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Episode 412: Matchday Review: A SPECIAL TEAM GUN PAST THE GUNNERS!
129 Plays16 days ago
Southampton – What an unbelievable night at St Mary'd. Magic was in the air, and we become the first team in EUROPE outside of the top 5 teams in the premier league, to beat Arsenal. What a team Tonda has built and he has made believers out of us.
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Transcript
Introduction and Enthusiasm for the Saints
00:00:13
DailySaintsPod
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Saints pod.
Celebrating the Win Against Arsenal
00:00:18
DailySaintsPod
My name is Greg and as always today joined by my good friend, a wonderful co-host Zach and mate, how you doing?
00:00:27
Zak
Mate, what a beautiful, wonderful time to be a Saints fan. Oh, just... The internet loves us. we We
Mindset Shift: Belief Without Expectation
00:00:36
Zak
finally managed to take a headline that wasn't taken away by something ridiculous like last time.
00:00:41
Zak
It's just... Oh, it's a good time to be a Saints fan. I agree with Tottenham. We deserve a night like that. Man, did we have one. Like... We never lost the faith. We came into this predicting a win.
00:00:52
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:00:52
Zak
And neither of us at any point were really like, well, we're going to lose to Arsenal, obviously.
00:00:57
Zak
And like, I think we had a back and forth at one bit.
00:00:58
DailySaintsPod
That's the difference, right? Because you you you talked about how this would be like proof that we, how we might cope back in the Premier League and and and all of that.
00:01:09
DailySaintsPod
and And a little part of me was like, oh, but man, where was this like last season? But actually, that's the difference because we came into this game with belief, but no expectation.
00:01:23
Zak
Yeah.
00:01:23
DailySaintsPod
and that is
Reflecting on the Draw Against Manchester City
00:01:24
DailySaintsPod
so different than the entire rest of rests of
00:01:28
Zak
but what The whole of the Premier League campaign was was the Malka the Middle meme of Dewey being like, I expect nothing and I'm still let down.
00:01:31
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:01:38
Zak
It was the whole of our Premier League season. And now it's like, I expect nothing, but i wouldn't ever be let down.
00:01:42
DailySaintsPod
and
00:01:45
Zak
And like you could just tell the confidence using through the players, but like they they felt like they were probably going to win. And like they said, thought they're going to give it their best shot. And they did. And we've won. And we've got through. And
Community and Content Creators Influence
00:01:55
Zak
we are recording this after the draw against City.
00:01:59
Zak
So obviously, we're playing City, who famously we've knocked out of a cup competition before. A team who haven't
00:02:04
DailySaintsPod
If Nathan Jones can do it, in total, we trust.
00:02:06
Zak
Yeah, they haven't they have it at there haven't had the best year either. You know, I think they'll probably be focusing more on the Premier League anyway because they they you know they're going to want to destroy what's left of Arsenal's hope after losing out on two trophies in literally two matches in a row.
00:02:20
Zak
but But yeah, i think I think that, you know, the sense of... Man, like, I know that we're we're in a small, what would I call it, sphere of influence, right? There's like and so there's relatively to a few bunch of content creators for Saints, right? You know, you're looking at so your Football Martins, you're looking at TSP, you know, we've we've started chatting to to Jimmy Cheese, Staple Saint, quite big on Facebook. there's There's an ecosystem of Saints influencers, influencers.
00:02:48
Zak
whatever you want to call us, we're just podcasters. In fact, we're just fans, realistically. But, like, in comparison to Arsenal's, it is meant that, like, all I can think of, Greg, is I know that I had a bit of a run after Middlesbrough.
00:03:03
Zak
But I didn't like stand up and like punch my training dummy and like throw a hissy fit and say it's disgusting cool. Cool. Like, I'd see it. It just seems like, man, I've never seen us rattle a fan base as much as we did yesterday. And
Matchday Atmosphere and Fan Engagement
00:03:20
Zak
even our admin, who must be having the time of his life after so long of like having to just be like defeat, ends in defeat, defeat, ends in defeat. Here is a training video from you this week, which is going to result in every single comment being like, oh, everyone's crap. remember And, you know, instead what he's got to do last night was just mug people off one after another. One bloke even deleted the tweet that they replied to. LAUGHTER
00:03:49
DailySaintsPod
dig Fantastic, isn't it?
00:03:50
Zak
Obviously the famous one being like Fluke Winpowder, it's like Inquadjoy the quadruple pow. And that guy has now like pinned the tweet talking about how going to get knocked out and is fuming. And it's just, yeah, it's just, it's just nice to be a Saints fan for once.
00:04:02
DailySaintsPod
I mean, the vibes are immaculate. And look, do you know, i felt it. I felt it. Obviously, we did the preview episode and we both predicted wins. and And the belief was there.
00:04:13
DailySaintsPod
and And, you know, like,
Lineup Analysis and Tactical Insights
00:04:15
DailySaintsPod
not the, like, obviously belief that we could win. Like I said, no expectation that that was going to be the outcome of the game.
00:04:20
Zak
OK.
00:04:23
DailySaintsPod
Just belief that we were going to go... And we were going to go at it and give them give them something to think about. And then, you know, i arrive at St.
00:04:34
DailySaintsPod
Mary's and the place is just buzzing. There's just, you can just feel it, especially when you go to these games every week. You can it.
