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Episode 353: Matchday Review: Mauled by Middlesbrough
5 Plays1 month ago
Southampton – I mean, that was awful... We've got lots to say...
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Transcript
Introduction and Host Welcome
00:00:04
Speaker
This is the Daily Saints pod with Zach and Greg.
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Southampton.
00:00:16
Speaker
My name is Greg and as always today joined by my good friend and wonderful co-host Zach.
Saints' Performance Frustrations
00:00:23
Speaker
Mate, how are you feeling after today's performance?
00:00:26
Speaker
I don't feel pretty wonderful.
00:00:28
Speaker
Greg, I think I hate football.
00:00:33
Speaker
This team, like, they did it again, where they brought me the smallest amount of joy just to keep me hooked into the team, to then bring it crashing back down in a show of complete and utter classic Saints capitulation.
00:00:51
Speaker
And on top of the classic Saints capitulation, we had the post-match press conference where Tonda's like, no, all the players went over to speak to the travelling fans.
00:01:02
Speaker
And it turns out it was basically Leo Sienza.
00:01:05
Speaker
And then they had like, Alvi had to correct him.
00:01:07
Speaker
He'd be like, no, mate, it was just Leo.
00:01:09
Speaker
It's like, oh, well, yeah, we should probably do something about that.
00:01:12
Speaker
Like, that's not the attitude we want, right?
00:01:14
Speaker
Right.
00:01:15
Speaker
There's also, like, I don't know how verified they are because it's difficult to not see who's just lying for the sake of it.
00:01:22
Speaker
But reports of, like, Gillette giving out his shirt.
00:01:26
Speaker
And I want to say it's ours as well.
00:01:28
Speaker
Or some of the other thing.
00:01:29
Speaker
I don't know.
00:01:30
Speaker
A bunch of players giving out their shirts to Middlesbrough fans.
00:01:33
Speaker
And then you've got one.
00:01:34
Speaker
You've got Leo who will go over, right, and give them to the fans.
00:01:38
Speaker
But there is something about it that, like, I get...
00:01:41
Speaker
Sports Republic out, blah, blah, blah.
00:01:43
Speaker
Right.
00:01:43
Speaker
But there is something that really, really gets to me.
00:01:46
Speaker
And that is that I have had to spend so much of my week over the last, so much for the last 10 days, watching these games to be brought, to be brought just like, just depression in like television format.
00:01:58
Speaker
Right.
00:01:59
Speaker
There are fans out there that will have attended all of those games.
00:02:05
Speaker
There are fans today that would have got up early in the cold, gone all the way up to Middlesbrough.
00:02:10
Speaker
With some uncertainty about whether the games will take place or not.
00:02:14
Speaker
We can talk about those other games later, but going all the way up to Middlesbrough...
00:02:21
Speaker
to watch their team play.
00:02:22
Speaker
And these people who are on thousands, thousands of pounds a week do not have the common courtesy to come and address them.
00:02:32
Speaker
They're happy to come over and clap and hug when everything's going good.
00:02:35
Speaker
But they get absolutely trounced in like the most pathetic way.
00:02:40
Speaker
Because as soon as one went in, that was it.
00:02:42
Speaker
You knew the floodgates were open and then everyone knew it was going to be four or five.
00:02:47
Speaker
in such an almost Premier League experience.
00:02:51
Speaker
It was very much like when we lost to Tottenham and Chelsea.
00:02:54
Speaker
I know they bang on about those games a lot because they stick in my mind.
00:02:56
Speaker
And this is going to be one of them.
00:02:59
Speaker
And they will go down the tunnel and not bother to come and say hello to all these people that have spent so much money, a drop in the ocean to what they are earning.
00:03:09
Speaker
But people's livelihoods that they will put in week in, week out to support the club, support the team.
00:03:15
Speaker
Wow.
00:03:15
Speaker
To be given what back?
00:03:17
Speaker
Literally.
00:03:18
Speaker
And like, I know this probably seems a bit like a meltdown.
00:03:20
Speaker
Maybe it is.
00:03:21
Speaker
Maybe I'm getting to a point, Greg, where we've been doing this daily for like, I don't know what, this is episode 352? 353.
00:03:31
Speaker
Free episode 353.
00:03:32
Speaker
And I'm, I just like, I don't know why today is the one that's really like, just pushed me over the barrier.
Critique of Ownership and Management
00:03:41
Speaker
But I was just there like, what are we doing?
00:03:43
Speaker
Like, why are you not doing it?
00:03:45
Speaker
Clear your lines.
00:03:46
Speaker
K-O lines, Basunu save a goal!
00:03:48
Speaker
Save a ball!
00:03:50
Speaker
Like if a ball comes towards you, don't let it in!
