There is no way to dress this game up, I can't fault our players for a lack of effort, but they were totally devoid of any form of leadership, motivation or for that matter a game plan, it is hard to see a way forward with Nathan Jones in charge at this moment.

Nottingham Forest came with a game plan, Saints appeared to have none, they looked a team that had no confidence in their manager's tactics, but did at least try to put in the effort, even though nothing seemed to go right for them.

Forest had a game plan, sit back and let Saints come at them and then go at them fast on the break, Nathan Jones had put out a rather strange team, 3 at the back and with two full backs playing as wing backs, one of them in Kyle Walker Peters can do that job, the other in Romain Perraud cannot.

In midfield he had the return of Romeo Lavia and JWP & Elyounoussi sitting in front of them with Sekou Mara & Che Adams up front.

Most fans wondered why Stuart Armstrong & Samuel Edozie weren't in the starting line up.

As mentioned Forest had their game plan and were sticking to it, Saints had no form of inspiration in their play to break them down.

Forest almost went ahead when Romain Perraud tried to shield the ball on the touchline and failed to do so, from the resulting break, Forest really should have gone ahead, hitting the bar when it looked easier to score.

Surely this should have rung alarm bells, our passing was awful and it was this that Forest were looking to exploit, Lyanco was the centre of the back three and his job was to move the ball to the midfield, in the 27th minute he had plenty of time to do so but gave a poor pass away cheaply, Forest broke quickly and scored their first away goal since the opening week of the season. It would be the first and only shot on target of the game by either team.

To put it bluntly this wasn't Lyanco's or the teams first appalling piece of passing.

But there was plenty of time on the clock to put things right, but there was no real pattern of play from Saints.

Time and time again they got the ball and moved forward but too often hit it long which was food and drink for Forest's defenders.

We had to little experience in the team to be able to break down the wall of yellow.

In the 65th minute there was a triple substitution, Perraud went off with Edozie coming on and at least we had an attacking option down the right, Sekou Mara had looked completely lost up front and on came Adam Armstrong. Strangely Romeo Lavia also came off to be replaced by Joe Aribo, this was panic measures and to be blunt at this stage we lost all form of shape.

Although we picked up the pace, the truth was we were playing to a system and although it wasn't working the manager seemed unable to change tact, we rarely got the ball through to any of the strikers nor did we create shooting positions.

Bizarrely it was the 85th minute before Nathan Jones mad another substitution, at last came on Stuart Armstrong whose first action was to fall over and have to give away a foul and a yellow card to ensure that the visitors didn't break again.

But it was a case of too little too late and despite effectively playing just two at the back and everyone else charging forward, even sheer weight of numbers produced nothing.

A word about referee Thomas Bramall, whilst the defeat cannot be blamed on him, the fact was he was appalling and lost control of the game, Forest got away with a series of petty fouls and also going down at every opportunity.

They run roughshod over the ref, at one substitution despite the player going off being only 10 yards from the Kingsland touchline and being blocked by Saints players who were pointing out to the ref that under the laws of the game he had to leave at the nearest point, the referee pulled the Saints players off him and allowed him to saunter virtually the whole width of the pitch to the dugout.

So if you account for this, various other Forest players going down injured, a lengthy stoppage to treat Che Adams and indeed 9 second half substitutions spread over 6 different timings, it would be fair to assume that there would be a substantial period of injury time, god knows how Mr Bramall only made it 4 minutes, that didn't even cover the substitutions let along the injuries and time wasting.

The crowd although silent at times stayed with the team and didn't get on it's back until the final whistle and in truth they had every right to boo the team off the pitch and more poignantly the manager too.

Being blunt it is hard to see where Nathan Jones goes forward after this, the squad is in disarray, I didn't meet a Saints supporter who has any confidence in him before this game, let alone after it.

He has had two months to gel the squad, he hasn't done this and indeed he seems to have made it worse rather than better in all departments, he spent a lot of time gesturing on the touchline, but there seemed to be little correlation between this and what was actually happening on the pitch.

18 years ago Rupert Lowe made a brave decision when he sacked Paul Sturrock after only 13 Premier League games, stating that he had got it wrong, this seems to be the case with Nathan Jones, are Rasmus Ankersen and Sport Republic big enough to do the same now.

Although things are bleak, the situation is not yet beyond repair, a win at Everton in the next game although not lifting us out of the bottom three could see us draw level on points with 17th and give us hope.

But time is running out, do we let Nathan Jones stay and risk seeing things get worse and beyond redemption or do we get rid of him now !

Photo: Action Images

wrathoftazz added 13:14 - Jan 5 Agree with all of it APART from the nonsense of the team showing effort. It appears that Nick isn't still over his best pal Ralph being sacked just yet, as under Ralph, it was ALWAYS the players faults and never Ralph's, now (same players) but always the new managers. Ralph should have gone a year ago New manager should never have been employed 90% of our players are Championship at BEST Great combo for championship football next season.

