L1-10 Goalkeepers and Defenders Review

Kelvin Davis was the man in possession of the keepers jersey whenever he was fit in 2009/10. In contrast to when he first started playing for us, the only thing he dropped all year was the team captaincy which went to Dean Hammond. A sound season really and I reckon you could count the mistakes on one hand which is pretty good going over a season. Every so often comes along a game when he appears to have been nailed to the goal line but as a League 1 club we are lucky to have him and he would walk into most Championship sides. Let us not forget that he could have cleared off when all was shocking before the takeover and taken the easy money, sitting on the bench at West Ham. He got injured once this season which let in Bartosz Bialkowski for a few matches to the horror of many. I take pleasure in saying that I wasn’t in the least bit bothered because I knew that given a run of games, Bart’s confidence would soar as long as he remained clanger free for the first couple. Due to our territorial dominance of many matches, he managed this and went from strength to strength, culminating in saving three penalties in the JPT game at home to Norwich. He was stood down as soon as Davis was fit again which I thought was harsh as he had done nothing to warrant losing the shirt. Next year I would like him to start in all Cup games at least and would have no problems if he was first choice as I believe in time he will prove to be a better goalkeeper that Kelvin. He’s out of contract as we speak but has been offered a new deal. I hope he signs it because then we can try and shift Tommy Forecast who has now been with us for two seasons without getting anywhere near the first team which is somewhat surprising given that he was a ‘future England keeper’ when we signed him. He went out on loan this season to Grimsby and they sent him back after one game. They managed to get relegated out of the Football league so imagine how badly they’d have done if he played two games. I like him because of the middle names you can give him as puns on his surname – Bleak, Dreadful, Piss Poor, Dismal, Shit, Bollocks and Crappy being some of the better ones. Here’s my forecast – he’ll never play for England, or Saints. Good job Rupert Lowe only gave him a 5 year contract otherwise we’d be stuck with him. Our 4th choice keeper was Michael Poke who played a few games last year and spent this year on loan at Torquay. He’s been released and good luck to him. He reminded me a bit of Daryl Flahavan who was our 3rd choice for a while and he had a decent career in League 1 and 2 so hopefully Poke can do the same.

Right back has been a cse of mix and match for the entire season, until the last few months when Jon Otsemobor nailed down the spot, only he didn’t really nail to down – more like he put a bit of blu-tack on it. I remember Jon playing a few games for Liverpool and of course, the aforementioned ass-shooting incident but sadly, he made me remember two right backs of Saints past in Darren Kenton and Uli Van Gobbel. All three were blessed with very good pace but no brain whatsoever. The pace was a device to make up for this. If Jon didn’t have pace then he wouldn’t be a footballer as he has nothing else – offering not a lot going forward and seemingly devoid of will-to-win, as indicated by the amount of tackles he didn’t quite make. He signed on a six month contract and has not been offered a deal for next season which I think is a good thing as we are aiming high and he’s not good enough. Also not good enough and on his way is Lloyd James who played a few games at right back this season in which he proved that he can’t cross a ball or defend. It’s all very well saying he’s versatile but it doesn’t really matter if you can play badly in a number of positions. I feel that he may prove to be a decent player somewhere down the line but he’s Jack of No Trades at the moment. Wayne Thomas had a few games at right back as well despite being a centre back but he had the strength to give it a go but when he got up the pitch, his crossing was terrible. Also, when attacked with pace he got absolutely slaughtered and didn’t know what to do. He has a mercurial talent for winding up the opposition though, is a big tough bastard and did contribute the ‘best right back goal’ since Ivan Golac (v Ipswich) but again, is not the long term answer and has also been released. I personally would have liked him to stay but when you consider his injury record and the fact that he’d only ever be a cover player, it’s not really surprising. The man slated to play right back this season was Graeme Murty who signed on a free from Reading and looked good whenever he played, which unfortunately was the grand total of 9 times as he picked up two bad injuries. He’s also been released but offered the olive branch of training to get fit and then we’ll see what happens. Whilst he’s been unlucky, he looks like he likes a pint and a pie and you can’t really see him getting back to peak fitness. I hope I’m wrong but I think he could be appearing in a Sunday Morning Veracity Ground game soon. So, 4 right backs, none of whom will be at the club next season, which leaves Dan Harding as the only other player who has played there this year and he’s a left back whose right foot is only there to stop him falling over.