00:03:52
Speaker
Get rid of the ball!
00:03:54
Speaker
Stop, stop, we're second balls!
00:03:56
Speaker
Why do I need to keep telling you this if the managers keep telling you?
00:03:58
Speaker
And then we've got managers that are so, like no one's willing to say a bad thing because I don't know if it's to do with Sports Republic.
00:04:05
Speaker
And obviously now the other problem is that as equally as inferior English has all been, the nice period of positivity was wonderful.
00:04:13
Speaker
And now we've got to deal with the whole banners of Sports Republic out.
00:04:17
Speaker
I hate the ownership.
00:04:18
Speaker
Then the ownership aren't going to do anything.
00:04:20
Speaker
And then you've got people attacking journalists for not calling the ownership out.
00:04:24
Speaker
And it's like, I don't really think that that's their job.
00:04:27
Speaker
They're calling out the performances and the players.
00:04:29
Speaker
But like, you know.
00:04:30
Speaker
I mean, look, let's deal with it off the bat, right?
00:04:34
Speaker
Start from the start or what do you want to do?
00:04:38
Speaker
Look, I mean, let's talk about the big talking point first, right, that people are going to want to hear, and then we'll get to the rest.
00:04:45
Speaker
Sports Republic, whether you like them or not, and, you know, that opinion is reasonable either way, are not going to leave.
00:04:52
Speaker
They're not going to sell the club.
00:04:54
Speaker
They own the club.
00:04:55
Speaker
It's their club to control.
00:04:57
Speaker
So all that they're going to do...
00:05:00
Speaker
But all that they are going to do is some more good PR attempt stuff to win people back.
00:05:08
Speaker
And that's it.
00:05:09
Speaker
That's all that that's going to achieve.
00:05:10
Speaker
10% off at the Dell?
00:05:12
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:13
Speaker
They even gave us free pizza.
00:05:14
Speaker
Even Gal gave us free pizza, mate.
00:05:17
Speaker
That was good.
00:05:18
Speaker
That hated us.
00:05:20
Speaker
Look, right, I'm there, I'm with you, right?
00:05:22
Speaker
Like, I'm a season ticket holder.
00:05:25
Speaker
I see the increase in price, I see the decrease in benefits, but the fact of the matter is, they've invested too much at this point to just cut free and go, yeah, all right, sod it, I'm done.
00:05:41
Speaker
Depends how much money they get for it, innit?
00:05:43
Speaker
But the problem is, who wants to buy it?
00:05:45
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:46
Speaker
And look, this result in particular, I mean, look, to full disclosure, maybe I have a slightly more objective opinion on the outcome of this game because I didn't have to sit and watch it, right?
00:05:59
Speaker
Like I elected instead to go out for a family dinner and had steak and ribs and a mountain of churros and it was delicious, right?
00:06:08
Speaker
But, you know, it was poor.
00:06:11
Speaker
There's no excusing it.
00:06:14
Speaker
I'm starting to feel like I just need some time away for it sometimes, Greg, because genuinely, like, it was so rubbish.
00:06:20
Speaker
It lacked mental strength.
00:06:22
Speaker
It looked like we're just back to the same old, same old.
00:06:26
Speaker
But also, Middlesbrough, despite their current run of form and their lack of ability to score goals until today, are second in the table for a reason, right?
00:06:36
Speaker
Like, they have been a good team this season.
00:06:39
Speaker
Okay, so explain Oxford.
00:06:42
Speaker
No, no, look, look.
00:06:43
Speaker
I'm not, again, I'm not excusing it.
00:06:45
Speaker
I'm just trying to look at it objectively.
00:06:47
Speaker
I agree.
00:06:48
Speaker
This festive period has sucked.
00:06:51
Speaker
Right.
00:06:51
Speaker
And I don't know.
00:06:52
Speaker
It's quite simple, mate.
00:06:53
Speaker
We're just bad.
00:06:54
Speaker
We're not as good as we think we are.
00:06:56
Speaker
Look, I don't know.
00:06:58
Speaker
I don't know what the main contributing factor is.
00:07:01
Speaker
And like, it is noticeable, right?
00:07:03
Speaker
That there's a difference in the way we play now that Tonda has been given the job.
00:07:07
Speaker
And I don't know if that's because someone else behind the scenes is having a say.
00:07:12
Speaker
I don't know if it's just because he needs the results now and there was more freedom before where he didn't need it.
00:07:19
Speaker
It was just interim.
00:07:21
Speaker
There was no pressure.
00:07:22
Speaker
I don't know if it's just because we've been found out and he has a good plan A and the details are there, but there's no plan B or come back to that.
