Sam Jumped the Highest at Swansea in
2018
With the sad news of Sam McQueen being forced to retire at the age of
26, I’ve gone back through the old blogs and pulled out some bits and
pieces. The thing that comes back to me when you read this stuff
back is how committed he was in whatever game he played in, be it in the Europa
League or in the early rounds of the League Cup.
I seemed to write a lot about hoping he’d get a chance which is the tragedy of
it all really. He deserved better than what’s
happened. On the positive side, he played both games against Inter
Milan and was also on the pitch in THAT Gabbiadini away game at Swansea when
they cancelled our hotel reservation and we won to stay up. Therefore, he
was involved in three of our most significant games over the past 10 years.
There is one comparison to Wayne Bridge in there... one of our own
who started as a winger and became a full-back. Sam had made an
appearance for England Under-21s and was learning the defensive side of the
game and it would have been great to see how far he could have gone as he had
the attacking side of being a full-back.
He is one of our own, born in Southampton, so it has been nice to hear
that the Club have done all they can for him and hopefully, will continue to do
so with whatever comes next for Sam.
All the best for the future, Sam.
NOTE: The dates are the dates the blog was published, not the match day.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018 – League 1 Minus 10 Player Review 2017/18 Part 1
Sam McQueen has always looked good to me in any
game he has played and in a season where some attitudes have been questionable,
he always looks decent in that regard. He is one that needs more games
next season but if we have two other left backs then I would like to see him
loaned out for the first half of the season to see how he gets on at a
Championship club.
Thursday, May 10, 2018 - Premier League Match 37 - Swansea 0 Southampton 1
18 minutes of normal time to go and McQueen is
on for Tadic and Tammy Abraham is on for Swansea. The rest of normal time
ticks by with not a lot happening. Swansea are doing very little and with
Abraham on it’s just going long and Hoedt and Stephens are standing up to it
well. Gabbiadini is making a huge impact up front. He gets on the
ball, he shields it, he holds on til he wants to release it and then he plays
it simple and we keeper the ball, draws any sting out of Swansea. He
slides a great ball inside the full back and Shane is away and with McQueen
free in the middle, he hits it into the near side netting. Agh!!!
Tuesday, April 24, 2018 - FA Cup Semi Final - Chelsea 2 Southampton 0
Bertrand almost totally failed to provide
any attacking impetus down the left hand side and looked like he was completely
playing within himself. Jay-Z himself, Mario Lemina was a fucking disgrace. It
actually makes me angry that this useless fucker was selected to represent
Southampton at Wembley. I was born in the city, I live here,
this is the team representing me and we’ve got this guy representing
me. Why not select someone who it would actually mean something to
like JWP or Sam McQueen.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 - Premier League Match 31 - West Ham 3 Southampton 0
Hughes said in his post match interview that he
learned a lot about the players that he has and I think we can safely assume
that Hughes will act on what he’s learned, unlike Pellegrino who said he
learned and then did nothing. Flaky lightweight players like Boufal, Tadic and
Redmond don’t keep you up, it’s players like Romeu, Hojbjerg, McQueen, JWP and
Yoshida. It may not sound like much but these are the closest we have the likes
of Francis Benali, Jason Dodd, Neil Maddison, Tommy Widdrington, David Hughes,
Chris Marsden. None of them were great players but the sort of players you need
in a relegation battle.
Friday, December 29, 2017 - Premier League Match 21 - Manchester United 0 Southampton
0
The second half starts in much the same vein as
the first ended. United are only dangerous from a long ball or a break away
after we’ve had a corner so when Rashford gets free on our right it’s looking a
bit scary until McQueen hammers back and puts in a great tackle. The biased
commentary is incredible. If that had been Boufal getting tackled then it
would have been ‘should have released it, no end product’ etc but because it
was Rashford there is silence. No criticism of Rashford and no praise for
McQueen.
Friday, August 25, 2017 -EFL Cup 2nd Round - Southampton 0 Wolves 2
Pellegrino got this game completely wrong. Any
formation that relies on wingbacks, need you to have good wingbacks and whilst
McQueen had his moments in the first Half and got some crosses over, Pied was
completely and utterly lost from the first minute to the last.
Thursday, May 25, 2017 -Southampton FC Player Reviews 2016/17
Sam McQueen - A revelation and justifying Claude’s reputation for developing
young players. At the start of the season he was a winger who wasn’t
going anywhere in particular but conversion to left back has been the making of
him. Struggles defensively a bit when the ball is banged forward and he
has to compete physically but has all the attributes of a modern full back in
charging forward and getting the ball over. Seems to have a great attitude
and in some games has been our best player when other more experienced players
looked like they really couldn’t be bothered. The debut in the San Siro
will live long in the memory and it’ll be interesting to see him develop next
season. He was however, subject of the ‘Most Ridiculous Link to
Liverpool’ award after something like three games. Highlight – San Siro
debut, Norwich at home in FA Cup – only player who gave a shit. Low –
being linked to Liverpool.
