There is no way to gloss over this, it was probably our worst performance at home since that awful defeat at home to Leicester City and without the heroics of Arron Ramsdale, the result could have been just as bad as it was on that dark day.

It is hard to find a good thing to say about this game, once again we started the game with 2 full backs in our central back three, a midfield that was lightweight in terms of the power and strength that Brighton had in that area and 3 men up front.

It was an attacking line up, but if you do that you have to have some strong and fast defenders with a couple of good holding midfielders and we didn't have that.

The loss of Jan Bednarek after only 12 minutes was a blow and Ivan Juric had only two options to replace him, the first Jack Stephens who has managed just 12 minutes in the last 3 months due to injury and the second Armel Bella-Kotchap who aside from 26 minutes at Cardiff in the Carabao cup back in August has not played a game all season, indeed this cameo in Cardiff aside he has not played a first team game of any sort in over a year and that in itself was a 1 minute appearance off the bench, his last meaningful appearance was his 19 months ago at the start of his loan at PSV Eindhoven.

So this was never going to be the ideal situation for him to make an appearance.

The blunt truth is the manager appears to have lost the plot, Brighton are a big strong powerful side who move the ball around quickly and run at you, his answer was a weak back line with no real cover in front of it.

We are never going to outscore sides, so we have to adapt our tactics to suit, a strong back four with two sitting midfielders in front, stop the opposition from overpowering us and then we can try and impose ourselves.

Time and time again Brighton just ran through the midfield and then found themselves through on goal with our 3 defenders unable to organise themselves to deal with them, 4-0 flattered us, without Arron Ramsdale it could have been double figures.

But did Juric make any changes tactically ? No.

We were lucky to get into the break only 1-0 down, which at least gave us some hope, Sugawara coming on for Welington at half time was never going to shore things up and that proved to be the case and when Brighton got a second on 56 minutes you knew the game was up.

There was one glimmer of hope, but Archer was ruled offside after a decent finish.

When Brighton got a 3rd there was no doubting that we were now a shambles, a good manager would make tactical changes, accept the game was done and dusted and concentrate on keeping the score down, but not Juric.

Will Smallbone came on for Big Les Ugochukwu, he should of come on alongside him. another who should have been brought on was Flynn Downes, get a solid cnetral midfield to protect the back three.

What was the point of keeping 3 attacking players on, Cameron Archer went off and was replaced by Tall Paul, he never got a kick, he is only effective if you can get the ball to him in the Penalty area and even then most Premier League defenders can deal with him easily.

So where do we go next, we have a new Director of Football in Johann Spors, he must have seen what we have all seen, this season is now only about one thing and that is getting 3 points that will not make us the worst Premier League team of all time.

Russell Martin had to go, but he was a good organiser and at times we were hard to beat, the problem was that Martin demanded the possession football game and it was costing us more points than it should have.

But Ivan Juric does not appear to have any organisational or tactical talents, he promised Death Metal football and we are getting that, but Death Metal is not subtle it is music with a sledgehammer with little subtlety, it does not change tempo and have slow numbers or a bit of a string section or horns, not even keyboards, as Lawrie McMenemy once said a good team has to have a balance of violinists and hod carriers, Juric has fashioned a team of hod carriers.

There is absolutely no point in continuing to employ Ivan Juric now, he surely isn't going to be here next season, his style is not only not succeeding in terms of results, it is also counter productive with many players in our squad who could have been vital to the cause next season already alienated by the manager.

We would be better served by sacking him and replacing him with a caretaker manager, perhaps Simon Rusk with Adam Lallana. That would make sense as Lallana did something similar a couple of years ago for Brighton when Graham Potter left.

Another saying in life is that if you keep doing the same things you get the same results, Russell Martin found that out and we now Ivan Juric may be employing different tactics, they are not working.

It needs new man Spors to show he has his finger on the pulse, get rid of Juric and you change the attitude within and around the club and then we can prepare properly for next season as unlike the other two clubs who will join us in relegation, we can start our plans now knowing exactly where we are going to be.

Also show the Southampton supporters who have had little to cheer about this season, that the club now has someone at the helm taking charge and we are not just drifting as we appear to have done since Jason Wilcox left a year ago.