00:07:30
Speaker
I don't know if we gave Tonda the job too early because he made it impossible to not give it to him after that run of results.
00:07:36
Speaker
What I do know is we probably should be in a position where
00:07:40
Speaker
he has some backroom staff at this point because, you know, there's no assistant manager for him yet.
00:07:47
Speaker
Like, all of the reasons, all of the things, excuses that it could be, it does all come back and point at Sports Republic, right?
00:07:59
Speaker
And like I say, they're not going anywhere, which doesn't mean that you shouldn't use your voice, whatever, right?
00:08:05
Speaker
It is what is.
00:08:07
Speaker
I don't think they're going anywhere, but they need to do better than what they do.
00:08:11
Speaker
And I'm not suggesting that they are the worst owners, because we've seen some awful owners in football, but it is very clear that they are not good at running a football club.
00:08:21
Speaker
Right?
00:08:22
Speaker
That's where I'm at on it.
00:08:24
Speaker
How are you feeling about all that?
00:08:26
Speaker
It was just such a fragile piece, right?
00:08:28
Speaker
Because of the results turned and because it was just a nice period of time.
00:08:33
Speaker
As I said, I almost feel conned into feeling good about the club again.
00:08:37
Speaker
I feel conned into thinking that we were actually a really good team again.
00:08:41
Speaker
And even more so that today was probably our strongest XI that we put out.
00:08:46
Speaker
If we picked a team sheet, that was the team sheet that brought Tonda so much success, right?
00:08:51
Speaker
I mean, I put it to you when I saw the team line-up as top XI.
00:08:56
Speaker
Right?
00:08:57
Speaker
That's the main starting team.
00:08:59
Speaker
And arguably, the first half, they dominated a lot of it, but we did have our chances and we weren't ruthless enough.
00:09:05
Speaker
And you did have fellows get a chance that didn't go in because he just decided to sky it instead.
00:09:11
Speaker
But all of that is almost completely thrown to the wayside because once we let one in, we then let in another three.
00:09:19
Speaker
And then the fact that that has still become normal,
00:09:24
Speaker
Right?
00:09:25
Speaker
Like, I know a lot of the players, especially the other problem is we haven't managed to halfway turn around the team that we wanted to turn around.
00:09:31
Speaker
And that's why it was nice to see at least the OCN to go up and like have a chat.
00:09:35
Speaker
I'd be fascinated to hear what conversation was going on between the away fans.
00:09:40
Speaker
But like the rest of them, so many of them, I think another, like a load of other people pointed out just the absolute lack of leadership.
00:09:47
Speaker
You're like, yeah, like where's, like, obviously our captain wasn't on the field at the time.
00:09:52
Speaker
do we really need Stevens to play every game?
00:09:54
Speaker
Like, where's Romelu?
00:09:55
Speaker
Is he injured?
00:09:56
Speaker
I don't remember hearing he's injured, but he's not been on the bench either.
00:10:00
Speaker
And you're right, since he's had the job, I don't know if it's a... The idea that he's not playing without freedom because it, you know... Oh, you know, he could play with freedom because there's no... There's something on the line or whatever.
00:10:12
Speaker
Now, his job's on the line if he doesn't get results, and he's not getting results.
00:10:16
Speaker
So, you know, people are talking about firing him, but it doesn't... It just
Player Leadership and Team Dynamics
00:10:20
Speaker
feels like it could have been any other game, mate, that we've played in the last two years.
00:10:24
Speaker
It could have been Russell Martin, it could have been Ivan Juric, it could have been whoever the guy is in between.
00:10:28
Speaker
Any of them could have given the same press conferences we've had.
00:10:31
Speaker
Here's the line I'm going to say that's going to upset you immediately.
00:10:35
Speaker
Cast your mind back, right, to maybe the last time I saw...
00:10:41
Speaker
this much anger maybe not but when I try and break it down do you remember Nathan Jones coming out in a press conference and saying I'm actually just gonna try and do things my way now because there are too many voices
00:10:58
Speaker
But also at that point, you need to remember we've had two directors of football.
00:11:03
Speaker
The entirety of the backroom has changed.
00:11:05
Speaker
If they are, if there are a bunch of guys in a boardroom that are walking down and having a chat with every single manager they brought in and said, you need to play this specifically really boring three at the back,
00:11:15
Speaker
Why?
00:11:16
Speaker
I can't possibly.
00:11:18
Speaker
This is where the conspiracy loses me because I just don't get it.
00:11:22
Speaker
Is it just that they physically can't play with a four at the back?
00:11:27
Speaker
Is it because every time we get battered?
00:11:29
Speaker
But the problem is today's put that myth to bed because we played with five defenders and we still lost miserably.
