Davide Santon (now retired)

[Ronaldo]

And every other game? He gets caught out too much on his left side.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Was he injured last night?

[Belfast Boy]

Was he injured last night?

There's been no mention of any injury, which makes the substitutions all the more baffling. I know Cisse and Ben Arfa pulled out late but we still had Sammy on the Bench.

[Yorkie]

I thought his substitution was the only one that made any sense at all, I didn't mind it. He was absolute dogshit; vulnerable at the back whilst offering absolutely nothing going forward (a bit like a lot of his performances tbphimho  ).

 

I wouldn't keep him out of the side, though. I'd just go back to the Debuchy-MYM-Willo-Santon that provided some decent defensive performances.

[Yorkie]

Although, is Debuchy suspended?

[Fenham Mag]

No, commentator made an error. He has already served it.

[Yorkie]

Course he has. D'oh.

[TRon]

He's a nice player who produces absolutely fuck all in terms of service from the left. When he overlaps the defenders just wait for him to come inside and block him off every time.

[Skirge]

http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/santon-wants-newcastle-to-build-on-man-united-win-1-6305586

Santon wants Newcastle to build on Man United win

 

DAVIDE Santon’s adamant that the best is yet to come from Newcastle United.

 

Santon helped the club claim a famous 1-0 Premier League victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

 

And the result saw Newcastle end the weekend in seventh place, four points above David Moyes’s defending champions.

 

The challenge now for Alan Pardew’s side – who face eighth-placed Southampton at St James’s Park on Saturday – is to build on a run of five wins in six games and challenge for a European place.

 

For his part, Santon is confident there will be no complacency in the dressing room.

 

“That was fantastic,” Santon told the Gazette.

 

“It wasn’t just the win, it was the clean sheet as well. It’s hard for any team to keep a clean sheet at Manchester United.

 

“It was an amazing performance, and everybody was so happy.

 

“But now we can’t just think ‘we’ve beaten Manchester United’, we have to think about the next game.

 

“In the last six games, we have had five wins. It’s fantastic.

 

“We’re in good shape. We have a good, strong team.

 

“Confidence is really high, and we don’t want to stop.”

 

Newcastle – who hadn’t won at Old Trafford in 41 years – outplayed an ordinary-looking Man United side and claimed a deserved win thanks to Yohan Cabaye’s second-half goal.

 

And Santon and his team-mates went to the club’s 3,000-strong away support at the final whistle to thank them for their backing.

 

“It was amazing – we won after 41 years,” added the defender.

 

“We needed a performance from all the team, and I think we deserved the win.

 

“The fans helped us a lot. They’re amazing every time we play away.

 

“They’re always with us. It was very good. The win was for the fans.

 

“After the game we went to them and said thank you. I think they deserved it.

 

“It was an amazing moment to have everybody together.”

 

Santon, 22, felt Newcastle made the most of the space given to them by Man United’s narrower formation.

 

The champions are renowned for playing with width, but struggled as an attacking force at the weekend.

 

“We started the game well,” said the Italy international.

 

“We played the ball much better. They played really narrow, so we had so much space.

 

“I think we played really well. The first half finished 0-0. When the second half started, we knew we could win the game.

 

“We didn’t just defend, we tried to attack and win the game. We had a big chance, and we won.”

[Jayson]

When this guy makes an individual error he really goes for it like.

 

Would give Haidara some time

[Parky]

Plankton.

[TRon]

I wonder what the stats are for the number of assists he's provided as against the number of goals against he's been responsible for?

 

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

Angry at him, would give Haidara a run

[Tiotes Witch Doctor]

Offers very little as I said a few weeks ago, has the odd good game but generally offers no service from wide and is a below average defender.

[Jayson]

You do lose hope with his, get the ball, hold it, bit of quick footwork onto the right foot edge of area, curl it perfectly into the keepers arms routine.

[Skeletor]

I like him but he's not improving at all.

[Ryan]

No idea why he just didn't square the ball to Debuchy (?) when it came out to him, absolutely foaming why he thought it was a good idea to try and chip a through ball through their defence.

[jdckelly]

is he any better now than when he arrived?

[Wullie]

I'm consistently bemused when I come in this thread. Yes he's made a bit of a rick today but I don't see these poor performances I keep reading about. I think he's made a big contribution this season and has improved a lot defensively.

[Andy]

I think he's a decent full back. Gets caught out every now and then when he goes forward, but he isn't half as bad defensively as people make out

[Optimistic Nut]

I like him but if we could get someone of similar ability and a left-foot, I'd replace him.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

I'm consistently bemused when I come in this thread. Yes he's made a bit of a rick today but I don't see these poor performances I keep reading about. I think he's made a big contribution this season and has improved a lot defensively.

I generally agree, and have been a  fan since his arrival, but he's declined in form since the turn of the New Year (December to January) and has put in some questionable performances this season. Nice player, but no where near as good as he should or could be. It is annoying.

[sempuki]

Not impressed with Santon this season.

[TRon]

I think he's a decent full back. Gets caught out every now and then when he goes forward, but he isn't half as bad defensively as people make out

 

No he's not that bad defensively, but he doesn't provide enough offensively for me. He gets in great positions overlapping but he can't cross with his left foot so ends up cutting inside every time, and that usually fizzles out to nothing as well.

[Optimistic Nut]

Needs better coaching, bored of saying it but it's true

 

This line always trots out every now and again with this club but sometimes the player has to look at himself. I remember the same being said for Oba Martins when we had him, but he just didn't have it in him.