Allan Saint-Maximin (now playing for Fenerbahce, on loan from Al-Ahli)

[ExiledGeordie]

5 minutes ago, Unbelievable said:

I’m genuinely baffled at how anyone could have watched that second half and come away with the impression that Saint-Maximin was lazy. I mean, he tried things that didn’t come off and lost the ball a few times trying to do too much, but he was double and at times triple marked by Fulham (allowing others space elsewhere on the pitch), got a few decent crosses in, laid off the ball to Wilson in the first minute where perhaps he should have been more selfish, had a decent effort that just flashed wide and pressed like a loon even to the point of winning the ball from their left back with a flying tackle in the closing stages of the game.

 

Laziness, you’re having a laugh.

Yeah he didn’t look lazy to me ?‍♂️ 

[Gallowgate Toon]

1 minute ago, Unbelievable said:

I’m genuinely baffled at how anyone could have watched that second half and come away with the impression that Saint-Maximin was lazy. I mean, he tried things that didn’t come off and lost the ball a few times trying to do too much, but he was double and at times triple marked by Fulham (allowing others space elsewhere on the pitch), got a few decent crosses in, laid off the ball to Wilson in the first minute where perhaps he should have been more selfish, had a decent effort that just flashed wide and pressed like a loon even to the point of winning the ball from their left back with a flying tackle in the closing stages of the game.

 

Laziness, you’re having a laugh.

Not sure if it translates well on TV (if you weren't there) but there were quite a few times that he made some odd runs or, should I say, lack of to make himself available when others needed options. Definitely looked a bit lazy at the time but he might've been told to stay higher, or he was maybe conserving energy cause it looked like he was blowing out of his arse on occasion.

 

On the ball, I thought he did exactly what we needed him to do and it's great to have him back in the fray. 

[nortoon]

Thought maxi was terrific in all aspects in his game yesterday. A couple of the balls he played to get us out of defense were great. The one he played to Wilson arguably should have been a goal if Wilson had managed to put in Willock.

[Wallsendmag]

We looked far better 2nd half with him in the team. He stretches defences, he immediately creates more space for others. Bruno is head and shoulders our best player but we looked better when he went off and ASM came on. I'd like to see Longstaff sacrificed so Joelinton can play in the middle with Bruno and Willock so we can get ASM back on the pitch more regularly.

[Lush Vlad]

I thought he was really effective.  Not his usual cavalier self and wasn't skinning players for fun.  But he regularly had 2-3 players on him.  Which then gave us a bit more space on the right for a change.  

 

Once Isak came on and started drifting about.  The extra bodies they had on ASM, meant he found plenty of space to operate.  Joelinton was similar. 

 

He looked for the give and go a couple of times and all.  He has looked a bit static at times since coming back in, always wanting it to feet and not stretching teams in behind.  So that was another plus.

 

You have to think he'll start against Palace now.  So I'm hoping he will be the positive to come from Bruno being out.  

[andyc35i]

My impression from yesterday wasn’t that he was overly lazy, it’s just that he’s not tactically aware of how we press and react to certain attacking and defensive situations right now. I guess that will come with more minutes in the side now that Bruno is injured 

[Groundhog63]

Thought he did well. You can see a change in his game and that chase he did to tackle the Fulham player on the opposite flank was great stuff. 

Not sure if I'm correct but he also did a little mazy, cameo run, lost the ball and lay on the deck for ages whilst we'd won the ball back and continued to attack. 

He's an enimga for sure ??

[Lush Vlad]

I was expecting to see a bit of a love in across the board.  For his new found unselfishness and better work rate. 

 

But I've just read 2-3 pages of a pissed up Heron slating him to fuck and constantly comparing him to Sean Longstaff for some reason   

[GWN]

Seemingly willing to pass the ball now , I thought he was a game changer tbh.

[Jaqen]

Thought he put in a good shift. You can tell when clearly making an effort to be more of a team player as well. Actually think in some instances it hurts him though, he's looking for passes in positions he'd probably be better of driving at their defence like he used to. Think he just needs a run of games in the side and he'll start to find the right balance. 

