It was ultimately disappointment for Saints in a game where they really should have at least got a point in, but there were some plus points, the spirit was still there and Villa needed their keeper to make a couple of decent saves to keep a clean sheet.

There wasn't much argument when the Saints line up was announced at 2pm, for me the only change I would have made would have been starting Orsic instead of Samuel Edozie.

Edozie is undoubtably a talent, the past few games have seen some great runs from him, but there has been little end product so far, I am sure there will be, but in the meantime we should be using him off the bench as an impact player rather than in the starting line up.

When you have a relegation fight on your hands you need experience and Mislav Orsic has experience at the highest level, he has been here now for two Premier League games, he has played 6 minutes of Premier League football.

I cannot understand that and I cannot understand why he only played 6 minutes against Villa when we were initially chasing a goal and then an equaliser.

This is not a major criticism of Nathan Jones, as mentioned this would have been the only real change from my starting line up.

This was always going to be a scrappy game, but in the main we matched the visitors, indeed most of their chances seemed to come from errors from our own players, Gavin Bazunu's poor clearance handing them a decent chance that luckily they fired straight at him, being a good example.

Saints fans thought their team had gone ahead twice, the first effort in the first half saw Che Adams put the ball home although there was some question whether another player had been the one flagged for putting the ball home on the line.

Subsequent TV pictures showed that Adams himself was off side as the ball was played through.

St Mary's erupted in the second half as James Ward Prowse fired home with a shot that took a deflection and looped over the keeper, but again it was VAR that decided the matter, most thought that the decision was harsh, Elyounoussi barely touched their man it seemed, but again looking at TV replays closer showed that Elyounoussi had actually stood on Ramsey's ankle, it may well have been an accident and not deliberate but it was still a foul.

We paid the price on 77 minutes, a cheap free kick given away saw a curing ball put into our box, Ollie Watkins lost his man and had a free header, it was from a similar position that Everton scored last week, aside from where the cross was delivered from it was a carbon copy.

Although the starting line up was a good one, I have to take some issue with the substitutions, Romeo Lavia going off seems to be par for the course on 60 minutes, clearly he is not ready to go much longer, but my worry here is we are not extending his time on the pitch game by game, a few minutes longer at a time.

This was part of a triple substitution, Edozie rightly going off alongside Che Adams.

Would I have bought these two off alongside Lavia, the answer is probably yes, but I was disappointed to see Elyounoussi, Perraud and to a lesser extent Sekpu Mara brought on at this time.

In some respect Mara & Elyounoussi are attacking players, but why take off an attacking player in Edozie and then bring on a left back.

My big disappointment in this game was the fact that we brought on Orsic for only 6 minutes and Charly Alcatraz didn't even get on the pitch.

The former has just returned from a World Cup in which he helped his team to 3rd place and the latter came on at Everton a week earlier and had a good 30 minutes.

It was far too late to bring on Orsic on 84 minutes, that should have been done immediately after Villa had scored and given him a little more time to help try and save the game.

We have made these two signings for a reason, so why aren't we using them !

But having analysed the substitutions and where we went wrong, although this game was a disappointment, there were plus sides, firstly that the team spirit is there and hopefully that will carry us though, secondly we now seem to be able to play the systems that Nathan Jones wants, the players have bought in to it.

We created chances, but we have to start taking them, that is my main worry, we still need a striker who can score goals like shelling peas, Adams, Adam Armstrong & Sekou Mara all have their own merits, but they are not natural goalscorers, we need one of those.

A draw in this game would have lifted us off the bottom, a win would have taken us into 16th place and that would have been a phycological blow to our rivals.

There is a long way to go in this season, it is far from over, but we cannot afford to keep losing games to teams like Aston Villa, who with respect to them are now in a transitionary period and looking to next season at the moment.

On a reality check note, if we had won this a 4th game in a row, would we win 5 as we need to on Tuesday night ? the odds of probability say not !

Now we have reset the games won clock we can start another little run commencing with the visit of Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, it's straw clutching perhaps, but that is what football fans do, that's why we have lucky charms and matchday rituals, we all know they count for nothing on the pitch, but it just feels like it sometimes.