Thursday, April 6, 2017 - Premier League Match 29 - Southampton 3 Crystal Palace 1
Did we handle Benteke… no quite frankly.
He won every single header but Palace didn’t get enough players round him
frequently enough so we were usually able to pick up the 2nd ball
and clear the danger. Fraser continued his recent improvement in goal and
Sam McQueen was solid enough though I did feel he got caught out a bit on the
Palace goal
Saturday, January 21, 2017 - FA Cup 3rd Round Replay - Southampton 1 Norwich 0
McQueen who has been our best player by a mile, has a decent dig from the
left which is well saved.
As we started the dreaded count down to the final whistle and another half an
hour, Redmond picks it up on the left and drove forwards. He overhit the
straight pass to pick up McQueen’s run but the Man of the Match just got there
and knocked over a great first time cross. Long meets it from 5 yards and
unbelievably heads it straight at McGovern, a couple of players bundle in and
it ends up apologising over the line.
The defence did what they had to do defensively
which was next to nothing. I thought Jack Stephens did ok but on the rare
occasion when Lafferty got near enough to put pressure on, Stephens wasn’t
dominant or imposing at all. The best player on the pitch was Sam McQueen
who was excellent in both attack and defence. He deserved the assist for
the goal and was a constant threat down the left. We have to find him a
place in the league side, possibly playing in front of Ryan Bertrand on the left.
Saturday, December 3, 2016 - EFL Cup Quarter Final - Arsenal 0 Southampton 2
I think that at the start of the season, we all
thought the squad was a bit thin and in some areas it is but the emergence of
McQueen and Sims has been a massive bonus. Tonight for example, those two
breaking through meant that Redmond could have a rest.
Friday, November 25, 2016 - Europa League Match 5 - Sparta Prague 1 Southampton 0
Off the pitch since the Liverpool game, fans have
had to deal with at the Alex Crook bullshit machine saying that Liverpool are
going to sign both Virgil and Sam McQueen from us with Daniel Sturridge coming
in the other direction. Hold it right there for fuck's sake.
Away we go and almost immediately, McQueen threads
a ball down the line to Long who bundles past the full back and squares it to
Clasie who could shoot but presents an easy chance to J-Rod who takes the
shittiest of shithouse first touches and instead of tapping in, tries to
dribble round a defender and loses it. JUST FUCKING HIT IT MAN FOR
FUCKS’SAKE!!!
The players that leaves who had relatively
decent performances (and a couple of these are 'at a stretch') are Hojbjerg,
Romeu (who was sorely missed from the start), Forster who was looking
unconvincing but at least made a couple of saves and Sam McQueen who was easily
our man of the match.
Sam Learns About Italian Football
Sunday, November 6, 2016 - Europa League Match 4 - Southampton 2 Inter Milan 1
Hojbjerg brings it down on his chest and tries to
bundle past Perisic and the ball bounces up and hits him on the elbow.
Penalty given. Absolute bullshit decision. There’s some sort of
scuffle going on as the Italians protest and from the other end I can see
McQueen take a slap in the face from someone. The ref is looking straight
at it and calls the offender (Candreva) over and bottles it with a yellow
card. A good three minutes have gone by before Tadic steps up and it’s a
shite penalty at a comfortable height and just right of centre with Handanovic
going the right way and saving it easily. Fuck off… half time.
Three minutes later and it all goes proper mental as Tadic and McQueen work an
opening down the left and Tadic gets a yard and crosses low and it takes a
deflection off one Milan defender and that seems to confuse Nagatomo at the
back post and he stands there like a twat and it bounces off his hip and loops
past Handanovic and into the net. Cheers mate, 2-1.
There were many great performances in the second half but some players did it
for the whole 90 minutes, in particular, Sam McQueen, Virgil, Maya, Pierre
Hojbjerg and James Ward-Prowse
Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - Premier League Match 10 - Southampton 0 Chelsea 2
Bertrand is knackered and is replaced with
McQueen and Tadic, who I remember from the first three minutes is also off,
with Højbjerg coming on and the two new guys combine to create our best chance
with McQueen’s low cross coming in, Austin beating a defender to it, the flag
going up and Charlie sticking it in the net. Would have been great but
for the bit about the flag. I didn’t even get out of my seat as it was
that obvious.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 - Premier League Match 9 - Manchester City 1 Southampton 1
This all meant that Sam McQueen’s (£0m) first two
away games were against Inter Milan and Manchester City.
We are defending really well but we can’t string enough passes together to put
them under pressure and for the first time in a few matches, we’re just
launching it from the back with no real plan. McQueen does well to bring
the ball out and finds Davo who loses it on halfway to Fernandinho who plays a
great ball to their left to Sane who is behind Martina who has dozed off.
He has time to pass it across the box and Iheanacho arrives to sweep it into
the net.
It was a difficult afternoon for Sam McQueen and Sane and Sterling both gave
him problems but he stuck at it and it was another decent performance from the
youngster.
