Nine months ago we thought things could not get any worse after a 3-0 debacle at Brentford, here we were again and it was a case of deja vu as Saints crashed to another defeat, so why has nothing changed ?

Their was not much celebration pre match when the team line ups were announced, it was good to see the two deadline day signings on the list, but why were they not in the starting line up ?

At the back it was another strange one, Bednarek a player who wanted nothing to do with the club 6 months ago walked straight back into the side and was paired with Salisu whilst Caleta-Car who had been playing well up to his red card and one game suspension and Bella Kotchap joined Orsic & Djenepo playing in the B team on Friday, either of the latter two would have been a better option off the bench than Theo Walcott.

Likewise why were the likes of Alcaraz and even Adam Armstrong left on the bench, whilst underachievers such as Elyounoussi & Edozie started the game

The stats showed Saints competed, even if the performance didn't and for much of the first half we stayed in it, albeit hanging on, Brentford are always going to get chances on the break and set pieces we just had to weather them, as we did at Everton

With 4 minutes to the break it looked like we would get into the dressing room on equal terms and be able to regroup in the 2nd half with some timely substitutions, but as at Goodison Park we failed to mark our men and gave away a free header and we were a goal down, that in itself was frustrating but to give away another goal only minutes later was unforgivable.

The game was all but over now and it was going to take a comeback of epic proportions to drag things back.

The two new boys came on at half time and showed some good touches, but ultimately we struggled to get them into the game.

For the first 20 minutes of the second we showed more industry, but on 65 minutes came the moment the fans turned on the manager, off went Lavia and the chants of you don't know what you're doing sparked up.

Jones excused his decision by saying that the player wasn't exactly bossing the midfield, that again is unforgivable you don't throw a youngster under the bus like that as a manager, what the fane were complaining about though was the Welshman's management of Lavia's game time, playing him against Blackpool and then leaving him out at Newcastle.

Theo Walcott coming on at the same time only served to rile the fans up more, nothing against Theo, but his form this season doesn't merit a place on the bench let alone coming off it.

The goal on 80 minutes saw a mass exodus and like last season unrest in the away section, but who can blame the fans.

Abuse in the first half was not called for but was there long before the goals went in, a singing "we are going down" etc is showing a lack of pride in the club and is embarrassing, other club's laugh at us, you don't get that at many other places.

No one can dress this up in any other way than as a debacle, it was a team with no organisation and no leader in the back four and that is where it has to start, just how many free headers do we have to give sides, teams know how to exploit us, stick a cross from a dead ball situation into out box just outside the six yard box and it's a free header.

I truly do not see how anything other than Jones leaving will save the situation now, his comments after the game were bizarre, he blamed everyone including himself, he showed that there is no unity in the team and what little there may have been and it did look like he had turned it round a few weeks back, will now have dissipated, throwing Lavia under the bus was deplorable.

In the meantime we have to do as Everton fans are doing, they are focusing on protesting before and after games, but getting behind their team during the game, this should be nothing new to older Saints fans, it is what we did 29 years ago when we protested against Ian Branfoot.

We should not descend into the scenes that we saw at Brentford both this and last season, we should back the team, even if we do not back the manager, if an individual cannot do that, then they should stay away or better still protest outside the ground for the duration of the match, that would make a point to the board.

The season is not over yet, there is a long way to go, Saturday made it a lot tougher, but if we get the right team out there all things are possible, but as was shown on Saturday, we have a manager who by his own admittance does not know what his best team is and is not in control.

Photo: Action Images

mattlegod added 10:32 - Feb 5 The majority of this epic failure was leaving the defenders who have been largely playing well out of the team, Lyanco and in particular, Car. As for not starting the two new signings from the start, let's be sensible, that was never going to happen considering the amount of training time they had prior to the match. As for Jones.. I was certainly prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm getting sick of him throwing his toys out of the pram during post match interviews while attempting to justify his position because of his "previous success". Now, it might just be me but I don't see a track record of success, I see a manager who has done well at one club but that's where it ends. There is still much to prove as to why he should be in this managerial position and looking back to justify it simply shows he doesn't get how to move forward. I was quite buoyed by the new signings, a clear admission from the owners that they stripped back the squad to the "young guns" too early and as such we have some very exciting talent now but without a natural leader my fear is that this squad will never get the chance to shine .