00:11:36
Speaker
And then poor Ross Stewart has to make a cameo at the end of that game.
00:11:40
Speaker
after not being... It's just... It's going to do the world of good, isn't it?
00:11:44
Speaker
You could have swapped him for Will Steele.
00:11:46
Speaker
You could have swapped it for Russell Martin.
00:11:47
Speaker
And maybe, you know, you're right.
00:11:49
Speaker
Maybe we did all jump the gun.
00:11:50
Speaker
And by we... Like, I know there are a lot of people that said stronger heads will prevail.
00:11:54
Speaker
I just don't believe that any managerial appointment that they would have made would have not been in the same position.
00:12:01
Speaker
The only difference is with Tonda is at least we got some wins out of it.
00:12:04
Speaker
Yeah, I agree fully.
00:12:06
Speaker
And some draws out of it.
00:12:07
Speaker
They've been boring draws.
00:12:08
Speaker
They've been boring games to watch.
00:12:10
Speaker
The biggest crime recently is how boring it's been to watch.
00:12:13
Speaker
And then I thought that it couldn't get worse with how boring it's been.
00:12:15
Speaker
And then I watched today.
00:12:17
Speaker
And it's put me in a mood for the rest of the day as well because I'm just kind of like, this isn't even our job.
00:12:24
Speaker
This isn't even technically our side job.
00:12:26
Speaker
We do this for the love of the game.
00:12:27
Speaker
And today I really hated the game.
00:12:30
Speaker
I mean, look, it was...
00:12:31
Speaker
I can only imagine because, like I say, I was actually driving home for the second half.
00:12:37
Speaker
So, you know, I get in the car, we're 1-0 down.
00:12:40
Speaker
That's frustrating.
00:12:42
Speaker
And then, like, we take a little trip to drop some family off.
00:12:45
Speaker
And we look at the phone, and we're like, oh, we're 3-0 down.
00:12:47
Speaker
How has that happened that quickly?
00:12:49
Speaker
How have we capitulated that fast?
00:12:51
Speaker
And then that's it.
00:12:52
Speaker
Like, put the phone down, drive all the way home, get home.
00:12:54
Speaker
And then I joked.
00:12:55
Speaker
I was like, oh, look at my phone.
00:12:57
Speaker
Maybe we were on 4-3.
00:12:58
Speaker
And I'm like, oh no, we lost 4-0.
00:13:01
Speaker
Like, to a team that, despite being second in the table, like I said earlier, a team that prior to this game hadn't scored in seven hours of football.
00:13:14
Speaker
But fair play to them because they wanted it so much more.
00:13:19
Speaker
Again, they had their troubles.
00:13:21
Speaker
They've had a slew of managers.
00:13:24
Speaker
We wanted to replace them with the manager that didn't get them into the position they're currently in.
Goalkeeper Performance and Transfer Speculation
00:13:29
Speaker
You had two goals from Morgan Whitaker that you'd forget that Adam Armstrong was the top goal scorer with the fact that Whitaker seems to be on form.
00:13:37
Speaker
Even though, yeah, they've had a long time of... It does help when you shoot a paper cut out of a goalkeeper, though, doesn't it?
00:13:42
Speaker
Yeah, like, we don't... We have gone out of our way, specifically, to... We go out of our way to try not to give, like, Baz a hard time.
00:13:51
Speaker
I don't really know why.
00:13:52
Speaker
I think it's just because maybe I feel bad and Greg knows that, you know, maybe we shouldn't go too harsh because maybe Zach will get upset.
00:14:00
Speaker
But, like, genuinely, like, what's the point?
00:14:01
Speaker
I think genuinely... I just... I think the stats... I mean, the stats are damning, right?
00:14:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:09
Speaker
Genuinely, I think that...
00:14:12
Speaker
up until today, even as an inexperienced guy, you can look at it and go, maybe he can do better there.
00:14:21
Speaker
But it's not clear cut.
00:14:23
Speaker
I think he just saw it late.
00:14:25
Speaker
There's no decisively, this is awful.
00:14:28
Speaker
He really needed to save that and didn't.
00:14:30
Speaker
And, like, as many of those as there are that go in, there are plenty of times where it's like, oh, what an incredible save that was.
00:14:38
Speaker
Because he does make some incredible saves.
00:14:40
Speaker
But you look at the goals today, and three of them literally went through him.
00:14:44
Speaker
Like, what is that about?
00:14:46
Speaker
It's just...
00:14:49
Speaker
And I mean, could that just be it becoming more visible and more obvious because now he's under pressure because, you know, players aren't stupid.
00:14:59
Speaker
He'll see that we've got a goalkeeper on the way.
00:15:02
Speaker
Like...