Sunday, October 23, 2016 - Europa League Match 3 - Inter Milan 1 Southampton 0
J-Rod does better work as we approach the half
hour, picking up a clearance just over half way and poking the ball out to
McQueen on the left. He puts over a great cross behind the defence and
J-Rod goes in with keeper Handanovic who gets there first and it rebounds off
the Saints man and rolls towards the goal.
At the other end of the pitch, it’s interesting that suddenly Virgil is getting
a load of attention as the media wake up to how good he is. Maybe one
positive from tonight will be that he lost Candreva for the goal so maybe the
boys with the big chequebooks will be put off. I may be clutching at straws
here. I was very impressed with Sam McQueen particularly in the first
half and Maya had a decent game. Cuco? Yeah, let’s leave that one
for now.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - Premier League Match 8 - Southampton 3 Burnley 1
It’s all us with Burnley struggling to get out
of their half and then Targett sits down and obviously isn’t getting back up
again. Claude immediately summons Sam McQueen from the bench and on he
goes. It’s refreshing in the extreme as our previous manager, the Lying
Dutchman, would have put Yoshida on and played him out of position
McQueen is looking decent for us but Franny would certainly get a game ahead of
Stephen Ward if I was picking the team.
Burnley respond with nothing and they’re all over the place, allowing Tadic to
dissect the right back and centre back and put McQueen in. Over he goes
as he cuts across the defender, penalty. It’s the first penalty with both
Tadic and Austin on the pitch since the infamous squabbling children episode
but no arguments this time. Charlie, Heaton the wrong way, 3-0.
The final chance is down to another great break down the left and McQueen
delivers a superb cross on the run which J-Rod meets at full pelt at the back
stick but he can only scuff it into the ground and Heaton saves again.
Full time, happy days.
I also have to mention Sam McQueen who though he had absolutely fuck all to do
defensively, terrorised the right hand side of Burnley's defence and put a
succession of great crosses and of course, won the penalty as well. Made me
think of Wayne Bridge who of course, started as a left winger and eventually
became left back. He did OK for himself.
MOTD moved onto our penalty and basically said that McQueen dived, no mention
of how well another Saints youngster played on his debut. Yes it was a
soft penalty but compare and contrast the reaction to that penalty and the one
Luke Shaw won against Saints earlier in the season. The same kind of
challenge, a slight touch and over he goes but no one even mentioned the
possibility that Shaw dived.
Friday, July 31, 2015 - Where Did the Pre-Season Break Go?
The fitness building continued with a 1-0, last
minute closed doors friendly at Staplewood against Brighton with a surging run
by Sadio Mané ending with a tap in by Sam McQueen. Then it was off to
Holland on the Koeman Nostalgia Tour, taking in many of the destinations of his
career including matches against Groningen (where both Koeman brothers started
their careers) and Feyenoord.
Thursday, December 18, 2014 - Capital One Cup 5th Round - Sheffield United 1
Southampton 0
Mayuka never seems to even touch the ball
suggesting that he has no awareness or football brain whatsoever. What is the
point of him being on the bench? We loan out Gaston Ramirez and keep this
fucking idiot? I know he’s probably not on big wages but what the actual
fuck is he doing on the bench when Ryan Seager or Sam McQueen cannot possibly
be worse.
Monday, July 28, 2014 - Nice Quiet Pre-Season Part 2
Tadic made his debut in the first Dutch friendly and Pelle in the second.
The first game saw a 4-0 win against Hoensbroek with goals from a Sam McQueen
deflected effort, a Calum Chambers header, a Billy Sharp penalty, and a Steve
Davis long ranger. The inclusion of Billy Sharp in this tour has
been slaughtered by the bedwetters who know best and who fail to consider that
Koeman may want to actually look at all the senior pros with his own eyes
before deciding who makes the squad this season. I don’t think he’s up to
playing in the Premier league but if Koeman thinks otherwise and puts him in
then fair enough.
The second game against Sporting Hasselt, saw Graziano Pelle take all of five
minutes to score his first after Isgrove put it on a plate for him and before
half time he notched again at the near post from a McCarthy cross. The
second half saw further strikes from a McQueen header from a Chambers cross, an
own goal, a Mayuka penalty after Sharp’s chip and chase had been handled and a
Gallagher tap-in after a Sharp effort was blocked
Monday, February 17, 2014 - FA Cup 5th Round - Sunderland 1 Southampton 0
There is always a nagging doubt about cup games
and the team that Mauricio is going to put out though and here is comes….
In goal, Kelvin Davis – fuck off… Clyne, Shaw, Yoshida, Hooiveld…. Ok I can
deal with that one as Jose had that injury to his leg and Dejan’s not fit yet…
Wanyama… yep, fair enough, Davis, Ward-Prowse…. Bit odd to have both of them in
there…. Lallana, Guly…. Whaaaaaat!... Lambert. Subs…. Gazzaniga, Fonte…
oh so not injured then…. Schneiderlin, Chambers, Rodriguez, Cork… all of whom
would be playing if this was a league game …. McQueen.
On comes McQueen for his debut.
Post a Comment