17

kevleykeegle added 10:52 - Feb 5 Ian wright has a real go at NJ in the papers and tells him to stop throwing players under the bus BUT deal with any problems within the club - not by airing his dirty linen in public. Whatever the outcome of all of this - he’s either going to win the players over or (more likely imo) put their backs up, he has to learn discretion and the basics of PR. He’s dripping blood at the moment and it’s doing him no favours at all

9

SanMarco added 10:57 - Feb 5 A debacle indeed. Compare the managerial replacements by other struggling teams to our catastrophe of a manager and you come to only one conclusion: Bring in a proper manager NOW and there is still a chance. Dyche has got as many points for Everton in 90 mins than this idiot has got for us in 8 games - and against stronger opposition than any we have played. Others on here in the hours ahead will outline the nonsense we are being subjected to in relation to the fiasco yesterday. All I will say is: Why spend tens of millions on players in January while keeping on this clown of a manager? That is a very expensive rearrangement of the deckchairs on the Titanic. Get rid of him NOW...

18

IanRC added 10:57 - Feb 5 Agree absolutely Matt and Nick. Lavia is one of our best players consistently. There was a good reason to take him off as he was on a yellow, thanks to a referee who booked him for a first offence when letting Brentford players off without cautions, notably Jensen. That said however Jones’s comments about Romeo after the game were disgusting. The question is who could SR get in to replace him. Every result except Bournemouth went against us yesterday and the clock is ticking. Wolves is a must win but if we don’t start our best players it will be another formality.

12

SaintPaulVW added 11:00 - Feb 5 It is disappointing that we seem to have gone backwards. A few games ago we seemed to have a settled back line. We appeared to have a set of basic formations that we could switch between. The players looked engaged. I could almost tolerate Jones's annoying post match twaddle. Now after what appears a great transfer window.... what a difference 2 weeks makes! Jones looks lost. I hope we also lose him soon. COYR

13

Boris1977 added 11:01 - Feb 5 The board got the big decisions wrong by not saying goodbye to Ralph earlier and picking up Eddie Howe when he turned Celtic down and again by not giving Ralph his P45 last spring and approaching dyche. Jones came into a club with a big squad of average players low on confidence and without strikers. It's no wonder he's frustrated and punches out in post match interviews but the last one yesterday is beyond the pale. Referring to the club as they rather than us and his crazy stream of nonsense about how brilliant he is should be his last act for the club. He will not recover from this and I can imagine the players aren't too bothered about coming in tomorrow for training. The buck stops with the board for the situation we're in. They've dropped the ball on all the big calls over the past 2 years or so. I'm not worried about relegation but as mattlegod points out above this squad will be broken up when we go down and we'll never know what would have happened with a competent board in charge. A massive shame. COYRs

4

Rossm2006 added 11:05 - Feb 5 I feel for the manager just as I did for Ralph, totally thrown under the bus by poor preparation from above.There is now a general apathy around the club and especially at our home games, I've heard more atmosphere at the cricket ground on a Thursday of a county championship game. All those who wanted Ralph gone must now surely be having a hard look in the mirror. This squad simply isn't good enough and a lot of that stems from premiership experience and leadership. Its a squad a ten year old would assemble on football manager. They have no bond and no identity and probably no voice on or off the pitch. It looks more like a u23 team. No manager will want to come now so sacking Jones is a total waste of time . We missed the boat on the good manager who is now at Everton , I fear probably too opinionated for our board , a little bit of what Jones is getting at if you read in to it. We may as well go more direct now, anyone who has seen is for the last year knows what we are doing isn't working. There is nothing wrong with playing down the channels or off a target man, we are sadly not man city. I take heart from Burnley , lost so many players in the summer , much worse off financially than us but have had an impressive rebuild. For me, as you have touched upon, we need some experienced English players and leaders to build a foundation and some steel and identity in the dressing room. Right now I think this 'side' would be mid table in the championship A lot are simply not ready for senior football, which entails a lot more than just technique on the ball to produce a winning side. A real shame , but people need to hold their hands up and accept we are not good enough. I don't fault the effort i see at games which I have in past struggling teams. It's not a time to slate individuals or even the manager , it's a time to start planning to do it properly next season Positives , we have a lot of players people will pay for and with a few experienced heads in goals , CB and CM we can have a good side next year. Again not slating those in the positions now, they are doing their best but at the moment in their development, not good enough in this cut throat league