00:15:03
Speaker
That's been widely publicized and widely reported.
00:15:06
Speaker
That also might fall through, right?
00:15:08
Speaker
I don't know if you've heard about that, but that's basically the team that he's currently on loan to want a replacement.
00:15:15
Speaker
And on top of that, apparently we might be willing to pay to break the deadlock because they don't have a replacement lined up, so they don't really want to... Yeah, I've read all of it, mate.
00:15:25
Speaker
Do you know what it is?
00:15:26
Speaker
It's the most Sports Republic-style transfer you could possibly write.
00:15:32
Speaker
Right?
00:15:32
Speaker
Like, they've gone out and they've gone, look, we're going to play it down before the window starts, right?
00:15:39
Speaker
It's not going to be a busy window.
00:15:40
Speaker
But we definitely need to strengthen as a goalkeeper.
00:15:44
Speaker
Right?
00:15:45
Speaker
And Tonda dodged the question as well.
00:15:46
Speaker
Like, oh, you're linked with a goalkeeper.
00:15:48
Speaker
And he was like, well, I have to rely on other people.
00:15:52
Speaker
in the stronger positions.
00:15:53
Speaker
I'm not an expert in some positions, but I have to trust my staff, but I have eyes.
00:16:00
Speaker
Obviously, we need a goalkeeper.
00:16:01
Speaker
Read between the lines.
00:16:04
Speaker
They've gone, it'd be a good PR move, though.
00:16:06
Speaker
Right at the start of this transfer window,
00:16:09
Speaker
like we'll just bring a goalkeeper in straight away.
00:16:11
Speaker
It'll just be bang, done.
00:16:13
Speaker
And like, that's a huge win.
00:16:14
Speaker
And then instantly it's gone from that to, oh no, this is just another, what was it?
00:16:20
Speaker
Spurzian?
00:16:22
Speaker
Right?
00:16:24
Speaker
The only reason I check our media for international scores.
00:16:28
Speaker
Oh, this is just going to be another convoluted transfer.
00:16:31
Speaker
That's going to drag on and on and on and being of no benefit to anyone.
00:16:35
Speaker
Like, it's just like,
00:16:39
Speaker
It just feels calamitous at a point where everything they touch seems calamitous.
00:16:47
Speaker
Like, it's really sad, right?
00:16:52
Speaker
It is really sad.
00:16:54
Speaker
And like I say, like, I try it because I didn't watch it.
00:16:57
Speaker
I'm definitely not as, like, emotionally jarred by it.
00:17:00
Speaker
I'm still devastated to look at a score and see that we've lost 4-0.
00:17:04
Speaker
Don't get me wrong, but...
00:17:07
Speaker
I don't think I'll be this emotionally jarred by it, if I'm totally honest, mate.
00:17:10
Speaker
But I think it's because it was everything.
00:17:13
Speaker
It means nothing as long as we get a result on Sunday.
00:17:16
Speaker
And then to just have even Arma come out and be like, yeah, that's rare.
00:17:19
Speaker
It sucks.
00:17:20
Speaker
We really need to do better than that.
00:17:21
Speaker
We go again.
00:17:22
Speaker
And you're just like... We're back to exactly where we were under Will Steele, right?
00:17:27
Speaker
I don't know if... Under Will Steele, last season on the Juret.
00:17:29
Speaker
It's just a bunch of them...
00:17:31
Speaker
I just don't understand how you could be so accepting of mediocrity.
00:17:35
Speaker
That's what upsets me.
00:17:36
Speaker
And I guess it's because some people say the fans are accepting of mediocrity and we're not protesting week in, week out.
00:17:42
Speaker
But also that's exhausting as it is because I just don't know what's going to happen in the future.
00:17:47
Speaker
And I don't know.
00:17:49
Speaker
It feels like you're fighting powers that just don't care.
00:17:53
Speaker
That's the other thing, right?
00:17:55
Speaker
The problem is that you're not going to be able to convince the average matchdaying fans who not go to the fan zone, not go to level one.
00:18:00
Speaker
not do that kind of stuff.
00:18:01
Speaker
It doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
00:18:03
Speaker
Use your voice however you want, exactly as Greg pointed out.
00:18:05
Speaker
But it just feels so blah.
00:18:09
Speaker
And it was so... Again, I got caught up in it, Greg.
00:18:13
Speaker
I got caught up in the hype and the winning and the goals.
00:18:18
Speaker
I got caught up in it.
Fan Reflections and Future Prospects
00:18:19
Speaker
And then we've been brought crashing back down to reality where we asked the question of, would you want to get this promoted with this squad?
00:18:27
Speaker
And you were like, no.
00:18:29
Speaker
The real answer is, do you have any hope of promotion?