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saintlee added 13:15 - Jan 5 I honestly didn't think I could see a worse Saints team than Ian Branfoots. But I was wrong. Nathan Jones is like Liz Truss. Both were given a position of power in a bid to make things better only to f*ck things up in a matter of weeks. And we all know what happened there.
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blubberboy added 13:44 - Jan 5 I was one of the supporters calling for RH to be sacked and I stand by that. I was also prepared to give NJ a chance but it's already clear he is way out of his depth. He has turned a half-decent set of players into something resembling a mediocre League 1 squad. I feel sorry for any player who joins us as he'll just turn them into fodder too. The owners need to admit they got this one wrong and act now, if only to ensure we can mount a realistic challenge for promotion back to the PL next season. Playing like this we'll be lucky to the stay in the Championship. I've been watching Saints since 1971 and last night was just about the most depressed I've ever felt after a home game - at least during the Branfoot era we had MLT to bail us out. I dread to think what a decent side could do to us; Forest were poor but we made them look like Brazil.

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NigD added 13:55 - Jan 5 Every single sane Saints Supporter knew that we needed a new strike force before the start of this season. The club failed this obvious task and in doing so Ralph had no chance once a few of the better players were injured. Wins against Leicester away, Chelsea Home and and thoroughly deserved draw against the Arsenal seem light years away now. It was clear without a quality Managerial replacement Ralph should have stayed and overseen this period and with a couple of Strikers and tough midfielder brought in I am confident we would have survived comfortably. However it did not happen with too many unrealistic fans baying for Ralph’s blood and the new owners clueless in their choice of a replacement we are seemingly doomed to drop down a league. Personally I enjoyed the football just as much in the lower leagues. Winning games is fun. Haha. I still feel we could have a chance this season, but not unless the Manager is changed immediately. It won’t happen, but Ralph has had a nice break. Get him back in give him a chance to prove himself with a 6 month contract. As I said it won’t happen but would be interesting. The Ralph out haters will be crying reading my thoughts. It’s only a game. The Championship will be fun.

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NigD added 13:56 - Jan 5 Every single sane Saints Supporter knew that we needed a new strike force before the start of this season. The club failed this obvious task and in doing so Ralph had no chance once a few of the better players were injured. Wins against Leicester away, Chelsea Home and and thoroughly deserved draw against the Arsenal seem light years away now. It was clear without a quality Managerial replacement Ralph should have stayed and overseen this period and with a couple of Strikers and tough midfielder brought in I am confident we would have survived comfortably. However it did not happen with too many unrealistic fans baying for Ralph’s blood and the new owners clueless in their choice of a replacement we are seemingly doomed to drop down a league. Personally I enjoyed the football just as much in the lower leagues. Winning games is fun. Haha. I still feel we could have a chance this season, but not unless the Manager is changed immediately. It won’t happen, but Ralph has had a nice break. Get him back in give him a chance to prove himself with a 6 month contract. As I said it won’t happen but would be interesting. The Ralph out haters will be crying reading my thoughts. It’s only a game. The Championship will be fun.

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AmericanSaint added 14:19 - Jan 5 Wow - that was such a hard game to watch. I am in agreement with o much that has been said, but I still need to say some of the same things just to get it out. WTF!!!!!!! Jones has no clue and is so out of his depth, playing the long ball into a defense that has two 6+ ft tall players and you expect Che to win all the aerial battles. He needs to go asap but will not as I think the owners want us to get relegated so they can do a full scrub of the players, sell the best we have and make a profit. I know that sounds like a conspiracy theory, but there is no other explanation as to why they hired Jones. All he did on the side lines was bite his nails and shake his head. Nick - you keep saying Peraud is not a wingback, but he is clearly plays the forward balls in and delivered 3 good crosses yesterday. I am not sure what you think a wingback is? He and KWP were the only decent players yesterday. Midfield - Lavia looked like he was a out for a stroll half the game and JWP doesn't know how to pass the ball forward. I counter 8 times our forwards made a run into the channel and NOBODY made that pass. It's like they don't know basic football. Why is Stu not starting???? Lastly, nobody is going to want to come and play for us after these last showings, so this transfer market will be quiet I suspect. I would recall Tella, Benderak and dont be surprised if Che, Lavia, and maybe Stu leave during this window. I hope I am wrong, but off of yesterday's performance, If we stick with Jones, then we will be relegated and it will be our new owners fault.

