A game where once again we got it wrong and looked rudderless.
Eyes were once again raised as Nigel Adkins tinkered with the side after Friday's defeat against Bristol City, most Saints fans would welcome back David Connolly to the starting line up, if only because it looked like it might restore Guly to the right midfield, Hammond for Schneiderlin was of course enforced by suspension, but what was the point of replacing Fox with Harding.
This was the first folly of the day, if Nigel Adkins did it to put some urgency in the side he certainly did that as by the half hour mark he was urgently trying to get Danny Fox ready to come on as after a series of clumsy late tackles Harding was on the verge of being sent off before Fox could replace him.
Did Guly play on the right ? it was hard to tell at times as it seemed he had more of a roving role with Jack Cork covering the right, whatever the reasons at times we were stretched and it didnt seem to work going forward either, all that said Saints didnt play too badly in the first half and could easily have gone in at the break ahead.
In the second half the game was effectively over for Saints before it had become, it has to be sais though how on earth didnt the referee see Lambert being hauled down by El Abd as he tried to get up for a loose ball, the ref was only five yards away and it was clear, unfortunately he did see the clear punch to the face that Lambert issued to El Abd, the offence being right in front of the Saints contingent, I dont think there is one Saints fan who believes that "The frontman punched the ground to show his disapointment and in doing so caught El Habd who went down easily" as the incident was described on the official Saints site, why dress this up as anything other than it was, you will rarely see a more blatant lash out or red card.
With some 40 minutes to go you hoped that Saints would role up their shirt sleeves and show the spirit that we used to have, sadly that was not going to be the case and the lack of leadership was clear, at times like this you want your players to stand up and be counted, the fact was that ours didnt and looked like lambs to the slaughter, it didnt help that we gifted them the first goal, it had been coming as Brighton poured forward with each attack, but to be blunt it was a mistake by Kelvin Davis who spilt a routine shot straight at him and the rebound was swept home, again being blunt if it had been Bialkowski then he would have been crucified for this error.
If the first was soft then the second was a blinder, and it reminds you off the days when Saints used to get goals from outside the area, on 78 minutes Saints had a rare attack and almost got back in it, Cork putting over the bar when it looked easier to score.
The third goal only confirmed what Saints fans already knew.
But the real worry after this game is that we appear to have lost our team spirit and the manager seems to be trying desperate measures rather than calming the ship and steadying the nerves, players like consistency in their managers, they all know when a player deserves to be dropped and they know when he doesnt, the dropping of Fox at intermittent moments over the past month or so will not help team confidence, everyone knows Fox being substituted at Pompey was a big factor in conceding the late goal, it plainly upsets the team rythym and style of play.
But the substitutions made no sense either, why was Forte brought on with 30 minutes left, here was a player who was surplus to requirements and has spent the last few months on loan to Preston, even there he cant get a game starting only 2 games plus 1 as sub and not scoring, so whats he doing coming on in a game like this, why was he on the bench ahead of Steve De Ridder and why did he get on instead of Lee Holmes, it smacked of a manager at a loss of what to do in a time off crisis and trying something different for different's sake, simiarly the introduction of Reeves for Lallana with the game still at 1-0, not a moment to give a youngster with only one sub appearance in the league behind him a game, if Lalana had to come off to try something different surely Holmes would have been a better option .
It doesnt bring me any pleasure to write such a scathing review of this game and even more so because im daring to criticise the manager, something which is almost taboo after our success in 2011, however there is no other way of pointing out our failures of late, they have come from a poorly motivated team and a series of selction and tactical blunders, in short these problems havent just suddenly emerged, they have been present for at least two months, wher eonly the inability of those behind us has kept us in top spot.
The worrying factor is that this isnt a squad down to the bare bones either, throughout this time the manager has always had options, yes we have been a bit light up front, but elsewhere we have options in every position, why have players like Danny Butterfield and Lee Holmes be virtually ignored, even Ryan Dickson, in the case of the former two after contributing assists and goals when they did play, yet a player like Forte who cant get in a struggling Preston side is suddenly thrust back into the limelight.
Since we beat Brighton at home we have played eight games, in those eight games we have got only eight points, this isnt a rant after a rare defeat, this is backing up my points with fact.
I truly hope that Nigel Adkins learns from his mistakes, certainly he is on a steep learning curve having never managed in this type of situation before, hopefully a few key signings will help paper over the cracks, again I hope so, I dont travel thousands of miles each year and spend several thousand pounds of my hard earned money, just to gloat, I do so to seeus win games of football and we are not doing that.
In the next six weeks Nigel Adkins will either still be a revered figure having shown he is the man to turn this problem around or he will find the fingers pointing from loftier quarters than mine and questions being asked, I for one certainly hope its the former.