contend with Sky TV’s coverage, which at its best means the viewer is relying on what the cameraman (sic) sees.Second, a 4-1 defeat is a 4-1 defeat. We live with it and we get over it!Third, Ollie Lancashire’s sending off may have been a trifle harsh and an appeal against the three-match ban might be worth it. Nevertheless, he deserves a **** good rollicking, for by his actions he let his team mates down when they needed him.Fourth, the offside was doubtful, but the assistant referee ruled it as onside and again we live with it.Fifth, we were never going to win that game, but we could have and that hurts. On the positive side, despite fielding a young inexperienced side they held their own for long periods. Lastly, we are where we are and we have to acknowledge it and change it.I’m a Saints Supporter. That means I support Southampton FC. Not just when they win; not just when they’ve got the perfect team; not just when they’ve got shed-loads of money and not just when they got a Chairman and Board of Directors of my liking. Any **** fool can support a winning side.Next Wednesday sees another difficult side visiting St Mary’s I hope to travel down to watch and support the Saints. If it goes wrong, it goes wrong and it will be disappointing but I will not be booing and moaning. Though I daresay there’ll be plenty around who will be only too keen to demonstrate their ignorance and their lack of sportsmanship.Suppor
t the Saints or Shut Up!You want a happy ending? Go watch a Disney Movie!!
I like your post and totally agree!! keep supporting and hopefully there will be a run of good results , everyone feels like crap after losing but try and be positive!!

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sjames29 says...
4:21pm Mon 15 Sep 08

the 'exiled-saint' is the perfect example of a Southampton FC fan. Everyone read his comment.

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Graham, North of Watford says...
4:29pm Mon 15 Sep 08

The Exiled Saint wrote:
Game Five.Thank heavens the Daily Echo has changed the format of the Your Say page.First off, I wasn’t at Loftus Road yesterday and had to contend with Sky TV’s coverage, which at its best means the viewer is relying on what the cameraman (sic) sees.Second, a 4-1 defeat is a 4-1 defeat. We live with it and we get over it!Third, Ollie Lancashire’s sending off may have been a trifle harsh and an appeal against the three-match ban might be worth it. Nevertheless, he deserves a **** good rollicking, for by his actions he let his team mates down when they needed him.Fourth, the offside was doubtful, but the assistant referee ruled it as onside and again we live with it.Fifth, we were never going to win that game, but we could have and that hurts. On the positive side, despite fielding a young inexperienced side they held their own for long periods. Lastly, we are where we are and we have to acknowledge it and change it.I’m a Saints Supporter. That means I support Southampton FC. Not just when they win; not just when they’ve got the perfect team; not just when they’ve got shed-loads of money and not just when they got a Chairman and Board of Directors of my liking. Any **** fool can support a winning side.Next Wednesday sees another difficult side visiting St Mary’s I hope to travel down to watch and support the Saints. If it goes wrong, it goes wrong and it will be disappointing but I will not be booing and moaning. Though I daresay there’ll be plenty around who will be only too keen to demonstrate their ignorance and their lack of sportsmanship.Suppor
t the Saints or Shut Up!You want a happy ending? Go watch a Disney Movie!!
Sorry chaps but you've got to hold the faith.

The Season is going to be tough, tough, tough.

Support (through the tears) or leave.

It's all so simple


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Gladbachsaint says...
8:45pm Mon 15 Sep 08

I have read a lot of reports about Lancashire and his sending off. Whether it was deserved or not ? well we could talk for days about it but was i the only person who saw the challenge on Schneiderlin which resulted in just a yellow card ? Even my wife (a Spurs fan) thought that a challenge above the knee was worth at least the same punishment as Lancashire received. Maybe my blind bias in favour of Saints has clouded my version of events but the challenge on Schneiderlin wasn't mentioned in any report i have seen.

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saint craig says...
10:07pm Mon 15 Sep 08

Unless we start putting some old heads in with the boys we will be relegated. Todays team selection was shocking. We have to have epierience in this league, the football looks pretty but this is a mans league.I agree with the comment about Gillett he is not up to the job and why no Stern Jon the guy saved us last season

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Robbie Robertson says...
11:41am Tue 16 Sep 08

your a goon who clearly know nothing. ,my guess is your an overwieght thirty something who's pretty unhappy in life. we outplayed QPR for long periods yesterday and were simply unlucky due to some major decisions going against us " what a load of rot"
I'm a 30 something and I wasn't happy with the way Southampton played on Sunday. They were dreadful. I don't remember them having QPR on the ropes for extended periods at all.Saints got the ball and started to run up the field, but ran out of ideas, or had the ball taken back from them. The more I saw of the sending of, particularly from the referees angle, the more I felt it was deserved. The defence actually played better once Lancashire had gone though (old man wotton tightening up at the back). Every match I have seen so far, SFC have been poor with their chosen back four. This is an invitation for teams to run at you, and will result in goals being conceded. The idea of playing kids is not working (as was screamed from the rafters since day one) football that is pleasing to the eye is great if you can back it up with results. In the CCC though it is going to be depressing. I would love a pair of Rose Tinted Glasses, so that I could say there were positives in the game, but it's another game with no points, and, just as importantly, it's another minus 3 for the goal difference. There were people who said give the new coach ten games to see how it panned out. You're half way there now (not including your Carling cup games) You've got to start playing old heads at the back. Build a solid defence so that if the total football goes wrong, the opposition don't just run through you. Don't go relying on Svensson either. It's early inhte season, and he appears to be struggling already.
I would like to see SFC do well this year, but unless something changes, it won't happen.

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sjames29 says...
1:42pm Wed 17 Sep 08

The big problem is, we don't actually know what is happening behind the scenes. For all we know, J.P. may have been informed that all players such as Skacel, Euell etc are definatley leaving in January, so Poortvliet has no choose but to try and get it working with the youngsters. We can only keep looking forward to the next results

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