All Photos Via Reuters

Block8 added 10:25 - Feb 23 We have had no continuity in manager since Ralph (Selles was just a stand in) and have gone for the exact opposite of who was in charge every time. This current incumbent makes the Nathan Jones appointment look sensible? Almost everyone in the ground knows that we are inferior to most teams we face and yet we set up in a way that hands them even more advantage. We have defenders that can actually defend, given they play in their best position. We have a couple of reasonably good defensive midfielders, who given the right instruction can help protect those defenders. We also have some reasonably good attacking players who given the same decent level of instruction can perform reasonably well. What we don't have and haven't for a while is a focal point up front and even if we had, currently he'd probably be played at the back. Agree with most of this post Nick and yes if not for Ramsdale we would have been truly stuffed. I also agree with the post on the forum where the fans were questioned for the ridiculously over the top response when Bella-Kotchap came on. Most of the reason for him not playing was because he refused to?

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A1079 added 10:28 - Feb 23 I no longer really know what to say any more. We are a complete mess on and off the pitch. The players don't seem to care - however badly managed they are they don't even seem to have any personal know how or heart to do the job they are paid for. We are another awful manager who has not steadied the ship but just made matters worse and clearly none of the players have any belief in him. The fans have given up. Their heart has been ripped out of them to the extent that they are completely resigned to what ever the future holds and we have owners that follow one mess with another. I see no white knight coming over the hill to save our club so I fear our decline may be more terminal than the dark days of administration. At the next home game, the best thing as fans is to turn up but to not go in the stadium and just stand outside the turnstiles in protest. It won't make a jot of difference but it would be a unique form of protest.

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SanMarco added 11:14 - Feb 23 We are now well into the longest relegation post-mortem in history and like A1079 I can't think of anything more to say about the shambles on the pitch. Hats off to Nick - he has twelve more verdicts to write, not an enviable job. For what it's worth I am not as hard on the players as some. In my youth I played in some sh1t teams and it is tough. I think Juric is playing some sort of stupid game, perhaps hoping to be sacked. He inherited a near impossible situation and he appears to be doing everything he can to prove that it was impossible. (The fact that it almost certainly was does not excuse him.) We are going down in a far worse situation than last time. We had three big money sales in the bank last time, our sellable assets this time will, combined, not fetch what we got for JWP. If SR are capable of learning (big IF) then they need to get a manager in now for the promotion effort. Not some RM type appointment who might get us up but would be hopeless if we got up. It is SR's fault that we played like we did at the start of the season. RM just did what he said he was going to do and his employers let him. Message to the tiny minority of 'RM would have kept us up' blowhards: wake up and make yourself some strong coffee...

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Colburn added 11:16 - Feb 23 Yesterday was truly awful. Some players just weren’t interested. If they don’t want to play for the manager, then play for the fans, as we are the paying customers. We looked tired yesterday, Dibling was invisible, never got into the game and Fernandes was too deep. What was the Pooh in Gronbaek if he’s obviously not good enough to be involved. ABK played 5 yards too high so there was a huge gap in behind him, not his fault, he’s hardly played a real game for ages. After yesterday, I still don’t blame Juric but at the same time, he’s had zero positive impact based on this performance. It feels like there’s some communication barriers as he doesn’t seem to grasp some English phrases. Having said that, I don’t think the answer is Rusk and Lallana as they will just be equally out of their depth, without the players to change things. We will be the next Luton because Solak hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing and neither do those beneath him. League 1 here we come again, that’s no joke.

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halftimeorange added 11:44 - Feb 23 I stayed until the final whistle, how the score wasn't much higher can only be put down to Ramsdale and his pre-match prayers. The telling thing for me was Juric's Radio Solent post-match interview when he more or less admitted he hadn't got a solution. I don't think he's up for the job. The Rusk/Lallana suggestion seems sensible for the rest of the season. It's not just that our players aren't good enough, they are also too slow, brushed off the ball easily, can't pass or cross accurately and are devoid of confidence. This goes back to the start of this season and RM's management and training. That wasn't working and under Juric things are even worse. If Spors or Solak don't grasp the nettle now and show some foresight as to what the club's aspirations are for next season then there will be many empty seats at St Marys for them to ponder. This is unbelievable.