00:04:47
DailySaintsPod
the the feeling in the air of of joy, of confidence, the vibes. There was no doubts. There was no, we're just going to get battered. Nothing like that. Everybody was just...
00:05:02
DailySaintsPod
happy and content. And then the team sheets came out and, and you can brag and Casper and up the middle in center of midfield.
00:05:12
Zak
exceptional game
00:05:14
DailySaintsPod
And, you know, i looked at that as I would in times gone past. I went, that's interesting because out of the bunch, I probably would have picked Shea Charles as a glued on starter.
00:05:24
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Okay. And Nathan Wood in for Jack Stevens. I'm like, okay, well, Stevens is clearly still out injured and that kind of is what is. But you know what? Great. I've got faith in in Nathan Wood to step up. And then we saw, you know, the expected fellow starting and we saw Leo back in and that's a positive spark. And i'm like that's interesting. I don't know if I would have started Leo better.
00:05:46
DailySaintsPod
you know, with it being his first game back, we talked about how that's a big pile of pressure to lump on him to throw in his first game back. And there were, I mean, no signs of that from him whatsoever, fully lapped it up.
00:05:56
Zak
No, he thrived on Hmm.
00:05:57
DailySaintsPod
And it's like oh, okay, Stewart's starting up front. Okay, that's interesting. I think I probably would have gone Laren, but I guess there's travel time and other considerations. And I look at and go, well, I've got...
00:06:08
DailySaintsPod
a got some questions about the team sheet. But do you know what? i just I still fully believe because Tomber has created and earned that belief.
00:06:20
DailySaintsPod
And it's like, okay, well, it's probably not how I'd have done it, but I can see how it makes sense. and And we've got this. That's a good enough team to go and beat Arsenal. And that just never wavered.
00:06:32
DailySaintsPod
Like, the...
00:06:34
Zak
It's not silly because, again, like you said last night, we are the first team outside the top five of the Premier League to beat them. That includes the Champions League, right? And we're just now like... It's not even arrogance, you're right. It's just like a belief where we're like, yeah, it's not problem.
00:06:51
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, because...
00:06:52
Zak
that's That's enough to beat Arsenal. Mate, when look at that team, like, a half a season ago, it'd be like, well, that's not going to beat Wrexham. That's not going to beat this team. That's not going to beat Oxford.
00:07:02
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:07:02
Zak
Where's our striker?
00:07:03
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:07:04
Zak
We've got no striker.
00:07:05
DailySaintsPod
And that's the belief that they have earned by what they have produced in the last 15 games.
00:07:08
Zak
Yeah? No, I agree.
00:07:11
DailySaintsPod
and And you're right. like We had no right... coming into the game believing that we were going to win.
00:07:15
Zak
No.
00:07:18
DailySaintsPod
And yet we were proved in that belief because...
00:07:19
Zak
what we do. We do. you do
00:07:23
DailySaintsPod
just We felt it. You just felt it in the ground. And the whole ground was abuzz. And then Mark Dennis comes out and gives his rousing speech, which always goes down well. And, and you know, there was pyro and a banner and blew the entire summer transfer budget on a set of, you know, flames for the BBC. And it's just, it's like, yeah, this is, I am fired up. I am ready. And,
00:07:50
DailySaintsPod
And I think I text you early in the game. I'm like, there's four and a bit thousand Arsenal fans here and they're quieter than Charlton were. Like, but we were just, like, from know, from the...
00:07:58
Zak
No, but... Okay.
00:08:04
DailySaintsPod
you know from the person in the stand selling hot dogs to the fans, to every single player on that pitch. We believed and we wanted it more than Arsenal.
00:08:19
DailySaintsPod
And at the end of the day, that is what what came out because because that was what did it, the belief.
00:08:20
Zak
Hmm.
00:08:25
DailySaintsPod
We were first to... first to you know so many second balls in the middle of the park, it was unreal. like we It's not like we snatched and grabbed and played a low block and sat in front of the goal
00:08:39
Zak
It was an exceptional game. It wasn't boring to watch. That's the thing, right? It could have been them battering us for 95% and us snatching two late goals or whatever.
00:08:50
Zak
It didn't feel like that. When we took our chances, we took them and struck them well. My biggest worry with Leo having the absolute game in his life is that my word was he put in the shop window for people yesterday because I wouldn't be surprised if...
00:09:05
Zak
that they were there was a lot of buzz around him. There were rumours going around before the game.
00:09:09
DailySaintsPod
yeah.
00:09:10
Zak
Apparently, they're going to be scouts there and this or the other. We've had multiple other sort of personalities appear. You know, Theo Walcott was there last night, as you probably saw.
00:09:19
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:09:20
Zak
ex-Arcelor Sates and...
00:09:20
DailySaintsPod
I can assure you I have seen all of the coverage. I came home from
Post-Match Reactions and Manager Tonda's Influence
00:09:26
DailySaintsPod
the game and I arrived home 11 o'clock at night and I was so abuzz that what I did was I sat down and I watched the full BBC coverage of the game, including the pre-match analysis.
00:09:41
Zak
me that does not i'm not even slightly surprised but like again like you you get to you get to relive it and you get to you know and the fact that i even had a mate of mine who i've made mentioned my friend and james quite a few times in the podcast over but again it's over 400 episodes so not not enough for most people to know know who he is and he is a bolton fan who's uh whose dad is a Spurs fan. He's had it a bit of an affinity to Spurs.