00:18:32
Speaker
Come on!
00:18:34
Speaker
Good for all!
00:18:35
Speaker
When I was leaving the Millwall game on New Year's Day, I overheard a couple of gentlemen behind me talking.
00:18:44
Speaker
And one of them walked up to the other and he went, Steve, we're just mid-table fodder, really, aren't we?
00:18:50
Speaker
And never have I heard a descriptive more accurate than how I feel about this squad.
00:18:55
Speaker
We are just... It's damning, isn't it?
00:18:58
Speaker
Mid-table, maybe pushing for playoffs squad.
00:19:02
Speaker
And that's...
00:19:03
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:04
Speaker
Like, we could win every game for the rest of the season and not come close.
00:19:09
Speaker
But, like, it's... We said, coming into the festive period, that it was make or break.
00:19:17
Speaker
That's certainly breaking it.
00:19:19
Speaker
We got our answer.
00:19:20
Speaker
It broke us.
00:19:21
Speaker
Completely.
00:19:22
Speaker
Like, we're done.
00:19:23
Speaker
Like, it's just... As the kids would say, we are cooked, chat.
00:19:30
Speaker
That's what they say, right?
00:19:31
Speaker
Like...
00:19:33
Speaker
I don't know, mate.
00:19:33
Speaker
Maybe all I get from my kids is a whole load of eye rolls and tutting.
00:19:42
Speaker
I didn't want it to break me this bad, man.
00:19:44
Speaker
I really didn't.
00:19:45
Speaker
The only positive is that now we've got, what, a full week.
00:19:49
Speaker
until we go again.
00:19:51
Speaker
And our next game is what?
00:19:52
Speaker
It's the FA Cup next, right?
00:19:54
Speaker
So we're playing Doncaster, who are League One, who years ago, I would say... Should be a constant booster.
00:20:01
Speaker
Don't you say it?
00:20:02
Speaker
Don't you be like, yeah, I think we can take on Doncaster.
00:20:06
Speaker
It won't be a problem.
00:20:08
Speaker
I don't believe it.
00:20:10
Speaker
I'm going to predict a lot.
00:20:13
Speaker
It's irrelevant, right?
00:20:14
Speaker
No one at this point of the season cares about a cup run.
00:20:19
Speaker
You know, we could play the kids and get beat by Doncaster in Lockmatt.
00:20:22
Speaker
We've got
00:20:23
Speaker
The next important game is two weeks away.
00:20:25
Speaker
We've got 13 days to regroup, you know, rest up the players that need resting after a busy period, knock some desire into them by hook or by crook, and come back at home to hole and, like, actually put in a performance that we can, you know, turn the mood because...
00:20:48
Speaker
Because it's not the one at the minute.
00:20:50
Speaker
And, you know, you look slightly further ahead in the fixture list and ominously on the horizon here at once again feeling like the worst possible time of the season.
00:21:02
Speaker
Why could it have been another South Coast derby?
00:21:05
Speaker
Why not?
00:21:06
Speaker
It's fine.
00:21:07
Speaker
That's it.
00:21:07
Speaker
That's it.
00:21:07
Speaker
We can play late.
00:21:08
Speaker
It might be too cold.
00:21:12
Speaker
Our tin pot friends down the road who couldn't even afford a power heater for their pick.
00:21:16
Speaker
I mean, to be fair, not as tin pot as Hull City cancelling the game and saying it was agreed with all parties and Watford coming out and explicitly saying we did not agree to rearrange the game.
00:21:30
Speaker
That's pretty... That's some spice.
00:21:32
Speaker
But that's, again, the only real piece of other outside football today that gave me a little bit of joy because, you know, it's just...
00:21:40
Speaker
Absolutely horrendous performance.
00:21:43
Speaker
Absolutely horrendous game.
00:21:45
Speaker
Fair play to Middlesbrough.
00:21:46
Speaker
We will well be, if you're right, they are second on merit.
00:21:49
Speaker
But it's just the fact that, yeah, there's no... I think it was... They had a debut.
00:21:55
Speaker
They ended up having to play with a makeshift defence for a little bit as well.
00:22:00
Speaker
And again, we had a couple of chances.
00:22:02
Speaker
The first half probably was significantly more balanced than...
00:22:07
Speaker
I'm making out to be.
00:22:09
Speaker
Flynn Downs had a chance.
00:22:10
Speaker
Fellows had a chance.
00:22:11
Speaker
Looking at the stats, the first half was dominated a bit by them, but we, I think, had the better chances.
00:22:17
Speaker
But it's irrelevant when you look at the final score.
00:22:21
Speaker
How many times last season did you say a performance can be what it can be, but at the end of the day, we lost 4-0.