0

WestSussexSaint added 11:26 - Feb 5 Big decision time for Sport Republic. They have invested heavily in the squad both in the summer and last month and I actually think we have the makings of an exciting and talented team. The big but in all of this is the a ability of the manager to get the best out of the resources available. To date he has fallen well short of that and his faith the weaker members of the squad is baffling to say the least. As it stands the performance level is not where it needs to be or indeed could be to give any sort of hope of avoiding relegation. I was a big supporter of Ralph but towards the end it was clear that he had run out of steam and ideas so a change of manager was right. The issue now is can SR accept that they picked the wrong option and do the right thing for the club or will they be as stubborn as the guy they employed and blame everyone else for the predicament the club is in.

13

halftimeorange added 11:27 - Feb 5 I thought Ralph had got as far as he could with the "average" squad he had at his disposal but, now I do wonder what he might have made given the signings made in the recent window? Nathan Jones is lightweight in respect of experience and tact when faced with playing against some of the best managers and players in the world and his shortcomings are already plain to see. He should never have been appointed and that's not his fault but, I dread to think what the response to him will be when we turn out against Wolves. Although we didn't pay to watch our club cast adrift at the foot of the EPL we'll have to take it on the chin and support our players in the hope that next season we retain the best of them and someone replaces Jones (maybe Vincent Company) and blends them into a promotion-chasing force. If we, like Jones with Lavia, hang our players out to dry we deserve what we're getting.

10

davidargyll added 11:28 - Feb 5 When I commented after the Blackpool game that we had seen two reasonably well-matched teams producing no better than championship-quality football, I was shot down on the basis that we had only put out our B team, so it wasn’t surprising. And I (sort of) bought that. So how did the so-called A-team perform? Do the words EMBARRASSINGLY BADLY come anywhere near? Because they too played no better, in arguably worse than the average championship footballers the entire squad is looking like, as evidenced by: 1. A lack of the most basic footballing skills, eg inaccurate passing, non-existent reading of their fellow players (let alone the opposition’s), poor trapping, directionless headers, wasted throw-ins, etc; 2. An inability by the coaches to train our defence to cope with crosses; 3. A predictable and outdated playing style. But to me the ultimate damnation of this team was THE LOOK ON CLUELESS JONES’ FACE sometime after the third goal went in: it was one of utter BEWILDERMENT. Not anger or frustration or anything approaching determination. But one of A LITTLE BOY LOST… And at that point I instantly knew that, under him, we are in an unstoppable spiral downwards; and equally at that one moment it seemed to dawn on him that, for all his bluster, he is no better than a championship manager. And in the post match interviews, he had that same HAUNTED, ALMOST SHELL- SHOCKED, from which it was pretty clear that HE NOW KNOWS HE CANNOT HACK IT. As we are now conceding almost TWO GOALS PER GAME, with no sign of improvement, Sports Republic, Rasmus Ankersen et al have to conclude that: 1. JONES IS SIMPLY NOT EQUIPPED TO GET US TO COMPETE WITH EVEN THE SO-CALLED LESSER TEAMS; 2. HE HASN’T GOT SUFFICIENT MENTAL STRENGTH TO COOE WITH THE PRESSURE; 3. HE WILL LOSE THE DRESSING ROOM VERY SOON IF BE HASN’T DONE SO ALREADY; 4. HE IS A DEAD MAN WALKING. The only good news? Maybe the price of my season ticket next season will be lower…