The Left back position has been the property of Dan Harding for all bar a few games around Christmas. I’m sure if you look up ‘consistency’ in the dictionary, it will have a picture of Dan next to it as he really never has a bad game. For a free transfer he’s been brilliant, getting forward and getting crosses in as well as not getting beaten too often at the back. That’s a bit of a mystery to me as he does look a bit slow on the turn at times but he does read the game well and always manages to just do enough. He was rested for a bit and Joseph Mills came into the side. He should be nicknamed 'Heather' (and not 'Fish'), due to only having one foot (as fish have no feet), he’s a player who looked promising but seemed to have lost his way a bit. When he played at left back this year, he has looked good and it was nice to see him get the nod for the JPT final with Harding stitched up on the right. Like with Bart, I hope he gets to play at least in all the cup games next season and he won’t let anyone down.

The centre back partnership used most often at the end of the year was Jose Fonte and Radhi Jaidi – two class performers who have a much higher pedigree than playing in League 1. Jaidi is a colossus of a man and must have headed away thousands of aimless punts up the field this season as our opponents often used to work on the theory that he’ll miss one eventually. Yes he’s a bit limited on the floor and yes he’s knocking on a bit but it’s fine when he’s complimented with a skilful ball playing centre half like Jose Fonte who is quite simply, class. Pace, awareneness, distribution, strong in the tackle, good in the air… check. Different class and no more needs to be said. How on earth we managed to sign him is a mystery but hopefully his assertion that Saints would be his quickest way into the Premier League will be proved correct. Jaidi’s regular partner at the start of the season was Neal Trotman, a loanee from Preston who was a big ungainly bastard who just tackled it or headed it away, or frequently, upwards. 50p head and it was very amusing watching him try to execute a pass or something technical like that. In my view he scored the funniest goal of the season when the Southend keeper had the ball in his hands and Trotters just put everything in the net, ball, keepers hands, severed head etc. 100% commitment though and he did a good job, especially when he came back when on loan to Huddersfield and we won 5-0. Dan Seaborne was signed from Exeter in the January window and the jury is still out on him a bit. He looks ok when everything is in front of him and he can attack the ball but when the opposition get it down and try and pass it through us – he looks like a fish up a tree. Likewise, he can hit a nice pass when he has time but if he gets closed down then he has the Benali touch when it comes to sliced, crowd endangering clearances. He will improve though, as will Aaron Martin who signed from Eastleigh and played the last two games of the season and looked like a decent prospect. He’s a big unit and communicates well for a young lad. Again, he looked a bit suspect on the floor but I have a real will for him to be a good player as he’s a local lad, signed from a local non-League team so I hope he gets a few games next season. When the season started, the only two centre halves on the books were Wayne Thomas who was always injured and Chris Perry who was 36. Perry played a few up until Christmas and then fell out of favour and down the pecking order when Seaborne and Fonte arrived. He’s been released for next season but I’d just like to pay a personal tribute to The Rash who has been a fantastic player over the years for Wimbledon and Spurs and even for us, managed to put in some very good performances, even in the relegation season with the Dutch clowns in charge. Hell, I’d have still had him in the team this season whenever one of Fonte and Jaidi was unfit. A model pro who I hope gets to continue in the game in whatever capacity he wishes. I was delighted that he got on the pitch at Wembley in the JPT Final in what was his last appearance for us. A fitting place to bow out. Wayne Thomas had a few games at centre back but Pards didn’t seem to want to pick him there unless he had to – maybe because he was a bit of a walking red card but when Thommo plays well (Luton at home) there are not many better. Sadly, he didn’t do that often enough. Last and least, we had Ollie Lancashire, one of the worst players I’ve ever seen play for Saints. Don’t let the door hit your ass.

For next year, in my opinion we’re ok in goal, at left back and at centre back. Right back is of course a problem and the only one we now have at the club is Jason Dodd who is as old as me and I won’t see 40 again. We’ve already been linked with Brighton’s Inigo Calderon so I would expect one if not two right backs to arrive in the summer. Maybe there will be another centre back arrival but I don’t think this is really a priority unless someone picks up a long term injury.