00:22:28
Speaker
And to pull it back, it's not all on Bazs.
00:22:31
Speaker
That first goal, which is frankly the crucial goal, right?
00:22:34
Speaker
Because after that goal, heads drop.
00:22:37
Speaker
And we do the classic things this team does and have no response.
00:22:42
Speaker
One single pass took out nine outfield players, five of which were supposedly defenders, by the way.
00:22:49
Speaker
But Greg, maybe it was offside.
00:22:51
Speaker
So that means that we should have just put downed tools and been upset and also let the other three goals in.
00:22:56
Speaker
I think that's the...
00:23:00
Speaker
I mean, it's not even close to offside.
00:23:03
Speaker
There's just five people standing watching the war.
00:23:05
Speaker
I've just watched it back now.
00:23:07
Speaker
He's not even remotely close to offside.
00:23:09
Speaker
I can't remember if it was offside for a second that he said was offside because I was too angry at that point.
00:23:15
Speaker
But again, also, he gets into that position and he hits it directly at Bozunu and it still goes in.
00:23:22
Speaker
Who do you reckon our best rated player was on BBC Sport, mate, for that game?
00:23:30
Speaker
none of them.
00:23:31
Speaker
It was Leo Sienza with a 3.24.
00:23:32
Speaker
Right.
00:23:33
Speaker
And then Gavin Bezzuno was bottom with 2.36.
00:23:37
Speaker
But yeah, arguably the only people that really deserve a round of applause are the fans.
00:23:41
Speaker
And the fact that you only have one player that came over and was willing to have a chat with them, I think... It's a disgrace.
00:23:48
Speaker
Azaz walked over and then turned back
00:23:51
Speaker
And the fact that there seemed to be some confusion about whether that actually happened.
00:23:54
Speaker
Maybe the manager should have been paying attention and also come over and made all the players go.
00:23:59
Speaker
Rather than not being confused.
00:24:01
Speaker
You shouldn't be confused about that.
00:24:04
Speaker
Well, I told them they all had to as I walked down the tunnel and didn't pay attention.
Ownership Reflection and Hope for Improvement
00:24:09
Speaker
I don't know, man.
00:24:10
Speaker
It's just...
00:24:13
Speaker
we had it in our hands and then it's just crumbled as quick right it was like a finely baked souffle the uh the tonda interim period of being a manager and now we're just in insert generic sports republic manager here four years of the day as well mate uh they took over at least we got loads of money for lavier tyler dibbling and matthias fernandez that's
00:24:38
Speaker
They're only good at business.
00:24:39
Speaker
Just a shame that the business is waking our football club worse.
00:24:43
Speaker
I want to... I just... I feel like, and I genuinely feel like, it can only go up from here, right?
00:24:52
Speaker
The fixtures become less congested, and actually maybe we have a chance to put right what's gone wrong so far.
00:24:58
Speaker
And, you know, there's some hope, like Ross Stewart's coming back to fitness, so we're going to have alternative options.
00:25:04
Speaker
It's the transfer window.
00:25:05
Speaker
You never know what's going to happen.
00:25:06
Speaker
Maybe we're going to bring in some quality and...
00:25:09
Speaker
And, you know, come good and turn it up.
00:25:11
Speaker
But whenever I'm thinking this and saying it, all I can think of is Mick McCarthy.
00:25:17
Speaker
It can't get worse, can it?
00:25:20
Speaker
It can.
00:25:21
Speaker
It can, yeah.
00:25:22
Speaker
Yeah, and also I would say in the nicest possible way, Greg, it's not our job to be hopeful and try and hype up this football club.
00:25:30
Speaker
All this support.
00:25:32
Speaker
Everyone who's listened to this podcast for a long period of time knows I wear my heart on my sleeve.
00:25:37
Speaker
And that means that I am all ranges of the emotions, depending on what's going on inside the club and outside the club.
00:25:44
Speaker
And obviously sometimes my personal life or whatever.
00:25:47
Speaker
But like with this, I can put pretty much my mood for today being down entirely to how unbelievably bad we play football as a team.
00:25:55
Speaker
and the fact that I knew we'd have to come on and cover this.
00:25:58
Speaker
And it was later than I wanted it to be because I didn't get the catharticism of immediately talking about it.
00:26:03
Speaker
So I've had to stew in my own juices being mad at this stupid bug team not playing great.
00:26:10
Speaker
And I get that, like, it might not last forever, and it never does last forever, but, like, it just... Something today stung deep, and I can tell that it's not just me because Twitter also just exploded.
00:26:24
Speaker
Pretty much immediately.
00:26:25
Speaker
During the game, after the game... Six wins in seven was only a temporary plaster, right?