Photo: Action Images

JoeEgg added 10:11 - Jan 23 Difficult to know where to start but we lost at home again to an average side who we really should have beaten. I have no worries going 'forward' with our defence!! Lyanco and Caleta-Carr are good enough already and improving all the time (reading Caleta's comments on this game was also very refreshingly honest and sensible) , and although we continue to leak a few goals, the defence is definitely getting better. Once again it was a silly unnecessary foul (not by a defender!) that presented Villa with the set piece from which they scored. It just remains to say that I still prefer Walker-Peters on the right hand side (we mustn't lose this guy) and Perraud on the left. Every match I comment on the weakness up front and Adams and Armstrong are never going to be the complete answer - ironic that Ings and Chris Woods changed clubs this week leaving us still looking for that prolific goalscorer. Did you see the Brighton forwards in action with Mitoma and Ferguson showing us just what we are missing. What a finish from Mitoma - something our young wide players cannot do yet. And Ferguson is only 18 but unlike our young talent, is big and strong, with an eye for a goal! If we dont solve our goalscoring problem we are going to struggle right to the end of the season. Lavia and Ward-Prowse are two excellent assets in our midfield but it was once again in this department that Villa took control on Saturday. We managed to produce a single shot at goal in the entire first half and this is just not acceptable. We spent a lot of money on Orsics and Alcatraz and surely they have to play. We are very 'light weight' in the middle of the park and Livramento is badly missed. So it remains the big question - who joins the party this week to strengthen the midfield and provide us with a couple of proven or outstandingly promising strikers? I believe we are heading in the right direction, but I am convinced so much now depends on the business done in the next few days!

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halftimeorange added 10:31 - Jan 23 Let's face it, our passing needs to vastly improve. For long periods Villa had the ball, mostly given to them by us rather than them winning tackles. Diallo was a prime example. He seems to have upped his effort (as do most of them) but, simple errors at our level are inexcusable. I don't think we're helped by Gavin Bazanu. He seemed a real bundle of nerves when getting rid of the ball, even though he's otherwise brave and agile. Maybe Caballero should be given a few outings. I agree that KWP and Perraud should start as they're our best full-backs and both give all they've got. I thought some of the substitutions were mistakes. When you're a goal down and desperate to equalise should we be replacing forward with a defender? I doubt that any fan would do it. Also, Orsic looked class when he eventually got on but, why so very, very late? I just hope the players aren't too flat on Tuesday after this very disappointing result and, yes that goal should've stood. The referee was weak and many refs seem to be creating a non-contact sport. At least Lyanco didn't let his unfair early card temper his aggression!

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Jesus_02 added 10:37 - Jan 23 Am I the only one confused as to why we haven't started the team that beat Man City? I think Mara IS a natural goal scorer. Defensively he is poor and gave away a lot of free kicks (including the one w conceded from) . But you have to ask why he is being asked to defend. I don't think he did against city. He didn't drop deep to receive the ball, he sat on the last defender . Maybe the problem isn't as simple as getting a striker in its what we are asking them to do. Other than that we put the ball in the net twice and we can count ourselves unlucky. My largest concern is that when the goal was disallowed it clearly effected us mentally. Maybe its not a striker we need but Eileen Drewery?

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ElSanto added 11:01 - Jan 23 Bazunu maybe needs a break.
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Jesus_02 added 11:17 - Jan 23 I think Bazunu is doing really well. Not his fault with the goal and apart from that botched clearance he has made some great stops and his positioning etc. has been good. As with the whole team he needs confidence. Mentally he seems strong, but confidence is a different matter. Martínez was amazing for Villa and yo can see his confidence (interesting to compare with Lloris) , but a saints keeper would never come that far to act as a sweeper like Martínez as we do not coach them that way.

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pintsizedsaint added 11:37 - Jan 23 Agree with Nick's report here - a point would have been fair. Lots of people blaming VAR but Elo did step on his ankle. Overall, going in right direction. Villa have stepped up since Unai's arrival, so good to see us on a level here. Again, we were punished for the weakness in defending set pieces, and I hope we continue on ironing that out of our game. I too question why the new signings didn't come on earlier/start. I totally get that they won't start due to lack of prem experience, but expected Orsic to come in around 60 minute mark to get that game time. I wondered whether it may be with one eye on the Newcastle game (i.e. limited intelligence for Newcastle to analyse may help with what will be a difficult fixture). I hope so - Orsic is class and has the full ability to score goals from outside the box. Diallo is a great off-the-bench alternative, but he's not got the quality for a starting line up week in week out. Again, I feel that this might be the transition - with Alcaraz being the preferred option with Lavia going forward. Armstrong does great things but needs a goal! Adams too. Alas we cannot rely on them to find this form in a relegation bun-fight.

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highfield49 added 11:55 - Jan 23 I agree with those who see Bazunu as the least of our problems. All 'keepers make mistakes, it's only the context within the game that makes them look significant. The last thing Bazunu and others need is supporters getting on his back when the team is under pressure. Although I certainly can't claim to be any expert in tactical shifts it did seem as though we changed from a back four to a back five before any substitutions were made. We appeared to go on the defensive and give the attacking initiative to Villa without the right players in the formation. Whilst some teams are capable of changing shape effortlessly I felt it was asking too much of some of the younger players at the wrong time in the match. Having stated that supporters shouldn't be on players backs I equally don't understand why Diallo is preferred to Alcaraz, in my view only one of them has the ability to take us up the table. I'm hoping that Alcaraz and Orsic are given proper game time in the upcoming cup matches so as they can be regular starters for the rest of the season. As for the long awaited centre forward, surely the Villa game demonstrated once again how much the team needs the lift of a high profile, proven attacker to take the pressure off the struggling forwards. Ings' bank balance has again proved to be his motivation, and that's fair enough, but surely there must be a loan signing or mature player out there somewhere who can do the job?