00:10:09
Zak
And he just, he texted me after not really paying as much attention to our season this season as he would, because we're championship. and And he just went, I just didn't have Southampton saving football i'll being on my bingo card for this year.
00:10:23
Zak
And it was great. And was just having to explain to him, like, I don't understand this when we're on. I'm just happy to just ride the wave. And, like, saying, like, Shea Charles is absolutely exceptional goal against Oxford.
00:10:34
Zak
And him to come out and do, basically, you know, a similar thing in the sense of, that's what, like, the the amazing goal against Oxford.
00:10:34
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:42
Zak
And this is the winning goal at the 4-3 Leicester game.
00:10:46
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:46
Zak
And now beating Arsenal at home. Like, wow.
00:10:50
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:50
Zak
I don't know what superpowers we have like embedded into him, imbued him with, but my word was that, you know. And also, the idea that Tonda said like beforehand he wanted him to come on and knew he could come on and make a big impact.
00:10:58
DailySaintsPod
It's just...
00:11:06
Zak
And like... That's why when you say things like, oh, yeah, it's a bit weird that Bragg and Yander in the middle. We trust the process, though, because we trust the process because the process pays off. It's the opposite of what we had under Will Still, where we're like, well, that's weird.
00:11:15
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:11:18
Zak
We've tried that. Or like even, you know i know I talk about it a lot, but like that game we played against Tottenham, with with with Russell Martin, right? And then like he started Sulemano because he decided to change things the first time ever.
00:11:30
Zak
And every single one of us knew it would go horribly and it went horribly. Whereas with Tonda, it's just like you look at what he puts out and you go, okay, prove me prove me wrong. And then suddenly every day, Greg, he proves that we are not, shockingly, the fans and ourselves are not you know managers of a football club, but he is there and he is there on merit.
00:11:48
DailySaintsPod
It was just... But you could see... Yeah, because because you know as as well as the fight and desire, like say, that was like the key difference.
00:11:59
DailySaintsPod
But actually, tactical tactically, we just outplayed Arsenal. We started off hot and caught them on the back foot and had a couple of chances out off the back of it. And then... And then they came at us, but we were expecting it, and we just we shut them out. we we We just... You know, they just didn't know what to do. They just kept recycling the ball back. And, you know, their possession levels were through the roof, but what they achieved with the possession was...
00:12:31
DailySaintsPod
was minimal. though They did nothing. They he had no option but to pass it back. and And, you know, eventually, of course, they broke through and scored their their goal
Player Development and Key Game Moments
00:12:40
DailySaintsPod
with their substitutes.
00:12:42
DailySaintsPod
but And it was a a brilliant goal. It is what it is. They're not top of the Premier League because they're rubbish. But that's not how football works.
00:12:49
Zak
Yeah.
00:12:50
DailySaintsPod
Like, that was going to happen. But... you know Unlike so many points of the season where we talked about the lack of mentality in the team or you know one controversial moment ruining an entire game, we pulled ourselves up and went back with that same belief that we were still going win this game.
00:13:09
DailySaintsPod
And we did. And it just was never it just never fell it never felt in doubt.
00:13:11
Zak
eight eight shots to their 23, but we scored them both. Like, you know. Right.
00:13:17
DailySaintsPod
like Even at the point where like, oh, this game's going to go into extra time. It's like, but... But thus that's the thing. It's the belief and not the expectation because the reality of it is we'd put in such a good performance in the first half to be in at half-time that if the game ends there and Arsenal come out and score four goals in the second half and batter us, everybody still leaves the stadium happy that, but but we gave it to them in that first half, though. It's just that they bought £300 million pounds worth of players off the bench and...
00:13:47
DailySaintsPod
and beat us 4-1. Fair enough. We gave it a Like, there was...
00:13:51
Zak
Yeah.
00:13:52
DailySaintsPod
It was just unbelievable. like Like, every single player on that pitch, you know, put their rule into the game and was brilliant. But, this you know... there There are layers to it to me because there are players that were exceptional, but that's just what we've come to expect of them at this point.
00:14:10
DailySaintsPod
Like your James Breeze and your Taylor Harwood-Bellises who have just stepped up and stepped into game. And if Daniel Paretzis, right? Like the saves he made were crucial.
00:14:17
Zak
Yep. Quite bull saved yesterday. absolutely, absolutely fantastic.
00:14:21
DailySaintsPod
And... Yeah.
00:14:23
Zak
Like, you know,
00:14:23
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. But for me, the standout performances were were the other players that stepped up. I think Fellows had his best game in a Saints shirt.
00:14:33
Zak
100% agree with that. You, you though, i don't know what curse you have bestowed upon that man to stop him from scoring.
00:14:41
DailySaintsPod
Mate, it's getting closer.
00:14:41
Zak
He's getting closer, but we are the the the jokes between us during during the game constantly due to the fact that it was like, oh, he's getting closer, he's getting closer, but he still won't put it in because you have at some point, don't know, knocked over an urn
00:14:42
DailySaintsPod
One of them was really good and on target.
00:14:59
Zak
stepped on one too many pavement cracks or something mate, that that man is unable to score a girl in a Saint shirt until you broke this curse.