[mighty__mag]

2 hours ago, Theregulars said:

Your post says both that you watched the Keegan years and that we’ve never been in a position to be champions. Doesn’t add up at all. Same re saying it’s going to take ages to become champions now - we’re not that far away already.

 

We weren't we were always missing something, and Manchester Utd were serial winners, we always came close but never managed it. Were you around for the KK times yourself? We only truly came close once, but like I said something was missing, even Keegan knew he'd taken us as far as he could.

 

And on now, I do believe it will take a while, we all thought at the start of the season 7th or a Europa spot would be a success of the back of surviving relegation, that's still a realistic target, we're over achieving slightly and nobody would have had us in this position and a cup semi, but other things have played a part, yes we've lost one game and that's amazing, but Liverpools dip, Spurs, Chelsea etc, these things have all come into play along with our excellent form and made this season unpredictable. I'll stand by what I said, we wont be champions for a good while, and that's another debate.

 

The bit in bold, I do believe you're getting carried away, but dont think it's a patronising or arrogant reply, I wish I had that confidence, I guess we'll see as it unfolds, so much can still change as it did in 95, we were sat top of the league at this stage with 18 games played.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by mighty__mag

[sushimonster85]

Think he showed enough yesterday to be given another shot back in the starting 11. Especially if Bruno is out and Joe needs to drop back into midfield. As others have pointed out, he seems far more willing to run/track back for the team (I feel like this actually started pre-injury), and his eye for a pass/cross seems to have improved. 

[Tiotes Witch Doctor]

Thought he looked very good and very sharp yesterday, but I don't think he will ever be as good as he thinks he is and as good as a lot of our fans think he is.

 

He's a handy player to bring on from the bench, but his end product is wildly inconsistent and I'm not sure he has it in him to do the ugly work the likes of Willock, Joelinton and Almiron do on regular basis.

 

He did track back yesterday mind, but is he going to run himself into the ground for the cause week in week out? Probably not.

 

His injury record is enough that in the summer I'd look to cash in for as much money as possible and bring in a more suitable replacement.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Tiotes Witch Doctor

[Theregulars]

8 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

 

We weren't we were always missing something, and Manchester Utd were serial winners, we always came close but never managed it. Were you around for the KK times yourself? We only truly came close once, but like I said something was missing, even Keegan knew he'd taken us as far as he could.

 

And on now, I do believe it will take a while, we all thought at the start of the season 7th or a Europa spot would be a success of the back of surviving relegation, that's still a realistic target, we're over achieving slightly and nobody would have had us in this position and a cup semi, but other things have played a part, yes we've lost one game and that's amazing, but Liverpools dip, Spurs, Chelsea etc, these things have all come into play along with our excellent form and made this season unpredictable. I'll stand by what I said, we wont be champions for a good while, and that's another debate.

 

The bit in bold, I do believe you're getting carried away, but dont think it's a patronising or arrogant reply, I wish I had that confidence, I guess we'll see as it unfolds, so much can still change as it did in 95, we were sat top of the league at this stage with 18 games played.

 

 

 

Yes, I was around. We very nearly won the title in 1995/6, it’s objectively untrue to state otherwise. We finished second the following season! We also “got near” under Robson 2001/02 (insofar as we were in the conversation for a few months). And we’re currently third, 1 point off second. Granted we’re 9 points off arsenal, but clearly as things stand we’re not far away from challenging for the title in the near future.

[The College Dropout]

Played well. Grafted hard.

[WilliamPS]

Bloke has barely played since September yet in the view of some in here he’s gone from the second best player in the squad to a no hoper in that time. When exactly did he become lazy?
 

The attack is very flat with Almiron, Joelinton, Willock and Longstaff. with Bruno out the team will need a bit of creativity. Joelinton and Almiron are industrious triers but they are not creative

 

And if ASM goes, he will need to be replaced in the squad with someone with similar attributes - dribbling, pace, ability to beat a man, as nobody else has that.

 

And all this track back stuff - have you considered for a second if he is asked to play a different role to Joelinton or Willock as he has different skills? I.E. stay high up the pitch as an outlet 

 

I’m quite happy with the team as-is, but can’t stand the desperate need to hound players out of the club for imaginary wrongdoings 

 

 

[madras]

2 minutes ago, WilliamPS said:

Bloke has barely played since September yet in the view of some in here he’s gone from the second best player in the squad to a no hoper in that time. When exactly did he become lazy?
 