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Farlow added 12:02 - Jan 23 I agree with Jesus the Man City Performance was our best in many years.Mara and Djenepo were super.The only way we are going to stay up is by having a real go.The much maligned Mark Hughes did when he kept us up.Surely he should have brought on Alcaraz and Orsic at half time.All the stick Macarthy used to get,but Bazunu is no better.
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Block8 added 12:19 - Jan 23 Strange that Alcaraz is better than the guys we have, without actually watching him! He also probably needs to up his fitness levels and learn how we play prior to being thrown in the deep end, he looked well off the pace at Everton when he came on? Edozie had a pretty good game both offensively & defensively so that wasn't an issue. It seemed like JWP was playing up front for most of the first half and we lacked a bit in the middle due to this. That we give the ball away far too often is perhaps our biggest concern, particularly across the back four, or five depending on which minute we are in. Bazunu as a keeper has been largely very good but is his lack of confidence when playing out of defence down to our ability to pass to the opposition? Lets hope for a bit more luck on Tuesday & no VAR in Carabao cup! COYR

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saintlee added 12:19 - Jan 23 Nick, last week you said we are well stocked in the holding midfield department. Ibrahim Diallo is our weak link. He'll do something great and then give the ball away straight away. 4 or 5 times he put us in trouble. We need a defensive midfielder to play with Latvia. I do agree that we need a striker badly. I like the look of Moffi. Big, strong, quick and scores goals.

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Block8 added 12:23 - Jan 23 At least we'll be able to keep the ball at the back now Jan's come home 😂🤣😂
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Big_T added 12:27 - Jan 23 You don't win games if you don't try to win games ! We've played teams that we should have won, but we haven't really competed , first half we had 28% possession, in a game we had to win !! The most we've had has been 5 shots on target in games we have to win ! We are not the plucky Luton playing against all the big premier league teams , we have been playing teams we can and most beat ? It may be fine playing like that actually against the big six teams but against the clubs we must beat ? This is folly imo Has anyone else noticed that Saints ( since we've been back in the premier league) play thier best games when we are on the front foot and trying to take teams on ? NJ switched to 5 at the back again at the start of the 2nd half and we lost , we don't win with 5 at the back , we need a midfield to stop the opponent's attack not wait till the defence and keeper have to react. We are not good/confident enough to do that at present . But this is just my opinion. :-)

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landsdownsaint added 13:18 - Jan 23 Big T is right . Bad tactics inviting teams on to us like we’re doing
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ItchenNorth added 13:37 - Jan 23 We have player that stared for his country at the World Cup, going all the way to the 3rd place game scoring. Play him! You can see our shape now though and we at least look solid. Just desperately need a goal scorer! Buy one! The ref had a shocker. Awarding so many soft free kicks. When will the they be told, football is a contact sport. Bloody hell, if I acted like modern players do and fell over at any contact, I would never go Sales shopping ever again! It's pathetic. VAR doesn't help either, as slowing down any footage is not realistic, and gives the impression that the contact was decisive. I still have confidence we'll stay up, but we nee

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ItchenNorth added 13:39 - Jan 23 We need a striker!
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saintmark1976 added 14:17 - Jan 23 What Saturday showed was that our many years of under and poor investment in players has finally come home to roost. In the important positions the Villa players were better than our equivalent, particularly in goal and also in midfield were they moved the ball quicker, not forgetting the forwards, where they had somebody who could actually put the ball in the net. I still hold the view that we could avoid relegation but only if we manage to sign a striker and Jones finally recognises his best team and plays it regularly. Even forgetting the V A R disallowed goal the referee had a shocker but then again he’s not alone recently. I get the impression that they are so poor nowadays that they deliberately slow the game down to give themselves more time to think about what decisions they need to make. If games were played at a fast pace they would be even further out of their depth.I believe that Michael Oliver was the only Premiership referee at the recent World Cup,which says it all really.