00:15:06
DailySaintsPod
It just doesn't matter because what can he can get the ball and have the fullback in his pocket and get the ball into a winning position and just pass the ball to Shea Charles who can do it for him, right?
00:15:15
Zak
Well, yeah, and that's that's and that's and that is actually what matters, right? And that is what we always wanted from from players.
00:15:19
DailySaintsPod
And...
00:15:22
Zak
and But yeah, you're right. everybody Everybody was exceptional. We had to deal...
00:15:25
DailySaintsPod
The standout performance, though, for me, can brag.
00:15:29
Zak
Yeah, unbelievable. the The Echo talked about, there was an Echo interview with him beforehand where he was trying to get his name, you know, and I feel like doing a media interview like that, you are definitely trying to say, look, I want to play against Arsenal.
00:15:36
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:15:42
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:15:42
Zak
And he played against Arsenal and proved he could play against Arsenal. And don't know what else to say.
00:15:48
DailySaintsPod
Here's the thing right about is the thing about Cameron Bragg and particularly the position he plays, or at least the role he plays in our team when he comes in.
00:15:49
Zak
Like...
00:15:55
DailySaintsPod
right He's not a flair player like a Leo Sienza or a Tyler Diblin that's going to capture the headlines and you know capture the interest of people because what he does and the work that he does is the gritty, sweep up the ball in the middle of the park, control the midfield work, that is overlooked so often in football, right?
00:16:20
DailySaintsPod
It's exactly what you need. But he played the game yesterday with such a level of maturity for a 20-year-old player.
00:16:27
Zak
Yeah.
00:16:28
DailySaintsPod
I couldn't believe it. He started off slightly shaky, admittedly, but just grew into the game. And him and Yander together in that middle of field, they' just they were just first to almost everything. right Whenever there was a slightly misplaced pass from Arsenal, they just held their shape, read the game,
00:16:50
DailySaintsPod
And yeah, like we didn't need the extra man in midfield to take over that midfield area like we did against Coventry. We took on, you know sure, a an injury-ridden or a votated top-of-the-league side, but a squad that...
00:17:06
DailySaintsPod
in the scheme of things, on paper, should have had enough to put us away, right? But but it comes back to the old adage that we always love, mate. It's not a game played on paper, it's a game played on grass.
00:17:17
DailySaintsPod
And when when the grass is surrounded by an atmosphere as electric as St. Mary's was, with a team as willing to... I don't know what Tonda does to fire these players up that we didn't see before...
00:17:32
Zak
Especially, i think it's so it's so, it's fascinating because he comes across as such a stoic man. So stoic.
00:17:38
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:17:39
Zak
It's almost like, does he just walk in? Like, we've all seen the jokes around Arteta with like the light bulb walking in and sort of being, and like, it does he does he walk into the changing room and become the most animated man on the planet?
00:17:49
Zak
and then come back out and just an aura of calm or an aura of... he he He carries himself with an aura of authority that is insane for a 33-year-old.
00:18:00
Zak
He is my age, and that baffles me because you know there was so much talk about how he... is too young and when you know we're going to end up wanting to get a better manager and you know he had his streak at the beginning and then he kind of fell off a little bit and even ourselves were kind of like was it the right decision maybe we should have got and then like the way that he has kind of proven how good he is is insane and i don't i don't quite know what he is doing to to give them that belief but it's so important
00:18:24
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:18:28
DailySaintsPod
the the The giveaway for it for me, and I'm sure that it was easier to spot with the benefit of hindsight, right watching the BBC coverage back. Although that said, Theo Walcott called it out. and He did a pre-match interview with the BBC on their pre-match coverage, and the reporter asked him, so...
00:18:48
DailySaintsPod
how do you take on a team like us? And he's like, we we've got a few things with an absolute like grin like you've never seen before. like He knew that we were going to... He had that belief and he knew. He's like, we found the flaws, we got this. And I don't know, you're right. Where that confidence comes from for someone, like his experience as a manager is us. like And that's fantastic.
00:19:17
Zak
Yeah, we covered, we covered, know, we did a profile episode when he took over, right? And his experience beforehand is not massive, right? It's
Cultural Significance and Club Legacy
00:19:28
Zak
not big. It's basically us. It's insane. And, you know, kind knocked around a couple of sort of German teams. But, like, yeah, for him to be able to come in and this is like, for some teams, you know, looking at Bristol City, bringing
00:19:45
Zak
Bring you back, Roy Hodgson. It's... It's sort of like people keep dropping to, oh, we need championship experience. And that was a big sort of thing around us as well. But how do you develop like the next generation of managers? And we've been lucky to, you know, bring through Pochettino and we were lucky to have Koeman for little while. And then we've had lots of other managers in between. But it it does very much feel like it's like, oh man, we found somebody that one day is going to go on to to manage really, really big clubs. And we should really, really enjoy the time we have with him.
00:20:16
DailySaintsPod
No, I don't want to see Tonda manage big clubs. I want Tonda to keep doing these things for Southampton for the next 30 years and create a dynasty.
00:20:20
Zak
No, I want him to stay here.
00:20:23
Zak
But then, very realistic, we're going to need to get promoted and then we're going need to get into Europe, mate.
00:20:25
DailySaintsPod
Like...