12

underweststand added 11:45 - Feb 5 Jones has only inherited the problem that Hasenhuttl started the season with, namely too many inexperienced teenagers thrown into the side without the benefit of seasoned profs. around them to guide and advise. Try as they might, they are not mature enough (mentally / physically ) to play against World-class opponents every week. Bad board decisions in releasing the last of the " older generation " and looking to replace them with youngsters who had played little more than B team football, and were expendable rejects from bigger clubs (City, Chelsea etc) and expecting miracles to come.' Nathan Jones may well be enthusiastic, but is beginning to look out of his depth and although has he has tried different formation and - injuries permitting - given everyone an opportunity to play, sadly few of them have "turned up" on the day. Player ratings are pointless, when the team returns "pointless" once again from an away fixture and it's back to the training ground before next weekends vital game v. Wolves. I would disagree with Nick's analogy about using the new players from the start. Had we gone in 0-0 at HT it may have been a different story, but clearly they were then expected to turn the tide when the game was essentially already lost at 0-2, and despite putting themselves about might only have seen their teammates as a collection of blue shirts, having not been introduced or even trained with the squad beforehand. One can hope they start v. Wolves and produce the form that prompted us to buy them. Yesterday was a " team failure" and they cannot be blamed and did not become " bad players" overnight.

0

ItchenNorth added 12:02 - Feb 5 I'm not going to waste my time on writing loads. SACK HIM.
14

IanRC added 12:12 - Feb 5 I think the squad is not the problem. There are some very talented players in their, young yes but real gems. Just need a competent manager before it’s too late and relegation occurs and the squad is broken up. That would be a shame as I disagree with many of the comments above, if they have the time to develop this will be a very successful team but they need a good manager. Who though ?

0

MSB added 12:17 - Feb 5 Who is available ?
-2

landsdownsaint added 12:24 - Feb 5 Does Ralph still live in Southampton? He’s had a good rest bit of soul searching maybe ?… bring him home he’s got the striker now
3

cotswoldsaint added 12:24 - Feb 5 Get in Bielsa. Then buckle up.
4

barry_sanchez added 12:35 - Feb 5 Until the club changes its outdated stance of moneyball then this was always going to be the outcome at some point, gambling on ones future with unproven players was always risky and more to the point it was arrogant, arrogant in the fact that failure could and would always happen under the law of averages yet not considered enough of a risk to actually change and remedy. If we want to tread water and give money to shareholders you need to have players in the team who are good enough, that is rather obvious, to gamble on ones standing and also try to make a profit from it also improve is absolutely crazy, arrogant as I said and stupid to boot. Other clubs have moneyball of course but they're safely higher up the league with far better players so they'll have a bad season but not lose their status, we thought we could have had it all (never mind the disregard this shows to the fans consistently selling the best players and getting further away from winning trophies) but a club of our size can't, we can remain but we'll have to have journeymen who know the ropes and will have no sell on or we can do this which will probably bankrupt us, and they thought they were clever...................

0

saintmark1976 added 12:45 - Feb 5 Nothing to add to the comments already expressed concerning yet another S F C debacle yesterday. We are now 4/11 to be relegated, an outcome which looks increasingly inevitable whoever the manager is.That being the case, there is surely a view to be taken that Jones needs to be withdrawn from the firing line at the earliest opportunity, not so much for the sake of the club but for his own ongoing mental health. I get the impression that Jones is not a bad man. He’s simply taken on a job which has proven to be too much for him as was evident from the content of his post match interviews yesterday. It’s time for the club’s owners and senior management to meet their responsibilities as Jones’s employer and at the very least put him on gardening leave.