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deanosfc8 added 15:27 - Jan 5 I personally don't blame Jones, if you or I was offered this job then we would take it in a heart beat. I blame the buffoon who thought Jones was the right man! Everton V Saints has now became the new El Sackio classic.
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halftimeorange added 15:36 - Jan 5 "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" is the old saying which refers to vainly attempting to make something good out of inferior quality. Last night's performance fell into that description. I don't think NJ is up to the job but, I doubt many managers would be with such an ill-balanced motley assortment of players. NJ comes across as a zealot and that approach simply won't work the talented youngsters we do have and can't work with sub-standard central defenders, a negative minded captain and a lightweight attack. I will venture that this squad, with or without NJ is destined for mid-table obscurity in the Championship. There will be many empty seats at St Marys in the weeks to come. Many ST holders I know will not pay to see the Man City cup game because there is no point. Saints have been left behind by not investing in decent experienced players and there might be shed loads of goals at our remaining home games but, they won't be going in at the away end!

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onetowatch added 16:58 - Jan 5 Like many on here we all have our moments when we read some contributions and can't believe that person was at the same game. I would suggest that only KWP came out with any credibility last night, though a few others were trying hard - the fact that for the last 20 mins of the game, KWP was being fed the ball more than anyone shows how our own players realised he was our only hope to create a real threat. We can point the finger at many last night, but how some comments can include JWP as someone who played ok or was our best hope is totally unbelievable. We have weaknesses in several positions, particularly up front, but JWP, in that central role is the core of what is going wrong. Another comment above referred to the role of the CBs to feed into the midfield....They did!! But were given the ball back immediately, JWP, again being the worst offender. No wonder they all resorted to going long. Lyanco had time and made a glaring mistake, but seconds before when he gave the ball to JWP, he definitely did not want it straight back!! Our CM issue is as critical as our inability to score....as it is a part of the scoring problem!!

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Block8 added 17:41 - Jan 5 Dreadful game where we gave a very good impression of a poor, disorganised, Sunday morning league team. Nathan Jones has lost the new manager bounce, by trying to change everything at once and don't have the players for three at the back, which most of the fans know' it surprises me the new manager doesn't. Most of us can accept defeat, however painful it feels, if we see a performance but this........ I, personally, fail to understand why people mention lack of passion? Fans supply the passion after being entertained by skill, effort and cohesive teamwork. Lyanco, as I stated previously, is and will continue to be a liability until he can add a bit of thought to his game, he may become a player but certainly isn't at present.

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jameslastfan added 18:10 - Jan 5 A new low. Leaderless on and off pitch. Confused players not doing the basics. Trying to play new shape and system but not succeeding. Nathan Jones is like a rabbit in headlights, fresh out of ideas and is a shouter not a coach. To think we had Ronald Koeman and Mouricio Pochettinho - sat behind the dug out last night thought where did this go so wrong? No time to give him time. Sorry. Unless we are happy to be relegated. That may well be the misguided plan. We have all worked with people who are over promoted. Nathan could recognise this himself and resign gracefully or needs to be sacked with an apology to the fans - and an explanation how we came to think this trussonomic experiment in football management ever got off the ground. Then whoever agreed it needs to go as well.

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wessexman added 19:01 - Jan 5 Looking back on Ralph's sacking, NJ was in the frame very quickly after that. I certainly agree that if we persevere with NJ we are doomed. I would go as far as saying we won't win another game this season. One day, we'll find out the thinking behind NJ's appointment. There might even be a Holywood movie out on it in the future.
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LondonSaint76 added 01:39 - Jan 6 In response to the previous two posts from jameslastfan and wessexman, it looks like the reason the Welsh Oaf got the job is down to SR’s useless spreadsheet led management - see an extract from a Hampshire Live article below: In his first press conference as Saints boss, Jones revealed he had scored highly on all the metrics Ankersen and Southampton's ownership group Sport Republic were looking for during his interview See the full article here: www.hampshirelive.news/sport/football/football-news/nathan-jones-rasmus-ankersen-southampton-7818046 To use an analogy from Greyhound racing; SR appointing NJ is the equivalent of them entering a three legged mongrel in the Greyhound Derby! Considering the position we are now in due to NJ’s totally clueless and inept management, in order to stay up, SR now need the aforementioned three lagged mongrel to win the race… Not even Branfoot was this bad - and that’s saying something.

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Kindlyplatypus added 20:52 - Jan 6 Teams cannot wait to play us especially in the bottom 3. I loved Ralph but was time to go. The appointment is completely uninspired and atrociously wrong. How the board made the decision that Nathan is better than Ralph is beyond anyone's thinking. I'd love to see the data behind that? Dyche is the answer. He doesn't take shit he won't take the shit that's going on on the pitch. He will drill the defence into a unit which they need to be. Dyche played the type of football which worked for Burnley, at times Burnley did play attractive football. Hughes was known for long ball but didn't employ that tactic at saints. Good managers adapt. This team needs a kick up the arse. Someone who will make them perform for the badge not just turn up for a pay cheque. We haven't played as a team since koeman it's like they don't know eachother. I miss tadic and pelle who had a connection but our players don't seem to have a connection which is so strange after most being together for a long time. Armstrong needs to start. I've rambled enough.

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