00:20:30
DailySaintsPod
just the Sir Alex Ferguson of Southampton is what I i want in our future because you're right, he he has this like stoicness about him and he comes out in the press and you know he's a bit more wordy than Ivan Juric, but not like substantially.
00:20:30
Zak
It's as simple as that.
00:20:47
Zak
Not much. Not much, mate.
00:20:50
DailySaintsPod
And yeah, I just don't know what i don't know what it is that he imparts on the players, but I buy into it, and the players clearly have, because...
00:20:59
Zak
It's also working with the resources you've been given as well, because like we've been critical of Sports Republic's window in January, and I keep wanting to hearken back to that, because I i want to hold ourselves accountable, right?
00:21:02
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:21:08
Zak
We were very, very sceptical about the business we did in January, because we basically let so many players like go, so many players leave, Adam Armstrong and we brought in a older Canadian striker that had was basically just a journeyman, and we brought in this kind of unknown...
00:21:25
Zak
goalkeeper that we weren't able, you know, we were able to sort out pretty quickly, but also it was one of those things where even that seemed to have issues because we were trying to bring him in from a club that he was already on loan to. And yet somehow they've managed to select that really, really well.
00:21:39
Zak
And he has been able to work with the resources he's been given. And, you know, Cam Bragg has come through. Matsuki has kind of found his footing in the team a bit more. A Dozie has come back into the fold. And the beautiful thing about yesterday was that straight after Sienso goes off, Ben White has to deal a Dozie and clearly couldn't deal with him either.
00:21:56
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. just had no answers. They just had no answers.
00:22:00
DailySaintsPod
And i think, here's the thing, right? This is...
00:22:00
Zak
I felt bad for him because he's key he had how he didn't get carded, God only knows, I swear.
00:22:06
DailySaintsPod
This is, I think, part of the thing, right? Because
Adapting to Pressure and Countering Arsenal
00:22:09
DailySaintsPod
the style of playing the Premier League is what it right? It's all quite, for lack of a better term, it's Pepified, right? Like, all of the teams in the Premier League either play or try and play the way Pep plays football or they try to play the way that counters Pep's football, which means that what Premier League fullbacks don't really deal with on a week-by-week basis is an absolute head case winger that just wants to run at you and make you look stupid. Like...
00:22:44
Zak
How he didn't get carded for literally pushing him over, mate? That is insane. i did not know how that man escaped the booking.
00:22:49
DailySaintsPod
And on both sides, right? Because Fellows loves picking the ball up and running at players.
00:22:52
Zak
yeah
00:22:54
DailySaintsPod
That is his bread and butter. And that is what did all game. He just picked up the ball, found a bit of space with it, ran. And they just, yeah, they didn't have a lot of answers for it. I feel like, on the whole, we had the better chances in that game. Like, Arsenal had the possession and they had the shots, right?
00:23:17
DailySaintsPod
but But when it comes to actually like meaningful shots and meaningful targets, well, they had seven shots on target, and I think of those...
00:23:18
Zak
but How many how many of them just how of them just went into the hands of Peretz? How many of them just hit Peretz?
00:23:27
DailySaintsPod
yeah know One of them's the goal, and I can think of two big saves from Perrette, right?
00:23:32
Zak
Hmm.
00:23:32
DailySaintsPod
And so the rest are just fizzling into nothing. And sure, 23 shots, but you know only seven of those are entirely... They just didn't really have an answer to... they were Even though we weren't playing this like low-block shape that was like forcing them to try and unlock, they just didn't have the answer to us.
00:23:50
DailySaintsPod
we were just We wanted it, and we we fought for it, and it's just...
00:23:55
Zak
I just think people people underestimate us and have done, right?
00:23:58
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:23:58
Zak
that They did the same thing as Fulham. And I know they've had to play a rotated squad because all eyes are on Tuesday. But like the momentum they have lost in those last two games is going to be devastating for them. you know How are they going to pick themselves back up?
00:24:08
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:24:10
Zak
But like when you look at the fact that Ben White's just managed to make it back into you know England international and has been put on toast by this guy who has like an X-Factor-style story that's nuts in Leo Sienza,
00:24:25
Zak
It's a hard image for us to remove, but it's an image that, as you pointed out yesterday, all of us could see before the game even kicked off. And I think that's the thing. And you're seeing Arsenal fans be so frustrated and come into the game and sort of, you know, there' there was a lot of conversation around the last time we played them.
00:24:40
Zak
And it was like completely different times. Like the Premier League, you know, completely different.
00:24:42
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:24:44
Zak
You know, Cam but cam Archer scored in those games or soccer scored
00:24:47
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
Building Momentum and Addressing Controversies
00:24:48
Zak
in one of those games.
00:24:48
DailySaintsPod
Well, Harwood Bellis came out after the match and said it.
00:24:49
Zak
We were...
00:24:51
DailySaintsPod
He's like, it just felt different. We're in a different place. Going in to play Arsenal at St Mary's last year, we didn't feel how I feel, how I felt today. like The buzz was different. The vibe was different. The confidence was different. And yeah, they just all stepped up and it gave me, honestly, maybe my did i second favorite ever night at St. Mary's.
00:25:17
DailySaintsPod
It's close. It's real close.
00:25:19
DailySaintsPod
There was.
00:25:19
Zak
Yeah, i've seen I've seen for a lot of people it's it's now topped West Brom.
00:25:22
Zak
I'm not going to lie. I think but yeah i guess so it's cup magic.