1

bartley41 added 12:48 - Feb 5 Two Manages who come to mind both Nigel's Pearson and Adkins both excellent man Manages and rather unfairly treated by S.F.C.
0

Block3Saint added 13:07 - Feb 5 Simple as the longer we wait(the owners) the more likely we're going down. If we got anyone else then we are so much more likely to stay up this season. Marco Bielsa?
1

landsdownsaint added 13:09 - Feb 5 Bartley41 … I agree with your praise for NA but that really was a work of genius from Corteze
0

DellBoyWally added 13:33 - Feb 5 "I was the best in Europe"? He wasn't even the best in the Championship! Ironic that, since he left, Luton Town are now higher than they ever were under him!! Only one player stood out for me yesterday. Mo Salisu. He was the lone CB who got really stuck in with head and feet. No other Saints player was near him for effort. So what does Nothin Jones do? Move him to RB! OK, Perraud had a stinker but you don't take out your best (only?) defender and replace him with a lower league RB. And he looked exactly that, totally ineffective throughout. In front of him Edozie was bullied, a kid against men. He might have totally out-played Tierney at home in the Carabao Cup but here he was lightweight against a more physical defence, I'm finding it hard to remember any other contributions. Yes, Lavia was poor but I go along with Nick in that he's been played in the wrong games, much like C-C. It seems the manager is punishing them for something? C-C's red card? Lavia for......who knows? A kind of "I'm in charge" and I'll show you. Jones clearly thinks more about himself than he does the players or the team - which means he has no respect for the club. The owners screwed Ralph, who kept us up with a far worse team than this, by not buying what the team needed. Sack him, get in a nobody with a below average record, clueless as to the PL but a giant ego and a big mouth, buy in the players we should have had last summer and ...........ooops! Wrong again!! And Brentford? Better now than when Ankerson was there!!

9

DellBoyWally added 15:10 - Feb 5 I see Tadic scored again today! If only Hughes had understood skill! OK, the newbies from last day signings didn't start, odd but perhaps reasonable. But where were the newbies from weeks back who have already played? Mislav Orsic, left out of the squad Saturday, posted a picture on Instagram of "Can't Hurt Me" by David Goggins. No other words or comments, just the book! Get rid of Nothin Jones before we're playing Pompey in 2 years

4

Monksway added 15:13 - Feb 5 Friend of mine is a Baggies fan. He's been through it during the last few years but since the new manager came in from Huddersfield things have really turned around. I watched the playoff semi final last year between Huddersfield and Luton. Huddersfield played all the football, Luton were very aggressive but not much else.
0

AmericanSaint added 15:38 - Feb 5 So not going to say too much about the match yesterday. It was frustrating to watch at times and STILL dont know why NJ selected some of the people (more on that later). I thought the defense was shaky at times but ok EXCEPT for all set pieces where we are a travesty. If CA sacrificed his head in 2nd half like Ben Mee did in 1st instead of worry about the goalie, then it could have been a game, Why did NJ pick Daillo, benderak, Mo and Endozie, especially after the last game? Ok enough of that. So now I watched NJ after game interview and it tells me a lot. He has lost most of the senor players already and that is why he chose those 4 mentioned above. He says he has been accommodating, but I think in truth the more experienced and better players have called him out on the training pitch for his poor tactics. He chose Walcott to show that he prefers loyalty than skill (no other reason is possible as Theo is a yes man and looking for a paycheck). Next, you all may like/dislike, agree/disagree with some or all the points I lay out based upon yesterday dismal collapse and performance: 1. With NJ we WILL get relegated. 2. With 17 games left, we will get relegated with 7-10 games left 3. The egos in the front office will not allow themselves to believe they made a HUGE mistake in NJ and will still with him until the ship sinks. 4. Sporting Republic already thinks we will be relegated and don't care as they expect to sell off all the seasoned assets and then rebuild. 5. Sack NJ and bring back either Potchitino or even RH ( I know not popular but he knows many of the players) Finally Dean Hammond said yesterday that the Wolves game is a must win. YOU think we can beat WOLVES right now??? That is a joke. I looked at the remainder of the schedule and there possible 6 games of 17 that we can win even in out horrid form. But even then without a proper game plan those will be hard to win and NJ doesn't have a PLAN A, B, C or even D. While I will still support the players, not sure if I can watch anymore of the season with the way we play. Good luck all.

12

Blogs 31 bloggers

Arsenal Polls