00:26:33
Speaker
Really was.
00:26:33
Speaker
That was great while it lasted, but like...
00:26:37
Speaker
that was just the false hope to build up to maybe this festive period will be good.
00:26:40
Speaker
And then, I mean, results speak for themselves.
00:26:44
Speaker
How upsetting it was, mate, that we kind of like called it unsustainable as well.
00:26:49
Speaker
And like, I hate it because I like being wrong more often than I'm right.
00:26:53
Speaker
Cause most of the time I'm so pessimistic that if I'm right, it's usually a bad thing.
00:26:59
Speaker
So, so they'd be like, Ooh, it's unsustainable.
00:27:01
Speaker
And,
00:27:02
Speaker
thinking, you know, maybe I'll be proved wrong.
00:27:04
Speaker
And like, even today, I predicted a win.
00:27:06
Speaker
I predicted 2-0, I think you said 1-0.
00:27:08
Speaker
I predicted higher than you.
00:27:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:11
Speaker
I just thought maybe they'll put this whole festival.
00:27:13
Speaker
And again, like, all of the rest in the players, all of the sorting out the travel and all the excuses under the sun, and we've come away with, what, two points out of, what, 12, 15?
00:27:22
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:25
Speaker
I don't know, 20?
00:27:25
Speaker
It feels like it's just nothing.
00:27:29
Speaker
And then all these other teams are running away.
00:27:31
Speaker
And, you know, the joke for me is, you know, poor Azaz coming to join us to join a Premier League club is what, in his words, was going to happen.
00:27:41
Speaker
And then...
00:27:42
Speaker
are probably the ones that are now going to get promoted.
00:27:44
Speaker
So, who knows?
00:27:46
Speaker
I just... Right.
00:27:48
Speaker
I think that's about... When it comes to running, mate, I think that's about what I've got in me.
00:27:52
Speaker
Well, look, that seems like a place to end it.
00:27:55
Speaker
We've just about went out of time.
00:27:58
Speaker
Do you not want to give a semblance of hope for me as well?
00:28:04
Speaker
I don't know.
00:28:05
Speaker
I don't know if that's something that's within my skill set to pull it back that much.
00:28:10
Speaker
I'm not Mark Dennis.
00:28:13
Speaker
It wasn't five, though.
00:28:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:17
Speaker
We've got plenty of time to sit and think about
00:28:22
Speaker
What can make it better?
00:28:25
Speaker
We got, like I say, 13 games until the next game that really matters to sit and work it out.
00:28:31
Speaker
And a lot could happen between now and then, right?
00:28:34
Speaker
Like 13 days in a transfer window, we could genuinely have a completely different looking squad by the time that comes to play.
00:28:43
Speaker
We could have four players gone and six players in.
00:28:46
Speaker
You just don't know.
Positivity and Listener Engagement
00:28:47
Speaker
I'm not holding my breath for it.
00:28:49
Speaker
Attempts to buy Goalkeeper fails miserably.
00:28:55
Speaker
You had one thing written down on your list and you're struggling to do it.
00:29:04
Speaker
I'm not helping you.
00:29:04
Speaker
I'm sorry.
00:29:07
Speaker
I mean, it is.
00:29:08
Speaker
It's almost at parody levels of themselves, right?
00:29:12
Speaker
Like, it's just... But look, we'll hunt for positives.
00:29:16
Speaker
We'll find a way to put it back.
00:29:18
Speaker
And you know that by the time it comes to that whole game at home, that we're both going to be predicting wins and we're going to be back in that cycle of positivity because that's just what we do.
00:29:31
Speaker
That's just what I do.
00:29:32
Speaker
I'm not getting caught out again.
00:29:34
Speaker
I've been hurt too much in the last two seasons.
00:29:36
Speaker
All right.
00:29:37
Speaker
Well, I'll clip it up.
00:29:39
Speaker
We'll leave it when we see it.
00:29:41
Speaker
But listen, that is all we have got time for today.
00:29:46
Speaker
Let us know in the comments or on the socials how you're feeling and what you're using to cope with such a level of dross because, I mean, we all need something.
00:29:57
Speaker
Let us know.
00:29:58
Speaker
We are Daily Saints Pod on all the socials, on X, Blue Sky, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, everywhere.
00:30:07
Speaker
Get us up.
00:30:07
Speaker
Let us know.
00:30:08
Speaker
We love hearing from you.
00:30:10
Speaker
We will be back to talk more about transfers, the championship, and maybe we'll delve into some more Saints stuff if we're feeling really gloomy.
00:30:18
Speaker
But until then, everyone, have a wonderful day, and we'll see you then.
00:30:27
Speaker
This is the Daily Saints pod with Zach and Greg.