00:25:23
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:25
Zak
It's it's the the weight of the occasion. you know It's the opponent that we're playing. It's the grown men crying and leaving early. You know? It's just...
00:25:34
DailySaintsPod
It's all of it. It's the, you know, West Brom, the atmosphere built all week, and then we did what we had to do, and we scored first, and it was never in doubt. This was the atmosphere built, and there was not confidence, but belief, and and the vibes were good, and the atmosphere was electric, and we...
00:25:56
DailySaintsPod
We did it and then it was nervy, but we still put it in. And then, you know, we faced that adversity and we, we you know, we conceded the equalizer and we just...
00:26:05
Zak
We just didn't have we didn't have panic. They had panic. Their booking, Greg, was for because they pushed the referee.
00:26:09
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:26:13
Zak
They tried to push the ref off of the ball.
00:26:13
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:26:16
Zak
of How was it a Red God only days? Because you know I feel like you can't just assault the ref nowadays, but there we are.
00:26:19
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:26:22
Zak
But that showed a sense of panic and it shows sense of weight of expectation. And I think that is the biggest thing that you've hit the nail on the head of, is that we do not expect...
00:26:26
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:26:32
Zak
as much as we did. Maybe we should expect more. But because of that, they are able to go out and, you know, we as you said, we we were texting each other back forth and our equalised, we still both had the faith.
00:26:44
Zak
You said, well, it's a shame, mate. I've already booked my park in. That is a genuine thing you said before we'd scored our second goal. Like, right? Like, this is me going, you going, like, even if we lose, we've put in such a good performance.
00:26:57
Zak
We've been like, hey, don't lose the faith. No, I'm not. I've already been barking, mate. Genuinely all took place before our second goal.
00:27:03
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:27:04
Zak
And, like, that's all... Actually, right? Screw it like the the the the ridiculous comparisons making. That's all you needed. I don't know why. i can't explain how...
00:27:15
Zak
But yesterday was truly, truly something special for the club, for the supporters, and for the players as well.
00:27:19
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:27:22
Zak
And what what a confidence boost
00:27:24
DailySaintsPod
That's
Emotional Aftermath and Future Outlook
00:27:25
DailySaintsPod
it, but it was, it was a special, special night because, you know,
00:27:25
Zak
going into Tuesday.
00:27:26
Zak
right.
00:27:33
DailySaintsPod
i so I think it was on one of the the fans that Football Martin had on his matchday vlog. They were like, look, promotion is obviously essential and fantastic and important. And that trip to Wembley and that West Brom semifinal were immaculate. But if we win the FA Cup,
00:27:52
DailySaintsPod
we're still talking about it 50 years on because we're still talking about the fact that we won the FA Cup 50 years ago, right? like But if we win the FA Cup on the 50th anniversary of us winning the FA Cup, that is, you know, spirit of 76 was the the TIFO, the the banner that went up.
00:28:12
DailySaintsPod
You know, this, the opportunity to forever be known as the spirit of 26, right? Like it's, it's yeah It was special and it was fantastic and it was jubilant and my voice really hurts. And I mean, actually, honestly, I don't think anything sums up quite how much of a a big game feel and a big game it was than the fact that after we rostered and scored that goal,
00:28:42
DailySaintsPod
I got a text from my my wife who, you know, makes great use of us going to the football to spend time not having to deal with us and decompressing and not worrying about football that said, saw you on the telly, put your son down. Like,
00:29:00
Zak
The first thing I saw after that girl Was you holding your son up, mate? Oh, mate. Because honestly, that was so funny. But you could tell it it was it was jubilation is, I think, the the correct...
00:29:20
Zak
The correct word for it, mate, is I think that genuinely, what what a fantastic day to be a Saints fan. What fantastic confidence boost for Tuesday.
00:29:27
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:29:29
Zak
as Arsenal go into their crucial Champions League game losing sight of two trophies, we go into our game against Wrexham full of confidence.
00:29:35
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Right. A very real possibility, by the way, that AFC Stoneham win more games at Wembley this season than Arsenal.
00:29:48
Zak
Shout out to them, went to school with their manager.
00:29:50
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Right. Right. Just football on the South Coast. Never, never.
00:29:55
Zak
Well, you
Community Ties and Fan Dedication
00:29:56
Zak
know, all the criticisms of all, even the mention around the fact that it's like, oh, is it, you know, i thought it was only like this in the Northeast. And clearly it shows that, you know, we are we are a passionate fan base, but also I'm like, banter club.
00:30:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:30:08
Zak
and
00:30:08
DailySaintsPod
I've got... oh that I've actually... Right, you've touched on it. I've actually got thoughts. I've got thoughts on that. It'll surprise to hear, mate.
00:30:16
Zak
Interesting.
00:30:17
DailySaintsPod
This is the thing, right? Don't confuse loud-mouthedness for passion, right? Like, sure, all the fans in the North East or all the big clubs have their passionate fans and they're loud, right?
00:30:31
DailySaintsPod
We are a passionate fan base. We're not always the most vocal or the most noisy of fan bases. but we are a passionate fan base. and that Everybody involved with the club, everyone I speak to, I speak to huge amounts of Saints fans all the time, and everyone is deeply passionate about the club. We just don't necessarily always go to the ground to shout about it. But when we know it is needed or when is earned, because, you know, you think about what we have been through
00:31:07
DailySaintsPod
even before the last promotion, right? And that that fantastic moment and that day out at Wembley, we have suffered through some some rough times.