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wessexman added 14:51 - Jan 23 Out of the 20 games we have accumulated 15 points which equates to 0.75 points per game. Assuming, 38 points is safety, we need another 23 points or, 1.28 points per game. This is the improvement we are looking for and it looks daunting. The margins for error are becoming smaller and smaller.
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janecook added 15:32 - Jan 23 We could get Frank Lampard in to save us.
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AmericanSaint added 15:34 - Jan 23 So that was disappointing as I feel we should have got a point at least. Agree Orsic should have started in front of Endozie. So as to the VAR controversy, (I have watched it several times over) my main issue is that the ON-FIELD ref did not think it was a foul, but the VAR ref "thought" it was a CLEAR and OBVOIUS error. The VAR ref has now injected HIS opinion onto the game and that is not what he is there for. The on-field ref was in a good position. Additionally, they should not allow the on-field ref to review the footage at slo-motion until after 3 views of "at speed". The slo-motion makes the incident look so much worse. Also, the ref had a horrible game and should have issued a yellow card on Villa's left-back for the foul on Endozie in the first 2 minutes of the game. Finally, an issue I have with the PL is that there is no recourse against a referee who has a horrible game. He still will be reffing the next week. He is not sat for a week or two and forced to take more training. As for VAR, there needs to be a 3-person panel looking at it. Two-refs and a former player. Oh, another note. Why the hell did we not go get Chris Wood. We have become a direct route-one team and need a BIG strong forward to head/hold the ball - A-LA Grazianno Pelle. Again out front office is a sleep at the wheel. We need a proven PL striker, not someone who has potential.

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Kingsland34 added 16:38 - Jan 23 It cannot have been a foul by Mo, the Ref did not give it! Judged against the fact that on every other occasion we went near a Villa player he gave them a free kick.
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wibbersda added 16:45 - Jan 23 What was really depressing was that the front 3 at no time linked up. It was like all 3 were waiting for delivery, but they all were doing the same thing. Need to get linkup play sorted.
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davidargyll added 19:05 - Jan 23 I guess if you’re a Villa supporter you would have said that we (ie Villa) wore them down until their patience ran out. Whereas my view (of AV) was “Christ what a hugely DULL team Emery is manufacturing.” But you pays your money….And after 90 minutes “Boring” won out, even if this was one game where luck was definitely not with us in terms of disallowed goals, good saves, etc. A couple of observations: 1. When the squads were lining up, Villa showed up with five players comfortably over six foot, we had three; and I knew we would likely have a problem. (OK Ollie Watkins is 5 ft 7 but it’s the big boys who did the damage). 2. Why oh why did we keeping on giving away stupid free kicks in front of goal? 3. Che Adams is mostly a waste of space who needs to be dropped pronto. He occasionally makes a good pass but so often plays like a Championship footballer - back to the goal and hoping to lay off a long ball from the back onto a colleague and/or buy a free kick - who is far too predictable. 4. Please please please can we speed up our throw-ins. Momentum is all in the PL, and when we do have it, we so often lose it because, when the ball goes out, we take an age and allow the oppo’s defence to get back. Two games a week throughout January? So how many games do we seriously think we could win? Three? Four? Five at a push, but all eight? Forget it! But I just wish we could have won on Saturday and sod the Cup games. So was it one or three points lost? Well maybe you can say we deserved a point, but the fact remains we didn’t get anything and I’m sure I wasn’t alone leaving SMS with those damning words echoing in my head: “Too good to go down…”

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Boris1977 added 19:14 - Jan 23 First paragraph spot on st mark. We've already played at least 5 or 6ust win games over the past month and fallen short too often. The club is in the shadow of a mess both of their own making (selling players with poor replacements, not signing a striker and not getting shot of Ralph last summer) and events beyond their control (the political cooling of relationships between the west and China and the restrictions on Gao's wealth. The new boards transfer policy over the summer was scatter gun and based on a premise of buy cheap and nurture talent rather than mixing it up and buying fewer players with focus on a striker, possibly an experienced CB complimented by a few young prospects. They also kept Ralph in a job after his dismal latter half of the season. An odd decision. The board said a few weeks ago that they have a strategy and Jones similarly mentioned working on certain things. I cannot see that either have a coherent strategy which reflects suspicions that the club is directionless and in flux. COYRs

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DellBoyWally added 21:36 - Jan 23 Not so long ago Villa were struggling nearly as bad as us. 12 points from 13 games The difference now? They brought in a proper manager: experience in various leagues and European competitions winner; proven. Since then:- same players, 7 games, 16 points. We get an inexperienced, mid-Championship, former Stoke failure!! 6 games, 3 points. The owners are no better. A year in charge and we've bought a "B" team with some experience in now proving they got it all wrong last summer. We needed a striker under Gao. Now Jones says we have too many midfielders (the reason Aribo doesn't play) We needed a goalie (who apparently reach their peak in their 30s) and buy a kid whose arms are 2 inches too short the way he flaps at crosses. TV companies don't cover Saints games now; they just reshow the recording from previous games and dub in the new scorer. But worry not, Badnarek is back. Bet he learned so much at the "big" club he so desired!! We'll be playing Pompey again soon - and they're not getting promoted

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