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131153 added 11:48 - Feb 23 It’s difficult to put into words how I feel after the home games so far this season. After a good deal of thought my main conclusion is the team is basically unfit, the only person to blame is RM. I feel he thought the possession game would be so successful the opposition would end up non plussed. Totally deluded.
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andywelsh added 11:50 - Feb 23 I don’t agree all is already lost for next season but am concerned at the further damage Juric may be inflicting. It would probably cost money to sack him now and we are already down but perhaps a Rusk/Lallana teaming could restore a bit of moral. I think Danny Rohl could make us very competitive in the Championship.
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SaintPaulVW added 12:27 - Feb 23 Tbh embarrassing as it would be, I'm begining to think that the worst point total in PL history would be a fair result for this side. Dragan needs to take some names because Sports Republic are just p@££ing his money away making wrong decision after wrong decision on both managers and players.
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pintsizedsaint added 12:32 - Feb 23 Nick I completely agree. Juric needs to go and go now. Put our U21 manager in charge and start looking for a manager to come in the summer. I’m always an optimist when it comes to Saints, but this is beyond the pale. We are a laughing stock of this league and we need to get some dignity back. The fans deserve that.
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Saintandy66 added 12:36 - Feb 23 I've not been to a home game since boxing day even though I have a season ticket just can't stomach what is going on and even more worrying is solak saying juric will be the manager next season if this happens the club has well and truly gone.
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davidargyll added 13:04 - Feb 23 I think you can always tell the health of any sort of institution - and particularly a sporting one but it applies to all businesses - by the state of its loos. For a while now, visiting SMS has been a grim, disagreeable and generally awful experience; after Saturday’s performance of “lets-see-how-many-goals-we-can-give-away-today”, the lavatories are definitely better…

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JoeEgg added 13:06 - Feb 23 When the team selection was announced we all knew we would be humiliated and brushed aside. Clearly Juric is another guy way out of his depth. I have frequently expressed my condemnation of RM and it is interesting to see that Martin's hero - Pep Guardiola - is finding that the old possession style football played by City is not working there any more either. Teams are playing through a more direct route to go and playing this way you also need the type of players to make it work. The starting eleven yesterday proved that Juric cant even make sound use of the poor squad he inherited. We are a poor team but not as POOR as we were yesterday. We had the chance earlier in the year to appoint an experienced English manager - maybe Moyes, Potter orSteve Cooper would have done the job. Now its all too late. We are a joke of a team - a complete laughing stock. Sports Republic must act now and at least find a way to give our fans and it seems our players, a ray of hope. Right now - there is none.

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AmericanSaint added 13:30 - Feb 23 Yeah so this game was it for me. While it will make no difference, Juric needs to go now. He has not tactical awareness. Playing Aribo a a CB is just plan stupid. Aribo was beaten every time, but I do think it was a foul on him for their second goal. As for the game, what was he thinking bringing in Smallbone? Then Juric saying Llalana will help is ridiculius. AL is too slow for the PL now and not sure why we took him back. Common, that shows Juric's ineptness when he is saying things like that after the game. . So many players just walking around and not moving. TB was invisible and seems to believe that he is the next great thing nd cant be bothered. I know this wont be liked, but we should have sold him for $50M in January as is value will only decrease before the end of the season. As I said the previous game post, SR do it on the cheap and Jurisc was the cheap. Of our starting 11 yesterday, I SR selling everyone expect Bree and maybe Wellington as 9 of those players will ask for a transfer. Final note, I think Efan Ekoku is the worst tv announcer I have ever heard and I had to turn of my sound after the second goal cause he was irritating me so much. I just hope we get 3 more points by the end of the season, but I will not watch any more games with group of players who dont seem to care and not willing to put up a fight,. That is how you know all is lost.

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Bowlercow added 14:36 - Feb 23 San Marco I don't believe RM would have kept us up but I am 100% certain that I would have enjoyed going to games more than I do under Joker Juric Anyone who thinks yesterday's performance was an upgrade on the possession game needs to look again Remember at the Amex we were robbed by VAR but it was a he'll of a performance Why keep putting faithful fans through it get rid of him now We are led to believe that all coaches want to be in England with a chance of getting into the prem so surely finding a good one shouldn't be that difficult

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IanRC added 14:40 - Feb 23 I do not agree that the players are as bad as some make out, with the possible exception of our so called forwards. To my mind the problem is they have had all the confidence knocked out of them by the totally incompetent Sports Republic and their incredibly poor choices of manager. The trouble is, that even if Juric was sacked, I have zero confidence that Sports Republic would appoint anybody who is even faintly capable. Our owner appears totally unsuitable to run a Premier League club based on the performance of the people he has appointed to date. Perhaps we should be praying for a change of owner as well as a change of manager.

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PezzaSaint added 18:53 - Feb 23 I can’t believe that Sports Republic have said that Juric will be our manager for next season! The guy hasn’t got a clue. Tactically he is inept and it seems in man management he is inept to. When the players stop trying for me that’s on the manager. I agree, he needs to be gone now. Get someone else in to try to get the elusive 3 points!
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sidsaint added 19:27 - Feb 23 I have never read so many depressing comments all of which are justified. this is the worst I have felt as a Saints supporter which is for more years than I care to remember. As an 80 year old now living in Devon I am no longer prepared to travel up as I do not feel that the directors believe in our club. A lot of good people have been badly let down.
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