00:31:20
Zak
dire mate say how it is it's been a it's been dire couple of years for us and we are enjoying it that is why there was such a that was why there is so much anger over ownership and everything else is because we care is a group of fans that really really care about their club most what teams do but like it is one of the things that you we are not
00:31:21
DailySaintsPod
And...
00:31:24
DailySaintsPod
But... Yeah.
00:31:34
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:43
Zak
the flashiest of teams. We are not going to have huge amounts of tourist fans. You know, a vast majority of the people that support Southampton are are from the town through and through.
00:31:56
Zak
That is growing. There are people outside the UK that also support and and enjoy you watching Saints.
00:31:58
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:32:01
Zak
And, you know, we we ourselves interact with with some of those fans. And that isn't a a problem either.
00:32:05
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:32:07
Zak
But, yeah.
00:32:07
DailySaintsPod
shout out Australian Saints supporters with one my favorite Facebook groups on the planet. Yeah.
00:32:12
Zak
Yeah, exactly exactly that.
00:32:13
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:32:14
Zak
And then, and that you know, that you see these sort of like pockets, and but we're all people that really, really care about the club. And it's a very, very important part of the culture of the city as well.
00:32:22
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:32:24
Zak
And I think that that's a, you know, that's a thing why so many people worry about the modernisation of football. And like, it's no disrespect to Arsenal, Tottenham and London, or that not but they're all London. Whereas, you Southampton Football Club is, is a part, is a heart of Southampton of the city.
00:32:37
DailySaintsPod
It's the city.
00:32:39
Zak
Because there's not really what else we've got.
00:32:39
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. And look, is it is it going to be is it going to be as electric at St.
00:32:41
Zak
Like, you know,
00:32:45
DailySaintsPod
Mary's every week as it it was last night? No, because the stakes are not always as high as they were last night. Does that mean that we're not going to be noisy the rest of the season? No, we're going to have some fantastic... we've got a lot of home fix in this runin I looked at my personal calendar today and established that I have six trips to St. Mary's in the course of three weeks. like and And a trip to Wembley in the middle as well. like with with
00:33:16
DailySaintsPod
It's going to be busy. It's going to be loud. It's going to be great. And the good times just going to keep coming, man. It's just...
00:33:23
Zak
man
Legacy Building and Future Aspirations
00:33:24
Zak
it's it's just it's just enjoy it it's a nice time to be a saints fan no matter where you're a fan or how you're a fan it's a great time to be a saints fan at the moment and need to you know and i'll still pipe back to that guy from a TikTok video, I want to say almost year ago now, when we were in the Premier League and he said, you need to enjoy every little moment, every little moment.
00:33:31
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:33:44
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:33:45
Zak
Because, you know, if you score a goal and it's a good moment, that's all you could enjoy during that Premier League season.
00:33:49
DailySaintsPod
I
00:33:52
Zak
It was 10 minutes of enjoyment out of 90.
00:33:52
DailySaintsPod
i will see it.
00:33:55
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Well, look.
00:33:56
Zak
but So now, the fact we're on this run and the way we're we're playing and the way that we're scoring and the fact that it feels genuinely like we're never going to lose another game,
00:34:05
DailySaintsPod
by
00:34:05
Zak
Enjoy it.
00:34:06
DailySaintsPod
Tonda has tond does beaten more Premier League teams as a Saints manager than Russell Martin, who played half a season for us in the Premier League.
00:34:07
Zak
That's all I'll say.
00:34:15
DailySaintsPod
Like, it's...
00:34:17
DailySaintsPod
ist
00:34:17
Zak
And Spurs.
00:34:17
Zak
And Spurs, apparently.
00:34:18
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, it's it's insane. It's incredible.
00:34:22
Zak
It is.
00:34:22
Zak
It is good.
00:34:23
DailySaintsPod
He was talking in his post-match interview how about special nights like that inspire the next generation of Saints fans.
00:34:31
DailySaintsPod
And the only talk we had on this podcast in the last 412 episodes is about the future generation of Saints fans is us describing it as character building.
00:34:44
DailySaintsPod
Like, the turnaround speaks for itself.
00:34:46
Zak
Yeah.
00:34:49
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:34:49
Zak
Well, you have to explain to to your son that it's not quite normal that we go to Wembley every year or every other year.
00:34:55
DailySaintsPod
It's going to be real tough one once at the end of this year where we potentially go three times.
00:34:57
Zak
It's going to be quite a quite a difficult thing.
00:35:02
DailySaintsPod
Still very much on the cards.
00:35:03
Zak
One out of three now, mate.
00:35:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. It's right.
00:35:08
Zak
We were joking about it, but one out three?
00:35:11
DailySaintsPod
Man City in the next round Pep hates playing in us It's written in the stars And then you know go and beat Leeds in the final Just to put that cherry on the cake Right that's just what it's going to end up being Another day out at Wembley against Leeds Where have I seen this before
00:35:16
Zak
What more
00:35:24
Zak
you want? And then, from what you we might only get the two because we might end up pipping the second spot because at the moment, it feels like anything can happen.
00:35:37
DailySaintsPod
Mate, that's insane even for...