The attack is very flat with Almiron, Joelinton, Willock and Longstaff. with Bruno out the team will need a bit of creativity. Joelinton and Almiron are industrious triers but they are not creative

 

And if ASM goes, he will need to be replaced in the squad with someone with similar attributes - dribbling, pace, ability to beat a man, as nobody else has that.

 

And all this track back stuff - have you considered for a second if he is asked to play a different role to Joelinton or Willock as he has different skills? I.E. stay high up the pitch as an outlet 

 

I’m quite happy with the team as-is, but can’t stand the desperate need to hound players out of the club for imaginary wrongdoings 

 

 

How is he getting hounded out ? Because a few people on here, myself included, point out a weakness in his game and not just him and its a weakness that quite possibly our management team sees aswell.

[mighty__mag]

Just now, Theregulars said:

Yes, I was around. We very nearly won the title in 1995/6, it’s objectively untrue to state otherwise. We finished second the following season! We also “got near” under Robson 2001/02 (insofar as we were in the conversation for a few months). And we’re currently third, 1 point off second. Granted we’re 9 points off arsenal, but clearly as things stand we’re not far away from challenging for the title in the near future.

 

We were a top side in the 90s no doubt, and statistically you're right, mentally we were never going to be champions, the game vs Blackburn proved this for me. But the long and short of it is we never were, and we never won anything with one of our best sides, like I said, I felt something was missing. Nearly! we threw away the chance, and it still haunts me a tad.

 

Listen, I'm not getting insulting over this one, the 9pts off Arsenal now thing means absolutely fuck all, you can't gauge that of the back of last season and predict we'll be challenging for the title in the near future. It's going to be a slow process, anyone thinking otherwise is mad. 

 

 

[Theregulars]

15 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

 

We were a top side in the 90s no doubt, and statistically you're right, mentally we were never going to be champions, the game vs Blackburn proved this for me. But the long and short of it is we never were, and we never won anything with one of our best sides, like I said, I felt something was missing. Nearly! we threw away the chance, and it still haunts me a tad.

 

Listen, I'm not getting insulting over this one, the 9pts off Arsenal now thing means absolutely fuck all, you can't gauge that of the back of last season and predict we'll be challenging for the title in the near future. It's going to be a slow process, anyone thinking otherwise is mad. 

 

 

I don't think I'm mad. I just don't think "mentally we were never going to be champions" is a persuasive argument, dripping as it is in revisionism and hindsight. But each to their own!

[mighty__mag]

10 minutes ago, Theregulars said:

I don't think I'm mad. I just don't think "mentally we were never going to be champions" is a persuasive argument, dripping as it is in revisionism and hindsight. But each to their own!

 

Sure,??

 

You should start a new topic with a poll, asking how long until we win a title, maybe it would prove I'm madder for not believing its anytime in the next 5 seasons?  And btw, I'd love nothing more than me being wrong.

 

Would be an interesting poll.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by mighty__mag

[GWN]

Our fan base weirdly didn’t need this league position we wanted to build , lots expecting 4th now and think it will be a gimme each year. We are 3-4 years ahead of our time because of circumstances and tbh our bloody good results .

 

ASM could be our Tino or our hero , let’s get behind the daft fucker. 

[McCormick]

He played very well tbf. Worried his body isn’t built for the amount of sprints our system would ask of him (backwards and forwards). Always looks like his hamstrings’ll tear off after every time he goes full pelt. 

[Guest]

Think he'll eventually end up being someone we bring on in games like yesterday when we're needing something to win us a game, and used in the cups from the start.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

51 minutes ago, GWN said:

lots expecting 4th now and think it will be a gimme each year.

 

Really?

[Kanji]

Not sure how you watch yesterday and not think Max did well. He drove us forward, created a few chances, had a pop at goal and was running and pressing and challenging whoever he needed to. No sulking, demanding the ball so he can try and get us 3 points. Celebrated with his mate Isak after the goal too.