00:35:37
Zak
sir
00:35:39
DailySaintsPod
Even I'm not feeling that level of confidence. This is insane. But look, that's what this wind does. That's why that's how special it is, mate.
00:35:48
Zak
It's really amazing. I'm usually always down. So when there's a high like this, I want to ride it. I want to ride it and enjoy it because it will come crashing down at some point and I will be sad again.
00:35:55
DailySaintsPod
Mate, it's...
00:35:58
DailySaintsPod
and i look the The turnaround is spectacular. Every single player in a Saints shirt last night fully showed their commitment and their willingness, which which in itself is all we have asked for for the longest time. And
Memorable Moments and Closing Excitement
00:36:17
DailySaintsPod
in doing that, they excelled, played a fantastic game of football, gave us a something that would genuinely live with me for the rest of my life in as one of my favourite nights at St Mary's. And dare I say it, mate, maybe my favourite goal against Arsenal won't be Coco Martina anymore.
00:36:42
DailySaintsPod
Like...
00:36:43
Zak
Crazy. What a
00:36:44
DailySaintsPod
Because...
00:36:45
Zak
What a time to be alive.
00:36:46
DailySaintsPod
Because Ross Stewart reading Ben White missing the ball and having the composure in that moment to chest it down and volley it past Kepa right in front of me is sir just unbelievable, isn't it? like It's just just things that even as recently as what, like October,
00:37:09
DailySaintsPod
is he would if If you'd have caught me saying it on the podcast, you'd have been clipping up and queuing it for six months' time because of how insane it was. like It's just things you can't believe.
00:37:19
Zak
Yeah,
00:37:20
DailySaintsPod
below Brilliant. Not a bad word to say about it. just Just fantastic all-round. Where did six-minute stoppage time come from and why did we play until 98?
00:37:31
DailySaintsPod
Other than that, the referee was all right.
00:37:32
Zak
Look, as a... Again, the fact that at one point I saw Arteta put up six fingers, I'm guessing that's because how much he'd counted. And I don't know if at just that point that's what the ref had decided.
00:37:43
Zak
i don't want to get into that because we've won... But on top of that, the ref, as I said, other than looking not booking Ben White somehow, considering Manning had one bad challenge, that was it for Manning.
00:37:46
DailySaintsPod
Look, look. The left...
00:37:51
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:37:55
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:37:55
Zak
And admittedly, he knew what he'd done as soon as he got booked. But when he...
00:37:59
DailySaintsPod
Sorry, that was clear booking. No no complaints.
00:38:00
Zak
Yeah. no but and then Some of the stuff Ben White got away with, you're like, mate, you just can't have six yellows at this point.
00:38:05
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:38:08
Zak
What are you doing?
00:38:08
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:38:08
Zak
So anyway, that's the only...
00:38:10
DailySaintsPod
and And look, just to clear up any other of the discussion points that I've seen that we've not talked about.
00:38:15
DailySaintsPod
No, it wasn't a penalty for Sienza. He dived and was looking for it.
00:38:15
Zak
yeah.
00:38:19
Zak
Yeah.
00:38:20
Zak
Yeah.
00:38:21
Zak
Well, yeah.
00:38:22
DailySaintsPod
And no, Karl Lahren wasn't offside. That's ridiculous. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Cry more? Like, what are you doing?
00:38:30
DailySaintsPod
when you Talk about hunting for hope from VAR. Ridiculous.
00:38:34
Zak
yeah well
00:38:35
DailySaintsPod
But other than that, i just sensational. Incredible.
00:38:38
Zak
yeah
00:38:40
DailySaintsPod
look Even predicting wins before the game. I don't know if either of us like genuinely, truly felt like at this point we could say that we are 15 games unbeaten.
00:38:52
DailySaintsPod
But... Who's going to stop us now? That's that's the question. And that's the question I guess we we have to wait and see because, you know, as ever, mate, football in the championship comes out of thick and fast.
00:38:57
Zak
Exactly that.
00:39:05
DailySaintsPod
No time to rest on our laurels and celebrate.
00:39:06
Zak
Yeah.
00:39:08
DailySaintsPod
We've got to go again.
00:39:11
Zak
Wreck some on Tuesday, mate.
00:39:12
DailySaintsPod
Well, look, we can talk about that one tomorrow because that is all we have got time for today and then some.
00:39:12
Zak
There we
00:39:18
DailySaintsPod
But thank you, everyone, for listening. Thank you so much, mate, for joining me. It's been a genuine pleasure.
00:39:23
Zak
Thank you, mate.
00:39:25
DailySaintsPod
look Let us know in the comments, in the socials, your feelings, your highlights, your favourite night at St Mary's ever. I don't know.
00:39:34
DailySaintsPod
on I'm here for the discussion. i'm here I'm here to hear it. I want to see it play out. Arguments for both sides. For me, West Brom still slightly edges it, but I don't know. don't know. It's a tough one. But let us know, with Daily Saints pod everywhere, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Blue Sky,
00:39:54
DailySaintsPod
x everywhere. Hit us up. Let us know while you're there. Why not drop us a like and a subscribe? Until tomorrow, we're about to preview the Wrexham game.
00:40:05
DailySaintsPod
Have a wonderful day, everyone, knowing that it's that much easier off the back of that win.
00:40:11
Zak
Woo!